Nights of the Black Golem

 Originally posted on Tumblr: Oct 28th 2022 

 

Sequel to Beneath the Tar 

“I think it looks great mom,” Darrell and his mother stared at the beautiful white statue she had just finished sculpting. It had the physique of male, no face, yes carefully crafted muscle from abs to pecs to even glutes.  Darrell’s mom had put her whole everything into this piece; it was essentially her version of Michelangelo. Though unlike the statue of David, this piece stood at a realistic 6’ft in his parents’ studio.

“I feel a ‘but’ coming on,” Mrs. Shores playfully teased her son.

“Butttt, I just don’t get it. Like, does it have to be so detailed? My friends are going to see this.” The black teen gestured in front of it the obvious nakedness of it. “It’s like one of those mannequins clothing stores use.”

His mother gave a smirk, “Oh maybe it’s a testament to my son. You know how he used to stare at those mannequins with their broad chest and ripped arms, and I always wondered where I left him. Yeah, that’s it. A commentary on budding sexuality.” Mrs. Shores nudged his side.

Darrell squirmed, knowing he was blushing, ”Mommmmm, you didn’t have to come for me like that.”

“What can I say, moody 16 teen year olds bring out the spark in me.” She laughed, then patted her son on the side to ease his embarrassment. “Besides I already told you, your dad has the next step.”

“Oh boy,” Darrell said, sucking his breath. While his mom was more of a traditionalist, master at carving and sculpture work, his dad was away on the experimental artist side. He would jump from one medium to another, never sticking consistently to something for more than a month. And somehow this month he landed on tar painting. Darrell didn’t even know where a person could get an idea like that. And yeah, his father mentioned something about being inspired by Michelle Vara works. But those were actual paintings not going on some anatomically gifted statue.

However somehow Darrell’s dad had sweet talked a tourist trap into handing over some of their tar. In return he’d mix it up, make it nontoxic, paint the statue then give some credit to the place that so graciously helped him out.

“First batch done!” Darrell’s dad came stumbling into the room carrying a bucket. It was a funny sight as he swayed. Mr. Shores was on the thin side and not so naturally gifted carrying heavy materials. All that tended to make him a bit clumsy in life. Something Darrell’s paternal grandparents always loved to joke about every so often. The fact is Darrell had grown up all his life with his dad being this way, so he was never surprised. Even Mrs. Shores had seen through the constant blunders and found the humor in it all back when they were dating to marry the guy.  So, neither of the two were shocked when Mr. Shores tripped and spilled his first batch of tar onto Darrell.

Darrell saw it happen in slow time. His father’s foot stumbles, the bucket flies forward, then contents pour out all over his head and run down his body. The bucket hit the floor of the studio with a clang, spinning before it stopped. All three family members looked at each other before Darrell started laughing.

“Darrell I’m so sorry,” His father grabbed a roll of paper towels and began to wipe off his son. Mrs. Shores stood behind her husband mouthing “‘Are you okay?” to her son. He gave her a nod as they watched the panicked Mr. Shores try his best to clean his son.

“Shoot, it’s not coming off.” Mr. Shores shook his head even harder. Whatever tar was still in the final product was drying it quicker than it should. He grabbed more paper towels trying to take it off. “Okay it’s definitely nontoxic so no reason to call 911 but You should probably hop in the shower now to get this off.” Mr. Shores said.

Darrell nodded, and headed out the studio, as he opened the door to walk out, he heard his mother say, “Honey” in that ‘you’re in trouble’ tone. Darrell was glad he wanted it as clumsy as his father. They may have had the same thin body type but thankfully Darrell only had two left feet when dancing. Darrell got to his room and flung his shirt off. Then he stepped out of his jeans.

“Yuck,” said as he looked down at his body, the water tar had even soaked into his boxer, though he hadn’t felt it at the time. Throwing his clothes into the hamper, Darrell then went to take a shower. Once it was at a nice warm temperature he stepped in it. When Darrell went to bring his washcloth up to his skin, he didn’t see the dried tar anymore. He wondered if it had simply been washed down the drain by the water solely. Regardless, Darrell still took the soap to his skin and leather up everywhere nicely.

After he got out of the shower he walked to his room and put some new clothes on. He didn’t put his shoes back on, those would probably take the rest of the day to dry. Darrell fell back on his bed staring around his room. No way was he about to go back to his parents’ studio. His dad was probably getting a tongue lashing.  Darrell wished he was gifted artistically like his parents then he would have his own room covered in his drawings, but as it stood now all he had was a TV, PlayStation, and a desktop computer. Truly a one stop shop for all his gaming needs, topped off with all his former love for space scattered about his room as stickers and posters. Darrell groaned into his pillow he needed to take those down. His last thought before he fell asleep.

—

“Get your ass up!”

Darrell’s eyes snapped open, he didn’t recognize that voice at all. He jolted up from the bed. Standing in the doorway, was some guy, arms crossed smiling. The dude had a mop of curly brown hair and a mischievous smile. He was also only in his underwear and a shirt.

“Keegan, what the fuck I was having a really great dream!” Darrell felt the words come from his lips but he wasn’t speaking them. The Keegan kid laughed, walking away. Darrell’s body moved from the bed, though he wasn’t the one in control. If that wasn’t shocking enough Darell was surprised to see a fit white body when the covers were pulled back. Darell caught glimpses of the room. Posters of athletes and singers on dark gray walls. Darell knew he certainly wasn’t home. His body began to groggily move towards the outside of the bedroom. There was so much going on Darrell could feel exactly what his body felt groggy, tired, haggard yet he could do anything, He struggled to turn his head around the room or even get his feet to take him somewhere else. Nothing. His body wouldn’t take any request.

