Shudder - The College Years Ch. 08

When the doorbell had chimed, Nancy Johnson had been delighted. She was eager for someone to break up the monotony of her day. Recent events had caused her online business to waste away to nothing, so she had no job. For so long her only hobby had been keeping something between her legs, but that had waned when their uninvited guest had packed up and moved to be closer to her son and daughter. And now it seemed like she was trying to rediscover herself. She needed something, a job, a project, she didn't know what. But right now, she needed to answer the door.

When she did, a raven haired beauty with a tight, white button shirt and slacks greeted her. She wore glasses and didn't wait for an invitation as she waltzed right into the house carrying her phone and a black attaché case and headed for the dining room. She knew the way having been there once before.

"Won't you come in?" Nancy called after the woman. She watched Connie Kendrick's hips sway and admired her figure. Nancy would love to have that woman's gait. She would even more love to be Connie's age again.

"Hm, oh, sorry," Connie said in half hearted response while she looked at her phone. "Just looking over some recent test results of a few experiments I've put your children on."

Nancy nodded as she joined Connie, who had already taken a seat, in the dining room. "Are Derek and Aubrey behaving themselves?"

Connie chuckled at this. "When I can keep them on task, they can. Even with keeping them apart their libidos are still high and they have to sate them at least once a day. I don't know how all of you managed a week in one house."

"It didn't go well," Nancy reminded her.

"I know. Sorry. Look, I'll get right down to it. We've discovered some new information. That, coupled with the testing and equipment I've gathered, I feel I'm ready to run a new kind of experiment, but I'll need your help."

Nancy's face registered mild shock. "I've told you everything I know, on more than one occasion. You've had me fill out all that family history and write out my whole life story, even drilling me for rather...intimate details, which have become quite sordid due to recent events."

Connie smirked at this. "The more information we had on you and your family, the better. When this all started, I needed all the facts I could get because this was uncharted territory. And now, thanks to some digging, I think I know what ties this all together, and why it makes you my only known candidate for the next stage of experimentation."

Connie pulled out a folded piece of paper from her case. She unfolded it and placed it in front of Nancy, who looked at it curiously. She saw what appeared to be a family tree, with a name at the top that split and flowed down, creating more and more names as it did so. She didn't recognize any until she got close to the bottom. In the right center was her grandmother's maiden name. Below that, she saw her own name, Nancy Johnson, and underneath that, the names of her two children, Derek and Aubrey.

Before Nancy could ask, another piece of paper was unfolded before her, this one much larger, and with many more names on it. Connie began to explain, "The first piece of paper is your family tree. It took some doing to track all that down, records being what they are, but we are almost one hundred percent sure of its accuracy. The other paper is Nevyn's sexual conquests, both the person he slept with, and the person he was possessing during the act.

Nancy's eyes bulged at this. "There...there are so many names here."

"Yes," Connie agreed. "He's been a busy boy. And I'm sure there are more, these are just the ones he can remember up till now. For months I've told him this was his only job, to remember as many people as he could that he's been in and fucked over the last two centuries. I speculate we have maybe ten percent of the actual number. In that respect, we lucked out, because look at this name right here." Connie pointed to one near the top of Nevyn's list. "Recognize it?"

Nancy felt like she did but didn't know where. She felt she had seen it recently. Then it dawned on her. She had seen it at the top of the other list, the one that was her family tree. "I don't...what does this mean?"

"It means the genetic requirement for hopping out of your body has been passed down by the one man who started it all. What do you say? Want to help me out?"

"I...what?" Even though she knew what Connie was saying, Nancy couldn't find the words.

"I mean, we can pay you. I won't lie, this will be a little dangerous, but it will go a long way in understanding the foreign element that is grafted onto your family's DNA."

"Will it help my son?" Nancy asked.

Connie slowly nodded. "I'm sure of it. If I can replicate it in you, I'm sure I'll be able to soon for Derek."

"Then that's all I need to know. Will it take long?"

