Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-29791712-20150406050050

Hello readers. This creepypasta is a long one, but I enjoy it very much. I hope you do so as well. Provide feedback please, thank you!

Nobody expected the doors to burst open, as if a powerful hurricane stormed through the entrance of the building. It all happened way too quickly for anyone to comprehend at first glance. The world paused when Lucas slammed his body onto the two main doors, and everyone inside the main floor saw how retched and sweaty the man was.

His hair was damped with a thickening sweat, as well as his face and most of his body. It wasn’t a weird sighting to see people sweating outside during the scorching summer in New York, but the way Lucas was dripping sweat was almost unbelievable. He looked like he dipped himself inside a pool, and then ran out into the building just seconds after.

People paused from their steps, conversations ceased to an end, and all eyes glared at the man standing with a twitchy look on his face. Quiet, furtive whispers could be heard throughout the main hall, mostly discussing the randomness and uniqueness of the situation. Surprisingly, this didn’t bother Lucas at all. So what if everyone talked about him and his sudden outburst, his mind was only concentrated on one objective only. Everything else from the outside world was blocked away where he couldn’t pay attention.

Which would explain why he didn’t give a single care for what he looked like.

Lucas stomped closer inside the main hall, his dress shoes hitting the silver and black floor tiles. You’d expect him to get the tiles wet, since he look like he just escaped a rainstorm, but the floor remained dry. Some people began backing away from Lucas, either turning another direction or walking backwards, while others continue to keep an eye on him while doing their other activities.

The suit Lucas was wearing consisted on a black coat with a golden colored dress shirt combined with a dark tie. The man’s pants were also black including a silver and black belt he had strapped around his waist. As neat and as formal as his choice of clothing seemed, the way he was styling it made it appear clumsy and improper. The black coat was slipping off his right shoulder, making the sleeve of the coat pass over his hand. The tie was knotted in a twisted way that look plain wrong and uneven. Parts of his yellow dress shirt contained little puddles and dots of sweat.

The main hall was accommodated by rows upon rows of tables that contained wonderful and dazzling jewelry, and as well as people willing to buy them. Protected by glass, customers could see the variety of rich people items such as golden earrings, silver necklaces, diamond rings, and many more. Behind the rows of jewelry stood a salesman, or woman, who offered service and aid for any wealthy buyer. Most people walked in with casual clothing, well rich people casual clothing, which consisted of clothing from brands you heard of but never got the chance to purchase their items. Of course it wasn’t the clothing that made them look rich, but their accessories and the way they walked and talked. Long and sparkling necklaces, arrogant yet humbled tongues, and a posture that showed either confidence or sass. Other rich people wore laced suits or long dresses that made them appear a bit more sophisticated.

This could explain why Lucas was just so out of place compare to the whole crowd of customers inside the mass hall. Most rich fellas tried to make eye contact with the man, but Lucas had his vision set in one direction only. It was the main desk all the way across from the entrance.

As Lucas continued to walk, people began noticing how he walked with a hunch, and it seemed as if his leg was asleep by how annoyingly he dragged his feet. The man’s face wasn’t filled with any anger or rage, but in fact he appeared rather apprehensive and worried. Also he seemed thirsty by the way he sometimes left his mouth open and breathing from it, and how his lips were a little bit chapped.

Just as Lucas was inches away from the front desk, salesclerks shielded their merchandise as if he was about to make a sudden turn towards them to rob them of their money. Their currency could mean shit to Lucas. He just needed what he needed now.

His arms collapse on top of the desk, startling the woman standing behind it who had her back facing Lucas. Apparently she hadn’t notice Lucas’s grand entrance and was too focus on her IPhone to care what was happening behind. Her blond hair that was braided like a cowgirl jumped as she did herself, and the woman with the light blue dress turned around to face a man sweating like a pig.

“Jesus! Sir you must not-“The woman said, but was interrupted by Lucas.

“Let me talk for one second please,” Lucas said, his voice sounding exhausted and desperate for water or anything to drink. He was out of breath. “I need to talk to him, quick. Please, I have to- I have- I have to talk to him as fast as possible, hurry woman!”

“Sir,” The blonde woman began, her voice worried. “Sir, I have no idea what you’re talking about. If you do not explain yourself, I cannot help you, unfortunately.” After a moment of hesitation, she began again. “You look thirsty, do you want some water or some-“

“No I don’t want any damn water, I need to talk to him!” Lucas’s face was now steaming off sweat, his cheeks once peach were now a rosy red. Soon he would glow like a tomato. “You have to make it fast, dammit, fast! Him, I need him.

“The freaking Morpher, I need to see Mr. Morph.”

The woman glanced at Lucas as if he had five eyes and three noses. “Um, Sir, I have no idea what in the world you’re talking about. If you do not fix yourself quick, you leave me no choice but to call security to kick you out, so I advise you to leave right now.”

Lucas gulped down a heavy saliva. “Listen, I apologize but you have to help me. Here, I’ll show you.” He opened up his jacket, showing to the blonde woman stacks and stacks of money tied together by rubber bands. “I have the money. Please, I know you know Mr. Morph. I know he works here, please. I’ve met him before, tell him- Tell him it’s Lucas Brown. Please, make it quick.”

The blonde woman stared at Lucas for a long time, lending him a stern but sincere stare. “I apologize, again,” Lucas began. “But I didn’t catch your name. May I ask what it is?” “Megan,” she said. “Give me one minute and I’ll be happy to assist you.”

“Thank you,” Lucas said as the blonde woman known as Megan started to walk away from her position and entering a hallway all the way to the right corner of the room. The man let out a cool sigh, and tried to ease his tense body. It wasn’t like him to erupt such a scene, but certain things had to be done when dealt with.

Lucas Brown studied the room around him, and notice the dozens of eyes glaring at him as if he was a piece of rare jewelry. Right when he made eye contact with most people, they simply turned away or looked down as if ashamed. Most, however, stared long enough until Lucas himself felt uncomfortable.

