Second Class Swaps - Part One

"So... How has the job search been going?" the woman across from me mutters, the bookish and dark-haired academic leaning in a little to sit at the steaming hot latte as she pulls a little at her navy blue scarf.

Despite having broken up over a year ago Fiona and I had still caught up regularly, our lives having been enmeshed for so long that it was hard at this point to simply not remain friends.

"Well... about the same as it has been..." I grumble back, having received a fresh batch of rejections this morning. I watch as my former girlfriend purses her lips a little, a slight bit of foam from the coffee clinging to them as she seems to ponder something.

"I think Latham is hiring again, you know... after all the lay-offs" she muses, raising one of her somewhat pudgy fingers to her chin in thought. It had been well over a year at this point, a year since myself and many of my colleagues had been forced out of academia due to 'over-hiring' during the pandemic.

I feel a pang of frustration at the news along with a slight elation, annoyance that they seemed to have let me go for nothing blending with a hope that I could just slip back given my prior experience.

"Really?" I cough, spluttering a little into my own coffee as I choke down a half-sip. "Maybe I should..."

"Yeah..." Fiona mutters as she cuts me off absentmindedly. "Mrs Mawab said we needed to bring in some more people for diversity. I mean you remember how much of a... sausage..." she giggles, her laughter turning to an awkward chuckle as she looks over my rapidly souring expression. "... sorry..." she mutters, turning to attention back to her coffee as she sips more in an effort to keep from speaking.

Wanderer's Wardrobe - Part Two

After a short break I slowly come to my feet, my arms shaking slightly as I walk up to shift the damn thing across the room. As I reach out to grapple with the massive thing once more time I pause, my head shaking from side to side.

"There has to be something inside this thing" I grumble, trying to justify why I was struggling to move the giant piece of furniture. Reaching down to the handles I pull it open, my eyes going wide as I stare at the racks of well hung outfits.

"I knew it, I..." I cheer, my excitement turning to a low groan as my shoulders slump. "Why didn't I check before I moved this fucking..." I grumble, my head perking up as I look at the clothes dangling inside.

Jostling as if freshly hung up I glance between four rather complete sets of clothes, the slight swing in the hangers lasting longer for some than for others as dangling pairs of shoes swing and lurch from the old wooden frames.

Wanderer's Wardrobe - Part One

Sweat drips from my forehead as my arms wrap around the towering piece of furniture pressing itself against my chest. My breath is short and sharp, my back pressed between my door frame and my chest compressed by over a century old variable wall of varnish hardwood.

With the help of a set of steel-capped boots I had slowly waddled the damn thing out from the street and up four flights of stairs, the process having taken hours after finding this beauty out on the street during my morning walk.

Now, stuck between my bedroom door and the massive wardrobe, I'm forced to wiggle it fraction of an inch by fraction of an inch along with me. My arms and legs beg for relief, my core aching and my body exhausted to the point of nausea. 

However, knowing that I wouldn't be able to wriggle back into position if I quit now I slowly and carefully shift the massive piece of furniture into the room. With a loud asp of relief I feel the slat of wood wedged into my back deflect off of a shoulder blade, the legs of the wardrobe crunching into the floorboards slightly as I manage to drag the thing with me into the bedroom proper.

 

"Why..." I pant, taking a deep breath as I twist the wardrobe around and shove it roughly into a corner. "... Why did I think I could do this by... by myself..." I huff and puff, inhaling and exhaling deeply as I tumble back onto my bed.

While the wardrobe wouldn't exactly live where I left it, the tall and wide deep red-ish brown centerpiece still sitting partially up against the doorway and blocking the entrance, I am still able to take it in.

As tall and it is wide, the wardrobe itself looks more like a built-in piece of furniture. The piece simply must have been a custom commission, the sheer size alone making it impractical to have in most bedrooms.

However, despite this, the wardrobe itself was simply nothing short of a masterpiece. From carrying the damn thing it was easy to tell the wood was old growth, the sheer heft and density to it being beyond what you could likely find available today. With this in mind the carving work seems to have been done with an amazing eye-for-detail.

