Marty was at the mall with a few of his friends. Well, one of his friends (Eric), Eric's girlfriend (Tammy), and her girlfriend (Cindy). The four of them were exploring the stores and just hanging out, Eric's mother dropped them all off and agreed to pick them up in a six hours as she had a number of errands to run and family things to prepare for on Sunday. That was a lot of time, but them all being 14, the independence of it was nice.
It was now around two in the afternoon, they had all been wandering around for 4 hours, and had already eaten. Tammy and Cindy wanted to browse around Victoria's Secret and then check out DEB, a store that sells girls dresses, apparently the girls were excited for the homecoming dance already.
Neither Eric nor Marty wanted to step foot in those stores so they agreed to all catch up later, they were each just a text away. Eric floundered not sure where to go and eventually said he was hungry again and headed off to the food court. Puberty was starting to hit that boy hard, and he needed to eat a full meal every three or so hours, not that it showed.
Marty, was not interested in spending the last of his funds on overpriced food, nor watching the discovery channel like gorging that Eric was about to partake in... so he pulled out his phone and began texting and wandering.
A few minutes later he found himself in a store he didn't recognize, only looking up because the sound from the rest of the mall became muffled and strange as he accidentally took several steps into the store. His head popped up and he looked around embarrassed. His first instinct was to turn around and leave but the displays looked strange and caught his eye.
Wandering further in he found a wide array of strange things. There was a part of the store dedicated to potions, some to costumes, a part of the store appeared to be a library and they even had scrolls. There were random items all over the place, pocket watches, knifes, jewelry, glasses, a belt buckle, a doll, a shaving kit. There was a lotion and perfume counter, and near it, a small display with edible tablets promising permanent hair coloring that looks natural.
Each section of the store seemed ever so slightly... off. Even the pop machine seemed strange, the lemon-lime soda was called "A day in the sun", and the cherry cola was called "Sweet Lips". The diet drink was slightly disturbing with a name of "Waste Away", probably a typo for waist, hopefully.
One display was a little gaudy with a giant moon and trees painted on the wall, Marty approached, his curiosity getting the best of him. Getting closer he saw teeth affixed to handles making them look like knifes.
"Considering one of our Were-Options are we?"
Marty jumped having not heard or seen anyone since he entered the store, a good 20 minutes ago or so.
"I'm sorry lad, I didn't mean to surprise you. Did you wish to become a were-creature?" his badge said "SRU Employee: STAN"
"Were-creature" Marty asked still fighting back his fight or flight response. "Like a werewolf? Tied to the moon and all that?"
"Exactly. Was that your choice then? You wish to be a werewolf?"
In a flash, Stan reached for one of the knives among the 50 or so, grabbed Marty's arm, and raised the knife prepared to stab Marty in the forearm.
"No!" Marty screamed pulling away from the man. "Don't touch me!"
"I apologize Sir, I thought you wanted to become a creature of the moon, perhaps you can continue browsing while I attend to some paperwork. Let me know if you have questions." With that the man went to the front desk which was previously empty and Marty stepped away from the Were section.
The gift area had some mundane looking things, "Worlds Greatest _______!" mugs and some weird cards, such as congratulations on gaining/loosing weight, maturing well/staying carefree, becoming a man/woman. Just weird.
The shopkeeper seemed engrossed in his work so Marty went back to the were section and looked at the knives. On each of the handles was written the names of the creature it apparently came from, alligator, cheetah, wolf, lion, horse, cougar, jaguar, beaver, bull, squirrel, fox, dog, snake, bear, rat and a host of other animals. Marty audibly laughed at the guinea pig knife.
The store was fun and all but Marty was tired of the sensation that everything in the store was off a bit. Like there was something huge behind the curtain and he just wasn't seeing it. It was unsettling. As he was walking to the door there was a powerful drop in the pit of his stomach telling him that trying to leave was a terrible idea. He gasped in surprise.
Behind him the shopkeeper looked up and said "Oh, you weren't intending on leaving without magic were you? Destiny brought you here and won't allow you to go without something... please take your time, find what you came here to find. Did I mention we have a sale on the were products today?"
"What's your deal?" Marty asked with false bravery. "You try to stab me and now you are saying I can't leave without magic? What kind of store is this anyway? And for the record I don't believe in magic, or fairies, or were guinea pigs, I'm not 5, so you can cut the crap."
