Revenge
A Spells 'R' Us story

	"Oh, no.  It's Mr. Johnson," I said under my breath as I saw the
man walking my direction.  He hadn't seen me yet.  There were a lot of
people in the mall that day.  More than usual.  <I can't stand that man.>
It's probably normal to not like your boss, but I have an extreme hatred
toward him.  He is always throwing large paperwork jobs on my desk saying
stuff like, "Lance, can you have this done by tomorrow," or "I needed
this done yesterday."  I don't know why he wants me to do all of his
work.  I have my own projects to work on.  And there are many other
people in the office that have lots of spare time.

	He was still walking my way.  There was a little shop next to
where I was standing.  I ducked inside and started looking at the items
for sale.  The shop was full of interesting objects.  There were sweaters
and old books.  Old photos filled one display.  One corner was full of
costumes.  I made a mental note to come here before Halloween.

	"Can I help you find something?" asked a voice behind me.

	Startled, I turned around and saw an old man.  I didn't see anyone
in here when I came in.  "No thanks, I'm just looking."

	"Well, let me know if you need anything."  He walked to the back
of the store.

	There wasn't much there that I needed right then.  I could come
back again later.  Mr. Johnson should be gone by now.  So I headed for
the door.

	"Wait, Lance!" shouted the old man from behind the counter.  "I
think I have something that might interest you."  He reached down behind
the counter and pulled up a mounted moose head.  It was fantastic.  It
had a large pair of antlers, and the eyes looked real.  The taxidermist
did a very good job.  That is if it is real.  "Yes, it's real.  I think
it would look great in your new house."

	"Yeah, I have been looking for something to put on the walls."  I
did need something on the bare walls of my house.  I've always liked
moose.  And this would be an interesting conversational piece if nothing
else.  "How much is it?"

	"Oh, I'm not going to charge you," said the old man.

	"What?  You're just going to give me that?"

	"Yes, besides I think he likes you," the man said with a laugh.

	I snickered. 

	"You better be off, Lance.  It looks like it is going to rain, and
I don't think you should get the moose wet.  You know how wet fur can
be."

	"Yeah, I guess your right.  Thanks," I said leaving with the moose
head.  It was pretty heavy.  Luckily I parked near the door to the mall.

	"You're welcome," the old man said.  "See you later."

	As I walked out I noticed the name of the store was Spells 'R' Us.

	Just like the old man said, it started to rain.  Luckily I had
just gotten the moose head in the house.  I fetched my tools and hung the
moose on the wall in the living room over my television.  It looked
perfect.  But, I couldn't help feeling sorry for the moose.  I have never
been hunting before.  I  don't like the thought of killing something.
But somebody else had shot this moose and didn't want the head anymore.
I shouldn't have a guilty conscience.

	That night I fell asleep watching TV.  I had a busy day.  A thump
woke me up.  I looked around and didn't see anything that had fallen.  I
got up to look for a burglar.  I searched all over the house and didn't
find anybody.  I went back to the living room to turn off the TV.

	Then I saw what made the thump.  In the living room was a moose.
Also, the mounted moose head was missing.  The plaque was still there,
but the head was gone.  The real moose saw me and bellowed.  I just stood
there looking at it.  Then it charged.  I ran toward the front door.  I
unlocked the deadbolt turned around to see if the moose was still chasing
me.  He was and I didn't have time to open the door.  The moose rammed
me, but I didn't feel anything.  It was like the moose had just vanished.
I stood there for a while.  Finally I went to bed.  I had to get up for
work the next morning.

	The next day the moose head was back on the wall.  The whole
incident the night before must have just been a dream.  I finished my
morning routine and went to work.

	Work was going great.  I was getting my project completed.  And
Mr. Johnson didn't pile anything up on me today.  That is until right
before I got off.

	"Hi, Lance," Mr. Johnson said.  "I see you are getting that
project of yours finally finished.  Here, why don't you work on this.
I'm going on a business trip the rest of the week.  I won't be back until
Monday.  I need it done by then.  Have a nice week."  He put a huge stack
of papers on my desk and walked off.

	<He makes me so mad.  Why do I always get stuck with his work when
he goes off on one of his business trips?  Why can't somebody else do it?
I'm stuck here doing his job while he is out in the woods moose
hunting....>  "Moose hunting?" I asked myself.  <Where did that come
from?  He's never said anything about moose hunting before.  But, I
remember seeing him in the woods hunting for moose.  But I couldn't have.
I've never....>

	"Lance, you ok?" asked a voice.  Sally Hayes was standing at my
desk.  She works in the cubicle next to me.

	"Yeah, I'm fine."

	She glanced down and saw the stack of papers.  "Oh, I see that Mr.
Johnson struck again."

	"I'm afraid so."

	"What are you doing after work?" she asked.

	"I don't have any plans so far."

	"I was just wondering.  I mean it's a good costume and all, but
why wear it to work?"

	"Costume?"

	"If you were trying to hide from Mr. Johnson, you shouldn't have
been sitting at your desk," she laughed walking back to her desk.

