On the hottest day of summer, the merciless sun bore down on a hidden compound in outback Australia.

Adrenaline coursed through Tomas’ body, as he stalked his prey. Only two remained, he had killed the rest. He burst through a bathroom door and found a man crouched, hiding in the shower, “Dinner time!” he growled as he rushed forward to grab him. The man tried to flee but it was futile. Tomas’ clawed hands wrapped around his body and Tomas’ jaws came down over the man’s head. With a sickening crunch, he bit down, killing him immediately.

He dropped the body and left the bathroom, “Only one more. Come out, come out, wherever you are! 🎵” he mocked the night’s air.

He pressed ‘track’ and a red trail of fear pheromones leading to the last survivor appeared before him. The trail led outside, into the scrapyard. Tomas clicked his tongue, it was always annoying when they escaped there. No matter, Tomas was in the zone, he could practically taste them already.

He charged outside and leapt over the crushed remains of a car. The moon hung low in the sky, granting his beast eyes perfect visibility. Slowing down as he reached the centre of the scrap yard, his ears perked up listening for any movement. Footsteps came from his right, he lurked after them.

This prey was clever, clearly a veteran. She had set up several traps and escape routes along the path. Tomas cautiously approached, stepping over a spike trap and spotted the woman setting up a large trap that would cause a whole car to tumble down onto him if he wasn’t careful. If that happened it was game over, so Tomas wasn’t about to let her finish.

He rushed forwards towards the woman, without noticing a wire across his path in his haste. His foot caught it and the sound of empty cans rattling filled the night air; an alarm.

Tomas growled as the woman whipped around in his direction, spotting him in the shadows and then fled between two stacks of metal. This is why he hated it when they fled into the scrapyard. He gave chase, sprinting and clearing obstacles at a pace the woman couldn’t match. She tried to pull pallets and old machinery down behind her to block his path, but she was only delaying the inevitable.

It wasn’t long until the survivor ended up being cut off at a corner by Tomas. She had blocked her own escape route with a washing machine and was now cornered. She tried to dodge around him to the left, but he simply stepped right in front of her. The fight went out of her; she went still and looked up at Tomas, accepting her fate.

Tomas wrapped one claw around her feet and picked her up hanging upside down. Another claw wrapped around her hands. He raised her up above his head and bit into her midsection. Tomas got squeamish as her whole body tore in two. Blood and guts splattered onto the screen forming the words ‘You Win’.

“Yuck! Gruesome!” Tomas exclaimed, placing down his controller, “That was so sick though. I am the best!”

He leaned back on his sofa, needing a moment to chill out after all the excitement. That was actually his first perfect victory as the beast. The game ‘Night Monsters’ had randomly appeared in his game library earlier that afternoon and he was already completely addicted. If it wasn't so gross and violent it would be the perfect game.

To avoid witnessing the still continuing carnage on the screen he decided it was time to get up and take a break. But when he stood up, his legs gave out and fell to the floor.

He looked down in horror as his whole body began twisting, bending, and deforming in unnatural angles. He went into a full-on panic, hyperventilating and trying to scream through a mouth that wasn’t where it was supposed to be.

The strange sensations stopped and his body settled on a form. It didn’t hurt. The realisation hit; he knew what had happened, he had transformed!

Chid-like glee replaced the earlier panic as he flopped and wriggled his way over to the bathroom so he could get a look at himself in the mirror. He found it hard going. His arms and legs seemed to have lost their bones and were now far too long and noodly. Furthermore, he had far too many limbs now and he was having trouble figuring out which was which. His body was a different shape now; his robe wasn't designed for it. It pulled tight against his face, covering one eye and forcing his body to squish awkwardly to accommodate.

Despite the struggles, Tomas made it to the mirror and got a look at him himself. He was…. An octopus? Well, not quite. He was larger and rounder than an octopus but the basic shape was there. Also had some distinctly human features like the colour of his eyes and fingers on two of his tentacles. His newly awakened powers had turned him into a were-octopus!

Tomas reflected on that for a while; it wasn’t what he had been expecting. He hadn’t even been to the sea before so he wasn’t sure if an octopus was badass or not. His friends had told him that when he got his power, it would definitely be a great hunter. So Tomas ultimately decided that his new power was awesome and he loved it.

“Tomas, the terror of the deep!” He spoke in a bubbly octopus voice to the mirror and bent two tentacles into a bicep flexing pose.

Now he had to figure out how to change back so that he could go tell everyone the big news! He experimented with all the new feelings he had and managed to do some cool things like change his colour and skin texture. He also figured out some not so cool things like how to shoot out a bunch of ink all over his bathroom floor. Eventually though, he found what ‘feeling’ he needed to prod to change back into his old self.

His body shifted and deformed again. Again, it didn’t hurt, it just felt weird. And after a few moments, he stood back up and checked the mirror again. There he was again, good old Tomas. 22 years old, big eyes, buzzed off hair, and a fantastically bright smile to shine against his dark skin. He adjusted his robes back into place, despairing at how he was going to get all of that black octopus ink out of the white material. He did an inspection to make sure his body was back to normal: Two hands, check, two feet, check, bones, check. All seemed in order.

