Scared

Happy Halloween!

Clifford was absolutely shocked by the puff of smoke in front of him. When it cleared, a woman dressed all in red with a pitchfork stood in front of him. He questioned, “Who are you?”

“I’m the devil,” The woman responded, “I’m here for your soul.”

“The devil? No way. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re just not threatening at all.”

“You’re probably too young to remember. About thirty or forty years ago, I used to have the scariest body possible: ten feet tall, fire red skin, big muscles, real horns and tail, the whole nine yards. Then there was this weird body swapping event you humans would come to call ‘The Great Shift.’ I’m sure it’s in your history books. As it turned out, not even I was immune. I ended up with the body of suburban housewife. Luckily, despite looking far less frightening, I maintained all my powers. I never age and remain immortal; I can still harvest souls; I still have all my magic. You should still be very scared, Cliff, because I am here for you.”

Suddenly, Clifford began to look a lot more scared...

Gain (Part 2)

Click here for Part 1.

Mike now realized he not only had to adjust to being a woman, but a pregnant one. It was a lot to take in that a few short months from now he’d be birthing a baby. The bright side of things was that he could let himself go a little. He didn’t have to work quite so hard on his fitness routine and he could eat whatever he wanted to. He also wasn’t going to concern himself with dressing hot. He could just throw on some maternity clothes and relax. His ever-growing bely was already getting uncomfortable and he knew it was only going to get worse.

Gain

Mike realized pretty quickly that he probably shouldn’t be too upset with the body he ended up with as a result of the Great Shift. Sure, he was a woman now, but he was also young and hot. It seemed like a reasonable enough situation, especially considering some of the bodies his friends ended up in.

As the days and weeks passed, there only seemed to be one problem -- he kept gaining weight. Mike’s first guess was that he must’ve still been used to eating like a large guy instead of a small woman, so he tried to cut back. It was so tough; he just felt hungry all the time. And it also didn’t seem to help. He was sure he was now even developing a beer belly despite his caloric reduction.

So he started hitting the gym more, guessing the woman he swapped with had an intense fitness regiment. Yet even despite the intense workout, he was sure he was getting bigger.

It was on one gym trip as he mumbled under his breath about his weight gain and getting fat that another gym member commented.

“You aren’t getting fat,” She said, “You’re pregnant.”

Hyper Sleep

Private Winston O’Grady had signed up for the military experiment to be placed in hyper sleep for twenty years. He was told in that time he wouldn’t age or dream. He’d enter the chamber in an isolated part of a secret facility, and it would feel like just a short nap before waking up. And so he entered and moment later to Winston, it felt like it was over and he exited the chamber. Except there was a lot wrong. The most obvious thing was his body -- it wasn’t his own! He was now a woman, dressed quite fashionably compared to his uniform. The there was the facility; it seemed abandoned. He wasn’t sure if he had slept for the full twenty years or not, or why he was in the wrong body. He began to explore, hoping to find someone...anyone. Ultimately, he stumbled across a phone on a panel with a bunch of buttons and knobs. There seemed to be a dial tone, but any number he remembered didn’t seem to connect. Even 911 came back as out of service. This was certainly strange. His next thought was finding a way out...

Black Diamond

“Alright,” Pete said with a smile, “Time to finally give that double black diamond trail a try! I can’t wait!”

“Like hell you are,” Carol said angrily, “That’s MY body you’ve got right now. What if you broke my arm or my leg!”

“Exactly my point!” Pete retorted, “Since we swapped bodies, I don’t really care what happens! I can take some bigger risks! It’s going to be tons of fun!”

“Well, if you do break my bones, I am not going to swap back with you until it’s healed. And if you damage my body beyond repair, I may never swap back with you.”

“Come on! Take a joke!” Pete lied, knowing full well he was still going to try out the difficult trails the moment Carol was out of earshot.

Cheeseburger

Immediately after using his invention to steal Juliana’s body, Paul grabbed his stomach in pain. He wondered if Juliana just hadn’t eaten recently or if she was starving herself to stay thin for her modeling career. The reason why he wanted her body was because he saw her as an ideal of beauty. But if this was the price of that beauty, he was not sure how long her was going to last. He couldn’t stop thinking about the pain in his stomach and how much he just wanted to sink his teeth into a giant cheeseburger.

