Travis had held onto his brother tightly as he and Conner took a shallow dive into the mud bath. Before taking the plunge, a small part of his brain told him that this was a bad idea. Why should he trust some magic mud when he and his brother had just escaped an earlier horror? But, the thrill overtook his more reasonable side.
He felt the magic in the mud change himself, just as it did when he lathered it onto his biceps. Travis could not put words to the experience. It felt as if his entire body were on fire, but it was not burning pain. It was euphoric. It was pleasurable. He wanted to spend as much time as possible underneath the murky surface.
But then, he lost contact with his twin; he could not feel Conner beside him anymore. He moved his right hand through the muck, and touched another, unfamiliar arm. "Conner" He said in his brain, knowing immediately knowing that it was his twin's arm. Relieved, and not wanting to overspend time in this strange mud, Travis tried to right himself. He suddenly found it difficult to stand. He felt the squishy bottom bellow, but he seemed to be unbalanced. The surface was less than a foot above him, but he could not quite shift his torso upright. It was like half of himself was not following along.
Travis suddenly felt muscles within the center of his chest tug upward, and he was finally able to straighten his torso. He popped out of the murky water, and out of the corner of his eye, Conner appeared beside him at the same time. He took a deep, relieved breathe of air, and then Travis proceeded to splash of the muddy liquid at his twin. "What was that for?" Conner retaliated, splashing mud back.
"For holding me under dingus." Travis wiped the mud from his face so that he could see.
"I wasn't holding anything. You were the one bear hugging me so tightly that it felt like you were pulling me from the inside." Conner spoke argued. "Besides, I know you could have held your breathe for longer."
The comment sounded strange to Travis, as he had not been holding his brother. "Whatever, I'm getting out."
"You get out now, and I guess will be the bigger twin." Conner showed a muddy smile.
"Very attractive dude." Travis shook his head, but could not hold back his own smile.
But soon, that smiled faded. He felt different, and not in a good way like he had expected. He was only half-standing in the mud pond, so everything just below his neck was still submerged, obscured from view. Even though he could not see it, his body felt wrong. Travis tried to stand fully upright. As his right shoulder broke the surface, he felt off-center and unusually more heavy toward his left. The weight toward his left forced him to knock heads with his brother, and they tumbled back into the mud. When he and Conner broke the surface again, he noted that they seemed to be the same distance apart.
"Ow dude. What the hell?" Conner complained.
"Just stand up Conner." Travis ordered, his voice had a slight quiver. He now knew something was wrong, but he hoped it was not what he thought.
Travis tried to stand again, but the unusual weight at his left did not pull his back down, seemingly because his twin was also attempting to stand. As he rose to his full height, he stared in utter shock as the mud seemed to magically fall off of his frame. His body had changed, improved in nearly every way. It was as if he held the body of a young, elite athlete. His body was a perfectly chiseled greek statue as seen in the museums he and Conner had visited as kids. The only problem was that this well-built body was not his own. The shoulders of this body appeared broader than normal, so as to hold both his and Conner's individual, identical heads on top. From their necks down, they appeared to be one muscular person.
The next several minutes was a tough realization and transition for himself and his twin. The magic mud that they had been standing in, had vanished. Leaving their shared demigod-like body standing naked in the middle of the clear pond. Though they only remained standing for a few more moments before they each tried pulling themselves apart.
Travis tried to moved towards shore but he felt himself being pulled downward, back into the water. "Travis! We have to get out of the water!" he pleaded as he stumbled backward with his brother. They fell onto their bottom, but their heads were still just above the surface.
"No! The mud! We have to use it... again!" Conner desperately grabbed a handful of the mud beneath their feet, and slapped his between their necks.
Travis waited for a few moments. He hoped, just as much as his brother, that the simple idea would work, but nothing changed. He and his twin were still inseparable. "We have to get out!" Travis exclaimed again as he tried to stand, but Conner, his other half now, refused to move.
Travis never considered himself one of the smart kids, but he knew what the mud had turned them into, conjoined twins. From that one health class lesson, he knew that he and his twin were one of the most extreme forms. They were two brothers locked into one body. If they did not move together, they would not get anywhere. Travis knew why it was so difficult for him to stand earlier, and to move now. He owned only half of their body. Conner controlled the left half of themselves. "Come on Conner..." Travis pleased one more time.