"So do you think they'll do the thing again?" Lucas asked Eliza, who now shared a workspace with him.
"Maybe, I agree the date of this party does fit, though it does seem crazy inviting the whole building to the party," Eliza admitted as she gave Lucas a look over. "I'll still be going either way. Last time was an interesting learning experience both in life and work and it got me a permanent job."
"If it does happen, just don't get anyone any tattoos," Lucas gave a snide remark. He wasn't impressed he had the words 'Eliza was here' tattooed on his back.
"I told you I was drunk and that I was sorry." Eliza defended.
Wendy the new department manager walked by their workspace and stopped as she heard the talking. She had been transferred out of HR to this department. Eliza was glad she was still her supervisor but Lucas preferred the old manager. "What are you two talking about and why is it interrupting your work?" Wendy asked. Wendy was a friendly lady usually but when it came to work she was all about productivity.
Eliza gave a head nod to Lucas indicating he was the one who started the conversation and quickly got back to the task at hand. Wendy glared at Lucas and waited for an explanation.
"I mentioned the office party happening tomorrow and was just curious if Mr Ferris intended to do anything special," Lucas admitted. Wendy pondered for a moment as her demeanor relaxed and she grabbed a nearby chair and pulled it up next to them.
"I was wondering the exact same thing," Wendy admitted in her more friendly tone. "Usually the bowl is used on small groups only, just a few random people around the building we aren't too sure of, such as temps, new hires people we think have room to grow, that sort of thing. Of course the department heads to it every time as well. There's not actually too many people here that even know about that ritual. Still I wouldn't put it past Mr Ferris to experiment with the entire company, especially when the workload is lighter as we close down for the end of the year," Wendy let loose her thoughts in a hushed tone so others didn't overhear.
"So he's never done anything like this before?" Eliza asked.
"Not in the five years I've been working here. It started out with just the department heads and his personal secretary. It wasn't until later he started to include random employees. I was even surprised to learn he had his own daughter put in the last draw." Wendy noticed Lucas shift a little in his chair. "You got her?! That explains why Mr Ferris speaks highly of your work ethic, even though I have seen very little of it myself." Wendy got off the chair and put it back. "Speaking of which get back to work."
Lucas and Eliza continued with their work until the end of the day.
"You are going to the party right?" Eliza realized Lucas never said if he was going or not.
"I don't think I will. If Mr Ferris does plan to do the thing, it's not something I'm looking forward to. A week as his daughter did allow me to make an impression but I felt trapped in that body, one false move and it was my job. Going to the toilet and having showers were especially unnerving, I felt like a pervert."
"Yeah now I understand why people go to HR about this, still it's an experience, living someone else's life. I'll admit I felt uncomfortable when I knew there was a man in my body but at the same time, when I was in yours I was fascinated. It did make things easier, knowing the person who was in my body was most likely going through the same emotions. Besides everything worked out in the end. The boss now loves you, I was able to get a permanent job and the janitor was even able to change fields."
Lucas didn't say anything as they headed towards the elevator. "I'll think about it..." Lucas muttered under his breath. Eliza smiled.
* * * * *
It was the twelfth of December and the office party started about an hour before Lucas finally arrived. He was still unsure if this was a good idea or not but it was too late now, his ID badge had already been taken from him, confirming his suspicions. It was only for a week, he told himself as he went into the elevator to decide which floor he'd go on. One of the floors was for dancing and partying, one was for catering and the third was for mingling. He decided to go up to the floor to mingle.
"Ah Lucas," Mr Ferris greeted him as soon as he got out of the elevator. "I'm glad you could make it," he was sincerely happy to see him. "You remember my daughter Maria?" Mr Ferris gave him a cheeky smile. The young woman, in shortcut Santa dress looked over to him. Lucas could tell she wasn't happy to be here. He look of displeasure turned to one of mortification, she had never seen Lucas before so the only way he could remember her was if he was her. "Do you mind doing me a favour?" Mr Ferris continued, not paying attention to his daughter's discomfort.
"Anything, sir!" Lucas answered too quickly, he wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to impress the boss.
"That's what I like to hear," Mr Ferris clasped Lucas's shoulders giving him a look of pride. "I need you to keep an eye on Maria, I have things to attend to and my daughter is known for getting herself into trouble. You're the only one I trust with this task." Now it wasn't just Maria that looked mortified but Lucas as well, he didn't give a verbal response but Mr Ferris had already taken his previous statement as a yes. "I knew I could count on you." Mr Ferris walked off, leaving Maria and Lucas alone together.
