Extracted - Chapter 6 – Welcome To My World

 

Extracted

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 6 – Welcome To My World

 

Nancy, in Steve’s body, remembered what she had seen for the first time just a few hours ago, and shuddered.  It was so gross.  It was so disgusting!  It was so…awful!  But it had also seemed so real.  What was she supposed to do about it?  And worse, it seemed to go along with every horrible thing that her pretty body had become.  She knew what the boys called it.  They whispered about it at school all the time.  The girls though whispered the word even more.  Cock.  Penis.  There were other words for it too.  Words she’d rather not think about.  Somehow, that banned word.  That banned…thing!  Was now a part of her.  She had one.  Somehow.  Ugh!  She wanted to scream!

Those weird people were in her room again, the ones who somehow believed they were her mother and father, even though she knew for a fact that they weren’t.  Did it have something to do with this stupid monster body she seemed to suddenly have?  That’s the only conclusion she could think of.  Did God hate her so much that he stretched his hand out and somehow gave her this ugly stupid body?  She didn’t know, but it seemed like it.

Like it or not, she wasn’t being given a choice in the matter.  The hospital was throwing her out and she was told that she had to go home with these…strangers.  It was like she was being kidnapped…again!  Mommy, Daddy, Emily, where are you?  I miss you!

Once again she dragged her stupid monstrosity of a body out from under the covers and hung her huge hairy legs over the side of the bed.  Just the sight of them made her want to barf.  Her huge legs were so long they reached all the way to the floor.  Her father handed her some underwear.  She stood up on those monster legs and stepped into the, um, boxer shorts he had called them.  Stupid.  She pulled them up under her hospital gown, especially covering her…did guys usually call it a penis or a cock?  What was she supposed to call it?  From here on out, maybe she’d just call it Gross!

Covered that much, one by one, she put on the clothes she was given.  White gym socks, a pullover shirt, jeans, and then she was handed a pair of sneakers.  She sat on the bed and stared at them.  They were so big they looked like clown shoes.  Every piece of clothing she was wearing was huge.  Too big.  Too…stupid.  She felt stupid.  She felt ugly.  She was ugly.  She was…cursed.  God hated her too much.

Once the shoes were on and tied, she stood up.

“Okay,” her father said.  “Let’s go.”

A nurse held a wheelchair for her and she sat in it.  Together, the entire fake family made their way through the maze of hallways in the hospital, and she was finally let out of the chair when they got to the parking lot.  Henry…her father…ran to get the car.  A few minutes later, they were all in it and heading…home.

Where in the world was home?  She already knew they weren’t going back to New York where she belonged.  As far as she knew, they were in Pennsylvania somewhere.  Someplace called Philadelphia.  She had certainly heard of Philadelphia.  She had just never been there.  From what little she could already see, so far, it was just another dirty city.  Nothing magical about it at all.  But then somehow magic had ripped her from her pretty little feminine body and stuck her here in this stupid ogre’s body instead.  Magic for sure.

Everybody kept calling her Steve, even when she had told them countless times that her name was Nancy.  She supposed she could understand that, sort of.  She certainly didn’t look like herself anymore.

She knew the car she was riding in was nice.  In fact, it was kind of like her father’s car.  Her real father’s car.  But her father was a really important man.  A U.S. congressman.  She didn’t know what this guy who was pretending to be her father did for a living, but it couldn’t be anywhere near as important as that.  Maybe his job was to pretend to be a fake father to people.  People like her.

There were too many things for her to remember during the long drive, but when her father pulled into the driveway of a house, she suddenly paid more attention.  From the back seat, she looked at the place carefully.  Nice.  That surprised her.  Not as nice as her real house in New York, but still pretty nice.  At least it wasn’t a dump like she expected…so far.

She got a brief glimpse of another car parked on the far side of the driveway before everything grew dark as her father pulled the car into the garage and the garage lights all came on.  As the garage door came down, everyone opened their car doors and got out, so she did too.  She saw another nice car parked next to this one.  A third car in the family.

She had no luggage, nothing to carry.  His mother held a plastic bag containing the pajamas she…this body…had been wearing the night she…or he…had been abducted.  Not knowing where to go, she followed everyone through a door that led into a small room of some sort where coats were hung and boots were lined up on the floor.  From there it all led into a kitchen.  A really nice kitchen.  Big!  Like the one her family had at home.  Her mother and father both seemed to be heading in different directions.  Not knowing where to go or what to do, she wandered.

The kitchen and family room were all one.  Huge.  Her father had gone through a doorway off of the family room.  She headed cautiously in that direction and saw him sitting down at a desk in a really nice home office.  He was back at work already.  She stopped to watch him for a minute until she saw him look up at her…him.

“Anything you need?” he asked.

Nancy shrugged, then looked around.  “I’m…lost,” she explained.  She noticed the look of annoyance that seemed to cross his face.  Before he could say anything else, she asked, “What do you do?”

“What?” he replied angrily.  “You know perfectly well what I do.”

She shook her head.  “I haven’t a clue,” she replied before starting to walk off.  She didn’t need more confrontation.  She was only twelve and was completely confused by her situation.

“Steve!” Henry called.

Like it or not, she walked back to his office door.  She would have said ‘yes Daddy’ but she refused to call that man her father in any way, shape, or form.  Instead, she just stood there, looking at him.

“Tell me about who you think your father is,” he said, his voice only a bit more moderated.

“He’s U.S. Congressman Michael Stiller.”

“A U.S. congressman,” Henry repeated with distaste.  “From what state?”

“New York of course,” she replied angrily.  “That’s where we live.  I’ve never been to…Philadelphia.  I don’t know anything about it.”

“Well in case you need reminding, which it looks like you do, I’m the Philadelphia D.A.”

“What’s a…D. A.?” she asked nastily.  “Never heard of it.”

“District Attorney!” he yelled in return.  “And you better start remembering that!”

She shook her head.  “I have no idea what that is!”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I don’t know!” she yelled back.  With that she started crying and ran off.

