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Joseph, an awkward, reserved-looking 21 year old college student, enters a small comic book store. He passes Kevin, the store owner, who is too engrossed in a television news show to notice that Joseph has entered. The news reports of traces of a strange creature, thought to be lurking about the city. Joseph peruses the isles of comic/art books in the new releases section, picking up one of interest to him. As he reads the back cover, he secretly observes the other people around him.
In the back corner of the store, Ray, a wannabe rocker dude, obnoxiously plays his guitar, in attempt to serenade Helen, a tomboyish girl who works at the store. Helen looks unconvinced, but amused. She unpacks books as she watches Ray, loudly chewing gum.
Joseph watches Helen, until all of a sudden, Helen turns to Joseph and they make eye contact. Joseph is taken aback, and tries to cover for himself by pretending to be reading. Joseph scratches the back of his neck, and we notice an odd design on the hood of his sweatshirt.
All of a sudden, Ray tries to kiss Helen. Helen, slightly taken aback, spits her gum into Ray’s hair. Ray pauses for a moment, not quite sure what had just happened. He reaches up to touch the piece of gum on top of his head, and starts to scream in horror. Gradually, the scream turns into a hysterical laugh. Ray is extremely loud, but Joseph is the only one who seems to notice. He protectively puts his hood over his head. Kevin seems completely unfazed.
Ray’s guitar transforms into a gun. He points it at Helen, who seems barely shocked. Joseph seems to be oddly concerned with zipping up his jacket, but gives up. He impulsively runs and grabs Ray, jerking him backwards. He punches him as hard as he can, causing Ray to merely stumble a bit. Joseph gets a little gum on his hands, which he tries to peel off. He makes eye contact with Helen again, but it is quickly broken.
Ray turns his attention to Joseph. He smiles, wiping the blood off his mouth. Ray starts shooting like a madman as Joseph runs for cover, doing a little “dance” as he dodges the bullets. He darts behind some shelves in attempt to take cover, and starts to zip up his jacket. His jacket zips up all the way, revealing the face of a creature. Joseph reappears on the other side of the shelf as his transformed self, a monster.
Ray is initially taken aback by Joseph’s transformation, but then gets excited. Joseph snarls at Ray and attacks. Ray dodges and shoots, jumping on book shelves. They begin to fight.
Helen watches the battle apathetically. Finally she reaches under the cabinet and pulls out a ridiculously large bazooka-type gun. On TV, the news station reports on an explosion at a comic book store. The bazooka lights up…
Cut back to reality. Ray finishes off his bad love song. Joseph places a book and his credit card on the counter in front of Kevin. Kevin smiles, and proceeds to run the cashier. On TV, the news interviews an intellectual who describes a theory on multiple realities. Joseph looks over at Helen, and again, they make eye contact. Joseph freezes. Helen smiles. Joseph, relieved, smiles back. Kevin reaches for the remote control, and turns off the TV.
