The End of Adulthood for Earth Jake ran home as fast as he could. The only thing on his mind was getting to his brothers before the sickness did. Jake was a nurse. He had been pulling a double-shift at the hospital since over half of the employees had mysteriously not showed up. It was normal up until that morning when hundreds of male patients were admitted with massive physical ailments. Most had been dramatically reduced in height, and began to have memory and cognitive problems. By the time anyone realized what was happening, there were over 2,000 former men destroying the hospital. And the virus had spread. Jake was one of 7 people total who escaped the hospital before the building had burst into flames. The only other male who escaped had stopped back a few streets earlier, laughing hysterically and removing garments rapidly. Jake prayed that neither he nor his brothers had contracted the virus yet. He had a plan. He was going to escape to Yukon Territory before they were infected. Before the world fell. Jake slowed to a quick walk as he turned onto his street. On his right, he saw his neighbor's children, 3 boys, formerly 10, 13, and 18. Now there were 2 toddlers sitting in the grass drinking from bottles wearing nothing but baby diapers. The eldest was standing on the porch, looking around nervously. He had regressed 14 years physically, but somewhere he still had some realization of what he was before he was infected. He was wearing a very tight white T-shirt, obviously left over from his baby days. It was completely skin-tight and revealed his overhanging child tummy. He was holding up a large pair of jeans, obviously nervous about letting them down. Then suddenly he stopped, and his expression turned from nervousness to complete joy and excitement. He threw the jeans off and stood on the steps proudly revealing his large pure white pull-ups diaper. It was perfectly fitting on him. And his regrown baby fat fit perfectly around the outfit to make him the large toddler that he now was. He ran down the stairs and flew around the yard with joy. Then he saw Jake. Jake started running again for home as the once teenager attempted to share his liberation with Jake. When Jake looked back, he saw that the toddler was gaining on him. He whizzed around and pulled his gun from his back pocket, took aim, and shot the 4 year old in the middle of the forehead. He fell backward, blood rushing from his wound, still smiling as he used his diaper for the first time since his infant days. Then he passed on. Jake wasted no time. He continued rushing home. A few houses later he saw his neighbor Mrs. Fillips chasing around two short boys. One was wearing only a baby diaper, the other was wearing a pair of goodnights. They were hand in hand, outrunning the poor Mrs. Fillips. Her husband and her son both had fallen subject to the virus. She tried desperately to reason with the infantile minds that had been revived in her beloved males. Instead, they regarded her as nothing but a mother and a source of food and services they wanted. Like when her former husband stopped and said "Mommy! I want a BABY DIAPER! AND A BOTTLE! I don't wanna be a big boy anymore! I wanna be like my big brother!" He motioned to his former son, sucking on his pacifier. Jake panicked and ran the rest of the way home. He walked up the front steps, watching as a 7 year old boy wearing goodnights with a pacifier in his mouth driving a SUV drove straight into his neighbor�s house. He saw a tall young man in a police outfit jump out of a window, drinking from a bottle until he hit the ground in death. Jake threw the door open and locked it the minute it was shut. He closed all of the windows and lowered the blinds. Once he was sure that the downstairs was clear, he went upstairs and slowly opened the bedroom door of his youngest brother. He went inside, as his brother could not be seen. He was 7 years old. And up until this morning, Jake had no reason to believe that anything was wrong with him at all. Jake went and sat down on the bed, looking around for any sign of his younger brother. Just then the closet door burst open, and Freddy came running out, blabbing in a babyish dialect. Jake quickly pulled out his gun, willing to sacrifice his brother to save himself. Then Freddy burst out laughing. "Haha! Got Ya, Jake!" He continued laughing and eventually was rolling around on the floor because he was laughing so hard. Jake eventually started laughing too. Freddy eventually collected himself, stood up, and explained himself. "Don't be mad, Jake, but to be perfectly honest, I have always wanted to go back to being little again, in almost every respect. Don't be mad, please. I was trying to get infected so I could be a real baby again. Then I realized that you probably wouldn't want that, but I still can't help what I feel." He announced that under his skin tight white T-shirt and blue overalls, he was wearing 3 thick cloth diapers held together by safety pins... just as Jake used to do them. And that he had used them. And loved it. "Since the rest of the world is going to be babyish again anyway, I don't care what you do. But you are responsible for yourself. I'm not changing you anymore." Freddy hugged Jake, and started packing. "How did you know I was gonna