Cowtagious

"Oh fuck, fuck, fuck." Jude said. His eyes scanned the email again.

We regret to inform you that you recently came into contact with a person who has a confirmed case of the M0-05 virus. This case has been verified by the Department of Pathogens Control. Per regulation, you have been notified, and you will soon receive an at home testing kit. In the meantime, isolate yourself from all others, but particularly those between the ages of twenty and fifty-five as this age range is at highest risk of infection.

If you present symptoms prior to receiving your test result, you are legally obligated to notify the DPC. A list of early presenting symptoms is attached. You will be provided necessary items for your quarantine as well as subsequent care should the infection prove permanent.

"Shit," he cursed again. His first thoughts went to who he knew that had it. Carla at work called out sick the previous two days. She seemed the most likely, but that meant everyone at the office would have been exposed. Millions of cases already, thousands more per day, everyone kept telling him it was a matter of time before someone he knew got it. That didn't make it real though. The email from DPC sure as shit did.

Still. Even with exposure, risk of infection is low. Carla and I didn't even see much of each other this week. She skipped lunch, that was lucky. His mind raced through all the failed protocols at his job site. Spaces meant to be cleaned every hour maybe got a disinfectant twice a day. Shifts meant to hold ten people still held twenty. Even if they didn't eat lunch at the same time as Carla, everyone still used the same break room. Shit!

Jude knew the initial symptoms without having to read the email any further. Sweating, general increase in appetite, and ideation of sexual fantasies. A year earlier, when the virus's first cases showed up, it read like a gag. People getting super horny and developing an insatiable appetite for milk. Technically lactose, but in the end, it was always milk. So far as anyone knew, the virologists still hadn't worked out where the virus originated. They knew how it worked, but biochemistry rarely made for interesting headlines when the alternative was "Virus Turns People into Milk Obsessed Sex Freaks." And those were only the initial headlines. The virus spread and mutated. People mutated right along with it.

Jude looked around the small apartment suddenly aware of everything he'd touched that day. The virus spread through contact, but lingered on surfaces for up to six days. Someone grabs the door of a bank and five days later some unlucky sap grabs the virus right off that handle, dooming himself to one hell of a month, and possibly the rest of his life. For some damnable reason, the symptoms remained permanent for some people while subsiding for others. In the early days, permanent symptoms seemed like a dream come true. When it became clear it also meant you'd spend the rest of your life being looked after by the DPC, becoming a sex animal seemed less appealing.

"Ok, Jude," he told himself. "You have to start thinking your way through this. You definitely, definitely don't have it, but you gotta act like you do. Which means -- fuck, what are we going to do with Marie." The first thing he wanted to do is scream "I told you so" in her face, which would be a terrible idea as she would definitely catch it as well. When the lockdowns started, most people separated out by gender. A house full of guys with M0-05 was rowdy and gross, but at least it wasn't a porn shoot. Couples who caught it leaned into the idea, stocking up on condoms whether they wound up using them or not. The idea of spending a lockdown with his friend seemed like a terrible idea, especially if one of them got sick. Yet, here they were.

He grabbed his phone and pulled up her number. What do I say? Hey, Marie, wanted to give you a heads up that -- despite the fact that I think of you like a sister -- a virus might cook our brains to the point where we're rutting animals, so maybe crash at a hotel for a while. That is, if you haven't already been infected. He sighed and put the phone back down.

It was a mess. Marie never formally moved in with Jude's family, but her parents effectively abandoned her when she hit high school. Rather than see a good kid go rotten, Jude's parents took the wayward girl in. Made for an awkward few months, but Jude and Marie had been friends for years and living together came easier than they expected. They dated for a week, but it wasn't really dating so much as hanging out together with the slightest possibility of romantic entanglement. A possibility that evaporated when they kissed and realized they had zero interest in one another. They did seem to share luck, though. When Jude moved out, both he and Marie thought they'd parted ways. A year later, she needed a place to stay, and Jude needed someone to help with rent. It worked out until some microscopic creatures in South America started getting a little too creative.