Henry was totally surprised.  He got up from his desk and went out to follow his son.  He found him leaning against the wall next to one of the windows at the far end of the room, standing there hugging himself like a child and crying.  It was only then that he remembered that his son Steve seemed to have no memory of anything at all, except the fantasies that were somehow running rampant through his brain.

Softly, Henry said, “Sorry.”  He saw Steve look over at him.  Despite the bit of beard stubble, his son’s face looked more like a child than he could ever imagine as he stood there crying.  Henry sat on the arm of a chair and watched him for a moment in wonder.  Parents always say their kids grow up too fast.  He knew that for a fact now.  Yet here his son was, looking like…he didn’t know what.  Just…a child of some sort.  He sighed.  “A District Attorney processes all the criminal cases for an area.  I’m the head guy.  The man in charge of all that prosecuting for the entire area around Philadelphia.”  A thought occurred to him when Steve just kept looking at him.  “Do you know what prosecuting means?”

“No,” Nancy replied.

“When someone does something criminal…  Do you follow me so far?”  He saw Steve nod his head.  “Then they have to be punished.  They have to go through court battles.  I’m in charge of deciding which cases go into court and I’m responsible for making sure that the criminals are punished the way they need to be.  Do you understand that?”  It was a moment before he saw his son nod.

“I think so,” Nancy told him.  “Thanks.”

“As you can see, it’s an important job.

Nancy shrugged.  “Not like my real father.  A U.S. congressman.”

This time it was Henry’s turn to shrug.  “Maybe, maybe not.  I imagine, that both jobs are pretty important.”

“Thanks,” Nancy replied, a few tears still falling from her eyes.

“Dry your eyes.  Get a drink,” Henry told his son.  He was disgusted to see him crying like that, but there was something awfully wrong with him just then, and something else inside him made Henry feel bad for Steve.  What the hell was his son going through?  And why this elaborate fantasy?  A U.S. congressman?  Where the hell did that come from?  “I’ve got work to do,” he told Steve.  “Are you going to be alright?”

Nancy nodded, but stayed where she was.  She watched as the man left her and went back to his office.  She stood there for a while, then finally wiped her face with her hands.  She moved from the window and continued her small tour of the house.  From where she was, there was a wide doorway on the opposite wall.  She went through into a beautiful fancy entryway.  She looked around.  There was a big chandelier light on the ceiling next to the staircase.  On the other side of the hallway from where she was she saw another room.  She went in.  Her eyes found her fake mother there, even while she realized that the room was some kind of nice living area, but there was no TV or anything, just nice looking seats and sofas.  Her family had a room like that in their house.  Her mother and father held a lot of parties there.

Her fake mother was sitting in one of the seats.  “You okay Steve?” she asked.

“Sort of,” Nancy admitted.  “This is nice,” she said looking around.  “Do you hold parties here?”

“Of course,” her fake mother confirmed.

Nancy nodded.  “We’ve got a room like this where we live too.  We have a lot of parties.  Or my parents do.  I don’t usually go.  Neither does my sister.  It’s all usually grownups and business people.”

Agatha nodded, noting the detail that Steve had put into the statement.  It sounded so real!  “What kind of house do you have?” she chanced asking.

“I guess, a lot like this, but…to be honest, I think yours is a bit nicer.  We’ve got a big kitchen too, but we’ve got a huge dining room where we hold lots of fancy dinners.  Or my parents do.  Emily and I usually eat in the kitchen.”

“Emily?” Agatha asked, remembering that Steve had mentioned the name a number of times in the hospital.

“My sister.  She’s older than me.  She’ll be a junior in high school in…a few weeks.”

“And you?” Agatha asked.

“Seventh grade.  Junior high.”

The detail was so real, and surprising.  It was like she was talking to a real child.  But Steve’s big muscular body was right in front of her.  It was difficult to combine the two properly.  She pointed at another doorway.  “Our dining room is right through there.  Take a look.”

Nancy did just that.  She went as far as the doorway and looked in.  The room was beautiful, of course.  “Our dining table is bigger,” she noted.

Agatha decided to chance something.  “I guess your family is wealthy?”

Nancy shrugged.  “I don’t know.  We’re not poor, I’m sure of that.  I get a good allowance every week.  Emily gets more.  A lot more!”

Again, the detail.  As if she was talking to a real child.  A twelve year old child she guessed.  “What do you do with your money?”

Nancy was shocked.  “Shop, of course.  Mom and me…Emily too sometimes, we go shopping all the time.  I love buying clothes.  You should see my closet at home.”

“What else do you like?” Agatha chanced asking, the fear in the pit of her stomach growing with each answer.

Nancy shrugged.  “Clothes, makeup…even though Mom doesn’t let me wear much.  Emily sneaks me some of hers though and she’s been showing me how to use it.”

“A good sister,” Agatha noted.

“The best!” Nancy replied.

“What else do you like?”

“I don’t know.  Boys, games, dancing.  I love dancing.  I’ve been taking ballet lessons since I was six!  But what I really like doing the most is getting together and doing things with my friends.  I don’t get to do that too much though cause of…”  She shrugged.  “Security stuff.  It’s so annoying sometimes.”

That was a detail Agatha hadn’t expected.  The distress in the pit of her stomach grew quite a bit.

Nancy turned and faced her fully.  “So…do I have a room somewhere or something?  Or am I going to be chained up in the basement.  You did kidnap me.”

“We didn’t kidnap you!” Agatha said quickly.  “And you’re Stephen, our son, not some….”

“I’m Nancy!” Nancy shot back quickly.  “Stop calling me Stephen!”  With that she walked away quickly, the tears starting to fall from her eyes again.  She walked straight through the dining room and found herself in the kitchen once again.  She went through the kitchen and back into the mud room next to the garage.  There was another door there, it was locked but she unlocked it easily and went outside.  The yard was nice.  Real nice.  She sat down on the steps that led from the big patio to the grass and let the tears out, hugging herself and crying.  She was just so confused.

