A Piece in the Game of Gods part 14

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I stood in the doorway with my duffel bag in one hand and a couple shopping bags in the other. The duffel held everything that I’d taken from my old apartment, and the shopping bags contained my recently purchased clothes. All together, this was everything I owned.

“Thank you for letting me stay here,” I told Gail and Michael Corskey, my hosts for the last few days. “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t.”

“It was our pleasure,” Gail told me with a warm smile. “You’re welcome to come back and visit anytime…”

“Thank you,” I repeated with a smile. Since Matt and Teri lived here, there was no doubt that I’d be coming over to visit quite often.

Gail’s husband, Michael, said, “I’m just glad you were able to find a place…”

“And you said that you’re going to be sharing a house with a couple other young ladies?” Gail asked curiously.

“A couple girls I went to school with,” I said with a faint smile. “One of their housemates recently left, so they had room for a new one…”

Michael nodded approvingly. “That’s your good luck then.”

After giving Gail a brief hug, I turned to Matt and Teri, both of whom were watching me leave. “Don’t worry,” I assured them. “You haven’t gotten rid of me that easily…”

“I should hope not,” Matt responded with a chuckle.

“So,” Teri joked, “you’re like a rash?” Her parents both gave her looks of disapproval, so she slouched down in her baggy clothes, trying to look smaller.

I gave them all a friendly wave as I said, “Goodbye,” again, then turned and walked out the door. Matt and Teri stood in the doorway, watching as I walked into their driveway, where a bright-yellow VW Bug was waiting.

“You got everything?” Cassandra asked from the driver’s seat.

“Yep,” I answered as I tossed my bags into the back seat.

When I’d learned Heather’s home address and had gone there to check it out, I’d mostly been interested in learning as much as I could about her. However, I had to admit, I’d also considered the possibility of moving there. Since I no longer had a permanent place of my own, and Heather no longer needed her home, it made sense for me to use the place myself. Of course, that had all changed the moment I’d learned she had housemates. I’d never imagined that those housemates, while knowing who I really was, would actually invite me to stay there anyway.

Cassandra pulled out of the parking lot and began the relatively short drive to the house. It amused me a little, to realize that my new home was even closer to Matt’s place than my old apartment had been. However, thinking about my old apartment just made me realize that it was probably safe to sneak back and grab some more of my old stuff. After a few long seconds, I decided against giving into that particular temptation. I’d already said goodbye to my awesome gaming rig and all my trophies, and that was all there was to it.

“Nice car,” I told Cassandra, more to fill the silence than for anything else. Still, the bright yellow color wasn’t as bad as pink, but it was still far different than what I would have expected from a goth.

“Glad you like it,” Cassandra responded with a smirk. “I mean, technically, it is yours now…”

“What?” I asked in surprise and a bit of confusion.

“This is…was Heather’s car,” Cassandra told me, her expression darkening. “She let me borrow it since mine was in the shop, but then…” She went silent, not needing to say what had happened next. Heather had never come back to reclaim her car.

When we reached the house, Cassandra handed me the keys and said that she’d already gotten her car back from the shop. I looked at the keys, which actually matched some on the keyring I’d found in Heather’s purse. I guess these must be the spare keys then.

“I don’t think you had a chance to look around much, the last time you were here,” Cassandra told me as we went inside. “Three bedrooms upstairs, the common rooms all down here.”

Lauren was sitting in the living room with a laptop open on the coffee table in front of her, and several books beside her. She looked up and added, “Heather’s room is the first one on the right…” She pointed to the stairs.

“Hard to miss it,” Cassandra added with a smirk. “She put her name on the door…”

“Okay,” I said a little awkwardly. “Thanks.”

Neither of my new housemates really bothered giving me a tour, probably because they thought it was weird showing the place around to someone who looked like Heather. So, I went around the house, poking my nose into all the common areas before going to check out my new room.

My new room did have Heather’s name on the door, and the name plate was even decorated with pictures of flowers. I winced at the sight, realizing that this was why Cassandra had been smirking. At least, I hoped that it was only because of this. When I opened the door and stepped inside, I saw the real reason. This was definitely a girl’s room.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” I blurted out, feeling even more like an intruder than before.

