Missed Messages The New World of SwapTech chapter 8 by deleted_user

“My phone,” Brent said suddenly, fumbling in the pocket of his sweatshirt. He pulled it out. The screen was lit up with a barrage of notifications. Dozens of missed calls. A hundred texts. He scrolled through them, his heart pounding.

Most were from teammates. The messages were a chaotic jumble of panic and disbelief.

Dude WTF is happening
Brent you there?
Bro my voice is so high
I HAVE TITS WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK
Is this a dream?
Coach is trying to conference call us but he sounds like my aunt Sheila

Brent’s thumb froze on a text from the team’s head athletic trainer.

Brent, if you get this, do not attempt any physical activity. We don’t know the musculoskeletal implications. Your strength-to-mass ratio is completely different. You could seriously injure yourself. Shelter in place.

He looked at his hands. The trainer was right. He was fragile now. The thought was a knife in his gut.

Dawson’s phone started ringing shrilly from the cup holder, buzzing against the plastic. She glanced at the screen. “It’s my wife.” She didn’t pick it up. The phone rang out, then immediately started ringing again.

“Aren’t you going to get that?” Brent asked.

“And say what?” Dawson snapped, her voice cracking with a pain that wasn’t physical. “‘Hey honey, it’s me, your husband. I’m a chick now. See you for dinner?’” She shook her head, her long dark hair swishing. “No. Not yet. Not 'til we fix this.”

She put the Escalade back into drive and pulled away from the curb with a squeal of tires. The decision made her seem more like her old self. Action-oriented. Defiant.

“Where are we going now?” Brent asked, feeling utterly adrift.

Dawson’s eyes, in the rearview mirror, were hard and focused. “Swaptyx.”

“What? The radio said it’s cordoned off!”

“I don’t give a fuck what the radio said,” Dawson said, her voice a low growl. “They did this. They owe us some goddamn answers. And if they have a fix, I’m not waiting for a voucher in the mail. I know you just got paid last season; so did I. We can afford immediate answers.”

She gunned the engine, the powerful SUV surging forward, carrying them toward the epicenter of the nightmare.