Damn, did I cause all this attention? The man thought. He felt guilty and fear at that thought. He knew Mr. Morph didn’t like gathering attention, especially from a nobody like himself.

After a couple of minutes of awkward waiting and having people still gaze at Lucas, Megan returned from her destination and approached Lucas, standing beside him. “Alright, you can come follow me. But I’m going to ask you to please stand in front of me. If you try anything funny, I’m going to be force to hurt you.”

“Well,” Lucas began, and had the idea of saying something smart-mouthed or clever, but thought otherwise. Mr. Morph was not the type of man to play games with, and it would be worse to treat his clients like trash. He loved all of his co-workers. Instead, Lucas went with, “Alrighty then, let’s go.”

Megan nodded, and proceeded to let Lucas go in front of her. The customers who still kept their eyes at Lucas now stared at Megan as if she was some type of alien. “Would it not have killed you to not cause such a goddamn commotion?” she whispered to Lucas.

“Excuse me,” Lucas said silently back. “But I was in a hurry.”

“What’s your game, huh sir,” Megan said as they reached the entrance of the hallway to which she had previously went to. “You come here, looking like you came from hell itself, and you expect to see Mr. Morph like this? What do you plan to do?”

They welcomed themselves into the narrow hallway. The flooring pattern remained the same from the first floor, but the walls were different. Instead of them being plain white, they were coated with a gloomy red that contrasted against Megan’s bright blue dress. There were no decorations to accompany the wall or ceiling above, just diminutive lights bulbs and nothing more. Out beyond stood a black steel door with a security guard close to its post.

“You’ll wait and see until I talk with him,” Lucas said. “I do not mean to be rude, but it would be better for everyone, more for myself actually, to just discuss my actions there.”

“If you say so,” Megan said. “Just be careful with what you do and who you talk to.”

“Have you been downstairs often?”

“Not much,” Megan spoke, getting closer to the security guard and the steel door. “I’ve only work for four months, and barely any clients come when I am in labor. And when they do come, they enter privately or without my consent, not like you and come bursting through everything causing unwanted attention.” She said these words straight-forwardly, not meaning any threat or harm in them, but obviously annoyed.

“Well it appears as if I’ve touched your unpleasant buttons,” Lucas said, and smiled. “And here I thought I was going to ask you on a date after I’m done doing my business.”

“Well you certainly didn’t make a good impression, looking sweaty and informal,” Megan said. Lucas shrugged, already forgetting his rejection. Still, as Megan began thinking about the man, he contained a handsomeness figure in his face and body structure. He no longer walked with such urgency or with that disturbing hunch, but instead with a straight back and boldness in his looks. Of course, this could just be an impression to catch Mr. Morph’s attention, but he walked with it as if it came natural to him. Remove the sweat with a warm shower, clean the suit, and have him smelling nicely, Megan could possibly spend the night with him.

Megan and Lucas reached the black door, standing in front of it. It towered over them, something Lucas didn’t expect. As he stared at it closer now, he noticed distinctive feature it had. There were several scribes of silver lines and circles embellishing the blank ink, giving it a strange but fascinating pattern to it. The door didn’t contain a knob, but rather a combination lock that had numbers circling the base of the lock.

The security guard glanced at Megan attentively. He was a toned man that wasn’t bulky but you can notice his muscle features underneath his black and white suit. His fists were huge compare to the rest of his body. This intimidated Lucas only a little bit.

“Let him in, please, Dilan,” Megan said, and the man, Dilan, nodded. He faced the combination lock, and started to turn and twist the little knob in the middle. Eventually, one final click was heard, and the black steel door opened by itself, as if in command to the click. The door created a tiny gap that let out cool air, something of a blessing due to the summer’s heat. Dilan extended the ajar door by pulling on it to himself, making the entrance wider for Megan and Lucas. The black door creaked against the black and white tiles below.

The door fully opened, and shadows leaked out from beyond. Nothing but darkness laid ahead, and Lucas questioned whether or not he made the right choices or not. Damn, is it supposed to be this dark?

“DO not worry,” Megan said, as if reading his mind. “I can tell by your face you’re concern from the darkness ahead. There are lights.” Lucas, in return, just nodded and waited until Megan said anything. She simply waved her hand forward, commanding Lucas to move ahead.

“How am I supposed to know where I am…,” Lucas began.

“Just make the first few steps, please,” Megan said. “It’s just stairs beyond. No need to worry yourself.” Whatever then, Lucas thought and stepped ahead. He nodded to Dilan as a thank you, but the man just kept a scornful eye at him. I guess customers do not get the joyful service as I expected. I guess not me, in particular, maybe.

Lucas stepped on the first stair, taking note of how chilly it was inside. His footsteps barely made a sound whenever he walked father down the stairs. As he continue to walk downward, all he began seeing was pure pitch blackness. The light from behind was coming to an end, only becoming a little string of ray that barely lit anything. His vision when his eyes were close were now just as good when his eyes were opened.

“You mind providing that light already?” Lucas asked, just about shouted the request. Right when he finished his sentence, however, he heard the large steel door way behind him close shut. A loud thump was made when the black door close, Lucas jumped.

“Hey! What the hell!” Lucas searched around him, trying to find anything, a light switch, whatever, to help him. “Where’s the goddamn lights around here?”

The man spun around slowly, trying to notice if there was anything left to see other than pure shadows, and to level himself out to know where he was. His heart thumped against his chest with each beat increasing in speed and aggressiveness. Lucas remembered he was in the seventh or eighth step, and that maybe only a couple of more laid ahead. With a silent sigh, he began descending the stairs once again.

His footsteps which were just once quiet a moment ago, now echoed in his ear like a sonic boom sound. Each tap his dress shoes made clapped, almost as if his own shoes were mocking him. Lucas dried up from when he entered the jewelry building, but now he was beginning to wet himself with his own body sweat. He felt the chilly air cool around his moist armpits and run up and down his back, sending chills to course through his bones.

Lucas was now stepping on the nineteenth step, the soul of his shoe grinding against wooden stairs. Once he took the twentieth, lights came alive in a spark of a second.

