A swirly cloud of something that looked like fog filled the room, and then faded into the night. A man lay sleeping in a bed, covers pulled up to his chin. The clock next to him showed "6:59", then quietly flipped to "7:00" and began to beep.

Jim was asleep, and right in the middle of a very exciting dream, when the loud beeping of the alarm woke him up. He blinked his eyes a few times, rolled over and turned off the alarm. He lay there in bed for a moment, remembering what he was supposed to do today. Whatever it was, it had to be better than yesterday, he thought - today is a brand new day!

After laying there quietly for a moment, Jim:

Sharon's birthday!

Jim hopped out of bed, his eyes wide as he realized he hadn't gotten her a present yet. He jumped into and out of the shower, brushed his teeth, and ran a worn-out comb through his hair, and then

Jim picked up his phone and dialed Shanon's number. He waited for the phone to be picked up twelve rings. No answer. Odd. She is always home, especially for her own birthday. Maybe something happened to her...

Jim pulled into of Sharon's driveway, still wondering why she had not answered the phone. Noticing that her sport utility vehicle was not the drive (maybe she had to park around the corner, he thought), he became somewhat more concerned. Still, he figured it would turn out he'd just caught her in the shower or whatnot. He used his key to enter through her kitchen door. "Hey birthday girl! Guess who?" he called out loudly, but heard no response. "Sharon?" he said as he headed up the stairs to the second floor. "Hon?" he querried as he knocked softly and entered her bedroom. He found her bed empty; but then he noticed

A note he had not noticed from the door, as it was folded and sitting behind the box, caused feelings of jealousy to roar through Jim's brain.

I hope this rare body lotion will meet with your approval. If it is massaged into any area of skin, you will develop softer, smoother, and unblemished skin. If you are satisfied with the results, leave the bottle outside your yard when empty, and I will obtain another vial for you. Your Bashful Admirer.

The crystal vial was mostly full with a pearly white fluid which semed to move sluggishly about inside the bottle as he examined it. No markings or label were visible, so Jim set it down and examined the gift box. Under the white paper which had protected the vial, he found a reversed ink imprint, seemingly from a note. Holding it up to her mirror, Jim was able to read the instructions explaining the use of the fluid.

According to the note, once the fluid was applied to skin it was absorbed into the neural network of the subject, where it bonded, creating an alternate set of pathways throughout the entire body. When complete, it enabled others to control the subject's physical body, senses, and reactions. All that had to be done to enable you to command the other was be present while the substance was applied!

Jim heard the doorbell ring, and headed downstairs. A nerdy guy he had never seen before was standing outside, rocking nervously back and forth. Jim glared at him.

"What?"

"Is Ms. Sharon McCormack home? It's quite urgent!"

"No. Go away!" Jim slammed the door and headed back upstairs.

Once upstairs, he quickly noticed that the vial was gone. While looking around, he heard a voice coming from the backyard. Jim hurried downstairs and went out back, finding Sharon, Shannon, and several other girls lounging around the pool, and each one was rubbing some of the lotion into their skin. Jim was stunned. He had sorta intended to almost maybe prevent Sharon from using the lotion, but now the best looking girls he knew had used it. And he was going to be the guy who was able to take advantage of it!

Then Jim heard a noise behind him, and ...