The whole thing is framed by a set of thick wooden beams, the sides having been etched with practically life-like depictions of songbirds and insects. Nests sit filled with carved in eggs, bugs emerge from cocoons and winged inspects appear as though they are mere moments from escaping the wood itself.

The two massive doors have not been spared the carpenter's touch, with rings running around the wood in layers as though to create a sense of depth to the carving. The staggered layers of art work appear to form the depiction of a path, or really two with one curving off from each door and towards the hinges. Trees line the outer edge, their branches reaching over to form a canopy and to form a frame with their mirror image on the other side.

Two wooden handles sit side by side in the doors of the wardrobe, a simple indent with a curved handle resting inside. Tiny fluttering creatures rest on the ring of runed wood surrounding each of the indents, the small fantastical beings appearing to look directly at me with wide dark eyes and giggling faces.

"Fairies?" I muse, cocking an eyebrow as I look at the inch tall creatures resting and flying around the handles in the carving. "I guess they match the forest theme and... how old is this thing anyway?" I ask no one in particular, falling back onto the bed with a groan as I rest my pained arms and legs.

 

How could I have known just how old the wardrobe was, a gift from a fair folk for a favor given.

Centuries old, the Wanderer's Wardrobe had been crafted for a noble couple centuries ago. The lord of the land had rights over who could and could not hunt on his lands, and when granting those rights on a section of old growth in exchange for silks and furs the local residents had offered him and his wife something to help clothe them instead.

In exchange for barring entry to the forest, allowing this vestige of the old world to remain alive and thriving beyond the prying eyes of mortals, the lord and his young wife would be gifted the most magnificent wardrobe. Designed by the fae, crafted by master gnomish artisans and made from the fallen tree of a dryad the piece was something beyond what any man or woman alive could hope to replicate.

Inside was clothes for all occasions, the enchanted wardrobe summoning forth a collection of clothes whenever it is opened to give its owner variety.

Upon seeing it the lord had immediately accepted, with no small amount of urging from his wife as she stared enamored with the fine silks and warm furs hanging inside the wardrobe. However, it only took a week before the Lord sold the rights to hunt in that forest once more, the powerful gentlemen not liking the idea of being told how to manage his own property.

It was then the wardrobe's malicious nature finally emerged. For that one week it had given clothes without any issue, the lady of the house prancing about the halls in a new refined and lavish outfit every day. However, on the day the hunting rights were bartered for the young lady was no where to be found.

Searching high and low the Lord returned to his chambers, his gaze turning to the open wardrobe. Shuffling over, exhausted from his search for his lawful wedded wife, he reached out to a rather strange muddy piece of commoner's garb. As he snatched it in his hand the clothes whipped deeper into the wardrobe, dragging him in along with it. 

In an instant the Lord was gone, the world changing to be as though he had never existed. On the other side of the country a young homesteader stumbled out of her wardrobe, the aching and exhausted young woman tired from a day in the local lord's field and shivering in the cold as a burly man motioned for her to come to their 'bed'.

By morning the wardrobe was sold, the man of the house not even knowing where the lavish furniture had come from. His 'new' wife hadn't even woken to the noise of the wardrobe's removal, the rough fucking from the night before and the sudden impact of a day's hard labor leaving her exhausted body longing for the pile of rags that gave the dirt floor some semblance of comfort.

From then on the wardrobe had simply traveled the world, coming into people's lives and quickly changing things for the amusement of those who had commissioned it.

 

After a short break I slowly come to my feet, my arms shaking slightly as I walk up to shift the damn thing across the room. As I reach out to grapple with the massive thing once more time I pause, my head shaking from side to side.

"There has to be something inside this thing" I grumble, trying to justify why I was struggling to move the giant piece of furniture. Reaching down to the handles I pull it open, my eyes going wide as I stare at the racks of well hung outfits.

"I knew it, I..." I cheer, my excitement turning to a low groan as my shoulders slump. "Why didn't I check before I moved this fucking..." I grumble, my head perking up as I look at the clothes dangling inside.

