I howled, kicked, and cried while Hanson sang “MMMBop.” The bedside table, now toppled over on the floor, was the only thing between me and the doctor. Between panicked breaths, I looked to my hands; their shape was changing. They widened at the knuckles, my fingers elongated, my nails grew sharp as talons. And red—my skin was now blood red. Everywhere.

It was late. Her maroon kitten heels pounded against the sidewalk, her stride tested the limits of her pencil skirt. There was no time to dawdle. She had to get to the oddities shop before it closed. She needed another tarot reading.

In a secret cobwebbed part of her, she knew what he wanted from her was youth, innocence...

Young Howie writes a story even he doesn't understand...

The bottle had not kept her company like she'd told herself it had, and there were plenty of times she'd convinced herself it did just that.

A shift's a-comin'. They don't know it yet but it's comin'. A soft breeze tickles ears of corn out yonder; they sway, gently rockin'...