The drive over to the mayor’s office in town was a quiet one. Freddy was quietly contemplating his plan of action, while Chris was primarily focused on getting his boss to the mayor's office safely. Chris wished that Freddy would change his mind about going in there alone, especially considering the mayor had tried to assassinate him previously. However, he knew that his boss wouldn’t budge on this. Chris just hoped he was in close enough range to help Freddy escape, in whatever form he came out in, should it be necessary to do so.
Pulling up to the front steps of the town hall, Chris parked the car and whispered in to Freddy’s ear.
“You sure you don’t want me to come in with you?” he asked.
“No, Chris” Freddy replied. “I have to do this alone. Just be in close enough range where I can get back into the car, should I need to quickly do so.”
Chris nodded, as Freddy unlocked his door.
“Wait” Chris said.
Freddy opened the door, before turning to look at Chris.
“Come here, man” Chris said.
Freddy hesitated for a moment, before he got up and left the car.
“I promised Michael I wouldn’t do it until he gave me permission” Freddy replied. “I’ll see you when I get out.”
Freddy slammed the door, before he made his way up the stairs to the front entrance. Chris looked at his boss solemnly, before he drove a little distance away. At the top of the steps, Freddy looked around, taking in the empty streets of town. When he thought the coast was clear, he made his way inside of the town hall building.
The town he lived in was not a happening place on a Saturday night. There were no bars or nightclubs, as it was a family friendly community. The latest any store or restaurant was open until was 10 PM. That’s what made the midnight hour so haunting, as Freddy walked up to the secretary in the front area of the town hall lobby.
“Freddy Benson, I presume?” the secretary asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yes” he replied nervously.
“Follow me.”
The secretary got up from her desk and escorted him to the back of the main floor. Looking over the halls, Freddy could see the door to the town hall chamber was closed, along with the doors of the town council members. When they reached the last door in the hall, the secretary opened it and led him inside.
Inside the room were various desks for the advisors of the mayor. They were all deserted, or so it seemed, as Freddy was walked to the last door in the room. Stopping at the door to the mayor’s office, Freddy took a deep breath to try to calm down. Knocking on it gently, the secretary called out to her boss.
“He’s here, Mr. Mayor.”
“Great!” the mayor yelled from the other side of the door. “Bring him in here!”
The secretary nodded, as she opened the door to the mayor’s office. Peering inside the room, with its many bookcases, a mahogany wood desk and visible dents in the wall, Freddy saw the mayor sitting in his domain, with his arms folded above his head. He leered at Freddy, who nervously looked at him, as he entered the office.
“Some privacy, Mary” the mayor said.
“Yes, Mr. Mayor” she replied.
The secretary shut the door behind her, as Freddy took in the mayor’s office.
“Like what you see?” the mayor asked, as he leaned back in his chair.
“I do, Mr. Mayor” Freddy replied, as he eyed it carefully. “It’ll be great when I’m charge of this place.”
“That’s not going to happen under any circumstances.”
The mayor sat up straight in his chair and leaned into his desk.
“You’re probably wondering why I called you into my office this evening” he continued “and at such a late hour on a Saturday night.”
“I have an idea” Freddy replied.
“I want you to drop off of the race.”
“I’m not going to do that, Mr. Mayor. I’m determined to see this race through to the end. And after I win this coming election day, one of the first official acts I will take is calling for an investigation into your administration and the previous acts you have taken in this office.”
“It’s never going to come to that, Freddy. Even in the off handed chance that the polls are right, and they have been wrong in the past, then you’re still going to lose to me by 4 points. Face it, commie. You’ve reached your ceiling. You have no place to go from here but down. Even if you get close to defeating me, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
“No one is going to want to support a political loser. Meanwhile, if I win by such a thin margin, my ability to run for higher office is permanently damaged. We both have something to lose by going through with this race, being that the slate is now officially locked in place. So, to save yourself the humiliation of a close, but no cigar finish and to save myself from the damage a close win will do for my political future, I have a proposition to make.”
“I’m not interested in your propositions, Mr. Mayor.”
“Then why did you come down here, if not to hear what I had to say?”
Freddy paused for a moment, as the mayor smirked with an evil grin.
“Silent, are we?” the mayor asked.
Freddy began to show a slight bit of anger in his face.
“That’s what I thought.”
The mayor put his hands on the desk and looked up at Freddy with a menacing smile.
“Let me tell you what I’m proposing to do first” the mayor continued. “Then you can turn me down.”
Freddy stood silently, with rage beginning to appear on his face.
“You drop out of the race informally. Your name will still be on the ballot, but for all intents and purposes, your campaign is effectively over. I win by a more decisive margin and can move on to another political office after this. In exchange for your cooperation, I’ll get you either any other job in this town, so long as you know your place and who you answer to, or a sufficient financial settlement to make you go away forever.”