 

 

Swapping Science - Part One

 "Wa... up..." calls a weak and croaking voice in the distance, the words seemingly bouncing off my mind as a heavy blanket of sleep clings to my addled mind. I feel something tap at my face, withered and leathery it weakly smacks my cheek as though to coax me while failing to hit much harder. I let out a soft groan, my dry mouth and mounting headache leaving me wondering just how much I had drunk the night before.

However, try as I might I simply couldn't remember the night before. With each attempt to dredge up the memories I feel them slip from my mental grasp, everything beyond the mid-afternoon sitting in my apartment with a book simply falling away like grains of sand through parted fingers.

"Mr...ughes..." calls the voice again, the croaking of the elderly male sounding more stern than before. After a moment I hear the clicking of heels of some hard floor, the sound growing closer before suddenly coming to a stop inches away from me. Suddenly, I feel a palm strike my face with no small amount of force as my face begins to sting with an intense heat and pain.

Re:Reality Reversal - Part Four

"Here..." the man huffs, obviously eager for his break. "Your new ID will be sent to your home in the next few..."

My eyes go wide as he brings up home, my hands patting at my pockets for a moment before finding a slightly bulging phone case resting against my thigh. Pulling it out I breath a sigh of relief, my gaze falling to the see-through sparkly yellow shell wrapping around the device as a single key and a set of credit cards sit beneath.

"Wait..." I mutter, looking at the one solitary key. "Where's my car keys?"

"Oh..." the man blurts out, his eyes going wide. "Did we... not empty your pock..." he continues, sighing into his mask as he cuts himself off. "We at Reality Reversal apologize for the loss of any goods or items" he states dryly, as if reading a script from memory. "Any items left on your person are unfortunately lost, please send the invoice for their replacement to our customer service team for..." he continues, groaning as he leans against the desk.

"You get the gist right?" he asks, rubbing at his eyes. "You're good to go otherwise..." he sighs, looking at me as I stare at him in no small amount of shock and confusion.

"Thank you for visiting today..." he continues a little forcefully, his gaze darting to the door. "Have a nice day..."

Re:Reality Reversal - Part Three

The man sighs as I feel the inching and squirming sensation grind to a halt, my body locked up around me like a prison. He leans back in his seat, the man bringing his hand up to rub the bridge of his nose as he closes his eyes over and over forcefully in an effort to relieve some tension.

"Okay..." he sighs, arching his back before leaning over to adjust the screen once again. "Now that we have you all nice and ready... it seems we can get a clearer image" he explains, rotating the screen part way back before fiddling with the mouse.

I watch as the little window expands, what had once been a tiny screen of low frame rate static blowing up to fill the whole monitor despite its original terrible boxy aspect ratio.

"I'm sure you'll be seeing her a lot more in the mirror..." the man chuckles lightly, looking at the video himself before looking back at me. "But here, why don't you take a look at the new you you'll be bringing home."

As the man turns the screen back around I find my eyes locking to the image of a curvy young woman in her early twenties with plush plump lips and a massive bust, her long nailed hand clutching a set of bright pastel pink workout gear as she nibbles her bottom lip eagerly

Re:Reality Reversal - Part Two

As I take an awkward seat on the metal stool I feel a series of light static shock prickle at my fingers, the stored energy being strong enough to even zap at my legs and ass through my loose pale blue jeans. The doctor's shoulder slump as he squeezes the bridge of his nose, kneading the tan skin as he tries to ease out some tension.

"Sorry... sorry, no need to hear our workplace prob..." he sighs, his gave darting to an empty coffee mug before sighing once more. "Alright, let's go over these results..." he mutters tiredly, reaching up as he begins to turn the screen towards me.

The screen is largely filled with writing beyond my understanding, various test results from the blood sample I had given weeks ago that meant practically nothing to me. A bit of movement catches my eyes, a small window in the top right of the screen showing fairly low frame rate footage as if from a security camera.

