Chapter 2: Terminal Bone Cancer, You’re Done
1517 Words
The next morning.
When the first rays of sunlight streamed into the room and landed on Ethan’s face, he slowly woke up, realizing that he had spent the night sleeping on the floor, shirtless.
Recalling the terrifying sensations from last night, he quickly got up and checked himself in the mirror. His spine was still swollen, and multiple bones ached, though not as severely as the night before.
“Before, the pain would disappear as soon as morning came… why not today?”
Muttering to himself, he pressed on the swollen areas and gasped at the sharp pain.
He didn’t dwell on it further. First, he used the bathroom, then took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and headed out.
The Muchuo neighborhood had a market very close to Ethan’s apartment.
Though the swelling and pain had subsided somewhat since last night, that strange hunger persisted.
He ordered a double-sized breakfast at a stall and ate it, but the hunger didn’t diminish one bit.
Fearing that eating more would upset his stomach, he paid and prepared to head to the hospital for his test results.
However, passing a stall selling fresh goat milk, he suddenly froze, eyes locked on a female mountain goat.
The pungent smell filled his nostrils like a deadly temptation. The bell-shaped udder drew him forward instinctively.
As he got closer, his entire body tingled with excitement, as if he wanted to leap at the goat and bite it hard.
The hunger sensation surged several times stronger!
The stall owner, a woman in a red shirt, noticed him staring and salivating. She walked over and asked, “Handsome, want some milk?”
Facing her friendly face, Ethan finally snapped back to reality. “No, thank you,” he said and hurried away.
Even after leaving the market, the image of the goat lingered in his mind, tempting him to go back for another look.
“Damn it, am I losing my mind?”
Ethan cursed silently and quickly hailed a cab to the hospital.
Since his visit last Saturday for tests, he has had a bad feeling. After checking online, he had a vague idea of what illness he might have.
He hadn’t believed it fully, as his year-end checkup showed nothing wrong.
By 9:30, Ethan arrived at the hospital and obtained his pathology report.
Seeing the results, his heart sank.
It was indeed bone cancer.
Even though he had suspected it, seeing confirmation was hard to accept.
His doctor, Dr. Lai was an elderly man with white hair and a stern demeanor.
Handing over the report, Ethan watched as Dr. Lai examined it and displayed a mixture of pity and finality.
“Bone cancer. It’s already metastasized,” Dr. Lai said.
“Is there any chance of a cure?” Ethan clung to a glimmer of hope.
“You’re in the late stage. There’s no cure at this point. Treatments like chemo, radiotherapy, or biological therapy can only ease pain and prolong life.”
“But I was fine just last year! How could it turn into late-stage bone cancer in less than a year?”
“For bone cancer, medicine hasn’t identified an exact cause. It might have been missed in your last checkup, or other factors—genetic mutation, viral infection, etc.”
Genetic mutation? Viral infection?
Ethan fell into thought.
“Where’s your family? Didn’t they come with you?”
“They’re not here,” Ethan exhaled and asked, “Dr. Lai, whenever it flares up, I feel extreme hunger. Especially today—breakfast was double the usual portion, yet I feel as if I haven’t eaten. Also, the pain usually only appears at night. Today it hurt slightly during the day, but not like at night. Why is this?”
“Excessive hunger usually comes from two conditions: low blood sugar or stomach heat. Yours seems like stomach heat. As for the night pain…” Dr. Lai frowned and continued, “…you could consider hospitalization for closer observation.”
Ethan thought for a moment. “I’ll discuss it with my family first.”
He hadn’t lost self-care ability yet and preferred to stay home unless necessary.
“Alright, I’ll prescribe some painkillers. Rest, eat nutritious food, and have your family come to help if possible. If symptoms worsen, come back promptly. This can reduce pain and extend survival.”
“Okay,” Ethan pocketed the report and prepared to collect his medication. Before leaving, he asked again, “Dr. Lai, how long do I have?”
