Chapter 3

Karl woke up at six-thirty Saturday morning, feeling good and well rested, perfect in fact. Because he was planning on working outside this morning, he dressed in his clothes from yesterday, then went downstairs.

He was hungry, but not as desperately hungry as before, and had another big breakfast. "Like you said, it looks like I'll be a big eater from now on," he said to Zal.

"Yes, your enhanced body and mind will require more fuel to function at maximum efficiency," the symbiote replied.

After breakfast, Karl chopped wood until it was time for lunch. He really needed to get a stock of firewood ready for winter, as he said to Mrs. Beadle yesterday. He enjoyed the feel of his muscles flexing as he worked chopping and then piling the wood in the shed by the back door.

He had lunch, just one sandwich today, but a big one, and a single bowl of ice cream. Zal wanted him to go online and do some more trading. "We can't today, the markets aren't open," Karl argued.

"There are markets open in other countries today, for example, the Dubai market is open Saturday and Sunday. You could try trading there. You made enough yesterday that you can afford to risk one or two thousand dollars."

Karl let himself be convinced, but decided he would do as Zal suggested and limit his risk to a thousand dollars. After two and a half hours, he logged off and stood up from the desk. Surprisingly, thanks to his increased brain power and Zal, he had been able to more than double his initial investment. "That's enough." he told the alien. "Now, I've gotta go shopping for some new clothes."

Though he hadn't sweated much while working outside, he took another shower. Again, he reveled in the pleasurable sensation of the warm water flowing over his naked body. Again, he felt his penis growing hard as he washed himself. I'm getting to be like a teenager, constantly horny, he thought, but deciding he didn't want to masturbate just now.

"It's a result of the perfection of your body," Zal told him.

"Yeah, I figured that out," Karl replied.

Drying his hair in front of the mirror, he noticed the color had lightened into a dark gold, an improvement over the dingy brown it was before, but it looked too long, longer than it should be since his last haircut. "Well I guess this is from the transformation too," he said. Not waiting for a reply, he added, "I bet my nails are growing faster too." He checked his fingernails and toenails. They didn't look like they needed to be cut yet, but he expected they would need to be trimmed more often now.

He found more clothes that fit, barely, put Topper out back, climbed into his truck and left for town. He had to stop for gas at the crossroads. While fueling his pickup, he looked across the road at the grocery, thinking about that girl, Peggy Swanson, but decided he wasn't ready for a new relationship, not yet. Besides, he had to concentrate on building up his assets so they could take on Zal's enemy.

Karl had to drive through Easton to get to Wal-Mart, on the main highway on the way to Indianapolis. Saturday afternoon, the parking lot was crowded, and the store was crowded. As he walked in, he again noticed the attention he was drawing. About time I got some clothes that fit. he thought as he took a cart and went over to the men's clothing section.

"I'm not gonna be changing any more, am I?" he asked Zal as he looked over the selection of new clothes.

"No, all organs of your body are between ninety-five and ninety-nine percent of optimum, as is your mind. You will not be changing any further."

"Good, I know I can afford it, but I don't enjoy shopping." Quickly, he picked out several pairs of jeans, khaki slacks, shirts, underwear, socks and two new belts. He went over to the shoe section and tried on shoes until he found two pairs that fit comfortably. His old shoes pinched a little; his feet and hands were bigger now too.

When he paid for his purchases, the cashier, a young African-American, gave him a big smile as she said "thank you, sir," and then, "Sir, please let me ... us know if there's anything else you would like."

Karl looked at the pretty, high-school age girl, and then smiling back at her, "Thanks, this will be enough," he said, looking at the receipt for the nearly two hundred dollars he had spent.

Karl was pushing the cart toward the exit when he noticed the men's room. Parking the cart next to the wall, he went through his bags, putting the things he wanted now into one bag, then entered the men's room. The few people there - two men and one boy - moved out of his way, watching as he entered the handicapped stall.

In the stall, he pulled his new shorts and jeans out the bag and removed the tags and stickers. Then, he took off his shoes, his jeans and shorts. He put on the new clothes. The jeans were a little stiff, but fit better than the old ones. He got a new belt and transferred all his belongings from his old jeans, then put on a new shirt, socks and shoes.

He put his old clothes into the bag and walked out, feeling better wearing clothing that fit. Coming out of the washroom, he saw a security guard walking toward him. The big man's eyes narrowed as he looked at Karl wearing the new clothes.

Karl reached into his pocket and started to pull out the receipt for his purchases. "It's okay officer," he said. "I've got the receipt right here."

As the guard came closer, he lowered his eyes and said, "Oh, sorry sir, I didn't know it was you. That's all right, I don't need to see your receipt."

Karl looked at the big man standing in front of him, his head bowed, his eyes lowered. "Do you know me?" Karl asked.

Raising his eyes a little, the guard said, "No sir, but I can see you wouldn't do anything improper."

Karl looked at him, thinking about how strange the guard's behavior was. He threw his bag into the cart and said, "Okay, I've got the receipt in case you need to see it." He pushed the cart out to the parking lot and loaded his purchases into his pickup.

Across the road from Wal-Mart was a strip mall. Karl peered at the shops across the road. With his perfect eyesight he could see everything. There, that was it. He thought there was one there, a uni-sex hair salon. He usually got his hair cut at the barbershop in town, but as long as he was here...

He got into his pickup and drove over to the strip mall, parking in front of Lucy's Uni-Sex Salon. Inside, there were three barber chairs, but only two being used. A mother and her young son, about eight years old Karl guessed, were waiting.

"It'll be about twenty minutes," the older woman cutting hair said. "Whatta you need?"

"Just a trim," he answered.

"Okay Honey, take a seat and we'll get to you as soon as we can."

Karl sat down at the end of the row of seats, away from the mother and child. The woman was leafing through a magazine, while the boy was playing a hand-held video game. Every once in a while, the mother would raise her head and look over at Karl. He tried to ignore her, keeping his attention fixed on the Reader's Digest in his lap.

After about ten minutes, the customer the woman who had spoken to him (Karl guessed she must be Lucy) was taking care of finished and left. "Okay Bobby," she said to the boy, "you're up now."

The boy's mother put her hand on his shoulder, holding him back as she turned toward Karl. "Sir, you go ahead and take Bobby's place, we can wait."

"That's not necessary," Karl replied. "I'm in no hurry."

After she let go of Bobby, and the boy ran over to the barber chair, the mother asked, "Do you usually come here to get your hair cut?"

"I usually go to Jake's, downtown," he answered, then looked down at his magazine, trying to avoid eye contact.

Keeping his eyes on the magazine, "What's going on?" he mentally asked Zal.

"I believe an unanticipated effect from the transformation you have undergone is having an influence on others of your species. I will need to analyze it further to determine exactly what is happening."

"Alright," Karl said, "but let me know as soon as you find out. All this attention is making me uncomfortable."

After about ten minutes, the second barber, younger than Lucy and with blonde hair that looked dyed, finished with her customer and came over to Karl. "Hello sir," she said, "I'm ready for you now." As she led him to her chair she said, "My name's Barbie."

"Karl," he said, taking his seat,

"Glad ta meet ya, Karl. Now, it's just a trim you want?'

He said a trim was all he wanted, then relaxed as she snipped away. Barbie talking continuously while she worked, Karl trying not to pay attention. When she was done, she handed him a mirror; he told her it was fine. "Thank you, sir," she said. "You know Karl ... sir, your hair is just beautiful and in great condition, better than I've ever seen." He thanked her, paid her fifteen dollars, plus a two dollar tip, and left.