"Don't worry about most of that, your iron levels are fine and all the usual metrics are well within the healthy range. What matters for your purposes is that you appear to be more suitable to bring a new body over here for you, hope you like your life because you'll be keeping it with a new body"."

The man chuckles to himself as I stare at the screen intently, my gaze falling on the image of... Nothing. The small windows shows no small amount of static, the black and white fuzz rolling own at what seemed to be single digit frames per second.

"We're still trying to get a lock on..." the man huffs, turning the screen back around as he takes the mouse into his hand. He begins to click at the screen, his eyes narrowing as he seems to focus on his task while I simply sit in silence.

Reality Reversal - Part Two

As I take an awkward seat on the metal stool I feel a series of light static shock prickle at my fingers, the stored energy being strong enough to even zap at my legs and ass through my loose pale blue jeans. The doctor's shoulder slump as he squeezes the bridge of his nose, kneading the tan skin as he tries to ease out some tension.

"Sorry... sorry, no need to hear our workplace prob..." he sighs, his gave darting to an empty coffee mug before sighing once more. "Alright, let's go over these results..." he mutters tiredly, reaching up as he begins to turn the screen towards me.

The screen is largely filled with writing beyond my understanding, various test results from the blood sample I had given weeks ago that meant practically nothing to me. A bit of movement catches my eyes, a small window in the top right of the screen showing fairly low frame rate footage as if from a security camera.

"Don't worry about most of that, your iron levels are fine and all the usual metrics are well within the healthy range. What matters for your purposes is that you appear to be more suitable to send you over there to a new body and life, hope you said your goodbyes before coming today."

The man chuckles to himself as I stare at the screen intently, my gaze falling on the image of a slender and busty young woman in her late teens with messy hair and braces, the young woman blushing intensely as she fidgets next to the equally awkward young man beside her in the cinema.

Gender-Flu Season - Part Five

"Let me guess..." my mom huffs, the eye-roll being self evident in her tone. "You didn't do the one job I gave you." she continues, her grumbling sending a shiver down my spine.

"I... I'm still..." I blabber, freezing up as a wave of light brown hair tumbles down in front of my face.

"Sure sure..." my mother mutters dismissively, the door creaking as she pulls back form leaning against it. "You could have at least given me some idea of what I need to look for. I mean, I thought you would be a least a little more mature this time aro..."

"Looking for... what?" I ask, cutting her short as I flop onto my side and simply lay there. My hips pop as I lay on my right side, the wide childbearing pelvis causing me to shift my waist and legs to try and make myself more comfortable. My hand continues it's exploration, a soft gasp escaping my lips as I feel my fingers reach the lopsided and sweaty mounds pooling out from my chest.

"Your uniform, did you even read my note?" she responds, sighing a little as she takes a breath. "I can't believe I'm having to organize your clothes again... at least it's for a daughter this time rather than..."

"Why do I need... a... a..." I blubber, my breath growing short as I reach up to let my fingers sink into the large and sensitive flabby bust and take my small yet painfully hard nipple into my palm.

"A uniform?" my mother responds, scoffing a little. "Well I certainly haven't seen you trying to sell off that little viral gift of yours to anybody. You always lacked initiative, so I decided to help my daughter a little more this time. "So of course you need a uniform, after I went to all the effort to enroll you in Atheron High."

I writhe a little on the floor, my head swimming with the kneading of my newly engorged chest as I feel a gnawing twinge between my legs. My left hands slowly reaches down, my fingers quivering as they glide across a remarkably flat and smooth stomach before reaching a mess of coarse pubic hair below.

"I... Why would you..." I whimper and whine, my panting breath coming out in a mixture of confused panic and arousal as I paw at my needy body.

"Well I was talking with Zoe... Mayor Lonsdale..." my mother states, sounding almost giddy as she brings up the head of the town's political elite. "... And I may have said my daughter was coming to stay... and one thing led to another and..."

Animal Emergency - Part Three

With the grinding of wheels against the dirt and stones beneath me I feel the vehicle slide to a halt, my heart hammering so loudly in my ears that I can hardly hear the sound of the car door open or the driver jumping out to the dirt below.

