The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

The Kissing Factor

(by S.B.)

24 — Reenactment

Glassy-eyed, Paula entered the restaurant and surveyed the place until she spotted her hypnotic owner and the rest of her companions. Her heart leaped with joy as she navigated the first row of tables, drawing closer and closer to where she belonged. Just as she was reaching her destination, Gloria’s piercing gaze finally noticed her arrival, and she almost stumbled forward drawn by its incomparable might.

“Well, isn’t this a surprise? I was sure you were going to stay out of commission for the rest of the night, but for once I’m glad to have been proven wrong. Come, Paula. Grab a seat and join us. We’re having the most wonderful of dinners here,” the kissing hypnotist said.

“Allow me,” the young girl’s mother pulled up a chair from an adjoining table and smiled as she sat down. Through the bliss of mindless service to a higher power, the two women were now more connected than ever.

“How are you feeling, Paula?” Kabir asked.

“Glad to be here with all of you again. She then turned to Deanna and said: “Good evening. I believe we haven’t been formally introduced.”

“You’re right, we haven’t. I’m Deanna Queen.”

“Paula Gutierrez. Deanna, huh? The stage hypnotist you had a boy crush on, Kabir?”

“It wasn’t a crush!” the writer blushed, a sentence whose veracity varied depending on his state of mind. “I told you it was just a fascination. Your shows were great,” he acknowledged, a smart part of him surfacing from underneath the multiple layers of hypnotic brainwashing.

“I’m always glad to meet a fan, but I wish this would have happened in better circumstances,” Deanna sighed. Despite trying not to show it, she was still trying to locate Gloria’s true ace in the hole. At one point, she captured a glimpse of a young man that was simply too interested in what was going on at the table. Could it be him or was it her turn to see things that just weren’t there? No, it had to be!

“Only one way to find out for sure,” she thought.

“You barely touched your food, Deanna,” Gloria cackled. “Don’t tell me it’s not to your liking.”

“None of this is,” she pushed her plate forward, “Haven’t you had enough of your crazy schemes? Let’s just settle this once and for all.”

“Eat.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Eat, god damn it, or...!”

“Or what?”

“Or this happens,” Gloria snapped her fingers and Timothy emerged from his waiting spot. He stopped by their table and laid one hand on Belinda’s right shoulder and the other on Natasha’s left, before eyeing down the rest of the group. Every vein in his body lit up, and a venomous rage filled his broken smile. He had been programmed for pain... and perhaps something more. With the hustle bustle coming from the surrounding tables, no one else realized the veil of imminent danger that had fallen over the restaurant.

“Thank you for confirming my suspicions,” Deanna said. “I knew there was someone else involved. Who’s the muscle?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Gloria replied. “The only thing that does is how much pain he can cause without breaking a sweat. Are you going to play ball or do you need a demonstration?”

“Gloria, please don’t do this!” Denise exclaimed, eyes watering. Unlike her companion, she had almost finished her plate, yet every bite burned like a piece of hot coal in her throat.

“Then tell her to stop forcing my hand. I too am getting tired of this. The more you defy me, the harder things will get for all of you.”

Timothy closed his fingers around the young women’s shoulders. He did it so slowly that anyone looking their way would think it was just a friendly greeting, but as his nails dug deep, tender flesh succumbed to a sudden pang and they both twitched in pain.

Denise bit her tongue and said, “You’re hurting them!”

“So what? They’re property. I have the right to do whatever I want and they’ll gladly suffer for me, isn’t that right, girls?”

“Yes, Goddess,” they replied almost at the same time, yet the strain in her voices couldn’t be unheard. “As you wish.”

“See?” Gloria took a bite of her hearty meal. “What more proof do you need? This will only go the way I want it to and no other? Eat, but don’t forget to leave room for dessert. We’re not done here, yet.”

“Get your watch dog out of here then,” Deanna retorted.

“Only if you ask nicely this time, and you better mean it.”

“Can you please send him away? You’ve made your point, there’s no need for things to spiral out of control any further right now.”

“Not now and not ever.” She turned to Timothy and commanded, “You may let them go for now. Find yourself a new station and sit tight. I’ll call you again if I need you.”

