Mission 28: Body Theft [Archive]

Phard

September 23rd, 2009, 12:58 pm

The morning sunlight filtered into the inn bedroom. Alex heard Bardus grumble and turn over. He grinned; Bardus was never an early riser. Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, he made to stand up. However, his legs buckled and he fell back, sitting on the bed.

Cramps, he thought. Trying again, he found he could walk just fine. Walking over to Bardus’ bed, he shook his friend awake. “Time to wake up grandpa,” he teased.

Bardus waved him away and covered his head with his pillow. Sighing Alex changed into his normal clothes and headed for the meal area downstairs. A loud creaking staircase announced Alex’s arrival, and to his surprise, he found the area empty. Almost empty. There was an old looking woman sitting at a table, her back turned to him.

Cautiously, he made his way to her. Where is everyone? Its breakfast time. He cleared his throat and said, “Excuse me?”

Nothing. The woman didn’t respond, but sat, staring out of the window. ”Okay, she could be deaf, makes sense.” With that, he tapped her on the shoulder.

The woman spun around with the agility of a ranger. Before Alex could react, she threw a circular glasslike object, and it made contact with Alex’s forehead. It bounced and landed on the hard wood floor, not shattering. Alex frowned, rubbing his forehead in pain.

“What was that all about?” he asked angrily.

The old man smiled, her wrinkled face creasing even more, pronouncing each age line on her face. Then the small glass ball she had thrown at him exploded.

A breeze picked up and tossed Alex’s hair about. The wind howled against the door, and Alex heard the distant sound of thunder. Thunder? It was sunny in the bedroom!

The old woman began saying something. Alex couldn’t understand a word she was saying. It sounded more like a chant than anything else. Alex was about to call to Bardus, when all the air in his lungs was sucked out. He fell over, on all fours and began gasping for breath. His vision began to blacken on the edges, and he could only see meters in front of him. Just as he thought he was about to black-out, he was able to breathe. He clutched at his throat, gulping down large amounts of air. His vision returned, but there was something wrong. He could only see several meters in front of him, and everything seemed a dull grey colour. He tried to stand up, but didn’t have the strength to lift his body. Looking up, he saw the old woman stand up fluidly. She knelt down close to his face and grinned. What Alex saw made him want to scream, but he couldn’t find the breath to do so.

The old woman no longer had her own face. She had his. Alex was looking at the female version of himself, young, attractive, and bizarrely, having long hair. The woman swished is back and forward experimentally.

“What, have… you done?” Alex croaked. His voice was no longer smooth, but raspy and faint. The woman simply smiled and walked away.

“No, come back!” Alex cried. But it was too late. The woman had closed the tavern door behind her.

Alex looked at his hands. They resembled two blurry branches. He felt at his face. He felt wrinkles and scars. Gone was his smooth, clear skin. He tried to stand again, but to no avail. His arms wobbled under his weight, and his legs were of no use. Then, he began to hear what sounded like thunder booming over head. He glanced at the staircase and saw the grey outline of a body.

“Sefen? Bardus called.

Alex stuck his hand in the air.

Bardus hurried over. “There you are, thank goodness. I knew you had left but was worried where you had- WHOA!"

Bardus felt a hot flush as he looked at the creature on the floor. It was an old shriveled man who seemed to be gasping for breath. “I’m sorry old man, I was looking for a friend. Here, let me help you up.”

Bardus put his hands under Alex’s armpits and dragged him upward. Sitting him down, he asked, “Have you seen a young man come through here?”

Alex grinned inwardly. The ever helpful Bardus. “It’s me, Alex said.

Bardus looked confused. “Excuse me?

“Bardus it’s me! My real name is Alexander Cyrus. You have been my companion for as long I can remember, it’s me!

Bardus stroked his chin in amazement. ”But how?”

“I got out of bed the wrong side this morning, that’s for sure.”

Bardus gave a nervous laugh. “You’re so old!” he exclaimed.

“That’s not all. I feel weak. Really weak. Like I’ve only got a day left to live.”

Bardus looked at his friend, a concerned look on his face. “How did this happen?"

Alex told him that an old woman threw a glass ball at his head, and when it exploded his body transformed. Bardus looked as if he didn’t believe him, until he saw the shards of glass. He picked them up.

