All eyes were on me as I sat in the back seat of the dingy little car. The fabric seats were torn and the seatbelts felt like the straps of a torture device around me as it was pulled to its absolute length.
The driver had pulled over when his friend in the back started screaming and swatting at himself as I took over and expanded rapidly in the new body. With weed pumping through his system, and the trauma of our bonding he fought, I could tell he wasn't going to last long.
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I felt the Codex stain itself into my blood when I fed off the terrified teen. Even as a fragment of my original self, I couldn't escape being the key to keeping our father imprisoned.
I only showed myself because I was planning on eating the passengers, but something was stopping me.
How did I know if they were good or bad?
The bad guys were ones who threatened Eddie directly. They caged animals and assaulted helpless people.
These were just hazy-eyed smokers with a morbid fascination of running over birds on the road.
Did that put them into the 'bad' category?
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"Everyone else is seeing the same giant Xenomorph-looking guy, right?" the bleary-eyed teen at the other side swung his head around "where Jas was sitting?"
Xenomorph? Did they mean Xenophage? Had they seen one way out here? Was I safe?
Was I supposed to be Jas? Was that the name of this weak human? He was swaying inside me, trying to remain conscience. It was making me woozy trying to stay awake.
The one in the middle nodded slowly. The driver followed, his mouth hung open in disbelief before he took another drag and puffed it out.
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They were surprisingly calm, chalking my appearance up to a bad trip.
"We need to get to Las Vegas" I told them.
Eddie might not be there anymore, but Mrs Chen was. She was living the high life after winning at the casino. We were very compatible. I had taken refuge in her body a few times now; once when I was hiding from Eddie after a bitter fight, and another to protect Mrs Chen from thugs terrorising her shop.
This wouldn't be any different. I needed to rest in a host that didn't have the lifespan of a gnat.
"Dude, we are going the other way" the end teen drawled out, pointing.
Away from Mrs Chen?!
"No!" I growled, stretching myself around the wheel to jerk at it "turn us around!"
There were yells and wails before the driver leant across to slap my tendrils trying to twist the keys to ignite the engine.
"Not cool!" he pulled the keys away and turned to scowl at me "you don't touch the wheel, Jas!"
"You told us to get you out of the casino before you lost everything" the front passenger leaned over, almost whispering.
"You were.....crying" the one beside me took the blunt to smoke it, offering it to me.
"I do not cry" I wrinkled my face in disgust at their sympathy for their pitiful little friend. I used a finger to push the blunt away.
"It's ok, Jas" the smoking one rested his free hand on my arm, stroking it "you said as much as you begged, we weren't to take you back."
"But we have to!" I snapped as I picked up the squeezing hand between my fingers and dropped it "I need to go to Mrs Chen!"
The driver smiled smugly at me.
"Whose that? Your new lover?"
"Did you bag a bird while working the slots?" the one at the front window grinned.
"He was working a slot alright!" the other window one back here whooped.
They cheered and shook me in delight. I growled at their defiling of Mrs Chen's name.
Could I eat their brains now?
"So? Spill the deets" the front passenger knelt on his seat and leant over expectantly.
"She doesn't spill 'deets'" I frowned at the odd word "Mrs Chen is a refined lady. She isn't clumsy."
"And is 'Mrs Chen' her actual name? Sounds fake" the driver smirked.
"What's her real name?" the front one pressed as he shoved and rolled another blunt.
"Mrs...Chen?" I frowned back.
To me that's all she was. I didn't delve into her life when she helped me so considerably. I wasn't going to rummage through her brain like an intruder. If she wanted to be Mrs Chen, she would remain that way.
She was respectable. I would be the same with her.
"I must see her" I insisted "she is very warm and caring. She has booze and chocolate."
I could do with a drink after all this. And some fresh air that didn't choke my lungs.
"She's warm" the one by the back window teased.
The others laughed. I was offered the fresh blunt I finally took.
They watched and roared when I promptly ate the thing, chewing up the wad of greenery being wedged into my teeth.
It was foul-tasting. It reminded me of the acid rain and smell of roadkill.
Humans breathed this for fun?
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My empty stomach churned relentlessly. Pain stabbed at the sides and burned in the back of my throat.
I lurched, making the others groan in disgust or laugh at my weakness.
I didn't have the strength anymore to even attempt to eat the smokers. I'm not sure I wanted the brains now that I knew the extent of the sickening stuff fouling up their systems.
"I wouldn't mind winning more money" the front passenger grinned "we only left because Jas was being a pussy."
I groaned back, clutching my stomach.
"Wind down the windows so he has something to chuck out of" the driver ordered "we are going back to Vegas baby!"
The others cheered. The middle one leant across me to make sure fresh air poured in before it was clouded with more smoke.
A bag of chips was thrown in my lap from the front. I hugged it, too woozy to eat.
"Ve-gas! Ve-gas! Ve-gas!" they cheered when the car rumbled to life and was promptly turned around.
"Come on, Jas!"
"Woo...." I flopped a hand up, quickly returning to my stomach that stabbed again "the sooner the...." I lurched again, holding back "....better."
The driver turned on the music that blared. I couldn't even understand the tune from how hazy everything felt.
At least we were going in the right direction now.
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Closing my eyes, I quickly retreated back inside Jas' buzzing and churning body. The others only celebrated their odd trip finally disappearing, ripping open bags of food to go along with their puffs of the blunt passed around.
I would be very glad when I was somewhere quieter. Mrs Chen wouldn't make me feel this horrible. Eddie didn't either. He knew our limits.
Now that he has control of his body, Jas groggily accepted the blunt, puffing and coughing on it through barely opened eyes. The smoke nauseated me, making us turn to the air whipping past. He wanted the buzz to last longer.
Falling into sleep, I just hoped that I would be back to safety soon.
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