Up ahead and beyond, bright yellow and white light bulbs came alive and shined throughout the small rectangular room, bringing life into the area, and eliminating the darkness. There, Lucas could glance over the many things that accommodated the room beneath the main floor. To the right and left of him stood bottles and cans of liquor, all from white wine, to fresh Vodka, to pure beer. They were neatly stacked in rows upon rows of small benches and that could accept their shape.

In the middle of the room was a large square table made out of some weird structure Lucas never heard or seen of. It looked like glass, but there was more of a secure look to it. It didn’t seem like something that would shatter easily. Below the table was a large green rug that stretched on top of the wooden floor that Lucas was currently standing on. Two chairs sat close to the desk, one in front of Lucas, the other on the other side of the table.

Mr. Morph was sitting on that other chair.

“Please, have a seat Mr. Brown,” Mr. Morph said, his voice deep but generous. “I do not like to keep my clients waiting.”

Lucas obeyed, and walked over next to the chair to sit down. The top of the seat felt cold on his behind, but that was somehow relaxing. He had been sweating non-stop just a while ago.

There, Lucas received a clear picture of the man Mr. Morph was. He wasn’t what Lucas expected. He thought he would walk in, and find a man of great size and muscle. He thought Mr. Morph would be more corpulent, and less of a person who looks like he runs often. Again, he was like Dilan the security guard, not too thin, but there were muscles underneath the suit Mr. Morph wore. Although, Lucas believed that the person in front of him was a lot skinner than Dilan.

The suit he was wearing resembled to a close degree from Lucas’s own notched up suit, but Mr. Morph wore it neater and how a man should wear a suit. His shoulders were broad, and facial hair tickled the base of his chin with a black batch of fuzz. It was followed with a trail up his chin, and to top it all off, a semi-bushy mustache. It look unbelievable handsome on him.

Oh yeah, also you can’t forget about the fedora Mr. Morph always wore. It was a pure black hat with little white lines swirling on the base of the hat. “So, first thing first,” Mr. Morph said, scratching his chin hair. “Who are you, why are you here, and how did you get here?”

“Um,” Lucas began. “Well, I’m Lucas Brown, as you may know.”

“Yes, I’ve heard of you,” Mr. Morph said. “You work for Kid Johnny right? You are one of his buddies always walking with him like he had some recruit team with him at all moments. How is he, that sneaky bastard?” At this, Lucas swallowed a hard saliva, as if the liquid had turned solid half-way through his throat. He felt the sweat travel back out of his body again. Mr. Morph gave him an odd eye, and seemed a bit contempt.

Keep cool, Lucas. Show the man who you are.

With this in mind, Lucas stood straighter, relaxed his body and mind, and began to talk. “Part of the reason I am here, Mr. Morph, is because of Kid Johnny. See I never met you in person, and I always wanted to since the day he told me about your services. I knew I had to do this, one day.”

“You still didn’t answer my question,” Mr. Morph said, now looking angered a bit. “How is my Kid Johnny?”

Lucas took a moment to respond. “Did Megan tell you the entrance I made?”

“Why yes she did, but I have no clue as to how this has anything to do with the question I just asked you.”

“See, before I came here, I had to do something in order to even have the privilege to come visit you. I had to pay a visit to Kid Johnny before.”

At this, Mr. Morph’s eyes widen with surprise. He looked at Lucas with shock and disbelief. “You didn’t do what I think you- How? Did- Did you kill your drug lord?”

“It had to be done,” Lucas said, having firmness in his speech. “It had to be done! He treated me like crap, all because he had money and power. But no, I knew there was more to it. It was strange why I never met him in person until two months ago, when he finally trusted me and took me to come here to visit this building. That’s when we sort of met, do you remember?”

Mr. Morph simply nodded.

“Yeah,” Lucas continued. “We met outside this building but Kid Johnny informed me that you were a privet man, so I shouldn’t meet you personally. But you guys kept talking. I ease-dropped once in a while, even though I knew John wouldn’t like it. I kept hearing whispers about a ‘new body’ and how ‘if its ready.’ I couldn’t believe my ears, I thought we were dealing with dead corpses or something. But of course after that day, it was something beyond my imagination.

“When you guys left me to go inside the building, and Johnny ordered me to stay outside, I grew disappointed with curiosity. I stood outside the half an hour you guys were gone, wondering like hell what the hell was going on. Once those unbearable seconds ticked by, however, and you returned with Kid Johnny outside to meet with me, I was in for a great shocker! Jesus, I still remember the surprise I had crawling inside my skin.

“One minute Kid Johnny left as a man, the next he returned as a woman.”

Mr. Morph and Lucas had their eyes set on each other, like lovers lost in the night. The room still roamed with the coldness Lucas experienced while walking downstairs. All sweat and stress evaporated away from Lucas, finally disappearing.

“So, I’m assuming you killed Kid Johnny before you came here,” Mr. Morph said with that austerity in his voice, robbing away the benevolence it once had.

“Of course I did!” Lucas giggled. “Hell, why wouldn’t I? He made me discover one of the most fascinating and profound work of mankind in this century, fuck, this millennium! He was a fool for even trusting me with his tactic.

“It made sense to me, once I started to think about it. I mean let’s be honest, Kid was a reckless drug lord! All of his mistakes were so predictable, and the feds should have caught him long ago and had that sucker in jail. But of course there was no way of identifying the man, no way to know who Kid Johnny was. The goddamn smartass kept changing his appearance! Becoming someone knew every time! I mean it just- It’s just amazing to me! No wonder I couldn’t meet with him during my first year being under his service.

“As dumb as he may be, your work of technology evened out with his stupidity, allowing him to make the reckless actions he had done.”

Mr. Morph took time to absorb everything that Lucas had told him. After a couple of awkward seconds, he laughed with a powerful breath. “Oh man. Well, either you’re one daring kid, or just the dumbest boy out there next to the man you just killed.”

“I had to do what I had to do,” Lucas said, and added a  grin to his face. “I think a man like you should know about that more than anything, right?”

