Snooze by Cleo Kraft "Welcome to World Jump Incorporated," the young secretary said in a pleasant voice from behind her desk. "How may I help you today?" "Hi, I believe I have an appointment. My name's Brad Capers," Brad said and gave his lifecard to the secretary. "Thank you, Mr. Capers," she said and swiped the card through a microreader before handing it back. "I see you're scheduled to visit Raax. Are you married?" "Yeah, I'm supposed to meet my wife there," Brad said. "Why?" The secretary had a faraway look in her eyes for a moment and shook her head,"Ah...nothing. Never mind. There's just few men who venture out to Raax anymore due to some local phenomenon. You know, magic, curses, that sort of thing? Well, let's never mind that now. You've got to hurry up. The next departure is only minutes away. Please take the slide-rail to gate five and turn in your lifecard. Have a wonderful time on Raax." World travel is always done by spacecraft, except for those who traveled to other dimensions. Raax was three dimensions over from the prime but that didn't matter much to an out of work robotics engineer like Brad Capers. Any world was better than Earth at this point in his life and Brad was anxious to get away. "Your lifecard," a man said and took the card from Brad and inserted it into a reader. "Thank you Mr. Capers. Now please step inside the transport booth." Brad stepped into the booth and turned around to watch as his lifecard was placed into an incinerator tray. The card flashed a brilliant white before it vanished completely. No going back now. His life on earth was finished. The booth closed up and then seemed to tilt backward. The transport terminal faded away and a garden appeared. A young woman in a grass skirt walked up and hugged him. "Hi Julie," Brad said to his wife. They briefly kissed. "Let's go to the binding palace," Julie said and took him by the hand. "Why? What's there?" he asked. "Oh, we're going to sort of get remarried," Julie said. "Only this binding ceremony makes divorce much more difficult." "What do you mean?" Brad asked. He didn't like the sound of this idea. "Come on, silly," Julie said and led him down a gravel trail through a bit of jungle. ...-------... The ceremony was pretty quick and when it was done, Brad was handed a vial of liquid. "Drink it," Julie said. With a shrug, Brad lifted the small glass to his mouth and drank. "Tastes like grape juice," he said and set the empty container down. Julie picked up a necklace that had a similar vial attached to it. "What's that?" Brad asked. "Oh, I get to wear this to show that my husband is binded," she said with a smile. "It's a status symbol on this world for women." "You're not going to drink it?" Brad asked. "Nope," she said and placed the golden necklace around her neck. Then she brushed her brunette hair behind her neck with her hands before giving Brad a satisfied smile. "It's an antidote of a sort. I must warn you, Brad, now that you're binded, you must not sleep with another woman." "Why would I do that and what would happen if I did?" he asked looking over at the priestess who was giving another binding ceremony to another couple. Julie smiled at a secret of hers and answered,"Well, I'd like to think you would stay faithful to me and not mess around with other women. If you did snooze with someone else, you'd be surprised at your punishment. You've got a binding curse on you. A strong curse that cannot be broken without drinking from this other vial, you see? So now, if you promise to love only me, you won't have anything to worry about. Okay?" "What about that stuff about divorce being more difficult?" Brad asked. "Oh, well to get a divorce you need to drink from this vial," Julie said and added. "Otherwise the binding curse is still on and you can only sleep with me." "Give me the vial," Brad demanded and reached out. A spark shot out from the necklace and singed his hand. "Ow!" he yelled in pain. "Magical protection," Julie said and fondled the necklace for a moment. "I don't like this world," Brad said walking for the door. "I'm not sure I like you tricking me into this curse thing either." "Don't worry," Julie said and followed him out the archway. "I won't trick you anymore, Brad. I just was following local custom. You see, all married couples have to be binded otherwise the marriage is not recognized." "Then why didn't you get a curse?" Brad turned. "Do all the women hold such power over their husbands here that the men can't be trusted?" "Women are trusted on Raax. Women are not known to cheat on their husbands here," Julie said and briefly hugged Brad. "Hey, how come I didn't get a shock?" Brad asked. "Oh, well you didn't try to remove the necklace so I guess incidental contact doesn't activate the magical protection spell," Julie shrugged. They walked down the street and into a little thatched hut. "Like it?" Julie asked walking over to the center of the room with her arms out wide. "Look at all the space we've got. Isn't it wonderful? You couldn't get a place like this on Earth." "Yeah, it'll work," Brad said and sat down on a bamboo chair. "What's with all the Hawaiian atmosphere on this world anyway?" "I don't know but Raax is eighty-eight percent water so that must count for some of the deco around this village," Julie said and opened up the flower curtains on the main window. "Lucky we're up here on this hill. Just look at the view of the ocean from here!" Brad stood up and walked over to the window. "What's that other village over there?" he asked pointing to a spot of grass huts peeking out of the jungle off in the distance. "Oh, you wouldn't want to go there," Julie said and shut the curtains again before quickly changing the subject. "Let's go down to the grill and get some dinner. Okay?" "Sure," Brad said and peeked through the curtains once more at the other village before turning to follow his wife out the door. ...