say we're leaving?" Jake questioned. "Common sense." Jake left the room, comforted. He went off to find his other brother, Dan. He was 18, just 3 years younger than Jake. That was no deterrent, however. They were about as close as brothers could be. And sadly enough, Jake preferred Dan to Freddy in most cases. He opened the door to the room they still shared. He saw 4 suitcases packed, two for each of them. He, too, had also thought of everything. However, he was nowhere to be seen. Jake decided that he must be up on the third floor. He started up the stairs when he heard a whining sound. He stopped. Had his brother been infected? He came to the top of the stairs. There was Danny, about 4 feet tall, and wearing the exact same outfit as Freddy. From the bulk around the middle, Jake gathered that Danny was wearing considerably used diapers. Danny saw Jake and started to cry. "Oh Jake... I'm so sorry. I was out filling up the gas tank before we left, and one of the Wilson boys came up to me. Remember James? He was 17. By then he was about 5. He climbed on the car and when I wasn't looking, he shoved a pacifier in my mouth! I spit it out immediately, but I was still infected. I finished filling the tank and was about to load the cases when I began to get these... odd ideas. I was started to think like some toddler! I was lying in the crib in the spare bedroom when I fell out and hit my head on the post. When I woke up, I was back to normal... almost. I still had the younger body and a somewhat younger mind, but I've stopped changing! At least for now. Except that I sometimes revert, but only for a few minutes. I'm so sorry, Jake. You don't have to take me with you... I'll stay here with my own kind." Just then there was a crash from downstairs. "They're coming! We have to go... NOW!" Jake said. The both ran downstairs, grabbed the cases and Freddy, and flew out to the car. As Jake was getting into the driver's seat, a group of about 4 overgrown toddlers wearing only cloth diapers ran up and tried to get in the door. Jake kicked them away, but not before one of them spit in his mouth. They ran off giggling and drinking from bottles they got off the ground. Jake thought nothing of the spitting incident, and sped out of the deserted street. As he passed through town, they saw the true horror of what was going on. Most of Main Street was in flames. Most cars were abandoned in the street, while the rest were smashed into buildings. There were men and women of all sizes (none over about 10 though) darting here and there, searching for anything related to toddlerhood. Dead bodies lay on the sidewalks, the sad remains of the resistance to the disease. As they neared the interstate, Jake looked down. He saw that the entire front of his jeans was covered in wet. He looked in the mirror. He was noticeably shorter. "Um... Freddy... did you bring any of those diapers with you?" he asked. Danny quickly responded for him. "No one did, but there's a Target over there." "But it's swarming with toddlers!" "They won't bother us, we're both like them. Freddy will have to stay here." Jake and Danny ran into the battered remains of the superstore. Everything was trashed. The power was barely functioning. And there were babies in diapers everywhere. There had to be millions. They sped to the baby section, where the highest concentrations of the infants were. They were still tall, so they grabbed as many things they needed as they could. Jake changed into a thick white goodnights diaper, used it, and began smiling widely. "JAKE! No, don't give in to that. It's powerful, but you can fight it." Jake changed, and they pushed the cart back towards the front. They grabbed food, flashlights, a tent, etc. on the way. They arrived at the clothing section. Jake's new consciousness began to emerge as he dressed in a tight yellow T-shirt intended for a 3-year-old and blue overalls with no legs, just snaps around the bottom. He was now level with Danny in height. He found it harder and harder to focus... he kept wanting to just sit down and suck his thumb. He didn't see why he was resisting this. After all, it was what humans did. What babies like him did. "I am a baby now, I think," he realized aloud. "No, Jake. I'm sorry about this..." Danny swung a baseball bat at Jake's head. He was out cold in the cart. Danny pushed him and the supplies out of the store back to the car. When he got there, he saw Freddy standing on top of the car, shrunk to the size of a 24-month- old, wearing only a white disposable diaper. His eyes were bright blue. He was no longer Freddy their brother. He was an enemy. Danny pulled the large handgun out of Jake's back pocket, and took aim. Just as Freddy was about to squat to use his diaper, Danny ended his life forever. He loaded up the supplies into the large SUV and strapped in the unconscious Jake and drove across the state to the Border. When Jake awoke, he was lying in a large bed wearing only thick cloth diapers. He had a pacifier in his mouth. He removed it, and redressed in his former attire. He left the strange room, walking down the quiet stairs and into what he gathered was the kitchen. Danny was sitting at the table, watching the news on TV. "Ah, good. I wasn't sure whether or not you were alright. We're in