“You make a point, yes,” Mr. Morph said. “Still, I feel an unpleasant anger towards you, boy. You just killed one of my most paying customers. Bastard always came every month with piles of cash just to hide his old ass, always wanting a fresh new looking body. That’s the best thing about what I have created, no matter how old or ugly you are, we can give you a beautiful person.

“Anyways, I made good money off from him. Despite how stupid he was, the man knew the drug game, unlike you I assume. You were just a peasant to the throne he was building, and now that he’s assassinated, by one of his followers if I should add, someone has to take the crown. Is it going to be you, Lucas? Are you going to snatch the crown, and be king?

“And bow down to your lord standing in front of you?”

Lucas didn’t respond at first, just kept his eyes on Mr. Morph. In a way, he was right. Kid Johnny practically worshiped Mr. Morph before when he was alive. Every month when we came by here, he would come back either a woman or a handsome man, on the way back to the crack house Johnny would kiss the man’s ass. It was annoying at first to Lucas, but as reason started to peel into reality, Lucas saw how you’d be stupid if you didn’t kiss this man’s shoes and owe him your life. Nothing as spectacular or as innovated has come out in years as Mr. Morph’s invention. The power, finance, and technology as to where Mr. Morph was able to receive in order to fund his work of art was unknown, a recondite subject that nobody touched upon.

“I’ll be more than happy to bow down to you,” Lucas said. “If what I plan to do goes well, I think we can have a decent relationship. If you are concern where all of Johnny’s money went to, since you know, he’s dead, I have it stored in my jacket right now, and the rest somewhere hidden. You see, that was why I was in such a rush.

“At this very moment, Kid Johnny’s clients, my old buddies, are currently looking for me. And they want me dead. Or my head. Either way, I needed to come here quick, somewhere they can’t have access to.”

“And what made you so confident that you have access here?” Mr. Morph questioned. “How did you know that I would allow you to enter here?”

“Well to begin, I was the closest man to Kid Johnny, and he trusted me the most out of anyone in his clique. In fact, there were only three people that knew about this who worked for Johnny, and one of them is dead. The other had a little feud with Kid a month ago, and it hasn’t cooled down. It wasn’t a big fuss, but I guess we’ll never see the climax of that brawl.

“Also because, Megan must have informed you about the cash. I have all of it.”

Mr. Morph nodded his head continuously, his large fedora moving with him. “Alrighty then, I guess if you have the money, you can pay me and you can finally have the new body you have always wanted. But I must warn you, in order to transfer back into your original body, it’s going to cost you double. Especially like a handsome man like yourself.” At this, Mr. Morph winked at Lucas.

“Well I’m flatter,” Lucas simply said. Then he added, “Well, where exactly do you keep the bodies? And where do you get them?”

“That’s a simple question,” Mr. Morph said, and stood up from his chair. “Follow me, if you please.” Lucas pushed his chair back, and walked next to Mr. Morph. They went ahead and strolled to the door that was sitting behind Mr. Morph and was across from Lucas’s direction. It resembled closely to the one upstairs where Dilan stood next to. This time, however, the door had a legitimate door knob, no lock whatsoever.

Mr. Morph wrapped his hands around the knob, took a deep breath, and twisted it. With a clicking noise, the man pulled the door open, and a freezing breeze blew by, escaping from the gap Mr. Morph created. It was colder in there than it was out here, and Lucas thought they were entering a freezer. A cool blue light spilled out from inside, and Lucas was curious as to what laid ahead.

“After you,” Mr. Morph grinned and made space for Lucas to walk inside. He smiled, and stepped inside the blue room.

The room was surrounded by cool air, circling around Lucas in a spinning breeze, making the hair on his neck and arms shot up. Still, this factor of the setting was nothing compare to what Lucas’s eyes laid upon. The wide space inside was filled with countless numbers of dead human bodies, all hung from a chain that wrapped around their necks and connected to the ceiling above.

The bodies vary from different genders, different ages, and different ethnicity. Lucas saw males, females, African Americans, Caucasians, Hispanics, children, adults, and almost nobody seemed too old. They were mostly young and handsome folks, and half of the room was piled up with hanging children. Kids with beautiful hair and soft looking skin. They were men with prodigious bodies, and woman that had sexy curves. They all appeared as if they could have been potential models.

For as much dead corpses as there was in this icebox, the smell was led down to an unnoticeable stinking scent. Nothing smelled too acrid or loathsome, but that had to do with the air conditioner and as well as the ventilation. The bodies were neatly stacked to the right, left, and almost everywhere but the middle of the room, leaving anyone space to walk by.

“So, what do you think,” Mr. Morph whispered behind Lucas, startling the man.

“Crap you scared me,” Lucas protested. “But um, they look- Um. Yeah they look nice. Very beautiful people. Um, how exactly do you get them again?”

“Oh well that’s self-explanatory isn’t it? Well, we kill them of course. But, we do not try to severely beat them, you know? If we get bruises or cuts around the human flesh, it could appear ugly and that’s not good for sales. Mostly we just abduct the person, drug them, and that’s it. Worst case scenario, we have to strangle the son of a bitch.”

“Ah,” Lucas said. “I see.” Just what the fuck I am doing here?

“Yes, as you can notice, we only chose the best of the best,” Mr. Morph said. “After all, we want to have the best deals for our paying customers. Mostly people like to purchase children, since old men who are filthy rich that have way too much money they don’t know how to spend it, find out about me and would like to live youthful lives again. You don’t really see much old folks here, unless you request one. That would cost an extra tip, however. But the most buyable item is either a male in his mid-twenties with an athletic body, or a female around the same age that has a body and a face that would make you wish she’ll step on your nuts naked.”

Lucas grew pale, and that wasn’t due to the cold. He felt sick in his stomach, and soon his face glowed green. Vomit was at the brink of his mouth, ready to be released from his wet lips. He glanced to his right, and saw hanging a little boy around the age of seven. He had wavy short hair, and his face was colored peached. The child was skinny and pretty to look at, which reminded Lucas of himself as a kid.