The room had some good space, and was a little larger than the room I’d actually grown up with. However, the bedspread and pillows were all violet, as were the curtains. A small vanity sat in the corner and was covered with makeup. There were also two book shelves, and while one was indeed full of books, the other was loaded up with various dolls and stuffed animals.

“I don’t have to keep it like this,” I said, already knowing that I’d have to redecorate. Even if I was stuck with Heather’s body, there was no reason that I should be stuck with her personal style too. At the same time, I knew that I’d probably feel bad about throwing out any of her crap. “I’ll figure it out later…”

Even though I felt like both an intruder and a pervert, I looked through the closet and dresser drawers, including the underwear drawer, trying to get an idea of what I had to work with. There were a lot of clothes here, ones that would actually fit my new body. Then again, I remembered the small growth spurt I’d gone through, courtesy of my extra attribute points, and realized that Heather’s clothes could all end up being a bit tight.

“But at least it’s something to start with,’ I mused.

One thing I noticed, while searching through the room, was that everything was neat, clean, and organized. Knowing myself, it wasn’t going to stay that way for long.

When I was finished looking around, I went back downstairs, where I found Lauren still sitting on the couch with her laptop and books. Not having anything else to do at the moment, I sat down in one of the chairs and looked around. Damn, this was awkward.

“So,” I said, gesturing to the books. “Doing some research?”

“Homework,” Lauren answered with a wry smile. “I’m taking a couple summer classes so I can graduate a little earlier…”

“Not a bad idea,” I said. I might have done that myself, if I hadn’t needed to save up a bit more for tuition.

“The goal,” Lauren explained, “is to get all the basic stuff out of the way as fast as I can, so I can get into pre-med, and eventually, med school.”

“Pretty ambitious,” I said, impressed since I’d never really had that kind of ambition myself. “Any special kind of doctor?”

“Cardiologist,” Lauren answered without hesitation.

I blinked at that. “That’s a heart doctor, right?”

“Yeah,” Lauren agreed with a faint smile that seemed to be hiding a pained emotion. She was silent for a couple seconds, then explained, “My uncle died of a massive heart attack, about ten years ago. My dad has already had two heart attacks, and my sister was diagnosed with a heart murmer. You could say, it’s kind of personal for me…”

“Wow,” I responded, not sure what I could say to that. “I guess you’ve got some serious motivation to study hard.”

“Damn skippy,” Lauren said. Then she gave me a curious look and asked, “What about you? What are you…were you majoring in?”

I shrugged at that, admitting, “I hadn’t decided on a major yet. I was thinking maybe something like nutrition, sports medicine, or physical therapy. You know, something where my experience would actually be useful.”

Lauren gave me a sympathetic look, knowing that I’d just lost every single credit I’d earned last year. And since Heather hadn’t even started college yet, I didn’t get the benefit of inheriting some of hers.

“I don’t know,” I admitted with a sigh. “I’ve got no idea what I’m going to do now, other than try to survive this game…”

“I can’t believe Nadine did that to you,” Lauren said with a scowl. “I mean, I always knew that bitch was nasty, but I never thought she’d actually become a murderer…”

“Yeah,” I said with a sigh. “I know what you mean…” I brushed a few stray hairs out of my face. “I don’t know how much of that is just Nadine being an evil bitch, and how much might be her patron… Hell, her patron is a god of pain, and he gave her a gift that makes her more powerful when she hurts other people… Maybe he picked her because she’s a bitch, and maybe he’s encouraging her to be even nastier… In the end, I guess it doesn’t matter.”

“No,” Lauren agreed sadly. “It doesn’t. I just hope I never run into her again. After all the fighting we did back in school, I figure that she’d jump at the chance to kill me too…”

Lauren and I just sat there for a couple minutes, with neither of us saying anything else. Our conversation had turned a little dark and had ruined the mood. Eventually, I got up and started for the stairs.

“What are you up to?” Lauren asked curiously.

