The Life Exchange - Part Five

As I wait for replies with bated breath I shift back to FiFi_Fox, my curiosity peaked but the claim of a 'Clearance Offer' and just what that might entail. Pressing the offer button flashes up a banner across my screen, the fanfare involved likely to make it seem more enticing for potential clients.

[CLEARANCE OFFER]

Relocation Budget of $500 (Void)

Relocation Budget of $1000 (Void)

Relocation Budget of $2000 (Void)

Relocation Budget of $4000

As I read it I can't help but sag a little. The cost to swap was more than that, and even though I'd be receiving a fraction of that price in my new body it still wasn't all that much if worse came to worst. No education, no understanding of her work history, my mind is left to wonder as to just what I could end up doing to make ends meet and it sends chills down my spine.

I stare at the busty blonde in the pictures once again, at the expensive-looking clothes and the fancy albeit small dinners out with friends. She obviously had some sort of income, though again the worry as to what that could be plagued my thoughts.

Thankfully, I receive a series of messages to take my mind off of FiFi_Fox as both Alexander and Shawn respond to my reveal.

Hughes_1305: Well my three degrees probably help with being articulate

Hughes_1305: However, I should let you know that I am a man

Alexander Cho: That's a lot to take in

Alexander Cho: The thought of some man inside Maddison

Alexander Cho: It's disconcerting to say the least

Reading his responses I type out a quick reply, not wanting to drag things out any long if they were causing any discomfort.

Hughes_1305: It's alright

Hughes_1305: We can leave it here if you'd like

Hughes_1305: I hope you find the right person soon

Before Alexander can respond I shift over to Shawn's messages, a slight grimace spreading across my lips as I read his crude responses

Shawn Hawthorn: i always used to say fuck you to teachers

Shawn Hawthorn: guess ill finally make good on that ;)

Shawn Hawthorn: itll be cool seeing Van with some brains behind her for once

Shawn Hawthorn: and your a dude? thats chill Shawn Hawthorn: bet youll know just what a guy wants then ;P

Swallowing hard I message back, wanting to clarify some things.

Hughes_1305: Was Van not very academically minded?

Shawn Hawthorn: nah she never liked school much

Shawn Hawthorn: we kinda just prefered to chill out and do other things ;)

Hughes_1305: So what did she do for work then? Did she graduate high school?

Shawn Hawthorne: oh yeah she just dropped out of college like a few weeks in

Shawn Hawnthorn: she works down at the pharmacy, checkout chick and shelf stacking

Shawn Hawthorne: our friend mason is the manager so shes just on 'personal leave'

As I try to formulate a response I receive a notification from Alexander, my attention immediately cutting across to that conversation to save me from thinking about going back to retail.

Hughes_1305: I hope you find the right person soon

Alexander Cho: Wait

Alexander Cho: I can't believe I'm saying this

Alexander Cho: But I'm desperate here

Alexander Cho: Would you be Maddison for us if I were to make an offer?

My heart skips a beat as he brings up the possibility of becoming his daughter, the strangeness of the situation slowly sinking in. Taking a deep breath I carefully begin to type out a response.

Hughes_1305: I'm not sure

Hughes_1305: I'm not sure I'd be able to be the same person you'd expect me to be

Alexander Cho is typing...

Waiting for Alexander's response I turn my attention back to Shawn for a moment, a sudden series of messages rolling in as he attempts the upsell

Shawn Hawthorn: its a casual gig and pays pretty well

Shawn Hawthorn: corporate dont care and mason used to give Van the good shifts

Hughes_1305: I'm just not sure if I can go back to retail and earning so little

Shawn Hawthorn: i mean your unemplyed right? so youd be earning more here

Shawn Hawthorn: and not paying rent is a big deal

Shawn Hawthorn: Van had so much disposible income she just never saved it

I pause for a second, trying to work out why he was making such a hard sell. He was right though, from my memory of casual pay rates in retail they could be rather high though they usually got paired with low hours. If what he was saying was true I could earn a decent amount of money this way. Before I can reply I'm met with another burst of messages from Alexander as he states his final terms.

Alexander Cho: You wouldn't have to be, not entirely

Alexander Cho: I mean, you would still live under our roof

Alexander Cho: But people change at college right?

