Synopsis: Six friends get together for their quarterly reunion. When one of them claims to have become a master hypnotist, things take a turn for the unexpected.
The Kissing Factor
(by S.B.)
26 — Everything is Falling Down
If there was ever a look of genuine terror in Gloria’s eyes, it happened at the precise moment Deanna’s willpower spoke higher than her machinations, a stark reminder that no matter how infallible a person thinks she is, there’s always room for nasty and unexpected surprises. The panic in her voice was palpable when she said,
“But how? No one has ever been able to...”
“There’s more to control than drugs and chemical reactions, Gloria. Your illusions mean nothing and your words are poison. I renounce them all.”
“Then his blood is on your hands,” the evil hypnotist spat, looking at Timothy and Kabir. “Timothy, do it!”
“Yes, Goddess,” he mumbled, holding the hilt of the knife real tight. A single slice in the right angle and it would be all over. A drop of sweat rolled from his forehead and onto the table cloth, a moment of clarity flashing before his eyes. Taking a life was a point of no return, the complete obliteration of his true self. Goddess had spoken, and he always listened to Goddess and yet... what would happen when the deed was done? Would she think of him as her perfect servant, keeping his mind blissfully sedated for her pleasure alone without the danger of any repercussions or would she ditch him the moment things got complicated, sacrificing his life in the altar of justice for a chance to continue wreaking havoc other people’s lives? It was an impure thought, as painful and dangerous, and yet it was there, gnawing at his soul, begging to be heard. The blooming doubt was enough to stop him from making the worst mistake of his life, no matter how much Gloria insisted.
“Why are you hesitating? I gave you an order. Do it!”
“I...” he flinched, muscles twitching as if he were about to have an epileptic seizure. “I want to, Goddess, but I don’t think I can.”
“You can and you will. Obey!”
“Please don’t,” Deanna said gently. “Timothy, listen to me. What you’re being asked to do is a terrible thing and your mind knows it. It’s something that can never be undone, the true meaning of pain and despair. I don’t know you and I will not pretend I do, but I know you’re as much a victim as everyone else at this table. The one holding that knife is not you, but a shadow, a twisted replica of the person you truly are, being played like a puppet. If you let those strings define your fate right now, the only thing you’ll ever be remembered for is this moment, the second you became a murderer and nothing else. Is that what you want? To have your existence and the memory of it forever tarnished by an act of senseless destruction? A true Goddess neither asks nor demands such a thing, and a true man does not give in to such mindless impulses either. You’ve just hesitated for a reason. Let it be the one that shows you the right way.”
“Damn it, slave!” Gloria spat venomously. “You do not listen to her. You listen to me. You listen and do as you’re told, exactly like you’ve been doing since the beginning. How dare you disrespect my judgment like this? Fucking do it already!”
More sweat formed above his eyebrows and at the back of his neck, dark blue veins popping up throughout his body. He drew the knife away from Kabir as his hand started shaking uncontrollably.
“No... I can’t... I can’t! Oh God, what is happening?” He bit his tongue and a hint of bloody foam dripped down his half-open mouth.
Realizing this was an opportunity that would not come again, Deanna suddenly sprang from her seat and shouted,
“Somebody help! He’s having an attack!”
“I am?” Timothy’s upper body lost all sense of coordination, his skin trembling like a bowl of jelly. The heightened susceptibility brought about by the drugs still flowing in his bloodstream combined with the added stress of the whole ordeal triggered an acceptance response that could no longer be stopped. “I think I am,” he mumbled as his chair fell backward, pulling Kabir with him. The young writer’s seat spun like a tethering Yo-Yo, the right front leg breaking on impact and almost doing what his captor had refused. Plates and silverware dropped around the two entranced men, creating a dissonant melody of chaos and confusion. People on the other tables gasped and shrieked, a wave of generalized distress sweeping through the restaurant and crashing against Gloria’s hopes of containment. It was no longer a matter of things getting out of hand, but the realization that her entire world was already crashing and burning.
“Oh, you fucking skank!” she growled, barely resisting the temptation of grabbing a knife herself and slicing Deanna’s throat right there.
“I’d look myself in the mirror before saying nonsense like that!” the stage hypnotist replied.
“Do you realize what you’ve done?”