"I don't think so. All the equipment should be ready in a few days. I also need to bring Nevyn in and let him know about all this. I'm actually looking forward to that. He's been pestering me for news and I think this will hit him like a ton of bricks."

Nancy's eyes lit up at this. "I would like to be there for that?"

Connie gave her a bemused look. "I don't have a problem with that. Thursday night and we'll do it Friday morning, and then we'll see if you have what it takes to hop out of that body."

"How long will I need to be there?" Nancy asked. She wasn't sure why though. She really had no responsibilities other than to be there for her husband, Richard. She wondered if she should tell him about this. If it was dangerous, maybe he didn't need to know.

"Well, if it works, I'd like you there a lot more. But there will be breaks in between. This first time, let's just say two weeks. Will you and your husband be okay with that?"

"Yes, but...here's my one request. We don't tell Richard about any of this yet. I don't want him to worry about me."

Connie shook her head at this. It was never good when a married couple kept secrets from one another. She couldn't judge though, because her own marriage was hanging by a thread these days and would now be defined as an open marriage. Still, she would have said anything to get Nancy to agree to this, so the only words out of her mouth were, "Whatever you say."

That meeting had been three days ago, and now Nancy Johnson was sitting across from Nevyn and trying not to laugh maliciously in his direction. She did allow a smirk, however, as she took in Nevyn's obvious discomfort. For as many awkward and embarrassing moments that he had put her through, it was nice to see him struggle to grasp how his past actions had put him in this predicament. He had sown the seeds, literally and figuratively, that had brought him to this point. He had created this problem by possessing her great, great, great, great grandfather, and now a part of Nevyn, the part that passed down the mysterious body hopping genetic code, was in her and her children.

Nevyn had not know this when he invaded Nancy's body, but regardless, she would never forgive him for taking up residence inside her for months and pretending to be her. Nevyn had been mother to her kids and lover to her husband. He had made her body do so many sordid things, and with people like her daughter's best friend, Bekka. Thankfully he had erased all memory of it in her mind. But she did remember how he had tormented her after moving on from her body. Stuck in the body of her son, Nevyn had pushed the lust that was a residual effect of his possessing her. But now he looked broken. She liked him that way. She hoped she would get a chance to push him down that dark path the way he had pushed her. But she also hoped that he wouldn't be in her son's body if she ever got the chance.

Nancy's thoughts of revenge temporarily halted as Nevyn gave a detailed account of the events that led up to the birth of Patrick Briar. Nevyn had swapped in and out of Patrick's parents, Ned and Bethany, during the first two years of their marriage. It was apparent that through one or both of them, Nevyn had passed on the mysterious element that made body hopping possible. Nancy couldn't help but wonder if he had passed on any other genetic traits in the process. Were they connected in more ways than just a dormant ability to possess other human beings? And then she had a terrifying thought. Had it been passed on before? Nevyn had no doubt been intimate with thousands of people throughout his lifetime. Were there others out there with the same genetic anomaly? Nancy's thoughts drifted to what that could mean. There was still so much to learn, and she was glad she now got to be a part of it.

The moment Connie had asked her to be a test subject to temporarily leave her body, a thrill had run through her. Nancy was in her mid forties and was experiencing a bit of a mid life crises. She seemed to see new wrinkles every day in the mirror and was regularly dying her hair. Richard, her husband, didn't have any complaints about her body, or the fact that her boobs seemed to sag a little more each year, but Connie had just given her a chance to feel young again. Connie promised it would only be temporary and for research purposes only. Nancy was glad they could contain it and not have to use anyone outside their circle of people who knew the truth. The last thing she wanted was to use someone like Nevyn had used her.

Nevyn's story was coming to an end, and everyone at the conference table looked on in abject horror as he described the moment he absorbed Bethany Briar's soul. When he had hopped out, she had been an empty, subservient shell. She had given birth, but would never be able to give her son the love he deserved. Ashamed of what he had done, Nevyn had fled, and had tried to make amends for a time by making the world a better place. This got a dark laugh at the table, as they all thought that the opposite had only ever been true. Nevyn's presence was a blight on humanity. The only reason he was tolerated was because he was unwillingly holding Derek's body hostage.

