Kevin winced and bit his lip. He shook suddenly as his thighs tightened up. Then his breathing subsided.
He zipped up his pants and put money in the table for Ariana. After she left Kevin got up from his desk and waddled to the large windows. Looking out he saw the empire he owned. Hundreds of cars of coal, scores of piles of coal, tens of cranes and the handful of ships in the bay waiting to be loaded up. He saw the workers in the rail yard going back and forth like little ants in his colony. About half as many were here today, less than last month but he couldn’t blame them, The Altering was changing their lives, most not for the better. But even though the workforce was down, profits has been soaring. The Saviors had given humanity clean nuclear power, but it still took energy to make those plants and the best thing for that was coal. Kevin turned away from the window and looked at the mirror opposite his desk.
Fat; rolls and lumps blanketed his abdomen. The late 19th century cartons of the fat, capitalist, cats had nothing on him. When Ariana came by every other day he couldn’t even see her head. His head looked like a plowed field blanked with his snow come over. That would all be in the past soon enough.
“ Mr.Koal your 10:30 is here.”
“ Send him in Mary.”
The door opened and The Alien named Daenor waked in. His skin made the entire room brighten.
“ Good morning Mr.Koul, I’m here to finalize our agreement.”
“ I’m glad to hear it please take a seat.” As he sat down the being remained standing.
“ Anyway under the terms of the agreement that you; Kevin Koul, have made, in return for 21% of your company which translates to 984 billion dollars; We will provide you with a new, young body, as you requested during your Altering today.” He said in his deep voice that never changed tone.
“ Yep, sounds good. I love being rich, I just wonder what the head of Exxon is getting?”
“ Do to the confidentiality of these contracts we are not allowed to discuss them.” The Savior said
“ Right right of course.” Kevin said disappointed.
“ If that is all I will see you shortly downtown.” With that the being walked out.
Kevin returned to the mirror. He looked at his waist, and how he wasn’t able to see his toes wiggling. He looks at how his torso bulged and sagged at the same time.
“ that’s all gonna be in the past” he though
Soon he would have a new body. Soon he could run this company in his twenties. Soon he would be looking in this mirror with a six pack, a full head of black hair, and bronze tone. Who was he kidding he would be busy checking his body out tomorrow, he wasn’t going to come in for work. He needed a long vacation.
He looked at the close behind him, it was almost 11:30.
“ Shit, time flys.” He waddled back to his desk and paged Mary.
“ Get my chopper ready.”
Kevin grabbed his wallet and phone and strolled out the door. As he was passing Mary on his way to the elevator she begged a question.
“ Sir, I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“ No. No, I don’t think you will. I think I’m gonna take a surprise vacation.”
“ Very good sir, how long do you think you’ll be gone?” She asked
“ I don’t know, I feel like I could go a millions of years without coming back. I’ll send an email to you and Arthur. In the mean time Arthur can take charge while I’m gone.” He responses as he pressed the up button.
Who wa she kidding Arthur couldn’t do shit, after a month he would have to come in. After all Arthur has his own Altering in a couple weeks. He thought about the predicament as he emerged on the roof. The helicopters blades sending the air into gusts. The ride was short to the downtown arch. The large grey building around it offered a helipad. Kevin took the elevator down to the lobby.
After a few minutes of waiting he was directed away from the other patients in line to whatever lame fate allowed them. He was escorted by an Alterer to a room where Daenor was standing.
“ Go in ahead Mr.Koul.” He said
Kevin new what to do and stripped down to the nude.
Daennor administered the shot, to num any pain he may feel. Kevin remembered the other steps easy enough, he got on the steel slab in the middle of the room.
“ Okay Mr.Koul today is The Day. As discussed all your plans will be enacted. I’ll see you on the other side. You may feel a little scared as we drop you, it lasts about a second.”
“ Okay, I’m ready, let’s do this.” He said fully prepared to leave this body.
The wall behind him opened up to the blue light of the arch. The slab tilted upwards and moved back. He felt his weight shift as he felt the cool sense of light embrace him. Everything went dark. He felt himself he broekn up into pieces, then those pieces became pices, then those pieces pieces became scores of pieces. Soon Kevein felt like his entire body was made of pixels. Then it all stopped and there was light once again.
He was looking up at a big blue sky. Clouds dotted it make shapes of animals. It was a peaceful scene of not for the sound of machines above him. It was also weird that the ground around him seemed so dark. Then Kevin realized he was in a hole. Adding to this weirdness Daenor came floating across the sky.
“ Where am I.”
“ You are in West Virginia, about 30
miles north of Charleston. You actually own this land.”
“ Why am I here I should be back by the coast. It was in our deal, I payed an extra billion dollars for that.”
“ Well Mr.Koul , there is no deal. You aren't getting a new body.” The sounds of machines was getting louder.
“ You asshole what are you playing at?” Kevin tried sitting up to see his body but it was to dark in the hole to see and his neck was to short.
“ People like you have put our bets at risk. We had to take severe measures to ensure that such things wouldn’t happen again.” Every time he spoke the machines got louder it was getting hard to hear.. The ground started vibrating.
“ What have you done to me? give me me my money back!”
“ In the.....poetic justice......thought it..... funny to........what you re.... are” The machines were definitely close, stones were falling into the hole.
“ WHAT DID YOU DO!!”
“ Why.... you......lo...” he could see the machines sides starting to eclipse the sky. They were big trucks. Stones were falling into his hole. Kevin looked down but still just saw nothing the Hoke was to deep and too dark.
“ GIVE ME BACK MY LIFE!” Kevin was frantic but he did hear The Alien clearly one last time.
“ Enjoy your millions of years of vacation.” And with that the machines poured rocks over his body. The rocks rained down. They covered his field of view. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t hear. The rocks put pressure on his stomach he felt like he was suffocating. He was being buried alive. He was chocking in something in his throat. He knew the taste. The same taste he felt in the air when he went into work every morning; coal.