Jeff groaned. "Aw, Bruno! Quit that, ya' stupid..." He opened his eyes suddenly as he realized he was being slobbered on by two dogs, not one. Startled, he sat up and stared at the identical Irish Setters. "Bruno?"
Both dogs barked and wagged their tails furiously, then started licking him again. "What the Hell?" Jeff looked around the room for Erick and saw that the computer was on and running. "What did that son of a bitch do? He'd better know which one of you is Bruno!"
It was weird seeing the two dogs - they reacted and moved in exactly the same way, and even had the same expressions in their eyes. Every marking, every hair seemed to be in the same place. How could two animals be so identical?
Then he saw the clothes piled up by the mirror. Erick had been wearing that shirt this morning. And everything was there, underpants and socks, too. He picked up the pants and checked the pockets, finding Erick's wallet and keys. A quick check confirmed that the door was locked. Then he did a double-take. The door had a sliding latch, and it was closed, too. That could only be done from the inside.
"OK, Erick. Very funny. Come out." He went to the closet and opened the door. There was nothing but clothing and boxes. Scowling, Jeff got on his hands and knees to check under the bed. Dust bunnies and shoes. However, he also ended up with both dogs trying to mount him.
"Dammit, Bruno! Get off me!" Both dogs scampered away and looked at him with tongues hanging out. Frustrated and more than a little confused, Jeff got up and went to the computer. Maybe Erick had left a note.
"Cancel. Beta Version Chronivac 4.0, Transformations. When Cancellation is Selected, Subjects Automatically Revert to Stored Base Parameters. Current base settings: Dog, Male, Gay, 4 Years Old, Not Fixed, 60 lbs, Auburn Coat, Intelligence Above Average For Species,..."
Jeff stared at the screen, then looked at the two dogs. "Oh, shit!"