Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2000 11:28:36 -0500
From: Ocicat <Ocicat@gte.net>

SRU: Shoplifters Beware!

By Ocicat



Jerry Thomas shoved his hand in his coat a she made his way fm down the
street, the wind, now at his back, began to swirl around him as he
trudged through the snow . His hot breath gently steamed his face as it
whipped around him and s dissipated into the cold January morning. His
hands, devoid of gloves, and his neck with out benefit of a scarf
transmitted the feeling of the frozen hell around him as he trudged
slowly d own the sidewalk. His face was rumpled with anger. He couldn't
believe his luck! The coach had been such an asshole before, but this
was completely unreal! What would he tell his parents? What was he
supposed to tell them this time- that he had been kicked off the team
for smoking in the boys room again? His parents, Methodists to the hilt,
had almost all but given upon his lifestyle and his friends. Neither one
condoned his actions or his lifestyle, and neither one was ready to
commit to any more of his uncouth behavior! 

It wasn't that Jerry was without friends, it's just that he was without
positive ones-or so his parents claimed. Jerry ran with sort of a bad
crowd at school out of pure defiance for his parents, and for those at
school that tried to befriend him. He was still angry about loosing his
spot on the football team to Nate Watters, and failing all but one of
his classes. His girlfriend Nancy was seeing another boy at another
school, and had since moved up to wearing his letter jacket and his
ring. It wouldn't bother Jerry as much if it had been any other girl and
any other school. Things had to get complicated it seemed- his
girlfriend was now seeing the captain of his arch rival school, and it
was beginning to take it's tole on him! 

Jerry was never a bad kid, but always seemed to fall easily under the
influence of others. His friends were school trouble makers, outcasts,
and juvenile hall regulars. Jerry had never given any thought to what
they did or didn't do-only that he wanted to belong. In his earlier
days, he was a class act, always bringing home straight grades and doing
honorable things. He used to help out at the community s center and at
the church and participate in school programs and fund drives. He used
to believe in some thing more than himself, and have hope in the
following day. All that was over now as he trudged slowly down the
desolate street before him, His face began to redden from the wind and
punishment as his lips began to crack and bleed. Snow filled his eyes as
it gently began to fall like manna from the skies above. Jerry passed at
a stoplight, and looked up the sky was deathly white now, and completely
featureless. The road ahead was no better- it was one large white
oblivion filled with nothing but despair.

A few minuttes later, Jerry found his destination- the Blue Hound
restaurant, and went inside. After shaking the clod from his body and
finding a seat at a nearby booth, he began to run his hands through his
wet hair as a pretty waitress named Patty approached him.

"Hi, what can I get cha?" she asked politely. 

"Coke. You got an ashtray?" Jerry asked. 

"Sure, anything else?" she asked. Jerry shook his head. He watched as
she walked off, her tight ass swaying from side to side. Erotic thoughts
began to enter Jerry's mind as he dreamed of doing the small white girl
bounding away from him like a scared jackrabbit. Moments later, Jerry
heard the clang of the door bell, and saw from a distance that his
friend Nick , Jack, and Steve were coming in, Jack extinguished his
cigarette as the three tried to warm up. Minutes later, Jerry motioned
to them and they started for his booth. 

"Hey man! How's it going! " Jack asked. 

"Heyas!" said Jerry. 

"Dude it's colder than a bitch out there! SHIT MAN!" nick swore trying
to warm himself.

"Hey man- cool Kentucky jacket- you're parents see that one yet?" Steve
remarked noticing Jerry's blue and white leather University of Kentucky
jacket. 

"Nah, neither did the store man- that place is like...shit man it was an
easy hit!" Jerry said smoothing over the sleeves. 

"Man that's a fucking cool ass piece of work- what was it, one?" Steve
asked. Jerry shook his head. 

"Shit no man- two and a quarter. Free if you know what you're doing!" he
laughed. 

"Right on man!" shot Nick bumping a cigarette. " Where's your bitcg man,
thought you two were solid an shit. 

"Fuck man she's history- goddamn slut's seeing some Eagle motherfucker!"
spit Jerry in hate. " That bitch man- once she found out I got bounced
from the team, she fucking spilt! Went over to Cornwall. Now she's
seeing some asshole looser on the football team- shit man, same
motherfuckers we beat last year! Can you believe that?" he exclaimed. 

