"Transformed Tears: A Boy's Haunting Journey through a Zombie-Infested World"
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The wind chillingly fluttered through the dimly lit grocery store parking lot, the eerie silence marred only by the distant groans of the undead. This was 2020, a year Michael would never forget. Born on December 14, 2013, Michael was a mere seven-year-old, navigating the precarious balance between global crisis and childhood innocence. Standing at a petite height of 3’8” and weighing 45 pounds, his brown hair lay tousled over his forehead, long enough to cover his wide, curious blue eyes, brimming with life. Today, he wore his favorite superhero t-shirt, a pair of dark blue shorts, and bright red sneakers that glowed slightly in the dim light, a small comfort in an otherwise frightening environment.
Beside him, his young mother, Allison, at 28 years old, was tense but determined. Born on February 20, 1992, she had always been a beacon of resilience. From her 5’6” height to her 135-pound athletic build, everything about her exuded strength. Her long blonde hair was pulled into a tight ponytail, emphasizing her sharp green eyes. Dressed in a worn-out pair of jeans, a grey hoodie, and sneakers, her attire was practical, designed for quick getaways.
The two of them were mid-aisle, scanning the nearly barren shelves, when a sudden crash echoed through the store. Allison’s heart skipped a beat as she instinctively turned to Michael. “Michael, stay close, please,” she said, her voice wavering with underlying panic.
The once-muted groans grew louder, more desperate. The fragile peace of the store shattered as a horde of zombies came flooding through the entrance. Screams filled the air as panic spread like wildfire. Allison grabbed Michael’s hand, yelling, “Run! Follow me, Michael!”
Michael clutched her hand tightly, but the sheer chaos of the stampede began to separate them. Through the chaos, a diminutive yet vibrant figure emerged, a Korean woman appearing as though she stepped straight out of a different scene. Her name was Min-ji Park, aged 57, born on March 3, 1963. She stood barely 5’1” tall, her frame slender yet nimble. Her hair, a short, neatly styled bob, framed her almond-shaped eyes that sparkled with a mixture of terror and determination, the rich brown color reflecting the store's dim lighting.
Min-ji was dressed in an eye-catching ensemble—a short, feminine two-piece outfit, sporting knee-length beige capris that clung tightly to her legs, paired with a fashionable pastel pink top that flowed effortlessly. On her feet were delicate platform sandals, the heels made of cork and decorated with intricate floral patterns. Her nails were painted a muted lavender, matching the elegance of her attire. She wore minimal yet striking jewelry, including a delicate gold necklace, silver hoop earrings, an ornate bracelet, and a simple yet pristine wedding ring.
Seeing Michael, Min-ji extended her hand towards him. "Hey! Come here! Safe with me," she uttered in perfect but heavily accented English. Amidst the chaos, Michael tried to evade her, but her touch seemed to have an otherworldly effect. His vision blurred, and a strange sensation jolted through his body.
When Michael opened his eyes, he found himself disoriented, everything around him seemed both familiar and utterly foreign. As realization dawned, he noticed he was now taller, way taller. Panic set in as he looked down to find himself wearing Min-ji's outfit—the pastel pink top and beige capris—and, to his horror, the platform sandals.
Panic turned to revulsion as he saw the approaching zombies. "Mommy!" he tried to yell, but it came out garbled, "Momeeeee!" His voice sounded odd, like an impersonation gone wrong. Again, he tried to complain about the sandals, but it emerged as, "Shews too glirry!" instead of what he wanted to say.
Desperately, he bent down to take the sandals off, but they were buckled tightly with small rose-gold fastenings around his ankles. His attempts were futile. “I’m gonna miss mommy so much... I don’ wanna get hurt by monsters!” he tried to say, but it only emerged as, "Missey mommy so much... no wan get hurt by deh monsers!" The tears began to well up as the reality of his plight sank in.
Unable to collect himself, Michael squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the world blur around him. 'What should I do now?' he thought helplessly, no longer having his mother to guide him. Fighting against the awkwardness of his newfound height and the impractical platform sandals, he began stumbling away from the encroaching zombies. After what felt like an eternity, he found himself in a secluded corner, in front of a mirror.
The reflection staring back was not his own. Touching his new almond-shaped eyes, he tried to make them look like his own by stretching them wide with his fingers, but it was futile. Then, he ran his hands through the short bob, attempting to make it less feminine by ruffling it up, but again it did little to alter his appearance. Next, he played with Min-ji's gold necklace, tugging at it, trying to find a way to remove it. The clasp, tiny and delicate, was far too fiddly for his trembling fingers. Moving on to the silver hoop earrings, he awkwardly fumbled with the fastenings, but the fine screw was impossible for him to undo. The ornate bracelet on his wrist was clasped with a tiny latch he couldn't figure out. Even rotating the wedding ring proved impossible, as it was too tight to slip off his finger.
Frustrated, he tried to fiddle with the pastel pink top, attempting to tie it into a knot to make it look less girly, but the fabric just wouldn't comply. The beige capris were also distressingly immovable; the buttons and zipper were stubborn. Lastly, the platform sandals—he tried again, but the buckles were too small to unfasten quickly under duress.
