text
stringlengths 5k
422k
|
|---|
Been awhile since I had an idea for something but I eventually decided to do this since I didn't see much of it. Usually I try to do things that haven't been done much of or at all. So hope you like this alright.
Plot: Michelle (who's been in all my previous original fanfics) finds in herself in a small situation as she shrinks due to a new perfume she ends up testing. Now shrunken to a small size she has to survive in this state but it won't be easy when she ends up in a dollhouse belonged to a young girl and she has to pee. It's not easy being little.
Shopping wasn't one of Michelle's favourite things compared to Amy but she likes buying jewellery and perfume. Today she had been in her favourite perfume shop when one of the clerks approached her.
"Hello there. You looking for anything in particular?" the female clerk asked
"Well trying to find a new perfume. My old one isn't doing much for me" Michelle said
"Well we just got this one today. We've been waiting to test it on someone. Would you like too?" the female clerk asked
Handing her the bottle Michelle read it as "Shrink: Said to be small in quantity but big in smell"
"Sure why not. Lay it on me" Michelle said
And so the female clerk sprayed Michelle with the perfume as the bottle was emptied. Michelle then smelt herself as she was astonished by how good she was.
"Wow this smells great. How much do I owe you?" Michelle asked
"Like I said testing it was free. But you can buy some if you like" the female clerk said
And so Michelle did just that leaving the beauty store with another bottle. She hadn't felt this good in a long time. She decided to spray some more on herself. Suddenly she felt a little light headed. Must have just been a headache. Suddenly it hit her some more as she suddenly fell to the floor and passed out. Eventually she woke up still on the floor. Apparently nobody had picked her up. Strangely everything had looked bigger.
"What the hell?" Michelle wondered
Getting up she walked along and saw a giant walking along as she jumped out of the way. Wait a second that looked like a regular human being. Did the world get bigger? Or was she small? No that'd be ridiculous. Up ahead Michelle saw a store and ran towards the door. Looking in the glass she saw her reflection and jumped as she saw herself. She was small. About the size of a Barbie doll. Suddenly she found herself being pushed as someone walked into the store as she was caught in the door. Looking around she realised she was in a toy store.
"Great. How am I going to get out of here?" Michelle wondered
Running around and trying not to be stepped on by people Michelle jumped onto a shelf and saw a house. Feeling she needed to rest she went inside. It felt weird to be in something that looked small on the outside but was big on the inside. Walking up the steps she realised they felt like plastic. Must have wandered into some kid's dollhouse. No big deal she'd be out of here soon enough. Entering a bedroom Michelle saw a bed and decided to lay down.
"I wonder how this happened? Could it have been the perfume? It felt fine when she first put it on." Michelle said to herself. Pulling out the bottle Michelle noticed the side effects that said do not overuse at the same time or else it may result in possible shrinking.
"No wonder why nobody tested it" Michelle groaned. She then noticed that it would wear off in a few hours. Well that was a good thing. All I needed to do was avoid getting stepped on. May as well get some sleep. And with that Michelle suddenly fell asleep.
Not long later Michelle woke up to noises. Sounded like someone was in a kitchen. Wait a second a kitchen? Getting up off the bed Michelle suddenly stopped held her hand to her crotch and realised she needed to pee. Damn it. Well figure that out later. Leaving the bedroom Michelle walked down the dollhouse steps she opened and walked out of the door as she tried not to dance on the spot in desperation. Walking along she noticed the floor was wooden. Suddenly she saw she was on a high place as she tried not step off the cliff as she realised she was on a table.
"Why the hell am I on a table?" Michelle suddenly looked and saw a little girl running around as she ran back into the dollhouse and up the stairs all the while crossing her legs in desperation.
Listening in she heard the girl say "Thanks for buying me this dollhouse" Great she was bought by a girl and she had to pee. Suddenly she heard another voice. Wait was that Amy? Of all the convenience. Wait she remembered she had taken up babysitting for extra money.
The need to pee was still persistent as Michelle looked around for a place to pee. Where could she go this size? Running around the dollhouse she saw a bathroom and ran to it and stopped in front of the toilet and sighed. Plastic.
"Well I've peed in a display toilet and on a fire hydrant might as well add a toy toilet to my list" Michelle said
Taking a few minutes to pull down her pants and panties she finally sat on the plastic seat and let go as she moaned in relief. Sitting on the plastic seat felt weird but it felt wonderful to pee. Michelle just looked and realised how much pee was coming out. Man that's a lot of piss. Finally stopping she was about to get up but suddenly she started to shake as she saw her feet grow.
"Uh oh" Michelle said
Suddenly she grew back to her regular size as she broke through the dollhouse as she saw Amy enter the room who was surprised to see her friend sitting there with her pants and panties down as she stared at her.
"Michelle what the hell are you..." Amy started before Michelle interrupted her
"Just get me out of here. Trust me I've gotta story for you" Michelle said
The END. Sorry if its too short and not great. I encourage others to take this idea and do it better. Again I'm probably not that good at this and really that's why I don't do this as much as others but if you enjoy it you enjoy it and I thank you for that.
Edited October 16, 2015 by SAM996
(see edit history) |
Fate/Holy Genesis
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 1: Genesis
It was peaceful night, so it had seemed. The night was silent and the wind blew softly in the air. Some could say it was too peaceful, but supernatural events were plaguing this city known as, Fuyuki. Lately, there had been numerous deaths of people in random areas of the city. These people had the oddest wounds. Some had been pierced by some sort of great weapon while some were sliced in half or poisoned. One could say it was supernatural. The public rolled these murders by saying it was homicide because the supernatural doesn't exist. Little did they know that there was a bigger picture that they were missing.
That's when the silence of the night broke when a large red barrier engulfed part of the city. Inside this barrier, stood two young males gazing at each other. One of the males wore a mask with only one eye hole. The mask also had strange symbols and carvings as if some one long ago put ancient writing onto it. The other male had white spiked hair with tan skin and yellow eyes. Inside this barrier, it had seemed time had stopped and they were the only ones moving inside this space. Only one question remained. What was the purpose of this barrier?
"A bounded field. Are you the one who set this up?" The white haired male spoke up.
"Yes, I set this barrier up. I came here to kill you, not to have a chit-chat. I'm low on time right now... so I suggest you prepare yourself. I don't wanna kill you without the clashing of our weapons." The mask man shouted as he revealed on his right hand a strange red marking. The marking then glowed as a strange black lightning-curved sword appeared into his hand.
"Ahh! You must be the Genesis Killer, Siege. I shall introduce myself! My name is Kasai Ichiga!" The male then examined Siege's weapon then began to talk once more, "Hmmm... I recognize your weapon. It is the, Keris mpu Gandering. So you are indeed the Genesis Killer. Since you brought the field up just for me, I will accept your duel. The only thing is... I won't be the one dying here tonight." The white haired male smiled as he too showed his strange marking and summon a flaming sword to his side.
In a blink of an eye, Siege rushed towards him with great speed and clashed with the flaming sword. Kasai and Siege then began to clash swords with each other before pushing themselves back a few feet. A grin came across Siege's face while his sword engulfed in a blackish glow.
"Black Extinction!" Siege shouted as he sliced his sword in a forward motion. As soon as he did this a large crescent shockwave rushed towards Kasai. The shockwave hit the flaming sword before being sliced in half and exploding on both sides. Dust covered the area for a brief moment before dissipating and revealing Siege reading his black bow and using his sword as a arrow.
"No... way... you have-" Kasai was interupped by Siege fired his sword as it hit Kasai dead on into the chest. Siege then rushed forward and knocked the sword further in his chest. This created a chain reaction and dark energy released and slowly made its way into his body. Kasai's eyes turned black while Siege chuckled.
"Yes, I have two weapons. Actually, I have more than two! I have a total of five! So either way, you were going to die before we even fought! I would of prolonged this further, but I have places to be."
"In...human... wielding five weapons... its impossible..." Kasai said with a restrained voice.
Siege chuckled as he slowly walked away from Kasai, "Fools shall die as fools." Siege then snapped his fingers as the darkness inside his body exploded him into ash. Siege then stopped and clenched his fist while he watched his barrier slowly fade away from the sky.
"If I have to become a murderer for your sake... I will. I will do whatever it takes to win this war even if it means staining my hands with blood." Siege then made his weapon disappeared as he walked down the street and disappeared into the shadows.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Wake up, Kurai! Wake up!" The sound of a pestering child's voice filled the air.
"Avalon... its not even time for school yet. Why are you waking me up at this hour?" The young man in bed sighed and rubbed his eyes.
Avalon bit her lip, "Well, you take forever to get ready! Plus, your supposed to walk me to school!" Avalon nagged in her childish voice.
"Uggg!" Kurai let out a moan before lightly pushing her off the bed before getting out of bed himself. He then yawned as he slowly fixed his black spiky hair in the mirror. Avalon then got up from the ground and looked at him with her cute and innocent red eyes.
"That was mean, Kurai!" Avalon's expression changed from sad to mad.
Kurai sighed as he slowly put on his black school uniform and fasted his neck tie. He then pat his sister on the head and smiled, "I'm sorry. I'm just a bit tired that's all." He then began to stroke her green hair before remembering he had to walk her to school. Kurai quickly made breakfast for him and his sister before rushing out the door with a biscuit in his mouth.
"I will pick you up around 3 when I get out of school. I will meet you at the gate of your school to walk you home." Kurai told Avalon.
Avalon smiled as she then noticed a strange red mark on his right hand,"Hey, Kurai... what's that strange thing on your hand?" Avalon asked him as she pointed to the strange red mark on his hand.
Kurai analyzed it and came to a conclusion, "Maybe its just a scratch when I woke up this morning. It should heal in a day or so. There is no need to worry."
That's when a girl appeared in front of Kurai. She wore a rather revealing attire under a black trench coat and red scarf consisting of a blue bikini top, short blue Jean shorts, and for an odd reason, no shoes. Her hair was flaming red kept cut close to her head, in a very high and tight style while still maintaining a feminine look. Her eyes were fierce green, with a glint in her eye that could lead any man to his death. She then revealed her left hand which had a strange symbol of a cross and nails on the sides and bottom of it. The symbol then glowed as the surrounding area and sky turned crimson.
"Who are you? What is going on?"
"My name is Aeleif Dullahan... you won't be alive much longer so I really had no need to give my name. So prepare yourself!" The girl told him as her symbol glowed once more before a medium size yellow spear appeared in her hand. She than spun it around rapidly before getting into her fighting stance.
What.. is happening... what is going to happen to me.... am I going to die?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well I need to add onto this part of the chapter, but I'm stuck and don't know how to bring out my idea ;-;
Edited October 17, 2015 by Avalon
(see edit history) |
Full Chapter Edit: First Chapter Complete
It was peaceful night, so it had seemed. The night was silent and the wind blew softly in the air. Some could say it was too peaceful, but supernatural events were plaguing this city known as, Fuyuki. Lately, there had been numerous deaths of people in random areas of the city. These people had the oddest wounds. Some had been pierced by some sort of great weapon while some were sliced in half or poisoned. One could say it was supernatural. The public rolled these murders by saying it was homicide because the supernatural doesn't exist. Little did they know that there was a bigger picture that they were missing.
That's when the silence of the night broke when a large red barrier engulfed part of the city. Inside this barrier, stood two young males gazing at each other. One of the males wore a mask with only one eye hole. The mask also had strange symbols and carvings as if some one long ago put ancient writing onto it. The other male had white spiked hair with tan skin and yellow eyes. Inside this barrier, it had seemed time had stopped and they were the only ones moving inside this space. Only one question remained. What was the purpose of this barrier?
"A bounded field. Are you the one who set this up?" The white haired male spoke up.
"Yes, I set this barrier up. I came here to kill you, not to have a chit-chat. I'm low on time right now... so I suggest you prepare yourself. I don't wanna kill you without the clashing of our weapons." The mask man shouted as he revealed on his right hand a strange red marking. The marking then glowed as a strange black lightning-curved sword appeared into his hand.
"Ahh! You must be the Genesis Killer, Siege. I shall introduce myself! My name is Kasai Ichiga!" The male then examined Siege's weapon then began to talk once more, "Hmmm... I recognize your weapon. It is the, Keris mpu Gandering. So you are indeed the Genesis Killer. Since you brought the field up just for me, I will accept your duel. The only thing is... I won't be the one dying here tonight." The white haired male smiled as he too showed his strange marking and summon a flaming sword to his side.
In a blink of an eye, Siege rushed towards him with great speed and clashed with the flaming sword. Kasai and Siege then began to clash swords with each other before pushing themselves back a few feet. A grin came across Siege's face while his sword engulfed in a blackish glow.
"Black Extinction!" Siege shouted as he sliced his sword in a forward motion. As soon as he did this a large crescent shockwave rushed towards Kasai. The shockwave hit the flaming sword before being sliced in half and exploding on both sides. Dust covered the area for a brief moment before dissipating and revealing Siege reading his black bow and using his sword as a arrow.
"No... way... you have-" Kasai was interupped by Siege fired his sword as it hit Kasai dead on into the chest. Siege then rushed forward and knocked the sword further in his chest. This created a chain reaction and dark energy released and slowly made its way into his body. Kasai's eyes turned black while Siege chuckled.
"Yes, I have two weapons. Actually, I have more than two! I have a total of five! So either way, you were going to die before we even fought! I would of prolonged this further, but I have places to be."
"In...human... wielding five weapons... its impossible..." Kasai said with a restrained voice.
Siege chuckled as he slowly walked away from Kasai, "Fools shall die as fools." Siege then snapped his fingers as the darkness inside his body exploded him into ash. Siege then stopped and clenched his fist while he watched his barrier slowly fade away from the sky.
"If I have to become a murderer for your sake... I will. I will do whatever it takes to win this war even if it means staining my hands with blood." Siege then made his weapon disappeared as he walked down the street and disappeared into the shadows.
The sound of fire raged throughout the area. The sounds of screams and pain could only be heard. There stood a young man in the vast barren field. Devoid of any grass the sky above looked like it was on fire. The very air was hot and humid and every breath that even the young man took, it burned the inside of his mouth. As far as his eyes could see there was nothing but vast flames upon flames. They danced and flickered as they moved across the ground. It was right then when a faint voice could be heard from the area.
"Gram!"
Kurai, looked around "Is anyone here?" The young shouted, After having brought his hands up to his mouth. Waiting a few moments nothing came back to him. But he did hear the same voice from before again.
"Gram, Gram..." the voice repeated.
He then took a step forward. The heat was getting to him his whole body was hot he felt hot. It hurt to speak or even to move as a hot dry wind blew across the field. Covering his face with his arms the voice he heard three times now repeated itself once more.
"Gram, Gram, Gram!"
The voice echoed through out the field and his mind. The young man brought his hands to his ears to try and block the voice. "What, does that even mean?" He shouted, looking around again for where this strange echoing voice was coming from. His search this time revealed something not too far into the distance he could see a small hazy shape. One step forward and then another he took using every last bit of strength he had left. The hazy shape soon became clearer to him the closer he approached it.
"Gram, Gram, Gram, GRAM!"
The voice grew louder and at this very moment he could now fully see what appeared. To be a sword stuck into the ground the sword is a double-edged blade nearly as long as a draich, slightly wider at the point than at the hilt to give the weapon extra to cut with. Its blade was sheathed in a scabbard of black lacquered bone, chased with gold and ornamented with fiery rubies. The weapon's hilt was long and slim, built for two hands and wrapped with dark leather. A large cabochon ruby, like a dragon's eye, gleamed at the point where hilt met blade. It glimmered with power, radiating from the entire blade in waves of invisible heat. The blade has a black finish its edge shone like fire in the gloom.
"GRAM, GRAM, GRAM, GRAM, GRAM!"
The voice repeated once more so loud that the young man dropped to his knees screaming in pain. Though the pain only seemed to last for a mere moment before completely vanishing. The young man struggled to get back to his feet. Then without warning he reached out towards the sword in the ground and grasped its handle before a odd familiar voice was heard.
"Kurai, Kurai, KURAI!WAKE UP!" a female voice nagged.
Kurai suddenly grew confused and his dream world shattered to pieces. As he was shaken wide awake by the source of that female voice.
"Wake up, Kurai! Wake up!" The sound of a pestering child's voice filled the air.
"Avalon... its not even time for school yet. Why are you waking me up at this hour?" The young man in bed sighed and rubbed his eyes.
Avalon bit her lip, "Well, you take forever to get ready! Plus, your supposed to walk me to school!" Avalon nagged in her childish voice.
"Uggg!" Kurai let out a moan before lightly pushing her off the bed before getting out of bed himself. He then yawned as he slowly fixed his black spiky hair in the mirror. Avalon then got up from the ground and looked at him with her cute and innocent red eyes.
"That was mean, Kurai!" Avalon's expression changed from sad to mad.
Kurai sighed as he slowly put on his black school uniform and fasted his neck tie. He then pat his sister on the head and smiled, "I'm sorry. I'm just a bit tired that's all." He then began to stroke her green hair before remembering he had to walk her to school. Kurai quickly made breakfast for him and his sister before rushing out the door with a biscuit in his mouth.
"I will pick you up around 3 when I get out of school. I will meet you at the gate of your school to walk you home." Kurai told Avalon.
Avalon smiled as she then noticed a strange red mark on his right hand,"Hey, Kurai... what's that strange thing on your hand?" Avalon asked him as she pointed to the strange red mark on his hand.
Kurai analyzed it and came to a conclusion, "Maybe its just a scratch when I woke up this morning. It should heal in a day or so. There is no need to worry."
That's when a girl appeared in front of Kurai. She wore a rather revealing attire under a black trench coat and red scarf consisting of a blue bikini top, short blue Jean shorts, and for an odd reason, no shoes. Her hair was flaming red kept cut close to her head, in a very high and tight style while still maintaining a feminine look. Her eyes were fierce green, with a glint in her eye that could lead any man to his death. She then revealed her left hand which had a strange symbol of a cross and nails on the sides and bottom of it. The symbol then glowed as the surrounding area and sky turned crimson.
"Who are you? What is going on?"
"My name is Aeleif Dullahan... you won't be alive much longer so I really had no need to give my name. So prepare yourself!" The girl told him as her symbol glowed once more before a medium size yellow spear appeared in her hand. She than spun it around rapidly before getting into her fighting stance.
What is this... am... I going to die... Am I going to die by the hands of a girl.. I just met with a strange weapon in her hand?
"Summon it... summon the sword..." The mysterious voice echoed from his mind.
What sword?
That's when Aelief rushed forward with great speed and prepared to thrust her spear into his shoulder. Kurai swiftly dodged it before hearing the voice once more.
"Gram... GRAM GRAM! Summon it... Summon Gram... Call to it!"
Kurai gulped as Aelief tried thrusting at his shoulder once more. Kurai swiftly dodged to the right once more before he backed up a bit and started to huff. This didn't stop Aelief from charging at him. Kurai then caught glimpse of his symbol glow before Aelief came towards him at point blank. Kurai suddenly realized that maybe this voice he is hearing maybe his only way to stay alive right now. Kurai clenched his fist while Aelief prepared to strike his heart.
"Your mine!" Aelief shouted as forced her spear forward.
"Come forth to me, Gram!" Kurai shouted as red aura shot out of his hand. Kurai reached out his hand while red flurries from the aura appeared in the shape of a sword. This didn't phase Aelief... she had seen much more flashy light show then what was happening. Kurai grasped the flurries and it materialized a mysterious two edge blade in his hand. Quickly, Kurai swung the spear away with his blade and jumped back a few feet to give him distance from Aelief.
Aelief's eyes grew as she looked at the blade. It was raging with a red aura that covered the whole blade. She then began to tremble as words of fear came from her mouth, "It can't be... that's..." She was then caught off by Kurai, who head heard this.
He swung his sword multiple times and then grasped it with both hands before putting the sword in a stance in front of his body. "Gram!" Kurai grinned.
OCs:
Siege, Kurai, Avalon and Kasai: Reine Sevia
Aelief: Revolver Sushi-Sama Senpai
Next time:
"What a unfortunate event for us to meet. I'm not the person to show pity for people... so I will let you go this once without a fight. Just know in the future I will kill you like I've done to the people before you. As for you, Overseer! I will let you shield him this once because I have respect for you... once he gets out of here, he is fair game for the rest of the masters who want to kill him!"
Kurai growled as the masked man slowly walked away from him and then disappeared. The Overseer then turned to Kurai and spoke, "Before I let leave, I want you to heed my advice. Don't trust anyone in this war and always be prepared to fight in any predicament and in any place!
Credit to my friend Justice for proof reading this for me. I hope its good!
Edited October 20, 2015 by Reine Sevia
(see edit history) |
Fate/Holy Genesis II
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last time:
"You're mine!" Aeleif shouted as forced her spear forward.
"Come forth to me, Gram!" Kurai shouted as red aura shot out of his hand. Kurai reached out his hand while red flurries from the aura appeared in the shape of a sword. This didn't phase Aeleif... she had seen much more flashy light show then what was happening. Kurai grasped the flurries and it materialized a mysterious two edge blade in his hand. Quickly, Kurai swung the spear away with his blade and jumped back a few feet to give him distance from Aeleif.
Aeleif's eyes grew as she looked at the blade. It was raging with a red aura that covered the whole blade. She then began to tremble as words of fear came from her mouth, "It can't be... that's..." She was then caught off by Kurai, who head heard this.
He swung his sword multiple times and then grasped it with both hands before putting the sword in a stance in front of his body. "Gram!" Kurai grinned.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The blade of Siegfried himself... G-Gram," Aeleif stuttered. "No matter how flashy that weapon of yours is, you're still gonna die!" She yelled as she swung her spear towards Kurai.
Aelief aimed her spear at Kurai's chest. It was a quick thrust, intending to end the fight just as quickly as it begun. But, at the last moment, Gram parried the thrust, knocking the spear tip to his right. Aeleif pulled back and snarled in anger.
As Kurai held Gram in hand, the hilt felt hot to the touch, as if the steel was still fresh from the forge. The warmth sank into his skin, suffusing his muscles with power. He marveled at the blade's black finish.
Aeleif was moving once more, her spear reaching for his throat. Kurai brought Gram up in the nick of time, barely deflecting the lethal strike, but there was no time to recover. Aeleif switched targets and began a series of deadly thrusts at his face, chest, and groin. She never stopped moving, flowing towards him like a dancer and making a lethal move with each and every step.
Kurai had no time to be afraid. Being that he was scared for his life, he didn't wish to die. He still wasn't really sure as to what the hell was really going on. Gram seemed to move of its own accord, matching Aeleif blow for blow. Her speed and grace were devastating and Kurai was hard pressed to counter it.
As the battle dragged on, Kurai slowly began to read Aeleif's movements. He seemed to know where she was going to attack and would parry the strike aimed right at him. Just how this was happening was a mystery could; Gram be giving him this ability? Kurai didn't seem to take notice of this just yet, though with each parry Kurai made, he only seemed to upset Aeleif further. How could a mere novice like Kurai be besting her? To her he was moving like someone who knew how to use a sword. But how could that be? Just mere moments ago Kurai could barely handle the sword, and now here he was moving like he knew how. Aeleif paused in her attack for a moment to address Kurai.
"Hey, you should be dead by now, how are you blocking my attacks?" Aeleif asked.
Hearing her voice seemed to break Kurai out of the small trance he as the fight was going on. "Huh, what?" Kurai asked with a look of genuine confusion on his face.
Not getting the answer that she wished to know along with seeing an opening, Aeleif lunged forward, pushing the blade towards Kurai at incredible speed. Time seemed to suddenly slow down to a crawl Kurai tried to bring Gram up again to defend himself though was moving far too slowly. Just when all hope seemed lost and Aeleif's spear was right about to pierce Kurai's chest, a sudden bolt of violet lightning shot down from the very skies themselves, knocking up a wave of smoke which blinded both Kurai and Aeleif, both of them staggering backwards.
A few moments seemed to pass as the smoke began to clear. Standing in the middle of the pair appeared to be a young man with short dark hair and a pair of crimson eyes. He wore a black tight tank top which seems to fit him pretty comfortably. On top of the shirt he wore a jacket of some kind and lacking sleeves, the entire jacket being a dark purple hue. He wore some strange looking baggy black pants, and his tank top is tucked neatly under his pants so his shirt fits him a bit more tightly. The outfit also included tall, black boots which buckle, and come over top his pants coming up past his ankles almost halfway up to his knees which seemed to almost way a ton from the looks of them. On his left side was a long great katana which was in a dark purple sheath.
"W-who the hell are you?" Aeleif asked in surprise. Moving her head, she took this newcomer in from head to toe with her eyes. The young man said nothing, his gaze seemed to be fixed on Gram, which Kurai still held in his hand.
"So, Gram has been summoned." The young man replied evenly.
Kurai didn't saying anything, simply taking in what was said. It appeared that another person knew about the sword he held, but how could that be? Just who was this person who stood before him?
"Hey, I asked you a question, who are you!" Aeleif yelled at the young man.
"Kairos!" The young man spoke.
Hearing the name took Aeleif by complete surprise. "K-Kairos… a-as in the E-Everchosen?" Aeleif stammered. Kairos didn't answer, instead he reached with his right hand and pulled his katana from its sheath. A plume of white fire raced across the very blade before vanishing. A look of anger flashed across her face when she got no answer in return. She had heard stories of Kairos, they spoke that he was a gifted swordsmen from the Kuroyami family who was known to be quite famous, seeing as the members of his family were gifted in swordplay.
Aeleif brought her spear around and swung it at Kairos' head. He simply dodged to his right then to his left as the spear was swung at him once more. It wasn't until Aeleif moved the spear back for another attack did Kairos make his move. Quickly, he made two fluid swings, one aimed at her legs, the second at her chest. Aeleif brought her spear down and parried the first attack but was two slow to block the second. She felt the tip of the blade slice across her chest. Jumping backwards Aeleif looked down; a small cut was visible between her breasts, and a small dribble of blood flowed down. Second her bikini top had been cut clean through to show off a small pair of breasts.
Crying out in surprise and embarrassment, Aeleif attacked once more with a series of quick swings and thrusts, all aimed at Kairos' chest and arms. He dodged them with little to no effort only to counterattack twice more with two fluid strikes. The first caught Aeleif on her right leg while the second formed a small cut above her left eye. Blood flowed down from the cut, getting into her eye. She brought her hand up and wiped the blood away.
Aeleif was at a clear disadvantage in this new battle. Kairos was far more skilled in combat than she, and if this fight were to drag on any longer, she might die. She didn't want this nor did she wish to retreat from the battle. If she could turn this battle to her favor… If she could just land a single strike… However, she never got the chance, Kairos' katana was soon covered in white flames once more. He quickly swung his sword at her sending a small trail of flames flying. Aeleif spun her spear around and blocked most of the flames. Some did manage to touch her, forming small burn marks on her exposed skin.
Crying out in pain, Aelief quickly jumped backwards once more. "I'll remember this!" Aeleif shouted before retreating from the area by jumping into a tree. Kairos sheathed his sword and turned to Kurai, who had been watching the entire battle in sheer amazement.
"Who are you? What are you?" Kurai asked.
"All will be explained in due time! Come... it's time I took you to see the Overseer since I know you're dying to hear an explanation." Kairos replied.
Kairos then took Kurai to a large building nearby. He then stopped at the building's gate before speaking, "This is called the church. It was my job personally to get you here unharmed. After the Overseer is done explaining, you're fair game for the rest of us."
"Us... what do you mean by us? There are more of you!?" Kurai shivered for a moment.
Kairos nodded, "Yes, there are more of us. So go ahead on in, and just know... you owe me." Kairos then walked away as Kurai entered the church. It was an ordinary church with stain glass windows, rows of seats and a pew in the middle of the church, not to mention a cross over top of the arc on the wall above the pew. There stood a young woman, who possessed a fair complexion and lithe build. Her figure was noted to be very similar to that of a doll's, absolutely perfect and stunning. Her skin was so white and smooth that it appeared almost like she was made of porcelain. Black locks cascaded all the way down to her lower back while her bangs dropped to her shoulders. Her eyes, however, were cold and black eyes that glowed an eerie yellow. Her eyelashes were neatly curved, and her thin, curved eyebrows fit perfectly on her beautiful face. A small, sharp, and well-formed nose and thin, pinkish lips completes her beautiful face. She wore a pair of violet earrings on her ears, the earrings in the shape of a single crystal. She wore a black outfit: a black dress with a white collar, with puffy shoulders. Underneath the dress, she wore a gray shirt.
"Ahh, I've been expecting you," The Overseer called out as Kurai walked towards him. "My name is Ayane Suzakura. Tell me, what is your name, wielder of Genesis?"
"Kurai Sevia. So tell me "Overseer", what is this? I almost got killed in a fight a few minutes ago by a random stranger wielding a yellow spear. I was told to come to you for questions, so tell me, what the hell is going on?" He spoke up.
Ayane chuckled and replied, "This battle you find yourself caught up in... is called the Holy Grail War. This war is a ritual meant to select someone who is worthy of holding the Holy Grail. This Grail I speak of is the exact Grail from the Legend of King Arthur. If you don't believe it exists, then look at that weapon of yours. It's as real as it gets. The Holy Grail is capable of granting limitless power to the one who wins it. The Grail will grant one wish to the last master standing in the war. What is your wish, Kurai?"
Kurai stood quietly for a moment and bit his lip. "I don't have one..."
"Then you have a reason to fight. You will fight for the reason of finding what you wish for in the midst of this war. You cannot deny you are a master; the symbol on your right hand proves that you are a master. Since you're a master, you are able to summon something called Genesis. Genesis is a special type of magic that the Holy Grail gives Masters. Your symbol on your hand acts as a sheathe for your weapon when you're not using it so suspicion won't be drawn to you. This symbol allows you to summon your special weapon by your side by calling its name. I will warn you, there are people who have more than one weapon at their disposal; we call them Inhumans. It is impossible to wield more than two but some have found a way to have more weapons."
"So I can summon my weapon at will be calling its name? I still don't understand that red barrier that surrounded us during my fight, though…"
Ayane was not hesitant to reply, "It's called a bounded field. A bounded field acts as protection for area destruction and the slaughter of innocent people. It can only be used twice overall in a day, and while in the field time is stopped. The field lasts for thirty minutes and once the time is up, it will collapse. You can make a field by saying the word "field". The field will also collapse if a fight gets too intense, so be wary of it. Fighting outside of it would be-" Ayane was then interrupted by arrow shot from a distance. It was coming at a fast speed. Ayane caught it in her hand as a masked man in dark clothing walked into the church building.
"Siege..." Ayane growled.
"I'm surprised you caught that! Impressive Ayane." Siege told her as he began to walk towards her. He then turned his eyes to Kurai and chuckled, "What an unfortunate event for us to meet, novice! That arrow was aimed at you. I missed on purpose... I'm not the person to show pity for people... so I will let you go this once without a fight! Just know in the future I will kill you like I've done to the masters before you. So keep your guard up. As for you, Overseer, I will let you shield him this once because I have respect for you... but once he gets out of here, he's fair game for the rest of the masters who want to kill him!"
Kurai growled as the masked man slowly walked away from him and then disappeared. The Overseer then turned to Kurai and spoke, "Before I let leave, I want you to heed my advice. Don't involve innocent people unless you want them to get killed! Also, don't trust anyone in this war and always be prepared to fight in any predicament or place! Keep the ones you love close, because no master is safe in this war and people will do anything to have their wish granted by the Grail."
Kurai nodded as the Overseer waved goodbye while he left the church. The red sky from before quickly disappeared and went back to its usual blue color. The sound of cars moving and people walking then started to sound once more. Kurai shrugged it off and began to walk. It didn't take him long before making it to the school courtyard. Kurai then made it into his classroom and plopped down in his seat before being ambushed by a male and two girls. One had yellow eyes and white hair with white skin. The other had short dirty blond hair in a scruffy cut, gray-blue eyes much like a shark's own color with a scar across the bridge of her nose.
"Late as usual." The male then approached him. He had dirty blonde hair with brownish eyes, almost a dark orange in color. Like him, he wore the student attire for males: A white shirt, white jacket with purple around the lower wrists, and black pants.
"I got held up, Cormac, give me a break!" Kurai yawned.
"Well, look what the cat dragged in. Late as usual Kurai." Another male approached him. He had cold blue eyes with bags under it and had mismatching white hair and skin.
"This is to be expected from Kurai-kun... Honestly, he is helpless..." The white haired girl spoke up shyly.
Kurai face-palmed himself before getting up from his seat and letting out a huge sigh. "I'm not helpless... Yuki. I just have trouble getting out of bed," Kurai's face turned red. "As for you Adler... put a sock in it!"
"He's probably staying up watching 'you know what'." A male with black, scruffy hair, tan skin, and sea green eyes with a slight purple tint in them told him.
"That is not the case, Isacc!" He yelled at him, plopping back in his seat before remembering he totally ditched his sister on the way to school.
"I guess you're staying quiet today huh, Yokina." Kurai told her as she blinked her gray-blue eyes for a moment.
"I, too, had a long night, so I'm in no place to judge." After Yokina said this, the teacher came walking in the class and they then returned to their seats. Kurai put his head on his desk as the teacher began to speak, "Before we start, I would like to welcome a new student. You can come in now." The teacher said in a stern voice.
Kurai lifted his head up before his eyes grew suddenly big. "My name is Aeleif Dullahan. Nice to meet you!" She spoke with confidence and smiled.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next time
"Your in this too! Great... today has not been my day. I'm not gonna hurt you! Your my friend!"
"There are no friends in war, Kurai-kun. If your gonna act like that then... then I'm gonna slaughter you even more. I will win the Grail for the sake of my wish... So its best... you stay quiet and don't do anything... so I can make this as quick as possible!"
"... If you wanna fight then you'll get a fight! Gram!" Kurai yelled as red flurries surrounded his hand before forming the black sword. Kurai grasped it as it transformed into the sword before. "I won't kill you, but the least I can do is defeat you with little force as possible."
"Doing that won't win the war... Prepare yourself, Kurai-kun!" |
Disclaimer:
This takes place in a fictional European country, somewhere on the mainland between that one country and the other. It’s called Füderland because that’s the best I could come up with. And yes, they speak English despite that name. Linguistic consistency is not necessary. It also is a parallel universe where it’s not that strange for a girl to wet herself (but also not completely common) and is otherwise pretty much the same. Yes, I know, that’s very original for this site. That universe has never been tried before [/sarcasm]. Anyway, I made this today, and I have no idea if I am ever going to continue this or not. It is made with continuation and possible future storylines in mind, but I’m not promising things. I still have a promise to finish a story that just needs one or two chapters and the last update is over a year ago. So I’m not committing as long as that one is not finished. Also, I’m not so much into artistic gymnastics that I know all the terms and details, if I watch it my knowledge goes little beyond “that was good” and “that was less good”. So if someone is more into this and sees a mistake like a wrong or missing term (there are bound to be some) or something that needs to be elaborated, please reply here or pm me. But I’ll also keep in mind that it has to be easily readable for people who know nothing about it.
I expect (/hope for future prevention of RSI-sake) this chapter is well above average in length. And I think the title could be better, but I want it to entail the main thing of the gymnasts and also make it interesting or clever. This way I at least managed to fulfil one of those requirements. Since I have not reread it, and have written for ten hours straight, there might be some wording or spelling errors. Please tell me if you find one.
Non-disclaimer:
It was a Saturday afternoon, 13:07, and as she walked up to start her second event of the day, she heard her name being called over the speakers by a monotone voice: “Jasmin Gardner from Sonnsville on the vault”. She was ready and determined to win this. It was just a small-time regional all-around tournament in preparation for the European Championship qualification, and she was the favourite to win by some distance. She just came in 3rd on the floor, but that has never been her strong suit. The vault, however, she found to be way easier. She probably didn’t have to take risks, but always wanted to give it her best shot. She was of about average height for an artistic gymnast, 164 cm. Her leotard was black below and pink above, with the border between the colours going diagonally from her right shoulder to her left hip. It was custom made for her, just like all her leotards, and it fit firmly around all of her body, which helped her in maintaining composure. She was also often ‘noticed’ by men, especially since the moment where she had them custom made. Last year, she changed coaches because of this and was one of the few with a female coach in the business, which she had always found rather strange. She had her straight brown hair in a ponytail, like any participant with long hair would.
It was time. Jasmin ran, jumped on the springboard, placed her hands on the vault and turned three times around her axis while doing a double summersault while keeping tight. A slight imbalance when she landed in the centre of the mat was all that could be improved; she nailed it. After she greeted the judges, she walked back for her second try and saw her score; well above the three participants that started before her. At least she has this; now she had some room for a little extra risk, since the rest of the field that was still coming was low-profile. This time she was going for distance. For anyone looking, it was clear she had increased her velocity as she ran towards the vault for a second time. There was more power in her jump; her hands hit the vault near the end, and she twisted and turned faster than you could count. When she landed, she had to pay the price, though. As she bounced back in the air with more power than expected, she lost a bit of composure and had to put one leg significantly back and bend her knees more than she normally would to keep from falling over as she landed on the mat a second time. There would be a reduction for this, but the extra distance should boost her score a bit. She walked back to her coach, Elisabeth Simons, and gave her a high five before she sat down and waited for her second score. Yes! It was slightly higher than her previous one, in spite of the reduction.
“That’s worthy of the Olympics,” Elisabeth said as she gave Jasmin a hug. Jasmin just smiled. Of course it would be; the vault is one of her specialties, together with the uneven bars. She had a knack for controlled flight. She just had to get the balance beam and especially her floor-routine on an acceptable level to be an internationally competitive all-rounder.
Now it was just waiting for the others. They would probably not come close, but Jasmin wanted to know their scores anyway, competitive as she is. She sat watching in agony as she saw one girl just do a simple summersault. Another fell, seemingly in slow-motion, on her butt after she landed facing the vault. She decided to agree to join this tournament because it was only a 20 minute drive from Sonnsville, but she made a note in her phone to never go to something so far under her level from now on. She didn’t even know any of these girls, and she knew a lot of the artistic gymnasts in the country. She became visibly bored, sipping from her water bottle all the time just to have something to do. Luckily only one girl was left before they could move on to the balance beam. Jasmin did not notice the final contestant’s name as the small girl with black hair in the red leotard that came in second on the floor got ready for the vault. She looked like she was twelve, but Jasmin knew she would probably be a few years older than that. There always are a few girls that look way too young in artistic gymnastics, of which some turn out to be even older than the seventeen-year-old Jasmin. As she sat looking on from the corner of her eye, expecting to see something horrible again, Jasmin was in for a shock. She hadn’t been paying enough attention to know for sure, but it seemed like a near-perfect routine with a stable landing. Sure enough, as the girl in the red leotard walked back for her second try, her score became visible; only half a point below Jasmin’s lowest score. She would have to start paying attention now. The girl’s name was Abigail Douglas. As she looked on carefully for the second flight, she could see Abigail had a little less technique than her in-flight, but she did get a lot of air and pulled of a perfect landing. Again, just half a point below Jasmin’s lower score. She was too close; as she saw the average score updated, Abigail came in first with the smallest of differences possible. This was getting serious.
For the balance beam, Jasmin started 7th out of 8, planned at14:18. She always made sure she knew when she started off the top of her head, but she looked over the starting list anyway; Abigail starts 5th. At least now she would know what to beat before she started. She sent of her coach to fill her water bottle and started mentally preparing herself and walking around, stretching her legs and arms for optimum results. After the first four contestants, none being particularly impressing, she sat down and to watch Abigail as soon as she heard the monotonous voice announce her. She got on the beam and started moving around smoothly, with more elegance than Jasmin knows to have. She heaved a sigh of relief, though, as she saw her doing her first cartwheel; she did have more technique and security in the faster, more dangerous movements. That’s what she would need to show off. She watched the rest of Abigail’s routine intensively and was perplexed once again when she ended with a seemingly uncontrolled summersault that she managed to somehow land perfectly again. While she saw Abigail jumping around and hugging her coach as her score became known, Jasmin got ready. She got out of the sweatpants and jumper keeping her muscles warm and did some stretches, but quickly stopped after she noticed that about half of the men there, mostly family of other competitors, were not looking at the 6th competitor but at her. “Why do they always make me feel uncomfortable,” she thought.
As she turned back towards the competition area, she was just in time to see a black-haired girl of around her height in a blue leotard, one that has utterly failed to impress so far, get ready to do a cartwheel. She seemed insecure and waited longer than necessary. She placed her hands perfectly in line, though, and her feet swung over her head towards the end of the beam; a little too far towards the end. Her left foot slipped and took her right foot down with it; a shock came through the room as everyone saw the girl’s head hit the edge of the beam. She doubled over the beam and hit one of the poles hard with her back. She did not make a sound as her body hit the ground; she also didn’t move. The two people they hired to do first aid quickly sped towards her. From where Jasmin stood, all focus lost with her eyes wide and her mouth gaping, she could see the blue material around the girl’s crotch glisten and darken. That was the least of concerns now. The first aiders were definitely not equipped for something serious and one called for an ambulance in panic. The other one was preoccupied with keeping a panicked man and woman who sped down from the stands, probably the parents, away from the girl’s unconscious body, trying to convince them that she should not be moved before they got instructions from a professional doctor. The area around that soon became crowded with people looking at what happened, all to no help of course. Meanwhile, the other one was squatting next to the girl with the phone against his ear in one hand, checking her pulse and breath with the other. The monotonous voice was heard once again, barely intelligible over the murmur that had filled the gymnasium: “The competition is suspended indefinitely. Please stay in your seats and don’t approach the competition area.”
After the initial chaos, all that was left around the girl were the two first aiders and the girl’s parents and her coach a few meters away, accompanied by a few officials. All the competing girls sat down in their area, some still visibly shocked. The coaches were all heavily debating how this could’ve been prevented and how they would make it safer. Around this time, Jasmin became a little pre-occupied with something. The puddle of urine that had formed around the unconscious girl on the ground reminded her about the amount she drunk out of boredom throughout the competition; her bladder was starting to get full. By now it was 14:30 and she should’ve ended her routine by now. She stood up and walked over to one of the officials on the side.
“Do you know how long it will be before we start again?” she asked him.
“No, and that’s not important right now” the official answered sternly.
Jasmin tried to answer; “I get that, but it’s just that I -”“Look, I am not concerned about you right now and I think you’re really selfish for just wanting to get on with it while we don’t know how serious Norwood is injured, so please go back to your seat, wait and don’t leave the area. I’ve seen you arrogantly looking on, displaying your boredom as much as you can while the less-trained girls tried their best. Anyway, all we know is it can be in two minutes or two hours, and I’ll make sure we won’t wait for you if you are not here.”
Jasmin didn’t expect a lecture; she was deeply concerned about the girl, and she certainly didn’t mean to display her boredom or come off as arrogant. She really didn’t like to be called a bad person, she just wanted to know if she could exit the gymnasium for a few minutes to go to the bathroom. She swallowed the tears she felt coming, she fixed her eyes on the floor and turned around to walk back to her seat. She didn’t dare to leave the area now, afraid that she would start crying while admitting she needed the bathroom. She put on her sweatpants and jumper to keep warm again and sat down, crossing her legs. In the background she heard sirens, and a few minutes later paramedics came running in. They did not put her on the stretcher they were carrying though; it seemed like they were handling her very carefully.
As Jasmin sat there, she put her hands in her front pocket and could just reach her crotch with one. Her legs were now constantly moving, and it was now 14:50. The girl was still on the ground, with all sorts of medical tools around her. One positive thing was that at least now nobody was paying attention to her, because for someone looking at her it would be obvious what she needed, especially when she shifted in her seat again. She was the only one not watching the girl, of who by now she knew her first name was Lily, she saw looking over at the other competitors, since she did not dare to look at the girl in her puddle, perfectly visible from her point of view, for too long at a time; it increased her own need. But when she saw everyone slightly looking up, she automatically looked in Lily’s direction too; it seemed like she was waking up and trying to move. The paramedics stopped her though, and were asking her questions, raising and moving fingers and testing out her neck and back. Some people were cleaning up the puddle around her. Jasmin was happy she was conscious again, but quickly looked away again as she saw Lily slowly moving and realized almost her whole back and left side of her leotard were wet; a bit of shifting about in her seat made her regain composure.
Around three o’ clock, Jasmin realized she was getting really thirsty. She should drink some water to keep her body healthy, but shuddered at the thought of putting more liquid inside of her.
“One, two, three” Jasmin heard several people say. She looked over at the direction of Lily, and saw she was now lying on the stretcher, with several people around her. They wrapped her in a blanket and tried to get her soaked leotard off, but she started screaming as they tried to pull her arms out of it, and immediately stopped.
By now, Elisabeth seemed to be done discussing safety measures for the future and sat next to her pupil.
“How are you holding up?” Elisabeth asked.
Jasmin responded barely audible, with her hand still in her crotch and moving about in her seat. “I need to... ehm... I need the bathroom”
“Why didn’t you go then?” Elisabeth continued.
“I tried to ask that man over there if there would be enough time but he said I was arrogant and that I had to go sit down and that they wouldn’t wait for me if I wasn’t here if it started again,” she said in a panicky whisper.
“Well, he can’t stop you from going to the bathroom, just go real quick now, I think we’ll almost start again,” Elisabeth said.
“Okay, I’ll go now, just make sure I can compete.” Jasmin stood up from her chair and immediately doubled over; her bladder was really hurting now, but she could still manage to regain her posture.
“Try to be quick, because -”
“The competition will be resumed. Jasmin Gardner from Sonnsville to the balance beam please.”
“Fuck,” Jasmin said.
“I’ll try to give you some time” Elisabeth said, as she looked over to the officials.
Jasmin got out of her sweatpants and jumper, because that had to happen anyway. She looked over to the table of officials where Elisabeth was now pleading with the same man that called Jasmin arrogant before. He had a microphone.
“If a contestant cannot be there on time, she will be disqualified.”
“Asshole,” Jasmin thought. But she could not be disqualified. A bad routine because of a full bladder is better than no routine.
She started off towards the balance beam, and as she looked around, she noticed she was the centre of attention again. “Note to self; don’t grab crotch,” she thought. She also wished her routine started different from how it does. She heaved herself onto the beam and sat on it, with one leg on either side. She leaned forward, putting a lot of pressure on her bladder, and almost but just not touched the beam with her stomach. She moved her arms artistically around it and put her feet on the beam behind her; with a burst she jumped up and stood straight up; she made it through the beginning, but was increasingly uncomfortable. Then came some jumping, some pirouettes, but she felt her legs trembling. As she bend her left leg and swayed the other around the edge of the beam, she felt her bladder almost voiding. Her left leg quivered violently for a second, and she almost lost her balance. She quickly put her right leg back on the beam and almost stumbled when she first misplaced it. This was not going to be her best performance. Then came the cartwheel, normally her strong suit; but turning upside down and right side up again was not good for her bladder. As she landed unstably, she felt a spasm and lost balance; she fell down on the ground, next to the beam, on hands and knees. Immediately she buried both her hands in her crotch, only to realize what she was doing with everyone watching her two seconds later, but it was enough to hang on for now. She had to get back on the beam and finish her routine, albeit with a head read as a tomato. Her movements that were meant to be elegant could be classified as walking around at best. Now for her big finale; another cartwheel ending in a summersault directly afterwards, jumping off the beam and down on the ground. This cartwheel went much better than the previous one, and she could launch herself into the final summersault easily. As she landed comfortably, though, she realized she let a spurt escape during the flight. Her crotch felt wet. She just hoped it wasn’t that bad, as she presented herself like everything went as intended. She felt another spurt escape, felt her face get redder and walked towards the side of the competition area as fast as possible without running, trying to act as normal as possible.
Walking past her competitors, she felt another spurt escape. Her hands shot to her crotch again and she had to stop walking for a bit; she regained control but felt her leotard was now significantly wet. When she could walk again, keeping her legs as close to each other as she could, she felt the upper parts of her thighs had become slippery. She was happy the lower part of her leotard was black; maybe nobody noticed that she had been leaking. She sped out of the gymnasium towards the dressing rooms. As soon as she was out of sight, she couldn’t keep her hands from her crotch. Being close to the toilet brought her on the verge of totally losing control. She hobbled through the hallway over to the door of the women’s dressing room, which she opened with her elbow. Once inside, she slammed the door shut with her other elbow, and -
Pssssssssssssssssssssst
- she lost control. She felt her crotch getting warmer, the warmth spreading and she heard some of it splatter on the floor. She held on with all her might and managed to stem the flow, but she knew her bladder was seconds away from totally voiding. She decided to run to the toilet. As soon as she started, her bladder started too. It was just minimizing the damage now. As she ran over to the toilet door, urine ran down her legs and left a trail of drops and small puddles. She opened the door with her right hand while trying to undo her leotard on that same arm with her left one. After she closed the door, she managed to get her right arm out of it, but she was already standing in a puddle of her own making; pee streamed down her legs and with one revealed arm and breast, she sat down as she really started peeing full stream. She tried to move the crotch out of the way, but pee had already saturated the material around her but and was falling into the toilet straight from it in several streams. After one attempt failed, she just put her elbows on her knees, rested her head on her hands and looked down at her crotch as it glistened with pee streaming through it. She couldn’t believe it; she was having an accident.
Having an accident in her leotard while training or at a competition wasn’t something new for Jasmin; but it was long ago. The last time it happened, she was 15 years old, and packing extra leotards to a small tournament like this in case of accidents had gotten out of her system. Thinking of this, tears started to form; she wasn’t going to compete in this wet one. She could try to borrow one from the other girls around her size, some of them are bound to have an extra one, but then it would be really obvious what happened since it would look different. At home, she always has at least two versions of the same one especially for this sort of thing. She was weighing her options, but decided she would continue competing, and she didn’t really have much of a choice. She used half the roll of toilet paper to dry the puddle in front of her, flushing the toilet several times with saturated paper, and got out of her soaked leotard. She dried her legs, private parts and her eyes, and picked up her leotard. As she stepped out of the toilet, she became even more red-faced than she already was. Her coach was there, getting her pee to the shower with a squeegee, and as she stood in the door opening of the toilet, naked with her leotard over her arm, another girl came walking in. She was blonde, just a little shorter than Jasmin, with a completely pink leotard. It was the girl that fell onto her butt at the vault. The girl stopped for a second when she saw the naked girl, averted her gaze and walked right past her into the toilet. Not long after that, Jasmin heard the sound of a steady stream falling into the water. She walked over to the nearest sink and started rinsing out her leotard, while finally taking care of her thirst.
“Where’s your bag, than I can get your spare one” Elisabeth said. Jasmin started stumbling.
“I I ehm I ah I d didn’t b bring one” she managed to get out, on the verge of tears again.
“What? Why? You know this can happen, right? You said you always bring a spare one! You promised last year when I became your coach” Elisabeth said, obviously annoyed.
Jasmin just started sobbing, not able to bring an intelligible word out. Walked over, grabbed her by her upper arms and sat her down on the nearest bench.
“Can you at least point to your bag, so I can get something to cover you up?” She asked.
Jasmin pointed, and Elisabeth came back with a large towel that she wrapped around Jasmin’s naked body.
“I... I..’m sorry, I’ll always bring one fr from n... n now on” Jasmin managed to say.
She couldn’t describe how ashamed she felt. Sure, it was her first accident in over a year and her first one while doing gymnastics in almost two years, but somewhere she always knew it was bound to happen again, and still she stopped bringing spare leotards. If she just had continued that, she probably wouldn’t be crying right now. She was mainly afraid she couldn’t continue competing.
The toilet door opened, and the blonde girl with the pink leotard came out.
“You can borrow one of mine if it fits you” she said.
“Really? I can’t thank you enough!” Jasmin said, as her face visibly lit up.
“Just make sure you shower first,” the girl said.
“Thank you thank you thank you!” Jasmin said eagerly, while standing up and fixing her towel so it wouldn’t fall. She walked over to the girl and said “Let me hug you!”
“Just... shower. I don’t know which part of you has touched what Then you can see if it fits and hug me if you like,” the girl said, backing away from Jasmin.
“Okay, I’ll make it quick!”
As soon as Jasmin was done showering and drying herself, wearing just a towel like before, she approached the girl and surprised her by hugging her intensely.
“Oh, hey, hai, ehm, right there, you can choose between red and pink,” the girl said while immersed in Jasmin’s hug.
“Oh, wow, you have two spare ones, nice!” Jasmin said, seemingly forgotten that she was sobbing just ten minutes before.
Now the other girl’s face reddened. While looking down and moving her right leg to seem as innocent as possible, she answered. “Yeah, ehm, I wet my spare one once or twice so since then I take two spare ones with me.”
“Okay, then I’ll take the red one, so you can take another pink one if you have an accident,” Jasmin said happily. “By the way, what’s your name?”
“Lisa Vines, nice to meet you” she said.
“I’m Jasmin Gardner, nice to meet you too!”
“I kind of already knew that,” Lisa said. “You’re the best gymnast in the region!”
“Haha, I don’t know, I think I still have a lot to learn from Lindsey Atkins I think,” Jasmin said. “She finished higher than me last year in the national championships.”
“Yeah, but you won the Westerland championship!” said Lisa.
“Yeah, but the national championship is way more important, I want to be the best of Füderland!” Jasmin said, while getting herself into Lisa’s red leotard. “I think it fits, by the way,” she added as she was putting her arms in.
“The revised schedule says you’re going on the uneven bars in twenty minutes, by the way,” Elisabeth said, interrupting the two. “And you are on directly afterwards, Lisa, as the last competitor. At first you were first and second, but I managed to change it around while you were showering, otherwise you would have to run now.”
“Oh, wow, they’re trying to get this done quickly. Thanks!” Lisa said.
“By the way, is there some info on Lily? Is she going to be okay?” Jasmin asked.
“Last thing I heard was that she stayed conscious and is out of danger, but she’ll probably need a while to recover. If there’s more I’ll tell you after you’ve won the tournament, now go stretch and get ready!”
As the girls walked back into the gymnasium, Abigail Douglas was just about to start her routine. As she covered her hands in talc, Jasmin just sat down to watch the competition, while drinking from a water bottle to regain some the hydration she lost when she needed to pee. Her coach lifted Abigail up to the higher bar and she started swinging. Two times around the high bar. A turn and the switch to the lower one, which seemed easy for her because of her small posture. After a few rounds, she switched to the high bar again, but... she slipped! She fell down on her stomach, but got up again. Her coach helped her back up to the high bar, but her arms seemed to be trembling now. She didn’t nearly have the amount of confidence she had the first time, and when she let herself fall to start swinging around the bar again, she didn’t have enough velocity and just got around the bar for two simple turns before she jumped off. Jasmin looked at her score from the previous round, which was surprisingly close to the rest of the scores, and got a happy feeling inside; she knew she just had to simply do her simple routine and not fall and she would win it. Sure, she would like to win by actually beating the others at their best, but after the last round that wouldn’t be possible anymore, so she was sort of happy Abigail fell. But she hadn’t really shown the best of her yet today. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she was just second because of the vault. She would have to show something more. She was going for it.
After stretching and watching others get scores not much higher than Abigail’s, it was time. She made sure she had enough talc on her hands and started. Elisabeth helped her up to the high bar, and she started enthusiastically. She did two turns, turned her direction around and launched herself as high as she could; after a double summersault, she got on the high bar in her original swinging direction again and immediately jumped to the low bar with her legs spread and arms down. She grabbed it and turned around it two times like that before letting go and flying, backwards, back to the high bar. She increased her velocity to the maximum and jumped off spectacularly, twisting and turning in all directions but in the end standing perfectly still facing the judges.
YES!
She had let them know what she could do. There was no way she would not win this now. Even the judges were clapping; they normally only see this stuff on TV. Just before Lisa started, Jasmin’s score was announced. The difference with Abigail’s was double what she needed to win. But more importantly; she had shown her capabilities with that last routine. Because winning this competition is nothing special as long as you don’t do it in style.
As she sat down, she got the congratulations and compliments from the other competitors, while also complimenting Abigail for making it interesting, and telling her she should become a top competitor if she could gain a bit more confidence. Meanwhile, Lisa was actually doing okay on the uneven bars, and came in second on that event, making her third in the overall score.
“Will everyone please leave the floor as soon as possible. The awards ceremony will be in 45 minutes in the hall between gymnasium one and two. The futsal match of CFC against Westerland Wanderers is delayed 15 minutes.”
“Really? An awards ceremony in a hall between gymnasiums?” Abigail said, as every athlete and coach was shooed away while forklifts and an army of men streamed into the gymnasium and started to clear everything. Most athletes were still hurrying to put on their warmer clothes over their leotards. “I think they have everything booked for the rest of the day,” Lisa said as she walked up to the rest, having just landed.
“So what do we do now?” Elisabeth said. “Should we just wait in the canteen until the awards ceremony is there?”
“Let’s grab a drink with the podium winners while we’re there,” Abigail’s coach said. “If we’re going to have to wait, we might as well make the best of it.”
“Okay, but first I’ll check if there is more info on Lily, like I promised,” Elisabeth said.
The group of 2 coaches and three gymnasts made their way into the canteen and claimed a round table, and sat waiting for Elisabeth to bring news about Lily Norwood.
“Okay, I have good news!” Elisabeth said. “She has a concussion, one broken rib and some serious bruises, they’re monitoring her for the next two days and doing more checks, but that seems to be everything. She’s been lucky to not have a serious neck or back-injury, so they expect her to be out of bed in a week and swinging from bars again in a few months.”
“Let’s drink to that!” Lisa’s coach, who turned out to also be her father, said. “So, Lisa is sixteen so she can drink alcohol, but I don´t know about you two?”
“I’m seventeen,” Jasmin said.
“Just pretend I was born one month early” Abigail said, with a twinkle in her eyes. Lisa’s father didn’t seem sure about it, but when her coach said ‘for this time’ he agreed to break the law. Two beers, a red wine for Elisabeth and three sweet white wines for the girls were ordered and they had a toast to the podium and Lily’s health. At the entrance of the massive sports complex they were in, you could buy greetings cards, so Elisabeth got one and they, even though nobody knew her before, made a get well card for Lily out of it.
After that, everyone got to know each other more and more and it got pretty sociable. Abigail laughed out loud when Lisa, despite some half-hearted protest, told how she and Jasmin met earlier that day, but after Elisabeth told them about the trail of pee Jasmin had left for her coach, everyone laughed. Jasmin could get a jab back by telling about the two extra leotards of Lisa, after Lisa was only talking about ‘her spare one’. Since they had toasted on two things before, it of course only made sense to get a second round after that, which mainly increased the amount of high-pitched laughter since none of the girls was used to drinking alcohol.
“The awards ceremony for the women’s artistic gymnastics will begin in a few minutes in the hall between gymnasium one and gymnasium two”
They almost forgot! Hurryingly laughing about their silliness, they finished their drinks and got moving. They had even put a podium in the hall, and there actually were more people at the ceremony than there normally would be, as people who walked by stopped to see what was going on.
Standing up and getting out of her warm clothes, to receive her prize, was actually pretty hard for Jasmin, since she wasn’t used to having alcohol in her body. She almost tumbled over as one foot remained stuck in her sweatpants, and Abigail needed to lean against the wall to keep standing. Lisa took no chances; she sat on the podium and wiggled a bit as she pulled her pants down. At this point, Jasmin started to think it was annoying that she couldn’t contain her laughing; the water she drank, combined with the alcohol afterwards, had filled her bladder up again, and laughing felt a bit insecure at this point. But she was certain she was not the only one with a problem; even after Lisa had gotten out of her pants, she was wiggling. Jasmin tried to refrain from automatically grabbing her crotch, which is hard to do while intoxicated. But people were watching them, and she already was having trouble holding her balance constantly at this point. She managed to get her face straight, as did Abigail to the left of her. Lisa, however, seemed to have no trouble with people watching her. As the officials got ready, holding the three medals and bouquets, it was time for her to stand up. As she did so, she grabbed her crotch with her right hand and loudly whispered towards Jasmin, enough for Abigail to hear it too: “I need to peeeeeeee”. Straight faces gone.
“The bronze medal, with a great last stint to make it to the podium, is for Lisa Vines”
Clap, clap, clap.
Lisa’s hand suddenly let go of her crotch, as if she suddenly realised all the people looking on, and with a bit of effort got onto the podium and received her medal and bouquet.
“After a great performance, Abigail Douglas snatched the second place”
Abigail confidently took the step up the podium, but her balance was off and she fell backwards. Luckily Jasmin was still there to catch her, or there would’ve been a second concussion that day. The second try went much better and while laughing she accepted her prize.
“It seems like they have already been celebrating,” (muffled laughter from the crowd, high-pitched uncontrolled laughter from Lisa) “let’s see if the one with the most reason had been doing the same: Jasmin Gardner!”
Jasmin rose to the podium, careful to not make the same mistake as Abigail since hers was the highest and there was nobody to catch her left. But in her focus of not falling backwards, she was caught by the official in front of her, smashing the flowers in between, which even increased Lisa’s laughing. Abigail tried to contain herself, but was obviously entertained. Jasmin felt her face going red though she wasn’t sure if the people in the crowd were laughing at her or at Lisa’s laugh. All she knew is that she would have to keep from laughing or she would not return Lisa’s leotard dry. There she stood, with crossed legs and a red face with a dumb smile, accepting her gold medal and smashed bouquet.
“Congratulations girls! Have a nice further celebration and a thank you for the crowd for turning up, have a nice day!”
Jasmin looked over to her right, and saw Lisa constantly also standing with crossed legs, constantly moving. “Can we go?” she asked. “I’m going!” And she carefully stepped off the podium and walked towards the girls’ changing room, bouquet in one hand, crotch in the other. Jasmin had to follow, so she stepped down from first to third place and down to the ground.
“Can you take our stuff please? I have to ehm... go” she asked Abigail, not waiting for an answer before following Lisa’s footsteps. She saw Elisabeth do a facepalm in the crowd, presumably about the whole ordeal.
“I can make it this time, I can make it this time” Jasmin said to herself. She wasn’t quite sure, she had drunk alcohol before (though two glasses was her maximum), and she had been this desperate before, she had even been more desperate today as you might remember, but she had never combined the two. But she thought she could make it. And she would have. But once in the changing room, she realized a flaw in her thinking; why was she heading to the same toilet as Lisa? She knew it would be occupied!
Even so, she banged on the door while she threw her bouquet on top of Lisa’s. “Hurry up or I’m going to pee your pants!” She said. She couldn’t resist the joke. And it was received, judging from the laughing inside.
“Doesn’t matter, I’m already peeing in them anyway!” Lisa managed to say between laughs. Jasmin didn’t expect this response; she started laughing uncontrollably and lost control over something else. She recognized it was no use; she parted her legs as Lisa’s leotard turned a darker shade of red between Jasmin’s legs and a big, almost clear stream fell down from the centre of it and made a loud splattering noise as it hit the tile floor, and small streams going down her legs towards her feet.
“It’s happening, I’m actually peeing your pants!” Jasmin said.
“Wow, really?” Lisa said as the toilet door opened, revealing Lisa sitting on the toilet with her leotard still on and a puddle in front of the toilet, much like Jasmin’s first accident, and revealing Jasmin’s accident to Lisa, which made Lisa flabbergasted, so that the only sound filling the room was Lisa’s big stream of pee hitting her expanding puddle of pee between her legs.
The door of the changing room swung open and Abigail came in, almost yelling.
“Next time please ask if I maybe too need to – oh,” quieting down as she saw the spectacle in front of her. Then she threw all the clothes in her hands and her bouquet on the ground and ran into the showers. As Jasmin’s splattering slowly died down, another splattering started.
“Is that you or the shower, Abigail?” Lisa asked, with a teasing voice. She got up, as she was done by now, and walked past Jasmin who was still slowly peeing, giving her a view of her ass, which was completely wet. Jasmin followed Lisa, and they both saw how pee was running down Abigail’s legs as she turned on the shower and jumped under it.
“Now it’s the shower” she said. Lisa joined in as all three laughed at what had just happened, while Jasmin first used the squeegee to place her puddle in the shower drain before joining. This way they could wash themselves and their clothes simultaneously.
“Girls, why are you showering with your leotards still on and at least close the door!” Elisabeth’s voice.
“Oh, yeah, the door” Abigail said. “That’s my fault.”
“And why are you showering in your leotard?” Elisabeth continued.
“Well, it got wet anyway, so yeah...” Lisa answered with a grin, as Abigail suddenly seemed more interested in the floor.
“What, all three of you?” Elisabeth said, unbelievingly.
The laughing that followed said enough. Elisabeth walked away, shaking her head, closing the door behind her. And Jasmin thought back to when she still thought this day was dull. In the end it seems like she made two great friends today. |
"Come on! Why can't I go in first?"
Blaze the cat and Sliver the hedgehog stood outside of the comparatively massive door, corroded away with rust and overtaken with vines. Silver couldn't help but look frustrated at his feline friend, whom herself looked frustated at the hedgehog's whining.
"It's too dangerous, Silver," Blaze respites. "Eggman used it as a hideout before the Freedom Fighters drove him out of it. While they did recover as many of his devices as they could, there's no saying that they got all of it. For all we know, some of his technology could still be active in there!"
"Rotor told me that there was nothing left after they went through it! There's no way on Mobius that Eggman could still have some of his gear in there! Come on, Blaze! I can take care of myself!"
Blaze put a hand to her forehead, rubbing it softly.
"Yes, I know, Silver. But, the fact of the matter is that this is EGGMAN we're talking about. Who knows what he could still have cooking in there?"
"Blaze-"
The pyrokinetic princess sighs.
"Listen," she retorts. "I'll go in there and check to see if there's anything immediately dangerous. If I find anything, I'll call out for you, okay?"
"Fine," Silver says, groaning.
He huffs, crossing his arms and turning about face to the door as Blaze walks past him towards the elderly entryway. It takes her only a moment to engulf her hand in flames, running it over the thick layers of vegetation and soon pushing the door open as the last cinders of the previously present plant life evaporate into the breeze.
She enters, unaware of what lies within...
Despite the practically rotting exterior, the interior of the hideout proved itself to be better well kept...despite a serious need of an electrician. Regardless, Blaze continued forth into the bowels of the ghostly-silent facility, snapping her fingers early on, her right thumb acting as a miniature torch.
The cat made her way through empty hall after empty hall, each containing either empty rooms or the shattered remains of robots past. Yet, as strange as it was, there was a single element that remained dominant throughout the rooms. A familiar, yet horribly unexpected smell in the environment given...
Baby powder...
She was sure that her nose was playing tricks on her, but oddly enough, the smell seemed to parambulate throughout the facility. Blaze eventually shrugged it off, yet the confusion as to what Eggman needed with baby powder of all things remained until she managed to make it to the central chamber of the entire outfit.
It was rather small, in comparison to the size of the building. It was circular, the ceiling domelike in nature. No doors, no windows, and the scent of baby powder seemed to be surprisingly nonexistant. The room was practcally as dark as the endless abyss of the cosmos, with the only exception being the light coming from Blaze...and the spotlight mere feet before her.
She walks foreward towards the lone light in the darkness, noting the vertical device basking in the light. It was clyndrical, the base being a pure metal covered in dials and buttons...all unlabeled, of course. It grew upwards, eventually hitting a spherical point.
Thoughts of confusion and fear ran through her head at a million miles per hour, the memory of what Silver said ringing in her ears.
Rotor said there was nothing left after they went through the base...
Yet, here this was.
Blaze soon made her way to the pylon, the air completely still. She lays a single hand on the device...
And that's when things went bad.
The lights immediately flicked into life as the loud whirring of motors overtook the silence by storm. The lights on the pylon immediately start blinking sporadically. Blaze is taken aback for a moment, immediately trying to run away from the seemingly omnipresent death trap, before the first in a series of odd things happened.
From the ceiling, two gloved hands attached to seemingly endless mechnical limbs descend, making a direct bee line towards Blaze.
"What the-"
The twin hands eventually clasp onto Blaze's arms, the grip extremely firm...yet comfortable. She struggles to escape their grip for a moment, finding her efforts to incinerate the frightening fingers utterly...fruitless?
Before she can contemplate why her powers have failed her, a very familiar voice rings out over the intercom, promptly giving shivers down the feline's spine.
"Well, well, well...what do we have here?"
"What do you want with me, Eggman? You know what I can do!"
"Oh, yes. I assuredly know what you're about to do, and I've already taken precautions...can't make a mess all over the floor now, can't we?"
"Make a mess? Wh-wh-"
Blaze suddenly found it harder to concentrate as a full swarm of gloved hands fell from the ceiling with an immediate speed to them, each carrying various...baby supplies?
She confusedly tries to ponder just what is going on to her as the hands start to take off her pants, promptly replacing the cloth garment with a diaper of all things, thick and white as a cloud, the only exceptions of this plain color being a pink tape landing area and matching tapes...along with the madman's insignia plastered onto the crotch.
"What are you doing to me, Eggman?!?" Blaze semi-wearily replies as a hand proceeds to pour copius amounts of baby powder into her fresh new nappy.
"It's fairly simple, Princess. You see, you have the ability of pyrokinesis. I've seen your power up close and personal, and frankly, dear...you've become too strong. So, with that in mind, I've decided to break out an old prototype for a device I meant to use on Princess Sally. On the bright side, it'll sap your pyrokinetic energies out like a sponge in water..."
The hand finishes pouring powder as he speaks, giving Blaze a slap on her padded butt, causing a bit of powder to errupt from her padding into the air, and an awkward look on her face.
The hands all pull back into the ceiling as he finishes speaking...including the ones restraining the now crinkly kitty. Blaze stands there awkwardly, looking down at her diaper. An audible crinkling emerges as she tries to put her legs together. She feels some air rush slightly as she pokes at the Eggman sigil on her padding, her finger somewhat sinking into the overly poofy Pampers. Her look is uncertain, the pylon mudding her thoughts with mental fog as thick as...well, the thing currently strapped to her butt. She tries to take a few steps, unsteadily waddling as her audible outer-underwear makes itself known with every step. The vague thought of trying to escape passes her thought...yet the strange feeling in her tummy proves to be more important to her.
"On the down side...well...I'm sure you'll be finding out in a few moments...Ciau!"
The intercom clicks off, ending the the ramblings of the mad doctor...however, there were more pressing matters for the Princess.
Blaze starts to hug her stomach as the funny feeling continues to increase with every audible grumble, her desperation for this horrible sensation to finally end growing with every second. She tries harder and harder to hold in what seemed to be in a hurry to escape her body like a bullet train. Occasional farts, loud and slightly muffled by her diaper, start slipping out as she tries to pull her legs together. The farts and tummy rumbles grew stronger and stronger as the formerly-pyrokinetic princess desperately tried to hold back in the oncomng storm, Heaven and Hell were practically waging war in her bowels, everything ached, and then..
Pandora's box opened.
It started with a simple stream of pee, flowing continuously into her diaper like a minature floodgate. Her legs feel like jelly as it keeps coming in at full force, her Pampers gulping it up like a Mobian in the desert who had come across an oasis. Her tail slowly starts to curl up under the diaper, which had started to swell up, becoming a cloudy yellow. Blaze felt a cocktail of emotions as her cheeks turned bright red, her hands unsure of what to do as she had wet herself like a 2-year-old.
Then, the fun came around. Before she can realize it, her tail shoots back up into the air, stiff as a rod. She squats down, quickly realizing what the pressure was leading to. She continues to flood her diaper as she begins to drop a massive load, almost completely without any control of what was going on. She slightly reels back as the thick, brown mass starts unloading itself out of her and into the butt of her Luvs. It starts piling up in the padding as Blaze is occasionally forced to push more of the smelly gunk out. Loud farts, almost sounding as if they were unmuffled, made way for continuous streams of poop that poked and prodded at the padding before falling to the pile within.
Blaze's diaper continued to bulge and expand, to the point where she had simply stopped paying attention to the rapidly bulging butt pillow swaddled around her waist. She almost feels relief in this moment, happy to be rid of the pain and suffering the waste was building inside of her, yet she holds her hands to her chest, occasionally clenching her fists in order to push out what would become another lump in her nappy. Her face is as red as a tomato as she stops for a moment, the flow seemingly done...only for it to require a rather large push.
Grunts and minutes of effort on excavating the caverns of her intestines lead to an absolutely massive fart, almost as loud as an explosion, followed by her machine gunning the insides of her Pampers with even more force and consistency. Her peeing only seems to keep going in time with her poop. She squats once again, hoping for some sort of relief from her relief.
This continues on for what seems like an eternity to the padded princess, only for a savior to arise.
"Blaze!"
Silver flies his way into the room, as Blaze drops another load in surprise, it addng another lump to her stupendiously-stocked diaper.
"I heard a loud noise outside and I..."
He stops for a moment, trying to comprehend just what has happened to his comerade.
"...Blaze?!?"
Blaze "stood" there, her face in a combination of shock, discomfort, and relief. Her diaper was absolutely massive, having tuned to a near-solid brown color with a white-ish tint, the upper part of her padding a clearly visible yellow. It was bulging in almost every possible way, used so much to the point where it had hit the floor and was currently growing out under the bog-butted feline at a consistent pace.
"Are yo-"
She's busy attempting to squat in her magnificently massive Luvs, her hands on her diaper in an attempt to find a solid surface to push upon. She gestures behind her, at the pylon.
