Young Writers Society

Trey was quiet while Bo waited for the bleeding to stop, and he didn't say anything or offer help. Bo was content with caring for the wound by himself. He made use of the disinfectant, dabbing it around the wound and making sure it was clean before he started wrapping it tightly.

The boy was still unconscious, but he was breathing. He had a pulse.

He finished tying off the bandage and pulled down the shirt, frowning at the blood-stain the boy would have over it. Bo didn't have any spare clothes to lend him. He'd come to the motel on a whim and was planning to just sleep in his clothes, ready to go if something happened.

He hadn't prepared for something like this. Then again, how could you ever prepare for situations like this? Running into old, old friends-turned-something-more-like-enemies, carrying unconscious young British boys with stab wounds (who should for all he knew, be a stranger to them) was not a common occurrence for him.

Getting abducted, actually, was more common than this.

Bo stood up finally, looking down at the sleeping boy before turning to Trey.

"What's this kid's name? Does he have any family?"

I was once again reminded of how ridiculously huge the one-eyed guy was compared to both me and the guy I was possessing. I looked up at him and tried to hold my ground, but I couldn't help it - I ended up glancing back at my own body.

"His name is Skull," I said. "And, no. He doesn't. I'm all that he has right now."

That, at least, wasn't a lie - even though the ending felt like one. I was telling the truth. My name was Skull. I hadn't had family in a long time. But I couldn't help but think of the people that I did have, back on my world and the other worlds that I had gone to. Could I really count them as something like that?

Bo hummed. He looked back at Skull, then over to Trey.

He... he wanted to believe him. He really did. But this just didn't feel right. Trey liked to work alone, with family, or with professionals. He never bothered taking people under his wing and adopting them. He'd always been very independent, so much so that half the time, even his parents never knew where he was.

Could he have had a change of heart?

But even Trey's mannerisms seemed... off. He was far less cold than he was normally. Bo knew Trey didn't even like him, from the last time they'd talked. Why would he be putting on an act?

"...Do you want to tell me what's really going on?" he asked, trying to sound earnest, and not accusing. He didn't want things to end in violence, but if he was right about Trey following him all the way to the motel, then he had reason to be suspicious.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, moving just a little closer to my body. Grabbing it and darting out the window was sounding better and better with each passing second. "I might not have told you everything, but you're making it sound like I'm lying to you."

The air turned a few degrees cooler. I had to keep calm - I couldn't tap into those powers if I didn't want to get kicked out of this body. And while the sudden temperature change could be blamed on the motel's heating and cooling system, anything more than it would start to be just a little suspicious.

"Look I just-" Bo started, letting out a small sigh. "Look, I know we haven't seen each other in like, forever, but this feels weird. I don't know what this kid is doing with you but I don't know if I can trust you enough to leave him with you if this-" he gestured to the wound, "-already happened."

He sighed, looking up at the ceiling in exasperation.

"Good grief, this was not how I expected my night to go."

"That makes two of us," I said. I need to think of how I could turn this around, and I needed to think of it fast. If the one-eyed guy overpowered me and took my body, I'd be in serious trouble. I could be out of it for stretches of time, but it was bad to push it for more than a day.

"And he'll be fine," I said. "He always is."

Bo's eyebrows pushed up and together.

"He always is? What's that supposed to mean? How long have you been dragging this kid around with you, Trey? I thought you worked alone."

...There went that plan.

It was time to say goodbye to Trey and his very loaded pockets, and hop on over to someone else. I'd never be able to knock the guy in front of me unconscious, but I could possess him. All it would take was just a little bit of contact. And Trey was still unconscious, given how little he had contributed to all of this, so I could slip out of here with my body without anyone asking anymore questions.

I shifted my shoe so it was right up against the one-eyed man's.

All it took was a moment for me to switch bodies. Trey's body fell - unconscious and mostly motionless - to the ground. It took me a moment to adjust to being so tall and muscular, and to the lack of an eye, but I managed.

I went to get my body off the bed.