Gazing back into the mirror, he tried to speak like his regular self, “Mommy! Where you are?” in his normal boyish tone. However, it came out strained and accented, “Momeee! Verre you arr? Saranghae omma!" The last unintelligible Korean phrase escaped his lips, confusing him further.
Utterly defeated, Michael crumbled to the ground, tears streaming down his face. The sobs wracked his body as he realized the depth of his transformation. Through the haunted store and within his newly adopted form, he mourned the absence of his mother and the childhood he had left behind.
This story was generated by user manemansteve with assistance by one of OpenAI’s large-scale language-generation model; prompts used to help generate the story are shown below.
Images were generated with OpenAI's AI system, DALL·E 2, or uploaded by the user.
AI Prompts
Prompt: A long and thorough and detailed story about 7 year old Michael in the year 2020 with his mom shopping at a grocery store in the middle of a zombie pandemic that fluctuates between under control and not under control. Include a description of Michael's birthday, birth year, height, weight, hair color and style and eye color and race being white and what he's wearing. Include his young mom's name, age, height, weight, birthday, birth year, hair color and style and eye color and what she's wearing. Have an outbreak of zombies start flooding into the grocery store causing everyone to run. Have Michael's mom start running yelling for her son to follow closely behind her. Have Michael keep running as a Korean woman who happened to be a hair stylist walks into view. Reveal the Korean woman's name, age being much older than his mom, birthday, birth year being a few decades older than his mom, height being much shorter than his mom, weight, hair color and style being short Korean style and specific and eye color and what she was wearing being a short and feminine 2 piece outfit with a detailed description of the outfit including short knee length pants of some kind along with platform sandals with a detailed description of the platform sandals and have her nails be painted but not red and have her be wearing jewelry including a wedding ring. Have the woman say to the boy to come here and have it be in quoted text in very broken English and spell the words in broken English. Have the boy try to avoid her as she reaches out to touch him causing him to get shocked and get dizzy. Have him open his eyes realizing he's taller. Have him look down to see he's wearing the outfit the Korean woman was wearing earlier. Have him get grossed out as he spotted a group of zombies approaching him. Have him try to walk stumbling. Have him notice he was now wearing the platform sandals the woman was wearing. Have the boy try to yell for mommy and have it be in quoted text in very broken English with misspellings in the quote as he couldn't say much of anything. Have him try to say the shoes are too girly and have it be in quoted unwillingly giving the platform sandals a nickname and speaking in very broken English and show the quote how he said versus what he wanted to say. Have him try to bend down to take the platform sandals off being unable to as they were a pair that had to be buckled on and be specific as to what the buckles looked like and were buckled to. Have him say i'm gonna miss mommy so much i don't wanna get hurt by the monsters and have it be in quoted text in very broken English and show the quote how he ended up saying versus what he wanted to say. The swap is permanent. Have him squeeze his eyes shut as he thinks of what to do next as he no longer has his mom. Have him steady himself on the platform sandals struggling to run but eventually getting far away from any zombies. Have him stand in front of a mirror seeing his new reflection for the first time. Have him look down at his hands before looking in the mirror and studying the differences in his look. Have innocently acknowledge his new almond shaped eyes touching them trying to make them like his normal eyes being specific as to what he did before giving up and have him play with his new short hair trying to make it less girly being specific as to what he did and have him play with first piece of the Korean woman's jewelry being specific as to what he played with and how he played with it trying to remove it being specific to what he did but being unable to and including why he couldn't and have him play with the second piece of the Korean woman's jewelry being specific as to what he played with and how he played with it trying to remove it being specific to what he did but being unable to and including why he couldn't and have him play with the third piece of the Korean woman's jewelry being specific as to what he played with and how he played with it trying to remove it being specific to what he did but being unable to and including why he couldn't and have him play with the fourth piece of the Korean woman's jewelry being specific as to what he played with and how he played with it trying to remove it being specific to what he did but being unable to and including why he couldn't and have him play with Korean woman's wedding ring piece of the Korean woman's jewelry being specific as to what he played with and how he played with it trying to remove it being specific to what he did but being unable to and including why he couldn't and have him play with the first piece of his outfit trying to make it look less girly or remove it being specific as to what he did and to what being unable to and have him play with the second piece of his outfit trying to make it less girly or remove it being specific as to what he did and to what being unable to and have him play with his platform sandals trying to make them look less girly or remove them again being specific as to what he did and to what still being unable to. Have him try to talk normally like his normal boy self and have it be in quoted text in very accented English before unwillingly finishing the sentence in Korean not knowing what he just said causing him to cry.
