Mary took a few more gulps from the first-aid tin, draining the last of the blood she had scooped up. It didn't taste nearly as bad this time, 'probably because I was ready for it', she thought to herself.
Within a few seconds, she felt herself stretch taller again, the sound of stretching rubber faintly audible as her body grew back upwards, getting close to her original size.
What Mary failed to notice was that she now had a few extra additions. Her hair, normally straight and brown was now thick and grey. Black stripes were faintly visible, and it seemed to bunch up around the top of her back, almost like a mane. If she would have looked into the mirror, she would have noticed that her eyes had turned pitch black, and now glistened with millions of tiny facets from her eye-sockets. The skin on her back had hardened somewhat, forming thick dark plates that ran down her spine to her lower back, where a strange bulge was forming.
Unfortunately, Mary didn't notice any of this. She was too excited about being back to her normal size. She breathed a sigh of relief and looked down at the monster mosquito that she had killed. It was still huge compared to her, but seemed less menacing now, more familiar. She shrugged it off, thinking it was just the size difference...
"Hold on a minute," she thought to herself, glancing at the stairs, "if there IS something dangerous down there, then I should be ready for it."
Mary looked down at the huge insect, reached down, and held her tin under its dripping leg. The blood quickly filled it.
Holding the tin up to her mouth she almost smiled, "I'd rather be too big than too small", she thought, "and now that I'm used to it. This stuff isn't half-bad."
Mary tiled the tin back and drank the entire thing in one go. The blood was delicious and warm as it ran down her throat, not nearly as bad as it had been that first time...