“Of course I did. Not so easy to keep things in check now, is it?”
Gloria was about to blurt a random insult when she heard the noise to her right. A man in his early fifties with sunken eyes and a grizzled beard dressed in a clean-cut navy blue three-piece suit was dashing across the tables to check what was happening. “Let me through! I’m a doctor!” he said, driven by his oath to save as many people as possible for as long as he walked the earth. He kneeled next to Timothy who was now in the middle of a severe spasmodic crisis, the back of his skull hitting the floor with brute force. He pushed him on his side to keep the airway clear while he checked his vitals. “What can you tell me about the patient?” he asked. “Does he have a history of seizures and convulsions or is this the first time?”
No one at the table knew what to answer. Gloria’s eyes darted nervously, like a wounded animal looking for a way out of the trap she had gotten herself into with her actions, but Deanna immediately placed a hand on her right shoulder as if saying, “Don’t even think about it.”
“Anyone?” the doctor insisted, receiving nothing but silence. “Okay then,” he mumbled, checking his watch to time the length of the attack. “Can someone please clear these sharp objects? Thanks!”
Kabir shook his head and stared into the ceiling. He too had hit his head hard, but the shock now allowed him to see things clearly once more. Broken memories flooded his brain, dreams of old that had become increasingly darker erotic nightmares devouring him and his friends whole. Gloria and her poisonous kisses were at its core, a sad reality that was far worse than anything his imagination could commit to paper.
“No, not you too!” the kissing hypnotist thought as their eyes met and the flames of perfect awareness burned within his. “This can’t be happening!”
“Welcome back, Kabir,” Deanna said.
Kabir looked at her, befuddled, still trying to parse where he was, how he had gotten there, and why was a fantasy of bygone years talking to him like she knew him. Then, it was the doctor’s turn to address him, “Are you hurt, too? Please hold still for a moment and I’ll get back to you when I can.”
“I’m fine... I guess,” he massaged his scalp, almost expecting to see blood on his hand and fingernails, but nothing came to be. He stood up and pushed the broken chair aside along with a handful of forks and spoons. “What’s wrong with him?”
“Not sure yet, but I’m not liking what I see here,” he pointed at the reddish foam around Timothy’s lips. “Someone call 911, please. It’s better if he’s checked out at a hospital.”
Three or four people rushed to make the call and Gloria fumed. In just a matter of minutes, she had lost all leverage and with everyone’s attention now focused on their table, leaving the restaurant had become a fool’s errand. With Deanna still holding her to her seat, she saw Kabir’s shadow tower her.
“You did this,” he mumbled almost soundlessly. “You crazy bitch, this is all your fault!”
“What are you talking about?” the doctor perked his ears. “Is there something I should know?”
“No,” Gloria deflected the question right away. “My friend here is in shock about what happened, that’s all.”
“Yes, I am shocked,” Kabir howled. “but you and I both know the real reason, don’t we? How could you, Gloria? How could you do such a thing?”
“Hey,” the doctor stared at them. “I don’t know what you two are at, but if you have any information that applies to this man’s condition, now is the time to tell me.”
“I’ve got nothing,” Gloria said. “I’m as shocked as everyone else.”
“Liar!” Kabir slammed the table with such force that it startled everyone else in the room. “You messed with his brain too, didn’t you? Damn you, Gloria! I hope you burn in hell for this bloody mess!”
“Kabir, please calm down,” Deanna said. “I understand that you must be feeling quite distressed right now, but there will be time to let it all out. Can you please take a step back now?”
“I... Why are you here? Hell, why are we all here? What is this fucking nightmare I woke up into?”
“I’ll explain everything once the moment is right, but know that what happened to you and your friends will not go beyond tonight, I promise.”
“You’re starting to get on my nerves with that cryptic conversation,” the doctor said. “Do I need to call the police to get some answers?”
“That won’t be necessary,” Gloria said, feeling the smokes of imminent destruction infiltrating her lungs.
“On the contrary,” Kabir retorted. “And I’m more than happy to call them myself. This woman is a fucking lunatic! She drugged me and my friends with her crazy lipstick and then hypnotized and brainwashed us into doing terrible things in her name. She needs to face retribution for everything she’s done and the sooner the better.”
