Truthfully, Erick forgot the necklace was in his pocket and that it was a few days before he found it again. His new job taking up most of his time, it was nothing compared to taking care of his uncle, who'd he'd moved back in with to help as the man got older and out of touch with everything around him, which took up even more of his time. But finding the amulet in the pocket of his jacket, the complications in his life where thrust aside momentarily as Erick recalled the strange things he'd seen. Uncertain if they were real or if he was somehow going round the twist, he tucked the necklace back in his jacket pocket as he decided the right thing to do was return it to its owner.
Only, he forgot it again and almost a week passed before he found it anew. Once more staring at it, disturbed and drawn to the image and word printed on it, he found himself wondering what Zulo meant. And then, he had what he thought was certainly an idea of someone who was mad as his mind made the leap to the image of the person on the medallion in the midst of transforming to what he was sure he'd seen and that, in some way, the necklace was responsible.
"Don't be ridiculous," he told himself as he put the amulet back in his coat pocket and wanting to believe he was wrong, just as he want it to be true that he hadn't seen what he saw, he muttered, "Deal with it later," as he went in search of his car keys, his uncle needing a few things from the market and a couple other errands that needed attending driving the necklace from his thoughts.
The amulet escaped his attention once more for about another week before he found it again in his coat pocket. Hefting it, allowing it to bounce in his hand, the chain to run between his fingers, Erick glared at it and asked himself why he insisted on holding onto the thing. Thinking that if he wasn't going to find a way to get it back to its owner that he should get rid of it instead of leaving it to be forgotten in his jacket pocket, he found that for reasons he was unable to understand he couldn't. Mind leaping back to what he'd seen, then to what he suspected, he didn't pay attention to anything else as he headed up the front walk to his uncle's house. Letting himself in, he dropped his keys in the bowl on the small table next to the door and still peering intently at the necklace, he went find his uncle to make sure the man was okay.
When it was clear his uncle was fine, and that he seemed to have fallen asleep whilst watching television, Erick headed for his bedroom. Inside the room, the same one that had been his when he'd lived with his aunt, now deceased, and uncle after his parents had died, he barely paid attention to anything about the room as he sat down at a card table he'd set up a computer on. Ignoring the computer, he instead took the necklace out of his coat pocket, set in on the table, shrugged off his jacket, and picked up the amulet. Studying it, thinking back to what he was sure he'd seen, he found he could shake the notion that, somehow, the thing he held in his hand was in some way responsible for what he saw in the department store. Wanting to believe otherwise, he found that there seemed too much that stated this wasn't right, especially as it looked like the image of the person on the amulet seemed to be in the throes of a transformation.
"But to what, it isn't clear," Erick worked out as he speculated on whether the person was a man turning into a woman, a woman changing into a man, or if they were becoming some type of animal.
Interested to know which was accurate, but unsure how to determine, he thought back on what he'd witnessed. Guessing that if the thing had the power he surmised, he believed it not only could change a person's sex and gender, but also their species, and in doing so it made the person younger. Thinking to try it on himself, he posed the question of how far he might go back, if he had any control, and whether he'd become a female, or stay as a male. Deciding that what he didn't want to do was become a full animal, he peered at the necklace, something he coming to think of a Medallion or Amulet of Zulo, he wasn't sure quite yet, and wondered if was possible for a person to become both a beast and a human.
"Sort of like an equal mix of the two," he mused as his thoughts went back to the two he'd seen in the department store and how each seemed to be transitioning into some type of dog, one a puppy, the other an adult. Wondering if this was they'd intended, he toyed with the idea of going to look for either of them, but found he didn't know where he'd begin such a search as he turned his attention back to the necklace.
As he examined the medallion, thought over what he should do, and whether to go with his idea, he wondered how it was activated. Not caring if he became female or stayed male, reasoning that if it was able to turn you one way, it was able to revert you back, he announced, "Amulet of Zulo. I command you to transform me into being that is a mix of wolf and human," and waiting, he soon rubbed the thing, flicked it, tapped it, spun it by its chain, and flipped it like a coin before concluding that it had to be activated another way.
Perplexed as to how, he set the object on the card table and reclined back. Staring at the thing, he let his mind wander and after some time thought back to some of the books he'd read when he was younger that were set in fantasy worlds and had to do with mystic artefacts. Trying to recall how some of them had been activated, sure that if a spell was in order he was out of luck and that he might as well get rid of the thing, Erick leaned forward to look at the necklace when he had a sudden bout of inspiration. Remembering something about a story that had an object that only worked when in contact with something else, he speculated on whether this was how the thing worked before he stood and hurried out of his room.
Half an hour later, he sat back down once again at the table. Having first checked on his uncle, who'd demanded his dinner, to which Erick made him a TV dinner, he had headed for the basement. Not finding what he was looking for, he thought a moment before made his way toward the attic, where he found several boxes of clothes of his from when he'd been younger that his aunt hadn't thrown out. Taking a unisex baseball jersey he'd worn when he'd been eleven, he checked on his uncle, found the old man was again sleeping in front of the TV, put the dishes from uncle Tobias’ dinner in the sink, and headed back to his room. Clutching the shirt, Erick tried to goad himself into touching the two, but found himself leery to do so. Wondering what he'd do if he was unable to change back, what his uncle would say if suddenly there was a prepubescent boy living in the house, he folded and set the shirt aside as he still found himself wondering if he could not only regress himself back, but also become a human-beast mix.
Not sure how he'd accomplish such a transformation, Erick thought what he should also decide was what type of animal. Going back to what he'd said earlier, he quickly decided on a wolf, having always found the creatures majestic in their own way, as well as liking their solitary nature. Turning his attention to the computer, he booted it up as he thought about how he could make himself a wolf-boy-person. Believing that if the amulet did as he suspected, and it required to touch something, Erick worked out that he'd need something of a wolf. Stumped for a moment on how he'd acquire such an item, as he didn't think he could just go out into the woods, find a wolf, and get it to part with some fur or something, he opened a web browser and began to search the internet.
It'd be almost three hours later, in which he himself had stopped long enough to get something to eat and check on his uncle, before he found a company that sounded like it might suit his purposes. Based out of England, it was Chinese company called Boucher that was run by a board of Iranians, Italians, Russians, and Koreans, and specialised in selling animals and animal parts to schools, universities, museums, and research institutes for the scientific purpose of advancement of the human species and obtaining deeper understanding of the mysteries of nature. Finding it offered the baculum, which had caused him to open a new search engine as he didn't at first know what it was, from a timber wolf, he checked the price and what method of payment was accepted. Finding it was in his price range, he dickered about a moment longer, wondering it he could do what he was about to, and what he could do with the penile bone of a wolf if it didn't work. Deciding to take the risk, that he'd donate the baculum to a university or something, he clicked on the option to add to cart, checked out, and found that, once shipped, he'd have to wait a week before it arrived.
"Well, I've waited this long. Don't suppose another week will hurt," Erick muttered as he closed down the internet, turned off the computer, glanced at the Amulet of Zulo, wondered where he could store it for the moment, and decided to keep it in his coat pocket until either his purchase showed up or he found the boy who dropped it.