Alexander Cho: I just ask that you play the part at home

Alexander Cho: We'd pay for your housing, tuition, even a little spending money

Alexander Cho: After you graduate you'd leave the home to be your own person

Alexander Cho: Its just my wife needs her daughter around the house

Alexander Cho: I promise, we won't be too controlling

Alexander Cho: We'd understand you weren't her and were your own person

Alexander Cho: We can even use your fee to rebuild the college fund Maddison used for this whole thing as some sort of graduation gift

As I read the messages, the mixture of promises of freedom yet with confining conditions attached, I can't help but see at least one reason Maddison may have left in the first place. Unsure as to how to respond to all that I shift back to Shawn, letting Alexander's offer churn in the back of my mind.

Hughes_1305: I guess makes sense

Hughes_1305: Are you wanting to make me an offer

Hughes_1305: Because I'm not entirely sure about all this in the first place

Shawn Hawthorn: totally

Shawn Hawthorn: i mean i get it its a big change

Shawn Hawthorn: kinda wished Van had talked half as much with me about it as you

Shawn Hawthorn: but yeah i want to make an offer

Shawn Hawthorn: i dont care about the money tho

Hughes_1305: Thank you, but I'm still not sure

Shawn Hawthorn: if you hate it just pick up some xtra shifts at work

Shawn Hawthorn: with no rent youd afford another swap in like a month or 2

Shawn Hawthorn: hell if you want i can even charge you more so Van's cut is higher

Shawn Hawthorn: but i guarentee you wont want to leave after the first week

Shawn Hawthorn: low responisbility, gaming, chilling, and i know that body well ;)

With my eyes darting between the two sets of messages I try to make a decision, my mind blanking on the other profiles that didn't need this level of vetting as I grow more and more invested in the people behind the profiles and their circumstances.

I can feel the pain in Alexander's messages, the man trying to repair his family after his daughter left. However, even at his most desperate the man continues to try and control the person who had yet to even agree to his offer. The thought of loving back in with parents, the overbearing force that controlled so much from my finances to my living situation and bedtimes, made my blood run cold.

"I always said, never again" I mutter under my breath, a reminder of how I appreciated my independence.

On the other hand, despite Shawn's obvious crude and lewd mind, he did make a good point. With the money I could earn as Van and not paying rent I could probably afford another of these swaps in a month or two of frugal saving and hard work. With the flexibility in her work schedule I could easily dedicate time to life improvements, or even finding another body if necessary.

With bated breath I message Shawn back, deciding that his plan sounded weirdly agreeable.

Hughes_1305: Alright, you've got a deal

Shawn Hawthorn: sweet

Shawn Hawthorn: how much did you want to pay?

Hughes_1305: I've only got about 5k in savings

[SWAP OFFER: $5000]

Offer accepted

[BOOK SWAP]

Shawn Hawthorn: hey i can pick you up today with a change of clothes if you want

Looking at the last message I swallow a harsh lump in my throat, realizing just what I had done. I quickly turn back to my messages with Alexander, the brief thought of ghosting him flying past as I realize I wouldn't have to deal with him again.

Alexander Cho: We can even use your fee to rebuild the college fund Maddison used for this whole thing as some sort of graduation gift

Hughes_1305: Sorry, but I accept an offer a few minutes ago

Hughes_1305: I hope you find someone soon

Returning to Shawn's messages I open up the booking window, the series of dates and times filling the screen as I look for the earliest time. Turning to my laptop I bring up the address of the nearest Life Exchange office, checking between the street and number and the address in the booking window.

A smirk spreads across my lips as I see the earliest appointment wasn't too far away, in fact it may even be difficult to make it in time unless I run. With my heart racing in my chest, I accept the appointment with message soon following in Shawn and my chat window.

[BOOK SWAP]

Shawn Hawnthorn: hey i can pick you up today with a change of clothes if you want

[BOOKING MADE: 1:30 pm 7/12]

Shawn Hawthorn: fuk ill get dressed then

Shawn Hawthorn: someones eager :p

Without responding to the messages I simply get moving, racing out the front door to my apartment in my sweat and dust-covered clothes. I quickly lock my front door before racing down the stairs of my old apartment building, needing to rush most of the way if I planned to make it to the offices in time.

