Immortality.
It's a goal of modern medicine. Multitudes of people feel as though they would do anything for more time in this world. I've seen it over and over again. From Tribal leaders, to modern Kings.
Only two Trammels, since I became the first one, have successfully removed this curse from themselves. I had figured out how to give this ability away, and ended up giving it to sixteen others. After we figured out that we couldn't stop the phenomenon; I never allowed myself to pass it on again, and never told them how to do it.
It was almost a thousand years later the first one of us died for real. The following year, my only son followed suit. He was the youngest of us. In my seven thousand years of life, he was the last child I bore. This young one, William, reminds me of him. When I first saw him, I felt as though my son hadn't actually figured out how to embrace the reaper.
As normal people have figured out new ways to pass information between themselves, it has become more and more difficult for our kind to hide among the masses. We created The Society of Immortals as a way to assist us in getting what we needed to hide, but set it up as a secret society as to reduce the possibility of outside influences.
We made the penalties, of anyone falsely using the Trammel surname, inside the society, quite severe. With the identifiers I used yesterday, there is no doubt left in the elders of this chapter house, that I am a Trammel. But I doubt they realize: I am the progenerator of the Trammel family.
My immortality, is a vessel creation type. Two of our kind are always reborn, they are born, grow old, live their lives, have children, and pass away. Within a year of their passing, they are born once more. Those two never need the services of the society, rather, they generally set up new chapters, to assist those of us who need them, in this new world.
Most of our kind end up taking over the bodies of orphans, who have been left to die. In a few cases, they die a few times, before being able to get someplace that helps them survive. They are the ones I regret giving this ability to the most. Only one of us has, what normal people consider, true immortality. She doesn't age, can't get injured, and hasn't died in the six and a half thousand years since she met me. She stays in the middle east; in countries where women are required to be covered head to toe outside the home. I couldn't do it myself, but its how she copes with my mistake.
My immortality is a bit different. My ability creates a body for me. Usually in a dry cave, or storm drain that stays dry. I, then, live a somewhat normal life, aging about half as fast as those around me. Eventually my body breaks down. And I feel my ability begin looking for a place to construct my next body. I usually get my affairs in order around this time, and secure a few things for my next life. I didn't have a chance to do anything of the sort this time. I was in a train accident six years ago. This body awoke in the blower room of a derilict road tunnel nearly fifty miles away from the accident site. It took me nearly three hours, traveling only once it became night, and sneaking around, to get to the chapter house. Few people leave clothes hanging on the line anymore, and a naked girl would immediately be taken to a hospital, or police station, and be assumed a victim of a crime.
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
I do not want to start my new life that way, again.
Each new life, my looks are different enough that I am not recognized in photographs, or moving pictures; but close enough to be mistaken as a relative or decendant of my previous self. This body was about five foot tall, I hadnt measured it yet, hair so black that it appeared blue under the natural light of the skylight in this bathroom. My eyes and cheeks appeared European to me. My lips were full, resting under an upturned nose that made my face look like something one would see on the cover of a magazine. My irises were a vibrant cold blue, with a green ring along their outer edges.
I put the oversized sweater, and pajama pants back on, after having today's shower. Will's mom is going to be taking me clothes shopping today, as well as to a doctor's office. Even though I know I am not suceptable to most diseases; I still need to have proof of vaccination. As well as, because of my appearance, I will be required to attened compulsory education. So all of that is getting set up today.
History is probably my hardest subject. Having lived through the events, I generally have a different feeling about what parts were important or not. Something about being an inqisitor in Spain, changes my perspective a bit. Did some of my compatriots overstep their bounds, resulting in some of the largest autrocities of the time? Absolutely. And we summarily removed the offending inquisitors as soon as those things came to light. Do I still think the things I did under the decree of the Spanish Inquisition was right? No. Most of us didn't see ourselves any different than a modern police officer, some of us should have never been allowed a sword. Needless to say, though, is that I end up arguing with history teachers, and professors, a lot.
An hour after my shower, Leah, Will's mother, and I enter a shopping mall, and enter a store for women's undergarments. I am measured, and am surprised to hear this body is a 28C. A fairly easy size of bra to find. My last body was a bit more difficult. As it was late spring, Leah used the Society's account to also get me a one-piece swimsuit. We then went to a makeup store, where I was checked for possible skin allergies, and then color matched for powders, and foundations.
Shoes, socks, three pairs of jeans, a pair of shorts, two knee length skirts, three button down blouses, two polo shirts, a cheap pack of tank-tops, and two tee shirts were picked up from a box store between the mall and doctor's office.
I was then given a round of shots, and recomended to make an appointment with an OB/GYN. Because we used the classic Amnesia excuse with the doctor, she recomended it to get a baseline for any future checkups. I turned it down.
We then went by the school where Will would be finishing his Junior year. By this point, there was only two hours left in the school day, but I still asked if I could take an aptitude test.
As the final bell of the day rang; Will entered the room with Leah, and awaited my grade on my final aptitude test: Math. Having studied directly under Euclid, then using his method in every subsequent life, the majority of the test was easy for me.