Staggering awkwardly on all fours, my eyes darting around in the dim light I try to call for help. "Mooooooooo" I groan loudly, my vocal chords refusing to make any sound remotely human. The rumbling from my throat practically rattles my skull, my teeth getting set on edge as the low animalistic moans reverberate loudly inside a skull not fit for this bloated form.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'..." huffs a husky feminine voice, the crunching of boots against the dirt below soon passing around me. With a loud series of clunks I listen as a metal bar is twisted and shifted away, a set of rusty hinged doors swinging open as I squint through the blinding midday sun.

As my eyes adjust I feel a set of hands reach out, a firm grip grabbing my head as I'm yanked forward. Groaning in pain I stagger forward, the sound of my hooves crunching against the metal floor as I'm blindly guided out into the sun.

I swear I can feel the stitches holding my head to this foul bovine body strain fro a moment, a shiver running up my spine as I move to try and ease the constant tugging pressure on my neck.

Staggering down a short ramp I feel my feet sink a little into the dirt, a whimper moo slipping from my lips as the stones and dirt shift beneath the hard hooves that replace my fingers and toes. Looking ahead I find myself staring at a strange woman, her tan face pulled into an almost deranged grin as she looks at me with wide hazel eyes.

Animal Emergency - Part Two

"Now... normally we would find you another human body to use for the next... well however long it takes to get your body back into a usable state..." she explains, tilting her head to the side as she reads her paperwork. "The world of anti-rejection drugs have greatly improved over the past few years... However..." she states, pausing as she begins to write on the clip board.

"We have been looking to trial something... more radical. Between pig hearts and livers, we've had some great success with human animal transplants, and with a new prospective transplant treatment we think we could go even further than that..." she continues, biting her lip as she jots down something before peeling off a sticker from the bottom of the page.

"Nuevo-Gen has graciously offered to let us trial their latest drug. It's really quite remarkable, not only does it prevent rejection is one hundred percent of cases, but it even seems to help make the new organ more akin to the surrounding tissue over time. It's really..." she explains, slapping a sticker across the glass in front of me.

As the woman continues to ramble I'm forced to stare ahead to read the label on my tank, my dulled mind struggling to read the inverted letters. My eyes water, my mouth moving wordlessly as I stare at the sticker, my mind finally managing to pull out the words.

Cow - Farm

My eye darts about, trying to see past the sticker and to get the woman's attention. I could just stay in the tank, I could wait for my body to recover here in the hospital, just not... whatever they had planned for me with that label.

However, try as I might I can't seem to meet her gaze. I can only watch as she paces around my little tank before leaving my sight, the sound of her footsteps echoing from behind me as I listen to her fiddle with something as the sharp clicking of plastic reverberates through the tank.

A cool sensation suddenly surges up from beneath my head, something mixing in with my blood as I begin to mouth wordlessly and wildly in an attempt to scream for help. The pathetic thrashing doesn't last long however, my eyes growing heavy and my world rapidly growing dim as I feel the cold reach the back of my skull.

Reality Reversal - Part One

I kick my legs beneath my seat as I sit in the cramped waiting room, the extended and narrow space being more a wide corridor than a real room in and of itself. I had been waiting for nearly an hour, the rough appointment time being more of an estimate given the nature of the work going on behind closed doors.

"Mr Anderson?" calls a soft voice from further up the room, a tall and slender redheaded woman reading from a clip board as a doughy young man heaves up to his feet. The plastic seat creaks beneath him as the frame flexes without his weight bearing down on it.

I watch as the shorter blonde haired man waddles up towards the taller redhead, the woman barely even paying him much attention as she gestures down a hall with her clip board before guiding him out of sight.

My gaze returns to the walls around me, the pale robin's egg blue begin meant to act as a calming color for those awaiting their test results. Posters and pamphlets set in clear view for those waiting for their appointment.

'It's okay to be the weaker side'

'Coping mechanisms for a new reality'

'Need new clothes? Find local partners stores inside!'

