[Murdough]

To: Marilyn Knewsome

From: Andrew

Dear Ms. Knewsome,

First off, just heard about the note from Jill. From what I’ve been hearing on my police scanner, the cops are still not having much luck in tracking her and Anthony. If you ask me, they may need to bring in FBI on this one. Better resources, and given the severity of such crimes, I’d say it’d override the question about jurisdiction.

Anyway, just got out of the hospital last night. You might’ve heard about an assault that happened last week. Gas station employee jumped by a trio of high school girls. Yeah, that was me. But since I’m here writing this, I’m good. Actually better than good in some ways. Granted, that could be the vicoden talking. But this is what happened.

As I had said before in a previous letter, corporate had opted to double the hours allotted for second and third shifts. Meaning my boss could schedule double coverage for that sixteen hour period. That paired me up with a girl by the name of Sara. Maybe a year or two younger than me, Sara and I had had a friendly working relationship before the change. Physically, she’d actually been a little slight back in those days. Rail thin, though pretty tall. I was 5’10", and she had no trouble looking me right in eyes. Great eyes too. Shade of green unlike most I’d seen. Combined that with her red hair and pail skin, and she was your classic Irish beauty.

Anyway, after the change, she’d actually become more beautiful in my eyes. Her height had shot up, peaking at around 6’6" or so. The fact that I’d shrunk down to around 5’4"-5’5" had served to emphasize that change. And her physique, well, like every other woman on the planet, she had muscles that put any male bodybuilder to shame. Her shoulders had to be about half again the breadth of my own and her thighs must’ve just been just shy of being as big as my waist. And her arms, well, I’d said before that they were bigger than my head. Not changing that assessment.

And Christ, starting to sound like a fawning schoolboy here.

So yeah, after the change, Sara and I had more or less become partners at work. Eight or nine hours a night, six nights a week working together. The previously friendly working relationship actually started to deepen in the past couple of weeks. We got to know eachother a lot better. Turned out we had a lot of things in common. We both loved Godsmack and thought that Michael Jackson was the anti-Christ. We loathed reality TV and considered The Shawshank Redemption to be the greatest piece of American film. That sort of thing. There may have been some flirtation between us, but truthfully, I thought it was my imagination. No way a girl like her would be in to a guy like me. Theory I’d held to since before the change.

Anyway, the attack. It was around 10:30-11:00 this past Wednesday night. Every night, we’d order take out from one of the nearby places, and take turns picking it up. Wednesday was my night. I was on my way to the restaurant when I stopped in my tracks. In front of me was a trio of girls. Based on their faces, they looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old. Latinas from the look of it. Again, based on their faces. Their bodies told a different story, displaying the same bulging muscles that all women now possessed. Just one of them looked like they could easily break me in half. And there were three of them before me.

"Where you going?" one of them, who I guess was the leader, asked in a mockingly polite tone. Though I didn’t know these girls personally, I had heard rumors about a small gang of teenage girls assaulting local men in the area for their money. This must’ve been them.

"Just picking up some dinner," I said, hoping to God that my voice didn’t carry the fear that was starting to build up in the pit of my stomach.

"That so," the leader replied, her voice losing some of the politeness. "Means you got some cash on ya."

I shrugged, trying to play it cool, yet wishing that I’d had some sort of weapon on me. A bat, pepper spray, something. But I didn’t. Just had to be cool here. "Got a tab at the restaurant. Pay it at the end of the week," I lied. I had about thirty bucks on me, plus my credit and ATM cards.

Goes without saying that they saw through my lie. Deciding not to waste words, the leader nodded to the girl on her right. Without saying anything, the girl quickly grabbed me by my left arm. The third girl joined in, grabbing my right. I struggled, trying to get free. That only caused them to squeeze my arms harder. I couldn’t help but gasp in pain. Felt like I had a pair of steel vices closing down on my upper arms. I only wish that that was the only pain I felt that night.

Before I knew what hit me, I felt the air explode from my lungs as the leader’s fist slammed into my gut. I leaned forward as best I could, considering the two amazons holding me up. A moan of pain escaped my lips as I took several deep breaths. My stomach area hurt like hell, and in truth, I was close to throwing up. Before that could happen though, I felt her fist slam into my body again. This time, I heard and felt a snap. Must’ve been one of my ribs. Pain lanced through my body that time as I yelped. A blow across my jaw quickly followed, then a jab to my nose. Again, I felt and heard a snap, accompanied by a warm wetness.

By that point, I was pretty damn out of it. My legs felt like jelly, that fact born out when I felt the hands holding my arms vanish. Without any support, I fell forward in a heap. I felt hands rummage through my pockets. If I could, I would have cursed. Bitches got my wallet. Then I was alone.

Honestly, I don’t know how long I lay there. Could’ve been hours, could’ve been minutes. Probably a concussion.

After god knows how long, I thought I heard something. Someone calling my name. Next thing I know, I’m being gently lifted into someone’s arms. I managed to open my eyes a little, seeing who it was. Sara, her face etched with concern. Then I passed out.

I woke up in the hospital a couple hours later, or so the clock on the wall indicated. There were people standing near the bed I was in. My brother, my grandmother, my sister, a doctor, and Sara.

The doctor gave me a rundown on my injuries. Turned out I did indeed have a concussion. Thankfully, it was only a mild one. In addition, I’d suffered two cracked ribs, a broken nose, and a lot of facial bruising as well as where the girls had squeezed my arms. He then ushered my family out, though not before Sara could give me a long look.