“I’m not interested in taking a job where you’re my boss and I’m not interested taking in a bribe either.”
“Well, I have one other tool at my disposal for getting your cooperation.”
The mayor dug into his pocket and pulled out the Ruggeri ring. Freddy held his emotions back, but was clearly filled with a mix of fear and anger in that moment.
“Your husband has been awfully interested in trying to get a hold of this ring” the mayor continued, as he played with it in his hand. “He was so obsessed with it, that he had a restraining order filed against him by the last man who had this in his possession. Your neighbor, Tom.”
Freddy continued to glare at the mayor.
“I thought it was quite silly that your husband would be so interested in a seemingly big piece of junk like this, Freddy, but then I had my men get it for me today. I thought it was odd, you being able to lie your way out of the nude photo scandal like you did. You disappearing at the Alan Cullen political club and then a strange dog just magically appears. I thought it was odd, until I had a little theory about why you and your husband wanted to get ahold of this ring so badly.”
“Mr. Mayor, hand over that ring. You don’t know what you’re doing with it. It has powers beyond your comprehension.”
“Is that so? Well, then I’ll make you a little deal. You drop out of the race, stay out of my way until election day and then, when I have won re-election, I will give you back this ring.”
“I’m not interested in making deals with you, Mr. Mayor. I can’t trust you farther than I could throw you.”
“Such a shame, my fellow rival. I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way, then. Guys!”
Freddy was startled, as the doors behind him slammed open. Two of the mayor’s advisors aggressively grabbed his arms.
“Let me go!” Freddy yelled, as he struggled to try to escape their firm grip on his arms.
“I haven’t had the chance to read the inscription on the back of this thing yet” the mayor continued. “I’m anxious to say it aloud now.”
“No! Don’t do it!”
“L’uomo al cane.”
Freddy continued to struggle to break free himself, groaning as he unsuccessfully attempted to escape.
“Leggi l'iscrizione.”
“Ugh” Freddy groaned, as he continued to struggle.
“Camminare su quattro zampe!"
“No!”
In that moment, the Ruggeri ring began to glow. The mayor watched with glee, as Freddy began to scream loudly. Before long, brown hair began to grow on his neck and black hair grew on his mouth.
“I knew it!” the mayor exclaimed. “I knew that you were that dog!”
Freddy whimpered, as he could feel his nose get damp and turn black. He could feel fur envelop his entire body underneath his clothes. Despite all of his efforts to break himself free, the mayor’s advisors would not let him go. Resigning himself to his fate, and the inevitably of his clothes ripping off, he groaned as his body went through the changes.
He felt his body itching under his clothes, as fur continued to cover him. His arms began to shrink, as did his hands. He could see his fingernails turn black, forming into the claws of a dog. One of his fingers pulled back, forming into a dog's declaw. The bottoms of his hands turned black and bumpy, soon just the front pads of a German Shepherd dog.
As his chest began to expand, the shirt he wore ripped at the seams. When it came undone from the front, he could see his stomach was covered in creamy, white fur.
“No” Freddy moaned, as a tear fell from his eye.
The mayor cackled loudly, as he took in the sight of the transformation before him. His advisors began to freak out, as they watched their boss’ rival dog out in their presence.
“This is fantastic!” the mayor exclaimed happily. “This is better than any assassination attempt I could ever order!”
Freddy felt his ability to stand begin to weaken, while his legs began to shrink.
“Put him down on the desk” the mayor ordered. “Dogs don’t stand on two legs, after all.”
The mayor continued to cackle loudly, as his advisors eased Freddy’s changing body onto the desk. They continued to hold their tight grip on him as they did so, not wanting him to bolt out and escape. One of the advisors ripped Freddy’s shirt off his back, exposing the back fur that had grown out from under there. Freddy whimpered, as he placed his now paws on the mayor’s desk.
“This would have been so much easier” the mayor said with glee “if you had just dropped out of the race like I told you to.”
Freddy let out a dog like growl, as he felt his pants rip from under him.
“Might as well get rid of those, boys. Dogs don’t wear any clothes.”
The mayor continued to cackle, as his advisors paused for a moment. Hesitantly, one of the advisors chucked Freddy’s pants off of his legs, leaving him in just his underwear, shoes and socks. His legs had already formed into the furry, back legs of a dog, as his tail worked its way out from the top of his boxers.
“Take those off too” the mayor ordered.
One of the mayor’s advisors ripped off Freddy’s boxers and then moved the ill fitting shoes and socks away from his now back paws. For the most part, Freddy’s body had already changed into the body of Buddy, Tom’s missing German Shepherd dog. As he continued to change into his canine form, Freddy felt his face push out in front of him. He groaned, as his muzzle formed and his teeth grew sharp. He jumped briefly for a moment, before the mayor’s advisors held him back down on the desk.