Once he left the bedroom, Darell soon realized he was in a large house, based on the staircase that went up another 2 levels and down 1. Then there were all these guys walking around saying ‘morning’, or yawning as Darrell passed by. Darell started to swear to himself. Somehow in his sleep he’d got possessed and now couldn’t do anything. As he walked into a bathroom, his hands came up to his face and held it as he walked to a mirror. “Okay wake up, wake up” His body said walking in front of a mirror. Darell saw his face and screamed. What he was looking at wasn’t his face at all. It was a completely different person’s face. Blue eyes, white skin, and brown hair. This wasn’t even close.

It was one thing to wake up, be in a strange place, be super fit, and have your body’s skin color changed to another race. It was another to find out you weren’t even in your body at all, You were in someone else’s. Darell did admit the guy was hot, but he couldn’t stay here. He needed to get home. When the guy started to take off his pajamas that was a step too far for Darell.

—

Darrell woke up again only this time; it was in his actual bedroom. Familiar sky-blue walls surrounded him. There wasn’t any stranger standing in his doorway. He breathed a sigh of relief. Dismissing the event as a weird dream. He laid smiling into his pillow, happy that it was over. It only lasted for a moment because Darrell began to realize what poor choice of clothing he chose. His shirt actually felt restricted at the moment.  He sat up looking down at himself.

“What the?” Darell was greeted by the sight of a well-fitted shirt that choked his body at every slight movement, The sleeves were two small, the chest had no room. Darell pulled his shirt off frustrated. He felt relief as his chest was able to take in a better quantity of air. He happened to look down, and his eyes went wide. His chest…well he had one. Not like he was going to compete in the Olympics but there was some noticeable muscle sitting on his body.

“Time for dinner”. Mr. Shores called up to his son. Darrell came barreling down the stairs, “Woah where’s the fire?” The father turned only to see his son’s back disappear from the living room into the next. Darrell couldn’t help himself though he was ravenous and practically horked down everything for dinner that was put on his plate. Seconds and thirds didn’t stop him, he needed a fourth to be done.

Before he could excuse himself from the table his father asked him to join him in the studio. The two left from the table together and as they entered the studio, Darell spotted a paint bucket by the statue’s side. Its right arm and leg were covered in a black goop up to the elbow and knee respectively. To the untrained eye it probably would be mistaken for black paint at first glance.

Mr. Shores sat on his stool in front of the statue; He had a variety of brushes at his side. He wasn’t simply slathering the entire thing; he was being meticulous. Putting on gloves He took one of the small brushes and traced along a bicep vein, His wife had carefully carved.

“Dad, won’t it take longer that way?”

“Yes but, I’m trying to give the illusion of flesh. The tar is the first base, but it’s very important to me how I approach this.” Mr. Shores said focus. All Darell could think was “Uh-oh” his dad had gone into focused mode and probably forgot why he called him out here. Darell decided to mess with his father a bit and reached towards the leg. His father spotted him “What are you… oh shoot I’m sorry.”

Mr. Shores was used to his son pretending to mess with work to get his attention, it always meant he was forgetting something. He sat the brush down and snapped his gloves off. “First, Darell, I want to apologize again for spilling that mess on you. I’m glad you were able to get it off.” Mr. Shores took a pause before saying the next part. “Secondly, I want you to help your mom and I out on this project.”

“How?” Darnell raised an eyebrow. His father knew he didn’t have an artistic bone in his body.

“Well, I was thinking after I’m done with the first stage and I have tar all over it, you can add something. That speaks to you. Doesn’t have to be complicated. Even a pink streak down the middle if you want. This can be our family’s piece.”

“Dad, I know you feel bad about earlier, but you don’t have to do this for me.”

“Well, when it first came into my head it started out as a way of apologizing, but the more I thought about it the more I realized it was an actual good idea.” Mr. Shores gave a smile that let Darell know he wasn’t going to change his dad’s mind. He headed back to his room while his father continued working.

Darell hopped on his computer. Perhaps he could join a friend’s game. Yet none of his friends were on. He didn’t get that at all. It was summer. They couldn’t all be at cookouts or something. Instead, Darell hopped back into bed listening to music, until he was asleep. As he felt himself drift off, he couldn’t believe he had gotten tired so quickly after just waking up.

—

Darell’s body fell into the water. Immediately he was in a panic. He couldn’t swim. His legs kicked and swam back to the top but not at his behest. His head came up, out of the water as he took a deep breath. There was hair in his face that his hands pushed back. His white hand. “What the hell, not again.” He pleaded.

“Way to go!” A voice shouted. Darell’s head turned to see three other guys standing on the edge of a small cliff; it was practically a ledge. One was a hulking black guy, stacked like a brick house. Next to him was a sexy Latino, who melted Darell’s heart. Lastly there was the same white guy from before who had woken Darell up in that strange house. “I think his name is Keegan.” Darrell thought, trying to get his bearings. Keegan looked slightly younger than before. The dudes were standing next to a tree with a rope hanging off of it.

It didn’t take much for Darell to deduce he was in a swimming hole. “Come on Keegan, you’re the one that brought us out here! Hop in country boy.” Darnell’s body shouted happily. It wasn’t even his body; he was just a guest.

“AH shut it, Tripp!”  Keegan said before grabbing the rope and then running with it.  He let go as the rope went over the water and fell in. Next thing Darnell knew, he was being dragged underwater. The whole experience was weird, one minute he saw Keegan’s body the next it vanished. As he went back up. The setting changed. It was nighttime and he could simply walk up on to the Shore. Not too far the other guys had set up a campfire As Darnell got closer, he heard two of them holding back laughter while Keegan was in the nude upset. He looked how he did the first time Darell saw him. Or perhaps he was getting a different haircut.

“What’s going on?” Darnell heard his body ask and realized this was the ‘Tripp’ guy speaking.

