Caleb wasn’t surprised when Rodney and Tara showed up again before being called. He answered the door, fresh out of the bath with Tara’s hair still damp. This time he was wearing a dress that showed off Tara’s cleavage.



“Come on in,” he smiled as he looked down at them. He enjoyed the look he received from Rodney and smirked when he saw Tara’s look of disgust. “Can I get you two anything?” he enquired acting like he was hosting them.



“My body.” Tara retorted with a pout. She felt so angry seeing how casually Caleb was treating all this but she managed to keep it in as she didn’t want to antagonise someone who could ruin her life in the present.



“You know that’s not my choice,” Caleb titled their head with fake sympathy.



“Isn’t it?” Rodney spoke up seeing how Caleb responded to the accusation.



“It’s up to the deck and Zachary’s behind that,” he shrugged the accusation off. “But maybe the cards will be nice.”



“They’ve been awfully nice to you.” Rodney crossed his arms.



“And it is up to you not to linger where you’re not welcome,” Tara added.



“I’m not welcome?” Caleb feigned being hurt. “I didn’t know that…” he walked over to the table and put his hand on the top of the deck. “In that case I’ll take my turn and leave.”



He drew the choice card he had asked for and showed it for the others to see. ‘Play the next round.’



“What does that mean?” Tara asked as Caleb swapped out of her body into Rodney’s.



“Oh it looks like you started without me,” Zachary looked around the room. “And it looks like a couple of you got a haircut.”

Tara eased a little bit knowing Caleb wasn’t in control of her body anymore but Zachary was less than ideal. “Where were you this morning?” She asked.



“At the gym,” Zachary responded. “Like I told you last night, I was doing exactly what Rodney would do.”



“Can you guys keep it down…”  Opal moaned from the couch not fully paying attention to what happened.



“She doesn’t look so good, perhaps I over did it,” Zachary smirked as they clicked their fingers causing Opal to feel a lot better. “Now get dressed again please, we have a game to continue.”

Opal sat up feeling great. She looked down at her bare chest and then looked for where she had placed Zachary’s shirt. She quickly got dressed again and apologised to Zachary.



“Caleb shouldn’t be too long, I was already heading over as I had a sense that I would be needed.” They paused for a moment and pondered the position he had just been in. “I wonder if Caleb knows how to drive…” They shrugged.

“Where is Rodney?” Tara asked at the mention of his body’s current location and situation.



“He was just here a minute ago…” Opal pointed out. “He probably just went to the bathroom.”



Tara shrugged it off and refocused on her original body and the person inside it. “Zachary?” She got their attention. “Is there any way to ensure the card you want is drawn next?” She asked them knowing they would be truthful about any of the game’s mechanics.



Zachary paused for a long moment, as they considered how to best answer that question. “Yes,” they eventually answered, they figured if Tara wanted to make the same mistake Caleb did it was up to her.

“Will you show me how?” Tara asked as she felt a pit in her stomach, Rodney had been right about Caleb actively stealing her body.



“Tara,” Opal put her hand on her friend’s shoulder as she looked over at Zachary. “That’s cheating…” she warned.



“Caleb did it,” Tara shot back.



Now Opal felt bad as she realised what Caleb had done to Tara. She hadn’t realised the type of person he was before, though she did notice how some of the others acted towards him at work, but she never got a bad vibe from him. “That may be, but do you think Zachary will let him get away with it? The person you’re in now got turned into a card for refusing to play the game and that was a warning…” Opal had turned Tara around to face her. “Do you think cheating will be accepted?”



“It won’t be,” Zachary confirmed as they nodded at Opal for pointing that out. “Though the consequences will just remain a mystery for now.”



That information gave Tara pause as she looked over at the deck. “Still if he knows how to force certain cards out of the deck and he’s in control for the entirety of the next round, we’ll all end up in the bodies he chooses for us.”



“Yes,” Zachary once again confirmed. “I’ve got to hand it to young Caleb. I wasn't expecting him to be so devious.” They praised him. “I certainly picked a good group of people.”



“You picked us?” Opal looked shocked. “But I was the one who asked Tara and Caleb…”



“After I met you and asked you if you wanted to throw together a game night,” Zachary gave a short nod. “The intention was to toy with you all, Caleb is just making things more fun.”



“Fun? Having my body stolen is fun to you?” Tara shot back.



“Well yes, it’s in my nature after all,” Zachary bopped Tara on the nose. “Though I’ll let you have a little bit of fun yourself.” They walked over to the table and sat down at the end of the table. “As you said Caleb has all the swaps planned out for this turn already, which would put him back in his body at the end of the round. Then he’ll cheat again and keep control over the game.” Zachary motioned for Opal and Tara to sit in their current bodies previous seats. “Now while I do support that initiative it’s not much fun and I can’t interfere. But…”

“We can,” Tara finished the train of thought. “How, though? Wouldn’t that be cheating?” She asked.



“Taking the turn for someone who isn’t here isn’t cheating but it will come with a penalty,” Zachary explained, nodding towards the deck. “He’s already worked out the cards starting with Rodney but if he starts as Molly instead his order will be thrown out of wack.”



That was all the convincing Tara needed as she reached for the deck and pulled the top card. For a second she found herself in Rodney’s body then back at the table being held between her body’s fingers. Zachary grinned at her as she was placed inside the deck along with Molly, leaving Rodney’s body empty.