The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

I.

Shanna learned at a very young age that she was special. Life had dealt her a series of hard blows straight from the beginning. Her mother had died in childbirth. Her father had followed soon after, the victim of a drunk driving accident when she was four. With no other immediate family to take her in, Shanna found herself shuttled from foster home to foster home. No family wanted her, however, as the strangeness and her strange quiet introverted nature set her apart from other children. She became a ward of the state, and spent the remainder of her childhood in the orphanage.

She couldn’t remember when exactly she became aware of her eyes. Tiger Eyes, a young girl Isabel had called then. She possessed an unusually wide iris, bright yellow, with oblong pupils. Not truly slitted, like cat eyes, they were, nevertheless unusual enough to grant her unwanted attention from the other girls. When she stared at anyone, they always looked away, unable to bear the full brunt of her bright eyed gaze. Even the adults found themselves shyly avoiding her eyes, staring at her chest, the top of her head, her feet—anywhere but directly at her face. Self-conscious as most young girls are, Shanna learned to avoid direct eye contact, choosing to look down at a person’s feet whenever she spoke to them.

Around age ten she started wearing dark sunglasses. Covering her disturbingly unique eyes only served to bring more attention to her, however, and the girls that had ostracized her now focused more intently on her, picking on her, calling her names, treating her poorly. With no one to turn to, Shanna turned inward, closing off her mind from the harshness of society, instead exploring the wondrous world in her own imagination. She spent her time alone in her room, reading books, studying her lessons. She only wished to be left alone. She wanted to cause trouble to no one.

Alas, as is so often the case, trouble came to her instead.

On her thirteenth birthday, the onset of puberty struck young Shanna virtually overnight. What had been the body of a precocious, cute, if withdrawn, girl, had transformed into the developing body of a beautiful young teen. There were no young boys in the gender split orphanage to appreciate the change; as it was, the young girls noticed the change, and reacted with jealousy and contempt.

Ginger, a young tall blonde, a year older but not nearly as well developed, shoved Shanna one day when she entered the bathroom to shower. Two other older girls stood by watching, arms crossed, chuckling softly, maliciously. Shanna glanced up at the trio, knowing she was in trouble. She tried to get back to her feet, only to get shoved back down again.

“So, ‘Kitty’” Ginger said, stressing the nickname the girls had dubbed Shanna with, “you think you’re too good to shower with the rest of us? Every day you wait till everyone else finishes, then you sneak in here to shower all by your lonesome. Well, you may have the grownups spooked and afraid of you, but I know different. You’re just a spoiled little slut, used to getting her own way. Ain’t that right, Jesse?”

“That’s right, Ginger,” the short chubby redhead agreed, stepping forward. “She thinks she’s hot stuff, just because her chest has more bumps than anyone else around here. Look at her. The little freak even wears those shades even at night. Why don’t you take ‘em off, Kitty, and let us look at your peepers? Hmmm? I ain’t never seen them weird yellow eyes of yours.”

Shanna backed away, trying to get past the girls, and escape back to her room. She didn’t want to fight, just wanted to be left alone. She’d never done anything to anyone, never said anything nasty to these girls. Why were they picking on her? She tried to feint left and squeeze past them, but the third girl, Alice, grabbed her by the arm.

“Uh uh,” the dark skinned girl sang, holding tight to Shanna’s arm. “You ain’t going nowhere, girl. We wanna see them eyes of yours. I got her, Ginger. Grab them shades, so we can take a look.”

Shanna struggled, angry, feeling violated. These girls were nothing but bullies, ganging up on her this way just to humiliate her. She struggled and strained, trying to pull free, but to no avail. They were simply too strong for her. She tried jerking her head from side to side, but Jesse grabbed her by her long dark hair. “Hold still, little slut!” she snarled, as Ginger reached for the sunglasses.

Stupid bullies! Shanna thought angrily. I wish you would all just go away and leave me alone! I wish you were DEAD! DEAD! I wish you were all DEAD!

Ginger lifted the shades, revealing Shanna’s eyes, bright yellow and shining. Her own eyes widened in surprise, and she whistled softly. “Geez, Louise! Get a load of that! They weren’t kidding, huh, girls?” The others nodded, staring deeply into Shanna’s eyes. The room seemed to grow hot for an instant, and everything seemed brighter, as if a power surge had made the lights glow intensely for just a moment. Then it passed, and the girls shook their heads, releasing Shanna.

Hands free, Shanna jerked her glasses away from Ginger and ran out of the bathroom. The girls merely laughed. “What a damn freak!” Ginger sneered, watching her flee. “I see why they call her Kitty. Man, I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

“Me neither,” Jesse agreed, walking towards the door. “I wonder if the little freak was born that way or something. What do you think, Alice? Alice? Hey, Alice, what’s wrong?”

Alice stood staring at her reflection in the mirror, frowning. “I don’t know, Jesse. I think I bit my lip or something. I got blood in my mouth, see?” She spit into the sink, and sure enough, it was red with her blood. “I don’t remember biting my lip, though. Strange, huh?”

“Who cares, its just a little blood,” Ginger said dismissively. “Come on, we gotta get back to our rooms before Mrs. Reynolds comes by for bed check. She said we’d get kitchen duty for a week if we were late again.” They exited the bathroom, running back to their bedroom, the blood already forgotten.

In the morning, all three girls were dead.

“It’s a terrible thing,” Mrs. Reynolds had said later. “Died in their sleep, the poor things! The doctors said they don’t know what it was. They weren’t sick or anything. It was as if all three girls had developed a massive blood clot in their brains. Terrible. Just terrible. To be laughing and playing one day, and dead the next. And the blood... so much blood. The poor girls’ roommates were certainly traumatized by the whole affair. Dreadful, simply dreadful.”

The incident had been ruled death by natural causes. A brain embolism, caused perhaps by abuse they were exposed to earlier before coming to the orphanage, a tiny blood clot not diagnosed by doctors. Terrible, but natural. The girls in the orphanage, however, had their own theories. They all knew that Ginger, Jesse, and Alice frequently picked on Shanna, that they had confronted her in the bathroom the night before. Shanna, the strange quiet girl with the weird yellow eyes... and the three unexplained deaths of her biggest rivals.

From then on, the other girls kept completely clear of Shanna.

