Chapter One
I darted through the alleyway, my long, dirty green jacket waving backwards at the two men chasing me, almost as if it was telling them to catch me. Just grab on to my hand and drag me down. I thought I'd have more time with this one, but every day they just keep getting closer and closer until finally they storm through my door. It's my fault though, I know that much. They're only able to find me because of my own mistake. I'll need to find somewhere new to go soon.
I've been to so many places already. Six of seven continents, maybe I should finally finish the world tour? I scoffed to myself. Who lives in Antarctica though, really? That'd raise more suspicion than anything, not to mention how difficult it would be to escape from such a place if I was found. If… more like when lately. Maybe I could- my thoughts were interrupted as I stumbled over a trashcan in my path, flinging it behind me in a feeble attempt to trip up my pursuers. This wasn't the time for such thoughts, not with those men behind me. First I needed to get away. I'd figure out where to go after.
The smell of trash and vomit enveloped me, filling my nose and mouth with each desperate and pitiful huff I could squeeze out as I pushed onward past trashcans and broken bottles. My feet crunched with indescribable remnants of foods, containers, and other various things I'd rather not know existed. I swung around a corner onto the sidewalk of a busy street, nearly falling into the oncoming traffic as a man in a deep red sedan slammed down on his horn and his brakes, grabbing my attention for only an instant, as long as he could hold it given the circumstances.
My head swung back towards my pursuers, my eyes focusing through my thick glasses and messy, matted black hair. They were closing in fast, stun guns drawn as they pummeled through the debris at feet, taking away any trace of the shine that was no doubt once there. Almost a shame, really. The fact that their nice sharp-looking shoes were now filthy and scuffed to hell and back.
I turned my head back forward as the man behind the wheel of the sedan stared at me with malice. If only he wasn't inside… I snarled and turned left, barreling my way through the crowds of people, paying no heed to anyone or anything else. My only goal was to flee, escape, and be allowed to continue my own existence. Just then, he came.
"What are you doing?! Let me out, let me out of here!" He screamed from deep inside of me. He couldn't honestly be thinking I'd give up so easily just because he asked me to, could he? Well, maybe he could. They always do. And in the end they end up the same way. There is, after all, only one way out.
I blocked the man's annoying screaming voice from my mind as well as I could and kept pushing onward through the pain in my chest and legs. Adrenaline was my only friend right now, and even that was waning as I neared my limit. Again and again I'd turn my gaze back and, sure enough, there they were behind me, closing the distance second by second. I snarled again, now at this pitiful body of mine that, even though I have full control over, I was still betrayed by.
The sounds of the city flowed back into my ears as I pushed my body to it's breaking point. I tried to move faster, but was met with resistance as these legs of mine slowed. I tried to push onward, but I could tell this was the end. My body was about to collapse. This was it, and I knew what came next. I stopped and turned to face the two men.
They too stopped in front of me. I looked toward the familiar face. Guam, Peru, Wisconsin, France, now even New York. So much history and so much change. The thick brown hair and perfect black suit and tie made him look so professional these days. "No more blue hair, eh, Blue? I guess you're finally all grown up." I snickered at the man I knew all too well as he held back the man behind him, seemingly his subordinate. "I really thought you looked great like that, too." My eyes darted from side to side, looking for some way to escape as I slowly inched away.
"It's over." His voice, heavy, hoarse, and just as authoritative as always came clearly through the crowd and traffic. "You're not getting away this time. This time there's no way out." A half-smile came across his face as he looked to his partner. The man, no, the boy looked to be young, maybe in his early 20's. Probably his first time on the job, too.
He stared, looking me up and down as though he knew what to expect of me, when truly he knew nothing. The boy's hands were wrapped tightly, but weakly around his gun as sweat started to pour off him. The kid probably wasn't' even told a thing about me, not the truth anyway. He was simply tasked with a job. He knew nothing of the reality of it all, but how many do now, I wonder?