Despite the massive stink, Silver puts two and two together. He quickly holds out his hand towards the infernal contraption as a light blue-ish green aura glows around it. He balls his hand into a fist, causing the thing to crush itself into a ball of scrap metal.
A final look of relief appears on her face as she finally empties out the last of the pylon-induced waste out of her body, falling asleep as a final climatic fart escapes her butt. Her tail finally lowers, as her padding stops growing, now a gigantic, squishy, smelly blob taped to her. She slumps back, not exactly falling over as the padding keeps her upright.
Silver looks in shock, closing his nose with his hand.
"Blaze...What happened?"
He looks about Blaze, peacefully snoring as her feet occasionally swing off the floor, and can't help but notice the muddied red insignia on the front...
He clenches his fist in recognition.
"Eggman..."
He knew what he had to do. His enemy had finally striked his closest friend, reducing her to the equivalent of an infant, peacefully sleeping in her own waste. He had to take action, immediately...
Another loud fart escaped from Blaze's mushy bottom.
But first, he had to get his friend changed.
A fact easier said, than done. |
Clare McIntyre was going to wet herself.
Or maybe she wouldn’t, but either way Cal had never seen anyone so obviously, frantically, blatantly desperate as Clare McIntyre was the moment he turned from the dimly lit hall into the alcove outside the bathroom in Rob Stevenson’s house.
She was pacing with small steps and biting her lower lip in desperation. Her right hand pressed her short black dress firmly against her crotch. And then she saw him, smiled, stood up straight, and moved her hand away so quickly and smoothly that in Cal’s inebriation he might have believed that he had just imagined that Clare really, really needed to pee.
Except that she was still bouncing. And that she said, “Hey. How’s it going?” and then without waiting for him to reply, “I am literally about to pee myself!” She grinned at him. It was even possible, Cal thought, that she might need the bathroom as much as he did. Possible, but not likely.
He’d put off this bathroom trip way, way, too long. Which wasn’t like him, but when you are mostly smashed on Karloff and Sprite at one of those house parties the Summer after finishing High School and Laura Presting, fucking Laura Presting, is wrapped around you on the lounge with her tongue halfway down your throat and your hand three-quarters of the way up her dress you don’t get up to go to the toilet until you absolutely have to.
Cal absolutely had to go to the toilet. If Clare hadn’t been standing there in the tiny alcove outside Rob Stevenson’s bathroom door he would have definitely held himself as well. But Clare and Cal certainly weren't good enough friends to be touching themselves in front of each other. Drunk or not. So instead they just paced and bounced.
“Yeah. Um. I have to go as well.” Cal finally answered.
Clare grinned again. “Well you can’t go before me. Dude before me has been like five fucking minutes already. Actually…” She banged on the door and got a muffled “Just a minute!” in reply.
“George Mitchell if you are taking a shit in there I will fucking kill you! Like literally dude!” She smiled back at Cal to suggest she was just joking. She might have been. She switched gears. “So Cal… You and Laura, eh? Punching above your weight much?”
“Uh… Yeah I guess.” That hurt his feelings. He knew it was true, but true things always hurt more.
Clare put her hand on his shoulder, without stopping her bouncing for an instant, “Dude. I’m kidding. You’re a really good guy you know… And trust me, Laura really isn’t all that.”
She stopped bouncing and crossed her legs quickly. “Fuck it. I can’t wait. I’m going to have to go in the backyard.”
She took three steps past Cal then turned her head and called back. “Are you coming? Or are you planning on wetting yourself waiting on George’s bowels?”
***
“I’m going to pee behind this bush.” Clare motioned to an overgrown Grevillea without looking back. “Keep watch for me, eh?” She was effectively out of sight. If Cal stared at the bush he could maybe, sort of, tell that someone was behind it. But he didn’t really need to stand watch for Clare, there weren’t very many people in the backyard. None at all this far down. Rob’s family had a big yard full of shrubs and trees. There could be half a dozen people peeing down here right at this moment and Cal wouldn’t have known.
He didn’t mind though. Walking had helped take the pressure off his bladder, he didn’t even need to go any more. It must have just been sitting on the lounge or standing outside a bathroom door that had made him feel like he was busting. He’d wait for Clare and then go see if Laura was still waiting for him inside.
“I feel literally 1000 times better!” Claire exclaimed as she reemerged from behind the Grevillea. “OK, so… Oh!” She looked surprised for an instant and then asked in the voice she’d used earlier, when she’d reassured him that she thought he was a good person, “Have you have an accident or something?”
“What?” Cal said in confusion. Clare flicked her eyes down to his jeans for a beat.
The moment he saw the darkness down his legs he felt the wetness. “Oh shit..” his voice rose in pitch.
Clare put her hand on his arm, “It’s cool, don’t worry about it, these things happen.” She grinned at him. “Swear I won’t tell anyone.”
“I think I better head home now.” Cal mumbled in embarrassment. Clare spoke quickly, she had always got excited planning things. “I’ll cover you. Walk up the driveway next to the fence, most people have gone inside or gone home. I’ll walk between you and the house. It’s pretty dark. No one will look twice anyway. We’ve got this!”
Cal’s heart pounded the entire walk up the driveway to the street in front of the house. She was right though. The few people outside didn’t even glance at them. “Well good luck on the walk home, dude.” Clare flashed her grin. “I’m going to go the other way” She nodded toward the other end of the street.
“Yeah. Hey… Thanks Clare… You’re a really good person yourself.”
She rolled her eyes, “See even if you didn’t just pee yourself I’d know you were drunk now.” She took a step away and then stopped, “Hey, have you ever wet yourself before?”
“No.” Cal answered quickly and with indignation.
Clare looked at his face for a second, “You’re lying!” She grinned at him, “I can tell!” And then pivoted on her heel and walked away from him.
Cal turned sideways to every passing car to try to hide his jeans from the drivers in case they were someone he knew. He didn’t get home for over an hour.
By that time Clare was long asleep in her bed, her wet knickers in the wash. |
Author's Note: Hi everyone, it's been quite a while since I contributed anything and I recently was struck with a bit of inspiration for a quick story. As a warning, this is my first ever attempt at a Harry Potter fanfiction and it's been a few years since I've read the books, so I fear some dialogue may be out of character. In addition, this was written in one sitting rather late at night, so I hope you'll forgive any spelling or grammatical errors. Please feel free to comment with constructive criticism and I hope you all enjoy it!
Ginny’s Predicament
Nearly three years had passed since the downfall of Lord Voldemort and the end of the second wizarding war. Though the scars and grief from war still lingered, peace and joy had at long last returned to the wizarding world.
Ginny gave a sidelong glance as yet another group of people stopped and gaped as she and Harry walked past.
“You would think that after these last few years I’d have gotten used to the attention you attract, but it still never ceases to amaze me.” Ginny said in a low voice so that only Harry would hear her. “Dunno why you would think it’s just me who attracts attention, you’re a former member of Dumbledore’s Army and a famous witch yourself you know.” He replied with a grin. Ginny rolled her eyes at him. “Yes I’m sure it’s quite a contest between me and the famous Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, and the one who defeated the most powerful dark wizard in history.” Harry gave her an apologetic look. “I’m afraid it’ll only get worse once the Daily Prophet gets word that you are soon to be Mrs. Ginevra Potter.” Ginny beamed at him and squeezed his hand tighter. “I knew quite well what I was signing up for when I fell in love with you and not for a single moment have I regretted it.”
It had only been a week ago when Harry had proposed and Ginny felt as if she had been living in a dream ever since.
“I swear, if I see a single headline using Ginevra instead of Ginny, each and every writer down at the Daily Prophet will be on the receiving end of one of my Bat-Bogey hexes.” Ginny said with a scowl. Harry chuckled knowing quite well that she would eagerly carry out her threat.
Harry had long since gotten used to the gaping mouths and pointed fingers, but on this particular day nothing would be dampening his mood. The couple continued their walk through town, hand in hand, eager to meet up with their good friends and fellow couple Ron and Hermione for lunch.
Half an hour later found each couple together on opposite sides of a picnic table at a nearby park. After hearing about Harry and Ginny’s engagement Hermione had insisted they celebrate. With the beautiful spring weather and a delicious picnic Hermione had made, it was a wonderful celebration. In addition, they had found a rather secluded area of the park to ensure they were left to enjoy one another’s company in peace without a gaggle of onlookers.
“Honestly mate I really am happy for you and Ginny, There’s no one else I’d rather see my sister with.” Ron was saying with a somewhat serious look at Harry. “But blimey Harry you have no idea what you’ve started. She won’t admit it, but now you’ve gone and gotten Hermione jealous, been giving me the cold shoulder all week. You’ve gone and put the bloody idea in her head now.” Ron muttered in a low voice so only Harry would hear him. Fortunately Ginny and Hermione were paying the two of them no mind, as they eagerly gossiped and discussed wedding planning.
Harry grinned and gave a small laugh as he listened to his friend’s complaints. He was only half paying attention however, as his attention was focused on his girlfriend sitting beside him. She looked particularly pretty today. Her long, straight red hair reaching the middle of her back was shining brilliantly in the spring sunshine. Today she wore a casual attire of faded light blue jeans and a green and gold t-shirt featuring a logo of her favorite Quidditch team; the Holyhead Harpies.
Harry took one more careful glance at his friends. Ron was oblivious as he was rambling on about a recent adventure involving his older brother Charlie, while Ginny and Hermione were paying him no mind whatsoever as they were excitedly discussing guest lists and other various wedding plans.
With only the slightest of movements Harry carefully slipped his wand into his hand. Keeping his wand out of sight under the picnic table, he gave a slight flourish and whispered, “Omo rashirio”. As soon as his spell was cast he had instantly snuck his wand back into his pocket and was nodding and laughing as he pretended to be listening to Ron’s story.
Ginny was eagerly listening to Hermione talk about a wedding article she had read in Witches Weekly when an all too familiar feeling suddenly hit her. Her entire body tensed and she stole a quick glance over at her boyfriend. Though he appeared to be laughing and talking with her brother, she had known him long enough to catch the slightly mischievous glint in his eyes, confirming her suspicions.
Though life as the girlfriend of the famous Harry Potter was always full of surprises, there had been one surprise that nothing could have prepared her for.
After the end of the war against Voldemort, Harry and Ginny had wasted little time in reuniting and rekindling their relationship. Unsurprisingly their love had grown stronger and stronger and before long they had started living together. With things being so crowded in the Burrow it only took a little persuading for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to give them their blessing. Living together in the house Harry had bought in Godric’s Hollow made them not only grow closer, but also discover a number of new things about one another. One of the many things Ginny had learned was a certain strange interest of Harry’s.
For Ginny’s last birthday her friend Luna Lovegood had given her a rather raunchy book titled “The Seductive Witch’s Guide to Spicing up Your Love Life”. She and Harry had been involved sexually with one another for quite some time so she had been skeptical of how much use she could really find in the book. However, after an afternoon of reading she found a number of things that had piqued her curiosity. So later that night, after a few hours of cuddling on the couch drinking Firewhiskey a very tipsy Ginny had been flirting and teasing a drunk Harry for a while. After a while she had managed to steer the conversation towards certain “kinks” they had. She had been surprised when Harry had stiffened and almost immediately sobered up. He had a nervousness that she rarely saw in him and he had quickly tried to change the subject. However, Ginny was immensely curious then and refused to let the matter drop. Finally after several minutes of begging and pleading she managed to get him to give an exasperated sigh.
“You just won’t let this go will you?” Harry said in an anxious voice.
“Harry I have no idea what you’re being so secretive about. I just want to know something you might like to spice things up a little, like a fantasy you’ve always wanted to play out.” Ginny said trying to reassure him.
Harry gave her a sidelong glance full of apprehension.
“Come on Harry I can tell there’s something you’re hiding. Just tell me what this big secret is, you know I don’t scare that easily.”
“Fine, but if I tell you and you think it’s weird or disgusting don’t think you’ll upset me. I would never make you do anything that you didn’t like.” Harry said.
Red-faced, he had proceeded to grudgingly explain that for as long as he could remember he’d had a certain strange fetish involving girls peeing. It wasn’t just any normal interest in peeing though, more specifically, he had an interest in girls being really desperate to pee and wetting their clothes.
After reading Luna’s book she knew about some of the common fetishes and kinks. This however was certainly not one she had read about.
“So you’re saying you want me to have a wee in my pants?” Ginny asked as Harry’s face flushed even more. “Well that isn’t nearly as bad as what you had me imagining after how long it took to drag it out of you.” Ginny said with a thoughtful look on her face as she pondered this new discovery.
“Really? You don’t think it’s weird or disgusting?” Harry said in bewilderment.
“Well it’s certainly different and not quite what I was expecting, but I don’t see a problem with it. I wouldn’t mind trying it for you.” Ginny said with a grin.
From then onwards the two began experimenting and though Ginny did find it rather embarrassing, she was happy that she could do something so simple for Harry to enjoy. She quickly found that “enjoyment” was a major understatement for Harry. The look of utter fascination and the sexual hunger in his eyes whenever she indulged in his kink was unlike anything she had seen from him, and the more desperate she got, the greater his enjoyment.
Recently, Harry had discovered and begun using a certain spell on her quite frequently when she wasn’t expecting it. The spell was designed to act like the most powerful diuretic imaginable, speeding up the process of her bladder immensely. Growing up in a crowded house with several older brothers had given her remarkable bladder strength, which frustrated Harry to no end when he had tried to cause her to have a real accident. However, this spell was able to push even her bladder to its limits with remarkable speed.
“Ginny?”
Ginny pulled herself away from her thoughts as she realized Hermione had asked her a question. She forced herself to put up a relaxed appearance as she focused on talking to Hermione, despite the slight sense of panic she was feeling. While Harry had cast this spell on her before, this was the first time he had done it in public, and in front of her brother and her best friend no less! She could already feel Harry’s spell going to work on her bladder and she immediately regretted drinking so much of the lemonade Hermione had brought for the picnic.
Harry gleefully talked and ate with his friends, all the while keeping an eye on his girlfriend. Though Ron and Hermione seemed oblivious, Harry was familiar enough with Ginny to notice the signs of her growing discomfort. She was sitting rather stiffly now and had a tense look hidden behind her seemingly relaxed expression. Though he did feel slightly guilty putting her in this situation without her permission, he couldn’t help but feel eager to see how his fiery girlfriend would deal with this. He knew that there weren’t any loos nearby and he knew his fiery girlfriend had far too much pride to relieve herself behind a bush or tree. Besides, even if she wanted to, Hermione and Ron’s presence completely negated that option.
Suddenly as Ron and Hermione began one of their frequent bouts of bickering, Ginny took the opportunity to lean over and whisper in his ear.
“Merlin’s beard, Harry, you’re downright evil.” Ginny said with a glare.
“Oh, is something wrong Gin’?” Harry asked with a small smirk.
“You know damn well what's bloody wrong. Im absolutely bursting, I’m gonna get you back for this and don’t think for a second this is going to work on me.” She hissed. Despite her words, Harry could see evidence of the contrary. Ginny was now pressing her thighs together and couldn’t help shifting in her seat occasionally as the pressure began to mount.
The picnic dragged on for what seemed like ages for Ginny. Things were getting progressively more difficult for the young witch with each minute that passed. Her bladder felt like a swollen balloon in her midsection and the tight jeans she was wearing did nothing to aid her struggle. At this point she was having trouble focusing on the conversation as her situation grew more urgent. Unfortunately for Ginny, Hermione was sharp and had taken notice of Ginny’s discomfort.
“Are you feeling well Ginny? You look sort of pale.” Hermione asked in concern.
“N-no I’m fine Hermione.” Ginny said and quickly changed the subject as she tried not to groan when Hermione suddenly picked up the pitcher of lemonade and refilled her glass.
Meanwhile, from his side of the table Harry had been watching eagerly as the signs of Ginny’s desperation became more obvious. Beneath the table her legs were twisted tightly and one of her slender hands was pressed between her thighs. Seeing his normally strong and willful girlfriend losing composure like this was a rare sight.
Ginny was getting nervous now. This was different from when she was alone with Harry. She was in public and right in front of Ron and Hermione! She absolutely couldn’t have an accident here, but she had no idea how she could get out of this situation. She had no idea where the nearest loos were and at this point even if she did, she wasn’t entirely sure that she would make it there with dry jeans.
She tried to shoot Harry a pleading look when she didn’t think Ron and Hermione were looking. However, he remained seemingly oblivious, though she could feel his eyes watching her every move. Suddenly, Ginny felt the tendrils of icy cold fear surge through her. A small spurt of liquid warmth had escaped her control and soaked into her pink cotton knickers. Ginny forced both hands against her crotch fighting to keep control as her body fought to release the torrent of pee in her bladder. Thankfully she managed to keep the loss of control limited to the one spurt. However, now the urge for relief was far more powerful due to her now warm and wet knickers pressing against her womanhood. There was more than that though, for some odd reason the unintentional loss of control and warm wetness was creating another much more pleasant feeling. Was she actually getting turned on when she was the closest she’d been to having an accident in public since she was a first year at Hogwarts?
“Sis are you sure you feel ok? You look like you ate a batch of fever fudge or something.” Ron said, now noticing her flushed face and squirming himself.
“Yes, Ronald I’m fine, it’s just a little warm out is all.” Ginny snapped, flustered that even her thickheaded brother was catching on to her predicament.
“I dunno Gin, maybe you sh-“
Suddenly Ron was cut off as Hermione jumped up from the picnic table.
“Ron! It’s half past three, we have the meeting with the head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement in fifteen minutes. You promised to help me with my pitch about S.P.E.W. to her to raise awareness for house elves!” Hermione said in a panic as she whipped out her wand. In seconds all the items from the picnic were sent flying haphazardly into her magically expanded bag.
“Sorry for the rush Harry, Ginny, see you later!” Hermione said in a rush, spinning on the spot and disapparating with a loud pop.
“Oh lovely an afternoon at the ministry arguing for house elf rights, wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Ron groaned with a roll of his eyes.
“Cya later you two.”
With another loud pop, Ron had disapparated leaving Harry and Ginny alone at the picnic table.
Harry turned with a cautious grin to his girlfriend expecting an earful of her fiery temper. However, she was simply sitting staring at the top of the picnic table, both hands wedged between her thighs.
“Ginny are you-“
Suddenly whatever Harry was about to say was lost as a loud hissing noise filled the air. Ginny’s face was flushed as red as her hair and she was trembling all over as she lost complete control. Her jeans immediately grew several shades darker and urine pooled around her bottom and trickled off the edge of her seat. Harry sat speechless and gaped at her in awe as he watched her have a full blown wetting accident. A telltale pitter patter sound joined the loud hissing, as pee splashed on to the dry hard ground below, forming a sizable puddle.
For two and a half minutes the young witch was lost in her own world as she remained frozen in place. Finally the torrent of pee slowed, and then at long last tapered off as Ginny Weasley finished wetting her pants in public for the first time in years.
Suddenly both of their heads shot up as they heard voices and footsteps approaching from the distance. Acting fast, Harry quickly pulled his invisibility cloak out and draped it over himself and Ginny.
For a long moment they sat huddled together under the cloak as the voices and footsteps got closer. As they waited Harry became acutely aware of the fragrant and distinctly feminine scent of Ginny’s pee which was still dripping from her jeans.
“Here they come Ginny, it’s just a few joggers. Once they leave we can apparate home and get you chang-“ Harry was cut off as suddenly Ginny’s soft lips collided with his in a passion filled kiss. The two sat hidden from the world under the invisibility cloak the only sign of their presence being a large and quite fresh puddle of urine below them. Finally after what felt like an eternity they broke apart. Harry could only stare in bewilderment at his future wife who he had just forcibly made pee her pants. Her long red hair was disheveled, her face was flushed a deep crimson, and inexplicably, undeniably, lust was clear in her eyes.
“I think I may be beginning to enjoy this interest of yours Harry Potter.”
“Well I suppose we’ll be needing to do this more often then Ginny Potter.” |
1. Sakura
As a child, Sakura had no unusual ability. A brazen and unashamed girl, she had no qualms about relieving herself outside while on missions. However, once she grew older and graduated from her training with Lady Tsunade, her regular toilet habits changed considerably. Her muscle strength and discipline now allowed her to wait for nearly a full day without emptying her bladder, although she still gets uncomfortable after extended periods on the field.
2. Hinata
Throughout her childhood, Hinata's shyness and introverted personality caused her to always hide her need to pee from her friends and family, and also made her reluctant of using public restrooms. While she was training at the Ninja Academy, she regularly skipped lunch in order to run back home to use the toilet. However, due to the unpredictable nature of her training schedules, she was often unable to do so. This resulted in a few humiliating accidents that somewhere broke her self-confidence and further increased her shy and timid nature. However, regularly holding to her limit increased her capacity over time. As a teenager, after she shed her protective emotional shell and took her place as one of the most powerful kunoichi in the village, she learned to hold beyond her normal limit using her willpower alone. She now has one of the largest and most durable bladders of all.
3. Temari
Being raised alongside Gaara and Kankurō, and regularly engaging in life-threatening skirmishes has forced this beautiful kunoichi to develop muscles and a strong will from an early age. While she cannot hold as much as many others, she still has a large capacity when compared to most shinobi. She often plants her giant fan in the ground as a makeshift Shoji screen when she needs to relieve herself alongside her squad, and is rather unashamed of doing so.
4. Tsunade
The Fifth Hokage undoubtedly has one of the largest bladders in the entire shinobi world. While fighting against Amegakure-nin during the Second Shinobi World War, she managed to hold her bladder for two consecutive days. A feat that is clearly impossible for any normal human being. Her habit of drinking alcohol has only pushed her holding abilities even further. She is known to drink copious amounts of Sake in a single sitting and abstain from using the toilets for long periods of time thereafter. The only people to ever witness the legendary kunoichi relieve herself are Sakura and Shizune, both of whom were amazed at the sheer quantity of pee that she had produced.
5. Karin
For an ordinary kunoichi her like, it may seem uncharacteristic that she is able to hold as much as she does. However, in her long travels as a part of Team Taka, she has been forced to wait till the very last moment on several occasions, resulting in some pretty close calls. Unwilling to let the guys know about her need to pee, Karin has taken her bladder capacity to the extremes, all while keeping a straight face.
6. Samui
She is habitual to putting off her need to pee for considerable periods of time. Being a dedicated kunoichi, she always prioritizes her work over her own needs. Hence she is often walking around the village with an urgent need to urinate.
7. Shizune
Apprentice of the uncaring and insensitive Lady Tsunade, she often had no choice but to hold herself while in the Fifth Hokage’s presence. When she first joined Tsunade, she was regularly brought to her limits, leaking into her robe and even fully wetting herself on two separate occasions. As time went on, her bladder strengthened simply from repeatedly filling to its capacity, and she is now able to contain much more than what can be reasonably expected from a kunoichi like her.
8. Mei
An extremely powerful woman on her own merits, her regular capacity outmatches just about anyone else. Her habit of postponing her toilet breaks for too long, has often led her into desperate situations. However, being a grandmaster in Water-Based Jutsu, she has taken it much further with secret techniques of her own invention, that allow both inhuman bladder capacity and even limited relief without anyone knowing.
9. Ino
A cheerful but bossy girl, Ino believed herself to be able to hold much more than most kunoichi her age. However, in reality she often ignores her bladder’s signals until it is nearly too late. This has led her to leak into her leg wraps on several occasions and she has been forced to relieve herself during missions at the worst of times.
10. Tenten
Though she is a willful and tenacious girl, her holding abilities are not extraordinary. The fact that she doesn’t feel shy when it comes to admitting her need to pee to her teammates, only highlights her tomboyish demeanor. Although, her feminine side is revealed from the fact that she tries not to hold herself between the legs when she feels desperate around people.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Biograhpy Credits - Bulge_Lover |
A/N: Writing this was always something I went back and forth on. I knew there was at least someone out there who wanted it, maybe more than one (I've had a few anons, but who knows how many people were behind that), and I had the idea in my head. On the other hand, writing Rorschach always seemed like a challenge, particularly in this situation. I hope that I did alright, now that I've finally buckled down and done it, and I hope I'm not too big of a disappointment. Also, Dan is lowkey into it.
On some nights, patrolling the city could be an incredibly dull affair. Sometimes even crime seemed to get bored with itself, and only the pettiest criminals remained to be picked off. Dan Dreiberg didn't think that it should be his job to pick those off, that the littler things should be left to the police. His partner disagreed.
Rorschach had been difficult to work with from the start, but Dan had always been able to manage. After all, they covered so much more ground working together, accomplished so much more, and he felt like the other man might be a little bit lonely, though he would likely never admit it. That assumption could be entirely wrong- Dan knew nothing of his life outside of this, after all- but he could not shake the feeling that he was doing a different sort of good by attempting to befriend Rorschach.
He tried to keep that in mind when the other man was difficult, which was often, and so he tried to keep that in mind when they faced what seemed to be another one of those dull, event-free nights. He had tried, as always, to propose that they call it a night early on, but Rorschach had only muttered, “Can't. Won't miss anything.” Dan had sighed in frustration, but gone along with it.
So now they were a few hours into the night with nothing to show for their efforts. They kept to the shadows, as they always did- if it was known that Nite Owl and Rorschach were roaming around in the open, there were a number of things that could go wrong for them. They saw nothing out of place, but Rorschach only insisted that that was further reason for them to continue. He claimed that the city could only be that quiet if something big were about to happen.
But that wasn't the case, and so much time had passed that Dan was starting to get tired, and he was starting to get tired of humoring his partner. It was then that he noticed, not for the first time, that something about Rorschach was off. He had seemed agitated- or, more agitated than usual- for a while, and it was steadily getting worse.
Dan couldn't quite put his finger on what could be bothering him- boredom, maybe?- but his walking seemed almost erratic, every other step accompanied by a jerky movement, and he would pause more often than usual, even when there was nothing worth stopping for. Every time he stopped, he would clench his fists before he resumed walking, but never said a word to Dan about what was going on.
He wanted to ask what was bothering his partner, but he knew he would be met with silence or a vague sort-of answer, so he kept to himself and continued to observe his movements and try to glean what was wrong from that. After some time of watching this strange pattern, he heard what he thought to be a low groan coming from the other man, and again he wanted to just ask what was wrong.
But then he noticed exactly what Rorschach did when he stopped momentarily, observed the exact nature of his fidgeting. Judging from the way he squeezed his legs together like he did, even if it was only for a moment, one possibility for these actions became clear to Dan.
His partner had to piss.
Of course, everyone did at some point, and he supposed it shouldn't surprise him as much as it did, but something about Rorschach had always seemed just slightly inhuman, and Dan would forget that he had all of the same bodily functions as everyone else. And he had never seen Rorschach like this before, had never seen him actually in need of a bathroom, but now, it was becoming more and more obvious that that was the situation.
And now that he had noticed, it became all the more obvious. Whenever Rorschach would jerk, or pause, Dan kept his eyes trained low and saw that yes, the man was definitely squeezing his legs together for the briefest of seconds, and sometimes, he would tap a clenched fist against his thigh as if he were debating pressing it between his legs.
It was a situation Dan knew better than he liked, having had some issues getting in and out of his costume in the early days, as well as poor planning skills. He knew what it was like to be forced to wait when you really felt like you couldn't, but the thing was, nothing was happening. There was nothing stopping Rorschach from taking a break and disappearing down an alley, or even calling it quits and heading back to wherever it was that he lived.
From what he could tell, his partner had every intention of continuing until he was certain that there was nothing going on, and who knew when that would be? He didn't seem to have any plans of stopping or breaking any time soon, even with it becoming more obvious that his little problem was becoming quite the burden.
It hit him that perhaps Rorschach was just stubborn enough to think that he could just ignore a problem like that until he was ready to face him. In fact, the more Dan thought about it, the more he could see the other man doing just that, and he wondered if he should say something, maybe try to help out a little.
“Sure is quiet tonight, huh?” he asked. Rorschach grunted in response, so Dan continued with, “Probably means it's all clear, wouldn't you say?”
“Could mean anything,” was the only response he got.
“Well, yeah, but we've been all around and haven't seen much of anything,” he said, trying not to be thrown off. “I'd say it wouldn't matter if we called it a night and headed home early.”
Rorschach shook his head. “No, can't afford to be careless. You can.”
It was all he could do not to groan at this. There were times when he admired his partner's attitude, but there were also times when it drove him crazy, and this was definitely a situation that more fit to the latter. Here he was, giving him a perfect excuse to at least take a break, and he was being met with nothing but stubborn refusal.
There was another stretch of near-silence, broken only by an occasional groan that he assumed Rorschach thought he couldn't hear. His desperation was painfully obvious now, to the point that anyone who saw him would be able to tell just from how he walked, and it didn't even look like he would be able to put up a fight if they did encounter any criminals.
Dan had started to notice something else as he watched Rorschach, though it had more to do with himself. He felt a strange sort of discomfort any time he took notice of the other man's behaviors, a quickened pulse and a dull throb in the pit of his stomach that, if he focused on it enough, start to extend downward. The sensation was so similar to another that he knew well enough that it would not be completely off-base to compare them, but he couldn't believe that they were connected. It was too unusual, too out there, to think that this feeling had anything to do with arousal.
His own feelings aside, it was clear that Rorschach was in a bad way and wouldn't last much longer. It was alarming, realizing this his partner was likely on the brink of wetting himself, and also likely to do nothing about it. The whole situation was surreal, seeing him made vulnerable like that, and, though he mostly just wanted to stop it from happening, there was a part of Dan who was very curious about the outcome.
Still, he was a good person at heart, and that part of him won out. “You know, if you want to take a break or something, that'd be fine, right?”
“No, fine like this.” It was so infuriating, the way he could say something like that even though it was obvious that he was not at all 'fine like that'. His steps were jerky and pained, his clenched fists were shaking, and his voice sounded incredibly strained. He was at his very limit, and he still tried to claim he was okay.
Dan was ready to open his mouth and say something, to lay into him about this and let him know that he knew what was going on and that he wasn't going to watch him hurt himself over nothing, when he heard what sounded almost like a whine. Rorschach had completely stopped moving, frozen in place as he let out another sound, this one even more clearly a whine.
He reflexively pressed a hand against the front of his jacket, pressing down between his legs, but it was already too late. He had pressed his jacket down just in time for a dark spot to form on it, growing rapidly before he could realize how futile it was and pull his hand away. One of his pant legs darkened as well, and Dan could hear a hissing sound as his piss hit the concrete.
And this went on for nearly a full minute, both of them still and silent as Rorschach pissed himself. Even after the last of it had emptied out, they still stood in silence, neither one really knowing how to proceed after something like that. Dan could still feel that strange feeling nagging at him, and he still tried to ignore it rather than acknowledge what it meant for him.
Finally, he decided to speak up, not only to try and ease the situation, but also to take his mind off his own feelings. “Are you alright?” he asked. There was no response. “Hey, listen, you know, it happens to everyone sometimes.” Again, no response. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “I mean, sometimes, we just get carried away and-”
“Don't worry about it,” said Rorschach, finally. He seemed eager to drop the subject for good.
“As long as you're feeling better,” said Dan.
“Fine.”
After another moment of silence, Dan said, “Well, I think now would probably be a good time to call it a night, don't you agree?”
“You can,” replied Rorschach. “Will continue alone, in that case. Fine like this.”
A/N: The end. Sorry if this was just completely rotten, I tried my best. |
Here is Part 4 of my story - Enjoy!
PART 4
Wendy entered her living room, after a quick shower and change ofclothes. She now was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. Seeing Mary sitting therein her tan slacks and white blouse, Wendy noticed her shifting uncomfortableas she sat on the sofa. Wendy realized that Mary had not been to thetoilet yet. "Excuse me," said Mary, "but, May I use your bathroom?" Wendysmiled, "Now, you just saw me pee myself. Wouldn’t you like to try holding onas long as possible." "Gee, I don’t know," answered Mary uncertainly. "Haveyou ever peed yourself before?" "Oh!" blushed Mary, "Not since I was inelementary school." "You should have been at work the other night," said Wendy,as she told Mary all about the customer who peed herself in the store, andabout the lady’s daughter who had done a pee on the fitting room floor."You’re kidding! She just pulled her panties aside and peed on the carpet!?"exclaimed Mary incredulously. "Apparently," replied Wendy, "You should haveseen the size of the wet spot on the carpet!" Mary giggled at the thought,then winced as her laughter put pressure on her bladder. "Oh! I have topee!" "Here let me get you a cup of coffee." Wendy went to the kitchen andstarted the coffeemaker. "Here, while the coffee’s brewing, drink this bottle ofwater," she said, handing Mary a small bottle of water.Mary downed the water, and then the coffee, as they continued talking."You know," said Wendy, "I saw my cousin Irene pee herself once, at awedding. It was a long service at the church, and as we were leaving, Irene toldme she really needed to pee, but would wait until we arrived at thereception. We ended up getting lost, and by the time we arrived at the hall, Irenewas absolutely bursting. She managed to get out of the car, but as shewalked to the door, she lost control and peed all down her legs under her dressin the middle of the parking lot!" "Oh how embarrassing!" said Mary, asshe crossed her legs and bounced them up and down. "Irene and I found theladies room, and I helped her clean up. Fortunately, her dress was only alittle wet, but she had to spend the rest of the evening without pantiesunderneath!" "Wow!" exclaimed Mary. And, then the thought of Irene goingpantieless, struck her as funny. (*Laugh*) "Oh God!" (*Laugh*) "I have to pee!"Wendy, noting that Mary was now wriggling her bum all over the sofa,continued, "I also saw a woman leaving the bar at the mall one night. She wasdrunk off her ass, staggering all over, and doing an obvious "pee dance".She walked out to her car, as I followed as well as I could, and halfwaythere her left heel broke off. She fell backwards onto her ass, and as Iwalked past I couldn’t believe my eyes. Her skirt had ridden up, and with helegs splayed open, I could see all the way up her legs. And here’s the bestpart: She wasn’t wearing panties, and I could see her pee spraying out in ahuge jet from between her pussy lips!" (*Laugh*) "Oh God!" (*Laugh*) "Thatis too funny!" "Oh God! Don’t make me laugh!" (*Laugh*) "I’ll peemyself!", laughed Mary. "Oh God! I’m going to pee myself!"Wendy could see that Mary was absolutely bursting, now. "Come on!Let’s go into the kitchen. There’s linoleum there."Wendy led Mary, who hobbled there with clenched thighs as she couldbarely hold her bladder now. Mary went to sit, but Wendy stopped her. "No,you have to stay standing, now!" "But, it’s harder to hold it that way,"protested Mary. "Too bad!" laughed Wendy.Mary started prancing on the spot. She started stepping from foot tofoot, stopping every so often to bend at the waist and squeeze her legstogether as her bladder threatened to let go."Are you ticklish?" asked Wendy with a devilish grin on her face. "Nodon’t!" replied Mary as Wendy tried to tickle her stomach. "NO! NOOOOO!"(*Laugh*) "OH GOD NO!" (*Laugh*) "STOOOOP ITTTT!" (*Laugh*) "YOU’RE GOING TOMAKE ME PEE MYSELF!" (*Laugh*) "OH GOD!"Wendy relented for a moment, and Mary gasped, "Oh God! I’m going to peemyself!" This just encouraged Wendy, and she started tickling Mary again,(*Laugh*) "NOOOOOO!" "(*Laugh*) "OH MY GOOOOOD!" (*Laugh*) "NOOOOOO!"(*Laugh*) "I’M PEEEING" (*Laugh*) "OH SHIT!" (*Laugh*) "OH MY GOD!" (*Laugh*)"I’M PEEING MY PANTS!"The laughter went on hysterically as Mary lost control and totally peedher tan pants. Wendy watched with glee as her pretty little co-worker peeherself. Mary’s pee finally stopped, and she stood there looking down ather now soaked pants and the large puddle she was standing in on the linoleumfloor. "I can’t believe you made me pee myself!" Mary exclaimed. "So,"asked Wendy, "How does it feel to pee yourself uncontrollably?" "Actually, itfeels really good," said Mary with surprise in her voice, "all the effort tohold it actually felt good to me, and the relief of finally going was bliss.And the pee running down my legs felt so wet and warm."Wendy looked at Mary, her tan slacks had huge wet streaks down bothlegs and were totally soaled up to her waist. The bottom edge of her blouseeven had a yellow strip of pee on the edge. "How about you stay here,tonight? I can loan you some night clothes, and I’ll see that your clothes arewashed." "All right," answered Mary, "But I need a shower real bad!" (*Laugh*)Wendy showed Mary to the bathroom, and then brought her a nightgown towear. She deliberately chose the shortest one she owned. "Here, you canput this on." she told Mary. "Thanks!" said Mary.After her shower, Mary sat and talked with Wendy about ordinary thingsfor the rest of the evening, and then they turned in. As she fell asleep,Wendy smiled. Her dreams were starting to come true! |
This is the first part of a crime-thriller story of my own devising. The main story is about the downfall of a corrupt police commissioner. It was a story that sprang into my mind one evening after watching an instalment of a certain British cop show. I have attempted to write it in that kind of spirit.
I should warn you that it is quite thick reading so I'll understand if you don't read it in favour of a story that is more omo-centric and which gets to the point more quickly. The first chapter in particular is a little slow.
If you don't like messing or fear accidents, I should also warn you that this story will at times contain both.
Initially I did not intend to post it here, but I had such fun writing it that I thought I would put it out there in case anybody was interested in this type of thing.
Anyway, the first chapter follows below. I hope you like it.
- des
Where is Alec Tremethick?
Chapter One: Dust
Dark. Cool. Dry.
A gloomy cellar.
The room was nearly silent. The only sounds came from the wind and the twigs of the ash tree outside as they skittered across the narrow, grimey slat glass window near the ceiling.
Every so often sunlight would flash through the waving boughs and then through the window to illuminate fractions of the room. Save for the afternoon’s rays the room would be completely dark.
In the corner a steep spiral staircase rose out of sight, the stone steps worn by ages of use. Leaning on the opposite wall was a very tall and wide semicircular cedar table some four metres across. Scattered around the rest of the room were three dilapidated wooden chairs, an easel, a vice, and a work bench covered in tools and dust.
Somewhat unusually, the room was occupied. A young auburn-haired lady of no more than twenty five years lay bound and gagged and motionless underneath the cedar table.
It would not be immediately clear to a hypothetical rescuer whether the woman lay alive or dead. Her torso and her legs right down to her tightly bound ankles were blanketed by a wide gentleman's coat.
She appeared petite for a woman of her age and the coat seemed to have been designed in mind of a man more than twice her size. Had she two bound companions of similar size on either side of her they would all three have comfortably fit under the extraordinarily large garment.
But she lay alone - and alive for the time being.
The wind picked up outside and the small branches started to rap on the window with more urgency as if they understood the woman’s predicament. The noise finally seemed to elicit a response and a small moan escaped the woman’s taped over lips as she awoke.
**********
Elise opened her eyes blearily. She tried to stretch before remembering her bonds and how she had come to be here.
Still in this room, then... And I’d been doing a wonderful job of dreaming that I was somewhere else. Damn.
Elise was surprised by how calm she felt upon waking this time. This was her second day of captivity and still she had not seen a living soul since she had been chloroformed and plucked off a quiet street the previous day in broad daylight.
It was hard to move with her hands, thighs and ankles bound together, but her unknown kidnapper had mercifully bound her wrists in front of her. She found that the limited freedom this gave her made squirming across the floor possible and she chose this moment to wiggle out from the coat and lean her back against the wall underneath the table.
Elise shifted a little uneasily on the hard stone and her loose business skirt clung damply to her bottom. She had wet herself twice since being captured; when she had woken up on the cellar floor for the first time the day before in a panic, and the following morning when her bladder reached its capacity and she tearfully realised that she could hold it no longer.
She had felt humiliated upon realising both accidents, particularly the second which had soaked her skirt and tights leaving a massive puddle at the base of the stairs. Though nobody had seen her disgrace herself she still could not help but feel impotent outrage at the people who had dumped her there like a chained animal.
She was hungry, dehydrated, cramping, and in her forty hours in the room nobody had come to show any interest as to whether she was alive or dead. She grimly thought to herself that it seemed likely that they didn’t care.
The bound girl sat there for a few minutes listening to the twigs that had awoken her, straining her hearing and willing herself to hear from outside any other sound that might indicate the presence of another person nearby. She could hear nothing of the kind.
Looking around the room, Elise got an uneasy sense that something had changed. The light was starting to fade as the sun went down outside and she realised that she would only have a handful more precious minutes to move about the room before it would get pitch black and she would have to bed down for the night.
Deciding that she would try to see if she could hear anything from inside the house, she wiggled across the room to the base of the stairs. She skirted the far wall, flushing as she remembered to avoid the puddle of her urine that she had left near the stairs earlier in the day.
Having reached the base of the stairs, she leaned against the wall and tried to determine whether any sound came from within the house. She could only hear the whirr of an air-conditioner, and before long she realised something else was out of place.
She looked to where she had accidented earlier that day and she noticed the puddle was completely gone! Bewildered, she leaned down and gingerly put her face to the floor to confirm her suspicion.
She sniffed. Pine detergent?! Somebody had been inside while she had slept! She looked over to the corner where she had first awoke the day before and noticed with a shock that the drying remains of the first puddle had been mopped away as well.
Somebody's been inside and they cared more about their stupid floor than me!, Elise realised with indignation.
Trying to shout through her gag, Elise attempted to climb the steps to bang on the door with her wrists, but found climbing the steep steps in her condition to be quite impossible.
Her elbows slipped and banged painfully into the bottom steps. Tears sprang to her eyes as she collapsed exasperated and upset back onto the floor. She sobbed bitterly.
Elise wouldn’t treat her worst enemy with such contempt, and she couldn’t imagine what it was that she could have done to have been singled out for this treatment.
After some minutes spent sprawled on the floor, she miserably slid back under the table using her bound wrists to lever the coat over her body again.
But no sooner had she settled down before she heard a door open somewhere above and behind her and footsteps crossing the ceiling.
Heart suddenly racing, she scrabbled to prop herself up against the wall behind her. With a dry mouth and an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach the girl watched fearfully as she heard the cellar door get wrenched open and the footsteps begin to descend the stairs.
*********
Chapter 2 to follow soon... |
Chapter Two: Die Vorschlaghammer
Alan Sanders was a busy man. He was in a meeting when Elise Wakefield was snatched off the streets and he knew nothing of the blunder until he was told about it at lunchtime of the following day.
By the time he had made it to the house that evening he knew he was in damage control. He had been saddled with an innocent woman as a hostage and he hadn’t a clue what he was supposed to do about it.
It wasn’t for a lack of options. He’d had plenty of people disappeared before. His associates who had committed the error, for instance, should not count on walking the streets on Monday morning.
Nevertheless he deplored needless violence especially when directed against an ordinary member of the public. In an odd kind of way he was a very moral and honourable man. Certainly an honourable crook.
A few calls and a road trip would certainly make the problem go away, but disappearing a young lady who had done nothing worse than be in the wrong place at the wrong time struck Alan as being ungentlemanly. It hadn’t been her mistake and Alan was loathe to let her be the one to pay for it.
Of course that didn’t change the fact that he had to get rid of her and do it fast. But he couldn’t just take her in the van and push her out onto the same street they’d spirited her away from. He had to know that she wouldn’t be able to identify any of the people she’d seen or the places she’d been.
This was for her own good as much as his. More her good, in fact.
He burst into the house and crossed the entrance hall to the cellar door. He turned on the light and was halfway down the spiral staircase when he stopped himself.
Stupid. What if she was awake? If she sees my face then I will be left with no alternative.
He stood for a second on the stairs listening for any indication that his guest was awake. He couldn’t hear anything conclusive, so deciding to be on the safe side he reascended the stairs and looked around the house for anything he could use as a mask.
The house itself had only been superficially furnished. The Syndicate had only recently acquired it for use as a safe house. There were sofas and chairs and beds, but no clothes or sheets or towels.
Alan started to panic a little. There was nothing here he could use to obscure his face. In desperation he pulled one of the curtains off the windows and threw it over his head like a child’s ghost costume.
He felt ridiculous as he went back to the cellar, but he only had to carry on this charade until he could get her blindfolded. Who knew? Maybe she’d still be asleep and he’d taken all of these troubles for nothing.
He began to descend the staircase again with the sheet over his head and his hand on the rail, but before he could reach the bottom he heard a commotion from in the cellar.
So she is awake, Alan thought to himself in vindication. He needed to take charge and that meant using his voice.
A suitably fake voice, of course.
Alan descended the stairs and halted at the final step. From his vantage point and through the thin fabric draped over his head he could see that his hostage was underneath the table on the other side of the room. He couldn’t see her face and she seemed to be feigning sleep.
‘Miss,’ Alan growled in a more gravelly voice than normal. ‘I know that you are awake. If you cooperate with me then your safety is assured. I have some questions to ask you. Before we start, though, I will be obliged to blindfold you first. Keep your eyes shut as I approach, please. You must not ever see my face.’
Hearing a timorous moan of acknowledgement Alan smiled and crossed the floor with the curtain over his head. Through the thin fabric he could see Elise under the table with her eyes clenched shut.
Good. She understands how serious I am. This should be fixable.
He carefully dragged her out from under the table making sure not to hurt her, then rolled her onto her side to face her away from him so he could safely blindfold her without any risk of being seen.
A pretty young lady, he thought to himself. Though he supposed that her looks shouldn’t make a difference.
Removing the curtain from his head, he tore off a strip and carefully knotted it over her eyes twice in order to form two layers to make certain she wouldn’t be able to see out. As he did so he noticed that she was shaking. He felt for her, but he was a professional and he had his job to do.
Once he was satisfied that she would be able to see nothing incriminating, he addressed her again.
‘Thank you for cooperating. I understand what a terrible ordeal this has been for you. Rest assured that I mean you no harm and that you will be released as soon as possible.’
‘But first, I must ask you a very important question,’ Alan continued wearily. ‘I have to ensure that you cannot betray me should I decide to release you. For this purpose I will have to remove your gag.’
'Be assured that any screaming will result in a termination of our interview and of any chance you have of leaving here alive’. Alan added harshly. ‘Do you understand?’
Elise made a noise somewhere between a squeak and mumble.
‘Very well’. Alan reached down and removed her gag.
‘Please don’t kill me, please, please, I swear I won’t tell anyone, I won’t say anything-‘ Elise gabbled, her voice shaking.
‘Calm yourself,’ Alan soothed, taken aback by her desperation. ‘Elise, isn’t it? Listen to me, Elise, my name is… My name is Alan. And that’s the truth.’
Harmless detail. Anybody would assume it to be a false name, anyway.
‘I meant what I said,’ he continued, ‘I mean you no harm. I want you to go home tonight. I hear that you are an excellent secretary. The world is run by secretaries. I don’t want to keep you from your work longer than is absolutely necessary. Cooperate with me and you will eventually go free.’
‘But I do need to know what you know about why you’re here. Do you know where you are?’ Alan asked with a level voice.
‘I don’t know! I swear!’ Elise pleaded, praying that her kidnapper would hear the truth in her voice. ‘I was walking to my car, you grabbed me, and I woke up here!’
Alan sighed in relief. She thought that he was her kidnapper. The morons who’d actually done it at least had managed it without compromising themselves to the victim. They had earned themselves a much less painful death.
‘Good. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. Now let’s get you to the van. I don’t want you hurt, so stay quiet and I will do my best to get you back home.’
‘Thank you, sir!’ Elise breathed, hardly daring to believe her ears. ‘I swear I won’t tell a soul.’
‘I would know if you did, believe me,’ growled Alan, but without much menace. ‘Now I hope you won’t take offence if I reapply the tape to your mouth.’
She started to reply but he was already regagging her. He then bent down to pick her up. He got one hand under her right shoulder and she mewled something in protest. Getting his other hand under her thighs, he realised her skirt was damp and jerked back in surprise.
Then he saw the oval shaped dark patch on the the seat of the girl’s skirt..
The poor girl's pissed her pants! Christ almighty, don’t tell me those cretins left her down here on her own for hours at a time...
Sitting her back upright with her back to the wall he removed her gag.
‘Miss, I noticed you, er… had a little accident.’. Alan had dropped the pretense of his false voice completely. The discovery had made him angry.
‘I… I couldn’t hold it!’ Elise blurted out in an angry sob. ‘You just left me here! I couldn’t do anything!’
‘D’you mean to say nobody has come to check on you during your time in here?’ Alan demanded incredulously.
’N- No! I have- They haven’t! I haven’t had water or food and I had to… go to the bathroom on myself twice,’ she cried indignantly, flushing as she made her admission.
Fucking hell. They just left her here? Brutes! They’ll pay dearly for this lack of hospitality.
‘Jesus. I’m going to get you some water. I’ll be back.’
Alan ascended the stairs in a rush leaving Elise sitting there alone. She had no idea what was going on. Was this man her kidnapper? Had this been some stupid joke that had gone wrong? How could anyone who cared about her wellbeing have failed to even visit her while she had been tied up? It boggled the mind.
She remembered with a start that Alan had not bothered to reapply the gag. Screaming would be pointless, she knew, but maybe she could use her teeth to free her wrists? But then what? How would she escape? It sounded like her captor intended to release her, anyway, so why take the risk?
She could hear the plumbing working as Alan poured out a glass of water upstairs, and with some unease the sound jolted her into the realisation that her bowels had nearly filled and that she would need to take care of them soon.
A few minutes later, Alan came down the stairs holding a sandwich and a jug of orange coloured liquid which fizzed audibly as he approached.
‘A berocca,’ he said by way of explanation. ‘I’ve brought you a sandwich as well. I’ll unbind your hands so you can eat and drink. After that we are going to get you home. Wrists.’
She presented him her wrists and started to mumble her question just as she felt her tummy cramp, causing her to jerk her hands a bit.
‘What was that?’ Alan asked sharply.
‘I… I have to go to the bathroom again.’ Elise mumbled with a blush.
‘Oh! Oh, okay, well, I will take you upstairs. But drink that Berocca first. You’re dehydrated, you need to get some fluid back into your body. Wrists, please.’
Elise bit back the impudent response that leapt to her brain and simply nodded and presented her wrists again. She would be able to hold it a while longer, and her captor was quite correct in any case. Dehydration was already causing her a nasty headache to go along with all her other troubles.
‘I really can’t tell you how sorry I am about the way you’ve been treated,’ Elise heard Alan say. ‘The people responsible for this will be held accountable, you have my word.’
Aren’t you responsible? Elise thought to herself with some confusion and a little bitterness. But at the same time she felt relief. She was going to be released. For the first time in two days she had a spark of hope.
With her hands now free she felt a glass being pushed into her left hand. She gulped down the contents gratefully. Under other circumstances she’d have been nervous that it might have been spiked. But she was completely in this man’s power anyway, and it did not seem as though he wanted her dead.
With the glass emptied she started on the sandwich which had been tossed onto her lap. She heard her captor refill the glass and take a drink from it himself.
Definitely not spiked, then.
Elise heard the glass being topped up and placed to her left before Alan stood up and strode back over to the stairs. She finished the sandwich and picked up the glass again.
It did not take her long to drain the second glass, but she decided not to ask for a third. The urge to relieve herself had not abated during her meal, and to her surprise she even felt some pressure growing in her bladder. She thought her body could not have had all that much liquid in it left.
‘Mister. Please. I need to go to the bathroom now.’ Elise asked as politely but urgently as she could manage.
As she said it, her gut cramped momentarily and to her embarrassment she was unable to stop a fart from escaping audibly.
Flushing pink to the roots of her hair and a little annoyed to have been ignored, she asked again.
‘Please, sir,’ she whimpered, ‘I really need to go!’
‘Be quiet!’ Alan hissed suddenly from near the stairs, a razor edge in his voice taking her by surprise.
Shocked by the rebuke, Elise fell silent and tried to understand what she could have done to antagonise him. The answer came to her moments later when she heard other voices coming from upstairs.
Were they police? Should she call out? Surely they’d find her anyway? A stream of thoughts rushed through her head as she tried to process the arrival of others. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn’t hear Alan quietly approach.
‘The people upstairs are the ones who took you,’ Alan whispered in her ear, nearly causing her to void into her underwear in fright. ‘It wasn’t supposed to have been you, though, and now that they know that, they have come to try to liquidate you to reclaim favour with their bosses.’
Elise completely tensed up. Was this a trick? It sounded absurd, the kind of surrealism that you might expect in a movie. But she couldn’t - wouldn’t - bet her life on it.
‘W-what… What do we do?’ she asked nervously.
For a moment there was silence.
‘I need you to trust me.’
‘What? What does that mean?’ Elise asked desperately, fearing what the answer might be.
‘I am going to return you to the condition in which I found you and then I will head back into the house and wait for our friends to get separated. I will deal with them one at a time.'
Elise gulped. So there was going to be violence. And if he couldn’t overcome the others…
‘Please,’ she begged, ‘Please don’t leave me here. Don’t let them k-… Don’t let them kill me.’ Her voice broke as she spluttered over the final sentence.
She felt her blindfold being pulled off and she blinked in the gloom, tears clouding her vision a bit. She could see a young man with dark hair in business attire crouching down in front of her.
‘I have to leave you here,’ he said with a strange look on his face. ‘But I won’t let them hurt you. You have my word.’
He quickly refastened her wrist bindings, reapplied the gag, and placed the makeshift blindfold, the curtain, the jug, and the glass into a box under the workbench. He then quietly reascended the stairs, flicking the light back off as he went.
Elise was left alone in the dark and quiet room once more. She shivered, frightened of what awaited her and becoming increasingly aware of the pressure building in the back and in the front.
Time passed, perhaps an hour with her huddled in the dark. She quietly farted every now and then releasing the pressure that was building up, but she knew she couldn't hold it forever. She could hear the voices above her having an animated conversation although she couldn’t make out their words. At one point it seemed to become quite heated and she was sure she heard a glass being broken.
What are they talking about? How would Alan be able to separate them? Why is it taking so long, she thought as she shifted uncomfortably.
Then she heard footsteps and the cellar door opened again and the light came on.
‘-… deal with her. You call Handscombe.'
Elise was terrified. That wasn’t Alan’s voice. Had he just left her to her fate? She remembered looking into his eyes and trusting him, taking him at his word.
But she then remembered with a sinking feeling what Alan had said when he first came into the room.
‘You must not ever see my face.’ he’d said. But he’d taken off her blindfold. She had seen his face hadn’t she? Why did he do that? Did that mean he was now going to let them finish her off?
She heard the footsteps reach the base of the steps and a huge man rounded the base of the stairs.
‘Well, well… Princess Pissypants is awake!’ he proclaimed in a rough voice to the sound of laughter upstairs.
Suddenly filled with doubts, Elise squealed and tried to wriggle backwards away from the man. He leered at her as she bumped her head into one of the desk legs behind her.
‘Worked out what we’ve come here for, have you, little girl?’
He advanced on her with a wicked smile and she squirmed under the desk to get away from him.
‘Don’t be afraid,’ the man said with glittering eyes. ‘I won’t hurt you. Much.’
Suddenly there were some shouts from upstairs and a loud crash. The man paused and half-turned.
‘Hey, what’s going on up there?’ he roared with a nervous edge in his voice.
Elise profited from the distraction by rolling herself as far under the table as she could manage. She pushed her back up against the wall and tucked up her knees to get her feet as far away from the edge of the table as possible.
She wasn’t crying now, but she was shaking violently, silently pleading for the man to take the bait; to leave her alone and go back upstairs.
Having received no answer from upstairs, the huge man seemed to hesitate. He took a step towards the staircase, then seemed to think better of it and rounded on Elise again.
‘Come out now or when I get my hands on you I will tear your throat out with my bear hands!’ he roared.
Elise was paralysed with terror. This is it, then. Whatever's happening upstairs, down here it's just me and the monster.
She was dimly aware of a warmth spreading underneath her ass. But even realising this loss of composure, she would not give in. Going out there would be a death sentence. She knew her only hope was to try to make things difficult for her attacker.
The man was far too large to fit under the table so he would have to try to heft it aside to get at her. He was a large man, but it was a massive table. If it were as heavy as she fervently hoped it was then there was no way he could get her out anytime soon.
But she did not have forever. Where was Alan?!
Noticing her lack of cooperation seemed to send the man into a towering rage. He tried to pull the table away. It shifted no more than a few millimetres before he gave up trying to move it.
Elise didn’t dare to believe it. The plan had worked! He couldn’t get her out!
Just as she was thinking that, the man walked across the room and picked up a sledgehammer. He strode back towards her with murder in his eyes, the heft of the sledge dragging along the cellar floor ominously.
Surely not. Surely he can’t-
The man drew it back and with an almighty heave he swung it down with the primal force of a goliath.
With an almighty crash, the cedar buckled and nearly split in two right down the middle. The man’s strength seemed superhuman. And he drew it back for a second swing.
The poor girl saw her life flashing before her eyes. She couldn’t believe that she was going to go out this way. How could anyone have that kind of strength? Where was Alan? She was going to be pulverised!
Through her shock she felt her bowels begin to move. At first it started slowly, her poop solid and coming out into her panties at a steady pace, forming a tennis-ball sized bulge in her tights.
Then all of a sudden it seemed to rush out all at once. She had completely lost control and was filling her panties with mushy poop loudly and uncontrollably.
She felt the soft crap as it filled out the seat of her underwear and tights making a very large bulge under her bottom and filling the small space with the unpleasant smell of her accident.
I’m messing myself. I’m about to die and when they find my body they’ll know that I shit myself.
The sledge reached its apex, and she ducked her head in the futile hope that something, anything might yet spare her from this end.
And just as she thought this, somebody flicked out the lights.
She heard the sledgehammer fall to the floor and the man spun around.
‘Who was that?! Show yourself, you coward! Do you-‘
A shot rang out. And Elise heard the man slump to the floor.
In the gloomy light that filtered down the stairs she could just make out the silhouette of a figure standing over the threshold, a pistol outstretched in one arm.
Writhing on the floor, Elise looked up at the newcomer and tried to see if it was Alan. She couldn’t make out her rescuer's face and in any case the man seemed to pay her no notice. The figure stalked over to the man’s body and pulled something off the man’s sleeve.
He then turned to the table and bent down to peer at Elise. In the gloom she thought she saw the creature’s face. It looked like a grey mask, a hideous mask; ugly, unsymmetrical and twisted into a grimacing scream.
Horrible though it was, after all that had happened it did not frighten Elise.
Just a mask, a man in a mask, she thought to herself. Is it Alan?
The figure silently reached into his pocket and withdrew a knife. He tossed it next to her meaningfully.
Then turning on his heel, the figure glided back up the stairs and exited the cellar without a second glance.
Elise sat stunned for a moment before she came to her senses and ripped her gag off.
‘Hey!’ she yelled after the figure. ‘Wait!’
She grabbed the knife and cut away at her restraints, accidentally nicking her ankle in her haste to get free. Alan had not bound her wrists tightly so with some care she was able to cut those bonds as well. But it took time.
She clambered out from her hiding space, wincing as she felt the small mound of poop in her underwear and tights squishing up against her rear. But she couldn’t worry about that now. She had to get out of here. That much she understood.
Stepping around her attacker's motionless body, Elise climbed the stairs and exited the cellar to find a house seemingly untouched by the commotion she had heard. Or so she thought until she saw two bodies slumped over a sofa in the lounge room adjacent to the entry hall.
With a shock, she recognised one of them as Alan. A bloodied knife lay on the ground below his outstretched hand. True to his word, he had tried to protect her.
She approached and noted with surprise that he was unbloodied. The other man was bleeding out all over the floor and appeared to have been run through with the knife. Alan, on the other hand, seemed to have been struck from behind.
He's still breathing!
Now she had a dilemma. She could leave. Step out the door and she could find her way home. She could get back on with her life. She could move overseas and start afresh somewhere she would never be found. After having had her freedom denied to her, the endless possibilities outside the door and far beyond seemed overwhelming.
But she looked at Alan lying there and thought about what he’d tried to do for her. Head injuries can cause pretty serious damage if left unattended. The least she could do was get him to a hospital.
A sensible person would call an ambulance and just get away, she thought to herself. That would certainly mean Alan would be arrested and gaoled. Meanwhile she would walk away and leave it all behind.
But whatever else Elise might have been, she was no coward. It was a strange thought to have while standing there with a load in her tights and her skirt still wet and clinging to her butt, but she realised with some triumph that after everything that had been thrown at her she was still alive, still standing, and was back in control.
She was no coward. Alan had shown her his face, had tried to protect her. Alan had trusted her. Whatever his other crimes, she couldn’t just leave him there.
Besides, he would have answers and she wanted to know what the hell had just happened to her.
Grabbing a set of keys she saw lying on the coffee table in front of the sofa, Elise shook Alan to wake him. He stirred, but seemed very groggy.
‘Come on, let’s get out of here,’ Elise said firmly.
Alan seemed too out of it to resist as she led him out the door to the driveway and into the night.
******** |
Chapter Three: Sometimes
A cold front had been anticipated by the Department of Meteorology and so it was that rain began to patter down on the city’s cooling streets early in the spring evening.
In the city’s heart commuters made their way along grey streets in their cars, windscreen wipers slapping away at fat raindrops as they descended onto the street below.
The rhythmic splatter of the shower on stone paving outside the Royal Bank filled the air like grey noise.
A score of pedestrians braved the conditions, striding along in a procession of bobbling black umbrellas. A few with no rain protection scurried along the footpath from the shelter of one eave to the next, coat collars flipped skyward.
Out on a street corner, oblivious to the inclemency and ignored by passers-by stood a tall and heavyset man clad in a brown greatcoat and Homburg. He himself carried an umbrella under his arm, but for the time being did not appear to be interested in opening it.
Taxis slowed as they approached the man, but he made no attempt to signal them. His indifference to the weather was underscored by an occasional stream of smoke and flare of a cigar. He was doing well to keep it alight considering circumstances.
Behind and to his left, the last of the Bank’s employees exited the doors and descended the marble steps of the edifice, among them a young woman in black clothes and dark glasses.
The man paid them no attention as they walked past. He fiddled with his watch, shaking water off it and tapping the screen. Appearing dissatisfied with it, he removed the accessory and put it into a leather briefcase in a puddle next to his feet.
The man watched impassively as the woman from the bank paused at a pedestrian crossing, her long, loose skirt fluttering around her heels for a moment in the feeble breeze as she waited for the light to go green.
As the light changed, she set out with twenty others to the sidewalk opposite. Halfway across she seemed to halt for a moment in the middle of the road before continuing across and entering the pub on the other street corner.
The light changed to red and the traffic zoomed past, temporarily blinding the man from the woman’s movements. By the time it had passed, she had already gone inside.
The important thing to know here is that the man did not immediately follow. For another five minutes he stood there nonchalantly in the rain, puffing away at his cigar and waiting for something that he knew would not exist.
After having made the judgement that sufficient time had passed, the man scanned the street. Without ever catching sight of the thing he had been waiting for, the man then sauntered across the road and pushed open the glistening wooden doors of the bar.
********
In a pub down the way from the Royal Bank, Detective Sergeant Kate Holloway sat in a booth sipping a dry martini.
What a day. Thirteen interviews and two taken into protective custody. She was a workaholic, but even by her standards that was a brutal schedule.
She winced as she recalled the last time that she had been obliged to go undercover for a similar assignment. Two weeks of late nights, number crunching, bargaining, and haranguing. An arrest was an adequate reward for her hard work, but the experience had revealed to her a morbid preference for murder cases.
Alas, that was not what she’d been assigned to tonight.
Not yet, at least.
She sipped at her drink and pulled out a notebook from her purse, flipping it open to the final page.
‘… thirteen seated inside, four seated outside (inc. gunman), five staff.'
‘… 19 hour duration… 36 shots fired… four dec’sed (inc. gunman, three staff)…'
‘… IF attempted breach after reports of scuffling. Four quickly dec’sed, 17 second f'fight…’
‘… IF Sgt K. Ross spoke of operation speed…'
‘… “We went in so hard and so fast. Target’s down. Then we were trying to get them out, out of the blast radius... The poor lass waitress... just stood there wetting herself."…'
Kate grimaced. Three dead. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out.
Suddenly a man in a brown greatcloak and Homburg flopped himself down into the booth seat opposite her and banged his fists on the table abruptly.
Kate jolted and slapped her notebook shut abruptly.
‘Fuck!’ she exclaimed in surprise. ‘If you’re going to do that, text me a warning next time!’
She narrowed her eyes at the newcomer.
‘What do you want, Martin?’ Kate growled wearily. 'I’m meeting a contact here any minute now and I need you here like I need another bullet in my leg.'
‘You hesitated.’ Martin explained simply.
‘What?’
‘As you crossed the road,’ the man insisted. ‘You saw somebody in one of the cars at the light there, yes?’
‘No.’
Martin tilted his head. ‘Are you sure?’ he purred. ‘This isn’t official business, you know. I’m just interested. Was it your contact?’
‘You’re just wasting my time,’ Kate decided. ‘Martin, I don’t mind having a drink with you, but would you mind having it seven or eight metres away?'
‘So prickly. Ex-boyfriend, maybe?’
‘Fuck off, Martin. Right now.’
The man stood with a wry smile.
‘I’ll leave my script on your desk for tomorrow morning,’ he promised.
‘Oh, aren’t you a sweetheart?’ Kate declared sarcastically. 'Go on, get out!’
Martin put up his hands in mock surrender and went to leave the bar, chivalrously holding the door open with a smile and affected humility for a young lady who giggled as she thanked him and entered.
From her seat Kate glowered at Martin's retreating figure and reopened the notebook to the page that had been slammed shut.
On top of her meticulous notes she was taken aback to find a soggy note covered in Martin's black scrawl which had been slipped into the book without her noticing.
Incensed, she yanked the note out onto the table and dabbed with a napkin at the droplets that it had left behind on her handwriting.
Seeing no major damage she turned her attention to the note.
It was practically illegible, some of which she knew had been intentional. Of the words she could make out, only the last line seemed of any significance.
‘Ham and eggs, 7.05’
Kate inwardly groaned. It hadn’t been Martin wasting her time after all. She wasn't going to look forward to apologising to him later.
She reached into her purse and found her leather gloves which she donned. Further rummaging saw her wrist brush on cold metal. Then with a glance at her watch, she turned her attention to the door.
After about half a minute of watching, the door to the pub opened. She had already fired by the time it was halfway open.
Over the screams of the other bar patrons and the shattering of the door’s stained glass window she heard the entrant collapse to the ground, his pistol sliding out of his lifeless hand along the wooden floor.
Satisfied that the situation had been resolved, she tossed her pistol over next to the man’s body and collapsed into her booth screaming like everyone else, while carefully removing her gloves and placing them back into her handbag.
... but sometimes, just sometimes, it does work out.
******* |
Hello everybody.
I'm a long time lurker looking to start being a bit more active. I've started a story, although it's a bit different to some of the other things that I've seen on this site. It's not strictly an omorashi story so much as a humiliation story which will have omo elements. The first chapter is predominantly about spanking. I did, however, check in the chat room and was told that it would still be suitable for this site.
Just to give everybody fair warning, this humiliation story will involve wetting (I don't think that will upset any here), spanking, nappies/diapers and reluctant nudity.
Please be gentle with feedback, this is my first time.
White Tights
Chapter one
Chloe Montague stood in the headmaster’s office with a look of smug satisfaction on her face. There were three other girls in the room with her. One, Sarah Daniels, was a prefect who was here to witness the punishment of the other two. Jessica Davis and Lily Kingston had been brought here because Chloe had informed Sarah that they were smoking in the bushes when they were supposed to be in class. Chloe had no problem with Jessica, but she took great delight in watching Lily squirm. They had never been particularly fond of each other, and this was just the latest occasion when Chloe had managed to get her in trouble. What was particularly thrilling for Chloe though, was that this was the first time she had been asked to attend the headmaster’s office as well, so she thought she would enjoy the show.
You see, at St Margaret’s, there are certain offences which have clear and determined punishments. Smoking on the school grounds was one such offence, and Chloe was well aware that Jessica and Lily would soon have their knickers pulled down for a bare bottom spanking, followed by six strokes of the cane. Chloe thought that witnessing Lily humbled while her knickers were down and she was punished like a child would be nothing short of exhilarating. Both Jessica and Lily knew what was coming, and certainly didn’t seem to be looking forward to it. Lily had been punished in this manner before, and while she could deal with the pain easily enough, the humiliation of being exposed, and having to assume demeaning positions was the thing that she hated.
Lily was just thinking that she would have to find a way to get back at Chloe when the door opened, and the headmaster strode in. The girls didn’t know his exact age, but he seemed young for a man of his position, which made it all the more humiliating to be punished by him.
‘It is very disappointing to have to resort to such punishments for three top year girls,’ he said solemnly.
‘Three?’ said Lily, ‘Only Lily and Jessica were smoking.’
‘They may have been the only ones smoking, but the only reason that you were aware that they were smoking when they should have been in class is because you were not in class yourself. You may not be getting the cane this morning, Chloe Montague, but I think your actions still warrant a bare bottom spanking.’
Chloe gasped in shock, while Lily smirked at the idea of Chloe finally getting punished for something. Not only would Chloe be spanked, but Lily would get to see the spectacle herself. She thought that this made her own impending punishment seem entirely worthwhile.
The headmaster pulled a chair in to the middle of the room and sat down on it.
‘Jessica, I’m very disappointed to see you here. I think I’ll start with you please. Place yourself over my lap.’
Jessica obediently did as she was told, and assumed the embarrassing position. Before she had a chance to fully settle into her position on the headmasters lap, he brought his hand down hard, hitting her bottom through her skirt. Again and again he brought his hand down, and apart from an occasional grunt, Jessica was incredibly well composed. After perhaps a minute of spanking over the skirt, the headmaster lifted it onto her back, exposing her flesh coloured tights, and her skimpy black thong beneath. Chloe could see through the tights that Jessica’s bottom had already started to turn red, and as Jessica realised that her skirt had been lifted, her cheeks flushed so that she appeared to be blushing at both ends. The spanking resumed over Jessica’s tights for some time, but she was obviously finding it harder to compose herself now, the assault on her bottom taking its toll. She was starting to fidget on the headmaster’s lap as he spanked her.
Chloe watched as the headmaster then hooked his thumbs into the waistband of Jessica’s tights and brought them down to just below her knees. With nothing but a thong covering her nether regions, Chloe could see the full extent of the crimson bloom on Jessica’s bottom. It was at this point, as Jessica’s skimpy knickers were exposed, that Chloe had a shocking realisation. When she got dressed for school that morning she hadn’t expected anybody to see her knickers. To say that she wasn’t wearing her best pair was something of an understatement. She suddenly felt absolutely mortified at the idea of the other girls seeing her knickers, let alone the headmaster.
As Chloe was having these thoughts, the spanking continued, and the slight fidgeting that Jessica had been guilty of before had become full blown wriggling. It was hard to believe that this girl had been seemingly unaffected by her spanking mere minutes ago. Next came the part that Chloe was truly dreading for herself. The headmaster unceremoniously yanked Jessica’s knickers down so that they rested at the same point as her tights, and immediately resumed spanking. Chloe realised with horror that as Jessica writhed on the headmaster’s lap, she was exposing herself to everybody in the room. Her legs flailed wildly, meaning that everybody present got a good look at the girl’s vagina and pubic hair. Her continual motion also meant that her arsehole was making a regular appearance. Chloe looked on with sympathy, and fear. She wasn’t sure that she could bear this terrible humiliation.
As Jessica’s spanking drew to a close, Chloe realised that there was something worse than the other girls seeing her knickers. Chloe’s boyfriend had recently convinced her that it would be ‘sexy’ if she shaved everything down below. Feeling somewhat foolish, Chloe had gone along with it, only to decide that it made her look incredibly juvenile. Her embarrassing knickers being talked about afterwards would be bad enough, but she would be relentlessly teased if word got out about her bald fanny.
As suddenly as it began, Jessica’s spanking was over. Her skirt was tucked into its own waistband, and she was told to stand with her hands on head. Her pubic mound was fully exposed to the room, and Chloe knew that she was in for an incredibly humiliating time when it was her turn. She was, however, granted a short reprieve when the headmaster asked for Lily next. Chloe had previously thought she would enjoy seeing this, but now that it was in front of her she couldn’t stop thinking about her turn.
Chloe could not stop thinking about what was to come and hardly noticed Lily’s spanking occurring right in front of her. She was deep in thought, desperately trying to think of a way out of being punished when a strange sound brought her out of her trance. She looked in front of her to see Lily draped over the headmaster’s lap with her skimpy red knickers down, but the headmaster had stopped and was looking at Chloe. Even Lily, exposed as she was, was looking at Chloe and smirking. Chloe looked down as the sound continued and realised with horror that it was coming from her.
‘Sir, it looks like Chloe has had a little accident,’ said Lily with mock concern.
‘I can see that Lily, but your punishment isn’t finished yet. Sarah go to the office and get the white tights.’
As the last slaps came down on Lily’s naked bottom, she stared intently at Chloe, grinning from ear to ear. |
Last update for tonight I'm afraid. I have to be at work in about six and a half hours.
If anybody else is enjoying this or has any pointers, please let me know.
