“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” John cursed, his ethereal voice hissing to the void. There is this sort of force barring him from entering his injured body. He could not only feel it but see them in the form of these lines of refracted light whizzing out of his body. It has a tinge of chromatic aberration to them. It reminds him of the heat mirage one could see on top of roof cars during a blistering summer afternoon or the thunderbolt illustrations of Peter Parker’s spider-sense. Whenever he tried jumping back his body, the refracted lines lash out at him, pushing him back into the air. Running his head into a wall isn’t working, and John thought doing the same thing and expecting a different result is simply pure insanity. All he could do right now is become a passive viewer of the destruction before him.
The classroom is a mess. The girls are screaming and there’s broken debris everywhere. Most were injured by broken glass. John had the worst of it. He was the nearest when the explosion happened. There’s a shard embedded on his temple, and his arms are drenched in blood. When the smoke somewhat settled down, Ms. Malek saw John’s body and called the uninjured to carry it to the infirmary. Some of the chavs helped. Maybe they thought that it could ease the fuck up they just did.
John could only observe as the next few hours blurred in a rush. Paramedics and the fire department were called, but somehow, the media was the first to come to the scene. John’s body was loaded into a gurney and sent to the hospital. The principal hosted a quick press conference and promised everyone that due punishment will be handed to those responsible. John didn’t finish watching as he followed his body to the town’s only private hospital.
There was crying, of course. John’s mother was there, and even his half-brother Matt, who barely gave a fuck about him was there. Richard cried the most. He’s just that kind of guy. Acts all brash but he’s an emotional marshmallow underneath. Sean didn’t cry, or at least he was trying not to. But those glossy eyes and puckered lips say otherwise.
Sean and Richard were injured and bruised from the explosion, but they stayed even after John’s mom said they could go home. John admired them for that. They might act like dumbasses together, they really do care underneath all that.
As for John… he’s not quite sure what he is or where exactly the hell he’s at. He knows he’s at the hospital but the world outside looks different. The skies outside are a shade of jade, and the sun is in a permanent solar eclipse. And for him, his body has this translucent green shade. Ethereal after images are left whenever he moves. He could fly but only a few inches above the ground. Walls are of no constraint to him. He could see and hear, but somehow lost his sense of smell, taste, and touch. All signs point to him being a ghost.
And there are these lines of refracted light again. Instead of his body, it comes out of everyone else. The lines are different though. Instead of whizzing outwards, it whizzes back in. Like a spinning whirlpool. John gets this attractive force whenever he brushes close to somebody. As if he was being sucked in. He thought it might be dangerous to fall into another person, but he’s thinking how he has no basis to arrive at such a conclusion. He should at least try it out before making these assumptions.
Richard was closer so John chose him first. The closer he floated, the stronger the force became. The lines felt like they coiled on John’s limbs. They took hold of his wrists and pulled him closer to Richard’s body. There was a flash of light that disoriented John momentarily.
It’s hard to put into words but it felt like life had come down and graced his entire existence once more. He could feel the dried cold tears from his eyes, the snot bubbling in his nose, and the cold air of the hospital. He could taste his saliva, and smell the sterile alcohol that filled the hospital ward. He used to feel lightless, but now? The weight is back in his limbs. The ground is in contact with his feet. John previously said it was hard to put into words, but he could think of one right now. Alive. He was alive once more. The only conundrum right now is that he’s alive in a body not his own.
John looked at his fingers. His were somewhat long and sharp. These ones are stubby and large. His fingernails are square-shaped and haven’t been cut for some time. There’s dirt underneath them. Their sandy texture rolling underneath his nails annoys him to no end.
John’s vision is a bit shorter. There are strands of dirty brown hair obscuring his vision, as opposed to his raven black color. He could list a hundred changes, small and large, each one amazing him at this newfound exciting power. He could be anyone, anywhere, anytime he wanted. But the engrossing truth right now is - he is Richard. Richard, his best friend since their elementary days. Richard! The guy cusses at him whenever he beats him at Smash and the guy who cried for him after the accident. He’s in the body of someone he’s known throughout his life, and he’s experiencing the world through their skin and eyes. The realization was just too much that John was taken aback. He sat back in a chair and wiped away Richard’s -err… his cold sweat.
“Richard, are you okay?” Sean said. He heard Richard shuffle his feet and pick on his fingernails. He thought he was pretty distraught over losing his friend to a coma.
“I’m Richard,” John said using his friend's somewhat raspy voice.
“What?”
“I’m Richard!”
“Yes, you are Richard. Tell me if you are losing your mind or something. I could call a doctor,”
John grabbed Sean by the shoulders, which is easy since he is crouching down. He looked straight at his dark brown eyes and explained,
“I’m not actually Richard. It’s me, John! I turned into this green translucent ghost and I have this power that lets me possess other people’s bodies,” Sean watched documentaries about mental asylums and conspiracy nuts before. Richard is doing the same crazy bawl.
“That’s it, I’m calling the nurse,”
“You fucked your half-cousin,” John watched this trope play out before. Tell something only John would know about Sean, and he’ll believe him. It feels kind of amazing that he’s actually experiencing it. “It was the 4th of July. We were on Howler’s bridge. Richard was out cold in the truck you borrowed from your father. You were drunk and you told me,”
“Stop!” Sean put his index on John’s lip. “I know where this is going and I can’t believe John told you about it. I’d be angry at the asshole if he’s not in a coma right now,”
John swept away Sean’s finger. If Sean won’t believe him, might as well do what Richard wouldn’t. John stood high and mighty, then unzipped his pants. He pulled down everything and laid his entire package for Sean to see. It’s a little bit cold, and that might be influencing the size.
“It’s me, John. Do you honestly think Richard would show you his dick and ass?” John turned around, bent over, and slapped his bubbly pimpled ass. He turned around once more and spun his dick round and round like a helicopter.
“No,” Sean laid his palm on his head. His eyes are wide open with bewilderment. He was laughing, but there’s some crying mixed in there too. “But it’s something I could see John doing if he could control other people’s bodies.
Sean ran forward and hugged John tightly. It’d be a touching moment if John’s dick wasn’t pressing at Sean’s leg.
“Dude, my dick! I mean, Richard’s dick. Ow- !”
“Oh, sorry,” Sean backed down and John wore his pants back. “Ho- how the hell did this happen?”
John explained everything. From the moments after the explosion, the weird world outside, and the experience of possessing Richard’s body. Sean was keen enough to take notes like it was an interview. A notable trait of his considering he’s part of the journalist club.
“Can’t you go back to your old body?” Sean asked.
“Believe me, I’ve tried. But there is this stupid thing pushing me out. Do you have any idea about this?”
“I didn’t believe in ghosts or other dimensions before this day. I don’t have a fucking clue. But I have some contacts interested in this stuff. I could research about this stuff. Could take days but I’ll get you something. How about you? What are you going to do now?”
“I’d kill for a sandwich right now,”
“Understandable. We haven’t eaten since this morning. But after that?”
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