-------... Dinner was okay. The fish tasted different than on Earth and the wine was too sweet but overall, the grill had good atmosphere. "I'm going back to the hut," Julie said standing. "Uh, I want to check out some of the shops around here first," Brad told her. "I'll catch up with you in a bit." "Well, suit yourself, just be home by eight," she said walking out the door. Brad walked out after her and then headed in the opposite direction down the street. He had to bring a torch with him to light the small jungle path. After an hour or so, the path opened up onto a wide dirt street and Brad walked out into the other village. The place was bustling with people, mostly young native girls but there were enough couples walking the streets that the place looked like touristville. Upon a second look, Brad realized this village was a little more like New San Francisco except the buildings here were made of bamboo and grass. Women were kissing women, and men were slapping each other on the butt. It appeared that everyone here was openly expressing their sexual preferences. Some women were seen running away from their husbands or boyfriends in some sort of crazed chase games. "What is this place?" Brad wondered aloud. A woman stepped in front of him and answered,"You're in Gendrox." Upon closer examination, the woman was actually a man in drag. "What's with the get-up?" Brad asked. "Oh," she said with her hands on hips. "I'm a woman trapped in a mans body. Lots of us girls are just trying to fit in. Some bastard slept with me and and he didn't even tell me he was binded. Can you believe it? Now I'm stuck in this hideous male body while SHE is out having fun somewhere." "I'm sorry," Brad said and contemplated shaking hands with her but thought twice about it. "Um, where's a cool bar around this place. I could use a drink." "Come with me," she said and took him by the hand. "I'll show you. By the way, my name's Claire." "I'm Brad," he said wondering about why he was still holding Clairs hand. Obviously he could have broken away at any time but there was an odd attraction to her. She must have had extensive hormone therapy because she had breasts and smooth skin, just like a real woman. There were some male features that were unavoidable but you had to look really close to tell the difference. Probably the throaty voice was the main give away. ~Poor girl,~ Brad thought. ~I wish there were some way I could help her get her old body back. Nobody deserves to be stuck in the wrong sex against their will.~ They walked inside a busy bar and sat down in a small booth. "Thanks for showing me this place," Brad said. "So, looks like you've given up on getting your body switched back." He indicated her breasts. "Oh, yeah, well you gotta feel comfortable in such cases," she said. "I'm saving up for the final operation but I'd have to go offworld to get a doctor that still does sex changes. The estrogens I'm taking are from an underground shop or else I'd never be able to get any. Lucky this city is a freezone or girls like me would be stuck permanently as men." They ordered a few beers and then Claire got up and gave Brad a hug before she excused herself. "See ya around, Brad," she said and walked out the door with her girlfriend. A few minutes later a gang of women walked through the doors and began to sort out all the single guys. One by one, the girls led the men upstairs. A short Polynesian woman pulled Brad by the arm. "Come on," she urged. "Let's go." "Wait a minute," Brad said sternly and looked her over first. She was only about four foot tall and had long, black hair and brown eyes. Her skin was naturally tan looking and she gave him a perfect smile revealing her bright, white teeth. She was wearing a grass skirt and a pink top. There was a little rose stuck in her hair. Her feet were sheathed in some sort of leather moccasins. "Come on," she urged again. "You binded, I can tell. You come on now. I'll take care of you." Brad relented and followed her up the stairs. There was only one big attic room and several couples were already having sex on little mats when Brad walked in. "Is this some sort of orgy?" he asked looking around in shock. "Come on," the girl said and brought Brad over to a small patch of carpet. She got on her back and lifted her skirt with her legs spread wide. "Come on," she said and pulled him close. "I don't have much time. My boyfriend was following me to this place. Hurry. I want you in me." Brad unzipped his jeans and leaned into her. Within moments Brad was thrusting in and out of her vagina with his stiff member. Around the room, several couples had finished already and some of the