I awoke to the smell of fresh mountain air. Everything hurt and my head was spinning. What the heck just happened? It was dark, but the moons were out which helped illuminate the surrounding area. Wait a minute... 'moons' as in plural? I rubbed my eyes and looked up again. Sure enough, there was a second smaller moon next to the big one.

  "This can't be real..." I whispered out into the cool night air.

  Clearly I wasn't in a restaurant anymore, and there was no sign of Shelly or Blaize anywhere. Not only was I in a completely different environment, the entire atmosphere felt different too. On top of that, my body felt strange and a little off balance. Something was wrong, but I wasn't sure what it was just yet. My chest felt heavier than before. It also felt like something was just missing, though I couldn't put my finger on it.

  The moons were bright enough that I could make out the slope of the mountain as well as the trees and bushes that surrounded me. It seemed like I was on a hillside in the mountains somewhere. Tall trees loomed in the darkness, and I was surrounded by tons of shrubs and bushes that didn't even look real.

  After a quick scan of my surroundings, I noticed the book Muganno created lying in the dirt a few feet away. I stood up and brushed the dirt off my pants before I walked over to grab the book.

  "What kind of fever dream am I going through? There must have been some kind of drugs in those burgers today. One does not simply 'turn a hair into a book' on the regular," I mumbled to myself.

  Yet, lying here in the dirt before me was the very same book I saw Muganno create out of one of my hairs. As I leaned down to pick it up I felt something tickle me and brush my neck.

  "Agh!" I yelped.

  I quickly reached up to swipe whatever it was away, only to realize whatever it was-was attached to my head.

  "What in the world...? Is that...hair? My hair??" I asked into the cold night.

  Had it always been this long? I reached up and found that there was a lot more of it too. It was so long that it covered my ears, and reached down past my shoulders.

  "What the heck did that psycho do to me??"

  Before I really had a moment to finish assessing my apparent hair growth spurt, I heard a twig snap in the bushes nearby. I was never much of a wilderness enjoyer like Shelly was. But, in that moment, I remembered her telling me before that 'If it's ever quiet in the forest, you've got a problem!'. She had explained to me that normally you'd hear crickets chirping or owls hooting, but to hear nothing often meant the smaller critters were trying not to be found.

  That thought set me on high alert. The hair exam could wait until daytime, assuming there WAS daytime here. My body froze as I stopped to listen. The silence was loud. My heart began to race as I listened for any other traces of noise. I started to slowly back away from the direction I had heard the sound.

  With the light of the moon I could make out a small clearing in the brush about 15 feet away. That's where I first noticed some slight movement, though it wasn't a creature it was...smoke? Or at least it looked like smoke. A dark, shadowy fog cloud seemed to be emanating out from a couple of bushes, slowly creeping toward me as it seeped outward. Then I saw the source.

  It had large glowing yellow eyes and was hunched over, watching me...stalking me. It was easy to overlook since it blended in with the shadows of the night. It looked like a large, scrawny lynx or something, though it was certainly bigger than one.

  The fog looked as if it was seeping out of its fur. The cloud billowed around as the cat swished its tail in anticipation. It suddenly took a couple quick paces towards me and then hunched back down and stopped again. It reminded me of a cat stalking a bird...meaning that I was probably the bird!

  I also took a couple steps back and raised my arms in an attempt to make myself look more intimidating.

  "Back up! Leave me alone!" I yelled in an attempt to maybe frighten it off.

  That's when I knew something was really wrong with me. The voice I just heard wasn't mine, or at least, not the one I was used to. The voice I heard was higher pitched...girly even.

  "What did that freakin' scumbag do to me!?" I exclaimed as I reached up and held a hand to my throat.

  The adams apple that I was used to was gone, and so were any remnants of the 5 o'clock shadow that I'd had this morning. What I felt was smooth, hairless skin. Panic started to set in as I realized the gravity of the situation. Not only was there an ominous shadow kitty stalking me, but my body was clearly different now, too.

  By this point the cloud of fog had nearly reached my feet. Luckily the cat creature hadn't moved since the last time. My physical exam would have to wait though, realizing that I might be in a bit of trouble. I began to back away slowly. With the light of the moons illuminating the area, I noticed a golf ball sized rock next to my feet. Thinking I might be able to scare it, I quickly reached down to grab it.

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  When I was younger I actually played on the high school baseball team as the backup pitcher. I was pretty confident in my accuracy, so as I wound up to throw the rock I took a pitcher's stance to get as much power as possible. Just as I was about to let loose, my new long hair fell down over my face causing me to lose my focus. I chucked the rock as hard as I could. However, my aim was slightly off causing the rock to sail off into the smoke causing little wisps to billow around as it flew by.

  To my amazement and horror, the cat leapt forward and then seemingly disappeared into the smoke cloud. That was utterly impossible...right? I knew cats were stealthy and all, but since when could they just phase into smoke? Was this a Batman kitty?

  At this point, the fog had finally surrounded my feet. I took a couple more steps backwards, and as I did I tripped on a branch that was hidden below the surface of the fog.