Chapter three
The headmaster returned to the cabinet which he had retrieved the cane from, and removed a thick towel. He sat on the chair in the centre of the room and draped the towel over his lap.
‘Chloe, you know what you need to do.’
Chloe was rooted to the spot, seemingly unable to move. She had already thoroughly disgraced herself in front of the other girls. Could she really allow herself to be spanked as well? The girls would see her knickers, which were embarrassing enough before she had pissed in them. They would see her bald pussy, and from the sound of it they would see her put back in nappies for the first time since she was a toddler.
‘Sir is this really necessary?’ Chloe asked pleadingly.
‘Do you need the cane as well?’ The headmaster asked.
‘No sir.’
Chloe grudgingly walked towards him, painfully aware of the urine sloshing in her shoes. She draped herself over the towel and braced herself. Chloe had never been spanked before, and she realised within a few slaps that she did not have anywhere near the pain tolerance that the other girls possessed. She was flailing and kicking her legs before the headmaster had even lifted her skirt. One of her shoes was flung across the room, exposing the drenched foot of her flesh-coloured tights. Chloe could feel a rush of blood to her face as she felt the headmaster begin to lift her skirt. The colour of her tights meant that her knickers were clearly visible beneath them, and Lily couldn’t help but giggle as Chloe’s piss-saturated, bright yellow, Spongebob knickers came into view.
The spanking continued over Chloe’s wet tights, and her cheeks flushed with fresh humiliation as she heard Lily’s giggles over the noise of her own bottom being struck again and again. Chloe was sure that when the other girls were being spanked, each stage of the spanking lasted around a minute. Now that she was the one being spanked it seemed to go on for much longer. Eventually, she felt the headmaster’s thumbs hook the waistband of her tights and pull them down her legs. Chloe was acutely aware that her knickers would be next. As embarrassing as they were, she was also grateful for the cover they were currently providing. As more and more blows rained down on her now scantily clad buttocks, the headmaster began to chastise her. Every other word seemed to be accentuated with a sharp sting to her rear.
‘It’s bad enough that some of the younger girls can’t control themselves, but you are 17 years old!’ he bellowed. ‘You’ve gone and wet yourself like a baby, but don’t you worry young lady. We know just how to deal with girls who still wet their knickers at St Margaret’s!’
As he finished that sentence, Chloe felt her knickers yanked unceremoniously down her legs, and realising that Sarah now had a clear view of her hairless pussy, desperately tried to clamber off of the headmaster’s lap and pull her knickers back up. She got as far as standing up before both of her wrists were brought up over her head, held in one of the headmaster’s strong hands. As he continued to spank her bare bottom in a standing position, Chloe realised she had made a grave error. Not only had she angered the man who was spanking her even further, by standing up she had given Jessica and Lily a perfect view of her bald fanny, and was now completely powerless to cover it up in any way. Her arms stayed lodged over her head and her piss-stained knickers hung hopelessly at mid thigh. As the slaps continued on her naked bottom, she heard Lily whisper to Jessica,
‘Look, little miss pissy pants doesn’t even have any pubes! She’s such a baby!’
These words were the final straw for Chloe, who now began to openly sob, crying tears of shame.
When the headmaster had finished punishing Chloe’s poor defenceless bottom, he told Jessica and Lily that they could get dressed. The girls didn’t waste any time in pulling up their knickers and tights and letting their skirts fall into their usual position. Jessica was still a little puffy eyed from crying, but Lily looked as if she hadn’t suffered in the slightest and was thoroughly enjoying herself.
‘Sarah, help Chloe out of her wet things,’ instructed the headmaster.
Sarah approached Chloe with a plastic bag which was already containing the shoe which she had lost during her spanking. Sarah then bent down to retrieve Chloe’s other shoe, as the humiliated girl gingerly stepped out of it. This shoe joined its twin in the plastic bag. Next, in one swift motion Sarah pulled the girl’s tights and knickers down to her feet, and had her step out of them. Finally, Chloe’s wet skirt was unzipped and removed, and placed into the plastic bag with the other items. Chloe stood completely naked from the waist down, cheeks burning bright with humiliation as her urine-streaked legs, hairless pussy and bright red bum were on display for those around her to see.
‘Sarah, bring me the box please. Let’s get Chloe into her nappy.’ |
Well, this hasn't exactly turned out the way I expected. I was planning on having the opening chapter take place in the office, and then have chapter two be about facing the rest of the class. However, I've spent four chapters in the office.
I'm glad that the feedback so far has been positive. If there is something that you would like to see in future chapters, it's worth asking because it might be something I'm quite happy to write in but wouldn't have thought of.
Anyway, please enjoy.
Chapter four
The headmaster opened the box and pulled out a packet of Huggies baby wipes. He gave them to Sarah.
‘See that she’s completely clean before we go any further,’ he instructed.
Sarah then took a couple of wipes from the packet, and started at Chloe’s feet. As the cold wipes worked their way up Chloe’s legs, she realised that Sarah was going to wipe her most private areas. Just before Sarah got to the top of Chloe’s legs, she discarded the wipes and got a fresh one from the packet.
‘I might need a few wipes for this next bit, she’s absolutely covered in wee,’ stated Sarah to nobody in particular. All the while, Lily was grinning like a Cheshire cat. As the cold baby wipe touched the delicate folds of Chloe’s vagina, she shuddered. Undeterred, Sarah rubbed the wipe over Chloe’s pussy, roughly, several times, making sure it was very clean. When Sarah discarded that wipe, Chloe thought that the wiping ordeal was over, but she was wrong. Just as she started to relax she felt another cool baby wipe on her stinging bum cheek. Once again, Sarah was not overly gentle, and roughly wiped both cheeks to ensure they were free of urine. What came next was truly unexpected, not only by Chloe, but also by Jessica and Lily. Chloe’s eyes went wide as Sarah parted her cheeks and roughly wiped her crack, paying particular attention to her tight arsehole. Sarah then came to the front of Chloe and produced the wipe for all to see. There was a distinct brown mark on it.
‘I think some time in nappies will do the girl good,’ stated Sarah.
Lily couldn’t control her laughter, and even Jessica, who had appeared sympathetic until now, was smirking at Chloe.
‘That truly is disgusting Chloe,’ said the headmaster with condemnation. ‘Usually girls who are punished with the white tights must wear them for a week. However, given your age, and your clear lack of self-control, I think it would be best if you wore them for the whole term.’
Chloe simply looked down at the floor hoping that it would swallow her up.
The headmaster returned to box and withdrew a pink changing mat. It was juvenile in design, but clearly large enough for children who should be long out of nappies. Despite this, Chloe realised that it wasn’t designed for girls as old as 17. The headmaster moved the chair from the middle of the room, and replaced it with the changing mat.
‘Lie down Chloe.’
By this point, Chloe had no more fight left in her. She resigned herself to her fate, and lay on her back, legs closed.
‘Jessica, Lily and Sarah, I want you to watch this and let it serve as a stark reminder for you. At St Margaret’s, girls who behave like babies are treated like babies,’ stated the headmaster as if it was the most normal thing in the world. The girls gathered round to see the spectacle of 17 year old Chloe being put into a nappy by the headmaster.
‘Open your legs Chloe,’ said the headmaster sternly.
Chloe reluctantly complied, giving everybody their best view yet of her completely hairless pussy. The headmaster left her in that position, with the girls leering at her while he went back to the box.
‘I can’t wait to get you back to class Chloe,’ sneered Lily.
The headmaster returned with two items that got Chloe’s heart racing in a frantic panic. She knew there was nothing she could do, but she desperately wanted to run away, even if it meant running through the hallways of the school with her humiliating fanny and freshly spanked arse on show. Anything but the nappy. But she didn’t run. As the headmaster unfolded the nappy, she actually complied with him as he told her lift up so he could slide it underneath her. Next he picked up the other item he’d brought from the box, a bottle of baby powder. He liberally sprinkled it between Chloe’s legs, before grabbing both of her ankles in one hand and lifting them up so that he could powder her bum. Chloe cried fresh tears as she realised how juvenile she must look. The fact that Lily was here to see it all only made things ten times worse. The headmaster lowered her legs and spread them apart again, before bringing the front of the nappy up. Chloe should have been relieved to no longer be exposed, but this somehow seemed worse. As the headmaster started to do up the tabs to secure the nappy in place, he started speaking.
‘To ensure that there is no claim of confusion at a later stage, allow me to make things quite clear now. You are not, under any circumstances, to remove your nappy, or the tights that will be placed on you in a moment. Not while you are at school. I will be sending a letter home suggesting to your parents that the same rules apply at home. Only a member of teaching staff or a prefect can remove them for you, and they are under no obligation to do so. You should also be aware, that any teacher or prefect can check, change or remove your nappy at any point they chose. Failure to comply with these rules may result in my devising an even more humiliating punishment method, and I should warn you that I am incredibly imaginative.’
With his lecture complete, the headmaster motioned for Sarah to fetch the white tights. These tights would let anybody who saw Chloe know that she had suffered an embarrassing accident, and that she was now wearing a nappy. As Sarah helped Chloe into the tights, the full impact of what he had said hit home. She wasn’t on particularly good terms with any of the prefects, and the teachers were notorious for their lack of compassion when it came to girls wearing white tights. Chloe suspected that her humiliation was only just beginning, and the headmaster had told her that she would be treated like this for the whole term! At least her father wouldn’t go in for doing it at home. At least, Chloe hoped that he wouldn’t. As Chloe stood there, her nappy clearly visible under her tights, Sarah’s voice pulled her away from her thoughts.
‘Chloe, put these on, we need to get you back to class.’
Sarah was holding out a fresh school skirt and a pair of Mary-Jane shoes.
‘Yes, put them on Chloe,’ chided Lily, ‘You wouldn’t want everybody to see your nappy would you?’ |
Once again, I welcome all feedback, even if it's just telling me you'd like to see more, or telling me things you would or would not like to see in future.
Here's the next chapter.
Chapter six
There was a moment of stunned silence as the girls in the class drank in the sight before them. The truth was that Chloe wasn’t overly popular. Some of the girls were jealous of her natural good looks, others weren’t particularly fond of her because she was a renowned tattle-tale. Here she was, in front of them, in the dreaded white tights reserved for girls who couldn’t keep their knickers clean and dry. That moment seemed to Chloe as if it lasted forever, and it dawned on her that she was by far the oldest girl to have ever been subjected to that punishment. Katy Flynn had been punished in the same way in year 10, but that was three years ago and she at least had the excuse that an upset stomach had led to her week in nappies.
Eventually, the silence was ended by a tremendous uproar of laughter. Chloe could feel her already crimson face burn even brighter than before. She wished she had just left the school when she had the chance. Sure, the other girls would find out from Lily, Jessica and Sarah, but at least she wouldn’t have to face them. Soon, the comments started.
‘Oh my god! Is she really wearing a nappy under there do you think?’
‘Do you think she pissed or shat herself? Maybe it was both!’
‘Oh dear, it looks like the little baby is going to cwy!’
The comment about Chloe crying wasn’t wrong. She felt fresh tears of shame streaming down her cheeks.
‘Enough!’ shouted Miss Stockwell over the din. ‘Come and sit down girls and do it quickly and quietly. I don’t want any more disruption. Those of you who have questions about Chloe’s unfortunate predicament can ask them at break time.’
‘Questions about my unfortunate predicament?’ thought Chloe. ‘Does she honestly think the other girls just have a passing curiosity about how I ended up in a nappy? It’ll be the talk of the school by the end of break time.’
‘Cute shoes,’ remarked Katy Flynn as she walked past her to get to her seat near the back of the class. Sarah sat behind Chloe, while Lily and Jessica took their places nearer the front.
As Miss Stockwell started to explain about Macbeth’s transformation from a brave and heroic figure into a weak and desperate villain, Chloe noticed that Lily and Jessica were talking to the girls sat near them, who would glance in her direction and giggle. She tried not to move around too much, worried that her nappy would be noisy. It did seem that the one benefit of the tights was that they compressed the nappy, meaning that it didn’t make much noise. It did, however, push the soft lining of the nappy up against her fanny and into her crack which served as a constant reminder of the shameful garment. She was brought back to the real world when Alice, the girl next her turned and spoke in a whisper.
‘So was it an ickle piddle or stinkyjobs?’ she asked in a mocking tone.
‘Huh?’ responded Chloe, surprised.
‘Well did you wet yourself or crap yourself?’ Alice asked.
‘You could say there was a bit of both,’ said Sarah leaning in from behind.
‘There was not! It was just a bit of wee!’ said Chloe, louder than she’s meant to. Some of the other girls heard her and giggled.
‘Well,’ said Sarah, ‘I had the job of cleaning little miss pissypants up before she had her nappy put on, and let’s just say, the baby wipes had poo on them when I’d finished.’
‘So you did crap yourself!’ Alice exclaimed.
‘No I didn’t,’ Chloe gasped. ‘I just, well, I might not have wiped thoroughly enough.’
Alice looked at Chloe with a kind of vindictive glee. ‘So you pissed your knickers and you had a pooey bum! No wonder the headmaster gave you a week in nappies!’
‘Oh, it isn’t for a week,’ said Sarah. ‘She’s in them for the whole term. Though I don’t think they’ll take much getting use to for her. Her knickers weren’t exactly the most grown up anyway.’
‘The whole term? Chloe, you’ll have forgotten what it feels like to wear knickers by the time you can wear them again.’ Chloe already felt that grown-up underwear was a thing of the past. It seemed a lifetime ago that she and her friend Sophie had gone shopping for provocative underwear to impress their boyfriends, but it had only been a couple of days.
‘Sarah, what was wrong with her knickers then?’ asked Alice.
‘Please stop. You know that I’m wearing … well that I’m not wearing knickers now. Isn’t that bad enough?’
‘Well,’ said Sarah, completely ignoring Chloe’s protests, ‘other than the fact that they were soaked in urine, they were something you might expect a five year old to wear.’
‘Did they have Disney princesses on or something?’ Asked Alice.
‘Not Disney princesses, no. But ask yourself Alice, who lives in a pineapple under the sea?’
‘She was wearing Spongebob knickers!’ shouted Alice.
The whole class started laughing again. Miss Stockwell was clearly getting annoyed.
‘We’ll have no more talk of Chloe’s knickers.’ She shouted. ‘It’s not relevant to our learning, and we all know full well what she’s wearing under her skirt so there is nothing to be gained by discussing it.’
Chloe was beginning to feel that she couldn’t possibly be more humiliated than she already had been today. It wasn’t so long ago that she had been standing smugly in the headmaster’s office, excited at the prospect of seeing Lily humbled by being spanked with her knickers down. Right now, she’d give just about anything to trade places with Lily. That, however, was impossible, and to make matters worse Chloe was beginning to become aware of a growing need to pee. |
I hope people are still enjoying it even though there's not really been any desperation for the toilet so far. There's a bit more in the next chapter. Also, any humiliation fans who know the shame that some people feel when forced to say certain things might like the next chapter. I know that two of my partners have found it more embarrassing to admit that they wet themselves, especially if they have to use certain words or phrases, than the actual act of wetting in their pants.
Anyway, new chapter up very soon.
Just had to proof read it, but here it is, chapter seven:
Chapter seven
Chloe had meant what she had said earlier. While she may have disgraced herself in the headmaster’s office, she had absolutely no intention of wetting her nappy. She raised her hand, and Miss Stockwell looked at her expectantly.
‘Please may I go to the toilet Miss?’
‘Don’t you think you’ve missed enough of my class already Chloe?’
‘I’m sorry Miss. I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t desperate.’ As if to accentuate her need, Chloe uncrossed and re-crossed her white-tight clad legs.
‘Well my understanding of it Chloe, is that you aren’t allowed to take off those tights, or your nappy.’ The word nappy got fresh laughter from the class.
‘Miss, you’re allowed to take them off for me,’ Chloe replied.
‘Let me make something very clear to you Chloe. The reason I teach sixth form girls rather than reception children is because I have absolutely no desire to change nappies, clean up messes or potty train late developers. I will not, at any point, be taking off your nappy. You can either hold on until break time and try your luck with one of the prefects, or you can go in your nappy right now, but allow me to be quite clear that I will not be changing it. I’m not paid enough for that kind of work. Is that clear?’
‘Yes Miss.’
The fact that the whole class knew that Chloe needed to pee had made her situation even more interesting to them. Chloe decided that she would try to hold on until break time. She was still adamant that she would be dry by the end of the day.
When break time came, the pupil toilets were busy, as was usual. On top of all the girls who genuinely needed to use the facilities, there were always the girls who went in for a crafty cigarette or to have a bitchy gossip session. Stood outside the door were two prefects. Chloe went to enter the toilet but the taller prefect put her arm in front of the door.
‘Where do you think you’re going?’ the girl asked her.
‘Please let me through, I need to go to the toilet,’ Chloe pleaded.
‘Well you can’t, can you? Not unless you can persuade a prefect to pull your tights down and remove. Your. Nappy.’ She said each of these last three words slowly and deliberately, taking great delight in the fact that it was obviously making Chloe uncomfortable. It was also drawing something of a crowd.
‘Could you do it for me?’ asked Chloe.
‘You’re wearing a nappy. If you use it, I’ll change you. That’s my best offer.’
‘Well there’s no need to be mean,’ said Sarah, emerging from the crowd. ‘I could help you Chloe. But you’d have to ask very, very nicely.’
‘Please Sarah, please take it off,’ Chloe begged.
‘Well I think you can ask much more nicely than that. In fact, I’ve written down how I think you should ask. If you read every word on this piece of paper, I’ll take you to the toilet and let you pee. I promise.’
Chloe took the piece of paper and looked at it.
‘Sarah, I don’t want to say this.’
‘Well it seems to me that it’s say those words or wet yourself. If you’re going to read it use a nice clear voice, and speak up. I want everybody to hear. I won’t repeat my offer,’ said Sarah with a hint of malice. ‘Going once, going twice.’
‘Wait! I’ll do it. I’ll do it,’ said Chloe with a look of defeat on her face. By now the crowd had grown bigger, and she realised the longer she delayed the bigger it would get. Surely saying some words couldn’t be more humiliating than wetting herself?
‘Sarah, you are so kind and beautiful,’ Chloe read, ‘and I fancy the pants off you. Would you please take me to the potty, pull down my punishment tights, take off my nappy and let me do wee wees like a big girl? Afterwards I would like you to wipe my lulu and check my naughty botty for more poo stains.’ The crowd erupted into guffawing laughter, and Chloe thought it may have been easier to simply wet herself.
‘Well, seeing as you asked so nicely,’ Sarah said. She took Chloe by the hand and took her into the toilets. She opened one of the stalls and gestured with her hand.
‘I need you to take my … to take it off,’ said Chloe.
‘To take off your nappy? No way.’
‘But you said that you would. You promised that if I read out that sheet of paper that you would do it!’ Chloe cried.
‘You obviously weren’t paying attention. I said that I would take you to the toilet and let you pee. I never said anything about removing your tights or nappy,’ Sarah said, proud of her deception. The other girls in the toilets were laughing now.
‘Fine!’ said Chloe, knowing that there would be no persuading Sarah. ‘I’ll just hold it.’
‘Good luck with that,’ said Sarah, ‘from the way you’re squirming I don’t think you’ll be holding on too much longer. Don’t think that you’ll be able to hide it when you eventually do wet yourself either, I’ll be checking.’ As she said this, Sarah backed into the toilet stall herself, and added insult to injury by hiking up her skirt, pulling down her black tights and pink knickers and sitting on the toilet. As her stream hit the porcelain, she smiled at Chloe. The sight of seeing another girl peeing made Chloe’s need feel that much worse, and she stormed out of the toilet in frustration.
I hope people are enjoying this. Does this community have a whole lot of lurkers? It's only since I've started posting more actively myself that I've noticed the amount of views a topic gets compared to the number of comments or even positive respect point things shows a pretty large difference. |
I'm really enjoying writing this story. I hope that others are enjoying it too. Feel free to offer thoughts and other humiliations that Chloe might suffer. There are long term plans to have messing feature, as well as potty humiliation and possibly some sexual practices (if that is permitted) but there is no messing in this chapter.
Chapter eight
As Chloe walked down the corridor towards her next class, she turned a lot of heads. She was painfully aware that all eyes were on her and her bright white legs. There were sniggers from both sides of the hallway, and it didn’t take long for the comments to start.
‘Isn’t she in year 13? A bit too old to still be having accidents don’t you think?’
‘She’ll never live this down.’
‘I heard she was so scared of a spanking that she just stood there and peed all over herself.’
‘Not what I heard. I heard she crapped herself and it all ran down her legs.’
‘Do you think she’s had to have her nappy changed yet? That’s got to be the worst bit.’
Chloe did her best to ignore the comments but she still felt a deep shame. She didn’t feel it was worth pointing out to anybody that she hadn’t actually messed herself. It would feel a bit hollow if she had to follow it up by admitting that she did wet herself like a child. One comment cut through all the others and stopped Chloe in her tracks.
‘Holy shit Mia, is that your sister?’
*******************************
Chloe hadn’t even considered the possibility that she might run into her sister, or rather, her step-sister. Chloe’s mother had died while Chloe was quite young. Chloe and her father had been on their own for some time, but just over two years ago her father had re-married. Chloe was glad to see her father happy, but always felt that her step-mother didn’t particularly like her. On more than one occasion her step-mother had threatened to take Chloe over her knee and pull her knickers down, but her father had always come to her defence. Mia was not so lucky. Her mother regularly spanked her for any perceived slight, and Mia resented the fact that Chloe wasn’t treated in the same way. To make matters worse, Mia’s mother had no qualms about spanking her bare bottom in front of Chloe or her father. Being only a year younger than Chloe, Mia felt that she was too old to be spanked, especially with her knickers down. The difference in the way they were treated meant that Mia always felt very much the younger sister, but that was about to change.
*******************************
‘What the hell did you do?’ Mia exclaimed, shocked to see her sister hopping from foot to foot and trying not to squeeze her privates while wearing a pair of bright white tights.
‘Please, don’t make me say it,’ pleaded Chloe.
‘Are you wearing a nappy under those?’ Mia asked, still struggling to take it all in.
‘Would you like to see it?’ interrupted Sarah.
‘What are you talking about?’ asked Mia.
‘As a prefect I can change, check or remove Chloe’s nappy. I’m wondering if it might be time to check if she’s had a widdle accident yet,’ said Sarah.
‘Please Sarah, not here. Not in front of all these people,’ begged Chloe.
‘Don’t look so upset Chloe, I’m only looking out for you. It would be a terrible shame if you got a nasty case of nappy rash now wouldn’t it?’
A crowd had formed around them, and a chant began.
‘Check her! Check her! Check her!’
‘How could I not give all these people what they want?’ asked Sarah in a mocking tone.
At that moment Chloe was overcome by the power of her urge to pee. As she bent forward in an effort to retain control, Sarah raised her skirt, and the crowd gasped as her nappy came into view through her white tights.
‘Please Sarah, please don’t do this!’ Chloe pleaded hopelessly.
Sarah rolled the top of Chloe’s tights down until they rested just above her knees. Chloe’s nappy was now completely exposed to the crowd and she blushed furiously.
‘She’s dry Sarah. Pull her tights back up,’ said Mia, feeling obliged to stand up for Chloe, despite the fact that part of her was enjoying the spectacle. She was getting something of a thrill from watching her ‘big’ sister having her nappy exposed in front of all these people, and it was made even more exciting by the fact that Mia could see that Chloe was on the verge of flooding her nappy in front of everybody.
‘Hmm it looks dry, but I didn’t get to be a prefect by doing jobs half-heartedly. I’d better do a more thorough check,’ said Sarah. She was trying to buy as much time as possible. She wanted Chloe to piss herself while her nappy was exposed like this, to maximise her shame. She caught Chloe off guard by sticking her finger into one of the leg holes of Chloe’s nappy and feeling her vagina.
‘She’s dry for now, but I’m not sure for how long,’ laughed Sarah.
Chloe was still on the verge of having a humiliating accident in front of everybody when Mia came to her defence again.
‘Come on Sarah. That’s enough. Pull her tights back up, you’ve had your fun.’
‘Not yet Mia. When you’ve got a dirty girl with no self-control it’s not good enough just to check if she’s wet. We need to check you for poo poos as well don’t we Chole?’
With that she put her hand down the back of Chloe’s nappy, and ran her finger down Chole’s crack. She played to the crowd as if she was checking Chloe’s nappy, but really she was just annoyed that Chloe hadn’t wet herself, and used this as an opportunity to get at her. She found Chloe’s tight little arsehole and pushed her finger in. Chloe let out a gasp at the unexpected intrusion, and for the first time felt herself leak into her nappy. Luckily for Chloe the leak wasn’t too bad, but she was sure if Sarah checked the front again she would insist it was changing time. After lingering inside Chloe for a few seconds, Sarah brought her hand out, patted Chloe on the head and congratulated her for keeping her nappy clean.
‘Is that baby powder on hand?’ someone in the crowd muttered.
‘Oh yes, she’s very well powdered in there,’ said Sarah, ‘just like the baby she is.’
Defeated for the moment, Sarah took her sweet time pulling Chloe’s tights up, gave the front of her tights-covered nappy a squeeze, and let Chloe’s skirt fall back down. Chloe, aware that she had started to wet herself for the second time today, realised that she would very soon have to endure the humiliation of having her wet nappy changed. She only hoped that not many people were around to see it. |
Thanks for the feedback everybody. I think I may be developing something of a problem. All I can think about is writing the next chapter. Here it is.
Chapter nine
Chloe quickly made her way to the next class, hoping that if she was swift less people would be aware of her. It wasn’t particularly effective. It seemed to Chloe that the whole school had heard about the year 13 girl who had wet herself. Girls much younger than Chloe laughed and taunted her as she walked past. The reaction was no different when she got into class and sat down. Jessica turned to her as she put her bag under the table.
‘Have you wet yourself again yet?’ she asked, clearly hoping for an affirmative answer.
‘No,’ Chloe lied. She told herself that it wasn’t a proper lie, because she’d only let out a little bit and you couldn’t even tell if you looked at her nappy. After her experience at break time she realised that she could expect no help from the prefects, so she would just have to look to the teachers for help. Mr Thomas would be along soon, and he was a kind teacher. Surely he would let her go to the toilet.
‘Well it doesn’t look like you can hold out much longer,’ Jessica stated dryly, ‘I wonder if you can make it to the end of the lesson.’
Chloe couldn’t disagree with Jessica. She was desperate, and it was becoming increasingly obvious. She couldn’t keep her legs still. As some girls who hadn’t seen Chloe yet that morning filed into the room, all her fidgeting and squirming immediately drew their eyes to her slender legs jostling about in her white tights. Chloe was doing her best to ignore the laughter when Mr Thomas walked in.
‘Okay girls, in your seats. Quickly please,’ he shouted above the clamour of the pupils. ‘Right,’ said Mr Thomas, ‘before we get started, there’s something I need to talk to you about. It has come to my attention that girls have been passing notes in my classroom. While you know that I am normally quite a permissive teacher, I find this incredibly rude. I’m using this opportunity to give you fair warning. If I catch somebody passing a note, I won’t care who wrote it, or if they were just passing it along, or any of the other excuses you come out with. That girl will have to read the note aloud to the entire class and will then come to the front of the class to be spanked over her knickers. I will not tolerate it. Are we clear?’
‘Yes sir,’ mumbled the class.
Chloe waited until Mr Thomas had finished his rant, and then put her hand up.
‘Is something the matter Chloe?’
‘Can I go to the toilet please sir?’ asked Chloe, trying her best to look endearing.
‘I’m afraid not Chloe. You know you aren’t allowed to take, um, certain items off by yourself and I can’t leave the class unattended to take you to the toilet.’ He seemed almost embarrassed by it himself. Mr Thomas asked the class to open their textbooks and the lesson began. Chloe was at least happy to be sat next to Sophie, rather than Alice this time.
Sophie and Chloe had been friends for a long time, and knew each other intimately. Before either of them had boyfriends, they used to have sleepovers were they would practice their kissing technique on each other. Chloe wasn’t sure at first, but Sophie had convinced her by telling her that she needed to be ready when a hot boy wanted to kiss her. Sophie had also introduced Chloe to masturbation. Once again, Chloe had been shy, but Sophie convinced her it was the best thing ever. She had shown Chloe how it was done, and then encouraged her to do it herself. They told each other everything that went on with their boyfriends, and Chloe couldn’t help but feel that Sophie would try just about anything. It had been Chloe’s idea to go shopping for sexy underwear at the weekend, but that now seemed a lifetime ago.
Chloe was awoken from her day dream when she realised that Mr Thomas was speaking to her.
‘I’ll ask you one last time Chloe. What is that in front of you?’
Chloe looked down at the desk in front of her and realised that there was a note on her desk.
‘It looks like a note sir.’
‘Well Chloe, you were warned. Stand up and read it out please.’
Chloe picked up the note and gingerly rose to her feet. The movement reminded her of just how desperate for the toilet she was. Chloe wasn’t sure she would make it until lunch time.
‘Well Chloe, what does the note say?’
‘Sir, it says, ‘do you think she’s a bedwetter?’’
‘Is there a reply Chloe?’ Mr Thomas asked.
‘Yes sir, it says ‘I heard that she wet the bed on the trip to France last year.’ But sir, that’s not true, I didn’t,’ pleaded Chloe.
‘Chloe, I have no interest in whether or not you wet the bed.’ The girls laughed. ‘I do, however, care that you were passing notes after I explicitly told you not to. I feel I was quite clear about what the consequences would be. Come to the front of the class.’
Chloe tentatively stepped towards the front of the class, all too aware that she was once again the centre of attention. She also felt that she was on the verge of wetting herself. Mr Thomas positioned himself on a chair at the front of the class and Chloe nervously laid across his lap.
‘I did say,’ began Mr Thomas, ‘that I would be spanking any offenders over their knickers. Seeing as you aren’t wearing any, I shall have to be content to spank you over your nappy.’
The other girls in the class gasped as Mr Thomas lifted up Chloe’s skirt and pulled her tights down, exposing her nappy. While the class were distracted with the spectacle at the front, Sophie used the opportunity to remove Chloe’s phone from her bag. Intent on having some fun, she sent Ryan, Chloe’s boyfriend, a text message.
‘Can you come and meet me after school? I went shopping for some sexy knickers at the weekend and I’m wearing them right now, under my school uniform. I want you to see them tonight. X’ |
Here's the next chapter. Let me know if you like it (or if you don't).
Chapter ten
Chloe’s second spanking of the day was nowhere near as painful as the first, but it was just as humiliating. While the nappy offered her bottom a layer of protection, having it exposed to the whole class like this was very embarrassing for Chloe. Each spank sent a jolt through her body, and every jolt threatened to be the one that ended her control over her poor, aching bladder. As if things weren’t uncomfortable enough, she could feel something prodding her from underneath, and realised with horror that Mr Thomas had an erection. He was enjoying spanking her, or exposing her nappy, or both.
Meanwhile, at the back of the classroom, Sophie was now fully engaged in a text conversation with Ryan.
‘What kind of sexy underwear?’ Ryan had texted back.
‘Well, you’ll just have to wait and see won’t you? I’ve been a very naughty girl Ryan, you might need to spank me. X’
‘Seriously? I thought you weren’t into that?’
‘You’ve always wanted to haven’t you? Spank me in my school uniform like a naughty girl? X’
‘You know I have, I just didn’t think you would ever let me.’
‘I’m feeling very naughty, and tonight I want you to have the best night of your life. I’ll let you do anything you like to me. X’
‘Anything?’
‘Anything you like. See you after school. X’
Completely unaware of the promises that Sophie was making on her behalf, Chloe was beginning to panic. She could feel her control slipping. Each time she felt the hand come down onto her nappy she was sure that she was leaking. Again and again she released a small spurt of urine into her nappy, completely powerless to stop it, until one thundering slap to her rear demolished the little self-control she had left. Chloe felt the floodgates open and realised with horror that she was completely flooding her nappy in front of the whole class. Mr Thomas slapped her nappy covered bottom again, and realised that the nappy had changed texture. He stopped.
‘Chloe, have you just, just … disgraced yourself?’ he asked.
‘Yes sir,’ Chloe responded, sobbing.
‘Right, well I’m sure you’ve learned your lesson. Up you get,’ Mr Thomas said awkwardly.
As Chloe stood up her nappy sagged down and the whole class got an eyeful before her skirt dropped. Her tights were still halfway down her legs, but she didn’t dare pull them up in case she made matters worse. Chloe noticed that Mr Thomas made no effort to stand up, and wondered if he was still enjoying himself. There was a brief moment of quiet, and it almost seemed as if some of Chloe’s classmates felt sorry for the poor girl.
‘I’m afraid I don’t have … well, I don’t have any nappies in here Chloe,’ explained Mr Thomas. ‘I only teach years 11, 12 and 13, and they’ve never needed them before,’ he said as he pulled her tights up. The tights pushed the wet nappy up against Chloe’s skin, and she felt the urine pool around her bottom. ‘You’ll have to go to the office and see if somebody there can sort you out,’ Mr Thomas said, not without sympathy.
‘That won’t be necessary sir,’ Sarah said, rising from her seat. ‘I was with Chloe this morning when she was first put back in nappies. I took the liberty of bringing some supplies because I thought she might need a change. I can do it right here.’
‘Oh, how thoughtful Miss Daniels,’ Mr Thomas replied.
‘Thoughtful,’ thought Chloe, ‘she just wants to take my nappy off in front of everybody.’
‘Why don’t you climb up on this table Chloe? We’ll get you into a nice clean nappy,’ Sarah teased.
Chloe, realising there was no way out for her, started to clamber onto the table.
‘Uh oh. You weren’t going to put your shoes on the furniture were you little miss?’ said Sarah.
Reluctantly Chloe bent down and took her shoes off, placed them on the floor and climbed onto the table with her tights-encased feet. There was no pretence that a lesson was still going on. All eyes were on Chloe, including those of Mr Thomas, who watched, completely mesmerised as if he were in some kind of trance. He had his hand in his pocket, and Chloe realised with horror that he was touching himself. Her young, attractive teacher had gotten off on spanking her and was now getting off at the thought of her having her nappy changed in full view of the class. Chloe lay on her back on the table without even being asked.
‘I think it will be easier if we just take your skirty-wirty off won’t it Chloe-kins?’ chided Sarah. She was obviously hell bent on making the whole process as humiliating as possible. Sarah unzipped and removed Chloe’s skirt.
‘Probably best to just take these completely off too,’ Sarah said as she slid the tights down Chloe’s legs and then took them off of each foot. There were excited giggles as Chloe lay on the table, wearing nothing on her lower half but a discoloured, sagging nappy.
‘Is Aunty Sarah going to find a little parcel in the back of your nappy?’ Sarah asked with glee.
Chloe couldn’t bring herself to respond.
‘Hey, she asked you a question!’ Lily sneered. ‘Did you take a dump as well?’
‘Of course not!’ snapped Chloe, though she realised that the idea of messing herself was growing less and less far-fetched as the day went on.
‘Right then, let’s get your smelly nappy off before you get a nasty rash on your fluflu,’ said Sarah in a condescending tone. Sarah took her time undoing each of the four tapes of the nappy. She grabbed the front of the nappy and paused for a moment for dramatic effect. Chloe realised she was holding her breath. Sarah had said that she would show everybody Chloe’s baby-smooth fanny and it seemed like she was being true to her word.
When Sarah pulled the front of Chloe’s nappy down, there was shocked silence, followed by a tirade of laughter and ridicule. Mr Thomas just sat there and watched.
‘Look at her pussy! She looks like an actual baby!’
‘Do you think it’s part of the punishment? Do they shave you down there or something?’
‘No way. I saw Katy have her nappy changed a few times back in year 10, and she had a little jungle going on down there.’
‘Look at how stained her nappy is!’
Chloe instinctively rose her bottom up for Sarah to slide the wet nappy out from under her, and Sarah took her sweet time folding it up and taping it closed.
‘Oh dear,’ she said ‘I seem to have left my supplies at the other end of the room. I’m sure these other girls can watch you while I go and get them.’
Sarah slowly sauntered over to her bag, while Chloe was left exposed for everybody to look at. The air felt cool against Chloe’s wet bottom. Sarah returned with her supplies and started going to work with the baby wipes. She was being incredibly thorough and spent much longer than necessary ‘cleaning’ Chloe’s vagina in an attempt to humiliate Chloe further by getting her aroused. Chloe, however, was far too humiliated for it to work. Sarah then had one of the other girls lift Chloe’s ankles so that her red bottom was exposed. Sarah took her time cleaning this area too, and paid special attention to Chloe’s arsehole, even pushing the baby wipe inside slightly which made Chloe squirm. Sarah had hoped for another poo-stained wipe to embarrass Chloe with, but had no such luck, so settled for giving her upturned bottom a couple of sharp slaps. With Chloe’s legs still up in the air Sarah slid the fresh nappy under her and applied a liberal sprinkling of baby powder. She then brought her legs back down and opened them wide to powder the front before taping the nappy into place.
‘Aren’t you going to thank me?’ asked Sarah.
Chloe turned her face to the side and ignored the question. Sarah pinched the tender skin at the top of Chloe’s inside thigh.
‘Ow!’ squeaked Chloe.
‘I said aren’t you going to thank me?’
‘Thank you,’ Chloe said grudgingly.
‘What for?’ asked Sarah, ready to pinch again if she didn’t get the answer she wanted.
‘For … for changing my nappy,’ sobbed Chloe.
‘And why did I have to change your nappy?’ She caught and tender piece of flesh between her nails and squeezed.
‘OW! Because I wet myself!’ shouted out Chloe, much to the amusement of the other girls.
‘Now say it all together please, and call me Aunty Sarah,’ said Sarah with a devious smile.
‘Thank you, ow, Aunty Sarah, for changing my nappy after I wet myself!’
‘That’s okay sweetie. It’s not your fault if you’re still a little baby who can’t be trusted not to piss in her nappies. Now let’s get those tights back on. We wouldn’t want people mistaking you for a big girl now would we?’ |
Okay, this really is the last post before the quality drops off. I have to be up for work in just over seven hours, and once I'm back it might be a while before I can commit time to it in the way that I have been doing. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, it's been a very liberating experience for me to write this. I do fully plan to continue it, but I can't promise regular updates. I will try though, as there seem to be people enjoying it. It's now almost as long as my dissertation was, which is crazy.
Apologies to those who aren't overly into the nappy/diaper thing.
Also, as fair warning to people, the way the story is heading I can't help but feel that there will be messing somewhere down the line. It's mentioned in these chapters, but doesn't actually occur. That's right, chapters. Bonus chapter!
Chapter eleven
When she was fully clothed again, Chloe returned to her seat, her face burning with shame. Mr Thomas looked incredibly flustered, but somehow managed to compose himself somewhat, and carry on with some semblance of a lesson. Very few of the girls were paying attention though, as most of them were talking about what they had just witnessed. Chloe wasn’t at all surprised that even Sophie couldn’t just ignore what she had seen.
‘Are you going to tell Ryan that his little shaving idea wasn’t one of his best?’ Sophie asked.
‘No. If I tell him that he’s going to want to know why, and there’s no way I’m telling him what’s happened this morning,’ said Chloe.
‘He’ll find out sooner or later Chloe.’
‘I don’t see why he would.’
‘Are you going to tell him you’ve made some sort of abstinence pledge or something? Because I don’t think that boy can be in your company for more than a few minutes without trying to get in your knickers. All it would take is cheeky pinch to the bum, and you’re rumbled.’
‘I’m not going to be wearing nappies outside of school though am I? My dad would never agree to it. All I need to do is make sure he doesn’t try to cop a feel when I’m in uniform and he doesn’t have to be any the wiser,’ Chloe said confidently.
‘What about if he sees the white tights?’ asked Sophie.
‘He doesn’t know what they mean does he? It’s not exactly a policy that the school shouts about. Only the girls at this school, and their parents I suppose, know that it means I’ve got a nappy on.’ Chloe couldn’t tell if it was a good thing or a bad thing that she was getting more used to talking about her nappies.
‘Even if he doesn’t know about your, uh, special underwear, won’t he think the tights are a bit little-girly?’ asked Sophie.
‘Soph, this is the same Ryan who thinks I look cute with a hairless fanny, and likes me to wear knickers that I should have thrown out years ago. He’ll probably just be turned on.’
‘Yeah, I think the whole school knows about your poor choice of knickers for today. I mean really, Spongebob? Still, if he likes your baby fanny, your baby knickers and your baby tights, maybe he’ll like your baby nappy too?’ Sophie suggested in a tone that was not unkind.
Chloe knew that Sophie didn’t mean any harm by referring to all her ‘baby’ things, but it made her suddenly feel very self-conscious.
When the bell went for lunch, Chloe stuck with Sophie, the only person who had shown any real sympathy all day, apart from her sister. Nobody else seemed to want to sit at their table, but plenty were happy to comment as they walked by. Chloe did her best to filter out the taunts, but she couldn’t help listening.
‘You’ve barely touched your food,’ Sophie observed.
‘It’s just, you know, if it goes in, it’ll come out again won’t it?’
‘That is how digestion works, silly. But it won’t happen right away. By the time that food is ready to come out, you’ll be home, sat on the toilet with your regular knickers round your ankles. Don’t worry about it. You don’t need to go now, do? Number two I mean?’
‘No, not really. I suppose I could eat. Drinking’s a different story though.’
‘Chloe, you have to eat and drink. You’ll make yourself ill if you don’t,’ Chloe said sternly.
‘But I’ll wet myself if I do,’ Chloe said forlornly.
‘Look, Chloe, I’ll level with you. Whatever you do, no matter how much you try to avoid it, you will pee in your nappy at school. You’ll get no help from the teachers, and Sarah and the other prefects have got it in for you, so it’s gonna happen. Yes, it might be embarrassing getting your nappy changed in front of everybody, but you can’t change that. But people will lose interest. It will just be one of those things that people get tired of. Do you remember when Katy Flynn had to wear the white tights in year ten?’
‘Yeah.’
‘And she had one hell of a stomach bug. She didn’t just wet her nappies, she was crapping in them, and regularly.’
‘And everybody had a good laugh at her expense when she had to have her nappy changed, just like they have with me,’ Chloe muttered.
‘Yeah, at first they did. At first. Then it stopped being interesting. The last couple of days she stunk to high hell because nobody would even agree to change her. Nobody wanted to wipe her shitty arse. It’ll be the same with you. As long as things stay on the same level they’re at now, people will stop caring. Just keep your head down, try not to get in any trouble, accept that you’ll wet yourself sometimes and make sure you don’t need to take a dump while you’re in school. You’ll be fine.’
Chloe understood what her friend was saying, but she didn’t completely believe it. What if she got in trouble again? What if, one day, she couldn’t hold on until she got home so she did crap herself? She was being punished for a long time, and had to admit it was a possibility, as much as she might not want to.
Mia approached the table and sat down next to Chloe.
‘Mia, since when did you come and sit with me at lunch?’ Chloe asked.
‘Well it’s not like you’re so popular right now that there’s no room for me is it?’
‘I suppose not,’ Chloe conceded.
‘Anyway, I need to talk to you. Mum’s been on the phone to me, and she’s pissed. Apparently she’s been trying to call you, and you haven’t been picking up.’
‘I haven’t heard my phone ring. Let me check it.’
Chloe rummaged through her bag, looking for her phone, but it was nowhere to be found.
‘As if the day wasn’t bad enough, I think somebody’s nicked my phone,’ moaned Chloe.
‘Well anyway, the head has been in touch, about you know, your punishment. They’ve suggested that it carries on at home as well,’ Mia explained.
‘And I suppose your mum thinks it’s a good idea? A chance to get back at me for the times that dad wouldn’t let her spank me?’ asked Chloe.
‘Yeah. She thinks it’s a good idea. You know I would’ve argued your case if I thought it would make any difference, but I’d just get in trouble myself.’
‘That’s okay Mia. My dad won’t go along with it anyway.’
‘That’s just it,’ Mia said apologetically, ‘your dad has been called away on business. He won’t be home for at least a week.’
All the colour drained from Chloe’s face. Her hands and feet suddenly felt numb, and her throat was dry.
‘Are you telling me that I’ve got to wear nappies all the time?’ she asked Mia.
‘It’s worse than that. She told me that her days of changing nappies are long behind her.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ asked Chloe.
‘She wants me to be in charge of changing you,’ Mia said.
‘You? You? But you’re younger than me. You can’t change me!’
‘You always have to bring my age into it don’t you?’ said Mia, raising her voice in anger, ‘You’re barely any older than I am! For what it’s worth I’m not particularly looking forward to wiping your smelly arse anyway!’ Mia carried on, at a full blown shout now that was drawing the attention of the other girls. ‘If you’re so worried about having your nappies changed by your little sister, perhaps you shouldn’t have pissed your knickers in the first place!’ With that, Mia stormed off, while many of the other girls applauded her.
‘I think you might have pissed her off,’ said Sophie.
Chapter twelve
The afternoon was taken up by double PE, which meant that Chloe and Sophie both needed to go to their lockers to pick up their PE kit. They went to Sophie’s first, and then onto Chloe’s. As they approached Chloe’s locker they noticed a group of year seven girls sniggering. When Chloe saw her locker it was obvious what they were laughing at. On the front of her locker somebody had stuck a copy of her school picture from the previous year. However, over her smile somebody had superimposed a dummy, so that it looked like she was sucking on it. To add insult to injury, there was a speech bubble saying Thank you Aunty Sarah for changing my nappy after I wet myself.
‘You have to hand it to them,’ Sophie said, ‘It’s a pretty convincing photoshop job.’ Sophie’s attempt to lighten the mood really wasn’t working. Chloe was dreading this afternoon for two reasons. Firstly PE meant Miss Jenkins, who was well known for cruelty to students. She seemed to enjoy humiliating them. Chloe could remember one occasion when a sixteen year old girl had forgotten her PE kit, and rather than lend her some from the spare cupboard, Miss Jenkins had made the girl do it in her underwear like a 5 year old. The second reason was that PE meant getting changed. The whole school might know that she was wearing a nappy, but that didn’t mean that she was happy to show it off.
The girls walked into the changing room and put their bags down on a bench. Chloe got as far as taking her blazer and shoes off and stopped. She looked around at the other girls getting changed and found herself incredibly jealous of what she was beginning to think of as ‘big girl knickers.’ She’d settle for Spongebob ones right about now, or even some of the even more embarrassing pairs that Ryan seemed to like. Sophie had taken her skirt off and was stood with her pink bikini knickers showing through her tights.
‘Look,’ Sophie said, stopping what she was doing, ‘half the girls in here have seen it already. You might as well just get it over with.’
Chloe could see that Sophie had a point, and more than half of the girls were changed and on their way out anyway. Still, she couldn’t help hesitating a bit. Sophie pulled her shorts up over her pink knickers.
‘Don’t sweat it, I’ll see you out there okay? Don’t take too long, you know how Miss Jenkins gets if you’re late.’
With that, Sophie was gone. Realising that she was right, Chloe unzipped and removed her skirt. She had just started to roll her tights down her legs when she felt a sharp pain in her ear.
‘You’re not allowed to take them off, remember?’ hissed Lily. ‘Let’s see what Miss Jenkins thinks of your disobedience.’
Lily pulled Chloe along by the ear, out of the changing room and into the sports hall. There was laughter as the waiting crowd caught sight of her with no skirt, and her tights at the middle of her thighs, exposing her shameful underwear.
‘What’s all this about Lily?’ asked Miss Jenkins.
‘I caught her trying to take her tights off Miss, after the headmaster told her that she isn’t allowed to.’
‘Okay, Lily. Let her go. I’ll deal with her.’ She turned to Chloe, ‘why were you taking your tights off Chloe?’
‘For PE Miss. I was getting changed into my PE kit. I thought that was allowed.’
‘Oh no, Chloe. Rules are rules. Still if you wanted help taking your tights off you could have just asked me. Would you like me to help you?’ Miss Jenkins asked with a sadistic grin.
‘Yes please Miss,’ said Chloe, eager to get back to the changing room to cover her nappy with her shorts.
Miss Jenkins pulled Chloe’s tights down the rest of the way, and then had her step out of them so that all she was wearing on her bottom half was her nappy. She went to return to the changing room when Miss Jenkins grabbed her arm.
‘Where do you think you are going young lady?’
‘Back to the changing room Miss, to finish getting changed.’
‘So that you can be even later to my lesson? Oh no, girl, that is not acceptable.’
‘So you want me to do PE dressed like this?’ Chloe asked, horrified at the idea.
‘No, no, girl. Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t very well do PE in your blouse. It will get all smelly. No, you’ll have to take it off. Chop chop, we haven’t got all day.’
Chloe quickly removed her tie, and then started to unbutton her blouse, much to the delight of Lily and her friends. Miss Jenkins held her hand out, and Chloe handed over her blouse and tie.
‘Hold on just a moment!’ shouted Miss Jenkins, ‘what is that?’ she asked, pointing at Chloe’s chest.
‘Do you mean my bra Miss?’ asked Chloe.
‘My understanding is that bras worn under school blouses are to be white. That one looks a little grey to me.’
‘It is white Miss, honest,’ said Chloe.
‘Are you calling me a liar girl?’ Miss Jenkins asked angrily.
‘No Miss. I, I made a mistake. Now that I look more closely, I see that it’s grey,’ lied Chloe.
‘Well if it doesn’t adhere to the uniform policy it will have to come off won’t it?’
Realising that there was no way she was going to win this battle, Chloe reached round and unclipped her bra at the back and let the straps fall over her shoulders.
‘Thank you very much,’ said Miss Jenkins smugly, snatching the bra.
Chloe now stood in front of a good chunk of her year group in nothing but a nappy, with her arms covering her breasts.
‘Don’t be silly, Chloe. Stop trying to cover up, we’re all girls here,’ taunted Miss Jenkins.
Chloe put her arms by her sides and stared down at the ground, ignoring the heckling from the other girls.
‘We were originally going to be playing badminton and netball today,’ Miss Jenkins announced, ‘but I’ve changed my mind. I think we’ll do volleyball and trampoline instead.’ |
Hello, everybody. Trying hard not to let this story die because I feel like I've invested a lot in it and have some ideas about things I want to happen. I've written a new chapter which is fairly long, but I'm expecting the humiliation to really heat up in the next couple of chapters.
Thanks for bearing with me, work is pretty hectic at the moment.
Chapter 13
Miss Jenkins made the girls start by running laps of the sports hall. Chloe tried to move in a way that wouldn’t make her breasts jiggle, but realised fairly quickly that it was hopeless. The other girls teased and taunted her about her exposed chest. The taunts about her nappy hadn’t stopped, but now they had something new to torment her with. To make matters worse, all the movement combined with the fact that her nappy was no longer compressed under a pair of tights meant that Chloe was making a crinkling noise with every step she took. As she ran Chloe became aware of two new feelings. Firstly, her nappy was rubbing against her vagina, which Chloe realised was not entirely unpleasant. The fact that it felt nice made her very embarrassed, as if she thought the other girls would know. The other thing that Chloe was aware of was that her nappy was riding up at the back and giving her something of a wedgie. She reached back as she ran, and inserted a finger into one of the leg holes, aiming to pull the nappy out of her bum, when she felt a sharp slap to her hand.
‘I do hope you aren’t trying to take that off,’ scolded Sarah.
‘You know I wasn’t,’ retorted Chloe.
‘Well, just in case, I don’t think you should touch it. If I see you touching it again I’ll warm your bottom for you. Are we clear?’
‘Yes,’ replied Chloe sullenly.
‘Yes what?’ asked Sarah.
‘Yes … Aunty Sarah.’
As soon as this exchange was finished, Lily approached from behind and pushed the soft nappy further up Chloe’s crack with such force that she was forced to waddle the last part of the run. Her rear end, still red from her spankings, was now on display, and the nappy was rubbing against her crotch more than ever before, but Chloe knew she couldn’t adjust it without angering Sarah.
After they finished the warm up, Miss Jenkins split the girls into two groups. Half were sent to use the trampolines, while Chloe was sent to play volleyball with the other half. Chloe found volleyball something of a struggle. It was partly because she had a thick wad of padding up her backside, but also because all the girls kept aiming the ball for her. They seemed to love the way that Chloe couldn’t help but jiggle her tits as she attempted to send the ball back over the net. After several humiliating games, the girls were told to switch activities, and Chloe grudgingly waddled over to the trampoline. There was a brief interlude on the way, and a chance to talk to Sophie.
‘How’re you holding up?’ Sophie asked.
‘How do you think? I don’t think things can get any worse,’ Chloe replied.
‘Of course they could,’ said Sophie, ‘you could be wet and messy. And at least it’s an all girls school. Imagine if there were cute boys here too.’
Chloe was suddenly grateful that her nappy was dry, and realised that boys seeing her in this state would be even more humiliating. This led her to think about Ryan as she was standing in line, waiting for her turn on the trampoline with no sense of eagerness. She’d been adamant that Ryan couldn’t find out about her nappies, but that was when she thought she wouldn’t have to wear them at home. She had no idea how she was going to handle things now.
When it was Chloe’s turn to get up the trampoline, there were the giggles that she was beginning to grow accustomed to. The girls who were waiting pointed and laughed at her breasts as they helplessly bounced up and down. The trampoline wasn’t helping maters downstairs either, as her nappy seemed to get wedged further and further up her bum. She could feel it rubbing her down below as well, and realised with mounting horror that she was starting to get a little bit flustered. Her arousal was gradually building, and she was sure she was getting flushed in the face, but luckily the other girls put that down to her embarrassment physical exertion. Luckily, her turn was over before things got too far, and she gladly clambered down from the trampoline.
Miss Jenkins told the girls that they were dismissed, and to go and have a shower quickly because the year 7 girls were coming in soon to meet for their after-school hockey club.
‘Can I have my clothes back Miss?’ Chloe asked, trying her best to look endearing.
‘Go and have your shower first Chloe, then you can have them back.’
By this point Chloe didn’t even try to argue, she was just glad to have survived the day, and if she had to walk back to the changing room in nothing but her nappy, then so be it. All the girls she was with had already had a good laugh at her expense in this state. She walked back to the changing room with her class mates.
While the other girls needed to undress, Chloe didn’t really have a lot to take off. However, after Lily caught her taking her tights down she wasn’t going to take any chances by taking her own nappy off for a shower. She approached Sarah.
‘Sarah, can you take my nappy off so that I can shower please?’
‘I would have thought that you could ask a LOT more nicely than that,’ replied Sarah, standing in her pink knickers and white sports top.
‘Okay, okay. Aunty Sarah, please will you take my nappy off?’
‘Still not good enough,’ Sarah replied, ‘you know the sort of think I’m after.’
‘Fine,’ said Chloe. ‘Aunty Sarah, please will you take off my baby nappy so that I can wash my lulu? Is that good enough?’
‘That was good,’ replied Sarah, ‘but I won’t be taking your nappy off. All the other girls have to use that shower and I don’t think they fancy going barefoot in your pee. I think we’ve all seen that you can’t be trusted not to have an accident.’
‘Please Sarah, what am I supposed to do?’
‘Have a shower, like you’ve been told. You’ll just have to keep your nappy on.’
Chloe considered going back to Miss Jenkins and asking her to take her nappy off, but realised that the year 7 girls would be arriving in the sports hall any moment now, and didn’t want them to see her in nothing but a nappy. Feeling defeated, she went and stood in the shower and turned the water on. As it ran down her body and onto her nappy, she suddenly felt it swelling. The back of it pushed her cheeks apart until her bottom simply couldn’t hold it, and it sagged down with a plop, hanging heavily between her legs. Other girls were coming into the showers now, and Chloe could see that not one of them was hairless like she was. She did what she could to get herself clean, and then wandered out of the shower with her enormous saturated nappy hanging between her legs. When she got to where she had left her things, she felt a terrible sinking feeling in her stomach. Her towel was gone, but more worryingly, so were her clothes. She realised with dread that she had left them with Miss Jenkins, and now she was going to have to face the year 7 girls as she was if she was going to get them back.
Chloe put her skirt and shoes (the only items of clothing left on the bench) in her bag, and trudged her way out to the sports hall. She just wanted to get this over with, and get home. She was beginning to feel an urge to poo, and was still hopeful that she would at least get to do that in a toilet. The high pitched laughter of the much younger girls was almost deafening in the echo of the sports hall as Chloe waddled over to Miss Jenkins.
‘Miss,’ Chloe said meekly, ‘can I have my clothes back now please?’
‘My my, child,’ said Miss Jenkins with mock concern in her voice, ‘I had been warned that I might need to change one of your wet nappies but I didn’t expect it to be quite as wet as this.’
Her comment got a fresh round of laughter from the year 7s. She motioned for two of the year 7 girls to bring a towel and then got them to dry Chloe roughly, an exercise that they seemed to take great delight in.
‘Well, lay down on this bench dear and I’ll do my best to sort you out,’ Miss Jenkins said.
She asked one of the girls who had just helped dry Chloe to bring over her bag, and the other stood less than three feet away, grinning wildly, eyes flitting between Chloe’s chest and nappy. When the first girl returned with the bag, Miss Jenkins removed a trio of items that had now become all too familiar to Chloe, a nappy, powder and wipes. Miss Jenkins undid the tapes on Chloe’s nappy, leaving a theatrical pause for her mesmerised audience between each one. Chloe braced herself for more laughter as the front of her nappy was pulled down, exposing her hairless fanny, but it didn’t come. Chloe realised with some comfort that it was quite likely that a number of these girls probably didn’t have much more hair down there than she did, so they didn’t find it a source of amusement in the way that the older girls did. The year 7s, did, however, find it incredibly amusing when Miss Jenkins slid the massively saturated nappy out from under her and dropped it on the floor with a loud plop that echoed in the sports hall. Miss Jenkins then went to work roughly with the towel on Chloe’s pussy, before lifting her legs and drying off her bum as well. Next came the wipes, and while Chloe wasn’t exactly thrilled to be have somebody wipe her bum in front of girls much younger than her, she was at least pleased that Miss Jenkins didn’t seem to share Sarah’s inclination to violate her back passage. The new nappy was unfolded, and Chloe’s legs were lifted by the ankles while Miss Jenkins slid it under her bum. Finally she was powdered and sealed in, much to the amusement of the hockey club. Miss Jenkins helped her back into her tights, and mercifully let her finish getting dressed herself. It seemed that she had had her fill of humiliating Chloe, at least for today. When Chloe was dressed she hurried out, partly to escape the humiliation of the younger girls and partly to try to catch up with Sophie so that they could walk home together. After the day she’d had, Chloe felt like she really needed a friend. Little did she know that her ‘friend’ had arranged for a certain randy boyfriend to meet her outside of school, and her chances of keeping her nappies a secret from him were dwindling by the second. |
Sorry there's not been a lot of progress this week. I have been trying but the first week back is always manic and I've had to redraft a script for the Christmas production 3 times as well.
Chapter Fourteen
Chloe was able to catch up with Sophie in one of the halls, and they walked towards the gates together.
‘Can we hang back for five minutes?’ asked Chloe. ‘Let the other girls have a bit of a head start and hopefully I won’t have to put up with teasing all the way home.’
‘Sure,’ said Sophie, hoping that Ryan would stick around outside.
After waiting for things to die down, the girls headed outside, and Sophie tried to hide her disappointment when she couldn’t see any sign of Ryan. She knew that Chloe was finding her predicament incredibly embarrassing, but she had a sneaking suspicion that Ryan would think it was incredibly hot. This was the boy who had convinced Chloe to shave her pussy completely bald, who seemed at his most excited when she was wearing her most juvenile knickers, and who had been hounding Chloe to let him spank her since just after they got together. ‘Anyway,’ she reasoned, ‘He’s sure to find out sooner or later. I’m just trying to speed things along.’ She was just thinking about using Chloe’s ‘misplaced’ phone to send a message to Ryan apologising, and inviting him over to Chloe’s house, when she heard footsteps approaching from behind.
‘Woah! Hey sexy legs!’ came Ryan’s mellow voice.
Chloe was only just able to react in time to move out of the way of his hand grasping for a cheeky squeeze of her bum.
‘Ryan? What are you doing here?’ Chloe asked.
‘What do you mean? You asked me to come,’ he replied.
‘What are you talking about?’
‘You sent me a text, remember?’ he said, looking a bit confused.
‘Somebody stole my phone. I haven’t seen it all day. Whoever took it is obviously messing with me.’
‘Oh well, I’m here now. That’s not a problem is it?’ he asked.
‘No of course not.’ She wrapped her arms around him, realising that if she avoided all physical contact with him, he’d realise something was amiss. He wrapped his arms around the small of Chloe’s back, and passionately kissed her. The whole time Chloe was painfully aware of the nappy under her skirt and tights, and knew that she was dangerously close to being discovered.
‘Get a room guys!’ Sophie joked.
Chloe was starting to think that she might get away with this. If she held his hand as he walked her home they could just chat and she would be able to stop him if he went for her nether regions again. As Chloe was beginning to feel that faint glimmer of hope, she caught sight of Sarah and Lily approaching them, and gulped loudly.
‘Hi Ryan,’ Lily said in her most provocative voice. She’d always had the hots for Ryan and it annoyed her no end that he’d ended up with Chloe instead of her.
‘Look, she just wants to be left alone so that she can go home. I’m sure you’ll have more fun tomorrow, so can we just leave it there for today?’ said Sophie.
‘I’m afraid not,’ said Sarah, ‘I’ve been told to make sure you’re given a couple of things before you go home.’
She pulled several pairs of white tights from her bag, and passed them to Chloe.
‘Don’t come into school without your tights on Chloe. The headmaster wouldn’t be pleased,’ Sarah stated dryly.
Chloe couldn’t believe her luck. She’d had a horrible feeling that Sarah was going to produce nappies, wipes and powder from her bag, but she did no such thing. It was starting to look like Chloe really was going to be able to pull this off, but then, Lily opened her bag and took a plastic bag out from inside it. She thrust it towards Chloe and her heart sank. Her wet things from the start of the day were in there. Her shoes, skirt, tights and her Spongebob knickers. The plastic bag had sealed the moisture in, and they were still all obviously soaked. Lily opened the bag and Chloe could smell the acrid aroma of her stale piss, and knew that Ryan could too.
‘Your wet things from your accident this morning, Chloe,’ Lily said with glee, ‘you can get your mummy to wash most of it, but I’d throw the knickers away if I were you. I don’t think you’ll be wearing them any time soon, even if you can get the skid marks out.’
‘What are they talking about Chloe?’ Ryan asked.
Chloe couldn’t even bring herself to look at him. She hung her head in shame and stared at her feet, as if that would somehow change the embarrassing situation she now found herself in.
‘Oh, didn’t she tell you?’ asked Lily. ‘She was spanked this morning by the headmaster, and she got so scared that she wet herself like a baby.’
‘Chloe, is this some sort of joke?’ Ryan asked.
‘No joke,’ said Sarah, backing up what Lily had said. ‘In fact she wet herself twice today. I had to change her nappy the second time.’
‘Nappy!?!’ asked Ryan. ‘Chloe, since when did you wear nappies?’
‘Since this morning,’ giggled Lily.
Chloe just kept staring downwards, and started crying silent tears of shame. ‘He’s going to break up with me,’ she thought. ‘There’s no way he’ll want a girlfriend who still wears nappies.’
‘Are you wearing one now?’ Ryan asked.
Chloe still couldn’t bring herself to answer. After a few seconds Ryan’s curiosity got the better of him and he flipped up Chloe’s skirt. Chloe flinched backwards, causing her skirt to drop back down to its original position, but not before Ryan had time to see that she was wearing a nappy under her tights.
‘Ryan!’ shouted Chloe as her face burned bright red.
Not knowing what else to do she turned and ran, while Ryan stood there dumbfounded. All Chloe knew was that she wanted to get home, to be somewhere that Sarah and Lily couldn’t humiliate her any further. In her distress, she had completely forgotten her conversation with Mia at lunch time, and was looking forward to getting home, taking her nappy and tights off and getting dressed in some proper knickers. |
Chapter Fifteen
As soon as Chloe got through the front door she heard her step mother calling her from the kitchen. She quickly took off her Mary-Jane shoes and walked through with just her tights covering her feet, and she saw her step mother and Mia waiting for her.
‘I am absolutely disgusted with you!’ her step mother, Gina, started. ‘If it isn’t bad enough that you’re in trouble with the headmaster, you then piss yourself like a naughty little girl! I think that the school have the right idea, maybe some time back in nappies will teach you a little humility. From the sounds of it, it’s just as well that they did keep you padded, because you wet yourself again in class didn’t you?’
‘Yes, but that wasn’t my fault!’ said Chloe, trying to defend herself.
‘Oh, not your fault?’ her step mother continued, ‘I suppose somebody else is magically in control of your bladder are they? Some sort of voodoo witchcraft going on is there?’
‘Well no, but,’ started Chloe.
‘No buts. Not only have you got no self-control but you won’t even take responsibility for your actions. Well, your punishment continues at home. I’ve bought everything that we need to make sure that you don’t get off lightly when you aren’t at school, as well as a few extra things to use if you’re being a particularly bad girl. But I’ll tell you this Chloe, it’s been a couple of years since I stopped changing nappies and don’t intend to start again now.’
Mia blushed deeply. Chloe realised that Mia must have been wearing nappies only a couple of years ago, but wasn’t sure why. Now wasn’t really the time to ask.
‘Your little sister will be changing you when you’re at home,’ continued Gina.
‘My dad wouldn’t agree with this,’ Chloe said defiantly.
‘Well your daddy isn’t here, is he? That means I’m in charge, and what I say goes. Speaking of your daddy, he always argued that you were too old for a spanking, even when you clearly needed one. Well seeing as you’re just a pants-wetting little baby now, you’re definitely not too old for a spanking, from me or your sister.’
Mia perked up at this.
‘You can’t be serious?’ Chloe asked indignantly.
‘Oh yes, little miss pissy pants, I am very serious. You had better do as you’re told, to the letter. I have to go out tonight, but if I hear that you gave Mia any trouble, there will be hell to pay. Is that clear?’
‘Yes,’ said Chloe sullenly.
‘I have to go now. Dinner is on the stove. Oh, and one more thing Chloe,’ said Gina.
Chloe looked at her, not seeing how things could get much worse.
‘No covering up your nappy while you’re in the house. You’re home for the evening now, so you can get that school skirt off, and the tights too.’
With that, she walked out of the room, and Chloe and Mia heard the front door close.
For a moment the two girls just looked at each other. There was an awkward silence between them before either one of them spoke. In the end, it was Chloe that broke the silence.
‘So, what happens now?’ she asked.
‘You’d better do as she said. Take your skirt and tights off. You can change the top half after dinner.’
‘Can’t we just pretend that you went along with it? As long as I wear a nappy to bed she won’t have any idea,’ Chloe pleaded.
‘Look, I know things are pretty rough for you at the moment, but I can’t take the risk of not going along with it. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like the idea of changing your nappies. I think it’s gross. But it’s better than having to share your punishment. If mum finds out that I’ve been letting you off easy, that’s probably what will happen. So Chloe, please take your skirt and tights off. I don’t want to have to spank you.’ That last sentence wasn’t entirely true. Chloe was actually looking forward to the prospect of spanking the older girl who had sat and watched so many of her humiliating spankings without ever having one for herself, but for the moment she was hungry.
Chloe reluctantly unzipped her skirt and removed it, standing there with her tights and nappy on display, looking at Mia.
‘What?’ asked Mia.
‘I’m not allowed to take them off,’ Chloe mumbled.
‘Oh, right. I think that’s just a school thing, but if it makes you happier.’ Mia walked up to Chloe and pulled her tights down and helped her step out of them. She couldn’t help but give the front of Chloe’s nappy a squeeze when she was done.
‘Mia!’ Chloe shouted in surprise.
‘There’s no point in getting too precious about it Chloe. You and I both know that at some point this evening I’m going to have to do an awful lot more than squeeze your dry nappy.’
‘I guess. What have we got for dinner?’ asked Chloe.
‘Chili con carne,’ Mia replied.
This made Chloe nervous. She wasn’t brilliant at handling spice, as her step mother well knew. On this occasion it turned out that it was incredibly hot, even making Mia, who was much better with spicy food, red in the face. In order to fight back the heat Chloe had to drink plenty of water. She knew that it would all end up in her nappy eventually, but she simply couldn’t resist with the burning sensation in her mouth.
‘Mia, can I ask you something?’ Chloe asked as they ate their meal.
‘Sure.’
‘When your mum said that she hadn’t changed nappies for a couple of years, what did she mean?’
‘She probably was just using a figure of speech,’ Mia replied, looking uncomfortable.
‘It didn’t seem that way to me.’
‘Look, I don’t know what she was talking about.’
‘Then why did you blush when she said it?’ Chloe asked.
‘Please Chloe, just drop it. It’s embarrassing.’
‘After today, I think I can handle embarrassing,’ said Chloe, before downing another pint of water.
Mia appeared to consider this.
‘Look, if I tell you will you promise to drop it? And not to tell anybody else?’
‘I promise. You tried to help me with Sarah today, I owe you one.’
‘Well, there’s no easy way to say this,’ Mia began, ‘but I used to have trouble, at night time.’
‘You used to wet the bed? Loads of kids have trouble with that. Sophie did it until she was at least seven,’ said Chloe, trying to offer some comfort.
‘Yeah, it went on a bit longer than that,’ Mia confessed with red cheeks.
Chloe considered this, and remembered what Gina had said.
‘You wet the bed until you were 14?’ Chloe asked, shocked.
‘Well, you’re hardly in a position to get judgemental are you? Only one of us is wearing a nappy,’ Mia said, defending herself.
‘Sorry, I was just surprised. I didn’t mean anything by it. So it must have been happening when our parents were together?’
‘Yeah, but it mostly stopped around the time they got married.’
‘Mostly?’
‘Well, it still happens occasionally, but my mum doesn’t need to know. I’ve become pretty good at covering it up so that she doesn’t find out.’
‘She won’t hear it from me,’ said Chloe. ‘How long is it since the last time?’
‘About a month, I think. Anyway, shut up and eat your food,’ Mia said with a grin. Chloe returned the smile, but it was wiped from her face when she felt a gurgling in her stomach. |
So, after applying much haste to other jobs, I managed to free up some time to do the next update. It's a fair sized chapter.
I have to warn you all, there is messing in this chapter. Many of you will have realised that it's been inevitable for a while, but, one more warning for those of you who really don't like it:MESSING!
Chapter Sixteen
After they had finished their meal, Chloe and Mia set about doing the washing up.
‘Afterwards is there any chance I can use the toilet?’ Chloe asked. ‘Gina wouldn’t have to know.’
‘She’d know when she came home and there was no wet nappy. You won’t be able to get out of using them,’ Mia replied.
Chloe didn’t really want to tell Mia that it wasn’t a wet nappy that she was worried about. She was starting to get cramps, and knew that wouldn’t be able to last the night.
‘What about ringing my dad? He must have left a number for where he’s staying.’
‘If he did, my mum’s hidden it. She’s pretty adamant that you won’t be getting out of this. If you’re lucky he’ll call,’ said Mia.
‘I hope so, I’m sure he’d put a stop to it if he knew.’
After they’d finished washing up, Mia turned to Chloe.
‘I’ll be up in my room. You can do more or less whatever you want as long as you keep your nappy on. Mum says I have to give you a bath at eight, but if you need, you know, changing before that, let me know.’
With that she left Chloe stood in the kitchen wearing the top half of her school uniform and nothing but a nappy on her lower half. Chloe decided that she could at least do something about the top half, so she went up to her room to get changed. She settled on a t-shirt and a hoody, as it was a little bit cold. After sitting on her bed for a few minutes she still hadn’t warmed up, but knew she couldn’t cover her bottom half. Not sure what to do about her predicament, she walked over to Mia’s room and knocked on the door.
‘Come in,’ Mia said, and Chloe opened the door and walked through. Mia’s room was a mess, as usual. This was one of the few things that Mia’s mother wasn’t particularly strict about, and Mia took full advantage. The floor was covered in dirty clothes. Mia started kicking them to one side to make a clearing on the floor, and Chloe felt a pang of jealousy as she saw a pair of sexy black knickers in amongst the jumble.
‘I’ll just go and get the stuff. Mum’s keeping it all in the cupboard under the stairs,’ Mia said.
‘What stuff?’
‘You know, nappy stuff. So I can change you,’ Mia said, walking towards the door.
‘Wait,’ said Chloe, halting Mia in her tracks. ‘I don’t need changing. I’m just cold. Am I not allowed to wear anything over my nappy?’
‘That’s what mum said. Sorry,’ said Mia, looking genuinely apologetic. ‘Oh, hold on, I’ve got an idea.’
She walked over to her dresser and opened the top drawer, which was full of underwear. She rifled through the bras, knickers, tights and socks until she found what she was looking for, and then held up a pair of long pink socks. During the rummaging, Chloe could have sworn she noticed something that looked suspiciously like a pull up lurking at the bottom of the drawer, but thought it best not to comment.
‘If you wear these they won’t cover your nappy, but they come up to mid-thigh so they should keep you a bit warmer.’
‘Thanks, I’m freezing,’ Chloe moaned.
Mia walked over and handed the socks to Chloe, and then gave the front of Chloe’s nappy a squeeze.
‘Mia! Stop doing that!’