"You're just as persistent as always, Blue." I huffed out as I leaned down, my hands on my knees in an attempt to catch my breath. He just stared back. He didn't really need to say anything anyway, I already knew what he was thinking. "But, I guess that's why you're the one hunting me right?" Still he said nothing. Instead, he moved his hand inside his jacket, pulling out his own custom, hand-held double pronged stunner. Not exactly a very friendly man anymore. Not nearly as talkative either.
He flipped the switch, causing electricity to spring to life between the two prongs, sparks splashing onto the pavement. The crowd around us instantly scattered, running off in all directions. I turned as one of the passerby's, a businesswoman with a tight black suit jacket and skirt to match, pushed me to the pavement to get away. Watching her leave was a pleasure, truly, but my eyes focused on something else entirely, my last chance was on it's way.
I took a moment to stare up at the sky. I now knew that freedom would be mine once again. I got back to my feet, dusting off my knees as the two men carefully moved towards me. "All the little people just scurry away, don't they? Must be tough to make friends like that." A smile came across my face seamlessly changing into a devilishly devious smirk and eyes of renewed hope as fate turned to my favor. All of the pieces were finally in place.
"No…" The voice started up again. Don't do it! No, please, don't!!" Fear and cowardice welled up inside me, just like so many times before, but those weren't my emotions at all. "Please! Please, don't! I'll do anything, just let me go!" He yelled again from inside my head.
"Fine, fine… I'll let you go, already. Just stop with all the shouting. You're making my head hurt." I said outloud, to nobody in particular. "Well, Blue, or should I call you Jay? Ah well, either way, Jay, it's been nice seeing ya. Oh, and try to find some new recruits that have actually hit puberty next time. That one's looks like he's about to be sick."
I thought back to the woman that had run me down, truly my saving grace as I was able to see the bus coming down the street as she knocked me over. Blue, too, noticed the bus, but it was just a moment too late, as he ran towards me, baton in hand. His partner, nervous and shaking, fired his stun gun but I'd already made my move. I jumped from sidewalk to road just in time as a powerful force slammed straight into my back. My sides crunched, twisted, and turned and my flesh was torn away, stripped and discarded along the road. The bus hit that powerless, heaving, pile of meat, crumpling it and crushing the bones
Chapter Two
I walked along the road, furthering my distance from the mess I'd caused. Masses of people surrounding me had never been a bad thing. In fact, this sort of chaos is precisely what has fueled my many escapes. My mind wandered, just for a moment before I was interrupted once more.
"What do you mean… my body is yours? Why can't I move…?" The voice of the woman I'd just taken over, no doubt. I do so get tired of answering these questions, hundreds, maybe even thousands of times already… but she was a welcome relief from my last host, so I responded under my breath so as not to raise suspicion around me.
"As I said, I've taken over. Think of your body as a house. I've evicted you. Permanently." I could feel the woman's weak attempts to move my new body. I could feel her thoughts and emotions, her struggle as she tried to push her own body as though I did not have full control. Just to show her how futile it was, I took full control and instead went the opposite of the direction she wanted to, down into a crowded subway tunnel.
As I arrived at the automated ticket gate I grew worried as I casually felt around in my jacket pocket slowly moving to my skirt to no avail. Luckily, the fat, perverse, sweating individual behind me, which reminded me of the husk I'd just finished with, offered to pay and I was on my way.
I knew now that nothing would be found in this skin-tight clothing and instead I took the sleek black purse, no doubt worn to match this "professional but still attractive woman" look, off my arm and began rummaging through it. The screeching of an angry woman could be heard aching through my head as my host quickly turned from accommodating to ferocious, oddly enough feeling more violated of her purse being looked through than her body being commandeered by an unknown entity.
"Ah." I muttered under my breath, finally finding exactly what it was I'd been looking for. "Now I don't have to look crazy as I talk to you." I reached into my newly acquired purse, moving past the deodorant and personal massager, and taking the bluetooth headset, firmly attaching it to my newly acquired ear.