“I think I saw some workout clothes up in the room,” I answered. They’d looked almost brand new. “I figure, I need to get in better shape, and its good weather for a jog…”

-------------------

“Eight,” I grunted as I pushed the bar up. I wasn’t benching much more than the bar itself, but you had to start somewhere. “Nine…” I strained to lift the bar again. And then, the final rep of my set. “Ten…”

With Teri’s help, I rested the bar, then sat up on the bench and stretched my arms. My pecs were hurting a little from that, but it was the good kind of pain, the kind that said I’d had a good workout.

“Thanks for spotting me,” I told Teri, who’d decided to come with me to the gym this morning.

“No problem,” Teri responded with a grin. She made a show of flexing her biceps and joked, “I need to feed these pythons too…”

I rolled my eyes at that. While her muscle tone was great, and she definitely had some biceps, they weren’t really up to ‘python’ level. However, I wasn’t about to burst her bubble because I’d heard more than a few guys making the exact same statement, when they had even less muscle. And besides, Teri had come to the gym to take advantage of her new body, and learn how to keep it in that shape.

“My turn,” Teri cheerfully announced, about to get onto the bench.

“Not yet,” I told her, trying to keep my jealousy from showing. “You’re going to need a bit more weight.”

I pulled out the sheet of paper that Matt had filled out the other day, the one where he’d listed how much we’d been able to lift. After I saw what he’d put down for Teri, I began putting some more plates on the bar.

“We’re going to start you off a little light,” I told Teri, “so you can get used to this. Right now, we’ll work on your form, then increase the weight a little.”

Teri eagerly positioned herself onto the bench and began to lift the weight, though I had to correct her on her positioning and form. If anyone had been watching us, they might have been confused. After all, Teri was the one who looked like she spent a lot of time in the gym, not me.

I put Teri through a couple sets, still focusing more on form than weight. The entire time, I tried to push down my feelings of jealousy and feel happy for her. She was excited by all these changes, and was determined to keep them. There was no way that I was going to do anything to discourage her now.

“Are you going to spot Matt too?” Teri asked, gesturing to her brother, who was doing cardio on one of the cycles.

“Only if he starts lifting,” I answered with a chuckle.

So far, Matt hadn’t done any lifting, and had only played around with the treadmill, cycle, and stair climber, but I was still impressed that he’d come to the gym at all. After all those years I’d nagged Matt to come work out with me, it took his little sister getting stronger for him to actually listen. I guess that was the motivation he really needed.

My eyes went to the treadmills and I frowned slightly. I’d recently discovered a new dislike of running. It was the bouncing. The bouncing got a bit uncomfortable, not to mention distracting. If it hadn’t been for the sports bra I’d found in Heather’s old room, I probably wouldn’t have bothered with it.

At first, I’d been a little surprised to find the sports bra and athletic clothes in my new room, because Heather hadn’t seemed to be big into exercise or sports. However, I learned from Lauren and Cassandra, that Heather might not have spent much time in the gym, but she had been into yoga. That was probably why my new body felt so limber and flexible. I’d never had any interest in yoga before, but I’d begun thinking that it might not hurt to check it out.

For now, though, I needed to focus on what I was doing, which was getting a good workout and teaching Teri how to do that the right way. I picked up a couple smaller weights, humiliatingly light, and began to do some curls while Teri mimicked my movements.

“You know,” Teri told me between sets. “I’ve decided to sign up for judo classes again…”

I gave her a curious look. “Oh?”

She looked self-conscious and a bit uncomfortable. “After what happened at that contest… I…those guys scared me.”

“They kind of freaked me out a little too,” I admitted.

Teri looked a little relieved at that. “I figure, if I’m ever gonna have to do something like that…I wanna be able to protect myself a little better…”

“That makes sense to me,” I said, looking at the weights. That was a large part of the reason why I’d come to the gym, after all.

“And my judo was really rusty,” Teri admitted with a look of annoyance.

Around this time, Matt had finally gotten tired of the cardio workout and had come over to join us. He gave the weights a skeptical look, then cautiously picked a couple dumbbells from the rack. They were a little too heavy for him, but he was trying to compete with Teri, which only made him look like even more of a rookie.

“Let’s find a better size for you,” I told Matt.

Once Matt had a set of weights that were a little more appropriate, I began showing him how to curl them properly. He grimaced in distaste, but did as I instructed.