Connie then took a turn explaining to Nevyn her hypothesis, that the mystery element attached to Nevyn's DNA kept being passed down through the generations. The element remained dormant unless it was activated by an electric charge that led the body to believe it was dying. At that point, the soul in danger had a choice of whether or not to escape to another vessel if one was available to it.

Connie finished making notes and then spoke. "Thank you, Nevyn. I know that couldn't have been easy for you, but it confirms a lot of the data I've compiled, and lets me know that we're on the right track." She stood up and extended a hand and a warm smile. Nevyn took it, confused, and then she said, "You may go now. We won't be needing anything further from you for quite some time unless an unforeseen development arises."

Nevyn blinked, then arched an eyebrow, and ventured, "Why does it feel like you're letting me go?"

Connie gave a mirthless laugh. "You're an essential part of this research, Nevyn. None of this would be possible without you. You can continue to live in that apartment and drive the car and have your day to day needs met. I'm just saying right now, you won't need to come in for quite some time until I've figured out a few more things."

Nevyn was still emotionally jarred from sharing that part of his history. Because of this, he didn't quite take in Connie's meaning at first. But slowly, he pieced it together while taking her hand and shaking it. He had given her the confidence to move forward with a human test subject. It wouldn't be him. Who would she test it on then? His eyes flicked to Nancy. Unless there was an unknown player in this game, and there very well could be, it would most likely be her. If it worked, what would be next? It didn't matter because he was already out of the picture. She had just told him as much.

Nevyn swallowed his immense pride as he let go of Connie's hand. "I'd, I'd still like to help out in some way. More of the day to day if I could. I'd like to be on site and..."

"That won't be necessary," Connie said, and her tone had gone cold. "We're doing fine without you."

"Without me," Nevyn repeated, matching her tone.

"That's right," Connie said. "Should we find a safe way to reverse the process that fused you to Derek's body, you'll be the first to know. Otherwise, you are no longer needed on these premises, and we'll stop updating you on our progress until we've reached something helpful."

Nevyn looked angrily at the others still sitting, watching him calmly fight to keep his stake in the game. "You're all okay with this? Don't you think it would be better if I..."

"No," Derek said firmly from Lola's body. "We don't think it would be good for you to do anything except leave. Don't call us. We'll call you." They all stood to leave.

Nevyn played his last card. "Let me be here for this or so help me I'll take this body to the highest building I can find and jump."

Everyone stopped at this, but only Derek turned to respond. "No you won't, Nevyn. You're a survivor. You always have been. You don't care what you have to do or who you have to hurt to survive. But hey, do what you've got to do. Just do it someplace else."

"What makes you think I won't try to sabotage all of this?" Nevyn asked, doing his best to contain his mounting rage.

Derek laughed. "Because, we're the only hope you've got of ever regaining your ability. And also, if we go down, we'll be sure to take you with us."

Nevyn watched as they exited, leaving the door open for him to follow. Their attitudes had changed and now he feared the worst. His paranoia told him they no longer wanted to give him his gift back. They wanted to leave him trapped in one body that would grow old and die. He couldn't let this happen, but they had effectively neutered him. He was completely dependent on them for everything. He seethed as he saw himself out. As he walked past the front desk, he glanced at Bekka who didn't look at him, but was humming softly to herself with a large smile on her face. Regardless of what Connie said, these people were not his family, they were his enemies. His mind was already contemplating numerous hostile courses to take, but he knew his best option was to wait. The twins had made so many mistakes already, he would wait for them to make the one that gave him the chance he needed.

Connie, Nancy, the twins and Bekka reconvened after lunch, this time in one of the labs surrounded by glass walls. It contained a mobile hospital bed surrounded by monitors and IV's. Connie began giving orders to the twins as she scrubbed her hands in a sink. "Pay attention you two. Things could get serious here and I could need your help at a moment's notice."

