It was pitch black inside and my head was ringing. A blue-tinted light flickered off and on as if I were wearing defective night vision goggles. I caught glimpses of worn bricks, rusty metal railing, and a long drop to broken concrete. Apparently my built-in night vision wasn't up to the challenge and went out, plunging me back into darkness.

I stood up, a bit woozy from the impact. I heard rustling below in the darkness. Something hissed—or did it scrape? I couldn't be sure. There was a loud thump. The metal catwalk I was on shuddered and groaned as something heavy landed on it. Two glowing yellow orbs appeared ten feet away. My breathing faltered. I felt a serious need to soil myself. Whatever the thing was sniffed the air with what sounded like a huge snout.

I decided not to wait to find out what it was. I dove out the window, sheer panic giving me flight. I grabbed onto the roof of the opposite warehouse and pulled myself up. The moon was dim, but a shadowy figure appeared in the window where I'd been. It sniffed the air. I stood still, hardly daring to breathe. Could it see me? What was it? Was my underwear clean?

I felt certain of one thing: Stacey lived nearby, possibly in one of these abandoned buildings. I no longer had the desire to stick around and find out. But I wasn't exactly sure which way was home. There was a mewling noise and a loud thud as the creature landed on the roof next to me. Glowing eyes met mine. It was a house cat. Correction: a gigantic house cat. Bony armor-like protrusions ran along its spine. Saber-toothed fangs protruded from its muzzle. Thick sinewy muscle coiled beneath short bristly fur.

Any other time I would have thought it looked pretty badass. This time, however, I squeaked, backing up until a brick chimney checked my retreat. Not good.

The cat hissed and pawed at me with razor-sharp claws the size of sabers. I dodged left just in time to avoid being sliced into salami. The chimney crumbled to pieces from the force of the blow. I grabbed an old two-by-four from the roof and held it like a sword in front of me. The cat swatted it and shaved a foot off the length. I gulped. It lunged. I jumped to the side and brought the board down hard on the cat's head. The board splintered and the cat howled in pain. It surged for me in a graceful, terrifying wave of death. My foot caught on an exhaust vent and my back slammed against the roof. The creature pinned my chest with one large padded foot. Its claws extended just enough to prick my skin. If it extended them any further, they would skewer my heart. Of course it could always chomp off my head too.

I pushed against the tiger-sized paw. It didn't budge. The cat sniffed me. I bunched my legs, bracing them against the cat's stomach. Before I could heave, it batted me with its other paw, knocking me momentarily senseless. It opened its mouth wide, revealing jagged rows of ivory stilettos set against its fangs. This was it. The bite that would end it all.

A shadowy figure blurred past. Silver flashed. The cat's eyes widened. It made a brief yowling noise that turned to a gurgle. Then its large head dangled to the side, hanging by a sinewy vine of muscle and thudded against the roof, narrowly missing my face. Its legs went limp and the body crashed atop me, knocking the wind from my lungs. Gouts of blood poured onto my face. I sputtered and spit and wiggled desperately. Finally I managed to get enough leverage to push the carcass off my chest. I scooped blood off my face and out of my eyes. I pulled off my shirt. The front was sodden with scarlet blood, but the back was relatively untouched, so I used it to wipe off my face. I tossed the shirt aside and looked for my savior.

Nobody was there.

I sniffed the air, trying to use my enhanced senses to pick up on something. All I smelled was the coppery odor of fresh blood. Then I threw up. After I threw up, I laughed and sobbed. It seemed an impossible juxtaposition. I shook from fright, but happiness at my continued existence gave a manic tinge to my laughter.

"Thanks!" I yelled into the night air. I hoped for some response, but none came.

After getting my bearings, I set off for home. It took longer because I stuck to the roads. I'd had enough of leaping over fences for the night. I trashed my bloody clothes and got in the shower. Rivulets of hot water relaxed my muscles, turning scarlet with cat blood by the time the streams reached the drain. As I dried off after the shower, I studied my body in the mirror and realized the pudginess on my belly was almost gone. My arms were showing slightly more muscle than a week ago. My legs looked the most defined which made sense given all the football practice. Unfortunately most of my pants now ended above my ankles and my belts wouldn't go any tighter—they had run out of notches. I was growing up rather than out, as my old body had done.

Thoughts of my mysterious stranger, however, troubled me. I had no complaints about my rescue, but who or what had killed that huge feline? Had they been in the neighborhood already or were they following me? Even my new muscles and strength had been no match for that oversized alley cat. Surely, whoever it was wanted me alive. They could have killed me along with the creature, otherwise. I had too many mysteries competing for space in my overwhelmed brain.