That was three days ago. During my time in the hospital, Sara came by whenever she could. Filled me in on what had happened. Turned out that I’d been gone from the store for too long, and that she’d been worried. Explained how she found me. We talked a lot. She told me about how worried she’d been. How her heart had stopped when she’d found me in the state I was. And about how she hoped they’d find the girls responsible. She owed them a beating.

But mainly, we talked about nothing really important. Little things, like how I was planning on seeing the Hitchhiker’s Guide next week. She seemed to hint that she’d like me to invite her. Truth told, I probably will. One could say it’s because she more or less saved me and that I owed her. That’s true, no question. But there’s something more. And hell, maybe things will go right for once.. Guess we’ll see.

Wish me luck.

~Andrew

[Murdough]

Count me in as well. Just use the model based on my posts in the Marilyn thread.

[Murdough]

To: Marilyn Knewsome

From: Andrew

Thought I’d write back, given the latest developments. First a comment to the girl holding Anthony. If you’re reading this, for the love of god at least let he himself say that he’s okay. All we got is your word. Regardless of that, you need to turn yourself in. You committed murder, if you indeed did kill the poor bastard that was found. You said you’re stronger than all the police. Um…the local PD has a pretty decent percentage of female officers. Women who haven’t let these changes turn them into sociopaths. And women who undoubtedly could take you in a hand to hand fight. But since you’ve apparently committed murder and you have a hostage, it won’t come to hand to hand.

In this sort of situation, lethal force would probably be an option. And given your physical capabilities, they wouldn’t screw around. We’re talking SWAT, dogs, sharpshooters…the works. Despite what you might be deluding yourself into thinking, the Change hasn’t made you anywhere near being bulletproof. A slug to the head, and you’d be just as dead as a post-Change man.

So please, if you are reading this, let Anthony go and turn yourself in. We don’t need two more deaths.

And apologies to everyone for the frankness of that. I don’t advocate violence against anyone. Just pointing out what might happen to that girl.

Anyway, the graveyard shift’s going fairly well. Corporate’s made the decision to actually double the available hours of that shift, meaning two people working at a time. In this case, I’m "partnered up" with a female co-worker my age with whom I shared a friendly raport with before the change. Gotta admit that her being there in the middle of the night adds a sense of security. Doesn’t hurt that each of her biceps is just about the size of my head.

As for the police department, heard a rumor that there will be some changes in terms of recruitment. After you’re hired by a PD, but before you enter the police academy, you’re required to take a series of exams. Among these is physical fitness. How fast you can run a specified distance, how many push ups and sit ups you can do, et cetera. Word is that they’ll be lowering the minimum for men and raising it slightly for women, so as to make things more fairly. Evidently, local and state departments will have discretion on that. Organizations like the FBI and DEA will be set by DC. Obviously, given Dubya’s recent speech, nothing’s changing on that end. Shame.

[Murdough]

To: Marilyn Knewsome

From: Andrew

Dear Ms. Knewsome,

First off, I want to be clear that I’m not a high school student. Graduated about five years back. However, my younger brother was present in your class the other day. You might have recognized him as the quiet, pierced, stoner/musician-type sitting in the corner. Anyway, he told me about what you spoke about and your offer to serve as a sort of counsellor. I kind of feel compelled to make my feelings known as a high school grad and a member of the community.

Currently, I’m attending college part time, studying Criminal Justice. I intend to become a cop or other form of law enforcement official down the line. Goes without saying that with what’s gone down, areas concerning law enforcement are in for changes. I’m something of a cynic by nature and I believe that things have a way of balancing out.

Historically speaking in this country, incidents of domestic violence have almost always involved men hitting women, be it their spouse, lover, or family member. Got a feeling that the statistics will flip in the years to come. Men will become the victims in such cases, and most likely will have been the abusers in the past. Revenge thing on the part of their own victims. And of course there will be those women who will go on a "power trip", for lack of a better term. The courts will be filled with them.

Personally, I have mixed feelings about the changes that have affected the human race. Truthfully, I was never in what could be described as "great" shape. I’m slightly overweight and I chain smoke. And now, well, goes without saying that obesity will no longer be a real issue for me it seems. And in truth, I got nothing against women with muscles. I actually find it rather attractive. And I must say that the change has done wonders for my grandmother. She’s in her 70s and had suffered from some physical difficulties. Now she’s in the best health she’s been in in decades.

On the opposite end, relations with my younger sister have become rather…tense. She and I have had a history of disagreements over the years, especially during the period after high school where I more or less drifted through life, going from one dead end job to another. We would get into heated arguments over that, her superior attitude exacerbated by the fact that she’s on her way to earning a bachelors degree from an Ivy League university. Things have cooled down somewhat since I went back to school. However, since the change, she has become more…overbearing with her attitudes. The fact that she stands a full foot and a half taller than me and is twice my width probably factors into it. While I know that she would never do me bodily harm, there is that underlying truth that if she wanted to, she could literally break me in half. Don’t know what to say beyond that really.

Anyway, just thought I’d put some points forward. Incidentally, my night job has become somewhat more interesting. I work second shift at a convenience store which stops selling alcohol at around 11:30 PM. State law. Anyway, we are frequently patroned by women who repeatedly try to buy after the cut off time. They try every trick, from trying to come onto me, to veiled threats of their boyfriends assaulting me. After the change, I’m happier than ever that my boss keeps a 12-gauge under the counter in the event of a robbery. Just in case they get violent. And incidentally, that last sentence was meant as a joke. A bad one, yes. Anyway, thank you for your time.

[Murdough]

I’m afraid that City of Heroes doesn’t allow you to change your character’s height or build following creation. No powers like that either.

[Author]

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