I pull open the door to my lab and see the new intern, Henry, sitting behind the front desk. A large, muscular boy with wavy, brown hair maybe 18 or 19. He stands tall with a commanding posture. He just graduated from high school as valedictorian with almost a full year of online chemistry courses at the local community college.
I think back to when I first met him in his interview. I had no intention of hiring him and was frankly annoyed at his mere presence in my office. I only agreed to the interview because he emailed me for almost 6 weeks straight begging for a chance at my lab. He had persistence. A good quality. An interview was all he wanted so I figured giving it to him would shut him up.
Throughout the interview, he talked of how he one day wished to be a chemist, and to be honest, I was very impressed. He had hours of community service and spoke in a great manner. Though I had no intention of originally doing so, I hired him on the spot. His resume was quite impressive for his age and I had been needing someone to assist me in filing old paperwork and research anyway.
“Morning Sterling. I have the research you requested on your desk”.
“Damn that was fast,” I thought. That would’ve taken anyone else at least three days minimum. “Thanks, Henry”, I say back. I pause for a moment and think of everything he’s done for me in just three weeks. Eh, fuck it. He deserves it. “You’re doing great. Exceeding all expectations. You may be in for a raise. Come to my office tomorrow after you clock in”.
His face beams with delight.
I like him. I’m sure if he keeps applying himself as he does now he will someday be a great chemist. Henry’s just one of those people you know are meant to achieve success.
My company is currently focused on psychoactive drug therapy, specifical treatments for dementia that would help to recover deteriorating memories. My team has recently been testing a new drug we created called N2. As of now, it’s showing promising results. Its use has assisted demented patients in recalling past memories and keeps their overall brain function from deteriorating.
I walk down the hall and scan my card through the reader. The door buzzes loudly and opens.I put on a respirator and pull my arms through my lab coat.
I approach my lab table and instantly notice a vile I did not leave the previous night. What is that? Is it N2? Fuck. N2 cannot be out of the freezer for more than an hour without becoming highly unstable. How long has it been on the table? Why is it not in the freezer? Who put it there?
I need to dispose of the vile immediately. I pick up the N2 with tongs and run to the waste disposal area.
FUCK!
I trip over the leg of the table and hit the ground hard. My respirator slips down my neck and the N2 spills to the floor mixing with something I knocked off the table. Jesus, what was on that table? Wr3? Ae5?
Whatever it was I know I need to get out now. I don’t have time to think. Billowing blue smoke fills the air. I cover my mouth and struggle to raise my respirator but I can’t stop the smoke from forcing itself into my lungs.
My head feels mellow… loopy. Like… Like…. I… don’t know… My brain feels so… smooth. Like all the wrinkles were ironed out. Its… a wonderful feeling if I’m being honest. My respirator falls from my hands and I inhale sharply. “I… I probably shouldn’t…. Maybe… ” I stutter. My heart jumps up and down… Up and down… Up and down…I feel my eyes growing heavy. I can’t keep them open. I lose consciousness and fall into a deep sleep.
I open my eyes to reveal a ceiling fan circling above me. I feel different. Like I’m bigger, Stronger. Dare I say more powerful? I take in a deep breath and rise, propping myself up with my elbows. I look at the clock across the room. 12:00. Midnight. The open window to my left faces the night sky.
This is not my room. I jolt out of bed and immediately get my feet caught in a shirt laying on the floor. I stumble across the room attempting to switch the light on.
It’s a small room. It has grey walls, a dresser, a large tv on a stand, and many pictures and posters on the wall. I look closer at one of the pictures. It looks… Like a slightly younger version of Henry with who I presume to be his parents. He looks younger. Not quite as muscular but still has a large frame. The couple to his left, his parents I believe, both stand tall and proud. The father has on a perfectly tailored suit and his mother a purple knee-length dress. Henry has his father’s face and his mother’s smile.
I open a door on the left side of the room to a small bathroom with a toilet and shower across from each other with a large oval mirror above the sink. I approach the mirror and see the outline of henry’s face. It isn’t me. I’m Henry… Or I’m in Henry’s body that is.