"Man that's messed up- she's had it with wolves eh?" Jack remarked,
referring to Jerry's high school mascot. Jerry shook his head in utter
contempt for the girl who had basically ruined is life. 

"So man- what are you loosers doing man-" Jerry asked changing the
subject. 

"Fucking around man- just out fucking around. Shit, Nick here's wanting
to go down to the strip mall and get some fuck books. I dunno man, shit
I'm I just along for the ride.

"You got wheels?" Jerry asked quietly. 

"Yeah man- real sweet ones to- got me a Buick."

" Is she hot?" Jerry whispered. Jack nodded slowly his face erupting
into a wide grin.

"Hot as hell man, hot as hell!" he laughed. 

"Fuck man! You're a slick ass sumbitch ya know? You're gonna get pinched
one of these days man! Damn, that's big time..."

"Done it before dude- I can do it again!" Jack grinned. 

"Solid!" Nick giving a high five to his friend. 

The four continued to talk and smoke for the better part of an hour as
they though of what they wanted to do for the day. Jerry had been
expelled from school for the day, the others for a year, there was
really nothing happening until later, so their time was not at a
premium. Jack suggested getting a few local drugs, Nick suggested going
down and hitting the old theater on division street where they could
always sneak in, and Steve wanted to cruise for chicks. None of the
ideas sounded s too promising, and each suggestion seemed to bring them
all back to square one. Jerry crushed his fifth cigarette into the steel
ashtray before him as he fingered the remains of his food, boredom was
quickly beginning to wear on the four boys. A few moments later, Nick's
face lit up.

"I have a plan-" he broke in. You guys wanna have some fun man?" he
whispered. The others were all ears as Nick beckoned them all closer, 

"What do you have in mind man?" asked Jack. Nick began to smirk an evil
smirk, his mind began to run like a deviant river.

"Lets go hit the strip mall man- come on, you know...five finger
discount...lets have a contest to see who can grab the most!" Nick
settled back. "It's like a game or something!" he smiled. Jack's face
began to widen as he found himself agreeing with Nick for once. Steve's
face was filled with worry as he contemplated. Steve, never a big
criminal to begin with, often had trouble commiting to such acts.

"Dunno man- I'd rather go pull the fire alarm down at the library!"

"Fucking woosy asshole! What do you know!" spit Nick. "Come on Jerry,
what do ya think man- I been wanting to hit that strip mall for a month
now..." he urged. Jerry's face tuned to one of absolute defiance for
anything law abiding. He began to pull on the leather Kentucky jacket.
His hand traced the wildcat applique on the front breast as he reached
for the zipper.

"I say lets do it ma- I want to get me a ball cap!" he said
triumphantly, Jack turned to him

"Goddamn wildcats! Shit gimme a break man! They're such losers!" he
teased. 

"Hey man, least I don't go to no fucking Indiana games man- THEY'RE the
real losers! Jerry retorted back in fun. Least I got some class here!"
he finished off, stroking the applique lovingly and with respect. 

"Ok you yappy little bitches! Lets plan this thing out-we gotta have
prizes or something for the most shoplifted. The entire mall is fair
game, you can go into any store you want...jack you stay the FUCK out of
Target cause they know you in there, and Steve you can't go into Best
Buys cause you have an unfair advantage. Jerry had to smirk to himself
as he listened to Nick lay out the rules of the game, as if there were
any! "Honor among thieves-no such thing!"he though as he listened to
Nick prattle on. Steve used to work at Best Buys so he knew all the
camera locations and response codes, he also knew most of the staff,
some of which would give him anything he wanted so he was restricted.
Jack had hit Target enough times that they had to hire an army to stop
him, and Nick, well Nick was the master of the bunch. If you wanted
something bad enough or wanted to know how to shoplift and get away with
it like a pro, ten you went to Nick Morrow. Nick had a rap sheet longer
than the bible and a following on the streets bigger than Ghandi. He
could get anything for anybody for a price. His luck was legendary, and
so was his attitude.

Jerry sat back and took in the details of the game. Each of them would
take a separate store in the mall, and each had to take as much as they
could, without interference from the cops or from merchants. The game
ended when all of them were either caught or had safely gotten away.
They would meet in two hours time at the local Pizza Hut. The game of
course had it's rules. No shoplifting form supermarkets; no using mules,
that is sticking merchandise in the bag of an innocent customer; no
stealing from s5tores that knew you, and no stealing from back rooms or
open boxes-everything had to have price labels on it. Points could be
awarded for most merchandise taken in a single store, most creativity,
most creative escape, most expensive. Nick assured the three that their
strip mall was a joke as far as security and defences. If everything
went right, each and every store should be like Christmas!

