Trying hard not to sigh too loudly but unable to hide it from his friends, Blake turned to look beyond the zoo, mind a thousand miles away. He couldn’t see anything past the trees and the exhibits, of course. And in truth, there was little out there for him to look forward to. But there was just as little for him in here, either, Blake not having much interest in animals. In truth, if his friends hadn’t won free tickets, he would have never come. In the end, he figured he had little better to kill the afternoon, and had reluctantly tagged along. But with the sheer size of the place, he figured he was in for another few hours walking around the zoo, hot and sore and bored out of his mind. Add in the pungent smells of animals and their lack of activity at this time of day, and Blake was in for hell on Earth until it was finally time to leave.

Worse, perhaps were the topics of conversation that came up between his friends. Each in their final semesters, they took turns discussing plans for their summers after graduation, celebrations, job opportunities and hopes for the future. Not that they even noticed Blake wasn’t paying attention or joining in. In truth, Blake was likely to flunk out before the current semester was over, not making it to graduation even under academic probation. He didn’t have the funds for extra months at school and would be forced back with his strict parents if not out on the streets. Such was perhaps a worse fate than death, years trapped without any way to move forward in life. It was impossible not to fall into despair, thinking almost anything was better than his current situation. 

Looking up, Blake was a little surprised to see they were in front of a pen for a white rhino, yet there was no animal in sight. It was disappointing, though not entirely surprising that the zoo was not able to find such an endangered species to display. There was a note saying their previous rhino had recently passed and they had not yet repurposed the pen for another species. In truth, Blake figured it didn’t matter, as much as nothing else did in his life right now. One more small slight in a long line of disappointments that left him wondering what the point of it all was. Not that he wanted to die or anything, and he couldn’t imagine considering such an act to end himself. But without the funds for medication, therapy, or any social services, Blake wasn’t sure what he could do to improve his situation. And, if he was being honest with himself, any dreams or aspirations were so far out of his reach that he’d forgotten what they were long ago. 

Stepping away from his friends for a moment, Blake’s eyes settled on something akin to a wishing well, a strange sight in the middle of a zoo’s square. Not something he would normally concern himself with, Blake found himself drawn toward it, as though it was the only thing in the world that mattered. It was silly, he knew, but the fact that all he could find in his pocket was a single penny felt like more than a coincidence. And without further thought, he tossed it in, muttering ‘I wish I didn’t have to deal with life anymore,” as the sound of the coin splashed gently against the water. “I have everything so backward. I can’t get things straightened out on my own.”

Heading back to talk to his friends, Blake was overcome with a sudden headache, as though an oncoming migraine assailing him. Followed by a tension in his stomach, Blake found himself wondering if the hotdog he’d eaten earlier wasn’t sitting well. Against his control, Blake let out a loud, embarrassing belch, one that tasted more like grass and sod than anything he had eaten. He was revolted, though thankfully no one seemed to notice. Still, he quickly moved away toward the concession stands, hoping to get a drink to wash the repulsive taste from his mouth. It was rank, though worse perhaps was that his body still felt bloated and gassy, as though it was not done with him.

Soon, the headache grew beyond his ability to control, and his vision was overcome with a blinding light. Trying to step forward, he instead tripped, as though falling into a white sea of abyss. It felt like some time for him to return to awareness, and Blake discovered he was on his hands and knees as he looked around. With some embarrassment, he worried he had fallen in front of everyone. Yet, no one was rushing to help him or even made any comment about his fall. In fact, as his vision started to clear and he took stock of his surroundings, Blake realized he was no longer in the middle of the square. As he looked around, the sight of a distant fence reminded him of what he’d seen from the other side of the rhino pen. Only this time, he was on the opposite side of the fence, looking out at the zoo like an animal in a pen. Instead of the other visitors, including his friends, there was only a white void beyond, as though he was trapped in some alternate reality, one where he was isolated from the rest of the world. 

Trying to stand, Blake was suddenly overcome with an ache in his hands, gaze drawn down in a panic. His fingers seemed to be pulling inward against his will, with no amount of twitching able to move them. They were expanding as well, becoming short and squat beyond what a human should ever be able to possess. It wasn’t painful, though it was powerfully discomforting to feel his fingers being reduced almost all the way to the palms. Three of the digits tingled intently as their nails began to swell, surrounding the tips and leaving them numb against the ground. Little remained of his pinkies or thumbs, and Blake felt a shiver at the notion he might lose them altogether. 