Agatha saw Steve sitting on the steps crying.  Softly she opened the door and went outside.  She sat down next to her son, who also wasn’t her son.  If she was this confused herself, and if there really was some young girl living in Steve’s body, how confused did she have to be?  She put her arm around her son’s big body and pulled him into her, letting him cry.  It was so strange to see him crying.  She didn’t think her son had cried since he was very young.  Much younger than the twelve year old girl that he was claiming to be.

Finally, when Steve’s tears seemed to be subsiding, she said, “You really don’t remember anything at all about being Stephen, my son?  There’s nothing in there at all?”

“No.  Not at all.  I only remember everything about me.  And I mean I remember everything about me.  Everything!”

“It seems like it,” Agatha admitted.  “Come on.  Would you like to see your room?”

“Yes please.”

Please.  Her son never said please.  With a shake of her head, she stood up and waited until Steve, or Nancy, or whoever it was, stood up too.  She led the way into the house, through the family room and up the stairs.  At the top of the stairs was another hallway.  She pointed to the left.  “Our room is down there.  The rest is guestrooms and a bathroom.  She pointed to the right side of the house.  “Your room is that way.  I’ll let you…experience it for yourself.  I’ll go back downstairs and leave you to it.”

Nancy watched as her fake mother went back downstairs.  She wiped her face again with her hands to clear some of the tear residue away, then she turned to the right and headed down the hall.  There were four doors, two on the right and two on the left.  She opened the first door on the left and found a  nice bathroom.  She tried the door across the hall and found another nice bedroom, all made up.  Was that her room?  Something told her it probably wasn’t.  The next door on the right held another bedroom.  It looked nice too, but it was decorated differently.  They were like the guest rooms in her own house in New York.

There was one final room.  It was on the other side of the hallway, and there was an ugly poster stuck on the outside of the door.  She guessed that the poster was from some band she had never heard of.  She opened the door and knew immediately that it was supposed to be her room.  What a disaster!  The room was an absolute mess, and one of the biggest things she noticed about it was the smell.  Awful!  It smelled like old gym socks or something.  She backed up across the hallway and stared into the room.  How could anyone breathe in there?  If she went in, would she die of asphyxiation?

Taking her life in her hands, she entered the room.  There were clothes and things strewn everywhere!  It took her a minute to figure out what all the ugly black things were that seemed to be all over the room.  Weights.  For exercise or something.  She was guessing the ugly red bench thing by the window went with all the weights too.  But why did they have to be thrown all over the room?  The bed not being made didn’t surprise her in the least.  The big desk along one of the walls had so much stuff on top of it she couldn’t figure out how anyone could work there.  She noted though that the computer there looked pretty nice.  Better than hers at home.  Kind of like the laptop that Emily had.  The wall above the desk was filled with papers and pictures and the shelf had trophies and model cars.

The top of the dresser was another disaster.  There didn’t seem to be any order to what was on it, just…everything!  And it was piled deep!  There was a door next to the dresser.  She opened it and found a closet.  Lots of clothes and the floor of the closet held all kinds of things, most of which she was guessing were sports related.

There was another door across the room.  She opened it and found a bathroom.  She was guessing it could have been a nice bathroom, but again, it was a disaster.  The bathroom attached to the bedroom though seemed nice.  It was just that she couldn’t figure out how anyone could live in that room.  Especially with that smell.

She hurried out of the room and all the way back downstairs.  She saw her mother in the kitchen.

“Did you find your room alright?” Agatha asked.

“How can anyone live there?” Nancy replied.  “Especially with that smell!  It nearly killed me when I opened the door.”

Agatha shrugged her shoulders.  “It’s your room.”

“It’s not my room!” Nancy was quick to point out.  “It belongs to that…other person.”

“That other person is my son…who you also happen to be,” Agatha reminded her.

Nancy simply stared angrily back at her.  “I don’t want to be your son!  Sorry, but I just want to be me again.  Badly!”

Agatha stared at him, then softened her look.  “I’m sure,” she replied.  “We’re hoping the new doctor will help.”

“When do I see him?”

“Tomorrow,” she told him.

“Tomorrow,” he said.  “What am I supposed to do till then?”

Agatha shrugged.  “Pick up your room.”

“It’s not my mess!”

“But like it or not, it’s still your room.  If you don’t like it, fix it.”

Nancy threw her arms up and turned away.  “How?”

“And while you’re at it, it wouldn’t hurt you to shave your face a bit!” Agatha called after him.

Nancy turned back toward her.  “Shave?”

“Yes!  Your razor is up there…somewhere in that mess!”

Feeling like the entire world just dropped into an entirely new level of strange, she went back upstairs to her room.  The first thing she did was to open the window, letting some much needed fresh air into the room.  She looked all around.  What was she supposed to do with it all?  There was a dirty pair of boxer shorts on the floor at her feet.  She reached down and gingerly picked them up with two fingers.  She held them up.  “Ew!”  She looked around.  What was she supposed to do with them?  What was she supposed to do with her life?

Ew!  Ew!  Ew!

 

Extracted - Chapter 5 – Warp Ten Achieved

 

Extracted

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 5 – Warp Ten Achieved

 

During the day, Nancy had enough family constantly around her to keep those areas of her brain stimulated enough to prevent them from being overwritten, but at night, when she was basically alone with only an occasional nurse creeping in and out, that wasn’t the case.  All day long the process had continued, working on other areas of the brain that the soul could more easily access since those areas weren’t in use, but at night, there was nothing preventing the process from invading the more immediate memories and traits.

By the time the nurse came into her room, early in the morning, the process had proceeded far enough that the major portion of Nancy’s memories and personality had been finally overwritten with Steve.  Unknown to Nancy, for all intents and purposes, she was now a boy in a girl’s body.  She had almost no memory left of being Nancy.  Therefore, it was Steve who opened his eyes to watch the nurse silently going about her duties.

Steve didn’t move a muscle as the nurse checked the monitors and a few other things around the room.  He considered her to be good looking.  A bit old for him, but still, she had a body he’d love to explore.  He dared not ruin things by letting her know he was awake and watching her so he continued to lay quietly, only his eyes could give away that he was actually awake.  In minutes, he was disappointed to see her leave.