“Son, are you okay?” the doctor asked. “Because frankly, you’re the one sounding like a lunatic right now.”
“No, I’m not okay. My head is on fire, my thoughts are all fucked up, and all I want to do right now is scream. I don’t remember how I got here, but I know this is all on her. Everything that happened tonight and before that is all on her.”
“Kabir, I’m begging you, please stop,” Deanna said. “If you want to help, focus your attention on waking up your friends. What you’re doing now is now counterproductive and you’ll regret it immediately the moment the police walks through that door. Relax, please.”
“Don’t tell me what to do. She already did that more than she should have. I didn’t agree to this! I didn’t give her fucking permission to mess with my brain.”
Suddenly, the other entranced women who up until that moment had been eerily quiet on their seats like human-sized mannequins waiting for the perfect moment to stand up and attack an unwary crowd started spewing brainwashed gibberish left and right.
“What are you doing, Kabir?”
“Why are you turning against your owner, Kabir?”
“Apologize and beg for forgiveness now or the consequences will be dire.”
“Shut up,” Gloria said, feeling the last remaining threads of her disguise as a normal person being shredded to pieces. “Stop with this nonsense immediately.”
“Nonsense? Is that what our lives really are to you?” Kabir asked, his bloodshot eyes about to do something she did not anticipate. “In that case, you won’t have anything to worry about if I do this, right?”
He jumped at her, rummaging through her purse until he found the accursed lipstick tube, still fresh from her last mental manipulation. Feverishly, he opened it before her petrified gaze and said, “Want me to give you a kiss?”
The other thralls looked expectantly at him, eager for the chance to feel the wet warmth of their Goddess’ lips sending them deeper into complete oblivion. At the same time, they awaited a command that gave them purpose, for everything was falling down and, like a sandcastle, once the tide rushed in, nothing would remain.
It was at that precise instant that Gloria finally cracked for good, the veneer of her artificial smile splintering into a thousand gaping teeth. The sociopath who had turned innocent friendships and desires of exploratory hypnosis into vessels for her own depraved kinks was now ready for a desperate last stand.
Everyone was caught by surprise when she pushed her left arm forward, sending Kabir flying once more, and used her right elbow to hit Deanna between her breasts. Even before completely recoiling from the double blow, she was already up on her feet, facing the front door. She would not be caught no matter what!
“Oh no, you don’t!” Deanna spat, giving chase between the sets of tables as the other customers wondered if they had been caught in an elaborate prank without knowing. Gloria dashed to the door, opened it to the cool air outside, and...
... was yanked back inside by the stage hypnotist’s powerful grip straight into a vicious punch in her thoracic spine that drew all the air out of her lungs. Trembling forward, she saw Kabir coming in for a second hit, in the form of a power jab that crushed the bridge of her nose in a single blow. Gloria collapsed on the floor almost instantly, her face covered in blood and snot.
Meanwhile, Timothy’s convulsions had stopped on their own, his breathing stabilized as if Gloria’s passing out had triggered his own complete self-awareness. He glanced at his unfamiliar surroundings, spitting leftovers of Gloria’s drugged prize before asking,
“Where am I?”
Confusion was permanently set, and yet everything happening inside doors was far more normal than anything that had come before. Kabir and Deanna shared a complicit look as the adrenaline surge fueling their bodies stopped pumping and they both sat on the floor, struggling to catch their breaths. Outside, an ambulance’s call was drawing closer and closer, followed by the angry sirens of two police cars who had come to clear the mess once and for all.
Still sitting at the table, Gloria’s other victims remained expressionless, lost girls still trapped in a narcoleptic and hypnotic web that had begun with a betrayer’s kiss.
“So, this happened...” Kabir coughed.
“Yes, it did,” Deanna replied, allowing herself to experience a heartwarming sensation of relief.
“I... I don’t even know how to process this...”
“You and I both.”
“They will not believe us...”
“We’ll just have to make them then. That lipstick is proof of undeniable foul play and when its components are properly analyzed, Gloria is in for a rough time.”
“I hope so.”
“Me too, because that’s the only thing we can do now.”
“Yeah...”
They sighed in unison, their weary bodies unable to move when the paramedics and the police stormed inside the restaurant, bringing the weight of cold reality with them.