Your new slime nature

"Right, so." Chloe began, trying to think about how to best break the news to you. "It's pretty complicated. But, here's the problem: my slime is really deeply permeated into you, like... there's not a cell in your body that isn't touching some slime of mine. My slime is pretty much running full bore to support your continued existence, which is going to mean I'm going to need a lot of energy. In a body that isn't so thoroughly damaged as yours, I could either briefly leave on occasion, or get just enough energy over time to maintain my existence in a sort of symbiosis."

Amanda tapped away on her phone, before holding the screen up to you with a bunch of numbers you didn't understand, which was a considerable feat since you're a bioinformatics student so numbers were sort of your thing. "Calculations show that the slime in you can only absorb nutrients from you at a fifth of normal capacity until likely the final week. She couldn't leave your body until the same time though."

"So... what? Do I need to drink some energy drinks or something?" You looked between your hand and Amanda, neither set of lips cracking a smile at your questionable wit.

"It means I'm going to need to bring you along into another body to feed every couple of days."

You couldn't believe your ears. You could barely comprehend the words, let alone imagine the scenario Chloe was suggesting. Chloe quickly picked up on your dumbfounded state, and continued. "I'll envelop each of your cells in slime, you'll essentially be a slime as well, though I'm not going to have my typical crystalline exterior while carrying around a slightly dissolved whole human. You'll still be alive though, don't worry--my slime membranes will still let you think and act. But, some of that thinking and acting will be done through someone else's body from time to time."

"You've GOT to be kidding me!" You bolted to your feet, putting your hands on Amanda's shoulders, who promptly shrugged them off. "This is absurd, it's ridiculous, it can't be anything but some weird dream! Your earlier slaps were just unconvincing! I can't just go into someone else's body and, do what? Move them around? Pretend to be them?"

"Since Chloe can't move them and they're going to probably be overwhelmed by having a slime twice its normal size in their body... yeah. I mean, you could do whatever you want, but it's typically best to not arouse suspicion."

You glanced carefully at Amanda, remembering from earlier when she said she was Chloe's assistant. "Does that mean we'd be, uh, entering your body?"

Amanda rolled her eyes, knowing what kind of havoc you might wreak with a body like her, but she nodded eventually. "Yes, once or twice. The amount of energy Chloe will need will probably be too much for one person to provide multiple times in a row, I'll probably need time to recover even though I'm very acclimated to her. But, if you can find at least one or two other bodies to borrow, then we could set up a rotation."

You grimaced a little, though the thought of getting to spend some time maneuvering Amanda around seemed very nice. Spending a day as her, or a day just looking like her but otherwise doing whatever you normally would do, sounded like a treat. Though, you could easily get in trouble with whatever you did and then she wouldn't volunteer to help out... did you need her, or anyone else, to volunteer? Were you that opportunistic? Or would you be that **** in the future?

Immediately your thinking turned to your group of friends and roommates. If you could demonstrate your authenticity and convince them you weren't some sort of alien who replaced you with a copy, they might be sympathetic, even willing to help. Daniel or Ken would be the easiest two to acclimate to given that their bodies are certainly closest to your own, but they would probably be the least receptive to helping you out. The idea of them being **** while you were in control was a hurdle you weren't sure was worth trying to overcome.

Lisa, your other roommate, might be the most receptive, you and she had a pretty platonic friendship so you'd probably behave in her body. She had a pretty average build, mid-length hair, no real curves to speak of, so she might be a nice introduction to the next possibilities: Julia and Willow. If Julia the yoga instructor let you into her body, you'd probably have to pretend to be Ken's wife, and they'd probably get a kick out of that--like some weird roleplay between the two. Willow was a friend of Lisa, a girl you really liked, and her body was incredible, perhaps rivaling Amanda's form before you, were she not always wearing big bulky hoodies to hide it. You wanted to ask her out on a date, but you weren't sure you were close enough to ask to share a day in her body...

Chloe interrupted, breaking your concentration. "I'm sure you've got a lot to think about, but I think the best thing you could do right now is get out of the hospital. Amanda has to play some damage control and meet with Zoe to give a statement to the news tonight, but I know her number if we need to borrow her body later. You need to go back home, try to get back into a normal routine, and probably see if you can get some help for this feeding situation. If we have to go 'on the prowl' and find strangers then so be it, but it will be a way less traumatic experience to borrow the bodies of people who aren't screaming in your mind all the time about how they can't control themselves."

You nodded, thanked Amanda before she departed, and checked yourself out of the hospital. On your hand with Chloe's lips, you wrapped it lightly in gauze, to keep people from accidentally peeking at this other set of lips, though you didn't really want to try and share your mouth's control with Chloe if you could help it. It would be easy enough to hold a phone to your ear to pretend to talk to someone on the other end at least. Catching a bus, you headed home to your apartment, and opened the door. Now, the real question was whether your friends were going to help you, or if you were walking into a nightmare.