Response: The wind chillingly fluttered through the dimly lit grocery store parking lot, the eerie silence marred only by the distant groans of the undead. This was 2020, a year Michael would never forget. Born on December 14, 2013, Michael was a mere seven-year-old, navigating the precarious balance between global crisis and childhood innocence. Standing at a petite height of 3’8” and weighing 45 pounds, his brown hair lay tousled over his forehead, long enough to cover his wide, curious blue eyes, brimming with life. Today, he wore his favorite superhero t-shirt, a pair of dark blue shorts, and bright red sneakers that glowed slightly in the dim light, a small comfort in an otherwise frightening environment. Beside him, his young mother, Allison, at 28 years old, was tense but determined. Born on February 20, 1992, she had always been a beacon of resilience. From her 5’6” height to her 135-pound athletic build, everything about her exuded strength. Her long blonde hair was pulled into a tight ponytail, emphasizing her sharp green eyes. Dressed in a worn-out pair of jeans, a grey hoodie, and sneakers, her attire was practical, designed for quick getaways. The two of them were mid-aisle, scanning the nearly barren shelves, when a sudden crash echoed through the store. Allison’s heart skipped a beat as she instinctively turned to Michael. “Michael, stay close, please,” she said, her voice wavering with underlying panic. The once-muted groans grew louder, more desperate. The fragile peace of the store shattered as a horde of zombies came flooding through the entrance. Screams filled the air as panic spread like wildfire. Allison grabbed Michael’s hand, yelling, “Run! Follow me, Michael!” Michael clutched her hand tightly, but the sheer chaos of the stampede began to separate them. Through the chaos, a diminutive yet vibrant figure emerged, a Korean woman appearing as though she stepped straight out of a different scene. Her name was Min-ji Park, aged 57, born on March 3, 1963. She stood barely 5’1” tall, her frame slender yet nimble. Her hair, a short, neatly styled bob, framed her almond-shaped eyes that sparkled with a mixture of terror and determination, the rich brown color reflecting the store's dim lighting. Min-ji was dressed in an eye-catching ensemble—a short, feminine two-piece outfit, sporting knee-length beige capris that clung tightly to her legs, paired with a fashionable pastel pink top that flowed effortlessly. On her feet were delicate platform sandals, the heels made of cork and decorated with intricate floral patterns. Her nails were painted a muted lavender, matching the elegance of her attire. She wore minimal yet striking jewelry, including a delicate gold necklace, silver hoop earrings, an ornate bracelet, and a simple yet pristine wedding ring. Seeing Michael, Min-ji extended her hand towards him. "Hey! Come here! Safe with me," she uttered in perfect but heavily accented English. Amidst the chaos, Michael tried to evade her, but her touch seemed to have an otherworldly effect. His vision blurred, and a strange sensation jolted through his body. When Michael opened his eyes, he found himself disoriented, everything around him seemed both familiar and utterly foreign. As realization dawned, he noticed he was now taller, way taller. Panic set in as he looked down to find himself wearing Min-ji's outfit—the pastel pink top and beige capris—and, to his horror, the platform sandals. Panic turned to revulsion as he saw the approaching zombies. "Mommy!" he tried to yell, but it came out garbled, "Momeeeee!" His voice sounded odd, like an impersonation gone wrong. Again, he tried to complain about the sandals, but it emerged as, "Shews too glirry!" instead of what he wanted to say. Desperately, he bent down to take the sandals off, but they were buckled tightly with small rose-gold fastenings around his ankles. His attempts were futile. “I’m gonna miss mommy so much... I don’ wanna get hurt by monsters!” he tried to say, but it only emerged as, "Missey mommy so much... no wan get hurt by deh monsers!" The tears began to well up as the reality of his plight sank in. Unable to collect himself, Michael squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the world blur around him. 'What should I do now?' he thought helplessly, no longer having his mother to guide him. Fighting against the awkwardness of his newfound height and the impractical platform sandals, he began stumbling away from the encroaching zombies. After what felt like an eternity, he found himself in a secluded corner, in front of a mirror. The reflection staring back was not his own. Touching his new almond-shaped eyes, he tried to make them look like his own by stretching them wide with his fingers, but it was futile. Then, he ran his hands through the short bob, attempting to make it less feminine by ruffling it up, but again it did little to alter his appearance. Next, he played with Min-ji's gold necklace, tugging at it, trying to find a way to remove it. The clasp, tiny and delicate, was far too fiddly for his trembling fingers. Moving on to the silver hoop earrings, he awkwardly fumbled with the fastenings, but the fine screw was impossible for him to undo. The ornate bracelet on his wrist was clasped with a tiny latch he couldn't figure out. Even rotating the wedding ring proved impossible, as it was too tight to slip off his finger. Frustrated, he tried to fiddle with the pastel pink top, attempting to tie it into a knot to make it look less girly, but the fabric just wouldn't comply. The beige capris were also distressingly immovable; the buttons and zipper were stubborn. Lastly, the platform sandals—he tried again, but the buckles were too small to unfasten quickly under duress. Gazing back into the mirror, he tried to speak like his regular self, “Mommy! Where you are?” in his normal boyish tone. However, it came out strained and accented, “Momeee! Verre you arr? Saranghae omma!" The last unintelligible Korean phrase escaped his lips, confusing him further. Utterly defeated, Michael crumbled to the ground, tears streaming down his face. The sobs wracked his body as he realized the depth of his transformation. Through the haunted store and within his newly adopted form, he mourned the absence of his mother and the childhood he had left behind.
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