" He went into the kitchen and Ryan followed. She gave a low whistle as she looked around at the gadgets and appliances on the counter. "Wow. You real...y are serious about the cooking." "You bet. But mostly it was good timing; they'd just re-done the kitchen in here when I was looking for a place. Couldn’t pass up a new kitchen. Have a seat." He gestured towards the kitchen table. "How's your ankle?" "A lot better, thanks." She sat with a sigh of relief. "Can't wait until this cast is off,. I walked over the rise, peering around me through the thick trees.There was the sound of a rifle shot. I froze. Slowly, I turned to the right, toward the sound.There was a man, dressed warmly, clutching his rifle, shaking. He stumbled slightly. I could see the look of terror plastered over his face.I followed his line of sight. There, about twenty paces away, lay Pascal, still in his beast shape. He was unmoving. I could see and smell the blood. I saw him for a moment as the man did; a thing. He had discovered last night the high heels he had worn came with a price. He feet hurt. They began the day walking in the park, hand in hand. Enjoying the spring weather. They bought some ice cream and watched the children play on the playground. They both wanted children but were waiting until the time was right. They had lunch in an open-air restaurant and Mary laughed at John's bad jokes. John wanted to see what shopping as a woman was like, Mary liked the idea too so they went to the mall.. Her arm rests on my thigh as she sits next to me on her little doctor’s stool on wheels. I hear her counting and I try to steady myself, fearing the worst of course. As I clench my hands and keep my eyes scrunched closed I see it, a bright reddish flash. The first of many pulses is done. ‘That wasn’t too bad,’ I think ‘I barely felt anything’. She had started near my right thigh at the top of the bikini line. She moved towards my left thigh, with each pulse of the laser covering about the size.