Soon, a series of soft cracks and pops played through his palms, pushing them upward and taking his thumbs with them. His ability to move them was quickly eliminated, alarming him especially since so little of his fingers remained. With a heavy snap, his palms compressed against the end of the fingers, leaving only three stubs. While he couldn’t get up with the way his former hands were oriented, it seemed only the tips were left to balance on. Such was slowly made easier, however, with how thick the digits were growing, so much so that even the nubs were subsumed by the steadily fattening skin. They continued to expand rapidly, almost heavy at the end of his wrists as their nails fully encompassed the tips. What the hell was happening to them?

As scared as he was for his hands, there was something else that Blake couldn’t quite identify as the nails became subsumed by several layers of spongy skin. While he figured the nails should have been on the front of his former hands, it seemed bizarre they had turned around in the opposite direction. But as a sickly gray shade started playing past the knarled nails, he had a hard time thinking about anything else. He was in the throes of a horrifying transformation with no way to stop it or save himself!

“Help! Someone help me!” Blake called out, but he was still unable to see beyond the void. It was very clear that no one was coming for him, and even efforts to move made little progress. He was still bloated, gassy, and thickening all over, and the more he grew, the harder it was for him to operate his body. The fact his clothing seemed to tighten around him left him terrified, Blake unable to stop the process, and unsure of what was happening to him at all. 

Another disgusting burp escaped his lips, that same grassy taste accompanied by something sour and disgusting that made him wish to vomit. He felt almost violently ill, as though his organs were writhing within his chest. Heart racing, he was sweating all over, and a rank stench soaked through his clothes. With the persistent aches from within, Blake was sure his organs were twisting, stomach expanding as his intestines contorted around each other. Yet, he was still alive, as much as he was able to perceive. Everything was far too visceral to be a dream, despite the fact nothing seemed to exist outside the pen. 

Worse, the changes were relentless over his form as more ashen skin spread from his arms through his chest and torso. His skin twitched fiercely as hair fell out all over and was replaced by animalistic hide. It was thick, rippling in partitions more reminiscent of armor. Shoulders and hips formed distinctive rings, and indents where his ribs should be gradually made themselves known. Something seemed off about the patterns he could see, as hard as it was to twist his neck back. Their orientation didn’t make much sense, though nothing about the process was rational. The more he grew, the tighter his clothing became, shirt pulling up over a barreling belly and pants forced tightly across his waist. Desperate to pull them off, Blake could only think to bellow his frustrations. Yet, successive attempts elicited no sounds, as though his vocal cords had been robbed from him. His face went white as a sheet, horrified at the repercussions. Not only was his humanity being robbed from him, but his autonomy as well, without the ability to even call for help or latent his fate!

The pressure of growth quickly rose within his shoes, Blake having no way to pull them off as his toes started to compress in the same way as his hands. Only three remained as his feet cracked, forcing them awkwardly through the back of the shoes. That same thickened keratin swelled over those remaining, though Blake was quick to find he could no longer move any of them. Spongy tissue swelled between them, much like it had with his hands, leaving the former nubs encased as they cracked backward rather painfully. Their girth was enough to burst through the stitchings as his heels settled into a joint akin to his wrists where former ankles sat. As gray skin covered his bulking limbs, Blake was forced to teeter there, unable to work his body or slow the eldritch horrors encroaching over him. 

While it took a painfully long time for him to realize what was happening, the moment the possibility occurred to him, there was no denying the truth. He was turning into an animal, a rhino, the one missing from the cage where he had been transported. What force on heaven or earth could allow such to happen, he had no idea. But there was no denying the truth, and all Blake could do was panic, as much as his voice had been robbed from him. There was no denying the irony of the situation, how he’d wanted a new life, anything than the failure he was to go back to. But at the moment, he wanted nothing more than to cling to that life, if only to avoid being trapped as a large smelly animal!

Pressure from within his skull soon moved to his forehead, and Blake wished to call out his agony. It was as though his spinal column was literally pushing through his brain and threatening to tear his head apart. As a bony nub forced its way through the skin, Blake’s eyes refocused to see the growth hanging there, thinking it had to be the start of his horn. Yet, as it fell over in front of his eyes and teased the tip of his nose, Blake was left perplexed. He was transforming, to be sure, and the skin and limbs made him certain he was looking more like a rhino. Then what the hell was wrong with his forehead? The growth was far too long, thin, and ropey looking. As a tassel of hair sprouted from the tip and teased his lips, Blake was thankful he was at least able to try and spit it out. Clearly not a horn or anything else he could identify, Blake felt his blood run cold. The pain was almost more than he could bear, and he was thankful when the thing stopped growing, despite what it meant for him to possess it. 

