Shudder - The College Years Ch. 09

There are many stories that will go untold in the last chapter of Derek and Aubrey's time at college, at least for now. The thing to know is that they would not walk across a stage and receive a diploma while a dean moved their tassel to the other side of their cap. They would however succeed in the reason they had ventured there to begin with, but only fleetingly, and at great cost.

Most companies utilize safeguards to protect their precious information. Connie Kendrick's pharmaceutical company certainly did, especially when it came to the role she played in research and development. But those safeguards were overseen by people that Connie did not want viewing her top secret project. She felt the safety protocols that were already in place would be sufficient. so with the twins help, no one else oversaw or guarded Connie's digital data on body hopping. In her field, she was a driven, brilliant scientist. But in the realm of cybersecurity, she was dumb as a post.

This ended up helping Nevyn greatly. After being banished from helping Connie and the others, Nevyn reverted to his early years as a body hopper. He blended in, stayed in the shadows, and tried to learn everything he could to survive. Instead of sitting idly by while others gained the power he wanted returned to him, he educated himself with the help of the internet on all things corporate espionage. He wanted to know what was happening in Connie's laboratory, and wanted unfettered access to everything in it.

It took him a few months to gain a level of competency with computers, but once he did, he found that Connie's decision to lower their cyber defenses, or at least keep them updated, had left a sizeable doorway open for him. The amount that Connie had compiled already was impressive, and Nevyn did not know where to begin. On their last meeting, Connie had told him that the mystery element that allowed him to hop bodies had fused with the body he currently resided in. Subsequently, he was stuck in Derek's body, and Connie had told him it was too dangerous to swap him out, at least for the time being, but seemed to think that it might be possible in the future.

Nevyn wanted to believe the hope she had briefly dangled in front of him was true, but he didn't think so. He needed to know all the facts for himself. He wanted to see if getting his power back was possible, even at great risk. He felt like he had nothing to lose at this point, so he didn't care if the reversal process killed him. As long as he was trapped in one body, he already felt like a dead man walking. So the first thing he searched for was the research on the genetic anomaly that he had spread through the Johnson's family tree a couple of centuries ago.

It was here that Nevyn hit a wall that had nothing to do with Connie's security, and would not be one he could circumvent. Almost all of her research notes were gibberish to him. For every line that could be understood, there copious amounts of equations, formulas, and some form of short hand that would take him months or years to try and decypher. He longed for the days when he could just possess someone and instantly piggyback off their knowledge. This was much more tedious. At least all of her files and scans were organized, and she seemed to update them daily. He spent over a week pouring over the notes, jotting down things that he could understand, and skimmed over the rest. The little he did learn still didn't really make sense to him. And the question marks that Connie had put into her notes made Nevyn think that she didn't understand it all that well either.

At the back of the lab, in one of the rooms with opaque walls instead of glass, she had isolated the gene and put it under a microscope. That alone had been an agonizingly slow and painstaking process that needed multiple blood samples from the twins. The genetic anomaly had to be carefully isolated from those samples, and the clock was ticking because it degraded quickly. She was left with a sample of just the gene that could be observed with the naked eye, but was still smaller than a dime. For all that effort, she was still only rewarded with light reflected back at her, same as always. Its atomic structure was hidden from her and remained more a mystery than ever before.

The breakthrough came when she had left a sample out on accident at the end of the day.. When she had returned and entered that room the next morning, she didn't immediately turn on the lights. She had enough light that filtered in from the hall, and so she took a moment to set down her laptop and bag she had brought with her. Her eyes had gone to where the sample lay, and she had seen that only the faintest glow was coming from the container she had sealed it in. She turned on the light and hurried over to look, but even with just her naked eyes, she could tell its brightness had been restored.

An idea formed in Connie's mind, and she turned off the lights again. The sample went back to its moderate glow. She shut the door completely, and the glow disappeared entirely. It was a windowless room, and no light filtered in from outside, just the tiniest crack from under the door. She stumbled back through the room, carefully feeling her way as her eyes tried to adjust using only the tiniest bit of light available. When she stood in front of the sample again, she lowered her face to it. Her eyes strained and tried to make out what she was seeing. She only saw blackness in the container. She picked up the container that held it carefully, studying it through the glass, and tried to position it where it could pick up the tiny portion of light from the hall.

