10:12 PM
Akodno was still in Bale's body, sitting in a chair. He felt exhausted, glancing at the clock and seeing it was 10:13 PM.
"Never thought being a prison guard would be this hard… I'm pissed off," he muttered to himself. "I've been in this guy's body since 11 AM, so it's been nearly 12 hours. He's supposed to be a guard, but he's not even real police."
Then, he remembered his real body. It was hidden under a tree, some distance away from the Territory.
"My body... I forgot all about it. Damn… I wonder if it's still okay," Akodno thought, panicking as he stood up. "I need to get back now… who knows what I'll find."
He quickly muttered, "Repel." Immediately, the same unbearable pain shot through him, and Bale's body collapsed to the ground as Akodno's consciousness left it.
Akodno opened his eyes, back in his own body, relieved to see it was completely fine.
"Great… nothing happened. Now I just need to get out of this area."
---
11:39 PM
When Akodno reached home and was unlocking the door, he heard his neighbor call out.
Turning around, he thought, "Oh, this annoying guy… he tried talking to me yesterday, too."
The neighbor said, "Akodno, how's life going?"
Akodno didn't respond, continuing to unlock the door while thinking, "What's wrong with this guy all of a sudden?"
The neighbor shrugged, "Oh… okay, you don't have to answer. A friend of yours came by earlier… what was his name? Oh, Samiul."
"You mean Seren?" Akodno asked.
"No, not a girl. It was a guy—good-looking, blonde," the neighbor replied.
"Who the hell is that?" Akodno wondered, then asked, "And? What did he say?"
"He mentioned your school wants you to go in as soon as possible."
"Oh? Did he say anything else?" Akodno asked.
"No, that was it," the neighbor replied.
Akodno said nothing, closing the door behind him. As he did, the neighbor vanished into the darkness, dissolving into a faint, dark smoke.
After a while , while taking a bath, Akodno was lost in thought.
.
.
.
.
A few days later - 3:40 PM
Inside the Spacial Cell territory, a skinny man in handcuffs was being escorted by two officers down an empty corridor. They stopped in front of a door with a glass wall, where a woman was waiting on the other side.
Seeing her brought a faint smile to the man's face.
He sat down, picking up the phone attached by a wire connecting both sides of the glass wall. The woman took the phone on her side and asked, "How are you?"
"I don't know… feels like I'll never be free from this hell. I don't think I'll get to see our child grow up. How are they?" he asked, voice heavy with worry.
"They're good," the woman replied. "Actually, I have some good news."
"What? What is it?" he asked eagerly.
"Our lawyer, Miss Zendia, found strong evidence that proves you didn't kill that girl. If we can present this well in court, there's a big chance we'll win," she said with a hopeful smile.
The man's face lit up. "Really? That's… incredible."
Smiling, she continued, "Yes, she told me that if everything goes smoothly, you could be free soon. And tomorrow in court, your not-guilty plea might be accepted. I think we finally have some luck on our side."
At that moment, one of the officers took the phone from his hand. "Your time's up. Let's go."
"Wait, just a second," the man pleaded.
"No, time's up—move," the officer replied firmly, guiding him away.
The man looked back at his wife one last time, and then followed the officers.
They led him to a large yard where inmates gathered—some were chatting, while others were working in the fields. His assignment was to water the flowers in the garden.
While he was tending to the plants, another prisoner dressed in the same dark-orange uniform, who was sweeping nearby, grumbled, "Why do they make us do all this pointless work?"
The man looked over at him and asked, "Are you new here?"
The other man paused his sweeping. "Yeah, just got in yesterday. What about you?"
"I've been here two years," he replied.
The new guy raised his eyebrows. "What for?"
"A murder charge," he replied, before asking, "What about you?"
The newcomer hesitated. "Uh… I'm here for a… rape charge. Court said I was guilty, so here I am."
The man looked away, focusing back on the flowers. "Oh…"
The newcomer continued, almost defensively, "Yeah, I'm guilty for what I did. I… couldn't control myself when I saw a girl alone on the street at night."
The man frowned, glancing back at him. "That's horrible. Why would you do such a thing?"
The newcomer scoffed, "What do you mean? You're here for killing someone, and you're telling me what I did was horrible? At least I didn't kill anyone."