Yellowknife, northern district. I found the door open to this mansion, and I just walked right in. There wasn't much of anyone to stop me... just a few little toddlers protecting their hordes of diapers and so on. I overpowered them, to say the least. I've got some good news too! Look at me!" Danny stood up, revealing to Jake that he had increased in height and lost weight. "I'm reverting back to normal! You'll no doubt be doing the same pretty soon." Jake was relieved. He sat down and was asked Danny about Freddy. Danny just shook his head. "He didn't even get infected I think. He just... gave in. He was going to be a part of that madness... I just couldn't let that happen." "But what if this can be reversed later? How do we know that it was permanent? Look at us... We're getting better. Maybe he would've. Maybe the military or some scientist has already found a cure!" Jake said rapidly. "Jake! Have you been awake at all for the last 3 days? Look at what has been going on... you were there when it all started! Just look at the news!" There was only 1 functioning news station, which was apparently being manned by a handful of workers who had remained behind to help with the crisis. The cameras were videotaping New York City from a helicopter. There were millions of people, most either babies already or no more than 4 feet tall, running through the streets wearing nothing but diapers and a few T-shirts here and there. But the city was alive with noise. Glee and joy had overtaken all of the citizens. Another camera was taping Los Angeles. The entire city was in flames. One camera on the Sears Tower was showing plane after plane after plane crashing into downtown Chicago. Video from Ottawa showed that the suburbs and urban areas had been abandoned due to the absence of goods there, and had flocked to the green open areas of rural Canada. There was also an interview with the Prime Minister of Great Britain. "We understand the situation in America, but are sorry to inform the citizens of North America that we are not able to dispatch any relief or aid to the affected areas. Several planes have landed in London and Edinburgh containing infected civilians, and we have yet to completely rid the surrounding countryside of the infection. Once this threat is neutralized, NATO members will dispatch aid to the infected continents, and hopefully save any survivors." Then Russian President Vladimir Putin came on. "The Russian Federation has dispatched 3 million troops to Kamchatka, where they will begin a high-level invasion of Alaska." Jake and Dan were thrilled. "We might get home soon! Well, to whatever's left of it." The President continued. "We are prepared to work with NATO nations and any remaining local authorities to secure the continent. Our current estimates suggest that we will only be able to hold areas through Northwest Territories before we will require NATO assistance. To any survivors in America watching this, do not worry... The Russian Federation will not forget you." Then the news station went to what was supposed to be an interview with the President of the United States, but instead showed the Oval Office engulfed in flames and several toddlers smashing the decorations. Another camera showed a recent explosion in New Jersey. 3 nuclear reactors had melted down, leveling the surrounding towns due to the high intensity of the pressure under the reactor lid. One last shot of the Bering Strait showed thousands of Russian ships heading for the west coast of Alaska, and then the reporter's speech became garbled and the signal went blank. "Wow. This is bad." Jake said. "Uh, yeah. You bet it is. Earlier it said that Buenos Aires was having spontaneous toddlers appear in the streets. Mexico City is in ruins. The world's coming to an end here." They sat in silence for a while, looking outside. They could see the white clouds going overhead against the light blue sky. "One thing's for sure... we won't be contributing to global warming anymore." Dan joked. Jake laughed half- heartedly. He was thinking about their parents, toddlers in some hotel in San Francisco. He thought of his friend Erik at college in Massachusetts. Right now, Jake guessed, he was probably eating some clothes or something. Jake's daydreaming was interrupted by a loud explosion outside. They both got up to see what had caused it. There was a U.S. army tank firing shells at a gas station where there were probably 100 or more little toddlers fighting over some Little Swimmers the store had carried. Shell after shell hit the station, killing tens of toddlers with each shot. When the gas tanks exploded, the entire structure lit up, throwing the remaining toddlers into the air where most of them died. Dan and Jake rushed towards the tank, holding up their hands. "We're not infected! We're not infected!" The top hatch opened, and a very tall soldier got halfway out. "Where am I, guys?" "In Yellowknife, Yukon. In Canada. We just came from Alaska... everything there's all gone. Where were you coming from?" They asked him. "From Minnesota. I was in Duluth when all of a sudden thousands of people started going crazy. We got orders to treat them as an enemy force, but by that time most of the officers were really small and acting like babies. Someone brought in diapers