women were crying. "You tricked me!" a startled woman nearby exclaimed to the man who was standing up and buttoning his shirt. "How dare you! You tricked me!" Similar cries came from women all over the room but Brad kept on thrusting in and out of the girl under him. Finally he climaxed in her. Then something strange happened to Brad Capers. The room seemed to spin around and suddenly Brad was on his back looking up at his own body. He felt tiny, weak and panted in a helpless breath. His mouth had a sweet taste to it and his voice was moaning in a tone that was unfamiliar to his ears. Bluejeans brushed against his bare legs as the man shifted position. An unusual feeling erupted from between his legs as flesh was pulled out from a wet little cavity that hadn't existed there before. Brad realized that he'd switched places with the girl and only looked on in disbelief as his old body zipped up his jeans and walked out of the room with the rest of the men. The men left as quickly as the gang of women had entered the bar. All that was left in the room were a bunch of confused girls staring up at the ceiling with wide eyes and puzzled smiles. Brad finally sat up and fixed his skirt back into place. "What happened?" a girl nearby asked. Brad got up and walked to the door, glancing up at the now towering height of the doorway on the way out. As soon as Brad made it to the bottom of the stairs, a tall, dark haired man said,"Hey, Mina! What's the idea runnin' from me like that? I've been looking all over seven worlds for you." Brad/Mina was grabbed up into the air by the stranger and carried out the door. "Who are you?" she asked as she was carried down the street through the crowd. "You've been drinking again," the man said and kissed her as he continued to walk. His tongue forcefully entered her mouth during the kiss. She was getting an odd feeling of excitement throughout her body. Bits of memory filled her mind. Memories that were only those of the girl, not the man inside her head. "Pete," she said in a shy voice. "I would never forget your name. You know that." She hugged him tight as he continued to carry her in his arms. "Why'd ya run away from me anyway?" Pete asked. "I followed you through the gateways to each world but you kept getting away from me. What's the big idea coming to Raax for? This ain't no world for a lady. We're engaged. You just remember that, Mina. Let's get off this rotten world of magic and back to the good old farm world of Parnax. Don't you think I'll forget this, either, 'cause you're gonna do extra chores as punishment." She cringed in fear of his words. She didn't want to leave Julie behind or she'd never be able to change back to a man again. "Lemme go," she said struggling uselessly in his arms. "Put me down." He carried her down the street until they arrived at a transport booth. "Say goodbye to the world of Raax," Pete told her as they dematerialized and transported to another dimension. ...-------... The next morning Mina woke up in a strange room. She rubbed her wrists which now had strange bracelets fastened tightly on them. Pete was getting dressed at the foot of the bed. "Hey, what's with these?" she said indicating the bracelets. "Oh, just restraining devices so you don't go running off the farm without my permission," Pete said with a dominating tone. "You're my woman and I'm not gonna let you go runnin' away from me ever again. Understand?" "But I'm not a woman," she complained. "I'm a man." Pete laughed,"Right. Well, then, you're gonna prove it by diggin' up the north field. Now get dressed and make me some breakfast. I want eggs and bacon, and get the coffee goin' while you're at it and where are my socks? That reminds me...you've got laundry to do today so you'd better get up off your butt and start earnin' your keep, woman, or I'll have to horsewhip you. Come on, get up! No more snoozin'." She got up and quickly dressed. Her attempt at cooking only made Pete more angry with her. "You stupid bitch!" Pete said throwing his plate at the wall. "How the hell am I gonna live if you keep messin' up my food? Now go back to that stove and cook me somethin' decent without burning it!" She failed again and Pete sent her outside with a shovel. "Get outa here and go dig that north field up," Pete ordered. "You can't do nothin' right! Go on! An' I want the laundry done when you're finished with that. I'm goin' inta town to get a REAL breakfast." Mina slowly walked to the north field, thinking only of escape and how she had betrayed her love to Julie. Now, Brad Capers was a girl and stuck for good unless she found a way out of her restraining bracelets. The digging was too much for her. Within an hour she fell to the ground in a dead faint under the hot, double suns of Parnax. She woke up some time later with a sunburn and a stiff back. Resigned to her fate, she continued to dig up the field. She was warned of the binding curse but never believed in curses until now. "Oh, to be able to snooze," she said looking back at the house with tears in her eyes. Her life as a man had ended and her life as a woman had only just begun. A spaceplane skimmed the pink sky overhead and vanished into the heavens. She closed her eyes and heard only the sound of the shovel scooping up dirt. Hard, grimy dirt.