Dream Vacation

When Rich promised his wife Natalie the most wonderful vacation event, she expected fancy dinners, spa pampering, and wonderous experiences. Instead, she found herself in a tiny cabin in the woods for one of Rich’s hunting trips. She was more than angry, but finding a small item in a bag with a note just outside gave her an idea for revenge. She waited until the next morning, then just as he finished getting ready for the day’s hunt, she ambushed him with a big hug, making sure what she had found touched them both at the same time.

Rich felt strange after the hug. He took a few steps back to sit on the toilet in order to stop himself from falling over. He was sure his eyes were playing tricks on him as Natalie appeared to be bulking up -- her body seemingly pressing outward against her clothes, making them very tight. And when it was all done, she looked a lot like -- well, like him.

“What the hell?” He finally asked.

Natalie smiled, “Have you not noticed yourself yet?”

Rich looked down. His body had completely transformed. He was still wearing his own clothes, but he clearly now had the body of his own wife! She had swapped their bodies somehow!

Contract (Part 2)

Click here for Part 1.

After finishing his meal, Walter picked up his wine and quietly asked his security to escort Jane out. He always enjoyed seeing his former body, but Jane always overstayed her welcome. The conversation always turned to her begging to get her body back, which Walter found exhausting.

Giving Jane five million dollars to swap bodies was the best money he ever spent. He loved being young and female and thanks to the ironclad contract, this body would be his forever. The money was a simple drop in the bucket from the billions he had, and he had assumed the five million would be life changing for Jane as well.

Maybe it was, but he never heard about it. She was always complaining about how his old body ached or how much she missed her body. Walter simply didn’t care. A deal was a deal.

Contract

“Honestly, Jane, I’m not sure what you’re complaining about,” Walter said as he enjoyed his dinner, “Do you not enjoy your five million dollars? Are you having trouble spending it all?”

“It’s not that,” Jane whined, “I miss my body. I want it back.”

“I’m afraid that’s quite impossible. You signed the contract. You deposited the money. So we swapped bodies per the arrangement. Legally, your body is mine now. I understand you may not like being old -- I certainly didn’t enjoy it myself -- but that is precisely the reason I paid such a premium to swap with a young person. You should learn to take the fullest advantage of what I’ve paid you and live your final years to their fullest.”

Jane frowned. She regretted taking the money to swap bodies with Walter. She thought money would be the solution to all her problems. But she missed being young and being a woman. However, it didn’t seem like she could say anything to convince Walter to swap back with her.

Convincing (Part 3)

Click here for Part 1.
Click here for Part 2.

And then Jeff felt someone tapping the top of his head. Nervously he said, “Tom, I’m going to have to call you back.”

He slowly hung up the phone and looked up. One of Bethany’s co-workers was peaking over the side of the cubicle.

“Did you..uh...want to go to lunch?” Jeff asked.

“Actually I couldn’t help but overhear you on the phone,” Bethany’s co-worker said, “And your secret’s safe with me...IF you do me a favor.”

“A favor?”

“Yeah, you see, I’m really looking to divorce my husband and clean him out. I just need you to seduce and sleep with him, so I can use that against him in the proceedings.”

Jeff suddenly felt in over his head.

Convincing (Part 2)

Click here for Part 1.

Jeff hadn’t told many people about his plans to steal Bethany’s body, but he did talk about it with his friend Tom. Of course Tom was skeptical, so during lunch, Jeff decided to surprise his friend with a phone call.

“Guess what worked?” Asked an absolutely giddy Jeff, “And it’s been so much fun, and no one has suspected that I’m not really Bethany. Once I get back home, she’s going to have to accept being stuck in my body because no one is ever going to believe that I’m not actually her.”

Convincing (Part 1)

Jeff had a slight smirk on his face as he walked into work. Of course, he wasn’t walking into his own office, he was walking into Bethany’s. He had used a magic spell to steal her body, and now she was tied up in his basement inhabited his body. He didn’t know how long he could convince people he was her for, but he was pretty proud of himself for the time being. At the very least, he’d have to let Bethany go soon, but he hoped he could release her while saying no one would ever believe who she really was or something dramatic like that. If he could pull this off today, he told himself he’d be in the clear.

Meet Up

Eric hadn’t seen his body since shortly after the Great Shift, when just about everyone on the planet swapped bodies with someone else. That was about three years ago now and he had adjusted to being in Megan’s body. He still had a nagging curiosity about how his former body was doing, so he called up to arrange a meeting.

