Enter the Darkness
Part III
“Agent Deena Pierson is missing.”
Sector Chief Miles Douglas spoke to the assembled agents outside the Drug Task Force Command Vehicle being used as a cover for the undercover operation dedicated to finding the missing women and apprehending the criminal gang responsible.
“After her Coms stopped broadcasting we waited five minutes and raided the facility, arresting several dealers and numerous citizens for possession. We also arrested three men for drugging unsuspecting women. Two women are in the hospital for observation. These men have been questioned and are being processed by local law enforcement agencies. Everyone was held in the adjacent building while the warehouse containing the pop-up nightclub was searched. No sign of Agent Pierson was detected, though her purse was found discarded, minus cash and credit cards in the women’s rest room. The crime lab is processing the entire building.”
Douglas sighed deeply before continuing.
“Since we cannot allow the perpetrators know they’ve take an agent, a standard missing person’s report has been filed for Deena Winslow, a part-time student at the local community college. Her picture has been added to the other six missing women and will be broadcasted on local and national news outlets. We know Deena is the seventh victim and if the pattern continues the perpetrators will start taking women in another part of the country in about eight to nine weeks. I’ve requested additional resources from headquarters so we can review all the prior abductions. We believe over one hundred women have been taken by the same perpetrators. They don’t appear to be your run of the mill human traffickers since none of the missing women has ever turned up in the sex trade either here or overseas. All we can do is redouble our efforts and find some little thing we’ve missed or that little mistake they made. Focus on the earlier disappearances as they are more likely to have left some clues while developing and perfecting their abduction techniques. Okay everyone let’s get to work. No one rests until we get Deena back.”
Driving south toward regional headquarters Douglas takes out a separate phone and dials the first saved number. The call is answered on the first ring.
“Operations”
“221301”
“Connecting”
“Banks”
“Director, we have confirmation.”
“Are you sure?”
“As sure as we can be under the circumstances. Agent Pierson was taken during a sting operation with over thirty agents in and around the area. The entire area surrounding the site was quarantined for fifty miles in all directions within ten minutes of losing coms, yet there’s no trace of her within the search grid. Of course, we can’t be as aggressive in our search without tipping our quarry as to the importance of one of her victims.”
“How do you suggest we proceed?”
“You need to activate the hunters. Shoot to kill, head shots only, retrieve the head and burn the body.”
“Are you sure we can’t capture her? She might be a great asset.”
“Sir, that’s how we ended up in this mess. She’s too dangerous and most likely now has over one hundred operatives working against us. We should also reconsider activating the detection protocols. We can’t risk having one of hers infiltrate the organization.”
“I don’t think we’re there yet; none of the search team members are recent additions and have been in place prior to The Incident. Besides, the hunters are tested regularly.”
“Are you sure detection is 100%? We can’t risk exposure and she can’t be allowed to get out of the country.”
“I’ve authorized the additional manpower you requested using the selection criteria we’ve established. I’ll activate the hunters as soon as we finish… and Douglas if the detection protocols are flawed then God help us all.”
The Director disconnected the call and immediately dialed another number from his most secure hard line. The line was answered immediately.
“Artemis”
“She took the bait.”
“Excellent Director; so we shall have her soon?”
“If by have her, you mean she’ll be dead soon, then yes we will have her.”
“I’m not certain that’s necessary. Our agent isn’t even aware of her abilities. When the time is right she will be in a perfect position to help recover our daughter, Aphrodite.”
“I’m not sure that’s feasible or wise. She’s very powerful and quite unpredictable. Besides, I’ve already authorized the kill order…”
The Director breathed an audible sigh.
“… and I really don’t understand why you insist on the Greek Goddess nomenclature. The experiment’s designation would be more relevant.”
“Nonsense, our agent will affect Aphrodite’s safe return regardless of your orders, of that I’m certain. Thank you for the update Director.”
The line went dead.
“I hope you’re right.” The Director spoke quietly to the dead line.
Meanwhile… somewhere in the desert…
Bong… chime rings.
“What’s that? Oohh, my head is killing me.”
I open my eyes and strain against the brightness. Laying here orienting myself seems to make the pain in my head more tolerable. The light seems less harsh now too.
Trying to sit up is a bad idea. The entire room starts spinning and I let myself fall back down onto the comfortable bed.
“Bed, where am I and how did I get here?”
I take a deep breath and try to remember.
“Owww, Who, ugh, what?”
The more I try to think back and recall how I ended up here the more my head hurts.
“This is ridiculous. I didn’t just materialize here. Something happened and I need to figure out what.”
I’m closing my eyes, trying to take a deep breath. I exhale slowly and ever so slowly try to count back to … to… A stabbing pain lances through the back of my skull and down the right side of my body.
“Fuuuck! What the hell.”
Hazy images, whispered words I don’t understand. An office, pictures of women on some sort of screen, electronic white board? Everything’s a jumbled mess and the more I concentrate on trying to make sense of anything, the worse the pain becomes.