Jerry stroked his sleeve and glanced down at the KENTUCKY name double
embroidered down the sleeve in white. His face erupted into a private
smiled as he recalled how easy it was to walk into the small leather
store, select the jacket and walk out. He used the excuse that he had
left his jacket in the store a few minutes ago. The clerk had bought it
without question , and had virtually let him escape scott free. The
jacket fit like a dream, it's rich supple leather smelled fresh, and it
drawn tightly around his frame, began to warm him like nothing else
could. The jacket seemed to fit him like a dream-not bad for an
impromptu smash and grab!

"Ok, so we're gonna do this thing right?" said Nick. "Any of you wanna
pussy out do it now- we won't say nothing..." he whispered, Jerry nodded
his head in agreement. His eyes shifted to Jack, whose eyes shifted to
Steve, then to Nick and finally back to Jerry. All of them seemed to
mentally agree at the same time

'Lets move!" shot Nick beginning to get up. 

"Hey man who's gonna get this ?" said Jack, lifting up the yellow bill.

"Fuck it man!" Nick shot back getting his leather jacket on. Nick looked
around. Nobody seemed to be interested in coming over. Jack tossed his
head like a wild stallion and crumbled the bill up in his hand. Steve
acted as a lookout as one by one the boys began to filter out of the
restaurant. Finally, when all but Steve had snuck out of the building ,
Nick glanced into the window to see their waitress coming to the table.

"Excuse me- she began to Steve- who's...who's going to pay the bill?"
Steve smile and pointed to the bathrooms.

"My friend is, he's in the bathroom, he'll be out in a minute." he lied.
The waitress smiled.

"Ok!" she perked. Steve began to snicker to himself as he began to leave
the restaurant. 



A little while later, after getting some beers and some cigarettes, the
four boys drove to the Westgate shopping mall, and began to select their
targets for the day. Jerry stuck his hands in his deep satin lined
pockets as he listened to Nick lay out the ground rules.

"Ok, we get out here-get what you can and we'll meet at Pizza Hut in two
hours. If you don't show we'll assume you got pinched or you bailed on
us- in either case you're disqualified." He warned. The other boys
nodded in agreement and nick opened the door of the new BUICK. Steve got
out first and headed for the music store. After he was in, Jack got out
and ran down the block toward Circuit City. Nick looked over his
shoulder to see that he was away.

"Your turn wildcat!" he said jokingly, go get im' kitty cat!" 

"Fuck you!" shot Jerry getting out of the car. 

"Hey man- if you can, get me a Georgia Tech jacket- I'll pay ya man!"
whispered Nick Jerry looked back at his eyes wide with glee. Georgia
Tech?! Shit man get out!!" he said slamming the door. He watched as nick
gave him the finger and peeled away, laving thick black streaks in the
snow dusted asphalt. Jerry looked up, it was beginning to snow again. He
jammed his hands in his pockets and began to run, his head tucked deep
into his chest trying to avoid the snow and chill. 

Jerry pace quickened as he began to slowly search the stores in the area
for his first target. He was a good shoplifter-but not the best, he
couldn't just saunter into any store and steal like Nick could. He had
to take his time, choose his targets, and wait for the right time. Jerry
believed in being as careful as he was smart- to him stealing was an
art. The stores around him began to tease him as he searched for the
right merchandise. He cursed himself for not taking any gloves when he
took the jacket, and possibly a hart as well. He began to develop a
mental 'shopping list' of things he had to have. Store by store,
offering everything from sporting goods and collegiate and professional
sports apparel to CD's and movies to computers and toys teased him as he
slworly walked the sidewalks, attempting to find a n easy mark. He
looked for security cameras, mirrors, store personnel, and cops. He went
into a few stores attempting to escape the cold, only to find it filled
with soap or something-crap no body could PAY him to steal!

Jerry had casing down to a fine science. He d play the occasional
browser customer who was looking for something so elusive nobody could
help him, even when they could he used the excuse he forgot his
checkbook or wallet, or was 'just looking'. He played the law abiding
citizen to the hilt, was polite in front of police, and did what he
could to keep from being recognized by anyone that may have seen him
before. He and the others had stolen from this mall before, and most of
them were well known by local merchants. Jerry himself had been ma
barred from a number of stores in the area, and threatened never to
return. Jerry really didn't know what he wanted, he really didn't want
to steal anything today, but out of lack of something more
constructive...what else was there?