“Yes, Goddess Gloria,” the blond quarterback nodded and sauntered away to a solitary table at the far end of the room that had just cleared out. His taste for blood didn’t dissipate though, rather becoming stronger at the ecstatic thought of being put to good use again. He ordered a beer and waited.

Now that all cards were finally on the table and all variables accounted for, Deanna could finally relax her guard for a moment and give the food a chance. Provoleta is an Argentine variant of provolone cheese, that is to be eaten grilled. It can be eaten on its own topped with chili and oregano or also stuffed with assorted fillings that can include ham, barbecue sausage, cheese, vegetables, peppers and onions. A first for her, it was actually quite delicious, and something she would have to explore further once their predicament was over. A glass of Catena Zapata Malbec from the 2015 vintage, with its saturated violet color, and light flavors of mocha, darker berries, spice, and minerals was yet another treat for her taste buds. She almost felt bad for enjoying it so much.

Everyone else was having the same courses from their opening gathering in a controlled yet ominous reenactment of bygone moments. Only one important detail was missing.

“It’s time, Kabir,” Gloria said.

“Goddess?”

“Say the thing. We’re all dying to hear again. It will be so much fun.”

“I... I’m not sure I remember the exact words...”

“You don’t have to just as long as you get the gist of it across once more. Go on.”

“Yes, Goddess.”

Kabir finished sipping his favorite root bear, stared at his girlfriend, and said, “Let me tell you a story about a woman named Alana Sinclair. She threw birthday parties like no other that drew all the paparazzi and other social vampires in existence looking for fresh gossip and fresh blood. At twenty-nine, she was finally at the top of her own pocket reality, and pretty much everyone else wanted to be like her, smoke and mirrors included.

“However, it hadn’t always been like this. In her teenage years, the blonde socialite was a wild girl that couldn’t get enough of leather and bubblegum. She spent most of her days hanging out with friends, tasting every alcoholic beverage in existence, and driving around with a license simply because it was fun. She kissed her first boy for real when she was fourteen, her first girl before she turned fifteen, and lost her virginity on the back of an old pick-up truck on a full moon night. The experience was raw and intense, something she thought she would never forget until...”

“Your turn, Belinda,” Gloria pointed at the inked girl who promptly asked, “Until what?”

“... until she did, because it never happened,” Kabir concluded, the same sly smile from before returning in full force. “Having her remember things like that is easy, but making her forget when I’m done is even better.”

“I’m pretty sure this is where I come in,” Gloria smirked, putting on her most innocent facade imaginable. “What are you talking about? Is that the plot of a book of yours?”

“Tell them, babe,” Kabir turned to Natasha and her visage was lit with vivid memories of what she had said and done in response to that.

“Tell them what? I don’t understand what you just said.”

“And that’s how it should be... thank you, dear.”

“This is sick,” Denise muttered under her breath. “What’s the point of this shit now?”

“That’s not your line, Denise,” Gloria admonished her with a violent stare. “You were supposed to waltz in with some of your mother’s shrimp appetizers and say something like that, ‘What did I miss?’ to which Paula replies,

“Still trying to figure out ourselves... I think.”

“This isn’t a play, Gloria.” Denise growled.

“It is now and all puppets, including the wannabes, must play their roles accordingly.”

“Can I have one of these?” Paula asked, reaching for an imaginary tray.

“Man, I’m great at this!” Kabir laughed out loud turning a few heads in the process.

“Good at what?” Belinda smirked. “Making up things as you go along that no one gets except for you? You still haven’t answered Gloria. Is this Alana girl one of your characters or not?”

“Something like that...”

Gloria laid down her glass and smirked, “It’s either yes or no, Kabir. There’s no middle ground here.”

“Unless there’s hypnosis involved...” he said proudly.

“Stop,” Denise insisted, unable to take it any more. “Please stop! I don’t want to go through this again.”

“Why not? I thought you loved the way things were. Why don’t you wish to live the moment that changed everything for the better again?”

“You know very well why, Gloria,” Deanna made her voice heard once again. “You’re torturing her as well as all your hypnotic puppets with this act.”