Maria eyed off Lucas before she tried to slip away. Lucas quickly followed not letting her out of his sight, he was given a job to do and he was going to do it. "Look, Robert doesn't actually expect you to watch me, it's all part of his twisted game. Ever since he got that damn bowl he's obsessed with using it to mess with people. I just never thought he'd use it on me."
"Robert?" Lucas gave a look of confusion, he knew that was Mr Ferris' first name but he didn't expect his daughter to use it.
"My father..." Maria answered annoyed but when that didn't seem to remove the confused look on Lucas' face she realized what it was. "That sick bastard got you to call him daddy, didn't he? I haven't called him that since I was six. I knew it, he gets off on this stuff, the power and control. I knew it was a lie, claiming the swap was to teach me some humility by taking my body away and giving it to you, while giving me that," Maria pointed over to the mailman, who was mingling with the interns. "So what's the lie he tells you then?" Maria crossed her arms and waited for Lucas' answer.
"That it's to allow us to know the company better and see if we fit in better elsewhere," Lucas answered.
"I see..." Maria was skeptical. "What is it that you do here again?"
"I'm an office assistant."
"So if you're an office assistant and this swap is to get you to know the company and to see if you fit in elsewhere, why would you be put in a group that includes the mailman and me?" Maria pointed out.
"Or a temp and janitor..." Lucas realized. "But those two got better jobs," Lucas quickly pointed out as a counter to Maria's point. He was not sure why he was trying to defend Mr Ferris' use of the bowl.
"Two people benefited out of how many? I mean you couldn't have progressed far seeing as you ended up as me and the mailman is still a mailman. I bet some people even quit. Don't you see, Robert makes these excuses to use the bowl under false claims. Sure there might be benefits but it's all a game to him. We both know what he plans tonight, can you tell me the benefit of swapping everyone in the company would do? It's going to create chaos. How are you going to learn a new role if your boss is suddenly an intern?"
Lucas stood there silently as he took what Maria was telling him, in. While he was distracted she tried to slip away again but Lucas quickly caught up.
"Seriously, you're still going to follow Robert's instructions after all that?" Maria asked unimpressed.
"You might be right but even so, he gave me a job to do and I'm going to do it," Lucas said. "Now how about we get something to eat downstairs and we can discuss this matter further."
"Fine..." Maria conceded as they went to the elevator.
"So how long has your dad had the bowl for?" Lucas was curious.
"About eight years. I'm not sure how long he's being using it though, like I said, this year was the first time he had used it on me." Maria's guard lowered a little.
"Wendy, said that she's been here for five years, and he only started using it on the department heads first." Lucas wasn't sure if Maria knew that or not. "She said he didn't start including random employees until a couple of years ago."
"Well I know he's been using it a lot longer than that. He started with himself and my mum, at least the first few times. Then he started messing with the maids and butlers, making mum a servant of the house while he continued to take female bodies. Once he tested to see if he could swap people with animals and he put my mum in a dog's body and sent her to the pound. I think after that it's when he started using it here. Still he used it at home for playful purposes too. That's what I think this party is, it's his next escalation. The maids and butlers are working here tonight," Maria explained as quickly as she could while they waited for the elevator.
"How do you know all this?" Lucas found it hard to believe.
"My mum left me a journal, marking all the swaps she witnessed and when Robert got the bowl. I didn't quite believe it until I got swapped. I have noticed that the swap dates were always Friday the Thirteenth and always lasted a week, I now believe that's a condition of the bowl rather than Robert's choice. If it was his, he'd probably be doing it a lot more frequently and I'm pretty sure he'd make some swaps permanent." Maria turned to face Lucas with a look of desperation. "You've got to help me Lucas. The reason Robert didn't want me to be left unattended is because he knew I'd steal back my ID and escape. You can quit this job any time and avoid further swaps. As for me he's going to do it for the rest of my life."
The elevator opened to the catering floor and instead of getting out, Lucas pressed the button to go to the floor with Mr Ferris' office. The floor was dark except for a single light coming out of one of the offices. They quietly made there way to the office, where they saw Janice with the bowl and a pile of ID cards. Maria grabbed a pot plant and hit Janice over the head, knocking her out.
"Why did you do that?" Lucas asked as he ran into the room.
Maria looked at the current IDs and read through the notes Janice had been given. Some of these swaps were preplanned, luckily for Maria she had stopped Janice before she could make the final one. "I knew it..." Maria reached for Janice's ID. "He plans to kill me and take my body for himself."