“Someone went an dun stole my god darn trunks! Has to be one of you three.” Keegan crossed his arms not caring if his cock was out. “I bet it was you, Cory.”

The snickering stopped, “Why cause I’m black? Next, you’re going to say it was Enrique because he Latino.” The black guy responded. Keegan’s mouth just fell open. He clearly had not been expecting that. Then the two dudes burst out laughing.

“Oh, you make it too easy,” Enrique said.

“And you gotta calm down, that country accent is coming out.” Corey added

Keegan let out a chuckle before walking away. When he was out of ear shot the two guy turned their attention towards Darnell.

“So, where’d you put them?”

“I just put them back in our tent. He would have seen them if he actually bothered to look. But he made it too easy, skinny dipping like that.” Tripp replied.

“Think we should tell him. He’s playing along but he seems really upset.” Cory asked, turning back to the direction Keegan headed off in.

“What! No way.” Enrique responded. “He’s always pulling pranks on us. Or did you forget the spaghetti incident? I say let him stew in it a bit more. Maybe it’ll teach him to behave.”

Cory seemed to be mulling it over. Darell couldn’t ascertain what the spaghetti incident was, but it must have been enough to make Cory reconsider his stance.

“Alright! Here’s a solution: I’ll go talk to him and calm him down. And I’ll give him his swimming trunk back in 10 mins if he hasn’t found them. Tripp said and that seemed to appease Cory while Enrique huffed “Fine”.  Tripp’s body began to move in the direction Keegan went, but then for Darell, the setting changed. As if he were watching a movie and someone skipped forward.

Now Tripp was talking to Keegan, who had been crying recently. Keegan’s back was against a tree trunk. Wherever they were, the stars and moon were so bright, Darell could make out Keegan’s face perfectly.

“You guys don’t get it, Tripp.  I know I mess around with you guys, but I never touch your stuff. That’s because I know how important things are.” Keegan’s voice was cracking. “In my family we don’t have money like that. I almost didn’t even come back to university this year. I bought those trunks just so I could have something new to wear. But I also feel bad because I could have saved that money for something else.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Tripp rested his arms on Keegan’s shoulders. “I’m your friend. I didn’t know what swim trunks were so important to you. Cory and Enrique will understand too. We don’t care about how much money you make.”

“I’m…I’m not sure I’m ready to tell them just yet.” Keegan said.

“Hey if you don’t want to tell them that’s your choice, but if we walk back and you decide to say it, know I’m right by your side.” Tripp’s hand lingered on Keegan’s shoulder before it traveled up and cupped his face. Keegan looked Tripp in the eyes. Darell felt like Keegan was looking right at him. Tripp’s body leaned forward, his eyes closed, then Darell felt Tripp’s lips meet Keegan’s.

—

Darell’s eyes snapped open. He brought his fingers up to his mouth and he could feel lingering traces of that kiss. He had never personally kissed another guy before, but that experience was some kind of virtual reality. It was actually kind of nice to watch, though he could do without the paralyzation. Resting his hand on his chest. He realized he was feeling skin to skin contact. He looked down and his shirt was ripped open on the bed. Down lower his pants button was missing as it laid unfastened. His legs had stretched beyond the hem by a wide margin. Darell couldn’t believe he had a growth spurt in his sleep, an actual one. Unfortunately, he was back to looking a bit thin again as his muscles hadn’t grown with him.

His stomach released a growl; he was starving. He flew downstairs and rummaged through every cereal box they had pouring in bowl after bowl. When he wasn’t satisfied with that he made eggs and bacon to shovel into his throat. Finally, his stomach was at peace. Darell wandered over to his parents’ studio. He wasn’t sure why. He knew his parents were probably still in their room. Though to his surprise, upon opening the door he found his father still working on the statue. Its legs and arms had been completely covered in black.

“Dad, did you sleep?” He walked in further.

“Good morning to you too.” Mr. Shores smiled back, “And yes I got to sleep I just knew I had to get back to this.” He dipped his brush in the paint. 

As Darell got closer, his mouth fell open. The statue was positioned differently, its right arm was stretched out, and its hand was positioned as if touching something tenderly.  “Dad…how did you rearrange the stone!”

“What are you talking about? I mean, I guess I moved it more to the left here for better lighting.”

“No Dad, I’m talking about its arm. It’s up.”

“Are you feeling okay son? That’s how it was yesterday.”

Darell took a step closer; it certainly was not. He may have thought it looked like a store mannequin. Didn’t mean it should move like one. As he got even closer, he stared at the appendages covered in tar. There was something off about it. The consistency didn’t look like stone. No, this close up it almost looked real. As If Darell’s dad had lathered tar overtop of skin. Darell began to reach toward it. He had to know if it was real.

“Hey!” Mr. Shores shouted startling Darell. “Are you getting that high school senioritis already? You know not to mess with a piece when I’m still working on it.” he paused for a moment. “Wait, I’m not forgetting something, right?”

“N-no dad, it’s good. We’re cool. i just.” Darell’s eyes flew to the bucket filled with tar paint. He shuttered. “Need to get out of here.” Darell ran for the door.

“You know you can add to it once I’m done.” Mr. Shores shouted back.

Darell’s head was spinning. The thing had moved. It was creepy.  But his dad said it was always like that, was his dad going senile? Why in hell did he almost make contact with the statue? Darell didn’t want to answer that last question because he knew the answer deep down. The truth was he felt compelled to. Something in the back of his mind was itching at him to reach out and touch the tar. “Nope, not going to happen!” he said to no one. He turned on his PlayStation. He needed to busy his hands and flood his mind with anything else. Kingdom Hearts 2.8, with all the Disney nonsense jam packed it had to be a good distraction.

