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-"So, Noah, what can I help you with?" Douglas said with a toothy smile

-"Well, I need money..."

-"Of course you do, everyone that comes here does."

Noah was getting second thoughts about this. All his life he had been told to go to school and get a degree if he didn't want to end up flipping burgers for the rest of his life, and now that piece of paper was not enough to even get him that kind of job. However, that didn't stop the university from asking him to pay them for the privilege of having once gone there. Things were starting to get desperate, his parents could no longer support him and he had no idea when he'd get the money to pay his debt.

-"I was thinking of--"

-"Do you like animals Noah? Personally, I like tigers. They know what they want, and they get it. What about you?"

The question caught him by surprise. Noah couldn't think of why Douglas had asked him that. Maybe this was a test. If so, he would need to give a good answer. One that showed that he would pay one day and that he was someone you could trust.

-"I like horses."

-"Ah, a hardworking type. I see." Douglas had taken the bait, "Now, before we continue, yes, the rumors are true. There will be no interests and no fixed terms."

-"And how much can I borrow?"

Douglas laughed at the kid's question, "No, this works the other way around. Why don't you tell me how much you need and I'll tell you if I can give you that much."

Noah wrote the amount in a piece of paper and gave it to Douglas, "It's to pay my school loans."

After glancing at the paper for a moment, Douglas said, "I think I can give you this much, but I don't think what you're getting into."

A rumor went around about this loan shark. He would lend you as much money as you needed and you could take as much time as you wanted to pay. It sounded unbelievable at first, but you apparently had to go through a test first. Those that succeeded swore that everything was true, but those that failed were never heard from again. For Noah, there was no problem in checking if the rumor was true and back off if it wasn't. That's why he came to Douglas' office.

-"If I didn't, I wouldn't be here."

-"Fine then. Follow me young man."

Noah went with Douglas to another room. It looked empty except for 3 things. One, the door that they had come from. Two, a table in the middle of the room with some darts and an intercom on the top of it. And three, a round thing covered by a cloth at the other side of the room. It didn't take much to figure out what was going to be the test, and any doubts were gone when Douglas lifted the cloth to reveal a dartboard. However, there were drawings in it instead of scores: two hands, two feet, one head, a heart, and... a tail?

-"These are the rules of the game," Douglas said, "I assume you know how to play darts, but we will be throwing them at this board instead. Each part corresponds to a percentage of your loan. Head, 30%. Heart, 25%. Each limb, 10 %. Tail, 5%. The board will be spinning and we'll take turns shooting at it, you first of course. The one that gets all body parts first wins. Any questions?"

-"What if I lose?"

-"Don't worry," --Douglas smiled again-- "If you win, you'll get all that you requested. If you lose, you'll still get however much you managed to score. This is your last chance, are you sure you want to do this?"

Noah considered it for a moment. If he won, he could finally say goodbye to his debt; if he lost, he'd still pay some of it. He shook Douglas' hand; it was too good to pass up.

-"Heh, you don't know what you've just done."

Douglas's words puzzled Noah, but mind plays are important in this kind of games. Everything would end after someone got all the pieces, no matter how long it took, and Noah was going to get them. He took the first dart and shot at the board, getting the Heart. He could feel how one fourth of his debt was gone.

-"Oh, wow! I have some though competition here." Douglas grabbed a dart, "But it's my turn now." He shot at the board and hit one of the two feet. Only 10%, this would be easy.

Or so he thought. Not long after, Noah felt something in his right leg. His shoe was getting tighter and, as he lowered himself to see what was happening, he lost his balance and fell. The pressure on his foot continued to increase and, in a last ditch effort, he took his shoe off just a few moments before it ripped. With that pain gone, Noah started to feel the ones in his toes and knee.

-"Wh-what's happening?"

-"What's happening is that I got your right foot boy and, when we are done, I'll have all of you."

Noah briefly looked at Douglas before he was reminded of what was going on in his leg. He braced himself and waited until the pain was gone. When it finally did, he turned to see his leg, only to find it covered in fur and a hoof where his foot was supposed to be.

-"Now, don't worry. As you know, other people have beaten me and don't look like a botched experiment from Doctor Moureau. You'll be half a man and half a beast during the game. If you win"--Douglas pointed at the boy--"which you won't, you'll turn back into a human. Otherwise, you'll become an animal for the rest of your life."

