Theresa squirmed as she sat awkwardly in the doctor's office chair. Her appointment so far had been uneventful; she had answered some basic questions and peed in a cup as was often the case at check-ups. But for the past five minutes the doctor, a young woman named Loretta LeLune who could have passed as a stunt double for Angelina Jolie, seemed transfixed by the results of the urine sample. The silence was beginning to get to Theresa- after all, she had not been feeling her best for some time and she was optimistic she would soon have an explanation why.

"Well, doctor," she asked softly, "any ideas?"

Dr. LeLune stared at the test results in her hand. She seemed to be scrutinizing them quite closely.

"So," she finally said not looking up, "when exactly did you say your symptoms began to appear?"

"I suppose...three or four years ago," replied Theresa, "I mean, they were not very strong at first. But they've gradually gotten worse."

"And this would be the headaches and pain around the front of your face, correct?"

"Well," confessed Theresa, "and the insatiable blood lust."

The doctor nodded a little, though her expression was solemn. "Yes, that's right, the blood lust."

"What do the results say? Any idea what might be wrong with me?"

Dr. LeLune pushed her glasses further up her nose and finally made eye contact with the patient before her. "Well, Mrs. Trotts-Shreffler, I may have an idea, but I am not able to say with any certainty until we perform a few more tests."

She looked Theresa over. "You haven't noticed any strange hair growth, have you?"

Theresa was silent a moment.

"It's okay, I'm your doctor. You have to tell me so I can help you, I'm not going to judge."

"I mean," Theresa slowly replied, "the past few months my body hair has begun coming in a lot thicker. But nothing I can't shave off quickly. It does seem like it grows back a lot faster than in the past, though."

"Now, when you say 'body hair', where exactly do you mean?"

"All over- my face, back, legs, arms ..all over my body. And the hair's sort of a strange...golden gray color. Godwin,my ex-husband -well, soon-to-be ex, we're still working through the divorce process- he used to say he thought it had hints of red too. "

"And as the hair has gotten thicker, so too has the ravenous desire to tear people asunder?"

Theresa nodded slowly. "Yes, yes, I suppose it has gotten stronger too now that you mention it. I mean, I can still control my urges, obviously not ripped anyone to bits yet, but...it feels like the primal urges to kill are becoming more and more frequent."

The doctor shook her head. "Yes, I believe I have a theory on what you may have, but I am reticent to diagnose without conducting a biopsy and more blood work." She grabbed a notebook from the counter behind her and began to scribble something.

"Doctor, please," requested Theresa, "don't keep me in the dark. I realize you want to be certain before saying conclusively what may be going on but can't you share what you think it may be?"

Dr. LeLune paused a moment, as if thinking whether or not to reply. Finally, she said: "Tell me, Mrs. Trotts-Shreffler, have you ever been to the American Southwest?"

"Why, yes! Godwin and I spent our honeymoon in New Mexico!" replied Theresa. "Does that matter? Did I get something from that trip? A parasite or...?"

"And while you were in New Mexico...did you drink the water?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you drink the water in New Mexico? Tap water, I mean. Not necessarily as a drink in restaurants."

"Well," Theresa pondered a minute, "we were staying in an AirBnB in the desert. I wouldn't say I drank the water but I certainly used it to brush my teeth. No, maybe I drank it once or twice when I had to take vitamins, come to think of it. But just on one or two occasions and certainly not a full glass."

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The doctor let out a sigh. "Don't you know better than to drink the water in New Mexico? Travel experts always warn, 'don't drink the water in New Mexico' for a reason..."

Theresa blinked. "No, I thought it was that one shouldn't drink the water in, like, Mexico. The country, not the US state. As far as I'm aware, I've never heard New Mexico's water being an issue. Is it an issue?"

Dr. LeLune nodded. "I would hazard a guess that tainted New Mexico desert water is the cause of your symptoms. From all that you've told me it seems you most likely have Ma'ii Disease."

"Ma'ii Disease?" Theresa repeated with confusion, "what's that?"

"A very, very, rare condition that is only found in a very small portion of the population. And I'm not saying you do have it, but the signs seem to suggest it- drank water in the desert of New Mexico, started getting headaches and frontal face pain, developed a blood lust..."

"So then...?"

"Again, I don't want to alarm you and as I said, I would like to run some more tests. But long story short, I suspect you have Ma'ii Disease, and essentially that means...you are turning into a coyote."