Gender-Flu Season - Part Four

A knocking raps out from the front door, my groggy mind barely aware of where I was let alone able to really work out who would be at the door.

Groaning loudly, my voice sounding more like a pre-teen boy than my own, I slowly heave myself to my knees. A cascade of hair tumbles around my ears and shoulders, the strands seemingly evening out slightly though still lacking any uniform cohesion across my scalp. Wobbling up to my feet I feel loose skin droop and hang over my right pectoral, an empty sack of flesh just waiting to be filled with something softer to the tough.

"God damn..." I whimper, limping my way to the door as I feel my body scream and fight me the whole way. Each step hurts in some way or another, too much weight being put on an irregular joint or an overly shrunken tendon twinging as it's forced to extend.

Reaching the door I creak it open slightly, not wanting to let anyone see inside or let any of the disease of scent from within out. Looking outside I'm met with the sight of a platter of food, tape measure and a note reading

'Need measurements for uniform'

My mouth immediately begins to salivate at the sight of the food. Despite the damp sea air and speckled rain drops covering the platter my body yearns for that had been left outside. Sticks of butter lay piled in the center, my tongue smacking at my lips as the craving for fats of any kind burns deep in my gut. Beside the large plastic platter sits two jugs of milk, the sloshing lipid and calcium laden beverage making my throat feel almost painfully dry at the sight.

Worst yet is the slab of raw red meat stacked around the veritable tower of butter, the sight of which leaves me almost wide eyed with hunger as something deep inside my demands I consume the iron rich meat with reckless abandon. The meat itself is dotted with a hefty coating of ground rock salt, my strangely large feeling tongue hanging out of my mouth as I drool at the sight of the sorely needed mineral

Animal Emergency - Part One

My head swims as I slowly stir to consciousness, the pounding in my skull maintaining a steady rhythm as I listen to the blood rushing in my ears. The world around me feels almost disturbingly still, every inch of my face being held tightly by a warmth that seems to fill every nook and cranny around me.

Even as I feel worry begin to set in my heart rate remains concerningly steady, each pump coming in at a perfectly even rate despite the mounting fear. A dull beeping rings out from beside me, the electronic buzzing reaching my ears in a muffled and distorted state.

I struggle to open my eyes, the thick substance around me keeping my eyelids shut even as I attempt to ease them open.

"Goo... your awa..." calls out a heavily muffled voice, the sound of my blood rushing through my ears making in impossible to make out half of what they are saying. The world around me rumbles as they approach, the heavy footfalls jostling me as my eyes finally snap open.

I appear to be at around waist height, my view of the world warping through a combination of a faint green ooze and a thick pane of glass that appears to wrap around me. My mouth falls open, the foul smelling goo seeping inside as I stare at the sight of my body hanging limply on the other side of the room.

Gender-Flu Season - Part Three

With one last huff I force the door open, lurching inside the dark room before slamming the door behind me with my back against it. With a sigh of relief I slowly slide down with my back against the wooden door, my body dropping onto the hardwood floor as I catch my breath.

The image of the test in the back of my car and the sight of my mother upstairs makes my skin crawl, my breath catching in my chest as I slowly try to crawl to my feet.

"This is so... fucking wrong..." I cough, my mind reeling as I try to comprehend what was about to happen or even what I might look like once all was said and done.

Slapping my hand around I soon find the smooth plastic of the light switch, my fingers glancing over it as the room is suddenly flooded with painfully bright warm light. In reality, the light was more cozy than anything else, my pounding headache and fever leaving my eyes far more sensitive to the sudden shift.

The ever so slightly off-white walls glow almost golden under the soft light of the bulb above, the messy and sweat soaked bed in the back of the room appearing more like a void of sodden blankets under the poor lighting. Bags sit at the foot of the bed, my clothes barely unpacked since my arrival and my sudden illness.

