Numerous Body Swap Stories

In Deeper by Sean Mitchell

I smirked as the two cops ran past me. I caught an eye of one and he frowned as he past me panting heavily.

I'd only been able to do this for a few weeks, take over the bodies of others. Hell I'd gotten myself in so much trouble, but I knew nobody would be able to catch me--what chance did they have?

But let me tell you about how I got here in the first place.

I was a marine, back from active duty--but *broken and not serviceable* as one of my officers described me. That hurt and I felt useless. What caused it?

A month ago, a message came through. They told me that my parents had died. I remember my gut twisting, a desperate feeling of guilt while I repeatedly questioned myself--could I have saved them?

The days that followed left me numb, useless. I started to make mistakes, finding myself distracted, feeling so empty. After a few days, along with a visit from the shrink I was discharged and sent home to 'tie up the loose ends'.

Being their sole beneficiary, I found myself with a lot of money. I knew, no matter how much there was it would never bring them back.

I moved to New York. I could easily afford a large apartment, but I chose something more realistic.

Although the pain of my loss lessened as the weeks passed, I still felt incomplete without my family; to the extent I even found it hard to talk and meet people--I'd become a recluse without even realising it.

From my window I used to watch the people on the street below. The couples and families, I wondered what it would be like--to feel whole again.

On one of my rare trips out I was approached by a man. He told me there was a way to recapture that love and connection again.

What he promised seemed like a fairytale--a way to become any person. I didn't believe him of course, then he gave me a practical demonstration. My eyes popped as I watched him slip inside a teenager at a bus stop. I was sold! But then he told me the cost; all that I had, money and the apartment. It didn't bother me that I'd effectively be homeless with no money. Why did I need them if I could be someone else?

---

So why were these cops chasing me? It was simply bad timing. I'd just pulled myself free of a Justin, an up and coming executive and my favourite. He was unconscious in my arms, the cops were just passing and spotted me. They glanced at the expensive suit and must have thought I'd mugged him. I had, sort of, although it wasn't for the money, but his identity.