This gave Lucas a turn in his stomach.

He continue to stare at the plethora of bodies. The rows seemed endless, as if Mr. Morph had been collected them since the beginning of time. It scared Lucas at the thought of the dirty, unapologetic and ruthless business he was about to associate himself with. The thousands of children that were hanging in front of his eyes belong to a family once, and were now used as a person’s personal doll. Every women or men surrounding Lucas maybe had a fantastic life finishing college or containing a stable job. And the end of it all, this was all just for someone’s way to deal with their envy.

“So wait,” Lucas said. “Where exactly does my body go to when I transfer myself into a different body?”

“There are two options on that point,” Mr. Morph said, fiddling around with one of the children’s body. This disturbed Lucas. “You can either A: Leave your own body onto display, and hope that nobody would rent it. Or maybe even buy it if they have the money. Or B: Ask to keep your original body under security in one of our secrete rooms. Here only I or the customer have access to this place, and I can assure you that no one will have authority to use or look at your body.”

Lucas was imagining if his own body was one of the many hanging from here. This thought made him slightly embarrassed. A note that should have been mentioned earlier was that each individual body was completely naked. Breast, groins, stomach, butts, and just about every skin of body was exposed by each and every hanging human being.

“And I assume you’re going to provide me clothes, right?” Lucas asked.

“Yes, we’re not just going to send you out naked, of course!” Mr. Morph produced a harsh laugh. “The body, how long you’re going to rent it, the clothing, and whether or not you’re going to keep your body in preserve, these are all things that add up to the final price. No tax.”

Lucas nodded. “And where exactly are the clothes you keep? Is there a room near that contains them?”

“Yes, the door to that room remains to the right.” Mr. Morph spun around, observing his merchandise. “Well please! Have a look around, if you may. Take sight into everything here. Choose wisely, and make sure you find the most satisfying body!”

Lucas smiled, and glanced around the whole room, taking slow steps to take into consideration each and every single human being. Something about this part was sickening to him, and made him feel twisted in his mind and soul. What has this world come to? There existed a place where you can replace your body from someone who was dead. As a kid, if you were to hear about something like this, you’ll pass it out as something bogus or lame. As you grow older to your adolescent years, this type of shit intrigues you and catches your attention. Once you reach adult hood, you’re now living the nightmare.

Lucas searched around, making sure not to touch a single body, however. There was a section of bodies that all they had hanging were fresh, new young adult males that had admirable physic. Lucas dashed towards that section, giving a watchful eye at the muscular bodies.

They were all different kinds of males. Light skin, tan, blonde hair, brown hair. Some were just slim and had a handsome face. Others contained a lascivious face with a strong jawline combined with toned upper as well as lower body. Standing as still as they were, Lucas thought they appeared as mannequins. If you think about it, in some ways they were. They were these perfect models of a man who stood completely still, and had not the hint of imperfection on them. Mr. Morph chose his merchandise well.

“Ah, I see you’re trying to look young and strong,” Mr. Morph mumbled behind Lucas, once again shocking the man. “Well, you yourself look like the type of man who goes to the gym, has a handsome face, and could catch himself a nice women. Why would you want one of these bodies? Don’t you want to branch out, and try something new?”

Lucas took his time to respond back to Mr. Morph. Just when the man in the fedora was about to talk to him again, Lucas spoke. “Oh, these bodies aren’t for me.”

Mr. Morph looked confused, as well as a bit troubled. “Um. Well- What do you mean, Lucas?”

At this, Lucas slipped into his pockets, fished for his cell phone, and speed dialed a number in just only two seconds. The phone rang for only one single tune, then someone on the other line responded. “GO NOW! CRASH IN HERE WHERE I AM IN!”

Mr. Morph didn’t have time to question why Lucas just shouted his words randomly, because at the very instant that Lucas gave the command, a heavy white van crashed into the room, coming from somewhere near the left side of the room.

Hundreds of bodies were shattered and run over by the oncoming van. Blood sprouted high like a sprinkler, and rained down onto the surface like a drizzling storm. Limbs, organs, heads, and all sorts of body parts flew across the room, some landing near close to where Lucas was laying. The impact of the van caused the man to crouch down, and to duck in defense. Mr. Morph, however, jumped in the air like a leopard, and stayed sprawled on the floor with his arms and legs stretched out. More blood continue to fall.

It seemed as if the entire room was being embellish with the red dye. As the white van approached Lucas, several human bodies broke from the chains, and rolled over to where Lucas was, trapping him inside a literal man-made box. The bodies covered Lucas, enclosing him in cold flesh. Lucas felt skin on skin, and awkwardly felt his hand fall onto a woman’s chest. Another hand was on a man’s stomach, near his mid-section. Lucas knew he was inches away from touching something he didn’t really want to. Even worse, near his face were two young woman staring directly at him with their eyes closed. Even though Lucas knew they were dead and couldn’t possibly see, through those shut eyes he thought he sense them gazing at him.

Arms and hands began removing the piles of bodies that crushed Lucas. One by one they were out of his way, giving him air to breathe. He saw with much amazement and relief his two family members. One was his brother Franklin. The other person was his cousin Brenda.

“You okay?” Franklin asked as he took out his hand for Lucas to grab. The man received the welcomed hand, and Franklin pulled Lucas to stand up.

“Yeah, just a bit fearful now,” Lucas said, and shivered in the cold. “Did you bring him?”

“Of course,” Brenda said, standing next to Lucas. “Now, how does this exactly work?”

“LIAR!” Lucas’s blood went fifty degrees down when he heard Mr. Morph shriek. “You said you were going to help me, and become a new daily customer. But you lied! Now, you’re going to pay.”

Mr. Morph picked himself up from the cold floor. He was standing beside the white can that was now half red due to the massacre it caused charging in here. Spots of fresh, wet blood could be seen throughout the whole vehicle, as if it had the chicken pox.