If the light caught it, it would glow again, and that's all her naked eye could see. If the light was not on it, it only saw a dark mass. But there was a small moment in between, less than a fraction of a second, where Connie's eyes thought she perceived something. The only clue as to what this might be Nevyn had copied down from her notes. It simply said, "In between light and dark, it is like I am looking into a mirror."

It was an odd statement, which is why Nevyn had written it down. He would not understand what that meant until decades later. But at present, none of what he could read made any sense to him and was getting him nowhere, so he decided to look elsewhere. Connie was meticulous in how she kept her digital files organized, which Nevyn greatly appreciated after he stumbled upon the journal entries. Connie had made Nevyn keep journal entries, but it had mainly been about his past. Here he found ones from Aubrey, Derek, Bekka, and Nancy. He had known Nancy was getting involved, but didn't fully know how. He clicked on her first one and began to read.

As he dove into what the team had been up to in his absence, his anger grew quickly as he realized they had truly begun to experiment only after getting rid of him. In fact, they had begun using Nancy Johnson as a test subject the very day they had ousted him. But his anger soon was replaced with curiosity as he read more and more. Then it was replaced by surprise as he learned the path they all seemed to be taking, one of moral depravity that he was all too familiar with. And the icing on the cake was when he discovered that Connie had added certain notes to the journals that corresponded with audio files. They were even more extensive than the journals and left everyone except Connie with zero moments of privacy. Nevyn correctly guessed that Connie had bugged each of their phones so that the rest of them could hide nothing from her. Through all of this, it was like he was there with them, during each and every encounter. Over the next several weeks, Nevyn made it his mission to play catch up until he had brought himself into their present and could listen in real time. This is what he learned.

Nancy Johnson was behaving differently. Derek and Aubrey noticed she dropped by the lab more often. Before, it had been by Connie's invite only. Connie had successfully activated the body hopping gene in Nancy, and had begun a comprehensive analysis of her behaviors and new extensive powers. Things had gone well for all of two sessions, and then Nancy had flown the coop. Against Connie's directives, Nancy had abandoned her mission while possessing Bekka's body, and had used it to seduce and fuck Nancy's husband, Richard. Connie had anticipated something like this would happen, but not so soon. She thought Nancy 's age and experience would have kept her more in control of herself, but the gene had won out in the end.

Connie's observations noted a sharp, moral decline, especially early on in the process, but not until it was triggered by lustful desire. Nevyn had been happy to remain out of site and careful not to be discovered, but as soon as he had lusted after another man's bride, he had abandoned all previous good judgment. Derek and Aubrey had been no different, but Connie had thought it was their youth. Nancy's choices had confirmed her theory however. Nancy had been older and wiser, but she too had been lured quickly by the prospect of sexual gratification in the body of one that had not been her own. The body hopping gene allowed one to transfer their soul to a new host, connect to their memories and personality, and control them. But the gene also seemed to come with an unsettling drawback. It corrupted both souls involved. Connie also wondered to what extent it affected those within proximity of it.

Derek and Aubrey had brought their mother back to Connie, who had expressed her disapproval of Nancy's actions. Nancy feigned remorse, and a promise to never do it again. She then wasted no time in offering to possess Bekka again, or anyone for that matter. Nancy was hooked, and like an addict, she quickly began looking for the next fix. As part punishment, and to gather the additional data she had obtained covertly on Nancy's provocative jaunt back home, Connie had told her they'd resume in a month, but she was still to send in her daily journal entries. Nancy had protested, but it had fallen on deaf ears. She looked to her children for support, but they too had been surprised and a little disgusted at her behavior in the way their mother had chosen to use their friend's body to sleep with their father. Nancy found their objection on this matter very hypocritical, and rightfully so.

