The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

It was 3:43 PM, give or take a few seconds. Emily drove into the dusty old parking lot behind the Briar Hill Mall with two minutes to spare, her beaten-up Honda’s tires crackling as they slowly rolled across the gravel and the torn-up blacktop. The back lot was nearly empty, just like it always was, and Emily was annoyed. She was supposed to be at the school at that precise moment, helping to get the pep rally for the first football game of the season ready. The cheerleading squad needed it to be perfect, and more importantly, Jack needed it to be perfect, especially with all of the neat gizmos he’d been nice enough to make for them. It was going to be an unforgettable pep rally, that was for sure.

But with the stupid text from Mr. Hill, Emily couldn’t go. And she couldn’t even tell anyone why she couldn’t go. Not even Jack. Which made Emily’s head hurt, because she knew she was supposed to tell Jack things like that, he’d told her to, and she was his special girl, so she needed to, but every time she reached for her phone to tell Jack about it, she

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couldn’t.

And then she’d forget about the text for awhile. And Mr. Hill, too.

Fortunately, Donna took care of everything. Because Donna was so amazing. She told Emily not to worry about the pep rally preparations, that she and Samantha and Mrs. Winter had everything totally under control, and if Emily had something special to do for Jack, that was totally okay. Which was weird, because Emily when had started telling Donna about having to miss the beginning of the preparations, Donna already had known about it somehow. Except Donna thought she was doing something for Jack, not meeting with dumb old Mr. Hill.

Definitely weird.

But, um, after you get back, Donna had asked, and when we’re done with the stupid pep rally tonight … we can both go back to your house, right? Donna’s hands had started fondling Emily’s tits at that point, pinching Emily’s nipples hard enough to make her moan. Jack will give us a reward for doing a good job, right? He hasn’t been with me in so long … I want him so much …

Of course he’ll give you a reward, Donna, Emily had replied happily. Don’t be silly! The three of us … we’re going to have so much fun together tonight. Trust me. And then she’d slipped her tongue into Donna’s mouth, fondling and making out with her best friend for the few precious minutes she’d had before she needed to go to her meeting with dumb old Mr. Hill.

And now, here she was. Ready to meet him.

With an annoyed scowl on her pretty face, Emily climbed out of the car, her cute white wedge heels crunching into the gravel. She wore a super tiny blue miniskirt with a white studded leather belt that lazy autumn afternoon, and the miniskirt was honestly about as long as the belt was wide. She wore no panties, of course, and the unusually warm autumn breeze delightfully blew up her nearly nonexistent skirt when it gusted, tickling and teasing her moist pussylips, which felt so good. And Emily’s enormous, heaving tits, which had swelled up again nicely to practically the size of bowling balls, strained mightily against the cute, tiny red halter top that desperately tried to contain them, her nipples hard with arousal. Though huge and unfettered with stupid nuisances like a bra, Emily’s giant breasts were still remarkably succulent and firm, bouncing lightly with each step she took to the lone, sleek black limo that sat in the far back corner of the lot.

Leaning up against the side of that limo was Mr. Hill, dressed a little more casually than Emily last remembered seeing him. Not that Emily really remembered all that much about the man. I don’t even know his first name, Emily thought uncertainly. And … was he my English teacher? History? Chemistry? I can’t even remember. He wore jeans and cowboy boots, with a dapper tweed jacket over a black t-shirt, mirrored sunglasses covering his eyes. He held a small bottle of blue Gatorade in one hand, and he smiled warmly as he saw Emily approach.

“Good to see you,” Mr. Hill said. “Glad you could make it. There’s a few things we need to talk about. In private.” He looked around the vacant parking lot, which seemed to only be a rolling tumbleweed away from truly deserted. “I thought this would be private enough.”

“Whatever,” Emily snapped indifferently at her former teacher. “I’m just here ’cause, like, Jack wanted me to come here.” She casually twirled a long, curly lock of her blonde hair around her finger. “Make it quick, I’ve got shit to do. Super important shit.”

