Specimen 21 A fortune teller told him his lucky number was 21. Ten minutes later he died pushing a little girl out from under a falling steel beam. He wakes three years later as a small black blob at the bottom of a cave. No arms. No legs. No idea about the lab that made him, stamped his file FAILED, and threw him out with the garbage. One skill: he absorbs whatever touches him. The only way up is to eat things stronger than he is. He's starting with a cockroach.

• Fantasy