You've been spotted...

You've seen The Great Escape enough times to remember the climax. No, not Steve McQueen leaping fences with a motorbike. The moment when a simple slip gives the game away.

"Hey, David!"

You turn. "Yes, mom?"

There's a horrible moment, like a knife twisting in your insides, as you realize just what you've done. The moment your guard was down, a simple question, relying on your gut instinct, has given you away. Your mother's body - worn by some unknown agent - grins. Your eyes, disguised as Gabrielle's, widen in horror.

"Found you." Your mother's voice is like ice. In her hand she's reaching up with something: a pen, perhaps. It doesn't matter. You're exposed on the campus, and they've cornered you perfectly. End of the line.

"Huh?" Cally, Gabrielle's friend, standing at your side, looks utterly bewildered. "Gabby, what..."

The interruption gives you the chance you need. Gabby's strong - all that gym work pays off - and you grab the shocked Cally by the arm, catapulting her toward your mother's body. The impostor has gone for a perfect disguise, wearing heels, and is unable to resist the student sent flying in her direction. Cally and 'mom' go falling to the ground in a sprawl of limbs.

You rush forward, stooping down: not to help, but to grasp the pen from your opponent's clutches. This one, is seems, has a whole raft of different colored buttons. Whatever; there's no way they'll be shooting you with it now. That gives you a brief head start. Gabby's body is compromised: you need to find a new home, and fast.

You burst into a sprint, thankful you decided to dress in runner's clothing for the day. Behind, you hear aggravated screams and raised noises. Confusion from Cally, howls of frustration from the agent. Gabby will have some explaining to do with her friend once she's her true self, but that's the least of your problems right now.

*****

You've run for a good five minutes, down alleyways and through carparks. Gabby is fit, but you still have to catch your breath after pushing her body to the limit. Right now, you're drenched in sweat and your hair is a mess. You're also a little more than half a mile from your encounter. Options are running out. You slump down next to a dumpster, struggling to regain your breath, wiping sweat-drenched hair out of Gabrielle's eyes.

You know this part of town a little. A little further on, you are sure, is the local hospital; it's a teaching hospital, so located conveniently near to the medical school. Right now your priority is a new face to hide behind, so that's definitely a possible destination: lots of patients, lots of staff, all coming and going. Trying to find you there, even if they work it out, would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Unless, of course, they have a way to track you down.

Alternatively, you could go with the idea you planned before: head out of town. Gabrielle was too perfect a disguise to adopt at the museum and meant you staying in the vicinity, but your ultimate goal was to escape for good. The museum is on the other side of town, though, and you've already missed the concert, so that's not an option either.

What about the theater?

You frown. What theater? You have no idea what idea just popped into your...

The Hicks Theater. There is a traveling show of Twelfth Night. Its last performance is today's matinee. Then they will be leaving.

With a sharp intake of breath, you realize that this is Gabrielle's mind, not yours. Gabby was - is - a cultured girl, into her art. She not only knows that only half a block from here is the back of the town's playhouse, but that the current performance is about to end. This is all news to you; you think the only time you've ever set foot in the place was on school outings.

However, Gabby's cultured brain is imparting you all kinds of knowledge. Twelfth Night is a play where a woman pretends to be a man, only to fall in love. Part of her personality finds the idea of you assuming your next identity as one of the cast hilarious. You could make a great Olivia or Viola, and use your new body to slip out of town with the group.

It's just a question of turning right or left at the end of this alley.