“Really?” Mr. Hill asked. “Does Jack even know you’re here?”

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“No,” Emily blurted out … and then she frowned. That couldn’t possibly be right. She knew Jack would never want her to tell anything important

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to Mr. Hill.

“No,” Emily said again. Her frown grew more worried.

“Can I have your phone?” Mr. Hill asked.

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“Sure,” Emily said, without any hesitation. She reached into her little purse, pulling out her phone with its gaudy pink fake-jewel encrusted case, holding it out to Mr. Hill.

“No,” Mr. Hill said patiently. “The other one.”

“Right,” Emily said blankly, even though she had no idea what the fuck he was talking about. Still, she somehow knew to put her pink phone away, and to open the concealed flap in the lining of her purse that she hadn’t known about. There was a sleek black phone inside the pouch that she hadn’t known about, either, but yet she still handed that new black phone to Mr. Hill without uttering a word of protest.

“Thank you,” Mr. Hill said. He tucked the phone away inside his jacket. “Usually your texts serve us well, but sometimes we just need the full data upload. I’ll get you a newer version of that one back to you tomorrow.”

“Tomor … what?” Emily asked. She felt very confused, and angry, like

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someone was playing a trick on her. “That’s not even my phone.”

“Well, that’s what you always say,” Mr. Hill replied. “I guess you don’t know everything, then. And neither does Jack.” He chuckled softly, which infuriated Emily to no end. “You know, for a genius, he’s not really that smart sometimes.”

“Shut up,” Emily said irritably. She folded her arms sullenly across her massive chest. “Jack’s the best. He’s, like, the smartest person in the world. The universe, maybe. You’re just jealous, you know? If he’s so dumb, why are you so desperate to steal his headphones, huh?” She flashed a triumphant smirk at her former teacher. “Only one who isn’t a genius is you.”

“Oh, I never said Jack wasn’t a genius,” Mr. Hill said. “His headphones, the conditioning programming, and now the new delivery systems he’s developing … they’re all amazing, in their own way. The technology doesn’t just break new ground, it shatters existing paradigms completely. But that doesn’t mean he’s a genius about everything.”

“Yes,” Emily said insistently, “he is.”

“Really?” Mr. Hill asked. “Your brother Jack needs to fund all of these technological breakthroughs of his. So … he prostitutes a bunch of high school girls to make money, including his own sister? That’s really his best idea? Nothing better than that, risking so much for a few thousand dollars, at most?” He gave Emily a sad, pitying look. “And he gets the parents of a few of these girls to transfer their savings to him, none of which is very much, which immediately triggers a slew of IRS audits? With the devices he has at his disposal, why doesn’t he just use them on an investment banker? Or enlist the services of a professional hacker, and not one of his fellow horny online teenage friends?”

“Ummmm …”

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“… maybe he is doing that,” Emily said hotly. “Those, um, smart things you just said. You just don’t know it yet. And Jack is a genius.”

“Well, if he just wants to perfect his conditioning process, and tinker with his headphones, then yes, he is,” said Mr. Hill. “If he has grand delusions of being some arch-master super criminal, though, or taking over the world, or being some sort of serious player on a global political stage … then no.” He chuckled again, which made Emily’s cheeks burn a furious red. “He’s gotten the attention of a lot of very powerful people, and even more powerful organizations. He’s an amateur playing in the big leagues, a horny, overconfident boy in a man’s world, and while his clever little devices make him a valuable asset, he’s starting to be a bull in a china shop, clumsy and stupid. You have no idea how hard it’s been for us to get so many people – local police, FBI, other government agencies – to turn a blind eye to what he’s been doing, just so he can continue his work.”

