Everything was aching, and the burns on my skin were angry welts. As I surveyed what was left of my living room, moving house was beginning to become an attractive idea. Unfortunately, I was simply too tired to contemplate that course of action. My day only worsened as I realised that collapsing onto the couch wasn't an option now that it was lodged in a garden bush.

Gravel crunched underfoot en route to the bathroom, and for once, I turned the heating on instead of warming the water myself. I had to perch on the tub's edge as it filled up, not trusting my ability to stand back up if the seat were stable. As soon as the water was ankle height, kicking off my shoes, a toe was sacrificed to see if the temperature was acceptable. Met with an inferno, I slumped in, crossed my ankles, and hugged my knees. The water immediately saturated a reddish brown, full of blood and dirt, with specs of grass floating amongst the mud spots.

As the water reached my arm, I whimpered, clutching my knees closer. With the dried blood washed away, the extent of damage was visible. The blisters were already starting to reveal bruising under smarting skin, and even more worryingly was the webbing of skin around the gem.

With my arm looking clearer, I could see where each of the individual links had burnt their way inside. Gold was my favourite thing of all time, but this was a little too close to comfort. The gem stared mockingly. Would it remain if I entered my true form?

My morning alarm began to ring from the other room; my groan was a lot louder. My day off was officially over; I'd had no sleep, my magic was running half empty, and I was wrong if I thought it couldn't get any worse. Placing the remaining necklace over my head, I ran a thumb absently over the surface.

On the way to work, I purchased a bandage to wrap around my arm from the local pharmacy; despite the staff insisting on a hospital visit, my assurances that it was merely a flesh wound seemed to fall on deaf ears. Finally, managing to console the staff by taking a leaflet on 'domestic violence', they allowed me to leave the premises.

My boss, David, pounced on me when I finally managed to find a way to drag myself into the shop. I was one gust of wind away from crawling on my hands and knees.

Beet-red, he yelled, "Andy!" rushing over, his Dybbuk eerily floating after him. Silently, its hollow sockets focused on studying me, leaving a chill jarring my spine.

David continued, "Paul's called in ill. I need you to take security. There is no talking to customers involved; make sure no one takes anything they haven't paid for."

"Urrr..."

He paused, studying my face. With a disdained curled lip, he asked, "Andy, did you get into a fight? You look terrible."

Quickly, I reassured him, "No one died," pivoting the subject to the former; "Security?" There was always security at the club. They got to drag out the drunk, handsy guests. That wouldn't be too bad, especially if they lost a finger or two. I saluted him. "Yes, sir!" His eyes followed my bandaged arms.

"Ohmygosh, what happened, Andy?" A high-pitched voice squealed. It was the new teenage girl that had trailed me the other day. Her bright blue eyes were ringed in eyeliner, only making them look wider as she blatantly stared at my injuries.

I grunted. "DIY accident; honestly, I'm fine." If I worked security, she'd not be following me around. "Happy to secure the premises," I told David.

He sighed, rubbing his nose bridge lethargically. "Andy, you're an awful employee, rude, you don't listen, and you're about as helpful as a soggy doormat."

Here I was, trying to be a model employee, yet it was hard not to grin at the thought of being absolutely useless. I tried my best, after all. He took a deep breath.

"Just watch the security desk, don't make eye contact with the customers."

Before I could ask how I was meant to watch and avoid eye contact, a tannoy announcement summoned him away.

"They look like burns." The human girl gasped, pointing at my arm.

It took all my years of training not to roll my eyes, "Yeah, DIY got crazy."

She bit her lip. Meanwhile, I was trying to recall her name. Was it Jody? Josie? Jo continued, "Hey, I know you don't know me well, but if you ever need someone to talk to or a place to stay, let me know. No questions asked!" She added hurriedly, "I house share, but they're great. You haven't got to worry about a thing!"

Oh great, it was like the pharmacy all over again. In a bored tone, I repeated what I'd told them whilst purchasing a bandage. "It's not domestic abuse. I am single. I live alone. I do not tolerate other people." My tone was boring and repetitive.

For a moment, she seemed pacified, turning to leave. Suddenly, over her shoulder, she added, "If you're that bad at DIY, maybe you should consider tolerating someone who isn't." Her lips were in a sly smile. "Just-a-thought!" Her cadence bobbed in a sing-song tone, walking away.

Not sure how to answer that, I sat at the security podium. Security guy Paul had the best job. On the tiny little screens, I could see the entire empire. The man on aisle seven was scratching his ball sack. The girl on aisle ten was picking her nose. I almost levitated out of my seat when she put it in her mouth. Marvellous! What a legend. Perhaps David would let me have popcorn.

Despite the shift passing quickly. I had a few slip-ups. Mrs Marie didn't realise the knickers hanger was caught in her hood, and apprehending her was borderline aggressive.

Jo, as predicted, ended up trailing a different member of staff today, who got her going on scanning at the tills. Still smiling, she offered me a wave, and she took a seat opposite where I was. In return, I provided a glare, which she didn't seem to take offensively. My hands would need to be removed before I'd consider waving back.

By the last hour of my shift, most customers had left, and my attention kept wandering away. My arm was hot and itchy, and my lack of sleep caught up with me. While I was used to long hours at night, daytime shifts without any rest were turning into an eye-closing experience.