"Wait what? Surely Mr Ferris wouldn't go that far," Lucas walked over in disbelief.
"It's right here in the notes. He is to swap with you, and you're to end up as me again. I'm to get his body," Maria explained as she looked through it all. "Janice has already done the first two steps, luckily she didn't get to the last." Maria took her dad's ID and Janice's ensuring that Janice would get Mr Ferris' body. Now that Janice was in the swap and Maria's body was already claimed, she also made it so she'd swap into Janice's body.
"Wait, I thought we had to pull out what bodies we'd get, that's how I got yours the first time," Lucas stood confused as Maria played around with the IDs.
"There's multiple ways of doing it, so long as you have something of the person's you can force them to swap," Maria clarified. "Either way we messed up his plan, now Janice will get his body instead and I'll be safe." Maria placed her and her dad's ID cards onto the side pile, making it look like Janice had made the intended swap. "Now we need to wait here and get caught."
"I don't understand, what do mean your dad is going to kill you?" Lucas asked.
"I told you he gets off on this, he wants a female body for himself. Unfortunately, he can only get one for a week at a time. But what if the person you swap with dies before you can swap back? If it was your body do you swap into death and the person comes back or does the person's whose body died automatically end up in the body of person who's spirit died?"
"But why would he kill you, his own daughter?" Lucas still wasn't buying this. "And why would he take me body first?"
"Because I'll inherit everything if he dies and he can't kill his body as me otherwise I go to prison and get nothing. If he kills himself as you, you get the blame and when everyone swaps back a week later, you go into a murderer's body and he ends up in mine." Maria had convinced herself of this scenario, now she had to convince Lucas too. "I'm sure Robert would have it so I'd live if he could allow it but with how the swaps work it's not possible."
"How do you know that's what he's planning, why would he even risk this if he isn't certain it works..." Lucas froze. "Unless he knows it does work."
"Bingo! Back in September after we swapped back, I heard the staff talking about one of their former colleagues had passed away. From my mother's journals I knew they were one of the people that had been swapped around before. So I don't think their death was an accident, rather it was a test for tonight," Maria began to fake the water works. "If only you had listened to me sooner Lucas, we got here too late!"
Lucas turned around to see Robert Ferris standing by the door. "Oh Maria, you're a lot smarter than I gave you credit for. If there was some other way, I'd let you live." He walked over to the IDs and was satisfied with the work Janice had made. "Thank you for looking after my daughter Lucas."
"What happened..." Janice rubbed the back of her head, having no recollection of the events before she was hit over the head.
"My daughter and Lucas assaulted you, but not before you made the necessary arrangements. Thank you Janice, go get your head looked at and take the rest of the night off," Mr Ferris instructed. "As for you two, security will be here shortly."
"Ah Lucas," Mr Ferris greeted him as soon as he got out of the elevator. "I'm glad you could make it," he was sincerely happy to see him. "You remember my daughter Maria?" Mr Ferris gave him a cheeky smile. The young woman, in shortcut Santa dress looked over to him. Lucas could tell she wasn't happy to be here. He look of displeasure turned to one of mortification, she had never seen Lucas before so the only way he could remember her was if he was her. "Do you mind doing me a favour?" Mr Ferris continued, not paying attention to his daughter's discomfort.
"Anything, sir!" Lucas answered too quickly, he wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to impress the boss.
"That's what I like to hear," Mr Ferris clasped Lucas's shoulders giving him a look of pride. "I need you to keep an eye on Maria, I have things to attend to and my daughter is known for getting herself into trouble. You're the only one I trust with this task." Now it wasn't just Maria that looked mortified but Lucas as well, he didn't give a verbal response but Mr Ferris had already taken his previous statement as a yes. "I knew I could count on you." Mr Ferris walked off, leaving Maria and Lucas alone together.
Maria eyed off Lucas before she tried to slip away. Lucas quickly followed not letting her out of his sight, he was given a job to do and he was going to do it. "Look, Robert doesn't actually expect you to watch me, it's all part of his twisted game. Ever since he got that damn bowl he's obsessed with using it to mess with people. I just never thought he'd use it on me."
"Robert?" Lucas gave a look of confusion, he knew that was Mr Ferris' first name but he didn't expect his daughter to use it.
"My father..." Maria answered annoyed but when that didn't seem to remove the confused look on Lucas' face she realized what it was. "That sick bastard got you to call him daddy, didn't he? I haven't called him that since I was six. I knew it, he gets off on this stuff, the power and control. I knew it was a lie, claiming the swap was to teach me some humility by taking my body away and giving it to you, while giving me that," Maria pointed over to the mailman, who was mingling with the interns. "So what's the lie he tells you then?" Maria crossed her arms and waited for Lucas' answer.
