Stuff Ch. 2

	Andy bounded home, excited at the acquisition of his newfound mental and physical energy.  He didn't care that it was only temporary.  The only thing that mattered now was that he felt like the greatest person who walked the Earth.
	"So how'd it go?" Asked Matt as Andy entered his apartment.  "Fantastic!"  Andy replied.  "I feel like I could lift a bus"
	"What did you volunteer for?"  Matt seemed slightly envious at the energy Andy was flaunting.
	"It was a drug they were testing.  It's supposed to give you an insane mental and physical boost.  And damn does it work!  Plus, look at this!"  Andy flashed his fat wad of cash to Matt.
	"Are you SERIOUS?!  There's got to be at least seven fifty there!"
	"One thousand, to be exact."
	"Well damn, I'm going down tomorrow to get me a slice of this action."
	"Anyways, I'm heading home...gotta pay that pathetic excuse of a human being my rent, and then I'm gonna rest up for tomorrow...plannin on callin' this awesome girl I met down there."
	"Aight, later Andy."

	All though he was feeling so great, Andy did feel the pangs of sleep deprivation on his body.  It had been a rather busy day.  He closed the door to his apartment, not worrying about the rent anymore.  He threw his clothes on his couch and went to the bathroom.  As he was washing up, getting ready to get some sleep, he noticed something odd.  He had Grey hairs streaking his dark brown hair.  Puzzled, he stared for a few moments at this bizarre change in his appearance.  Finally, he concluded that with all the stress he had been under lately, it was probably just his body's way of showing it.
	He went to his room, climbed under his sheets, and thought about the day.  Smiling, he drifted off into a deep sleep.

	The sound of Andy's alarm clock blared through the apartment.  Groggily, he got up to turn it off, but stopped before he got up.  Something wasn't right.  He felt...strange.  Shaking off this feeling, he reached out to turn the alarm off and froze before he was able to stop the annoying beeping.  Where his hand should have been, there was a Grey paw.  He stared in horror, hoping that this was just some crazy dream.  He moved his fingers.  The fingers on he paw started to move.  He waved his hand up and down.  The paw repeated the motion.
	This was obviously his own arm now.  Almost unable to bear the thought of what else might have happened, he tried to get up to check out the extent of this abnormality.  At first, he couldn't even stand up.  His feet had grown into what appeared to be the hind legs of a dog or wolf.  After a few attempts, he managed to balance on these new appendages.
	When he finally reached the bathroom, he took a good long look at himself in the mirror.  He had changed completely.  His entire body was covered in either light Grey or white fur.  his face had extended into a muzzle, and his ears were now a pair of pointed wolf ears.  Behind him, a long fluffy tail protruded from a torn hole in his underpants.
	All Andy could manage was a whimper, for he was shocked beyond all reason, trying to figure out what happened to him.

	A few hours passed, and the harsh truth of Andy's situation had, for the most part, sunk in.  He sat on his bed, still in his underpants, wondering how he was even going to be able to leave his room, let alone let anyone see him like this.  His now elongated foot twitched up and down, tapping the carpet as he pondered, the new form starting to feel more natural to him.  He heard the front door to his apartment creek open, and realized that Matt must have just gotten home.  Andy panicked and tried thinking of a way he might be able to explain to his roommate exactly what was going on, even though he wasn't quite sure of it himself.
	“Hey Andy, you up yet?  I got some mail for ya, I think it might be the check from the testing place.”  Andy suddenly realized that he hadn't tried to speak yet, and became very concerned on whether he actually retained the ability to converse with other people.  He opened his muzzle, thinking about how he might form the words with this new form.   “Uh...tsanks bud!  Juss leath ith awn tsha tsabal...”  Andy smacked his face with a paw.  He couldn't believe he had just butchered the sentence so badly. 
	“Dude, you ok?  You don't sounds so good...comin down with a cold maybe?”  Andy heard footsteps coming closer to his room.  Terrified, he dove under his blanket and covered his entire body up, hoping Matt wouldn't check under them.  The door moaned slightly as it opened, and Andy's nose was filled with a powerful scent.  Hmm..., he thought, I think I've at least gotten some of those heightened senses I was promised..wait...what if that's what caused this?!  I've gotta go talk to this doctor!
 	Matt's footsteps stopped next to Andy's bed.  His friends scent was overpowering his nostrils, unable to take in any other smell besides the mixture of an early 20's male and cheap dollar store cologne.  “You sounds pretty bad...you want me to set up a doctor's appointment or something?”  Cringing at having to answer yet another question, Andy moved his jaw around until he thought it was in a decent position.  “Noo...”  Good, that was at least a coherent answer. 
	“Too bad, your voice sounds raspy and weird...you think it might be the Flu?”
	“Noo...”
	Matt spoke again, a slight tone of uneasiness accompanying his voice now.  “You sure?  Can I at least see if you look sick or not?”  Andy made a kicking motion with his paws, trying to get him to leave, but this was a mistake.  The motion moved the sheets around a bit, and his tail fell out from the side of the bedsheets.  “Dude!  Do you have a dog in there or something?  Oh geez, please, oh please tell me you're not fucking it...oh hell that would just be so wrong...”
	Andy waved his arms under the blanket.  “Noo...dawn freek awt, awkay?”  He crawled out of his bed, and stood up.  Matt's jaw dropped.  “Dude...what...the...fuck?!”  Andy sat down, looking depressed and confused.  “How...What happened?”  Andy made the 'I don't know' motion with his paws and arms, then began rubbing his temple with a clawed finger.  “I just...you know...I mean...” Matt got up and started leaving the room. “Give me a while, ok?  This is just...whoa...”  Matt walked out, and closed the door behind him.
 	Andy's ears drooped.  He hoped Matt would stick by him, even if he was a freak of nature now.  He got up and looked in the mirror again.  Now that he was freaking out less about the whole situation, he started to take the time to notice some things he hadn't, wouldn't, and couldn't, before.  Standing in front of the mirror, the first thing he noticed was his stature.  He was a good 8 inches taller than before, a feat in itself seeing as he was already a good six foot three.  The second thing that came to his mind was his build.  Round, pronounced muscles now curved and weaved all over his body, accented by the gleam of his new fur coat.  He flexed, and saw the nuanced responses from various areas in his body.  Least I look great, in a sense.  He chuckled.  I mean, if you're into that sort of thing...but what woman is gonna wanna get with a freak?  He raked through his fur with a paw, smoothing out his fur as he thought.  Wait, I still have that receptionist's phone number.  Maybe I can get Matt to call her when he's calmed down.  It was worth a shot.  At the very least, she could get him in contact with the doctor again.
 	He walked over to his bed, his new, elongated feet giving him no trouble at all anymore, and fell onto his sheets.  Maybe this was all just a really bad dream...and he would wake up tomorrow, laughing about this weird nighttime illusion with Matt.   Maybe... he thought, and slowly drifted back into a peaceful slumber.