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Emily stamped her foot petulantly. “Whatever,” she grumbled. “You’re such a jerk. You have my phone, so fine, whatever.” Her cheeks grew even redder, hating herself for so blithely handing over a phone she didn’t even

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know about to stupid Mr. Hill. She didn’t even know what was on the phone, except yet

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she did

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remember … I hooked it up to Jack’s computers while he was sleeping … took pictures of the screens … decrypted the secure connection channels …fuck, it’s so much … oh, no, Jack, I shouldn’t have …

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” Emily finished lamely. “Jack’s still amazing, you have no idea, especially when –”

Mr. Hill held up a hand, cutting her off. “Enough,” he sighed. “I can’t take this right now, the never-ending ‘Jack is wonderful’ bullshit. It’s ridiculous, and it’s a lie. Let’s get your upgrade over with.” He reached into one of the inside pockets of his jacket, and took out a small metallic rod about the size of a pencil. The tip of the rod glowed with a soft, sapphire light.

“Um … what’s that?” Emily asked anxiously. There was a part of her that wanted to run away from Mr. Hill at that moment, so, so badly, but

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she couldn’t make her feet move. And she couldn’t even turn her eyes away from Mr. Hill.

“I’m going to turn on this device,” Mr. Hill continued. “I need to upgrade your conditioning – the programming you’ve been getting from us – but while you’re here, I think I should do something else as well.” He spun the little rod-like device around between his fingers. “My bosses will hate this, but I don’t care. I should’ve done this for you way earlier. Maybe things would’ve been better if I did.”

“Done what?” Emily asked. “Stop it, okay? I don’t want your stupid upgrade. I want to go home. I … I want Jack.” She glanced back at her own little car, trying to will herself to run, and

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failing miserably yet again.

“This device works a lot like the headphones you used to wear,” said Mr. Hill. He walked over to Emily, circling behind her, holding one of her slender arms with a firm grip as he pressed the small glowing rod against the back of her skull. “It’ll upgrade your Sapphire programming to up to level nine. However, I’m also going to lower the conditioning protocols that you’ve gotten from your brother Jack. I won’t take them away, mind you … I’ll just dampen their effects on your brain, for lack of a better description. Kind of like turning the volume of your stereo down to zero, without actually switching it off. You’ll be able to see a little bit of the veil that your mind – and the real you – have been locked away behind ever since you started wearing those headphones of his.”

Emily laughed, not really understanding what the fuck he was talking about, pretending like she didn’t care. Deep inside, though, she was terrified. “Like, that doesn’t make any sense, Mr. Hill.”

“If you say so,” Mr. Hill replied. He clicked a tiny button on the side of the device.

FLASH

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FLASH

There was a brilliant burst of intensely blue light, piercing and bright. Emily winced, falling down to her knees. For a moment, the pretty blonde teenager felt an eerily familiar yet awful sensation, like someone was stabbing ice picks into her eyes again, unbelievable pain coursing through her body. She felt her knees buckle, felt herself fall to the ground. And as the pain grew worse, as she grew dimly aware that she was curled up on the ground and screaming at the top of her lungs in utter agony, she realized that the soft, buzzing static that had been floating tunelessly in her ears for weeks, more quiet than a whisper but always there … it was started to fade away into nothingness. She hadn’t even noticed that the static was there anymore, but now that it was gone, it was like she could suddenly hear again.

Hear … and think.

It all came rushing in at her at once, thoughts trapped inside her head springing free, spiraling and crashing around her brain. Memories that had been hidden out of sight from her mind suddenly leapt out of her subconscious, dancing wildly around her mind. It was too much, everything dancing around and screaming for her attention, and she found herself writhing on the ground, lights flashing all around her, sapphire and purple and orange and even pink again, all different colors, all demanding so many things, all jumbled in a giant mess she could scarcely understand …

… my friends … Donna, ohmigod, I’m so sorry …

… Mom, I’m sorry, too ... Todd, you sick little fuck, I’m going to …

… Vegas … those German boys … what did I do … ?

… all those creepy videos …that disgusting basement … so many people watching …

… the lying … all the fucking lies, Jack, how could …

… the transmitter … I remember now, I know what I loaded on the phone, I remember ……

…and I’m … all those times Jack fucked me … he knocked me …I’m …

Oh, no.

Oh, no, no, no ...