There was a silence.

"I'm turning into what?" exclaimed Theresa.

"I told you, it's a very rare condition so I want to test you further before assuming the worst. But I also don't want to deceive you; you have all the tell-tale signs of a Ma'ii Disease patient."

Theresa could not wrap her head around what she was being told. "What do you mean I'm turning into a coyote? The wolf-like animal? Are...are we talking about that type of coyote?"

"Well, you could pronounce it another way, but yes, Canis latrans."

"Why...why am I turning into a coyote?"

"As I just said, you drank the desert water of New Mexico-"

"-but surely many other people have drank the desert water in New Mexico. Have they all turned into a coyote? My husband- well, soon-to-be ex-husband- he also drank tap water during our honeymoon. Is he turning into a coyote too?!"

LeLune shook her head. "No, that is highly unlikely. Ma'ii Disease is very rare and only affects an extremely small number of people. Not much is known about why certain individuals get it over others. There's theories it is connected to genetics in some way but, again, nothing conclusive."

"And, so, let's say I am turning into a coyote somehow. Is...is this condition curable? Is there a way to reverse the effects?"

"I don't want to alarm you before we know more about your case-"

"is it curable?"

The doctor slowly shook her head. "As I have mentioned, this is such a rare condition. No major medical research has really focused on Ma'ii Disease, though I have heard talk of some scientists in Colorado beginning research into reversing the effects. At this time, however, there is no known cure."

"So...then I'm...going to become like a were-coyote?" Asked Theresa.

"What do you mean?"

"I'll turn into a human/coyote hybrid creature?"

"No, I'm afraid you will turn into a full coyote with no trace of humanity. There will be no turning back."

Theresa dramatically clasped her hands on both sides of her face.

"This...this can't be right!" she cried, "how can this even be possible?"

"I should have said nothing," replied Dr. LeLune, "I did not want to alarm you. As I said, there's still many tests I need to run before I can confidently say you have Ma'ii Disease, but I want to give you a realistic idea what to expect if the tests suggest the condition."

"How long do I have? How long before I really start to change...into a..." Theresa couldn't finish her sentence - the whole notion was still absurd and horrifying.

"Well, my knowledge of Ma'ii Disease is very minimal," Dr. LeLune confessed, "after all, with so few cases reported and most being discovered in the Southwest, I cannot say anything for sure at this time. But I would gather if you are feeling blood lust, you are well beyond the early warning signs. Additionally, that frontal face pain you feel is your soon-to-be coyote snout; I imagine it will start growing in before too long, maybe a week or so."

Theresa's eyes went wide. "A week?! That soon?!"

"These are just guesses. Likewise, your ears will start to shift too; I imagine your headaches will only get worse. Let me prescribe something for that, while we're on that topic. If your fingernails are still, well, nails, I imagine they'll be hardening up and turning more claw-like in the next few days as well."

Theresa quickly glanced down at her fingers. All seemed normal, but if things could change rapidly...

"Doctor, when can I get the tests done?" she inquired, "I...I want to know with some more certainty that this is...is really what is happening. That I really am turning into this..."

Dr. LeLune scribbled out a prescription as she replied: "that is certainly understandable. What I have mentioned today is just an educated theory, and maybe with more testing we will find it is not Ma'ii Disease. When you leave today, please talk to Cynthia up front; she can schedule your appointment for the phlebotomist."

"Please, doctor," said Theresa, "I know you can't confirm or deny my possible condition at this time but...in your expert, medical opinion, off the records...how likely do you think it is that my symptoms- the headaches, pain, hunger for blood- are accurate and I do have Ma'ii Disease?"

Dr. LeLune did not flinch. She continued to write and then pulled the prescription from her pad, handing it to her patient.

"I do have to warn you, as with so many other industries, our medical team has been short-staffed as well. This has greatly limited when testing is available. I am not sure what the earliest appointment for blood work may be but I recommend you do you best to make it work in your schedule."

"So, is that to say...?"

"Are you a vegetarian, Ms. Trotts-Schreffler?"

"Hmm?" the question caught Theresa off-guard.

"Do you eat meat?"

"Yes, I...I know what a vegetarian is. And no, I eat meat. Why are you asking?"

The doctor shrugged. "Just wondering. Should you need to start hunting live prey to survive, you may not have as difficult of a time with the lifestyle transition as some."

Theresa did not feel great.