Wikus swore as the third bout of pain that day enveloped his right arm, searing up to the shoulder and back down again, jolting around inside of his flesh like lightning.

"Ffff... Fook!" He hissed, falling back against a nearby shack and sliding down into a sitting position, gripping the aching arm with his alien one.. But even though his instincts told him to grip where it hurt, it didn't help, and only reminded him of how unnatural he was becoming. It was such an awkward and sickening feeling he had, looking at that mutated arm of his. Using it for anything only made it worse, and slowly he let go of his right arm, letting them both go limp at his sides. The bouts of pain did not last too long, and he sat there for a few minutes, gritting his teeth and shaking slightly until it passed. He didn't dare look at the progress the virus was making on his right arm- last time he checked, there had been a few thin, tender patches of dark exoskeleton forming on his shoulder and upper arm. The pain was definitely concentrated in that particular area, so he had a feeling it wouldn't be long before it advanced further down his arm and warped it like it had the other one.

He hissed another swear word as it intensified, and scraped at the dirt with his heels, pressing himself up against the wall of the shack. And then it was over. The pain subsided and he let out a sigh, body relaxing visibly. For a few moments he was still, then he grunted and pushed himself back up onto his feet. He wobbled a bit at first before regaining his balance and took off down the dirt streets of District 9. His main objective? To find a safe place to hide until the change had fully taken place. After that, it was merely a matter of blending in with the rest of the non-humans and moving to District 10.. Hopefully to start a new life amongst the species he was slowly morphing into. This whole process had taken a huge toll on him, both physically and mentally.. While at first he was indignant to it, he had been humbled by the recent events and had resigned himself to this new lifestyle he had been forced into.

Quietly he walked, his sock-clad feet feeling worn- it had been some time since he'd worn shoes and he missed them. Socks really didn't do much in the way of protecting his feet from sharp objects, or puddles for that matter. But he had no other choice, and he really did prefer to at least have something, no matter how ineffective, to wear on his feet. Clothes in general made him feel less alien and more human, which was a valuable feeling for him now. Small comfort.

Feeling a bit exposed, he pulled up the hood of the ragged, baggy gray hoodie he'd been able to scavenge out of a clothes donation bin. Since he'd obtained it, it had gone through a bit of wear and tear but it still serviced him greatly in concealing his non-human parts; the sleeves were baggy and long enough that they successfully hid his mutated arm, and the hood shaded his face and mismatched eyes. It was a perfect piece of clothing for him, and probably the only good thing that had happened to him since the whole fiasco began. The vaguely warm feeling of looking almost entirely human again was enough to force a very small smile onto his face; this expression was soon wiped clear off of his features, however, when the sound of a vehicle coming up behind him became audible.. He whirled around, catching sight of a white, Jeep-like vehicle coming in his direction.. Fast. Its large tires rumbled along the dirty streets of the slum, bouncing over bumps and plowing over objects such as half-eaten tires and cardboard boxes. There were a few Poleepkwas milling around by their various shacks, doing mostly nothing except picking through some piles of trash disinterestedly; they scattered and hid inside their homes as the Jeep passed. Wikus panicked. Surely it was the MNU, come to claim him and drag him back to the laboratories for more horrific tests. Frozen in place for a few moments, he watched as the Jeep drew closer.. It was only until the vehicle was so close that the logo on the front of the Jeep was clearly visible that he took action. He turned quickly to scramble away, but stopped, cringing as the window rolled down and someone called out to him.

"Hey! Hey dude!" It was a feminine voice.. But that wasn't what caught his attention. Whoever it was in the vehicle had just called him "dude". MNU officers did not call people "dude". Turning back around slowly, he kept his head bowed to make sure his face stayed hidden, while simultaneously attempting to steal a glance at the person in the vehicle.

"What are you doing in here? Need a ride?" The lady asked, leaning over to the open window from her seat on the opposite side of the car. Wikus silently heaved a sigh of relief. She obviously didn't recognize him for who he really was. But he didn't want to giver her a chance to find out and quickly replied,

"No, no, I'm.. I'm fine, I'm fine here by myself-" He was interrupted as the lady completely disregarded his claim that he was "fine".

"Oh don't give me that, get in here, I'll give you a ride out of here. I was on my way out anyway." She opened the door on the passenger's side of the Jeep and patted the seat. Wikus looked up at her, keeping his arms crossed for fear that she might catch a glimpse of his mutated arm's fingers poking out of the sleeve. This was the first time in a while that he'd had nonviolent interactions with a member of his own species and he rather enjoyed it.. Thus, without thinking, he climbed up into the Jeep, sitting in the passenger's seat and shutting the door. Immediately goosebumps covered his body. The AC in the vehicle was running full blast and the air inside was a lot colder than he was used to.

"Th-thank you.." He mumbled, reaching for the seatbelt and pulling it over himself, buckling it on the other side of the seat. The lady grinned, reaching out to turn up the music on her radio. Music at the touch of a button was another thing Wikus had missed, and even though techno was not his idea of good music, it was still nice to have music at all.

"Dude, it's chill. Just hold on, it's a bit of a bumpy ride." The lady replied and the Jeep lurched into motion..