He was more than shocked to see his body covered in tattoos, all up and down the arms. He knew he had told the person now inside his body to think of his body as their own, but he still had such a negative reaction to seeing his former body covered like that. Even if it wasn’t his anymore, he still felt so violated. It was worse because they just couldn’t shut up about them. Eric sighed, saying that meeting up again may not have been such a good idea after all.

Pink Tax

Andrew had been nervous about signing up for the psychological study at first. He knew it entailed swapping bodies with another participant of the opposite gender and living their life for six months. However the start of the study was remarkably smooth. He swapped with a Asian woman named Hiromi. She was smart, young, and attractive. Settling into her life was a breeze. But as the days passed, Andrew noticed something weird. Women’s items just seemed to cost more than men’s. When he noticed his usual $20 haircut would now be more than twice as expensive, hat was the last straw. Instead, he bought a pair of scissors and looked at himself in the mirror. How hard could it be to cut his own hair? Plus, he’d save a lot of money. This didn’t seem like a bad plan at all...

Inside the Box

Carl was giddy with excitement when he arrived home and saw a large box waiting for him. After eight long weeks, his order had finally arrived. He opened up the box and inspected the contents. The android body was exactly to his specifications. It was now merely a matter of uploading his brain and downloading it into this new body. He had long dreamed for being a woman, but only thanks to advanced in biotech and robotics was that finally able to be a reality. When he finally clicked on the confirmation button, he instantly found himself lying on the ground inside the box amongst the Styrofoam packaging. He hadn’t even bothered to take the android completely out of the box. It didn’t matter; he could now lift himself out. It was remarkable how real this body felt, despite technically being artificial. Then he looked over to his own lifeless body slumped on the chair. That click was the final step in finally making his dreams come true, and he was looking forward to every moment.

Promised (Part 2)

Click here for Part 1.

Considering he was now in the body of his own daughter, Harold pretended to be her when he met up with her fiancé. They discussed the wedding later that day before parting ways to get ready. Harold got himself into her dress, and then a woman arrived to do his hair and makeup. It seemed normal enough until Harold overheard something about “The Great Shift.” Then a few wedding guests started arriving. The numbers were thin and he didn’t recognize anyone. Everyone started talking about a world wide body swapping phenomenon.

Harold suddenly realized he was in a tough place. He wasn’t the only one who had swapped bodies, and he had already pretended to be unswapped with his daughter’s fiancé. He was going to be stuck pretending to be his daughter for the near future. He couldn’t tell anyone the truth now. He’d have to continue this charade not only for the wedding but for the foreseeable future as well.

Promised

Last night Harold went to bed looking forward to his daughter’s wedding. She had been nervous about something going wrong, and he promised that he would do everything in his power to make sure things went smoothly. Of course, he never expected to wake up the next morning in his daughter’s body.

He opened up her phone and had the camera face himself, shocked that he now had his daughter’s face. Then he tried to call his own number but got no response. He had promised her nothing would go wrong, and he figured if that meant him having to go through the ceremony as her, then so be it. He could figure out how to swap back to his own body later...

Overthinking

“You need to relax,” Marcia told her husband, “This is a vacation; you’re on the beach. Don’t be such a prude.”

“I get the point of Exchange Island is that you spend some time in someone else’s body,” Brett said timidly, “But I’m still getting used to this. I already feel like I’m showing so much skin; I don’t want to run around here in a bikini or anything. Maybe give me a few more days to get used to this all...”

“In a few more days we’ll be on a plane back to the mainland. You need to learn to enjoy yourself. You got a body that any number of people probably would’ve killed to have while they are here, yet you’re just so nervous about the whole thing.”

“Maybe I got this body for a reason. Maybe it’s because I DO care. I don’t know. Maybe I’m overthinking this...”

The Reception (Part 4)

Click here for Part 1.
Click here for Part 2.
Click here for Part 3.

After downing a few more bottles of champagne, Charlie and Angela collapsed together on a couch. The reception had been long over, but many others remained as well, not really sure what to do now they had swapped into a new body. Charlie was equally unsure.

“So where do we go from here?” He asked.

“What do you mean?” Angela replied.

“I mean, like, are we still married? Am I still your husband?”

“Of course, but now it’s like I not only married my husband but also my best friend.”

“Was that a joke because I’m in Nikki’s body?”

