The city was quiet and dark as they drove the empty streets to the police station.I need to think of something fast.Part of her wanted to just find another person to switch with and just live a simple normal life, albeit a comfortable one, and part of her wanted to switch to have another chance to take out both Jenkins and Pamela.
There has to be a way to trick Pamela into switching with me. If I could just get a message out to her, to appeal to her soft side, I think I could convince her. I would need to talk to her away from Jenkins, though.At the thought of his name, her skin grew hot.
“You ruined everything, Jenkins. Once I am back in my body and have my freedom again, I am going to kill you,” she mumbled to herself and caught a glimpse of the officer watching her in the rearview mirror.
They pulled into the police station, and she contemplated how she might be able to switch with an officer and walk out of there.
That would be ideal,she thought.Once she I’m locked up, it’ll be harder to get anyone to want to switch with me.She tried to summon her tether again. She couldn’t even sense it inside her, but she kept trying all the same. Every passing moment, she grew more and more desperate.
The officer opened her car door and he led her through the lobby of the station and into an observation room. A metal table sat in the center of the room; they handcuffed her to a half circle that jutted out from the middle of it. Facing her was a two-way mirror. The fluorescent light did little to ease her throbbing headache from the events of the day.
Two detectives came in several minutes later. One offered her a cup of water and sat in the seat across from her. They reminded her of the officers from the beginning of her time as Darla, and she squirmed in her seat.
“So, do you want to tell me what happened tonight?”
“Yes, gladly. Six months ago, I was Pamela Shaw, and then I woke up in this body. I contacted Jenkins and asked him to help me switch back into my body. He refused. So, I bought a gun and decided to come here and make her switch back with me in person.”
The detective scribbled as fast as he could and asked, “but you are Callie Stone, correct?”
“I am right now, but this isn’t who I’m supposed to be. I’m supposed to be Pamela. If you would just bring her here, she’ll tell you, and then we can switch back, and all of this can go away.”
“This isn't going away. You do realize you held two people hostage tonight, claiming to be someone who was in the room with you? Not to mention breaking and entering.”
“It isn’t breaking and entering when it is my house. I know your tiny brain is having a hard time understanding this, but you need to listen to me carefully. I was Pamela Shaw, and then somehow, I ended up in this body.” Her hands clasped together, making one giant fist, and she shook it until it was banging against the table.
The detective sitting across from her looked back at the glass wall behind him and then at the other detective standing in the corner. “Sit tight. We’ll be right back.”
After the door closed, Callie heard a different nearby door open and close.
“I know you are in that room with the window talking about me! I am not crazy! I just want to get back to my life!” Callieleaned her head back and watched a piece of cobweb blow gently in the air flow from the A/C duct.
There was not much on her mind but Jenkins and Pamela, how comfortable their conversation had been before she announced her arrival. It had made her sick to see him fawning over Pamela when he had never seemed interested before. “Oh, it’s all about her personality,” she mocked under her breath.
Finally, the door opened and the detective returned with the arresting officer. “We’re transferring you to a psychiatric hospital where you can be safely held and await a psychiatric review. They will determine if criminal charges need to be pursued or whether you will be held there until you are deemed fit to rejoin society.”
“I’m telling you the truth, and you’re going to lock me up in a mental hospital?” Her voice cracked as she screeched at them once more. “I’m not crazy! I just need you to believe me!”
The officer came over and grabbed her arm to load her back in his car and take her to the psychiatric hospital that was across the city.
This was her nightmare. Without the ability to switch on command, she would need to act fast and get someone, anyone, to switch with her.
A janitor pushing a mop bucket approached from the opposite direction. “Please, can you think about being me for a minute?”
Ahead she spotted an elderly woman clutching her purse. She had a split lip and was talking to an officer who was seated and filling out a form. Callie made eye contact with the woman. “Can you switch with me, please? All you have to do is want to be me!” The woman pulled the purse closer to her chest and stared back at her with wide eyes.
“Come on; stop talking to people.” The officer pulled her arm harder towards the exit.
Her pleas fell on deaf ears, and she needed to come up with a new plan. Panic flared up in her chest. With every step closer to the waiting patrol car, she felt herself drawing closer to her impending doom. But she was still determined to find a way out of this. She had to.
Jenkins, you’re going to pay for this if it’s the last thing I do,Callie thought over and over as she sat slumped in the metal chair.
A rectangle table sat in front of her, and she brought her knees up to her chest, pushing against the table to knock herself backwards. Neither budged. She looked down and saw that the legs of the table and chair were anchored to the ground.
The room was similar to where she slept each night. This was the second room she had seen since she arrived. All her meals were served to her through a flap in the door. A toilet, sink, and shower were all that resided in her room. The walls were lined with square pads, and the lights above her kept flickering randomly.
In front of her was a camcorder on a tripod. Behind that was a darkened reflective mirror. She recognized it from cop movies. Someone on the other side was observing her. Her back instinctively straightened, preparing to put on the performance needed to get out of here.
Her thoughts were desperate as she waited.I need to switch with someone. I need to convince someone to want to be me. Who is going to want to switch with someone incarcerated or, worse yet, in a psychiatric hospital? I need a new plan quickly!
