The Last Shapeshifter Ch. 08

"Even this time while you're not in him anymore?" Sabrina asked.

"Yes, because I told him he wouldn't. He'll only accept commands from me by the way, unless I instructed him otherwise."

Max was far less scared than Sabrina was. He was more in awe. "So like...tell him to do something."

Derek smirked at Max, and then to Percy, he said, "Hop on one foot."Percy raised one foot, and began hopping. It was a comical sight. "He'll keep doing that until I tell him otherwise, or he comes back to himself."

"The possibilities..." Max said.

"Yes, Max," Derek said softly. "I could tell him to take off all his clothes and go streaking through the hotel. Or I could have him jump out the window. You see, whether I'm in someone, or recently out of them, my power is all about control. And I'll admit, for a time, I abused it horribly. I can't blame it entirely on Nevyn either. Although it was because of him that I and my colleagues changed our ways. Now we primarily use willing participants, unless there's an emergency, or if I'm, um..." he did not continue, because he did not think telling them that he'd let Bekka stretch her legs in other people from time to time would help his case.

"People volunteer to be used like a puppet? How do you..." Sabrina began. Her list of questions was growing longer.

"You'd be surprised what some people are into," Derek smiled. "Most of them are potential body hoppers, the ones with the gene. We promise to activate it after they've proved themselves. It's how I have to get around now, since I don't have a body myself."

"But Trevor wasn't willing, was he?" Sabrina snapped. "You said so yourself. He thinks you're the enemy."

"That was regrettable, yes. In the moment, I thought he was Nevyn, or someone Nevyn had sent. I confronted him. He ran. I didn't know who he really was until I was inside of him, and then things got really weird in a hurry. And that's where I learned about you, and his curse, and how I think I can help all of us get what we want."

Percy's hops lost their rhythm and slowed, then stopped altogether. The young man looked around, then down at his suspended foot. He placed it on the ground, and said, "Um, I'm sorry, don't know what happened there."

"Quite alright," Trevor said. "Max, tip the man."

Max took out a twenty and asked, "Do you have any change?" Sabrina poked him in the side. "I mean, you know what, you just keep it."

Percy accepted the crumpled bill, and exited the room.

Sabrina got straight to the point. "So, how's this supposed to work?"

"Well, if you think I'm telling the truth, I'm hoping you'll help me convince Trevor that I'm here to help."

"How are you going to do that while you're inside of him?" Sabrina asked.

"She is a sharp one," Bekka said to Derek.

"I'm hoping one of you will volunteer to let me hop into you."

Sabrina laughed derisively. "Oh, okay, here we go. Yeah, I don't think so. Why don't you call up one of those volunteers you have on standby?"

Derek answered tersely "Because no one else can know about Trevor. Not yet. He's too important, and like I said earlier, if he got into the wrong hands, it could be catastrophic."

"So you didn't tell your little club about Trevor and what he can do?" Sabrina asked.

"I've told one other person, my sister. She's the only person I trust, and Trevor's best chance."

"Best chance at what?" Max asked.

"At giving him some control back."

"You mean..." Sabrina began.

"I do," Derek answered. "With my sister's help, and both of you."

"I'm in," Max said. "Let's do this. You can hop me."

Derek looked at Sabrina, expecting her to object. Instead, she looked at Derek and said, "I know that's what he'd want more than anything. So, okay, I'll do my best to help him see you as an ally."

"So how soon are we going to..." Max started to ask.

"No time like the present," Derek said, and took two steps and touched Max's shoulder.

Max watched is shudder, and said, "Wow, it doesn't hurt. It's a little weird, but it feels kind of-"

A second later, Derek finished his sentence for him, "Good. He was going to say good."

"This is so weird. How come you can still use your voice no matter what body you're in?"

"We've researched that, and so far have no good answer. It's whatever makes the gene work. Everything we're dealing with seems more magic than science."

"Yeah, I can't get used to your voice coming out of Max's mouth. Could you sound like Max now?"

"Sure babe," Max's voice said with his typical bravado. "So that was all pretty crazy right? I mean, shapeshifters, body hoppers, what kind of mess are we getting ourselves into."

Sabrina touched her boyfriend's face and chanced a smile. "It's like you're him."

"Kind of hot, right?"

Sabrina couldn't completely deny it, but she still said, "No. It's...it shouldn't be okay to use people like this. It's selfish."

Max's voice clapped back, "How about all those times we made Trevor shapeshift into our fantasies. Were we being selfish?" Sabrina said nothing. "It's a cruel world out there, Sabrina. And people use each other all the time. It's my hope you're better now than you were then. I know I am, or try to be. I've come a long way since I first started hopping."

Trevor began to stir.

"Should we have tied him up?" Sabrina asked worriedly.

"I mean, if he bolts, he bolts," Derek continued in Max's voice. "We'll just hope he can remain calm long enough to-"

Trevor's eyes opened, and they were full of fear. His body lurched in the direction of the door, but some synapse didn't spark between his brain and his legs, because he fell to the floor. As soon as he landed, he began using his arms to crawl towards the door.

Sabrina rushed to help her friend. When she touched him, he recoiled. But then he did a double take, as he recognized her. Trevor's words came rushing out in a torrent. "Sabrina? Where'd you come from? Where am I? How'd I get here? I was running. I needed to get away from someone. I still do. I found the one I was looking for. He's after me! And he can, he can..."

"Breathe," Max's voice suggested. "It'll all come back to you. All of it, but it can be a lot to take in at once. Why don't you have a seat? We have a lot to talk about."

Trevor looked at Sabrina in horror as the most recent memories began to wash over him. "That's not Max. We have to get away from him. We have to...but you're in on it too..."

"Trevor, you need to listen to what he has to say. I don't think he's your enemy. I think he wants to help you. He promised we could go once we hear him out."

"That's true," Derek said, changing to his voice. "But I don't think you'll go. Because I can help save your life, and most importantly, give it back to you."

Trevor's eyes were darting wildly as conversations and events came rushing back to him. "You can make me normal?"

"No. But I can help you live a normal life, if that's what you want. I've been to your core, and I think I understood it's nature. With some help, and a lot of sex, I think we can help you."

"A lot of what now?" Sabrina asked.

"You made me have sex in a taxi!" Trevor yelled.

"I would argue that your body made me have sex in a taxi," Derek said. He went over and poured them all another drink.

"And then I...I was some hot blonde..."

"He has good taste," Bekka whispered in Dereks' head.

"You made me go to a club, and I fucked...do you know how bad that could have gone? And then...that was your mother?"

Derek sighed, and handed them each a cup. "It's a long story. It all started when I was a senior in high school, and a very old body hopper tried to possess me..."

To be continued...