The scientist tugged her gloves carefully around her hands, the vibrant blue of the nitrile standing out against the crisp white of her lab coat. Humming to herself, she slid the sample case over, turning on the voice recorder next to her before carefully breaking the case’s seal.

“Examination of unknown sample discovered at the meteorite impact site…” she began, lifting the lid away and revealing the glass jar inside. “The remaining rocky body was found to be leaking a clear, viscous fluid. Sample container holds what could be recovered from the site.” The scientist carefully lifted the jar out, the clear fluid inside barely visible if it weren’t for the slight sheen on the surface, reflecting the lab’s lights as it wobbled slightly in the container.

Setting the jar down on the table, the scientist leant down, staring level at its surface. “Sample’s optical clarity appears perfect to the naked eye, almost the same optical density as the container.” She remained staring at it for a while, the fluid settling slowly, a perfectly flat surface. There wasn’t much in the jar, maybe only 100ml. “Sample appears completely clear of dirt or rock debris. Will need to check with field team how they collected the sample, and if any straining was carried out.”

The scientist slowly removed the lid of the container, resisting the urge to stick her finger into the fluid, not knowing if it could dissolve right through the material of her gloves. She turned away for a moment, reaching for a stirring rod. Slowly lowering it down into the jar, she was surprised when it met no resistance. “That’s odd…” she blinked a few times, peering close, confusion growing when she realised the glass was empty, the sample vanishing in those few moments she’d looked away. “... it’s gone.”

So preoccupied by the empty jar, she hadn’t seen the slight sheen that had developed across the work surface, placing her hand down and thinking little of how cool the table was while she looked around for a more obvious blob of fluid, wondering for a moment if the intense lights had caused some rapid evaporation, however implausible that might have been. She didn’t notice at first the crawling, cool feeling up her arm until she looked down and saw the blue colour of her gloves leaking across the table.

Recoiling back, a trail of blue fluid stretched between her hand and the table, the slime-like substance sticking to her hand. Pulling back, she watched in horror as she realised the same blue colour that had been spreading across the table was now spreading up her arm. The more she tried to pull away, the more she could feel the slime pulling back, trying to cling to her arm. Realising she was panicking, she closed her arms, breathing deeply, opening her eyes after a moment to stare down at her gloved hand, the feeling of horror returning when she realised she could see her hand through the blue slime. The glove had dissolved, somehow mixing with the sample, colouring it. Being able to see the slime was a small relief as it continued to crawl up her arm, tight and clinging, skin starting to tingle beneath.

She had to get it off, stepping back slowly, gripping the door handle as leverage to pull herself away, the thin slime stretching out between her and the table until… slap! The slime peeled off the table, slinging towards her, flowing over her hand, momentum carrying it up her arm and under the sleeve of her lab coat. She shuddered, feeling it sticking to her forearm, chilling and tingling, the pressure strangely intense. The scientist shook her arm, feeling the slime tugging a little at her skin while it was flung this way and that, remaining firmly lodged. Scrabbling with her left hand, fingers dug into the soft slime, achieving little but stretching the slime out between them, catching her left fingers as well.

Muttering a few choice curses, she sighed, glad at least the slime didn’t seem to be burning her skin. Sighing, she held up her right hand, flexing her fingers, watching as the slime drew out between them, sliding down her skin to settle on her palm. Something caught her eye, the glimmer of light through her palm, shining blue. Panic gripped her, rushing over to a lamp, flicking it on and holding her hand against it. Light shone through, bones and muscles cast in a grotesque silhouette, the realisation dawning that her flesh was being dissolved by the slime.

She stepped back, still staring at her hand, mind racing as she tried to make sense of things. Blood vessels in her hand twitched in time with her pounding heart, bulging and bursting as they dissolved into the slime, blood blossoming out before diffusing through her hand. Slowly, the scientist flexed her fingers, bones and muscles dislodging as they tried to work, splitting and drifting through the blue slime of her hand.

Her feet pounded against the laminate floor of the lab as she raced for the emergency shower, desperately hoping it wasn’t too late, hastily undressing with her left hand along the way, lab coat and shirt soon lying discarded on the lab floor. Reaching the shower, she yanked at the handle, closing her eyes as she braced herself for the rush of water that never came.

Yelling in frustration, she tugged, again and again, chain rattling in defiance, the shower refusing to open. Reaching up with both hands, slick with slime, she yanked on the chain. Time slowed to a crawl as she dropped, body plummeting to the ground, leaving her slime hands behind, still clutching at the chain.

