Once Mr. Hails had the door open, I leapt inside and made a beeline for the stairs but when I tried to take the steps two at a time; I stumbled. If I hadn’t had a good grip on the rail, I would have fell face forward, but I caught myself and the only thing wounded was my damn pride. I’d lost a decent amount of height and that meant my legs were shorter. Grimacing, I took each of the steps one at a time before bursting into the bathroom and locking the door behind me.

I flipped open the toilet seat, and pulled my short shorts down ready to take a wiz in the usual fashion, only to realize, once again, that didn't have the usual plumbing. I clenched my teeth, flipped the seat down and plopped down. You know when you hold it so long you have trouble peeing? Well, I learned that day it wasn’t a problem unique to men. When I got the stream going, I closed my eyes and let the pee flow and sighed in relief once I got a steady stream going.

I finished up and walked up to the counter where I washed my hands then glanced up at my reflection and I got my first look at my new face. Though I resembled Kalena in form, the face was all wrong. I saw some of the old Jim looking back at me and a bit of Mom too. If I had a sister, I imagined the girl in the mirror could resemble her.

The girl in the mirror was nothing short of breathtaking, even with the blue skin. Her angelic blue face was framed by a mane of violet hair that ran almost all the way down her entire back. Atop her head growing out of her parietal bone a set of horns jutted out from her scalp. Just to the side of each horn a pair of blue-colored feline-like ears stuck out like a sore thumb, but the most striking feature of all was her eyes. They were the same violet as her hair, but the iris continuously shifted shades, it almost looked like a tumultuous violet fire. If I’d seen her breasts on another girl I would have said they were perfect. They were big, but not huge and firm.

"Wow," I muttered feeling a little enamored until I realized I was looking at my reflection.

"No," I scowled. "That's me now."

I reached up to touch my ears, but when I did so they twitched. This surprised me and I hesitated a moment before reaching up to touch them. They were hairless and matched the color of my skin. It was a strange sensation having an appendage in a different place and that was the wrong shape. My horns were smooth and felt like I would have expected. They were only about an inch long and as I examined them I wondered if they would grow like horns on animals did. Would I have to trim them?

I glanced down at my chest and grimaced when I noticed my nipples were visible through my shirt again, but this time they were erect. "Damn," I cursed I was turning myself on. What the hell was wrong with me?

"Well, I am pretty fuckable," I admitted to myself. "Shit, I'm a cosplayer’s wet dream. Hell, I'm my wet dream."

Try as I might I couldn’t bring myself to look away. I was horny and it kind of weirded me out not just because I was getting off on my reflection, but because it was the first time I’d become aroused as a girl.

"Think unsexy thoughts," I said, repeating the sentence in my head. A rap at the door was followed by Megan's voice. "You all right? You’ve been in there a while."

"Yeah," I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. "Yes, I'm fine I'll be out in a minute."

I popped the door open and found Megan standing there with her arms folded across her chest. "Just what were you doing in there?" she asked.
"Nothing," I said then frowned and glanced down at my boobs. "I was just familiarizing myself with the new me."

"Right," she said straining to keep a straight face.

I cleared my throat and fidgeted with my long tresses. "We should have a talk. I need to learn more about being twisted."

She nodded and led me downstairs where both Allison and Mr. Hails were lounging on the living room sofa. I glanced at the two of them and plopped down on the loveseat opposing them. "C-can we talk?"

"Of course," Mr. Hails replied. "It’s only natural you would have questions."

I leaned forward and brushed the hair from my eyes as I muddled over what I would say. My mind was still reeling from my transformation and I kept trying to convince myself that it was all some horrible, horrible dream, but I knew it was real even if I didn’t want to accept what had happened.

"I never expected this," I said. "I-I don’t understand why my mother never told me that this could happen. It might help to understand a little more about being twisted. Since you guys are all twisted, maybe you can help me."

"Well, what makes you think we’re twisted?!" Allison protested her eyes wide in mock surprise, but she was such a terrible actress I wouldn’t have bought her act even if I’d been unaware of the truth.

