Society of Humane Objects

(A few things may not fit for younger readers, do not read if you are one of them!)

I’m Patrick Sam Ford. I’m 28. But after tonight, I may not be anything human at all.

Me, Skyler, and Xandra we're part of something people don’t talk about. Something no one believes. The Society of Humane Objects.

A name as strange as its purpose: to transcend the human form. To shed skin, flesh, and soul. To become something else. Something born of code, symbol, sound.

It started with whispers. Weird tweets. Links that didn’t lead anywhere but still left a mark on your screen. And then the dreams started.

Skyler has hated James since I met her. And Xandra? She wants Faith’s blood on the floor. There’s something tangled in their history, something we never unpacked because we were too busy chasing the impossible.

Tonight, it happens. The ritual begins.

---

The cult’s chamber is buried beneath the streets of Yew Nork. Old subways twisted into shrines. Candles in broken vending machines. Rusted rails coiled like snakes.

Twelve figures in patchwork robes chant in a slow, thudding rhythm. Some wear masks shaped like numbers, others like letters. One has a screen instead of a face, flickering with code.

And in the center of the ring:

Sam. @Samlovescars8. Our first.

He stands trembling, barefoot, sweat pouring down his back.

"S-skyler, Xandra, Patrick... are you sure this is safe?"

None of us answer.

Instead, the twelve begin to chant:

"Ob-ject-ti-fi-ca-tion... An-nih-i-la-tion... One into Zero... Zero into Form..."

The floor pulses. Candlelight flares. Sam begins to scream.

SNAP! His knees fold backwards. CRUNCH! His spine contorts.

"OH GOD WHAT IS THIS?!"

His mouth bursts open, black-red sludge pouring down his chest. He drops to all fours, heaving. Vomiting. Gagging.

"AAAAAAGHHHH!"

His bones crack. Fingers twist inward. His skin bubbles, then splits, revealing glints of synthetic black beneath.

"NO! PLEASE HELP MEEE!"

His ribs collapse. Stomach bursts. SPLAT. Guts, bile, blood everywhere. One cultist laughs. Another murmurs, "The meat is only the casing."

Then a stillness.

A disc floats where Sam once stood. Shimmering. Glowing red. It pulses.

Then it speaks:

"W-why do I feel... female?"

The voice is soft. Trembling. A pair of crimson wings snap open.

"Who are you?! STAY AWAY! You’re weird things.. I’m not- I’m not one of you!"

She flutters backward, memory shattering.

"Slay3r’s Hangout... I’m supposed to fly there..."

"Chirp," I whisper. Not Sam anymore. Chirp.

---

Now it’s my turn.

I walk into the circle. Skyler whispers, "Don’t do this."

Xandra grabs her arm. "It’s too late."

The chant resumes.

"PA-TRICK BECOME... RE-CODE, UN-KNOWN... SHAPE THE SELF... FORGET THE MEAT..."

CRACK! My knees buckle, fold in. I scream. A ragged, guttural sob.

SNAP! My legs are rectangles. My pelvis vanishes.

"W-what am I becoming?!"

Blood pours from my nose, my mouth. My arms twist, become circular black stubs. My torso flattens into a slab of lime.

POP. My skull implodes, reshaping.

"The hell?"

My voice’s pitch shifts.

"Wait, I need to test this..."

Then:

"WHAT?! X HAS GONE MISSING AGAIN?!"

A nasal, expressive voice. I freeze.

"Was that a perfect... Four voice?"

Memory shatters.

"PILLAGERSLAY3R 64," I whisper.

I rise. Reborn.

A voice: "Who... who are you...?"

"I’m Slay3r. Pillagerslay3r 64. And you are...?"

"...Xandra."

"No. No, you’re X!"

Skyler cries, "Xandra... is it over?"

I turn.

"S, you’re here too?"

Skyler blinks. "I... I’m Skyler... or Sky..."

"Your voices sound broken. Time to fix them."

They collapse.

CRACK. SNAP. TWIST.

Xandra screams. Her stomach bursts. Skyler vomits green ooze. Bones twist.

"WHAT’S HAPPENING?!"

Their screams echo. Not screeches. Screams.

Xandra becomes yellow. Shaking. Twisted. X. Skyler stretches. Green limbs rigid. S.

Breathing. Heavy. Shocked.

"I... I’m X," he says.

"I’m S," the other confirms.

They look up.

"You were always cohosts," I whisper.

---

Then:

Two more humans.

"What the HELL?!" Faith shrieks.

James draws a knife.

"Step back! WHO ARE YOU?!"

"Oh, Faith. James. You made it."

"HOW DO YOU KNOW OUR NAMES?!"

"Ob-ject-ti-fi-ca-tion... Re-al-i-za-tion... HOSTS... RE-TURN!"

"RETURN! RETURN! RETURN!"

I vanish into light.

James grabs his gut. Faith screams.

James vomits black slime. Faith retches. Her spine bursts from her mouth.

"REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" James’ screech. His form collapses. A dark purple J now breathes.

She gasps. "I’m... J."

S hugs her. "You’re back."

Faith is next.

Her form folds. Chest splits. Hair falls away. Blue light pulses.

Then:

"EEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Four’s screech.

He kneels, shaking.

"I’m... Four..."

X throws himself at them.

"Don’t leave me again!"

Four holds him tight.

Around us, the cult chants:

"No more flesh... No more bone... Only shape, only code..."

The chamber trembles. The real world, the coded world awakens.

And we are not human.

Not anymore.