Nancy returned to her home and the embrace of her husband. Richard's greeting was so exuberant and loving that she burst into tears. This confused him greatly, and he had led her into the kitchen and made her some tea. He thought she was feeling bad about using Bekka's body to sleep with him, or maybe to kiss him briefly, but sensuously with their daughter's mouth, or maybe something else entirely. After she had taken a few sips and dried her tears, he ventured a careful, "What's wrong?"

Nancy gestured to her body with disdain. "This."

Richard hesitated. "You just motioned to yourself. This feels like a trap."

Nancy gave a bitter laugh. "I know what it's like to be young again, Richard. I had forgotten what it was like to not have my joints ache just after waking up in the morning, or to be able to look into a mirror and not be able to see even one wrinkle."

"Yeah, but, I mean..."

"Didn't you like me young, Richard? If I wasn't attached to this old body, I could be anyone. I could be anyone for you, Richard. Wouldn't that be nice?"

Richard swallowed hard. This had to be a trap. "I love you, Nancy. I love your body and..."

"Did you like fucking me while I wore Bekka like a suit?"

"I..." but Richard's mouth was too dry to articulate further.

"I'm tied to this body. I could hop out of into anyone right now. I could hop into our neighbor, that big tittied blonde next door you always get flustered around. I could be her, and then come over here and fuck you silly with those big tits bobbing up and down in your face. But if I leave, this body would die, and I can't...I can't bring myself to..."

Richard no longer cared if it was a trap as reason left him. "Um..why don't you ask for Connie to hook your body up to that life support machine." Nancy's eyebrow arched as her husband made her argument for her. "Then you could, uh, come back here and, um..."

"I could be any woman you've ever wanted to sleep with?"

"Well, I mean, if you want to..."

Nancy laughed loudly. "Richard, I'd go do exactly that right now, but Connie sent me packing. I know she's mad at me for leaving with Bekka's body like that, but I didn't think she'd ground me from body hopping. I want to do it again, RIchard, so bad. It feels so wonderful."

"Maybe one of the kids would..." Richard began.

"They'd barely talk to me when I left. It's rich really. After all they've done, they won't allow their mother to act out just once."

"Well, I'll have a talk with them, don't you worry. You're their mother and you've been through the worst of this whole thing. I think they owe you a bit."

Nancy smiled and hugged him. "Thanks for having my back, honey."

Over the course of the next few days, Richard had talked to his kids. He explained to them their mother was in a funk and it would be great if one of them could babysit her body for awhile so she could feel young again. Derek's response had been a resounding no. He did not wish to be in her body for obvious reasons, and his father did not push the issue. Aubrey, on the other hand, had been more sympathetic. She knew her mother had taken advantage of Bekka's body and used it to seduce her father, but she had been just as bad when she first became a body hopper. And there was also the fact that Bekka's consciousness had most likely been spurring her mother along. Bekka had been angry with Nancy and made that plain to everyone, but Aubrey wondered if Bekka had been behind some of the indiscretion, and was perhaps more mad that Bekka had learned that there were gaps in her memory of the event. After a few more phone calls layered with a few more guilt trips, Aubrey told her father she'd be willing to give her mother an early birthday present.

It had been a couple weeks since Nancy had possessed Bekka, and she was going stir crazy in her own skin. She felt the tiniest speck of sympathy towards Nevyn, who she knew had been enduring it for far longer, but at least he was in a young body. Nancy was trying to distract herself by deep cleaning the living room. It was the only room she hadn't gone over with a fine toothed comb. She was trying to remove a stain in their carpet that had been allowed to exist for far too long, when the doorbell rang.

She placed the cleaning supplies down and got to her feet, wiping her hands on a rag. Nancy appraised herself quickly. It was clear she had been cleaning, bits of dust clung to her clothes, and beads of sweat were here and there that she had accumulated through vigorous scrubbing. Still, she felt she was presentable enough for some delivery or door to door salesman. She strode to the front door, and her face lit up at the unexpected visit from her daughter. "Aubrey, what a surprise! What are you doing here?"