Though the rest of the morning and afternoon rolled by. It did nothing to sate Darell’s curiosity. When he went downstairs to grab a snack, he found both his parents enjoying a late lunch, a sandwich and chips.  Darell paused If his dad was eating here that meant the studio was empty, which meant–

“Where are you going? Don’t want a sandwich?” Mrs. Shores asked as Darell turned away.

He made his way into the studio. His father had completed the statues’ feet and had begun to work on its crotch. It looked as if the statue was wearing incomplete paint on underwear. Darell took a step closer. There was something pulling him forward towards the statue. He wanted to inspect it, though Darell had a nagging feeling that getting close was a really bad idea.  When he stood in front of the statue, he noticed the bucket of tar paint his dad had left out. It was as if the statue and the bucket were calling to him. And since Darell had already been covered in the bucket before he took his chances on that. He stuck his hand right into the bucket. And he felt so much better for doing so. As if his mind got clarity, but not enough. He stuck his other hand in, even better but still not good. He needed more. He took his hands out and rubbed it all over his face.  He dragged his hands down over his torso.

Then Darell stopped. What the hell was he doing? He was using his dad’s supplies he needed to go. He ran back to his room making sure his parents didn’t see him. He took his small pants off and dashed for the shower. The watery tar sludge needed to come off of him now. But as he waited for the shower to warm up, the tar faded from. No rather it was more like it had seeped into his body. “I’m losing my mind here.” Darell said, stepping into the shower.  As he scrubbed away his mind was theorizing, “What if the tar is what’s making me feel so off?” Even if the tar was no longer deadly toxic, it was like a hallucinogen. That theory wasn’t the best, but it was the closest thing Darell could think of. He thought about telling his parents. He stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around his waist and was immediately hit with a wave of drowsiness. All the energy in his body had been sapped. He struggled to make it back to his room stumbling over. When he was able to get inside, he shut the door then collapsed on the bed.

He was out before his head reached the pillow.

—

“Where is it? Where is it?”

Darell groaned to no one but himself. He now definitely recognized Tripp’s voice and was familiar with his own unmovable state. Currently Tripp was walking around like a madman rummaging through his room. His draws were pulled open clothes from the closet were left on the floor.

There was a knock at his door, or rather the door frame since his door was wide open. Enrique was standing there with a grin. He had black war paint under his eye and army pants with black boots.

“Dude, come on we’re going to be late. The whole frat’s already at the Halloween party.” Enrique leaned on the frame with a pout.

“I can’t find the stupid broach that’s supposed to hold my toga up.” Tripp responded

“So, use a bobby pin, tonto.” Enrique smiled.

“I would but Keegan bought the broach when we were at the costume shop, and I’d feel awful if I didn’t have it. Also, it was a really cool design.”

Enrique looked back into the hall of the empty frat house, then stepped into the room closing the door. “Hey about you and Keegan,” His voice got low, “Cory didn’t want to pry but are you two.” Enrique seemed unsure of what he was trying to say so he lightly tapped his index fingers together.

“Well, that’s classy.” Thought Darell.

Tripp took a moment longer than Darell to figure out what his friend was implying. “No, no were not–

 “You two have been spending an awful lot of time together since the summer. Other brothers in the frat are noticing you guys are closer too, very handsy with each other.”

“So, what where friends, can friends not touch each other–

Enrique held up his hands, “I’m not trying to fight you on this. I’m just worried–

“That we might be into dudes,” Tripp finished.

Enrique’s face hardened. “That you may be going through something. The last two parties we went to Keegan and you were always super awkward for days after.” He corrected me. “I don’t know what’s going on with you either. I’m not like Cory. I can’t wait for you to come to us with a problem. That may be the mature thing, but if I see a house fire, I’m going to put it out.”

Tripp let out a sigh and his body sagged. Darell felt all the muscles slump; there was a wave of relief coming towards Tripp.

“I love girls, but I like Keegan so much more. But Keegan isn’t like me. I think it’s the opposite with him. I think he likes girls way more than boys but we… we had sex at the first party and the second.

“I want to say that’s awesome and I’m here for you, but why is your face saying it’s not awesome?” Enrique questioned.

“We were drunk the first time and Keegan freaked out. The second time I was a bit buzzed but Keegan approached me. Then the morning after he didn’t even talk to me. He just left.”

“So, what, you’re afraid he’s going to come up to you and do the same thing again?” Want me to walk to him and knock some sense into him so he won’t act like a dick.” Enrique crossed his arms and based on the size of them Darell believed he could easily do it.

Tripp let out a sad chuckle, “No that wouldn’t solve anything. It’s something he has to figure out himself.” Darell felt each vibration from the pathetic laugh leaving the throat as if it was his own.

The scene changed instantly. Now Tripp was standing on a porch, in the dead of night while a party raged from inside the house. Sitting on the porch’s banister was Keegan, looking out into the night.  The two had clearly separated from whatever festivities to find a private area. The Halloween costumes were gone so Darell had to assume he’d gone forward in time.

“I…I just can’t be with you like that.” Keegan rubbed the back of his neck looking down at the porch. “Sometimes I catch you looking at me. And I can’t stand it. Not because I hate you or anything, but because I know you love me. It’s like you look at me like I can do anything. Like I can just tell my parents and the other brothers that I’ve slept with you and I can’t do that.”

“Keegan, I’ve never asked you to do that.”

Darell was catching on; he had landed into a conversation that had been going on for a while.

“I know you haven’t, Tripp. But I know you want me too.” Keegan looked back up. “I can’t do this anymore sleeping with you. It messes my head up too much.”

“That’s what I should be saying!” Tripp yelled back.  “You’re the one who wants to fool around. Then change your mind. But I’m not you. I can’t sleep with girls whenever I feel like it. You’re the one playing me.”