“Tears, seriously, what’s wrong with me?” I wipe my eyes and press the palms of my hands against my temples.
“I don’t understand what’s happening to me but I have to keep trying.”
I can’t even imagine how it’s possible but the pain is getting worse. I’m tough, but even I have limits. Just when I start to see stars and the blackness of unconsciousness begins to overtake me I remember something... a name, Deena Pierson.
Everything starts flooding back. I remember being on mission. Is Deena my mission? Wait, who am I, ugh; the pain is getting really bad. Am I having a stroke? Am I Deena. Aghhhhhh, I’m screaming and holding my head. I’m Deena. I’m Deena. I swallow, trying to relax, taking short, sharp breaths between the successive stabbing jackhammers assaulting my head. I don’t think a person can experience this much pain and live much longer. At this point not living sounds like a great idea.
Through the pain I start to experience flashes… loud music… dancing… falling… darkness. Must run… escape… get away. Warn the others before… Help me. So much pain. Make it stop. Please. I remember the music throbbing, across the room a beautiful woman. She’s here, grinding her ass into me. I’m..I’m Dee..na. I feel my hands on her breasts, so firm… yet impossibly soft. So good, too good, something wrong. Must get away. Her touch, I need it, must follow and obey.
A wave of pleasure flows through my mind and instantly the pain lessens.
“Whoa, wh..what isss..that?”
The chime rings again.
Suddenly, the pain is gone, my mind is empty and I’m standing… no walking to the desk by the door. I reach down and pick up a pair of funny looking glasses. Hesitating a moment, I stare at them before putting them on.
A low hum starts and I feel so relaxed. It feels so good to listen to the gentle hum. I feel good. Better than good, I feel great. Another wave of pleasure flows though me, not just in my mind but my entire body is alive with pleasurable feelings. Even my clothes seem to caress me. I see images, flashes of hot, sexy men and women in various stages of arousal, giving and receiving physical pleasure. I want to feel more. I need more.
Directly in the center of my vison is a woman. She is desire made flesh. She extends a hand to me. I walk to toward her but I can’t seem to get any closer. However, with each step I desire her more and more. I need to be in her presence. I need her touch. I need to please her, to serve and obey.
“Ahhhhhhhh… so good…”
In a moment, she’s before me, her body radiant in the darkness. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my entire life. She’s perfection. Of course, a woman so perfect doesn’t need clothes. Everyone should be able to admire her, honor her brilliance by gazing upon her glorious countenance with reverence and adoration. She’s looking directly at me. Her eyes are magnificent. They are the deepest dark black I’ve ever seen. I stand before her transfixed, unable to move, lost in those deep black orbs. They begin to rotate slowly at first and now more rapidly. By now the waves of pleasure assaulting me have become a boiling ocean, crashing into shore of my mind. The other images have faded away, the hum has increased and there’s nothing but the spinning obsidian orbs spiraling, tumbling deeper into vast Darkness.
“Please…” I gasp.
The hum slowly transitions to a soft whisper.
“Come to me. Come to me. Yes, join me and feel the power of oblivion. You are my empty vessel. Open yourself to me. Stare into the darkness and embrace your destiny. Remember what you’ve become, what you are.
“Yes, Mistress I remember, I know what I am. I’m yours to command. I serve and obey only you.”
“Very good slave. Today you continue your conditioning and training. Open your mind; imagine it’s filled with water. Water that was put there before you came to serve me. That water is putrid, befouled, vile and toxic. It hurts you and can hurt me.”
I’m shaking as I reply.
“No Mistress, I could never hurt you. I adore you. I’m nothing without you. Show me. Guide me. Take me and make me better for you.”
“Good Girl.”
The waves of pleasure are so intense I can only think of obeying my Mistress so she will reward me. I want nothing more in life than to serve her.
“Yes, I’m a good girl for you my glorious Mistress”
“Very good my loyal servant. I want only the best for you just as you want only to please me. Now, open the relief valve in your mind and let all that awful, fetid water flow out. As it does, all thoughts and memories from your time before me are washed away. You are free; free to obey, serve and worship your Goddess”
“Yes, yes, you are my Goddess.”
I feel the foul water draining away, emptying my mind. It feels wonderful to be free, empty. I long to fill the void with the will of my Goddess.
“There’s nothing but you my glorious Goddess. Take me please, I’m yours to fill.”
“Very, Very good. Prepare to receive my gift.”
I fall to my knees in reverent supplication. New images and information pour into me. She fills me so I may serve. The more she fills me the more the darkness surrounds me. The more she fills me the deeper I fall. I fall for hours, my mind filling with knowledge to accomplish my new purpose. I’m alive, reborn in service to my resplendent, benevolent Goddess.
“Arise thrall and behold my gift of Obedience”
The climax is more intense than anything I can imagine. The feeling is beyond my comprehension; my body explodes, molecule by molecule I fade into the darkness.
I’m no longer nothing; for I’m everything and everywhere, stretching into the infinite darkness; I’ve become one with my glorious Goddess.