Hicks opened his eyes, looking through blurred vision at the flickering lights in the chandelier above him. His ears had stopped working momentarily and instead of fully fleshed out sounds he heard the hollowed out noises of the creaking doorway and the muffled moans of the one person he was trying to get away from. Glass crunched underneath his feet as he stumbled out of the room, feeling the soft soil under his feet.
“Wha- Help!” Hicks shouted as he leaned against a pillar holding up the exterior of the household. His screams were met with chirping and leaves falling from their branches as wind tousled their twigs. Hicks kept going, stumbling through the mud as his senses slowly came back. When he stumbled through shrubbery just beyond a clearing was when he realized he was naked and the straps on his backpack had started leaving marks on his shoulders. Thick red stains on his skin as he ran, taking off in an unknown direction.
He avoided the road, which helped him find pond to clean off. The mud had stuck the spaces between his toes and he needed to clean them out before he went insane. He felt insane as he splashed water on his feet, knowing that within a couple of seconds he would trudging through mud and returning his feet to the disgusting state they were in now. He dug through the back, pushing empty snack wrappers to the side until he found a pair of shoes. They seemed to glow, signaling the fatigue was setting in and he quickly added them to his seriously lacking attire. Tightening the straps on his shoulders, he continued moving along the path until he found himself standing on asphalt. He wanted to turn back, but the solid ground enticed him. He had run far enough away that he wouldn’t be on the road, but he still second guessed himself. What if he had been following him the whole time? The warm road sucked him in and he tossed those thoughts out of his head and continued walking. A couple of cars drove by, honking at the nude man with just a backpack and a pair of sneakers, and finally Hicks stuck out a thumb. The sign of a true hitchhiker.
”Need a lift?” It wasn’t long until a man with a beaded pulled up next to him, his engine babbling to a stop. Hicks was eager to accept and he found himself running to the passenger door before the driver could even finish his question.
”Thank you.” Hicks said, letting out a long sigh as the pressure on his feet was relieved. This was the most comfortable seat he had ever been in.
“So tell me,” his engine roared to life and they were back in the road, moving a much faster pace, “what has you stranded in the middle of nowhere in the nude?” the stranger squinted his eyes and focused on the road.
“It’s a long story.” Hicks said, moving his bag to his lap to hide his genitalia.
”We’ve got time. Next town isn’t for another hour. You really are in the middle of nowhere, son.” The stranger sucked his teeth and turned the wheel, the whole truck curled with the road and Hicks gripped his bag.
”I just got into a little fight with some friends, we made a bet and so far I’m winning.” Hicks chuckled, lying through his teeth. He knew that he wasn’t out here of his own volition.
Hicks ran his hand through his hair and looked up from his phone. He had just stumbled out of the club and was awaiting his Uber chariot to arrive with its glowing LED lights and bundle of chargers aimed at increasing the driver‘s star rating. Most of the time it worked, but drunk people can be pretty disgusting.
”Hey, why don’t I give you a ride?” A handsome looking man, a little pale in the eyes, came behind Hicks and helped keep him upright as he stumbled over his feet.
”Ah, you’re the cute guy that’s been staring at me all night. I don’t think this would be such a good idea.” Hicks slurred his words and waved his fingers in front of the stranger’s face.
”You saw all that? I was a little afraid to come up to you, you’re intimidatingly handsome.” He blushed. There was something about his eyes that seemed off, but Hicks was having a hard time figuring out what that was.
”I saw all of it. I do have to say thank you, it feels a little good having someone as handsome as you looking in my direction.”
”I’m sure you have a bunch of guys looking at you.”
”I don’t.” Hicks was now face to face with the stranger, using his body to prop himself up as they stared at each other in the eyes.
”Are you Richard H.?“ The Uber driver had pulled up next to them and was shouting at the window with his phone in hand.
“Why don’t you get in this Uber with me?“ Hicks was obviously drunk and the stranger laughed, helping him into the vehicle. The driver rolled his eyes, which caught the stranger’s attention, but he ignored it. The driver bounced into potholes and barely avoided the sidewalks around the corners, secretly hoping his drunk passenger would blow chunks. More money in his pocket.
”So you know my name, Richard Hicks, but my friends all call me Hicks. What’s yours?” Hicks leaned his head on the man’s shoulder.
”It’s Wes.” The stranger looked down at the man and smiled.
”This is it.” Hicks mumbled and the driver skidded to a stop, his one last attempt at the extra cleaning charge. Failure.
”Thank you, kind sir.” Hicks was out of the vehicle, stumbling around the side of the road before being escorted by the stranger into his apartment.