He grabbed the phone, intending to call her and tell her to wait in her car, at least. He thought they could pool their money to get her a place at a hotel. Once she got a negative test, she could go stay with his parents again. That seemed reasonable, he thought, until she opened the door and stepped inside the apartment. He sat at the kitchen table, mouth agape, as she hung up her purse on a coat hook. "Shit."

"What's the matter?" she asked, pulling off her mask and gloves. She dropped the mask into a bin to be washed. The gloves went in a separate box to be tossed. She moved to the kitchen and washed her hands. All of it had become so routine over the past months, and now Jude realized how ridiculous it had all been in the end.

"I was about to call you and tell you to stay away from the apartment for a while. I got an email from the DPC, someone who came in contact with me tested positive."

"Fuck off," she said with a huff of laughter. "What is it really?" She dried off her hands and stood at the sink looking at him.

Instead of answering, Jude simply looked at her. He realized how little he actually looked at Marie. He didn't see anything new about her, perhaps a few lines around her eyes which he'd not seen before. Otherwise, she looked the same as she always did, short with mousy brown hair that she kept pulled back in a short pony tail. She wore t-shirts of bands she'd never even listened to and jeans which always had at least one hole in them. Most guys thought she was cute. Jude was indifferent, but if pressed, he would admit to complimenting her ass from time to time. This was the woman now at greater risk than him. For men, the changes could be rough. For women, they were life altering. "I'm not kidding, Marie."

Her grin slowly faded into a tight smile. "I swear if you are, Jude."

He shook his head.

"God dammit." She slapped her hand against the countertop. "Do you know how careful I've been? My hands are raw from washing them and wearing those damn gloves. Now you're telling me I might be trapped in a house with an infected?"

"Gee, thanks for the sympathy."

"We're fucked, Jude! Absolutely fucked." She closed her hands over her nose. "So, what you got an email? What does that mean?"

Jude showed her the message on his laptop. Marie read through it a few times. "I think it was Carla from work. She was out sick for two days. Before you ask, no I didn't have a lot of contact with her, but I was around her. I could have picked it up."

"When will you know?"

"If I get symptoms, I'll know then. Otherwise, I should get a test kit in the mail."

"Oh, fuck," she said. She walked back over to her purse and pulled out a small manila package. "They don't mark them, do they? Don't want people freaking out." She handed the package over to Jude. He opened it and held up the capsule. "Great. Just great. Now I can't go anywhere without breaking the isolation laws." She sighed. "Well, let's not make it worse. You go to your room. I'll clean everything out here. If you're not contagious yet, maybe we can keep it contained. They those room sealing kits."

"Marie, if we're both infected then..."

"I know," she said. "How about we focus on the optimistic side for a while, huh? Worry about what it can do to us when shit starts rolling downhill. Go do the test. I'll take it back to the outgoing. Who knows, three days from now maybe we'll be laughing about this."

***

Another email pinged in the lower right hand of the screen. Jude read the from line and knew what it would say. Porn filled the rest of his computer screens. It started with one video the day after he got the first email. Nothing unusual about wanting to watch some porn and jerk off, of course. Except when he finished, he kept watching. He watched until Marie knocked on his door to check on him. Naturally, he lied and told her he was listening to music and playing games. By the next day, he kept at least two videos playing on his second monitor. While they didn't exactly arouse him, he experienced a gnawing need to see naked bodies wriggling against one another. He could still pass the time with a game on the main monitor, taking breaks to rub his cock a little. By the morning he received the test results, he'd moved on to porn shot exclusively with M0-05 positive actors.

Ideation of sexual fantasy with a 101 degree fever. He opened the email and confirmed what he knew. We regret to inform you of a positive test. Your domicile will be locked with quarantine protocol. And blah, blah, blah. He had to tell Marie. He should have told her the second full day of watching porn, but if he could spare her another freak out for a little while longer, why not. They agreed to stay in their respective rooms until at least the test came back. With the quarantine protocol, they were stuck inside together for a full month. Seemed unlikely she wouldn't be exposed eventually.

