Story and characters written and created by JustSomeNumbers

  Karla’s head was pounding. Pressure rapidly re-ajusting in his head, beating a pulsing sensation into him as if to signal the denial of his death. Strangely however, the pressure that had previously felt released from the gunshot exit wound had been replaced with a solid unwavering migraine. This was…Interesting to say the least. Karla had expected the end of his existence to be just that, the end. He imagined some sort of black void or unyielding expanse. However what he was presented with was something else entirely.

  It was one of his hide-aways during his scarce off duty escapes. Even stranger still was the fact it was tampered with. Karla knew this location intimately. If he missed even a strange tinge of movement with an object it would’ve signaled to him that someone had been here inspecting whatever it was Karla was up to, thus- compromise the only remaining safety he had. Feeling numb and hopeless to whatever fate had in store for him, he found himself feeling his head. Strangely, he could feel numb interactions he could swear was like grass brushing against him without actually moving. Strange feelings of numb stimulation nauseatingly made it feel like karla was walking without actually moving- which was…disorenting to say the least.

  …Did I… miss? There's no possible way the gun would misfire could it?

  Pressing harder and harder into the skull around the area of where his attempt at ending the existence he had so loathed, found no evidence of wounds or even stitches. What’s more, his skin was notably softer than he usually thought. Typically his outer flesh shell was covered in scabs, scars, mud or bruises. The type of skin that was repulsive and hardened from various scar tissue. With restrictive rationing and limited access to showers meant he really only had minimalistic hygiene- however he tried his best to not feel as filthy as he actually was. Looking down at his hands he was shocked to see his nails have been discolored to a deep iridescent black. Immediately moving to analyze the situation, he began a full inspection of his body.

  “Wha..t…What trickery is this!?”

  Karla jumped to a standing position as he realized his body was no longer the defiled, decrepit chamber he had grown used to. It was a new body that he had somehow managed to get inside. Inspecting further, he had womanly features and an increase in curves. While this clearly would aid in any seductive persuasion or negotiation, he couldn’t help but feel as if this was the divine’s approving of his previous spoilage as a man. Angrily he attempted to pull the sizable flesh on his chest off to no avail. Alas after a brief moment of calming he understood there wasn’t anything he could really do about this. Peering around the room he immediately identified a few key things within the space around him. First of all, the planning table he used for concentrating his junior and senior officers on critical mission briefings was present- but the table was expanded to about the size he saw in Rostovan high command meetings. There was also the addition of various tactical books containing everything from mobile warfare to small and combined arms tactics. Tools for planning and communications, logistical ledgers, and an imperfect replica of the pocketwatch his deceased comrade had gifted him. Moving to immediately inspect the pocket watch, it seems his memory was a bit hazy. He couldn’t remember the name of his comrade anymore- nor the full visage of his silhouette. His machinepistole and side-arm were present, as well as a small reloading station.

  Looking back behind him was a wall filled with various maps and a central pinboard. A couple of reading lamps and a small single couched rocking chair sat next to a circular rug and coffee table. Intriguingly, directly to the left of the rocking chair was a large ornate mirror similar to the ones he saw in some of the field marshalls prepared lodgings. It contained ornate wooden engravings filled with some sort of symbology he couldn’t understand. He also noted that there weren’t any doors or windows. It actually made Karla less anxious if anything, he felt more protected this way. No surprises.

  Moving closer to the mirror he began to see his reflection. At least, that's what his calm deduction could piece together. Logically speaking what he was witnessing should be theoretically and conceptually impossible. His body wasn’t just tampered with and modified, it was completely new. He was in someone else's body. A smile crept across his face as the thought of a second chance at actualizing a dream he long since dropped and put to death was now entirely achievable. While it was true his previous body was defiled and stripped of any personal sovereignty- this body was new. This new body was something he need not dissociate from, but rather a second chance to preserve his sense of bodily authority. With this view in mind, Karla began to strike small poses he otherwise used to…Negotiate, previously. It was striking. His hair was a silky white, pure from any gunpowder or mud. His flesh was soft and pale- lacking the scarring and oxidized blood from the field. His face and body were shapely and alluring. While it did anger him that whoever or whatever put him in this situation decided to give him more…womanly features… It was at least passible and very easy to see how Karla could shape this body to fit either male or female presentations. The idea of which seemed to be very exciting to Karla as that would mean both more flexibility on operations involving the maintaining of a separate persona, as well as the safeguard of who he actually was- as it was generally more difficult to find someone who changes appearance.