As for the girl herself, Shanna was deeply troubled and very frightened by the incident. She felt deeply guilty for what had happened to the girls, even though she knew she couldn’t have done anything to them. Wishing someone dead didn’t make it happen. Nevertheless, she felt a deep pang of guilt from wishing them dead. She’d lost control of her emotions, let her inner turmoil and pain overwhelm her. She vowed that night never to lash out at anyone again, not in action, word, or thought. She hid her true emotions deep down inside her, the same way she hid her eyes behind those dark sunglasses.

Time marches on.

Years passed. Girls came and went at the orphanage. Shanna remained true to herself, true to her vow of self-control. She also remained isolated and alone, the strange, withdrawn girl that everyone whispered about. Despite this, her academics soared, and she quickly became the top student in her class. When she turned eighteen, and was granted her independence, she applied to, and was accepted to, the local university, on a full scholarship. Shanna packed away her meager belongings and traveled across the city, to her new home for the next four years.

College was a huge change for her. Shanna had never been around so many people gathered together in one place before. And the boys! Growing up in an all-girl environment, she had little experience with boys. She was unsure what to make of the admiring glances the male students gave her whenever she walked by; naturally shy and withdrawn, she felt uncomfortable with so many eyes staring at her. No one had ever complimented her on her looks; the last people to ever call her beautiful were her parent, long long ago. She was still a virgin, never having felt even the first faint stirrings of lust for another person, male or female. Despite the several hundred students attending the college, Shanna felt even more alone than before.

Still, she was here for only one reason: to learn. Shanna wanted to obtain her degree, to graduate with honors, perhaps even go on to graduate school. Her childhood had held no joy for her, no love or warmth, so she decided to concentrate on academics, on obtaining a good high-paying job, of making herself completely self-sufficient. She’d never been able to depend on anyone before, so she figured she didn’t need anyone to take care of her now. Socializing, dating, developing relationships—time enough for all that once she had her life in order. The future could wait; for now, college, and study, was her present.

Walking into class the first day, Shanna took her seat, opening her notebook, ready for the day’s lessons. A few of the girls at the desks near hers were whispering and pointing at her, which she caught in her peripheral vision. Her cheeks reddened slightly. Damn. Here too. I guess its universal. Everywhere I go, people think of me as a freak. And I had hoped this place would be different. The girl behind her giggled, and Shanna had started to turn around and ask her to quiet down, when she saw the girl’s finger, pointing NOT at her, but to the desk in front and to the left of her own. Curious, Shanna glanced at the boy seated there, taking a closer look at the object of ridicule.

The boy in question was dressed completely in black, from his low-top black sneakers, to his black denim jeans, to a stylish black leather jacket with the sleeves cut off. His low-cut hair was also black, and deeply moussed, styled to stick straight up in miniature spikes. He reminded her of one of the guys from the movie ‘Grease’, one of the T-Birds. He sat in his chair nonchalantly, slightly to one side, as if he knew well enough that he was the center of attention, and that it didn’t bother him one iota. Indeed, he must have known, for seconds later, he turned his head back, glancing sidelong at the girls, and grinned.

The boy was also wearing shades. Dark polarized sunglasses. Just like her own.

From that moment, Shanna’s mind tuned out the class lecture, centering completely on the boy dressed in black. She wondered endlessly, again and again, what color his eyes were behind the shades. Which was strange in and of itself. The biggest relief she’d felt upon entering the campus was in finding other students wearing sunglasses, knowing that she wouldn’t stand out quite so much anymore. The others wearing them had turned out to be normal girls and boys, with normal eyes. She’d never even considered the possibility of another person having Tiger Eyes.

Until now.

Somehow, for some reason she couldn’t understand, she knew that the black clad boy was like her. Different, somehow. Something about him, something in his demeanor, his aura, touched a chord deep within her. In some instinctual way, she knew she had found a kindred spirit in him. But what to do about it? How to talk to him and broach the subject? Could she just pull him aside after class and ask him to remove his sunglasses? And what if he did, and his eyes turned out to be just as normal as everyone else’s?

I’d look like a fool, she thought dejectedly. The next time in class, they’d be pointing and laughing at me.

She wasn’t quite ready to trust her instincts on a direct confrontation. Still, she was dying to know what his eyes looked like...

“Miss Cartwright!”

Shanna jerked, coming fully alert, finding the instructor staring down at her. “Miss Cartwright, are you okay?”

Shanna smiled weakly. “Sorry sir. My mind wandered a bit. What did you say?”

“I said, class is over,” he stated, gesturing to the empty classroom. “You’ve been sitting there for the past five minutes, just staring into space. I was beginning to wonder if you were having some sort of a seizure, or had dozed off, or something.”

Shanna blushed deeply. “Uhm, no, sir, sorry. Wow. Five minutes, huh? I guess I must have zoned out a bit. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

The elderly man sighed. “Miss Cartwright, I know this is only the first day, and you’re probably still trying to adjust to college life, but let me make a suggestion to you. Try and get enough sleep at night. Just because you aren’t home with mommy and daddy, and don’t have a curfew anymore, doesn’t mean you can stay up all night and party.”

“But, I didn’t—”

“And wearing dark glasses to hide the bags under your eyes won’t work either,” he continued. “Most instructors don’t let their students wear sunglasses indoors. I personally don’t care what my students do, as long as they turn in their assignments on time, and perform well on exams. You could come in dressed in a garbage bag for all I care. That’s just me. But I felt I should advise you, a new student, to the way things work around here.”

Shanna gathered up her books. “Thank you, Dr. Hubbard,” she said, backing swiftly out of the door before he could continue his lecture. “I’ll see you in tomorrow’s lecture.”

Outside the door she found a surprise. The black clad student was leaning against the doorframe, apparently waiting around for her. “Shanna, let’s walk and talk,” he said, turning down the empty hallway. “Your next class isn’t until three in the afternoon, so let’s go over to the library and talk in private.”

Huh? “H... how do YOU know when my next class is?” Shanna sputtered, running to catch up with him. “How do you know my name? Who ARE you?”

The boy waved a hand dismissively. “Later. When we get to the library. I don’t want to say too much out here in the open, whenever anyone can just eavesdrop.”

Shanna came to a halt. “Wait a minute. Why should I go anywhere with you? I don’t know you, never met you before, don’t even know your name. I want some answers before I take another step.”