Emily didn’t know how much time passed. It felt like an eternity. Her head throbbed as a bright blue light settled into a rhythm in front of her eyes, pulsing in a repetitive pattern, flash flash FLASH flash, flash flash FLASH flash … but each time she saw the pattern, it dimmed a little. And by the time the blue light had faded away completely, she realized that she was sitting in the parking lot, leaning up against the limo door, and that Mr. Hill was sitting next to her, one arm wrapped supportively around her slender, trembling shoulders.

“Are you okay now, Emily?” Mr. Hill asked gently.

Emily nodded.

“Do you know what’s been going on now? Do you understand?”

Emily nodded again. “I know,” she said. “But I don’t think I’ll ever understand.”

“A wise answer,” Mr. Hill replied. He sat there for a while, saying nothing, simply rubbing Emily’s shoulder consolingly. Emily rested her head against his shoulder, staring dully at her toes, so pink and pretty. Just like Jack wanted. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she rubbed her hands against her thighs.

Emily felt so, so cold.

“Now,” Mr. Hill said finally, after a couple of long minutes of silence, “are you ready?”

Emily nodded. “As I’ll ever be.”

“Good.” He got up, leaving his little blue Gatorade bottle on the ground next to one of the limo’s tires. Emily got up as well, vainly trying to straighten out her wisp of a miniskirt before just giving up in dejection. I look like a total skank, she thought angrily. These clothes … my tits … seriously, this is what my fucking brother thinks of me?

“So, here we are,” Mr. Hill said, as he straightened his coat. “A crossroads, as it were. Choices for you to make.” He laced his hands together, cracking his knuckles. “Something you haven’t been familiar with of late, I know.”

Emily took a deep breath. “Choices?” she asked. “What choices?”

“Being under Jack’s control, or being with me … with us,” Mr. Hill said. “Unfortunately, you can’t walk away from all of this. You’re going to be under someone’s control, one way or another. And there’s no running away or escaping from that. For that, I’m deeply sorry. But you can choose sides. And that’s what I’m offering to you.”

“Yeah?” Emily said. “But you … the people you work for … you just want Jack’s conditioning process for yourselves, right?”

Mr. Hill nodded. “Yes. I’d love to tell you some glorious lie about how all of Jack’s work will be destroyed, or locked away for safekeeping, never to be used again, but you’re a bright young woman. Yes, of course it’ll be used by someone. And yes, it’ll probably be used for some things worse than what your brother’s already done, or is planning to do.” He reached down, picking up the blue Gatorade bottle and giving it a good shake. “There’s no white knights riding in to save the day, Emily. I’ll be honest, you’re just picking the devil you know or the devil you don’t.”

“Great.” Emily rolled her eyes. “That’s just great. Can you at least tell me the difference between the two devils for me, then? Or why one would be better for me than the other?”

Mr. Hill tapped the fingers of his free hand against his jeans. “Good question,” he said. thoughtfully “If it’s to help you, then let me just ask you this. Would you rather be miserable with the truth, or blissfully happy living a life that’s a complete and utter lie?”

“I ... I don’t know,” Emily said uncertainly. She wiped the last few tears streaming down her face away with the back of her hand. “Is there a difference?”

Mr. Hill shrugged. “That’s up to you,” he said. “If there’s not, then it doesn’t really matter what you choose, my dear. But if there is ... well, then you need to decide which is better for you, Emily. No one else. And I’ll do my best to make sure the better choice is possible for you, no matter what that choice may be. And that the consequences of that choice – well, that they don’t hurt you, or they just hurt in the least possible way. That much, I can promise to you.”

“I should trust you, then?” Emily said with a bitter laugh. “Right. Most people who say ‘trust me’ are people I really, really shouldn’t trust, it seems.”

“That’s fair.” Mr. Hill replied. “But I’ll just say this … things are about to change here in this town. More than they already have. For you, your brother … just about every damn person in this town is going to be affected. And it may not be good. Not for anyone.”

Emily put her hands on her hips, staring down at the gravel. “And when do I have to make this choice? Can I think about this, or are you telling me it’s now or never?”