  "Wooah!", I yelped as I fell backwards.

  I frantically looked around trying to find that creature, but all that I could see was the sheet of smoke hovering above the ground. As I scrambled to my feet, seemingly out of no where, the cat sprung out of the smoke next to me. It lashed out at me, and one of its claws cut right into my left shoulder.

  I screamed in pain, but I managed to roll it off of me before it could knock me back to the ground. As it reached the floor, it disappeared again back into the smoke.

  * Dang, this thing is annoying! How the heck are you supposed to fight this thing if you can't see it? *

  I could feel the warm blood starting to run down my arm. Dang it! I just got another chance at life, or at least, a different one, but I wasn't just going to sit there and die again without putting up a fight.

  I backpedaled a little bit so that I was out of that creature's smoke cloud. As I scanned my surroundings, I noticed a fallen branch next to me. I quickly reached down and grabbed it just before the smoke reached my ankles again.

  My grip tightened on the branch as I waited for it to pounce again. I didn't have the best hold on the branch since I was still clutching the book in my other hand. As I continued to back up from the dark cloud, I noticed a slight swirl forming my left this time. As I focussed in on it, I saw that same set of glowing eyes appear just below the wisps of smoke. Suddenly, they disappeared and reappeared again to my right side where the cat pounced me again.

  I tried to block it with the branch, and as I did I dropped the book to the ground. The creature knocked me down and pinned me to the ground. I had managed to get the branch under its neck and was using that to keep its sharp teeth away from my throat. I couldn't stop its claws though, as they started tearing into my arms.

  I let out a loud scream as the claws tore through my shirt to my skin. I could feel more warm blood starting to seep down my arms as the cat lashed at me. I was losing strength, and its mouth was getting closer and closer to my neck. As the last of my strength was leaving me, I thought to myself:

  * I can't believe I'm going to die twice in one day! What sort of sick joke is this? Why did it have to be me?? *

  Just then, seemingly out of nowhere, I thought I heard the faintest flap of wings. In an instant, a huge owl-like creature descended out of the night sky and sunk its claws right into the shadow cat. It was huge, maybe the size of a minivan! The cat let out a blood curdling scream as it started to be lifted into the air. I let out a scream of my own as the creature's claws were yanked out of me. There was another hiss from the cat as it was carried away into night before everything became quiet again.

  I laid there for a moment panting as I tried to process everything that just happened. My arms were on fire, and I could feel the blood seeping into the tattered shirt I was wearing.

  * I literally just witnessed nature's drive-by. Thank goodness that owl went for the shadow kitty and not me. *

  I could hardly call that thing an owl given its size, it just kinda looked like one. No doubt someone could probably ride it if they wanted to. The burning feeling in my arms brought my attention back to the problem at hand. The adrenaline was finally slowing down.

  I tore what remained of my sleeves off and wrapped it around my arms before tying it off in an attempt to stop the bleeding. It seemed to work well enough for now, so I quickly looked around for any other threats.

  With the coast seeming clear, I walked back to where I dropped the book. The fog cloud seemed to have dispersed when the shadow cat was taken away to his new home. I quickly found the book lying next to the root that had tripped me. As I walked back over to it, I noticed that the sky was beginning to lighten up with beautiful streaks of red, blue, and orange shooting across the sky. It must have been early morning when I had woken up.

  "Thank goodness..." I muttered, "At least there's a daytime here."

  I reached down to pick up the book, and again, my new hair fell over my face.

  "Ughh! This is the worst!" I said angrily.

  I was caught off guard again by the feminine voice I heard. I still couldn't believe it was coming from me. It was soft and melodic, not bubbly like Shelly's. I already had my suspicions as to what that wackjob did to me.

  As I continued the overdue self examination, I could see my long black hair partially obscuring my vision. I reached up to brush it out of my eyes, then continued downward as I ran my hands down the side of my face. It was smooth, slender, and lacked any trace of stubble. I skipped past my arms because they were in so much pain. I was worried about the part that came next.

  My hands made their way down to my chest where they stopped for a moment. The bumps I felt there only confirmed what I'd been worried about. There they were. Soft, round, and more than a handful. Breasts.

  "This can't be happening!" I squeaked.

  There was no doubt about it, though. A light squeeze assured me it was real. After a deep breath, I continued downward. My hips felt wider, and my butt was certainly...larger. To my dismay, It seemed like I'd lost a fair amount of muscle.

  I'd finally reached the part I'd been dreading. I cupped my groin, and as I feared...nothing. I'll admit I wasn't the biggest batter before, but this was a new low. Losing my modest Michael was another blow to my self esteem. I got a little choked up as the realization set in, while tears began to well up in my eyes. Thoughts ran through my head as I tried to take in everything that had happened.

  * That dumb Muganno! I never wanted any of this! Who does he think he is? Throwing someone into a death trap like this! IF I ever see him again, I swear I'll... *

  My head started spinning and my vision blurred. The pain in my body combined with the emotions I was feeling were a bit too much. I slumped against the nearest tree, and before I knew it, I blacked out again.