“Fine we’re both bad for each other!” Keegan shouted.

“That’s not what I… you can’t honestly believe that, can you?” Tripp’s voice was trembling. Darell wanted out of this. He didn’t ask to see it. At first these dreams were like watching a gay short film on YouTube from first person, but this was feeling truly invasive. He was watching Tripp’s heart break. He could tell that Tripp was dreading whatever Keegan would say next.

“Look, Christmas break is coming up. We can try again in the spring semester—

No more Darell wanted to be awake!

Darell’s eyes snapped open. He grabbed onto his sheets as his legs stretched further down his bed. His chest exploded outward as pecs came into view flowing down into abs. Though that was far from all, his arms throbbed in tandem with his legs as they grew muscle.  Then it all stopped. No longer was he a skinny beanpole he had some sizable heft.  Darell poked at his body stunned on the verge of freaking out. He’d just watch his body morph! His heart was pounding. He tried so hard to wake up from a tense situation only to find his body changing. He sat up in bed, sheets still covering his lower half. His thoughts were simply a mess. He happened to catch movement on his wall in his peripheral vision. Looking over he spotted a watery black sludge seeping down his walls. As it came down it left the wall changed into a gray-blue color. Then it began to touch his former stickers, and they faded away as. Darell freaked out. It was as if his walls were his parents’ watercolor paintings caught in the rain. There was a gnawing feeling inside of him that he had woken up at the wrong time. He wasn’t meant to see this yet, his desire to escape his dream led him here.

He hopped out of bed and ran to his door only to find the same substance engulfing his door. He reached for the doorknob, not yet changed, and got out. “MOM! DAD!”  Darell’s hand went to his throat. Was that his voice? Why was it so deep? He needed to get to his parents. Once he discovered the house was empty, he ran to the studio.

There his parents were in the middle of the studio looking around. “Mom, Dad you’ve got to come to me because my rooms are changing. I’m changing! I think there’s something wrong with me.”

 Mrs. Shores sighed. “We can talk about whatever you just said in a moment. Did you do this? She gestured to the studio.

Darell had been so singularly focused in locating his parents he never questioned why they had both been standing in the studio. They hadn’t been standing they were assessing. Easels had been knocked over, paper was scattered on the floor, paint brushes, charcoal, and erasers all tossed every which way. Had a small tornado come into the studio last night? It was a mess. Except for the statue that stood, arms crossed untouched and undamaged. Mr. Shores had managed to cover it up to its neck.

“I wouldn’t trash your studio.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.” She placed her hand on her head. “Uh-oh,” Darrell thought. That was a sign she was truly upset about something.” Maybe you left the door unlocked and raccoons got in again.”

“No, when I came in dad hadn’t even made it up to the statue’s neck.” He didn’t have time to talk about this. He needed his parents to see his room.

Mr. Shores let out a fake cough, “I had suggested that someone may have broken in. Though I prefer raccoons. Look at the way everything is tossed about, our draws are open, it’s almost like they were looking for something and stumbled around in the dark not caring.”

“Except, there’s no sign of break in and I can’t find whatever they took.” Mrs. Shores added.

Darell found his eyes wandering back to the statue. Yesterday it had been in a weird position and now it was back to stasis and everything else was moved? Something was fishy. Darell walked closer to it. The more he closed the distance the better he could see the slight movement where the tar covered. The chest was moving, as if it were breathing. Darell backed away. Why was it breathing? Mr. Shores walked over and placed a hand on his son Darell jumped.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare ya.” He turned his attention to the statue. “It’s strange they didn’t touch this one? I mean even if it was raccoons, there should be a few scratches or something, right?”

“Dad, you don’t see that?” Darell nodded towards the statue, referring to its moving.

“Oh, you found a mark?” Mr. Shores peered closer. “Nope still don’t see it” he stood in front of his son. It was then that Drell realized he was looking his father directly in the eyes. Now his father was only 5’10 but Darrell knew he wasn’t or at least hadn’t been before. He was about to bring it up before he hunched over, clutching his stomach. He was hungry again! No, it was more than simple hunger. He was ravenous! He went to the kitchen and threw various lunch meats and cheeses together for a sandwich.  It took away hunger for now there was no way a sandwich no matter how large would be enough.

Darell went back to his room to see what had happened. Upon opening his door, he was met by slate blue walls, NASA posters, along with posters of Lebron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and… Darell walked into his room. “Is that Micheal Jordan?” what was with all the basketball stars. And why was Michael Jordan on his wall? When was the last time he even played basketball? Darell really only knew of him from Looney tunes movies. There was nothing coming down the walls anymore. It was a perfectly normal room. Except the fact the room had more in common with Tripp’s room than Darell’s actual room. Darell stopped to think. That was exactly it. His room, the walls, it all looked eerily similar to Tripp’s.

A wave of drowsiness hit him. Darell was getting sleepy. No, it was wrong. It was all wrong. He knew he shouldn’t fall asleep, but he couldn’t help himself. He walked towards his bed before he collapsed onto it.

When Darell’s eyes opened, he knew it wasn’t his body. “FUCK!!!” he screamed internally. Based on the dark room Tripp was waking up in the middle of the night. It was only then that Darell noticed there was another body in the bed with Tripp. Keegan slept peacefully in his boxers next to Tripp. Tripp reached out a hand and cupped Keegan’s face.

“Wow, he’s so beautiful like this.” Tripp’s voice said.

Darell was taken aback that he heard Trips thoughts but didn’t want to waste the opportunity. “Hey, a Tripp this might sound weird but I’m in your head. Could you get me out?”

Tripp let his hand trace down Keegan’s body over the curvature of his butt. “Such a hot ass.” Tripp’s voice chimed in again.

“Uh dude? You ignoring me?” Darell asked.