As Bekka watched Connie prepare to jump start the mystery particle inside of Nancy, she was having second thoughts about her role. Connie had been preparing Bekka for quite some time for this very thing. Bekka knew everything, wanted to help, wanted to keep the secret, and because of Nevyn, could communicate with the person who had taken control of her body. Bekka had agreed to be the guinea pig when the time came, but had not thought it would be Aubrey's mom that would be insider her body.

Normally, the very idea of being possessed by Nevyn, who had done it multiple times to her in the past, or the twins, was enough to make her very horny. But now, as she watched Nancy come into the room wearing a hospital gown, arousal was replaced with trepidation. Bekka knew that Nevyn had purged most of what he had made Nancy do while he was inside her, including the time that Nevyn had used Nancy's body to seduce Bekka. Nancy had been made aware of the indiscretion after the fact, but it was one thing to hear about it, and another thing to remember being there.

If the experiment was successful and Nancy took over Bekka's body, Nancy would have access to every thought and memory Bekka had ever had. There was nothing she could block off from her. Even worse, the plan was for Bekka to maintain a backseat consciousness while Nancy controlled her body, much like she had done while Nevyn and Derek hopped her. That meant that Bekka couldn't even think about their illicit hook up, because then Nancy would for sure search out the memory in her mind, find it, and become furious with her.

Bekka tried to sound pragmatic as she said, "Guys, maybe we're rushing this. I mean, this feels like it came together pretty quickly. Should we maybe take a step back and make sure this is the best way to..."

Connie cut her off. "It might seem hasty to you, Bekka. But trust me, it is not. This method that I'm using has always been the way I would facilitate a soul exchange ever since I got involved, but up until now I didn't have hope of duplicating the process through scientific means. Now we have biology on our side with the Johnson family DNA, or at least Nancy's side of it. There's a chance this won't work, but if it doesn't, we'll try again using other safe ways."

Bekka gritted her teeth and tried to look cool, and not nervous or disappointed that she had not been able to buy herself more time. "Maybe she should transfer into Lola?"

The twins both shot her an appalled look and Aubrey said what they were both thinking. "That girl is unstable enough. And besides Bekka, you are the only one that can talk to Mom while she's inside you. You can actually help her along and make sure she doesn't make some of the mistakes I made."

Nevyn had known about Bekka's kink for his ability when he had first possessed Aubrey. When he hopped Bekka the first time, he had let her maintain her awareness. This was apparently something he had never done before, but it had seemed to set the default for whenever she was hopped now. It was the thing Bekka loved the most, feeling others use her body while she was a passenger, but now with Nancy, it was probably going to get super awkward.

"And she'll have the manual," Connie added, looking at Nancy as she settled herself on the bed, trying to maintain her modesty as the gown tried to reveal parts she would rather keep private. "I'll expect you to read it cover to cover and apply it. Remember, this first session you'll only be out of your body for a few hours. You'll do a physical, take some notes, and then you'll come back here and we'll wake you up."

"Yeah, how's that work again?" Nancy asked as her nerves began to do somersaults.

"It's just a medically induced coma," Connie soothed. "We'll give you some anesthetic to put you under, then I'll administer an IV drip that will take you even deeper, slowing your heart and vital signs. Then I'll attach these electrodes," she held up a small, white disc that had a wire that led to an ominous looking machine. "They'll go on a few key places on your body. The goal is to trick your body into thinking it's dying, without actually killing you. Don't worry, the setting is very low and you're surrounded by life saving equipment. The second after your body is shocked though, Bekka will touch you, and your soul should hop into her, which is something you have to subconsciously want, remember. Then we turn your body over to these machines that will keep you breathing and nourished while your soul is in Bekka."

"You make it sound so simple," Nancy said with forced laughter.

"Only because you got the genes for it. The real trick will be pulling it off in someone without Nevyn's DNA."

Nancy grimaced. "Ugh, I wish that part was erased from my memory."

Connie went over each of the machines with the twins, making sure they knew the purpose of each and how to monitor them. She made some final adjustments, then made the announcement. "I think we're ready to begin. Anything anyone would like to say before Mrs. Johnson goes to sleep?"