“Now would be better,” Mr. Hill replied evenly. “And at a certain point, it’s going to be never. If you don’t choose right now, I’m going to have to put you back under Jack’s conditioning in just a couple of minutes … and I don’t know when I’ll get another chance to turn it off again. Because if you don’t leave with me today – right here, right now, in this limo – I can’t guarantee when or even if I’ll be able to remove it again.”

“Put … wait, put it back?” Emily stared at Mr. Hill in utter disbelief. “Why? So I can spy on Jack for you?”

“Yes,” Mr. Hill said bluntly. “That’s exactly why.” Absently, he scratched the back of his neck. “My team and I are already getting fairly good information about your brother’s activities from two of the other girls that he’s conditioned. One in particular has been a gold mine, to be honest. I don’t need the intel that you’ve been providing as well. Not anymore, not at this stage of our operation. But what you provide under Project Sapphire is far more insightful – and detailed – than what we’d get otherwise.”

“I see,” Emily said coldly. “And here it was I thought you were my friend.”

“Well, I’m as close to a friend as you’re going to get right now,” Mr. Hill replied. “So think about that. I can at least make sure you can choose certain things. Speaking of which …” He glanced down awkwardly in the direction of Emily’s bare midriff, which was still nicely toned and flat. For the moment, anyway. “I can, uh, arrange for you to take care of your, well … condition, if you want. At a clinic. It would be very discreet.”

“No,” Emily said quickly … and even she was surprised by how quickly that particular answer spilled out of her mouth. “I, uh … I’m keeping it. Even with, um, how it happened. I don’t want that.” She rubbed her fingers lightly across her belly, thinking about it with a clear mind for the first time, the reality of her situation finally and fully hitting her. “It feels right, even if it’s all happening for the wrong reasons.”

Mr. Hill raised an eyebrow, but simply gave a quick nod of deference. “As you wish,” he said. “Some of my superiors will be delighted to hear that. I only thought it fair to give you the choice. If you’re okay with that decision, then we’ll help you, where we can.”

“Thanks,” Emily said. “I think.” She bit her lip nervously, digging one of the thick toes of her shoes into the gravel. “And, uh … I think you should do it. Put me under Jack’s conditioning again.”

It wasn’t often that Mr. Hill looked surprised. The look of shock on his face, though, almost made Emily laugh. Almost. “Are you kidding?” he said … and then he saw the serious expression on Emily’s face. “Why would you … ?”

“Because,” Emily said simply. “I know how this goes if I’m not with Jack. You let him develop new inventions and new programming until you either have everything you want from him, or until he’s a threat to you. And then, you’ll stop what he’s doing, and take it all away from him, so you can use it all yourselves. Right?”

“Yes.” Mr. Hill didn’t bother trying to lie. “That’s correct.”

“And you’re not just going to let Jack go home after that, right? Like nothing happened?”

Mr. Hill shook his head.

“Or my mom? Or any of my friends?” Emily hoped her voice wasn’t shaking as badly as she thought it was. “Like nothing happened?”

“Like I said,” Mr. Hill replied. “Everyone will be affected. And it probably won’t be good.”

“I think the only way I can help Jack, then,” Emily said, “to help everyone – maybe all of my friends, maybe even you – is to be with Jack. Help him change things.” She shrugged wistfully. “He’s still my brother.”

“You can’t,” Mr. Hill insisted. “The programming, what Jack’s planning, how twisted his mind’s become … it’ll never happen, Emily. There’s almost no chance.”

“And if I go with you, there’s no chance at all,” Emily replied. She let out a sad, exhausted sigh. “I’ll take almost no chance instead of none at all.”

“I … yeah.”Mr. Hill looked down, kicking away a tiny mound of gravel with his boot. “I wish you wouldn’t do that, but I can respect that. But …”

“What?” Emily asked.

“But I think there’s something you need to see,” answered Mr. Hill. “And to know.”