Tripp slowly leaned over and kissed Keegan on the cheek. He quickly reeled back and giggled to himself. Darrell’s mind was instantly flooded with ideas and thoughts of a prince waking up a sleeping princess. But those thoughts hadn’t come from nowhere. They were straight from Tripp. For a moment Tripp’s mind had seeped into Darell’s, and Darrell’s mind had just slurped all the feelings and thoughts right up. What sucked was that it gave Darell an understanding that Tripp couldn’t hear him at all. He was still in the past, which meant Tripp’s internal voice was nothing more than a voice recording of thoughts he once had.

That only made Darrell more frustrated. Where was the current day Tripp? Why was Darell having these Dreams? He needed to wake himself up like last time.

“Wake up!” He shouted.

The scene changed. Instead of going through a fast forward, The surrounding area gave way. All of it simply evaporated into a colorful mist that turned into an endless dark void. Tripp walked through it naked as even the shorts he had on as pajamas disappeared. Darell was unsettled. Though it wasn’t his body, He was still experiencing it as if he was the one wading through the darkness. Eventually another mist approached that took form as a new scene came into place. Clothes appeared on Tripp as the mist covered him up. Keegan appeared alongside Corey and Enrique.

“Hey, can’t you guys, just talk about this some more. You guys are my favorite couple.” Corey asked, his eyes darting between Tripp and Keegan. The two weren’t mad at each other. Quite the opposite, they just looked awkward. Even Darell could see that having just plopped into the situation.

“Guys we don’t have time for this; The Delta Sigs party is starting.” Tripp said. “Stacey’s going to be there, and I don’t want to be late.” Tripp walked towards the door.  The scene poofed back into mist but didn’t go away; it reformed into countless bodies, and raving lights. Tripp was now talking to some blond chick.

“Why did I have to hear from your friends you were hitting on Greg Daniels.”

The girls just shrugged taking a sip of whatever alcohol she had got her hands on. “Is it true that you and Keegan are fucking?” She shot it back so nonchalantly.

“No, it’s not,” Tripp said. “not since December.” Darell heard his thoughts add. Tripp slowly held her hand. Stace, We’ve been together since March. When would I even find the time to be with someone else?”

 Stacey snatched her hand away. “Are you a queer?”

Then Stacey froze. The whole party did. There was an anger building up inside of Tripp that Darell sensed. As if having connecting bodies wasn’t bad enough. Now Darrell realized he had to experience Tripp’s feelings too. Tripp wanted to scream, to cry. He loved Keegan but he was starting to like Stacey too. And no matter how self-hating Keegan was he had never flung a slur Tripp’s way.

There was a hand on Tripp’s shoulder. The party restarted. Stacey was gone. Corey was panicked. “Dude, you got to get Keegan! I think because he couldn’t; get with you he got more drunk than he should have and is trying to put his dick in places where it doesn’t belong.” Then everything faded to nothingness as Tripp took off running in no particular direction. He keeps running. Slowly the scene built around him. Keegan was by his side. Enrique was ahead with Corey alongside him.  When Tripp’s body took a look back. Darrell saw exactly the hulking brutes the boys were running from. All four boys headed into the woods following Enrique.

Suddenly Enrique disappeared and all four boys stopped. Tripp happened to look down and saw Enrique laying on the ground. Tripp was about to tell him to stop playing around before he heard.

“Ugh, guys I can’t move.” Keegan said. “I’m stuck on something.”  Trip turned around or at least tried to. Whatever they had landed in was black, thick, and not easy to maneuver through.

“What the fuck is this shit?” Tripp shouted. “It’s like black quicksand.” Today was the worst day of his life. His girlfriend broke up with him. Keegan almost got them beat up and now this. Just perfect. They’d be stuck out here for hours. He turned back to Enrique, hoping he had landed in a position he could breathe in. That’s when Tripp realized Enrique wasn’t simply stuck, he was actively being pulled in. As if the tar was alive itself and dragging his body deeper.

Darell could feel Tripp’s fear and his accelerated heart rate. Not that he needed to. Darrell was already freaked out enough. “Wake up” Darell yelled to himself. Tripp looked towards Keegan and struggled his hardest to move towards him. But it wouldn’t be so. His body was sinking and then he was gone. The ground gave way and Darrell found himself and Tripp falling into an endless void. The descent felt slow but with no ground it was impossible to tell how fast they were going.

Darell refused to stay in this madness any longer “WAKE UP!”

His eyes snapped open. His room was completely dark. He got up walking to his door. Had he slept the entire day? His parents hadn’t even checked in on him? As he opened his door he spotted a posted note.

“Tried to wake you, but you were out like a log. We didn’t realize you had been that exhausted. Dinner is in the microwave. Love, Mom”

Darell’s stomach growled. His hunger had returned with a vengeance. As he made his way downstairs, his thoughts drifted to the creepy statue in the studio. Surprisingly even with his stomach whining, Darell found himself standing in his parents’ studio. His legs had just started walking in this direction and hadn’t stopped.

The statue had been calling to him. He could sense it. An invisible wire was wrapped around him and tonight it had been tugged. He had felt the pull before but not like this. The statute stood perfectly still tonight, it was entirely black now. As Darell stepped forward, the black face of the statue began to morph. Features were coming in. First a mouse, mouth, and then ears popped into existence. Next, closed eyelids sculpted themselves as the tar paint became to mimic eyebrows and lashes. The facial structure of the statue morphed into one Darell began to recognize. It was one he had seen in a reflection during his dreams.

He was looking at Tripp.

