A dark story.

Beth had been in the city for for three days now and was loving the sights and sounds of the place. It had plenty of modern areas, but a lot of the city still had an old-world charm to it. Especially some of the shops a bit off the beaten path. She had heard of some shops that had interesting stuff, not necessarily catering to tourists. This was what she really wanted, a more authentic experience while here.

So, today she decided to take a look at some of these shops. Supposedly, there was a cluster of them near an old ruined church. She searched and sure enough, she was able to find what she guessed were the shops in question.

She wondered how she should dress for this. It was still morning and she hadn't actually gotten ready yet. Maybe something comfortable and casual? She did consider it, but she was excited to wear some of the clothes she had bought just yesterday. She stood in the mirror in her black bra and panties, looking over different outfits and seeing if they would be the one she'd wear today.

Beth was a pretty woman, red hair, pale skin, a taller, more slender build to her, but with C-cup breasts, a bit larger than one might expect from her otherwise slender frame. She wanted to look good but not be too showy.

In the end, a a sleek blue dress with a light black sweater over it, a pair of black wedge laced ankle boots and a pair of patterned navy blue tights should work. None of this was too expensive and it was cute without overtly showing herself off. She looked at herself once she was ready and smiled. Perfect.

The shops were indeed very interesting, she thought as she visited one, looking over shelves of old books. This place was fascinating and she could be in here for hours, but if she did, she'd never get a chance to see the other shops. Still, she spent a couple of hours in here and it was now past noon. She should get something to eat. Right after another shop.

She walked out, looking over the shops lining the street. It definitely had an old-world feel, with the shops close together or separated just by small alleys, with the buildings being all two, three, and four stories tall, no flashy signs or any corporate mentions. Just old shops that had been here for decades if not much longer.

She walked down the sidewalk, careful to be as close to the shops as she could. The street was narrow and she did not trust the driving of some of the locals. Her suspicion was proved right when she saw a car get almost onto the sidewalk, which wasn't very wide itself. She ducked into a doorway, and instinctively opened the door to and got inside. That really wasn't needed, she realized after she had done it, the care wasn't as close as she thought, but still.

She then looked to see what sort of shop she was even in. It was very strange, but she noticed all manner of things on the walls, jars of preserved... those were organs! She then looked and saw an old medical bag on a shelf, in fact multiple types. She gave a sigh of relief. This was a shop, but it looked like one of curiosities or even specifically medical ones. She then noticed all sorts of surgical instruments, seemingly from hundreds of years ago to stuff that could have been used just a few decades ago.

The instruments were interesting. They were arranged on shelves carefully, more like a display in a museum than what you'd see in a shop. Maybe that was what this was? I would make some bit of sense.

She walked toward the one set of shelves which both scared, disgusted, and fascinated her. It was one of the ones of preserved body parts. It wasn't just organs, it was also other things, like hands, brains, and even a skull.

A noise behind her shot her straight up and her attention instantly shifted to the noise. He spoke the local dialect, and, when he saw her try to stammer out a respond, he switched to English.

"Miss, sorry to scare you. I'm the owner here and I was just checking in." He said. He was an older man, short, a bit portly, with balding black hair and tan skin.

"Oh, yes, sorry!" She said. "You have a strange, but very interesting place! I didn't see any prices, though. Is this not a shop?"

"Well, it is a shop of sorts. We do trade here, but all this, no, it is not for sale."

"Is it to show what you can get? What are the actual products you sell?"

"Those, well, I can show you."

He then walked away from her and she stood there, a bit confused. Should she follow him? She then saw him turn a corner, and she decided to ask him what the products were. She walked away from the shelf quickly, turned the corner, and looked into a room. She let out a scream, and was pulled into the room. The walls were thick and so was the door to the building. No one ever heard her.

She was reported missing once she missed her check-out two days later. By then, though, everyone who had to deal with this knew the odds of finding her were slim. All they found someone matching her description, though in a hat and scarf over the face, going into her hotel room and clearing out the clothes. They doubted it was her, though the clothing did match a purchase made at a local shop, aside from the hat and scarf. No, they figured someone had dressed up as her to loot her hotel room. If so, they did an excellent job as there were no fingerprints aside from hers or the cleaning staff, and no obvious sign of covering anything up.

Kurt, however, knew exactly why there were no fingerprints. He now walked the shelves of his collection and smiled. He bent down to examine an object, feeling the short red skirt lift up a little as he bent. He made sure to balance properly, wedge ankle boots were not his previously normal form of footwear. Satisfied the object was in order, he walked to the front of his shop.

He caught his reflection in a large glass case, and even though it wasn't too clear, he could still see the change. Gone was his portly, tan, short body, and now he was a bit taller and much more slender and pale. He felt at his neck, feeling where his head and neck now met that pale, feminine body. He posed a little, putting his soft, small hands to nice breasts, giving them a small squeeze through the white, tight fabric of the sleeveless sweater he was wearing and he posed his legs, the pale skin hidden under the same navy blue patterned tights she had worn when he saw her.

He laughed. She realized it was all for display, but it was a bit more than that. It was a lure, an curiosity that tourists thought was a "real" experience. All a ploy. All a way to get people to come here so they could do this.

He had been doing this so long, he decided to have it done himself. He had assistants, after all, two of them, and they were now very interested in him, and not as their employer!