A visit from Melody just then would be nice.  Especially if they could be alone for a while.  Would Melody get off doing it in a hospital room?  Something told him she would love it.  He certainly would.

It was only then that he realized that the spinning around in his head had finally stopped, or nearly stopped.  There was a bit, but it was so slight he could easily ignore it.  He was ready to get up.  He was ready to go home.  He was ready to do something.  Maybe practice some football.  He was ready to…go the damn bathroom!

It was only as he was getting out of bed that he was hit with the problem.  He remembered being hit with it yesterday.  Hair!  And a damn tiny girl’s body.  What the hell?  And he was feeling so good!  What was going on?

Having no choice, he made his way to the bathroom and sat to pee.  Once again he felt all around but found no sign at all of his penis.  What the hell?  What was going on?  Not knowing what to do about it, except hope that things would straighten out soon, he went back to bed.

He was tired of lying there though.  He needed to move.  He needed to exercise.  He should be getting in his morning run, preparing for football camp and the football season.  Not to mention, he had all those weights back in his room at home that he should be exercising with.  But being stuck in a hospital room left him with nothing he could do at all except sit there and fume in frustration, and sleep of course.  But he was getting tired of sleeping too, especially since his head was so much better today.

Where was that doctor?  He wanted to go home!

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

In Philadelphia, Henry and Agatha Marsh walked out of their house and headed to the car, heading once again for the hospital where their son was.

“I sure hope he’s doing better today,” Agatha said.

“Me too!” Henry agreed.  “I’ve got work to do.”

“Henry!  He’s our son.  Show some interest in something besides your damn job.”

“I’m worried about him too,” Henry admitted.  “He was doing a lot better yesterday.  What I want to see is for him to be able to go home today.  Finally!”

“Yeah,” Agatha agreed.  “Me too.  It’s just that….  What worries me is how confused he seemed last night.  Like everything he was talking about was all mixed up.”

“Huh!  Tell me about it,” Henry grunted as he got into the car.  “Who the hell is Emily that he kept talking about?  I thought his girlfriend was Melody.”

“She is.  I never heard of Emily, but I’m guessing she must be another one from school that’s caught his eye.”

“Obviously!” Henry agreed.  “Let’s just hope it’s all straight in his head by the time we get there.”

“Amen to that!”

A short while later, they walked into the hospital room and saw their son sitting up in bed.  The look on his face was strange, full of anger.

“Your back!” they heard Steve say somewhat nastily.

Agatha and Henry were a bit surprised by the attitude.  “Of course we are Steve,” Agatha told him.  “How are you today?  Is your head still spinning?”

“Hardly at all,” Steve told them.  “But why are you here?  I know who you said you are, but you aren’t.”

Both Henry and his wife were shocked.  “We’re not what?” Henry asked.

“My parents.  My mother and father.  My family!”

Agatha’s mouth hung agape.  “What?”

“Where’s my real mom?” Nancy demanded angrily.  “Where is she?”

“Steve!  I’m your real mother.  How could you think otherwise?”

“No you’re not!  I want my real mother.  I want my real father.  I want my real sister.  Where are they?  Because you’re not them.”

“Steve, what are you talking about?  Of course….”

“Stop calling me Steve.  I’m not Steve.  I’m Nancy.  Get it straight.  I’m Nancy.  Now where’s my real mother and father?”

Henry and Agatha could only stare at their son in disbelief.  “Nancy?” Henry asked.

“Nancy!” Nancy confirmed.  “Now go away and get my real family!”

“Stephen Marsh!” Agatha said angrily.  “Stop this stupid foolishness right now.  You certainly are not Nancy.  You’re my son, Stephen.  Stephen Marsh.  And we love you very much.”

“You are not my parents!” Nancy screamed back.  “And my name is Nancy, not Steve…or whatever you claim it is.  I’m Nancy.  Nancy Stiller.  And you better watch out because my father is a U.S. congressman, so don’t try and pull any funny business.”

“A U.S…” Henry started in disbelief.  “What the hell are you talking about?”

“My father.  He’s a congressman in the U.S. government!  He works in Washington.  Now go get him!  And stop trying to hand me all this other stupid bullshit about being someone else!  Go!  I want my real family, not you!”

Neither Henry nor Agatha knew what to do.  “Let’s find a doctor.  Fast!” Agatha said softly.  Together, they quickly left the room.  What had happened to their son.  Nancy?  A U.S. congressman?  Nothing was making sense!  Things were suddenly worse than they had been.

Together they hurried down to the nurse’s station.  “He’s ranting and raving!” Agatha exclaimed.

“He’s completely out of his head!” Henry added.

The nurse nodded.  “Yeah.  He was like that earlier when the doctor went in.  He ordered another CAT scan to see if anything shows up yet.”

“But what are we supposed to do?” Agatha asked.

The nurse shrugged.  “Wait and see what the scan shows.”

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

In New York, the doctor was a little behind on his morning rounds, but that was nothing new.  He walked into Nancy’s room and saw her sitting up in the bed.  “Feeling better today?” he asked hopefully.

“I’m living in a hallucination.” Nancy’s body replied.

The doctor was immediately concerned.  “You’re hallucinating now?  In what way?”

“All I see is a girl’s body.”

“Where?” the doctor asked.  “Does she talk to you?”

“No!  I have a girl’s body.  Completely.  I even have to sit down to pee.  It’s ridiculous.  And don’t get me started on how real it feels as if I’ve got long hair.  It’s annoying, to say the least.”

The doctor was confused.  “But you are a girl.  A twelve-year-old girl.  And a very pretty one at that.  Why should you think…”

“I’m not a girl!” Steve shouted.  “Why can’t you see that?  Oh.  Shit.  You’re part of the hallucination too.  Damn, this is so real, I can’t believe it.  What kind of drugs did you give me?”

“Nancy.  We aren’t giving you any drugs at all.  All those drugs you were given while you were kidnapped should be out of your system by now.”

“Well, something isn’t, because they’re making me think I’ve got a stupid girl’s body.  Completely!  I can’t even feel my penis.”

“But you don’t have a penis, because you’re a girl.  You are very confused today.”