Tripp eyes were still closed but now Darell could see the statue breathing. Now there was no denying what was once a statue looked more like a college boy covered in black goop. Darell pressed a hand on the statue’s chest and dragged it down to its belly. There was a gross lukewarm feeling to the touch. Immediately he was hit by another wave of hunger. It had returned in force when he touched the statue. Darell decided he’d get some food then come back but when he tried to leave, he realized his hand wouldn’t move. It was stuck. He tried to pull away but his hand refused to budge. The surface gave way as Darell found his hand sinking into the statue.

He tugged at his arm with his free hand, but then the black inkiness of the tar began to move its way up, “Ahh!” he screamed and pulled his free hand away. A useless effort as he was still being dragged further in. His entire right arm disappeared into nothingness, but the statue’s belly only grew rounder.  Darell screamed “Help!” but it didn’t last long as his head was soon swallowed up.

The Next morning Mr. & Mrs. Shores would fail to recognize their son’s disappearance, instead being more focused on the giant gut the statue now sported.

“Why would Darell add this?” Mr. Shores asked his wife “Is it a comment on US commercialism and greed or…

Meanwhile, Darell would wake up in a familiar frat house on a beautiful morning. His eyes slowly focused, realizing he was not in his own bed, it was Tripp’s. He looked beside him, spotting Tripp sleeping peacefully. However, there was another person in the room, Keegan. He walked around, gathered up his clothes, which were scattered about and put them on. He started to walk towards the door, stopping. He walked back and bent over giving Tripp a soft kiss on the side of his face. Then he left, closing the door

Once Keegan was gone. Tripp smiled and opened his eyes. “Man, I really love this one. He always thought I was asleep, but I’m glad I wasn’t.” Tripp sat up in his bed and stared off to where Keegan had left. Then he turned to Darell, “I’ve never seen you before in this one though.”

“Wait, you can see me?” Darell asked.

“Uh duh,” Tripp joked. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“For the last few days, I’ve been having dreams where I’m stuck in your body. And I have been screaming in your head, and you haven’t done anything to help me.” Darell said.

“My dude this is the first time I’ve ever seen you.” Tripp eyes studied over Darell’s. “Nice body though.” Darell was going to ask what Tripp was referring to but he realized his musculature was quite similar to Tripps. It hadn’t been that way before the weird dreams started.

Darell hopped out of bed. Only to realize he was naked. “What the?!” He grabbed at the sheets covering himself. “Alright, What state is this? I need to call my parents to come and get me. This is just too weird. Can I get your cell phone?”

“I don’t just have a cell phone on me; those things are huge…” Tripp’s eyebrows went up as he realized something. He slowly got onto his knees holding his hands out as if to relax Darrell. “I don’t think you know where you are.” Slowly the covers on him fell and revealed his naked body.

“That’s why I asked for the state.”

“No, I mean we’re not in a state. I mean technically I guess we physically are. But this place.” Tripp pointed to the ground. “isn’t real. This is just a memory I was experiencing.”

Darrell rolled his eyes, “Okay you’re on crazy pills. If this was your memory, I’d probably be stuck inside you again, but here I am!” Darrell spread his arms out. “I’ll go ask one of your frat brothers for their phones.”

“No, wait!” Tripp shouted as Darrell opened the door. Beyond the door was only a black nothingness. Darell fell back on his ass. “Where did the rest of the house go? I just saw Keegan leave.”

“Like I said, that was a memory. Keegan wasn’t really here.” Tripp walked over and shut the door. “I would know. I looked for him for so long out there, but it goes on forever.” Tripp frowned then “turned towards Darrell, but how do you get stuck in the tar?”

“Oh my god! That’s right you sunk into a tar pit.” Darell looked around, “this is inside of it?”

“I’m afraid so. Even this memory is…” Tripp waved his hand and the room faded into a mist. The boys were now standing naked in the dark.  Darrell turned his head, in every direction, nothing more. He could perfectly make out Tripp and his own body as if they were specially lit, but silence and darkness surrounded them.

“But I didn’t get dragged into a tar pit…” His voice trailed off before he locked eyes with Tripp. “You! You did this to me. You were standing in my parents’ studio covered in tar paint then you dragged me in here!”

“I did?” Tripp asked before shrugging his shoulders “If you say so. Sounds kinda familiar.”

“Kinda familiar? you trapped me here and you don’t know.”

“Look, in this place. I’m in pieces. I know I might look all together, but it’s a struggle. Most of who I am is here, but sometimes I feel like I’m in other places too. For example, I haven’t eaten in ages, but it also feels like I’ve been eating a lot recently. Tripp cracked his neck as his room reformed around them.

“Whut?”

“Yeah, it’s like, eating again felt so good, though that part of me felt so far away from the ‘me’ here. I tried to pull it back to me, but it didn’t work at first. But now I feel fine. It’s weird.”

“Wait, stop!”

Darrell’s mind was putting the pieces together. Tripp’s memory falling into the tar. The tar paint being spilt on him, the strange dreams, and the hunger. “You–You’re the tar paint!”

“I’m what?” Tripp said flatly.

“The hunger, the dreams, all of it started when my dad spilt that stuff on me.” He slammed his hands on his head.

“Okay…you’re talking crazy.” Tripp looked off to the side as another layer of mist came over his body, clothing him then flew over and covered Darell up. “What college did you say you went to?”

“I don’t go to college. I’m about to be a college freshman.” Darrell dragged the hands down his face. “But not if I’m stuck in this place.”

“You’re pretty tall for a college freshman. You’re like my height, you sure?”

“I wasn’t this tall before this weird stuff started happening!”

The door to the room opened as a dog came running inside. “Bosco!” Tripp shouted bending down to cradle the Golden retriever. “I missed you buddy.”

“Your frat had a dog?”

“No, no Bosco was my dog that died back when I was in high school. Though here in this place. I can see him whenever I want. Though he typically only comes when I’m stressed. But I’m feeling pretty okay at the moment.” Tripp looked up at Darrell curiously, “Don’t freak out but your eyes just turned blue.”