Mr. Hill rapped his knuckles against the rear window of the limo. Silently, it rolled down, revealing a lone passenger sitting in the back. It was a skinny blonde teenage girl with scraggly, matted hair, her gaunt face deathly pale and devoid of makeup. Dark, haunted rings sat under her eyes, probably from serious lack of sleep. The girl wore what Emily originally thought was some kind of cute suede jacket with buckles and long sleeves … after a moment, though, it dawned on Emily that the cute suede jacket was actually a straitjacket, bound to the insides of the limo with a web of black leather straps..

It also dawned on Emily after a couple of more moments that she knew the girl quite well.

“Charlotte?” Emily asked. “Is that you?” She took a tentative step closer to the open limo window, scarcely believing her eyes. “You disappeared … nobody knew …” She stopped herself, silently hating what she was thinking.

You disappeared and nobody noticed. Nobody cared. Because Jack didn’t care.

“Is … is Jack with you?” Charlotte asked timidly, rocking back and forth in her limo seat. Or as much as she could rock, given her restraints. Her voice cracked as she spoke, sounding raw and thin. “Tell him I love him, I love him so much, I’m so sorry I disappointed him so much, I …” She licked her cracked, dry lips. “Please … I just want to be with him again, I want to fuck him so much, I just want to feel him inside of me again, just one more time …”

“No, Charlotte.” Emily felt a little nauseous, but she forced herself to stand her ground. If ever there was a time to make up for all the crazy shit Jack’s done, she told herself firmly, it’s now. “It’s okay, you’re free, you don’t have to listen to –”

“I’ll do whatever Jack wants,” Charlotte blurted out. “Anything. Whatever you want, Emily. I’ll go down on you, lick your pussy, make you cum so good, just like at school. That was so much fun, right? I’ll be your good little slut again. I’ll eat out everyone on the squad, or whoever, I don’t fucking care.” She squirmed in the straitjacket, . “Or I’ll suck cock. I’ll fuck anyone you want, Emily, I promise, you can make videos, or make me wear things, or do whatever you want to me, stick whatever you want in me, parade me naked through the whole school, anywhere, in front of anyone, I don’t care how much it …”

“Charlotte,” Emily replied awkwardly, “um, I, I don’t want … you don’t have to do anything for Jack anymore. It’s okay.” She forced herself to smile, hoping that she sounded way more confident than she felt. “Really. You don’t have to listen to him, or –”

“I’m pregnant,” Charlotte said, interrupting. A hint of a smug smile crept to her lips. “Surprise! And it’s Jack’s baby. That’s how I know he really loves me. Besides, he told me that he loves me, he said so that first day he gave me those wonderful headphones, he promised, he told me to trust him … and I do. Always. No matter what. And you’re crazy, I’m always going to listen to Jack. I have to. Beside, I’ve done everything he ever asked me to do.” She gazed down fondly at her tummy, hidden down somewhere beneath the straitjacket, and under a matrix of leather restraints. “And it’s, uh, definitely Jack’s baby, too. I know it is. Not Todd’s, or any of his loser nerd friends. It can’t be, it can’t. Not any of the guys in that big crazy frat party at Western State, either, or that crazy old smelly homeless guy with no teeth, who lives under the bridge on Tenth Street.” She shivered a little, then nodded to herself in grim satisfaction. “Definitely Jack. It has to be. I know it.”

“That’s … good,” Emily said lamely. She didn’t really know what else to say. “I am too, you know. I’m … I’m also going to have a baby. Jack’s baby.” She racked her brain, wishing she could find the right words to say to Charlotte … and coming up empty. “So, you know, we’re in this together.”

The proud, pleased smile on Charlotte’s face vanished as her upper lip curled in disdain. “Figures,” she sneered at Emily. “Of course you are, you lying, thieving bitch. Had to steal that from me, too, huh?” She laughed bitterly. “You steal everything from me, Emily. You stole my spot on the cheerleading squad, you stole my place in Jack’s bed, and now you steal the only thing I had left in the world that made me special.” She glared at Emily, the black straps restraining her inside the limo growing taut as she craned forward. “I fucking hate you.”