“No. I’m showing her the past is entertaining, but not as spectacular as she thinks she is. We’ve had our moments, yes, and some were good and fun, but others were bland and uninspired and we’ll never end up missing them. At best, the past is good for giggles. Real change is made looking at the future and the future is me.”

“Denying a person’s true self is a bleak vision of the future, but of course you don’t understand that.”

“Stop with the preaching. Nobody asked you anything.”

The other thralls momentarily stopped their acting and looked ahead, dead eyes seeing nothing but the distorted echoes of their own performance playing in a loop inside their minds. Real memories and the illusion of them piled up on one another like a mountain of rotten corpses, slowly decaying into oblivion. What they were now was something profoundly twisted, shattered images mirroring only what Gloria wanted them to see.

“I thought I’d seen enough of your cruelty, Gloria,” Denise sobbed, “but it just keeps getting worse. How could I’ve been so blind this whole time? Why did I ever call you a friend?”

“Spare me, Denise. All of you were cruel, especially today. When Kabir was brave enough to reveal his hypnotic fantasies, you laughed at him and mocked him, just like you would have done the same to me had you known of my inclinations sooner. There’s this silly narrative ingrained in society that we, as species, are good, that the appeal of things outside the norms of morality and justice is only shared by a few, but if everyone took the time to look at their own experiences, they would know that’s a bunch of bullshit. We’re all potentially cruel and our so-called ‘dark side’ is always more encompassing than the rest. At least, I don’t have to pretend to be something I’m not any more. Free yourself too, Denise. This could very well be your last chance.”

“I’d rather keep on denying you. You’ll never be able to warp my mind like you did with them. Everything you’ve shown me about your views of the world just make it clear that having no life at all is better than living as your pawn.”

“Really? Are you sure you want to go with that argument?”

“I know what I said and I stand by it.”

“If you really believe that, then surely you must think the same for your friends. Perhaps if I have one of them gravely injured or even killed, you will sing a different tune.”

“Come now, there’s no need for that kind of reasoning...” Deanna intervened.

“Oh, I think there is, and no moment is better than this. If everything I have to offer is so utterly despicable and death equals solace, then it’s only logical it should be extended to all. Who shall I get rid of, Denise? Kabir was the first I put under. He’s the one I’ve ‘tortured’ the most according to your logic, so how about I release him right now, or rather, he does it for me?” She called out to Timothy again, and the lap dog came running, eager to do something with a knife this time. “Did you know that with one or two cuts under the table I can bleed him like a pig before anyone realizes what happened? Do you want to see that? Well, do you or not?”

“No, I don’t,” Denise unwillingly agreed.

“Then don’t say more stupid things like that or I’ll be sure to make you regret them. Dessert anyone? The sabayón here is just to die for.

It was even better that day than in the original gathering, and even Timothy got a taste. Gloria had seconds and licked the spoon until it was all shiny.

“This would a great time for yet another trip down memory lane, but you’re boring me,” she eventually said. “I wanted to give you a new life, Denise, but you don’t think it’s worth it, so I’ll kill you my own way. I’m going to get inside that head so fucking hard that you’ll even ask for permission to breathe. And as for you, Deanna, since you dared to interfere in something that was never your business to begin with, I’ll show you who the real junkie is.

Gloria applied a fresh new coat of entrancing lipstick and sat between the rebellious women. Timothy took her seat and held a knife under the table as close as possible to Kabir’s femoral artery. The writer didn’t flinch, and neither did the rest of the kissing drones. All they wanted was for the new toys to join their ranks.

“You know what to do if any of these bitches even tries to resist, Tim,” she said.

“Yes, Goddess,” he mumbled.

“This wasn’t as fun as I’d hoped, but everything will be better now, you’ll see,” the evil controller leaned in for a kiss.

Denise was the first to receive the poisoned gift, two pecks on each cheek and a languid smooch on her battered lips. Having already experienced the sensation before, she drifted deeper into troubled wonderland while her former friends rejoiced.

Deanna came next. At first, the stage hypnotist felt nothing except the wet impression of the lipstick, followed by an aftertaste that started sweet but grew bitterer with each second. For five minutes, nothing assaulted her mind and her resolve remained intact, for she was strong and in control of her emotions at all times.

And then the drugs kicked in, and the battle for sanity began.