‘What? I’m just making sure that you definitely don’t need a change.’
‘I’m not a baby, I don’t wet myself without realising. I’ll come when I need to be changed.’
Chloe walked out of the room holding the socks in her hand.
When she was safely back in her room Chloe pondered her predicament as she sat down on the bed. She was pretty desperate for the toilet now. All the water she’d had with dinner was a slight concern, but much more pressing were the cramps in her stomach as she brought her left leg up to put the sock on, she let out a loud fart, and realised that she couldn’t hold it off much longer. She put the other sock on without incident, and decided to try to read a section of Macbeth to prepare for next piece of English coursework. She was finding it very hard to concentrate, and the next time she felt an urge to fart she didn’t try to supress it. She didn’t really see the point, seeing as there was nobody there. However, as soon as it escaped her rectum, she realised it was very wet. Chloe began to cry as she realised she had just sharted in her nappy. Still in severe discomfort from the cramps, Chloe reasoned that seeing as she had already messed herself, she might as well empty her bowels. She pushed, but it seemed to have no effect, which seemed odd as Chloe was desperate for relief. She stood up, spread her legs a bit more and tried again, this time grunting with effort. She was rewarded as the fruit of her labours deposited itself into the seat of her nappy, and her cramps seemed to lesson. Her nappy was sagging at the back, but Chloe didn’t mind that too much as it was keeping her mess away from her skin. She continued to push, and more and more sticky brown poo found its way into her nappy. She realised with horror that the nappy had sagged as much as it was going to, and now the parcel she was making in her nappy was working its way back towards her bum. She could feel it smearing across her skin and absolutely caking her crack. When the smell hit her she gagged, and realised that she wanted to be out of this nappy as soon as possible.
Unable to do much more than waddle, she made her way to Mia’s room and knocked on the door once more.
‘Does baby need changing now?’
‘Yes please,’ said Chloe, waddling into the room.
‘I’ve already been to get the stuff that we need so if you just…’ Mia stopped and starred at Chloe. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. ‘You filthy little bitch!’ she cried.
‘It’s not my fault,’ Chloe sobbed, ‘I asked to go to the toilet!’
‘You neglected to mention the fact that it was because you were going to do a massive shit. I could’ve let you go for that as long as we made sure there was a pissy nappy for when mum got home. Now I’m expected to clean your shitty arse!’
Mia was clearly not happy.
‘Well you can get out of my room before you infect the walls with your stink. Get back to your room!’ Mia screamed.
With great shame, Chloe realised that on top of crapping herself while wearing a nappy, she had just been told off and sent to her room by her little sister. She waddled across the landing. When they got into Chloe’s room, Mia grabbed the chair from the desk and put it in the middle of the room.
‘What are you doing?’ Chloe whined.
‘It’s not fair that I have to suffer just because you chose to crap yourself like a dirty bitch. I’m going to make sure that you suffer more than I do. Now lay across my lap, you dirty girl.’
‘Please Mia, you can’t,’ Chloe pleaded.
‘Oh yes I can, and I will. You don’t want me to tell mum that you weren’t behaving do you?’
Reluctantly Chloe approached Mia, and positioned herself across her lap. This was to be her third spanking of the day, and it was by far the most humiliating. While the nappy, and its contents, offered her some protection from the swats that came down on her bottom, the shame of being spanked in a pooey nappy by her younger step-sister was immense. It was awful extremely uncomfortable as she felt the crap being smeared all over her backside with each moment of impact, until there was nowhere for it to go but forwards. Chloe cringed with disgust and blushed with shame as she felt her mess slide over her vagina. For the first time today she was glad that it was hairless. As her discomfort increased, Chloe’s overstretched bladder betrayed her, and she felt a hot stream of urine pour into her nappy. She dreaded to think what it would look like when Mia took it off.
‘And now you’re wetting yourself too? I thought you weren’t a baby?’ Mia mocked. ‘How’ SLAP ‘old’ SLAP ‘are’ SLAP ‘you?’ SLAP.
As Chloe fell into fits of tears, draped across her sister’s lap, she heard the phone ring.
‘Right, get to the corner, quickly. I’ll deal with you in a minute,’ Mia commanded.
Chloe obediently made her way over to the corner and stared at the wall. Any fight she had left in her was used up. She heard Mia pick up the phone.
‘Yeah, mum’s at work. Yeah, yeah I’m fine. Oh, she’s fine too, but she’s over at Ryan’s. Okay, speak soon. Bye.’
Chloe realised with horror that Mia had just been on the phone to her dad, and that she’d told him nothing of the way in which she was being treated. Feeling hopeless and betrayed, Chloe stood in her smelly nappy waiting for Mia to return. |
Hi everybody!
Sorry for the delay in writing. Life has a habit of getting in the way, although this weekend got in the way in a good way. I've had my own embarrassed girl in nappies for my amusement, which means I've only written the one chapter.
Fair warnings: There is mess in this chapter
There is a hint of sexual contact in this chapter, and it's reluctant. Fantasy only, obviously wouldn't condone it in real life.
Chapter seventeen
Defeated and humiliated, Chloe wanted nothing more than to be out of her nappy, even if that meant being put into another one. She was desperately uncomfortable. She could hear Mia making another phone call, but she had moved further through the house and Chloe couldn’t tell who Mia was speaking to. When Mia returned she ordered Chloe onto the floor, and Chloe obediently tried to lie down without disturbing the contents of her nappy. Mia knelt down between Chloe’s legs, and braced herself.
‘How badly do you want to be out of this nappy?’ Mia asked.
‘Please take it off,’ Chloe begged, ‘it feels disgusting.’
‘Yeah, well it is disgusting, but I have to deal with it. I really don’t want to, but you’ve put me in a position where there isn’t a lot of choice. So if I do this for you, what are you going to do for me?’
‘Anything,’ pleaded Chloe with tears in her eyes, ‘honestly, anything you want. You want any of my clothes? Take them. Anything I have.’
‘Here’s the deal then Chloe. If I do this for you, you have to do everything I say for the whole night, and I mean absolutely anything. Are we clear?’
‘Yes.’
Mia set about the unenviable task of changing Chloe’s nappy. She undid each of the tapes, pulled the front of the nappy forward and recoiled in disgust.
‘Eurgh! You dirty bitch! It’s everywhere, and it stinks!’
‘I’m sorry,’ said Chloe, and she truly was.
Mia started wiping away the mess at the front, and used several wipes just to clean Chloe’s pubic mound. After she’d finished with each wipe she deposited them in Chloe’s bin, which she’d brought with her to the middle of the room. When she was finally content with the front, she told Chloe to lift her legs up, and grab them by the backs of her knees. Chloe did so grudgingly, knowing that she was exposing her shitty crack to Mia. Mia continued her work, and when she was satisfied, pulled the dirty nappy out from under Chloe. She balled it up and threw it into Chloe’s bin, before giving her one last wipe down.
‘Thank you,’ Chloe muttered, when she sensed the worst was over.
‘Don’t forget, anything I say for the rest of the night.’
‘Yes.’
Mia went about powdering Chloe and taping her into a fresh nappy, something which Chloe was becoming accustomed to alarmingly quickly. Chloe thought back to what Alice had said in class that day, and realized that she was probably right. By the time she was allowed to wear knickers again, she would probably be so used to nappies that knickers would feel strange. Mia picked up the dirty nappy and carried it out of the room.
Chloe spent the next thirty minutes or so trying to get back into studying, but all she could think about was the fact that her little sister had just changed her messy nappy. As she tried not to think about it, the doorbell rang. Not wanting to be seen in her nappy, Chloe stayed in her room and waited for Mia to answer it.
‘Aren’t you going to get that?’ Mia called out from downstairs.
‘You can’t be serious?’ Chloe called back.
‘I thought you were going to do everything that you’re told this evening?’ Mia replied.
Grudgingly, Chloe got up, aware that being free of her tights meant that the nappy made a rustling sound with every slight movement. She walked towards the front door, hoping that it was nobody that she knew on the other side. She braced herself, and then opened the door. Ryan, was on the other side, and stood staring at her.
‘Um, can I come in?’ he asked.
‘What are you doing here?’ Chloe asked.
‘I called him,’ said Mia from behind them, ‘come on in Ryan. Come through to the living room.’
Ryan followed the two girls into the living room, his eyes fixed on Chloe’s padded bottom.
‘What’s all this about Mia?’ Chloe asked uncomfortably.
‘Well, I heard that you ran out on Ryan today without an explanation. That was rude, he didn’t do anything wrong. You guys are good together, and it would be silly to let things fall apart because of this. So firstly, I think you owe him an explanation as to what’s going on.’
‘Please Mia, aren’t things bad enough already? Nobody’s going to want to be with the girl in nappies,’ Chloe pleaded.
‘Isn’t that my choice to make?’ asked Ryan.
‘Exactly my thinking,’ said Mia. ‘Now, Chloe, I want you to tell Ryan everything that happened today. Remember, you have to be a good girl and do exactly as you’re told.’
Chloe didn’t really know where to begin. She stood in silence for a moment, before blurting out, ‘I wet myself. Happy?’
‘Come on now Chloe, I think you owe Ryan a little more than that,’ said Mia.
‘Why did you wet yourself?’ asked Ryan.
‘I, I guess I was scared,’ admitted Chloe, shuffling from one foot to another and looking down at the floor.
‘What got you so scared that you peed your pants?’ asked Ryan
‘I was in the headmaster’s office. Waiting for a spanking.’ At this, Chloe noticed that Ryan was starting to become aroused. She could see his excitement through his jeans.
‘Was it a bare bottom spanking?’ Ryan asked.
‘Yes,’ Chloe replied, trying not to give further details.
‘Wow, that must have been pretty embarrassing. Wetting yourself and getting a spanking,’ said Ryan, clearly becoming more and more aroused.
‘You have no idea!’ Chloe blurted out, forgetting herself for a moment, ‘It was in front of three other girls, and I was wearing my Spongebob knickers! And they all laughed at me for not having any pubes!’ Chloe realised that in her frustration she had just given him more information than she really wanted to.
‘Okay,’ said Ryan. ‘I’m with you as far as having an accident in your knickers and being spanked, by why exactly are you in a nappy? Why were you in a nappy earlier?’
‘It’s a school rule. If a girl has an accident she has to wear nappies, she’s not allowed to take them off herself, and she has to wear white tights so that everybody knows that she has a nappy on.’
‘Wait a second,’ Ryan said, ‘If you’re not allowed to take them off how do you… have you being peeing in nappies all day?’
‘She’s done more than pee in them,’ Mia interjected.
At that Chloe looked down at the floor again.
‘So I suppose this is it then?’ Chloe asked.
‘What do you mean?’ Ryan responded.
‘Well, it’s like I said earlier, nobody is going to want to be with the girl who wears nappies.’
‘You shouldn’t give up so easily Chloe,’ Mia said. ‘I think you need to show him that you’re sorry for running off earlier, and show him that you can be a big girl sometimes too.’
‘What are you talking about?’ Chloe asked.
‘You can see that he’s excited. I think you should show him how sorry you are by taking his cock, and putting it into your mouth. Give him a good time to make up for running off.’
‘I’m not really in the mood for any funny business Mia,’ Chloe replied.
‘No, but he clearly is, and you need to do as you’re told. You promised.’
‘What exactly are you going to do if I say no? It’s not like you can embarrass me any more than I already have been is it?’ Chloe asked in frustration.
‘Chloe, the last nappy you wore is out in the garage. If you don’t do as you’re told, you’ll be wearing it to bed tonight.’
‘You wouldn’t!’
‘Do you really want to find out?’ Mia asked.
After a moment’s hesitation, Chloe took Ryan’s hand and started walking towards the stairs.
‘Hold on just a moment,’ Mia said. ‘I never said anything about leaving this room. You have to do it right here.’ |
Chapter Eighteen
‘You want me to do…that…in front of you?’ Chloe asked.
It wouldn’t be the first time that Chloe had given a blowjob, but she wasn’t accustomed to having an audience.
‘Yes, I want you to get on your knees, and show him a good time.’
‘But why?’ asked Chloe
‘Well, from what I hear, you’re going to be in nappies for a long time. I want to make sure you don’t end up on your own because of it, and that means you need to perform certain…duties…for your boyfriend, nappy or no nappy.’
‘I don’t really want to. Not here and now.’
‘Tough luck. Unless you want to find out just how mean I can be, you’ll get on your knees, unzip his fly and get to work,’ said Mia.
Both girls realised that Ryan hadn’t said anything for a while, and when they looked at him they noticed that his gaze was fixed on the doorway. They both followed it to find, much to Mia’s dismay, that the matriarch of the house had returned earlier than anticipated.
‘Um, Mum, you’re back early,’ said Mia.
‘So I finally give you a bit of responsibility, and this is how you repay me? By encouraging your sister to act like a trollop?’ Mrs Montague was not pleased.
‘Wait, I can explain,’ pleaded Mia.
‘No need. I think I heard enough,’ said Mrs Montague.
‘Perhaps I should be going,’ said Ryan.
‘Stay right there,’ snapped Mrs Montague, ‘unless you want me to contact your parents and tell them what you’ve been up to?’
Ryan stood still. He briefly made eye contact with Chloe, but that felt awkward, so he looked at his shoes.
‘The reason, young man, that I want you to stay, is because I need to teach my daughter a lesson…’
‘Please, Mum, don’t,’ said Mia, tears in her eyes.
‘…and experience has taught me that punishments of this kind are much more effective when there are witnesses.’
‘Please, Mummy, not in front of him! Please!’
With no regard for Mia’s protests, Mrs Montague grabbed her daughters wrist and led her over to the sofa. Mia was crying openly now, and when Chloe glanced over at Ryan she could tell he was getting excited.
‘I’m sorry Mummy, please don’t!’
Mrs Montague sat down and then pulled her daughter over her lap.
‘Mummy no!’
Mrs Montague didn’t hesitate. She immediately started raining slaps down on to Mia’s bottom. Ryan watched mesmerized as Mia flailed hopelessly, giving Ryan occasional glimpses up her skirt, where he could see that she had light coloured knickers on under her black tights. However, he needn’t have been satisfied with glimpses, as before long, Mrs Montague flipped up Mia’s skirt and pulled down her tights, revealing her knicker clad bottom. She was wearing white knickers with pink trim, and looked every bit the chastised schoolgirl from Ryan’s fantasies. He would have preferred that it was Chloe who was being spanked, but there was no denying that he was incredibly turned on.
Mia’s struggles grew more frantic as she felt her mother’s thumbs hook into the waistband of her knickers.
‘No! No! You can’t! He’ll see!’
Mrs Montague was not impressed with this outburst and let loose a particularly stinging flurry on her behind.
‘Yes, he will see. But as you’ve made such a fuss, he’ll be seeing you get the hairbrush instead of my hand. Chloe, go and get it.’
‘No! Chloe, don’t! Chloe!’ screamed Mia.
However, Chloe did.
Ryan looked on in shocked amazement as Mia’s knickers were lowered, exposing her rosy cheeks, before Mrs Montague set about darkening them further with her hairbrush. Chloe was wailing throughout, partly from pain but mostly at the indignity of being bared in front of Ryan, who was clearly enjoying her ordeal. Eventually, she stopped struggling and the only sounds she made were sobs.
‘Stand up,’ barked Mrs Montague.
With no resistance left, Mia did so. The spanking had well and truly broken her resolve, to the point that she didn’t even try to cover up as she stood facing Ryan and Chloe, with her pubic curls on full display.
‘Thank you for that, Ryan,’ said Mrs Montague. ‘However, I think it’s time for you to go now. I need to get these two into the bath and then off to bed.’
Chapter Nineteen
It took Chloe a second to grasp what her step-mother had just said. They were both being bathed and put to bed. As soon as Ryan left, both girls were marched upstairs, Mia with her knickers and tights still at half-mast.
Mrs Montague started a bath running, and then proceeded to undress Mia.
‘Is Mia going in first then?’ asked Chloe.
‘First?’ said Mrs Montague. ‘You’re both going in together. You’ve both behaved like little girls today so that’s how you’ll be treated.’
‘We can’t take a bath together!’ Mia cried. Clearly some of her spirit was starting to return to her.
‘You will if you don’t want Chloe to go and fetch the hairbrush again.’
At the mention of the hairbrush, Mia immediately quietened down and allowed her mother to finish undressing her, until she was stood completely naked in front of her step-sister.
‘Your turn,’ said Mrs Montague, turning to Chloe.
Chloe didn’t resist. After seeing the spanking that Chloe had earned herself, she knew that was not a path she wanted to go down. The nappy was the last thing to come off, and when it did, Chloe felt very self-conscious as Mrs Montague stared at her hairless snatch. She appeared to be considering something.
The girls were sat in the bath, facing each other. Both found that they were unable to look the other in the eye as Mrs Montague thoroughly washed each of them in turn, taking no measures whatsoever to preserve their dignity.
When she was finished, she had them get out of the bath and dried them off roughly with a towel, before telling them both to go to Chloe’s room. Mia was a bit surprised at this but didn’t want to argue.
When they were both told to lie down on the bed, Mia started to panic. Surely, she thought, she wouldn’t be put in a nappy too? That, however, was not Mrs Montague’s intention. Instead, she left the room and returned with a razor, shaving cream and a towel. Mia’s eyes went wide with horror.
‘Mum, no!’ she cried.
‘You’ve been behaving like a child. It’s only fitting that you look the part,’ said Mrs Montague.
‘I won’t let you!’
‘You can resist if you want, but all you’ll achieve is earning yourself another spanking and going to school tomorrow dressed in much the same way as your sister.’
While getting another spanking was not something that Mia wanted, the prospect of wearing a nappy to school like her sister was more than enough to convince her to co-operate. As a result, she kept perfectly still while her mother went to work ensuring that she was perfectly smooth.
‘Now, fetch me a nappy and the baby powder,’ Mrs Montague said when she was finished.
‘But you said…’ said Mia.
‘Don’t worry, it’s not for you. We just don’t want your sister having yet another accident, do we?’
Relieved beyond measure, Mia went to fetch a nappy and baby powder. Despite her own humiliation, she still took a certain amount of pleasure in the fact that Chloe had it worse. Yes, Ryan had seen her spanked, which was awful, and she would have to keep her snatch hidden from the other girls while getting changed for PE, but she wouldn’t be going to school tomorrow in a nappy. She watched in a kind of trance as Chloe lay there, not fighting at all as Mrs Montague powdered her and taped her into her nappy.
‘Right then girls. Pajamas on and into bed. I don’t want to hear another peep out of you this evening.’
Chapter Twenty
Chloe knew that she was dreaming, but that didn’t make the situation feel any less humiliating. She was at a party, and it was full of people she knew. Why all these people would be at the same party, Chloe had no idea, but that is often how dreams work. Many of the girls she went to school with were there. Her headmaster was there, and nobody seemed to think that was odd. There were boys there too. Ryan and some of his friends, and a little boy called Zack that she used to babysit for, who was only eight years old (he was older now, but in the dream he was very much eight years old still, wearing his familiar iron man pyjamas). Apart from Zack and herself, everybody else seemed dressed appropriately. Chloe wasn’t in pajamas, but rather, her school uniform, which everybody else seemed to think was hilarious. She couldn’t understand why people were pointing and laughing at her as she passed them by. She was wearing black tights, not white ones.
She did have a slightly more pressing concern. She needed to pee. She stumbled through doorway after doorway, trying to find the bathroom, but there didn’t seem to be one. Her need was increasing rapidly. When she bumped into her sister, she asked her where it was.
‘Oh, do you need to go potty?’ Mia asked.
Chloe nodded, aware that she shouldn’t be asked in such a juvenile manner but not wanting to cause a delay.
‘It’s right there,’ said Mia, pointing.
Everybody stopped their conversations and the crowd parted. In the middle of the room was a pink, plastic potty.
‘I can’t use that,’ said Chloe.
‘Why not?’ asked Mia, as if the answer wasn’t completely obvious.
‘Everyone will see,’ said Chloe.
‘Nobody’s looking,’ said Mia. This was not true. Everybody was watching them like hawks. It was as if nothing else mattered. ‘If you can’t even use the potty then I guess we’ll just have to go back to nappies…’
‘What? No,’ said Chloe, willing to do just about anything in order to escape that fate.
With all eyes on her she walked up to the potty and turned around. She reached up under her skirt and grasped her tights, pulling them down to just below her knees, wanting to see if she would get a reaction before she revealed herself more fully. Nobody said a word. She had a horrible sensation that everything was about to change, but she couldn’t hold on much longer. She reached under her skirt again, this time pulling her knickers down and sitting on the potty in one swift movement, trying not to put on too much of a show. As her bottom made contact with the potty, she saw that people were sniggering. She realized that, unfortunately, the knickers which were on clear display for all to see were her Spongebob knickers that she had wet that very morning.
Chloe tried to relax, to pee into the juvenile potty, but nothing happened.
‘I thought you said you needed to go?’ said Mia.
‘I did, but it’s hard to go with everybody watching,’ said Chloe.
‘You’d better not be wasting my time,’ said Mia. ‘It would be a shame if I had to spank you in front of all of these people. Don’t think I won’t.’
Chloe didn’t think for a moment that she wouldn’t.
‘Well come on then. We don’t have all day. Do you need to go or not?’
Chloe considered her options. Now that she was sat down on the potty, it really didn’t feel like she needed to go all that badly. Perhaps she had simply misjudged it.
‘Um, no,’ she said. ‘False alarm. I’m okay now.’
‘You’re absolutely sure,’ said Mia.
Chloe nodded. She stood up and pulled her knickers up, followed by her tights.
‘Right, lets go and get a dri…’ Mia started.
She stopped mid-sentence and everybody started sniggering, not least of all Zack, who was pointing at Chloe. She became aware of a warm trickle running down both legs and realized, with horror, that she was wetting herself. She tried to clamp down, to stop it from happening, but she was completely unable to do so.
‘You have no idea how much trouble you are in, young lady,’ said her father’s voice, and suddenly he was there, carrying a straight-backed chair.
He put the chair in the middle of the room, directly above the potty, sat down at it and pulled Chloe over his lap. She had endured all kinds of humiliation over the last 24 hours, but this was too much. Surely her father would never do this to her? But he did. He lifted her skirt, bared her bottom, much to the delight of the onlookers, and proceeded to spank her as she bawled like a baby. Several more jets of wee escaped her during her spanking, amusing Zack greatly.
‘It looks like you’re not as grown-up as we thought doesn’t it?’ said Chloe’s father. ‘Still wetting yourself at this age, and here was me thinking you were a big girl. I think you need to be back in nappies for the foreseeable future.’
‘Daddy, no!’ she cried.
*****
‘Daddy, no!’ she cried as she woke up.
Although she had known it was a dream when it started, it had all seemed real to her by the time it finished. She lay in her bed, openly sobbing. Would her dad really be angry at her? Would he agree with this kind of punishment?
She reached down and touched the front of her nappy. It was dry. She had half-expected to have wet herself in real life when she wet herself in her dream, but that hadn’t happened. She never thought she’d have been pleased with herself for not wetting the bed, but her situation had changed drastically today. The question was, when would it get back to normal? |
2348 A.D.
The little girl, who couldn’t have been more than five or six, jumped excitedly holding her prize in her hands. It had taken nearly all her will power, but she had done it and now as promised she held the latest installment of the My Little Pony: Virtual Friends. Today she would finally be allowed to log into The Sphere. She ran to the counter as a rather annoyed older brother was dragged along besides her.
“Hi there!” The teenager behind the counter said smiling down at the girl.
“Two Dives in Ponyland.” The brother said with a shudder.
“Ponyville!” The young girl corrected as the brother rolled his eyes.
“Can’t believe mom’s making me do this with you.” He said eying the cover of smiling barnyard creatures with distaste.
“Will that be partial dive or full?” The teenager working behind the counter asked.
“Full!” The young girl exclaimed as the brother shook his head.
“Partial, Becca, remember? Full dive has needles.” He said eyeing the holographic displays of the latest games that were released. He stared at the image of the latest zombie game with longing. Why did he have to go in the little kid game with his sister? She’d be fine. She’d go in, play with the animals, fly in the sky. So what if it was her first time? What could possibly go wrong in a kids game? “Actually, Let’s do one partial for Ponytown and one full for Brains, Tasty Brains.” He said before eyeing his sister. “Think you’ll be fine by yourself?” He asked hopefully. She looked up at him with wide blue eyes in wonder. He was letting her be alone? “Look, don’t tell mom, and I’ll take you back next week.” He said before she eagerly nodded her head.
“Alright, have you two been here before?” The girl working the counter asked.
“I have. She hasn’t.” He answered slipping his wrist underneath the scanner as the total was deducted from his BitCoin account.
“Is this your user?” She asked as a holographic image of a teen boy decked out in weapons and gear appeared.
“Yep.” He said.
“That doesn’t look anything like you.” Becca said looking up at the image and then back to her brother.
“It doesn’t have too, you’ll see. It’s The Sphere, you can be anyone you want to be.” He answered as the girl led them behind the counter towards the back.
“You can go in room one whenever you want, Brian.” The girl said.
“I better stay and help her out first.” He said leading the little girl towards the scanner.
“How’d she know your name?” Becca asked as she glanced at what appeared to be a blank wall. Her eyes went wide as an exact replica of herself appeared in front of her.
“Because she scanned my chip.” Brian answered. “Pretty cool, huh?” He said smiling a little at her amazement. It would be kind of fun to see her first Dive. Oh well. He’d rather be shooting zombies than playing with ponies. “Now all you have to do is think about what you want to look like. Yeah, like that.” He said as the image immediately changed outfits and hair color.
“Woah,” Becca said imagining herself with different shades and styles of hair. After several minutes of giggling at the sight of herself with a Mohawk, afro, mullet, and other assortment of different things she finally settled on just long brown hair and blue eyes. “This is what I want.”
“So ordinary.” Brian said before shrugging. “Now all you have to do is name her.”
Welcome, Sasha Brindey
“You guys all set?” The teenager asked as Brian nodded his head.
“Have fun, we’ll be out about the same time.” Brian said before waving and leaving towards the first room.
The teenager led Becca towards the back hall, around the corner and towards room number twelve. As Becca walked she craned her neck and turned her head in all directions checking out all the latest advertisements for dives available. One image showed a boy and a girl decked out in chain mail carrying swords with a giant fire breathing dragon in the background glaring menacingly. Another image showed a deep sea dive with all kinds of fish and sea life swimming around a girl in a scuba diving get up. The guide nearly had to physically pull her away from one display of two girls with black cat ears and tails standing in provocative posses.
“Kitties! I wanna go in the kitty one!” Becca said frowning in confusion at the teenagers reaction.
“Noo! Not for kids, sorry.” The teenager said giggling and motioning her forward into the nearest room. Becca looked around the room. It wasn’t at all what she had been expecting.
“Where’s the ponies?” She asked taking in the plain room with a single chair and strange helmet.
“Don’t worry, there’s ponies.” The guide said motioning for her to take a seat. “Now since this is your first time, let me explain how this is going to work. We’re going to put this helmet on you and count to ten and when you come to you’ll be in Ponyville.” Becca sat down in the leather recliner as the guide leaned her back down. “You ready?” The little girl nodded her head eagerly as a large spherical helmet was brought down over her eyes. “Now if you want to log out for any reason, all you have to do is say the words I want out and a screen will appear asking you if you want to log out. You can say yes or no.” She explained. Becca nodded her head in understanding in the complete blackness of the helmets interior. She hoped the lady would stop talking soon so she could hurry up and start. Her friends at school had talked endlessly about how you could ride a Pegasus in the game and that was the first thing she wanted to do. “Alright, I started the program. It might feel a little scary at first, but it will be over real quick. I’ll count down with you. 10, 9…”
Becca gripped the armrest as many different colors began floating in her vision. “8, 7, 6…” A strange lightheaded sensation caused her to lean her head back against the headrest as she closed her eyes. “5,4,3…” She clutched the armrest tighter as she felt the room around her beginning to spin. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. It’ll be worth it, she told herself. “2,1..” The teenagers voice began to fade away as she counted down the last of the numbers until all was silent. A gentle breeze on her face caused her to slowly open her eyes as she let out an audible gasp. No longer was she in the chair in the Sphere Center at her local mall, but in the heart of Ponyville as groups of ponies trotted around the city paying her no mind.
“So cool!” Becca said with her shining eyes alight with excitement which only grew with every passing second as she slowly walked around the town taking in all the shops and different colored ponies.
“Hi there! I’ve never seen you around before.” Becca heard turning around to find a purple pony with wings.
“Princess Twilight!” Becca squealed.
“Hi, Sasha, it’s nice to meet you. Is this your first time in Ponyville?” The princess asked.
“Yeah!” Becca said excitedly. Sasha? She wondered until she remembered that was the name of her avatar.
“We’re glad to have you here! Umm, don’t take this the wrong way, but, well, what exactly are you?” She asked looking Becca up and down. “You’re not a pony, or any other kind of animal I’ve ever seen before.”
“I’m not a pony.” Becca said giggling. “I’m a human!”
“A human?” Twilight asked confused. “No way! Wait till Lyra get’s wind of this! C’mon, Sasha, let’s go meet everyone.” Becca eagerly followed along craning her neck this way and that while Twilight made her pre-programmed speech about the every day life of the town. She could see Applejack at her stand in the market selling apples, Rarity was in her boutique, Pinkie Pie was inside the bakery licking a bowl clean while Mrs. Cake stood by with a disproving glare. It was when they got to the Apple farm that things took a turn for the worse.
“So, Sasha, is there anything you want to see?” Twilight asked.
“Cloudsdale!” Becca said eagerly. “I want to see the flying ponies and ride one!”
“So us earth ponies aren’t good enough for you, are we?” A voice full of resentment asked.
“W-What?” Becca stuttered as she turned around only to be looked down upon by the entire Apple family. A strange flash of light could been seem coming from their cutie marks on their flanks.
“Everyone always wants to see the flying ponies while us simpletons are left to work the fields. Don’t even get me started on those damn unicorns with their magic. They can command anything and everything, but do they help us? No! I’m sick of it!” AppleJack said glaring into Becca’s eyes as the little girl trembled. What was going on? It was then that BigMac came rushing towards them, pitchfork in mouth as he rammed it into the princesses chest. Blood splattered onto Becca’s face and shirt as she let out an ear piercing scream. This wasn’t happing! They just killed princess Twilight! There was so much blood! Wasn’t this supposed to be a kids game?
“I want out!” Becca yelled as a menu screen popped open.
System Error: Cannot Log Out
Becca let out a scared whine as the ponies slowly began to advance each carrying some form of weapon in it’s jaw. Their once kind and friendly eyes now glowed a deep red color. The little girl finally found her feet and took off running towards the village once she was sure one of them tried to take a stab at her. She ran while gasping for air. This wasn’t supposed to be a scary game! Becca stood frozen in fear once she reached the town. Thick smoke hung in the air obscuring her vision. Buildings were on fire and she could feel the flames heat on her face. The unicorns were stabbing the earth ponies repeatedly with their horns in a large massacre as hordes of bodies littering the ground. Peagusi were dropping heavy rocks and other sharp objects onto the unicorns below crushing their skulls. Becca stood rooted to the spot wide eyed as her little body trembled and felt her bladder gave way, but no liquid emerged from her avatar. “I want out! I want out!” She screamed repeatedly only to have the same error repeating itself. She ran behind a building to take cover as she sat on the ground hugging her knees to her chest and covering her ears. No matter how hard she pressed her palms against her head she couldn’t drown out the screams of dying ponies. All she could do was cry tearless wails and wait for her time to be up.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Brian stood around the corner of a wall in the abandoned laboratory with gun in hand. He slowly peeked his head around the corner to check whether or not the coast was clear. The dim florescent lighting that blinked on and off gave the place an eerie feel even if he knew the place wasn’t crawling with zombies. Sweat trickled down his face and mixed with the dirt that clung to his cheeks from pressing his face against the walls. He limped forward as fast as he could dragging his bit leg along the floor. Maybe a full dive wasn’t the best idea in a game where injuries could happen. Oh well, that’s what made them more fun. In a full dive you could feel things, not just in your face, but your whole body as well. You could feel the weight of the gun in your hands, along with the kickback when fired. The things your body learned in a full dive stayed with you. Anything that involved muscle memory. Running, jumping, swimming, martial arts, skate boarding etc.
Although it was definitely more fun to feel, it came with it’s downsides as well. Brian let out a silent moan as his leg ached. He could feel the virus coursing through him with every step. Nothing was permanent of course. He’d be fine as soon as he awoke out of the dive, although sometimes it takes a few minutes for your brain to adjust. Even though there’s no real wound there, your brain thinks there is for a short amount of time and sends signals of pain to the afflicted area. For some unlucky few with extreme sensitivity, there really will be a wound for a short amount of time. The Nocebo effect some called it. Once in a while Brian would came out of a dive with red and mildly irritated areas where he had been shot, but that sort of phenomena was normal. It’s when you wake up with a hole in your chest that’s a problem.
“Hallway three clear.” Brian whispered into the microphone on his vest. “What’s your position?” Nothing but silence greeted him for a full minute. “Sebastian, where are you?” A blood curdling scream could be heard coming from the hallway up ahead that bounced and echoed through the hallway sending all the hairs on Brian’s body sticking up like the Eifel tower with goosebumps along his skin. They got him.
Logging Out
Brian blinked as he found himself strapped to a table by his wrists, chest, legs and feet. His time shouldn’t have been over already, should it? I guess time really does fly when your having fun. A dull pain in his leg let him know he got off easy. That other guy would be sore for a while.
“Sorry to log you out before your time is up, but there’s been a situation.” Brian heard wincing a little as the probes were removed from the back of his head.
“Huh?” He mumbled squinting from the light as his helmet was removed. He turned his head to the right to find the girl who had led him in getting the alcohol swabs ready to administer to the back of the head to disinfect the puncture wounds from the connectors.
“Something’s gone wrong in the game your sister was in.” She said quickly patching up his head and helping him to his feet.
“What? What happened?” He asked in concern springing to his feet. Mom would kill him if anything happened to Becca. She didn’t trust these games after all and he was supposed to have been in there with her.
“Someone re-wrote the game and all the characters are killing each other.” She said. “I’ve tried to log her out several times, but an error keeps popping up.”
“What? It’s a little kids game!” he said as he was led over to a viewing monitor to witness the bloodbath that was now Ponyville. He quickly scanned the screen to find his sister curled in a ball in the corner rocking back and forth as the mayhem and chaos surrounded her. “What happened?”
“She must have said a key phrase to trigger it. It’s never happened before.” She said biting her lip and nervously tapping her fingers on the counter. She typed a command into the holograph projected keyboard only for another error to appear. “There’s nothing I can do until her time is up. It’s not letting me log her out manually.”
“What if you just took the helmet off? She’s only in a partial dive.” He suggested.
“It could hurt our system. You can’t just pull it off without properly shutting it down first.” She explained.
“You think I care about your system? Get my sister out of there! Look at her!” Brian shouted angrily jabbing his finger to the image of the five-year-old huddled in a ball. He could feel his blood boiling with every second. Maybe it was his fight-or-flight reaction kicking in or maybe it was from training his senses from so many full dives in The Sphere, but he could faintly hear laughing coming from another room somewhere. He stormed down the hall as the sound grew louder and louder until he came face to face with a door marked Employee’s Only. “Open it!” He demanded as the teenager stood by nervously.
“I can’t let you go in there.” She said. More giggling erupted from the other side of the door.
“Dude, dude, make them go after her now.” He heard before turning on the employee.
“I. said. open. it.” He growled at her with gritted teeth and clenched fists. She cringed slightly before reluctantly pulling out her I.D and swiping it under the sensor as the door opened to reveal a control room with two employees typing commands into a certain My Little Pony world and laughing about the results.
“Hey, Victoria, check it out. This little girl is freaking out over my pat-OOH” He grunted as Brian’s fist smashed into his face before he even knew what was happening.
“Log her out NOW!” Brian demanded.
“It was just a joke calm down!” He said before getting his face smashed into the console. “Okay, okay!” He grunted as the other boy quickly entered a command to shut off the over ride and shut down the machine. Brian sent him another warning glare before taking off down the hallway in search of the room Becca was in. He could hear crying coming from the door to his left and quickly opened it to find his sister curled in a ball trembling. Brian quickly undid the helmet straps and pulled it off her head to reveal the terrorized child underneath. He once bright blue eyes were completely blood shot as tears and snot ran down her face. Her pants and the chair were soaked with urine as she babbled incoherently about what had happened.
“Shh, it’s okay, it’s over now.” He whispered picking her up as shook and balled in his arms. He gritted his teeth in anger as he held her and tried to calm her down. She'd probably never go in The Sphere again. Who knew as a result she'd grow up to protect it.
A/n So this will be my project for NaNoWriMo. Hope you guys like it. |
Chapter One: The Summons
13 Years Later
Becca Strokes sat on her bed gripping the paper in her hands with nervous anticipation. Today would be the day to start the trials for the Sphere Protection Program or SPP. It was a school dedicated on training soldiers using virtual reality to stop cyber crime. She had wanted to become a cyber officer for as long as she could remember, and now she held in her hands to first steps to making that dream come true -an acceptance letter. While it wasn’t an acceptance letter to the school itself, it was still a step in the right direction.
After writing a kick ass essay (in her opinion) as to why she wanted to become an officer, she had passed the first, and easiest, test. Now it was on to the next. Only she had no idea what kind of test she’d be facing. All that was given to her was an IP address with a note congratulating her on making it to this next step in the selection process. 1:100…Those were the odds of making it this far. Actually getting accepted into the program… 1:10,000. There was a rumor that most people failed at the final challenge because it was something so horrible and painful, but the only people that really knew were the people who failed and no one was allowed to talk about what goes on for fear of getting disqualified permanently.
Becca stood up and made her way down stairs in the hopes of getting some form of reassurance from her parents. She could smell the dehydrated bacon capsules boiling, but the butterflies in her stomach prevented her from eating anything. Whoever thought of the term butterflies clearly didn’t have their future on the line she thought as she sat at the table. It felt more like genetically modified wasps having a fight to the death in her insides rather than something as gentle as butterflies.
Becca shook her head when her mother offered her various dehydrated capsules ranging from toast, eggs, bacon, cereal, pancakes, French toast, waffles, and oatmeal. She felt so nervous she thought she might hurl if she ate anything. She didn’t know if there was a rule against puking during the test, but there’s no way it would help her that’s for sure.
“You’ll do fine.” Her father said in between scenes of the news as the holographic image of a newscaster no larger than a cereal box projecting in the middle of the kitchen table listing off various current events.
“I hope.” Becca mumbled sipping some orange juice and bouncing her knees. Before she knew it the time to leave for the testing site had fast approached. With a hug and kiss from her parents, she headed back upstairs to her partial dive connecter. With trembling fingers, she typed the IP address of where she wanted to go and leaned back on her bed before slipping the helmet on. Just about everything was done via avatar now a days since they came out with a home console a few years back. Full Dives you still had to go to a center for, but partials you could now do from the comfort of your own home.
The imagery blurred on the screen as Becca closed her eyes and slowly counted down in her head. She always hated this part even if it only lasted a few seconds. When she counted down to four, a flurry of imagery flashed in the screen as she felt the lightheadedness of zipping past millions of other IP addresses to get to her destination. She squinted her eyes to make sure it was over before relaxing and standing up.
“Can I help you?” a voice asked causing her avatar to spin on the spot as she came face to face with a professionally dressed blonde woman who couldn’t have been out of her 20’s. At least that’s the way she made herself appear to others in The Sphere.
“I’m here for the SPP exam.” Becca said scanning the building she found herself in. She was a little disappointed to find herself in an ordinary looking office. People sat behind desks, sipping coffee for the taste and talking amongst themselves.
“Come with me.” She said turning on her heels as Becca swallowed and followed her through various plain looking hallways until they entered into a large conference room with about a dozen or so others sitting in chairs. “Please wait here for further instruction.” Becca sat down in the nearest chair across the table from a pale looking girl with violet eyes and green hair who seem preoccupied with gazing out the window. Becca sat nervously glancing around the room, but there wasn’t much to look at. The room had plain white walls, with only one picture of a sunset above a mountain range. There was a potted fern behind her chair and a single window overlooking the virtual town slightly obscured by the navy blue curtain.
Awkward silence hung in the air while each person imagined what horrors they would be facing. Or at least that’s what Becca was doing. She fiddled nervously with her long brown hair and imagined what sort of things they would be doing. She had imagined the IP address leading her to some sort of battle arena where all SPP hopefuls would be forced to fight to the death. She had never imagined it taking her to some ordinary looking office. She felt sort of silly now for equipping her avatar with knives and other concealed weapons. She should probably put them back in her inventory before she got into some kind of trouble. It’s not like anyone could actually get hurt though; they were all avatars after all. Becca went back and forth in her mind about what she was carrying on her before finally deciding to keep everything where it was. She didn’t want to cause a scene pulling it all out.
In order to pass the time, she glanced around the conference room and at each person sitting in it. She always liked to imagine who was really there behind the avatar. She highly doubted the man sitting next to her had those kinds of muscles, and the set of perky boobs he seemed to be transfixed on across the table from him probably belonged to some 50-year-old-man, not the twenty something red head who looked like she shouldn’t even be able to sit up with that kind of weight attached to her chest. Becca blinked is surprise when her eyes fell on the girl from earlier. She could have sworn she had green hair, but now it was a deep blue and her expression showed a mixture of fear and doubt. She glanced around in confusion, but no one else seemed to have noticed the change so Becca chalked it up to her over imagination. You could only change your appearance in your home screen or in designated areas anyway that sold clothes and whatnot.
After another hour of waiting the room began getting restless. Mr. MuscleHead stood from his chair and began pacing the room while another groaned loudly about being forced to wait. Becca locked eyes with the green haired girl again. Wait, wasn’t her hair blue just a minute ago? Her hair color had changed she was sure of it. She really did have green hair, so then why was it blue a minute ago? Had she figured out a way to bypass the system lock on changing the way you look? The girl seemed to smirk at Becca for a second and roll her eyes. Was she rolling her eyes at her because Becca noticed her hair changing colors? Perhaps she shouldn’t stare at her; it was rather rude. The girl jerked her head sideways as Becca turned her attention to Mrs. TopHeavy . She seemed to be causing a commotion about the wait time. Some people gave their agreement, while others like themselves rolled their eyes at her over dramaticness of the situation. Becca nodded and smiled to the girl who appeared to be slightly older than herself. After a quick glance back up Becca had to cover her mouth so she wouldn’t laugh out loud and draw attention to herself. The girl with the changing hair was silently mimicking the red head with her lips and hands.
Mrs. TopHeavy finally announced she was fed up with waiting and rose to head home but froze. The door everyone had come in through was gone. There was nothing but a solid beige painted wall in its place.
“Where’s the door?” She demanded pounding her fist on the wall. All heads turned their attention to her. Becca could see a faint sparkling light where the door had been when she looked at it through her Sphere Vision mode; A sign that the room had been tampered with. Sphere Vision was mostly used in-game, but you could use it anywhere in the Sphere to view user names, send and view messages and of course checking to see if things had been altered by outside forces.
“Guess they don’t want us leaving before hand.” A twenty something year old looking man calmly said. He wore a navy blue fedora and his face had a five o clock shadow. Becca wanted to call him Anthony; He just seemed like an Anthony to her. She was disappointed when she viewed his User Id and it listed him as Arnold. He’d make a better Anthony she thought.
Mrs. TopHeavy sat back down in a huff as a few people glanced around the room anxiously. A hand wave from the girl across from her earlier caught Becca’s attention. She blinked in surprise to find her hair not green or blue, but jet black. Her hair really was changing colors. Becca pointed to her own head and mouthed your hair to her. She cocked her head to the side in confusion before Becca mentally opened up her in-game messenger and thought up a quick sentence before thinking the words Send Message. The girl across from her moved her eyes as she read the text in front of her invisible to everyone else.
A blinking red light a few seconds later in her upper vision notified Becca of a new message. Open Becca thought and the girl’s response displayed in front of her. That’s the fifth thing that’s changed since coming here. Becca blinked in surprise as she quickly gave the room a once over. Other than the door disappearing Becca didn’t notice anything at first until she spotted the potted palm tree behind her. Wasn’t it a fern before? And the picture of a sunset; it had been replaced by a picture of a sailboat. That’s three things, she thought scanning the room more closely. The glass see through desk was the same, but Becca realized the color of the carpet was not. Where’s the fifth thing? The walls she realized. They were white before and now they were beige. She sent a message back to the girl stating her observations.
I didn’t notice the carpet or picture. Look at the window; there’s now blinds instead of curtains. Clearly they are testing our observational skills. Interested in teaming up? My name’s Crystal by the way.
Becca read the note before smiling and nodding her head in agreement. Two pairs of eyes were better than one she thought. She made up a quick introduction and sent it to her along with her username, Sasha, but she probably already knew that. The two spent the remaining time checking out their surroundings and sending their reports.
What color is your hair supposed to be? Becca asked to kill time.
Green, what color is it now? Crystal asked.
Hot pink. Becca responded smiling as Crystal’s violet eyes widened as she searched for a mirror. Just kidding. Becca sent causing the other to roll her eyes playfully. They sent further messages back and forth. Some were other differences they had spotted while others were simple observations, like the guy sitting to next to Becca’s right that was pretending to scratch his nose while actually picking. Definitely not fooling anyone. Anything else change?
The ceiling fan is turning clockwise instead of counter clock wise, the smoke detector disappeared and Sasha has turned into a man.
WHAT? Becca sent in a panic patting her lap for anything that shouldn’t be there. A just kidding appeared but Becca looked down the front of her shirt just incase. This room was changing everything from decorations to physical appearance. Maybe it was possible to change someone’s gender as well. They were all just avatars after all.
“Hello, and thank you all for waiting.” The lady who had walked Becca to the room suddenly appeared. She breathed a small sigh of relief to see the door back and that she was no longer trapped inside this room full of strangers. “We are ready to begin the testing process. We will call you back one at a time for a quick interview and then you are free to go. First I must ask that if you are carrying any weapons, please put them back in your inventory as they will not be needed during this portion of the test.”
After a few seconds of silence people began pulling out a few guns and knives they had kept holstered to themselves and placed them on the table before scanning them back into their inventory. Becca sighed before standing up and removing her coat. She was afraid that this was going to happen. She pulled her semi-automatic and 9mm she kept tucked into the back of her skirt. She then un-tucked her shirt and pulled out the shotgun she had slung around her shoulder, two black hunting knives around each ankle, and removed the utility belt of ammunition she had strapped around her waist that also contained a few grenades and smoke bombs. Once those were on the table she reached into her blouse and pulled out a small stun gun and canister of pepper spray.
Someone whistled at her growing pile of weaponry as Becca looked up to find everyone in the room staring at her wide eyed including Crystal. Becca smiled anxiously as she pulled out a few shotgun shells out of each pocket.
“Are you done?” The secretary asked raising her eyebrows.
“Almost,” Becca said grimacing apologetically as she unholstered a glock from her right thigh and a revolver from her left along with two switchblades, and a bone saw. “I think that’s everything.” Becca laughed anxiously.
“All of it please, you’ll be going through a metal detector.” The secretary said.
“Fine.” Becca grumbled reaching up the back of her blouse and retrieving a Smith and Wesson along with a silencer before upending her purse as various forms of ammunition spilled out onto the table.
“Damn, girl.” Arnold-better-known-as-Anthony-said as the room fell completely silent.
“I’ll need to go somewhere private to remove the rest.” Becca said apologetically as everyone stared mouths agape. |
Becca slid the glowing red palm of her hand across the last of her artillery before it vanished back into her inventory. Scanner off.
“Now that everyone is sorted out.” The secretary said with a hint of annoyance gazing towards Becca as the cause of the hold up. “We will now begin calling everyone back one at a time for the interview process.” Becca nodded her head in understanding as everyone listened to the welcoming speech. Becca tried to remember everything that had changed in the room. Crystal’s hair was first wasn’t it? Or was it the plant? Or the picture? Why did she have to sit with her back to the plant?
An incoming message snapped her from her thoughts as she read it through.
What’s with the Rambo get-up? Crystal asked.
I kind of thought this was going to be a fight to the death to be honest. I wasn’t sure what I needed to equip so I kind of, well, equipped everything. Do you think it was overkill?
Crystal snorted out loud as her eyes danced across the invisible words in front of her. Six guns, four grenades, nine knives, a bone saw, three smoke bombs, a silencer, AND a shotgun. Yeah, I think you went a little overkill. Do I even want to know what you pulled out in the back room and from which crevice you evacuated it from?
If this was a full dive Becca’s face would probably be glowing bright red right now. Probably not. She sent back.
How did you even manage to conceal all that? I knew you had a something big across your back by the way you were sitting, but I never would have guessed you were packing that much.
Practice, Becca sent with a shrug.
“Sasha Brindey,” A voice rang out as Becca gulped. Why did she have to go first? She took a few deep calming breaths and stood up. If this was reality she was sure she would puke. “Come this way, please.” The Secretary said leading her down another hallway covered in mundane portraits of nature. Becca could never understand why they tried to make virtual reality look so much like, well, reality. You could do anything and everything. So why have ordinary, plain boring offices?
What annoyed Becca the most were the rules against using her in-game settings in non-designated areas. She knew it was to keep people in full dives safe, but c’mon? Who’d waste the money in a full dive here? It all really boiled down to appearance. Using hyper speed in an office tended to look unprofessional. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
“Please allow me to scan your chip,” she said as one of her palms began to glow bright red as Becca stuck out her forearm for the woman to scan. The woman quickly waved it over Becca’s wrist as an image of Sasha appeared on the wall. After all these years it still seemed strange to see herself as Sasha and not as Becca. She always expected to see black hair and green eyes when looking at her reflection, not brown hair and blue eyes. She still got her two selves confused sometime as she sill introduced herself as “Becca” in game and “Sasha” in reality. “Is this correct?” The woman asked as a picture of Becca appeared on the wall after Sasha disappeared.
“Yes.” Becca answered as she shifted nervously from foot to foot once she confirmed everything in her Sphere profile.
“Please have a seat.” She said directing Becca to a group of armchairs in the corner. “What I’m going to do is ask you a few questions of how the Sphere came to be to check your history.” Becca frowned. A history lesson? What about the changing room? What about fighting to the death? “In your own words, why did we create the Sphere?” she asked gazing sharply at Becca with her hazel colored eyes.
“It was originally created so that people could re-learn how to communicate with each other face to face after becoming dependent on the anonymity of technology. The human race began losing needed social skills due to its reliance on communication from behind a screen, so we developed a program to try and integrate humanity back into real person-to-person meetings, but still giving them a way to remain anonymous.”
“And do you know what year that came out?”
“Around the 2200’s.” Becca answered.
“Now please send me a message.” The woman said. Becca was a little taken a back. Why was this so easy? Everyone could send a message. All you to do to was think. Open Messenger. Becca turned on her Sphere Vision to see the woman’s username. Victoria Malteese. Hi, I’m Sasha. End Message. Send to Victoria Malteese. “Alright. Good.” Victoria said. The way her eyes moved rapidly back and forth told Becca she was also writing a message, but after a few seconds she realized she wasn’t writing to Becca, she was writing about Becca. “Now I have a few questions about the room you were waiting in. Including yourself, how many people were in it?”
“Fourteen.” Becca answered after a moment to reflect.
“Did you notice anything unusual about anyone there?” Victoria asked.
“One of the girls hair changed colors several times, and one of the girl’s chests defied gravity.” Becca said. Victoria ignored her comment about Mrs. TopHeavy and proceeded with the interview.
“How many times did it change?”
“Four times. It was green when I first entered, but changed to blue, back to green, and then black to brown.”
“Can you name as many people as possible that were in the room?” Crap. She only knew two or three. She was paying attention to changing environment, not the people she was in the room with.
“Crystal, Arnold, Sasha…” Becca said trying and failing to think of others. Should she make up names? No, Victoria would know if she was just making stuff up. “That’s all that I know of.”
“How many things are you aware of that changed?”
“Seven,” Becca answered feeling more confident about this question as she listed the differences her and Crystal found.
“How many weapons was Sasha concealing?” The corners of Becca lips turned upward in a slight smile. So that’s why they didn’t check her before entering the waiting room.
“Twenty three that I pulled out in front of everyone, and four in private. I feel much better now that those are out of there.” Becca said in an attempt to make her laugh. Victoria remained as emotionless and stone faced as ever causing Becca to shift uncomfortably in her chair. Laughter was her defense mechanism for when she was nervous, which sometimes led to her saying inappropriate things at inappropriate times. Like now for instance. Awkward silence filled the room causing Becca to inwardly cringe.
“How long did it take you to conceal all of those weapons?” Victoria finally asked.
“Fifteen minutes.”
“Why do you want to join the SPP?”
“To make it safe for everyone to join, and to stop cyber attacks against children.”
“What is the most common sign something has been tampered with?”
“A dim flashing light appears.”
“That’s all for this interview. Someone will be in touch with your results later on today.” Victoria said standing to her feet and straightening out the hem of her skirt. “It was nice meeting you, Sasha.” Becca frowned as her thoughts waged war in her head. How was that interview supposed to make her stand out from the rest? She let out a heavy sigh in defeat. There was no way she would make it after that. She had only remembered two names. Why hadn’t she just stayed in Sphere Vision? Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! She was so frustrated she just wanted to kick something. Guess all there was left to do now was logout and drown her sorrows in zombie brains. Nothing soothed Becca’s nerves quite like blowing holes in the heads of zombies.
Before she knew it she had reached the lobby where she had arrived and after thinking of a few commands, she found herself at her home page. An image of Sasha’s current look displayed in the middle of the room. The first thing she’d do is change out the business professional attire and slip into something more comfortable. With every wave of her hand, a new outfit appeared on the image of her avatar. Swimsuit. Nope. Skirt. Nope. Hideous bridesmaid dress from her cousin’s wedding last month. Definitely not. Becca finally settled on a red T-shirt and cargo capris, before repeating the process for hairstyles.
Perfect, she thought as she equipped herself with her chosen outfit, now to pick a game. What would help her take her mind off everything? Shooting zombies? Racing hovercrafts? Martial arts? Becca flicked through her collection of playable worlds before glancing at the countdown timer on the wall. She had two hours left before the system would automatically log her out for safety reasons. When the Sphere first became available for in-home use, there were a few cases where people never logged out and starved to death. Even Becca herself had a few embarrassing incidents where she had logged out only to find she had wet herself from being in games for too long. A few years later they had programmed a fail-safe to automatically log you out after six hours of continual Sphering as a reminder to take care of yourself. Rumor had it that there was a drug on the market that allowed you to stay in a full dive for weeks at a time, but was only available to the rich. Somehow it slowed your metabolism way down along with your sense of time. A day in the Sphere would only be an hour or so in reality. One of the main users of the drug was the SPP; it was how they shoved a year of training into less than a week in real time. The thought of getting to live full time in the Sphere sounded amazing to Becca. Too bad she blew the interview.
Sure, she didn’t actually KNOW she blew it, but with as tough as the selection process is, Becca assumed they were looking for perfect scores. Her performance was average at best. 1:10, 000, no way they would accept average Becca. She sighed as she continued flipping through her list of games. She’d drive herself crazy if she kept dwelling on this. The corners of her lips turned in a smile as her eyes rested on the image of game she hadn’t played in years. She used to love it when she was younger. It was a game where you could be a superhero and choose from several superpowers while fighting crime.
“Load Heroes of Justice.”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
“Whoooo!!!” Becca yelled as she flew in and out between the clouds feeling the wind whipping her hair back. How many years had it been since she last played this? She flew over the town enjoying the scenery. How awesome would this be if she was in a full dive? She wondered what it would be like to feel the sensation of flying in her whole body instead of just her face where the helmet was. Would her stomach do flips when she nosedived towards the pavement? Would she hurt herself punching criminals in the face? How much would it hurt getting sucked into a jet engine? On second thought, she was fine with a partial dive.
Becca slowly floated through the virtual clouds parting them with her hands and drawing designs. She could see the sun beginning to set as she hovered in the sky to watch. There’s always next year.
You’ve reached your time limit for the day. Logging Out.
Becca groaned as she reached up and took the helmet off to reveal the walls of her bedroom. She slowly sat up in bed as lightheadedness took hold from lying down for so long. A beeping noise coming from the other end of her room caught her attention. She slowly made her way to the other side of the room to her cell phone sitting on her desk. She had three new emails she hadn’t checked before logging out. Junk Mail, junk mail and more ju-She froze as her fingers trembled on the screen. It was a message was the testing site. Becca took a few deep breaths before hesitantly clicking on the message expecting a rejection email. She quickly scanned the email looking for the words “We regret to inform you,” but they never came. She read and re-read the message several times before it finally made sense and she wasn’t just imagining it.
Congratulations, you have made it to the next phase of testing. Please report to address 134.853.134.0897 Tuesday, November 17th at 8 am. Please see below for results of testing.
Observational skills: Average
Teamwork: Excellent
Preparedness: Excellent
Additional notes and comments: Never seen anyone come with so much ammunition before. Wasn’t sure if she was there for the SPP or to wage war against the establishment. |
Chapter Three
After looking at the email for nearly ten minutes in disbelief, Becca ran down the hall as fast as her jellified legs could carry her screaming in excitement the entire way to the kitchen.
An hour later a piping hot dehydrated chocolate cake sat on the kitchen table as means of celebrating after Becca’s mom boiled her favorite capsules for dinner. Becca talked a mile a minute in excitement not even stopping between bites of food. Her parents of course knew all about the SPP having had to hear all about from her since she was at least 10-years-old, but they smiled politely anyway knowing how important this was to her.
Becca couldn’t help, but stop and ponder the results for a minute. It was obvious the trial was meant to test her observational skills, but teamwork and preparedness? What did those mean? She thought back a moment at the ever changing room and its inhabitants. She didn’t remember saying anything to Veronica, the lady interviewing her, about teaming up with anyone. Did Crystal mention anything during her interview perhaps, and if not how did they know? Was it because their answers matched? Or maybe they knew because Becca answered questions correctly about things that were out of her line of sight and they assumed someone told her.
The real reason hit Becca like a ton of brinks. It was because they were watching her in the waiting room. Of course! They could probably see her messages as well. Crystal had literally sent her a message asking to team up and Becca had agreed despite knowing they were actually rivals. She never would have guessed they would be checking for teamwork in that situation, but the more she thought about it the more sense it made. They would be partnered with someone for three years of school, not to mention however long they’d be partnered with someone on cases. Sp’s always worked in pairs.
All that was left was to figure out preparedness. What did that mean? Her answers about the Sphere’s history? Everyone knew that though. How would they be able to judge preparedness based on questions you didn’t know would be asked?
Becca narrowed it down to all of her weaponry. That had to be it. They did ask for everyone to pull everything out and put it on the table. If they were watching her take everything out in the conference room, were they watching her in the supply closet while she pulled out paralysis gas canister she had hidden up there. Hey, if she couldn’t feel anything from the chin down she was going to take advantage of every natural pocket her body created although now she was regretting it a bit. Frickin Nacrebo effect. Get shot in the chest twice? Totally fine, but shove a kunai up her butt and she felt like she’d never be able to sit comfortably again. She may have even lied slightly about the time it too to get it up there as well.
“Any idea what happens next?” Trevor Strokes, Becca’s father asked.
“No idea,” said Becca. “It just said to go to the address.”
“Honey, why are you hovering over the chair like that? Please, sit down.” Becca’s mom, Heather, insisted.
“I can’t, It hurts.” Becca whined.
“Get shot in the butt again?” Trevor asked with a laugh.
“No, I ran out of pockets.” Becca moaned.
“Lalalala,” Trevor said covering his ears.
“So I had to…“
“Lalalala”
“Stick it up my…“
“Lalalala.”
“You know, normal people just carry a purse.” Heather said frowning at the strange entity that was her teenage daughter.
“Has anyone seen the remote?” Trevor asked searching the tabletop. “You’d think after all these years they’d come out with something remote less.”
“Yeah, just a sec,” Becca said pretending to reach into the back of her pants as her parents shook their heads. “Sooo…” she said after a couple of minutes once all the remaining dishes had been cleared.
“Yes?” Trevor asked looking at the suspicious smile that spread across his daughters face. “What do you want?”
“Keys?” Becca asked holding her palms out and scrunching up her face.
“Why?”
“So I can go to Brian’s.” She explained.
“Why?”
“So I can tell him the good news.”
“Why?”
“Please,” Becca begged.
“I don’t know…last time you didn’t obey curfew.” He said dangling them in front of her face.
“I will this time; I promise.” Said Becca as she reached for them only for them to be pulled away from her grasp at the last minute.
“And you promise you won’t lose them?”
“I promise! I’ll keep them safe where no one can get to them.”
“Seeing as how you’ve been unable to sit properly all night; that sentence concerns me.” Heather said causing Becca to playfully stick out her tongue.
“Home by midnight.” He said handing over the keys.
“Thank you!” Becca yelled already hallway to the garage.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Snow fell in large waves from both sides of the hover bike as Becca floored it in the wide open field. Virtual reality was fun, but nothing beat the real life thrills of having cool air whipping through your face doing 200mph in an empty forest. She breathed in the fresh smell of the nearby growing pine trees that surrounded her on all sides. Her village was already setting up Christmas lights and decorations in the trees and as a result the night sky was filled with many reds and greens that illuminated Becca’s path. She zipped around, taking a few sharp turns and enjoying the thrill of feeling her heart beating rapidly in her chest.
Too bad the Sphere couldn’t give her this kind of a rush. Well, nothing in her price range could anyway. The Sphere could try and imitate life all that it wanted, but she always knew deep down it wasn’t real no matter how badly she wanted it to be. The Sphere was an escape from reality; nothing more. As fun as it was, sooner or later you had to log off and come back to the real world.
Becca pulled to a stop as she admired her handiwork of different designs she had made by flying over the snow. There was a figure eight in one corner and a smiley face in the other. So she wasn’t an art major by any means, but she still had fun and that’s what counted, right?
She breathed in deep lungful’s of the fresh mountainous air and sat on the still rumbling bike between her legs. Becca glanced at the clock on her dash that read 8:27pm. She should probably head over to Brian’s like she said she was seeing as how she’d already been out here for two hours goofing off. If she left now she’d reach her brothers place in 15 minutes from where she was, but first Becca decided she needed to make a pit stop once she noticed herself jiggling up and down on the bike.
After turning off the ignition, she shivered in the chilly night air once the heat shield left with the engines power leaving her to brace the icy elements. She quickly hopped off into the snow as her legs wobbled unsteadily from riding for too long. Becca hobbled over to an old metal pole her village used to use to get electricity back in the day. She leaned her back against it to support herself in her unsteady state as she slowly shimmied her pants down.
“Guys have it so easy,” She softly complained exposing her bare butt to the elements before relaxing and allowing her bladder to empty into the white powder below. It wasn’t until she had finished and began trying to tug up her pants that she realized there was a problem. She squirmed this way and that as she tried again and again to free herself but to no avail. Becca’s butt was completely stuck to the frozen pole she had leaned against. “No no no!” She moaned tugging and pulling, but her skin remained frozen in place. She had always remembered the warnings about never licking a frozen pole, but she had never heard of anyone getting their butt stuck before.
When Becca tried everything she could possibly think of to free herself short of ripping the skin off, she sighed in defeat and fished her cell phone out of her pants pocket.
“Hey, Brian…” Becca said in a suspiciously cheery tone when he answered after the third ring. “How much do you love me?”
“What did you do?” a male voice from the other end asked with a heavy sigh. He knew that tone of voice all too well. That was the, I did something stupid and I need help pitch.
“You remember that field you used to take me too when we were kids?”
“Yeahhh… You didn’t crash into a tree again, did you?”
“No nothing like that. It’s just, umm, kind of embarrassing.”
“Just say it, Becca. What kind of trouble are you in?”
“I’m stuck to an electrical pole.” Becca blurted out only to be met with silence on the other end. “Brian? Are you there?”
“And by stuck to an electrical pole, what exactly do you mean by that?” Becca sighed as she heard the strain in his voice as he tried not to laugh.
“Can you just come get me please? And bring some warm water!”
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Brian sat hunched over his hover bike unable to contain his laughter, his little sisters scowl only making it increasingly funnier to him. When she had said she was stuck to a pole he had envisioned many different scenarios ranging from her climbing up and being unable to get down (it wouldn’t have been the first time) to her getting her pant leg stuck on something. Never had he imagined pulling up and seeing her with her pants around her knees and her butt cheeks completely frozen to a pole. This was priceless.
“Can you please help me? It’s cold!” She complained using her hands to cover her front.
“I’m sorry,” Brian said advancing closer with the thermos that contained her freedom. Hopefully. He cracked up even harder once he had gotten a closer look as she hung her head in shame. “You so owe me for this.” He said pouring the hot liquid over her backside in order to thaw it free. Becca winced as the warm water came in contact with her tender skin, but after a few wiggles she was able to pry herself free and pull up her pants.
“We must never speak of this again.” Becca said. |
Chapter Four
Steam began to fill the entire bathroom fogging over the bathroom mirror as hot water filled the old-fashioned looking porcelain tub. 18-year-old Becca Strokes shivered as she waited impatiently for it to finish as she slowly stripped down. Unable to take the cold any longer, she gingerly stepped in and sat down in the warm water that barely went halfway to her thighs. She closed her eyes and leaned back while continuously scooping warm water with her hands and dumping it over her chest until the tub finally filled up all the way as the sensor automatically shut the tap off.
“Much better,” She mumbled to herself while enjoying the sounds of the local nightlife right outside the bathroom window. Becca could her an owl hooting somewhere in the nearby trees as wind gently swept through the forest causing a cacophony of rustling leaves. She’d stay in the tub all night if she could. The tub’s built in heater kept the water at optimal temperature like a mini Jacuzzi so the post bath sprint to dry off and get warm was even less ideal than Brian’s taunting she was sure to face. Why’d she have to go and get herself stuck to an electrical pole? Who the hell even does that?
“Are you going to stay in there all night?” Becca heard coming from the other side of the door a half hour later.
“It’s tempting.” Becca responded.
“Don’t you want to see what I’ve been working on?” Becca frowned as she debated her options. She didn’t come all the way to Brian’s to sit in his tub all night. She really did love getting to see his projects. Sometimes he worked on various patches for the Sphere and sometimes he developed games. Other times he did sciency stuff that sent Becca’s head spinning with terms and ideas that went right over her comprehension level. Lately though he had been very secretive about his recent project and no matter how many times Becca asked to see or hear about it, Brian always said he couldn’t talk about it. Was he willing to share it now because he was finished or was it because he felt bad that she spent nearly an hour with her butt frozen to a pole?
“Not if I have to go out there.” She answered after a minute.
“Then I’ll tell you all about the different brain hormones that get released during Sphere dives while you’re trapped with no where to go.”
“You wouldn’t…”
“Did you know that during a partial dive…”
Ten minutes later Becca sat in front of the fireplace gripping a mug of hot chocolate while shivering from her wet hair. For someone who worked on such futuristic designs and proto-types he sure liked to live in such a primitive way. He didn’t even have a full body dryer in his bathroom! He had these primitive things called towels that you had to wrap yourself in to absorb the water off your body. He even had a fireplace! A fireplace! That burned things! Where in the world did he even find someone that was willing to build him a fireplace? The cottage certainly wasn’t originally designed that way.
“Sometimes it’s nice after a long day of virtual reality to sit back and enjoy just regular reality.” He’d say. Becca wondered if living in the past actually counted as living in regular reality. Other than that, she supposed he was right, but after tonight’s mishap, it only confirmed her love for the virtual world.
“So how familiar are you with full dives?” Brian asked after returning from his basement that he used as a laboratory.
“A bit I guess in theory. I’ve never actually been in a full dive before.” Becca admitted. The prospect of feeling pain never appealed to her seeing as she spent most of her time in virtual reality playing with guns and other weapons. Sure, there so much more to it than just pain. You could feel, touch, taste, sweat and actually build muscle since your body was convinced it was actually happening. It was also way out of her price range. The last thing she needed was to get addicted to something that expensive. Not everyone in this room had fancy high paying jobs since they hit puberty.
“What? You’ve never done a full dive before?” Brian asked shocked.
“Why would I want to do a full one? Hurts enough after just doing a partial.”
“What?” He asked cocking his head to the side a bit in confusion. “It hurts?”
“Yeah, that Necebro effect or whatever it’s called.” Becca said frowning at Brian’s smirk that began spreading across his face.
“That only exists in full dives; you can’t get hurt from a partial.” He said.
“I’m serious! My butt hurts!” She insisted.
“Yeah, because you froze it to a pole.” He said as Becca glared.
“I stuck a kunai up my butt today and now it hurts!” She complained
“Please never say that in public.” He said shaking his head. “Should I be more disturbed that you are sticking things up there, or that you are admitting you stuck something up there as nonchalantly as if you told me what you had for lunch?”
“I was in the Sphere. It’s not like I literally stuck something up there.” Becca said. “Mom told me I should get a purse.”
“Yeah, you might want to look into that.” Brian said grinning.
“So what are you working on?” Becca asked hoping he’d finally reveal his top-secret project. Brian shifted forward in his chair before pushing his glasses up his face.
“You have to swear not to tell anyone.” He said getting serious. “Not mom or dad, not anyone at the Sphere testing center. No one.”
“I promise.” Becca said leaning forward in her chair.
“I’ve been trying to figure this out for months and I finally made a breakthrough.” He said as his eyes danced with excitement. Becca realized the reason he was telling her now wasn’t because he felt bad for her; he was too excited with his progress to keep it to himself. “You know that drug used to manipulate your sense of time and slow your metabolism?” Becca nodded as Brian continued with his explanation. “It cost me an arm and a leg, but I managed to get a hold of a vial of it last year and I’ve been researching its chemical components.” Brian continued on for some time talking about the drug in his fancy science lingo that zipped right over Becca’s head. She just nodded wide eyed and pretended she understood. Finally he came to an end to his speech while his voice rose a bit in excitement. “Do you know what this means?” He asked as his eyes shined.
Becca nodded her head but the words, “No,” quickly came out.
“The government has kept this drug hush hush to the public for years to keep people from reproducing it. Only the rich has ever been able to afford it, but now that I’ve managed to find a way to reproduce it about a thousand times cheaper…” He said with a wide grin.
“So you made like a generic version?” Becca asked finally catching on as Brian nodded before glancing around the room and removing a small vial from his pocket.
“This could change so much, Becca. It could-“ Brian paused mid sentence as someone began pounding on the front door. They exchanged curious looks before Brian got up and headed to answer it. How weird, Becca thought. Who’d be knocking on the door 11 at night? She craned her neck around the headrest of her chair to get a good look as Brian approached the source of the commotion.
“Hello?” Brian called out from the closed front door.
“Can you help me?” A single male voice answered. “I crashed in the forest a little ways back and have been wondering around on foot for the last hour. You’re the first house I’ve found.” Brian visibly relaxed as he peeked through the hole in the door causing Becca wonder if he worried about something. He opened the door only to freeze in place. “Back inside.” The voice from earlier ordered, only now more forceful and harsh instead of pleading and desperate. Brian backed up slowly with his hands up as two men approached from the side with ski masks covering their faces and guns drawn pushed passed him.
Becca immediately jumped to her feet only to be met with the barrel of a gun. “Sit back down! Put your hands where I can see them!” She quickly let her self plop back down in the chair with her hands up as her eyes shifted from Brian to the gunmen in front of her.
“Where is it?” The average looking man from earlier asked. Becca recognized his voice as the one who had asked for help. She couldn’t blame her brother for answering the door for him. He didn’t look very threatening to Becca in his jeans and grey zip up hoodie, but his voice was forceful and demanding. She quickly tried to spot any kind of incriminating feature on any of them, but everything about him screamed plain and ordinary. He had the kind of face that could easily be overlooked in a crowd of people while the other two were covered head to toe.
“Where’s what?” Brian asked shifting his eyes from the man in front of him to his sister. Becca sat in the chair feeling powerless to stop them in the mix of all the chaos. She couldn’t understand what they were after, until one of the gunmen began tearing the cottage a part searching for something.
“You know perfectly well what I mean!” The man in the grey hoodie shouted. “Give me the drug!” Becca’s eyes widened in understanding; they were after her brother’s research. She jumped up in anger, but froze when she found a gun in her face for the second time in the manner of minutes. Her heart beat madly inside her chest like she had never felt before as her legs wobbled. Sweat began to bead from the top of her hairline and slowly make its way down her face from the high-pressure situation.
“There’s a lab down here!” One of the men called from the basement as the guy in the hoodie ordered the other to keep an eye on her and Brian before making his way down the stairs.
“Get over in the corner!” The second gunman said pointing his gun at the back of Brian’s head as a thick hand forcefully pushed him over towards her. “Both of you sit down and don’t even think about moving.” He threatened. Brian flashed her an apologetic look as if to say he knew this would happen.
“Why don’t you stop them?” Becca whispered. He could easily take them down in a matter of minutes, hell; even she could probably take this one by herself. An elbow to the groan here, an upper cut to the chin. All she needed to do was stun him long enough to get the gun and…
“No, Becca.” Brian whispered sternly. “This isn’t a game! This is real life! You can’t just re-spawn if something happened! When the first moment presents itself I want you to make a run for it.”
