Expedition

As my friend and I walk to the cavern, I feel an odd sensation. An out of body experience. I saw my own blonde hair and my own tan skin. It was as if I was looking through another’s eyes. I thought nothing of it, and kept going. 

My friend kept chatting, so I blindly listened to her angelic voice speak words of nonsense. 

“...So, that's why I’m never going back to the beach. Cause...Hey!” She waved a hand in front of my face, “Are you even listening?!”

I jumped out of my trance as we stopped. “W-what? Of course I’m listening. You’re never going back to the beach because…” I paused trying to think of the reason.

She grunted and finished my sentence. “Because I was unaware of how small my bikini was and I was kicked off and banned from that beach.” She started with an angry tone, but she ended with more of an embarrassed tone. “It barely covered my boobs and coochie.” I’m surprised she kept a straight face.

My face went a little red, even though I’ve never felt that way about her. “Well, at least you know your bikini size now. XXL.” We both laughed at my little joke. We continued into the cavern and as it got darker, I pulled out a lantern from my pack. 

For today's adventure, we are exploring the depths of a cavern that everyone else was too scared to explore. We always go on adventures. However, it’s been a long time since we’ve been on an adventure. I fell into some debt after my parents passed in a small accident involving a fork, pasta, and a microwave.

Sasha started college and is pursuing her dream of being an olympic swimmer. She’s really fast in the water. I’ve never missed one of her swim meets. Not a single one.

“It’s getting late. We should stop and rest.” Sasha stopped walking, and set up her tent.

I followed suit and set up mine as well. The only sound heard between us was the ruffling of tents and the clicking of poles. 

Once our tents were set up, we climbed in and changed into some comfier clothes. 

“Should we start a fire? Or is it too dangerous down here?” Sasha teased, shivering. 

I laughed a little, then stated, “It’s not really dangerous. I’ll get one started so we’re not cold all night.” As I stood up, I felt the same out of body experience from before again. 

I kept going as if it were no big deal. But, as I was walking, instead of seeing the ground in front of me, I saw my back walking away. But the focus was more on my ass. But damn, the gym has been paying off. 

It was very odd. I’ve never felt this way around Sasha before, but I guess that since we’re both now 21 years old, alcohol has probably had an influence recently. 

I came back from my tent across from hers. Instead of the feeling going away, it stayed as I walked back to the little central area in between our tents. I set up a small fire pit and lit it with a match. Before long, a spark ignited and the fire started. And lit the small area enough for the two of us.

“Oooh. The heat feels nice. Thank you!” She smiled and put her hands closer to the small blaze.

“You’re welcome. You know, if you took those basic survival courses with me a few years ago, you’d be prepared for all of this.”

“Well...it’s not that bad. Not having any survival skills,” Sasha jokes. We both laugh it off. 

The out of body feeling from today has still not gone away. It was hard to pretend nothing was wrong. But, I know how fragile Sasha can be. Especially during odd times. Like this. 

As the night went on, we kept talking. Laughing. When the fire started dying down, I called it a night. Sasha followed my lead and went into her tent. 

I laid down in my cot and started to feel that sensation again. I started to see glimpses of Sasha’s tent. And her cot. I went to sleep as I ignored this feeling. 

When I woke up the next morning, I felt different. I walked outside to see my own body moving on its own. It looks like a brainless drone. Walking around without a purpose. 

“Hey, what’re you doing, you weirdo? We have to pack up and get going. There’s more cavern to explore.” Sasha’s body stood up. I felt her speak. I heard all of her thoughts. Saw everything the way she saw them. 

“I..don’t know. I just spaced..out.” My body spoke on it’s own. 

When everything was packed, we went on our way again. Since we woke up, she felt that something was off. And I was that little voice in her head saying ‘Hey! Something’s off!’

She listened to my voice and brought it up. “Hey, something’s off with you. Did something happen?”

“No, everything’s fine. I’ve just felt odd recently.” My body spoke, once again, like a drone. Something was still off. I waited until I noticed my head turn away. I alerted Sasha of danger, and she listened.

“Hold on,” she picked at a small insect on the back of the zombie known as my body, “This little guy was on the back of your neck.” She verbally said as I started to return to my body. 

It was a very uncomfortable process. But, after an entire hour of uncomfortable sensations through my whole body, I felt normal for the first time during this trip. 

“I can see why people don’t want to explore down here. It’s quite scary in some scenarios.”

“You should know, mister. You literally changed bodies from the bite of an unknown bug.” Sasha flicked the bug body onto the ground, then stepped on it to make sure it was killed. 

The rest of the journey, we spent in almost constant chatter. Talking about anything that came up. When we both wanted to turn back, we made a u-turn. Somehow, the journey back was quicker than the journey down, but that might be from lack of sleep.