The shopkeeper looked stunned and set down their reading glasses. "Oh dear. Did you not notice the sign when you entered? You are in the Spells R Us store and whether you believe it or not there are thousands of possible transformations that can be done to you, or by you, from within these walls. Fate has brought you here to help maintain the balance of magic in your world and will not allow you to return to your world without it. Please accept that or you will never get home."
Marty was shocked by the shopkeepers sincerity, this guy actually believes what he's saying, but that doesn't make it true... Marty just stared.
Breaking the silence, the shopkeeper went back to his favorite pitch, "Do you know what happens when a were creature bites the animal it were's into?"
Marty shook his head trying to get a grip on things.
The Shopkeeper continued, "The were transformation is a union of two species usually. It naturally enhances the characteristics that both species share, for example, Were-wolves in a mammalian creature such as yourself, would give you enhanced pheromones, hair, size, strength, outdoor skills/instincts excluding fire building, ferocity, courage, competitiveness, and so on..."
The Shopkeeper looked back at Marty with excitement, Marty just stared getting pulled in by Stan's passion.
"So when a werewolf bites a wolf, it becomes a ..." Stan waited for Marty to figure it out which he didn't. "Have you heard of a thing called a Dire Wolf?"
Marty blinked... he had, "aren't those extinct?"
"For now, but one day, someone like you may bring them back... are you that person?" Stan was clearly enthralled by the idea.
"If you like them so much, YOU cut yourself with that knife!" Marty said.
"Any animal that has a were counterpart may have a Dire. Go take a look, you may find you are more interested than you originally thought. If you try to leave without magic, the store itself will do something to balance the magic in your world... you may not like that. I recommend you choose on your own terms."
Taking another glance at the were options Marty saw more knives and grabbed one of the knifes with glee marching up to the counter. "Someone pulled a fast one on you!" Marty smirked at Stan shoving the knife in his face.
He took it and looked, "What do you mean? This is a were item."
Marty's face fell. It's some guy's tooth.
"No, it's a mundane creature's were-human tooth."
"You mean, animals could become humans?" Marty asked in disbelief, honestly the story this guy was weaving was beginning to get interesting if for nothing but laughs.
"They were the first were creatures! From the cold forest they looked onto the human villages with their fires, music and dancing and wished they could experience the joys that humans felt. The moon empathized with their seeking of knowledge and she granted their request for the night. The next night the creatures cried out again seeking more knowledge and the moon obliged. For two weeks this continued, and each night she got weaker until the moon was so weak she disappeared completely. The animals pleaded with the moon to not to overextend herself. She is the only light of the night and all animals need her. The moon agreed to regain her strength but insisted on continuing to support the animals pursuit of knowledge at least one night a month. And so she has to this day... All were creatures are transformed to their new forms once the moon has regained her strength."
Marty just stared dumbfounded, Stan's sincerity was unwavering and it was beginning to weird Marty out. "So, you said that any Were-Creature could have a dire counterpart, why haven't I heard of Dire Humans?"
"Its supernatural so mundane people don't discuss it but most celebrities are dire humans... Humans are more complicated than animals, Strength and symmetrical proportions aren't the most important attributes to all cultures." Stan turned to his computer and typed something in.
"Ah, here we go, Yao Ming is a giant, his culture considered that an exceptional quality. Ummm, Dwane Johnson, clearly a Dire Human following the same route as the Spartans. Stephen Hawking, exceptional intelligence. All examples of Dire Men though some may be second or third generation. Shall I go on?"
Flustered, Marty exploded, "Why don't you become a dire person then if you love the idea so much?!?"
Stan, completely unphased, "As I already explained, I would have to be human for this to turn me into a Dire Human." Marty took an involuntary step back not knowing what Stan could mean by that. "Although you are in a fast time pocket, please do make your selection soon, I would like to take lunch."
"Fast time pocket?"
Stan simply gestured out the window to the mall. Marty looked and saw a child's toy seemingly suspended in air and people appearing to be standing still, mid action. As he stared in disbelief he could see things were moving but incredibly slowly, or rather, he was moving incredibly fast. Stan stepped up next to him and said, "A second out there is about fifteen minutes in here."
The gravity of the situation suddenly came crashing down on Marty,