Still, Blake had little time to reflect on it as his shoulders started to painfully crack, crunching inward and forcing his neck to stiffen. It should have been excruciating, yet the pressure was largely numbed as though the nerve connections had been severed. Fat and muscle started to rapidly swell underneath, ballooning the skin so wide he could see it in his periphery. As best he could tell, his scapulas were being forced outward and upward in equal measure. His body was almost too heavy for his spine before it pushed against the ashen skin, indenting it a little as the muscle and skin stretched to keep up. Strangest of all was feeling his sternum pop out, the bones expanding between each shoulder blade through which his spine seemed to lower toward the ground. His head was left at a painfully awkward angle, and much to his chagrin, his neck bones seemed to snap and reduce into the singular growth above his forward. As much as the changes terrified him, worse was the fact he could no longer view them, helpless as his body bloated into something largely inhuman. 

Just as his front end settled into position, his pelvis began to alter in a similar fashion, the girdle popping apart as his hips seemed to straighten. It should have been obvious the same change was happening only in reverse, though his discomfort was such that it removed all rational thought. The remnant bones of his pelvic girdle soon shifted with muscle and tendons, forced backward in the same position as his sternum once was. As his ribs expanded and his organs contorted with it, a horrifying realization began to dawn on him, thinking perhaps there were worse things than simply turning into an animal…

The discomfort in his belly grew with each passing moment, coming with frequent gas and belches. The grassy taste was getting worse and worse, almost rancid and earthy and smelling terrible. He wanted to gag, though it was harder to manage even that, as though his throat was further away and no longer responded to his prompts. Even his stomach felt distant, his intestines being twisted in ways that he couldn’t comprehend And as he struggled to speak, there was an overwhelming feeling that his esophagus was shifting, the lining coarser, and much to his chagrin, more acidic. 

Perhaps the strangest change thus far, in tandem with the tail-like protrusion, was the force of something swelling from the skin of his chin. It felt heavy, hanging out of his field of view as it continued to grow and weigh his head down. Worse, perhaps, was the splitting of skin underneath, as though forming a slit of sorts with an even heavier growth swelling within. The stench of the thing burned into his nose, overriding the acidic grassy burps he kept eliciting against his will. Even though the tail sticking out of his forehead was an indication of what was happening to him, no amount of contemplation could account for this horrific scenario. 

Yet, there was little time remaining for confusion as a massive pain emanated from his asshole, as though his tailbone was shoving its way through his rectum. It continued to force its way outward, pulling skin, muscle, and even bone in its wake. His entire backside was being ripped outward, his penis, anus, and testicles all swelling as something continued to expand from underneath. It made him want to clench his backside, though the ability had largely been taken from his control. Still, the force of the growth went beyond anything he was prepared for and left him bemoaning his fate. As much as he wanted to turn around and view what was happening to his backside, there was little he could do but try and perceive the sensations, failing to put words to a circumstance no human should have had to endure. 

To his horror, the truth was stranger than anything he could have imagined. Eyes finally settled on a nearby puddle of water, the reflection of his body left him traumatized down to the very core. His body was indeed very large and much like a rhinoceros, as he had been expecting. Yet, the reality of his situation was much, much worse! His perception of arms and legs being backward seemed accurate, as well as the swapping between the front and back of his torso that gave credence to his reversed anatomy. Yet, it was the sight of the growth sticking from his ass that truly left him to shudder. He might have questioned what was happening to him had he not seen the distinct horn forming from the apex of the new growth like the one he assumed would have expanded over his nose. As it took its place over the tip of his new protrusion, Blake could only shudder as the implication of what it was hit him in full force. 

The shifting within his anus seemed to elicit the most bizarre sensations. It seemed to open further from within as what felt like new teeth were being forced from the rectal tissue. Thankfully, he could not detect the beast’s developing tongue, not wanting to imagine what the developing taste buds would experience, the thought making him physically ill. It mattered little as his muzzle continued to grow, pushing outward with heavy cracks of bone and muscle. It was obvious his tailbone had become the basis of his spinal column, building from it an entirely secondary skull that allowed a rhino’s muzzle to take from. The sloped brow, the protruded muzzle, and the small cranium for the rhino brain likely developing within were all unimaginably frightening to behold. As much as the rhino’s head was still part of his body, Blake couldn’t ignore the sense that a separate being was growing from his backside, one with its own drives and desires. 