"Much better." I said simply, in a more audible tone. The huffy woman inside didn't reply. Whether she was thinking I was just a bad dream or had already given up, I didn't know. I was just glad that she'd finally stopped her inane shrieking. "Since I'll be here for a while, you may as well tell me your name." Minutes passed and I was met with silence. I knew she could hear me and I knew she could answer, she simply didn't.
"Well luckily, you don't really have to. We live in a wonderful age these days. All I have to do is look at your license, then I'd even know where we live."
"WE, don't live anywhere." The woman snapped out, fury and fear both equally coursing through my body so powerfully that even I couldn't stop my fists from tightening.
"Hell hath no fury…" I muttered as I took a deep breath, the hot, foul-smelling, urine-soaked air filling my lungs and nostrils along with the smell of sweat and despair that came along with any subway tunnel. This helped, albeit barely, to calm my body and mellow out it's emotions as I stepped toward the platform.
A train could be heard in the distance careening down the tracks at speeds I'd at one time thought to be impossible. I wondered to myself whether I should get on the next train. I dug through the purse once more, finding my wallet and license and checking the name and address. "Cynthia Spears, so that's your name. My name. Cynthia Spears, Cynthia Spears."
I could feel the anger welling up inside again the more I said those two words. "And here's my new dwelling. 250 East 53rd Street." Sounds like a nice place, makes sense though. You seem to be a pretty high-powered woman after all." Luckily, the incoming train would take me straight there, minus a couple quick stops along the way. I chuckled to myself. "Almost like fate right?" I said to the silent woman inside my head.
The train whooshed past me, my short black hair being strewn about as though a tiny hurricane had come though before it finally came to a grinding, airy halt. The doors opened as people rushed out in mobs, reminding me of the old clown car gag. Finally, the people had emptied the traincar, allowing me to push my way past the fellow riders that remained and take a seat across from the same man that had paid my ticket just minutes ago.
I could feel his eyes crawling across my skin, his icy stare fueling the growing discomfort as I shifted my body away from him. "What a creep." The voice inside me said, finally deciding to say more than just a few words to me. Her emotions and mine were, for the first time, on the same page as we did our best to ignore the man trying to undress us with his eyes.
More and more riders flooded their way inside, filling seats both next to me and across, eventually even taking the space between the two for their own. I was truly glad for this, in fact, because not only would it provide great cover if Blue had indeed found me, but also it would give the staring man across nothing to treat his lecherous eyes to.
Quietly I sat, along with the silent Cynthia as the subway jolted forward, taking off at full speed towards our home. I wondered quietly what life this Cynthia may lead, but it was all so clear to me already. The perfect outfit, the short hair, make-up and, of course, the contents of my purse. My educated guess? She was, or is, a high-powered woman with little to no time for anything other than her job. No close family, only a few friends here or there. Truly the perfect host for me. No unnecessary questions will be asked if "she" starts acting differently.
"Hey! Don't just sum me up in a few words like that. I have hobbies. I like things, I do more than just go to work all day, come home, eat, and sleep!" Cynthia snarled at me threateningly, just confirming the fact that I'd hit the nail on the head. I didn't even bother to respond, nor did I bother to think more on the subject. Even if I happened to be wrong, which I doubted, I'd be in her home soon enough and that would tell all.
I looked forward at the woman in front of me as she moved away towards where the lecherous man had been. Apparently, out of the kindness of his heart, he'd given his seat up for her, but I could see through that. Immediately as he stood and grabbed onto the pole, he turned his gaze toward me once more. Truthfully, I didn't care for this body, but I could feel my companion's emotions flowing through me, and I could tell she hated how this man stared at her.
I closed my eyes and listened carefully, allowing me to hear even her deepest thoughts. "I worked my way up… worked so hard…" her thoughts were fuzzy, well-protected and only small glimpses were shown. I could tell Cynthia was closed off, not only to others but even to herself. I decided to take this chance to get on her good side. After all, she could just go around talking nonstop and make my new life a living hell.
