Crossfire: Chapter I

It was past dark already, most of the cars and other automobiles were off the road on this Friday night, but as always, there were exceptions to the rules. One SUV in particular sped across the almost vacant streets, as the passengers made friendly conversation between each other. Two eager teenagers looking for the means to cure boredom and relieve stress.

    "Should we just go to the mall again? Or Walmart or something?" The driver of the vehicle said, darting his hazel eyes across the street corner shops for something open, or something interesting.

    The front passenger shook his head in disapproval, whipping his black hair side to side. "No, we always go to the mall, and spend tons of money on stuff we don't need, all while being bored out of our minds. It's the same stuff there everyday, I need something fun to do, man," The teenager groaned.

    "Then what do you want to do? All these side stores are all closed, and none of them seem interesting anyway. If you got any better ideas, speak up," The brown-haired driver scoffed, still driving around the side streets in a distant hope to find anything worth stopping for. As of now, though, all throughout the street were closed doors and cold lightbulbs.

    "There's gotta be one store that's open, God. You're so pessimistic sometimes, you know that?" The chubby, pale boy complained, while shaking his head.

    "Whatever, Brandon," The driver complained, as he sped through the side streets. "I think I see a store that's open up ahead," He noted, squinting at a somewhat far away light coming from a building. He drifted closer and closer to the light until he confirmed that it was an open store.

    "Well, what are you waiting for, Jarrod? Pull over and let's check it out!" The boy named Brandon proclaimed, as the car swerved to an open spot next to the curb. They turned off and exited the vehicle and gazed at the shop. "'The Second Identity'," Brandon read on the sign above the door. He averted his stare and looked into the shop through the window. "Looks like a Halloween shop or something, heh. It's a little late for that!" He said, shivering against the cold December air.

    Jarrod shivered as well, as he locked his car. "Well, you're the one who wanted to go inside, so let's go. It's cold out here," He said, opening the front door to the shop. A small bell rang to mark their entrance. The two friends looked around the costume shop; half-browsing, half-waiting for someone to come and greet them. The creaking of stairs echoed in the rather large room full of costumes, implying that there was, in fact, someone maintaining the place.

"May I help you?" An elderly voice asked, accompanied by a rather old and odd gentleman appearing from the back of the store. He was balding, and the few hairs that stood out against his scalp and face were a vibrant white. He was a short, pale man who had very spacious and wise blue eyes and an seemingly permanent bored expression on his face.

    "Hello, sir. We were just passing through and came across your shop and it seemed interesting. May we browse around?" Brandon said politely. The old man seemed to realize that it was not befitting of his actual personality. He very visibly rolled his eyes at Brandon's charming ruse, obviously not caring much about first impressions. Brandon turned away and looked down at the ground to avoid eye contact. Jarrod also avoided his gaze, looking away towards the racks of animal costumes. Jarrod felt the old man staring at him, though, and almost felt as if he was pulled in to looking him in the eyes. Their stares met, and Jarrod had a distinct feeling of being deciphered. He felt as if his life was an open book to the man, and that his soul was on the line. He was uptight, and his logic told him that there was no reason to be.

    Suddenly, the old man smiled, as if he had found the page he was looking for. Jarrod relaxed his shoulders and let out a deep breath; he had not even realized he was holding his breath. "Look around all you would like, and please don't hesitate to tell me if you see anything you really like." The old man said, almost specifically to Jarrod. Without another word, the two boys went behind the racks of costumes.

    "That guy is so creepy!" Brandon whispered, "He seems like a major jerk, too."

    "I don't know," Jarrod replied, "He seems to like me." Brandon shrugged, and went back to looking at the costumes. Jarrod searched as well, but they seemed to be in the mammal section. He marveled at the craftsmanship, but wasn't particular interested in lions, tigers, or bears. "Let's go over to the reptiles, mammals bore me." Jarrod inquired. From across the room, the old man sneered and rolled his eyes.

The two boys walked over to the scaled side of the room. There were many different varieties of reptiles on the shelves. Crocodiles, anoles, geckos, monitors, and so forth. Though the racks seemed to be dominated by many different types of dragons, all of different colors, shapes, sizes, and features; such as horns or gills. The two friends looked casually at the different creatures. Jarrod searched through the different costumes for some sort of pricetag, secretively. Truth be told, he didn't want Brandon to know he was actually interested in buying a costume. He didn't want to ask the store owner for a price because it would mean showing that he was interested. Even his subconscious was telling him that there was no way he could buy a costume without Brandon's knowledge, so he should just ask. At this point, he was set on buying a costume, there was no indecision. "How much are one of these costumes?" Jarrod finally shouted through the store.

    The shopkeeper chuckled, knowing he had just made a sale with that simple question. "It depends which one you would like. Pick your favorite one out, and we can barter for it." He said smuggly and relaxed.

"You're actually gonna get one of these?" Brandon asked, "You always spend all your money the second you get it, that's not good man. Especially when you're spending it on stupid shit like this." The shopkeeper snarled loudly, to make it known that he had heard Brandon.

    "Relax, I just want to see how much it is. I'm not buying one if it's too expensive," Jarrod said, still sorting through the different creatures. He stopped at an alligator one and felt it's texture. He held it in his hand for a while, pondering, and looking into it's fierce expression.

    "But why even buy one in the first place? What use for it would you have?" Brandon asked.