“What?!” Darrell grabbed at his face as if he could just will himself to see but instead he caught sight of his skin changing color from black to white. His chest firmed up, ballooning his chest out as his shoulders grew to match. His body was gaining an increased thickness it hadn’t had before.

“Oh, wow how are you doing that?” Tripp said standing up as his dog walked over to Darrell.

“I’m not doing anything.” Darrell panicked as brown hair grew from his scalp and fell into his line of vision. “What’s happening to me?” Bosco tried rubbing his head against Darell’s legs.

“Wow you look… like me” Tripp said.

“No way, no way” Darell thought.  Tripp responded, “Dude; I’m not lying to you why would I?”

“You hear that?” Darrell asked.

“Obviously why wouldn’t I?”

“Because I just thought that. You heard my thoughts. Just like how I heard yours before.” Darell was planning to say more but realized he wasn’t the only one changing. Tripp’s facial features rippled as his hair turned black. Darrell wanted to vomit and instinctively headed towards where he remembered the bathroom Bosco trailing behind him. Instead of walking into the dark void like, before Darrell actually found himself in a physical space. Though that didn’t mean much because every single door in the frat was open. Not a single one led to a room.

Where the bathroom should have been was a scene of a kid on a porch, who suddenly shouted “Bosco!” The dog took off running and hopped right into that world as the kid embraced him in a hug. The door slammed shut. Speechless, Darrell turned to another door. One with teens swimming in a water hole. That was familiar to Darrell, he’d seen it a few nights ago.

“What is this place?” He asked.

“It’s my head.” Tripp said as he came jogging out of his room. His body had changed into a replica of Darrell’s albeit a hotter version. “Well, more like a representation of what I could pull together. I think it looks like the frat house because that’s where I felt the most at home.”

Darell shook his head, “We can’t stay here, we’re turning into each other.” Though he hadn’t pointed it out before Darell had a feeling Tripp already realized it. Darell ran down the stairs hoping Tripp would follow. Darell got to the front door only to find it locked.

“Wait! I already told you this place isn’t real. It’s in my head.” Tripp ran down the stairs after him.

“Open this door!” Darrell shouted. “I’m not staying here.”

“No, I won’t open it. I don’t think you want to see.”

‘What is that void again.” Darrell’s confidence wavered for a moment, questioning his own resolve to escape.

“Like I said, this is my head. And that door, the main door, only leads to things that happened recently. Nothing good ever comes from going out that door.”

“Tripp if you won’t open it I will.” Darell closed his eyes and pictured the door unlocking.

“This is my head you can’t just–

The front door’s lock clicked. A light shown through that engulfed both the boys. And then they were standing in Darell’s parent’s studio.

“Thank god. we’re back,” Darell let out a sigh of relief as he headed to the door. Only to find the same void from before. “NO.”

“Darrell, I told you. The front door wasn’t an escape. I wasn’t lying. It only leads to memories like the others.” Tripp said, but he wasn’t facing Darrell’s direction. His attention was focused solely on the statue covered in tar paint. “Is this supposed to be me?” He walked closer, “Why would your parents sculpt me… and why am I so fat!” his eyes went down to the oversized gut.

“First of all, my parents didn’t sculpt you.”  Darrell closed the door to the Studio defeated. “A blank statue was the canvas my dad was using. Your face just sort of appeared there.” Darell stated.

“But look closer, it’s not even a statue anymore. I think it’s your actually body”

The giant stomach on the statue began to slowly shrink.

“What the hell?” Darrell said.

“Um, Darell my face is…” Tripp pointed to the statue as the head began to shift and change. The two boys could hear the bones reshaping and reforming, as Darrell’s face came into view on the statue.

“Now that’s freaky.” Darrell was going to say more but the statue wasn’t done. Once fully taking on Darrell’s face it went right back to changing. There was some inconsistency as it couldn’t seem to decide on either of the boy’s faces. If that wasn’t enough muscle mass of the fleshy black golem grew as its stomach disappeared. Its height continued to climb until it reached 6ft’6. Its pecs become heavy and oversized hanging down. Though it was the abs forming and the heavy breaths that truly shocked the two boys. Now there was no doubt the thing was alive. Its arms and legs tripled in size.

“I think it’s… me.” Both boys said in unison. They both reached for the statue the same time as if in a trance. They each had a hand on the breathing chest, Darell’s right and Tripp’s left. Their hands began to sink in but the boys didn’t pull out. They were too entranced. Then at once both of them were pulled into the chest. Another black abyss.

—-

Darell fell to the flood with a loud thud, His double vision slowly came together as he got his bearings. He was naked and on the floor of… an art studio but whose? His parents didn’t seem quite right. He got to his feet and he felt like he was up way higher than he should have been. Staggering towards the door, he threw his body against the frame catching his breath. His entire chest heaved up and down. That was the sheer magnitude of air that his body took in now.

Everything around him looked so strange, but familiar as well. His skin for starters was freaking him out. Why was it several shades lighter? Or was it darker? His parents must have been asleep because the house was quiet as he trekked his way up the stairs into his room. 

Now he felt a little more at peace. His room at home was decorated in a similar manner to his college dorm. Wait, that didn’t make sense. He hadn’t even gone to college yet. No, he definitely had, how else would he have met Keegan? But Keegan was Tripp’s boyfriend. Wait, wasn’t he Tripp? No! Tripp was just with him.  Darell grabbed at his pounding head as it started to die down.

Then it settled.

He was Darell, but he was also Tripp. The tar, it wasn’t normal. That gross slime that clung to their bodies and dragged them into a place not on earth. It altered their bodies. Hell in a way it ate their bodies and now Darell and Tripp were stuck in one body. Their world was about to change their life, their history.

To be continued …