Sighing deeply, the boy turned back to face her. “Tch. Fine. Alright. My name is Devon. Devon Maxwell. I know about the sunglasses, and why you wear them. I’m also quite aware of what you were thinking about all through class, even what you’re thinking right now, though its not too hard to guess considering the look of disbelief on your face.” He removed his sunglasses, showing a pair of green eyes, then placed a fingertip carefully against his cornea. “Contacts,” he said succinctly, showing her the small green tinted lens. “They help me blend in with the ‘norms’ in the classes they don’t let me wear the shades. Now, can we please go to the fucking library already?” Shanna, stunned, nodded woodenly, and followed the boy down the hallway.

He had Tiger Eyes.

II.

Devon told her his story once they reached the library’s second floor. He had been born with Tiger Eyes as well, and had grown up knowing he was different. His parents had also died when he was young, killed by a gunman attempting to rob a bank while his parents had been making a withdrawal. He’d been shuttled from foster home to foster home until he turned thirteen, when he ran away. He lived on the streets, finding for himself, stealing, hustling, doing whatever it took to survive. It was around that time that his power first started to develop.

“It’s like ESP,” he explained, tilting his chair back on its back legs, “only its not. You get the ability to read minds, and you can project your own thoughts at people as well, making them see or think pretty much what you want them to, but that’s a lot harder to do. It’s kinda like a radio: you pick up loose thoughts broadcast from people’s minds unless you specifically block them out, but to actually read a person’s thoughts clearly, or project your thoughts, you have to make eye contact with them. It’s all about the eyes, Shanna.”

Discovering his talent, Devon found his life on the streets much easier. A simply glance and restaurant owners would welcome him in, feed him well, without him having to pay a dime. He slept in the nicest of hotels, free of charge, and obtained a sizable wardrobe on credit. Life had become almost easy for him until the day he ran into a Resistor.

Shanna frowned. “What’s a Resistor?”

“They’re just what they sound like. People who were born immune to our power, immune to any kind of coercion whatsoever. I tried to use my talent on this guy, this police sergeant, and it doesn’t work! I get caught, and he hauls me off to juvie, and all the while I’m freaking out, trying like the dickens to get inside his mind. No such luck. I think, ‘maybe my power is gone, all used up, or maybe it needs to recharge, or something. I try it out on some of the other kids, and it works. I try it out on my case worker, and she’s mine. I try it on the cop again... and nothing. He’s a Resistor.” He sighed, leaning the chair back down on all fours again. “Since then I’ve run into about ten or twelve more of them. It’s kinda weird, really. Like the Morlocks.”

“Morlocks?”

“Yeah. You know, from the X-men comic books? You have the X-men, the New Mutants, all the bad ass mutant guys with super powers, like Wolverine, and Cyclops, and Professor X—he’s a telepath, you know. Then you have the Morlocks, a group of mutants that got stuck with the shitty powers. One of them, I think his name was Tar Baby, or something, his power is that he’s sticky. You know, like tar! He’s drawn as this pitiful guy with trash and papers stuck to him, all over his body. How useful is that? Same way with being a Resistor. They have the power to NOT be mind probed by telepaths.” He chuffed, shaking his head. “Almost as useful as having the mutant ability to control Haley’s Comet with your mind. Heh. Really useful once every seventy-eight years.”

A tall skinny boy with mousy brown hair in a page boy haircut entered the room. “Oh, God, don’t tell me you’re hitting her with your Marvel Comic book comparisons.” The youth shook his head ruefully. “You’ll have to excuse my friend here. He’s a bit older than my, but still hasn’t matured yet.”

Devon cast a sour glance back behind him. “Shanna Cartwright, this bony walking pimple is Alvin Wayne Merriwether, or ‘Al’ for short. Don’t worry, he’s one of us.” He around to face his companion. “Did you bring the spare contacts like I asked?”

Alvin tossed the small packet, which Devon caught, handing them to Shanna. “Here. A little present. You’ll draw attention to yourself wearing the sunglasses all the time. These will help.”

Shanna held the small plastic packet in her hand. “Uhm, okay, thank you.” She pocketed the contacts. “So, Alvin, you have the eyes as well? Do you also have... powers?”

We ALL have them, Alvin thought directly into Shanna’s mind, starling her. Oops. Sorry. As I was saying, yes, we all do. You included... you just haven’t learned how to use them yet.

Me? But I don’t have any special abilities, Shanna protested, thinking back at him. I’m just the weird girl with the Tiger Eyes that all the other kids avoid. I can’t do—

You’re doing it NOW, Shanna Devon interrupted. You’re practically SHOUTING back at us with your mind! You haven’t said a word, and we’re hearing everything. We’re not reading your mind, kid, you’re TRANSMITTING it to us!

Shanna slowly realized what she was doing. She hadn’t concentrated on it, hadn’t consciously tried to reach out with her mind; it had just happened, instinctively, a reflex reaction to hearing Alvin’s voice in her head. She gasped slightly with wonder, as she reached out again, touching a mind downstairs, ‘hearing’ a soft whisper of thoughts, too low and indistinct to make out more than just a few words, but clear enough to recognize it for what it was.

“Good,” Alvin said, nodding. “That’s good, You’re a natural, Shanna. And there’s more. Your mind is like a supercomputer, like the biggest, baddest interface Bill Gates could ever dream up. Anything you see, or hear, or experience, you can remember it, recall it clearly. Total recall. Think about it. How much did you really have to study in high school? You’re here on a full scholarship, just like us. Everything you study, its sticks. And most likely, you had some... extra help, from the other students, and the teachers, during exam time.”

“What? No, no I didn’t cheat!” Shanna protested. “Until now, I didn’t even know I had any special abilities. I certainly didn’t peek inside anyone’s mind to get the answers!”

“That’s not what he’s saying,” Devon responded coolly. “Without knowing it, without even knowing how, you probably picked up their thoughts. During test time, all the other students were concentrating, searching their memories, trying to think up the answers. All their thoughts were focused on one thing, one specific train of thought, and even if you didn’t mean to, your mind is like an untuned radio, picking up anything broadcast within its range.”

It was true. Sometimes, for no reason, strange thoughts and ideas would pop into her head. She could be sitting down, reading, or simply staring up at the ceiling, thinking about nothing in particular, when suddenly she’d feel hungry, or thirsty, despite having eaten minutes earlier. Or, sometimes a word, or a name would just pop into her mind, something she had never heard of before. Suddenly, all of the strange things from her childhood began to make some sense.