"That it's to allow us to know the company better and see if we fit in better elsewhere," Lucas answered.
"I see..." Maria was skeptical. "What is it that you do here again?"
"I'm an office assistant."
"So if you're an office assistant and this swap is to get you to know the company and to see if you fit in elsewhere, why would you be put in a group that includes the mailman and me?" Maria pointed out.
"Or a temp and janitor..." Lucas realized. "But those two got better jobs," Lucas quickly pointed out as a counter to Maria's point. He was not sure why he was trying to defend Mr Ferris' use of the bowl.
"Two people benefited out of how many? I mean you couldn't have progressed far seeing as you ended up as me and the mailman is still a mailman. I bet some people even quit. Don't you see, Robert makes these excuses to use the bowl under false claims. Sure there might be benefits but it's all a game to him. We both know what he plans tonight, can you tell me the benefit of swapping everyone in the company would do? It's going to create chaos. How are you going to learn a new role if your boss is suddenly an intern?"
Lucas stood there silently as he took what Maria was telling him, in. While he was distracted she tried to slip away again but Lucas quickly caught up.
"Seriously, you're still going to follow Robert's instructions after all that?" Maria asked unimpressed.
"You might be right but even so, he gave me a job to do and I'm going to do it," Lucas said. "Now how about we get something to eat downstairs and we can discuss this matter further."
"Fine..." Maria conceded as they went to the elevator.
"So how long has your dad had the bowl for?" Lucas was curious.
"About eight years. I'm not sure how long he's being using it though, like I said, this year was the first time he had used it on me." Maria's guard lowered a little.
"Wendy, said that she's been here for five years, and he only started using it on the department heads first." Lucas wasn't sure if Maria knew that or not. "She said he didn't start including random employees until a couple of years ago."
"Well I know he's been using it a lot longer than that. He started with himself and my mum, at least the first few times. Then he started messing with the maids and butlers, making mum a servant of the house while he continued to take female bodies. Once he tested to see if he could swap people with animals and he put my mum in a dog's body and sent her to the pound. I think after that it's when he started using it here. Still he used it at home for playful purposes too. That's what I think this party is, it's his next escalation. The maids and butlers are working here tonight," Maria explained as quickly as she could while they waited for the elevator.
"How do you know all this?" Lucas found it hard to believe.
"My mum left me a journal, marking all the swaps she witnessed and when Robert got the bowl. I didn't quite believe it until I got swapped. I have noticed that the swap dates were always Friday the Thirteenth and always lasted a week, I now believe that's a condition of the bowl rather than Robert's choice. If it was his, he'd probably be doing it a lot more frequently and I'm pretty sure he'd make some swaps permanent." Maria turned to face Lucas with a look of desperation. "You've got to help me Lucas. The reason Robert didn't want me to be left unattended is because he knew I'd steal back my ID and escape. You can quit this job any time and avoid further swaps. As for me he's going to do it for the rest of my life."
The elevator opened to the catering floor and instead of getting out, Lucas pressed the button to go to the floor with Mr Ferris' office. The floor was dark except for a single light coming out of one of the offices. They quietly made there way to the office, where they saw Janice with the bowl and a pile of ID cards. Maria grabbed a pot plant and hit Janice over the head, knocking her out.
"Why did you do that?" Lucas asked as he ran into the room.
Maria looked at the current IDs and read through the notes Janice had been given. Some of these swaps were preplanned, luckily for Maria she had stopped Janice before she could make the final one. "I knew it..." Maria reached for Janice's ID. "He plans to kill me and take my body for himself."
"Wait what? Surely Mr Ferris wouldn't go that far," Lucas walked over in disbelief.
"It's right here in the notes. He is to swap with you, and you're to end up as me again. I'm to get his body," Maria explained as she looked through it all. "Janice has already done the first two steps, luckily she didn't get to the last." Maria took her dad's ID and Janice's ensuring that Janice would get Mr Ferris' body. Now that Janice was in the swap and Maria's body was already claimed, she also made it so she'd swap into Janice's body.
"Wait, I thought we had to pull out what bodies we'd get, that's how I got yours the first time," Lucas stood confused as Maria played around with the IDs.