“You’re telling me,” Steve agreed.

“How is your head?  Is the room still spinning?”

“Not really.  Barely at all.  What a relief!  It’s just…now I’m hallucinating like you wouldn’t believe, and it feels so real.  I’ve got to get past this.  I’ve got football camp next week.”

“Football camp?”

“I’m a linebacker on our high school team,” Steve explained.

“Football!” the doctor muttered, trying to make sense of things.  “Nancy,” he said.  “I think I’m going to…”

“Nancy?” she said quickly.  “Don’t call me Nancy!  Stop calling me anything else.  My name is Steve.  Stephen Marsh.  Not Nancy!  Stop trying to make this damn hallucination worse than it is!”

“Nancy…Steve…Nancy…” the doctor said.  “I believe I’m going to send you for another CAT scan, and we’re going to put a rush on it!”

“Whatever!” Steve replied.  “I just want this hallucination to stop.  I just want the world to return to normal.”

“That’s what we’d all like,” the doctor agreed.  “I’ll set up the test.”  He quickly walked out.

Steve shook his head.  This was the darndest hallucination he could ever conceive.  It seemed so real.  Absolutely real, in every way.  Real enough that the doctor was ordering some kind of scan for him.  He really hoped that scan would find something to explain it all.  Otherwise, who knew how long he would be sitting to pee.  Ridiculous!  Not to mention, football camp was next week!  He needed to get better!

He was still sitting there fretting over everything when his room was invaded by three people.

“There she is,” Wanda Stiller said happily.  “You’re sitting up and looking so much better!  How are you darling?” she asked as she walked over toward her daughter.

Steve shook his head.  “Whoever you people are, why do you keep showing up?  You keep saying you’re my family, but I don’t know you.  Any of you!  It’s almost like you’re all part of my massive hallucination too…except I keep remembering you from when you were here before.  Who are you anyway?”

“Nance!” Emily exclaimed.  “What’s wrong with you?”

“I don’t know you either,” Steve told her.  “Even though you’re really pretty and I’d love to date you sometime.  Maybe when all this is over I can get your number.  But in the meantime, I just want something to start making sense!  I want to see someone that I actually know.”

“Someone you know?” Wanda asked, totally aghast.  “You don’t recognize us at all?  You don’t remember us?  You did yesterday.”

“I…don’t…know…you!  Even though yes, I remember you being here before.  I just want to see my own family.  I want to see people I actually know!”

“Like who?” Michael Stiller asked.

“Like maybe my father.  That would certainly be nice.  Even though he’s always working.”

“And who do you think your father is, if it isn’t me?”

“Who?  Who else?  Henry Marsh of course.  Philadelphia’s District Attorney.  That’s who my real father is.  Not you…whoever you are.”

“Henry Marsh,” Mike Stiller repeated, then shook his head.  “Nancy Stiller!  You stop this crazy ranting right now.  We’re your family.  We’re your mother and father.  Your real mother and father.  Not some made up, fake…I don’t know what!”

“I’m not making anything up.  And stop calling me Nancy.  My name is Stephen.  Stephen Marsh, and I’m not a girl, I’m a boy, and this is all driving me nuts!”

“This is so weird,” Emily muttered, staring at her younger sister in disbelief.  Her mother could only agree.

“Come on,” Mike told them.  “Let’s see if we can find a doctor.  Things just suddenly got a whole lot worse, and I didn’t see any of it coming.”

“Neither did I,” his wife agreed.

“Bye!  And don’t come back,” Steve called from his hospital bed when he saw them finally leaving.  The nerve of some people!  Now.  How the hell was he supposed to get this stupid hallucination to end?  If only it wasn’t so real.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Once again the CAT scan showed nothing wrong with Steve’s head.  The problem was that Steve seemed to be thoroughly convinced that he wasn’t Steve, but a twelve year old girl named Nancy instead.  With the CAT scan coming up clear, it was time to switch tactics.  Steve didn’t need a medical doctor.  He needed a psychiatrist.  A good psychiatrist!

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

The tests they ran on Nancy showed no physical problems at all.  Nancy had them all completely confounded though.  How could she possibly think she was a boy?  Some boy named Stephen.  And Nancy had made up so many facts about him that made it all seem so real.  Football?  It was crazy.  Nancy hated football.  Nancy was the epitome of a girly girl.  She loved dolls, makeup, clothes, and stuffed animals.  Certainly not sports of any kind.

In the end, the doctor sat down with Mike and Wanda Stiller and explained that there was nothing medically wrong with Nancy that he could find at all.  He was now going to refer her to a behavioral clinic in hopes that the psychologists there could do something with her.  It was time to send her to someone more knowledgeable about what was now a completely mental issue.  He was going to dismiss her from the hospital just as soon as he could make arrangements with the doctor he thought she needed.

 

Extracted - Chapter 4 – Increasing Warp Speed – Part 2 of 2

 

Extracted

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 4 – Increasing Warp Speed – Part 2 of 2

 

Late in the afternoon, Nancy was alone with her mother in the New York hospital room.  Her sister had gotten bored and gone home for a while and her father, as usual, was out in the hallway somewhere talking on his phone.  Since Nancy was trying to get some rest, her mother was sitting and reading a book.

Nancy laid in her hospital bed with her eyes closed, but she wasn’t sleeping.  At least she didn’t think she was sleeping.  Instead, all the weird thoughts kept going through her head.  Thoughts that seemed like memories, except they weren’t her memories…but they sure seemed like her memories.  Why was she thinking so much about playing football?  She didn’t even like football.  It was the most stupid, idiotic game on the planet!  But she was remembering not only loving the game, but playing linebacker on a high school team.  She didn’t even know what a linebacker was, but thoughts that she was one filled her head.  She remembered the football being…snapped?…and the sudden intense crashing of bodies as she and the opposite team members literally battled for supremacy.  A battle she…he?…usually won.

But football wasn’t the only memories running through her mind.  There were easier, more normal memories.  Memories of family.  Memories of friends…that she didn’t know.  Memories of school, and classes that were far beyond what she had ever taken, yet her head seemed to know what they were all about.  Why?  How?  She didn’t understand any of it.

