My Body’s Looking Wrong

“**My body’s looking wrong**” - _the other side of paradise_

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Why… Why did this happen?..”

“I just wanted to play with him! But now he’s gone. Why did it have to take him…”

The little boy sniffled, curled up in the corner of a sterile white room. He wore a long shirt that reached his knees, and his green hair matched the tint of his pale skin.

A woman in a white lab coat and surgical mask stood nearby, silently observing him.

“Another nightmare?” she asked.

The boy didn’t lift his head. He kept his face buried in his arms, resting on his knees, and simply nodded.

“Don’t worry about it. Anyway, you know what time it is, right?” she said flatly, her expression unreadable as she glanced down at the clipboard in her hands.

The boy nodded again and slowly rose to his feet. He didn’t like the routine, but he had gotten used to it. Every day, the people in white coats gave him three rounds of injections and a single bowl of food.

But this time, something was different.

The woman wasn’t carrying any syringes — only a single pill and a glass of water.

The pill was strange, swirled with green, yellow, and black.

She handed it to him. He took it hesitantly, inspecting it closely.

“Are you sure I’m supposed to—?”

“Just take it,” she interrupted, her voice sharper now, her stare cold and firm.

The boy stiffened and fell silent. He looked at the pill one last time.

_At least it won’t hurt…_

He popped it into his mouth, and the woman handed him the water. He drank it quickly, pretending to swallow.

“This will protect you from future testing. Don’t forget that,” she said before turning and exiting the room, locking the heavy metal door behind her.

It seemed simple — nothing too hard. Just follow orders, like always.

But this time… he didn’t.

He hadn’t swallowed the pill. He spat it into his hand and crushed it.

For the first time… he disobeyed.

And soon, there would be consequences.

Shortly after, a group of masked men in white coats entered to begin the daily round of shots.

Everything went as usual.

At first.

But the boy felt… off.

He couldn’t stop coughing.

It worsened as the night dragged on. His breathing grew shallow. He stumbled out of bed, clutching his throat, and ran to the door, pounding on it with trembling fists.

“H-Help! S-Someone!”

He coughed violently, his chest spasming. Then he felt something rise up his throat — and vomited a thick, black substance.

Gasping, he turned to the mirror on the wall.

He saw his reflection.

And it wasn’t him.

His eyes — they weren’t human.

Pitch black, like endless darkness.

His vision blurred.

Then everything went dark