“Just as I thought. It was a crystal ball. No doubt imbued with some sort of power. It claimed you as a target and that old woman had to do nothing but wait. These crystal shards however, will be an asset for us.”

“How so?" Alex asked, coughing.

“Magical crystal balls leave a trail. A scent that they can pick up on. People who sell crystal balls never touch them with their hands, so the first person to touch it is the person who bought it. For this one, it was the old lady."

“How do you know no-one else touched this particular one first?"

“Take a look and see." Bardus gave Alex the largest crystal shard and he looked at it. Despite his bad eyesight, he could make out the outlines on buildings seen through the perspective of a person. For the most part, he only saw the floor and the feet of the person, as they were keeping their head low.

“I can see-?”

“What they are seeing, yes. These shards act as a kind of portal, showing us what the owner is looking at. This person obviously didn’t know about this.

Alex nodded. “Well then, let’s go get my body back.”

He made to stand up, but lost his balance and toppled over. Crashing on the floor, he cried out in pain. Bardus sprang up and helped Alex back up.

"Patience Sefen, patience. You're lucky you didn't break a bone just now. Here, I'll support you."

Bardus put Alex's arm around his neck and lifted him off the chair. Together, they hobbled out of the inn.

The sun was strengthening, warming Alex's now old body. He tried his best to shuffle along, but Bardus had to support him, and stop him from falling. Alex looked at the crystal shard again, but could only see cobblestone and a pair of feet. This person, whoever they were, was obviously keeping their head bowed low.

"They can't have gotten far," Alex managed to croak. His throat was tightening with each breath he took.

"How will I know what she looks like?" Bardus asked.

Alex smiled. "Just look for the female version of me, and you've got it. That's what you always wanted isn't it?"

Bardus almost dropped Alex on purpose. Even in these situations, he found a way to make a joke. They continued walking for some time, but couldn't see where she had gotten to. The shard still showed her walking someone in the city.

"The city is too big. We need to split up."

"Riiiight. Because you can easily confront a potentially dangerous woman on your own."

Alex sighed. He had forgotten about his frail condition. “Well, let’s just keep looking.

Half an hour of mindless roaming ensued, and they had all but given up hope. When-

“Sefen!” Bardus hissed. “Look over there!”

Alex followed Bardus’ gaze, but with his poor eyesight, was unable to see. “I can’t see that far Bardus, my eyesight is terrible.”

“Then wait here, I’ll deal with her myself.” Bardus gently lay Alex down against a wall, and he managed to stand against it, albeit leaning heavily. While his senses were dull, the one that seemed to be most sharp was his hearing. Alex heard Bardus call out loudly, and then he heard the sound of a small explosion. He wondered if Bardus was attacked, but then he heard Bardus give a roar.

The sound of metal on metal sounded, and Alex knew they had begun to battle. Bardus carried his sword with him all the time, and was obviously being put to use. Alex, tired from walking, felt his eyelids droop. Stay awake! he told himself.

The sound of thunder boomed overheard, and Alex felt a small drop of rain land on his shriveled cheek. Before long, it was pouring, and ran pounding against his old body. Lightning flashed, causing Alex to squint in pain. Then, the familiar sensation of all the air leaving his lungs happened.

He fell on the ground, hearing a crack from his arm as he made contact with the stone. He tried to roar in pain, but had no breath to do so. His vision began to fade, and before long, everything turned dark.

Then white.

“You aren’t ready to leave.”

Alex gasped, his throat tight, as if he had been strangled. He touched his face and gave a sigh of relief. Smooth and clear. He looked around and saw a small crowd looking at him in fright. He didn’t blame them, they had just seen a man transform from old to young. He turned to Bardus and saw him kneeling next to the old woman. Alex stood up massaging his neck. He hurried over to his friend.

“Bardus, are you okay?”

Yes he was. He was looking at the old frail woman. Alex’s eyes widened in shook. Bardus’ sword stuck from her chest, the ground soaked in blood.

“I don’t know what came over me. I will never be able to forgive myself for this. I killed my best friend.”

Alex didn’t understand. He killed his best friend? That doesn’t make sense! Then it dawned on him. When Bardus killed the woman, she was still in Alex’s form.

“No you didn’t Bardus, you saved his life. You saved his life."

Bardus began to cry.

[complete]