Thankfully the streets are relatively clear in the middle of the day, the lack of foot traffic giving me a clear path to The Life Exchange offices at the edge of the city. Due to the necessity of large-scale medical equipment, on-site many of The Life Exchange's offices were further from town centers and wherever the rent was cheapest. For the first time in quite a while I was happy to be on the fringe of the city as I feel my feet pound the pavement beneath me, my phone in hand as I follow the directions to the best of my ability.

With sweat pouring down my face, the midday sun beating down on me from up above, I'm practically out of breath as I reach the wide and deep brown brick building my phone had been guiding me to. The building was only single story but it was still massive, taking up several plots of land along two streets. A set of wide double doors sit at the corner of the two streets, a small sigh sitting above it discretely displaying the name;

The Life Exchange

Slowly to a calm walk I try to catch my breath, lumbering up the three or four steps out the front as I shuffle in through the front doors. I'm immediately hit with the scent of medical-grade cleaning products, a faint floral scent from a nearby reed diffuser doing little to overpower the harsh smells from the checkerboard tiled floor.

The front counter sits at the center of the entryway with chairs flanking the approach to make up the waiting room. The flimsy blue plastic appears to have been purchased second-hand, with various seats being sunbleached despite not being anywhere near the windows. The wide room itself leads off into two hallways that appear to run down in parallel to the external walls of the building with the desk sitting dead center between them. The front desk itself is an impressively large and wide countertop, with several computers behind it creating multiple stations for employees during the busier hours.

"Hello sir" coos a warm voice, a young woman in her mid-twenties waving me down as she returns to the counter from the wide hallway leading off to the right. She is rather tall, being just a little over six foot, with deeply tan skin and long thick brown hair tied back in a tight bun. "Sorry, were you waiting long?" she asks, her customer service voice so perfect I have to wonder if she's actually being sincere.

"No, I...I just got here" I pant, still struggling to catch my breath.

"Oh, well I take it you have an appointment then" she says with a sweet little giggle, obviously taking note of my exhausted state. "Let...me... we have an appointment for..."

"One thirty" I declare, cutting her off. "Jordan Hughes, or I guess..."

"Hughes_1305?" the young woman asks from behind the counter cutting me off in kind. "Yes, we just got the confirmation. Could you..." she begins to ask, her hazel eyes darting between the desk and the two hallways leading off from either side of the room as she searches for something. "Just...wait...here for a..." she continues, obviously unwilling to leave her post for too long at a time.

"I can just..." I begin to muse, my sentence cutting short as the woman shouts out to someone down the left hallway.

"Raymond!" she cries, waving down the man before ushering him over. "One Thirty!"

After a brief yet awkward pause I watch as a short yet fit Asian man in his thirties rounds the corner, his slender frame covered in a set of navy scrubs that match his face mask.

"You must be Mr. Hughes" he says, nodding my direction. I nod back, but before I can respond with any words Raymond pivots and begins to head back down the hallway. "Please follow me" he calls back, his short legs keeping a good pace as he practically jogs away.

"I...yeah..." I mutter, walking at a brisk pace to catch up to the shorter man. I give a nod to the tanned woman behind the counter, flashing her a nervous smile as she smiles back in kind.

"Enjoy" she says as I walk away, a slight smirk spreading across her thin lips as I turn to face Raymond.

The hallway is rather spacious, likely to give enough space for two gurneys to make their way past each other on either side. The pale green walls are accented with bright baby blue doors, the whole design giving me a sense of 'beggers can't be choosers'. The walk doesn't last long enough for me to really complain about the decor as Raymond suddenly comes to a stop in front of one of the many rooms.

"Alright Mr. Hughes" he chirps, racing into the room and leaving me behind without so much as a second thought. Following him inside I'm met with a rather off-putting sight as beds with unconscious people flank the cramped space.

"Um...are these..." I mutter as I creep nervously into the room at large, my eyes darting between the three other people my body would be sharing the room with for who knows how long. They all appear to just be in a deep sleep, the moderate temperature of the room allowing them to be relatively exposed to the elements as wires hang from their chests and head.

"One-Wayers? That's right, you'll be joining them in a few minutes" Raymond says with a chuckle, racing around the one remaining bed as he bundles together cabling and sticky pads. "Please, strip down if you could. We've got a gown for you to wear during your...stay" he asks, pointing to the end of the bed and a large blue sheet of paper.