* * *

A half hour of looking, casing, and general investigation began to
return nothing for Jerry as he found himself wandering the area over and
over. His stomach began to hurt and his head began to throb. To ease his
pain-he bought a candy bar and a can of pop. His hands cold and wet
trembled with the can as he slowly brought the ice cold beverage to his
freezing lips. Why he didn't buy something warmer he didn't know-
something in him never did fully accept hot chocolate or coffee. Soda
in any form or fashion always seemed to be a teen staple. He took a few
bites of the Snickers bar and threw the wrapper aside just as a cop car
drove by, a lump formed in Jerry's throat as he waited for the heat to
bust him down on something like littering. The car passed him with
little interest.

"That's it bacon boy, go fuck your mother!" he hissed as he watched the
cruiser pass by ands round the corner. Littering on the highway would
have cost him $50 and possibly a bit more- all he needed now as to get
pinched now. Given his record, he doubted his parents would ever come
and get him. He imagined spending the rest of his life in juvenille
hall-abandoned like everyone else in his life had.



A few minutes later, against the bitter sting of the frozen world around
him, he crossed the intersection connecting the two halves of the mall
and made his way into the plaza directly bin front of him. He could see
the usual assortment of strip mall fare, the food stores, Pay Less, Old
Navy, Lerner's Toys 'R Us, T J Maxx, Hacienda, Pier 1 Imports, Michael's
Art Stores, Gateway Country Stores, Jo Ann Fabrics, Radio Shack, card
Pantry.. and, and a strange little store that looked to be something
like a hobby shop at one time. Jerry pulled the Kentucky jacket up
around him a little tighter as he slowly trudged through the snow toward
the strange little store. It was featureless, all save for an orange and
white sign above the doorway that seemed to be temporary. 

SPELLS R US

" What kind of a fucked up name is that!" he thought as he got closer.
He could see the storefront was plain and the double showcase windows in
front were filled with all matter of strange little knick knacks and odd
things. Jerry got closer and could see that there were candles, little
tin pots, antique toys, and all matter of salvation army rejects
cluttering the bare shelves in the windows. There was no rhyme or reason
to any of the merchandising, and most of it seemed to have been just
placed there. Jerry shrugged his shoulders as he checked the door. He
could see that there were the remains of a decal of some sort on the
door identifying it as a former HOBBY LOBBY craft store. Jerry smiled to
himself as his cold numb fingers reached for the handle

"Great- this ought to be easy! First rip off of the day and I get
fucking store of the month!" he swore, his breath curling like poisonous
vapor around him. Jerry stepped inside noting the small bell above the
door, a lump formed in his throat as he began to survey the small
cramped store, it was filled with what many would consider pure junk.
Boxes of clothes and various car parts littered the floor while old
paintings and plaques hung on the walls. In one corner was a virtual
green house of plants both real and artificial. Jerry made his way
across the store to discover a few small coolers and a walk in freezer
filled with assorted boxes. There were a few shelves that didn't seem to
belong in the store filled with more candles and more boxes. Jerry
walked to the bank of shelves and began rummaging through the boxes.
They were filled with various paper sachets of something or other-a few
plastic tubs contained what appeared to be incense or straw of something
or other. He investigated around the shelves around a little morel,
discovering little more than baggies of this and tins of something or
other. Jerry made a face as one of the bags began to emit some sort of
foul smell.

He wiped his eyes as he made his way toward the front of the store.
Strange, he thought, h no camera, no mirrors in the ceiling, no sales
people, nothing to deter him from stealing! Jerry began to chuckle to
himself as he walked to the wall. Next to the wall hung a rack with what
looked like Halloween costumes. On a small shelf above them sat some
matching masks. Jerry reached out to touch the masks with his finger- he
noticed they were all animals or reptiles. Few steps to his lefty was a
rack of thick dusty books, and a pile of old magazines.

"I can't believe this! Nothing worth stealing!" he thought. He licked
his lips as he turned around., 

"Aghh!" he half screamed noticing a large gray dog in front of him. It's
tongue lolled out of it's mouth as it's large muzzle began to sniff his
body. Jerry remained calm and perfectly still as the dog, which
resembled some sort of wolf hybrid began to smell him. Its calm bright
eyes began to look him over as it's tongue began to lap at his chapped
hands. 