“Come here, you little bitch!” Mr. Morph said as he walked slowly towards Lucas. Despite him jumping onto the floor and moving around so much, his hat was still placed in his head, secured there forever. “How does the old line goes? ‘Come here, and take your medicine!’” At this, Mr. Morph came rushing at Lucas. “Go now! Leave me be! Get Robert and bring him across from where we are! I think I know where the machine is. I’ll bring the body.” Franklin and Brenda nodded, and ran towards the van, making sure to avoid the raging bull that was Mr. Morph.

The man tackled Lucas to the ground with a powerful force, snatching away what remaining breath Lucas had on him. His stomach felt sore at that instant, and his back slammed against the hard floor. At least nothing didn’t snap.

“So, tell me your actual purpose as to why you infiltrated my base?” Mr. Morph said, his knees grinding against Lucas’s biceps, keeping him from moving away. As much as he kicked his legs out, he couldn’t maneuver away from Mr. Morph’s pin. “Tell me before I rip your eyeballs out!”

Lucas spat at Mr. Morph’s face.

The liquid hit him right in his left cheek. The saliva was heavy with phlegm. With one quick swipe, Mr. Morph removed the spit. “It’s like that, huh?” He gave Lucas one straight jab on his right eye. “You like that?” He gave two more until Mr. Morph wrapped his beefy hands around Lucas’s throat.

The man made choking, gargling sounds as Mr. Morph smiled with pleasure. Lucas kept seeing his enemy’s joyful face as his life slipped away. On some moments, all he would see is pure black, and then the world would come alive again and he’ll find himself head to head with a maniac.

It was at this moment that Lucas noticed just how sinister Mr. Morph truly was. When first seeing the man’s face, Lucas thought he looked rather charming and filled with grace and elegance. He smiled politely, and only had little details describing how strange he was. But as the true image began forming, and the little lies and fantasies peeled away, an obvious clear picture of who Mr. Morph was finally showed.

He was not human.

A fist came out of nowhere, landing right on Mr. Morph’s right cheek. The knuckles hit his face with a strong blow, causing a tooth to be spat out by Mr. Morph. The hit made Mr. Morph’s grip on Lucas be release, and Lucas took a fresh gulp of air, filling his lungs with sweet bliss. He coughed harshly, trying to clear his head. Mr. Morph laid curled on the ground.

It had been Franklin who had punch Mr. Morph. “I can’t thank you enough,” Lucas said as Franklin towered over his brother. “But you have to go now. I’ll meet up with you just a second.”

“You said that last time, and nearly got yourself killed,” Franklin said. “Let me help you.”

“No, I’m fine,” Lucas protested. “Just go now. I know what to do.” Franklin shook his head in denial, but just left Lucas be.

Lucas rolled his body on top of Mr. Morph, and contained him in a similar lock that he had on Lucas only moments ago. “So, you want to know what I’m doing, huh?” Lucas turned Mr. Morph’s face so he could stare at him directly. “You want to know?” Lucas slammed his fist onto Mr. Morph’s nose, blood already spilling out.

“Who do you think you are?” Mr. Morph said. “What are you going to do, kill me? If you kill me, the cycle would only just begun. People will hunt you down, and make sure you face a torturous death. What, do you think I was stupid? You thought I would never consider anything like this? You’re just as dense as that idiot Kid Johnny, instead you actually have some balls and guts. I’ll give you that. Other than that, however, you’re a fool!”

Lucas punched Mr. Morph again. “Shut up! You sick fuck!”

“Call me whatever you want, but you’re using my machine for whatever purpose there is.” Mr. Morph smiled once again, still taunting Lucas with his sardonic grin.

“No. No, we’re not the same,” Lucas said. “I’m fucked up, and so are you. But I would not try to use this power, this gift, just to give those who are rich, those who already have everything they want, an opportunity to use another body as some toy! Have you ever consider using this gift for the poor? Or the handicap? Think of the lives you can make happy, yet you made yourself a bitch to the rich.” Lucas punched again.

“In my defense, there had been two rich customers who had been slightly crippled.” Again, Mr. Morph kept on smiling.

“I hate you.” Punch.

“SO what is your purpose? Please explain to me your logic in this.”

“It’s simple,” Lucas said. “My brother was shot at his spine during a drive-by. Couldn’t walk anymore. This ruined everyone in my family. We were carrying a burden that couldn’t be lift off our shoulders. If anyone had the opportunity to do something in their lives, it was him. He was amazing in soccer, and now he could never play since his legs and back won’t work, and you expect me not to act!? Fuck that.” This time it was two punches at the same time with both fist. Mr. Morph was beginning to look like Mr. Blue and Black.

“This world is cold, especially in New York,” Lucas continued. “It’s ruthless. I had to do the things I had to do, in order to keep those close to me safe. Ironically, I put myself in a dangerous environment just to accomplish that one simple task. Still, I continued to hustle. For the Brown’s. For my brother.

“It wasn’t till I found about all of this that I saw a window of opportunity for my solution with my brother. It’s simple. Give him a new body, and let him enjoy the freedom he deserves. Humans wish they can fly, but it’s only when you lose the capability of your legs when you know that running was just as awarding.”

Lucas dug his nails into the flesh of Mr. Morph’s cheeks and neck. It was a bit like choking, but Lucas focused more into scratching the man. “I’ll make sure to kill you before you ever get near me or my family.” This time Lucas pressed his thumbs onto Mr. Morph’s Adam’s apples with egregious force.

Mr. Morph began making gaging sounds, and a purple liquid emitted off from his trembling lips. Some spilled onto Lucas’s hands and bare knuckles. The liquid felt thick and warm, sort of like soup, and it was a bit slimy as well. Lucas thought of retreating his hands away, since he didn’t know whether or not the liquid coming out from Mr. Morph’s mouth was dangerous. But his anger and determination ignore and blocked any rational or logical thought process, and the only way he could function it was by dealing with all his anger at that moment.

He didn’t even question at the fact that Mr. Morph was able to spew out such a bizarre liquid. More and more leaked out, causing a small puddle beneath Mr. Morph’s head. The texture of the purple substance stuck to the floor. This was when Lucas snap out of his trance, and tried to reel his hands away from Mr. Morph. But the liquid said differently, so Lucas’s hands were attached to Mr. Morph’s neck.