“Maybe... maybe you’re right,” Shanna admitted after a moment. “Okay. So I have this power. We all have it. But how did we get it? Why us? Why not other people? And how is it possible that three people with the same yellow eyes, and the same powers, all ended up here at the same school?”

Devon and Alvin exchanged glances. “Well, Shanna,” Devon started, while Alvin turned back to the doorway. “I have a little confession to make. See, Alvin and I, we... well, the reason we’re here is... we were looking for you.”

“Me? Why? How did you even know I was here?” Shanna growled, her frustration starting to get the better of her. Reflexively, she pushed it back down. “Why were you searching for me? Until now, I never knew you guys even existed. I never thought about anyone else having the eyes.”

“Perhaps my choice of words were confusing. I meant, we were looking for someone LIKE you, another person with the powers. Alvin and I hooked up about three years ago. I was using my ahem... ‘arts of persuasion’, on a very beautiful, very wealthy, young woman. It turned out to be Alvin’s foster mother. When he felt someone else exerting their power over his mom, he countered, using his power to fight me. It ended in a draw, and we decided to call a truce, talk, and compare notes. It turns out that we both had a lot in common... and I think you’ll find you have a lot in common with us too.”

“Coast is clear,” Alvin announced, stepping back from the door. “Very well then. I think we should head back to my place to finish this discussion. I so dislike being away from home any longer than I have to be. We can continue this on the way.”

“Alright,” Devon said, gesturing for Shanna to fall in step behind them. “We’re heading over to Al’s place. He has this nice little place off campus. C’mon, you’ll like it.”

“Well,” Shanna said, hesitating. Her normal shyness, and her tendency for drawing inward was warring with her curiosity and her need to know more about these boys, their strange powers, and about herself. The two boys were virtually strangers; she had only known them for a few minutes, and now she was about to follow them off campus, to their house? Her feelings said no, but her intellect said, yes, trust them. After all, where else would she be able to learn the answers to the questions that had plagued her all her young life?

She followed the odd-looking pair, one dressed like a 60’s hot-rodder, the other dressed in expensive Armani slacks and a gray, Egyptian cotton sweater. Next to you guys, I don’t seem so out of place anymore, she mused.

Ha, ha, ha, Devon retorted. You’re a real comedian. Anyway, as I was saying... Al and I compared notes. We were both orphaned at a young age. Both of us had parents that worked at the same place before they were killed. We both had the same yellow eyes and the mind powers. He paused for a moment as they made their way down an alleyway, glancing up at Al.

“Three of them. In the building to the right. You got ‘em?”

Al nodded. “Yes, I have them. They are curious about us, but not unusually so. I think its just your taste in clothing, Dev.”

Devon grumbled a bit, but nodded, and they continued down the alley. Ahem. Sorry. We have to be cautious. There are people out there that would love to get their hands on us. Anyway, tell me. How much do you remember about your mom and dad?

Shanna sighed. Not much. Momma died when I was born... and Dad? He was killed by a drunk driver when I was only four. I can barely remember his face anymore.

They stopped in front of a large house, a two story building surrounded by a thick, healthy green lawn, with small trees planted along the main driveway in two rows, making a pathway. “This is the place,” Al announced, welcoming them inside. “Make yourselves at home. My servants will be here momentarily with refreshments I need to go check on something else. Be right back.” Alvin grinned, running up the stairs, while Devon lead Shanna into the main room, where they sat down on the couch.

“Let me see if I can help you remember.” He closed his eyes, and nodded softly. Shanna felt a slight tingle in the back of her head, like a soft feather stroking the inside of her brain. There. Try now. Think back as hard as you can, as far back as you can. See if you can remember your mother.

Shanna frowned, but closed her eyes, concentrated, searching her earliest memories. She remembered her father, telling her about the day she was born, about the thunder storm they’d had that night. All during the birth, the thunder and lightning had pounded the sky outside. She focused on that now, on a vague, dimly held memory, which slowly became clearer, and clearer. She opened her eyes, and gasped, seeing not the living room of Alvin’s house, but a very familiar hospital room, with people, giants, standing around. She felt small, tiny, insignificant, next to them.

One of them, a tall man dressed in green, wearing a mask over his face, looked down at her, his face seeming to fill her vision. “My precious, precious little angel,” he said softly. Dad, Shanna realized, recognizing her father’s melodious voice. “What should we name her, sweetheart?”

The woman, holding her in her arms, sitting behind her, beyond Shanna’s sight, spoke. “Her name is Shanna. Shanna Elizabeth.”

Shanna’s eyes misted then, at the sound of her mother’s voice. Long forgotten, locked away in the deepest part of her mind, those lovely pealing tones came back to her, soothing her, invoking feelings of love, of warmth, and peace, feelings she had not felt in nearly fifteen years. She wished only to be able to see her, now, to gaze at the face of her loving mother, and to have that moment, that memory, frozen in time.

“Elaine! ELAINE!” Her father shouted suddenly. “Doctor, she’s passed out, and she’s still bleeding down there! This isn’t normal is it? What’s wrong with my wife?”

“Damn! She’s hemorrhaging! Looks like we missed something. Mr. Cartwright, I need you to step out of here for a while. Nurse, take care of the baby, and watch Mrs. Cartwright while I get Dr. Mathis down here. We may have to operate.”

“Operate! Then I’m no leaving! Hey! HEY! Get your hands off me! Let me go, she’s my wife!”

Shanna watched as the doctor and a male nurse dragged her father out of the room, leaving her and her mother alone with the nurse. The nurse picked her up gently, smiling sweetly, and then turned back to face Elaine, giving Shanna her first clear view of her mother. She was blonde, with an angelic face, a slightly tanned complexion, and long slender limbs. Her lips were slack, and her brow was covered in sweat. The thin blue hospital sheet clung to her skin as if it had been painted on, and the lower end, near the birth canal, was red with blood.

Mother. My mother. Shanna thought. She knew that she was dying, that the woman that had given her life was departing before her eyes. She wanted it to end now, to flash back to reality again, but a part of her made her watch. She’d been too young then, too small, to understand at her mother’s funeral. At least now, I have the chance to say goodbye, if only in my memories...

