"I don't know, I just found that I could pull myself out of my body and float around," he replied excitedly. "Mom and dad won't be back for a few hours, so I could show you."
"Huh, I'd better go before they get back. Dad said he'd kill me if he ever saw me again."
"No, they're cool."
"You'd say that, you're the favourite son." I looked around the pictures on the wall. "See, no pictures of me, its like I never existed."
Duncan looked sad. "I miss you," he declared.
"Maybe you'll come stay with me soon, like old times. Anyway, show me this trick of yours."
He nodded, "When I leave my body don't touch it or anything."
"How will I know you're doing it? You could be just shitting me."
"Hold you hand behind your back, stick out some fingers and when I'm out I go and look."
I shrugged and held my hand behind my back with three fingers showing. "OK, so do it then."
Duncan stood for a moment, then his eyes glazed over. I called his name asking if he was OK, but he didn't reply. I was starting to worry when he blinked and grinned at me.
"Three fingers, you're holding up three," He told me.
I looked around for mirrors in case he could seek a view, "Yeah right. That is so fucking weird. How far have you gone?"
"I've been in all the houses in the street, that's about it."
"Have you tried getting inside someone, like in the movies?" I asked.
"No," he replied. "Never thought of it."
"You should try." He looked at me, expectantly. "Hell no! You're not trying it out on me!"
"So who then? All the people in the street are old."
"Try something simple first, one that isn't going to fight." I whistled, "Rex!" The family Labrador totted up, and I made a fuss of the dog. "Practice on Rex, he's dumb as shit and he's not a fighter."
Duncan nodded and lifted Rex into his arms. "Hope this works, because it would be awesome."
I watched as Duncan's eyes glazed over. Rex started to yelp and whine before wriggling free of Duncan's arms as they fell to his side.
Rex staggered around the floor looking like he was trying walk for the first time. After a few moments he was bounding around just as he'd done before. I crouched and the dog sat in front of me. "Is that you Duncan?" Rex licked my face and rested a paw on my knee. "Eww, gross!" I exclaimed.
Walking over to Duncan I looked at the vacant expression in his face. He was cute kid, popular as well. I looked at Rex bounding and jumping around. I went to touch Duncan's cheek, but my fingers instead to stroking his skin slipped through the surface into a tacky sticky substance. I pulled my fingers away, but it was difficult like something was holding onto them.
I was finally able to recover my digits and looked around for the dog. He was nowhere to be seen. I looked at the motionless body that belonged to Duncan. My lift sucked at the moment, Duncan had always been the favourite son. I'd only turned up because I'd just been thrown out of my apartment; I had no money to pay the rent.
There was a clatter, I looked up and Rex ran past the door. Ideas were swirling around my head, but one was sharp; if Duncan was now in the dog, could I get inside his vacant body? When I'd touched it, it felt like it was trying to pull at me. I had to try, it would solve so many of my problems.
I walked up behind Duncan's body and placed my hands on his back. I felt the fabric of his shirt and then my hands slipped inside, this time I didn't struggle just felt myself being drawn into his body.
At the point my body touched his, I could feel myself being drawn inside. My arms has already disappeared up to my shoulders and I could begin to feel Duncan's arms becoming mine.
I watched Rex trot in and stop tipping his head. I tried to imagine what it looked like, his elder brother stealing his body. Rex whimpered and I knew this was wrong. Immediately I started to struggle, trying to pull myself free, but I was already in too deep. The more I struggled the quicker I sunk into the quicksand mire of Duncan's body.
"I'm sorry," I pleaded to the family dog that sat before me. "I'm s--" Was all I could manage before I was sucked inside completely.
The darkness faded and I blinked at the dog looking up at me. I straightened, feeling stiffness in my body. I looked down. "Shit," I muttered, I was not only wearing Duncan's clothes I was also wearing his body. I felt my torso through the shirt and looked at the dog. "Have you been working out bro'?"
Rex snorted a nod. "Damn," I whispered pulling at my sleeve and inspecting the complicated tattoo on my arm. I took a step back and almost tripped over a pile of clothes; the ones I'd been wearing only minutes earlier.
I picked them up and walked up stairs, straight into Duncan's bedroom with Rex trotting behind me. Inside I stuffed them into a bag at the back of the cupboard. Then it hit me, this was the first time I'd been to their new house and yet I knew everything about it. I swallowed, everything about Duncan.
"You got all his doggy memories as well?" I asked Rex.
He barked at me excitedly.
I sat on the bed opposite the mirror and looked at my new reflection; young, strong and handsome. Everything I wasn't. Rex jumped up and sat next to me and we both looked at our reflections for a few minutes. "I'm really sorry, I don't know what came over me," I told Rex.
We looked at each other and he licked my face a couple of times. "A boy and his dog; what could possibly be tighter than that?"
Rex barked again, and wagged his tail. "Maybe we can figure this out."
I could here a door open, and then a shout. "Duncan, are you upstairs?" It was my dad.
"Yeah!" I replied.
"Is that your brothers pickup parked down the street, because if he's in the house--"
"Yes, he stopped by to say goodbye. He left about twenty minutes ago with some friends. Said something about moving to the West coast."
"Good riddance," I heard him say to my mom.
I hugged Rex again, "Looks like we are going to be together for a while." He barked again. "We'll have to work out a code little bro'," I said with a smile as I walked downstairs to meet my parents again; their favourite son.
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