    "I don't know, for Halloween and stuff. I never do anything for Halloween, and maybe next year I can. And I would totally wear it to school a few days just for fun and stuff, it could be good for just goofing off," Jarrod rationalized. He put down the alligator costume, and moved on. He knew that his favorite animal was a type of reptile, but just not which type. He liked alligators and crocodiles, but even so, he felt like there was something about them that disqualified them. He moved through the rack, and stopped at a Komodo Dragon. He appreciated it's lustrous green fabric and looked at it's face. It's reptilian features made it look fierce and powerful, but even with that, it's face seemed to lack any sort of bias. It seemed like it could be happy, sad, mad, or any combination. In a way, it did in fact remind Jarrod of himself. He picked it off the shelf, and silently walked to the counter. "How much is this one?"

    "Well, this is rare," The old man said, looking somewhat surprised. "A dragon that doesn't breathe fire, fly, or have horns, spikes, or fins of any kind. Are you sure that this is what you're looking for?"

    "Yes, I'm sure. I feel more connected to something plain, and not flashy or elegant," Jarrod said, almost automatically. "I don't need to feel special, and I don't like the feeling of being expected to be graceful or important. I'd rather have something that I can model after myself". Jarrod didn't know where that small speech came from, he just seemed to say it without any thought behind it. Though none of it wasn't true.

    "Well, that certainly is interesting," The gentleman said with a smile, "I actually have a much better version of this same costume in the back. Let me go get that one."

    "No, that's okay, I'll-" Jarrod tried to object, though the man seemed to ignore him and walked away.

    "Man, you're gonna be paying boatloads of cash for this, heh," Brandon smirked, and shook his head.

    "We'll see. If it's too much, I won't get it," Jarrod said, though in his heart he knew it was a lie. For some reason, his subconscious would not let him walk away from that costume. He knew he would pay anything for it, and he didn't know why. A few moments later, the shop owner came back with a much higher quality costume.

"I think this one will suit your need better," The old man stated, "It's in much better condition than the other one, and I can guarantee that it is much higher quality."

    "How much is it? I can't spend too much right now, I don't get payed for another two weeks," Jarrod said, taking his wallet out.

    "I'll tell you what, since you're probably the only one that's ever going to take that costume, I'll let you have it for no charge. Have fun," The shopkeeper said, while smirking. "Just makes sure to take all of most of your clothes off before putting it on, so you don't rip or damage it. And don't wash it, it'll turn out bad for you,"

    "Are you serious?" Jarrod asked surprised, as the shopkeeper happily nodded. "Thank you so much! I'll be sure to tell all my friends about your store," He said happily.

    "Oh, please do," The old man said, while the teenagers made their way to the door, "Goodnight, and drive safe,"

    "I will, thanks again!" Jarrod exclaimed as he let the door shut behind him. He started to make his way to the car, but Brandon stopped him early.
   

"Wait! Why don't you try it on first? Might as well, right?" Brandon said.

    "I'm not stripping in the middle of the street, dude," Jarrod objected.

    "Then just go in the back alley, no one will see you!" Brandon exclaimed. "Just to make sure it fits and stuff, and you didn't get ripped off."

    "It was free, how can I possibly get ripped off?" Jarrod asked. "But fine, I'll try it on," He said, as he walked into the dark alley. He really had wanted to try it on, in all honesty. He couldv'e waited until he got home, but even so, what better time than the present? He took off his shirt and his pants, but left his underwear on. After all, it was still the middle of Winter, and being naked in general was unsettling, let alone being outside in public. He quickly reached inside the box the old man packaged the costume in, and slipped into the opening in the back. He squeezed his feet into the feet of the costume. It was a somewhat loose fit, but it was oddly warm for such thin fabric.

    It felt a bit too warm. So warm, that his feet had started to hurt. Though it wasn't a burning pain for long, it turned into more of a stinging pressure pain. He heard and felt his feet crack, and squinted and yelled in pain, as he fell down on his ass. "You okay there, man?" Brandon asked from afar. The pain in his feet, and now his legs, kept him from answering. He looked down and grabbed his feet. Immediately, he felt that something was wrong. The fabric now had a distinct warm, and a pulse. It was no longer loose, but instead completely structured and glued on. He wiggled his toes, and saw the reptilian digits move back and forth. He somehow acquired the knowledge of how to use his new opposable toe. His biological foot was now completely reptilian, and it seemed like the scales were spreading fast. His legs began to fill out with muscle and the bones rearranged slightly, to his dismay. "Hey, what's going on?" Brandon asked again.

    "Uh, help," Jarrod said, stumbling over the words, "Help!" He say Brandon rushing towards him, as the costume began to fuse to his pelvis. He felt his spine start to grow and stretch down his back. He held the costume's limp tail in his hand, and watched it thicken up into a full fledged lizard tail before his eyes. The costume covered up his stomach, and attached itself, making him a bit chubbier, yet stronger. The same happened up his torso all the way to his neck. By that time, Brandon had arrived.

    "What the hell!?" He exclaimed, watching his friend transform in front of him.

    "Do something!" Jarrod shouted, as the costumes arms fused with his skin, giving him a much bigger, scalier build. Even his fingers filled with muscles, while his nails grew out into black claws.

    "I...I don't know what to do!" Brandon exclaimed. All he could do was watch, as the costume's mask engulfed Jarrod's head. A series of very painful cracks and shouts came out, and his face rearranged to perfectly fit that of a Komodo Dragon's. The cracks subsided, and the pain dulled down. A creaky door opened up, the light shining from inside coming out. The old man stood in the doorway.