And then came to the horrible realization that I was struggling to move my arms. Or my legs. Or any of the body I had just possessed, for that matter. This guy's will was just as big and strong as the rest of him - I barely had any control!

This was not how this was supposed to go at all.

Bo did not know what was going on, but he was pretty sure this was some supernatural kind of stuff that usually happened when he was whisked off somewhere else, but instead it had finally come to his hometown.

He watched Trey fall to the ground in horror before he suddenly felt his body seize up like someone had taken control, entering in like a puppeteer on the inside.

No. No.

He was not going to put up with this. Not while he was in his homeworld. Not in California. Whatever spirit or poltergeist had tried to possess him was not going to have an easy time. Bo tried to fight back to regain control of his body, focusing on his arms and hands. His mouth. His tongue.

He reached up to his face with a trembling hand.

"I knew something was up-" he growled, bitterly. He could feel tears stinging at his eyes, but he fought back against those too. "-look, whatever you are, I don't w-want t-tr-trouble." He felt like he had to fight the words out.

Geez, this felt almost like sleep paralysis, except he was wide awake, and there was no shadowy figure in the corner. It was inside him.

He took in a deep breath.

"Please," he begged.

"You forced me to do this," I said. Each word was slow and emphasized. I couldn't get the words out normally no matter how hard I tried. This guy had one of the strongest wills I had dealt with yet, and I couldn't take control nearly as easily as usual.

I should have gone back to Trey's body - or even my own. But this guy would get the upper hand the moment I relinquished control to him, and I couldn't risk that. I needed to get my body fixed up. I needed to get back to the other world. And I still had to get back to the world that I had been on before it all - I still had to see Lucy again.

"I wouldn't have done this if you hadn't butted in," I said. I fought to put the arm back down.

You forced me to do this.

The words sent a chill down his spine. He hadn’t forced it to do anything.

“Forced?” he spat, curling his arms up towards his chest. This was like lifting a million weights but with a completely different muscle. He felt like his veins should’ve been bulging out of his neck like some kind of exaggerated cartoon.

“I was just trying to help? It’s not my fault you p-possessed Trey, who I’m pretty sure might be trying to k-kill me, or stalk me.”

I faltered.

My original plan to stay in this body was quickly discarded, and I hopped back into Trey's body after touching it with one-eyed guy's foot.

I got back to my feet.

"He was trying to do what?" I said. I glanced back down at the outfit - and body - that I was wearing. Black clothes, black van, and an awkward conversation with the one-eyed guy. Why hadn't I seen it sooner?

"That doesn't matter," I said, giving a dismissive wave of my hand. "You were asking me questions I couldn't answer, so I had to possess you. It's not like I could win in a fist fight with you."

I crossed my arms and looked up at him.

And then I realised now was the perfect time to leave, so I darted over to my body and lifted it up off the bed - only to remember a second later that I couldn't easily carry it as Trey.

I struggled to keep my body up next to me.

In a moment, all of Bo’s muscles relaxed as the ghost or spirit left him, giving him control over his own body again. Bo let out a shuddered sigh, slouching and staring as the thing spoke through Trey again.

He watched as it struggled to hold the kid’s body.

That had to be his body. That’s why he possessed Trey, a healthy person, to carry it.

“I wasn’t going to fight you,” Bo said quietly. “And I’m definitely not going to now that I know you’re not actually Trey. You’re - you’re Skull, right? That kid - his body’s yours?”

I stiffened.

I should have known it would be obvious, but I was surprised he had caught on so quickly. My shoulders slumped, and I put my body back down on the bed.

"I'm Skull," I confirmed. "And that's my actual body."

Bo looked between them. He had no idea how to go about this.Did that make Shull a ghost or just a guy who could witch his soul into other bodies, sort of like Kartiel?

“Do you have to stay in Trey, or could I just... carry you in your own body? I assume you’re trying to get somewhere? ‘Cause uh, I could help if your body can’t move - or can’t move without great pain. Both are valid reasons to be carried.”