"He won't... hurt you, he's harmless." began a calm, almost grand
fatherly voice. Jerry peered around the dog to see an old man dressed in
a long sleeved floor length blue robe, his thin bony fingers wrapped
around a glass. 

"Come smoke-come away now, leave him be you! " he called to the dog, the
dog yipped and cocked it's head as it bounded to it's master's side .

"Go!" he snapped tossing something from the glass in the opposite
direction. The dog bounded off and soon Jerry and the old man were
alone, now ten feet apart.

"Can I help you son? Something I have that interests you today?" he
asked politely.

"I...I'm just looking today mister, I'm sorry to have." he motioned to
the bathrobe.

"Oh, no bother sonny, I was just relaxing in the back..." he admitted
Jerry looked around. He couldn't understand how someone could relax when
there was apparently all this mess to clean up. He knew from a part time
job at K Mart that there was always something to do, whether it be
pricing, cleaning shelves, or checking inventory. He began to look
around the store a bit mere as if lost in the mess, 

"Please forgive the mess- I just moved and I haven't got my bearings
yet. I have a lot to do and precious little time to do it it seems! You
know how it goes!" he remarked. Jerry nodded his head slowly. 

"I know- I understand." Jerry said slowly. 

"Welp, so what CAN I can get for you today, something special for your
family? For a girlfriend? Something for the house? I have very unique
things here that fit almost every occasion." He offered. 

"Um, I'm just looking today." Repeated Jerry. The old man smiled and
winked.

"You're a wildcats fan eh?" he noticed Jerry's jacket.

"Um, yeah- University of Kentucky! I have a scholarship to play football
there next year."

"Wildcats- sort of out of territory for Kentucky aren't they?" the old
man questioned Jerry shrugged his shoulders. " 

"Dunno- I never thought about it..." he admitted. 

"Wildcats range just about everywhere but Kentucky- could never figure
that one out..." the old man mused to himself. "Now, if you'll excuse me
I have some things to attend to. You're free to wander about and take
your time- if you need me, just ring the bell on the counter over
there." He said, as he gestured to the glass display case. 

Jerry watchedas he turned to leave. Jerry d could hardly believe his
luck! This old
man was almost giving him the keys to the store! The old man turned his
back slowly and began to shuffle away slowly. Jerry watched as he
rounded the glass display case filled with odds and ends, and make his
way back to the back of the store. He swallowed hard as he watched his
dog or wolf, whatever it was, join him at his side. Jerry took a few
steps and rounded the corner shadowing the man making sure he went back
the way he came and stayed there. Moments later, satisfied he was alone,
Jerry allowed himself to relax a bit. He was now alone.

Jerry began to survey the store around him. It was a bit strange that
there were no signs warning against shoplifting or any sort of
deterrent. Jerry began to thing maybe the old n man's confidence was
such that he didn't need security or mirrors, or maybe he though no one
would want to steal a bunch of worthless junk! Jerry began top look
around-there certainly wasn't much here that could qualify as valuable
enough to steal as far as he could tell. His eyes, skimming across the
piles of books, clothes, and trinkets of every description, failed to
transmit anything of value.

"Shit!" thought Jerry as he began to rummage through some books. "This
is fucking stupid! There ain't nothing here worth stealing! I have to be
nuts to come into this smelly shithole! Man there has to be SOMETHING
worth stealing in this place!!" after a little more rummaging and some
random picking in some boxes, stood up and began to give up in
desperation. Deep in his mind he began to give up on the whole prospect
of stealing from this store, and decided instead to try his luck
elsewhere. 

Jerry moved for the door, zipping his jacket up to his neck. Just as he
reached the door and as his fingers began to touch the n metal of the
door, his eyes spied something that had escaped him earlier. Sitting on
top of a box almost next to him at shoulder length, was a small silver
figurine of a wildcat. The wildcat figurine was poised on a tree limb,
and had one paw outstretched, as batting at an unseen adversary. Jerry's
eyes glistened as he thought of how magnificent the figurine would look
on his desk at home. It almost seemed to portray the power and tradition
of the University of Kentucky, and emit a sense of belonging ion Jerry's
life. Jerry at once knew he had to have the statue. Carefully he reached
for the small figurine. Seconds later it was his. He marveled at it's
light weight. Just then, He noticed a small orange price tag attached to
the base-$34.00 Jerry scoffed at the outrageous price as he began to
look around. He was a good distance from the door, and there didn't seem
to be any mirrors or cameras in the area. He swallowed hard as he opened
his jacket slowly. He could imagine being lunged at from behind at any
second by the wolf, and found himself half expecting to be!

