Jason was driving home from yet another business trip when the storm struck. Rain hammered against the windscreen so violently that even with the wipers at full speed, he could barely see the road ahead. Lightning ripped across the sky, illuminating the countryside in brief flashes of ghostly white. Then came the explosion. BANG! The steering wheel jerked violently in Jason's hands. "Dammit!" He fought to keep control of the car and eventually pulled onto the side of the road. He switched on his hazard lights and climbed out into the pouring rain. One look confirmed what he already suspected. A tyre had blown. Jason opened the boot and reached for the spare. Flat. "Perfect." Another flash of lightning lit up the countryside. For the first time, Jason noticed the enormous iron gates on the opposite side of the road. Beyond them stood a sprawling old manor house. It looked Victorian, perhaps even older, with dozens of dark windows staring down at him. Jason hesita...

Chapter One — Five Friends, One Cabin On the first anniversary of the day the Great Shift turned them into women, five best friends rented a cabin in the woods. Samantha had found it online: a cosy timber lodge with a log fire, a deep bathtub and a covered veranda overlooking a lake. The photographs showed folded blankets, inviting armchairs, and a woman holding a steaming mug as she gazed thoughtfully at the trees. "That," Samantha had announced in their group chat, "is going to be us." "Which bit?" Rachel had replied. "The peaceful expression or the suspiciously clean kitchen?" They booked it that evening. By Friday afternoon, the cabin held five overnight bags, seven bottles of champagne, an unreasonable amount of chocolate,e and enough skincare products to open a small chemist's. They had agreed the weekend would be devoted to relaxing, pampering themselves, and enjoying one another's company, away from boyfriends, husbands, and the p...

 

  A skeleton screamed as it entered the bedroom. Tony, in Emma's body, still looked up in surprise. The man lying next to him, Emma, who was his boyfriend, let out a scream of terror at the sight of a skeleton holding a knife coming towards them. He was even more surprised when the skeleton said, "Jeffrey, how could you sleep with him?" Emma just chuckled and said Jeffrey had no idea who I was until you let the cat out of the bag. Jeff, I'm Tony. I'm a dirty old man. I skinned your girlfriend and stole her flesh. Jeffrey let out a blood-curdling scream of terror and said You're a man. The skeleton screamed at him Is that all you're concerned about, not that he murdered the love of your life for her flesh. Jeffrey quickly tried to get out of bed, slipped, banged his head and passed out on the floor. When he came in some hours later, he was a skeleton in a wooden box. Unbeknownst to him, Tony had told Jessica he couldn't give her her skin back; it was a ...