An hour ago, 34-year-old Ben Turnow hadn't thought his week could get any worse.
His company had lost three clients, two of them part of Ben's personal charge.
Even before that professional setback, he had ended a two-year relationship with his boyfriend after coming to the stark conclusion they were not advancing into territory he wanted.
No, he had thought he was safe in thinking his life could not get any worse. But that was before he had logged onto that web site calling itself "Major Changes."
Thanks to some weird computer software, he had gone from being a muscular human male of 190 pounds and 6 feet, 2 inches with a muscular build to the proverbial 800-pound gorilla in the room.
Actually, his weight, while substantial, was probably closer to 500 pounds. He didn't notice much of a change in his height, except his gorilla form's inclination to walk on all fours kept his massive head a lot closer to the floor.
Normally a clean-shaven guy, almost his entire form was now covered with a black pelt, except for the soles of his feet, his palms and his fingers and thumbs.
His attempt to undo the transformation kept running into unexpected problems, the latest involving tumbling down a flight of stairs to smash more of his neighbor's possessions.
Ben braced his legs on the floor and stoop in an imitation of a human bipedal stance, but his spine rebelled against that form of locomotion. He was about to drop to his knuckles to walk on all fours when he glanced his reflection in a mirror on the wall near the front door.
"Oook!" Ben uttered in a dismayed tone. His bulging forehead and a domed skull made his head look massive. Instead of his green human eyes gazing at the glass, a gorilla's dark brown eyes stared at the mirror and gave him a sobering look at his great ape body.
His broad, flattened nostrils flared as Ben grew aggravated and swiped the mirror off the wall.
He would have to hope that didn't add seven years of bad luck. He tried to calm himself. He was normally so volatile, but being trapped in such an unfamiliar body seemed to shorten his temper. Ben wondered if the transformation might also mean he would begin acting more gorilla-like. Not liking that idea, he shook his head to clear his thoughts.
He still needed a computer mouse to take back to his place in an attempt to regain access to "Major Changes."
At that moment, he saw the blue glow from his neighbor's den, indicating the presence of a computer.
Meanwhile, the very shaken 18-year-old son of Ben's neighbors had fled to the house across the street to summon help. The husband and wife had been understandably disturbed to find a naked teenager on their front porch, but as they listened to the youth's wild story, they reacted quickly and helpfully.
The wife brought the young man one of her husband's bath robes as her spouses dialed 9-1-1 and explained that a gorilla was on a rampage in the neighborhood.
As for Ben, he managed to detach a mouse from his neighbor's computer. That precious piece of equipment cradled as softly as he could manage in one of his huge paws, he walked out the front door of his neighbor's home.
He had a three-legged gait as he kept the mouse protected in an upraised hand. As Ben left the porch, bright headlights blinded him. He heard excited voices as more bright lights, including flashing blue lights, surrounded him. The wailing sirens pounded in his ears.
"Oook! Oook!" Ben grunted and hooted. He tried to take a detour toward the fence around his own backyard when he heard a loud voice. "Don't let him make a break for it!"
"Do we shoot?" Another male voice yelled.