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The Last Breath
An unreleased short story from the book:
Flesh for Rent: Dark Tales of Body Swaps Gone Wrong
David had always felt trapped. His job in a dull office, the endless cycle of nine-to-five, the monotony of his relationships—it all felt like a weight pressing down on him, suffocating his spirit. He had dreams once, of adventure, excitement, a life filled with possibility. But somewhere along the way, he had lost sight of them. His existence had become a gray blur, a constant battle with the clock, waiting for some moment to break free. He had become a man whose potential was smothered under the weight of routine and regret.
That was until he found the ad.
“Escape your life. Become someone else. Live their experience.”
At first, David had thought it was a joke. A scam. The idea seemed too fantastical, too absurd to even consider. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that it was exactly what he needed. Someone else’s life, someone who was free of the suffocating weight that he carried around. Someone who was alive, vibrant, filled with purpose.
And when he saw the name—Nathan Hale, a world-renowned athlete—David’s heart raced. Nathan was everything David had ever wanted to be: successful, admired, physically perfect. A man whose body was his temple, whose every movement seemed effortless, whose accomplishments were celebrated by millions. Nathan had everything David lacked—the power, the influence, the freedom to live life on his terms.
It was an easy decision.
The swap process was straightforward. A few forms, a cold room, and before David knew it, his body was no longer his own. He felt the familiar, sharp pull of disorientation—his mind spinning as if being torn from one place and thrust into another. When he opened his eyes, he was no longer sitting in his apartment, staring at the dull walls of his office. He was in a different body—Nathan’s body.
At first, it was overwhelming. He felt the strength of Nathan’s muscles, the power in his limbs. He stood taller, moved more fluidly. There was no discomfort, no aches. He marveled at the way Nathan’s body felt alive with energy, as if the very act of moving was effortless. He could taste the rush of possibility—this was freedom. This was what it was like to truly live. David could feel the power in his legs, the strength in his arms, the confidence in his posture. For the first time in years, he felt like he could do anything.
He tried to settle into Nathan’s life. He spent days walking through Nathan’s routine, enjoying the luxury of physicality that had always seemed beyond him. The admiration of fans, the focus on competition, the relentless drive to be the best—it was intoxicating. It was like a drug, and David was high on it. For once, he wasn’t stuck. He wasn’t waiting. He was in motion, living in the moment, the entire world open to him.
But there was something off, something David couldn’t put his finger on. It was subtle at first—just a little twinge of discomfort in his chest, a fleeting sense of tightness in his muscles. Nathan had always pushed himself to extremes, of course. That was part of the allure, the reason Nathan was revered. But David had no idea just how far Nathan had pushed his body, how much it had taken to keep up that image, that level of competition. Nathan’s life wasn’t just about training, it was about surviving.
And now, David was living in Nathan’s body, a body that had been driven to the edge.
The first sign of something truly wrong came during a morning workout. David—Nathan—had pushed himself harder than usual, as athletes tend to do. He was running faster, lifting more, doing everything that Nathan would normally do to prepare for an upcoming competition. But as the hours wore on, something began to change. David felt a heaviness in his chest. It was small at first, a tightness, like his lungs were struggling to keep up.
He paused, wiping sweat from his brow, trying to shake it off. It wasn’t much. Just a little discomfort. But the feeling didn’t go away. It settled deeper into his chest, spreading like a weight, like something was constricting around his ribs.
David tried to ignore it. He finished his workout, went through his daily routine, but the pressure kept growing. By the time he went to bed that night, it felt like he was breathing through a straw. Every breath was shallow, painful. His chest hurt, his body aching in ways it shouldn’t. His heart thudded uncomfortably, a dull rhythm that kept time with his mounting anxiety. But it was the quiet thought that gnawed at him, the question that hung in the air like a whisper: What had Nathan done to get here?
The next day, the symptoms only worsened.
David’s breath was labored, his muscles sore and stiff. He tried to go through Nathan’s routine, but every movement felt heavier, more taxing. By the afternoon, the tightness in his chest had turned to sharp pain. His breaths came in ragged gasps, and his heart seemed to be beating too fast, too erratically. He clutched his chest, panic rising in his throat. This wasn’t a normal workout-induced fatigue. This was something far more dangerous, something deeper, darker. The body he now inhabited was failing.
David tried to reach out for help, but there was no time. He stumbled through Nathan’s daily life, each minute more suffocating than the last. The pain grew unbearable, the pressure in his chest turning into an overwhelming, crushing force. Every breath he took felt like it was his last.
And then, in a haze of panic and confusion, it hit him: Nathan’s body wasn’t just a shell—it was a ticking time bomb. Years of extreme competition, endless pressure to perform, had taken their toll. Nathan’s body, while physically strong, had been ravaged by the constant push to be the best. The muscles, the speed, the agility—they had all come at a cost. And now, that cost was being paid.
David—trapped in Nathan’s body—couldn’t undo it. He had no idea how to reverse the swap, how to escape the prison he had entered. All he wanted was to leave, to get out of Nathan’s body before it was too late. But he couldn’t. The pain was too much. He couldn’t breathe. His lungs were collapsing under the strain, his heart no longer able to keep up.
And then the world began to fade.
Each breath felt like it would be his last. The pressure in his chest became unbearable, his limbs weakening, his body failing. He collapsed to the floor, gasping for air, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t breathe. Nathan’s body was suffocating him, trapped in its own history of abuse, of extreme performance. He had traded his mundane life for this—traded his soul for the promise of physical perfection, of freedom.
But it wasn’t freedom. It was a trap.
In those final moments, David realized with sickening clarity that he had made the ultimate mistake. His mind, still his own, struggled against the overwhelming pain of a body that was no longer capable of carrying him. He had escaped the monotony of his old life, but now, he was trapped in a body that would never let him go. Nathan’s body had been his salvation for a moment, but now it was his prison. A prison with no escape.
The last breath he took was shallow, fading, and the darkness closed in.
If you enjoyed this short story you will probably like our latest release available now:
Flesh for Rent: Dark Tales of Body Swaps Gone Wrong
$3.99
Flesh for Rent: Dark Tales of Body Swaps Gone Wrong is a spine-chilling collection of short stories that will plunge you into the depths of horror and despair.
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