“Charlotte,” Emily said earnestly, “look, I know … well, things aren’t so good –”

“FUCK YOU!” Charlotte screeched, loud enough to where Emily literally jumped back a step, feeling genuinely afraid for the first time. “FUCK YOU, BITCH! I WAS FIRST! I WAS FUCKING FIRST! ME! IT WAS JUST SUPPOSED TO BE ME! JACK SAID HE ALWAYS WANTED ME, AND I WAS THE FIRST ONE HE PICKED! NONE OF YOU OTHER STUPID, WORTHLESS CUNTS WERE EVER GOOD ENOUGH FOR HIM! I DID EVERYTHING HE WANTED! ABSOLUTELY FUCKING EVERYTHING! I NEVER FOUGHT BACK! I WAS HIS SPECIAL SLUT, I MADE HIM HAPPY BEFORE ANY OF YOU EVEN KNEW WHAT WAS HAPPENING! I’M BETTER THAN ALL OF YOU, CAN’T YOU … you …”

Charlotte’s voice trailed off, as she started sobbing hysterically. Emily stood frozen, feeling the blood drain away from her face. It took her a long, long moment to realize that she was crying again, too.

“… can’t you understand how much I need Jack?” Charlotte mumbled softly. “I … I don’t even know why anymore. I just know I that I do. And without him …” She shrugged. “Without him, I’m nothing. I’m empty. I’ll die. I know I will.”

“I …” Emily hesitated, looking over pleadingly at Mr. Hill for some kind of guidance. She got nothing but a blank stare masked by designer sunglasses. “I … I’ll tell Jack, Charlotte. I will. I promise.” She wiped some of the tears out of her eyes with the back of her hand. “I don’t know what he’ll say, but –”

“Thank you,” Charlotte said quickly, her eyes shining with hope. “And I know what he’ll say. I just know it. He’ll want to see me, of course, he loves me, he misses me. Because I’ve been a good little slut, just like he told me.” She nodded vigorously, smiling again. “He’s been busy, that’s all. But he wants me back, he’ll fuck me so good, I know he will –”

“Charlotte?” Mr. Hill said mildly. “Miss Emily said she’d ask. No need to keep talking about Jack.”

“But Jack’s so amazing,” Charlotte gushed, “especially when he fucks –”

“Charlotte,” Mr. Hill repeated. He peered into the limo window. “Obey.”

A blank, vacant expression washed over Charlotte’s face for a moment. Then, the bedraggled, bound teenage girl nodded vigorously, looking sheepish. “Sorry,” she mumbled, “I forgot.”

“It’s okay,” Mr. Hill said soothingly . “It’s time for your medicine.”

“Do I have to?” Charlotte asked uneasily. “I told you, it makes me feel funny. I forget things.” She turned her head away from Mr. Hill, looking up at the ceiling of the limo. “I don’t like forgetting things. Because then I forget Jack, too.”

“The medicine is good for you.” He reached again into his jacket, this time taking out a little brown prescription pill bottle. He twisted it open, pouring four rather large white pills into the palm of his hand. “Obey.”

Wordlessly, Charlotte opened her mouth, and stuck out her tongue. Mr. Hill twisted the cap off of the bottle of blue Gatorade he’d been holding, and then placed two of the pills on Charlotte’s tongue, putting the bottle to her lips afterwards so she could wash them down. He repeated the process with the remaining two pills. There wasn’t much Gatorade left when Charlotte was done, although most of it looked like it had uselessly dribbled down her chin, spilling onto the front of her restraints.

By the time the window began to roll up, Charlotte was slumped forward in her seat, her eyes closed and her chin resting on her chest as she disappeared from Emily’s sight.

“What … that’s … wow.” Emily swallowed hard, a hard, cold lump caught in her throat. “Is that medicine to break her conditioning? Make her better?”