“Sort of.”

“I guess we’ll figure this all out with the rest of the world.”

The Reception (Part 3)

Click here for Part 1.
Click here for Part 2.

Charlie just wanted to drink a little more so he could forget he swapped into Nikki’s body and enjoy his wedding. He thought about grabbing a beer first, but Angela told him that Nikki didn’t like the taste; if he had her body, he also had her taste buds.

Charlie figured the logic was sound, so he asked what she did like. Angela grabbed a bottle of champagne; Nikki always waited for the toast to get drunk.

Charlie struggled with the bottle, realizing he now wasn’t as strong as he used to be, but between him and Angela, they were able to uncork it. Then he poured himself a glass and another and another.

The Reception (Part 2)

Click here for Part 1.

Charlie immediately went looking for his new bridge, even though he figured she might’ve been swapped too.

“Oh my gawd, Nikki,” Angela said upon seeing Charlie, “Everyone has gone all crazy, saying they’ve swapped bodies and junk.”

Charlie sighed, “They’re not crazy. Everyone DID swap bodies, and I’m not Nikki. I’m Charlie.”

Angela’s jaw dropped.

Charlie interrupted the silence, “I need another drink.”

The Reception (Part 1)

The weeks leading up to the wedding were stressful for both Angela and Charlie, but after the ceremony they were able to unwind with some drinks. They probably had a few too many, but it was their wedding day! Then the crystal began to shake and the whole hall rumbled before being filed with a bright light. Charlie awoke a little later, feeling much sober than he had remembered being. He was worried he had slept through most of his reception, but a quick look to the clock revealed only five minutes had passed. Then he looked down to see the pink dress Angela had insisted all her bridesmaids wear, and judging from his movements he seemed to be the one that was filling it out with a very female body. He quickly discovered he had swapped with Angela’s best friend Nikki. In fact, it seemed everyone in the entire reception hall had swapped bodies, and they’d all soon learn it was everyone in the world!

Fixed

“Have you finished making repairs to your machine yet?”Vivian asked.

“Actually, yes,” Thomas replied, “But I’m afraid I have some bad news. You and I won’t be swapping back to our own bodies.”

“What? Was their some sort of problem? Can the machine only switch the same two people once?”

“I know I freaked out when I first found myself in your body. The idea of being a woman terrified me; it still sort of does. But over the past week, I’ve been looking at you in my body -- mostly I’ve just been looking at my body. My body is old, out of shape, and dumpy. Being you may still be a little scary, but it’s still better than going back. So the machine is fixed, but I’m not going to let you use it.”

“You can’t do this to me! You can’t leave me stuck in your body!”

Brain Sucker

Humanity had been on edge ever since the alien brain suckers landed on Earth. The strange creatures would suck on your head a while before moving on to a new host. The oddest part was that once they found that new host to suck on, they would leave the previous brain they feasted on behind in the new body. Daniel knew this, but now he was finally experiencing it first hand. He now realized that you don’t feel anything when they start. One moment you are minding your own business, and the next you are ripping the thing off the head of your brand new body. Daniel held the brainsucker in his new hand. He thought about killing it, but he figured that would be cruel to whoever’s brain was now inside. And so, as with many before him, he let it go. Then he found a mirror to look at himself. He was a woman now -- an Asian woman. The brain suckers didn’t seem to attack people more than once, so this was his body now.

Act Parental

“That device of yours is absolutely crazy,” Rachel told her boyfriend, “I still can’t believe we swapped bodies with my parents! And that I’m my own dad!”

“That’s not even the weirdest part.” Todd said from the body of Rachel’s mom, “They don’t even realize anything. Your dad has your body and thinks he’s you, and your mom has my body and thinks she’s me.”

Rachel went white for a second, “Then we need to go and act parental. You know what you and I were planning to do for the first time tonight.”

Todd realized exactly what Rachel was talking about. The two college students had certainly held their hormones in for a long time.

“Not a problem. You know how much I’m afraid of your parents. I’ll go in with a simple threat that I know what they’re planning. They’ll be way to scared to go through with it.”

“I hope so.” Rachel paused again, “Do you think the device will be recharged by morning?”

“I hope so,” Todd replied, “I don’t want to be stuck in your mom’s body for one second longer than I have to be.”