"Oh please." Megan rolled her eyes and took a seat in the loveseat next to me. "I already told Jim that we’re twisted. There’s no reason to play stupid."

"Please forgive Allison, the acts of hatred and malice that have been directed toward people like us would give anyone pause. Megan was right to tell you the truth," Mr. Hails looked first at his niece then Megan and met my gaze. "What is it you want to know, Jim? I promise I’ll answer to the best of my abilities."

"I know what they told me in school, but not much more. It would be easiest if I told you what I know and have you fill in the blanks. It all started when this explorer from Canada, John Kincaide I think his name was, brought the Antarctic Flu back after exploring Antarctica. There was a massive outbreak which killed millions of people. The virus changed the survivors, but no one realized it until they had children and they went through their twists."

Mr.Hails smiled and seemed to mull over what I had told me. "Sometimes I think all they teach kids about the Twisted in school is to fear and hate us, but I’ve never been happier to be proven wrong. That is an accurate description of the history behind the twisted."

"I guess I don’t understand. It seems so bizarre. How is it possible? How can a person just change like this," I asked throwing my hands out. "I’ve heard about people changing all my life, but I never stopped to think about it. It was always so distant, something that wasn’t happening."

"That is the question, isn’t it?" Megan asked. "We talk about quantum fields and shit, but the only people who understand it is the egghead sciency types."

"Megan, mind your language," Mr. Hails said, glancing at his daughter with a stern look. "Thank you for that colorful interruption."

"Well, I’m not the 'egghead sciency type' as Megan so eloquently put it and my understanding is limited, but I will do my best to explain. The twisted are unique because we can tap into what’s called a quantum field. When we first connect with this field is when we first undergo our twist and it’s often triggered by a strong emotional response or a new experience. The physical changes are sometimes accompanied by shifts in personality. In addition, you may have also picked up compulsions which may prompt you to say, do or behave in ways which are unusual."

"Compulsions?" I shuddered and scrunched my nose up. "I’m not sure I like the sound of that."

"You'd be pretty messed up in the head if you didn't," Megan chimed in. "There are some freaky compulsions like that serial killer in California."

"But," Mr. Hails added glancing at his daughter with a shake of his head. "Most compulsions are harmless."

"Yeah," Allison agreed. "I go to school with a girl who's so obsessed with the color pink she wears nothing else."

"I guess there could be worse things than wearing pink all the time," I muttered. "How do I find out if I have one of these compulsions? Is there some kind of test?"

Mr. Hails chuckled as if something I’d said had been funny. "Give it a few days if you have one you’ll discover what it is soon enough. There is something we can test for that is if you’re interested. There’s a chance you may have gained a trick."

"A trick?" I asked.

"Yeah," Allison said, "It's kind of like having a super power."

"You mean like flying or something?" I asked.

"Such abilities are seldom so grand, but yes, I have heard of people gaining the ability to fly. Most normal people seem to be threatened by some of these abilities which is why we refer to them as tricks instead of powers. It sounds more benign."

"Well, that doesn't sound bad. In fact, it might even be useful. What's your trick?" I asked Mr. Hails.

"I can shrink or grow to a quarter my regular size and back," he replied.

"That's awesome!" I said. "Can I see?"

Mr. Hails grimaced. "Perhaps another time. I was thinking you might like to try it out for yourself and see if you had a trick."

"Sure," I said with a shrug. "Just tell me what to do."

"Unfortunately, it’s not that simple, there's no instruction manual. Some people have different triggers for their abilities, take me for instance, my trick requires a great deal of concentration to activate, but for some people it requires none at all and there are a few who activate theirs on a subconscious level. We’ll play things by ear and see what works for you."

"Ok," I said. "Well, here goes nothing."

I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths and cleared my mind or tried to. A billion thoughts coursed through my brain and I struggled to silence them. I tried to imagine myself tapping into Mr. Hails quantum field. A slight tingle trickled down my spine, but when I opened my eyes to see had happened, I couldn’t tell if anything had changed. To say it disappointed me would have been an understatement.