She lay stunned on the ground, staring up in horror and despair at her hands, glancing at the bright blue stumps that remained of her arms. She closed her eyes, willing herself to wake from the nightmare, opening her eyes only to see what had once been her hands slowly sliding off the handle, falling onto her chest with a wet splat. Blue slime spread over her chest, merging with her skin, her rib cage slowly becoming visible through the slime she was becoming.

“Got… to get help…” she gasped, lungs labouring beneath weakening muscles. The goo converting her body tingled like electricity, the sensation going deeper and deeper into her body as she changed, picking up pace the more of her it converted. Slowly, carefully, the scientist stood, sheer determination driving her forward. Feeling weaker by the moment, she could feel her heart fluttering, wondering how much longer it was going to last.

Careful steps drew her closer to the door of the lab, the tingling through her limbs giving her an idea of just how far the slime had spread. Her trousers began to slip on her body, flesh starting to shift and slide across her body, pulled down by gravity as she liquified. She risked a look down, staring at a clear view of her skeleton and organs, muscles long since faded. The logical part of her mind took a moment to wonder just how she was still moving when so much of her was slime. The more emotional side of her was just terrified, looking away as her stomach and intestines began to uncoil, spilling through her liquid insides.

Puddles of blue began to form on the floor, gelatinous feet leaving traces of slime behind, little of her human form left behind. Though she couldn’t see it, her skull shone through her blue skin, a vision of terror if an intern were to walk through the door. Rivulets of slime ran through her hair, matting it together, dissolving it into a gooey approximation of her old ponytail.

“Need… help…” She gasped, gagging as her own fluid body started to gag her, panic reaching a peak as she clutched at her throat with hands that were no longer there. Dropping to her knees, she looked down through her translucent body, glittering slightly in under the light of the lab, what remained of her skeleton fading away. Her vision tilted upwards, powerless as her body collapsed, spreading out across the floor of the lab. Her head sinking into herself, her eyes rolled forward, the last part of the scientist to dissolve.

The last thing she was was her breasts flattening out, the puddle her body had become, blue overtaking her vision before fading into darkness. Terror faded, replaced with an odd sense of calm. Despite everything that had just happened to her, the fact she was just a puddle of slime spilt across the floor…

The scientist was still alive.

Hope flared in her mind. She had no idea what the slime had done to her, or how a dissolved brain could possibly still be thinking, but she was alive. More than that, she could feel the cool floor beneath her, the occasional bit of debris, the warmth of the lights above her. She took a moment to piece together what had happened, before the slime had stuck to her hand, the way it had escaped from the jar. Was it alive? Could it move?

She tried to will herself to move, putting thoughts of moving her arms and legs out of her mind, trying to move her own body. For a while, nothing seemed to happen, the puddle of slime still and undisturbed on the floor. Mentally slamming her head in frustration, the puddle rippled. Joy swelled in the scientist’s mind: she had moved! Slowly, arduously, she tried again. And again. Slowly beginning to draw her body together, the puddle flowing towards itself centre, forming a rough blob.

Okay. She could move her body. And if she could feel through her slime ‘skin’, pressure and warmth, what else could she sense? Concentrating, she could feel the ticking of a distant clock, the vibrations of water rushing through pipes under the floor. A little more thought, and they were sounds again, heard through her skin. With one more sense restored, the scientist focussed on the light she knew must be visible above. Hazy vision slowly returned, though everything looked warped and wrong, shifting about. Equal parts elated and frustrated, she returned her efforts on shaping her body, willing parts of her to stretch out into rudimentary limbs, flexing her changed body, trying to stand her crudely shaped form upright. With each movement, her vision warped and shifted, soon realising she was looking out across her entire skin.

Gradually, they learnt to control their body, moving and sculpting it with greater ease. Her greatest achievement was pulling together slime to form new eyes, coalescing it together, focusing her new vision. Able to look down at herself, she managed to sculpt her body with greater skill, shaping it back into an approximation of her old body. An idea dawned, if she was slime, it didn’t have to be exactly her older body, did it? She pulled her waist in, letting her breasts swell out just a little.

Before too long, she was moving her body just as she had her old body, albeit with a bit more flexibility. She stepped across the lab, stepping over those fallen puddles of slime, pulling herself back together. “That’s better…” She muttered, the slime in her mouth vibrating to form the sounds, reaching down to pick her lab coat back up, draping it over her slimy body. She braced herself, half expecting it to push through her body, feeling her skin seeping into it a little, staining it blue.

“Ah… guess I’d get back to work.” She chuckled to herself, grinning with gelatinous teeth, walking over to pick up the recorder.

“Sample appears… contagious,” the scientist paused, “further experimentation is required.”