"I didn't do it—I didn't kill anyone," the man replied. "Somehow, I got framed, while the real killer walked free."
""Huh? Really?" asked the other man, surprised.
"Yeah... I was just an average office worker, had a family—a daughter and a son. One night, I saw a group of people killing a girl. I tried to stop them, but they slipped away and left the knife with me. No witnesses. My fingerprints on the weapon were all the evidence they needed to pin it on me. Despite everything I tried to prove my innocence, in court, I became the killer in their eyes," the man explained.
"Didn't you appeal to a higher court?" the other man asked.
"We did, but again, there was no evidence to clear my name. Eventually, they sent me here," he said, looking down.
"No way… so nobody tried to help you after that?" asked the other man, with a hint of sympathy.
"My wife's been trying. She just told me she might have found some evidence that could free me. I don't know… maybe I'll finally get out. God knows," he replied and resumed watering the flowers.
Just then, a bee landed on one of the blooms. The man watched it for a moment, only to see the bee suddenly drop to the ground, eyes closing as if lifeless.
Unbeknownst to him, that bee was actually Akondo, who had infiltrated the territory using the bee's body. In seconds, Akondo transferred into the man's body.
"Swap complete," the system popped up.
Akondo opened his eyes, now in the man's body. "Smooth… that was easier than expected," he thought, adjusting to his new surroundings.
The other man, unaware of the switch, continued, "So, are you really going to be free? Good to know."
Confused, Akondo thought, What? Free? What were they talking about? He responded, "Yeah… I guess so."
"Good for you. I don't think I'll be as lucky," the other man replied. "I'm guilty. I really did what they said I did, unlike you—innocent."
Hearing the word "innocent" triggered something in Akondo. "Innocent? Is this guy innocent?" he wondered, now more intrigued by the man he was inhabiting.
After a while, he lay in a jail cell, Cell 321, staring up at the ceiling. "Do I really care if anyone is innocent or not? Do I?"
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts, and a guard slid his food tray through the slot at the bottom.
He got up and called out, "Hey, mister… what time is it?"
The guard glanced at his watch. "It's 10:13 p.m."
"Alright," Akondo thought, "I guess it's time to head back to my body."
The guard added, "By the way, just checking again—are you having any heart issues? If you feel unwell, let me know now."
"Why is he asking that? Is this person a heart patient?" Akondo wondered. He responded, "Why do you ask?"
The guard's face tightened. "In the last five days, one of the guards and four inmates have died from unusual heart attacks, none of them with any prior health issues. Haven't you heard?"
"What? Could this be because of my soul-swapping? Damn!" Akondo thought, feeling a pang of dread. He quickly said, "Yeah, I'd heard something, but didn't think much of it. Sorry."
"Alright, then," the guard replied, giving him a last look before walking away.
Akondo sat back on the bed, deep in thought. "I never considered this… never realized that these sudden deaths might cause suspicion. What am I supposed to do now? This could be a serious problem."
Outside the territory, Akondo's real body lay beside a large bush under a towering tree.
A police officer, patrolling the area with a flashlight and a dog, moved through the jungle. Suddenly, the dog barked and dashed toward the tree, prompting the officer to follow. As he got closer, he spotted Akondo's body lying motionless.
"Who's this? What's this kid doing out here?" the officer wondered, narrowing his eyes.
He called out, "Hey! Wake up… what are you doing here?"
There was no response. Frowning, the officer crouched and touched Akondo's shoulder, noticing his skin felt cold.
"Is he dead?" the officer thought, leaning down to check for breath. He sighed in relief as he felt the faint warmth of Akondo's breathing.
Shining his flashlight on Akondo's face, the officer reached for his radio to call it in. Just then, Akondo's eyes fluttered open, squinting against the sudden light. He raised a hand to shield his eyes. "What… where's this light coming from?"
The officer clicked off the flashlight. "What are you doing here, kid?" he asked, suspicion in his tone.
"Oh no… what should I do now?" Akondo thought, scrambling for a response. "I…"
"Don't you know this area is restricted?" the officer interrupted, his tone firm.
Akondo quickly stood, brushing off his clothes. "I… I'm sorry," he mumbled, turning to walk away.
The officer grabbed his shoulder. "You're not going anywhere without an explanation."
[to be continued ]