Jerry slowly slipped the figurine close to his breast and began to close
his jacket around it. The bulge in front was almost invisible, and his
weight distribution seemed to be the same as before. If anyone were to
look at him dead on, they wouldn't be able to tell that he had stolen
anything at all, Jerry liked things neat and tidy, and without as much
complication as possible. He began to smile as he thought about how easy
the heist had been. It had taken next to no effort at all.

He moved for the door, and grasped the handle. 

"This was too easy!" he mumbled as he tugged at the door. To his
surprise, the door held tight! Jerry tried a little harder, still the
door held tight as if it were a part of the wall! Jerry tugged a little
harder, thinking the door were stuck or wedged into place.

"Come on you goddamn door!" shit!" he swore as he tugged at the door a
little more. " Shit!" he thought. "Maybe this was one of them
anti-shoplifting doors-the kind that automatically lock if something is
taken!" he thought as he fought with the door. 

Jerry struggled with the door a little more. As he did, he failed to
notice the strange feeling in his hands and feet. Seconds of struggling
seemed to bring more and more unknown changes to his body. Jerry began
to swear vehemently as his body began to burn and itch. 

"What the! He remarked stepping away from the door. "Oghghhh, man what
the!" he began looking at how dark his hands had become. Jerry's eyes
began to open wide as he saw for the first tie that his nails had begun
to grow out and down, forming little claws

"Holy shit! What the fuck is happening to me! " he began to exclaim
Jerry's body began to slowly blister and crack shattering his tender
skin and forcing him to his knees. Spasms of pain began to fill his
tender frame, and weaken his mind, His eyes began to water, and his
innards began to gurgle with new life. Jerry began to vomit to the red
shag carpeting beneath him as he winced from the misery. He could feel
his body beginning to fatten. He felt hotter and hotter. His nose began
to detect a foul animal like odor as his teeth began to rattle.

"Ohhh. Oh shhit! Shhhitt man what's what's happening....me!!!" he
chittered helplessly. Jerry slowly brought his hands up in front of his
face as his body continued to shake and shudder uncontrolably. His lips
began to swell, and small hard protrusions began to push from his face. 

"Oh shit man! Oh oh holy shit holy shit!" he panicked as he watched the
pads of his fingers begin to turn hard and leathery. He shook his head
in defiance as he watched his hands begin to resemble little animal
paws. 

"Aghhh help me! Help me! He cried helplessly. Jerry crawled to the door,
trying to open it once more. Still it would not budge. Jerry, his eyes
thick with moisture and clouding over with something or other, tried to
control the hand or paw in front of him as it began to loose it's grip
on the metal before him. His heart began to race a little faster, and
his muscles began to ache-ushering in a new identity. 

"Aghhh! Aghhhh Aghhhh !" Jerry continued to cry in pain. His body began
to change a little faster now, he could see his skin was beginning to
sprout long thick brown and gray fur, ticked with black in some parts.
Jerry cringed as his buttocks slowly began to spread and a new sensation
began to fill his mind and body. Incredible saturating pain-like being
trampled by horses began to ravage him over and over as he listened to
his bones snap and crack. 

Bit by bit, moment by moment, his muscles began to stretch a little more
now, slowly adjusting to his newly prescribed physiology. Jerry cried a
little louder, his voice was beginning to raise a few octives, and
becoming somewhat higher pitched, like a squeal. He could begin to feel
sharp needle like teeth in his mouth with his shrinking tongue. 

"What- happening-me...what....happen..." he cried covering his exploding
skull. He could feel the ears on the sides of his head began to shift
and grow. Like cement flowing through a tube, they slowly and forcefully
began to push up and out, resting on the sides of his head. His mind
began to scream as his hearing went dull, and his eyesight shut down.
His head began to fill with an unnatural fire causing him to fall to his
face . He coud feel his throat beginning to swell out, and his limbs
retract. He could feel himself vomit a bit more. His nose, somehow
better than his old one, began to detect his own scent and make him
somewhat aware of his new identity. 