What happened??? Why am I in somebody’s body? Am I actually Henry? Questions race through my mind as I strive to think of what happened. I faintly remember working at the lab the night before. Something was off. Different from normal. Did it have something to do with work? I distinctly remember my lab table but that’s about it. I’m not quite sure what it was. All I know is I woke up and now I’m… not me? This makes no sense.
I turn back to Henry’s room and think of what to do next. My best bet is to go home. Try to find my body and figure out what caused this…this… change.
I sit at Henry’s desk and tap the space bar on the keyboard to turn on the computer. I’m hoping to find directions to my house. The computer quickly starts, illuminating the room. Fuck. There’s a password. I don’t think I’m going to be able to get past it. My eyes wander to the bottom right corner of the screen and I read the date. It’s September 19, 2021. The Fuck? September 19th was almost a year ago. That can’t be right.
I walk across the room to the bed and see Henry’s phone. I don’t know the password but the Face ID works. I pick it up and the date reads the same. September 19th, 2021. I open google maps and enter my address. His house is relatively close to mine, only a twenty-minute walk.
I climb out the window to avoid waking Henry’s parents and walk through the neighborhood to the nearest road.
I walk silently, pondering what I might find. I debate whether or not I should call my cell phone but decided against it in the end as I wasn’t sure who would be in my house let alone my body.
Twenty minutes later, I arrive and grab the spare key I keep in the potted plant at the end of my driveway. I quietly unlock the door and step inside. The lights are off. I debate if whether or not I should turn them on but decide not to. I’m hesitant to go directly to my room, not sure of what I’ll find. I silently walk through the front hall and approach my son Jacob’s room. I open the door and see his sleeping body facing me. It looks like him. I close the door and turn to the hallway.
The lights switch on.
My heart skips a beat and I feel the adrenaline flow through my veins.
“HEY,” a loud voice commands from behind me. “WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU”. I turn around and see my body…me holding my ‘22 revolver to my head. I… Me… Whoever that was looked ready to shoot. Assuming that’s myself, I don’t have much time. What would any father do if he saw a large man looking into his son’s room in the middle of the night? I know my answer would be to shoot the damn bastard.
How do I explain this? Should I even try? I know I would never believe me. I feel my body rush with adrenaline. I lunge for the gun and grab the end but am unable to pull it from my body’s hands. It goes off with a loud bang. I feel a ripping sensation completely through my chest and something goes through my back. I fall to the ground and scream in agony.
“JESUS FUCK AAAHHHHHHHHH”
My lungs feel like their exploding. My chest is heavy with blood squirting out of the wound. My body lays me down and yells for Jacob to call the police. I can’t breathe like this. I heave and can barely get any air in. My eyes close as my consciousness slips away.
I wake up in a… hospital room? The room is small and drab with many bright lights. I try to move but my limbs, which appear to still be Henry’s, are bound by white belts attached to the bed. I try to struggle but my chest explodes into searing pain. My eyes wander down to my forearm where I see a tube feeding some kind of liquid into my arm.
“You were messed up pretty bad” I hear from the door “You had a collapsed lung and a shattered rib”. A tall man in a white lab coat had silently entered the room. He looks like a doctor His skin is pressed against his cheekbones and gives him an overall hollow look.
“Where am I,” I ask. “What happened”
“Holland Hospital” he responds. “You broke into a house and got shot. Your left lung completely collapsed. You’ve been out for twenty-two hours. Your lucky to be alive”.
What? Twenty-two hours? My mind races. I remember entering my home and looking into Jacobs’s room. I remember the lights turning on and a gun going off seconds later.
“No no no. Wait. This is all a big misunderstanding. I know this sounds crazy but I’m not Henry. I… I don’t know what happened. I’m Sterling Manson just-”?
He sighs. “Look this isn’t my problem. I’m just a doctor my only job is to care for you. Save it for the police. I’ll let them know you woke up. They’re eager to speak to you”. He turns and exits the room
Fuck. Of course, he doesn’t believe me. The police probably won’t either. I begin to panic and look for a way out. I struggle against the restraints but there’s no way I can escape.
I look at the clock across from me. 11:59 pm. I suddenly feel off. Woozy. Maybe they gave me some painkillers or something. I feel different… Like I’m not me but… I am me. My brain feels like it’s weightless, swimming around in my head. I’ve felt this before but… but where…12:00pm.
I close my eyes and fall into a deep sleep.