Mr. Morph’s eyes began illuminated a greenish and yellowish color. To Lucas, they appeared as two circular light bulbs with newly found energy. The man raised his upper body from the floor, and with one hand snatched off his fedora. The hat fell to the floor.

If it wasn’t for Lucas’s hands still stuck onto Mr. Morph’s neck, he would have ran away, and maybe even would have left his family for dead. There was no way in finding out now, since Lucas was there to witness the horror that had always laid under Mr. Morph’s hat. The top of the man’s head didn’t contain any patches of hair or skin. It wasn’t even completely bald. There was no skull either. What had always remain on top of Mr. Morph’s head was his brain, widely expose and bare. Every little detail and cell was visible in front of Lucas’s terrified eyes. The brain twitched once every few seconds, looking slimy and disgusting to glance at. Lucas felt his stomach rise and fall like a brutal storm in the sea, and he knew he would vomit soon.

“You made the wrong decision confronting me like this,” Mr. Morph said, his voice sounding more deep and demonic. “Do you disobey your god like this? I give you the power and opportunity of a renew life, and this is how you repay me? Sabotaging my home and work base, and making a mockery of what I do? Judging me in what I do? Brining in strangers, and expecting me to assist them? Hilarious.”

Mr. Morph sent a harden punch at Lucas’s stomach. This caused the young man to fall to his knees, hand still raised above him due to them being stuck to Mr. Morph’s neck. Lucas tried to breath, but that single punch knocked out and eliminated all the remaining oxygen that was inside him. Lucas had his mouth wide open, taking in empty breaths, and choking all at the same time. There was a sharp sting in his stomach at first, but it transformed into an aching sore. At last but not least, Lucas threw up, a thick and chunky pink substance leaving his mushy lips. Lucas had been in several brawls in his lifetime, living in the streets and ghettos can erupt such violence, but never has he ever experienced a ruthless punch as the one Mr. Morph sent him. He tried to pick himself up, but ended up slipping on the purple liquid spread below his feet and on his own puke. Lucas was now just hanging on Mr. Morph’s neck, like a child daggling on his or her daddy’s body. “You know, you actually have such a fascinating body.” Mr. Morph grinned. “I would love to just replace mine with yours. Of course, that will mean I am going to have to kill you.”

“Good luck with that,” Lucas spoke. “My family in near the machine, and they can take you on. You will never be able to take my body with them here.”

“See, that is when you are wrong, Lucas.” At this, little tentacles began coming out of Mr. Morph’s brain. They slipped and fell from the top of his head like long hair. They were slimy and pinkish, and pores decorated the surface of the tentacles. When there seem to be about a dozen of them crawling out of Mr. Morph’s brain, the tentacles hovered and moved stealthily around Lucas.

“I do not need the machine I made in order to consume another human body,” Mr. Morph continue. “Do you really think you humans can ever harness the power I have in such a short amount of time period? I mean you guys only recently discover smartphones and tablets, my people already had those millenniums ago. No, you people are too naïve and idiotic to ever have the power we hold.”

“What in the world are you?” Lucas asked, although he didn’t state his question with puzzlement, but more with fear mixed with torture.

“I have many names, but we’ll keep it to Mr. Morph for your simplicity. Now, let’s just see how tasty you are.”

The twelve tentacles all wrapped and trapped Lucas around his limbs, neck and head. The pores stuck to his body like glue, and ripped him free of Mr. Morph’s neck. The tentacles picked up Lucas high above like easy weight. As Lucas was about to give his cry for help, one tentacles closed around his lips, shutting off whatever noise he could make. Well, not completely since he still was able to scream through a close mouth, but they were inaudible.

The tentacles brought Lucas closer and closer to Mr. Morph’s brain. This was when he notice the brain had a straight line in the middle, looking like a sharp cut in his cranium. The vertical line opened up just slightly, revealing little sharp teeth. Each individual tooth was rapier and edgy, being able to slice through metal. The slit mouth widen, and now a tongue escaped from the gaping hole Lucas was staring at with a horrific panic. It slither and moved deadlier than the sinister tentacles Lucas was trapped in. The tongue rose from its position, and gave Lucas a lick on his cheek. The tongue felt hot and damped, like a wet towel more or less. “You taste absolutely fine, Lucas,” Mr. Morph chuckled. “Have you ever been digested before?”

OF course Lucas couldn’t respond, since his mouth was covered. The tentacles brought Lucas down, head first, into the mouth. The teeth closed around Lucas’s face. For his last seconds alive, Lucas felt the teeth pierce his eyes and neck like needles stabbing his skin.

From then on, there was only silent screams and death.

“What the hell is taking Lucas so long?” Franklin asked, holding Robert’s wheelchair in his hands with a sweaty grip. “I knew I shouldn’t have left him.”

“Well you know how he is,” Brenda stated. “He always wants to do things on his own. I can’t believe he even suggested doing this mission by himself. He’s helpless.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Luke, alright,” Robert said. He was sitting in his black leather wheelchair, gazing at the two machines in front of him with fascination, curiosity and excitement all put together. Robert was a fifteen year old boy, young and only with little dots of pimples near his cheeks. He also had a handsome face like his two brothers, but since puberty hadn’t completely finish off its work with young Robby, he still appeared average.

The three of them were waiting patiently for Lucas to return with the perfect body for Robert to be transferred to. I guess the world will never see Robert fully grown up. Surrounding Lucas’s family was a dark room with the only light source being the blue and white lights the two large tubes emitted off. Several components, computers, and wires connected and were somehow associated with the tubes behind them. There weren’t many things accommodating the room Lucas told his family to enter in.

“Shit it’s cold in here,” Franklin said. “I swear if Lucas takes any longer, I’m going to-“

That was when a door burst open behind the three of them. Franklin and Brenda turned around, and unfortunately Robert was only allow to tilt his head slightly, his wheelchair not giving him much comfort to move his body.