Elaine Cartwright moaned softly, lolling her head to the side, Her eyes fluttered open. “Oh... oh.. I fainted. Nurse, is the baby alright?”

The nurse, still holding Shanna in her arms, ignored her. She hummed softly to herself as she withdrew something from her pocket. “Nurse?” Elaine called again, concerned. “What’s going on? Where’s Daryl? Where is the doctor?”

“I’m afraid they had to leave to get surgery ready,” the nurse sang sweetly, as she approached Elaine’s bed again. “You started bleeding again. Very sad, very sad... for a mother to die in childbirth this way.”

Shanna’s blood turned to ice, her mother’s stricken expression clear on her face. “No,” she said shaking her head, “no, no, no, no, no! Please! You can’t! My baby! For God’s sakes, you can’t DO this! Please!”

“I’m afraid I can, Mrs. Cartwright,” the nurse replied, as she injected the needle she’d taken from her pocket into the woman’s IV. “Denton Industries is paying me very well to take care of you and your baby. They also had a message to give to you before the end: ‘It was a mistake to go against the company, and go to the Feds. Take that with you to your grave.’”

Elaine cried, trying to yank the tainted IV from her arm, trying to escape, but too weak from the birth and loss of blood to do more than bat at the nurse’s hands. Shanna watched, stricken, as the drug entered her mother’s veins, watched in horror as her eyes went wide, and the breath seeped from her open mouth, her pulse going still. Her mother died, not in childbirth as she’d been lead to believe all these years, but the victim of murder, of a conspiracy from someone seeking revenge. The horror and outrage built into a fury inside her as the nurse, still smiling, turned her around to face her.

“And now, my dear, it’s your turn. Such a pretty little girl, too. It’s such a shame to do away with you.” She stared deep into Shanna’s eyes, frowning slightly. “Such strange eyes though. Yellow, feral looking, like a wolf, or a... a tiger.”

Something happened. The scene wavered slightly for a second, and the nurse blinked, shaking her head. Just then, the doctor returned, with the surgeon close behind. Remembering herself, the nurse blurted out, “Oh, doctor! Thank God! Mrs. Cartwright! She’s not breathing! She’s not breathing—”

“Shanna!”

Shanna blinked, gasping, sucking in deep breaths of air gratefully. She’d been holding her breath, caught up in the memory-dream she’d been seeing. Her heart was racing, and her entire body felt covered in sweat. Her eyes refocused slowly, seeing Devon’s worried face peering into her own. “Shanna? Are you okay? Are you back with us now?”

She managed a shaky nod. “Wh... wha... what the fuck did you do to me?” she asked, cursing for the first time in her life. “What was that shit? I saw... I saw...” She gulped, tasting the bile that had risen up in her throat. “I don’t know what the hell I just saw, but it sure as hell couldn’t have been true! The things I saw, that I know... no way I could have remembered that! The day of my birth? No way.”

“Way,” Devon replied solemnly. “All I did was focus your mind a bit, push back the other conflicting thoughts to you could focus. You’d be surprised how much you can recall if you concentrate on it. Your mind is special, Shanna. With your powers, you can relive any experience you’ve had over again, in as much detail as you want.” He sighed softly. “Obviously your mother’s murder isn’t something you would want to relive over and over. I’m sorry about that. Still, it confirms what Alvin and I have been suspecting all along now.”

Shanna glanced up at him. “And just what is it that you suspect?”

“That all of our parents were in fact murdered,” Alvin replied, returning from upstairs, accompanied by two very beautiful young girls. Shanna’s eyes went wide in surprise; the girls, all her age, were completely naked, and they rubbed their bodies sensuously against Alvin as they walked alongside him. Alvin slid down onto the couch, oblivious to Shanna’s surprise and discomfort.

“It was pretty obvious, if you consider the facts,” he continued. “All of our folks worked for Denton Industries. I did some background checking on Denton and found out that back about twenty years ago they had a big government contract, some hush-hush secret project they were developing. Denton Industries specializes in chemical engineering, and with the time frame, I’d guess they were working on some kind of new chemical weapon. Little over a year later, the government withdrew its support, ending the project. An investigation was held, but nothing ever came of it.”

Devon sighed. “We believe that our parents, and doubtless some others, were exposed to something, some kind of industrial accident, or leak. It was covered up, or at least they TRIED to cover it up, but apparently someone leaked word of it back to the Feds. They pulled the plug and launched the investigation. In retaliation, Denton Industries had our parents, their former employees, killed, to shut them up.”

Shanna absorbed all this in. “And us? They let the kids live for some reason?”

“Well, I don’t think it was intentional, in every case,” Alvin said, sliding off his pants. The lovely redhead smiled, kneeling down in front of him, and began sucking on his member. “In Devon’s case, he was playing in the back room of his parent’s store when the gunman came in and shot everyone. Sorry, Dev,” he said, sensing the boy’s discomfort. “My mom was stabbed with a knife. She managed to fight off her attacker long enough to get me and run away, making me hide out in a storm drain while she led the murderers on a long winding chase.” Alvin sighed, leaning back into the couch, the redhead’s gentle ministrations not competing with the memories of his past. “She bought me enough time to escape. It was night, and they had no idea what had happened to me, or where I had gone. They probably figured I was as good as dead anyway, a three year old boy, all alone, with no one to look after me.”

“I see. But... I wonder how I lived?” Shanna said softly. “The nurse said right out that she was paid to kill my mother and me. Yet I’m still here now. And... what about my dad? Why leave him alive...” She frowned, as something else, another thought, tingled in the back of her mind. An image, a flash, something she’d seen but half forgotten, imposed itself in her mind—

The funeral, her father, dressed in black, holding her gently in his arms. The final procession down to the gravesite, the mourners all around. He glanced up, and Shanna’s gaze followed his, to see another small procession, another body being laid to rest a few feet away. Elaine’s body now descended, laid down into the ground, Daryl walked over to the other funeral, to pay his respects. He talked with the grieving couple a while, but Shanna’s eyes glanced over, peering down at the coffin, just before the man closed and sealed the lid.

The nurse. Her eyes staring sightlessly, her face a deathly pale white—

Shanna gasped. The nurse, her mother’s murderer, dead, buried the very same day. Coincidence? She doubted it. A thought, terrible and terrifying, rose to the surface, but she forced it back down, locking it away deeply, snapping the key in the lock. She wouldn’t think it. DARED not think it.

