“I’m leaving for work, Jen.” Jason took his coat off the hanger.

“It’s Saturday, take a day off for once.” Why can’t she get it through her head? I can’t just take a day off. “I take off every third Sunday. You know that.”

“At least come home early.”

“I’ll be home late tonight.” He opened the door, and stepped outside. “I have to go, I’ve got a presentation this morning, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to get ready in an hour.”

“Oh come on. I know you, you’ve been ready since yesterday afternoon at the very latest. Stay home for just a while longer.”

“I need to go over a few things before it starts. This is a very important meeting. It’s with one of our biggest clients.”

“Workaholic.”

“A little hard work never hurt anyone.” Jason closed the door behind him. Walking toward his car, he pulled his keys from his pocket. Jennifer stood in the doorway as he turned the key in the ignition. Waving to her, he drove away.

He was going fast to make sure he would make it in time to go over his material for the presentation. Oh God, this is a big day for me. I hope I don’t screw this up.

He pulled into the neighborhood diner parking lot and turned off the car. A moment later he came back out with a cup of coffee. He set the coffee on the dashboard and started to back out of his parking spot. Another car pulled out in front of him, he slammed on the brakes and leaned on the horn. Tires screeching the car came to a stop. Sending the coffee cup flying onto the floor on the passenger side of the car.

“Stupid son of a bitch!” Jason sat back in his seat breathing heavily.

What the hell? As he reached over to pick up his coffee his had brushed against a large gold coin.

Coffee and work momentarily forgotten, he picked the coin up and turned it over in his hand. How much is it worth? Where did it come from? And most importantly, will anybody notice if I sell it? He looked closer and saw what looked like a cat, with its head reared toward the sky, baring its teeth. The animal was embossed, making it look like it was rising up off the background. Jason put the gold between his teeth and bit down. Genuine. He smiled greedily.

He turned it around again in his hand, and saw his reflection in the other side. He could see himself perfectly, not with a golden tone, as there should have been. What the… ? His hair was jet black, his eyes emerald green. He was a white man, with a smooth face. He was in no way overweight, but not too thin either.

He felt as though he was being lifted from his seat, but his eyes were fixed on the coin, as if he were in a trance. His hair grew rapidly, forming down over his face until his entire head was black. His ears grew to a point, and moved to the top of his head. My God! What’s happening to me? He gasped, unable to catch his breath.

The coin left his hands, and he looked around desperately. All around him were mountains, and he was at the top of one of them. In the distance he saw a large building that looked like a temple.

The coin flew high into the air, stopped, hovering in its place. A sword appeared in front of Jason. It had a black handle, and the blade was as sharp as a razor. Next to the sword appeared two pieces of wood, painted black and connected by a chain. Underneath was a small, black gun, and, to the left, a black staff. All these things were beautifully crafted. The four objects flew toward the coin, becoming smaller and smaller, until finally they became part of it.

The gold was already bright, but now grew even brighter. It began to glow. It flew down and around his feet, leaving a streak of golden stars behind it. Moving around his body, it slowly climbed toward his head. When it had reached his neck, it arched down and hit his chest. The coin tripled in size and became part of his chest, completely flat.

Jason realized that he had been floating, because he suddenly hit the ground. He reached to the back of his head with his right hand, and pushed himself up with the other. What is going on here? He saw his hand for the first time. It was all black, and had a long, razor sharp claw extending from each knuckle. What the hell is this? He jumped to his feet and spun around in a circle. There were animals of all kinds all around him.

These were not the kind of animals you normally see, though. They had human faces, but they were covered in fur. Their ears were those of animals, and they had two legs and two arms instead of four legs. They had hands and feet and were standing upright like humans. Jason’s mouth fell wide open. He looked down at his body. God! I’m one of these… Monsters!

A lion opened his mouth. Jason expected to hear a roar, but he didn’t. “Hello, old friend. I, along with everybody else here, am very happy to see you again.” They can talk? Jason collapsed, unconscious.