Jon stared at the face staring at him. A boy, aged no more than 15. One look at him and it felt like his entire life is open to Jon. His name is Matt, which is shortened for Matthew. He has this ageless short-cropped blonde hair and thin lips that would look a lot better if it smiled. There are many forms that Jon could turn into but Matt called to him like a distant memory. He could see himself in the kid, not just the looks but his life. Matt is your ordinary kid who strived to make his parents proud. He tried, and that's the pitiful thing. He tried and he failed. Influences from his friends swayed him from the right path. Just the year before his untimely demise, he is found skipping classes to find his fun in the local arcades. Now, his body is stored in the dark - floating without a soul.
In just a blink of an eye, Matt's face that was once in the dark is now in the reflection in front of Jon. Even his clothes changed to the attire before he died. Jon only half-believed the gift from the creature in the dark. A lie to keep him docile. A lie to mock him for what a fool he is. Seeing his form change before his very eyes filled him with excitement and ideas on how he could tap this form to lure more victims to the dark.
Jon angered many people back in New York, which earned him a handful of broken bones and bruises. His body tried to mend them, but they soon returned to square one when he angered another loan shark. They healed, sure. But the damage accumulated and that resulted in a lifetime of annoying chronic pain where he was broken. In this youthful form, he felt new. Energy is brimming from his muscle, like a kettle ready to burst. He ran around the cabin, laughing at the new capabilities of his form. When his feet felt the waxing signs of tiredness, he jumped on his bed.
The ideas he had before swirled in his mind becoming clear with every passing second. These ideas clouded his prior fear. With that gone, he was fast asleep. For the first time in years, he slept soundly - cuddled in a bigger blanket and sinking in a soft mattress twice his size.
Jon awoke the next morning with a knock on the door. He peeked out the window and saw two things. Uncle Jim is waiting at the other side of the door, and second, he is still Matt's body. One quick thought of his original form and Jon was back in his original body. And with it, the pain of his calloused bones.
"Jon, how are you?" Uncle Jim said as he opened the door. He sat at the familiar table of the cabin where he placed a steaming apple pie and some strange things. "Linda made you an apple,"
"And those are?" Jon pointed at the other objects.
"Oh, those? Those are from me. Just decorations you could place outside the cabin. I heard Harry's son came over to check the academy? How'd it go? Did you pass by the staircase?"
That question perked Jon's suspicions. Uncle Jim gave him a necklace as a ward against the creature in the dark. The trinkets he brought looked a bit like the necklace and they are likely to have the same functions. He is sensing that his uncle knows more than what he is letting on. He could tell him the truth, which is the sensible thing to do. Or he could lie since Jon is allying with the creature in the dark, which is an evil deed for most people.