“No one’s going anywhere until we get what we came for!” The man said moving the gun back towards Becca.
“Look, I’ll give it to you, alright? Just leave my sister out of this.” Brian said slowly moving his hand towards his pocket.
“Keep your hands where I can see them!”
“Ok, look, what you’re looking for is in my right jacket pocket.” Brian said with his hands in the air motioning with his chin. “Just know it’s only a prototype and it’s untested.”
“What are you doing?” Becca asked as the man searched Brian’s pocket and retrieved the vial Brian had been so excited about minutes before.
“Just let them have what they came for. It’s better this way.” Brian said. Becca clenched her fists in anger. If he wasn’t going to do anything to stop them than she would. She could take him down. The sneer on the man’s face as he held the vial in his hands was the last straw for Becca. She wasn’t going to just sit back and let someone steal what her brother had worked so hard on. She charged and elbowed the 6-foot man in the gut before he even had time to register what had happened. She grabbed hold of his wrists and tried to yank the gun free from his hands, but a loud pop caused her to let go in surprise.
The last thing Becca remembered before loosing consciousness was the sounds of gunfire and Brian clutching his side while blood spilled over his hands. |
Becca was in and out of consciousness all through-out the night. The first time she came too was when her father began shouting her name. She briefly opened her eyes and made contact with his. Trevor was kneeling over her on the floor wearing an expression she had never seen before. He was ghostly pale and his green eyes were wide with fright as they moved all up and down her body. He seemed to be unsure of what to do with his hands as they hovered over her line of sight before retracting and repeating the process.
“Becca,” He said softly before she closed her eyes again unable to withstand the pain in her back any longer.
When she opened her eyes the second time she was lying on a gurney while bright lights everywhere forced her to squint. Becca could hear voices, but couldn’t make out what they who they belonged to or what they were saying. The amount of pain she was in was so extreme that if it wasn’t for lack of strength she probably would be screaming. She was far beyond using a Numeric Pain Scale and if there were a facial representation to express her discomfort, it would be holding a gun to its head and puling the trigger.
Someone in a surgical mask appeared in front her and began speaking, but she didn’t understand much of what was being said. “Hurts,” She finally managed to get out.
“That’s good,” They responded. What was possibly good about what she was feeling? She felt hands beginning to roll her over on her side, before something hard was slid underneath her. “On the count of three,” The same voice said before she felt herself get lifted and slid onto a table. “This will help.” They said injecting something into Becca’s back as she moaned and clutched at the sheets before gladly falling back into unconsciousness.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
When Becca finally woke for the third time she heard something she hadn’t expected- the sound of waves crashing on the shore. She slowly opened her eyes to find herself lying on her back in the sand of what appeared to be a beach. Becca slowly sat up feeling surprised to find she could fully move without any pain. How had she ended up from snow to sand, she wondered.
“You’re awake.” Becca heard turning to find a black haired lady in green scrubs stretched out on a beach towel next to her. “Just relax for a bit.” She said when she saw her confused expression. Becca moved her head to side and caught a glimpse of long brown hair growing out of her head instead of her normal black. She was Sasha? So that’s what was going on; this was virtual reality.
“Where am I really?” Becca asked.
“Recovering from surgery in the hospital.” The woman answered. “Do you remember anything that happened? Becca tried as hard as she could to remember, but all she could come up with was the sensation of pain and nothing else. “Hmm, let’s see.” The woman in scrubs said as she searched for something in her field of vision. “Becca Strokes? Is that correct?” Becca nodded. “Or would you prefer to be called Sasha here?” The woman continued without waiting for a reply. “You’re a lucky one. Says here you were shot in the back.”
“How does that make me lucky?” Becca blurted out.
“You’re alive; that’s something to be thankful for. Also says one inch closer to the right and you would have spent the rest of your life paralyzed from the waist down. Sounds pretty lucky to me.” Becca nodded her head in agreement; she couldn’t argue with that logic. What was she doing when she was shot though? And why would anyone want to shoot her outside a game? Would she be ok in time for the SPP? It was coming up in a few weeks. Either way she’d be ok if it was only a partial dive, but how would this affect a full? Would they disqualify her for getting injured? Brian would be so disappointed in her- Becca’s eyes went wide as she began remembering the previous night. The drug, the break in, getting shot in the back and …Brian! Was he here too? She craned her neck this way and that to get a better look, but all she could see was sand and water. They were the only two people on what appeared to be an island.
“My brother, what happened to my brother Brian?” asked Becca. The woman seemed to be checking something, but after a moment she shook her head.
“Sorry, hun, it doesn’t say. Did he get hurt too?” Becca nodded before letting out a worried sigh. “I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about. There’s plenty of time to meet up later. Right now you just relax, until it’s time to go back to reality.”
A flashing red light in Becca’s vision stopped her from arguing further. She opened up her messenger and breathed a sigh of relief. It was from Brian. He must be recovering in virtual reality too, but the message made Becca scratch her head. It didn’t sound like someone who was recovering.
“What’s his name? I’ll look him up in the system and tell you what room he’s in.”
“Brian Strokes,” said Becca as she stared at his message again.
“I don’t see any record of anyone with that name having been checked in recently.” She said. How strange, Becca thought. She could have sworn he was hurt. Oh well, as long as he said he was ok that was good enough for her at the moment she thought as she picked up a handful of sand and watched it as it fell from underneath her closed fist.
“Are you my nurse?” Becca asked after a moment of silence.
“No, I’m not a nurse. I just watch the patients and keep them calm when they wake up here.”
“Oh, I see.” Said Becca.
“Not everyone is as familiar with virtual reality as you are. Some of our older patients complained after thinking they were dead- so here I am.”
“Why a beach though?”
“We live in a cold climate, so we wanted our patients to feel like they were on a vacation, but apparently we went passed that and went for an after-life theme.” She said with a laugh as Becca smiled. “My name is Susan, and I will be your guide to the after-life. Please enjoy your stay.”
Becca scanned the horizon and watched the waves crash down onto the shoreline. She had never been to a real beach before, so this was kind of nice. She stood up, stretched and walked around knowing it might be a while before she was able to again if what she had been told was true. She walked up and down the shoreline for a bit before standing in the tide wishing she could feel the waves wash over the tops of her feet. She found a grouping of tide pools and amused herself with the creatures inside. For a hospital beach simulator it was pretty detailed. There were purple and red starfish along with a few sand dollars. She even found a few crabs scurrying in between the moss-covered rocks. After a while though she grew bored and began to head back towards Susan and sit with her in the sand.
“No one told me the after life would be this boring.” Said Becca.
“Would you rather be lying in a hospital bed in pain?”
“Shutting up.” Becca said planting her butt in the sand. “Is it usually just you in here all day?”
“There’s normally more than one person, but you’re the only one in recovery right now. Once you get out of here you can interact with other patients. Looks like they will be waking you up in about thirty or so more minutes.” Becca nodded as she stared out at the horizon for a bit longer. “You look worried about something.” Susan said sitting up on her beach towel. “Are you scared about waking up?”
“A little bit,” Becca answered honestly.
“We all have to face reality sooner or later. Just think less than ten years ago people had to stay in their hospital beds when they recovered. Now we can just send their consciousness somewhere else while their body does all the work for them. Cut’s down on the amount of painkillers we have to give it and lowers the chance of addiction.”
“Ugh, I couldn’t imagine.” Said Becca cringing. While this certainly was no paradise, it certainly beat the reality of post surgery recovery. The two talked for a little while longer until Susan informed her it was time to wake up.
………………….
Becca grimaced a bit when the helmet was lifted off of her and she was met with the sight of a different woman in scrubs. Her back painfully throbbed underneath all the bandages that wrapped around her and it was all she could do to keep from tearing up. She glanced around the room and found her mother asleep in one of the chairs.
“She hasn’t left for three days.” The nurse told her. Three days? That’s how long she was out for? She was only at the beach for a few hours, wasn’t she? Heather slowly began to stir after a few minutes and opened her eyes to find Becca looking at her. She sprang to her feet, wrapping her arms around her neck as Becca moaned in pain.
“Sorry, honey, I’m just so relieved you’re ok.” Heather said pulling back and wiping her watery eyes. Becca saw the dark circles and bags underneath her mother’s eye lids and her face seemed paler than usual. “I thought we were going to lose you too.”
“Lose me too?”
“Becca,” Heather said lightly cupping her daughters’ cheek in the palm of her hand. “Brian didn’t make it.” |
Chapter Six
Becca sat in stunned silence as she let her mom sit on the bed and wrap her arms around her while Becca rested her head on her mom’s shoulders. She stared blankly at the wall as tried to digest that latest bit of information, but no matter how hard she tried to comprehend the words and what they meant, it just wouldn’t sink in.
It wasn’t true, she finally told herself. He had sent her a message in game. The more she thought about it the more she was convinced he was alive. His message hadn’t made sense before, but now it was clear as day. Becca, I’m ok; no matter what anyone tells you. For whatever reason he wanted everyone to believe he was dead. The only way to get to the bottom of this was to ask him.
“I have to go back in the Sphere.” She said amongst the noise of her mothers sniffling.
“Becca, no!” Heather said gripping her a little too tightly.
“I need to go, I need answers!” Becca said trying as carefully as she could peel herself away.
“Becca, running away isn’t going to solve anything. We need to talk about this.”
“No! He’s alive! I need to go talk to him!” Becca said looking up at the helmet and wondering how she could get it down. She refused to believe he was dead…he couldn’t be.
“He’s gone, Becca…” Heather whispered as her eyes changed from bright green to red as tears began pouring down her face only serving to cause Becca’s own to burn with hot moisture. “He was already dead when we found you.” She said breaking down in heavy sobs resulting in Becca doing the same. “What happened that night? Please tell me; I need to know.” Heather said once both had felt completely emotionally drained and exhausted.
This was the last thing Becca wanted to think about. She shook her head and tried to lie back down, but her mom insisted on information to the point of starting one of their many arguments.
“Some people broke in.” Becca said softly barely over a whisper.
“Why? Were they people Brian knew?”
“I don’t know.” Becca said numbly.
“Did they take anything?”
“I don’t know. They were after something Brian was working on.” She didn’t want to think about it, but images of that night kept flashing in her mind. If she had just listened to him he would still be alive. If she hadn’t charged at them and tried to fight one of them, the gun never would have gone off. That’s what the popping noise was. It was the shot that hit him. She killed Brian. It’s all your fault. Either she killed him or he was alive somewhere laying low for some reason.
“What were they after? What did they look like?” Heather continued.
“I don’t remember.” Becca said growing more agitated. She just wanted to be left alone.
“Well how many of them were there?”
“I don’t remember.” Becca said again in a monotone voice to keep herself from yelling. She didn’t want to talk about it, she just wanted to sleep and never wake up.
“Were they young or old?”
“I don’t remember.” Becca said lying back and closing her eyes.
“Becca, answer me seriously, damn it! Someone killed Brian and you’re the only witness. Show some sympathy!” Heather yelled.
“I said I don’t remember!” Becca yelled back.
“Are you saying you can’t even remember a single detail, or you just don’t want to?” Heather said rising from the bed. “I’ve been here for three days worried out of my mind without a single clue what happened.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Becca said.
“Tough, my son is dead so start spilling everything you know.”
“I don’t want to talk about it! I don’t want to think about it! I don’t want to remember! I just want to sleep!” Becca yelled.
“Please,” Heather said dropping her voice. “What did he die for?”
“Mrs. Strokes,” the nurse said pulling Heather aside. “She just survived a traumatizing situation. Give her some space and let her rest.”
“But the longer we wait-“
“The police will come and question her later today.“ The nurse said guiding her out of the room. “Why don’t you go down to the cafeteria and get a cup of coffee while I get her cleaned up?” Becca sighed in relief when she saw the nurse walk her mom out of her hospital room. She thought maybe she could get some sleep now, but she was wrong. All she could think about was how she was responsible for Brian’s death.
“Everything all right?” The nurse asked after knocking on the door once and letting herself in. Becca remained silent and stared ahead at the blank white wall in front of her. “You two always fight like that?” she asked pushing in a cart full of plastic tubs.
“Sometimes.” Becca mumbled.
“Death of a loved one affects everyone differently.” The nurse said removing one of the tubs and filling it with warm water from the sink.
“I guess,” Becca said closing her eyes, but she quickly opened them when she felt hands beginning to undress her. She groaned a little in pain as her arms were physically manipulated out of her hospital gown. When that was finally off she glanced down and frowned at her underwear. Some kind of absorbent butt sponge she thought as she poked at briefly. She supposed it was necessary if she had been unconscious for three days, but she was more than happy when the nurse removed it even if she was now completely naked save for some bandages.
In any normal circumstance she would have felt more than weirded out that a complete stranger was giving her a sponge bath, but she was too numb at the moment to care. “The wounds healing nicely.” The nurse commented as she gently removed the bandages in order to clean underneath them and put them to the side in Becca’s line of sight. Becca cringed as she saw all the blood. It was one thing to see pretend wounds in the virtual world, but it was completely different to see her real blood. She assumed the wound had split open at some point, but the nurse seemed completely un- phased by it. If this is what it looked like when it was good, she hated to know what it would have looked like when it was bad.
Becca had been meaning to ask if she could go back into the virtual world, but by the time she had been washed, changed and helped with other personal matters at the nurses insistence, she could barely keep her eyes open. She hadn’t even complained when she had been put into another butt sponge and forced to lie on something that resembled a puppy pad. The last thing she saw before drifting into the sweet land of unconsciousness was her mom coming back into the room while the nurse covered her with a blanket.
……………………………………………………………………………
The next couple of days seemed to be a repeat of each other. Soon they just completely blurred one after another other until Becca couldn’t even remember how long she had been here. Was it a week or a month? Was it day or night? Someone came once a day and helped her walk around the room. It hurt like hell, but every step she took put her a step closer to her freedom.
The police had come and taken her statement, but with her mom hovering over her and hanging on every word, Becca couldn’t say the real reason Brian had died. The guilt of what she had done was suffocating her to the point that it hurt worse than the pain in her back. So she took the cowards way out and lied. She told them she had been shot first along with what little information she had. As the days progressed she feared they would catch the intruders and they would point her out as the real culprit. Would they believe her if they told her it was an accident? Would her mom and family ever be able to forgive her?
Becca spent as many hours as she could sitting on the beach and watching the waves. Sometimes Susan sat with her and sometimes she sat alone. She religiously checked her messenger every five to ten minutes hoping for some sign of life from him. She sent him dozens of messages a day only to be met with silence. She was starting to believe he really was gone and that she had just imagined the first message until one day there was a sign of hope.
I’m okay; just need to lay low. Don’t tell anyone about anything.
Her heart soared in her chest. He was ok! He was alive! Was he upset with her? She’d deal with that later though. She could now focus on getting better. The second half of the SPP exam was fast approaching.
Although she felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders; it was immediately replaced by another. Her burden of guilt may have been partially relieved, but the misery on her parents face remained. Brian had specifically told her not to tell anyone and she assumed that meant her parents as well, but it hurt not to share in her joy and relief. As a result Becca felt herself pulling away from her parents. She couldn’t bear to see their misery any longer so she spent more and more time in virtual reality once she had been released from the hospital. Even when her time limit had been reached for the day, Becca chose to sit in her room instead of joining her family in the living room. The small amounts of time she did see them was often spent fighting over the smallest of things.
“Why are you spending all of your time in your room?” “Don’t you roll your eyes at me!” “Why aren’t you helping around the house?” “Your rooms a mess” “Don’t sit like that; it’s bad for your back.” Almost no matter what was said led to some kind of argument.
Finally fed up with the way her family’s relationship was falling apart, Becca soon found herself sitting on the couch of psychiatrist’s office. She wasn’t happy that her mom had scheduled her an appointment behind her back. Why did she even need to see one anyway? It wasn’t even a shrink, but a full on you’re crazy please take these pills for all of us physiatrist. After being reassured for the hundredth time that everything said would be confidential, Becca finally broke down and revealed to him the real reason behind her stress. Everything was her fault. Not only was it her fault, but now her brother, whom everyone believed was dead, was in hiding for some reason.
“So you’re saying you believe your brother is alive?” The Dr. asked scribbling on a note pad as Becca sat awkwardly in a chair staring at his bookshelf.
“Yes, he has to be.” Becca said. “He sent me messages telling me he was ok, but that I couldn’t tell anyone. You won’t tell anyone, right?”
“No, I won’t tell.” Dr. Finnick said writing something more down. “What did you feel when you first found out about your brothers death?” Becca frowned, she had just told him her brother was alive, so why was he still talking like he was dead?
“Guilty.” Becca admitted. “It was my fault he got shot.” She said feeling the emotions beginning to rise in her throat. “He had told me to run, but instead I tried to fight them.”
“And what happened?”
“I tried to fight for the gun, but it went off mid struggle and hit him.”
“That must be hard to deal with. How did your parents react to that?” He asked without looking up.
“They don’t know. It was hard to deal with, but I know my brothers alive, so it’s not so bad now.” Becca said playing with her shirtsleeve.
“You know, one of the first stages of grief is denial.” He said casually. Becca’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t believe her?
“But…”
“They found his body, Becca. You have to come to terms with the fact that your brother is gone.” He said finally looking up.
“No, he’s alive!” She insisted. “He was smart, he could have just made a double or something in his lab. Or maybe it wasn’t even him! Maybe he just-“
“Listen to yourself, Becca. You’re grasping at straws here. I think you’re under a lot of stress as a result and have created these messages as way to cope with the guilt you’re feeling.” Dr. Finnick said looking up from his notepad. Becca remained silent gripping the armrest with her fists. He thought she was crazy! She could feel her temper beginning to boil with every casual glance he made up at her. Holding on to the belief that her brother was alive was all that was keeping her going. Why was he trying to take that away from her? Not to mention there was no way she had imagined those messages! “I’m going to write you a prescription for some anti-depressant medication to help take the edge off.”
He handed Becca a prescription and she took it and jammed it down in her pants pocket. She felt betrayed. She had finally told someone about all these feelings she had been harboring only to be told she was crazy.
“I’d like to see you back next week.” He said. No way, thought Becca as she got up to leave. |
Chapter seven
The day of the next testing portion couldn’t have come soon enough for Becca, but this morning was different compared to her last test. There was no round of “good luck,” and “you got this”. Instead, Becca waited alone in her room where she had spent mostly every day so far, propped up against a few pillows on her bed. She waited impatiently for the minutes to pass while trying to resist the urge to log in early. She didn’t want to run out of time, but surely the test wouldn’t be longer than a few hours. Just in case though she wouldn’t take any chances.
She groaned in pain while she stood up and slowly walked to the bathroom for what felt like the tenth time that morning just to have something to do. She carefully unbuttoned her blouse and slowly twisted her neck so she could see the scar on her back in the mirror. It was amazing how something so small could cause her so much pain. She lightly traced her finger over the incision wincing slightly as she did so. There was still a good few inches around the wound that was sensitive to the touch. After putting her shirt back on Becca dug in her medicine cabinet for a pain pill, before popping it back and chasing it down with a handful of water from the sink. After making sure the door was closed, she took one of the pills the psychiatrist prescribed out from the bottle and did what she always did with it- she flushed it down the toilet. She refused to take anything from someone who thought she was crazy. Who knew what that pill was going to do to her? After another fight with her mother about them, Becca had caught her dumping the pills out to count them to make sure she was taking them so just leaving the bottle in her medicine cabinet was out of the question. She was so sick of being asked every morning, “Did you take your medicine?” during breakfast that she simply stopped coming down in the morning. Mostly because she was a terrible liar. The last thing she wanted was her mom to know she wasn’t taking them, yet there were still pills disappearing.
Finally after pacing her room, adjusting and re-adjusting her pillows, and planning what weapons to equip on her avatar; it was time. Helmet in hand, she lowered the keyboard attached to the side and typed in the IP address of where she wanted to go. She hoped it would have something to do with combat this time, after sitting on the beach for a week she was itching for a fight.
………………………………………………………………………………………..
Becca wobbled a bit on her feet when she arrived at her destination still a little woozy from the trip, but quickly found her footing as she looked around and found herself inside a waiting room. She blinked in surprise as she headed towards the closest door and read the nameplate. You’ve got to be kidding she thought. She was at another psychiatrist’s office.
“Hi, are you checking in?” Someone behind the counter asked.
“I’m not sure I’m at the right place.” Becca said. She must have goofed and miss-typed the address.
“Do you have an appointment with Dr. Bastov?”
“Not that I know of, I was trying to get to the SPP testing site.” Becca said awkwardly. She hoped this goof wouldn’t make her late.
“You’ve come to the right place.” The lady behind the front desk said. “Can I get your name, please?” Becca frowned. Why was she here? Was it a trick?
“Which name?” Becca asked unsure of whether to give her real name or her avatars. Mostly everything in the Sphere operated under her avatars, but she wasn’t sure in the case of something official like this.
“Avatar is fine. We’ll scan your chip to get your official records.” Becca gulped. They were getting her medical records? That would mean they’d know about her getting injured.
“Sasha Brindey,” Becca said while hesitantly sticking her forearm out so her chip could be scanned. She heard a quiet beep when the secretary slid her palm over before being directed to have a seat. After a few minutes she tapped her foot impatiently as she wondered what this was all about.
“No need to be nervous; it’s just a standard mental health evaluation. We’ll just ask you a few questions off a list and make sure you’re not crazy.” The girl said with a wink. Becca gulped. If that was supposed to make her feel better, it didn’t work. “You can come on back now.” She said now appearing through an open door leading down a hallway.
Becca followed her until she was told to wait in another room with comfy looking armchairs. She figured they were more for looks than anything since no one would be able to feel a difference compared to if they were sitting on a wooden bench. The office looked suspiciously like Dr. Finnick’s office. So much so she had expected the grey haired man with the double chin to come waltzing in himself. Instead she was a little surprised when a beautiful bronze skinned woman with brown hair knocked on the door before coming in, but then again this was the Sphere, everyone looked like supermodels.
“Hello, you must be Sasha.” Dr. Bastov said shaking Becca’s hand before taking a seat on the opposite side of the desk. “So you are applying for the Sphere Protection Program, is that right?” Becca nodded her head as the Dr. read some kind of text in her field of vision. “What we’re going to do is ask you a few questions, tell you a little bit about the conditions of the program and see whether or not you’re a good fit.” She said. Becca nodded again while sitting up a little bit straighter. “Alright, so let’s get started. First I want to go over your medical history.”
“O-ok.” Becca said nervously.
“Since this job is in virtual reality, we don’t require much from the user. All we really want is for applicants to fall into a certain age range and that their health is ok. Disabilities are fine; we’ve had many members of the SPP wheelchair bound, blind etcetera. We just look for major illnesses like heart function and things like that. We obviously can’t accept anyone who’s at risk of passing away anytime soon.” She explained as Becca breathed a sigh of relief. It didn’t sound like her back injury would cause any kind of problem. “Our biggest concern of course is mental health since the mind is what’s transferred from the user to the avatar.” Becca nodded to show her understanding.
“So do injuries transfer over in full dives?” Becca asked. “Say someone was disabled, would their avatar also be disabled in the Sphere?”
“Only if we need them to be.” Dr. Bastov answered causing Becca to tilt her head in confusion. “Say you were injured and needed to do physical therapy in a full dive because your physical body couldn’t; we could alter the avatar’s data in the Sphere to make the injury less severe. If we took it away completely the brain wouldn’t believe you were working it and the users body wouldn’t heal, but by keeping it difficult but no more than the user could handle, the brain is convinced you are strenuously working the effected part of the body. Of course in the SPP, we would take the disability away completely, because if we didn’t then yes, it would transfer over.” Dr. Bastov explained as Becca’s eyes went wide. “So essentially, as long as the person is in no danger of dying and is mentally sound, we can proceed.”
“Wow,” Was all Becca could think of to say. No wonder the drug that allows people to stay in the Sphere long term was so valuable. You could literally have a life disability free there as long as someone could alter their avatar on the other side.
“Pretty amazing, right?”
“Yeah, seriously.” Becca said. “What if it was in the brain though? Like if it affected someone’s mental health?”
“That, unfortunately, we can’t fix since the consciousness is linked between the avatar and user. We can only trick the brain; we can’t fix the brain itself. Not yet, anyway.”
“Oh, I see.” Becca said.
“So what I’m going to do is ask you a series of questions and I want you to answer them as best as you can on a scale of one to ten.” Dr. Bostov explained. Becca found the questions to be fairly simple and easy to answer. On a scale of one to ten how quick are you to anger? How positive are you? Are you confrontational or passive? Becca thought the questions were more to determine who would be a suitable partner versus an actual mental health exam. After twenty more minutes, the Dr. finally stopped as she noted the last of Becca’s answers down.
“So there’s just a few more things I want to ask you about in your file. You had a bit of a scare when you were a kid and needed some counseling it says. How did this effect you growing up?”
“Heh, yeah. It’s kind of what made me want to be in the SPP as soon as I heard about it. It took me years to go back into virtual reality, but once I finally did I could never look back.” Becca explained.
“In your own words tell me what happened.”
“Well, It was my first time going into the Sphere; I think I must have been about five. My brother took me to a local Sphere center back before the home consoles came out. I picked a kids game and went in by myself, but someone tampered with the game and made all the characters start killing each other.”
“And you’re ok now?”
“Not a big fan of ponies or horses now, but yeah, I turned out ok.” Becca said laughing nervously.
“And it says here you recently lost a family member.” She said as Becca’s face fell. Ok this was it, she thought. Hide the crazy. Don’t tell her anything you told him.
“Yeah.”
“How are you dealing with it? Are you struggling with any kind of depression or suicidal thoughts?”
“I guess I’m a little down.” Becca said. She couldn’t totally say she was fine with it. That would either trigger her as a psychotic or a liar.
“That’s to be expected; I’m sorry for your loss. In your opinion do you think it would cause any problems in the future if you were to be accepted?”
“No, if anything I could use the distraction. Keep myself busy, you know?”
“Alright, Sasha, you pass. From here you’ll go straight through that door, take a left and you’ll be meeting with the other candidates for the final exam.” Dr. Bastov explained. Becca smiled widely as she heard the news she made it to the next round, until she realized the next round was right this minute. And didn’t she just say final?
…………………………………..
Becca hadn’t expected to find a room quite this big in a place that seemed like it was just Drs. offices. It had to be five or six times bigger than the place she was in just a minute ago. A flash of green caught Becca’s attention as she smiled glad to see a familiar face in the crowd of people that had gathered.
“Hey, you made it.” The green haired girl from before said spinning something glowing on a string in each hand to a rhythm only she could hear. “Sasha, right?”
“Yeah, and you’re, Crystal.” Becca said watching her with mild curiosity. “What are you doing?” She asked after a minute once the girl stopped spinning the primitive looking glow sticks.
“Glow stick dancing. Apparently my great, great, great, grandparents did it. I think it was some kind of ancient ritual to ward off spirits or something.” Crystal said.
“Really? huh? Interesting.” Becca said only to see the older girl smirk.
“You’re so gullible.” Crystal said. “I don’t know why they did it, but it's kind of fun. Keeps me calm when I’m nervous. Want to try?”
“Uh, what do I do?” Becca asked doubtfully holding the two green sticks in her hands.
“You just dance with them and spin them around.” Crystal explained as Becca moved around and spun the strings.
“This is kind of fun.” Becca said swinging around and moving her legs and hips only to stop and see Crystal cringing.
“I’m going to have to take these back now and ask that you never to do that again.” Crystal said with a grimace. “You could be a toothpaste commercial; your slogan would be noticeably white.”
“Umm.” Becca said looking at Crystal’s pale skin.
“I’m not that white.” She explained as Becca shrugged. “So are you ready for the next test?”
“What is it?”
“The fear simulator.” Crystal said, “You go in pairs and it scans your brain for your deepest fear and projects it inside a room and everyone outside can see what you’re doing. If you chicken out everyone will know. It’s supposed to test how brave you are when you’re scared.”
Becca made a small squeaking noise in terror. “Please tell me you’re joking.” She pleaded. She couldn’t decide what was worse: being forced to face her fears or knowing everyone would know what she was afraid of.
“Nope, not this time.” Crystal said. “I’m probably going to get spiders. I really hate spiders. What about you? Sasha? Uhh, are you okay? You don’t look so good.”
“Everyone will see my deepest fear…” Sasha said eyes wide. “There’s no way they’ll let me in if they know what I’m afraid of.”
“What? It can’t be that bad. Is it clowns? Oh, god, it's clowns, isn’t it? Those freak me out. It better not be clowns.” Crystal said, but Becca only shook her head and whispered something barely audible. “I didn’t catch that, what?”
“It’s, umm, I’m scared of…”
“Yes, what is it?”
“I’m scared of My Little Pony!” Becca blurted out. |
Chapter 8
Crystal stood transfixed on Becca who stood awkwardly waiting for a response before the green haired girl broke out in a wide grin. “You had me going there for a second. But, seriously, what are you afraid of?” She asked but frowned when Becca looked up at her with a hurt expression. “Wait, you’re serious? My Little Pony… as in the kids show?” Becca slowly nodded her head and looked down at the grey carpeting. “Umm…why?” Crystal asked, but after a second threw in a “If you don’t mind me asking.”
“My first dive into virtual reality was a My Little Pony game when I was five. Someone working there manipulated the game so that the characters would start a full on war if someone said they wanted to see the Pegasus’s.” Becca said. “That’s what my brother told me when they got me out.”
“What happened? Like in the game, what freaked you out so bad? Ponies aren’t exactly…scary.” Crystal said.
“They were killing each other with their horns and stuff.” Becca said with a shudder. “I love violent games, with guns and weapons. Bring on the gore! But…every time I think of that scene of the princess getting stabbed through the heart with a pitchfork in front of me. It just freaks me out and gives me the chills.” She explained.
“So what happened after that? Like did they ever catch who did it?”
“My brother said he punched the guy in the face and smashed his head on a console.” Becca said with a weak smile before her eyes began to mist over. “After that happened, we were really close. He was a bit too over protective of me though.” She said with a weak laugh.
“Was?”
“He, umm…” Becca stuttered trying to think of the right words to say. “He moved away recently. I just really miss him, sorry.”
“Then why not meet in the Sphere? He might not physically be there, but you can always see him here, right?” Crystal asked as Becca’s eyes went wide. She was right; she could meet Brian in the Sphere! She hadn’t even thought of that! Becca quickly opened her messenger and sent Brian a message asking to meet. Hopefully he’d respond. In the meantime though she’d have to figure out a way to sort out her current predicament. “So, uh, if we’re going to partner up again, please tell me you’re packing?”
“A few things here and there.” Becca said with a hint of a smile. It was nothing like last time, but she did have a few knives, a pistol and her shotgun strung around her shoulder with a strap.
“Anything that can kill a few spiders?” Crystal asked as Becca opened up her coat to show her an assortment of tools that could get the job done. “At least one of us is prepared.” She said. “I only brought my bow and arrow, great for large targets, but small ones…” She said with a grimace.
“You’re an archer?” Becca asked surprised. “I took you as more of a chemist.”
“Nah, poisons aren’t really my thing. I can make a rough health potion though, but that’s about it. Pretty basic.” Crystal said. “Now that I think about it, I wish I would have experimented with it more…. I could just gas the little bastards.”
“Maybe they will be bigger in the fear simulator,” Becca suggested, but immediately took it back when she was met with a dark stare from Crystal.
“Do not speak of such things.” Crystal said darkly. “They’re creepy enough being small.”
“But if they were bigger then you’d have a target to hit.” Becca said. “Wouldn’t it feel better knowing you could plunge an arrow into the heart of the thing you fear most?”
“I suppose.” Crystal said as she quieted down and seemed lost in thought for a moment. “No, no big spiders! Now I can’t stop thinking about big spiders! If there are big spiders in there now because you suggested it than you no longer have to fear ponies. It’s me you should be afraid of.” She threatened. Becca swallowed nervously and sat down in an uncomfortable looking chair glad for once that she couldn’t feel anything. “What’s your specialty?” Crystal asked after a moment of silence and people watching.
“Small weapons and hand to hand combat mostly. I do like to keep a variety of things stocked just in case, like my favorite shot gun.” Becca said sliding it off her shoulders and showing it off. “We’ve killed many zombies together.”
“Can I please have everyone’s attention?” A tall buff looking man with a shaved head yelled out into the crowd. “Now that everyone is gathered we’re about to start.” People all of all sizes, shapes, and genders appeared. Apparently species as well once Becca noticed the lady with long brown hair in front of her had pointed elf ears. She had never thought of changing her personal appearance like that before. For whatever reason she had always just stuck with what she had imagined when she was little. Sure it was plain and ordinary, but it had its advantages in game. People tended to not take her seriously and when they least expected it… She’d take them down before they even knew what hit them. “For anyone who arrived after my earlier explanation, I’ll go over it one more time. This will be the last and finale test. We will hook you up to a few sensors that will monitor your heart rate and blood pressure. For those of you thinking, ‘but I don’t have a heart or blood in game!’ these sensors monitor your real life stats. We don’t want anyone dying of a heart attack. It wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened. If your blood pressure falls into any dangerous category you will immediately be woken up and you will be disqualified. Any questions?”
Becca glanced around the room as many people nervously fidgeted in place. How exactly would this work? Virtual reality inside virtual reality? The man scanned the room waiting for someone to speak up, but everyone remained quiet so he continued on with his explanation.
“Each of you will step in front of this lens one at a time so the computer can scan you.” He said motioning his hand towards a plain looking wall with a single partition to stand in front of. “By doing so it will examine your mind and put together a reality to project behind this door. Becca’s eyes went wide. She thought those were just a rumor. To actually project a personal reality for people who enter, too bad it was set to scare them to death. “Each of your realities will have a goal you must accomplish, usually resulting in some kind of flag. Bring the flag back in order to pass. You will each have 15 minutes to accomplish this. If it’s too much for you, you can come back by opening the door, but just know leaving without the flag will result in disqualification. Anyone want to go first?” Everyone remained where they stood staring back at him wide eyed. “No one ever volunteers.” He mumbled. “Steven Halberg. Go scan yourself.” He ordered.
A twenty something year old guy stepped forward wearing jeans and a t-shirt gripping his crossbow nervously. Taking a deep breath he walked in front of the partition as a white light shined into his eyes before stopping.
“Go on.” The instructor said motioning towards the door.
“You said earlier we get a partner.” Steven said, but the instructor shook his head.
“Sorry about that, just got a message from the higher ups, apparently that’s what the sensors are for. The buddy system was to drag out a fainted person, but now they’ll automatically be ejected from the Sphere. Sorry, you’re on your own.”
“We still get to watch though, right?” Someone spoke up from the crowd. Suddenly the plain wall from earlier began to rise up revealing a large screen. Becca at first thought it was off, but a timer in the upper right hand side showed 15:00. It was merely nothing but blackness on the other side of the door.
“It’s my favorite part.” The instructor said. “There’s sensors inside the room that monitor whoevers in there; that’s why it’s only one at a time now. The clock will start as soon as you enter. Go on.” He said once he put what looked like a little silver bracelet on Steven’s wrist.
After taking a slow deep breath, Steven gripped his crossbow as tightly as he could with one hand and slowly opened the door to reveal the blackness inside before stepping in as the door shut behind him. Everyone turned their attention to the screen, as Steven stood rooted to spot before taking a few tentative steps forward in what looked to be an empty department store. Clothes hung on racks and mannequins posed wearing the latest fashion. How strange, Becca thought. She had never seen a real life mannequin before. Everything in her life had been digital, so to see a plastic imitation of a person standing in place staring blankly at the wall left an eerie image on the screen. Becca wondered where he had seen them from, a movie perhaps?
Steven walked slowly around the ill lighted room that left an even creepier feeling to the abandoned store. Trash littered the broken tiled floor and ceiling fixtures were hanging precariously overhead by rotting beams and wires. A sudden movement to his right caused him to freeze in place. Becca watched from the safety of behind the screen and as the numbers correlating with his heart rate begin to steadily rise. Everyone stared unmoving as they watched. The room had fallen so silent you could hear a pin drop.
It seemed like a full minute before Steven found the courage to keep walking as he checked and double-checked over his shoulder while continuing his trek through the store. Becca wasn’t quite sure what it was exactly that Steven was afraid of. She kind of wondered if he had been left alone after hours in a store at some point when he was a kid, but she wasn’t 100 percent sure. She continued to watch him walk amongst the broken racks and debris and wondered what exactly was his mission. It was when he had gotten to some kind of black staircase with strange looking metal rails that she noticed a flag flying at the top. That was it, Becca thought? A stroll through a primitive, albeit strangely creepy, store?
Steven tentatively reached for the flag when he had gotten to the top of the strange staircase that things changed on the screen. As soon as he touched the flag, all at once the twenty something mannequins turned their heads towards him fast as lightening. He stood frozen to the spot with fear noticing that they were all now staring at him with their lifeless faces. He audibly gulped before putting the pendent in his pocket and slowly made his way down the staircase while tightly gripping his crossbow. Becca could tell his arms were shaking the way his weapon bounced in his hands. The closer he got to the bottom of the stairs the more the mannequins facial features changed. The once plain and uninterested faces that had been staring off into the void were now grinning wickedly and watching every step Steven took. He paused before sucking in a mouthful of air and took the last step onto the first floor.
Becca’s jaw nearly dropped as she watched what happened next on the screen. It was when he took that finale step that the statues charged at him leaving behind their pedestals. In a wave of panic Steven turned tail and dashed back up the escalator away from the exit as the mannequins followed behind streaming into the narrow broken down escalator as they each tried to climb over each other to get to him. He nervously looked back as dozens of white plastic arms reached for him. He ran blind until he was forced to stop at a crossroad pausing only for a second before heading towards his right; the clanking of plastic legs on tile right on his tail.
Becca audibly gasped as he was forced to stop running once he came to a dead end in a dressing room. She cringed when he decided to lock himself in a stall only to have them crawling under and over the door as he screamed before they climbed on top of him until all you could see was a pile of plastic limbs and muffled shouts. A beeping of a timer was suddenly heard as Becca glanced up to see he had run out of time. Suddenly the mannequins vanished and all that was left on the screen was Steven curled up in a ball in the darkness sobbing. The instructor had to poke his head in the door and tell him it was over.
Everyone in the room stood quietly in shock holding their breath as Steven walked out with his head hung low before he exited the door and disappeared knowing he had failed. Becca exhaled once the door closed behind him. She hadn’t realized she had been shaking until she looked down at her hands. What was hers going to be like? That wasn’t even her fear, but it had freaked her out this much just watching from the safety of behind the screen. Just what had Becca signed herself up for? |
Chapter Nine
The room remained still and silent as everyone glanced nervously about. The room beyond that door was capable of projecting horrors beyond any of their imaginations. Becca felt thoroughly creped out and she hadn’t even gone in yet. A quick glance to her left revealed Crystal, normally cool and composed, seemed to be thinking the same thing. Her lips were pursed tightly together in a scowl as she bit at her bottom lip anxiously. Would they all be like that? Becca couldn’t help but wonder what had made Steven so afraid of mannequins, even though she had to admit they were creepy as hell now.
“CreamCheese…Vador?” The instructor called out looking at his list puzzled before glancing up and asking, “why?” at the next guy who approached. It was pretty much un spoken rule that you don’t name your avatars moronic things due to the professional nature the Sphere had outside of gaming. Every once in a while though Becca would still come across people like CreamCheeseVador who thought the Internet was still a large cesspool of the uneducated and uncouth as it was hundreds of years ago. It was still somewhat acceptable in game, but why didn’t he change it before coming here? “Yeah, I’m just gonna call you Greg.” The instructor said as the now dubbed Greg stood in front of the scanner before opening the door and stepping inside. Everyone quickly turned their attention to the screen as the once inky blackness illuminated a bright white light to reveal…absolutely nothing. It was just a white plane with nothing else. Becca couldn’t imagine what would make this scary whatsoever especially compared to what the person before him went through. Greg looked up as text began to form mid air. Remain for fourteen minutes to receive flag.
“I don’t get it,” Becca whispered to her friend. “What’s so hard about this?”
“I think he’s afraid of complete isolation. Look, you can’t even see the door anymore.” She glanced up to confirm that the door he had come from had seemed to vanish leaving him alone in the white plane with no way out. Greg seemed to have noticed the missing door as well as he stared nervously at the spot where it had once been. Becca thought he’d be able to do it no problem; all he had to do was sit there after all, but as the minutes slowly ticked by Greg began fidgeting more and more. His movement began showing a more panicked feel to them as he paced back and forth. At the seven-minute mark, he shouted that he gave up and the door re-appeared. Greg quickly went through without looking back and made a beeline towards the lobby without making eye contact with anyone.
It went on like this for quite some time each caving before their quest was complete. Becca felt a little more at ease when she realized no one was laughing at anyone’s fears as strange as they might seem as each persons scenario differed from the next. One woman was tasked with trekking through a cave full of snakes, (she didn’t even try) while another had to endure standing in a small room where the walls were slowly moving closer and closer. Becca thought he might actually make it, but shouted, “I give up!” when they were about a foot from his face.
She was starting to notice a pattern. It seemed when faced with the thing they fear most, people forgot that nothing could hurt them. The woman who refused to walk through a pit of rattlesnakes could have strolled through, picked up the flag and been on her merry way without feeling a thing. Steve could have lured the mannequins chasing him to the 2nd floor and jumped off the balcony without a scratch. He could have also just pushed right through them instead of allowing himself to be trapped in a dressing room.
It was then Becca fully understood the purpose of this test. It wasn’t meant to scare and humiliate for the instructors amusement, although he did seem to be enjoying himself immensely. The true purpose was to be able to make logical and rational decisions even under the most stressful circumstances. All Becca had to do was think her way out. Every obstacle had an obvious solution if the person could just keep calm.
Becca realized all of this during Anthony-Arnolds test. She never would have guessed he had been afraid of heights, but then again she seemed to realize she was terrible at guessing things about other people. His mission was to cross a very very narrow path in what appeared to be a natural made bridge in a cave. Becca didn’t believe he’d be able to do it once he was halfway across and had made the fatal error of looking down. He stood frozen on the bridge staring at the many sharp looking stalagmites that formed sharp looking spikes on the caves floor. Finally after a minute or so he was able to snap himself out of the trance and very carefully take small deliberate steps and inch towards his goal. He hesitantly reached towards the flag, but after what had happened with Steven everyone was expecting some kind earthquake or cave in. He looked around nervously waiting for some kind of sign something terrible would happen, but nothing did. Maybe he had already made it past the hard part.
It was when Arnold -Anthony turned to leave is when everyone saw what had changed. The bridge was gone. There was nothing there but two edges of a cliff and a large gap about a hundred yards wide. He stood there flabbergasted and unmoving. What could he do? He peeked his head over the edge of the cliff to see the many spikes that were waiting to castrate him should he fall. How was he supposed to get across. He wasn’t like he could just run across and… Becca’s mouth fell open…he wasn’t actually going to do it was he? Oh god, he was.
Arnold- Anthony backed up as far as he could before taking off in a mad sprint before leaping into the air. What was wrong with him? He was going to die! He was going to…land safely in the air? What in the world… He landed on what appeared to be an invisible floor before casually walking towards the exit flag in hand as if he had known all along. There wasn’t a drop… it was all an illusion… The room was deathly silent until he appeared in the doorway before everyone burst into mad applause and shouts as soon as he came through. Someone had finally done it! He was the first of ten people to actually pass!
“Alright, alright calm down.” The instructor said after many rounds of “congratulations” and “good jobs” as Arnold- Anthony held the pendent over his head in victory to the crowd. “Let’s see, whose next….umm umm…let’s go with… Sasha!”
……………………………
At first Becca didn’t even realize he had called her name. She stood in place looking through the crowd until Crystal pushed her forward towards the scanner.
“Don’t chicken out before you even get in there.” She joked as Becca gulped and slowly commanded her feet forward even though they wanted to run towards the lobby. She stood in front of the partition as a bright white light shined into her eyes as she tried her best to resist the urge to cover them. After the silver-blinking bracelet was slipped onto her wrist her heart rate appeared up on the large screen.
“If I don’t make it out alive tell my family I love them.” She said to Crystal as a few people let out a small chuckle. She turned her attention towards the door that held her fate. This was it. This was the only thing standing in her way of joining the SPP. Fifteen minutes; she could do this, she thought slowly reaching towards the door handle and stepping inside.
………………………………………………………………………………
Everyone watched the screen slightly confused to see the bright and cheery town of Ponyville as Crystal just shook her head in disbelief. Part of her still thought Sasha had just been joking, but this proved that she wasn’t.
The instructor grumbled before heading over to the console. “Damn thing.” He muttered as someone asked what was wrong. “For whatever reason it switched from deepest fear to deepest desire.” He said when he saw the brightly colored Pegasus flying into view. “Didn’t think she was into that kind of thing, but whatever.”
“Sir, look!” Someone shouted. “I don’t think the machine broke.” He peeked his head up and glanced at the screen unsure of what he was looking at until his annoyed frown turned into a smirk. Becca’s heart rate was going through the roof, 150 beats per minute, and now 160, 165!
“Can’t say I was expecting that.” He said watching amused with his arms crossed.
……………………………………………………………………….
Becca stood rooted to the spot was she gazed at the town that hosted her childhood trauma. It had probably had changed over the years, but this was how her brain had remembered it and so it was projected in front of her. She glanced up at the timer realizing she had been standing in place for over a full minute just wasting time.
“Move!” She yelled at her legs before slowly taking a step towards her destination. “It’s just a image; it can’t hurt me. This isn’t real.” She chanted as she grimaced making contact with the first resident.
“Hi there!” The princess shouted behind her as Becca jumped a foot in the air. She tried her hardest to resist the urge to run, but her feet had other plans. She took off like a bat out of hell running as fast as she could through the town. “No no no! Stop!” She yelled at herself. “You have to stop and think!” Finally her feet co-operated with her. Find the flag; you need to find the flag!
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Twilight said landing in front of her as she tucked her large purple wings to the side. “My name is Princess Twilight and-“
“I know who you are! Stay back!” Becca shouted backing up as the princess frowned in confusion.
“I’m not going to hurt you. You look lost; is there something you’re looking for?” the purple alicorn asked. Maybe she knows, Becca thought for a moment. It wouldn’t hurt.
“I’m looking for a small, blue flag. It should be somewhere in this town.” Becca said keeping her distance.
“A small blue flag?” Twilight mumbled to herself. “Does it say SPP on it?”
“Yes! That’s it! Do you know where it is?” Becca asked eagerly, but her heart dropped when she heard the answer.
“Yeah, It’s flying on the top of the Apple Family barn!”
The Apple Family. Becca gritted her teeth. They were the cause of so many childhood nightmares and what she needed to get was there. Of course it was, Apple Jack and Big Mac were the things she was terrified of, so where else would the flag be?
“I can take you there if you want to see it.” Twilight offered as Becca checked her remaining time. Becca agreed with a sigh and so she half-ran and half walked as the princess trotted along by her side. Should she tell her she was going to die? Becca felt a small pang of guilt knowing she was ultimately leading the princess to her death, but Becca reminded herself that it wasn’t real and soon they arrived at their destination as Becca spotted her prize flying high above the barn just as the princess had described. “Well here we are.” Twilight said cheerfully as Becca stopped in her tracks.
There they all were waiting for her: Apple Bloom, Granny Smith, Big Mac and worst of all…Apple Jack. Their eyes looked just as Becca had remembered from her childhood; Evil and red and they all glared daggers into the two of them making their murderous intentions known. Becca couldn’t allow herself to get caught up in their fight and just as before Big Mac rammed his pitchfork into the princess’s chest as blood began to spray every which way. Becca ran away as if on auto-pilot and took cover behind a nearby building. She could hear the explosions as an all out war began taking place due to the princess’s assassination. Maybe I should have come alone; it would have prevented all this extra commotion I don’t need.
Becca stood in the shadows of the building staring longingly at her flag. How was she supposed to scale a barn without getting caught? It’s not as if she could fly… A sudden thought popped into her head, no more of a memory. What had started all of this in the very beginning when she was little was saying she wanted to ride the flying ponies… She could ride one of the Pegasus up to the barn and snatch the flag. Could she be brave enough to pull it off? The only pony she had spoken with so far that had wings had just been pulverized by a gardening tool. She looked up at the figures gliding in the sky. Who would let her ride them? She couldn’t even remember their names… There was the really shy one with the animals…but she was probably more scared of Becca than Becca was of her. She was probably cowering somewhere so that was out. What was the other one? Becca scanned the air above her as a rainbow streaked across the sky. That one! Rainbow…Dart? No, Dash.
“Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash!” Becca shouted as she saw the multi-colored pegisi loop in the air. “Rainbow Dash!” She shouted again.
“I ain’t Beetlejuice.” The rainbow colored pony said landing. “Who are you? I’m a little busy, as you can see this place has gone to hell! We’re fighting the earth ponies, and the unicorn are fighting us and-“
“I need a favor!” Becca shouted. “I need a ride up to the top of the barn.” She pointed to the flag flying at the top.
“What’s in it for me?” Rainbow Dash said eying Becca. “What are you anyway?”
“I can help you fight afterwards.” Becca lied.
“How can you help?” Rainbow Dash said disbelieving.
“With this.” Becca said showing her the shotgun.
“How’s a funny looking stick going to hel-“ Rainbow Dash started to say, but immediately shut up when Becca pulled the trigger and blew a hole in the building she was standing by.
“Hop on!” She said as Becca paused for a moment before climbing onto her back and gripping her colorful mane in her hands. After a running start, Rainbow Dash soared high into the sky before slowly gliding past the flag as Becca ripped it off the stand. She held it in her hands with glee for a moment before she realized she was being flown towards the battle scene and away from the door.
“Where are we going?” Becca shouted. “Put me down!”
“Not until you use your weird stick to blow a hole in Apple Jacks head!” Becca looked at the clock. She had seven minutes left and was being asked to assassinate to thing that had caused her so much torment as a child. She smiled widely and leaned forward after shoving the flag in her pocket. “There! Get them!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she circled above the running Apple family. Becca aimed her gun and fired, but missed and quickly reloaded she fired again as Apple Bloom fell to the ground. Another two shots and Granny Smith was face first in the ground eating dirt. It took another four to take down Big Mac and then all that was left was Apple Jack, the only problem was she was out of shotgun shells and she doubted her pistol would work. She didn’t come prepared like she had last time. You can’t get hurt.
“Take me down lower! I’ll jump on her back and slash her throat with my twin blades!” Becca shouted pulling them out of their holsters on her thighs.
“I like your style!” Rainbow Dash shouted and took a nosedive down towards the sprinting pony that ran over the landscape. Becca jumped after trying her best to time it and landed on Apple Jacks back. The orange pony jumped and bucked as hard as she could sending Becca flying, but not before Becca had managed to injure the ponies leg so that it limped.
“You know what they say about horses when they have a broken leg.” Becca said aiming her pistol at the struggling animal. “You were always my least favorite background pony.” She said before putting the creature out of its misery with a shot to the head.
…………………………………………………………………………………………
When Becca stepped back through the door flag in hand with thirty seconds remaining she had expected to be met with rounds of applause like Arnold-Anthony had. Instead she was met with an eerie silence as everyone stared at her with mouths agape and one guy to her right was even doing a Hail Mary! Becca looked at the crowd in awkward silence before the instructor finally broke the ice.
“What the hell was that?” He said staring at her. “All you had to do was get the flag and bring it back; you didn’t have to kill them all! It was just a kids show!” He said as Becca hung her head in shame. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but, you pass.” He said after a sigh. Finally the room erupted in cheers as Becca smiled wide and threw her fists in the air. She even ignored his comment that sounded an awful lot like, “you need help.”
“What does this mean?” Becca asked finally coming down from her high.
“It means welcome to the SPP.” |
Chapter 10
Becca felt so giddy she was hardly paying attention to anyone else’s turn. Becca couldn’t believe it; after so many years of daydreaming about this, she was in. She was so happy she just wanted to dance and twirl. Mr. Clean had told her to wait until everyone was done and that they’d go over the next steps together with the others that had passed. When the number of people quickly began to dwindle, Becca realized only three other people besides herself had made it through. To be honest, she hadn’t really been paying attention ever since she had come out victorious, choosing instead to get lost in her own little world.
How would her parents react? Could they be able to stop fighting for one night in order to celebrate? They had always cheered her on and celebrated every little victory she had made towards her goal, or at least they used to. Surely they could put aside their grief for one night.
She tried to think of whom else she could tell. Brian immediately came to mind and although he never answered her daily messages, she decided to send him the details anyway. If this didn’t coax him to talk; she didn’t know what would.
“Alright, you there, you’re the last one up.” Mr. Clean said pointing to Crystal as she slowly made her way over to the scanner. Becca stopped her daydreaming to flash her the thumbs up. If anyone else made it, she hoped Crystal would.
“I swear if there’s giant spiders in there because of you…” Crystal threatened Becca, who flashed her an apologetic look in return. The five people left in the room turned their attention to the screen. Becca gulped and began wondering if she should plan her funeral when the image appeared and the first thing she saw was cobwebs. Not just any cobwebs, but the biggest cobwebs Becca had ever seen. What was worse was that their earlier conversation seemed to have blended into the scene before them.
Crystal stood outside what appeared to be an abandoned fairground gripping her bow. Everything was old and rusted and a breeze unfelt by her seemed to have swept down causing all the ancient rides to creak and groan. A merry-go-round- inched along as if being ridden by an unseen passenger as it played the most hair raising and eeriest music any of them had ever heard. If it weren’t for the cobwebs that were several stories high dangling from the Ferris wheel, Becca would be sure this itself would have qualified as someone’s deepest fear.
The small group continued watching as Becca wondered where the flag would be. Was it on top of the Ferris Wheel? Or in a fun house? She didn’t even notice she had begun biting her nails in anticipation as Crystal continued her journey. It was when Crystal stopped walking and stared at what appeared to be a haunted mansion of some kind that Becca knew exactly where the flag would be. The building itself was covered in giant spider webs.
“You are so dead.” Crystal mumbled as she took a arrow from her quiver to knock down the webs while dancing in a panic when one of them touched her.
The dirty wooden beams used for floor tiles creaked with every step making Crystal wonder if her heavy combat boots would punch a hole in one of them. The windows appeared as if the glass had been busted out long ago, only to be replaced with thick, white spider silk. She continued to slowly push through the webbing that dangled from the ceiling. Faded and decaying portraits hung on the walls depicting a family of four: A husband, wife, son and daughter. Crystal cringed when she saw what appeared to be a small puppy being choked to death in the little girls hands while she wore a smile as if the act gave her great joy. Crystal shuddered and kept going, until she came to the first door. She nudged it with her foot as the door hinges groaned and revealed what must have been the daughter’s room, which housed a large collection of broken and mutilated dolls. Some were missing an eye, other an arm or a leg, while some were even missing their heads. While Crystal walked around the room examining its contents, Becca noticed the dolls eyes, the ones that still had them anyway, had their eyes trained on Crystal watching her every move. Their cracked and dirty faces smiled in such a way that raised all the hair on Becca’s arms. There was one particular doll Crystal couldn’t seem to pry herself away from. It sat on the bed with a sad expression on its face beckoning Crystal forward. Its face was made of porcelain underneath all the dirt and grime, its eyes were different colors and it wore a frilly pink dress. Compared to all the others it seemed to be in remarkable condition, but why it fascinated Crystal so much was beyond her. She seemed to be stuck in a trance gazing into its blue and green eyes.
“No, Crystal, move! It’s a trap!” Becca mumbled underneath her breath.
Suddenly Crystal seemed to snap out of it as quickly as she had gotten sucked in. She gave the room one last look over before turning around and heading back into the hallway. She couldn’t tell what this place was supposed to be. Was it this family’s house or was “deranged little girl” just another attraction?
When she kicked in the next door she found it was full of mirrors like a fun house. When she stood in front of them, she appeared different in each one. A tall slender looking mirror stretched her reflection until she looked like a creature out of some kind of CreepyPasta, while another made her short and fat. When Crystal came to the end of the row, one mirror, or what she assumed to be a mirror, was covered by an old and torn sheet. Her curiosity moved her forward despite the nervous anticipation she felt as she grabbed the ends of the fabric and pulled it off. At first she couldn’t really tell what she was looking at. Instead of seeing her reflection, all she saw were eight black dots. It was when the black dots began to move farther away that Crystal realized they were eyes-large baseball sized eyes.
She tried to run, but a hairy leg smashed through the glass with a loud smash and grabbed Crystal leg pulling her into the dark depths behind the paned glass. Crystal screamed and tried to grab onto anything she could to get free, but the giant spider the size of a car continued to drag her into its lair. When her ride was over, she sprang to her feet noticing the large sacks of web holding the half eaten remains of the family that used to live there.
She quickly knocked a bow and shot at the spider as it hissed as the arrow knocked off it’s protective shell. She shot another and then another before having to dive out of the way and hide inside a small crevice.
Becca noticed something strange about the cave Crystal was in. There appeared to be lighted torches along the walls and one was not that far from the green haired girl stuck inside a small crack in the cave walls. Becca tried to think how Crystal could get out of the situation she was in. While it was true she couldn’t feel pain, getting eaten alive would probably disqualify her. There had to be a reason she was in this situation. Spiders were the thing she feared after all. Did she have to fight it? How though, Crystal’s arrows seemed to not even faze the thing. What was a spider’s weak point? Becca tried to picture the anatomy of a spider in her mind, and immediately thought of the area where it shoots out its web.
“You have to shoot an arrow up its butt!” Crystal frowned and looked around confused. She could have sworn she heard a voice telling her where to shoot. She put her hand in her quiver of arrows and realized she only had two left. If she planned to get out undigested she’d have to make it count. She grabbed an arrow and moaned in disgust; it was the arrow she had used to knock down all the webs. She looked up as a sudden idea popped into her head. She hated to do it, but it was the best she could come up with at the moment. She grabbed as much webbing as she could wrapping it around an arrow before running out from her hiding place and holding it over the torch so that the webbing would catch on fire.
“C’mon, C’mon.” Crystal moaned as the arrow caught fire just as the spider approached with its fangs barred. “Here goes!” Crystal said running for all she was worth as the spider chased after her. She jumped in the pit as the spider stood over it exposing its spinnerets just as Crystal let her flaming arrow fly. In a blink of an eye the spider exploded leaving trails of green guts all along the walls, ceiling and all over Crystal like a scene out of Tremors. “UGH!” Crystal moaned spitting out guts and cringed until she spotted a blue flag sitting in a puddle of guts.
Becca ran up excited once Crystal re-appeared through the door clutching the flag and dripping with spider goop. Crystal had done it! She made it! She conquered her fears and …uh-oh…
“Con-congratulations.” Becca smiled nervously as Crystal glared at her darkly. “You did it!” She said backing up step by step as she green haired girl approached with a squishing sound every step she made leaving a trail of slime in her wake.
“I’m going to kill you!” Crystal yelled charging as Sasha took off running while yelling for someone to come save her.
………………………………………………………………………………….
“Congratulations everyone who has made it this far.” Mr. Clean said obviously reading from a prompt. “Each of you is 1: 10,000. You should be proud to have made it and become members of the Sphere Protection Program.”
Becca nodded her head grinning like mad despite the fact that she was now coated in spider guts once Crystal had caught up with her and tackled her to the ground. Were there only five of them that passed? Becca wondered looking at everyone’s face. There was her, Crystal, Arnold- Anthony, That-Lady-With-The-Elf-Ears, and one other guy.
“Has everyone already gotten their plugs?” Mr. Clean asked as everyone nodded their heads expect for Becca and Crystal.
“What are those?” Becca asked.
“These.” Arnold-Anthony said taking off his fedora and showing Becca the back of his head. Becca’s eyes went wide as she saw what appeared to be connectors coming from right where the neck meets the skull.
“So you two have never been in a full dive before?” Mr. Clean asked as the two girls shook their heads. “You’ll have to go to a dive center and get the put in. It’s where the connecters are placed to put you into a full dive. Just a word of warning; it’s going to hurt.” |
Chapter 10.5
The first thing Becca saw when taking off her helmet was her mom standing over her with her arms crossed. Becca was so excited to tell her the good news that she almost missed the giant scowl across her face as her eyes looked down at her full of disgust.
“Mom, I-” Becca began to say, but was quickly cut off.
“Were you honestly playing games all day that you couldn’t even be bothered to get up and go the bathroom? Am I going to have to remind you to stop playing and go potty like a toddler because honestly, Becca, with the way you’ve been acting lately; I can’t tell if you’re 18 or two.” Heather said while throwing up her hands in frustration.
Becca stared at her in confusion while she finished her rant until a cold dampness alerted her to the problem. At some point she had soaked herself and her bedding while she was in the Sphere. Becca stared down at her lap dumbfounded. How long had she been gone for? She glanced at the time and noticed she had only been gone for four hours; clearly not enough to time for her to have wet herself out of desperation. Becca hung her head in shame at the realization of what happened. She must have wet herself in fear during the test. To Becca, that was worse than simply being in the Sphere for too long; it showed that she was weak.
“Am I going to have to put you in a diaper every time you go in there? What am I going to do if I can’t trust you to take care of yourself?” Heather continued.
“I’m sorry,” Becca mumbled hanging her head. “I wasn’t playing games.”
“You spend too much time in there!” Heather said.
“It’s because I miss him.” Becca said quietly. “I like to go back and read all of our old conversations.” Becca said purposefully allowing herself to tear up while Heather’s sharp glare softened a bit seeing the pitiful look on her daughters face. “I just miss him so much.” Becca had only meant to slightly play it up for leniency, but the hot tears that uncontrollably fell from her face were the real deal. Just knowing he was alive wasn’t enough; he might have well have been dead.
Brian was not only Becca’s brother, but also her best friend. She hadn’t realized how much she had been hurting without him. For whatever reason, he just wasn’t there anymore. No more daily messages back and forth, and no one to share in her joy and pain. He hadn’t even made it to their Sunday zombie slaying that they never missed. Whatever situation he was in was her fault and there was nothing she could do to help him. So what if she played a few more games than normal and locked herself in her room? Becca rolled over and put her wet back to Heather and let go of all of the pent up feelings she had been harboring into her pillow.
“I take it you want to be alone.” Heather said with a sigh, as she was about to head for the door, but stopped when Becca shook her head.
“I don’t want to be alone!” Becca bawled into her pillow. “I’m always alone; I just want everything to go back to the way it was.” She said between gasps for air between her heavy sobs. She flinched out of reflex when she felt a hand gently touch her back, but relaxed when she felt it slowly move up her shoulders and back down carefully avoiding the still sensitive areas. Becca hadn’t felt another persons touch since her time in the hospital. She felt the bed sink in as her mom sat down on the edge and manually rolled Becca over so that her head was resting in Heather’s lap.
Heather gently stroked Becca’s head while lightly combing her long black hair with her fingers. “I’m sorry I’ve been so hard on you lately.” Heather said as Becca remained still and quiet. She hadn’t cuddled up in her mom’s lap like this since she was little, and she certainly hadn’t been spending more time than she absolutely had to with her. “You’ve been pulling away; I don’t want to lose both my children.” Heather said with a sniffle.
“I’m sorry, it’s just, and everything about our family has changed. All we ever do is fight now. Virtual reality has just been better than real reality right now.” Becca said softly into her mom’s stomach.
“I know, but it’s not real. I’m just concerned with how much time you’ve been spending up here by yourself. “
“I miss the way things used to be.” Becca mumbled as Heather agreed as the two sat quietly together until Becca broke the ice. “I’m going to miss you.”
“What do you mean?” Heather asked, concerned that Becca’s depression had taken a turn for the worst and this was her way of saying good-bye before she did something drastic.
“I got in.” Becca said softly. “To the SPP, I was accepted.”
“What? Are you sure you didn’t just misunderstand something? Are you sure it’s not just another test?” Becca sighed. That was her mom for you; always the realist.
“Yes, I’m sure; I’ve been testing all day and they said I passed. I just need to sign all the paperwork and get the dive implants put in tomorrow.” Becca said frowning when she heard Heather’s breath hitch. “What? What’s wrong? I thought you’d be happy for me.”
“I’m just… surprised is all. I thought they only took the best.”
“Gee, thanks, mom.” Becca said sarcastically while rolling her eyes.
“I didn’t mean it like that, I just didn’t think you’d-“
“You didn’t think I’d get in?” Becca said sitting back up and staring at her mom in disbelief.
“I thought it was something you’d get into…eventually. I didn’t think you’d actually get in on the first try, but that doesn’t mean I’m not happy for you. I just wasn’t prepared to be saying good-by so soon.” She explained as the hurt look on Becca’s face subsided. “So what happens? How long will you be gone for?”
“Every other week.” Becca said as Heather visibly relaxed.
“Way to make it way more dramatic.” Heather said smiling. “What are you going to miss me for if you’ll only be gone a week at a time?”
“In reality it will be a week, but with the time altering drug, it will be a year. For me I’ll be gone a year, be back a week, gone a year, back a week etc.” Becca explained.
“Are you sure it’s safe? That doesn’t sound very safe.”
“I think so.” Becca said not sounding very confident either. “I made it through the fear chamber; I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
“The what?”
“It was the last test we had today.”
“You were testing today? Why didn’t you tell us? I thought you were up here al day playing games.” Heather said as Becca shook her head even though that was what she was usually doing all day. “So what was this fear test?”
“This machine scanned your brain and it projected your deepest fear on the other side of the door.”
“Ooh, sounds scary! So what was your deepest fear?”
“Spiders,” Becca lied. “Big, hairy spiders.”
“Oh, I thought you were over your fear of spiders.” Heather said as Becca shrugged. She didn’t remember ever being afraid of spiders. It must have been when she was little and Brian had still been living at home. There was a time before the pony incident where they didn’t get along. “It took you a long time to go to bed on your own after that.” Heather said.
“After what?”
“After Brian put his tarantula in your bed as a prank. You must have been about three or so. It freaked you out so bad you made your father and I check your bed for spiders every night for the longest time.” Becca chuckled. She didn’t remember that, but it sounds like something Brian would do. The two of them were always trying to pull one over on each other for fun. She breathed a sigh of relief, glad her mother had bought her story about the spiders. She didn’t think Heather would have believed her greatest fear was heights or store mannequins. Becca would definitely rather have her mom think she was afraid of spiders than…
“Now if we could just get you over your fear of ponies.” Heather said giggling while Becca blushed.
“I-I am not afraid of ponies.” Becca lied crossing her arms with a pout.
“Honey, remember that time when you were 13 and refused to sit at the table the waiter brought us to because a little girl a booth over was holding a stuffed unicorn?” Heather said trying not to laugh. “We had to wait an extra half-hour to get a seat where you wouldn’t be in line of sight of the doll.”
Becca grumbled as she admitted defeat. She had completely forgotten about that.
“Spiders, sure it was.” Heather said with a wink as Becca smiled and rested her head in her mom’s lap as Heather resumed combing out her daughters hair with her fingers. Finally, Becca thought with a content sigh. It finally felt more like it used to.
After another twenty minutes, Becca had all but fallen asleep, but a gentle whisper in her ear reminded her of her situation. “You should probably get cleaned up.” Heather suggested. “Don’t worry about the bedding, I’ll get it. You just hop in the shower.” Heather said once Becca stood and examined the damage. “And don’t worry.” She added when Becca was halfway to the door. “I won’t tell your father you peed your pants because of the big, scary ponies.” She said with a grin as Becca stood in the doorway blushing and at a loss for words. |
(Not the funny chapter I was talking about, that will come later, but I hope you enjoy this one. Also I will now be referring to Becca in game as Sasha. I'll have to go through and fix it later in previous chapters, but for now please put up with it.)
Chapter 11
“You know you didn’t have to come with me… either of you.” Becca said to her parents that walked slowly on either side of her. She was putting up a fight more for show than anything; she wasn’t about to admit she was actually grateful that they came, or heaven forbid, she actually needed the help getting around. Inwardly though, Becca was just thrilled that they were together and leaving the house.
“You can barely even walk. We don’t want anyone knocking you over.” Heather said linking arms with her and guiding her inside.
“Just look at how busy this place is!” Trevor said holding the door open and gesturing to the completely empty lobby. “You’re bound to hurt yourself if we turn our backs on you for even a second.”
The place was empty save for one man who looked about in his thirties working the front desk. Business had slowed for Sphere Centers ever since the home console had been released. Not many people could afford regular full dives, let alone the cost of the procedure to do them. Becca wasn’t sure how she would be able to afford this. Would her parents help her out? They had always said they wouldn’t pay for this, but now she was getting it done because she needed it for the SPP rather than just playing games. Maybe they’d make an exception, she hoped.
Becca scanned her chip at the front desk as means of checking in before slowly making her way towards the chairs. The man from earlier called her up a few minutes later, but Trevor went up in her place and returned with a tablet of information for her to fill out. It was just the usual health and safety warnings, Becca realized as she scanned through page after page, before pressing her palm on the prompt as sign of her agreement as it registered her handprint. Next there were several questions about her health, and if she was currently taking any medications. Next came a video about the procedure itself. She grimaced as she watched three of the biggest needles she had ever seen get plunged into the back of someone’s neck as if it was as common a thing as a simple piercing.
“Nervous?” Trevor asked seeing Becca’s white face. She nodded her head showing him the video as he too cringed. She relaxed a bit once she learned she would be in virtual reality at the time they inserted the tubes. Part of her was afraid she’d be awake due to the helmet being in the way, but apparently the thing that inserted the tubes would be connected to the back of the helmet. She had been dreading this ever since the Mr. Clean look alike told her it would hurt, but after a while she realized her was just messing with her. At least that’s what she hoped anyway.
When she was scrolling through the list of games to choose from, Heather looked over and said, “Oh look, Becca, they have a pony game.” She teased pointing to the picture of the smiling unicorns.
“Be brave, honey!” Trevor said with a smile that made Becca believe her mother had gone back on her promise. She narrowed her eyes as Heather whistled and pretended to be utterly captivated by the ceiling fixtures. Becca sighed, but inwardly she was just glad that her family was moving in the right direction until Brian decided to come out of hiding.
She flipped through her choices of various games and simulations that ranged from racing to space exploration, an over 18 eroge with doggie girls on leashes, and as her mother had so kindly pointed out, a game with unicorns. Becca finally settled on a pre-historic safari through the jungle when the idea of riding a velociraptor popped into her head.
“Oh, so you’re okay with dinosaurs, but heaven forbid my teenage daughter sit next to a little girl with a stuffed unicorn.” Heather teased while shaking her head.
“Becca, you can come back now.” The man working the front counter said holding the door open for her as she slowly hobbled over. While she walked down the hallway at what seemed to be a snails pace, she couldn’t help but notice the place seemed to be in a bit of disarray. Rooms were being re-arranged, and packed boxes were sitting in the hallway. “Sorry about the mess.” The young man named Tom explained. “We’ve had a bit of a crazy morning ever since we heard the news we’ll be getting new equipment sent over tomorrow. There’s a rumor going around someone in this town got into the SPP and that’s why we’re being told to clear out a room in such a panic. We’re getting a pod and even…” he said before lowering his voice. “the drug.”
Becca smiled as she tried her best to keep from blurting out the truth. She was strictly forbidden from telling anyone outside of family that she had been accepted. People compared getting in with the SPP to winning the lottery, so there was no way she was going to risk getting kicked out for 15 minutes of fame.
“Can you imagine someone in our small town getting in?” He continued. “I apply every year, but I never even make it past the essay portion; if I made that kind of money.” He said whistling. Becca had never thought about the fact that she would be getting paid; she didn’t even know what kind of salary a cadet started out with. Maybe she’d make enough by the time she graduated to move somewhere warmer where she couldn’t get her butt frozen to anything.
He led Becca to a room and walked her through the procedure while showing her the helmet with the cylinders in the back. She began feeling a little woozy seeing exactly what was about to be plunged into her skull. So much so that the man insisted she sit down and left to get her a cup of water. “And here I was thinking you were the cadet.” Tom said with a laugh handing her the cup.
“Why would you think that?” Becca asked nervously.
“Well whoever paid for the procedure went all out. You’re getting the VIP treatment.”
“I am?” Becca asked confused. Her heart soared when she heard the word, “paid.” She had assumed this was coming out of her own pocket, but she was pleasantly surprised to learn the SPP had already footed the bill.
“Unlimited add-ons!” He said excitedly walking over to the console. “Anything you want to happen can happen. What’ll it be? Giant chickens instead of T-rexes? Kittens with laser beams for eyes?” He said looking eager before grinning as if he had a sudden idea. “Do you, uh, have a sense of humor?”
“Yeah,” Becca answered unsure of whether or not she liked the look on his face.
“On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your maturity level when it comes to humor?” He asked with his eyebrows raised.
“Somewhere around twelve year old boy.” Becca said as his face lit up and his fingers danced up and down the keyboard typing in commands left and right. That seemed to be exactly what he wanted to hear and ten minutes later, Becca was strapped to the table by her ankles, legs, waist, arms and shoulders.
“Let me just go over this with you one more time.” Tom said. “You’ll start off in a regular partial dive, you know, enjoy the scenery and all that. About 15 minutes in is when the helmet will activate the plungers.”
