The Bite of Popcorn (Preview)

JD snorted. “Oh no no, that's not what I'm getting at. Come on, don't tell me you forgot the last time you bought a bucket at this theater.”

“Oh that?” the long blue-haired woman laughed, waving her hand, “That was nothing. Sure, the Venom Head bucket was very messy.”

“Clean up got docked from my pay,” said JD in the flattest of voices.

“But come on!” Rachel wiggled the bucket again. “It's just fun! What do you have against fun, hun?”

“I'm against fun if it causes another scene like before,” he mumbled, “That was so embarrassing.” The entire situation was one of the reasons why he took a few less shifts at the movie theater these days, and why he and Rachel usually went to a different theater across town if they wanted to see anything. Today was an exception, the two alone in their auditorium.

“Oh please, stop worrying!” Rachel hopped into the theater seat beside him and casually leaned back. She plopped the bucket beside her, waving her arm in his face. She dramatically lowered her hand into the bucket, through the shark's maw.

A few seconds later, she scooped out a handful of popcorn. She shoved it into her mouth, leaning into JD's face and eating it with her mouth partially open. “Seeeee?” Crumbs fell out as she spoke, “Safe!”

JD rolled his eyes. “Fine, but you can enjoy that yourself. I still don't trust it!”

“Pssssst!” Rachel chuckled, gulping down the last bits in her mouth, “Such a worrywart!”

JD didn't answer her back, just staring ahead with his arms folded. He focused his attention on the generic commercials for local businesses that played on the theater screen during the preshow. It didn't matter how cheap or annoying they were, he just didn't want to see her smug expression.

“Ow!” Less than a minute later, JD found himself turning to look back at Rachel after that little exclamation. She had stuck her hand back into the bucket, but it hadn't gone all the way in this time. The shark head's maw had clamped down into arm, just below the wrist.

The blue-haired woman grunted and pulled. The shark immediately gave up its prey and opened back up, the arm coming out with ease. She groaned, shaking her limb and whisking her hand about. “What the hell was that about?” she muttered, “Stupid prank bucket.”

JD didn't say a word. Once she stopped her shaking, his eyes focused on where she was “bitten”. There was no blood, those teeth too flimsy to do any real damage thankfully. The spots they dug into were just red.

Then, they weren't red. They were grey, grey as freshly poured cement. The skin looked a little… rough as well.

Of course. JD sighed, staring at her arm more. It pulsed, the veins and muscles in it throbbing. The grey marks spread out, merging together and crossing over her arm, up to her elbow before climbing onto her hand. Her mitt jiggled and jittered, slowly swelling up.

Her fingers twitched, light webbing appearing between them. Her fingernails pulsing and turning a dark grey. They popped and thickened, pushing to the tips of her fingers before swelling more. They soon formed stubby claws, befitting her beastly hand.

“What?” Rachel’s attention turned to JD, noticing his staring. “What's your prob?” Her eyes followed his gaze down to her hand. “Oh… huh.” She twisted and turned it over and back again. “Well, what do you know!”