“That… mostly depends on you. With a good mindset and moderate exercise, you can live longer.”
Ethan had always been intensely curious about the afterlife.
He often wondered: what does it feel like to die? Where does the soul go? Is there consciousness? Could it traverse to another world?
So death didn’t terrify him much.
But he was an only child. If he died suddenly, his parents would be devastated.
These thoughts left him distraught. He picked up his medicine and wandered out of the hospital.
Standing by the street, he didn’t know what to do.
Call his parents? He couldn’t.
Tell friends? Not willing.
He wandered for over half an hour before finally taking a cab home.
Back in his apartment, he tossed the medicine and report aside, collapsed on the bed, and pulled out his phone. A WeChat message appeared from his former apprentice, now colleague, Tong Feifei.
“Master, you’re off today?”
“Yeah.”
“Where are you? Out having fun?”
“At home.”
“Oh, you’re on a three-day break?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll rest tomorrow too, cute #.”
Ethan read it and didn’t reply. He locked the phone, uninterested in further interaction, and had no mood for it.
Ethan had always been vague about his future.
Now, with terminal bone cancer, he suddenly had direction: resign and return home to accompany his parents.
After returning from the hospital, except for going out at noon for food, he stayed in his apartment.
He ate a large steak and two bowls of rice at noon, yet the strange hunger persisted—more like a voracious desire to eat, despite his stomach feeling full.
His mind kept replaying the image of the goat from that morning.
By 5:30 PM, as the sun began to set, the urge to eat grew unbearable.
Though he usually kept his dinners light, his current condition overrode all caution.
He left the apartment to get food but inexplicably ended up at the market, near the morning goat stall.
The woman had taken the goat home. Ethan stood there, inhaling the lingering scent, his body tense, face slightly flushed.
The market was nearly empty. A stray dog, carrying a freshly chopped chicken piece, froze when it saw Ethan, dropped its food, and ran.
Ethan, possessed by hunger, bent down to sniff the chicken piece.
A passing woman startled him, and he dropped the chicken, hurrying away.
“What the hell is wrong with me?”
His hunger was now almost uncontrollable. Passing a poultry stall, the blood and smell inflamed his senses.
Fortunately, he retained enough control to not lose composure.
“I’ll buy some meat and take it home,” he decided.
Summoning all willpower, he escaped the poultry temptation and bought chicken legs and braised pig trotters from another stall.
Back in the apartment, Lucky came running, tail wagging, tongue out.
Seeing Lucky triggered another surge of wild hunger. A fleeting thought crossed his mind: It had been years since he had eaten dog meat… Lucky is so fat, it might taste good.
Lucky, clueless, wagged and sniffed him.
Ethan immediately snapped out of it and closed the door, retreating to his room.
Previously, he always shared food with Lucky. This time, he didn’t, so Lucky followed him up to the fourth floor, refusing to leave.
Once in his room, Ethan’s restraint faltered.
For a moment, he devoured the pig trotter like a starving beast, teeth bared, eyes fixed on Lucky as if on prey.
The sun had set. Ethan’s body experienced the tingling, throbbing pain again.
Yet now, he only saw Lucky. Watching him chew, Ethan bared his teeth in mimicry.
Unnoticed, a shocking transformation began.
His mouth stretched, revealing two sets of sharp canines. Black hair sprouted across his face.
His iris shifted from brown to vivid amber, blending with the whites of his eyes.
His height increased. Fingers elongated, claw-like nails forming seven to eight inches long.
His clothes tore under the strain; his pants button popped to the floor.
In an instant, Ethan had become a half-human, half-wolf monster.
Lucky finally realized something was wrong. Holding the pig trotter, his eyes widened, and the food dropped.
The transformed Ethan stood nearly 7’6”, muscles like forged steel, explosive power contained in perfect proportion—except for the T-shirt, which looked laughably small.
Sensing danger, Lucky tried to escape, but the door was locked.
Before it could react, Ethan’s massive jaws clamped down on the back of its neck…
- Writer