It was Lucas. He appeared tired and stressed out, parts of his lips covered with crusty vomit, and sweat coming out from him. The suit he wore was shredded into pieces, exposing parts of his bare skin. He crawled towards his family with the same hunch he strolled in inside the jewelry shop.

“Lucas!” Brenda exclaimed, and stomped towards her cousin. “Damn, how are you? You look terrible.”

Brenda approached Lucas, and welcomed him with a loving hug. She closed her arms around him, and embrace Lucas with simple love. He did the same, tangling his weak arms around Brenda, and taking in his cousin. Brenda felt relieved. She was sure that things wouldn’t work out, and that they were going to die or get into deep trouble. But she fought on, for her family’s sake, and went through every obstacle with her family on their mind. Now, Robert can finally walk again.

Before anyone can realize it, Lucas stabbed Brenda in the heart with a knife that slipped out of his pockets.

The attack came quick, too fast for anyone to comprehend. Brenda certainly didn’t notice until it was too late. One second she was hugging her cousin, the next moment blood was leaving from her shirt and a sudden pain shot at her chest. She unwrapped herself from Lucas, and stared up at him with the look of betrayal. Lucas stared back at her, a smile placed on his lips stretching all the way to his ears. It was something unnatural to see, and Brenda knew at that moment, right before she died, that he wasn’t the Lucas she knew. “Lucas! What- what the hell?” Franklin screamed, and came rushing towards Brenda. Lucas pushed her away from him, but Franklin came in time to catch his already dead cousin. She stared up at him with hollow and lifeless eyes, but still containing that glare of helpfulness in them. But soon, that spark faded away. To suggest a metaphor, it was like shutting off a light, and still being able to see the light bulb go dimmer and dimmer, until eventually it goes completely dark.

Franklin shivered as he held Brenda, the blood coming from her chest still spilling blood. The knife was still planted on her breast. “Lucas. How can you have done this?” Tears slipped out of Franklin’s eyes, and his vision became blurry. He glanced up to face his brother, and he saw something different in Lucas.

“Oh you poor dumb human,” Lucas said, his voice sounding different. “How can you be so naïve?”

“Who are yo-“ Franklin began, but was shut from a hand choking his throat. It was Lucas’s hand.

“Be quiet now,” Lucas, Mr. Morph, said. “I’m tired of these games.”

Lucas pulled Brenda out of the way, and brought down Franklin hard to the floor below with a single push, making his head bang against the metal floor. Lucas’s grip on his brother was unbreakable. He then proceeded to pull out the knife that was on Brenda’s chest, and with one straight jab, he pushed it down Franklin’s throat. The blade pierced his skin instantly, and went through the flesh like a knife going through cake. Instead of frosting and fat being pushed out, however, it was blood and tissues being torn.

Franklin was being choked by his own blood. Lucas laughed on top of his deceasing brother. He was too busy concentrating on Franklin and Brenda, he didn’t notice when Robert’s wheelchair crashed onto him at high speed.

Both remaining living souls fell to the floor, their chins sliding against it. Robert grunted in pain, and regret doing such an action. “What the fuck!” He heard Lucas said. “What the hell you think you’re doing, cripple?”

“You’re not Lucas!” Robert yelled. “What have you done to him?”

“Ohhhh, I’m not Lucas, huh?” The creature claiming to be Lucas giggled. “Well wasn’t it rocket science to figure that out! Of course I’m not your idiot brother. I’m the man named Mr. Morph, A.K.A. the god your brother was supposed to bow down to before he betrayed me. Now, I’m going to kill you, if you don’t mind.”

Lucas slowly walked towards Robert who was sprawled on the floor and unable to move or turn away. Maybe it was due to him being paralyzed. Maybe it was due to him being frozen with fear. Either way, his life would soon be over.

But, Lucas heard footsteps approaching the room they were in. Before he had time to turn his head to the door, it burst wide open, breaking the hinges off and making the door fly to the other side of the room. Men and women began spilling in from the now wide open hole. Men with guns and knives, women with a whole arsenal of weapons as well. They all looked extremely angered and pissed, their faces wrinkled with rage.

“Who the hell are you people?” Lucas asked out loud. “I don’t ever remember hiring all of you?!”

“Look at this fucker,” one man said. “He kills our leader, and now he thinks he runs this shit? Fuck outta here, nigga. Kill this bitch and make sure to spray his ass well! I want blood all over this floor. For Kid Johnny!” This was followed up with yells and shouts of “Kid Johnny!”

Bullets fired out of the men and women guns in a hailstorm of destruction. They were all aimed at Lucas, hitting and shooting at the man with each individual shot. With each bullet hitting Lucas, blood exploded out of his body. It was a miracle that Robert wasn’t even scratched by any of the bullets.

It took half a minute for every gun to ran out of ammo. By the time the massacre was finished, smoke covered and enclosed the room with the smell of gun powder. Heavy breaths could be heard from the surrounding men and women. Lucas’s dead body fell to its knees, and then made one final collapse to the floor next to Robert. He kept quiet, but he was silently crying to himself and making sure to avoid attention.

This obviously fail since one of the men said something. “Hey, I see I little boy making noise next to Lucas. Who the fuck is that, dawg!?”

In unison, the crowd of men and women wearing army pants and white tee’s surrounded Robert. The boy turned his head from the floor and faced the strangers glancing at him. His eyes met with men and women who looked fierce and savage.

“Speak up, homie,” one of the women said. “Who is you?”

“Who am I?” Robert asked. And the story ends around here. I could tell you a happy ending. That Robert survived. I could also describe to you the sad ending. The tale that Robert witness his whole family being murdered by some alien creature with supernatural powers.

But the story I want you to finish with, is that Robert knew at that moment when the woman asked him who he was, that he knew what to say and do. A man was born inside Robert, a man that was necessary for it to bloom inside Robert’s soul for survival. It was either death or being able to live. Most men, as surprising as this may be, might have chosen death. But as I stated before, Robert chose to live.

“You can call me Mr. Morph. How may I help you?” 