Jerry tried to open his mouth and speak pain, incredible stabbing pain,
began to repel his every effort. He subsided his efforts and soon the
pain began to diminish. He could sense movement behind him now, solid
yet soft and thick. He opened his eyes slowly to discover his rich
pallete of human colors had been replaced by one composed of muted grays
and blacks. He could feel his whiskers as they began to push ever so
slowly out of his face ad come to rest in front of his slowly forming
muzzle. Jerry turned to his left as h best he could and saw in a nearby
mirror that he was fast becoming something raccoon like! He shook his
head in disbelief as he watched his nose begin to darken to a wet shiny
black. 

"Nowwwww" he cried. His eyes filled with tears as his face began to push
out and taper into a small slender muzzle. He could see he had the
beginnings of raccoon marking son his face, and that his eyes were now
turning wet black Jerry manipulated his slender claw like fingers for
the last time as he watched them forcefully begin to retract into
position on his small limbs. Jerry shook his small wide head as his
clothes began to slide from his body, his Kentucky jacket now in a blue
and white leathery heap behind him. Slowly he began to crawl from his
artificial human skin, his brain telling him he would no longer have use
of it. Jerry now on his stomach, watched as his body began to grow
lighter and lighter in color, his body fast carpeting itself with a
thick coat of brown and white ticked hairs. 

He slashed his large bushy rig colored tail around in confusion as he
continued to watch the horror unfolding before him. There was something
as beautiful as there was mystifying about it all-almost as if it were
something he had wished for all of his life. Jerry tried to speak again-
he for some reason couldn't manipulate, or properly control the small
maul before him. He watcched as the creature began to lick the sides of
it's mouth and inspect it's small clawed paws. His body still quivering
with pain and fear continued to change.

Moments later, after listening to his stomach sing, and his body bend
and creak, Jerry could begin to feel the brunt of the transformation
begin to subside. His brain was a mess with thoughts and emotions,
instincts old and new mixed and repelled each other as he stared at the
creature before him as if it understand what it was, and what it was
doing there. His body felt alive, probably moreso than it ever had in
his life! His glassy eyes begged for answers his body wouldn't give, he
could begin to g feel his anatomy shift and adapt to his new species.

Minutes passed, and soon Jerry began to look up. He raised one paw to
the door as if still attempting to escape. Seconds later, a curtain of
steel feel before him. Jerry out of instinct turned as best he could
with a still changing body to face another wall of steel, then another,
and another, Jerry found himself looking up just in time to see a large
metal cage lid fall and lock into position. His body, somewhere between
a full sized adult raccoon and a human being, tried to fight the sudden
entrapment! Instinct told him to fight! To escape! Immediately he put
his paws on the cage walls- the feeling of something warm and unpleasant
met them forcing him to withdraw them. Jerry looked around him as his
body slowly began top shrink in size. Moment by moment, his frame began
to push out as it shrank, he could feel the world around him growing
larger and larger. Things were beginning to become confusing-nothing
felt or smelled right!



"There you go my little friend! " boomed a kindly voice from above him.
Jerry looked up through the cage lid over his almost completed raccoon
body w to see the old man and the wolf, it's tongue lolling lazily.

"Well then, what do we have here, little thief! Cute little thing aren't
cha! Well, serves ya right for trying to take my shiny things now
doesn't it!" he laughed to himself. 

"Welp, lets get you in back with the others then, don't want you getting
out and causing a ruckus- I'll have no more trouble out of you today, Or
I'll cast a new spell and have myself a new statue! Darned hoodlums made
off
with my last one- loved it I did... was right pretty." he reminded
himself as he picked up the cage and began carrying it back to the back
room.

The old man made his way around the counter and through a blue faded set
of curtains. He walked slowly to the back of the store, and set the cage
down on the cold cement Jerry saw that the wolf was eyeing him closely. 

"Come now Smoke, I'll feed you you rascal! You leave those critters be!"
he called. Jerry began to look through the cage bars at three other sets
of glowing eyes across the room from him, each one of them wearing a
remnant of clothing. His eyes began to tear as one of them half spoke to
him in a mixture of high pitched chatter and human speech.

"I forgot to tell you- don't ever steal from this store." 

****

2000: Ocicat (ocicat@gte.net)

Al rights reserved- Ocelot Studios

Be kind to cats!

* * *