“Awwww” the mayor said in a mocking tone. “Is the little doggy mad at me?”
Freddy let out a series of canine sounding barks, as his face finished up with their changes. His ears pulled up to the top of his head, as the rest of his face was enveloped in fur. His eyes changed color and his vision of color grew duller. After a few last second twists and changes, Buddy was back again.
Buddy leaned on the desk, in the full standing position of a canine. The dog growled loudly, angry at what the mayor had purposely done to him.
“Oh man” the mayor said with a sigh of relief. “I knew I was right about this. All of you assholes thought I was crazy, but it turns out that I was right after all.”
Buddy continued to growl, baring his sharp teeth at the mayor as he did so.
“Aww, what’s matter doggy? Want to play fetch?”
The mayor went to try to pet Buddy’s head, before the dog loudly barked in his direction.
“Muzzle him boys” the mayor ordered, as he flinched back in his seat, gripping the ring tightly as he did so.
“Yes boss” one of his advisors replied.
In a quick instance, Buddy turned around and hopped off of the desk. He ran underneath the legs of the advisor and made his way out the door of the mayor’s office.
“Get him, you idiots!” the mayor yelled. “Don’t let that dog get away!”
The mayor’s advisors panicked, as they ran out the door and after the dog. Buddy bolted his way through the corridor of desks, as he left the offices of the mayor’s staff and made his way down the hall.
“Stop him, Mary!” one of the advisors yelled, as they exited the office space and ran after Buddy.
Before Mary could close the front door, Buddy made his way past her and headed out of the building. The mayor’s advisors were not far behind, startling the secretary as they quickly ran past her desk. A moment later, the mayor ran up to her, after he bolted there from his office.
“Mary, call the police, now!” he ordered. “I want every officer on patrol after that dog!”
“Yes, sir” she replied nervously, as she picked up her communication device and dialed the precinct.
Outside of the town hall building, Buddy panted rapidly, as he ran out into the street. He used his powerful canine sense of smell to try to track down Chris. Before he could get use to his canine senses and get his bearings, the mayor’s advisors flung the front doors open and headed out towards him.
“Oh no!” Freddy thought to himself, as he ran off to the right.
Panting nervously as he bolted down the street, Buddy spotted his car parked a few blocks away.
“There’s Chris!” Freddy thought to himself, as Buddy made his way over to the car.
When Buddy got to the car, he pawed at the door several times. Inside of the car, Chris had quietly dozed off.
“Oh no” Freddy thought to himself. “He’s not answering me.”
Buddy began to bark loudly, before he spotted the mayor’s advisors quickly approaching him.
“I don’t have time for this” Freddy thought to himself. “I have to get out of here and find a place to hide.”
Buddy sprinted away from the car, as the mayor’s advisors pursued him on foot. In that moment, Chris woke up from his slumber and noticed the advisors running closely behind the dog.
“That’s gotta be the boss” Chris nervously thought to himself, as he started up the car.
As quickly as he could, Chris drove off to pursue them. Buddy continued to run through the streets as fast as he could. He looked for a way to get the mayor’s advisors off his tail and end their pursuit of him. Nearing the end of the town square and into the residential neighborhood, all Freddy could hope to do now was keep on running. His veins were filled with adrenaline, powering his speed, as he bolted through the blocks of houses in his town. He hoped it would be enough to tire his pursuers out eventually.
As Chris closely followed the mayor’s advisors in Freddy’s car, he pulled out his communication device and hurriedly called Michael. Sitting on his bed in his home, Michael continued to feel a mixture of emotions. He was unable to fall sleep, not really wanting to, even if he had tried. He laid in bed, worrying about what would happen to Freddy in the mayor’s office for almost an hour, before he saw his communication device begin to ring. Quickly looking at it, he saw Chris’ name pop up on the screen.
“Not good” Michael thought to himself, as he answered the call.
“Michael!” Chris yelled, before Michael had a chance to talk. “Freddy turned into a dog and now the mayor’s goons are after him.”
“Oh shit!” Michael exclaimed.
“It looks like he’s getting tired. I don’t know how much longer he can hold them off for. You have to try to find some sort of way to slow them down.”
Just as Chris said this, he saw two police cars pull out from both directions of the upcoming block. They turned onto the street and headed in Buddy’s direction.
“And now two police cars are after him” he said.
“Oh shit!” Michael exclaimed. “Oh shit! Oh shit! What are we going to do now?”
“I don’t know, Michael, but you’ve gotta think of something fast.”
Michael thought for a moment, before he had an idea.
“Sofya” he said. “Chris, let me call you back.”
Chris nervously watched the call end, as he continued to try to get closer to Buddy. Back at the house, Michael, allowing his feelings of anxiety and nervousness to get overridden by the immediate sense of urgency, dialed Sofya’s number on his communication device, hoping she was still awake.