Such was confirmed as the beast’s new neck began to move, sending alarming shivers through Blake’s being. Its widening jaws were able to open just slightly, more teeth pushing from former intestinal walls as they converted to gums. By now, the face had pushed out so far that another horn was primed to grow from behind the second, weighing heavily on his backside. Two holes opened at the tip below a quivering lip, and on either side of his skull as the cartilage and tissues of new ears rose up and twitched of their own volition. A sudden shiver ran through him as two more holes opened from either side, this time possessing fully formed eyes. They blinked into existence, triggering something within the beast’s mind, as though booting it up with the perception of its new world. Perhaps worst of all, Blake’s flaccid cock and minute balls were subsumed into the creature’s chin as it continued to push outward. The implication hit him full force, Blake finally finding a name for the growths that had developed from his own chin. The skin was swelling to become a rhino’s testicles, and the growth down his neck was the basis of a sheath for the beast’s new dick!

No matter how revolted he was over his inevitable fate, it was obvious things were soon to get worse. Even the little control Blake possessed over his body was absent as he tried to move his mouth, only able to drool slightly. Even that ability was lost as the tissue within his mouth altered, unable to salivate anymore. Worse, his teeth became separated from his lips by a fleshy ring that Blake felt alarmingly was a sphincter. He could perceive his teeth and tongue within were dissolving as gradually as the new teeth and tongue had developed from the rhino’s new mouth. What remained of his lips was becoming thick and puckered, the skin drawing in on itself in a semi-closed state. The reality of his situation could not be denied. If his ass had fully formed into a rhino’s head, and the rest of his body was rendered functionally backward, then that meant his former mouth was to become the beast’s new rectum!

A flood of panic surged through him as Blake did everything in his power to try and move, to escape this horrific fate. He had wanted a new life but nothing could have prepared him for this! He was almost changed, with so little of himself left remaining already. All he was had become destined to match the creature’s rear end, which now only possessed his eyes, nose, and ass hole of a mouth. Even the beast’s junk was developing from under his chin, the most embarrassing thing he could fathom! Yet, there was little ability for him to fight back as the rhino he was becoming took over. With surprising ease, the beast snorted, sniffing the grassy offering around him. The idea that his body was no longer under his control was terrifying, especially as the rhino’s brain seemed developed enough to move forward. Much to his terror, Blake could not sense anything of the creature’s thoughts, perceiving it to be a separate entity from himself. And that was perhaps the most frightening thing in its own right, given what was to happen to his former head. If the rhino had been born from nothing, then was he destined to die as his head became part of the beast’s behind? A shudder through his forehead made him wish to scream as the rhino’s tail started to move of its own accord. It was beyond bizarre, worse perhaps as it brushed over the remnants of his face. So little of his body was his, Blake’s very being erased for that of a stupid animal!

Even without control over his body, Blake was still able to detect the rhino moving forward, and the sensation of his mouth opening as he began to graze. While Blake could still see, his view from the rhino’s backside made him lament that fate. The gassy sensation continued to gurgle from the rhino’s new intestines, and Blake felt himself flush with fear of the beast being flatulent through his former mouth. It was beyond shameful, though he was met with the realization he could not taste any longer and was somewhat thankful. He could still smell to some degree, and a modicum of that grassy scent hit his nose, followed by something more rancid. Thankfully, his sense of smell was soon removed, the idea of being able to smell or taste after the rhino’s bowel movements more than he could bear. Yet, the contrast was maddening knowing that he was losing all his senses, of little consolation if nothing remained of himself!

The weight on his stretching chin was almost more than he could bear, but Blake had no way to move it to alleviate the discomfort. It was powerfully alarming to feel the mammoth testicles forming below him. The sensation of fluid swelling within them left Blake disgusted to realize what he now possessed. Further swelling caused them to be subsumed by a pouch of skin, and Blake was only now aware that rhinos carried them internally. It was little reprieve, the remnants of his lower jaw and neck a new home for the rhino’s mammoth maleness. Worse was the gurgling within his former neck as it swelled to allow his bladder, seminal vesicles, and the rest of the rhino’s plumbing to develop, a bastardization of his former humanity. Most embarrassing of all, the former skin of his neck and part of his upper chest had created a pouch of flesh to allow what had to be the beast’s penis to sit when not in use. With his own subsumed into the animal’s face, Blake was left to feel a flush of shame, thinking he was privy to an animal’s private parts and disgusted by the notion. 