In the Street

Adam shook his head as he drove by. He had nearly run over a group of three women who had been running out into the street each time the light turned red in order to take fashion shots of each other on their phones before running back just as the light turned green and traffic resumed. Adam could only think about how irresponsible it seemed and that he was sure it was inevitable that someone would hit one of them. Then in a flash everything changed. He was suddenly standing on the street instead of being behind the wheel. Before he could process any more than that, a car struck him.

Adam awoke several days later in the hospital in great pain. A doctor tending to him seemed surprisingly young and genuinely appeared to be taken aback by the awakening. The doctor began to explain The Great Shift to Adam, how everyone int he world had swapped bodies, the accidents it caused, and Adam’s particular accident. Adam looked down at his body and the cracked phone at his bedside. He knew he must have swapped with one of the women he saw in the street right before it all happened. He knew someone was going to get hit because of their antics; he just never expected that person to be him!

Back in Time

Brett had been testing out his time machine for a while. Mostly he’d drop items in, set it for a few minutes in the future and wait. The items would then reappear safe and sound. Feeling quite confident, he decided to use himself as the first human subject. His first mistake was directional. He had intended to go sixty years into the future; instead he went sixty years into the past. Further, to avoid a potential paradox, going back wasn’t quite like going forward. To minimize problems, his body seemed to have vaporized on its way back with his mind and soul inhabiting a person from the past. Rushing to a mirror, his reflection was very familiar. He soon realized it was the face of his own grandmother, except when she was young. The thoughts running through Brett’s head were all over the place. First, he’d have to make a version of his machine here in the past in order to get back. He’d also have to make sure he didn’t take any actions that might undo his own existence! After all, looking at the calendar, he realized his own mother wasn’t even going to be born for another ten months. With a quick calculation in his head, he realized he was going to have to work on a new version of his machine as quickly as possible!

But I Won't Do That

“Look, Sis,” Neil sighed, “I think I’ve been pretty good ever since we swapped bodies. I’ve dressed how you asked me to dress, I’ve kept up appearances to not let your friends know, I even eat what you tell me to eat; but don’t press your luck by telling me to go on a date with your boyfriend. If you push me too hard, do you see this?”

Neil tugged on the ponytail atop his head.

“This is going to see a pair of scissors. I’ll cut it all off. It’ll be uneven. Or maybe I’ll shave it. Whatever, just give me a bit of a break here! I’ve been ding most of what you’ve asked, but I will NOT be going out with your boyfriend and making out with him!”

Reading

When Gary opened the book that claimed to be full of magic spells, he laughed it off at first. But after reading a few words and created an apple out of thing air, he quickly started believing. A few more pages in and he made nature bend to his will. A few more pages and he found himself able to alter his physical appearance, turning himself into an exact copy of his friend Alice. He kept reading, quickly realizing there was little that magic couldn’t do.

Take a Stand

“Mr. Morgan, I realize it’s probably quite difficult for you,” Dr. Wu explained to her patient, “But thanks to the procedure, you are now in a body that’s over 60 years younger than your own. You really don’t need this wheelchair anymore.”

“I...I’m really nor so sure,” Arthur Morgan stuttered, “I’m grateful that this young woman donated her body to science for my benefit, but it’s hard to get my head around going from being a 90 year old man to a 20-something year old woman. My legs had given out on me a decade ago; it’s hard to even trust that I’d be able to stand again without falling.”

“I certainly understand. That is why this breakthrough is so important, and it’s also important that you try here. Please, Mr. Morgan.”

A Bridge Too Far

Rob felt a little bit more than tricked. When Trish had used the Medallion of Zulu to swap bodies with him yesterday, she told him to relax. She explained she just wanted to try it out, and that they’d be able to swap back in twelve hours. Of course, when they met back together the next day, she told him that she had thrown the medallion off of a bridge.

Rob was shocked, but he tried not to panic. The nearest bridge wasn’t far away, and he knew Trish well enough; she had probably hadn’t made much of an effort when getting rid of it. As he walked across the bridge, he could see something that was shining when the light hit it just right. Climbing onto the side of the bridge, he knew it might be tough to make it down there, but he was sure that was the medallion. He figured the fall wasn’t tall enough to kill him, and if he got hurt, it was just Trish’s body and not his own.

Even if it was the medallion and even if he could actually get it, there was still the matter of getting Trish to swap back with him. As he made his way down he thought about all the ways he could trick her so he could get close enough to touch it to her to swap back again.