“Will it hurt?” Becca asked, her green eyes wide with fear.
“You won’t feel any pain, but rather a sort of tingling through out your body. That’s when you’ll start to feel the effects and differences of a full dive. You’ll be able to smell, taste, touch, and all that for the first time. The rest of your dive will be a full dive where we will monitor you and make sure everything is working properly.”
“And when I wake up?” Becca asked as he grimaced.
“We’ll be ready with some painkillers and a bag of ice.” He said apologetically. “Just think of how much fun you’ll have now though! Trust me, it’s worth it! Besides,” He said lowering his voice, “With all the unlimited add-ons and all that, be thankful you’re not paying out of pocket.”
“How much would it have cost?”
“About….$20,000.” He said as Becca’s eyes bulged. “Like I said, you’re getting the VIP treatment, so just have fun and it’ll be over before you know it.” He said lowering the helmet over Becca’s head until all she saw was blackness.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
When Sasha came to she was standing in the middle of a jungle, the thick green foliage blocking her view from everything. She spent the first few minutes trying to fight her way through the vegetation, but with no way of knowing which way she had come it left her feeling a tad bit frustrated and disoriented. If only I had a machete. When she raised her right hand to push past some branches, she was more than surprised to find her desired item had appeared.
“Sweet,” Sasha said gripping the new weapon while giving it a once over before using it to hack her way through. It must have been one of the add-ons he had mentioned. Finally after a few minutes of slicing and dicing branches, leaves, and the occasional spider web, she came to a clearing. What she saw made her break out in a large grin. Something extremely large had recently passed through leaving a trail of massive footprints in its wake. “I found the T-rex.” Sasha said excitedly standing in the middle of the recently upturned earth. In between the giant footprints appeared to be a trail as if something was being dragged along. Sasha assumed it much have had some kind of prey in its mouth and was dragging it home to eat for later.
Sasha fallowed the 3 claw mark patterns along the newly formed trail of now snapped and broken trees that appeared as if a bulldozer had pushed them aside effortlessly, until she stumbled upon the second thing that had obviously been modded. The smallest and most adorable looking silver tabby kitten sat in the middle of one of the impressions the T-rex had left behind, licking its front paw and then using it to clean its face.
“So cute!” Sasha said squatting down nearby and offering her hand to it. “Come here little kitten, can I pet you?” She asked paying no mind that a cat shouldn’t have been in this pre-historic simulator to begin with. The kitten briefly looked up, with its large blue eyes locked on Sasha, and in the sweetest and most innocent voice she had ever heard, the kitten told her to f-off before turning around and leaving. “Well now.” Sasha said once she had regained her composure.
As she walked along, she noticed many things that were different. Owls with the heads of cats sat perched in the tree branches making obscene sexual female moaning sounds every time they opened their mouths as she passed below. The body of a chipmunk scurried by on the hairy legs of a giant tarantula and when Sasha looked up, she frowned when she saw pegisi with snouts of pigs soaring through the clouds. She had to hand it to Tom; he certainly had quite the imagination.
For a pre-historic simulator though, there wasn’t much in the way of dinosaurs she realized. She wanted to find a velociraptor before she could feel pain in case it decided she looked like a tastier morsel than the flying pig ponies.
Sasha froze mid –step when she heard a rustling to her right in the foliage that had survived the T-rex’s stampede. When a raptor appeared she quickly hid behind a fallen tree as she tried to suppress her giggles. It wore a top hat, monocle and sported a handlebar mustache. When had sent Sasha over the edge though, was when it zapped a nearby tree with a laser that shot from its eyes. A frickin raptor with lasers for eyes. It was everything Sasha could ever have hoped for and then some. That was until she saw what happened to the tree. She had expected it to explode… instead it turned into the shape of a penis. Sasha began to wonder if illegal drugs were part of Tom’s daily regimen.
When the raptor turned its sites towards the tree Sasha was hiding behind that was when she realized that was her cue to run. She quickly rolled out of the way just as her hiding place became phallicized. Sasha sprinted for all she was worth, while imagining that she held a shotgun in her hands. Once it materialized, she spun around intending for an instant kill only to have her shotgun go from a weapon of mass destruction to a weapon of ass destruction. She quickly threw it away in disgust not even wanting to know what would happen if she pulled the trigger.
She needed a plan she thought as she ran. Everything around her on either side was being turned into a schlong and if she couldn’t think of something soon, she’d be ending up as one too. Sasha knew she acted like a dick sometimes online, but that didn’t mean she wanted to be turned into one. At least the raptor had the aim of a storm trooper.
Suddenly a strong electrical current ran up and down her body as she slowly began feeling the cold wind in her face as her arms and legs stung from getting slashed by the branches she ran through. “Not now!” She groaned as the raptor was not far behind now. She didn’t want to know what it felt like to get her arm bitten off. A roar so loud that shook the ground and nearby trees sent Sasha stumbling to the ground. Something huge was approaching. It felt like a mini earthquake with every step it took until in the most clique dinosaur movie move, the T-REX appeared at the last second before opening its jaws and devouring the raptor that had it sights set on Sasha.
She sat there stunned on the ground as rainbows instead of red blood streamed out of its mouth. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Only once the creature had fully emerged from the trees did she realize the thing it was dragging on the ground between its legs earlier wasn’t its prey, but rather its own penis. It was the biggest thing she had ever seen. It wasn’t a Tyrannosaurus Rex; it was a Cock-o-saurus Rex! And she was about to get tea-bagged to death if she didn’t get a move on! Tom was gay; he just had to be. No straight guy would put this many penises into one game.
Summoning another machete, Sasha sliced through the plants as fast as she could, but it was much harder now that she could feel the weight of the sword in her hand. Her arm was quickly getting sore from all the swinging, and she was having a difficult time trying to catch her breath. Why did she have to pick this one as her first full dive? Maybe she should have just taken the pony one. It was dangerous, it smelled, and there were more dicks than on a reddit forum. Sasha came barreling into another clearing and froze as four heads wearing top hats, and monocles looked up.
“Uh-oh…”
………………………………………………………………….
The first thing Becca felt coming to was the pounding in the back of her head. “Ugh.” She moaned as Tom gently removed her helmet before bandaging the back of her head.
“What did you think?” Tom asked undoing the straps that held Becca down to the table.
“Please tell me my arms are no longer penises.” Becca mumbled as Tom laughed.
“The raptors got you, eh?” he asked helping her slowly sit up as he handed her a bag of ice for her head.
“Got cornered by four of them after I ran into your cock-a-saurus rex.” Becca said glad to see her regular arms once again.
“I am officially naming it that now, thank you.” Tom said. “My boyfriend
came up with that idea, but I’m proud to say the raptors were all mine.” He said proudly.
I knew it, Becca thought smiling weakly. “My head is killing me.”
“You got the best and smallest implants on the market, just imagine if you got this done five years ago.” Tom said leading her out. “Did you hear the SPP found a fake version of the drug on the deep web?”
Becca froze as her blood ran cold. It couldn’t be the same thing Brian had been working on… “R-really?” Becca asked nervously.
“Yeah, turns out it’s been linked to the recent deaths.”
“D-deaths? What deaths?” Becca said starting to panic.
“Haven’t you been watching the news? More and more people have been dying from their injuries sustained in virtual reality. Apparently the fake drug has been linked with causing the brain to believe their injuries are real. Can you imagine getting shot in virtual reality and waking up with an actual bullet wound?”
Becca broke out in a cold sweat. This was why her brother had been in hiding for the last month. Just what had he gotten himself into? |
Chapter 12
Becca sat quietly in the backseat trying to digest what she had just heard. People were dying because of what Brian had created…that couldn’t be true! It wasn’t like he was the one who had put it on the market. The guys who had broken it and stolen it were clearly the ones at fault, right? After all Becca had specifically heard Brian tell them that it was untested. Lots of people make un-safe stuff! It’s trial and error! That’s why these kinds of things were tested first on mice and rats.
A small fear in the back of her head began to grow despite her logical side fighting for all it was worth. What if it wasn’t the people that had broken in that released it to the public but Brian himself? What if she had it all backwards? What if the people who had broken in were the people she was about to work for? What if the SPP only accepted her to get to Brian? That would make more sense than someone like her getting in. So many possibilities and what ifs raced through her pounding head that did nothing to alleviate her headache. She didn’t know what to do or think anymore. She had been so excited and had felt so honored to be chosen, but now she questioned their motivations. Clearly there were other people more deserving than her, which only led her to believe there was some form of ulterior motive.
“You’re awfully quiet back there.” Trevor commented looking back in his rear-view mirror. “Everything alright?”
“Yeah,” Becca mumbled letting out a heavy sigh while feeling hopelessly trapped in the prison that was her own mind.
“You don’t sound alright.” Heather said sounding concerned. “Becca, have you been taking your medication?” Great, here it comes, she thought grumbling. “Becca?” Heather asked again.
“Yes, I’m taking it!” Becca said a little too quickly as she stared out the window. Taking it and flushing it down the toilet that is. “Sorry, it’s just my head hurts.” She said. It was true after all. Her head felt like there was a nest of wasp strapped underneath her bandages and were trying to burrow into the back of her skull in protest. If this was the best money could buy she hated to know what the cheap version felt like.
………………………………………………….
“So, Becca, tell me. How are things?” Dr. Finnick, the psychiatrist from before asked while Becca wondered how she had managed to get talked back into coming to this place.
“It’s going better.” Becca said after taking a second to think about it. Things really had drastically improved in the last few days. She doubted things would ever be the same again since she imagined her mother wouldn’t be too pleased to found out Brian had been faking his own death, but they were certainly better than they had been before.
“Better how?” Dr. Finnick asked.
“With my family.” She admitted telling the truth for once. “Once I was finally able to admit to my mom how much I missed Brian, our relationship has been better. She’s not taking it out on me anymore.”
“And how are you doing with that?”
“About the same.” She said with a shrug. It wasn’t something she really wanted to talk about.
“Have you gotten any more messages from him?” He asked surprising Becca a bit. What happened to him telling her she needed to accept his death?
“No,” She said disappointment evident in her voice. He hadn’t even responded to her getting accepted and if that hadn’t gotten him to talk; he really must be in a situation where he couldn’t.
“Do you still believe he’s alive?” He asked peeking over the tops of his wire-rimmed glasses. Becca wondered why he didn’t just get laser eye surgery to correct his vision; almost no one wore glasses anymore. She had a hard time taking anyone seriously that didn’t get with the times.
“Yeah, I do.” Becca admitted as he scribbled something down in his notes. “I think he’s in some kind of trouble.” There was no real point in lying here; he was legally bound to secrecy after all and she felt as if she was cracking underneath the pressure of bearing all this information alone.
“Go on,” He said without looking up.
“Well, it’s kind of a long story. I guess I should start off by saying I got accepted into the SPP.” Becca said. She figured it was ok to tell him since he was her psychiatrist; it wasn’t like she was blabbing to any civilian on the street. The Dr. looked at her in such a way that reminded Becca of a parent listening to a small child telling an enormous lie.
“I see.” He finally said after a moment of silence sounding as if he was talking to a person who had just told him they believed they were the re-incarnation of Napoleon Bonaparte. It irritated Becca to no end that no one believed she was SPP material. She scowled while digging in her pocket and retrieving proof in the form of her congratulatory notice of acceptance. She hit the print button on her phone and a red laser appeared creating a physical copy in the palm of her hand in mere seconds. She had to admit those built in temporary 4-D printers really came in handy for times like this. Becca handed him the letter with a slight smug satisfaction while she watched him read the message.
“Oh,” Was all he managed to say before the letter disintegrated in the palm of his hand once he was done with it. The look on his face more than made up for his lack of words. Maybe now he would take her more seriously. “You must be very excited; being selected is quite the honor.” He said once he had recovered.
“Oh, I am!” Becca said listing off all the things she was looking forward to. “There’s one thing I’m a little worried about though.” She admitted. “I think my brother is in hiding from the people I’m about to go work for?”
“Why do you say that?” He asked unsure of what to make of the situation now.
“I know he would never purposefully hurt anyone, but he may have created the drug that’s killing people.” Becca said. The first thing she had done after getting home that day was research everything she could about what had been happening in the world since she had been locking herself in her room. She was never that good about keeping up with current events to begin with, so what she saw came as a shock. There had been a total of seven confirmed deaths linked with the drug being marketed under the name “Euphoria”. It was all as Tom said. Something about it was increasing the sensitivity in the brain to virtual wounds. People all over the world who had taken this drug were being rushed to the hospital after waking up with injuries sustained in virtual reality.
“Becca?” The Dr. said snapping her from her thoughts.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. What did you say?”
“I asked why that would make you un-easy?”
“I can’t help but wonder why I got into the SPP. What if it was the SPP that had broken in and stolen the drug Brian was working on. If that was the case and he was running from them, then wouldn’t it mean I was only accepted so they could get to Brian?” She asked. It had really been bugging her.
“We all doubt our own abilities sometimes, Becca. Do you think you are using this situation as a way to justify your acceptance?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you go through tests like everyone else?”
“Yeah, there were some interviews and this one test that was pretty hard.” Becca said unsure of how much she was allowed to tell him.
“And did you pass without any additional help?”
“Yes, but-“
“Then you were chosen because of your abilities, not because of who your brother may or may not have been.” He said continuing before Becca could let the words have been sink in. “You should hold your head up high. If you passed all the tests like you say you did; then you deserve this. Don’t let anyone, yourself or otherwise, convince you that you don’t.”
Becca nodded her head quietly. Maybe he was right; maybe she was just overthinking this because no one thought she was SPP material. “Thanks,” she mumbled.
“Here, I think this will do you some good.” He said handing her another prescription as Becca frowned. Another one? Was he trying to drug her? “I want you to stop taking the other one and take this one instead.”
“Sure,” Becca lied. These were going in the same place as the others.
……………………………………………………………………………
Christmas was fast approaching it seemed. The chilly mid-December air swept across Becca’s face and hair as she stood shivering on the front porch. She loved coming out here and watching the snow flakes falling in the glow of the Christmas lights that hovered mid air. Today marked exactly one month since her family had been torn apart by the intruders; which side of the law they were on was currently unknown to Becca and it continued to gnaw at her insides.
It was Sunday, and although she had all but given up hope of Brian joining her, it felt wrong of her to break the tradition. So Becca hobbled back inside, logged into the Sphere, and selected Brains, Tasty Brains, and logged into multi-player mode out of habit. It was an older game, but one of Brian’s and Becca’s favorites.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Sasha sat on the bench in the waiting for players lounge as she selected weapons from her inventory to equip. They had always met in room 213 at 7pm, so for the last month Sasha would come to room 213 to equip her items before being booted out. She knew she’d soon get an error message asking her if she wanted to play solo instead or join a different group. Essentially, it was a nice way to say You’ve been stood up, please leave so we can give the room to someone else. She let out a sigh as she checked the time. 7:15; today would be no different.
“Is this seat taken?” A voice asked coming from behind her. It wasn’t uncommon for people to wander in looking for an empty room or a group to play with.
“Go ahead, I was just leaving.” Sasha said without looking up before standing and turning towards the door. The person who entered stepped in front of her forcing Sasha to meet his face. She stood in place staring wide-eyed at the mystery intruder. “Brian!” She shouted throwing her arms around him. |
“Brian! I missed you so much!” Sasha said squeezing her arms around her brother despite not being able to feel him.
“Missed you too.” He said as Sasha pulled away with a wide grin stretched across her face.
“I was so worried about you!” she said looking him up and down.
“I told you I was okay; you didn’t need to worry about me.” He said.
“I can’t wait to tell mom and dad you’re back; they’ll be so relieved, though I can’t promise you mom won’t kill you for making her worry. In fact, you’re lucky I don’t kill you.” Sasha said as the smile quickly dropped from Brian’s face.
“No, Becca, I still need everyone to think I’m dead.” He said holding Sasha still by her arms as she frowned in confusion.
“But why? Everyone’s really upset! Why can’t they know?”
“Look, it’s complicated okay. The fewer people that know I’m alive the better.”
“Brian, what happened? What’s going on?” Sasha demanded. If this wasn’t him coming out of hiding, than what was going on? Surely he hadn’t come just to play zombies with her. He looked stressed and tired. If only she could get him to relax.
“Do you really want to know?” He asked as Sasha nodded her head. She really did want to know, but it would have to wait. “Let’s go somewhere more private then; I know a place.”
“Just answer one question first: Laser or automatic?” She asked holding up the two guns as Brian’s face relaxed.
“You always know how to make me feel better.” He said with a smirk. She’d question him later, but for now, they had some catching up score wise to do.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“You are so going down.” Sasha said into her helmets microphone. Out of all the years they had played this together she had never once beaten him. Brian was nervous, tired, worn-out and on the run, so like any good sibling, she was going to take advantage of that.
She peeked her head around the decaying corner before slowly stepping around the debris of the abandoned laboratory. Old green and white paint was chipping off the walls, broken glass was scattered along the floor from the blown out windows and there was a half torso of a human crawling towards her along the floor. Sasha jumped back before pulling the trigger and vaporizing it without a second thought. She hated those things; ankle biters she called them. They’d crawl out from behind stuff when you thought the coast was clear and latch on to a leg if you weren’t careful.
“Everything okay? You’re not dead yet are you? We haven’t even cleared the third floor yet.” Brian said.
“Just a crawler, I haven’t found the horde yet. What’s your count?”
“Three crawlers, two walkers, and a devil hound.” He said proudly. Damn, he was killing her. She smiled, nothing had changed.
“Damn, I’m-“ Sasha was about to say when her field of vision started flashing red. She was taking on damage! Sasha spun around only to find four walkers jumping on her with decayed, black, jagged teeth barred. She backed up as fast as she could, but they eventually over powered her.
Sorry, Game over.
Sasha found herself back in the lobby that acted as the game menu. She let out a sigh of defeat. She should have known better than to let her guard down. A few minutes later Brian appeared and the two went over their failed missions like they had hundreds of times before.
“Ah, thanks, Becca, I needed that.” Brian said grinning as he put his weapons away.
“I just realized you’re not in avatar form.” Sasha said with sudden clarity. He was just…Brian in the flesh. Not Eric, his avatar. Brian narrowed his eyes and sighed.
“It’s not safe to use Eric, they know what he looks like and will probably be alerted if I log on using him. I was going to make a new one, but then how would you recognize me?” Sasha shrugged. She never understood her brother’s logic, so why bother trying now. “I think we should go somewhere private now.” He suggested getting serious as Sasha nodded her head in agreement.
……………………………………………………………………..
“A love hotel?" Sasha asked in confusion after entering the address and appearing in front of the Two Hearts as One. “Why?” She couldn’t help but ask. “Who takes their little sister to a love hotel?”
“No one would look for me here and we can talk privately in a room.” He explained putting an arm around Sasha as she made a weird face as they walked towards the front desk. “Act normal.”
“My brother is taking me to a love hotel! How am I supposed to act?” She hissed back before smiling as the front desk lady began talking to Brian.
“Hello, will you be staying the night, or just resting?” She asked.
“Just resting, please.” Brian said smiling back as if absolutely nothing was wrong with this picture and slid his wrist underneath the scanner. She had never been inside a love hotel before! What if she saw or heard something that would scar her for life? She was in a building that’s sole purpose was for having sex. She eyed the walls as they walked together into the elevator while imagining STDs seeping through the cracks. Were people having sex right here in the elevator? Did they clean it like they cleaned the rooms? Part of her wanted to turn on Sphere vision, but the other part of her was afraid of what she would find. She huddled close to Brian in the hopes he would somehow protect her from the unknown horrors that lurked within this love hotel.
“Why are there love hotels in virtual reality anyway? It’s not like you could feel anything, so what’s the point?” Sasha asked stepped out of the elevator and looking around. She was a little surprised to find it looked like a plain old boring hotel.
“The same reason there’s love hotels in the real world.” He said cocking his head in confusion. “People can hook up in virtual reality too, obviously in full dives though.” He explained while leading her to their room. Becca wasn’t sure what to expect when Brian opened the door. A giant bed in the shape of a heart? A Jacuzzi in the middle of the room? Lit candles and flower petals leading a trail to the bed? She frowned when she peeked inside to find just a regular looking bed. There was absolutely nothing romantic about this room at all, but she supposed this was better. She was with her brother after all. That could have made this so much more awkward than it already was.
“So start spilling!” Sasha ordered once she was done peeking around the room while carefully avoiding the bed like the plague.
“What do you want to know?” He asked, sitting down on the bed obviously not caring about what had previously taken place there.
“Why have you been playing dead? Who’s after you? What’s going on?” She asked as Brian ran his hand through his black hair.
“Have you been watching the news?” He finally asked as Sasha nodded her head.
“Was it your drug? The one that’s killing people?” Brian sighed as his hands shook.
“It was never supposed to get out to the public. It wasn’t ready! I hadn’t even tested it on lab mice yet! As for why I’ve been pretending to be dead; it’s for your safety as much as mine. If those people knew I was alive, they could come after you to get to me.” Finally it made perfect sense to Sasha. He had a point; they were in just as much danger as he was unless he pretended to be dead.
“Do you now who they were?” Sasha asked.
“I have no idea! I don’t even know how they found out I was even making a generic version. I’m going to find out though.” He said before meeting Sasha’s eyes. “I need to fix this, but I need your help to do this.”
“How can I help? Please, I’m so sorry! I want to make this right! If I had only listened to you…” Sasha said.
“Nothing would have changed.” Brian said. “If you’re serious about helping me, I need you to get me something from my house without mom or dad knowing. There’s a flash drive with all my research on it. I need you to make a copy and bring it to me. Can you do that?” She wanted to tell him she could barely walk, but the desperation in his eyes compelled her to agree. She had never seen her brother like this before, and finally, here he was presenting her a way she could help. She’d do anything she could to help him. If getting him his notes would keep more people from dying then she’d do it!
“I’ll get it to you. It might take a while, but I’ll figure out a way.” Sasha said.
“Please, I need you to hurry. Without that research, I can’t fix the drug.”
“Fix it?” Sasha asked.
“Yes, if I fix it then no one would want the faulty one.” Brian said. “I can’t control what people buy on the deep web. I could tell them until I’m blue in the face not to use it because it’s dangerous, but without something better, I don’t think I could convince people not to use it.” Sasha shrugged. She guessed he was right. He was the genius after all so she’d just have to trust him. “Oh, and by the way, congratulations!” He said with a wide smile that seemed to take up all of his face. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you before, but that’s awesome that you got accepted!”
“Thanks! It was hard.” Sasha admitted shuddering at the memories of what she had gone through in the fear simulator. She had wanted to tell him for so long, and now here she was talking with him. She was glad this wasn’t a full dive because her mouth would probably hurt from smiling so much. Here was proof sitting right in front of her that he was ok. He was alive, so screw you Dr. Finnick she thought with a smug smile. Grasping at straws my ass.
“Oh, look!” Sasha said showing him the back of her head. “I got the implants!”
“Becca, you realize this is virtual reality and I can’t see it, right?” he said with a grin.
“I-I knew that.” Sasha mumbled looking away. “I was just, uh, you know, showing you my new hair cut.”
“Oh, right, haircut.” He said with a laugh. “Sure. So how’d the procedure go?”
“It hurt so bad!” Sasha complained a bit over dramatically rubbing the back of her non-implanted head. “It felt like my head was going to split open all week!” In reality, it was more like a minor ache for two days. “And don’t even get my started on what I had to go through in virtual reality. Do you have any idea what it feels like to have your arms turned into penises?”
“Umm…no can’t say that I do.” Brian said cocking his head to the side. “Judging by the look on your face I’m going to assume I don’t want to know.”
“It was hot!” Sasha said as Brian recoiled.
“Umm, I didn’t know you were into that kind of thing, and I also didn’t need to know that.” He said as Sasha’s eyes grew wide at the realization of what she just said.
“I meant it burned!”
“You should probably get that checked out then.” He said grinning as Sasha rolled her eyes before chucking a pillow at his head.
“I couldn’t get away from the raptors with dick-vision once the full dive started kicking in and my back started hurting” She explained while shaking her head as if she were reliving a painful and traumatizing memory.
“Raptors with…dick vision?”
“Turned out the SPP paid for the full procedure AND unlimited add-ons. I was too nervous to think of any add-ons I wanted to the pre-historic safari and he said he had a few ideas so I let him.” Sasha said shrugging as Brian scowled.
“You let someone you didn’t know pick out your first full dive? You could have gotten hurt! Full dives aren’t like partial dives; not to mention you don’t know if you have the Necrobo Effect sensitivity.”
“I don’t think it’s biologically possible for my arms to turn into penises even if I did have the Necrobo disease.” Sasha insisted as Brian shook his head.
“That’s not the point; you didn’t even know what you had signed up for. What if you had accidentally volunteered for a rape game? Those things exist you know.” He scolded as Sasha hung her head. “You’re too trusting.”
Still as over-protective as always, she thought.
“What happened to your back?” he asked breaking the silence that had hung in the room.
“I got shot in the back.” Sasha reminded him feeling a bit confused. She was sure she had messaged him about it when she was in the hospital. His face fell as he grimaced and he seemed worried about something. “I’m ok though now.” Sasha lied in order to re-assure him. It was her fault she got hurt anyway.
“I’m sorry you got hurt.” Brian said while clenching his fists tightly together. “Can you still get the research, Becca? It’s really important.”
“I promise I’ll find a way to get it to you.” Sasha said as Brian visibly relaxed.
“Thank you, look I need to go. I can’t stay in place for too long.” Brian said standing up as Sasha frowned.
“Please don’t leave! We just got here and…and…” Sasha begged stumbling over her words. “I miss you.” She said throwing her arms around her brother while wishing she could feel him.
“I miss you too, Becca. When do you join?” He asked once they parted.
“The day after New Years. Can we meet again before then?”
“I’ll try, but I can’t make any promises. When you find the research, please send it to this address.” He said sending her a message. “Please stay out of trouble.” He said sending her a pleading look before walking out the door.
Sasha sat on the bed staring off into space as she let her mind wander. Brian had confirmed everything that she had suspected. He was in danger, people were after him, and it was his drug that was causing the deaths of people. At least it wasn’t him that had put it on the market, she was more than happy to hear that. Not to mention he was alive! She was 100 percent convinced now and it felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She smiled widely before falling back on the bed. One day they’d be a family again, although she didn’t know when that would be; it didn’t matter. Finally, she could help make things right as well! Why did she even blame herself all this time? She wondered staring up at the ceiling before sitting up and looking around the room.
Sphere Vision on!
Sasha’s eyes widened in horror as she looked around the room. Oh god oh god oh god. She quickly hopped off the bed as what had previously been invisible now shone brightly in Sphere Vision. Gross gross gross! Why did I do that? It’s on the bed, it’s on the walls, and HOW THE HELL DID THEY GET IT ON THE CEILING? Sasha thought before running out the room. Shower! I need a shower! |
The next few days seemed to crawl slowly along. Becca spent most of her time lost in a world of planning and scheming. How could she get to Brian’s house without raising suspicion? How could she even get to Brian’s house period? She could barely walk as it was let alone drive the hover bike, walk down the stairs to Brian’s lab and search the place.
Walking was still a slow and painful experience, and the healing process seemed to be taking its sweet time. For the last few days Becca’s back had been in much more pain than usual. It could be much worse she knew. If the bullet had been even an inch more to the right she may never have walked again. Becca was thankful that it hadn’t come to that, but it still agitated her nonetheless that she needed help with simple things. Some days were of course better than others. While moving much slower than the average person, she could still dress herself, but bending down to tie her shoes was out of the question. It almost seemed like the more she needed to hold on to something, the more likely she was to drop it and not be able to pick it up.
Other days though the pain was so severe she needed help with the smallest and simplest of tasks, but instead of simply asking for help, she just wouldn’t do it. Becca would rather lounge around in three-day-old clothes than ask her mom to help dress her. On her bad days, Becca would hide in her room and stay in virtual reality as long as possible. Before, she used it to escape from the pain and guilt of what happened to Brian, but now that she knew he was okay, there was nothing to distract her from her physical pain.
Heather had assumed for the longest time that Becca simply liked lounging around in her own filth since no amount of nagging seemed to motivate her. It wasn’t until later on that mid December afternoon when Heather was going to drag Becca out of bed, whether she wanted to or not, did she walk in and discover Becca trying- and failing- to take off an old shirt. Heather stood silently in the doorway for a second taking in the scene of her daughters struggle. Her first reaction was to laugh, as it appeared Becca had managed to simply get herself stuck. It was when Heather could hear the faint sounds of sobbing coming from underneath the shirt stuck over Becca’s head did she realize there was a problem.
Heather gently threaded her daughter’s arms through and lifted the shirt off Becca’s head, only to find a tear-streaked face underneath. “Why didn’t you say something?” Heather asked. Becca simply shook her head. How could she put into words how humiliating it was that she couldn’t even dress herself on her bad days. And lately it seemed everyday was a bad day. “How long has this been going on for?”
“A few days.” Becca mumbled. “Most days I can dress myself, but sometimes…” She said standing awkwardly half naked in her room while her mom picked out some clean clothes from the closet. “It’s just right now it hurts so bad I can barely move my arms a few inches past my side without feeling pain.”
“Oh, Becca,” Heather said quietly after getting a look at her back. The last time Heather had seen the wound was two weeks ago. It had been barely the size of a half dollar and was healing quite nicely, but now the once small area took up nearly half of Becca’s lower back due to the swelling. It was red and irritated while puss oozed out a small opening. “No wonder it hurts; it’s infected! Come on, let’s get you to the bathroom and get this cleaned up.” Heather said guiding her to the bathroom.
“AHH!” Becca screamed when Heather lightly touched the outer area with a damp washcloth.
“I don’t like the way this looks. TREVOR!” She suddenly yelled into the hallway making Becca flinch from the sudden loud noise.
“Mom, no! I’m not wearing a shirt!” Becca complained. She doubted she could move her arms up in order to cover herself. Heather shifted her so that she facing the bathtub with her back exposed to the open door as Trevor came to see what the problem was.
“Wow,” Was all Trevor could say when he saw the oozing sore.
“I’m not sure what to do.” Heather said lightly pressing the outer area as Becca screamed again. “Should we take her back to the hospital?” The hospital? She’d never be able to get Brian his research if she was in the hospital! How long would she be in there for? A day? A week? What about Christmas? Would they have to celebrate Christmas in the hospital?
“No, no hospital!” Becca moaned.
“I’m sorry, Becca, but you need antibiotics.” Heather said. “Trevor, can you help me get her in the car?”
“Shirt! Someone get me a shirt!” Becca insisted. No way was she going anywhere in public topless. Heather tried a few loose fitting t-shirts, but by the third attempt they all realized it was a no go. The open sore throbbed painfully with every movement and Becca was sure it had opened up in the last attempt to feed her arm through the sleeve. She was almost to the point of openly sobbing again from the pain of the air. Every movement she made was utter agony, and so in the second most awkwardest moment in the last two months Trevor somehow managed to scoop her up with one arm under her butt and another under her shoulder and carried her to the car topless.
Becca leaned forward as much as she could in the backseat of the van to prevent the material from touching her back. She hardly even cared that she almost caused a fender bender at the stoplight when a driver along side the van did a double take when he noticed she was topless. Trevor, in the most dad move possible, lifted up his own shirt and flashed him his own hairy nipples when he noticed the peeping tom. She smiled knowing he was only trying to make her feel better. She would have been in fits of laughter if it hadn’t been for the pain. Heather simply shook her head and sighed having long given up on understanding the two of them.
The walk into the emergency room was much the same as the walk to the car with Becca resting her chin on Trevor’s shoulder like a small child. It was weird, yet oddly comforting. She had no idea her dad was that strong, and at least this way no one could see her exposed chest. If she had tried to walk on her own it might have taken her at least 15 minutes and she no longer would have had any nipples, as she was pretty sure they would have frozen off from the cold.
One of the nice things about living up in the mountains was there was hardly anyone in the waiting rooms. Instead of plopping her in a chair, Trevor sat down and kept her in his lap saying it would be easier this way to get her back up again. She found it odd at first being 18 and bare-chested (not like she really had much to expose). It looked like they were about to take one of those awkward family re-enactment photos. She remembered climbing up in his lap like this a lot when she was little. She was really going to miss him when she was gone she thought resting her head against his shoulder.
The minutes slowly ticked by, but the next thing she knew they were walking again. She realized she must have fallen asleep. She could vaguely recall her mom talking to someone before she felt a hospital blanket get draped over her shoulders. She was so cold she had gladly accepted it even though it stung whenever the material rubbed against the sore. They all walked into an examination room and Trevor set her down on the table. Becca shivered missing her dad’s warm embrace.
“Stick out your arm, honey.” A lady in brightly colored hospital scrubs said. Becca slowly pulled her arm out allowing the lady to scan her chip as they waited for the results. After a light chirp, she announced that Becca was running a temperature of 102.4, and that her white blood cell count was high meaning that she had an infection.
After she left, Becca gently lowered herself down into a lying position cringing and grimacing from pain all the way down. She finally managed to get somewhat comfortable lying on her stomach as they waited for another unknown period of time until the Dr. arrived. When she came in, she lifted the blanket off Becca’s back and after looking at it for less than five seconds announced she would be admitting her into the hospital. Becca grumbled a bit under her breath while the Dr. lectured her the entire way into admitting about how her carelessness in keeping the area clean resulted in the infection. Her mom was going to have a field day with her when they got back home. She had been too embarrassed about asking for help washing her back, and they hadn’t been getting along for a while. How was she supposed to ask for help with something like that when at the time she couldn’t sit in her mothers presence for more than a few minutes? Sure, it was better now, but for how much longer? This was definitely going to open up a whole can of worms.
“We’re going to X-ray the area just to make sure.” The Dr. mentioned in passing while the X-ray tech wheeled her away. What was the lecture for if she wasn’t even sure? It wasn’t like there was a giant chunk of dirt in it or something. How did she know she wasn’t washing it properly? Perhaps because it had been a few days since she had last showered and there was enough grease in her hair to fry bacon. The water touching her skin had just hurt too much. She wasn’t that lazy. Usually.
After a few agonizing minutes of rolling from side to side so they could get pictures of different angles, she was wheeled up into a room. She had expected to get jumped about her hygiene, but it had been a surprising day.
“I should have helped you.” Heather said to Becca’s surprise. Wait? Where was the lecture? The nagging? “I was so wrapped up with Brian, and then there was his funeral and everything, I never noticed you were having trouble taking care of yourself.” Becca just stared blankly at her before glancing over at Trevor who appeared equally as shocked.
“I never asked.”Becca replied. Her and her big mouth. Why couldn’t she just take the easy way out and stay quiet? Heather didn’t respond so Becca rested her head on the pillow before drifting back into another light and restless sleep.
Becca dreamed about people dying. She dreamed she had walked into a morgue only to discover hundreds of body bags just lying around on the floor. “I need you, Becca.” A voice said. She spun around to find Brian standing in the corner with a deeply panicked expression all over his face. “What have I done?” He whispered. “Please, help me. They’re going to get me.”
“Who is going to get you?” Becca asked before Brian began backing up with until his back was completely against the wall. The sounds of unzipping bags caused Becca to turn just in time to see hundreds of rotting bodies covered in all different kinds of injuries begin to rise out of the bags.
“You killed us! You did this to us!” They said in unison in deep raspy voices as they all walked passed Becca to get to Brian.
“No, it wasn’t his fault!” Becca yelled. “Please don’t hurt him!” They kept on slowly marching forward as Brian stayed still with his back to the wall completely surrounded. “Run, Brian!” She shouted, but it was too late. She had to turn her head away as his screams filled the echoing basement as she saw the shadows on the wall of him getting torn apart limp from limp. “BRIAN!”
“Becca, honey, wake up.” Trevor whispered lightly in her ear putting a hand to her shoulder as she jolted awake. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He apologized.
Becca looked around the room trying to get her bearings. A different person than before stood in a lab coat beside her bedside. She completely zoned out as her parents talked to the Dr. in her place as her thoughts were lost in her dream. She’d help him! She had too! She didn’t come back down to earth until she heard the word, “surgery”.
“Huh, what?” Becca said looking from the Dr. to her parents.
“I was just telling your parents we need to take you back to surgery.” He said. Becca’s eyes went wide. Surgery? Why? Wasn’t it just infected because she didn’t keep the wound clean? “According to the X-ray it looks like we missed a small piece of the bullet that broke off from the main chunk. It appears as though that’s what’s causing the infection. Once we get it out we can begin treating you with a round of antibiotics and you should be good to go. If everything goes as planned you should be able to go home tomorrow.”
Becca breathed a sigh of relief. So it wasn’t her fault the wound had gotten infected after all. She really dodged a bullet there so to speak. Once she was put back into virtual reality she’d message Brian and let him know what was happening. Hopefully he’d understand she’d need more time.
“We’ll be wheeling her into the operating room soon. A nurse will be with you shortly to put you in virtual reality when you get there.” He instructed. Becca nodded her head in understanding.
“Will the same lady be there?” Becca asked.
“What lady?”
“The one that greets people in virtual reality and sits with the patients.” Becca explained. “To keep people from thinking they’re dead.”
“Oh, I didn’t know the hospital employed anyone like that. About time I’d say. Some old lady nearly sued the hospital last year. I can’t believe there are still people out there that have never been in virtual reality.” Becca flashed her mom a smile, who pretended to be interested in her fingernails in return. Becca never quite understood her mom’s avoidance of virtual reality. Heather had always said it would rot your brain and that it was bad to get hooked on something that wasn’t real, but almost everything now used virtual reality. Schools, and work used virtual reality in place of commuting and even hospitals heavily relied on it. General anesthesia was a thing of the past, and even painkillers were only given when your time was up for the day.
“Are you ready?” A nurse asked once Becca had been wheeled into the operating room.
“Yes.” She responded. She was more than happy to return to that beach away from her pain. She closed her eyes as the helmet was lowered over her head and the countdown began. In just a few more seconds it would all be over. Her stomach did the usual flip and in the blink of an eye she was far away from her pain and problems. “Much better.” She said looking over the horizon of the peaceful little island as she listened to the waves crash along the shore.
“Welcome back.” A familiar voice said. Sasha turned her head to find the same lady as before sitting on the beach by herself.
“Don’t you ever get bored sitting here by yourself?” Sasha asked.
“Sometimes.” The lady admitted. “We don’t get that many patients in here. I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again. What happened?”
“The wound got infected.” Sasha said.
“Oh, you really need to be careful taking care of those kinds of things.” She scolded. Sasha scowled. Why did everyone think it was her fault?
“It got infected because they didn’t remove all the bullet fragments the first time.” Sasha said feeling slightly vindicated seeing the look of surprise on Susan’s face. Ok, so it probably could have gotten infected just as easily from not taking care of it, but she didn’t need to know that was a possibility.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
They sat in silence for a bit as Sasha stretched and sprawled out on her back now that she could pain free and no longer chilled from her fever. It was much more relaxing now that she wasn’t quite as worried about her brother and her injuries. A quick round of antibiotics and she’d be heading home.
“Did you hear about what’s been going on with all those people dying?” Susan asked breaking the comfortable silence. This is so not what Sasha wanted to talk about right now.
“A little bit.” She replied trying to hide her anxiety about the subject.
“So sad. Just goes to show you shouldn’t buy things off the deep web.” Susan said shaking her head back and forth. “They’re just cheap imitations, untested and unsafe.” Sasha was a little angry at hearing her brothers’ work being called a cheap imitation, but she was right. It was untested and unsafe; it should have never been put on the market to begin with. “On a lighter note, did you hear someone in our town got selected into the SPP?” Sasha breathed a sigh of relief. Now this subject she could handle.
“Yeah, how did you hear? Word sure travels fast.” Sasha said.
“Apparently it leaked from the dive center. Rumors have been flying left and right ever since they’ve been getting new equipment. Some think it’s that big looking guy that runs the Capsule market, while others think it’s someone that works at the center. Some people believe you have a better chance of getting in if you work there.” Sasha couldn’t help but grin a little. People really thought that would increase their chances?
“Who do you think it is?” Sasha asked trying not to look too suspicious.
“I don’t know. Hey, weren’t you trying to get in?” Susan asked as Sasha froze.
“Uh, yeah, I was trying.” She said.
“Well, maybe you can try again next year, now that this place has been put on their map maybe they’ll look more closely here.” Susan said. Sasha tried her best to keep her mouth shut as she let fistfuls of sand fall between her fingers. No one would ever suspect her. Maybe that’s how she was chosen. Maybe they selected the least likeliest people from the pool knowing people would think they were all the big and strong types. “I’m just kidding.” She said turning her attention to Sasha before leaning in closer and whispering. “I know it was you.”
……………………………………………………………………………………………….
Once Becca was out cold in virtual reality, they rolled her over onto her stomach so they could begin prepping for surgery.
“That’s quite swollen.” One of the surgeons said examining the wound and taking measurements. “We’ll have to lance it first and drain the puss before extracting the bullet fragments with the camera.” His steady gloved hand made precise incisions around the open sore before gently pressing down as the wound oozed and gushed. After they had managed to clean it out they inserted a tiny spider like robot that crawled into the open hole in Becca’s back. It crawled inch by inch scanning for anything that shouldn’t have been there.
“Why didn’t we use the spider drone in the first place?” One of the surgeons asked. He watched the screen as the picture displayed the live video feed coming from the drone.
“Who knows? Dr. Jeffeck needs to retire. He probably thought he pulled out the whole bullet and didn’t even bother checking for fragments.” The other surgeon said. “Man, look at all that debris in there! No wonder it’s this bad. We’re lucky the family doesn’t sure the hospital!”
“Speaking of being sued, she mentioned something to me earlier that got me thinking. Did the hospital hire someone to stay with the patients in virtual reality?”
“No. You think the hospital would pay to have someone sit in virtual reality all day?”
“Oh, that’s weird. The patient said there was someone in there last time that said they worked for the hospital.”
“Probably either one of the nurses got caught slacking off and made up some excuse about sitting on the beach or one of the mental patients was in there at the same time.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right, sounds like a nice place to take a lunch break if there were no patients in there. Well, looks like the spider got everything, it’s on its way back up. She should be good to go now after we sow her back up.” |
(two chapters in one day!)
Christmas morning came sooner than Becca had anticipated. She kind of missed the days where the excitement and anticipation kept her tossing and turning all night. Now that she was older, it seemed like it was just another night, but before she fell asleep, she came up with the idea of how to get to Brian’s and search the place. She’d fake sick and get out of going to her aunts and while her parents were gone, she’d take the hover bike out.
After searching through her stocking full of goodies and snacks, she hobbled out to the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee and wait for her parents to get up. She sat on the couch, sipping her cup and staring at all the presents under the tree reminiscing about trying to guess what they were with Brian. His stocking hung on the chimney as a painful reminder of his absence. He’ll be back home soon, she thought with a sigh.
“I miss him too,” Trevor said startling her a bit as she spilled coffee down her arm.
“Just not the same.” Becca agreed.
“Remember when you two used to fight over who got to put the angel on top of the tree?” He asked. Becca chuckled at the memory. One year her father had done it while they were busy arguing and it took them 20 minutes until they noticed. They made him take it back down and each of them got a turn being lifted up on his shoulders to put it on top.
When it came time for opening presents, Becca noticed she got a lot of family activity type stuff. She assumed it was so she could spend more of her time with them instead of in virtual reality during her last week at home.
Two hours before it was time to leave to go to her aunts, Becca put her plan into motion. She began complaining of a stomachache and didn’t move from the couch or open anything she got from Christmas. At the one hour mark she pretended to make a lot of trips to the bathroom, and at 30 minutes till, she covered her mouth with her hand and shuffled as quickly as she could before making fake vomiting noises from the toilet. Not wanting to be trapped in the car with her for two hours, Becca’s parents agreed to let her stay home, on the condition that she promised to stay out of virtual reality. She shuddered at the memory of a previous mishap and quickly agreed. After waiting 20 minutes to make sure they hadn’t forgotten anything, Becca made her way to the garage after fetching the keys to the hover bike.
It was near agony lifting her leg over to straddle the seat, but she eventually did it and backed out of the garage. It was more of an uncomfortable ride than painful, but it was still a little fun. If she hadn’t had a mission to accomplish, she would have taken her time or even gone out to the field to do a couple laps. Instead, she made a beeline for Brian’s place in the woods as the chilly afternoon air pushed against her face. When she arrived fifteen minutes later, the place had mostly been cleaned out. Her parents had already been here multiple times and had cleaned the place out several times. Most of Brian’s furniture had already been taken along with his desk. All that was left un touched was his laboratory in the basement. Finally, Brian’s organized chaos approach when it came to his lab had paid off. It was so far beyond overwhelming to their parents that everything had stayed where he left it.
Becca walked slowly amongst the rows of test tubes and computer monitors. She had no idea what she was actually looking for. He was so old fashioned at times; he said everything would be on a thumb drive. He just forgot to mention where that would be. Then again knowing him, he probably forgot where it was too. She lifted up various papers and knocked aside glasses and empty ramen containers. Becca got so frustrated with the mess she eventually just started knocking things onto the floor as a way to signal she had checked there already.
After an hour of searching and coming up with nothing, she sat down on a chair to try to think things through. Brian always loved to hide things when they were little. He’d always make a cache of all his important possessions that he didn’t want anyone else to find. He’d always make it super obvious though in his favorite places. She surveyed the mess once more as she tried her best to figure out where that would be. What was his favorite place down here? As hard as she tried to think, she could only draw a blank. The only thing here he was really attached to was…the fireplace! But would he hide anything up there though? How would he keep it from burning? Only one way to find out.
She slowly ( very very slowly) made her way up the stairs before collapsing from exhaustion on the couch. She was still weaker than she thought she was. She had only meant to close her eyes for a few minutes, but when she opened them back up it was already dark outside! Crap crap crap. Her parents would be back soon and all she had accomplished was trashing the place. After turning on the light, she carefully as she could peeked underneath the brick fireplace. She wasn’t quite sure what she was looking for, but as she glanced around something caught her eye. There appeared to be a brick sticking a quarter of an inch past all the others. She grabbed it and jiggled it feeling it slowly moving. She carefully pulled it out like a jenga piece to reveal something taped onto the outside of the brick. There it was! A black thumb drive! Becca quickly pulled her phone out and scanned it until it disappeared from the palm of her hand. I got it! Merry Christmas, Brian. Send.
She sped off on the bike as fast as she could, not even bothering to turn off the lights or lock the door to Brian’s house. Not like anyone would want to steal empty ramen cups anyway. She sped through traffic, running two stops signs on the way. She was cutting it close! She turned the corner and breathed a sigh of relief to see the van still missing. Right when she closed the garage door and cut the engine is when she heard it pull up. She quickly threw her coat and shoes off before hurrying inside and sitting on the couch right as her parents came through the front door.
“Hmm, you’re all sweaty, I hope you’re not running another fever.” Heather said taking a look at Becca’s exhausted face. “You still don’t look good. Maybe you should go lie down for a bit.” Becca couldn’t agree more with that idea. She plopped onto her bed and breathed a sigh of relief. She did it! Now Brian could fix whatever was going on. She pulled out her phone to check her Sphere messenger and saw Brian had replied.
This is it! You’re the best! Becca smiled widely before typing in her own response.
Next time you hide something in your fireplace, remember where you put it!
Finally she could concentrate on the SPP. She hoped she was able to do her part and get Brian out of whatever trouble he was in. She had faith in her brother that he could fix this mess. He was the smartest person she had ever known. Her phone buzzed again.
Sorry! You’re a lifesaver!
There was still something that was bothering her though. Why and where was Brian keeping a fake version of himself? She had checked every nook and cranny of his house today and, thankfully, she didn’t find a stockpile of lifeless Brian dolls lying somewhere in a closet. No amount of therapy would ever make that discovery ok.
Hey, Brian, how did you make a fake body?
Followed a recipe.
There’s a recipe to make a body!?
Water (35 L), Carbon (20 kg), Ammonia (4 L), Lime (1.5 kg), Phosphorous (800 g), Salt (250 g), potassium nitrate(100 g), Sulfur (80 g), Fluorine (7.5 g), Iron (5 g), Silicon (3 g) and fifteen other elements in trace amounts.
So there is… She thought shaking her head. What did he do? Throw them all in the oven until a body formed? Please tell me he’s just joking, she thought.
…What?...
:D
She closed her eyes out of exhaustion. This was the best explanation she was going to get out of him. One day she’d ask him further about it, but for now, it would have to do. Becca was used to him talking way over her head, this was just another one of those times, she thought before giving in to sleep. |
Finally the big day came. The second of January. The day she was to report to the local Sphere Center that would put her into a full dive that would last for two weeks. Except it wouldn’t feel like two weeks. It would feel like a year. Becca’s parents drove her to the same center she had her implants put in. Hopefully this time there wouldn’t be an abundant of penises.
She waited eagerly with her parents in the waiting room until the same guy from before called her back.
“I’m really going to miss you guys!” Becca said hugging them both before following Tom into the back. This was it, the moment she had dreamed about almost her whole life.
“You’re the one?” Tom asked shocked when she appeared. Becca smiled and shrugged as she was led into a room with a giant white pod waiting for her. “Samantha is going to take over from this point, she’ll instruct you about what’s going to happen. I wish you best of luck!” Tom said waving as he was replaced with a girl who looked about 18 or 19 with long brown hair.
“So you’re the one everyone’s been talking about.” Samantha said looking Becca up and down. Becca shrugged again waiting for instructions. “Well, let me explain how this is going to work. You’re going to lay in this pod and it’s going to fully fill with water.”
“What?” Becca asked a bit surprised. “How will I not drown?”
You’ll have an air helmet on.” Samantha continued.
“Why will it fill with water?” Becca asked.
“For two reasons. One: Every ten hours it will drain and pump in fresh water to flush out bodily waste. And two: That’s how the drug will be administered.”
“Wait, what? Bodily waste… You mean I’m going to…” Becca stammered.
“You are going to be in there for two weeks. Did you think we were just going to shove a cork in you?” Samantha asked with a giggle. She hadn’t really been sure what to expect. She knew her metabolism was going to be slowed, so she kind of pictured it like she was going into hibernation like an animal in the winter.
“Sort of.” Becca admitted with a shy embarrassed grin. It’s not like she could find much information about the procedure, so she had let her imagination run its course. She had pictured everything from being frozen to being put in a coma. Becca looked around the room as she took in the various equipment. A white pod a few feet taller than her stood in one corner with various tubes and wires running from all over.
“So are you ready to get started?”
“Yep!” Becca said. She was more than eager to get started. She wondered what she would look like when her year was finished. Would she loose weight? Gain weight? Build muscle? Since this would be a full dive, her brain would be under the impression she was using her actual muscles. What she learned in the SPP would follow her into the real world. With in reason of course; she wouldn’t come out shooting fireballs out of her palm or anything. That would be neat though. She would learn actual combat skills. She knew the motions from gaming, but she lacked the actual strength in her punches and blocks.
“So how does the drug work?” Becca asked. She was curious about it. This was the part that had the least information.
“To be honest, I’m not really sure. They just walked me through the set up; they didn’t explain the chemistry behind it. You probably know more about it than I do. All I know is that it will be in the water you’ll be soaking in.” Samantha explained.
“Am I swallowing it?” Becca asked scrunching up her face in disgust. Would she be drinking the water she was using as a toilet. Gross!
“No, your head will be blocked from the water. I’m guessing it’s absorbed through the skin, since little bits of the drug will be pumped in the tank every few hours.”
“Oh, I thought I’d be given a shot or I.V or something.” Becca said feeling a bit relieved. Any day she was told she wouldn’t be getting a shot was a good day in her book.
“You must be thinking of Euphoria.” Samantha said. “The problem with that is people are injecting large quantities of it directly into the blood stream. No wonder people are getting hurt and dying. It’s freaking out peoples senses!” Becca nodded her head as her thoughts spun around. Was that what Brian was doing wrong? Would the route people administer it really matter that much? If that was the case she’d have to let him know right away.
“Umm, can I use the bathroom first before we start? I want to, you know, keep the water clean for as long as possible.” Becca said with a nervous laugh. After being directed down the hall and to the left, she made a beeline for the restroom. Becca stopped in the hallway briefly as an advertisement for a pet play simulator caught her attention. Becca looked it up and down cringing at the image of a girl with dog-ears and a tail being walked on a leash. Who in the world would actually play that? “Weirdo’s,” She mumbled underneath her breath, before heading off to her original destination.
Brian, the drug is topical! You mix it with bath water and soak in it! Becca quickly sent the message and made her way back the room. In an attempt to not seem suspicious, she tried to make small talk.
“Did you see that dog game in the hallway? What kind of perverts actually like that sort of thing?” Becca said with a laugh before awkward silence hung in the room as Samantha’s face turned a deep shade of red. Crap. Me and my big mouth. “Umm, I mean, it’s okay if you’re into it i-“
“I’m not!” Samantha said much too quickly to be believable as she shook her outstretched palms back and forth in front of her. Becca raised her eyebrows as Samantha stumbled over her words of explanation. “I-it’s not what you think! I just like being taken care of sometimes.” She mumbled sporting a bright blush.”
“Huh? I thought all the over 18 eroges were just sex games.”
“I turn off the adult content. I, umm, I just like it when he scratches behind my ears.” She said softly. Well this just got uncomfortable fast. Becca tried to flash her best smile as if to say, that’s totally normal and acceptable, but judging by the look on Samantha’s face, it probably came out looking like, You’re a freak.
“Umm, anyway… please get undressed.” Samantha said breaking the awkward tension. Becca blinked in surprise and stared blankly ahead. Is this what playing eroge games do to you? She just told her to take her clothes off. So bold… “You need to take your clothes off.” Samantha repeated again once it was obvious Becca hadn’t quite understood the first time. “Before you get in the pod…” Still nothing. “So the drug can absorb into your skin.” The light finally clicked in Becca’s head as she grimaced.
“Right, sorry. I’ll just…umm… how much are we talking?” Becca asked. Leave it to her to strip naked when she only needed to take a shirt off or something.
“All the way.”
“Right,” Becca said glancing awkwardly around the room for somewhere to get undressed. “Right here right now?” Also leave it to her to strip naked when she was supposed to be behind some kind of screen. Samantha nodded her head waiting. “Do you have t-“
“Yes.”
Becca sighed before she began to awkwardly strip down. She kicked her shoes and socks off before sliding her jeans down. When she was left standing in just her mismatched underwear, she looked up in hope of some sign she could stop there, but Samantha seemed to continue waiting on her so she finished pulling everything down with a slight wince when the cold air hit her now bare butt. She gathered up all her belongings and put them in the outstretched bag Samantha offered.
“So…” Becca said covering herself with her arms. The cold room that raised goose bumps on her skin left her thankful she wasn’t guy, her high beams were awkward enough as it was. Samantha made her put her arms to her sides as she examined Becca up, down, front and back for some reason. Becca stared in the corner of the room trying to avoid any unnecessary eye contact as she bit at the corner of her lip.
“Sorry, I have to make note of any previous injuries. With the big scare lately about people getting hurt and dying in virtual reality, we have to screen everyone receiving the drug. Law suits, you know?” Samantha explained as Becca let out her held breath. Thanks, Brian, I had to get strip searched because of you. As long as she doesn’t tell me to bend over and cough…
“AHH!!” Becca moaned feeling the bandaging on her back get ripped off. A little warning would have been great, she thought as she watched the girl balling up the cotton and tape before tossing it into the trashcan in the corner.
“Sorry!” Samantha said. “No bandages. How’d you get this?” She typed up Becca’s response on the tablet. Becca watched her put the tablet down on the counter before hitting a few buttons in the wall. Her fingers moved much to fast for her to see, so Becca assumed it must have been a password of some kind. A slot in the wall opened up to reveal medical equipment like rubbing alcohol, syringes, and other odds and ends. Samantha pulled out some cotton swabs and disinfectant and proceeded to clean the ports in the back of Becca’s neck.
“You can get in the pod now and I’ll hook you up.” Samantha said. Becca walked over and peered inside the black interior. Everything seemed to be made out of hard plastic including a seat. Behind the chair had various connectors sticking out which looked like they would be plugged into the back of her head. She wasn’t too excited to discover what it would feel like to be connected while she was still awake. “Go ahead and sit down with your head all the way back against the wall.” Samantha instructed.
Once Becca was seated and correctly positioned, a hum filled the once quiet pod and she realized the door was sealing shut. Not only that, but part of the wall in front of her began moving forward until it incased Becca’s head right below her chin, blocking it off from the rest of her body and leaving her head in a separate compartment. She was completely trapped in utter darkness. A brief thought worked its way into her mind about running out of air, but was quickly laid to rest when a fan began blowing fresh air into her face.
What really startled Becca was when she began to hear the loud roar of water pouring in. She quickly retracted her foot when in came into contact with the ice-cold liquid. Why? Why wasn’t it heated?
“I’m going to plug you in now!” Samantha called out. Becca worried briefly about getting shocked as she felt the water rush over her feet. Shouldn’t she have done that before she turned on the water? Becca closed her eyes tight as she waited for the indescribably pain of getting electrocuted, but it never came. All she felt was a slight pressure going up into the back of her head and then in was over. The cold water slowly rising up her legs, she discovered, was about a hundred times worse than getting connected.
“Why is it so cold?” Becca yelled. She shivered as the water level rose past her knees, thighs, and then stomach. She thought she was going to freeze to death when it rose up to her chest. Is this how I’m going to die? Was the SPP nothing more than a lottery to control the population?
“Your body temperature needs to be lowered to 95 degrees before I can start giving you the drug. You’ll feel better soon!” How long had she been sitting in this pod for? One hour? Two hours? “It should warm up in about fifteen more minutes.”
“How long have I been in here?” Becca yelled back.
“About ten minutes!”
She groaned as her teeth chattered and she moved her arms about in the freezing water. The level had now risen all the way to her neck. Just when she thought she couldn’t take anymore, warmth started spreading throughout her body. So much better, she thought closing her eyes and breathing a sigh of relief. She could still feel the icy water on the outside of her skin, but somehow her insides felt pleasantly warm. A tingling sensation began running through her nerves and rounds. Her body grew hotter and hotter until it felt more like she was running a high fever. Her face began to sweat in the small, dry compartment as she panted and gasped for air. The fan blowing cold air onto her face felt like a god send. Now she understood the purpose of the cold water. Without it, she might have internally combusted.
“Five more minutes and I’ll send you in!” Samantha shouted.
“Why don’t you just send me in now?” Becca begged.
“The timing has to be just right or you might end up there a week late. Yooouuu’rree boooddyyy haaassss toooooooooo bbeeeeeeee iiiinnnnn syyynnnncccccc wiiiitttthhhhh tttthhhheeee ddddrrruuuuggggg……” Samantha’s voice appeared to have severely slowed down, so much so, Becca could no longer understand a single thing that was said. Her voice seemed to go on and on, until it was nothing more than a constant drawn out moan. She realized the drug had already begun working. Her sense of time had already been altered. If it took her that long to say a single sentence, how long was five minutes going to take?
It seemed as though she sat in the water for hours, with random moans and ramblings taking up chunks of time. She wasn’t sure what was going to kill her first: heat exhaustion, frostbite, or insanity from having to listen to the 20 minute long sentences. Becca closed her eyes and she willed it to be over, only opening them when a new sensation met her skin.
She blinked in surprise and looked around. She was no longer in the pod of water, but in an empty Drs. office. Had she made it? She grabbed a handful of her brown hair and realized she was Sasha now. She glanced around the room noticing a note projected on the opposite wall.
Please have a seat; the Doctor will be with you shortly.
They sure liked to send her to the Doctor, Sasha thought as she hopped up onto the table frowning at the realization that she was still naked. She tried to open up her inventory and realized it was empty. Where were all her weapons and armor? Even her shotgun was gone! She didn’t quite know what was going on, but all she knew was she didn’t like it one bit. |
It was almost seconds that the Doctor came strolling in once Sasha planted her bare butt down on the examination table. She was displeased to find he was a male, and that without her inventory of supplies, there was absolutely nothing to cover herself with. There weren’t even any flimsy hospital gowns in the room. She had checked. Everywhere. She supposed she didn’t really have anything to be embarrassed about; it wasn’t her real body after all, but the chill in the air and the smell of disinfectant made her think twice. Sasha had to check her hair more than once to remember if she was Sasha or Becca, these full dives just felt way too real.
She covered herself with her arms more out of habit than anything. Even on her avatar she kept her boobs small. They were annoying, she thought. They got in the way of combat. One time she did play with her avatars settings a bit in the chest area in her home screen. She had found it amusing that she could grow them at will and was having a bit too much fun with it- that was until she made herself too top heavy and fell face first on the ground. Or she would have anyway if her ginormous boobs hadn’t stopped the fall leaving her a full five inches off the ground. Needless to say she hadn’t really messed with it since.
Looking like a ten-year-old girl had its advantages sometimes. No one ever expects to get their ass kicked by a ten-year-old girl.
“So did everything go okay getting here?” He asked. “Any problems?”
“Apart from almost spontaneously combusting?” Sasha said.
“The first times always the hardest.” He agreed with a nod of his head. Sasha watched him curiously for a moment. Something about him seemed off, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. It wasn’t until he began talking again did she notice his lips. His lip movements didn’t match the words she was hearing. It was like watching a poorly dubbed Asian movie. It was even stranger when his body left the room for a second, but his voice was still talking right next to her head. She smiled with curiosity and amusement when he returned faster than the words; “I’ll be right back.” took to get to her.
“I don’t think the drug is completely synced yet.” Sasha said.
“I noticed there’s a small lag in your response time, but that’s normal. It will wear off in a little bit. Would you please lay down on the table for me?”
Sasha frowned when the real examination began. He checked her body so thoroughly it made Samanatha’s check up seem like nothing more than a stuck up girls two-second head-to toe scan. He had her roll over onto her stomach next and paid extra attention to the wound on her back.
“Does your back feel better, worse, or the same since coming here?” He asked touching around the edges as she winced. Maybe it was just the disappointment of still having it there when she came here, but it felt a bit worse. She told him this and he nodded his head in understanding. “Please roll onto your back and I’ll turn the table on.” Sasha grimaced and moaned as she slowly rolled over. She hadn’t known this table was anything special. It just seemed like an ordinary examination table to her, but he must have done something she figured, because within minutes, a pleasant warmth was spreading through her back in quick pulses. It was such a relaxing feeling she could almost fall asleep, but within minutes it turned off. Her back felt nice and toasty and…completely healed. She sat up quickly and twisted her body this way and that relieved not to feel skin pulling and tearing anymore.
“Wow!” Was all Sasha could think of to say.
“Better?”
“Much!” She said. If there was a table that could magically heal her, she wondered what other kinds of cool stuff was here.
“Glad to hear. Would you be interested in physical therapy during your time here? We can start you off at ten percent next month and work from there. By the time you leave for your first break, the wound should be completely healed.” He said.
“Really? Yes! That would be great! Why in a month though?”
“Well, you should probably settle down here first. It’s going to be a bit rough and may not be quite what you’re expecting.” He said leaving an ominous feeling in the pit of Sasha’s stomach.
“What do you mean? And what happened to all my stuff?”
“You’ll get it all back after Basic Training.” He explained.
“Basic Training?” Sasha asked with a scowl. “You mean like boot camp?”
“In a way.” He said turning his back to her and digging through a drawer. Sasha chuckled when she saw the rubber gloves in his hands.
“I think I’d be pretty nervous if I were a guy right now.” Sasha said before frowning. “I’m not getting a shot am I? I’ve only ever seen those gloves when I’m about to get a shot or get blood drawn.”
“The thing about Basic Training is that there’s absolutely no contraband allowed.” He explained as he began putting on the first light, blue rubber glove. Was that a yes or a no? He didn’t answer her question.
“Oo…kay…” Sasha said. “Well, all my stuff is gone from my inventory.” She said. “So, what are the gloves for if I’m not getting a shot?”
“It says here in your file that you like to hide weapons on your person.” He said as the last glove fell into place with a loud snap letting Sasha know a shot was the least of her worries.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Sasha quickly got dressed in the white underclothes and navy blue jumpsuit and black boots the doctor provided. She looked more like she was going to go fix a leak somewhere rather than join the virtual police force. She found it a little odd that she had to physically dress herself; something she had never had to do in virtual reality before, but she was too thankful to finally have something to cover up with to give it much thought.
She took off out the door once she was decent before the doctor came back and decided he needed to perform any more cavity searches. Sasha swore he had gone so deep with his fingers; she could taste the rubber gloves. She shuddered and limped out of the office as fast as she could. Why couldn’t they have just scanned her? Why did he have to manually check every crevice?
Of course she wasn’t going to hide anything up there in a full dive! That would have hurt like hell! Wouldn’t he have been able to tell by the way she was walking? As she limped forward and grimaced she assumed she probably looked like she was trying to smuggle something in now. She took back every nice thing she had previously thought about him from fixing her back. How could one doctor’s appointment cause so much joy and sorrow?
“Hello, you must be, Sasha.” A lady said dressed in a grey business suit.
“Yes?” She answered looking up as she shuffled her feet as fast as she could.
“Are you okay? Was that you screaming earlier?” The lady asked looking bit concerned. Sasha mumbled something unintelligible back as her face turned a bright shade of red. That lube had been cold! To make matters worse he was already three knuckles deep by the time the words, “I’m going to count to three first,” made it to her brain thanks to the lag. The woman’s eyes widened in understanding. “Let me guess, new recruit physical?”
“How did you know?” Sasha asked as they slowly walked down the hall together.
“I can see it in your eyes.” She joked.
“I feel so violated.”
“Welcome to the government.” |
My Temp job is over! I have free time which means more writing! Woo! A new Chapter to start the new year!
The Sphere ch 20
Sasha craned her neck this way and that as the woman, who introduced herself as Valerie, took her on a tour. It was a little difficult at first with the lag and the fact that the woman sounded bored, but the two made it work. There were dorm rooms, a mess hall, sickbay, training rooms, classrooms, and a few computers you could use to contact the outside world. “Don’t expect a quick response,” Valerie told her.
“What’s in there?” Sasha asked motioning towards two large double doors at the end of the mess hall. With the wave of her hand, Valerie motioned for her to follow as the two ventured into what Sasha assumed to be the kitchen. It wasn’t like any kitchen Sasha had ever seen before. Normally kitchens stocked silverware, a few pots, and capsules. She had never seen so many different things before. There were boxes and bags filled with strange powders, metal cans stacked on top of each other filled shelves, and the eating utensils were made for giants. “What kind of spoon is this?” she asked. It was huge! How was she supposed to fit that in her mouth?
“It’s a ladle.” Valerie explained as Sasha opened drawer after drawer examining the strange contents. There were some kind of flat squares with handles, knives the length of her arm, and other assortment of items just as strange as the next. Valerie seemed rather amused at Sasha’s curiosity, so instead of pulling her along, she stood back and observed the girl rampaging through the kitchen like the child she looked like.
“Ever seen one of these?” Valerie asked pointing to a closed door. Sasha pulled the metal handle open and walked into what she thought was a storage room. It was certainly like no storage room she had ever been in. She shivered when an icy cold blast took her by surprise and it reminded her of being nearly frozen to death in the pod. Sasha quickly decided this was her least favorite room, but her cat like curiosity propelled her forward anyway.
Plastic bags and plastic containers lined the shelving inside. Using her palm to brush away the thin coating of ice, she cleared the words on the bag in order to see its contents. Peas? And the bag next to it contained corn. Why was there food sitting in such a cold room? She found it odd that she had yet to see any capsules of any kind.
The strangest thing of all had to be the large pink object in the back hanging from the ceiling by a giant metal hook. Sasha slowly approached before sticking out her arm and lightly touching the hard frozen item. What was it? It was so big. She walked around to the other side and jumped back in surprise when she saw the mystery item had a face. A snout to be more precise. There was an entire dead pig hanging from the ceiling and she had just touched it with her bare hands.
When she turned to leave she noticed the closed steel door blocking her exit. For a split second, Sasha feared she had been locked in, left to freeze to death alone. Would they hang her dead body by a hook in this strange room as well? When she pushed it, she was relieved to find it opened as Sasha quickly and gladly exited.
“Why are there dead animals in there?” Sasha asked.
“To eat of course.” Valerie said taking in Sasha’s confused expression with amusement. The new recruits were always so clueless.
“I don’t get it. Where’s all the capsules?”
“No capsules here. We, or you guys, will cook everything.” Valerie explained. “Trust me, it tastes better anyway.”
“Cook?” What was going on? First the manual exam and now this? This wasn’t high tech! This was primitive!
“They’ll explain everything in the orientation.”
While Valerie walked her through the vast campus to the auditorium, Sasha’s head spun. Her? Cook? She could barely boil capsules without setting the house a blaze! Something else was nagging at her though so she decided to speak up.
“I thought this was virtual reality. Why would we cook if we don’t need to eat?” she asked almost jogging in order to keep stride.
“It’s a little different here. This isn’t your typical virtual reality dive. Instead of your consciousness projecting into your avatar, your body is now completely synced. Whatever your body would need to survive, so will your avatar.” Valerie explained.
“But I thought they were putting nutrients in the water and stuff.”
“They are, but because this is so immersive, your mind believes this is your physical body. Everything you do as a person, you’ll do as an avatar here: eat, sleep, etc. And, well, we may have digitally tweaked a few things here and there to make it more real.” Valerie added at the end dismissively.
“What? What did you change!?” Sasha asked. She didn’t really like the sound of being digitally altered.
“Like you already noticed, your inventory is missing. You can no longer equip and un-equip items. Your messenger has been disabled, except in the event a high-ranking official wishes to reach you. Basically, you can receive, but not send. You also need to stay in designated zones at all times. Sundays are free days and you may leave campus, but you need to stay within the city limits. Everyone in this city is under the drugs influence. It would obviously cause a commotion if you were to mix with the general public.”
“Why? What would happen?” Sasha asked. Would people try to rob her or something? Hold her at gunpoint to try and get some?
“It’s more for their safety than yours. We didn’t use to have this rule, but a few cadets thought it would be funny to play a few pranks, and, well, some people didn’t take too kindly to it.” Valerie explained. Sasha had no idea what she was talking about. What kind of pranks?
“Did the lag freak people out or something?”
“Lag? There’s no lag, here I’ll show you what I mean.” Valerie said.
Sasha followed along in silence, as she was lead around a few corridors and out a side glass door. They stepped out into a large patio area with metal picnic benches surrounded by flowers and plants of all kinds. It was certainly relaxing and very pretty. Sasha could even smell them from where she stood as she breathed deeply from her nose. Still, she wasn’t quite certain why Valerie had taken her here.
“It’s nice.” Sasha said after glancing around. What exactly was she supposed to have understood by coming here? She stood awkwardly in place waiting for something to be revealed to her.
“Look to your right.” Valerie said pointing towards a palm tree. Sasha looked around in the general area still not understanding until she walked closer and noticed a hummingbird. It seemed to be floating mid-air, unmoving until 20 seconds later, it very slowly batted its wings. Sasha stared at it in stunned silence. “A hummingbird flaps its wings 50 times per second. This is the best representation of how fast you’re moving right now. In the time it takes to blink, a room could be turned upside down. Items stolen right from under peoples noses, you get the idea.”
“The lag was starting to take effect before I was sent here. The drug affects your real body, so can you move this fast in reality?” Sasha couldn’t help but ask.
“No, it only speeds up your mind. You would go crazy if you tried to move in the real world. Imagine only being able to take a single step per hour. The production of this drug is banned not because of money or monopolization, but because of the risks. There’s a pretty dark backstory from its trial stages.” Valerie said.
Sasha wanted to ask what it was, but she was distracted when her attention was shifted to the pond in the center of the courtroom. “Grab a hand full of water and throw it in the air.” Valerie instructed. Sasha was immediately in awe. Hundreds of droplets of water hung suspended in the air. She guided them along with her fingers and palm as it very slowly drifted back down into the pond. She did it again and again until Valerie had to drag her back inside, but not before being instructed to bring in a handful of water with her. When Sasha threw it in the air this time, it immediately fell to the ground with a splat.
“The campus and town is programmed to keep up with us. We call that area the Slow Room. We use it to show how time is altered here compared in the rest of the Sphere.” Valerie explained as they walked by and continued the tour.
There was a sensation Sasha hadn’t expected to feel in virtual reality that suddenly snuck up on her mid-tour. I have to do that here too? Sasha thought with an annoyed sigh. She’d have to ask Valerie to pause the tour for her if they came across a bathroom on the way. She had just gone before being sent in, but it was like she said, time worked differently here. She guessed this is what she gets for playing in the water. This was an entirely new situation to her. She’d never had to pee in virtual reality before, although this was also her first full dive. Was this normal for full dives or was this something they had tweaked to make it more realistic? She was fine for now though, just a sudden realization.
As the tour went on though, Sasha couldn’t help but notice not once did they ever pass by a bathroom. She found it a little odd, but thought nothing of it until the sudden realization turned into a nagging problem. She fidgeted and squirmed through half the tour. Right when she was about to bring it up, Valerie opened and a door and announced that they’d made it to the main auditorium where she should wait until further instruction.