With all those strange memories coursing through her head, she forgot all about being Nancy again and relaxed into being Steve.  Everything was much more normal now.  It all made sense to her…as long as she…he…was Steve.  And she was Steve.  Stephen Marsh.  Linebacker for the high school football team in Philadelphia where he lived.  Was it his imagination, or did his head spinning get a little bit better again?  He wasn’t sure, but he hoped so.

With the room still quiet, he fell asleep fully, the most relaxed since he had woken up in the hospital the first time.  He dreamed.  He dreamed of playing football…and decimating the opposing team.  In his dream, he was the team hero, and his girlfriend, Melody, not only loved him, but she would do anything for him.  Absolutely anything!  Including sex.

It was a few hours later before Steve woke up.  When he did, he noticed the woman sleeping in the chair.  The woman who kept insisting she was his mother, except she wasn’t.  Where was the man who insisted he was his father?  His real father spent most of his time on the phone.  This other man seemed to do the same thing.  Was he out talking on his phone somewhere?  Who knew?  Who cared.  As long as they all stayed away from him and left him alone.

How long were they going to keep him here in the hospital?  Football camp started next week, and he needed to be there.  The team had a big season coming up soon and there was a lot of work to be done.  He wasn’t going to miss it for anything!

Tired of sleeping, he moved himself up on the bed so that he was sitting.  As he did, something pulled at his head.  Once sitting, he couldn’t bend his head forward because something had it stuck where it was.  He moved his body a bit and his head came free.  He grabbed at what was holding him down and found…hair.  He remembered the hair problem from earlier.  Now it was back again.  Why did he have such long hair?  It not only made no sense, it was annoying.  Very annoying.  How could he play football with all that hair?

Where was his mother and father?  Why was this other woman in the room with him?  She wasn’t his real mother.  Why did she have to insist that she was?

The feeling hit him then.  The need.  The need that everyone had.  The need that everyone had to deal with.  He had to pee.  Not wanting to wake the woman in the chair, He quietly moved the covers aside and slipped his legs over the side of the bed…and stopped.  His legs.  His legs were small and positively skinny.  His feet were tiny!  His arms and hands were tiny.  His body was tiny!  What kind of nightmare was this?  Tiny feet.  Tiny hands.  Tiny body.  And long hair.  What kind of psycho drugs had they given him?

Panic filled him, along with his need to pee.  He would just have to deal with the weird psycho stuff after he went to the bathroom.  On too small bare feet, he made his way to the bathroom in the room and closed the door.  He stood over the toilet and pulled up the hem of his hospital gown…and had another fit.  Where was his cock?  Where was his penis?  He didn’t appear to have one at all.  His sexual area looked just like…a damn girl’s!  What the hell was going on?  What was he supposed to do?

His hand reached down and felt for his cock.  He closed his eyes and searched, hoping the problem was some kind of visual thing, but his hand found nothing at all.  His need to pee was growing worse, not knowing any other way, he sat down on the toilet like a girl and spread his legs.  The pee simply gushed out of him, fortunately into the toilet.  It was all over faster than he imagined.  He stood up and once again felt for his cock, but his hand met nothing at all.  First the drugs were giving him hallucinations that he had a girl’s body, now they were making him think he had to pee like a girl too.  Not just weird, but maddening!

Stunned, he made his way out of the bathroom and back to the bed where he covered his stupid hallucinogenic body.  What kind of drugs had they given him?

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

In Philadelphia, Steve’s doctor was very concerned about the continued head spinning problem.  He ordered a CAT scan to be done.  After the scan, he would have been much happier if the scan had actually found something, but unfortunately, the scan didn’t show any kind of problem at all.  He was at his wit’s end to diagnose what was going on.  The only consolation he could grab onto was that at least the problem appeared to be getting better.  It was a very gradual improvement, but Steve did report each time that it was improving.

In the hospital room, Steve’s father excused himself and went out into the hallway to take another phone call, leaving Steve in the room with just his mother.

“I’ve got to get out of here!” Steve told her.  “We’ve got football camp next week and I need to be there.”

“Nothing would make us happier,” his mother replied.  “We’ve just got to get you well first.”

“It’s taking too long!” Steve complained.

“I agree,” his mother said.  “But you keep complaining about everything spinning around.  Is it still doing it?”

“Yeah, of course,” Steve replied, somewhat frustrated with it.  “I really wish it would all just get better.”

“Me and your father too,” his mother replied.  “Believe me!”

“Yeah,” Steve said, as visions of another girl swam though his head.  His sister?  Emily?  Something inside him suddenly yearned for Emily, and it wasn’t in the way he usually yearned for a girl, like his girlfriend Melody.

“Do you think you’re going to be well enough for football camp?” his mother asked.

“I’ll be there!” Steve insisted.  “One way or another!”

His mother laughed.  “I’m sure you will.  Let’s hope this all goes away fast.”

“Yeah,” Steve agreed.  He laid there wondering though why he was so concerned about it.  He didn’t even like football.  It was a dumb, stupid sport for boys.  Why should she care about going to some football camp?  She didn’t care.  She certainly didn’t want to go.  Why were they even talking about it? 

“Is Melody still coming to the hospital later?” his mother asked.

Something slipped back into place inside his head.  “She said she was,” Steve replied, remembering the phone call he had with her earlier in the day.  “I’m looking forward to seeing her.”

“I’m sure you are,” his mother said, knowing full well that her son had a thing for pretty girls.  And Melody was certainly pretty.

But it wasn’t Melody that Steve wanted to see, it was Emily.  He wasn’t interested in the least in seeing Melody, except that she might be interesting for her to talk to.  An older girl, like her sister.  Maybe Melody would have some new makeup tricks that Emily didn’t know.  That would be fun!  Nancy grabbed unconsciously for her hair, and couldn’t find it.  Where?  What?  And then it hit her again, she was Steve, not Nancy.  She was a dumb stupid boy, not a pretty girl.  This woman who thought she was her mother kept talking, but Nancy had tuned her out and didn’t know what she was talking about, and she didn’t care.  She just wanted her real mother and her sister, or even her stupid workaholic father.  Any of them would be great instead of…oh yeah.  She wasn’t Nancy.  She was Steve, and this was his real mother.  Why couldn’t he keep things straight?  It was so annoying…just like not being able to find her long hair.