Aubrey smiled, but looked around before she said anything. "Is anyone else here?"

"What? Oh, no. Just me. Your father is still at work and I"m in cleaning mode. Trying to stay busy so I don't think about...um...well..."

"That's fine, Mom, I get it. Let's talk inside though." She walked past her mother, who shut the door and followed. Aubrey made to go into the living room, but saw her mother had rearranged and tipped over furniture, so she made for the dining room instead. "So, Dad's told me you've been having a rough go of it."

Nancy sighed, before lying to her daughter's face. "I really didn't want him to talk to you about any of that. Especially since I embarrassed myself in front of you and your brother, and Connie. Your father should be embarrassed but, he seems pretty okay with how it all turned out."

Aubrey gave a rueful grin. "I bet. Men are all the same."

Nancy cocked her head at this. "Have you been...having problems in this area as well?"

Aubrey averted her gaze as her face went red. "I'm, um...well, I'm sort of in a relationship right now where...you know what, I didn't come here to talk about my problems. I came to give you an early birthday present."

"But it's not for another month," Nancy argued.

"I know, but Dad said you've been having trouble adjusting and really wanted to hop into someone, especially a young someone I believe is what he said. Well, Connie gave me the weekend off, so here's your chance."

Nancy tried not to beam and jump up and down, but struggled to play it cool. "My chance for what, dear?"

"I'll let you hop my body and have it for the weekend, as long as you agree to some ground rules."

"Oh, Aubrey, sweetie, you don't have to do something like that. You and Derek go have a fun weekend. I'm sure Connie will give me another chance soon."

Aubrey took her mother's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Mom, it's okay. You've been through a lot, and if this helps, even a little bit, I'm happy to do it."

"Well, if it's really what you want, what are these rules you had in mind?"

Aubrey smiled wide at her powers of persuasion. "Well, for starters, this has to be kept secret. I know Connie wants to have you body hop again, but it could be awhile, and I don't want to piss her off anymore than I already have." Like most secrets, the events that followed did not stay hidden, but also ended up in the journals. Connie was able to convince the others she knew everything anyway from one of them after all was said and done, which prompted suspicion between family members, as well as kept them from discovering Connie's covert surveillance.

"Connie's mad at you? Why is she mad at you? I'm the one who..."

"She's mad at me for a different reason, Mom. Just, trust me, Dad can know, but no one else."

"Does your brother know you're doing this?"

Aubrey hesitated. "No, and I...I don't think I'll tell him."

"But you two share an apartment together. I think he'd know when you showed up in my body."

Aubrey was going red again. "I don't think he'd like that too much, and given what happens when we're around each other for too long because of the gene...Well, I had just planned on spending the weekend in a hotel."

Nancy recoiled slightly at the implication of the twin's incest. It wasn't new, and her old self was disgusted by it. But there was another part inside of her, one that was growing and festering, that said it was just fine, and to be expected given the circumstances. "I...do you think...he wouldn't want to sleep with you if you were in my body, would he?" This question would have made her quite angry before, but now she felt her body grow warm at the mere thought of it.

Aubrey's eyes shifted. "It's uh, probably something we shouldn't try to find out. And since he still feels bad for, you know, what he did to, uh, and with..." Aubrey's voice diminished to an almost whisper at this next part, "...your body, he'd probably just get mad."

Nancy's face was now red. "I see, yes, it's probably for the best. But...isn't he in Lola's body?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Mom, it doesn't matter whose body he's in, we still want each other. It's the gene. When you were in Bekka's body, we, or at least I, couldn't stop checking you out." At least, she hoped it was just the gene. "But to answer your question, no, he'll probably be taking over one of our neighbors. There's a single guy that moved in and Derek's been possessing him almost every time he's not in Lola or Bekka. I think he's missed being a guy."

"Well that's...nice. So, don't tell anyone, is there anything else?"

Aubrey's face grew red yet again, and this time she stammered a little. "Uh, well, I mean, I'm assuming I don't even have to like, say this one out loud, but...you want a body just so you can feel young for a little bit, right?"