Noah struggled but still managed to get back on his feet. This wasn't what he expected, but he didn't have another choice. He accepted to take part in this game, and now he would continue. He shot his second dart, hitting this time the head. 55 - 10, half of his debt gone and Douglas would have a hard time beating him now.

Noah looked at Douglas, who seemed to not be worried at all. Douglas picked his dart and hit the left hand. Noah waited for the pain to come, and end, before looking at his arm. It hurt less than when his leg changed and he could see why. His arm was more horse-like than before, but, with some minor differences, it still looked like a human arm with a human hand.

-"The change won't be complete until the game is over. I don't want you to complain about how you lost because of that."

Douglas smiled at him, which was starting to get on his nerves. Noah picked his next dart and shot, this time getting the left hand. 65%, only a few more and he would be free.

-"Following your new master's steps? What a good boy, maybe you really are more of a dog person." Douglas shot again, getting the right hand.

Noah waited for his change before picking the dart. While he didn't notice it with his other hand, his fingers still hurt a little with so few time after the change had taken place and his wrists didn't act like usual. He shot again, but the dart flew past the board and hit the wall instead. Douglas laughed and picked his next dart, hitting the tail.

-"Now, this one's interesting. I wonder how you'll find dealing with a new body part."

Noah got on all fours and waited for the pain, which was going to be even worse than the one when his leg changed. He could feel the exact point where his tailbone and his skin met, and how his skin slowly stretched as his spine grew little by little. Moreover, his underwear was getting tighter due to his new tail pulling it back, yet his package also seemed to be arranging itself in a way that better fit this form.

-"Maybe you should take off your pants kid, you'll be more comfortable." Noah stared at Douglas for a while, before standing up and getting the right foot.

Douglas shrugged, it was Noah's decision to not follow his advice, and hit the left foot. Noah stumbled and fell again. He wished he had heard the man before as he felt his other foot change into a hoof. He tried to stand up, but could no longer do so. He was still not used to the hooves, and his new knees were not that strong. The only option he had was to shoot while still in the ground, but the dart didn't even get to the board. Douglas shot and hit the head, making it his sixth part.

Noah felt that his head would explode. His mouth got larger as it morphed into a muzzle. At the same time, his ears caved in only to later pop out at the top of his head. Finally, his eyes moved, greatly limiting how much he could see without turning his neck. There was no way to win, much less in his current state.

-"Tell you what, kid; I'll give you a chance. You need three parts to win and I only need one, so I'll let you shoot three times this turn. Don't worry; I'll only do it once in my next turn. That's all I need."

Noah didn't want to take this man's pity, but one shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. He was still in pain from the last changes, but he used all his strength to get back up. His last stand. He took a dart and shot it. Right hand. Then the second dart. Left foot, only one more. The man's overconfidence would be his downfall.

Noah picked his next, and last, dart. He looked at Douglas, almost thanking him for making such a big mistake, but the man's face didn't seem worried at all. Douglas was still thinking that he'd win, and Noah was going to prove him wrong. He shot with as much strength as he had, forgetting the state of his new body, and fell shortly after letting go of the dart. Fearing that he had missed again, he looked up to find that he hit the board.

The head.

-"I told you, you wouldn't win." Douglas picked his dart and shot it without even looking at the board. Noah didn't need to see what part he hit, since he started to feel the last part of his transformation.

His spine rearranged itself in a way that better suited a four animal.

His clothes ripped as his body got bigger and fatter.

His fingers joined and hardened into hoofs.

The only thing left of the former boy being his mind.

-"A narrow sight, only focusing in one thing without paying attention to anything else. You truly were a horse after all." He turned on the intercom, "Send a few people over. Also, call the Alastair farm; I heard they still need some work horses."

Noah panicked and tried to escape, but Douglas before he could run away.

• "Now, now. You need to earn your food. Don't worry, it won't be that bad. The hard work is for mules, not horses; and I'm sure that such a beautiful mare like you will give them strong foals."

Mare? The horse trashed and tried to get away from Douglas before several men arrived and tied her down. Noah looked all around, searching for a way to escape, only to find a man approaching with some kind of gun.

-"Don't worry, she's a good girl and will behave. Unless," --Douglas looked at Noah--"she wants to go to the glue factory."

Completely defeated, Noah went along with Douglas' men. The kid had been good, getting 95% of what he asked but that didn't matter. Douglas would fulfill his part. After all, it was just an investment, and one that was going to pay back soon.