The bed itself rests in a small alcove, the wall wrapping around it as a new space is formed on it's left. The open door reveals the dim and dank modern bathroom beyond, a simple sink and toilet taking up hafl the room before a large shower takes up the rest. The living space is split between a tiny living room that had been cobbled together last minute for my arrival, a simple couch and coffee table playing home to my laptop, while a galley kitchen runs along the left wall.

The humming of the fridge nearly makes me want to vomit, the mere thought of food making my stomach churning violently as I feel something foul fill it despite my lack of breakfast. Coughing slightly I stagger forwards, tumbling onto the sofa as a burp abruptly.

Meat

The scent and flavor of some raw and visceral fill my mouth as I feel the color drain from my face. My breath clings to my tongue as I retch, lipids riding on the air grasping at me and coating my mouth as my body rapidly sheds excess fat in any way it can.

Gender-Flu Season - Part Two

The door slams shut before the young woman can finish her sentence, her tiny figure quickly running past with her arms outstretched in front of her as if merely touching my car had left the gloves coated in whatever I was infected with.

"Thanks..." I croak, rolling my eyes as I undo my seat belt and spin around to look into the back seat. My bones creak and joints pop as I slump halfway between the two sections of my old sedan, a low groan escaping my lips as I ease down onto my elbow before grabbing the package.

Thankfully, testing for the Gender-Flu was remarkably simple. Pulling the two boxes out I grab the slender plastic trays from within, one for the disease itself and another for variants, before fishing around in the boxes for the 'mixing' tube. Hacking up a cough I spit into one of the tube, my dry and foul tasting mouth struggling to make the same deposit into the second without another round of chest rattling coughs. Capping each I shake them weakly, my wrist crackling and cracking painfully as I try to mix the tubes properly.

With a thankful sigh I pour each tube into the collection section of the tray, the lack of a dropper of any other fiddly attachment making me relieved as I clamber into the back seat to have a lay down. Shivering and shaking I slowly move to read the results, my heart skipping a beat as I read the test aloud.

"Regression... positive..." I wheeze painfully, my ribs cracking and my lungs popping like bubble wrap as I exhale deeply. My groggy mind reels at the thought, the whole thing being a struggle to piece together through the haze in my head.

My skin crawls as I worm my way back into the drivers seat, a pool of sweat being left in the back seat where my arm lay. As my head flops back into the headrest a splattering of sweat coated hair slaps against my forehead, the strands already seemingly slightly longer.

"FuUu..." I begin to groan, the sound my voice pitching up and breaking as though I was undergoing puberty causing me to slam my mouth shut. Despite it all I can't muster to strength to be angry, the almost painful draining sensation wracking my body leaving me lingering in a constant malaise.

Gender-Flu Season - Part One

My fingers grip the steering wheel of my car as I slowly creep through the packed shopping center parking lot. My knuckles practically glow white as I squeeze the supple plastic in front of me, the grip only easing as I wipe the sweat from my brow before it can drip into my eyes.

The world is a constant mild haze, my head swimming and my vision waning as I crawl the car ahead towards an empty space. My breath is ragged, each gasp leaving my throat raspy and sore as my mouth fills with the strange taste of iron and fat. Every inch of my body seems to shiver and twitch, from my bones to my muscles and even my skin I feel completely off and downright drained.

Pulling into the parking lot I spot a tiny young woman standing by the doors ahead of me, the diminutive minimum wage employee wearing a long set of rubber gloves and a mask beneath a cumbersome plastic face shield. In her shaking hands she holds a large paper bag, the two boxes inside bouncing against one another as she struggles to fight back her nerves.

As my car rolls to a stop the tony blonde races towards my car, sweat forming on her tanned forehead as she sprints past my door before opening the one to the back seat. In one swift motion she practically flings the package into the back seat, her voice quivering weakly as she goes to slam the door shut.

"Your order sir, one Gender-Flu test and one for vari..."

Lights, Camera, Change! - Part Nine

On the stage the large glass box filled with the now rather familiar fog is rolled out, the Hostess looking towards it as the studio audience roars with excitement.