"There's multiple ways of doing it, so long as you have something of the person's you can force them to swap," Maria clarified. "Either way we messed up his plan, now Janice will get his body instead and I'll be safe." Maria placed her and her dad's ID cards onto the side pile, making it look like Janice had made the intended swap. "Now we need to wait here and get caught."
"I don't understand, what do mean your dad is going to kill you?" Lucas asked.
"I told you he gets off on this, he wants a female body for himself. Unfortunately, he can only get one for a week at a time. But what if the person you swap with dies before you can swap back? If it was your body do you swap into death and the person comes back or does the person's whose body died automatically end up in the body of person who's spirit died?"
"But why would he kill you, his own daughter?" Lucas still wasn't buying this. "And why would he take me body first?"
"Because I'll inherit everything if he dies and he can't kill his body as me otherwise I go to prison and get nothing. If he kills himself as you, you get the blame and when everyone swaps back a week later, you go into a murderer's body and he ends up in mine." Maria had convinced herself of this scenario, now she had to convince Lucas too. "I'm sure Robert would have it so I'd live if he could allow it but with how the swaps work it's not possible."
"How do you know that's what he's planning, why would he even risk this if he isn't certain it works..." Lucas froze. "Unless he knows it does work."
"Bingo! Back in September after we swapped back, I heard the staff talking about one of their former colleagues had passed away. From my mother's journals I knew they were one of the people that had been swapped around before. So I don't think their death was an accident, rather it was a test for tonight," Maria began to fake the water works. "If only you had listened to me sooner Lucas, we got here too late!"
Lucas turned around to see Robert Ferris standing by the door. "Oh Maria, you're a lot smarter than I gave you credit for. If there was some other way, I'd let you live." He walked over to the IDs and was satisfied with the work Janice had made. "Thank you for looking after my daughter Lucas."
"What happened..." Janice rubbed the back of her head, having no recollection of the events before she was hit over the head.
"My daughter and Lucas assaulted you, but not before you made the necessary arrangements. Thank you Janice, go get your head looked at and take the rest of the night off," Mr Ferris instructed. "As for you two, security will be here shortly."
* * * * *
"You killed her!" Lucas screamed from Maria's body tied up to a chair, as he looked at his own body holding a smoking gun standing over Mr Ferris' dead body.
"No, you killed her," Mr Ferris corrected Lucas. "And you kidnapped Maria too..." Mr Ferris walked over to Lucas as he began to change the bonds, so he could walk her out. "Janice what are you doing here?" Mr Ferris asked, surprised to see his secretary. "Wait, this works, you'll be my eye witness." Mr Ferris aimed his gun at Janice. "Sorry just need to make this look good. Now can you finish untying my 'daughter' from the chair so I can walk her to my car?"
"I don't mind you holding your gun at me sir," Maria said as she reached for her purse. "It gives me justification to do this," she reached in and pulled out Janice's private handgun and shot her father, in Lucas's body in the chest. As he fell to the ground Maria kicked the gun away from his hand.
"Why, Janice?" Mr Ferris asked confused.
"Sorry daddy, Janice isn't here," Maria stated as she held the gun on him.
"Maria...?" Mr Ferris asked shocked as he took his last breath.
Lucas was loose enough from his bonds that he was able to escape them and he ran over to his corpse. He looked up at Maria in Janice's body as tears rolled down his cheeks. "What did you do?"
"Sorry Lucas, but this was the only way," Maria gave him a sympathetic look.
"No, you killed her," Mr Ferris corrected Lucas. "And you kidnapped Maria too..." Mr Ferris walked over to Lucas as he began to change the bonds, so he could walk her out. "Janice what are you doing here?" Mr Ferris asked, surprised to see his secretary. "Wait, this works, you'll be my eye witness." Mr Ferris aimed his gun at Janice. "Sorry just need to make this look good. Now can you finish untying my 'daughter' from the chair so I can walk her to my car?"
"I don't mind you holding your gun at me sir," Maria said as she reached for her purse. "It gives me justification to do this," she reached in and pulled out Janice's private handgun and shot her father, in Lucas's body in the chest. As he fell to the ground Maria kicked the gun away from his hand.
"Why, Janice?" Mr Ferris asked confused.
"Sorry daddy, Janice isn't here," Maria stated as she held the gun on him.
"Maria...?" Mr Ferris asked shocked as he took his last breath.
Lucas was loose enough from his bonds that he was able to escape them and he ran over to his corpse. He looked up at Maria in Janice's body as tears rolled down his cheeks. "What did you do?"
"Sorry Lucas, but this was the only way," Maria gave him a sympathetic look.