Lukas backed away from the sink, falling slightly against the door to the bathroom. The goo rolled up to the edge of the sink and its eyes peered over the edge towards him with a look of innocent curiosity. Lukas couldn’t speak. His heart was beating fast. His mind raced. The goo oozed over the side of the sink and started to fall to the floor. It stretched out at first and dripped down to the floor and recomposed itself on the tiles. The whole time it was staring at Lukas. Slowly, it started to move towards him. It got closer and looked up at him like a child look at its parent.

Even though he knew it made no sense, and there was a large part of him that thought this was all part of a delirious dream, Lukas’s heart warmed quickly to the gooey creature that had spawned in the sink. He couldn’t quite understand it himself, but he wanted to look after it and keep it safe from the outside world. After the initial shock started to subside, Lukas bent down to pick up the creature, almost instinctively. It was sticky and cold to touch and was almost weightless as he raised it up to his face. The thing moved and wriggled around in his hands, seeping slightly through the gaps between his fingers.

Over the next few days he kept his new friend in his bedroom, letting it explore the space around his bed. He called it Gloopy. At first, he brought food and drink into the room, to try and feed it like it was a pet, but it didn’t take any notice. It didn’t take long for Lukas to notice that Gloopy was collecting the pieces of dust and hair that was scattered around the room, hidden in the corners of shelves, and under his desk, and was consuming them. It didn’t care for food, but it seemed to love everything else. His room had never been cleaner. He would let it roam about the room as he sat at the desk for work. It would slide over his feet as he sat at the desk, and every time it did Lukas felt a cold sting through his socks. As he ate his dinner, laying on his bed with his laptop playing some videos on an endless cycle, Gloopy would move over his bed, exploring everything. It moved almost constantly, with a never-ending curiosity as it did.

There was no question that no one else could ever know about Gloopy. Lukas didn’t understand its existence, but he knew it would scare others. Tony would never find out. Lukas knew that someone else would try to take Gloopy away from him, that they would think he was a freak for wanting to look after it. They could never know.

It didn’t take long for Lukas to become obsessed with his new friend. It absorbed all of his free time. Watching Gloopy explore the room, letting it run over his bare feet, or studying it as it started to climb up the bookshelf in the corner. He could do nothing but. His productivity started to suffer quickly at work and his manager asked him to come into the office to discuss it further, thinking that it was something to do with Lukas’s mental health. Lukas didn’t even realised he was being summoned at first, he was too busy watching Gloopy as it moved across the books that were piled up behind the laptop. It was only when the calendar invite arrived in his inbox that he realised what was happening. For a few minutes the idea worried him. How would he get there, what would he wear? Should he shave for the first time in six months, or just go as he is? Most importantly, how would he get Gloopy there and would Gloopy be okay while he had his meeting. He read through the email and realised that he would have to visit the office once a fortnight going forward for a meeting with his team and some supervision. He thought about putting Gloopy in a jar, so he couldn’t escape, but the thought of it being stuck distressed Lukas. Maybe in a little box, with an open top that he could leave in a locker, or maybe it would just be good in the bag for a little while and then Lukas could carry him around with him for a while.

All his thinking stopped almost immediately as Gloopy fell from one of the books into the half-eaten bowl of cereal on the side, splashing mushy chunks and milk in every direction. It rolled about in the bowl, with a look of confusion and interest at the soggy mush it was stuck in, pushing it up the sides of the bowl as it did and letting it fly. Lukas couldn’t help but laugh as he watched his new friend play around as if it was in a pool. He was glad that Tony was out at work, happy to know that he was completely alone and no one would find out about Gloopy.

Tony couldn’t believe that Lukas was leaving the house when he told him. It had been at least two months since Lukas had stepped out into the real world, leaving behind the safety of his monitors. And yet, he had to leave. Knowing it was only going to happen twice a month, and not wanting to ride on the disease filled bus, he took a taxi, holding onto the bag that contained Gloopy for dear life as he did. In the end, he’d chosen for his friend to go inside his waterproof bag. It was the only thing in there, sliding about with every twist and turn the taxi took as it headed towards the office.

Thanks for reading! Part three will be available tomorrow!