Jared looked toward the younger guy and woofed.
"Excellent choice," the minor deity of an obscure era reacted to Jared's impulsive selection.
Wepwawet snapped two skeletal fingers together, producing a bright spark. In an instant, the Egyptian god, the delivery guy, and Jared, still in sheepdog form, found themselves in a small room with white walls painted with classic motifs from early Egyptian history, including muscular sentries with the heads of jackals outside a temple by a river.
With another snap of his fingers, Wepwawet produced two armchairs and an old blanket.
"Be seated."
The delivery guy plopped into the armchair while Jared spun twice in circles before settling onto the old blanket.
The delivery guy kept staring at Wepwawet, taking in everything from the cloven hooves to the distinctly canine facial features. "What are you, man?"
"I am Wepwawet, the opener of the way and the progeny of the great Anubis," the deity boasted in an imposingly full voice.
"No, really," the delivery guy said with a snort of laughter. "Is this real? Am I tripping?"
Wepwawet snapped his fingers again and Jared felt a chill. Looking down, he saw that he was back in human form, albeit nude. He quickly reached down and pulled the blanket around him.
"Where'd the naked dude come from?" The delivery guy said.
"Relax," Jared barked. "I was the dog... Hey, what the hell?"
"My bad," Wepwawet said and also restored Jared's voice.
"It's a long story," Jared said. Speaking words felt funny as he used facial muscles he hadn't needed for some time.
"What is your name, human?" Wepwawet asked the delivery guy.
"I'm Vinny," the guy answered. "Look. How do I get out of here?" Vinny held up his arms and spread them apart. "I don't want any part of whatever's going on here," he added, casting a dubious glance at the naked teenager.
"You may find some amusement in his tale," Wepwawet remarked.
"There's nothing amusing in changing a guy into a dog!" Jared protested.
Wepwawet feigned offense. "You accuse me? You made the bargain with your own dog to land on four paws."
Vinny's eyes widened. "You're telling me this dude was that dog? The sheepdog?"
"Yes, I am telling you that," the crafty being said.
"That's messed up!"
"But the question, Vinny, is should I extend my significant powers to rectify what may have been a poorly thought-out decision."
Jared advanced a few steps toward Vinny. "Look, it's simple. Just tell this ... thing... to make me human again," Jared said. "Please."
Vinny laughed. "You're both serious?"
Wepwawet inclined his head in a nod.
"You wanted to become a dog?" Vinny asked Jared.
"No," Jared said, but when he heard Wepwawet cough in exaggerated fashion, he admitted that he had. "I guess I was curious, but..."
"I'm dreaming," Vinny said.
"No, just listen," Jared said. "They tricked me."
"Who's they?" Vinny asked.
"That thing," he said, gesturing at Wepwawet, "and my... well, my family's dog." His voice lowered as he admitted to his embarrassing mistake.
"If I may interject," Wepwawet said. "The dog in question is performing brilliantly as a human."
"So, your decision, Vinny," Wepwawet said, standing from his seat and advancing to loom over the confused delivery guy.
"Look, you want to be a dog, it's nothing to me. Leave me out of it," Vinny said. "Whatever floats your boat, I guess."
Jared listened, dismayed.
"So, you raise no objections if your fellow human continues as a dog?"
"If that's what he wants, more power to him," Vinny said. "Let him stay a dog."
"Listen you moron!" Jared reacted. "I don't want.... bark bark, arf arf!"
His words ceased, replaced by furious barking. He lunged at Vinny, but before he crossed the floor he found his spine curving and forcing him back onto four paws.
"No!" Jared wailed in a long howl as the scene brightened until he was lost in a glowing fog.
In the next instant, everyone was back in the Henderson yard, with Vinny helping his partner finalize the dog house's location.
Jared whirled to give Wepwawet a piece of his mind, but the deity had already evaporated in a cloud that smelled of a sickly sweet miasma of swamp vapors.
Vinny, all thoughts of the encounter plucked out of his brain, looked at the dog again and shook his head. "That's one lucky dog," he remarked.
"Just my luck," Jared lamented. "I choose a moron to try to help me out of this mess."