Back at the video store.

You heard me.

11:00 AM tomorrow, I open the gates. I'm on till 5:30, call then if you want, douchebags, you'll find out if Kirk Thomson really works there.

Still, it's a little frustrating. I go through a measure of hell that I thought unimaginable, commit horrible acts of violence, come face to face with something I abhor, realize that it is in me to a certain extent, and come out the other side unscathed, well physically at least.

I never want to look at another dog again.

So I get back, call John at the video store, and what do I hear?

"Hey! How was Prague? Can you open tomorrow?"

"Sure, fuck it."

I guess you guys wanna hear the story.

When the guys knocked at my door, I was so confused that I literally was led from the room in a daze. I was glad to see that the post turned up alright, cause as they dragged me away, Blogger was still doing that wonky "Your blog is being published" screen, which means it is:
a) really being published
b) isn't publishing at all and you lose your whole post
or
c) posts it about 17 times.

But my head was swimming. I mean, Mickey had just told me that he was actually Dan Reilly, the ghost who was trapped in my iPod (Well, actually, HIS iPod, but why nitpick) that Alyssa had sent him into Mickey's body, the Bruce was evil and I was walking into a trap.

He was kinda right.

First, I thought, well -duh- he read my blog.

I mean, I had smelled him in my room and next to my computer, and he had been real shifty around me ever since I was sort of responsible for feeding his buddy Lars to another werewolf, but let's be honest, fuck that guy. He was a dick. I mean, if you get work as a werewolf wrangler, you gotta expect to get scratched up a little. I mean, fuck- don't sign up to be a rodeo clown if you're gonna bitch when a bull steps on your nuts, is all I'm saying.

You know, let's just to take a moment here, sit back and reflect on how fucking intimidating my skill with metaphor is. I truly paint a picture with the written word.

OK, sorry about that. Back to our gripping tale-

I mean, the whole thing just seems off. Why would he avoid me? I wasn't pissed at him until he had been in my room. And I hadn't seen him in my room, just smelled him. And now here he was all tied up waiting to be slaughtered? And why was Bruce so cool all of a sudden with me eating one of his employees? Granted, I don't exactly know how he hires these guys and keeps their morale up, but I'd wager that when you allow a bad employee to be tied up and eaten it might make for a few awkward moments at the company Christmas party is all.

But what the hell do I know.

I did telemarketing for a couple years, and being ripped to peices by a bloodthirsty beast would have at least broken up the monotony.

So anyway, the handlers got me down to this holding area, and tied me to the wall. I could see through the open glass doors as the sun was setting, and could see the tracks in the snow where Mickey had run after his release. More importantly, his scent, still fresh in my nostrils, blazed a clear path of where I had to go. The power panic hit me like a thunderbolt, and with an involuntary spasm of my arms, broke the ropes that held me. I smelled the scent on the wind, lept up on all fours, and was enjoying the sound of a low, rumbling snarl that I startled to realize was coming from my own throat.

Then- I don't know...I just sort of...stopped.

It's funny what you think of when you get in these situations, and what is important to you. I felt the air around me, the thoughts inside me, and all confusion started falling away. My mind returned to the swimming pool, and what it felt like to walk into it slowly, with CONTROL.

Then, all of a sudden, like a thunderbolt, I saw Alyssa.

In my mind.

She was there.

"You see Kirk, no one can become a werewolf unless they desire a radical change in their lives. It's impossible."

Slowly, yet surely, I made a decision.

I made a choice.

I was not going to change.

Sure, I was feeling the urge to change, but why should I embrace it? Am I not my own man, standing on the earth with every right to be there as anyone else? And really, what kind of change was I looking for? Did I want more money? I dunno, I guess so, but not really. Did I want sex? I'd had all kinds of crazy sex with the purebloods, and that didn't cheer me up THAT much. Did I want love? I already had it, with Alyssa.

So what the fuck was I complaining about?

I stood up and walked into the light of the full moon as a man, for the first time in, well- honestly, in my whole life.

And it felt pretty good.

Just then, I heard a voice.

"Congratulations Mr. Thompson. You have passed with flying colors."

It was Bruce. From the second floor, he was calling to me from his chambers.

"Come up and see me. We have much to discuss."

And so I did.

I'll tell you all about it tomorrow, and believe me, it's worth it. But right now, I'm tired as hell and have to work in the morning.

To be continued.....