He minimized the videos, spent a few seconds waiting for the erection to subside, put on his protective gear, and moved out into the living room. Marie was in the adjacent kitchen once again, wearing a mask and gloves and obsessively cleaning. He couldn't see her face, but he guessed it was one of unhappy shock to see him out of his room. "Did you get the results?"

Jude nodded. "Positive. Which means we've been locked down." He moved to the front door and opened it. On the other side was a metal box sealing off the entryway. The box had a small platform and door on the opposite side. A package marked with government stamps sat on the platform. Jude picked it up and brought it inside. Marie stood marveling at the sealed compartment. "They must have done it last night or early this morning," Jude said. "I didn't hear them."

"They're supposed to be discrete," Marie said, bitterly. "Wouldn't want some crazy lady trying to fight her way out." She tried the small door on the far side of the box, but it wouldn't budge. New construction after a pandemic decades earlier was built with containment in mind. Brave new world full of brave new diseases meant sealing people off from the general population was a necessary feature of city planning. Every apartment in the building could, with a few external modifications, become an isolated pod. With government supply packages, citizens could live in the pods for up to six months. The full duration rarely happened. M0-05 stopped being infectious after two months, at which point the poor souls could either return to the general population or be relocated to one of the care facilities. Marie shut the door. "What's in the box?"

Jude pulled out several jugs of milk. "Dairy products."

"Actually, fuck off back to your room," Marie said, sounding on the verge of tears. "I'll put the stuff away. You're not to leave your room, either. If we're going to get through this, we have to follow the rules. Have you had symptoms yet?"

He thought of the wild fucking happening on his computer screens, "A few, yeah. Running a fever."

"Shit, Jude," she pointed to his room door. "Go."

He meandered back to his room, but lingered in the doorway. "Hey, Marie, I'm sorry. Whatever happens, I think it sucks we wound up in this position. You and me, I mean."

"Nothing is going to happen, Jude." She enunciated each word to make a point, but it sounded more like she was speaking to herself than him. "You're sick, but you'll get better. Could be a mild case that clears up in a few days. Those are the most common, right?"

He understood her desperation for a comforting thought, but as he was simultaneously imagining her topless. He nodded and closed his door.

***

Secondary symptoms (male) begin four to five days after initial onset. These symptoms include: significant increase of libido, an enlargement of genital tissue including penis and testicles, a corresponding increase in seminal fluid production, intense cravings for lactose (milk and milk products), mental confusion, mental fixation on sexual activity, and restlessness.

"Marie!" he thudded his hand against the door. "Come on. I need more." Jude wore only basketball shorts and no underwear. His oozing cock stuck to the side of his leg. Cleaning it off after cumming was becoming too much of a nuisance. Every time he came, the thirst got worse. He woke up hard as a rock and came within a few minutes of stroking his dick to thoughts of an ex-girlfriend. For breakfast, Marie left him a gallon of milk and a whole box of cereal in a massive popcorn bowl. He'd eaten all of it, and still wanted more. He spent the hour after that watching porn with glassy eyes while casually stroking his dick. Things turned blurry. Thoughts were little more than fuzzy images of pussy, tits, and ass. He lost track of time between orgasms, but after his last gush of cum he got a reprieve of clear-headedness. A clear head didn't lessen the thirst.

"We're running low," she said through the door. "The next delivery is supposed to be here today, but if I give you the last gallon now you won't have any left."

He groaned and turned his back to the door, sliding down to a sitting position against it. He instinctively put his hands in his shorts, squeezing his cock. "I'm going insane already," he said. He pulled his cock out and looked at it. A steady stream of precum oozed from the tip. He moved his hand up the length, enjoying the feeling and watching a fresh glob of the fluid ooze out. His room was disgusting, and it had only been a few days. He took showers as often as possible and even got Marie to wash his sheets, but the smell of sweat and cum pervaded everything. Jude wondered if Marie could smell it through the door. He felt the wood shift slightly as Marie leaned her back against the other side.

"How's it going in there? You seemed pretty out of it this morning?" Marie asked.

"You heard me?"

She didn't answer right away. "I heard you grunting. You forgot to turn your headphones on, too. The porn was pretty loud."