Sasha looked around the room a bit surprised. The room held scattered incoming cadets, but the strange part was they all seemed to be moving at different speeds. Some people were already in perfect synchronization, while others were so much slower, Sasha could probably head back to the kitchen, make herself a sandwich and return by the time they could complete a single sentence.
“Sending people here isn’t an exact science yet.” Valerie said as Sasha nodded her head in understanding. Communicating was going to be difficult until everyone was on the same wave length. While there was still a slight lag between herself and her tour guide, it had greatly improved over the two hour hike across the grounds.
“Hey, where’s the ba-“ Sasha started to ask, but stopped mid sentence when she realized Valerie had already left and closed the door behind her. Great. She’d just have to hold it until someone could tell her.
“Hey, you made it.” Sasha heard from behind her. She smiled widely at the familiar sight of green hair. At least now she didn’t have to stand awkwardly by herself. She could stand awkwardly next to someone else.
“How’d getting sent here go?” Sasha asked with a grin.
“Fine?” Crystal said confusion written across her face. Sasha’s smile fell. How’d she always end up with the short end of the stick in these kinds of situations? “Did something happen?”
“You mean you didn’t almost freeze to death and then spontaneously combust?” Sasha asked. Why would they do that to her and not Crystal as well? Didn’t they have to lower her body temperature too?
“That was terrible.” A new voice said joining them. Arnold-Anthony approached flicking his blonde hair out of his eyes with a twist of his head. “I thought my balls were going to recede back inside of me.” He said with a shudder.
“There’s a mental picture I needed.” Crystal said sarcastically.
“Pretty sure I’m sterile now.” Another guy said joining their circle. “Poor little guys.” He said giving his front a pat.
“If that wasn’t bad enough, nothing says welcome like a finger up the ass.” Sasha said joining in.
“Umm…” All three said giving her strange looks.
“You mean you guys didn’t get probed?” She asked as they all grimaced and shook their heads. “Son of a bitch.”
“You shouldn’t have hid so many weapons during the testing phase.” Crystal said with a sympathetic grimace. “I got the contraband talk, but I didn’t get the finger wave.” Sasha let out a string of profanities.
The group talked for a bit comparing experiences of being sent here, while Crystal had suddenly gone oddly quiet seemingly lost in thought. Sasha tried to ask what was wrong, but Crystal merely waved it off and replied that it was nothing. She seemed to mostly keep to herself while they discussed what their real life was like until Sasha recounted her experience with the laser raptors with penis vision. While Arnold-Anthony and the guy, who had introduced himself as David, laughed Crystal finally spoke up.
“That was really dumb of you, you know?” She said startling the group.
“I-I guess.” Sasha said a bit taken a back by her friends’ sudden outburst.
“You can’t just trust someone you’ve never met to put you into a un-approved and un-tested mod. What if he sent you into some kind of black market game?”
“Or worse, one with ponies.” David said as Arnold-Anthony snorted in laughter.
“He wouldn’t have done that.” Sasha mumbled ignoring David’s comment.
“What makes you so sure? You had just met him! You’re too trusting.” Crystal said.
“You sound just like my brother.” Sasha grumbled.
“So, wait, other than when they implanted you, this is your first full dive?” David asked. Sasha nodded her head. “Wow, so how are you liking it?”
“Other than the physical exam…” Sasha grumbled, “It’s cool. I have to check if I’m me, or my avatar just to make sure. It feels so real!” She exclaimed dancing in place.
“You okay?” Crystal asked. “You look like a little kid that has to- oh.”
“No one said anything about having to pee in virtual reality.” Sasha whispered with a grimace. “Anyone know where the bathrooms are around here?”
“There aren’t any.” David said with a smirk elbowing Arnold-Anthony lightly in the ribs.
“What do you mean there aren’t any?” Sasha asked worried. Did they lock all the cadets in here? She couldn’t hold it forever…
“It’s virtual reality, there’s no bodily fluid in virtual reality.” David continued.
“But I kinda have too…” She said trailing off.
“I guess you wouldn’t know since this is your first full dive after all” Arnold-Anthony said joining in.
“Know what?” Sasha asked. What was she supposed to do if there were no bathrooms? Did something go wrong in the process getting here? Was she not supposed to have to pee? What if she was the only one who had bodily functions here?
“Your avatar’s linked. It’s your real body that has to go, not your avatar.” David said watching with amusement as Sasha tried to process it. “You just go. Nothing’s going to come out. Like I said, there’s no bodily fluid in virtual reality. Obviously you wouldn’t in a regular full dive, but our bodies are in tanks of water for a reason.”
Sasha thought about it feeling a bit puzzled. It made sense in a way if her body and avatar were now connected.
“See, watch I’ll go first.” Arnold- Anthony said closing his eyes as his face relaxed for a few seconds as he let out a small breath of air. “See? Nothing came out.”
“Oh ok.” She said now more convinced and as she closed her eyes and relaxed.
“No, Sasha, don’t!” Crystal yelled, but it was already too late. Sasha’s eyes sprung open in a panic as she felt moisture spreading down her pant leg.
“You’re right, she is too trusting. Bathrooms down the hall to your right.” David said with a smirk patting a stunned Sasha on the shoulder before the two men took off snickering. “I can’t believe she fell for that.” Was heard as he turned down the hall and left.
“Wha?” Sasha mumbled too stunned to stop the flow as it continued down her legs and into her socks before finally stopping.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
“What did I just get done telling you?” Crystal said sighing as she leaned against the closed bathroom stall.
“W-why..didn’t…you say any-anything?” Sasha managed to choke out. She sat on the closed toilet seat lid trying to come to terms with what had just happened. How could she have made such an idiot of herself on her very first day?
“I didn’t think you would actually fall for it.” Crystal admitted cringing at the choking sounds coming from the closed door behind her. “Look, I’m sorry, don’t cry.”
“I’m not!” Sasha lied, her voice catching in a high-pitched squeal at the end. How could she let this happen? How could she sit here and cry like a weakling? She wasn’t Becca now; she was Sasha! Sasha was supposed to be tough, strong, and didn’t take crap from anyone! Sasha wasn’t supposed to cry in locked bathroom stalls with wet pants. Except here she was sobbing uncontrollably like the little girl she looked like. She was being so very…Becca right now.
She heard Crystal sigh and the sound of leaving footsteps echoed as she exited the bathroom. Great, now her only friend had left her. What was she supposed to do? This jumpsuit was the only thing she had to wear now that her inventory was empty. She supposed she could just hide in here until it dried, but she cringed at the thought of wearing it that long. And what about the smell? Would digital pee smell? She bent over and sniffed. Yes, digital pee still definitely smelled like pee. She held her breath as she heard someone enter the bathroom.
“C’mon, Sasha, let’s go.” Crystal’s voice said.
“Go where?”
“I talked to the lady from earlier, she said there’s some showers and a washing machine in the dorm building. She gave me the key to your room to give to you. She also said since there’s a guy that’s still an hour a way from syncing that you have enough time to get cleaned up before orientation starts.”
“What’s a washing machine?” Sasha asked unlocking the door and stepping out of the stall while wiping her nose on the sleeve of her jumper.
“Beats me.” Crystal said with a shrug. “Shall we go find out?” |
The Sphere chapter 21
“Nope. Not going to happen.” Sasha said flatly while swiping her arms out in front of her for emphases like an umpire shouting “safe!” It had taken all of five seconds for her mind to go from this is so gross to I can live with this.
“I don’t get it.” Crystal said looking from the small girl in front of her to the shower room.
“There’s no stalls!” Sasha said pointing franticly inside the tiled room. Shower heads hung from various parts of the walls in the open space just a few feet past the locker room where the two girls stood.
“Is that not normal?” Crystal asked.
“Of course that’s not normal! I don’t know where you live, but where I’m from, there’s this thing called privacy.” Sasha said with a scowl.
“Then take one now before anyone else comes.”
“But, but there’s no-“ Sasha mumbled unable to win against that logic.
“Besides, what are you, like, nine or ten? You picked an avatar that hasn’t even gone through puberty.”
“I’m eighteen!”
“You don’t look eighteen.”
“I like to keep my avatar young because people will never take me seriously.” Sasha explained as she set the clean clothes down on the wooden bench along with the bag of toiletries that they had found waiting for her inside her room.
“And people are going to take you seriously as a little kid how?” Crystal asked.
“They’re not, that’s the point. In the back of peoples minds, whether they realize it or not, there’s always a part of them that says, ‘Oh look, a little girl. I should go easy on her.’ “
“Sneaky.”
“Exactly.” Sasha said as she sat on the bench and began unlacing her boots. “Ugh, gross.” She said tipping one of them over as a few drops of pee trickled out. “Turn around.” She said before stripping out of her wet clothes. “What do I do with these?” She asked after covering herself with a white towel she found in one of the lockers.
“The lady said to wash them.” Crystal said when she turned to find Sasha lightly toeing a pile of soiled clothing on the floor. “I’m not touching them.”
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
“I don’t get it.” Sasha said as the two girls stared at the row of white metallic boxes in the place called the laundry room. Crystal shrugged after looking all over the foreign contraption with the strange knobs. “I wish I had my cell phone so I could do this like any sane person!”
“What do you do where you’re from?”
“Huh? What do you mean?” Sasha asked perplexed by her friends’ question. “Like how I clean my clothes in real life?”
“Yeah.”
“I just take a picture of it and store it in my computer before hitting renew.” Sasha said slowly raising her eyebrows at her. Crystal motioned for her to keep going seemingly captivated. “And then I just drag it out of my computer and back into my room. Where in the world are you from? Everyone knows that!” Crystal merely waved the question off as she continued to exam the strange contraption. Sasha just shook her head in wonder. And here she thought she lived in the middle of no-where.
“Aha!” Crystal shouted opening the lid. “A secret compartment!”
“So I just put my clothes in there?”
“I guess.” Crystal said peeking her head inside the metal drum. “I wonder what that weird thing with flaps inside is.”
“Hey, look what I found!” Sasha shouted pointing to a sign taped up on the wall. “A walkthrough! Let’s see… Adjust knob to size of load… separate like color…add soap… press start.” Sasha mumbled reading it off. “Sounds complicated.” Crystal leaned in closer as she examined the various knobs ranging from light, medium and full before turning it to light load.
“Alright, so throw them in and let’s go!” Crystal said.
“What about soap?” Sasha asked. “Will this work?” She held up a mini packaged bar of soap from her shower bag.
“I guess, it didn’t say. Just throw it in or we’re going to be late. For someone who didn’t want to shower there in the first place you sure took your sweet time.” Crystal said.
Sasha merely shrugged. “The water felt good, besides they only have towels here instead of body dryers. Just prolonging the inevitable.” She said dropping her clothes and bar of soap in before pressing start.” They both quietly stared in awe as the tub slowly began filling with water and the cylinder inside began twisting back and forth.
“Huh, so that’s how that works. Anyway let’s get going…Sasha….Sasha!” Crystal said as the younger girl stood completely transfixed. “You are way too easily amused.” She said pulling her away by the arm. “Are you sure you’re eighteen?”
…………………………………………………………………………..
What greeted Sasha in the auditorium made the Fear Simulator look like nothing more than a walk in the park. Mr. Clean stood in his black Newspaper Boy hat glaring daggers down at her when she first made eye contact with him. Clearly her little girl façade had no impact on him whatsoever. Sasha swallowed nervously and slowly backed away, but the large muscular man came barreling towards her before thrusting a wooden pole into her chest.
“Your first assignment: How to mop. Clean this mess up!” He barked at her before jabbing his beefy fingers towards a small puddle of liquid on the floor. “What are you, stupid?” Sasha stood in place mouth agape as he continued his rampage from everything ranging from how she looked to what she had been afraid of during trials. Had he been this much of an ass during the Fear Simulator? Is this what she had to look forward to for the next three years? When he said the words, “Maybe we made a mistake with you,” she almost nearly lost it. Instead she focused her attention on the funny looking stick he had given her. “What kind of person is dumb enough to even fall for something like that?” It really was a strange looking thing. “Am I going to have to babysit you the entire time?” With it’s dirty looking head of hair. “Are you even listening?”
“That’s enough.” A female voice said. Mr. Clean immediately shut up and stood up straighter. Sasha turned her head to face whoever it was that had come to her rescue. She couldn’t believe it. If her mouth wasn’t open before it was now.
“Hello, Sasha. I believe we’ve met before.” The woman said extending her hand.
“S-susan!” Sasha said stunned. What was she doing here? Didn’t she work in the hospital’s virtual reality system?
“It’s Director Aspen here.” She said. “Glad to see you made it.” She nodded towards her.
“T-thanks.”
“Is there a problem here?” She asked surveying the room.
“No, ma’m! I was just disciplining one of the new recruits! She-“ Mr. Clean said quickly stumbling over his words. Sasha couldn’t help but wonder what kind of person Director Aspen was if her presence made someone like him nervous. She didn’t understand. She had seemed so nice and caring when she had met her in the hospital. Wait, why exactly did she meet her in the hospital?
“What happened here?” The Director asked turning her attention now to Crystal.
“Sasha was targeted for a practical joke earlier based on her newness to full dives. I escorted her out to get cleaned up and we had just returned.” Crystal answered standing tall with hands to her sides.
“I-I was just about to clean it up.” Sasha added gripping the mop tightly.
“As you were then.” The director said. “When you are finished I will begin orientation.” And with that the director left as everyone let out a breath of air. Sasha was too stunned to speak after that. That lady was nothing like the person she had met before. Her mere presence caused everyone to collectively hold their breath. She hadn’t realized how tightly she had been clutching the mop until she let go and a sharp stinging caused her to look down at her bright red palms.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Orientation covered a lot of the same things the tour had. No one was to leave the city limits. Everyone worked rotating shifts between cleaning and cooking when they weren’t in classes or field training. The nice part was at least everyone got their own room. The way things had been going today Sasha half expected to have to share a small space with six other people. Sure the room was small with only a dresser and single twin sized bed, but having that small space to call her own would make all the difference. That was until after orientation…
“We seem to have made a mistake.” The lady handing out room assignments told her with a grimace after having gone back and forth between the list and checking with the higher ups.
“What do you mean?” Crystal asked suspiciously as Sasha stood off to the side listening.
“We’ve…miscounted. There seems to have been a clerical error made and we…well…don’t have a room for you.” The lady admitted. “It appears there was a miscount of the incoming cadets.”
“What do you mean you don’t have a room for me?” Crystal asked dumbfounded.
“I’ve been told by the director to put you in Sasha’s room for the meantime.” Sasha’s head spun at the mention of her name. “We’ll get you an extra pillow and blanket for you.”
“Sharing a room? Have you seen how tiny those rooms are? Where am I supposed to sleep? There’s only one bed!”
“I’m sorry,” She responded with an un-caring shrug. “You two will have to figure out sleeping arrangements in the meantime.” So much for getting her own room. A sudden commotion snapped Sasha from her thoughts.
“Umm…whoever was using the laundry room… you might want to come look at this.” A cadet wearing a green uniform said after running into the room. Sasha and Crystal exchanged worried looks before following them into the laundry room.
……………………………………………..
The room was completely covered in suds, so much so that you couldn’t even see the floor. The washing machine they had been using was bouncing up and down spitting out foam from its open lid. The girls silently looked upon the mess with sinking feeling in the pits of their stomachs only to be worsened by the sounds of the heavy foot falls of Mr. Clean himself.
“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED IN HERE?” He yelled.
“My fault.” Sasha squeaked out of her now completely dry mouth.
“Of course it was.” He said with a sigh. “I believe you already know how to use this.” He said once again thrusting the mop in front of her face.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
“We…made…it.” Sasha panted out as they reached the door of their now shared room. “I just want to go to sleep and put this horrible day behind me!”
“Who would have thought washing machines had its own separate kind of soap.” Crystal said plopping down on the bed. “They probably should have specified that in the directions.”
“How was I the only one who got stuck with remedial lessons? No fair.” Sasha pouted eyeing the occupied bed before sighing. “You helped me today. I guess you could take the bed for the first night.”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
“Hey, Crystal, you still awake?” Sasha asked from her spot on the floor.
“Hmm?’ Came the half dead response.
“What’s your name?”
“…Crystal…?”
“No, I mean your real name. My name’s Becca Strokes.”
“You know it’s anonymous for a reason, right?”
“Well, I just thought since we’re going to be spending a lot of time together…”
“My name’s Crystal. That’s all you need to know.” Came the curt response. What was with her? She was just trying to be friendly. Why was she so secretive?
“Fine, Crystal, where are you from?” Sasha asked rolling over to face the bed.
“Go to sleep, Becca.”
“I can’t. The grounds too hard.” Sasha complained. “I can’t get comfortable. It’s too cold and-“
“Okay, fine!” Crystal groaned, holding up an end of her blanket and scooting over to the very edge of the bed. “Don’t you dare touch me though. If I wake up and you’re not on your side I’m pushing you over the edge.”
“Thanks.” Sasha said climbing into the tiny offered space on the bed. “So much better.” She said getting comfortable. “So what’s your name?”
“Go to sleep!” |
The Sphere Chapter 22
It wasn’t fair! How did she even end up here? Sasha stifled a yawn and rested her face against her open palm squishing her cheek up towards her eye. Remedial lessons at 5’ o clock in the morning every morning this week. She wouldn’t wish this on anybody. Well, maybe on a certain pair, but certainly not on the general public.
After the events of yesterday, she was exhausted. Her muscles hurt in places she didn’t know could hurt and she wanted nothing more than to get out of this little wooden desk and sprawl out on the floor. She had spent three hours mopping the floor yesterday after the laundry room incident. She hoped she never had to see a mop for as long as she lived. Her stomach growled loudly reminding her she had been forced to work through dinner, resulting in the two of them going to bed hungry.
Sasha had been asleep mere minutes after her head hit the pillow, only to be awoken hours later by her roommate forcefully shoving her out of bed and onto the floor. She had been in a foul mood ever since. So what if she had accidentally tried to cuddle with her in her sleep? She didn’t have to push her out of bed…
Her holographic video –recorded teacher droned on in a monotonous voice lulling her to sleep. This was clearly meant as a punishment and not as an educational lecture. Shouldn’t they have been teaching her things about using this pre-historic technology instead of telling her the dates the Sphere came to be? She already proved she knew all this stuff in the interview! This was all stuff she learned in elementary school! She let out an audible moan, but the pre-recording kept droning on. Sasha was almost completely asleep when the room finally fell silent, but her eyes immediately sprung to life when the last thing she ever wanted to hear was announced.
“Class, it’s time to break out your thinking caps because it’s test time.” Could this get any worse? “An 80% or better is required in order to pass or you’ll have to return tomorrow morning and repeat the lesson.” Yes, yes it could. If she failed this, then her remedial lessons would be extended by a day. She shuddered at the thought of having to sit through this same lecture again. It should be fine though she told herself. It was kids stuff the video had gone over. So what if she was asleep for half the lesson? She doubted she missed anything of importance.
Sasha was instructed to take the test out of her desk. She hadn’t even noticed it was that kind of desk, but sure enough the top opened when she lifted it to reveal a couple pieces of paper and some pens waiting for her. If she knew this was there the whole time she could have doodled or something to pass the time, she thought with a wave of disappointment. Not like she could draw anything better than anorexic people anyway. Sitting atop of the blank pieces of paper sat a key for her to fill in the corresponding bubbles with the correct answers. It was a bit strange having to do this manually and not on a tablet, but she quickly got the hang of it.
The first ¾’s of the test was simple just as she assumed it would be. She whipped through it like it was nothing. It surprised her when she got to the last page. She scratched her head in confusion. Brain disorders? Had the video gone over this?
“What is the term for the disorder where the consciousness detaches itself from its host when the user goes into virtual reality?” Sasha read aloud. Huh? She must have fallen asleep through this part. She glanced over the choices given. One of the answers seemed to jump out at her, so without anything else to go on but a gut feeling, she marked it down on the answer key. “Oblitussui it is.” She mumbled to herself.
Is there currently a cure for this? No.
What ability of the brain does this effect? Memory.
“Wow, I totally BS’d my way through that.” Sasha said once she finished the last of the out of place questions. Now what was she supposed to do?
“Once you are finished with your test, please put your answers in your desk and it will be graded.” The hologram announced. With a shrug of indifference, Sasha put the answer key back where she found it. As soon as she closed the lid of the desk a bright light shone through the cracks for a couple of seconds surprising her. “Congratulations! You have passed! Please make your way to the mess hall and join your fellow cadets.” She breathed a sigh of relief as she stood up and stretched. She figured she must have gotten enough of the questions right to make up for the ones she just guessed on, which was pretty much the entire back page.
Another audible rumble from her stomach drew her attention away from the odd questions and back on the realization she hadn’t eaten anything since she got here. It sure was strange to feel hungry as Sasha, or well, to feel anything as Sasha.
She made her way out the now empty classroom and towards the mess hall. When she stepped through the door she found a line of cadets towards the front being handed trays full of food. With her mouth watering at the sight, she eagerly jumped in line. She eyed the trays that passed her while resisting the urge to tackle their owners to the ground for it. Just a little longer, she reminded herself. With every step closer towards the kitchen she took, more and more wonderful smells filled her nostrils. Just when she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, she was handed a tray. Sasha was tempted to grab handfuls of food and shove it in her mouth right then and there, but common sense won out in the end. After grabbing a plastic cup of coffee from a dispenser off to the side, she took the closest empty seat she could find.
Sasha stared eagerly at her prize. Scrambled eggs, O’Brian’s, bacon and toast. She quickly scooped up a fork full of eggs into her mouth. Her eyes widened in amazement. The tough spongy texture she was accustomed to was nowhere to be found. Instead it was replaced by the soft and chewy balls of yellow and white. And the taste! What was this flavor? Did eggs usually taste this good? She quickly shoveled another forkful in and then another.
“Geez slow down. It’s not going anywhere.” Crystal said setting her tray down across the table from Sasha.
“Bu’ if fo goo’!” Sasha replied with a mouthful of food sending bits of partially chewed egg flying out of her mouth in all directions.
“Didn’t anyone tell you not to talk with your mouth full? What are you, ten?” Crystal asked with a grimace flicking a bit of egg off her uniform.
“Sorry,” Sasha said after swallowing. “It’s so good though!”
“It tastes like eggs.”
“Maybe it doesn’t taste as good to you because you had to make it.” Sasha suggested.
“Hardly. They had me washing dishes the whole time and buttering toast.”
“Still beats remedial lessons.” Sasha grumbled. She’d much rather be washing dishes, whatever that meant, than sitting in that classroom.
After Sasha made quick work of her eggs, she started on the potatoes and then the toast. When she got to the bacon she let out a moan of pleasure. Never had she tasted anything quite like it. Was bacon always this crispy and delicious? She quickly shoved the entire thing in her mouth with a crunch. Whatever happened in the mornings didn’t matter as long as she had bacon to look forward to, she quickly decided. Crystal appeared to be lost in thought, spreading her food around on her tray instead of eating it, but Sasha was too lost in her meal to notice.
“How’s that going anyway?” Crystal asked. “Remedial lessons?”
“It’s very,” Sasha spoke before pausing for a moment to think about it, “remedial. It’s torture! My desk knew when I was falling asleep! My seat zapped me three times! Do you have any idea how unpleasant it is for 100 volts of electricity to shoot up your butt at six in the morning?”
“So does that mean you’d enjoy it at six in the evening?” Crystal asked with a sly grin. Sasha nearly choked on her coffee, but she had to admit she walked into that one. “Sounds like it tracks your heart rate and shocks you when it gets too low.” Crystal explained. Sasha audibly groaned. “Try and drink some caffeine or something before you go in.” Sasha nodded her head in agreement, but wasn’t about to correct her that the reason for her groan was because she finished all her food and was still hungry. She eyed Crystal’s nearly full tray greedily.
“Miss Brindey?” A voice asked. Sasha’s attention withdrew from Crystal’s food to the man pushing a cart of little white paper cups.
“Yes?” Sasha asked.
“Please allow me to scan you for medication verification.” He said as Sasha went ahead and stuck out her arm. Medication? In the Sphere? “You take Zelphitizine? 25 mg, is that correct?” He asked as Sasha nodded.
“Why do I have to take this here?” She asked looking at the little paper cup she was handed that contained the single white tablet.
“We have access to everyone’s health records and dispense their medication appropriately.”
“Is this another trick the brain kind of thing?” She asked. “If it’s not real, can’t I just not take it?” He shook his head and watched her in an intimidating way that said she wasn’t getting out of it. With a sigh she knocked the cup back and let the tablet fall into her mouth before swallowing.
“Thank you.” He said before moving on.
“Is he gone?” Sasha whispered as Crystal nodded her head when his back was turned towards her on the other side of the room. Sasha quickly spit out the pill into a napkin while making weird faces at the unpleasant taste before downing the rest of her coffee.
“You gonna explain that?” Crystal asked.
“My parents think I’m depressed or something since my brother di- moved. They made me go to a psychiatrist who gave me some anti-depressants. I don’t take them though. It’s not like I’m depressed or something.” She said with a shrug.
“Sasha,” Crystal said studying her face. “Zelphitizine isn’t an anti-depressant; it’s an anti-psychotic.” |
Crystal’s words rang in her ears while she lined up with the other cadets outside the locked steel door that was supposed to hold their first lesson of the day. Anti-psychotics? Did that mean her parents thought she was crazy? She already knew the Doctor that prescribed her that medication thought she was crazy, but still. She didn’t think something like that would end up on her record. She had purposely left out the detail that her brother was alive when interviewed by the government doctor to avoid this very predicament! They had specifically stated that people with mental problems couldn’t join. So then why did they allow her to join if they knew she was taking crazy pills? That was the real question. Did they not know what they were for? What if they found out and made her leave?
“You don’t look so good.” Crystal said snapping her out of her thoughts.
“Huh?” Sasha asked.
“You’re breathing hard. You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine!” Sasha said. Her voice came out just a pitch too high to be believable, and she noticed she had been fidgeting out of agitation the whole time. Her breath, while still quiet, came in faster and harder than normal. Was she seriously about to have a panic attack over this? Sasha didn’t have panic attacks! What the hell? She had to snap out of it, this wasn’t like her!
“You sure?”
“Yeah.” Sasha said after a moments pause sounding much more believable. Something’s happening to me. This isn’t right!
A loud buzzing sound filled the hallway they stood waiting in and the large, grey metal door slowly swung in with a heavy groan. The cadets peeked their heads in one by one before slowly filing in. When Sasha finally was able to get a good look at what lay beyond, a wide smile stretched across her face as the worries that had plagued her mind quickly disappeared.
Her eyes shone brightly as she gazed upon the wall of weaponry that hung on display just waiting for her. Rifles, pistols, laser guns, grenades, knives of all shapes and sizes were mounted around the room separated by size and type. One wall displayed energy weapons while the other housed the automatics. Now this was what she had been waiting for! She couldn’t help herself; she just had to hold one in her hands. Sasha had her eye on a particular long double-barreled shotgun, but her heart sunk when she picked it up off the mount. It was nothing but plastic!
“They’re all fake!” She complained putting the faux weaponry back on its stand.
“You think we’re going to let new recruits just grab guns off the wall?” An intimidating voice said behind her. She cringed as she slowly turned around knowing exactly who’d she’d find standing right behind her. At least he wasn’t holding a mop in his hands, she thought. “Sit!” He growled at her. Sasha gulped and quickly made her way to an empty desk.
She had been so mesmerized by the decorations; she hadn’t noticed this was a classroom. At least it was no ordinary classroom. Off to the side of the room was a large locked cage she knew just had to be an armory of some kind. Why they locked the weapons up, she had no idea. They were avatars, it’s not like they could kill anyone!
Gun safety, that’s what the class ended up being about! Gun safety in virtual reality. Sasha just wanted to cry and pull her hair out! Here she was so close she could almost tastes it, and yet here she was stuck in a desk listening to her least favorite person in the entire virtual world handling plastic figures and naming the parts. Who in the world cared? She mumbled something unintellible as she rested her face against her closed fist.
Mr. Clean’s voice droned on and on while Sasha’s eyes grew heavier and heavier. This was so boring, she thought resting her eyelids for a moment. There was a cutesy jingle coming from somewhere in the background. Something about it sounded so familiar. Was someone’s cellphone going off or- Oh! Now she remembered! That was the sound the desk made right before it was about to…uh-oh…zzzaaapppp!
“Ahh!” Sasha shouted hopping up out of her chair as she clutched her sore bottom. Once she recovered from the shock of getting her butt hairs singed off, she looked around to find every eye focused on her. Worse was the look on Mr. Clean’s face. His expression was not of anger, but of mischievous glee. A sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told her she’d probably prefer him angry.
“Well, well, well. Look whose the first to discover the H.R.D’s” He said. “This is what happens when someone falls asleep in class. Now tell me, am I boring you, Miss Brindey?” It’s a trap!
“N-no,” Sasha stuttered out nervously. Her hands were trembling as she balled them into sweaty fists by her side.
“Then why were you falling asleep?” Don’t answer him, just stay quiet. “Well?” He said sounding impatient. “I’m waiting.”
“I already know how to fire a gun!” She spat out quickly before she could stop herself.
“Oh? Are my classes too basic for you? Oh! I know! How about you show the class what an excellent marksman you already are?” Sasha remained frozen in place. What was going on? What was he doing? “Everything you see on the wall is what we have in stock. Pick one and I’ll go get it for you.” Sasha’s eyes were immediately drawn to the plastic shotgun from earlier. “Let’s make a deal. If you can hit the target, we’ll stop this boring and basic lesson. We’ll jump right into practical field drills on the firing range.”
“What if she misses?” David asked from the back of the room with a snicker. “I don’t want to suffer if her shot is anything like her IQ.” Anger was quickly replacing the fear from earlier as giggling erupted from the room. Word of her accident had quickly spread it seemed. She gritted her teeth so hard she thought they might chip.
“Hmm, let’s see,” Mr. Clean said. “We already know she can use a mop.”
“She can take over tonight’s custodial shift by herself.” A woman in the front piped up.
“Cleaning the showers by herself it is!” Mr. Clean shouted with glee before finalizing it with a thunderous clap of his large hands. Wait…didn’t she get a say in this? “Pick a weapon, Brindey, we don’t have all day.”
Pick the smallest one. Sasha blinked in confusion as she looked around the room for the speaker, but everyone remained quiet. Pick the smallest one. There it was again! A voice, as if someone was standing besides her whispering in her ear. Crystal? Sasha thought turning on her heels half expecting to see a head of green hair standing beside her, but when she looked, Crystal sat on the opposite side of the room. Sasha shrugged it off and chalked it up to her imagination. The last thing she needed was to be hearing voices on top of everything.
Sasha headed straight for the gun she had set her sights on earlier. She had the most experience with shotguns after all, so it only made sense, or so she convinced herself. She silently held up her choice. Her heart sunk a bit when Mr. Clean smiled a wide toothy grin. Why did she get the feeling this was bad news?
“That’s a man’s gun! Shouldn’t you pick a little pistol instead?” David heckled from the back.
“How did I know you’d go for a shotgun?” Mr. Clean asked ignoring David’s comment as she he reached into his pocket for his keys. Sasha gripped the toy gun nervously in her shaking hands as he opened up the cage and ducked inside. Within seconds he returned with the real thing. It was beautiful, she thought staring in awe of its long freshly polished metal barrel and sleek frame. She gingerly took it from his outstretched hands and-Oh crap! It was heavy! She hadn’t accounted for this thing having weight!
She looked at the gun in her hands and then back up at him. Should she admit she made a mistake in her selection and choose something lighter? No, she couldn’t do that! Her pride was on the line here; she’d just have to compensate for the weight. The shotgun probably looked almost comical in her tiny arms. It looked almost as big as she was!
“So where’s the target?” Sasha finally asked. With a snap of Mr. Cleans fingers, the room immediately changed before her eyes. No longer were the students in desks, but sitting in the floor in the middle of an indoor gun range. The cadets quickly stood and got out of the way.
“I believe you already know how that works.” He said directing her towards the corner of the room. There the familiar patterns on the floor instructed her to stand in front of the scanner. She gulped knowing what it was about to do. Please, aliens or robbers or something! Anything but- the class collectively let out a howl of laughter letting her know exactly what had happened. Stupid brain scanner! A single orange pony stood smiling menacingly on the other end of the range. “It helps encourage accuracy when the thing the person fears the most is the target.”
The class collectively giggled again remembering her fear test. She let out a sigh and stood facing her target. Sasha held the shotgun up and tried her best to aim, but her trembling arms weren’t used to the weight. No pressure, she thought breathing in and out. The last things she remembered were pulling the trigger, the deafening blast and hurtling backwards towards the ground before blacking out.
……………………………………………………………………………………………
Sasha slowly opened her eyes to find herself lying naked on the same exam table that had previously healed her back the day before. Warmth radiated through her extremities from the table underneath her.
“Our first casualty has awoken!” the doctor announced. Sasha slowly sat up once the table clicked off to find Crystal sitting in a chair across from her looking her up and down. Sasha let out an “eep” and tried to cover herself, but the older girl merely rolled her eyes. “You’ll get over it in a week tops.” He said with a chuckle. “There’s always one of you overly modest types.” Sasha winced at being reminded she had to shower in front of everyone. She skipped a shower this morning after chickening out in the locker room full of naked women.
“What happened?” Sasha finally asked.
“You played right into Barkley’s hands.” Crystal said with a wince. “He knew you’d never handled a real weapon before outside a partial dive. You weren’t in the proper stance so the re-coil sent you flying.”
“I take it I didn’t make it?” Sasha asked as disappointment crashed over her like a wave.
“Well, that’s the shocker. You hit the target right between the eyes.”
“Yes!” Sasha said with a fist pump to the air. “Wait, what else happened?”
“When you fell, you sort of managed to shoot yourself in the foot.”
“I shot myself in the foot!?” Sasha asked looking at both her perfectly normal feet. “Did I hit my head too? Why’d I pass out?”
“You fainted at the sight of your own blood.”
Sasha grumbled. “Did I really shoot myself in the foot though? It looks fine to me.” Crystal stood and began pulling a boot covered in blood out of the trashcan before handing it to her. “Woah!” Sasha said staring at the gaping hole through the top. She really did blast a hole in her foot.
“Good thing we have this.” The doctor said patting the table. “It’ll fix any injury you got.”
“Can I have my uniform back, please? It’s a little chilly.” Sasha asked.
“Err, well, it’s in the trash.” Crystal said as she made eye contact with the doctor. “Since we had to throw your boots away, we tossed the uniform away as well since it had blood on it. I’ll get you another one from our room.” Sasha narrowed her eyes suspiciously. That logic made no sense! She hopped off the table and stuck her arm in the trash before retrieving her uniform. Blood covered the bottom left pant cuff, but what caught Sasha’s attention was the giant wet patch down both the inside of the legs. “You may have also wet yourself on the landing.” Crystal finally admitted.
“And your friend still carried you here on her back.” The doctor said with a grin.
“Berkley also told me to tell you when your better, you know what to do.” Crystal said jabbing her thumb in the corner of the room to the awaiting mop. |
Chapter 24
“Thank you,” Sasha said softly while Crystal and herself walked side by side down the hallway. She was so embarrassed she could barely get the words to come out. In less than 24 hours Sasha’s confidence had all but vanished, leaving her feeling synonymous with the little girl she resembled.
Something about this entire situation was different. When Becca went into the Sphere it was like she could become someone else, even if it was just an act. Of course she knew Becca was Sasha and vice versa, but it was still nice to pretend. That was the beauty of the Sphere. On the days you can’t even bring yourself to look in the mirror, you could log in and be someone different. In the Sphere, you could be anyone you wanted to be, but in this place something was off. She couldn’t hide behind the mask that was Sasha. How many years had she spent perfecting her tough girl image only to have it shatter in the presence of another avatar?
That’s it! That’s all Barkley was! He was just someone else’s avatar. All she had to do was picture some scrawny 40 – year- old virgin living in his mother’s basement. She smiled as a flicker of hope danced in her eyes.
“What do we have next?” Sasha asked.
“Conditioning, since we missed psychology.”
“What? How long was I out for?”
“About two hours.”
“Oh.” Sasha said trying her best to try and hide the smile that had begun growing across her face.
“What?”
“You carried me over and stayed there for two hours?”
“I-it wasn’t like that.” Crystal grumbled red faced while she tried to play it off. “I was just going to leave you there, but the doctor was on his lunch break.”
“Uh-huh, sure.”
“…But when he came back he said he didn’t want your dirty clothes on the table. When he tried to undress you, you took a swing at him in your sleep so I had to stay and hold you down.”
“Sure I did.”
“…and Barkley was pissed, so It’s not like I really wanted to go back there anyway.”
“Tsundere.”
“Shut up! Eh? Don’t touch me!” Crystal grumbled staring away.
“Thank you, I mean it.” Sasha whispered clinging on.
“D-don’t mention it. Now can you get your head out of my chest?” Crystal said forcefully pushing her off.
“Not my fault you’re so tall!”
“I’m only 5’5! I’m not tall; you’re just really short! Now c’mon, midget, Barkley’s going to be pissed if we’re late.”
“I’m not a midget!” Sasha complained crossing her arms.
“Fine, would you prefer little girl?” Crystal teased patting her head condescendingly. “Seriously though, what were you thinking back there grabbing a shotgun bigger than you are? Ever heard of recoil?”
“Now I have.” Sasha mumbled. “You want to hear something really weird? I could have sworn I heard a voice telling me to pick something small.”
“That’s the voice of common sense; you should probably listen to it.”
“No, I’m serious! It’s like someone was standing right next to me whispering in my ear.”
“Out loud?” Crystal asked. Her teasing smirk fell into a frown as Sasha nodded her head. “Look, just, do yourself a favor and never mention that again.”
“Why not?” Sasha asked puzzled.
“This place, it…” Crystal sighed trying to find the best way to put this. “Mental illnesses… just don’t talk about it! Hearing voices is never a good thing; they might think the stress is too much for you.”
“It was just my imagination.” Sasha said, but remained quiet the rest of the way there.
That’s right, she thought remembering her mental evaluation. “We can fix the body, but we can’t fix the brain.” Was what they told her. “We only accept candidates of sound mind.” Would they kick her out if they knew she had heard something? It was only one time though! It was as Crystal said, best keep it to herself at this point. It was a good thing she lied and said Brian was dead. But there was still that one question nagging her in the back of her mind. Why did they let her join if they knew she was taking anti-psychotics?
Sasha had to bite down on her fist to keep from letting out an audible groan when the door swung open. Barkley again? How many classes did Mr. Clean teach? It took her a second to realize she was standing outside the very same door they had had gun safety in. This must be his classroom, she thought.
“Brindey!” He shouted when he made eye contact with her. She jumped slightly and took a step back. “Where’s your mop?” He barked at her. She cringed as she realized she had forgotten it.
“In the infirmary.”
“Get it and clean this mess up!” Sasha immediately turned tail and made a beeline straight back from where she came. “Faster! We’re waiting on you!” Sasha quickened her pace as she chanted in her head, 40-year-old virgin 40-year-old-virgin.
Once she was done cleaning up another puddle of her bodily fluid, she stood in place feeling awkward as she looked for somewhere to put the mop. When no one told her what she was supposed to do, she leaned it against a corner of the room and headed to join the other cadets.
“Nu-uh.” Said Barkley. Sasha looked up at him unsure of what she was supposed to do. “That is your mop now; I think it’s fair to say you’ve claimed it as your own. Keep it with you at all times because I have a feeling you’ll be using it again real soon. “ Sasha stood in place feeling dumbfounded. Did he really expect her to carry a mop with her everywhere she went? The look on his face answered her question so with an inaudible sigh; she dragged it with her to stand in line with the other cadets.
“What are you doing? Put it in your inventory!” He said in a tone that asked, Are you stupid? She shrunk back feeling every bit as small as she looked and gripped the mop tightly as if it would protect her from anything he could dish out. She opened up her menu and tried to put it away, but an error message displayed saying her inventory had been locked.
“I-I can’t!” she stuttered. Her knees buckled as her body trembled under his glare.
“What do you mean you can’t?” He asked getting in her face. Sasha gulped as he bent down to stare into her eyes. “Everyone knows how to put something in their inventory! How did you even get accepted here? I guess we’re just taking anybody these days!” Hot moisture burned behind her eyes as she tried her best to fight the tears that were forming. Her chest tightened to the point that every intake of air caused her pain. Her breathing became heavier and quicker with every breath. Not now, please not now! “Go home, you don’t belong here.” He whispered so only she could hear. She stood in place wide-eyed as blood rushed into her face. She wasn’t sure if her body wanted to run away or smack him upside the head with her pee and blood soaked mop.
“Our inventories are locked, sir.” Crystal’s voice spoke up from somewhere down the line.
“Was I talking to you?” Barkly shouted with his head now turned towards her. Crystal stood up straight with a blank expression on her face seemingly un-phased as he approached her. “What’s your name?”
“Crystal, sir.”
“No, your last name!”
“I don’t have one, sir”
“What do you mean you don’t have one?” He asked turning on his Sphere Vision to see her stats. “Why didn’t you give your avatar a last name?”
“I don’t know, I just didn’t I guess.” Crystal said calmly.
“Well, what’s your real last name?”
“I don’t know, sir”
“What do you mean you don’t know? Show me your chip!”
“I don’t have one.”
“Give me your arm!” Barkley shouted grabbed Crystal’s wrist and sliding his palm over the area that should have housed her chip. “What the hell?” He grabbed her other wrist and repeated the process. “You’re a fake! Wait until the directo-“
“The director invited me here.” Crystal said. “And I’m not a fake!” She said clearly taking offense to that.
A light seemed to click on in Barkley’s eyes as he let go of her wrists. “So you’re the special exception I heard about. You have five seconds to give yourself a last name or I’m calling you Loud Mouth for the rest of your time here.”
“Uhh, I’ve never really thought abo-“
“Five, four, three…”
“Kisara!” Crystal blurted out.
“Alright, Loud Mouth, what were you saying about the inventory?” He said ignoring her. Crystal’s eye twitched in annoyance. “You’re right, definitely not a fake.” He said more to himself. “Interesting.”
“Sasha can’t put the mop away because our inventories are locked for incoming cadets.” Crystal explained.
“Why didn’t you just say so?” He said staring back at Sasha, who had been quietly watching the scene unfold with great interest. Barkly made a black marker appear in his hands, before tossing it to Sasha. “It’s special ink. Write your name on the mop and it will over ride the rule.” She quickly did as she was told and soon the mop vanished out of her hands and into her inventory. When Barkley’s head was turned she quickly pocketed the marker. Tonight, when she free time, she was writing her name on a change of clothes and keeping them with her.
“Everyone take your boots off and put them over in the corner.” He ordered. Sasha inwardly moaned. It had taken her so long to lace them up and now she had to take them off not more than 20 minutes later. She bent over and unlaced the first one before hoisting her leg up into her hands as she tried to yank it off while hopping up and down on one foot. When she managed break free from the confines of the heavy boot she fell backwards and landed on her butt. What should have been a painful landing was somehow broken by something oddly soft and foamy.
Sasha looked down to see what she had landed on. She was surprised to see the once concrete floors had been replaced with soft white padding. She had been so pre-occupied with her boot she hadn’t noticed the change in scenery. The gun range was gone, and in its place all the cadets stood in a white padded room. Everything was cushioned from the floors to the ceiling; even the walls. All that was missing were the straight jackets.
“I’ve been told by the director to go easy on you since it’s your first day and all.” Barkley said rolling his eyes. “So all you have to do is get from one side of the room to the other and back. I don’t care how you do it: walk, run, crawl or skip. Just touch the other side of the wall, come back and then you’re free until after lunch.”
Sasha’s heart skipped a beat. Free time? There was still two hours left until lunch! She had expected conditioning to be hell, especially with Barkley leading the class, so why did this seem so easy? There had to be a catch.
“This is a gravitational belt.” Barkley said interrupting her train of thought as he held up a piece of black cloth. “You’ll each be wearing one during every work out. Cinch it around your waist and a menu will pop up with a number. Everyone sets their belts to 1.35 unless I say otherwise. Go get them!” He said pointing to a rack that appeared.
Sasha picked one up and held it in her hand. The material was lightweight and the clip was similar in design to a car seat belt. Once she had it fastened around her waist she touched the button in the middle, which glowed a bright blue in response. Arrows on the screen directed her to slide her fingers in a counter clockwise motion in order to increase the resistance. The resistance of what, she wasn’t quite sure. Was the belt supposed to get heavier or something?
A sudden yelp stole her attention and directed it to the middle of the room. One of the guys who hung out with David, Andrew she thought was his name, was lying flat on the ground pinned by an invisible force. He screamed in such a way all the hairs on Sasha’s neck stood straight up. She had never witnessed something quite like it before, and judging by the reactions of everyone else, neither had they. Everyone stood in place, as Andrew lay motionless from the neck down. All except for his head, which thrashed from side to side as he screamed for help.
“IT HURTS!” He screamed as if every bone is his body was breaking. Judging by the way his limbs were caving in, they were. The look in his eyes gave Sasha the creeps, but she stood still completely transfixed and watched with horror as he coughed up blood.
“Damn it! I told you not to raise it higher than 1.05!” Barkley yelled over the boys’ screams. “Nobody get close to him or you’ll be in the same boat!” He thrust his arm towards the clip on the boys’ waist, but when he was just a mere two inches from the device, his hand stopped moving. His eyes watered as his face turned a dark maroon and his face contorted from pain, but with a grunt he pushed forward despite the crack crack crack of his fingers breaking one by one. Ever so slowly his hand crept forward until it finally made contact, before his arm fell limp to the ground.
“Somebody get the doctor.” He said quietly. Andrew lay still spread-eagled, but no longer screaming. She wasn’t even sure if he was still breathing. Blood poured from his open mouth and dripped down his nose. Everyone remained frozen in place while Barkley panted from exhaustion.
Sasha was relieved when the doctor came and announced he was still alive. He ordered a few cadets to carry Andrew to his office and he’d be good as new. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they remembered where they were. It was virtual reality, it’s not like they could die, right?
“You should come too.” The Dr. told Barkley after seeing his hand hanging awkwardly by his side. Barkley tried to fight it, but the Doctor wasn’t having any of it. Sasha could already see the swelling in his wrist and hand. She was also pretty sure fingers weren’t supposed to bend that way. What the hell were these things?
“The belts can manipulate the gravitational force around you from your neck down. I better not see a single one you turn them on ‘cause I sure as hell am not gonna stick my last good hand in and save your ass.” Barkley said as a parting shot before he left. Sasha gulped nervously as she stood in place and watched them leave out of sight. Just how high did Andrew set his too?
“That guy seriously needs to get laid.” David said breaking the silence once they were out of earshot. Sasha forced herself to keep a straight face-even if she did find it kind of funny. She wasn’t going to give that dick the satisfaction of making her laugh.
“I don’t think I want to touch this thing after seeing what happened to Andrew.” One girl said. The group quickly agreed and stood talking amongst themselves.
“So why did you want to join?” A girl by the name of Jasmine asked. Everything about her reminded Sasha of the Disney princess of the same name. From the way she looked to the way she moved. Even the smallest of movements seemed dignified and graceful and could be easily set to music.
“The money mostly.” David replied with a shrug. Sasha frowned as they went around the room discussing why they were here. After hearing their answers, she couldn’t help but wonder how these people got in. They were all the same; if it wasn’t the money they were after it was about power and glory.
“What about you?” Someone asked. “I’m not really sure what your name is. I’ve only heard you get called Brindey.”
“It’s Sasha,” she replied. “At first I just wanted to help keep the Sphere safe, but now I’m here for answers.”
David rolled his eyes. “How noble of you.” He said with a snort. Sasha clenched her fists together as she tried to ignore him as best she could.
“Sorry if I sound like I’m prying, but what was up with your fear test? Ponies?” Jasmine asked. Sasha really didn’t want to talk about, but the five eager faces before her seemed to beg for answers.
“The first time I ever logged into the Sphere, back before the home consoles came out, an employee trapped me inside a My Little Pony game and made the NPC’s start killing each other in front of me.” She explained. Her heart was beginning to race inside her chest and her palms were wet with moisture. After all these years it was still difficult to talk about. She felt on the verge of an anxiety attack every time she was forced to relive it. The thing about P.T.S.D. is it doesn’t let you forget. Ever. Whether it was seeing some kid’s stuffed doll, or having to talk about it, it almost always came with a fresh wave of nightmares leaving her feeling just as terrified as she was when she was five. Tonight would probably be no exception. She understood it was a silly thing to be afraid of, but no matter how much she told herself it was stupid, the fear and panic were real.
“So what? You saw a few characters die when you were little and now you’re afraid of ponies? Get over it.” David said. Sasha really was about to pound his face in. Her little body trembled with anger as she clenched her fists and began pulling back, but a hand on her shoulder told her to cool it. She looked up to see Crystal shaking her head forcing her to try and calm down.
“What did you say about wanting answers?” Jasmine asked trying to break up the now awkward tension. Sasha paused as she tried to think of what she was going to say. She couldn’t tell them too much after all.
“Someone close to me is going through a lot of trouble by faking their death and I want to know why. Everyone but me believes they are dead. They even made a fake body and everything.”
“How do you make a fake body? What makes you so sure they’re alive?” David asked.
“Because we still talk through messages. Here, I’ll show you. They even sent me the recipe!” Sasha explained opening her messenger and projecting it out for everyone to see. “Read the conversation we had. I keep asking him if he’s okay over and over and see, he finally responded and told me he’s just laying low.” She swiped through so everyone could read them and pointed out the part about how to make a body. “See, he’s definitely alive!”
“Sasha,” Jasmine said smiling sympathetically. “You’re saying you saw him die, and that other people buried his body.”
“Yeah, but it was a fake. See, in the message he said-“
“Sasha, those messages all have the same IP address.”
“Yeah? So what? He probably just-“
“Sasha, please just stop. I can tell this person was very dear to you, but listen to yourself. These messages you showed us… you sent them to yourself.” |
Sasha remained quiet and distant all through out the rest of the class. Even during lunch she sat by herself lost in the world of her own thoughts. She moved the mashed potatoes around her plate with the fork instead of eating them. Eating at the moment seemed as unappealing as eating her moms dehydrated tuna casserole. Compared to the enthusiasm she displayed during breakfast, the sight looked downright pitiful. Instead she sat pretending not to be interested in the conversation going on at the next table over.
The rest of the cadets sat around Crystal hounding her with question after question. Crystal was none to pleased with the situation, more mildly irritated with the attention than anything, but she knew there was no way out unless she fulfilled their curiosity. It wasn’t her plan to sit with them, but as soon as she picked up her tray, she found herself surrounded from all sides.
“So you really don’t have a chip?” Jasmine asked.
“Nope,” Crystal replied between bites of meatloaf. It had taken all her willpower not to roll her eyes when David insisted on scanning her wrists as proof.
“So what does that mean?”
“I’ve been trying to figure that out for a long time. My user probably didn’t go through the proper channels when they made me.”
Sasha knew it was ridiculous, but somehow even though she had only known Crystal for less than two days, she felt a sharp sting of betrayal when she had left her to sit with the others. It was unlike her, she knew, to feel so possessive. Crystal could sit with whomever the hell she wanted, but something about her reminded her of him. It was something about the way she seemed to look out for her. Her chest tightened at the thought of Brian. She missed him more than ever right now. She knew if it was any other time she wouldn’t have cared, but the fact that Crystal had chosen to sit elsewhere after Sasha had just made a spectacle of herself spoke volumes. So now she sat alone listening in on a conversation she wasn’t invited to.
“What do you mean probably? You talk like you don’t know.”
“I don’t know,” Crystal responded with a shrug. “I only have memories as Crystal, not my real self. I have no idea who I am. The S.P.P promised to find me, but they haven’t had any luck yet.”
The term Oblitussui popped into Sasha’s head for some odd reason, but she couldn’t remember what it meant.
“So what makes you so sure you’re a real person and not an AI?” David asked. Crystal let out an annoyed sigh before answering.
“Because it’s almost impossible to control an avatar without a person behind it. You’d have to be some kind of genius or something. I’ve seen the fakes before; they’re entirely robotic. They show no emotion and their glitchy as hell.”
“But how have you gotten by all this time without a chip? There’s ID check points all over the Sphere.”
“With this.” Crystal said pulling a card out of her pocket. “It’s primitive, but it works,” She said passing over the laminated card.
“S.P.P., wait, so you already work for the S.P.P?” Jasmine asked looking over the card. “Then why are you here?”
Sasha looked up from her tray and eyed the group as they passed around Crystal’s ID card. She already worked for the S.P.P? This was news to her.
“Not officially, I do odd jobs for the director in exchange for that card. She said if I graduated, she’d look into getting me a chip.” Crystal explained.
“So this must be normal for you then, living in a full dive.” Another girl spoke, twirling her long, curly red hair in her fingers.
“Nope, this is all new to me. I’ve only been in a full dive for a couple of days.”
“So if you’ve only been in a full dive since we started, wouldn’t that mean they already got in touch with your real self in order to get the implants?” Jasmine asked.
“They said they put a device in my head that mimics the effects of the implants. I finally feel like a real person and not just a bystander watching someone from the inside all this time.”
“How sad.”
“Don’t look now, but that weird girls watching us.” David said. Sasha quickly dropped her head when all eyes turned to her.
“So does she, like, talk to dead people or something?” The red head asked.
“No,” David said with an annoyed snort, “She’s just making stuff up for attention. She sent those messages to herself.”
“I don’t think it’s for attention; didn’t you see the look on her face? I think she really thought they came from someone else.” Jasmine said.
“She told me during the testing she was upset because her brother moved. He might’ve died.” Crystal said.
“So her brother died and now she thinks he’s sending her messages? How sad!”
“That’s not sad; that’s creepy! She’s obviously messed up in the head!” David said.
“Not so loud!” Jasmine hissed at him. “She’ll hear you.”
“You should report her to the director next time you see her, Crystal, I don’t think she’s cut out for this.” The red head said. Sasha stood up so fast she sent her table forward several inches with a loud grind. Her seat fell over, but she didn’t bother picking it up. She couldn’t stand listening to them for another second. She picked up her tray and dumped her un-eaten food away.
“I’m so sorry,” Sasha heard whispered in her ear. She spun around hoping to find someone standing besides her, but she was alone except for all the eyes watching her from the other side of the room. They were much too far away for any of them to have been the cause. Great, she thought as she spun back around and left. The last thing she needed was the voices in her head feeling sorry for her. How was she supposed to defend her sanity when she wasn’t even sure herself if she was anymore?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
The green haired cadet was more than a little miffed at the people following her around. It was one thing to sit with her at lunch and dinner; another to follow her to the bathroom and showers as well. What had started as a minor nuisance had turned into a major pain in her ass. If she had to hear one more person say, “Have you tried…” or, “What if you…” she was going to put the speaker in a headlock. Of course she had already thought of all that already! Twice! It boiled down to two possibilities: she was a person suffering from a disease of the brain where her consciousness didn’t project correctly, or she was an advanced AI. She preferred to think of herself as a person; the possibility of being created was too depressing.
Crystal had never been so happy to receive a page from the director-even when it ordered her to go down to the lab. The thought of going down there was still better than staying up here with these prying people. When she excused herself from the group, they looked up at her full of awe and admiration. She had to close her eyes to keep them from rolling out their sockets. Being the directors’ pet wasn’t as glamorous as they made it out to be.
It was a pain getting down there. It took fifteen minutes just to get past all the security checkpoints. Turn left, go down the hallway, show her ID to the first guard. A nod of his head let her know she was free to proceed. Then it was through the large steel double doors, and down a second corridor, which leads to the second security checkpoint. She typed her password into the terminal. A door to her left opens to reveal the narrow, metal staircase that descended into the darkness below lit only by the red lights that casted an eerie glow. Her heavy boots on the metal staircase made her arrival known to all in the immediate area. When she made the last twist she found the door already opened for her- strange since she’d have to show the message, which summoned her to the person who answered the door, under normal circumstances. Crystal was allowed down here under direct orders and nothing else. She lacked the security clearance to come of her own free will- not that she wanted to- the place creped her out.
“Look at only what’s being shown to you,” was what she had been told her first time down here. A few trips to the fear chamber had taught her to keep her curiosity under control. “Don’t ask questions unless it involved her assignment,” was her second lesson. Machines and computers buzzed on all sides, but she kept her head straight resisting the urge to look around. She found the director hunched over a monitor showing the cadets heart rates and blood pressure, while talking with one of the many scientists. Crystal cleared her throat to let her presence be known.
“Oh, you made it; that was fast.” The director said. She stood back up and straightened her white lab coat out before motioning with her finger. “Please come with me; I want to hear your status report.” She led Crystal to a back office and offered her a small fold up chair. “I couldn’t help but notice the other subjects now know you work for me.” Crystal swallowed the lump that began forming in her throat. Her mission was to blend in; not stand out.
“Yes, I had to tell Barkley when he demanded to see my chip.” Crystal said.
“Did the others ask questions?”
“Non-stop.”
“What of your special project?”
“We haven’t spoken since she blew a hole in her foot.” Crystal said shaking her head. “ She’s different than when I first met her. She seemed more confident and collected back then, but now she seems like a different person. She says she’s eighteen, but I have a hard time believing that; she’s childish and has a hard time controlling her emotions.”
“What of the pill?”
“She spit it out when the med techs back was turned.”
“Interesting,” the director said, jotting down notes. “So she still rejects the idea that she’s ill.”
“She still thinks her brother’s alive.” Crystal said.
“Is there a chance she’ll catch on?”
“Even if she does; no one would believe her. Everyone’s beginning to question her sanity after you made it seem like she sent herself those messages.”
“What do you mean? I didn’t have anyone change anything.” The director said.
“The messages you had me send her say they came from the same IP address.”
“Interesting. I’ll talk to the techs; maybe they did something. It would explain the readings we’ve been getting. What of the others? Are they suspicious of you?”
“No, they still believe they are training to be soldiers.” Crystal said.
“Good, very well then. You may leave.”
“Have you come any closer to a cure for me?” Crystal asked.
“No, we’ll be in touch if anything changes.”
With an inward sigh, Crystal stood and exited the office. She knew little about this project, but with every new detail she learned she liked it less and less. These people had dreams and ambitions. Why were they tricking them into believing they were in some kind of special school? Would the money they made after the trials make it worth it to them? Each and every one of the “subjects” was mentally ill in one way or another; even Crystal with her memory loss. This “S.P.P” was all a hoax to lure participants, but why? Wouldn’t the offer of money be enough incentive? To cure mental illness via virtual reality was their ultimate goal, but why all the secrecy?
Crystal squinted as she reached the surface again. This was going to crush Sasha. She was the only one who believed in making a difference in the virtual world. She would be- just not the way she had hoped. When Crystal had been given her file, it said she had a mild case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. They were worried that the death of her brother might break her psych, so Crystal had been ordered to send her a few messages and hang out with her. She didn’t want to do it; she had seemed so nice when she had first met her. Crystal had even had to spend an afternoon in the fear chamber for disobeying a direct order. It wasn’t until they had threated to throw her in with the fakes had she agreed. This organization saved her from being deleted; they were all she had. She didn’t understand why they couldn’t get someone else who had PTSD. Lot’s of people had it, but the organization insisted it had to be her. So with a heavy heart Crystal had done it while reminding herself of the chip they had promised her. Once she had it she wouldn’t be stuck being the organizations dog anymore. She would be free.
……………………………………………………………………………………………..
This was all her fault, Sasha thought as she collapsed on the bed. She should have never said anything. They didn’t know Brian like she did. So what if the messages came from the same IP address. She was sure loads of people could change it. Brian could have easily made it look that way to unsuspecting eyes. She didn’t know how, but she trusted him. He had even played a game with her! That she could not have imagined!
Sasha stayed in her room alone after dinner. Crystal was god-only-knows-where. They hadn’t spoken at all since this morning. She was curious about what they had been talking about before the conversation moved onto her. How could somebody not remember who they were?
The light clicked on in her head. That was the disorder that was on her remedial test. She couldn’t imagine not remembering her life as Becca. What would it be like to wake up one day in virtual reality and not know how you got there or who you were?
Sasha rolled over and faced the door when she heard it open. She flinched seeing the deep scowl on Crystal’s face.
“I thought I’d never get them to leave me alone!” Crystal said.
“Crystal,” Sasha said, staring back at the wall, “do you-” she started to say, before stopping and letting out an exasperated sigh. “Never mind, it’s nothing.”
“You started talking, so spill.”
“It’s about the messages. Do you think I sent them to myself?” Sasha asked. Crystal visibly flinched at the mention of them. Sasha’s heart felt like it sunk into the pit of her stomach. She wanted to smack herself. What was she expecting Crystal to say, “Everyone accidently sends themselves messages and thinks they come from dead relatives?”
“What do you think?” Crystal asked, after a moment of silence.
“I think my brother’s out there somewhere looking out for me like he always does. I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said during lunch.”
“Oh, you heard that? They don’t know what they’re talking about; don’t let it get to you.”
“No, not that, the part about you not knowing who you are.”
“Oh, well, I’d rather not talk about it.”
“You talked about it with everyone else.” Sasha said under her breath, but still loud enough so Crystal could hear.
“I didn’t want to talk about it then either. Look, I just want to go to bed. I’m tired of everyone prying and adding their two cents.”
“Yeah, sure.” Sasha said. She was a bit disappointed, but she understood where she was coming from. When the lights were off and they were under the covers, she couldn’t help herself from asking, “Why have you been looking out for me? You don’t even know me that well, and I get the feeling you’re not that kind of person who looks out for everyone all the time.”
Crystal was silent for a long time; Sasha was beginning to think she had already fallen asleep. “I don’t know, maybe your little girl act works on me after all. You’re more innocent than the others. Sometimes I wonder if you are a little kid.” Crystal said, letting out a soft chuckle.
“Hey!” Sasha said.
“What’s it like to have a family?” Crystal asked. Now it was Sasha’s turn to remain quiet. The question had taken her by surprise.
“You really don’t remember, do you?”
“No, I don’t. There are so many things I’ve always wondered about. Who are my parents? How old am I? Do I have any siblings? Am I older or younger than them?”
“It has its up’s and down’s. I fight a lot with my mom, but I still love her. I got along- I mean, I get along best with my brother. I think you’d make a good older sister, you remind me a lot of him.”
“I’m so sorry,” Sasha heard whispered in her ear.
“Did you say so-“ she started to ask, but stopped when she realized Crystal was already sound asleep. |
Sorry to confuse anyone by posting this. This is a re-writing of the scene where Becca first gets her implants put in. I entered it in a contest.
18-year-old Becca Strokes skimmed through her list of available games, but none seemed all that interesting to her at the moment, so she picked a Jurassic Safari without a second thought. She just wanted to get this procedure over with. Her long black hair fell into her face, but she didn’t care. Such a minor nuisance was the least of her concerns. Her knees bounced with nervous anxiety ever since she had watched the video of what they planned to do to her. The sight of the needles about to be thrust into the back of her skull made her glad she skipped breakfast.
“Are they really going to shave my head?” She asked. She fingered her long locks in between her fingers while she looked to the person seated to her left.
“Yes, of course.” Her father said. “How else are they going to get those implants in?” His smirk appeared suspicious. She narrowed her eyes. She could hear her mother chuckle in the seat next to his. How could she have been so gullible? After all these years, and yet, she still fell for it every time. If her mother weren’t here she’d give him the bird. To her mom, it was rude and juvenile; to Becca and her father, it was just another way to say, “I love you.”
It had happened so fast. One minute she was seated in the lobby, and the next, she was strapped to the table. She wasn’t ready! The man who would perform the procedure had explained it all while they had walked through the hallway, but in no time at all, it was over. All that had stuck in her head was that his name was Tom. The only thing clearer than her nerves was his excitement.
“Do you have a sense of humor?” Tom asked. Becca wasn’t quite sure what brought this on. What about this situation could she find humor in? She was about to go in for surgery!
“Yes.”
He appeared pleased with her answer, but still hesitant. “What kind of things do you find funny?”
She had to stop and think about it for a moment. Her brain didn’t always co-operate when she was nervous.
“Probably anything that would make a 12-year-old boy laugh.”
His smile stretched across his whole face. His freckles and perfect smile made him her type, which meant there was a good chance he was gay; it just always seemed to work out that way for her. Whenever she fancied a boy; she’d find out he was gay.
“Would you like to be a beta tester for a patch I made? It’s un-official, but it would really mean a lot to me.”
How could she say no to that smile?
“Sure.”
His excitement was so contagious; she couldn’t help but smile as well. His fingers danced across the keyboard with a clack clack clack of the keys as he entered in commands. His warm, brown eyes shone with a mischievous glint to them.
“Will it hurt?” Becca asked.
“Since you’ll be in virtual reality, you won’t feel any pain. Your limbs will tingle, and then your senses will kick in. Your avatar will have all the senses you do. Trust me, once you experience a full immersion dive; you’ll never go back to a partial.”
“What about when I wake up?”
“We’ll be ready with some painkillers and a bag of ice.” He said. “Just think of how much fun you’ll have now though! Trust me, it’s worth it!”
……………………………………………………………………………………………
Becca’s avatar, Sasha, found herself propped up against a tree when she came to. She always felt a tad bit disoriented when she first woke up, so she waited a minute until she remembered where she was before she stood up. She looked around in every direction, but the thick vegetation made visibility difficult. With no trail in sight, she knew she’d have to make one. What she really needed was a machete. When Sasha raised her arm to push past some branches, a large object began to materialize in her hand. She stood in awe as she stared at her hand that now held the large sword.
She gripped her weapon as a smile spread across her face. It must have been what Tom had done. She gave it a once over before she began to slice through the branches. After a few minutes of nothing but more branches and the occasional spider web, she was surprised to come across an area that had been demolished. Large craters of upturned earth left a trail of broken trees. Sasha bent down to get a closer look as she took in the strange pattern. It dawned on her that these weren’t craters at all, but footprints. There was one dinosaur she knew of capable of leaving this kind of destruction in its wake. A T-Rex.
Sasha followed along the formed trail of now snapped and broken trees that appeared as if a bulldozer had pushed them aside with little effort, until she stumbled upon the second thing that had been modded. The smallest and most adorable looking silver tabby kitten sat in the middle of one of the impressions the T-rex had left behind.
She knelt down nearby and offered her hand to it. “Come here little kitten, can I pet you?” She asked. It hadn’t even cliqued that a cat shouldn’t have been in this pre-historic simulator to begin with.
The kitten looked up and locked its large blue eyes on Sasha. She could feel her heart melt at the sight. “F-ck off.” The kitten said before it turned around and left. It took her a full minute to regain her composure after that.
As Sasha walked along, she noticed many things that were different.. The body of a chipmunk scurried by on the hairy legs of a giant tarantula and when Sasha looked up, she frowned when she saw pegisi with snouts of pigs as it soared through the clouds. She had to hand it to Tom; he had quite the imagination. For a pre-historic simulator though, there wasn’t much in the way of dinosaurs she realized. What she wanted to see were raptors.
Sasha froze mid step when she heard the leaves rustle to her right in the area that had survived the T-rex’s stampede. When a raptor appeared, she dashed behind a fallen tree and tried to suppress her giggles. It wore a top hat, monocle and sported a handlebar mustache. What had sent Sasha over the edge though, was when it zapped a nearby tree with a laser that shot from its eyes. A frickin raptor with lasers for eyes. It was everything Sasha could ever have hoped for and then some… until she saw what happened to the tree. She had expected it to explode… instead it turned into the shape of a giant mustache, flapped its ends, and flew off into the sunset. Sasha began to wonder if illegal drugs were part of Tom’s daily regimen.
When the raptor began to approach the tree Sasha hid behind, she knew it was time to run. She threw herself out of the way just as her shield began to morph. Sasha craned her neck as she ran and saw cocoons that sprouted from the limbs of the branches. Just as soon as they appeared they began to burst open as cats with butterfly wings emerged. They spread their beautiful multi- colored wings and soared into the sky. All except for one large orange cat that was too fat. It hovered a few feet off the ground, struggling under the weight of it’s own body.
Sasha couldn’t help but stop to laugh; it was a pitiful sight to behold. The behemoth 40lb cat seemed to sense she was laughing at it. It opened its mouth and let out an ear-piercing screech that forced her to cover her ears. She felt dizzy all of a sudden. Sasha stumbled forward as she tried to get a hold of her bearings. It was as if the cat had messed with her equilibrium. She felt off balance, as the area around her seemed to sway. An electrical current ran through her limbs. Was this the procedures doing or the cat? She reached out for something to grope and grabbed a tree branch to steady herself. A woman’s sudden screech caught her off guard.
“HOW RUDE!” The tree said. It used one branch to cover its trunk and another to slap Sasha across the face. Sasha stood there dumbfounded and let go.
“S-sorry.” She stuttered out. She massaged her sore face surprised that she could feel the branches impact against her skin. They must have placed the implants already.
The tree let out a, “humph,” as Sasha continued on her way. She was glad to be rid of the raptor, the flying, fat bat cat, and the overly self-conscious tree. The deeper into the woods she went, the more bizarre things were. One bush grew palm sized frozen turkey’s, while one tree sprouted feminine hygiene products.
Sasha stopped to rest under an apple tree. Her feet were killing her. She wasn’t used to feeling the ground underneath her in virtual reality, and it felt like she had walked in circles for hours. She rested on the ground with her back against the trunk. (After she had poked it a few times to make sure it wasn’t alive, of course.)
Apples, she wondered as she gazed up into the branches. Could something that ordinary really be in this bizarre place? Everything in her body screamed, “Don’t!” but her curiosity got the better of her. She held an apple in her hand and took a bite out of it. She gagged as she spit out the white substance. What had started out with the consistency of an apple dissolved into mayonnaise in her mouth. She hated mayonnaise!
Sasha hoped the procedure would be done soon; she was getting tired of being trapped in such a strange place. She let out a sigh of frustration and stood up. Maybe she could find something funny that wouldn’t try and eat her, and so she continued on taking in the sights and sounds.
She hid in the foliage when she saw about ten of the bat cat’s hovering over a single tree while they fought each other. Claws were out, fur was flying, and hissing commenced. The only thing that didn’t make it a typical catfight was because they were in the air. She wondered for a brief moment what was so special about that one tree, but with a shrug, she moved on. She paused when a green cloud of what almost seemed like pot surrounded her. She waved it out of her face, before she froze. It had gotten quiet. The cats had stopped fighting. Her eyes went wide as she turned around to find the whole pack flying towards her at top speed, pupils dilated and locked on. She looked up to find herself standing under the same kind of tree they had inhabited. She ran full speed ahead once she put the pieces together. It was a catnip tree and she had been doused in it!
The sound of cats on a mission filled the air as she ran with them not far behind. She winced as claws scratched her skin and pulled her hair. Sasha was over joyed when she stumbled into a clearing that housed a cabin. She barreled through the door and slammed it shut behind her as she gasped for breath. That was close! She flinched when she heard a knock on the door.
“Hello!” A voice called out. “Do you have a minute to talk about our Lord and Savior?” She groaned. Maybe the laser raptors weren’t that bad after all. |
Sasha decided to take Crystal’s advice the next morning. No way was she going to let that stupid desk shock her again! This time she’d be ready! She had even set her alarm an hour earlier than yesterday, in order to sneak down to the kitchen in order to make herself some coffee. Lucky for her, they had modern appliances when it came to making coffee. At least they had their priorities in order here.
She stood to the side as she downed as many cups as she could, before she had to report to remedial lessons. She was determined to stay awake, even if she had a heart attack in the process. The warm bitterness felt so good against the chill of the morning air. Before it was time to leave, she topped off her mug once more, before making her way to the classroom.
When she got to the class, she had expected the holographic teacher to be waiting for her. Instead a silver metallic robot hovered in its place, its many arms going every which way as they moved about in constant motion. It was more like metal tentacles than arms, Sasha thought, as she stood in place trying to count them all.
“Good morning. You must be, Sasha,” it said. She wanted to groan. Its voice was more monotonous and boring than its holographic predecessor. “What is that you’re drinking, little girl?” She frowned at the little girl jab. Didn’t this bucket of bolts know what an avatar was?
“Uh, coffee.”
The robot wasn’t the only addition to the room. Several things appeared to have changed. A chalkboard now hung on the wall, and the entire row of desks had disappeared over night- all except one. It sat in the middle of the room facing the board. It seemed suspicious, but with no other options, she took a seat as she took another gulp of her drink.
“Little girls shouldn’t be drinking coffee; it’s bad for you. Don’t you want to grow up big and strong?”
Sasha was about to complain, but before she could get a single word out, a long metal tentacle wrapped around her thermos and snatched it out of her hands.
“Hey! Give it back!” She stood up, reaching into the empty air like a child that had their stuffed animal taken away. It was bad enough she had to be here, but now they were cutting her off? She had needs! “I’m not a little kid. I’m 18!”
The robot paused, as it looked her up and down with its metallic eyes that zoomed in on her. “Do not lie, little girl, my programmer has informed me that you are seven.” What? Seven! Stupid broken robot! Wait, programmer? Someone told it she was seven? “Maybe that is the reason you have so many accidents. Try drinking something more age appropriate, like juice or milk.”