“So, how are the new living conditions working for you?” Matt finally asked.

“Too early to tell,” I admitted uncomfortably.

I’d barely known Lauren and Cassandra back in high school, so it was a bit strange to suddenly be living with them. Of course, the whole situation was pretty damn weird, and my living arrangements weren’t nearly weirdest thing I had to deal with.

“My new bedroom needs to be redecorated,” I said with a sigh. “Badly…”

“I can help,” Teri quickly offered.

“No thanks,” I replied with a shudder. “That would only make it worse. I’ve seen your room, remember? The last thing I need are posters of unicorns, kittens, and boy band members…”

Teri responded by sticking her tongue out at me. “You have no taste, Jeri…”

Matt chuckled faintly. “Well, it can’t be any worse than having all those gaudy sports trophies all over the place…” Then, he asked, “So, what’s it like, living with two girls?”

“I just spent the last week living with two girls,” I responded with a smirk.

Teri snickered at that while her brother flipped me off and said, “Bite me.”

“I’ve only been there for one day,” I reminded Matt. “But so far it’s…weird. I mean, Lauren slipped and called me Heather once or twice, but for the most part, they remember I’m not her.”

Matt nodded at that and gave me a sympathetic look. “You’re a constant reminder of what happened to her.”

I nodded in agreement. I was pretty sure that Lauren and Cassandra were both relieved by the fact that I wasn’t happy about being Heather, and that I didn’t want to just slip in and take over her life. As it was, I was doing too much of that already, though it wasn’t like I had a lot of choice. I had to take over her place in the game, and I needed her identity just to live in the real world. This wasn’t like some movie, where I could just go to the corner store and have some guy make up a new identity for me, along with all the paperwork and records.

“I think that they’re sort of pretending that I’m really Heather’s twin sister,” I said wryly. “I guess that’s a bit easier to accept than what’s really going on.”

“That’s reasonable,” Matt responded thoughtfully. “I know it’s hard to believe you’re really Jerry in there, and a most of the time, it’s easier to try thinking of you as someone else…”

“Well, enough with the chit-chat for now,” I told Matt and Teri. “If we have the energy to talk, we have the energy to work a little harder…”

Both of my companions groaned at that, while I just grinned. Sure, I wasn’t nearly as strong as I used to be, but at that moment, I really did feel a lot more like my old self again.

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Comments

Memories

The new Heather needs to find out a way to get some of the old heathers memories as I’m sure a lot of stuff carries memories and her parents so she needs some of those. Maybe if Heathers soul isn’t really gone but taken by the god of the void they can merge or something.

hugs :)
Michelle SidheElf Amaianna

Realization

What they really need is a wake. They're in mourning, and rightfully so ... they've lost a good friend.

There has to be away

Samantha Heart's picture

Jerry & Heater can combine to come together. He may ocupy her body but there HAS to be some of the old Heather there somehow someway.

Love Samantha Renée Heart.

Not Sure...

...why you'd think so. I don't believe we've seen any sign of it so far.

Eric

Heather's gone

LibraryGeek's picture

Her soul was destroyed. She's gone. No remnant.

In theory, there should still be memories available within her brain, but triggering them would be a trick; it's a database where the index has been wiped, the user interface removed, and no information available on how the data is encoded. And you have no means of browsing the directory tree.

Realistically, it's a clean slate.

I know, I hate identity death too. But that's what we've got, in regard to Heather.

Normally, a Morpheus gender-switch story has the MC's body change on him, via some form of pseudo-science, or outright magic. In this case, however, his body didn't change, he was moved into a newly vacant body as his only option for survival when his was slain.

It's a bit different from his Travel Agency stories, which are the only other stories by him that I'm familier with that have body exchange as the transformation mechanism. There, it's supposed to be temporary. Here, it's permanent, right from the get go.

Yours,

John Robert Mead

Working out

Good to see Jeri and her friends hitting the gym, but in addition to getting into shape, they need to start working on skills that will be useful. A hand held crossbow for Matt and maybe some armor and a Bo staff for Teri. Those are weapons that can be learned (at least the basics) pretty quickly.

Cheers
Zapper

PS - Fun story M!