“I- uh… Sorry Stoney but I’d like Ray to come with us.” Stoney can’t believe it. He knew the two were close but not that close. Stoney could only give the boy a grunt. But before leaving, he looked at Ray straight in the eye.
“You’re going to come with us but shut your mouth.” For a young kid, the pink-haired retard can drown the ship with his stories. It’s a good thing Chip has the most patient ear and the only one who could act interested in his stories.
Stoney leads the boys in the center of the cruiser where the large pistons are powering the ship resides. Beyond the moving gears and the neutron flux system, lies the chrome-colored machine Stoney mysteriously built.
“Whoa,” Ray said in hushed tones. “What is this?” He touched the pods and proceeded to nimble amongst the blinking buttons in the panel. Stoney grabbed his wrist and sternly warned him not to touch anything. No one knows what this machine does but they’re going to find out.
“I don’t know where this machine came from or how it works but it just appeared here,” Stoney said. “And it’s not magic or anything. I dreamed about building this stuff yesterday.”
“So, why’d you call us instead of reporting this to Jacob?” Ray said.
“I know what that guy would say if he saw this. He’d immediately steer the ship back and report this thing to Scoutmaster Rodney. He’d find about this thing sooner or later. But before that, I want to know everything about this machine. I made it after all.”
“Let me get this straight. You built this machine, you don’t know how it works and you’re going to use Chip as your test subject!?”
“You got everything right, except that I’d be a test subject too. There are two pods and that means it needs two people. I tried getting in one of the pods but nothing happens. I assumed that there must be two people inside for it to work.”
“I don’t know. This sounds dangerous. Let’s go Chip.”
“That’s why I don’t you coming here. You’d pussy out. Look at Chip,”
Chip wasn’t fazed by the danger posed by the dangerous machine. Rather, he wide-eyed, star-struck, and all-around curious about the machinations of the said device. He looked behind, the panel and in front of the machine. He touched one of the pods and it opened with the slightest haptic feedback.
“Let’s test this thing,” Chip said. He climbed aboard one of the pods and waited for Stoney to climb the other.
“Your friend here has more balls than you.” Stoney chuckled at Ray. Stoney touched one of the pods and climbed aboard. The machine, despite not having any visual sensors, registered two humanoid creatures in its pod and lit in response. The pod doors hissed and latched down, sealing Stoney and Chip inside. Sweat beads in Stoney’s temple, not because of the heat, but because of his pent up excitement on finding out what this machine does. As for Chip, he can’t be any more afraid as smoke began to fill up each of their body. Light sired at the edges of the pods and the panel became lit with a unifying red light. The machine-made no sounds except for a silent whir.
Moments were sliced into a million pieces. Time moved slowly as Ray waited for the smoke to dissipate inside. Patience isn’t one of Ray’s virtues and in his perspective, a minute of silence has a thousand meanings. He placed his eyes inside Chip’s pod and looked inside. The smoke is too thick but there are movements beyond it.
“Chip!” He shouted at the glass.
No answer, except for a huge hand that suddenly appeared on the other surface. Ray immediately knew something was wrong. That hand - it’s not Chip’s. It’s someone else’s. Ray knocked on the glass and tried to pull off the pod’s edges. His strength wasn’t enough to budge an inch of the machine.
Then suddenly, the machine stopped all its function and the pod doors opened - pushing Ray aside. From the smoke, out came Chip and Stoney, although in opposite pods. Ray had small notions about what the machine is now. One of which is a teleportation device that seemed counter-intuitive since it needs two people to be in each pod.
Ray ran towards Chip and helped him stand up.
“Chip, are you alright?” Ray asked.
“Chip? Who are you calling Chip?”
“Ray, I’m here.” A voice behind Ray said. When Ray looked back, it’s Stoney who said those words.
“Wait what!? I don’t - I don’t understand”
“The machine is a body-swapping device,” Stoney in Chip’s body explained. “I should have known it from the number of pods and the design in the panel. The tech is impossible with our current technology but there’s a slim chance it can be made in the future. What the fuck am I saying? The machine is real and here.”
With Ray’s eyes, he can see Chip but the brusque movements of his arms and the disappearance of his Demetrian speech nuance are unnerving to say so the least. As for Chip in Stoney’s body, he’s too busy looking at his arms and testing all mobilities of his finger. He even took a sniff of his skin and armpit.
“Your sense of smell isn’t that good Stoney.” Chip said.
“What do you mean my sense of smell isn’t good? It’s you who has an amazing sense of smell, to begin with. And do I really smell like that? Musky…” Stoney sniffed, “and motor oil.”
“Always,” Chip replied.
——
In the engine room, Stoney busied himself with the enhanced senses of his body. He could smell farther and better, and his eyes quickly adjusted to the dark. Not to mention, the lack of thick muscles made his limbs lighter and move faster. When he looked back, he admired how bubbly his ass is. Didn’t know the boy is training his glutes.
“Hey!” Ray hissed.
“What?”
“What you’re doing? It’s obnoxious,”
“You mean this?” Stoney squeezed both his butt cheeks once more, this time, retaining a goofed up look in front of Ray. It’s fun teasing the boy like this, especially since Stoney’s using his “best friend's” face.
“Chip! Look at what Stoney is doing to your body?”
But lo and behold, Chip, on the other hand, has his left hand deep inside his body’s short and doing god knows what. With both eyes on him, Chip realized the wrong in what he has done. His cheeks flushed red, which is something rare with Stoney’s face.
“I’m -uh… adjusting your thing down there. It suddenly became tight and it’s um… hurting me.”
“That’s probably my morning wood. Push it to the side. And don’t get embarrassed kid, you’re in my body and I’m in yours. I can touch your dick as much as you can touch mine.”
“Stoney!” Ray retorted.
“Again? What!?”
“That’s a bit too much don’t you think. We tested your machine for you and now turn yourselves back.”
Stoney scoffed. He knew what this is. This whole protective ruse is just an act. He would never admit it himself but with the possibility of the machine, Stoney knew Ray is dying just to have a taste of Chip’s body. The way his eyes looked when Stoney pinched his ass cheeks called for it. And now, he’s red as a cherry with when Stoney dipped his hands inside his shorts and pushed the outline of his dick. Good gracious! He’s pretty average - 8 inch perhaps but the girth! Holy deities, this is the real deal!
On one hand, Stoney wanted to tease Ray more by using Chip’s body. On the other, he’d be a good Samaritan and let him have a taste of his “Best-friend’s” body.”