Accidents Happen

[Kato]

No accidents. That was all he really wanted anymore. Just a period of time where he could go on living like nothing had ever happened. He hated accidents. He felt like he was the only human being with a sign taped to his back that read off how many days it had been since the last accident.

But they always happened in some way or another. And always when he thought he could make it to shelter before anyone noticed. So far, he hadn't been widely publicized, but the San Francisco tabloids had gotten a pretty good photo. Not good enough however, since the cheapie print referred to him as 'The La Brea Dinosaur Man.' He wasn't a dinosaur at all of course, but it did become a popular meme for readers to replay in their heads the lyrics Martin Short had made popular in his 'Clifford' film.

'Larry the scary rex!
He's a scary dinosaur!
But don't be afraid of his sharp sharp teeth,
Or his mighty mighty roar...'

Ryan Wahlberg couldn't remember the rest. He wasn't a dinosaur, so it wasn't important. Maybe he was just as bad as one though. Everytime he changed, hazards were guaranteed to occur. He always became so hungry too, but he'd luckily resisted the urge to start consuming his own species. Come to find out, there were enough maneaters in the world already. Bridgeport. How did it even stay open for business? How did it even have a human population remaining.

There were monsters here. By the hundreds. Vampires, werewolves, demons, witches, mothmen, people with curses, ghosts, ghost hunters, you name it. In fact, he'd been approached by werewolves the day after he came. They sensed his affliction, and were looking for new blood to join their pack. He had to refuse of course. And they refused him as well once they saw the change that sunny afternoon. He was no wolf.

Ryan marked off a day on his calender before brushing his teeth and consuming a breakfast that was composed of an entire dozen of eggs, three leftover steaks, a box of cereal, two full gallons of vitamin enriched milk. It would at least last until dinner. Then he slipped on his coat, and grabbed his resume from the apartment's kitchen counter. He needed a job.

[dominovox]

Today was just like any other day in the Great Escape book shop. Roi was sitting at the counter being lazy, as usual, reading his manga he so dearly loves, with his feet on the table, no less, and I am doing most of the hard work when it should be him. I swear, sometimes I regret even hiring his lazy butt at all. I’m still pretty mad at him for the bucket of water on the door prank he pulled. He can be so childish, sometimes! The bell on the front door suddenly sounded, which meant the first customer of the day arrived. “Welcome to Great Escape Books, how can I help you today ?” I asked.

[Kato]

A bookstore sounded like a perfect idea. It was dark, enclosed, and full of objects that weren't priceless. This way if anything unfortunated occurred, the 'bull in a china shop' motif would be downgraded to 'beast in a bookstore.' Somehow that still wasn't reassuring. Plus bookstores were usually for nerds, and Ryan was many times called their oppressor in high school.

But it's like they say. The geeks shall inherit.

"Hi." He proclaimed, stepping inside under the twinkling of a bell. "Ryan Wahlberg. Just came into town last week." He raised a brawny hand out to the cashier for a shake. "May I speak to the manager on duty? I would like to apply for a job."

[dominovox]

Roi lowered the manga he was reading by a couple inches so that his eyes were looking straight at Ryan's extended hand. Then raised it, again.

"No, and no," he said, in his regular unfriendly tone.

Stella then jumped in before she could lose a potential customer and maybe a future employee.

“I apologize for my employee’s rude behavior he is not the friendliest of people! Where are my manners? I’m Stella, Stella Amedeo I am the owner and manager of Great Escape Books, and it’s a pleasure to meet you, Ryan.”

[Kato]

"Thanks. And it's fine. I'm not asking anyone to befriend me." He shook her hand with a firm grip. "So, yeah. I need a job. (Preferably something indoors.) Brought a resume. Graduated from Lincoln on a sports scholarship, but I promise I'm smarter than the average jock." He handed over the sheet of paper.

[dominovox]

Stella took the resume from Ryan's hand and read through it. She had an interesting thought. If she hired someone like Ryan, maybe he could put Roi in his place while working in the shop to make things run smoothly.


“If I hired you, what could you do to make things run smooth here ?”

[Kato]

"That all depends on what you ask of me. And what systems you're using. Organization's no game, and everything needs a place. I don't want a job so I can play around, and read manga." A small glance at the guy doing just that. "I want a job so I can work. And stay out of the sun. Not that... I'm not a vampire or anything. Californian. I've wanted a change."

He wasn't sure if this was what she wanted to hear or not, but it usually took more than a first impression to know where a person's buttons were. People may have considered Ryan to be manipulative, but hey, c'est la vie!

[dominovox]

Stella was very pleased with the answer Ryan gave her. From what she could tell, he seemed like a very diligent worker, and could definitely put Roi in his place. She was willing to take the risk of hiring him.