Much to Blake’s chagrin, it seemed the animal was eager to experience its own masculinity for the first time. Disgusted, Blake could feel its entire undulating length swaying underneath them as blood flowed into the erectile tissues. Its strange head began leaking fluids as soon as the connections were made, and Blake feared he might have to experience the animal taking a piss. Yet, the beast was simply erect, with no obvious outlet other than an innate need for self-pleasure. Such was painfully embarrassing, the animal pleasuring itself with a series of grunts as he slapped it against their belly. Worse, and shamefully so, Blake was unable to experience its pleasure for himself, truly reminding him there was so little of his being left. 

Lost in the disturbing sensation of experiencing the rhino’s masturbation, Blake hadn’t noticed a gradual clouding in his thoughts until he tried to focus on his former mouth. As his opening continued to pucker and grow coarse, Blake found he could barely muster the energy to care. He couldn’t move it any longer, unable to even shiver as the rhino’s tail bushed over its sensitive contours. He had no mouth, yet longed to scream his lament at this terrifying fate. All that remained of his humanity was literally a creature’s ass hole, and even that fleeting part of his human consciousness, his brain, was evidently no longer required. 

A slowly dimming view of the world cemented his eventual fate, and Blake felt a paralyzing fear running through him. It terrified him to think that he was dying, in a sense, and the fact such a reality had escaped his notice for the last few moments was a sign it was getting harder to think. Surely, his brain had been shrinking all the while, and Blake wanted to panic, to fight to maintain his humanity and his sense of self within the beast. But how could he if his brain was being eroded away, and the animal had already developed a consciousness of its own? What room would there be left for him in this body? There was nothing of the human in its form, as though Blake’s humanity was dying, and with it everything that he had been without any struggle. 

Yet, there was a small candle of comfort in that as his brain continued to shrink and his ability for complex thought became muddied. He would never go back to college again, his body belonging to the zoo. Or work again, pay bills, or experience the monotony of wasting his life and potential for the betterment of a CEO’s bottom line. There was a real solace in that, without having to end his life or harm himself. Instead, his body was being allowed to be repurposed into something more useful to the world. An endangered species, one that could teach the world of its errors and be a force for betterment. And Blake could simply sit back and let the beast control his former body, lazily with no further concerns. 

A sharp spike of fear forced what remained of his mind to panic, thinking he was giving into oblivion without a modicum of resistance. He was sure there was nothing he could do at this point, having been damned the moment he had made the ill-fated wish. He didn’t deserve to die, damnit! Was his life so worthless he could only view it as worse than the life of a fucking animal? By now, the only remnant of his face was nothing more than an outlet for the beast to shit! It was revolting, and no amount of resignation could allow him to find comfort in that reality. And yet, no matter how he struggled to cling to that rage, the quieting in his mind left little room for such anger, such indignation. In its place, it seemed there was only space in his fading psyche for peace and resignation. 

With the world steadily fading around him, the fleeting fringes of Blake’s mind once more found some purpose in giving in to his inevitable fate. It was easier to reflect on all that this body would give back to the world in place of his human life. That provided him with a strange comfort, his fading mind leaving his will fatigued and unable to draw on any memories of his life that were worthy of his last. What did it say about him that his final thoughts were that he was better off dead, his body reduced to become a mindless beast? At least it was one needed in the world at large, perhaps. And one whose backside was his final perspective as his eyes dimmed forever and his mind closed off, one life lost to birth another, a wish granted more directly than it could have ever been intended…

******

It had been over an hour since the four college students had seen Blake, having texted him, scoured the grounds, and even put in a request for the staff to call him. Yet, as best they could tell, he had disappeared from the face of the Earth. And the more they searched, the harder it became for them to recall they were even looking for him in the first place. By the time they returned to the square, they had all but forgotten what they had been doing, as though someone had been with them but unable to recall their face. Stranger still, all their text conversations, contact info, and even pictures with Blake were erased, and the four men looked at each other with confusion before leaving, unable to remember what they had been doing the last hour. 

Yet, it did not escape their notice that the rhino pen now had a very obvious occupant, one that had been somehow hidden when they’d walked by before. The great beast was eating happily, flicking his tail with his cock somewhat out of his sheath, to chuckles from the men. A sign boasted how happy the zoo was to get such a rare specimen, something they were forever grateful to have among their number. And after a contest to name their newest resident, the winner had been ‘Goliath’, something the beast seemed happy with, regardless of who he might have been before…