Mr. Hill shook his head. “It just calms her down, that’s all.” he replied. “Keeps her from hurting herself … and now, from hurting her baby, too. We still need to decide what to do about that. But she’ll talk nonstop for hours about how much she loves and needs Jack, to the point where she won’t even eat, or sleep. And when she reaches a certain point, she’ll get incredibly hysterical and self-destructive, much more so what what you just saw. The straitjacket is because she’s tried slashing her wrists twice already.”

“Holy shit.” Emily shuddered. “But you can cure her, right? Can’t you, well, do some–”

“No,” Mr. Hill said simply. “We can’t. She’s too far gone now.” He glanced back at the dark-tinted limo window behind him. “Your brother Jack programmed her to utterly worship him, to do absolutely everything he asked, without the slightest hesitation, and to want and care about nothing else in the entire world but pleasing him … and then he threw her away, like a spoiled child throwing away an old, boring toy.” He shook his head in disgust. “It’s the fatal flaw in his conditioning process. There’s no nuance in the deep programming sequencing. Her whole world completely revolves around Jack, and that’s it. She’s incapable of functioning without him. When he’s not around, the programming breaks down. And when he’s not around for awhile … it’s not just the programming that breaks. It’s her brain. And right now it’s too far gone to fix.”

Emily looked past Mr. Hill, staring dully at the rear of the limo. “But … but that’s just her, right? She was one of the first … the first. Jack never updated her headphones, or her conditioning, or anything …” She suddenly felt cold, so very cold. “That wouldn’t …”

“Yes,” Mr. Hill said. “It would. And it will. You’re all programmed exactly like Charlotte.” He smiled sadly at Emily. “So, what do you think will happen when your brother finally decides to broaden his horizons, huh? When he decides he wants some hot Hollywood actress or Victoria’s Secret model to become his latest pet? His eye will wander at some point, my dear. He’s currently paying attention to you and some of your friends – and I must stress, only some of them right now – because you’re of interest to him. But based on everything our team has observed, he’ll get bored with you sooner or later, just like he’s getting bored with a few of your friends, just like he got bored with Charlotte. And then …”

“… Gatorade,” Emily whispered weakly. “Gatorade and pills.”

Mr. Hill nodded again. He didn’t need to say anything else.

“Great,” Emily said. “Just … fucking … great.” She felt so tired. She just wanted to sleep, for days and days, and hide in her dreams. Or better yet, not dream about anything at all.

“So,” Mr. Hill said, “you’re still choosing Jack, then?” He gave her a critical look. “Still not too late to change your mind, you know?”

“Yes. I’m sure.” Emily pursed her lips, reluctantly realizing that she’d made up her mind. And that this crazy decision of hers might be the last time she’d ever make up her mind on her own, of her own free will. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Very well.” Mr. Hill took his device back out of his jacket pocket.

“One thing, before you do?” Emily asked. “You never said you it is that you really work for … can you at least tell me that? Without a lie?”

Mr. Hill tapped the side of his device, and its tip began to glow once more, a lovely shade of sapphire. “I work for the DSI,” he said, as he pointed the device at the back of Emily’s head. “Department of Scientific Intelligence. Some people just call it the Shop.”

“Really?” Emily replied, sounding surprised. “My dad works for a place called the DSI, too.” She frowned. “But that stands for Department of Sanitation Infrastructure. That’s what he told me.”

“Did he now?” Mr. Hill’s face remained calm and expressionless behind his mirrored sunglasses. “How very interesting.”

The teacher’s gloved thumb pressed the button on the side of the little metal rod again, leaving Emily feeling very confused, uncertain, and

FLASH

SAPPHIRE

FLASH

feeling ridiculously happy about the pep rally that was about to happen that night.

Shit, Emily thought, the pep rally … how come I’m not there? She looked around, a little bewildered, not really certain why she was standing in a completely empty parking lot. Was I supposed to meet someone here … ?

Emily shrugged indifferently. “Whatever,” she muttered to herself. She got back into her little Honda, where the digital clock read 5:02, and she began whistling a tuneless song as she drove away, not really noticing the familiar yet nearly silent static whispers that had

purple

SAPPHIRE

purple

climbed back into her head once more.