The Switch Novels & Stories

My heart stopped beating for a while. “You said you guys switched bodies thirty-something days ago?” I swallowed hard. “Thirty-eight days. The switch happened thirty-eight days ago.” “That’s strange!” She replied. “You shouldn’t be experiencing the fusion stage right now.” “Fusion stage?” I heard her clear her throat loudly. “Yeah. That’s the stage where...? “I know.” I sharply replied. I wouldn’t want to hear the consequence that awaits us.

I snapped out of it and called, “Mark.” He turned back, frowning. “Not enough?” Maybe it was because of his past running with rough crowds. Though he was good-looking, there was a sharp, intimidating edge to him, like he had a bad temper. I stood up, searched through my bag, and took out a tube of ointment. “It’s rainy season in the South. You might get eczema. Take this and use it if you need to.” He paused, a little surprised. After taking the ointment, he looked at me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. “Anything else?”

When he slid it back, he’d muttered only three sentences: “Dead-man switch live. Three triggers: no heartbeat check-in every twelve hours, manual panic code, or forced shutdown attempt. Drop goes to fifty outlets worldwide—major news, whistleblower sites, dark-web mirrors. Irreversible once it starts. You’ve got forty-eight hours before the first auto-ping. Don’t miss it.” Then he was gone, melting into the rain-soaked crowd like he’d never been there. Now the switch was ticking. Forty-eight hours. Forty-eight hours until either we dismantled her empire or she burned ours to ash.

All of it danced beneath the blood running down his temple. “What…?” he choked. Devon pulled something small from his pocket—a black switch with a blinking blue light. “Before any of you get any bright ideas,” he said, lifting the device high enough for everyone to see, “you should know—I came prepared too.” The way he said it made the hairs on my neck stand up. He tapped the button once. Somewhere behind us, a soft beep echoed. Then another. And another. My gaze darted around—above the archway, beside the stone columns, near the trees bordering the courtyard. Tiny red lights blinked into existence like eyes opening in the dark.

The entire void seemed to listen. Then, just as Chaos had instructed, I searched for the switch. At first, I thought it would be symbolic. Hidden. Complicated. Instead, it was exactly what he had said. A light switch stood beside me on an ordinary wall that had no business existing in an endless cosmic realm. I stared at it. “Of course,” I muttered. Somewhere in the distance, I felt Chaos’s amusement. I reached out. And flipped it down. Darkness surged. Not wild darkness.

Dana asked as she waved her hand around. “Press the silver-colored round button on the side of my table.” Dana walked over to the table and noted that there were a few different switches on the table. Although she was curious, she obediently pressed the silver-colored round button. A whiff of air sprayed from the four corner instantly freshening the smell in the room. “What are all those switches for?” Dana asked curiously as she sat next to him. “To lock the door, bring up projection screens from the ceiling, surveillance control...”

Sa bagay pwedeng-pwede ako magday-dream dito. Pero sa ngayon...kailangan ko na muna maglinis. Parang uumagahin ako nito mag-ayos. Hinanap ko yung switch box ng electricity. Ayun... Maalikabok. Pagbaba ko ng hawakan... Nagkaroon ng ilaw yung ilang ilaw. Hinanap ko yung switch on ng ilang ilaw... Hangang sa magkaroon ng ilaw ang boung bahay.

What an unromantic dummy. “Sir, I’m from SwitchTV. We’re currently the world’s largest news and live streaming platform. Our boss has wanted to work with you. I’m here today because our boss knew Rockefeller would find his way here. We came to warn you!” Her words weren’t complete lies, though. SwitchTV’s boss had thought of that, and he took action himself. Unfortunately, the number he dialed wasn’t in use anymore, considering how Alex had crushed Elder Sandoval along with his phone.

I just need a loud enough curtain to slip behind. I trigger the kill-switch on the building’s power grid from my tablet. Simultaneously, I send a command to the cell block: Release All. The heavy mag-locks groan and click open. Within seconds, the Hub erupts as every low-level dealer and hitter they’ve picked up today realizes the doors are wide.

She then walked even further inside, trying to feel the surroundings. “Just where is the switch?” Excami said, as if asking herself the question. The dorm lady then replied, ``It is beside the door, at the right side but a bit farther.” Excami followed what the dorm lady had said. She went back to the door and stretched out her right hand, trying to feel the light switch. “I still can’t feel it.” Excami said. “Go a bit farther.” the dorm lady advised and Excami followed, stepping two right steps away from the door and tried to feel the light switch again.