Everything was all mixed up.  He couldn’t wait to go to football camp, but she hated football.  He couldn’t wait to see his girlfriend Melody, but she couldn’t care less, other than maybe for some cool new makeup things she might try, if Emily or her mother let her have some more makeup to play with that is.  These were his parents, but they weren’t her parents.  He was Steve.  She was Nancy.  Was he both?

All he knew for sure was that his head was still spinning, and that he wanted to scream his head off…and cry like the little girl she was.

 

Extracted - Chapter 4 – Increasing Warp Speed – Part 1 of 2

 

Extracted

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 4 – Increasing Warp Speed – Part 1 of 2

 

It was late in the day before the Philadelphia police detectives came into Stephen’s room.  As the city D.A., Stephen’s father was annoyed that it should take them so long, but at the same time, his son was still complaining about the room spinning, with or without his eyes open.  What had those drugs done to him?  According to the doctors though, he guessed his son was lucky that he had as much memory as he did.  Drugs like he had been given often caused memory loss.  Sometimes for quite a while.

Henry Marsh listened carefully as the detectives questioned his son, but as he already knew, Stephen remembered nothing, and it wasn’t just due to memory loss that the drugs could cause.  From what the doctors had said, it looked like they had fed him those drugs since the moment he had been abducted.  Four days!  They never once gave Stephen a chance to wake up.  Henry figured that was most likely so they wouldn’t have to deal with him.  His son played football and lifted weights…a lot!  He was strong.  Not someone anyone would want to mess with.

When the detectives finally left, Henry moved closer to his son again.  “How’s your head?”

“Still spinning,” Steve replied, “but not quite as bad…I think.  I wish it would stop.”

“The doctors explained that you’ve probably still got a lot of those drugs in you.  They kept you doped up for four days Steve.”

Steve shook his head.  “I barely remember going to bed last night.  Or, whenever it was.”

“Five days ago now.  And your mother and I have been going crazy trying to figure out why we were sleeping just down the hall, and we never heard anything at all when they took you.”

“Who knows,” Steve replied.  “Maybe they drugged you too.”

Henry nodded.  “Maybe.  Or they could have gassed us or something.  That sounds more likely.  Whoever it was, went out of their way to kill not just the power and internet connections, they even shut down our backup generator.  They might have simply gassed everyone in the house to make sure we’d stay asleep.  You as well.”

Steve shook his head.  “Don’t ask me.  I still can’t think, and everything is still all confused in my head like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Give it time son,” Henry told him.  “It’ll settle down.  Soon, I hope.”

Steve nodded, as memories that belonged to someone else flashed through his head.  Memories of being a girl named Nancy.  Weird!  Especially since they felt so real!

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Nancy’s New York hospital room was visited by a single investigator.  A woman.  Since Nancy was the daughter of a U.S. congressman, that woman was part of an FBI team that was investigating the abduction.  Nancy’s mother moved away from the bed, but she and her husband stayed close.  Nancy’s sister, Emily, was in the room now too.  She stayed further away.  Nancy was glad Emily was there.  The two of them had always been close.  Special!

The FBI woman sat in the chair Nancy’s mother had been using.  “Hi Nancy,” she said with a smile.  “I’m Ellen Rosenberg, with the FBI.  How are you feeling?”

“Awful!” Nancy replied.  “Everything is still spinning around.”

“I understand,” Rosenberg replied.  “So…can you tell me what you remember from when you were abducted?”

Nancy shook her head.  “Abducted?”

“Kidnapped.  Taken,” Rosemberg explained for the twelve year old girl.

“I don’t remember anything.  I don’t even remember going to bed last night.”

“It was a few nights ago now,” Rosemberg corrected her.

“Not for me,” Nancy replied.

Rosenberg nodded.  “I understand from the doctors that it looks like whoever took you probably kept you drugged and unconscious for the entire time.  We just can’t figure out why you were taken since no ransom note was ever sent.  Whoever did it, simply took you, then dropped you off a few days later where you could easily be found.  They had you for three days.  The question is, why?  Not to mention who.”

Nancy shook her head.  “Don’t ask me.  I don’t know.  I don’t remember anything at all…except all these weird things running through my head that don’t make any sense, especially since my head still won’t stop spinning.  Even keeping my eyes open is difficult.  The room keeps going all around and it’s making everything so much worse.”

“Weird things in your head?” Rosenberg prompted.  “Like what?”

“I don’t know.  I can’t make sense of anything.  All I know is that I’m completely confused.”

“So when you were taken,” Rosenberg said, “you don’t remember seeing your abductors at all.”

“Not that I remember.  Like I said, I don’t even remember going to bed that night.”

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

The doctors for both Nancy and Steve were very concerned about their spinning heads issue.  It was the only reason they both were still confined to their respective hospitals.  Since their kids seemed to be doing well, other than their still spinning heads, the families of both Stephen and Nancy decided to go home for the night for some much-needed rest.  Both families, at both hospitals, promised to be back again as soon as they could tomorrow morning.

Without the constant stimulation to the needed areas of the brain by the family members, the process of overwriting the memories and personality traits in the brain was able to access those areas easier instead of mostly seeping through other areas and memories that hadn’t been needed.  Neither Steve nor Nancy would realize it, but while they slept, not only did the head spinning decrease somewhat, but so did their memories of their old lives.  Those memories being overwritten by other memories that had been in the souls they now possessed.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

In the New York hospital, once again it was Stephen, not Nancy, who first opened his eyes the next morning.  The first thing he realized was that his head was still spinning, but not nearly as bad as it had been yesterday.  The nurses checked on him, but otherwise barely talked to him at all.