“It didn’t matter anyway, in the end,” Devon said moments later. “Your dad died in a car crash. Besides, the records show only your mom worked at Denton. Maybe they didn’t have any need to go after him or you once your mom was done. At any rate, its beside the point. What’s important now is that Devon Industries is now looking. For us.” He held up a hand, forestalling her question. “I know, I know. Why now, after fifteen years, would they come looking for us? I’m afraid it’s because they finally figured out that the offspring of those working on that top secret project have developed these powers.”

He sighed softly, unbuttoning his own pants, and gestured to another of the girls, the dusky skinned brunette, who knelt down and began tending to his manhood. “Uhm, yeah, that’s much better,” her murmured. Glancing up at Shanna, he shrugged. “Don’t look at me that way, kid. We’ve had the ability to venture through people’s minds at will since puberty. If you had known way back then you could make anyone do anything you wanted just by making eye contact, what would you have done? Just the same thing Al and I are.”

“I rather doubt that,” Shanna replied coldly, averting her gaze. “Anyway, back to the subject. How did Denton find out? What do they want with us? And what do we do about it?”

Alvin moaned softly. “Well, I’m afraid I may have tipped them off... uuuhhhmmmm... when I was researching about my parents’ background. You have to understand... mmmmmmmm... that I was pretty cocky back then. Heh. No pun intended,” he said, rolling his hips. “I wanted a list of all personnel involved with that project back in the early nineties, so I thought I’d simply walk into Denton’s human resource office, and have the clerk pull up the files and hand them to me.” He groaned, although from the redhead’s very animated sucking, or the memory of his failure, Shanna couldn’t tell. “Turns out the receptionist was a damn Resistor! She listened to me for a while, then called for security. I managed to subvert the guards and get out before reinforcements arrived, but it was a close shave.”

“So now they know their dirty little secret is out,” Shanna finished. “They know that the kids of some of their employees survived, mostly scattered around, orphaned. They know that you were able to piece together what had happened back in the nineties, and that whatever it was they were working on had given those employees’ offspring amazing abilities. So, now they’re looking for us.”

“And not to say ‘I’m sorry’, or offer us a job,” Devon added. “Alvin and I have beennnn... looking... for as many of the surviving kids as we can, trying to warn mmmmmmm... them, to to, to let them know what’s happening. Ohhhhh... The thing is, we don’t have the resources and manpower that Denton has. Yeaaahhhh... uhhhmmmm... They’re looking for the kids, too, and when they find them, they kill them. Ohhhhhhh... mmmmm... Maxine, yeah... Al and I managed to track down two others, a boy and a girl, but before we could warn them, Denton’s assassins took them out.”

“Do you HAVE to do that right in front of me?” Shanna blurted out, red-faced. The sounds issuing forth from the two boy’s mouths was affecting her in ways she’d never felt before. It made her very uncomfortable, and touched something inside her that she’d never known existed. She clenched her thighs tightly, trying to block the small tingles she felt. “We need to focus on the business at hand, instead of... of... all this!” she finished lamely.

“I think someone’s jealous we didn’t have a strapping young man in here, naked and waiting,” Devon chuckled.

“No, you idiot,” Alvin said, brushing the redhead aside. “Geez! She’s a virgin! Shanna, I’m sorry. I keep forgetting sometimes that this isn’t the normal way a household is run.” He turned to the redhead. “Amber, why don’t you and Maxine go to the kitchen and bring us back something to snack on.”

“Ah, man!” Devon grumbled, as Maxine stood, and walked with her fellow slave to the kitchen. “Dammit, Al, I was nearly there! So what is Shanna’s a fucking virgin? Doesn’t have to ruin MY fun.”

“Please, ignore my young friend, Shanna,” Alvin said, glaring at the boy. “As I said, he hasn’t yet matured fully.” He looked Shanna straight in the eyes, catching her slightly off guard; no one had met her gaze directly in many years. Alvin blinked, and blinked again, then nodded softly. “Ah,” he said at last. “I see. Well, its no wonder you’re uncomfortable right now, growing up in an all-girl orphanage. Being the loner, not interacting with the other girls...heck, you’ve liked the kind of like even most nuns wouldn’t endure.”

Shanna pulled away, flustered. “You had no right to read that in my head!” she shouted. “And I don’t care what you and your perverted little friend do. It has nothing to do with me. All I care about it understanding my powers, being able to use them to defend myself if Denton Industries tracks me down.”

Alvin sighed, rubbing his head. “Ah, uhm, yes, well... I’m sorry about that. You’re right. It was wrong to simply take all that from your mind without asking. But you’ve got to understand. Devon and I, we’ve had to fend for ourselves most of our lives. We learned to take what we want rather than ask someone else for help. After all, isn’t that why you’re here, at college? To learn to be able to take care of yourself without having to ask anyone for help?” Shanna’s anger dissipated slightly at the truth in his words. “I apologize, okay? You’re one of us now, and the rule is not to force your way into someone’s mind if they’re in the group.”

“Okay,” Shanna said after a while. “Now then, what do we do next? Can you guys train me in how to use my powers?”

Devon laughed. “Geez! Everything is business with you, isn’t it? Work, work, work, study, study, study! The best thing about college life is that you DON’T have to play by the rules! Here, you don’t have some stuffy shirt telling you when to go to bed, what you have to eat, where to go and when to be there. You can do pretty much as you please.” He flashed a winning smile. “And we three, we can do ANYTHING we please.”

The two girls returned then, carrying a small silver platter of food: Doritos, finger sandwiches, miniature chicken drumsticks, chopped vegetables, and Swedish meatballs on toothpicks. A miniature buffet platter. Maxine just managed to place her tray on the coffee table before Devon’s strong arms pulled her back into his embrace. “Food’s here. Good. Eat up and enjoy, Shanna. I know I plan to.”

Shanna got to her feet. “No, I think I better go... for now. I need to head out to my next class in a few minutes anyway.” She glanced back at them, once she reached the door. “Say, why don’t we meet again after our last class tomorrow? Is that okay? There’s so much more I need to know, that I need you guys to show me.”

Devon nodded, waving her off. “Sure, sure, that’ll be fine. We can confirm everything when we meet in Hubbard’s class tomorrow.” He turned his attention back to Maxine, and Shanna, sighing deeply, walked out the door.