	<Costume?  What was she talking about?>  I picked up the stack of
papers to see what I had to do this time.  Then I saw what Sally was
talking about.  My hands weren't my hands.  They were brown.  And I only
had three fingers.  But that's not everything that was different.  After
a body examination I saw that I was covered with brown fur.  And my feet
were now hooves and my knee bent wrong.  No, the backwards knee was my
ankle.  My knees were up higher on my legs.  I turned off the computer
monitor at my desk so I could see my reflection in the glass.  I saw a
moose staring back at me.  But how shocking it was, it didn't feel
strange.  It was like I had always been like this.  But I couldn't have
been.  <I distinctly remember being a human.  But I distinctly remember
being a moose.  I couldn't have been both.  But now I am.  I remember
growing up in Arkansas and moving to Seattle.  I remember living in the
woods with other moose.>

	<Why am I so confused?  I know I work in this building.  But I've
never been in a city before today.  This is so weird.  It is time to go
home now.  I remembered driving a lot before, but it was like it was the
first time I had driven.>  When I got home, I made a more thorough
examination of what I was.  I found out that I had a tail.  <I've always
liked my tail.>  The antlers on my head were huge.  <All the other moose
were jealous of my antlers.>

	<Why have I become mooselike?  Why have I become humanlike?  Being
a moose isn't bad.  Being a human isn't bad either.  Moose and humans are
good creatures.  Except for Mr. Johnson, that evil hunter.  He's the one
that killed me and mounted my head.  The head I have on my wall.  Mr.
Johnson must be on another hunting trip.  He's out to kill another moose.
Now that I'm partially human, I can seek revenge.>

	I went to my attic and dug out the hand gun my dad gave me for
Christmas one year.  I couldn't find the bullets for it.  The mall was
still open.  There's a store that sells guns and bullets there.

	I got in the car and drove to mall.  I headed for the gun shop.
The people in the mall gave me funny looks.  I guess they haven't seen a
moose in a mall before.  I passed the shop called Spells 'R' Us.  The old
man was behind the counter.  I need to ask him what happened to me.

	"Oh, hi, Lance and Mortimer," said the old man as I walked in.
"I've been expecting you."

	"How did you know it was me?" I asked.  "I mean I wasn't like this
the last time I saw you."

	"I just know.  How may I help you?"

	"What happened to me?  Why am I this half-n-half creature?"

	"Well, I'm not really sure.  It was a spell that even I didn't
create.  I think it was Mortimer's willingness to live, Lance's feeling
toward moose, and both of you dislike the same person.  I guess that
helped you merge."

	"But I was dead," I said.

	"Mortimer was only dead in body.  But, he was a special moose.  He
had the power of magic.  An extremely rare gift for an animal.  That is
why he was able to merge with Lance.  Although apparently he merged by
accident.

	"Now, I have something here that might interest you.  It's better
than that gun you have."  The old man went into the back room.  He came
back with a riffle scope.  "Here.  This is an exact duplicate of Mr.
Johnson's riffle scope.  If you switch this one with his, the first
animal he targets with the scope will be the animal he will change into."

	"You mean he would be merged like me?"

	"No.  He would become an exact duplicate of the animal.  He would
be the animal in every way except in mind.  He will have the animal
instincts, but he will remember that he was human.  Don't you think that
it would be enough punishment for him to become the same animal he was
hunting?  I know how you don't like killing."

	"You're right.  That is a better punishment than shooting him," I
said.  "How much do I have to pay for that?"

	"This one is free, too.  I need to keep my customers happy.
Besides, I know moose don't carry money," he said smiling.

	"Thanks again," I said leaving.

	"See you again," said the old man.

	I got back in my car and drove to the woods Mr. Johnson's hunting
camp is located.  It was getting dark, so I can sneak up on his camp
easier.  I can see better in the low light than when I was a human, but
not as good as when I was a moose.

	I reached the camp easily.  It was in the same place as it was the
last time I was here.  After scanning the sight, I saw that there were
three men in the tent.  Mr. Johnson and two others I didn't know.  I saw
that they had left their riffles on the rack in the truck.  Luckily the
window was down.  Now the only problem was finding out which gun was Mr.
Johnson's.

	But I took my sense smell for granted.  I didn't know how good a
moose's sense of smell was, and I thought that a human's sense of smell
would hinder it.  But, it was good enough to detect Mr. Johnson's sent.
So, I took his gun and switched scopes.  I carefully placed the riffle
back the way it was.  That was easier than I thought it was going to be.

	Then a twig snapped.  I turned and saw a deer walking near by.  It
was a large stag.  The twig got the hunters' attention.  The tent door
flap flew open and the three men ran out looking toward the deer.  The
deer took off running.  I did the same.  I could hear the men saying that
they could see the deer.  Luckily they didn't see me.  I heard the truck
door open.

	"I have the deer in my scope," said Mr. Johnson.  "Boy, it is a
big one.  It's in too far.  Too many trees in the way."

	I then heard someone screaming in pain.  In the faint light I
couldn't make out any details from this distance, but I saw that one
man's figure looked like he had antlers on his head.  Then his outline
became distorted and became that of a deer.  The other men stood in
shock.  The deer ran off in my direction.  As it got closer, I could tell
that it had the remains of Mr. Johnson's plaid shirt hanging around its
neck.  It darted further into the woods, and I lost sight of him.  The
other men hopped into their truck and took off toward the main road.  I
guess that scared them out of hunting for a while.

	Now that I wasn't in danger of getting shot anymore, I walked back
to my car.  That's when I realized something.  I was walking on all four
legs.  I looked at myself and saw that I was all moose.  I was back in my
old moose body.  It was comforting in some way.  I then realized that I
was a moose when I was running from the truck.  I guess I do have a little
magic in me.  The thought of them seeing me and shooting must have
triggered the transformation.  I thought about my merged form.  I was the
merged form again.  I didn't feel the change at all.  So, as a test I
tried to change into a full human.  It worked.  I looked like my human
self again.  I changed back into the merged form when I reached the car.
I'm more comfortable in that form, and I can still drive.

	With the new found ability I have, I switch to human form to go to
work and do other public activities.  I take long walks in the woods in
my moose form.  And any other time I say in the merged form.  Since I do
have a small knack for magic, I stop by the Spells 'R' Us shop and see
what new things the old man has.  I usually go to the shop in morph form. 
I haven't gotten anything from there since the scope.  The old man
doesn't seem to mind though.  He tells me that I attract customers.