They collapsed onto the sofa together in a fit of laughter and then the silence swelled between them before they were leaning into each other. They floated in front of each other’s face, Hicks taking note of the sunken eyes on this stranger again and blaming his attraction on the alcohol coursing through his system, until they were kissing. What started as slow pecks transitioned into more passionate making out. With their clothes removed, and their hard members pressing into each other, Hicks quickly sobered up as he stared at the stranger straddling him. He looked up at this man as he said goodbye to his skin and recited some small phrase that Hicks could barely understand as he stared up in shock. A shadow-like figure appeared from his body, holding Hicks down as the stranger’s body collapsed backwards and then fell off the bed. Unable to move, Hicks started to yell as the shadow figure leaned forward and disappeared inside of his skin. The dark particles funneled their way into the orifices on his face, muffling his screaming until he quickly shut his mouth and closed his eyes. He gulped with his mouth closed, his back arching off the bed and trembling as he lost control of his body. With a gasp, Hicks opened his eyes with another entity in control of his body.
”Sorry, bro, had to give you a rest.” Hicks crawled over the bed and looked down at his old body. He was pretty attractive, but he could already tell this new body was something else. In the mirror he made faces, investigating his host for the first time. He posed in the mirror, popping each muscle to show his complete control over the body.
The shadow figure grabbed his keys, packed a bag with some extra clothes and shoes and went to find his new car. A few hours later, Hicks was pulling up to a small house in the woods surrounded by quite a beautiful display of nature. When he was inside, he was met by two other individuals, completely nude and holding a glass of wine as they danced to a record spinning on the shelf.
”Ah, he’s arrived. You’ve snagged a good one, let’s see him.” The man spun around and then handed a fresh glass of wine to Hicks as he disrobed. He stood their in the nude, turning to give the two other men in the room a show.
”As beautiful as always.” The other man said.
”This one feels different. I think he might be a keeper.” Hicks grinned with a smile that didn’t belong to him and raised his wine glass. The party continued well into the morning until Hicks started to convulse. He violently threw himself around the room, regaining control of his body just enough to retaliate. He pushed one of them out the window, sending him over the balcony to the lake below and the other fell into a side table as he tried to get away, spilling a glass of wine along the carpet that mixed with bloodstain seeping from the wound on the back of his head. A dark shadow appeared outside of their bodies and then disappeared into the night just as Hicks collapsed. He convulsed on the floor, shaking and turning red as the owner of the body regained control. He was staring up at the ceiling, his head trembling before he finally blacked out.
“I made a mistake getting into that Uber.” Hicks looked out the window at the trees that blurred as they drove by them.
”Oh, c’mon Hicks.“ The stranger said, one hand on the wheel.
”Excuse me?“
“What? Tell me the story, it sounds interesting.” The man placed both hands on the wheel and shifted in his seat.
”I never told you my name.” Hicks grabbed the door handle and pulled, unlatching the mechanism and then quickly reached for the belt buckle. The man in driver’s seat wrapped his hand around Hicks’ wrist and he responded with a punch to the face. The stranger veered off the road for a moment giving Hicks enough time to undo the belt buckle and face the lush forest speeding by him. The stranger was desperate and pulled him back into the truck, releasing the wheel and pushing so hard to bring the hitchhiker back inside that he failed to notice the engine getting louder. They had built up enough speed that when they hit the boulder, it sent them farther into the air than anyone expected. As the car flipped, the stranger let go of Hicks, his body barely missing a tree stump and then sliding into a pile of leaves and mud. The stranger saw the image of a large tree before the car slammed directly into it, the whole front end collapsing in on itself and then the back wrapping itself around the tree with such force that the sound would haunt the woodland creature’s nightmares.
Hicks was face down in the dirt, his backpack turned inside out and the contents spilled onto the earth. Hicks coughed, taking in a deep breath as he pushed himself off the ground. With his now empty bag slung over his shoulder, he approached the crash site. He shuffled through the debris, trying to find something that might help and was lucky enough to find a torn shirt. It would be enough.
Hicks returned to the road, aching from the fight, and he held out his thumb. A car stopped and warmly welcomed him in.
”You look a mess! Was that your car back there? You’re lucky to be alive that looked intense.” He had no idea.
”Yeah, it was my truck, but I won’t be needing it anymore. Thanks for the ride.” Hicks pulled down the visor and flipped open the mirror. The only thing wrong with his face was a scratch along the side of his face, something that could be fixed.
He closed the visor with a grin that didn’t belong to him.
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