Saul was sick.
He wasn't quite sure what had come over him; it wasn't the season to get sick in. It came up out of the blue, starting with blocked sinuses and a lot of muscus.
He didn't pay much attention to it at first.
Eventually, he had to take some time off work- couldn't have you sneezing into all the lodicas, his supervisor had said. So Saul retreated to his dingy little apartment to rest up, drink a lot of galluk soup, and blow his nose into countless tissues.
It went well, at first. If he was unusually hungry, then he didn't notice- the fever set in late that first night, and he spent the better part of a week drifting in and out of consciousness.
In his brief moments of lucidity, he did wonder what he'd done to piss off the Flamekeeper.
It was just before dawn, nine days after he'd first shown symptoms, that he'd staggered blindly to the bathroom as his stomach rebelled. He made it just in time, kicking the door shut as he lurched towards the toilet.
Halfway there, he retched, falling to his knees. For the briefest moment the nausea seemed to pass, before returning full force, and he retched once more. A thick, translucent fluid spilled from his mouth, pooling thickly on the tile.
Simon frowned in confusion. He couldn't remember eating any thing blu-
He retched again, more of the fluid boiling up his throat and pouring onto the floor. He tried to move away from the mess, perhaps intending to call for help, but he was suddenly far too weak to move.
Every time he tried to open his mouth in the vain hope that someone would hear him screaming, his body would lurch once more, as if struggling to empty itself of its own organs.
A pair of eyes were peering up at him from the thick pool that had fought its way out of his stomach. They blinked, as if comprehending the world for the first time.
Saul choked in horror, the last vestiges of the blue fluid leaking from the corners of his mouth as he scrambled away. He fumbled madly at the door handle, unable to take his eyes off the thing that had clawed its way out of his body.
The blubbery mass gurgled, surging towards him and slapping at the tiles with misshapen appendages. It seemed to swell as it neared him, reaching up with hands that were blobs that were melting that-
Screaming in terror, Saul managed to get the door open and flung himself into the hall. He didn't make it far, tripping on the couch and slamming into the wall.
He hadn't even realised that he'd lost consciousness until he woke up, a heavy weight on his legs. He opened his eyes, peering up just in time to get his first good look at the creature crawling along his body.
Its body was formed completely of the bizarre fluid, semi-solid and oddly cohesive. Misshapen limbs formed sporadically, aiding its movement before retracting back intot he main body with a thick slurp. Its face, in so far as it had a face, was a hideous, melting facsimilie of his own.
It pressed its face up against his, crooning happily as it slithered over his head and began to work its way back into his body.