"You're hired. You can start working tomorrow. Be here at 8:30, no later please."


When Stella spoke, those words, she smiled the entire time and could see how angry Roi was. For once he actually put his manga down to pay attention to the entire conversation, and she had a very good feeling that things were going to change around here.

[Kato]

He gave her an intense smile. "Thanks! I appreciate it. See you at 8:00." He was aware she'd said 8:30, and that was the point.

"In the meantime, may I browse? I've got a small affinity for obscure Egyptian History."

[dominovox]

"Be my guest; we actually hava a pretty nice section on Egyptian mythology, history and so on. I hope it will help you with what you are looking for, Ryan." said Stella

[Kato]

"Thanks. I'm hoping it will."

Ryan moved to the appropriate section, taking stock that this shop had a few more occult books than he would have though. Neverthless, there was a fairly extensive Egypt section, when compared to the average Barnes & Noble. But it had a great smell. Musty, old paper and ink odors pervaded the interior atmosphere giving it a warming, and comfortable feel. Softly, he ran a finger along the tomes searching for anything on the goddess in question.

Serket. Goddess of Scorpions. Patron deity of Scorpion I & II. Master of both poison and health. There had to be something here relating to her. Some way to appease her. Some way to end his curse before it got out of hand....

[dominovox]

Roi was very displeased at the moment. He had worked so hard to get this job at the shop and Stella just gives it to some random guy off the street. What does this Ryan have that he doesn’t? Then he overheard Ryan asking about the Egyptian section of the shop. This made him quite curious to know what Ryan was looking for so he put down his manga and ran past Stella yelling

“Got to use the bathroom!”

He then went to the bathroom in the back room and locked himself in from the inside. He lost concentration of his shape shifting ability so he could changed into one of his more natural forms. Being a Nue, his kind had a natural ability to make their bodies into nothing but black smoke. Roi watched as his body slowly lost it solidity. First his legs, then his waist, and lastly his head. When the transformation was complete, he slipped under the door of the bathroom and proceeded to the nearest air vent looking through each one until he found the one that was over the Egyptian section. He saw that Ryan was holding a book on mythology. He couldn’t tell what it said, but he saw the image of a woman with what looked to be a scorpion on her head.

“What is this guy hiding?”

Roi thought to himself and started to listen in carefully to what Ryan was saying.

[Kato]

In Egyptian mythology, Serket (also spelled Selket, Selchis, Selkis, and Serqet) is the goddess of healing stings and bites who originally was the deification of the scorpion.

Scorpion stings lead to paralysis and Serket's name describes this, as it means (she who) tightens the throat, however, Serket's name also can be read as meaning (she who) causes the throat to breathe, and so, as well as being seen as stinging the unrighteous, Serket was seen as one who could cure scorpion stings and the effects of other poisons such as snake bites.

Ryan read intently, flipping the page as he reviewed this information. It was nothing new really. So he put that book back, and picked out another. He flipped to a different description of Serket.

In Ancient Egyptian art, Serket was shown as a scorpion (a symbol found on the earliest artifacts of the culture, such as the protodynastic period), or as a woman with a scorpion on her head. Although Serket does not appear to have had temples, she had a sizable number of priests in many communities.

The most dangerous species of scorpion resides in North Africa, and its sting may kill, so Serket was considered a highly important goddess, and was sometimes considered by pharaohs to be their patron. Her close association with the early kings implies that she was their protector, two being referred to as the scorpion kings.

Still nothing useful. Ryan picked out a third book. The moment he opened it, there was a scorpion waiting inside the pages. In his shock, he let out a small noise, and dropped the book to the floor. But when he looked towards the insect, it had vanished without a trace. Had it been a hallucination? He must have looked like a fool, spontaneously dropping a book like that. But then again, he'd sat there and watched a gigantic Emperor Scorpion claw its way under his flesh some months ago. It was the most painful experience of his life. He didn't want it to happen again, and his instincts agreed.

Picking up the book once more, he checked the cover, noticing this was something of an antique entitled "A History of Egyptian Curses" by Dr. Terkes.

Bingo. This was what he needed.

He flipped to the page on Serket.

[dominovox]

Stella ran over to Ryan, since she heard something fall over in his direction.

"Are you alright Ryan? I heard what sounded like something getting knocked over, so I came over to see if you were alright."

[Kato]

"Just clumsy. I pulled a book off the shelf, and it slipped through my pincers. Er, fingers I mean." He raised the book somewhat ashamedly. "I've... always found these things fascinating. Strictly from an educational standpoint."

He felt as if he'd been caught red-handed while stealing. He wasn't stealing at all, but it felt the same. The truth was, he wanted a cure. And if this book caused him to hallucinate an image of his enemy, then he was probably on the right track.