"Uh, hello? Can I, uh, help you?"
You're greeted at the front door by Sarah, Dana's younger sister. You're a little glad it was her as opposed to one of her parents as they're a little overprotective of their kids and might object to someone coming to see one of them at a time they might consider "late" (it was really only around 8:30).
"Um, hi. Yeah, my name's Fatima and I was just wondering if Dana Pak lives here? I really need to talk to her about something."
Sarah gives you a rather queer look but relents. "Yeah, I'll go get her."
With that, the door closes and you're left outside wondering how exactly you're going to break things to Dana. You guess that maybe being straight-up about the whole thing is the best solution, although that's more due to a lack of any other ideas more than anything. After a minute or two, the front door opens again and you're greeted by Dana herself.
"Um, yeah? You, uh, need to talk to me?"
You nod and start. "Uh, yeah. My name's Fatima. Fatima Zahedi. And I think I can tell you about what happened to David Johnson."
"What?!" Dana looks at you wide-eyed, "How do you... what are you talking about?"
"Look, I know that he's been missing for about a day and you've obviously noticed it." you say, "I know what happened to him, but..." you look around a little, "But I can't really tell you HERE. I need some privacy. Is it alright if we head inside?"
============================================================================ ==
A couple minutes later, you're sitting in Dana's room, the door locked. Luckily, her parents had gone out to some kind of party and wouldn't be back until late. Sarah was... doing whatever, all you were really concerned about was that she didn't seem to really care what you and her sister were up to. Dana, for her part, looks at you sternly before finally speaking up.
"Alright, what the HELL were you talking about out there? How do you even know David? Or ME for that matter?"
"Just calm down and I'll explain the whole thing." you say. You give it a minute before you start your story, "Friday afternoon, David went with Caleb out into the forest and over to the military base. They snuck in but when David decided to trash an old warehouse, Caleb wimped out and ran off." You notice Dana eyeing you with a mix of astonishment and skepticism but continue on, "David, however, decided to carry on and began smashing up everything he could get his hands on. Then there was an explosion and a fire and David hasn't been seen since."
Dana just looks at you in shock, shaking her head. "How do... how the hell--?! How do you even KNOW all of this or us or... or... I don't know! Who ARE you, really?"
"Dana..." you start, "it's me. It's David."
"No way." Dana states defiantly, "No friggin' way. Whoever you are, you better tell me the truth or so help me..."
"I'm NOT lying Dana!" you state defensively, "I'm really David Johnson. I'm a senior at Eastman High School, my parents are John and Martha, Mary's my older sister and is at college, Joanna's my younger sister and is Sarah's best friend and I once pissed myself during 6th grade."
"Oh god." Dana says, "David... it's really... HOW?!"
"It's a long story." you sigh, "See, the reason I decided to head over to the military base was because I was just... I was PISSED."
"About what?"
"I don't really know." you shake your head, "Everything I guess. About Cussler's stupid test, about my dad constantly riding my ass about everything, about y--well, about EVERYTHING I guess. So I kinda went into the forest with Caleb to blow off some steam but just--talking to him just made me even MORE pissed so I ran off towards the base. Caleb followed me and we hopped the fence but like I said, when we went into an old warehouse, he freaked when I decided to trash it and ran out on me. And that's when it got all fucked up."
You take a minute to gather yourself before continuing.
"See, there was this blue stuff in this glass container. I wound up dropping it and it splashed all over me and I just, I dunno, I blacked out or something. I woke up and I guess whatever was in the container must've been combustible because there had been an explosion and everything was on fire. I tried to run out but as I started, I started melting or something like that."
Dana looks, you don't know if it's horrified or just completely weirded out. You ignore her has best you can, though.
"I... I turned into this pile of goo similar to the stuff that was in the container. I could move around, see and hear, though, and I managed to make my way out. I was in the woods and then, I kid you not, a WOLF came and tried to make me it's dinner. But when it swallowed me I, I dunno, I took control of it. I was able to move around, open it's mouth, even THINK like it. It was like possession, I guess. I decided, though, that if I could do this, I didn't want to be stuck as an animal. I was still a person after all, I guess I was anyway."
"So, uh, you went into town?" Dana asks.
"Yeah." you nod, "But I was still sore over everything from earlier so I decided that I just wanted to get away from everything for a little bit. So I headed across town over to Westside--"
"Oh right, yeah they're having that festival over there, right?"
You nod again, "Yeah, that's where I got this." you say, gesturing towards your new home, "Her name's Fatima and she, uh, she was the closest person I could get in without being spotted." you lie a little but you don't think Dana needs to know that you picked her out of fascination. "And now... here I am."
"Alright so let me get this straight." Dana says, "You got pissed, broke into and defaced government property, got turned into... something, and now you're in the body of some girl that goes to Westside."
"Uh, yeah." you say, "I guess that's the Cliff's Notes version."
Dana just sits there for a minute, seemingly trying to process all this. Out of nowhere, though, you see tears start to well up in her eyes, "David... what the FUCK." with that she begins crying and throws herself at you, embracing you in a hug, "I was so worried about you! When Caleb told me what I happened, I thought--oh god--I thought you were dead! But, you're not. You're here, and... and..."
"I know, I know." you say as you hug her back and stroke her hair. After a couple of minutes, she manages to pull herself together and sit up on her bed.
"Heh." she laughs, more out of nervousness than anything, "This is... wow. This is so weird."
"Yeah."
"So, uh, how long are you gonna stay in her?" Dana asks, "In this Fatima girl? Can't you just, like, show back up at school and go 'Oh don't worry, everything's fine?'"
You shake your head "no". "I... don't think it works like that. I think I'm stuck in this goo form. The only way I can really live a normal life is by taking over other people... although I guess that's not really normal, either."
"Aren't you worried that's a little immoral, too?"
"Yeah, a little." you reply, "But I mean, what am I supposed to do? I can't just stay as a pile of goo, I don't want to be someone's pet as an animal... I wish there was another way but this is really the only option I have."
Dana just sighs but continues talking, "So, uh, why not just take over someone at school then? Or even Joanna or Sarah or just... someone closer?"
You're a little surprised that she'd so blatantly toss her sister's name out like that but you brush it off. "I dunno, I might. Maybe. But right now it's just... I need to get away from everything for a while. But I mean, we can still talk and hang out, there's nothing stopping me from hanging out with the old crew after all. And there's nothing really stopping you from coming over and hanging out with me on the other side of town, I mean you might make some new friends." You look down, now, a tad bit sheepishly. "Plus... I mean I've only been her for a day but I'm ENJOYING being Fatima. Her friends seeming interesting, getting used to a new environment is DEFINITELY interesting, and..." you sigh, "It's kind of nice having parents that are actually supportive."
There's an awkward, uncomfortable silence, and then Dana speaks up again. "Well what about your family?"
"I'm not sure if I'm really ready to see them yet. Maybe in a few days. I mean, if you were so shocked about what happened to me, imagine how they'd react?"
"Alright, but why come to me instead of Caleb?" she asks.
"Because," you start, "I just think you're better at keeping secrets. And you're a little more understanding and sensible. I was thinking about telling him first but then, I figured he had probably told you about the accident and I dunno... I don't really want this getting out. If he told you, and I'm guessing now that I was right, he might tell other people about what I was doing now."
"Yeah, but he's your best friend, David!" Dana states, "Don't you think you owe it to him to hell him? Don't you think he deserves to know what's going on?"  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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