and everyone went nuts. Me and three other guys escaped with tanks, and were looking for some command center or something. We split up... I ain't heard anything from the others since yesterday." He got out and they invited him into their new mansion. "Whoever lived here must have been really rich... they've got really nice stuff." Dan said, pointing to the 2 limousines in front and the 190" plasma in the living room. "You guys got any food here? I ain't eaten since... oh... three days ago I think." They took him to the kitchen, where he started getting food out of the fridge. As they were talking, a tall toddler crept through the open door and into the kitchen. By the time they saw him, he had bitten the soldier's leg. The soldier shot the toddler before dropping to the floor. He twitched a bit, then got up and started removing all of his clothes. He was giggling the entire time. Dan sat down with his head in his hands. "Not again!" he said. Jake took the guns and ammunition from the pile of clothes on the floor, while the former adult put on a diaper he found near the doorway. When he was finished he started screaming with delight. Jake shot him. He fell down, still laughing. "We can't stay here, Dan. You know that. We've got to go somewhere. Maybe the Russians will take us back with them! We've gotta leave, Dan!" Jake shouted. Dan got up, and they both went upstairs. The man of the house had rather nice work clothes, though both Jake and Dan doubted he'd ever used them. They dressed and got into the tank abandoned by the toddler. Jake figured out how to drive it as he headed for Alaska once again. That night, they stopped in Fairbanks. No sign of the Russian liberators yet. They drove past the government offices. Their father had worked there. The offices were smoking, now that the fires had gone out. Dead toddlers lay everywhere, dead from a non- apparent cause. They moved on, to an old high school. It was empty. Quiet as the Arctic. No signs of toddlers or any other life for that matter. They moved on further down the road. There was a elementary school ahead. It was almost as quiet as the others at first. As they got closer, they saw maybe 4 or 5 toddlers walking around aimlessly. They weren't laughing. They weren't smiling. They looked lost. Their diapers were obviously overly full, and they were dirty all over. Even their once pure-white diapers had dirt stains on them. One stopped, started to cry, and fell down, dead. Jake and Dan had no idea what was happening, and instead continued west despite the lack of light. When they got to Neanna, they were met by Russian tanks and missile regiments. After being held at gunpoint for 10 minutes, an English-speaking commander had them brought into his tent. He questioned them. "Where are you from?" "Fairbanks," Jake responded. "Were you infected?" the commander asked. The boys looked at each other briefly. "No." they both said in unison. "Good. Then let me be the first to congratulate you on surviving in the American Wastelands. That's quite a feat!" He chuckled. "Wastelands? What do you mean?" Dan asked anxiously. "Ah... well... there's no cure for the virus, you see. And Britain and Africa have already been overtaken. Even Ukrainian science teams in ANTARCTICA are babies now. We have secured most of the Middle East and continental Europe, But the blockade around China is wearing thin." "China? What happened in China?" Jake interrupted. "China started the outbreak! It was the Chinese who developed the virus to take out American nuclear competition. They wanted to be the sole superpower in the world, and would have succeeded. But somehow it leaked out and infected China and Southeast Asia and India. So we blockaded Russia and the rest of the remaining world. Two missiles were detected leaving China just before the U.S. deployed its army to China to help. One went to Seattle. The other went to Melbourne, Australia. Now most of the world is under 3 years old. The survivors, anyway." Dan and Jake stood in silence. They hadn't even considered that there might have been so many people still uninfected. They didn't know whether to feel scared or overjoyed. A Russian commander took them to a helicopter where they flew back over the Bering Strait to Vladivostok. They were brought into the office of one of the major military officials on the eastern front, they didn't know who specifically. He questioned them. "So how did you survive?" Was the one question neither wanted to answer. Jake finally spoke up. "We didn't, in fact... both of us and our younger brother were all infected. We were released from the disease after a variety of accidents that involved us hitting our heads and falling unconscious. When we woke up, we were not infected anymore. I don't know why. But I promise... we're not a hazard to anyone. And the toddlers don't bother us anymore." The general stood quiet for a long time, then sat down and looked into both of their eyes. "You must forget this. If the civilian population hears that two infected were welcomed into Russia, chaos would erupt. And right now the civilians are already on edge enough as it is. Is that understood?" They nodded. He sent them out of the office, where they were escorted onto the street. To Be Continued, if people want it to be : )