"Ugh, sorry," he grunted. "I can't think straight most of the time. I think I jerked off and did sit-ups for an hour while watching anal porn. Uh, sorry. I don't mean to be so...what's the word...gah!"

"Descriptive? It's ok. I've been reading about what happens to your brain. Gnarly stuff. How many times have you cum today?"

Dimly, Jude realized something seemed wrong with their conversation. Since he got the test results back, Marie hadn't said more than she needed to keep him alive, let alone sat down for an actual conversation. "At least four, I think. It's a wonder my dick isn't chaffed. All I do is jerk it."

"Are you touching it now?" she asked, her voice slightly lower.

"Yeah. It's all covered with my precum stuff, so it's a little wet."

"Is it bigger? They said on the internet that guys get bigger down there."

He looked at his dick again. "Yeah, it's about two inches longer, I think. My balls are bigger, too. I can feel them more than I used to. Like, they feel all heavy and stuff. Probably full of cum." He liked talking about it. Particularly with a girl, but something didn't make sense. "You shouldn't be asking about stuff like that Marie. Dick size is private, right?"

"Yeah, of course," she said, a slight lilt in her voice this time. "I'm only asking to make sure your condition isn't getting worse."

"It is though. My dick's growing, for fuck's sake. That's the worse thing that can happen. If it gets too big, long, or thick, I won't be able to fuck any more."

"No, stupid. Girl's change, too. Their pussies get deeper or something, so they can take the bull cocks without getting hurt."

That's right, he thought. The girls in the M0-05 porn could take those massive dicks without trouble. The dudes didn't seem to tell the difference either. Also the butt still works. Marie has a nice butt. I wonder if she'd let me put my dick in it. "Ah, fuck," he said grabbing his head with both hands and shaking as if he could dislodge a thought.

"What's wrong?" she asked, breathless.

"I keep thinking about you," he said. "It's the virus, you know. Makes me think about sex all the time."

"How? How were you thinking about me?"

Something was definitely up with the way she was talking. Jude couldn't put his finger on it though. "I was thinking about putting my dick in your butt. Cause that way, even if you didn't have the changed pussy, I could still fuck you full of cum." He concentrated, straining his ears. He heard her moving and soft little grunts. "Marie? Are you playing with your pussy?"

She was silent for a long time. "I have a fever."

***

Secondary symptoms (female) present two to three days after initial infection. These symptoms include a significant increase in libido, constant arousal both mental and physical, rapid development of secondary sexual characteristics including growth of the hips, breasts, and buttocks, spontaneous lactation, intense cravings for lactose (milk and milk products), mental confusion, mental fixation on sexual activity, and restlessness.

Jude sat on the edge of his bed, jerking off while he watched a video of four huge breasted women rubbing a guy off using any crease in their bodies they could. Periodically, the man's enormous cock erupted cum, coating one of the lucky girls in a fresh batch of spunk the others could lick off. Vaguely, Jude thought watching porn wasn't helping the ceaseless erections. He thought he should stop cumming, too, but didn't have much hope on that front.

He was starving. It had been hours, or at least felt like hours, since Marie gave him his last two jugs of milk. He knew she was trying to ration it to him. In good moments, he appreciated her looking out for him. In other moments, he thought the woman should let him have as much as he wanted, including letting him fuck her while he drank it. As his balls sent forth their latest batch into one of the shirts he'd been using as a cum rag, he realized staying in his room any longer was dumb. Marie already had a fever for a few days. She couldn't get more sick, he figured. Thinking about her virtue, he chose to wipe off his dick before going out into the living room.

Jude caught sight of himself in the mirror. He didn't remember when he stopped bothering with the shorts, nor did he keep track of the extra inches on his cock. Having cum only moments before, it was as flaccid as it ever got nowadays, and yet it still hung halfway down his muscular thighs. The only thing capable of distracting him from porn had been exercise. He used whatever he could find in his room to do any exercise he could figure out. At one point, he crawled under his bed and bench pressed the whole thing for an hour straight. The virus's effect coupled with his exercise caused a dramatic change to his physique. As he opened the door to his room, he didn't bother to dress at all.