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  Wanting to inspect with more detail, Karla moved closer to the mirror- but this proved to be a mistake. His sense of newfound hope of owning this new body in its entirety was destroyed. A purple misty figure that was clearly his old body was starting to take shape as some sort of… ghostly possessive force over this new body. His smile quickly faded into a distasteful frown. Stopping to look at the purple ghastly body, he could- if he focused hard enough- begin to see the bullet wound and various…reminders… of his past failures. He noticed that his body wasn’t clear to him anymore- but instead seemed to mimic the way he had lived his life before. A gooey mess of pain and suffering shifting to fit whatever description would hurt it the least. That's what his previous physical body was. The truth of the matter hurt to see. So much so that he started to move towards the mirror in an effort to shatter it- perhaps he could use the shards to re-attempt his commitment to eternal rest. However,

  As he was almost touching the mirror his view again re-focused from a reflection into a strange window into an unknown room. What seemed to be someone else’s ghost was controlling another body exactly identical to his and looked unreasonably weak willed. His face was clearly that of surprise, but it seemed as though it was mixed with fear. The stranger's only difference from him (aside from the entirely separate ghostly figure possessing the body), was that that body had bright blue eyes, with star shaped pupils almost glistening with a comforting welcome. For whatever reason the idea of a dog or pet came to mind when looking at this being. It made karla shudder. Sickened by the pure existence of whatever pacifist was surely in front of him, he put on his mask and began to inquire into whether or not this was an Enemy or Rostovan individual- shutting out any reminiscent thoughts.

  “Hello my friend, would you happen to know where we are?”

  The stranger, after a moment of what seemed to be shock, suddenly started to make

  energetic motions. It was like watching a child get a ration card, a sickening display of joy that made Karla feel uncomfortable and defective. After a brief pause the stranger responded, but the response was filtered or butchered in an un-inteligable way. It was similar to when his radio-equipment started to get jammed. Realizing speech was a pointless endeavor, the next logical step was to establish common symbology to communicate by means of text or images. Karla quickly went to grab one of his operations planning drafts that had the Rostovan emblem and the very easily identifiable unit insignias. Trying to press the map as close to the mirror without touching it as he could, he silently analyzed the strangers facial movements for signs of recognition, distaste or approval. Strangely however, the body language and looks he saw were more indicative of confusion and curiosity rather than hateful contempt or complete submission. This meant this person couldn’t have possibly been from either the Allied Rostovan forces or enemy States. Karla let out a sigh of relief and relaxed his posture to think. If this person didn’t know basic aspects of the great war- he probably didn’t have the capacity to understand what he was trying to convey. Moving to the large operations planning table, Karla withdrew an ink-well and quill as well as a standard issue notebook to write some basic phrases in every language he knew. Returning to the mirror, he wrote as much as he could remember in approximately thirteen languages- although most of them were from the Eusian continent.

  The stranger took embarrassingly long to realize Karla wanted him to also grab some sort of significant indicator of his location or language. But he seemed to get the hint eventually. Letting out a large sigh, he realized whatever strange situation he had found himself in was not in-fact a second chance at life- nor was it the afterlife, as there was another soul possessing an eerily similar body interacting with him. Taking out a cigarette, Karla began to time how long it would take for the stranger to gather information. If it took too long that would indicate either fabrication of information or the deliberate cherry-picking of what information would be shown to him. If it was too quick it would mean that this person had no idea how to put on a poker face or know how to lie- which of itself was also dangerous as that would mean Karla would have to directly silence or coerce this person to keep any critical information. Surprisingly, the resulting two minute wait was both quick enough and too long to be suspicious. However the information that was presented to him was clearly incorrect. The regions of the world were drawn with the incorrect borders, and the flags and names of various states were clearly also in the wron-

  …

  But… how would one be able to create so many different spaces at once? And in the span of such a small amount of time?

  Gears began to force their churning clicks and rotations in Karla’s head. If by some strange reason what this person is showing him was true- it would mean either this ghost came from a time long before Rostova, or was from an entirely separate existing earth. And while there were occultists that tried to perverse the idea in his birthplace of Rostova, it wasn’t an entirely foreign concept.

  But the very thought shocked Karla. What peaceful place could this have been? To have a world without the great war was such a foreign concept to Karla it took him aback a couple seconds. He pressed as close to the mirror’s glass as he could- wanting to force his way into whatever escape he was denied- but as he felt he was just about to reach out, the mirror seemingly shot him back with the force of a small grenade or minimal explosive device.

  …

  Curious….

  Getting up from his awkward positioning, he began to dust himself off. As he was about to attempt more communication and a more thorough investigation of who this stranger was, as he blinked he was suddenly somewhere else. The numb, faint feelings of grass and wind on his skin were replaced with the crisp humidity of an open field. The jarring confusion only lasted but a moment as his eyes adjusted to the sights he was witnessing. He was in an open field, holding what seemed to be a clump of leather soaked in water. A breeze let out a hushed kiss, blowing his newly silk snow white hair out of his face.

  “Now what the fuck is happening….?”

  Karla was now in control of the body of Silas.