I gently picked it out of the liquid filled chamber it had grown in. It was drenched in a slimy orangish liquid. I wiped it down with a cloth before wrapping it in warm blankets. It’s body was warm and it squirmed around in my hands.

Hello my name is Dr Michael Banner and I finally did it. I have created life. I have created a homunculus. A homunculus is a man made human made purely through artificial means. It roughly translates to man made man as well as *little man.

I have dedicated the last 27 years to creating artificial life and I finally did it. I was running out of money but it doesn’t matter anymore because right in front of me is a one of a kind creature.

It's face was ugly, with a crooked nose and large mouth. I lifted it up and checked the gender. It was a boy. Its skin was a dark greyish-blue and leathery. It was weird for it to be so rough and while being a newborn I could feel unnaturally hard muscle underneath his skin. It had a full set of teeth. It was around the size of a 1 year old baby. It murmured softly and to my surprise it had a full set of large, sharp yellowish teeth. I lifted a bottle of milk and brought it to his lips. It sucked violently, milk dribbled down its small face. When he was done it promptly fell asleep. I stared at it, the embodiment of 27 years of my life. I turned off the light and let it sleep. Over the next couple of days all it did was eat and sleep.

A month later it is now much bigger and at the height of my hips. It became too big and unruly for the basement so I made a small enclosure with a tall chain-link encircling it. I couldn’t be more proud of my creation but I'm starting to have doubts. Last week something peculiar happened. I was carrying a bag of carefully assorted vegetables to the backyard for it’s lunch. It’s back was turned away from me fidgeting with something.

I walked around the fence to get a better look to see what it was fidgeting with. It’s a bird. Its wings had been ripped off and the poor thing lay there gasping covered in its own blood. To my horror the homunculus had a grin on its face. It jammed its stubby fingers into the wing sockets causing the bird to cry out in pain. Its grin seemed to grow even wider when it did so. It then lifted its head and stared at me with it’s hideous face. Drool began to drip from in between its jagged teeth I tossed in the bag of vegetables before fleeing.There was something so unsettling about its behaviour. I can’t help but shiver whenever I remember it’s face. I hear a knock on the door waking me from my thoughts. I went to the door and peeped through the peephole. I see a middle-aged balding white man. He kept on looking around him nervously. I opened the door. “Hello Dan!”

“Hello Mike.” We shake hands and I welcome him in. “How are you doing?” He looked me up and down. “Jeez, when was the last time you slept, you look terrible.” He then recoiled and wrinkled his nose. “Scratch that when was the last time you bathed?”

I shrugged. “I’ve been having trouble sleeping.” I replied. Dan then leaned in closer. “So is it true? Did you really do it, did you really create a homunculus?” He said with a low voice. He’s so close I can smell the smoke on his breath. “Yes, yes I did. It’s in the backyard. Don’t mind the mess. ” I move aside chairs and dusty stacks of books and coffee cups that littered the floor. I caught a glance at my sunken, red eyed face in the reflection of my dust-covered tv. We go to the backyard and Dan gasps in amazement. “I can’t believe you actually did it!” He excitedly said while putting his hands to his head. Dan couldn’t take his eyes off the homunculus. “I thought you were crazy but my goodness it’s real!” He began pacing around excitedly.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“This has so many implications. Just imagine the uses! Genetic engineering, artificial organs, meat production, even the origin of life itself!!” I Tiredly nodded. Despite the achievement I felt incredibly exhausted. Dan walked towards the homunculus and approached the fence. “Careful! Don’t get too close.” Dan didn’t listen but kept on going. The homunculus sat quietly only staring at the approaching man. Dan reached into his pocket and pulled out a candy bar. He poked it through the chain-linked fence. The homunculus stayed put. Dan then walked around the perimeter till he reached the gate .

“What are you doing Dan?” I asked but Dan seemed only fixated on the homunculus. The homunculus now turned towards Dan and slowly made his way towards him. The homunculus extended its rough hand. The fingers were dark and very thick and callused. More like a gorilla’s hand than a humans. The homunculus gently grabbed the bar and began eating it. “ woah!” exclaimed Dan. “I gotta take a photo.” Dan away reaching into his pocket. Dan didn’t know what he was getting himself into. I felt something was off.

The homunculus had finished eating and was silent. It stared right at me. My body shivered uncontrollably despite the pleasant weather.

It’s face broke out in a grin. It leaped at Dan’s stomach and bit deep into Dan's body. Dan cried out stumbling back but he didn’t fall. It jerked it’s thick muscular neck, ripping out flesh. Blood splattered the grass. Dan cried out, shocked more than anything. I collapsed frozen in fear. The homunculus then jammed it’s hand in Dan’s gut and ripped out smooth pink intestines. “Help me! Help me!” cried Dan but as the homunculus continued his cries soon quieted. The homunculus continually shrieked in excitement. Dan was still alive,the homunculus grabbed the intestines and tossed it up into the air. It shrieked again grinning. I couldn’t believe it was it. Playing around with his intestines. It was having fun. I felt adrenaline surge through me and I got up and rushed into the house. I had a firearm somewhere. It was in the storage closet. I tripped over a chair smashing my chin into the ground but I was unfazed. The adrenaline numbed all my pain.

I ripped the door open. There! I grabbed it and headed back. I cocked the shotgun and aimed it at the cage. I nearly gagged. It was now playing with a translucent sack- Dan’s lungs. It put it to it’s lips and started blowing it up. With a scream I pumped the shotgun and blasted it. It howled in pain. Purple blood erupted from its back and shoulders. But to my surprise it was grinning. It rushed at me this time on all fours. It barrelled into me biting my hand. I reflexively dropped the shotgun. I could smell the rotten breath and guttural breathing. Against it’s natural strength I didn’t stand a chance. Slowly I ran out of energy. I stared into its eyes. They were full of rage. It reached over and grabbed the shotgun. But it didn’t kill me instead It pumped it once before shooting me in the thigh. Excruciating pain emanated from my leg.

It grinned and shot the other. I curled together overwhelmed by pain. It stood on top of me and laughed. To my surprise it turned before running to the end of the yard to the tall wooden plank fence. It shot four times turning it to smithereens. It dropped the gun and went through the splintered mess. Right into the neighbours house. I heard shattering glass and screaming. I lay there in shock, just trying to breathe.

My heart was pounding in my ears. Oh God what had I done. I stared at my shaky hands. What did I unleash! It was supposed to be human, it was made partially from my own DNA. But it wasn’t human, it was a being of pure rage, wicked and twisted from the start. Don’t know why it spared me, maybe as some form of gratitude for bringing it into existence. I don’t know what goes on in it’s twisted mind. I played God and now look at what happened. It’s been weeks since then. it could be anywhere by now. If you ever encounter it I deeply apologise, for I have doomed you all.