Shuffling awkwardly over to the bed I begin to disrobe in a relatively tired fashion. I whip my sweat-coated shirt up and over my head, dropping it by the bed as I take a seat at the foot next to the gown. As I slowly make my way through my shoes and dirty jeans I'm soon left with just my boxers protecting my modesty. As I grab the gown I easily slip it over my head, however, as I move to tie the back I hear Raymond speak up.

"Leave it undone please, it'll make life easier for us" he explains, checking the monitors around the bed before turning back to me. "Underwear as well, don't worry we've seen it all before."

With a nervous shuddering sigh I begin to tug my boxers down my legs, letting the grey fabric fall to the floor. With a deep breath I try to calm myself down, my heart hammering in my chest at the thought of what I was about to be doing.

"Please lay back Mr. Hughes" Raymond asks, his hands full with the pre-prepared cabling as the monitors flash and beep behind him. Not wanting to drag things out I shuffle back onto the bed, resting my head on a soft and fairly flat pillow as Raymond rapidly sets about hooking me up to the equipment. I watch as all manner of vital signs and information begin to fill the various screens, most of which is entirely meaningless to a layman such as myself. Raymond however seems pleased as he finishes up with the last of the small sticky pads, a light chuckle escaping his lips.

"Blood pressure good, heart rate stable, won't be hard to move" he muses, shuffling off out of sight by the head of the bed as he fetches the next piece of equipment. I'm left in silence for a moment, the only noise being the bleeping of the machines around my bed. However, after a short pause I hear Raymond groan as he heaves something up from somewhere beyond my line of sight.

"Head up" Raymond orders, his tone remaining light and professional. As I follow his order I find my vision getting enveloped in darkness, a single blinking red LED shifting into the center of my field of view. "Head down" Raymond exclaims, not having to ask twice as I'm all too eager to rest. However, rather than the pillow I had been hoping for I find my head resting against a piece of cold hard metal.

I can hear the sound of the ocean in the metal container, the blood rushing in my ears echoing back at me from the oddly claustrophobic place I had found myself in. My breathing begins to pick up under the stress, the beeping from the monitors shifting to match.

"Just stay...still..." Raymond mutters as a subtle whine begins to fill the chamber. With what light I'm afforded by the little flashing LED I watch as dozens of metal prods begin to stretch out from around the already confining walls of what had been placed around my head. I let out a shuddering shocked breath as I feel them slowly make contact, the cool metal quickly giving way to a subtle electric buzz.

"Almost...there..." comes the muttering voice of Raymond, his tone almost sounding distracted as he focuses on something other than me for the time being. I try my best not to move, unsure as to how much give the slender metal probes had before either my skin broke or they did. The buzzing only grows worse and worse, the slight zapping slowly making my mind feel almost fuzzy or muddled.

As the weird sensations grow more and more intense I watch as the little LED suddenly turns off. Raymond begins to walk around my bed, likely to collect my clothes, before stopping on my left in anticipation of something. Suddenly, the cramped helmet is filled with the light from a single solid green LED, the change signaling Raymond to do something beside me.

"Thank you for using The Life Exchange. We hope that..." he chirps in a bright recital of the company line, the end of his sentence being cut off as the buzzing in my head grows more and more unbearable.

I try to focus, to keep myself aware of my surrounding. However, after only a few seconds I find myself unable to hold even the simplest thought in my head. Who knows how much time passes as I lay in this state, however, for me it is over almost as soon as it began.

Focusing on the light above me I find it back in the blinking red state, the probes slowly retracting back into the metal walls around my head.

I feel so extremely weird, my body aching and weakened as some enormous weight presses down on my chest and pools into my armpits. I try to move, raising my head slightly to see where I was. As if taking advantage of the opportunity I feel someone slowly begin to slide whatever had entrapped my head backward.

"Close your eyes dear" coos the hoarse voice of an older woman, her tone full of concern for my well being. She doesn't have to tell me twice, the thought of what going from this darkness to full-on sunshine could do to my vision chilling me to the bone. The bright fluorescent lights of the room suddenly reach me through my eyelids, the color red consuming my vision as I try to slowly adapt.

"Is she good?" calls a voice from nearby, the sound of approaching footsteps soon following.

"She'll be a little weaker, she spent a lot of time off her feet, and she may get winded a bit easier" cautions the older woman, her hand running over my strangely smooth arms as she begins to fish for the sticky pads hooked up to the monitor. "But she's all there, perfectly healthy."