Alvin glanced over at his friend. “So, what do you think of her so far, Dev? Nice potential on that one, huh?”

Devon chuckled. “Yeah. Really nice. She’s a natural. Not too bad a looker, too. It’s too bad she’s a fucking virgin.”

“A ‘fucking virgin’? That’s an oxymoron if ever I heard one.” Alvin groaned as Amber settled back into place. “Still, I don’t think that’ll be a problem much longer. I gave her a little something to help... mellow her out a bit more, a little softening of the inhibitions, so to speak.”

Devon blinked. “Hey, you said she was part of the group. Rule One is to NEVER invade your way into another member’s head without their consent. Even I know better than that!”

“Yes, you’re right... but I did that BEFORE we made her part of the group,” Alvin said with an evil chuckle. “Besides, its all in good fun. I did her a favor.” He settled back into the couch, enjoying the gentle pressure around his hard stiff cock.

Mmmmm... maybe soon, Shanna will do me a little ‘favor’ as well.

III.

Calculus class went slowly for Shanna. Her mind was occupied with the strange turn of events in her life. She felt strangely torn; on the one hand, she had discovered something about herself, the cause of her very uniqueness that had kept her ostracized from other children all her life. On the other hand, that same uniqueness was a marvelous gift, a strange and wonderful ability, something she could use to make life better for herself. She could get even with everyone that had bullied her, laughed at her, taunted and teased her. She could do pretty much whatever she wanted to.

But, what did she want to do?

That was the question. Imagine being born into poverty, growing up poor, being raised poor, being poor for your whole life, and then, suddenly, one day, being told you are a billionaire. Shanna had resigned herself to the kind of life she had led, had structured her future around it. She was an orphan, with no family, no friends to speak of—not counting her new friends Alvin and Devon, of course—and all she’d had growing up was a strong independent nature, and the values her dad had instilled in her at a very young age. Despite the hard years at the orphanage, Shanna had retained her father’s lessons of right and wrong.

I don’t want to get even with anyone, she realized abruptly. Well, yes, I WANT to get even, but I won’t. It wouldn’t serve any purpose anyway. I’ve gotten this far by myself, by my own merits, so I don’t have to start using people to get by now.

She sighed, chewing on her eraser of her pencil. All I really need is to learn how to use my powers, to defend myself if anyone from Denton Industries comes after me. That’s all I really want anyway... to be left alone.

“Excuse me,” said the young boy at her left. “I dropped my pen underneath your desk. Could you hand it back, please?”

“Oh, sure.” Shanna bent forward, picking up the dropped pen, and handed it back to the boy. He took it and smiled, giving her a thank you, and resumed his note-taking. Shanna smiled in return, feeling a lightness in her chest she’d never felt before. Something about the way the boy had smiled at her made her feel... good.

She turned back to the chalkboard, scribbling notes from the instructor’s lecture, but every so often she would steal a glance at the boy. He had blonde hair running down to his shoulders, and clear piercing blue eyes. The smile he had given her had diminished slightly but his lips were still turned up, as if the experience, however brief, had been a pleasant one.

I wonder what he thinks about me, she thought on impulse, her newly discovered power switching itself on before she was even fully aware. His mind opened to her like a fresh violet blossom, revealing his innermost thoughts. He was distracted, his mind torn between the calculus problems being solved on the board in front of him, and the thought of—Shanna gasped in disbelief—the incredibly beautiful blonde girl that had returned his ink pen. Shanna blushed, feeling surprising pleasure at knowing someone was thinking of her in a positive light. His attention turned, focusing on her, and his smile deepened when he found her staring sidelong at him.

Embarrassed, not knowing how to feel, Shanna turned away, averting her eyes, and her mental probe. Her heart rate had sped up significantly, and her breathing was somewhat shallow. She felt slightly flushed. What’s going on with me? she wondered idly. Some guy gives me a smile, and I turn to jelly. This is ridiculous.

She had never had these feelings before. She’d had contact with boys before even at the orphanage, had seen boys on the playground, had watched them play and talk to the other girls, though she herself had never been bold enough to interact with them. She’d been around boys before, and had never gone off the deep end before. So why did she feel so out of sorts from a simple smile?

He thinks I’m beautiful. Her tummy clenched pleasantly at the thought. No one had ever told her she was beautiful before. Of course, he hadn’t said so now, she’d picked it up out of his mind, but still... The impact of what she’d done hit her then. She’d plucked the thoughts out of the boy’s mind, without thinking, just reached inside and taken the information she had wanted. Without meaning to, she’d invaded the boy’s mind, violated his most sacred privacy, just to answer his curiosity. She should have felt ashamed.

He thinks I’m beautiful.

She risked a glance back at the boy, sitting forward again, using his calculator to figure out the instructor’s latest problem. He was handsome, with a kind of preppy, teen idol kind of look to him. Images of Devon and Alvin indulging themselves at the house moments ago flashed in her mind, and she wondered, abruptly, what the blonde-haired boy’s penis looked like. What it would feel like... taste like...

Shanna wrenched her mind off the track to which it was heading. It was one thing to gradually lose one’s inhibitions while in college, trying new things, experimenting a bit, but to go from a prim and proper girl of upbringing to a wanton, sex-craving slut in a day? And all because a guy that thought she was nice looking smiled at her.

Oh, but what a smile, her mind reminded her, teasingly.

“That’s all for today,” the instructor said finally, closing his book. “For tomorrow, I want you to try the problems on pages twenty-three and twenty-five, and pass in the results first thing. I’ll see you all same time tomorrow.”

Shanna sighed softly, swallowing, getting to her feet as the class filed slowly out of the room. The blonde boy was still at his desk, right beside her, packing up his materials, preparing to leave. She felt she had to say something to him, to acknowledge what she felt inside her, but her mouth felt thick with cotton, stuffed, completely clogged and sealed. Her mind was filled with clever things to say, ways of introducing herself, but her mouth still refused to work. The boy turned then, holding his book bag in one hand, and glanced up at her. He smiled again, and Shanna felt her legs go weak in the knees.

“Hi. My name’s Jeff,” he said, holding out a hand. “Jeffrey Chandler. Some class, huh?”

Shanna took his hand, shaking it woodenly, nodding mutely. Jeff slipped the backpack over his shoulder, and headed to the door. “Well, I still have one more class today, a late one, so I better get going,” he said, pausing. “It was nice meeting you, uhm...”