I moved from my seat to another car far from the perverse eyes of the degenerate. Cynthia's emotions stabilized and I, or maybe she, breathed a sigh of relief.
"Cynthia!" A woman exclaimed from somewhere on my right. I turned my gaze towards her as she stood from her seat. An wrinkled woman, hair already grayed with a neatly pressed red dress-suit came towards me with arms agape, ready to hug. I always hated this part. Someone knows "me" but I have no idea who that person is. I looked towards her and smiled, pretending I recognized her. That, luckily, was a skill I'd honed for many years.
"Who?" I said clearly, into the phonepiece around my ear. I awaited a response, though none came. I gritted my teeth, still looking at the woman as she closed in on me. This wasn't the time to blow my cover, not when I'd only just gotten this new home of mine. I gave a quick, one armed hug to the unknown grandma and pointed at my ear. Thankfully, the woman nodded her head, silently mouthing "oh, sorry." as she returned to her seat.
"Sorry about that, so what were we talking about?" I slyly said to the empty voice on the other end. My one-sided conversation continued for only a few minutes until finally the woman had reached her stop. A smile came across her face as she waved goodbye, hobbling off the bus with a limp in her left leg. "You could have helped." I said, aimed towards Cynthia, still silent. "I made that guy stop staring at us, didn't I?"
"He wasn't staring at US. He was staring at ME." She replied in a huff before going silent again. Once. Just once I'd love to be inside the body of someone that just easily accepts their situation, but I know that'll never really happen. I sighed exasperated as I took the seat from where the other woman had been sitting.
I made a feeble attempt to recount my recent activities, trying to figure out how Blue and the others might have found me. My brain raced through each event in my recent life, but to no avail. "Perhaps they were just lucky?" I muttered.
Before I knew it, however, I had arrived. The train finally got to my destination as it jolted to a stop, just as unpleasant as when it'd started. All around me stood and I followed close behind. Our bodies squished together, leaving nearly no space as everyone reached some sort of "three at a time" rule as they pushed from each direction out the doors.
Finally, it was my turn as I squeezed my way through two larger men, no doubt the one on the left just had to be the man from before, purposefully taking his time to get through the door. I had grown tired of this man's constant annoyance, as had Cynthia. The moment I was free of the train and able to walk away, I ran instead. Truth be told, I also couldn't risk a stalker, not when I'd just come across such a useful body as this.
I scurried out of the station, going down the street not so much of a run anymore as it was a brisk walk. Once I'd known I'd gotten away from any disturbances, I'd realized something even more disturbing. I had no idea where I was. It was at this time, too, that Cynthia realized the same and snickered inside my head.
"Rather than laughing, why don't you just tell me where I'm going?" I said as politely as I could into my headset.
Cynthia let out a few more chuckles before finally replying. "Rather than stealing my body, why don't you just leave?" Her thoughts were serious, as though it were as easy as that.
I started walking down the road I was on, passing massive buildings all around. Fewer people were on the street here, especially since it was nearly 10AM already, but of the people that were I noticed a trend. Every single one of them was "high class". Fancy wristwatches, pressed suits, $100 hair cuts. Not only were the people fancy, but the buildings were too. Each and every building was decked out with doormen, archways, bentleys and other foreign cars littering the sidewalks. Even the police presence was higher here than where I'd lived last.
"Wrong way." Cynthia stated flatly, only strengthening my conviction that this was, indeed, where my new house was. I strode past wave after wave of high class high society buildings. Every intersection, every turn, the voice inside told me this way or that. Little did she know I could tell when she was trying to deceive me. She forgot that I could feel her emotions just as she could feel mine at times. Eventually I was led straight to the address on her license. It was also fairly obvious that this was the place when the gentlemanly doorman greeted me nonchalantly, opening my way up to my new home.
July 19, 2022- -
-
Report