Is he losing his mind? Even he isn’t convinced. However, although no one believes him, he’s sure he didn’t carry out the vicious assault on Mark. Is what he’s experiencing going to devastate his relationship with his loved ones? Something is happening to Mike, but, what?

He made his way to the lane by the river and down to the back of the riverside pub. From the bins, he ate his fill. He was thirsty now. Where would he get a drink? There must have been salt, lots of salt in the food for now he was desperately thirsty. He couldn’t go into the pub, or could he? He searched around and found a door. Stump listened intently, and hearing no one prised the door open and stepped inside. He was not expecting what greeted him. It leapt out of nowhere. Its growls and bared teeth sent a shiver through him. Instinctively he raised his left arm to protect his face and throat, and his right hand was at the ready to attack. The doberman sunk its teeth into his protective left forearm. Stump went wild with pain. Having struggled to master pain ever since his transformation, he had yet to succeed. It was still so new to him. The suddenness of the attack and the sheer ferocity of it had momentarily shocked Stump and all he could do was protect himself against the onslaught. Stump was powerful, frighteningly so, and now he was getting angry. He cried out, and with a huge right hand gripped the dog by the throat and squeezed. The effect was devastating for the animal. Stump’s grip was so sudden and strong that the dog’s whole throat was instantly crushed. The dog’s grip on Stump’s forearm weakened, he ripped the dog off, raised it by the throat to shoulder level and cracked it like a whip, snapping its neck. Stump angrily flung the dog at the door in front of him. The dog was heavy and it struck the door dead centre. Such was the force of the throw that the door was smashed off its hinges.

Michael J McKeown lives, surrounded by trees, on the south coast of England near the Hamble, a famous sailing river. His inspiration comes from his surroundings and his experience of life. Originally, he was an engineer. In later years, he has been a software consultant, plying his trade in a number of different countries, including the USA. He has been married, divorced and raised six children, unfortunately losing a daughter along the way. He has led a varied and interesting life since originating from a small farming village in the centre of Hampshire. He claims that his story telling abilities were inherited from his father, an Irishman, who settled in the area following his evacuation from Dunkirk during WW2. Before the days of television, when only the wireless was available for entertainment, his father would sit the family in front of the fire and then spin yarns about his boyhood in Ireland and his adventures as a soldier before and during the war.