As his eyes did their best through his still slightly spinning vision to follow one of the younger and more attractive nurses around the room, something immediately bothered Steve.  Something strange.  His hand quickly reached up and swiped at that something that kept brushing strangely against his head.  It wasn’t a bug like he first thought it might be.  Whatever it was felt strange and his hand immediately grabbed it hard and pulled…and it started to hurt.  What the heck?  He pulled again and felt the tugging to the top of his head.  It felt like….  No, it couldn’t be!  He pulled it around where he could see it and nearly fainted.  Hair?  Long hair attached to his head?  And he was holding a bunch of it in his…what?  His hand looked so small.  Why?  Long hair?  Nuisance long hair!  And small hands?  Yeah, his head spinning was really getting the better of him now.

As doctors usually do, one of them came in to assess how Nancy was doing.  “How do you feel today Nancy?” the doctor asked as he stood next to the bed with a clipboard in his hands.

Nancy?  What the…  Steve started to grow angry at the insult.  “I’m not….”  And then some of the old remaining memories finally hit him…her!  She was Nancy, not Steve.  No wonder she had long hair and small hands.  It was what she was supposed to have.  She breathed a sigh of relief.

“You’re not what?” the doctor asked, waiting for her to continue.

“Sorry,” Nancy replied.  “Yeah, my head is spinning still, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was yesterday.”

The doctor was concerned about that, but…  “At least it’s improved,” he told her.  “Still, I’m concerned about it.  Other than that, any problems?”

Not wanting to tell him about the weird things going through her mind, Nancy shook her head.  “No.”

“Good,” the doctor replied.  “I’ll check on you later.”  With that, he walked out.

What was going on with her head?  At least things weren’t spinning as bad today as they had yesterday, but they were still spinning.  She really wished her sister was there just then to be with her.  Emily always knew just what to do to make her feel better.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

In the Philadelphia hospital, things were remarkably similar to the way the situation was in New York.  Just as Stephen had woken up first in Nancy’s body in New York, Nancy woke up in Stephen’s body in Philadelphia.  Like with the person in New York, Nancy was quick to notice that while her head seemed to be a lot better today, things were still spinning around.

“Good morning,” one of the nurses said as she went about her duties in the room.  Nancy didn’t say anything.  She just watched as the nurse did this and that, then simply left.

Lying there alone again, Nancy sat up in the bed to be more comfortable for a while, hoping the spinning would stop altogether.  It didn’t.  But once she was in the new position, she bent her head forward a bit, expecting to feel the usual pull from her long hair, except there was no pull.  Her hand unconsciously reached around to grab her hair and run her fingers thought it…and discovered practically no hair on her head at all.  She panicked!  What happened to all her beautiful long hair?  Both hands now groped all around the top of her head.  What was going on?  Where was her hair?

A man walked into the room  It took her a moment to realize he was a doctor.

The doctor noticed her agitation.  “What’s wrong?” he asked immediately.

“My hair!” Nancy replied, immediately realizing her voice was all wrong.

“What’s wrong with it?” the doctor asked.

“It’s not there!” she told him.  “What happened?”

The doctor shook his head.  “Your hair looks just fine.”

“No it’s not.  I have long hair.  Long brown hair that feels like silk.  Not this…whatever it is.  And why is my voice so bad?”

“Bad?” the doctor asked, fully concerned now.

“Yes!  Why do I sound like this?  Like a…I don’t know what.  Like a man.”

“I don’t understand,” the doctor said.  “Why wouldn’t you?”

“What’s going on?” Nancy yelled.

“Okay.  Settle down,” the doctor told Stephen’s body.  “I think we’re having a bit more of a reaction to those drugs than we expected.  I’m going to get you something to help calm you down.”

“Calm me down?  Just tell me where my hair is!  What happened to me?”

“You know what happened,” the doctor told her.  “You were abducted and kept drugged for days.”

“But where’s my hair?” she cried as her hands came off her head and started waving around in front if her to accent her question.  It was then that she noticed her hands and her arms.  They were huge!  Really huge.  And there was hair on her arms.  She stared in disbelief at them.  “What the…” she managed to get out as she continued to stare, not understanding anything.

More people suddenly walked into the room.  People that for some reason Nancy vaguely recognized, even though she couldn’t quite place who they were.

“Oh doctor,” Agatha Marsh, Stephen’s mother said.  “We were hoping we’d get here early enough to see you.  How is he?”

“Very confused!” the doctor replied quickly, his voice full of concern.  “Excuse me.  I’ll be right back.”  He hurried out.

Stephen’s mother and father moved over to the bed.  “How are you today Steve?” his mother asked.

Steve?  “Who are you?” Nancy demanded.

Both of Steve’s parents were aghast.  “Steve,” his father said.  “What’s going on?”

Nancy looked at the man.  “And who are you?” she demanded.

“Steve, what do you mean?  I’m your father.  Don’t kid around!”

“Who’s kidding!” Nancy yelled.  “And what happened to me?”

“Steve, you know what happened,” Henry told his son.  “You were abducted and kept drugged.”

Nancy shook her head.  “That’s what the doctor said, but what happened to me?”

“We don’t understand dear,” Steve’s mother said.  “What’s going on?  Don’t you remember us?”

Nancy stared at them.  They did look familiar.  Very familiar.

“Steve,” Henry said.  “Wake up!  Get your head on straight.”

Nancy wanted very much for her head to be on straight, but it was still spinning, just like the entire room.  Steve?  What the…  And then something finally clicked within her head, and she nearly blacked out.  It wasn’t the first time she had to deal with this problem.  She wasn’t Nancy, she…no he…was Steve…Stephen!  Not Nancy.  And they were his parents, Henry and Agatha Marsh.  He closed his eyes and shook his head, oddly still missing the feel of the hair he thought should be there.  He opened his eyes again and looked up at his parents.  “Mom.  Dad.  What happened to me?”

“That’s what we’d like to know,” Henry Marsh told his son.  “Do you remember us now?”

“Yeah.  It’s just that…everything is still all weird.”

“Is the room still spinning?” his mother asked.

“Some.  Not like before,” Steve told her.  “But it is still spinning.  It’s driving me crazy!”

Why was he suddenly having thoughts of a…sister?…named Emily?

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---