“Can’t wait to show the others!” Tomas told the bathroom mirror before going back into his room. He went to the outside door and tried to open it, finding it locked. He sighed and banged on it a few times.

“What is it?” a voice called out from the other side.

“Is that you, Ingrid? Open the door. I got something to show everyone!”

“It’s not your outdoor time yet.”

“I know that, but something big happened,” Tomas paused, he didn’t want to reveal anything too early and ruin the surprise for everyone, “Just trust me. You gotta open up.”

Ingrid opened the door and looked in. She was a tall, strong-looking woman, with the same buzzed hairstyle as Tomas, “What is it?”

“Keep it secret, OK?” Tomas looked around to make sure no one else was there behind his door before leaning in for a conspiratorial whisper, “I got my powers.”

Ingrid’s eyebrows rose, “What? How?”

“From a video game! Look!” He transformed in front of his friend, “I think it’s an octopus!” he burbled.

Ingrid stared silently for several long moments, complicated emotions running through her head, “Wait here,” she eventually said, then slammed the door shut in Tomas’ face, locking it behind her.

“No, wait! Don’t tell anyone!” Tomas called out but it was too late, “Gah! She’s going to ruin the surprise!”

Tomas transformed back and slumped down into his sofa. His disappointment about the ruined surprise changed back to excitement quickly as he imagined all the cool octopus things he was going to do from now on. He was going to be a celebrity among his friends!

Ingrid returned shortly, letting herself in, “Bad news. The head priest and the Matriarch are hunting in Bolivia at the moment. When I told them about your power, they decided to return immediately. They’re calling all members back to the Australian compound so they can have some kind of ceremony.”

“Awesome!” Tomas’ face lit up. A public reveal was as good as surprising everyone, “Why is that bad news?”

“Because they gave me special instructions. I am to help you practise with your new form until they return so that you don’t embarrass the head priest on the day.”

Tomas pondered over her wording for a moment, trying to figure out why it was bad news and what could be embarrassing about a power reveal ceremony, “Oh! I get it, training is hard! Don’t worry, Ingrid! I can handle it! And of course, they don’t want me flopping bonelessly onto a stage. I have to look good and instil the awe of octopi into everyone!” Tomas clenched his fist, “What are we waiting for? Let's get training!”

🎵 🎵

Rising up, back on the street

Did my time, took my chances

Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet

Just a man and his will to survive

🎵 🎵

A shaky tentacle reaches out to grab a basketball out of Ingrid’s hands. She pulls the ball just out of reach at the last second and shakes her head.

Tomas leaps into a corner and tries to camouflage himself. Ingrid walks into the room and points at Tomas immediately.

Tomas tries to take a successful step forward, he tries for a second and falls to the floor in an octopus puddle.

🎵 🎵

So many times, it happens too fast

You trade your passion for glory

Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past

You must fight just to keep them alive

🎵 🎵

Tomas is slowly pulling himself along some monkey bars using his tentacles. Ingrid comes up from behind on the monkey bars and knocks his tentacles off the bar as she passes by. Tomas falls to the floor.

Ingrid claps her hands and Tomas does a human push-up. She claps again and Tomas transforms and does an octopus push-up. She claps a third time, Tomas transforms and tries to push up but collapses on the ground, exhausted.

Tomas drinks a glass of raw eggs and then vomits them all out.

🎵 🎵

It's the eye of the octo

It's the thrill of the fight

Rising up to the challenge of our rival

And the last known survivor

Stalks his prey in the night

And he's watching us all

With the eyeee of the octo

🎵 🎵

Ingrid walks around a room looking confused. She shrugs and then startles as Tomas uncamouflages and drops down from the ceiling. Tomas winks an octopus eye at her and walks away on his tentacles.

Tomas zooms along the monkey bars using all eight tentacles. He pats Ingrid on the back as he passes by.

A shaky tentacle reaches out to grab a basketball out of Ingrid’s hands. She pulls the ball just out of reach at the last second only to find another tentacle waiting for the ball behind her. She pulls away in another direction only to find a third tentacle reaching for the ball. Tentacles are everywhere! She screams as they all converge on her.

Tomas drinks a glass of raw eggs and then vomits them all out again.

Thus ends Tomas’ training montage.

The wind was howling outside. Tomas was playing ‘Night Monsters’ in his room when the door opened and Ingrid let herself in. She had nice timing because Tomas was just finishing his game up with another victory. He smiled at her, “Hey Ingrid! What's up?"

"I got good news and better news for you."

"Ooo start with the good news first, I'll save the best for last," Tomas chuckled.

"Alright, the good news is, I’m done. The head priest and the Matriarch have returned. I reported to the head priest about the progress of your training and he deemed it passable."

"Oh really? That's cool. I thought they'd come to see me as soon as they got back though."

"That's part of the better news, actually. They are preparing for your power reveal ceremony. It's been decided that at the ceremony, you'll be sacrificed to the Matriarch. She’ll eat you and increase her power! Isn’t that exciting!"

"What?"