If only I could grow smarter, now that would be something.

I tossed another pair of jeans I'd outgrown into a pile on the floor. It looked like Elyssa, Renaldo, and I would need to make another trip to the mall. Except…Elyssa had left me. The agony of loss stabbed my heart. I bit back a sob as I lay down in bed. I wanted to forget her. To forget this pain. I didn't want to be in love with her. My heart didn't care. It still beat for her. It still longed for her embrace and for the feel of her soft curves pressed to my body. I saw Elyssa's smile, her lips, her violet eyes shining with desire for me.

That was the past and the future looked bleak. A line of girls, complete strangers, waited to fulfill my hunger. But they would never, could never, be who I needed. Who I wanted. The girl who filled the Elyssa-sized hole in my heart.

I miss you, Elyssa.

* * * * *

People I had never spoken to in my short life came up and slapped me on the back, shook my hand, or gave me the brofist when I walked into school the next morning.

"Good luck at the game tonight," said one dude.

Randy Tosser and his group of nerdlings came by my seat in the gymnasium. "Here's a video with our assessment of your strengths and weaknesses according to your practice sessions," he said, handing me a flash drive. "Please beat the crap out of Lanier High."

"Why do you care about football?" I asked him. Randy had the musculature of a toothpick with a big olive-shaped head balanced atop it and glasses that made my old bottle-bottom ones look small in comparison. Fat or thin, most of his squad had "nerd" written all over them. Then again, I would have fit right in not too long ago.

"Gerald Ledbetter, my arch nemesis, goes to Lanier High. He won the state science fair last year, narrowly defeating my genetically modified potato battery. It's a matter of pride."

"But this is football, not science."

He shrugged. "It would make me feel better. His older brother, Marty, is their quarterback and Gerald won't shut up about him."

"Oh. Well, I'll do my best." I looked at the flash drive he'd given me. "Thanks for this. I'll check it out."

"You're a true inspiration, Justin." Randy looked me up and down. "You've gone from corpulent to athletic and improved yourself measurably." He gestured at the nerd herd behind him. "We're all going to the gym and eating more responsibly now." One of the chubbier guys in his group stuffed a Twinkie in his mouth about the same time Randy finished his announcement. Randy sighed. "Except for Theodore. I'm afraid he's a lost cause no matter what."

I was touched by this but I didn't know what to say. If ever an after-school moment had presented itself, this was it. Instead, all I said was: "Kick ass." Wisdom and insight. I have it all.

Randy and group cheered.

Something drew my eye to the door at the far end of the gymnasium. Elyssa stood there watching as people came by to wish me good luck, give me cookies, and one girl even gave me a pair of panties. I grimaced and hoped they were clean.

I looked at Elyssa. She stared back at me. I wondered if that was longing in her eyes or wariness. I could make out every detail of her pale smooth face with my enhanced eyesight. I traced the line of her jaw and longed to smooth back the stray raven-black lock against her cheek. I wanted so badly to run over to her and hug her and feel her respond. If only for an instant. Her attention meant more to me than the circus my life had become.

"You okay?" Ash asked as he shoved yet more of my gifts into his now-bulging backpack.

"No. I'm not."

He followed my gaze and saw Elyssa. "Oh, man." He patted my back. "That sucks. I really wish you two could work things out."

"I don't think it's going to happen."

Nyte sighed. "Why can't life be like the Princess Bride? I would climb the Cliffs of Insanity for a girl like Buttercup."

I gave him a look of disbelief. "You like the Princess Bride?"

"Best movie ever," Ash said.

Nyte nodded. "Real life sucks."

I looked at Elyssa again and swallowed the knot in my throat. "Yeah. Pretty much."

In homeroom, Jenny and Annie were friendlier than ever. Not so long ago they'd been my biggest haters.

"You're looking great, Justin," Annie said, touching my bicep and sighing. "Who'd have thought you'd be any good at sports?"

"Are you on steroids?" Jenny asked.

I glared at them. "Seriously? You two are my friends all of a sudden?"

"We've always been your friends," Jenny said, her eyes going wide and innocent.

"What?" I sputtered.

"Don't get yourself worked up." Annie patted my back. "You need to conserve your energy for the game."

I rolled my eyes, turned around, and pulled out some homework I needed to finish. I'd received offers from several of Randy's gang to help me catch up with my school assignments, but I'd turned them down. Completed work did me no good if I hadn't done it myself. I might stink with women, but maybe I could still get into MIT where I could seduce all the nerdy girls I wanted.