Chapter 24

At first everything was black…then slowly things began to lighten up…

For a couple of seconds I couldn't see one thing that wasn't a swirling, blurred mass…

I began picking up a feeling, like something had latched onto my hands and I felt something screwy hooked to my knees. What's more, it was as if I was lying on my belly, but at the same time I felt like I was levitating.

Speaking of which there was this feeling in my gut like I'd swallowed a bucket of wet mortar.

I tried to look around, but I couldn't turn my head. That wasn't to be the strangest part however; I suddenly noticed that there were these bars in front of me. It was then that I also realized that my eyes felt drier than mouth the time I tried a pickled jalapeno.

In an attempt to flush them I tried to blink, but all I got was a shallow tremble.

I tried to flex my temples, thinking that I could use them to force the lids down, and that's when it went off:

There was a loud clack, and then from out of nowhere I saw lights…bright lights, stretching out ahead and bouncing off the front doors.

I tried to call for help, but instead of my voice, I met with a short blast of my creation's whistle from somewhere behind me.

"What the?!" I yelped in my mind. Just then I felt a cold breeze wash over my side, and I heard footsteps pulling in close. But before I could make sense of anything, I saw something. Scratch that -two things.
Two things that looked like familiar legs clad in more familiar denim.
I just barely managed to look down, and what I saw chilled me fast, because if things weren't bad enough, I found I was looking down at my own brahma's.

I looked back up, slowly and steadily tracing the expanse of the figure that wore my clothes. Finally I reached the top… guess what I saw.

I tried to ask him what had had happened, but the only thing that came out was another toot of the whistle.
"Oops. Sorry about that. Hang on". He said. He then snapped his fingers and suddenly I heard a click and the sound of static from inside the cab.

"Son" I said as my voice returned, "And here folks said I looked bad in them duds. Tell me sludge-bucket, what are you doing with my body?"

For a second he was silent, but then I saw a crooked, goofball smirk cross what used to be my lips.

"Didn't I tell you I had a plan?" he asked, and then he reached to the side and wheeled an old inspection mirror in front of me. At first I couldn't figure out why, but then I got a good look…

"What did I see?" you ask. Well, it wasn't The Love Bug looking back at me, and it was no time before I realized just what he'd meant by, 'fight fire with fire'.

Before I asked anything else he said, "Relax. And while we're at it, here-."

I felt a hand on the radiator, and then felt this slight tingling throughout what I guessed would be my new body.

"How?" I asked when the feeling resided.

"I forgot to tell you Dodge. Before I came to visit, I spent some time doing research on a lot of things. One day I found a journal a man had written about a thing called Spiritual transference. It's sort of like possession mixed with body switching. And when I saw this car you built, I happened to remember it".

"Well how'd you do it?" I asked, slightly fixated as I'd just realized that I could now see rearward thanks to the mirrors.

"It was simple. When I knocked you out I just possessed the car, and then I switched bodies with you. The only other thing I did was zap you with a bit of electricity to bond your spirit to the metal and fixed it so you could control yourself. I also tweaked your mind so you knew how to do it."

"Well thanks for that, but somehow I don't feel right about this. What guarantees do I have that this isn't some trick to steal my body?"

"If I wanted to really steal this thing, do you think I'd put you into any other body, let alone something that could mash me flat? And furthermore, why would I want to look this ugly permanently?" he said, a trace of laughter easing through his voice.

"Who are you calling ugly?" I asked, "Wait; never mind. Just open one of those doors and let me out. When I'm out close it behind me and throw both of those crossbars. I need you here as a look out. There's a radio in the office already set, and there's some leftover coffee in the pot if you can take it."

"Okay. Be careful". Arnie said, walking towards the door.

Soon the orders were executed, and I was on the road just an hour before sundown. Luckily I'd installed tinted windows, otherwise with the last minute travelers on the road the sight of my empty cab may have turned things grisly.
Speaking of which, as I rolled along my new mind conjured the darkest plan I could rake up.

And just as dusk arrived I found my hiding place. A few hours of snowfall later, things went into effect as the dreaded blizzard set in.