Gene Kingston was working out in his corn field, when something grabbed his attention. The highway leading into town wasn't too far away from Gene's farmhouse (maybe a mile), but far enough away that the sound of traffic was usually down to a minimum. But today was different. He held his hand over his eyes, to cut the sunlight, and saw a definite increase in traffic ... all leading away from town. Being outside of the town limits and not owning much in the way of technology (he had a phone inside the house, but all that morning he was outside working in the field), he had no clue what was happening.
People kept on honking their horns, signifying that they were in a hurry. But why?
Suddenly, everything around him glowed in a bright white light, causing him to shut his eyes. And when he opened them, he was somewhere else. In a bedroom that he didn't recognize.
"I'm telling you, I'm not your mother," someone said nearby. Gene turned and saw a woman of about thirty-eight.
"Who are you?" Gene asked.
"Finally, you believe me," the woman said, apparently relieved. "My name is Andrea Drullers. And my son's name is Leonard. I think you two go to the same school."
"School?" Gene asked. "I don't go to school."
The woman looked oddly at him. "But you're Jay Duncan, right? Head of science club?"
"I think you have me confused with someone else," Gene said. "I'm not ..." But then he saw his reflection in the bedroom mirror. He stood up from the desk chair and stared. "How is this possible? That's not me," he said, pointing to the image of Jay Duncan.
"Oh no," the woman said. "I think it happened to you too."
"What happened?" Gene asked.
Jay looked around, seeing that he was standing in a corn field. After looking down at himself, he saw that he was dressed like a farmer - plaid shirt, overalls, and a pair of brown work boots.
"Oh no," he said. "I think I just swapped bodies." He had been keeping track of what was going on all morning with his computer and was in the middle of warning his mother, when suddenly she started to act strange. At first, he didn't want to believe that she had swapped with someone (it was much easier to believe that she was in shock over what was happening in town), even though she made it clear that she wasn't his mother. Then she touched him. If only he had kept his distance, this wouldn't have happened.
He saw a farmhouse nearby and ran inside. He had never seen a place so devoid of technology in his life. There wasn't even a TV. But there had to be a phone, right? Even if it was an old one?
As he searched for it, he caught a glimpse of himself in the hallway mirror. He wasn't just a farmer now. He was an old farmer, maybe mid-fifties, maybe even sixty. He shook his head, trying to ignore that that's what he looked like now. He had to find that phone and make sure someone knew that he was okay.