"That's right..." The Hostess announces, gesturing towards the strange device. "It's time to bring one of our contestant's back home, back to their own body, and out of the running to win our fabulous grand prize" she continues, the crowd going wild at the mention of the life changing money on the other end of one contestant's journey through a new reality.

"Ms Hughes escaped early elimination for her little nap, but can she avoid it again? Maybe Mr Jones should be given his life back, I'm certain sleeping in a car can't be good for his back she laughs, referring to another contestant as the votes begin to roll in.

"We'll be back with the results... right after this commercial break."

The digits beneath each image of a sleeping stranger quickly begin to race up, those beneath my own barely squeaking into double digits as seemingly one of the more popular contestants. Racing up to over fifty percent of the vote an image of a handsome stubbly man in his mid-thirties suddenly vanishes in a bout of smog, the glass box in the center of the room glowing as they attempt to retrieve the contestant from their distant reality. 

"It's seems Mr Douglas' family life was not all that attention grabbing" the Hostess coos, a loud thump coming from the smokey glass device in the center of the stage as a tiny pudgy feminine hand presses against the glass from the inside.

New Moon, New Life - Part One

Candles flicker around the forest clearing, the thick wax cylinders holding down the crinkling blue tarp beneath me. Even with the weak flicking flames being nearly useless to read by I'm still easily able to read the sheets of paper strewn about at my feet, the pale light of moon flooding the glade light a spotlight from the heavens.

The moon seemed impossibly large, the sort of bright glow in the night sky that looked more akin the a photoshop image than reality itself. Tides were thrown off, birds cawed and crowed outside as they thought it was day time.The world seemed alomst turned upside down as the largest moon any of us had ever seen loomed overhead.

It was the event of the century, the sort of full moon that no one alive today would ever have a chance of seeing for the rest of their lives. For some it was a chance to watch the marvels of the natural world, others a time to party. However, for many around the world it was a time to tempt fate and try to weave magics while beneath the light of the fullest moon.

Some sought riches, others love, I had come out into the deep forest with a different reason entirely. Reaching for my pock I pool out a tiny vial, the dusty glass capped with gold as the viscous red liquid inside roils and splashes about in a remarkably lively state.

'Magical blood' I had been told, in part a reason it hadn't simply turned to a tried caked on brick of crimson coagulant. While I, along with practically everyone on the face of the Earth, were simply numb to the world of magic, there were those who were not only attuned to it but had the very essence of the arcane in their veins.

Lights, Camera, Change! - Part Eight

As I reach the steps down to the lane way and the parking lot beyond I immediately spot the pacing sight of Bridgette, the over six foot tall athletic young woman being difficult to miss and she shuffles around beside my old sedan.

Inching down the steps she spots me, my bright copper red hair likely not doing me any favors in subtly. She waves wildly at me, watching for a moment as I heft my tiny frame and heavy backpack across the lane before bolting over.

"Babe let me get..." she whine, her voice dripping with concern as she practically pulls the backpack off of me and effortlessly slings it over one shoulder. Her free hand clutches at the large gym bag she had carried this morning, the large black denim bag appearing to crumple and squish around whatever was inside.

"Thanks..." I sigh, my body feeling leagues lighter as the weight is pulled off my shoulders. It was like everything was relative, the straps of my bra having been completely ignored all day as the ache and pain from carrying the bag consumed my thoughts more presently. "What are... were you waiting for me?" I ask meekly, adjusting my glasses a little as I look up at the practical amazonian in front of me.

Bridgette rubs at the back of her neck nervously, her face turning red as she looks up and away for a moment.

"Kinda..." she mutters, her husky voice shaking a little. "I was.. well I was going to ask...My parents are out of town and... well, do you think you could maybe stay the night?" I watch as the tan young brunette, bites at her bottom lip, her shoulders slumping as she shrinks away a little out of nerves as she takes a shot.

My stomach fills with butterflies as I look up at her, my face twitching as I'm practically forced to wear a silly giddy grin.

"I'll need directions..." I state, walking around to the driver's side door. Pausing slightly as I realize just how that sounds. "I mean, where can I park and stuff."