The monotonous beeping of scanned items became a metronome. My eyelids slid closed for a minuscule two seconds, and then I jolted awake again, scanning the cameras for anything I could've missed.

The shop was empty apart from a hooded figure approaching Jo's till. I glanced up and could see them a few metres away. Their gait was odd, as if their head held them up instead of their legs. I let my eye slide closed for a few more microseconds since it wasn't too much of a concern. They'd had a bit of excessive tequila intake over there.

Jo watched the figure approach, tilting her head oddly before mouthing words I couldn't catch. Sitting up a bit straighter and blinking away sleep, I observed curiously. When the customer was at the till, her eyes narrowed, but she smiled hesitantly, ready to serve. That was until she completely froze, her mouth falling open.

Jolting to attention, muscles tense, I waited to see if I needed to spring into action—this time with slightly less gusto than I'd used on the old lady.

Jo's gaze was transfixed on what was before her. Using her fingertips, she subtly pushed her chair away from the till and rolled. The wheels rattled across the linoleum, betraying her.

"An... Andy," Jo stuttered, quickly shooting me a side glance.

Snappishly, I shouted back, "What?" She cringed. The figure swayed, and she started shooting glances between us, mouthing another word.

Run.

I tilted my head quizzically, only realising too late it was the irksome non-human gesture I'd been trying to phase out of my repertoire.

Just what was her problem?

The figure in front of Jo was shaking, reaching out a trembling hand. Jo's knees tensed, leaning forward, her weight shifted to her toes as she prepared to bolt. The hiss of the chair as the pressure decreased filled the store.

The figure's weight shifted quickly towards her. Security time! I stepped out of the podium, channelling strength through my foot with more force than I intended. The tile under my foot shattered with a loud crack, causing the figure to stumble as it tried to turn towards the new sound.

"Hey, you!" I shouted, storming closer.

Jo looked back at me like a second head erupted from my shoulders, shaking her head quickly and mouthing 'go, go, go,' gesturing me toward the exit.

When the individual tried to turn, I grabbed their arm. Instead, my hand touched something cold, slimy, and wet. Repulsed, I snatched it back, but the thing's skin came off, too. It stuck to my fingers, pulling off like a slime toy.

"Urgh!" I cried, trying to shake it off. The stuff slid off like a slug.

"Ewwwwww!" I shrieked. Surely, I'd had enough weird things on my hand for one day. The figure had redirected its attention away from Jo. As I met its gaze, my first thought was that it was one heck of a look for next Halloween. The scent of wet dog, saliva and meat, crossed with a human and the sour pit of rotting flesh, offended my nose.

Whilst not an expert on lycanthropes, the mixture of dog and human suggested the heritage. Stories indicated they were a seamless blend and notoriously fast healers. Staring at what was left of the girl before me, I'd have to disagree.

Bone jutted out from her cheek as if it had been broken previously or gotten stuck midway through the change. She had an eye left, but it faced somewhere over to my right side, whilst her other socket was a hollowed dark hole. She had a maw, the canine teeth intact, but the rest of her skull was still warped human and too tiny to fit such a large mouth. Her muzzle exposed ripped flesh where a white fat maggot wriggled from the gums. Leisurely, it twisted from the hidey-hole before ungraciously falling to the floor.

I realised now why she had walked so weirdly. Her kneecaps were in the wrong place, and one leg was partway toward wolf, while the other remained somewhat humanoid.

Jo didn't need to be told twice now that it was focused on me; out of the corner of my eye, she attempted to slink away, the best idea she'd had since I'd met her.

The walking wolf-corpse growled.

Cool, two could play that game.

Drawing in a deep breath, I snarled back louder from deep in my chest. Shelving of homewares vibrated in the store.

Unperturbed, the creature opened its maw, flashing blackened teeth and a barely attached tongue. Behind it, Jo bolted, leaving the chair spinning emptily. As much as I wanted to chase her, I couldn't have something scarier than me. Throwing back its head, a long howl escaped. I'd sound ridiculous if I tried that.

However, it didn't seem to be done then; it began to snap oddly, hunching over. Its head widened, and its legs evened out until it was on two stretched dog limbs.

Trying to figure out where the bones and muscles would be just to walk made my head hurt. The arm bones didn't quite join correctly, the forearm stayed outside the skin, and the back contorted worse in its arch. Maggots and flesh chunks cascaded to the floor, escaping the changed anatomy. The previous bones that had jutted out of the skin were attempting to hold onto the body to which they belonged as if they might be helpful.

The sudden amplification of the rotting odour hit the back of my throat, sending me staggering backwards. A flickering red light drew my attention upwards, and I gazed into one of the store security cameras. Now I had a problem: It was inevitable that I would be on film. I'd promised the councilman I wouldn't cast any magic. Plus, who knew what copies late-night rental stores would be selling out of the back room if this was on tape?

Honestly, I'd rather be in bed. Even thinking about summoning magic was enough to give me a headache. If I gave the creature a blast of magic, not only would I be in a lot of trouble, but I'd more likely collapse. On the other hand, it also seemed like it was already dead, so I wasn't entirely sure how to stop it. I paused, listening closely through the ripping muscles. Yep, no heartbeat.

Could this be one of the zombie things? Wait until I told Willow about this!

My excitement was short-lived as the creature launched itself towards me. Had I decided if I could hit it with magic?

Too late! Trying to step out of the way, it collided with a smack, its teeth sinking into my shoulder.

Not cool.