“Shanna,” she blurted, suddenly recovering her voice. “Shanna Cartwright. It was nice meeting you too, Jeff.” A smile came to her own brightly blushing face. “I guess I’ll see you here tomorrow.”

“Yeah, guess so,” Jeff replied. “Later, Shanna.”

Shanna watched him leave, sighing softly. She’d spoken to a boy, interacted with him, and the world hadn’t come to an end. Smiling still, she gathered up her own materials, and walked out of the room, heading back to her dorm room, her school day over.

“Oh, you’re back,” her roommate Rachel, a young, ultra-perky redhead commented, looking up from her paper-filled desk. “How was your first day? Make any new friends?”

“Surprisingly, yes,” Shanna said with a grin, putting her book bag aside. “I met these three boys today, in my classes. We kinda hit it off pretty well—”

“THREE boys?” Rachel exclaimed. She sighed, shaking her head. “Geez! Save some for the rest of us, will ya? Three guys on the first day. That’s gotta be a campus record, you know. Then again, if I had your good looks and that perfect figure, maybe I’d be racking them up like you, Shanna.”

Shanna colored slightly. “It’s not like that,” she protested. “They’re just friends, that’s all. I only know Jeff’s first name, and the other two... I guess you could say they’re old ‘friends of the family’, so to speak.” Though they ARE all very handsome, in their own different ways, she admitted silently.

“Oh.” Rachel pushed aside her chair and walked over to Shanna, sitting across from her on the bed. “So, tell me about ‘em, Shanna. They must have been pretty exceptional to break you out of your shell.” She giggled softly. “In the six days we’ve been together before classes, I’ve never heard you talk as much as you have just now. Whoever these guys are, they really seem to have made an impression on you.”

One of them certainly did. “Uhm, well, there’s nothing really to tell you,” Shanna said, floundering for words. She felt strange talking about personal things with someone else; it felt awkward, to say the least. Still, this was college, the place to grown and expand one’s outlook and personality. She’d begun to change already, she might as well go all the way. “Okay. I met Devon and Alvin after my English class, and we talked a little bit. I found out that our families all have a history.” She left out the specifics, the need for secrecy concerning her mind powers and Denton Industries being paramount. “We talked a bit, then I had to run to Calculus class, but we agreed to meet after class again tomorrow. I met Jeff in Calculus. He dropped his pen and I gave it back to him, and, well, that was it.”

Rachel sighed softly, disappointed. “You know, Shanna,” she said after a moment, “sometimes I doubt seriously that you were raised in an orphanage like you claim. Sometimes I think you were raised in a barn or something.” The redhead returned to her desk and resumed her homework, shaking her head, muttering about missed opportunities.

Shanna ignored her and settled in, running through her own homework assignments. Every so often, her thoughts would turn back to Jeff, and she wondered idly what he was doing, what class he was attending. She wanted to know more about him; she wanted to know HIM. For a very long time she had cared only about herself, her own well-being; no one else seemed concerned about her, so she felt no concern for anyone else. Now, suddenly, she wanted to know this boy, wanted to learn everything about him.

I’ve really changed, she thought to herself as she put her books away, and took out her bedclothes. I’m not the same person I was when I first left the orphanage. I’m changing... and for the better, I think. She placed the shower cap over her hair, and tossed her towel over her shoulder. From now on, things are going to be different. My life is finally starting to look up.

Across the street, on the other side of the road, a small white van pulled into place, and parked. No one got out of the van; the driver exited from his seat, joining his comrades in the back. One man, a well-dressed man in a black suit, sat in front of a view screen, adjusting the headphones covering his ears slightly, flicking a series of switches at the console in front of him. The driver sat down next to him, taking a small packet from the cabinet, removing its cover, and sliding it into the microwave.

“God, I’m starving,” the driver said, setting the controls for one minute. “How about you, Charlie? Want me to microwave one for you too?”

Charlie shook his head, waving the offer off. “The system’s all set up. We should be able to hear anything that’s said, as long as the girl carries the book bag with her. What about Units B and C? Any word from them yet on the two males?”

The driver shook his head. “Nope. Nothing after the last check in. If you ask me, this is all just a waste of time and resources.”

Charlie glanced sidelong at his partner. “Well, Bert, I guess it’s a lucky thing no one asked you.”

Nonplussed, Bert continued complaining. “I don’t understand all this! All this surveillance, all this manpower—for what? For a trio of college students? They’re kids, Charlie, just kids.”

“Our orders are to watch them, to listen in, to learn whatever we can about them,” Charlie began.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Bert responded. “Then, when we’ve learned all we can, we go in and eliminate them. Huh. Three Units, nine agents, all to take out three kids. Like I said, a waste of time and resources!” He threw his hands up in mock frustration. “I could be home right now, Charlie, eating REAL food instead of this microwave crap! I think they should just let us go in and whack ‘em, if they’re so fucking scared of these kids!”

“BERT!” Charlie yelled, whirling around to face his partner. His hands were clenching the edge of the computer console so tightly his knuckles were white. Seeing the man’s distress, Bert drew silent. Taking a deep breath, Charlie began again. “Listen, Bert, you weren’t with us the last time we tried taking out one of these kids. You might have read the files, but knowing you, you probably thought it was a bunch of bullshit. Well, let me tell you right now, it’s not. I was there.”

Bert’s eyes went wide, then narrowed. “You were THERE? In Cleveland?” Charlie nodded silently, while Bert absorbed the fact. “So... what you’re saying is, all that mumbo jumbo about these kids being able to—”

“it’s true,” Charlie said without hesitation. “It’s all completely true. Hell, I was lucky to get out of there in one piece. Believe me, if these kids turn out to be the ones we’re looking for, you’ll be glad you’re out here in the van, doing reconnaissance first, learning all you can about them before you face them.”

“Face them?” Bert blinked, a hint of fear crossing his face. “If these guys are as bad-assed as you say they are, then how the hell are we supposed to face them?”

“They’re not invincible,” Charlie said, his voice sounding hollow even to his own ears. “We killed the others. We were just... unprepared. We didn’t know fully what we were up against. But they bleed just like anyone else. They bleed. They can die. And so help me, Bert, when the word comes down, we’ll kill these sons of bitches. Every last one of them.”