Changes (A Body Thief Tale)
© Flamebyrd, Apr 99
flamebyrd@hotmail.comThis probably not technically a spec. It's a story inspired by Tale of the Body Theif. In other words, no vampires. Sorry.
Spoilers: None, unless you count TotBT.
Text in italics is thoughts.
Jonathon woke up with a headache.
Ouch... What was I doing last night? I can't remember - I must have been drinking pretty badly then... but... I can't even recall going to a party... a pub? No. I can't remember a thing. What's wrong with me... I'm 38, that's a bit young for Alzheimer's, so why...?
He pulled himself out of bed and headed for the medicine cabinet for a panadol, sweeping black hair out of his eyes.
Black hair?!?
He ran to the mirror. Young, young face - not quite 19. Black hair, black eyes... medium to tall height...
Jonathon almost fainted.
But I'm... I'm...
He took a deep breath and shut his eyes. "I know who I am. I think. My name is Jonathon Satterthwaite, I'm 38, I have blonde-brown hair and hazel eyes. When I open my eyes I'm going to see this person." He looked back into the mirror.
No change.
He stared at the image in the mirror. It looked vaguely familiar...
+++++++++Flashback++++++++
"Hey!"
Jonathon turned. "Yes?"
"Hey, I'm moving in, could you give me a hand?"
It was a young, dark haired man. Probably a Goth, thought Jonathon, critically.
"Umm, sure. What's wrong?"
"I can't turn the gas on."
"There's a switch behind the pantry door - Just take a look and you should be able to find it."
"Thanks. You're just great."
Jonathon could feel brooding eyes on his back as he shut his own door.
+++++++++End Flashback++++++++
But... how can I be him? I'm not him, I'm me... how does this work? What's happened?
He backed out of the bathroom, suddenly dizzy.
"Alright, so I'm in someone else's body. I can live with this.. But how can I be in someone else's body?! This isn't some kind of Gothic horror novel, this is real life! It's not possible!"
He thumped himself down on the couch, and regarded the setup of the room critically. Something was wrong...
This isn't my apartment. The shape is wrong.
"Okay, so I'm in someone else's apartment - only all the furniture is mine."
This isn't happening.
"I have a headache."
He thumped himself down on the couch, holding his head in his hands.
Several days later
He heard a knock. "Come in."
Leanne entered.
Leanne. She was everything to me once. My girlfriend. My love. I was going to marry her.
Only, now...
Leanne had taken it rather well, considering. But the relationship wasn't the same.
"Jonathon..." She stopped. "For heaven's sake, Jon, don't wear black, you look positively Gothic!"
He blinked and looked down at himself. He was dressed in black jeans and a black shirt. Definitely Gothic, especially with hair of that colour...
He sighed, miserably. "I used to wear these clothes all the time... I didn't look Gothic then, just dark..."
She took his hand. "Jonathon..."
He wrenched himself away.
"It's not okay. You keep saying it's okay, but it's NOT! My world's been turned upside down; nothing's the same... I can't even see my own face in the mirror any more! It's all gone wrong, Leanne, and I don't know how to fix it..." he trailed off, staring at the floor.
"Jon..."
"We don't even know why! We just know it happened. We don't know why it was done, how it was done, who did it, whose body I am in..."
He sighed. "I don't know what to do, Leanne. I just don't know what to do." He paced for a few minutes, and then sat, staring out the window.
The room fell silent.
Leanne sat for as long as she could bear, and then slowly stood and headed for the door.
She turned around to look at him, to see if he noticed her.
All she saw was a gorgeous youth, dressed all in black like he was at a funeral, staring out at a dark, uncaring sky.
End