“Come on” he thought to himself, as he fidgeted in the bed. “Please pick up.”
Sitting on the sofa in the living room of her apartment, Sofya looked out the window that showed her the night sky. She worried about what might be happening to Freddy and Michael in that moment. She was a night owl by nature, not needing more than an hour or two of sleep to properly function. Even that would be impossible for her to do, so long as the uncertainty of their fate was heavily on her mind. The answer to her worries came soon enough, as she saw Michael calling her communication device.
“That’s not good” she thought to herself.
Sofya reached for her device on the table and quickly picked up the call.
“What’s going on?” she asked nervously. “Is everything alright?”
“The mayor turned Freddy into a dog again!” Michael replied with a prevalent fear in his voice.
“Oh no. That’s not good.”
“No, it’s not! Now the police and the mayor’s goons are chasing after him! Chris…”
“Chris? Who is Chris?”
“Long story, but he’s the bodyguard.”
“How come he didn’t stop by with you guys this evening?”
“Sofya, I don’t have fucking time for this right now! I need you to help me try to hold them off. Chris says that Freddy is getting tired and he can’t keep running from them for that much longer. You have to help us find a way to get them off his tail….literally!”
“Hmmmmm.”
Sofya thought for a moment, as Michael impatiently fidgeted in his bed. When she had an idea, she spoke up.
“Amnesia.”
“What?” Michael asked in a state of disbelief.
“Amnesia. I can temporarily make them forget that they were ever after Freddy. I can do it for the whole town, too, so there’s no more questions about his supposed disappearance.”
“Great idea! Get on that right away!”
“Alright, let me concentrate.”
“Sofya…”
“What?” she snapped. “I’m trying to concentrate here.”
“Please try to make sure that myself, my son and Chris don’t get effected by this amnesia spell of yours.”
“I will try my best, but I can’t guarantee that it’ll pass over all of them.”
“Great. Just great.”
Sofya closed her eyes and conjured up an image of the town in her mind. She used her magic energy to cast a spell over the town. She did her best in shielding Michael from its powerful effects.
“In a minute or so” Sofya finally spoke up when she was done casting the spell “the town will stop thinking about Freddy Benson for exactly twenty four hours. His name will be brought up by no one in your immediate vicinity. Nothing about him will be said. Nothing about him being a dog will be said either. Nothing at all, until the spell wears off.”
“Thanks Sofya” Michael replied with a sense of relief.
“No problem. I’m going to make some arrangements now for someone to watch Nikolas for a few days. You should expect me to be by your place tomorrow afternoon. Have a bed ready for me when I get there.”
“Um….”
Michael thought for a moment, unsure of whether he wanted her staying in his house. He despised her immensely, but felt it was better for her to be nearby, ready in case they needed the immediate use of her magic. Sighing, he reluctantly agreed to have her stay over.
“Fine. I have a bed in my son’s bedroom. He’s staying with his grandma right now, so you can use it for the time being.”
“Great. I’ll be over sometime in the afternoon tomorrow. Make sure you can get Freddy back, in whatever state he’s in right now, and keep him in the house until I can fully look him over. I may be able to find some sort of way to break the curse without having to use the ring.”
“Fantastic! See you then.”
Michael ended the call and laid down on the bed. He would call Chris in a minute. He wanted to see if Sofya had protected him from the amnesia spell she cast over the town and if Freddy was finally safe. On the normally quiet streets of the neighborhood, now four police cars, along with a car from the mayor’s office, were actively pursuing Buddy, who ran from them on foot. The dog continued to pant nervously, as he ran for his life. He was getting tired and was desperately looking for a place to hide.
Turning around a corner, Freddy bolted down the street, hoping to find a bush to jump into to evade the mayor and his patrol force. Before the police cars turned the corner to the block Buddy ran down, the amnesia spell had begun its effect. Confused by why they were driving so fast, the police cars stopped suddenly. One after another, the vehicles crashed into each other, building a pile up accident on the street.
“No!” the mayor exclaimed, as the vehicle he was riding in suddenly crashed into the police car in front of them.
Before he could get out of the car to yell at the officers, the amnesia spell worked its magic on his mind.
“Huh?” the mayor said in a confused tone, as he looked at the advisors sitting next to him in the car. “Where am I? Why are we out so late?”
“I don’t know sir” the advisor replied. “I was about to ask you the same question.”
Seeing the pile up forming in front of him, Chris quickly turned to the left, hoping to avoid an accident. With the cars now out of commission, Chris thought he could rendezvous with Freddy on the next block over. Before he could make it to the end of the block to turn right, however, the amnesia spell worked its way on his mind. In that moment, Chris became confused. He turned to the right, watching as Buddy bolted down the street in front of him.
“Huh?” Chris thought to himself, as he pulled the car he was driving over to the side of the road. “What’s going on?”
At Michael’s house….