Sasha’s jaw dropped as her face flushed red. This had Barkley written all over it! How long was he going to try and humiliate her for? She grumbled and rested her face against her fist.
As the class session went on, one thing became clear. If she thought drinking six cups of coffee before class was a good idea, she was mistaken. This teacher was even duller than the last, except now, she was wide-awake. In a weird way, she was glad when she felt the urge to pee come on an hour into the lecture. At least it gave her an excuse to get up and leave. When she stood up, the robot stopped mid sentence and turned to look at her.
“Please remain seated until class is over.”
“I’m going to the bathroom.” Sasha said, as she made her way to the door.
“Sit back down, this is your last warning.”
Sasha snorted. Its monotone and lifeless voice was hardly threatening. She rolled her eyes and continued towards the door. All she had taken was a single step, before metal arms sprung from the floor, grabbed her by the leg, and dragged the kicking and screaming girl back to the desk. Her shirt rode up and she let out a yelp as the cold linoleum floor made contact with her bare stomach. At least it wasn’t carpeted.
“Ouch! Let go of me!” She said, as the metal arms picked her up off the floor. She struggled to break free, before she was set back down in the chair with a loud thunk.
“I didn’t want to do this, but you left me no choice. “ Straps appeared and began to buckle her down. Her wrists were confined behind her chair and her legs and chest were bound. As much as she tried to struggle, she couldn’t budge. All she could do was glare. It was almost as if the robot smirked, before it continued where it left off. There was no way in hell Barkley wasn’t behind this. She could just picture him gloating behind a computer screen. Who else was sick enough to tie someone up just for trying to go to the bathroom?
“Don’t look so down; I know what will cheer you up.” Sasha stared transfixed as the metallic tentacles flew across the board with such brisk and agile movements. She cringed at the image that began to appear. “All little girls like ponies.” It said when it was done. This was just cruel and unusual punishment.
Time seemed to have slowed to a crawl. The robots once quick movements were now slow and deliberate, at least it seemed that way to her. Whether it was because the robot was doing it on purpose to torture her, or because she had to pee, she was unsure of. All she knew was she’d be in trouble if it didn’t untie her. This was bad; she really did have to pee, but with her body restrained she was forced to sit in place. Yes, drinking six cups of coffee was a terrible idea.
Another twenty minutes in, she squirmed and rocked against her restraints, but they offered next no freedom to move. Thirty minutes in and she’d do anything to grab herself. Forty minutes. As soon as she got free she was she was going to rip apart that fucking robot and sell it for scrap. Fifty minutes. She knew she was fighting a loosing battle. Her eyes misted over. There was no way she could hold on another hour.
“I really have to pee! Please let me go to the bathroom!” She said. The robot stopped its lesson once again as it sized her up.
“What did I tell you? Drinking coffee is bad for little girls.”
“Okay, I’m sorry; I’ll never drink coffee again.”
“Can’t you hold it?” The robot asked.
“No! Let me go!”
“I guess it can’t be helped. Little girls have small bladders.” Sasha let out a sigh of relief once the straps were undone. She stood up about to race towards the door, but froze when the robot began to speak.
“If you leave; I’ll mark you absent.” Sasha gritted her teeth. If the robot did that, another week would be added to her remedial lessons. She gave the door one last look of longing before she returned to her seat. At least this time she wasn’t restrained. She squirmed and tapped her foot while the robot’s lecture wore on. This time it was about the schools water purification system. Why water needed to be purified in virtual reality, she didn’t want to know. The last thing she wanted to hear was that she was drinking gray water. Or drinking. Or water.
She groaned out loud and grabbed herself.
“Little girls shouldn’t touch themselves.” It was little girl this and little girl that. She would pull her hair out if she had a free hand.
“Can’t you make a bathroom appear in the classroom?” Sasha asked. She knew it was a long shot, but she had seen things pop up out of the floor.
“Based on your recorded history, a waste receptacle has been pre-arranged.” It was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard. Why didn’t the damn thing just say so? “Would you like to engage?”
“Yes, please!” She looked around in anticipation, waiting for some kind of door to appear. She clenched her fists in anger when she saw what had shown up from the floor. “What the hell?” It was just a child’s portable potty!
“I will resume the lesson once you have finished.” The robot said. It’s eyes stayed focused on her as it waited to see what she would do. This was Barkley’s cruel joke; she just knew it. “Is there a problem?”
“I’ll hold it.” She said. She wanted to cry. She was so close! Did she really think some solution of just going to pop out of the floor? She sat back down and debated what to do. She couldn’t hold it much longer, she knew. Every minute that passed was more and more torturous. There would be no waiting until the end of class. She could either leave and get marked absent, or have an accident. She refused to humiliate herself again! If she got stuck in another week of this crap then so be it.
Sasha stood up and made her way towards the door. She pulled on the handle only to find it locked. She pulled harder and harder, only for the door stand there unopened, silently mocking her.
“Why’s the door locked?”
“To keep you from leaving. I have predicted that your refusal to use the provided waste receptacle proves my hypothesis that you were using it as an excuse to leave. Now please sit back down.”
“B-but I really do need to go! Please unlock the door!” A beam of light shone from the eyes of the robot as it traveled up and done her body.
“My analysis has confirmed you are telling the truth.” Sasha breathed a sigh of relief. Was it going to open the door for her? “Please use the provided facilities.” She tugged at the door again, but it was still locked. “Please use the provided facilities.”
“Let me out and I will!” She said. She tugged at the door handle with all her strength, but it refused to budge. She turned back around and froze. Metal arms were reaching for her.
“It’s not good for little girls to hold it.”
“Please, no! Let me out!” A metal tentacle reached around her middle and lifted her into the air with ease. A second arm began to undue her jumpsuit and pull it down while a third brought the white, plastic potty closer, before setting the thrashing girl down on it.
“Do I need to strap you down?”
“No.” She could feel the heat radiating off her face. She didn’t know how, but the once tiny plastic seat had expanded under her to fit her just right. But just because she was on it didn’t mean she was going to use it! She jiggled her legs up and down and pressed them together. She wouldn’t give in!
“Are you done yet?” The robot asked. She felt her face go red again as she looked away. “My sensors did not indicate that you needed to poop.”
“I don’t!” Sasha said. Could this get any more embarrassing? Why was this thing treating her like a toddler? Seven was bad enough!
“Why aren’t you going? Do you need some help?”
“Because this is embarrassing! I want to use a real toilet. In a stall! Where someone isn’t watching me through a robot!”
“But someone is always watching you.”
“What did you say?” Sasha tried to stand up, but metal arms pinned her down.
“This always helps the other kids.” A recording of running water began to play. She was loosing the battle.
The door opened on the other side. Sasha spun her head to see who it was.
“I got a page that a robot went out of cont-…Is this a bad time?” Crystal asked. Her violet eyes went wide as she took in the scene. Her face contorted before she burst into giggles.
“Stop laughing and get this thing off me!”
“Are you here for child pick-up?” The robot asked, still holding Sasha down.
“Uh…?” Crystal said. “Yes? You can let go of her.”
“The child is refusing to cooperate.” The robot said.
“Yeah, she does that.” Crystal said with a smirk. “What’s the problem?”
“The stupid thing won’t let me go to the bathroom!” Sasha said. “It locked all the doors and pinned me down!”
“A scan has confirmed the child’s bladder is full. After several failed persuasion attempts, the child still refused to use the provided facilities. My programming says after three failed attempts, the use of physical force is necessary.”
“Shut it off!” Sasha said.
“So you’ll let her up if she goes?”
“Crystal! Stop laughing and help me!”
“Look, if I shut it off now, you’ll still be pinned down. You’ll be stuck there until the mechanics come and disassemble the arms. You’re best off just giving it what it wants.”
Sasha moaned and covered her face with her hands. “A moment, please.”
“Uhh, the doors locked.” Crystal said.
“GET OUT!”
“I can’t.”
“I can’t hold it!”
“Then don’t!”
“Don’t look at me!”
“I’m not.”
“Don’t listen either!” She was at her limit. She didn’t want to do this, but she was out of options. And time. She whimpered as the last of her strength gave out. She wanted to die on the spot. What set her over the edge wasn’t the echoing sound, or the robots praise. It was fact that the toilet began to talk and sing while she peed. The last thing she wanted was to be praised by a stupid potty. Crystal couldn’t breathe from laughing so hard.
“Keep going, keep going, YEAH!” Crystal sang with the words.
“Now was that so hard?” The robot asked. It lifted her off the seat when the music stopped. “Stay still.” Sasha squirmed and beat it with her fists as cold water sprayed between her legs and was wiped down.
“I can do this myself!” Sasha complained throughout the ordeal before the robot began to redress her.
“And the door opens.” Crystal said, with a tug. “Or not.”
“Do I get to know why I was assaulted by a robot?” Sasha asked, as she kicked the toilet seat lid closed.
“I have no idea. I got a message saying the robot went offline, but I didn’t expect to catch you with your pants down.” Crystal said with a large grin. She went to the back of the robot and pulled something out the side of its neck. The robots many tentacles fell to its side, as it remained unmoving slumped forward.
“Don’t tell me that’s all I had to do.”
“I sent a message to the director, someone will be down soon to get us out.” Crystal said as she sat atop the desk.
“It said something weird earlier. It said, ‘They are always watching you.’ What did it mean by that?” Sasha asked.
“What?”
“I told the robot I wouldn’t go while someone was watching me, and it said there was always someone watching me.” Crystal’s face paled as her smile fell.
“I’m sure it’s nothing.” Crystal said. Sasha narrowed her eyes. Something about the way she shrugged it off seemed suspicious. “A robot just held you prisoner on a child’s potty, and you’re worried about that?” She laughed.
“I guess.” Sasha said. “My brother caught me in a similar situation once.”
“He caught you on the toilet?”
“No, I mean. Last time I saw him in person, he had to come rescue me. I got my butt frozen to a pole.” Sasha said. She smiled as Crystal shook her head and laughed.
“Why does that sound like something you’d do? Do I want to know how you managed that?”
“I leaned my bare butt against a pole in the snow and it got stuck. He thought it was hilarious.”
“What were you doing with your bare butt out in the snow?”
“I was making butt angels. What do you think I was doing? I had to go.” Sasha said. She was beginning to tear up. She wiped her eyes. She hated people seeing her cry. “It was the last good memory I had of him.”
“What happened?” Crystal asked after a moment of silence. Sasha took a deep breath to steady herself.
“Some people broke in and stole his research. They shot us both and left. That was the last time I saw him in person.” Sasha said.
“Sasha,” Crystal said before pausing to choose her words. She rested her hand on her shoulder. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but, do you think it’s possible he didn’t make it?”
“Can I tell you my theory now?” Sasha asked. Crystal nodded. “I think you’re my brother.” |
So the last bit was more of a fan service scene, and no way I'm putting that with the actual story XD Anyway, here is the chapter that is part of the story. I salvaged the first half of the last chapter and used it to create this chapter in case your wondering why it's the same.
Chapter 26
Sasha decided to take Crystal’s advice the next morning. No way was she going to let that stupid desk shock her again! This time she’d be ready! She had even set her alarm an hour earlier than yesterday, in order to sneak down to the kitchen to make herself some coffee. Lucky for her, they had modern appliances when it came to making coffee. At least they had their priorities in order here.
She stood to the side as she downed as many cups as she could, before she had to report to remedial lessons. She was determined to stay awake, even if she had a heart attack in the process. The warm bitterness felt so good against the chill of the morning air. Before it was time to leave, she topped off her mug once more, before making her way to the classroom.
When she got to the class, she had expected the holographic teacher to be waiting for her. Instead a silver metallic robot hovered in its place, its many arms going every which way as they moved about in constant motion. It was more like metal tentacles than arms, Sasha thought, as she stood in place trying to count them all.
“Good morning. You must be, Sasha,” it said. She wanted to groan. Its voice was more monotonous and boring than its holographic predecessor. “What is that you’re drinking, little girl?” She frowned at the little girl jab. Didn’t this bucket of bolts know what an avatar was?
“Uh, coffee.”
The robot wasn’t the only addition to the room. Several things appeared to have changed. A chalkboard now hung on the wall, and the entire row of desks had disappeared over night- all except one. It sat in the middle of the room facing the board. It seemed suspicious, but with no other options, she took a seat as she took another gulp of her drink.
“Little girls shouldn’t be drinking coffee; it’s bad for you. Don’t you want to grow up big and strong?”
Sasha was about to complain, but before she could get a single word out, a long metal tentacle wrapped around her thermos and snatched it out of her hands.
“Hey! Give it back!” She stood up, reaching into the empty air like a child that had their stuffed animal taken away. It was bad enough she had to be here, but now they were cutting her off? She had needs! “I’m not a little kid. I’m 18!”
The robot paused, as it looked her up and down with its metallic eyes that zoomed in on her. “Do not lie, little girl, my programmer has informed me that you are seven.” What? Seven! Stupid broken robot! Wait, programmer? Someone told it she was seven? “Maybe that is the reason you have so many accidents. Try drinking something more age appropriate, like juice or milk.”
Sasha’s jaw dropped as her face-flushed red. This had Barkley written all over it! How long was he going to try and humiliate her for? She grumbled and rested her face against her fist.
As the class session went on, one thing became clear. If she thought drinking six cups of coffee before class was a good idea, she was mistaken. This teacher was even duller than the last, except now, she was wide-awake.
“… And so even though this is virtual reality, that is why all good little boys and girls need to wash their hands after using the restroom.”
Sasha eye twitched. She didn’t know how much more she could take of this. If that thing called her a little girl one more time. The robot went on about the dangers of breaking good life long habits, leaving time for Sasha’s mind to wander.
Maybe she should try being friends with the others. Sure, they gossiped, but who didn’t? Her little spectacle would blow over with time. It didn’t mean she had to play nice with David; in fact, she couldn’t wait until they started sparring lessons so she could kick his ass. There was always Jasmine. She seemed nice. Or there was that red headed girl- what’s-her-name. As soon as they had a normal conversation with her, they’d see she was sane.
“Any questions?” The robot asked. When she didn’t respond, a metal tentacle prodded her in the shoulder. Once she came to, she shook her head. “Very well, I shall proceed with the next section.” No! She couldn’t take any more of this. She needed a break.
“Wait, um, can I go get something to drink?” She wanted to stretch her legs for a bit. She was too hyped up to stay still much longer, and if she had to listen to that voice any longer she’d go insane. She frowned when a spout appeared out of the robots body and filled a cup of water for her. “Well…that’s…convenient, I guess.” She sighed when it added a silly straw for her. At least it was purple. She took a sip and watched it loop and twist through the tubes. She smirked. Maybe she should push her luck and ask for a coloring book too. “Why are you treating me like little kid?”
“Because you are.” Sasha cocked her head to the side as she took another sip.
“Says who?” She asked through a mouth full of straw.
“Sacrio Psychiatric Pharmacology.”
Sasha shrugged. No one she had ever heard of. Must be the manufacturing company. At least it hadn’t said Barkley. Ugh, she couldn’t wait to get out of here. Breakfast sounded nice. She hoped there’d be bacon. Her stomach growled. She shouldn’t have had so much coffee on an empty stomach. Bacon sounded so good right now. Sacrio Psychiatric Pharmacology… Why did that sound so familiar? And why was there a robot from a pharmaceutical company here with her?
“Shall we continue?”
It was on the tip of her tongue… Sacrio…Psychiatric…Pharmacology… S.P.P. No…it couldn’t be! What was going on? Lot’s of things had those initials, right?
“Are you listening?” The robot asked. It poked her again with a metal tentacle.
“What is the S.P.P?” She was beginning to panic. Her chest tightened.
“Which one?” The robot asked. She breathed a sigh of relief. She was getting worked up over nothing. So then why was there this nagging feeling in the back of her head? If they knew she had a mental illness, why had they let her join? She was nothing special, so why? Why would they make a special exception for her? Maybe they saw through her diagnosis…maybe they knew she wasn’t crazy. Why then would they make her take medications? This wasn’t adding up! She couldn’t breathe! Why couldn’t she breathe?!
Sasha stood up, knocking her chair back in the process. She ran for the door. Locked! Why was it locked? She tugged and tugged, but it wouldn’t budge!
“Class is not over. Please remain seated.” Its voice was so calm. Why was it so calm? Couldn’t it see something was wrong with her? What was wrong? Her voice was coming in ragged gasps. Was this…an asylum? Had her parents had her committed? Did they think she was a danger to society? Why? Did they know she was responsible for Brian? It was an accident! Were they afraid of her? Did Brian tell them it was her fault? No.. no.. NO.
“NO! NO! THIS DOESN’T MAKE SENSE!” She pounded on the door. “LET ME OUT! SOMEONE LET ME OUT!” Things were going black. She was losing consciousness. Why? She stumbled against the door and slid to the floor. She saw the half empty glass sitting on the desk. The water! It was poisoned! The door opened. Crystal!
“Sasha!” Her voice was so far away. She reached out for her. Her face was blurry. She was shaking her. “Sasha!”
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Crystal sat in the chair and studied the Doctors expression while he watched the surveillance video. What the hell happened? One minute she had been fine, and the next she ran head first towards the door. His face was like stone. He was expressionless and unwavering. She wished he wasn’t wearing earplugs. She wanted to hear what was being said.
Crystal wasn’t sure whose expression was worse: the doctors or Sasha’s. She sat on the edge of the table with a blanket wrapped around her. Her body trembled, but Crystal wasn’t sure if it was the chill in the air or not. She hadn’t said a word since she had woken up on the table. She just stared straight ahead at the wall.
“Well, everything seems normal.” The doctor said. “Scans show nothing wrong.”
“Then what happened?” Crystal asked.
“Panic attack.”
“It wasn’t a panic attack!” Their heads turned towards Sasha. It was the first thing she had said since. “I’ve had panic attacks before; they’ve never felt that intense.” The fire in her eyes seemed to diminish and she stared back at the wall. “There was something in the water.”
Crystal glanced at the doctor, but he shook his head.
“Tox screen came back fine. The table showed nothing out of the ordinary in her system. Given her history, all signs point to nothing more than a panic attack.”
“It wasn’t a panic attack!” Sasha said. “I-it-it wasn’t!” Crystal frowned. Something was off.
“I think you should take the day off. Get some rest. Have you been sleeping?” The doctor asked. Sasha scowled, but remained silent before breaking out in sobs.
“What’s wrong?” Crystal asked as she stood next to the table.
“Wh-What is this place?” Sasha asked, clinging on to her side. “Is this really a school?” Crystal could feel her blood run cold. How had she found out? “I’m in an asylum, aren’t I? My parents had me committed!” Crystal breathed a sigh of relief. At least she didn’t have to lie.
“No, you’re not in an asylum.” Crystal said. She took a seat next to the trembling girl who buried her head in the green haired girls shoulders shoulder and cried. Crystal patted her back. She looked to the doctor for help. This wasn’t right. She knew Sasha was…young for her age, but this? There was no way she was 18! “Hey, c’mon, what makes you think this is an asylum?”
“Be-because I thought… I thought. There’s no way some elite school would pick me knowing I was…like this! The robot said-“
“Why don’t you take her to her room?”
“What did the robot say?” Crystal asked the Doctor.
“Nothing of importance.” He shrugged. “People with anxiety disorders don’t always need a trigger to have panic attacks. They happen.”
“Can I watch the video with sound?” Crystal asked.
“You didn’t miss anything. I think the best thing to do is take her to her room.”
“I’m tired.” Sasha said, half mumbling into Crystal arm.
“Then how did the door lock from the inside?” Crystal asked. He shrugged again.
“A malfunction in the robot?” Crystal narrowed her eyes, but let it go.
“Let’s go, Sasha.” She helped her stand up. She seemed to wobble a bit before getting her footing, so Crystal half-walked, and half dragged her out. She needed to figure out what she knew now. This wasn’t a simple panic attack; she was in shock. Why though? What had that robot told her? The look in Sasha’s eyes was the look of someone who just watched their life’s hopes and dreams get swept away. She knew. How did she know?
…………………………………………………………..
Sasha curled up in bed when they got up to their room and threw the covers over her head.
“It’s not an asylum.” Crystal said. “I work here; I’d know.” A tear streaked face poked out.
“Promise?”
“Promise. Have you ever been in an asylum?” Sasha shook her head. “Trust me. It’s not an asylum.”
“Thank you for saving me. Again. How did you know I was in trouble?”
“Because you were screaming like a maniac.” Crystal said with a smirk. “Are you cold?”
“No.”
“Then why are you shaking?” Sasha’s head ducked back under the covers. “What’s wrong with you today? You’re acting odd.”
“It wasn’t a panic attack. I’ve never felt so afraid.” Crystal sat on the edge of the bed, unsure of what to do. She stretched her hand towards the lump underneath the blankets before retracting it. She repeated the process, until she had managed to make contact. Physical contact felt awkward to her, but it seemed like the right thing to do. The lump was trembling. Why?
“Are you afraid now?”
“Yes.”
“What are you afraid of?”
“I don’t know.” Sasha said.
The doctor was hiding something. She needed to see that video, but how? She looked at the time. It was almost breakfast. The doctor would be in the cafeteria. Could she sneak into sickbay and watch it? Or should she ask director Aspen? It was Crystal’s job after all to keep an eye on her. Why did Sasha need someone to watch her though? What was so special about her? She looked like nothing more than a scared child cowering under the blankets.
The lump began to move towards her until it came to rest in her lap. Was she really this scared? Her first reaction was to shove her off. This much physical contact was way outside Crystal’s comfort zone, but the lump underneath the covers looked so pitiful.
“It was like I realized my life had no meaning.” Sasha said.
“What? I don’t get it? What’s that have to do with thinking you were in an asylum. I don’t even understand why you thought that.”
“The robot said something about a psychiatric company with the same initials as the S.P.P. I’ve never felt anything like it. I was fine and then…”
“What?”
“It felt like there was no hope for me. My life meant nothing, my dreams, my… everything. Things became so clear. It was like my eyes were opened for the first time and I realized I was nothing. It should have been me. My parents would be happier if it had been me.”
“You’re not nothing, Sasha. I don’t know why you felt that way.” Crystal said. She wrapped her arms around her. It seemed like the right thing to do, but she couldn’t be sure. She was an object to be used. She lied, she stole, she manipulated all on the directors behalf. She did not comfort. She did not love.
So then what was this she was feeling? Why did she feel this ache at her very core? They had taught her indifference, so why? She didn’t know her, and yet, she wanted to take away her pain. Not just that, but she felt her pain. Sharp pangs of loneliness left her breathless. So much loneliness. Sasha’s shaking was worse. No…it was she that was shaking. She was…crying? Why? They both were. She could feel Sasha wrap her arms her. The darkness she felt ebbed away bit by bit. Was this the power of another’s touch? Crystal tightened her grip in return. And they cried.
“Would you stay with me until I fall asleep?” Sasha asked. Yes, they could be lonely together.
“Sure thing.” |
Crystal sat in the cafeteria by herself as she nibbled on a piece of toast. She waited and watched. Any minute now he would come, and then, she would make her move. There was this nagging suspicion that the doctor had hid something, but why? Wasn’t she also part of the team? If Sasha was her responsibility to keep an eye on, why were they still keeping secrets? Unless the doctor had told her the truth, and there really hadn’t been anything in particular that set her off. This girl was more trouble than she was worth, Crystal thought with a frustrated sigh.
The entrance of a man wearing a long white lab coat signaled it was time to make her move. She waited a second as the Doctor stood in line with the others to get breakfast. With his back to her, she stood and made her way towards the door.
“Crystal! There you are! The dishes are pilling up back here!” A voice called from behind the buffet station. Crap! Don’t act suspicious. Everyone was staring at her now, including the doctor.
“I’m sorry, I’m busy right now.” Crystal said. The red head scowled. Crystal only knew her from her file as Subject 1254 with a diagnosis Intermittent Explosive Disorder. She was a ticking time bomb. There was a fury in her brown eyes that had been ignited. Crystal gulped. She’d be in trouble if 1254 went off and caused a scene. Now wasn’t the time for this!
“What? Just because you do stuff for the director, doesn’t mean you’re above us! Get back here and do your job!”
“She’ll be along in a minute. There was an emergency this morning.” The doctor said. The red head seemed to relax at this. Her angry expression morphed into one of concern. As suspicious as he was, Crystal owed him one. The fire had been extinguished for now.
“Th-thanks.” Crystal said. “I-I just came down to get her some breakfast. She’s better now.”
“Glad to hear.” He said, turning away from her. She breathed a sigh of relief. That was close!
Crystal made a beeline for the sickbay terminal. Only the staff got access to their avatar’s Sphere menus. She on the other hand, was in the same boat with the subjects. It would help her blend in, she was told. Now that the cat was out of the bag, she’d have to ask the director to lift her ban on hers. She missed having her own personal search engine controlled by her thoughts. If she wanted to know something, all she had to do was think about it. Without it, she felt lost and confused. She wondered, for a brief moment, what life was like outside her avatar. How did people live outside the Sphere?
With one last glance over her shoulder, she sat at his desk in front of the terminal. Now where was the surveillance footage he had been watching? There it was! Now for the unpleasant part. She took the auxiliary cord and traced along the back of her neck, until she found the port. She shuddered a bit as she plugged herself in to the terminal. She couldn’t wait until she had a chip! Then she could just connect herself to via Bluetooth like everyone else. All avatars had a port to connect to terminals, but they were becoming more and more obsolete now that most people were getting their chips swapped for newer models. It almost seemed like she was the only one who had to do this anymore.
With the ban in place, she couldn’t watch the file in her mind, but at least she could store it for later. Crystal checked her storage capacity. Good, still plenty of space. She downloaded the video file into her mind while she checked for other things. The terminal was full of medical reports about the subjects, both avatar and their human selves. A few minutes of searching revealed Sasha’s file. It was quite a bit larger than the one than the director had sent her, and according to the file, it had been just been updated this morning. She didn’t have time to sit through and read it, so she downloaded that too.
She gasped a little at the sound of footprints approaching. No! The file was only half way done downloading! What should she do? If she was caught… She had to think fast. She could pretend to be playing a game, but how would she explain the cord in her head? She had to think of something… This was a terrible idea, but she had no choice! She grimaced and typed in a few keywords, before minimizing the window and bringing up Solitaire.
“Crystal?” The Doctor asked, as he came in through the door. “What are you doing?”
“Sorry, I wanted to speak with you in private, about this morning. I thought it would be best to wait here for you.” She said. She could feel her heart beating in her chest. She was a terrible liar and she knew it.
“What are you doing on my computer?” He asked.
“Sorry, I was just playing a game.” She said. He narrowed his eyes as they traveled from the terminal, to the wire in the back of her head.
“You’re downloading something. Get up! Were you snooping through the patient files!?”
“N-no, I’m not; I swear!” She said. She moved in front of the screen. Her voice was rising too much. Damn it! She was busted. He bent over her, opened up the window, and took in what she had looked up. She watched his face go from an angry scowl to bright red in embarrassment.
“You’re downloading porn into your avatar!” He said. Crystal’s face turned bright red as they both looked away from each other. A ding let her know her download was done. She pulled the cord out of her neck and tried to dash out. “Sit back down, Crystal. Let’s talk.” She cringed as she crept towards the bed he pointed to, and took a seat. “I’m aware that you have a… unique background.”
“Y-yes. Ever since the implants were put it in...” She stopped mid sentence and looked away. “It-It’s my first time feeling these things.” If he looked her in the eyes he’d see past her lie.
He cleared his throat. “Yes, those feelings are quite normal, and…and nothing to be embarrassed about. This must be quite a confusing time for you. You’ve lived your whole life here in the Sphere, and now that you have all of your senses for the first time. It makes sense that your sex drive would awaken as well. Didn’t they upload those explanations into you when they brought you here?”
“Umm, yeah, but it’s different when it’s happening.” She lied. “They focused more on the important stuff: basic avatar health and safety, Sphere history, a few languages. That sort of thing. There were only bits and pieces.”
“Ah, yes, if I remember correctly, you couldn’t talk when they brought you in. Well, I suppose someone should explain these things to you.” Crystal listened for as long as she could, nodding here and there at appropriate times. The conversation went from hormones and menstruation, to sexually transmitted malware. She had to resist the urge to groan when he told her to be careful who she let stick their flash drive in her. He chucked at his own joke. She had to change the subject.
“Well, heh, no, I’m not really interested in flash drives right now. What I had come here to talk about was Sasha.” Crystal said.
“Ooh, I see what you’re saying. No wonder you’re so confused. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Huh?”
“They downloaded basic sex education, but you’re confused because you’re not interested in flash drives; you’re interested in ports, is that it?”
“Interested in… ports? Woah! No! That’s not what I meant!” Crystal said, as she waved her arms about. Now it was her turn to feel embarrassed.
“I won’t tell anyone. I’m sure Sasha’s a great girl. It must be difficult being in such close quarters with her while you’re experiencing all these new things.”
“I’m not gay!” Crystal said, nearly shouting. “Or a pedophile.” She mumbled.
“You know she’s not really a child, right?” He laughed.
“Well, that’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.” Crystal said, regaining her composure. “I’ve been noticing something odd lately. She seems to be…regressing.”
“So you’ve noticed that too, have you?” He asked. His large blue eyes fell, and his playful tone grew serious.
“Why? What’s going on? The file I received from the director didn’t say anything about mental regression. She was just supposed to have a slight case of PTSD.”
“My guess is her mind is regressing her back to the age she was during the original trauma.” He said. “She’s a special case and very valuable. Please continue watching out for her. These experiments can be brutal on the psych.”
“Experiments?” Crystal asked. She noticed his face fall. “Aren’t you just watching how the mind works in different scenarios?”
“Y-yes, that’s what I meant. When I said, ‘experiment’ I meant putting the subjects in controlled environments that would bring out different psychological responses. Like the good tasting food for example. The others are expressing joy while they eat, but Jasmine, who is anorexic, sees the food as a negative thing. Her brain is reacting differently to the environment, and we are trying to learn why in order to fix it.” He said. “How do we turn that negative into a positive? And then there’s Barkley. His classes induce anxiety responses, doubly so for someone like Sasha; except for David, who takes pleasure in seeing others pain. We are learning so much in what makes people tick. We have been collecting some very valuable research data.”
“That’s good I guess.” Crystal said. She shrugged. It’s not like anyone was in danger. “So does Sasha’s user have that problem too? Mental regression? Does she go through phases or something?”
“That’s the part I don’t really understand. Her mind only regresses when she’s in virtual reality. Since people can’t spend more than six hours a day logged into the Sphere, It hasn’t had enough time to really rear its head. She goes back to normal once she logs out. Now that we’ve been monitoring her in virtual reality for several days thanks to the drug, we’ve seen a sharp decline in mental age. Since her trauma occurred in virtual reality, I think her mind is trying to regress her back to the age it happened in an attempt to heal itself. We’ve never seen this before.”
“Interesting. It would explain her strange behavior and why she seemed so different when I first met her.” Crystal said. “Is this anything to worry about? Is she really going back to five? She’s not going to get stuck like that, is she? I know I’m playing babysitter, but I didn’t know it was going to be literal. I don’t want a five-year-old roommate!”
“Well, we’ll be monitoring her. To be honest, I don’t know what’s happening.”
“What happened when she was five? Was this really all from seeing a few cartoon characters fight? It seems a bit silly.” Crystal said.
“A child’s mind is different than an adult’s. Trauma from early childhood can stay with a person into their adult life whether they realize it or not. I have a theory that her fear of these cartoon animals is just a stand in for something else.”
“You think something else happened? She’s only ever mentioned the ponies before.”
“She might not remember what happened. I have a feeling her mind is harboring a repressed memory from that day, and that’s why her mind is trying to go back to that time. It’s possible that once her mind has fully regressed, it will resurface.”
“Do you think she should remember it though? If it was so bad that she repressed it…”
“At this rate, I don’t think she has much of a choice. For some reason her mind wants to go back.”
“What if there was a way to pull that memory out? Would it stop the regression? If her mind wants to remember it, wouldn’t it be best to make her remember as an adult instead of a young child?” Crystal suggested.
“Hmm, it’s a thought. I could bring it up to the board during our next meeting and see what they say. I’m not sure, they might want to wait and see how this plays out.” He said mulling the thought over in his mind. “Anyway, do you have any questions about what we talked about?”
Crystal’s face reddened as she looked away. “No, I’m good. Thank you.” She watched as he bent down and retrieved something out of a drawer, before sticking out his arm towards her. She held out her hand as something was dropped into her open palm. Her blush deepened. Malware condoms.
“Be safe.” He said.
“Uh, yeah, sure.” She said as she stood and headed for the door. “One more thing. Was there really nothing in the water?”
“There may have been a slight stimulant added to induce results. It didn’t mix well with all the caffeine.” He admitted. Crystal sighed. Just how far were these people going to go for their data? |
Alright guys! Here it is! The big reveal...
“Ma’am, you asked me to give you a report once 1856 finished the first round of testing.”
“And?” Director Aspen said.
“Subject 1856 answered incorrectly to almost all the questions.”
“Almost?”
“On the first day of testing, 1856 got a perfect score about 1857’s illness.”
“Did 1857 give the answers to 1856?”
“No, ma’am, we’ve gone over the recordings. 1857 never discussed her history until the next day.”
“And what of the mid week experiment?”
“It was a success. 1856 reacted strongly to Hope, when given even the slightest stimuli, a panic attack ensued. We were able to bottle several vials of Fear as a result. Sacrio is pleased and said they are writing a new contract as we speak.”
“Excellent.” Said Director Aspen.
“Ma’am, if you don’t mind me asking, do you think it was wise to give 1857 access to their Sphere menu? 1856 has already become suspicious, and their link is only growing stronger everyday.”
“I want to see how this plays out. They’ll learn the truth eventually. I want to see the how and why.”
……………………………………………………………………………………..
Sasha let out an audible groan as she attempted to move her wobbling legs one baby step at a time. Sweat poured down her face, but she couldn’t lift arms to wipe it away. Her knees wanted to buckle and collapse, but if she fell; she’d never be able to get back up. Some of the other cadets were already laying face first on the padded floor, their bodies having given up on them long ago. Her breath came out in ragged gasps. Just a little further. The manipulated gravitational force from her belt was pulling her down towards that beautiful, and comfy looking padded floor. It was all she could do to stand.
Sasha looked to her left to see Crystal beside her, red faced and struggling just as much as she was. The two of them seemed equally matched despite their different sizes. Sasha couldn’t imagine what Crystal’s larger jump suit must feel like to her. Her own smaller suit felt like lead pressing down into her shoulders, but she supposed given Crystal’s size, it wouldn’t feel any worse than Sasha’s did to her. She thought of this, and other random things. Anything she could to distract herself. The wall was so close now, if she could just get her legs to co-operate with her. She groaned again. Her legs were giving out on her. No! She just needed to touch the wall. Crap! She was falling! The wall was so close, if she could just... Barkley never said she had to touch it with her hand. She straitened her body as she fell so that the top of her head hit the wall. It hurt like hell, but Barkley’s disinterested comment of, “I guess that counts,” made it all worth it.
Sasha gasped as she fought to control her breathing. Every muscle in her body shook. She felt her belt turn off and gravity return to normal, but she didn’t move from her place on the floor. Nobody did. Crystal collapsed on the floor next to her soon after. “We did it!” She said, as they both lay there sucking in lungful’s of air.
“I can’t feel my legs. Duck this hurts!” Sasha said. She frowned at the realization of what she just said. Crystal rolled over to look at her. “Duck! No, duck! Arghh!”
“Uh, goose?” said Crystal. She moaned as she sat back up and ever so slowly stood back onto her feet. She reached out her hand to Sasha, who took it and pulled herself up.
“Mother forker!” said Sasha. “What the bell?” Crystal grinned as she watched the confused and frustrated scowl spread across Sasha’s face. “It’s auto-correcting me! This forking piece of shift is auto-correcting me!” Seriously? What was going on? The system thought she was underage! You couldn’t swear in the Sphere if you were under the age of 16; it would automatically filter the words as they left your mouth. Which is precisely what seemed to be happening.
“Watch your tongue there, sailor.” Said Crystal with a smirk.
“Fork! Shift! Bell! Witch! Mother trucker!” Sasha groaned. She couldn’t even swear anymore. “Why,” was all she managed to get out of her mouth. Crystal shot her a sympathetic smile. Crystal knew what was happening. The system no longer saw her as an adult. Even the Sphere recognized her regression.
“C’mon, potty mouth, let’s get some lunch. I hear they’re serving bacon cheeseburgers.”
“Bacon? Truck yes!” They giggled as they inched their way towards the mess hall. Their legs wobbled from exertion. They even had to hold to the walls a few times to steady themselves, but they made it to the cafeteria. Only a few of them had managed to make it across the room so the passing cadets were few and far between.
When they sat across from each other with their trays, Sasha turned her head in each direction to make sure the coast was clear. “Hey, Crystal, I’ve been thinking.”
Crystal looked up from her food to find Sasha staring at her instead of wolfing down her food like usual. “You said you only have memories of virtual reality, right?” Crystal pursed her lips, but nodded. Nothing good could come from this conversation. “What if it’s because you only exist in virtual reality?” Crystal wanted to groan and beg her not to take this conversation down that route, but she decided to hear her out.
“What makes you think that?”
“There are certain…similarities I can’t help but notice. For instance, you looking at porn.” Crystal dropped her hamburger and looked away as she muttered under her breath. They had had a mandatory sex education assembly, thanks to Crystal, followed by the threat of getting thrown into the fear chamber if anyone else was caught.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Crystal mumbled. Her face flushed at the mention of it.
“What were you looking at?’
“Oh my god, I’m not telling you what I was looking at.”
“Why not? I won’t tell anyone.” Sasha said, trying to mask her hunch with morbid curiosity. “Was it girl on robot? Boy on robot? Robot on robot?” She smirked. Even if she couldn’t get the truth out of her, watching Crystal get this flustered was already worth it.
“Robot on robot.” Crystal mumbled.
“Kinky- or it would have been had I not made that up. You weren’t looking at porn. What were you looking at?” The look on Crystal’s face let her know she had her. “Look, whatever, don’t answer. You did just strengthen my theory though.”
“And what theory would that be?”
“I have two theory’s actually; you’re either my brother, or my brother made you.” Sasha frowned when she saw the deep scowl spread across Crystal’s face. She seemed angry almost. Her fist clenched the paper cup in her hand. Sasha searched her face for some kind of sign. She relaxed once Crystal let out her held breath.
“I’m not your brother, Sasha. Why would you even think that?”
“You look out for me.”
“So? I do one thing for you an-“
“Not a single person gives a flying duck about me, but you- you’re different. You treat me just like he does. You want to know why I know you weren’t looking at porn? Because he taught me that trick. When you’re about to get caught looking at something you aren’t supposed to, switch to something else you’re not supposed to look at that’s not quite as bad as the first to throw off suspicion. Why would you know to do that if you weren’t him? Why do you give a rat’s bass about me?”
“I don’t know; the idea just jumped into my head.”
“So what were you looking at?”
“Your medical records. I went back to sickbay while you were asleep. I didn’t believe the doctor.” Crystal admitted with a sigh. She stared at her hamburger instead of at Sasha.
“The water, was it-“
“Yes, they gave you something to induce a panic attack.” So many thoughts buzzed around Sasha’s head. Why would they do that? Crystal worked for these people; she knew the truth, she was sure of it! Sasha opened her mouth to speak, but Crystal shook her head. Crystal pointed to her own eyes, and then twirled her finger in the air like a lasso. Sasha understood. They were watching. “Tomorrow’s a free day. I know a place we can go in town.” Sasha bit her lip. This was it. She was going to get answers.
“You never answered my other question.” They remained quiet for a while. Crystal ate in silence as she contemplated how to answer.
“Because you remind me that I’m human.”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Sasha felt utterly ridiculous walking around town in her navy blue cadet jumper. This was the classiest place she had ever seen; even in virtual reality. It was no surprise really, since the only place they could go while the drug was in their system was with other people with the drug in their system. And the only people that had the drug in their system were the people at the S.P.P or the filthy rich. Here she stood now, sticking out like a sore thumb in a place where poor and simple Sasha had no place being—and everyone knew it.
Sasha stared up at the building Crystal had taken her to in stunned silence. Crystal was Brian in disguise; she just had to be. There was no way in hell this was a coincidence!
“Don’t look at me like that; it’s the only place in town with private rooms.” Crystal said. Sasha shrugged; it was the only thing she could think of to do. Crystal offered her her hand, and smiled. “Shall we?”
“Are you going to buy me dinner too?” Sasha asked as they strode in to the love hotel hand in hand. “You realize you look like a pedophile right now, right?”
“Shut up and let me handle this.” Crystal said. Sasha’s jaw dropped as they walked inside. She had never seen such a fancy place before. Glass chandeliers hung from the high ceilings and expensive looking furniture dotted the lobby. What amazed her was the fact that this was just a hook up hotel- not a traveler’s hotel or somewhere you went on vacation. Even when she turned on Sphere Vision the place was spotless. She frowned as they approached the counter. How could she afford to rent a room here? She couldn’t even afford to tip the doorman!
“Uh, miss, you can’t bring children in here.” An attendant said stopping the two in their tracks. Sasha scowled as she looked up at Crystal. They didn’t look like lovers- they looked like a mom taking their kid to daycare. Sasha sighed and stuck out her wrist. He seemed confused for a moment, before understanding the gesture. He swiped the palm of his glowing red hand over her chip. “I’m terribly sorry about the misunderstanding. Please enjoy your stay.” Crystal smirked in amusement as Sasha grumbled under her breath.
“Crystal, so nice to see you again.” The lady working the front desk said. Sasha looked from the clerk at the counter to Crystal. “Would you like your usual?” Now it was Crystal’s turn to be flustered.
“N-no, no thank you. I’d just like to rent a room for an hour.” Sasha raised her eyebrows as they stood in the elevator. “What?”
“The usual?” Maybe she was looking at porn after all. “You, uh, take many girls here?”
“It’s not like that!”
“I thought we had something special!” Crystal rolled her eyes.
“There’s more here to do than just hook up with people. They have the same technology as the SPP, except instead of projecting your deepest fear; it projects your deepest desire- and no, not sexual desires.”
“Sounds expensive.”
“I have connections.”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Three Nights Ago
Crystal was almost dumbfounded that she had gotten the director to let her use her Sphere settings again. She was sure the doctor had sent a message to her notifying her of what Crystal had just been up to. Crystal had been prepping her speech all day to give to the director during her nightly status reports. She had expected punishment; instead she got an uninterested, “sure.” Now she lay in bed watching the robot’s surveillance video over and over.
She tried to pinpoint the exact moment Sasha lost it. It was somewhere between her drinking the water and when she made a run for it. Was it because she was being treated like a kid? No, that wasn’t it. She could practically see Sasha’s amusement with the silly straw. She touched the projected image in front of her to scroll through the video. It was somewhere around…there! There was something about the way Sasha’s face changed, but what caused it? And what the hell was Sacrio Psychiatric Pharmacology? Was that why Sasha thought this place was an asylum? Was it because it had the same initials as the Sphere Protection Program?
Crystal closed the video and typed Sacrio Psychiatric Pharmacology into her web browser. She flicked through her search results until she came upon an article about them going out of business ten years ago, but it didn’t say why. She opened another and another, but there was next to nothing useful. She almost exited out until she saw something. She clicked on it. Her eyes widened as she took in the information. Sacrio Psychiatric Pharmacology held the patent for the drug that slows time. Why did everyone refer to it as the drug? Why didn’t it have a name? The fake one had a name. There were rumors to this day that during the early drug trials there was an incident. All Crystal knew was that lots of people died, but she didn’t know how.
Her web search wasn’t taking her anywhere, but there were still plenty of files she had swiped from the doctors’ terminal. She searched for the name inside her head. She hadn’t expected so many results. She brought the files up and projected them out as she searched through them.
Sacrio was their major funder. Why? Why would a pharmaceutical company fund a project to cure mental illnesses? They make money off of people being ill, so why? She went through file after file. Her fists clenched in anger at every new piece of information she learned. She couldn’t believe what she was reading. Lies! They weren’t just lying to the cadets; they had lied to her as well! She wanted to scream. Here she had been telling Sasha this whole time not to believe everything she had been told; yet here she was working for these…these…monsters! She couldn’t even call them people. Sasha… Crystal had to know the truth. She brought up Sasha’s file. There was so much more information than what had been given to her. It mentioned her brother. She opened that file too. Crystal wanted to scream.
“Oh, Sasha. I’m so sorry.” She mumbled. Sacrio had him killed, and Crystal had been sent in to get his research so they could destroy it. Her chest hurt. What was this? Guilt? Anger? Sadness? Fear? She laughed bitterly. It was everything they wanted. That’s why they had let her discover this. They wanted her to feel these things so they could harvest them. That’s why Barkley was used to induce anxiety. That’s why they went through physical conditioning from hell. That’s why they made Sasha have a panic attack. Anxiety. Frustration. Pain. Fear. Loneliness. Anger. They were the active ingredients in in their behavior modification drugs. And we are their guina pigs trapped in a cage.
She thought back to the fear test. They had given her something to drink before hand. Had they given her someone’s fear so she would be immune to it? They made sure she got in, but why? At first she thought it was because she worked for them, but no, if they were harvesting her emotions too she was in no better a predicament than the others. She was one of them after all. What else had they been keeping from her? Her identity. Did they know who she was?
With trembling hands she entered herself into the search. Crystal- subject 1857. She scrolled through the information and gasped. Her name. There it was! But that couldn’t be! It was impossible! She looked at her user. She brought the other picture and compared them side-by-side. It was impossible! But it was true! That’s why Sasha was so important. No-not Sasha, but Becca. Becca had done the impossible. And they were going to torture her until she died. None of them were safe.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
“Woah!” Sasha said. She stood in front of the immaculate room- even in Sphere vision. The king sized bed, the furniture, an anti gravity controller! She squealed as she ran towards it. She had always wanted to try being in zero gravity.
“Don’t touch.” Crystal said. Sasha frowned before hopping onto the bed. She grinned as she pulled the corner of her shirt down.
“Please be gentle; it’s my first time.” Crystal didn’t even smile. What was with her? She had been acting rather odd these last few days. “Crystal? What’s wrong? You’re shaking.” She stared at her with a worried expression. Tears were spilling down Crystal’s face. Sasha had only ever seen her cry once.
“I brought you here to tell you the truth.” Crystal said. Sasha patted the edge of the bed so Crystal could sit down. Whatever it was Crystal had to say it wasn’t good news.
“It’s about the school, isn’t it? It’s not a school, is it?”
Crystal shook her head and buried her face in her hands. “I’m so sorry!” Those were the words she kept hearing over and over the last week. Was it Crystal’s voice she had been hearing, but how? “I didn’t know! I swear I didn’t know what they were doing!” Crystal looked up at her. “You have to find a way to get out! All of you! You’re not safe!”
“Wh-what?”
“I thought this was just research! They told me it was research!”
“Research? Researching what?” Sasha asked. She had a feeling, but she was afraid to know. No, she had to know!
“Mental illnesses! They told me they were researching mental illnesses, and when it was over, you’d be told the truth and paid off enough to live comfortably and keep silent. It was a lie! The reason nobody knows the truth of the SPP is because they all die! They torture them to harvest their emotions to make medications. Your brothers research was destroyed; there is no Euphoria floating around.”
“B-but…what’s killing people inside virtual reality if not the fake drug?”
“All the people that have died were former SPP candidates. They spread the rumor of a fake to cover their tracks. Your brother was a scape goat.” Crystal said. Sasha sprung off the bed.
“That’s great! I mean that’s terrible, but my brother can come out of hiding now! He can-“ She stopped mid sentence as Crystal shook her head. “Brian, he’s…”
“I’m sorry. He’s dead, Sasha. He’s been dead this whole time.”
“The messages, the visit! We met up, we…we…” Sasha’s eyes were watering. She tried to think of something. Anything!
“Those messages came from me. I didn’t know he was dead. My job was to get you to give me his research.” Sasha backed up and covered her mouth with her hands. She tripped and fell to the ground and broke down in gut wrenching sobs. “You-You killed him! YOU KILLED HIM!”
“NO! I didn’t! I didn’t know! I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!” Crystal said. She reached out and rested her palm on Sasha’s back, but Sasha shrugged it off, so she let Sasha cry in a ball on the floor.
“So if your not my brother; then who are you?” Sasha asked once she could cry no more.
“My name is-“ Crystal tried to say but froze. Sasha rolled over and looked at her. “My name is-“
“Say it! Who are you?”
“My name is… Becca Strokes.” |
Sasha narrowed her eyes. “That’s not funny.” Crystal shook her head and stared off into the distance for a moment.
“I didn’t believe it either when I first saw it. I managed to grab the files of the Doctors computer before he caught me. Your file was different than the one they had given me. I had only ever seen a small fraction of Sasha’s; they never gave me Becca’s. Your brother didn’t create me- you did.”
“That’s not possible! I’m Becca!” Sasha said.
“It shouldn’t be, should it? But if you think about it, it makes sense. I couldn’t figure out why you were so important to them, or to me, until now. You wanted to know why I gave a rat’s ass about you? Because we are the same person.”
“I don’t understand. Who are you? A clone or something?”
“You saw something 13 years ago that traumatized you so much your consciousness split. No one knew because it only splits when you go into virtual reality, or at least that’s what I first suspected. I only partially existed for 13 years until a few months ago. “
Sasha stared with wide blue eyes locked on, waiting for the ‘just kidding’, but it never came. It didn’t make sense! There couldn’t be two Becca’s.
“You see, the night your brother died was the last straw. It split the rest of the way. I thought you were only regressing since you went into a full dive, but that wasn’t the case. The regression started the day I began to exist full time, not just when you went into virtual reality.”
“What are you talking about? What regression?”
“Haven’t you noticed things have been different? Even before you came here? You get frustrated easier. You’re impatient, you wont take your medication, and you don’t take care of yourself- at least that’s what your file says. I hear being a teenager is hard; you’re not an adult, but you’re not a child anymore. So your consciousness split into two parts: your child side and your adult side. I’m your adult half.”
“Please stop.” Sasha said. This was too much! She was lying! She had to be! Everyone knew you couldn’t have two avatars at once!
“Think about it. Why are you so attached to me? Why do you cling to me like a child looking for attention? Why do you hear voices? We share a link. It took me a while to remember, but I heard you in the fear simulator when that spider trapped me. You told me where to shoot.”
“STOP IT! SHUT UP! I’M NOT A CHILD!”
“No, not yet. I’d guess you’re about 11 right now.”
“Fine, so I’m immature. So what?” Sasha said. She stood up from the floor and tried to glare, but she knew she looked like a little girl about to throw a tantrum. Her chest hurt from trying to fight back the tears. They burned in her eyes. She didn’t want to look even younger and pathetic. So she tried to laugh, but all that came out were strangled choking sounds. “Why?”
“Guilt.” Crystal said with a shrug. The word pierced through Sasha’s chest like an arrow. She whimpered as the memories flooded back. She had fought for the gun and it went off. It was all her- “It wasn’t your fault.” Crystal said. “It’s not just words, but emotions we share as well. Like I said, we share a link.”
“But you- I-we- we did that to him!” Sasha said. She couldn’t hold it back anymore. Her legs wobbled before they gave out, and she sank to the floor. The lump in her throat kept the air at bay as she clawed at her neck. The one-piece jumper felt too constricting to her. She coughed and gagged as she tried to pull the zipper down and get out of it.
“It’s not your fault, Sasha. Breathe!” Crystal said. She squatted down next to her. Crystal could feel her heart rate increasing as well. If she couldn’t get Sasha’s emotions under control she’d be in the same boat soon.
“I c-c-can’t!” Sasha said. She had killed him. It was her fault! It should have been her that had died that night, not him! She was nothing!
She had put every hope and dream into this place- that somehow this place could change her- so she wouldn’t be the reason her mom hadn’t gotten sleep all those nights because she had to wake her from her nightmares and calm her down. What kind of pathetic human being is afraid of cartoon characters? And now her dreams were shattered. It was worse than she had feared; she was worse than she had feared. She wasn’t just off- she was full on bat shit crazy. How could she put into words how much it hurt?
“You don’t have too, Sash. I feel it too.” Crystal whispered. “It’s like someone’s sitting on my chest. It hurts to breathe.” She nodded her head.
“I want to see him.” Sasha choked out through her sobs. “I want to see him. Can you? Please?”
“You know it wouldn’t really be him, right?”
“I know, I just, want to say goodbye. Please.” Sasha begged. “You gave me false hope! You lied to me! Just let me have this moment, please.”
She heard Crystal stand up and walk towards the bathroom. A sharp pang of loneness shot through her. She hadn’t wanted her to leave. It really did feel like half of her was gone. She didn’t want to believe her. She wanted to believe she was lying again, but when she was alone it felt like a piece of her was missing. This probably wasn’t quite what they imagined when they came up with the phrase soul mate. She couldn’t help but wonder if that’s what happened. If the pony massacre had split her consciousness, had loosing Brian split her soul? Had her desire for her older sibling created the bond that she and Crystal now shared? Had she given her a piece of her soul so she could feel looked after and loved? How pathetic was she? Couldn’t have her big brother anymore, so she just went and made a replacement.
“Becca,” a male voice said. Not just any voice, but his voice. Her head shot up. There he was, standing in the doorway of the bathroom, wearing his usual T-shirt and jeans. She whimpered and held out her arms from her place on the floor. Brian smirked as he approached. He knelt down next to her in front of the bed as she threw her arms around him. Her hands grabbed fistfuls of his shirt as she bawled into his chest. Large arms wrapped around her and rocked her back and forth. “It wasn’t your fault.” He whispered over and over again.
“It was my fault! I made the gun go off!”
“It was an accident, Becca.”
“It should have been me!”
“No, Becca!” He said. He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her forward so that they were looking face to face. “Live! You’re alive for a reason! Be the hero you wanted to be. Just because this isn’t the program you dreamed of, doesn’t mean you still can’t make a difference. You wanted to protect the Sphere, here’s your chance.”
“I-I-I can’t! There’s something wrong with me! I’m crazy, Brian. Crazy people are the villains, not the hero’s.”
“Just because you’re crazy, doesn’t mean you can’t be the hero.” He whispered, pulling her back in.
“I miss… you… so… much.” She cried, burying her face into his arms.
“I know, but it’ll be okay. Shh.” He held the back of her head as she hiccupped and gasped for air. “You’ll be okay.” He held her in his arms until the constant sobs became sniffles and her erratic gasps calmed into deep even breaths. “It’s time.”
“No, don’t leave me. I’m not ready!” Sasha pleaded looking up at his tear-streaked face.
“Live your life, Becca. You don’t need me to look out for you anymore.”
“Yes, I do! Don’t go! Please don’t go!”
“It’s time to say good-bye.” He whispered.
“I love you, Brian.” She managed to choke out.
“I love you too, Becca.” He said kissing the top of her head. “You can do this.” She croaked out a final good-by before he smiled and disappeared back into the bathroom and shut the door. She curled back into her ball on the floor, surprised that she still had the energy to cry. She heard the bathroom door open again, and a smaller figure approached and kneeled down.
“Thank you.” Sasha mumbled from her ball on the floor. She felt a pair of arms help her up and guide her onto the bed.
“You can rest for a bit until we have to go back. I’ll request more time.” Crystal said. She saw her walk towards the door and panicked.
“Please, stay with me.” Sasha blurted out. Crystal had already seen her at her lowest, there was no point in trying to hide. Crystal was right. Things had been going downhill ever since that night. She was not the same as she was before. She was weaker, and more sensitive, and she hated it-except for now. For now, she didn’t care if she looked like complete mess unable to care for herself. This loneness was too much to bear alone. Her childish nature screamed for the comfort of another’s touch. She wanted to be held and talked to. Her heart ached at the thought of her mother. How long had she been gone for in reality? An afternoon? And yet here she was, lying in a bed crying for her parents. Crying for her brother. Crying for her. Crying. When would she ever stop crying and grow up?
She felt Crystal lie next to her on the bed and wrap her arms around her chest. “You can cry; it’s ok.” Crystal seemed to do and say the precise things she wanted to hear. The pain was slowly ebbing away bit by bit. The aching hole in her chest was filling. It was true. They were the same person. She could feel it deep down inside. With every beat of their heart, they felt more complete. She became more sure with every second that went by, it was her other half she had been searching for all along. A non-romantic love- a total acceptance of the other-both adult and child- they were what made Becca. In forgiving Crystal, could she let go of the guilt that plagued her? Somehow, they’d find a way to become one person again, but she’d worry about that later. For now, she wanted to relax in this tranquility she had found. She snuggled up closer to Crystal and closed her heavy eyes-lids.
“Goodnight, big sister. And thank you.”
“Good night.” Crystal whispered, looking down at the girl in her arms. She was getting younger by the day. Whatever had caused their split was about to rear its ugly head- and soon. |
“So Strokes has learned the truth of her DID.”
“It appears she has. How much sorrow were you able to collect?”
“Enough to make our quota for the order, and then some. The governor is pleased with our progress. He has personally tested our anti-depressants after the death of his son, and is willing to vouch for their effectiveness. Three drops under the tongue seems to be the most effective treatment for most behavioral and psychological ailments. No ill side effects have been reported. 1856 has been a wonderful source in many different areas, not just what she had been recruited for. ”
“Children are much more emotional than adults. What is our next order?”
“A member of parliament over seas has requested an anger management solution. Should be simple enough, a little provocation should do the trick.”
“What is your plan for that?”
“Nothing gets them riled up quite like un-equal treatment. I believe our best course of action would be favoritism on the little one- single her out. Subject 1254 is the middle child of a large family; reports have even stated she psychically attacked a younger sibling over parental doting. After seeking treatment from a psychiatrist, she was diagnosed with Intermittent Explosive Disorder eight years ago at the age of 16. I believe she should be our main target.”
“How will the favoritism affect 1856? We don’t want her getting too comfortable here.”
“I believe it will worsen her anxiety; not improve it. Since she knows the truth she’s bound to be suspicious. Not only that, but pitting the others against her will likely drive a wedge in her relationship with 1857 if we order her other half to get closer with the others. We could kill two birds with one stone if we separate their rooms, now they have found comfort in each other’s presence.”
“Yes, I like your thinking. They’ve been getting too close lately. Their brain waves have become more and more in sync.”
“Judging from their conversations; they’ve been practicing telepathy. It is unknown if they’ve been successful, or what has been sent between the two, as we cannot read minds. This could be dangerous if they were to plot an escape.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The exits have been blocked, even if they have found a way to communicate, I doubt 1856 would leave 1857 behind now that they have found each other. We’re talking about one mentally unstable teenager; not a genius. Her brother may have taught her a few tricks that scattered between the two personalities, but he is not here to help them.”
“What if either 1856 or 1857 exhibits the same level of intelligence as the brother? He installed our security system at the age of ten.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that. 1856 has been caught doodling, ‘I love bacon’ in notebooks during class, and 1857 couldn’t care less about things that don’t directly concern her. Even before the permanent split, Strokes managed to freeze her butt to a pole.”
“What will happen to the subjects once the year is up?”
“A gas will be released in the head compartment causing the heart to stop. An autopsy will reveal they died of natural causes. Blame will be passed onto the technicians who set the equipment up.”
“What’s to keep the technicians from fighting back?”
“They will be the first to be terminated. A signal will be sent over the Sphere to scramble their brainwaves until the brain ceases to function. Their cause of death will be Euphoria.”
“I’d suggest offing them one at a time to prevent suspicion.”
“No one will miss them. We’ve hand picked the burdens to society and their families. What is that face for, Briggs?”
“It seems…cruel. These people have families and loved ones. They will be missed. Why kill them? Why not just pay them off, and send them back home?”
“People cannot know what we’re doing here. Sacrio made that mistake the first time with their testing and was shut down due to unethical experimentation.”
“Isn’t that what we’re doing now?”
“Our people in power need an immediate cure to the curse that is negative emotions. If we hadn’t stepped in and offered the governor hope; he would have blown his own brains out. Think of what we can do. Soldiers who don’t feel fear. Leaders who don’t feel stressed.”
“But why are we making these kids suffer? Most of them are barely in there twenties. Couldn’t we have just been upfront and gotten volunteers?”
“Because of course people are going to jump at the chance of being tortured in order to make drugs. Not all lives are equal, Mr. Briggs.”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Sasha and Crystal sat across from each other in the mess hall on their lunch break. Sasha held up a playing card in front of her and tried as hard as she could to project the image into Crystal’s mind with little success. She strained as she thought about the king of hearts to the point her face was going red.
“Umm, queen of diamonds.” Crystal guessed. Sasha shook her head and focused. “Jack of spades? Ace of spades? Seven of hearts?”
“You’re just guessing.” Sasha said. She put down the card on the table face up and let out a sigh. This wasn’t working. Sometimes they could make it work, and sometimes they couldn’t. Their link appeared to revolve around emotion, but try as she might, she just couldn’t get emotional over a playing card.
“Maybe if I kicked you.” Crystal said, thinking out loud. “It seems to work better under tense situations.”
“Don’t you dare!” Sasha growled. “OW!” She turned her head and scowled. Son of a bitch!
“Did that help?” David asked with a smirk. “Do you need me to smack her again?”
“What was that for?” Sasha demanded rubbing the back of her head.
“Your girl friend wanted you to feel pain, just thought I’d help.” He said.
“She’s not my girl friend!” They both said in unison.
“Then why are you always together?” David asked. He set his tray down on the table next to Sasha and sat down. She imagined slamming his face down into his mashed potatoes, but she knew it would be a waste of perfectly good mashed potatoes. Maybe she should spit in them instead.
She was halfway considering it when she heard Crystal’s voice say, “that’s gross.” She looked up to see her scowling face. Had she said that out loud? She turned to look at David, but he appeared to not have heard anything. Great, so she could send images of her spitting in mashed potatoes, but not a fricken king of hearts? Figures.
“Looks like we’re sitting here today.” Jasmine said joining their table followed by the redheaded girl named April. For the last couple of weeks she had strived to be on better terms with the others. Once they had had a few normal conversations they saw she wasn’t crazy- well not as crazy as they had imagined. She wondered what would happen if they found out Crystal was her split personality.
Try as she might though, she just couldn’t get along with April. She smiled at her, laughed at her jokes, and had even taken an empty tray for her, but no matter what she did or said; she was always met with a cold hard scowl. She eventually gave up trying to be friends with her. For one reason or another, she got the feeling April hated her.
Arnold wasn’t so bad a guy - when he was apart from David anyway. David had a way to bring out the worst in people. If anyone’s sexual orientation was being questioned it should be those two. She smirked as an idea popped into her head. Their link seemed to be open at the moment, so she conjured up an image in her mind of David feeding a forkful of spaghetti to Arnold during a romantic candle lit dinner. The sudden grin on Crystal’s face told her she saw it. Sasha took it up a notch and pictured something a bit more obscene-with David as the bottom. Crystal choked on her water, her cheeks bright red. Sasha giggled as everyone stared. Maybe the link wasn’t so bad after all.
“You suck.” Crystal said telepathically.
“Probably not as well as David.”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
The cadets lined up one by one inside the gun range. Today was the first day they would be allowed to fire a gun on the range. Even though Sasha had won the bet, the embarrassment of getting knocked back by the recoil had taken its toll. She had opted to continue the safety lessons. She couldn’t figure it out though. Why were they learning to shoot? Was it just to protect the lie?
The first week after learning the truth had been miserable. She lost hope. What was the point, she found herself wondering at every turn. The things she had so eagerly devoured before held next to no appeal to her. What was the point of proving herself to the class if it meant nothing? Why should she fight to make herself stand above the others if all it meant was drawing attention to herself? Oh look, they would say, she still has plenty of motivation and hope. Can’t have that. It was best to stay under the radar and watch.
Barkley stood over the lot of them shouting lane assignments after they stood in front of the scanner. “This time it’s going to be different. Instead of projecting a fear outward as a target, you will try to hit the target while your fear is projected inward.” Everyone exchanged looks with each other. An inward fear? What did that mean?
Instead of facing a cartoon horse, she faced a regular black and white target, along with everyone else. They stood at the ready as Barkley came up to each cadet and handed out the weapons. “Try not to blow a hole in your foot this time.” He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he handed Sasha the small handgun. She opened the chamber to see six bullets inside. She couldn’t imagine how people did it in the old days. Having to reload after every six shots would have been a pain. There was a little 3D printer inside every gun. Every time a shot was fired, a new bullet was printed into the chamber to take the place of the spent round.
If anything- even if this was all pointless in the end- she had learned quite a bit. She knew the proper stance to take, how far apart her feet should be, how high to raise her arms. This time she was ready for the recoil, and yet, she trembled. As if every eye was trained on her just waiting for her to make a mistake. Barkley was watching with a smile as malicious as last time. She didn’t have to turn around to know. She could feel it. She tried to control her breathing, the anxiety tightening like a knot in her chest. Stupid! Can’t you do anything anymore without having a panic attack? Stop being so weak! You’re the only one freaking out; pull yourself together!
“She’s going to shoot you.” Crystal’s voice said. Sasha turned her neck to find Crystal staring at her with wide eyes. Sasha looked around in a panic. Who was going to shoot her? “She’s never going to forgive you. You were never meant to exist. You’re an accident. You’re not real. You’re never going to have a family. She’s thinking of ways to delete you.”
Sasha stared at Crystal confused for a moment. What was she saying? Was she saying these things to her or… These were Crystal’s fears that were being projected to her it seemed. So this is what Barkley meant. They were each fighting their own inward battle.
“Crystal! Snap out of it!” Sasha said out loud, breaking her trance. “I’m not going to hurt you.” She said softly. “It’s ok.” Crystal’s panic had at least snapped her from her own downward spiral. She looked around pleased to see everyone was too busy dealing with their own issues. Not a single eye was watching her. Her fears were nothing more than a projected feeling from the scanner. Even Barkley was still busy handing out weapons to give her a second thought.
“This exercise is too see how you handle on the spot decisions while dealing with your own personal struggles.” Barkley said once he had finished. “Can you put aside your internal battles long enough to make rational choices, or will your inner demons get the best of you? Get into position!”
Sasha loaded the chamber, snapped it into place and raised her weapon at the target waiting for the signal.
“No no no! What are you doing?” Barkley yelled. Sasha’s heart sunk. Now what? What was she doing wrong this time? She lowered her gun and turned around expecting to see him looming over her with a scowl, but he wasn’t there. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him tearing into April instead. It had come to be something of a ritual. If Barkley was yelling, it was usually at her. It was odd to see him intimidating the others; she had figured she was his favorite to push around. “That’s not how you hold a weapon! You’re going to hurt yourself or someone else! Brindey!” Sasha gulped. This couldn’t be good. “Hold your weapon at the ready.” Sasha raised her arms and got into position. “That’s how you fire a weapon. Learn from her!”
What… the… hell... Had her ears deceived her? It almost sounded like he had just complimented her. Her heartbeat fluttered for a spit second as she inwardly beamed at the praise. Even if this was a lie, it still felt good to be recognized. Her eyes met Aprils. Her newfound happiness was replaced by dread in an instant when she was met with the angry scowl. Sasha looked away, her gaze resting instead on the others. David’s eyes shifted back and forth, his near permanent smirk replaced by a look of worry. She wondered for a brief moment what someone like him was afraid of.
She stood back at the ready when Barkley began the count down. The real targets would emerge once they landed a shot on the black and white target in their lane. The goal was to score at least 500 points. A hit scored you 25 on the body, but a headshot gave you 50; negative 50 if you shot something you weren’t supposed to. She froze for a second when he gave the ok.
The overwhelming and indescribable sensation of being a failure shot through her. She shook her head of the thoughts and tried to focus. Disappointment. Fire. She missed the target. Worthless. She pulled the trigger again hitting the target square in the center. Below average. A new target appeared faster than she could blink. A cartoon pony. She triple fired into its head only for 150 points to be deducted. Was it because she fired more than once? Another pony replaced it. She shot it, only for more points to be deducted. So she wasn’t supposed to shoot them? Why? They were her fear after all. Pathetic. You should be ashamed. No! Stop beating your self up and think! A man with a gun appeared as her target. She shot it in the head. Fifty points were added. Criminal. Shoot. Civilian. Don’t shoot. Alien. Shoot. Pony. Shoot. Damn it! More points were deducted. Don’t shoot the ponies! Failure. Weak minded. You’re going to die here. Zombie. Shoot. Old Lady. Don’t shoot. School children. Don’t shoot. Ponies. Sh- Don’t shoot! This is pointless!
They all fired shot after shot at the ever-changing targets. Some were far back, some off to the side, and some were even right in front of them. Her heart was pounding in her chest by the time Barkley shouted, “Cease fire!” Pointless or not, it was still fun. She grinned wide at her total score of 870. She had made the five hundred goal and then some. “You should all be ashamed!” He yelled at the group. “Not only did the majority of you fail to get into your target range, but leading the group is the girl who nearly blew off her bloody foot!” He turned to April. “You got the worst score in the class! Negative 325? How did you even manage to do that?” April’s face turned a similar shade of red to match her hair. Her fists were scrunched together at her side and she was glaring daggers at Sasha.
“It was rigged! Every thing I shot deducted points!” April said.
“Then don’t shoot it!” Barkley yelled covering his face with his hand. “I can’t believe how stupid you lot are. Just because you’re afraid of something doesn’t mean it’s bad!” So that’s why she wasn’t supposed to shoot the ponies, Sasha realized. “That girl is the only one who figured it out!” He said. He jabbed his finger in Sasha’s direction. She swallowed nervously. All eyes were on her, and none of them looked pleased. April looked as if she was going to murder her in her sleep. If she thought being on Barkley’s bad side was the worst thing in the world, she was about to realize, it was nothing to being on his good side. |
Things had progressively gotten stranger. The more classes they had, the more Sasha was convinced April was plotting her death, but for what reason, she had no idea. All she knew was April hated her. The more the others talked with Sasha, the more times she caught April glaring daggers at her. Had she done something to make her mad? Barkley, it seemed, was only making things worse.
She had always pictured she would enjoy getting praised. How many hours had she spent daydreaming, before she learned the truth, of Barkley admitting her worth as a solider? Now that she didn’t want it, he seemed more than willing to single her out as, “S.P.P material”. Worse was when he would compare her to April. April, it seemed was his new target. No matter what she did, it wasn’t good enough.
Sasha felt bad for her. She really did. She knew what it was like to be the odd one out. Even now she was still the odd one out, except now it was for an entirely different reason. She wasn’t sure anymore which was worse. She didn’t feel like she deserved it. She was growing suspicious. Sasha had a bad feeling there were ulterior motives behind it, and she suspected it had something to do with April. Sasha’s suspicions were confirmed the next day.
The cadets stood barefoot in the white padded room, gravity belts cinched around their waists. A feeling of dread and misery filled every one of them. The workouts had been getting more brutal everyday. Their bodies were tired, worn out, and hurt in places they didn’t know possible. Lunges, squats, push-ups, sit ups, sprints, all in intensified gravity. It was pure agony.
Ever since the incident with Andrew, the belts synced together and turned on and off automatically. Sasha got into position, and braced herself for what was to come. She winced and sucked in air as the belt turned on and her feet sunk into the padded floor. The resistance got worse and worse each day, but today seemed different. She didn’t feel as off balance today. Instead of feeling like her body was going to collapse under the weight of gravity, all she felt was a slight pressure holding her down. She wondered for a minute if maybe she was just getting used to it. Or maybe they were all starting off slow today and increasing the resistance as time went on.
Sasha looked at the others faces and grew more and more puzzled. They all gritted their teeth clearly in the same level of agony she had expected herself to be in. How strange. They got into position and started to lunge across the workout room. Her thighs burned with every movement and some let out audible groans of pain. She kept going, lunge after lunge, until she made it to the other side of the room. She looked behind her to find she had led the pack by a good ten seconds. Their faces were red as they strained to move their legs and bend. Crystal, whom she was normally evenly matched with, wore a grimace with every dip. April was far behind the others, struggling to even move, let alone dip and rise.
There had to be something wrong with Sasha’s belt. It was the only conclusion she could think of on her way back. There was no other way she could be so far ahead of the others. She briefly wondered if she wasn’t lunging correct, but shook the thought out of her head. The agonizing pain in her thighs told her she was doing it right. Not to mention Barkley would be on her so fast if he caught her cutting corners. It had to be her belt. She wasn’t getting the same amount of resistance as the others.
“Pick up the pace, Anderson! Brindey’s about to lap you!” Barkley shouted. Sasha wanted to groan. Please don’t drag me into this. Not when she felt like she was cheating. She was about to speak up, but April beat her to it.
“There’s something wrong with my belt!” April said as she continued to struggle. Her body was shaking, her breath came in ragged gasps, and sweat covered her face giving it a glossy finish.
“There’s nothing wrong with your belt! I don’t want to hear it! Excuses excuses excuses!” Barkley said. “My belt’s broken, the machine’s rigged against me.” He spoke in a high pitch voice mocking her. “Maybe the problem isn’t the equipment. Maybe it’s you. Ever thought of that, princess?” Sasha turned her head away and continued her lunges. “Everyone’s on the same level of resistance. It’s automatic. If I have to hear you complain one more time…”
Sasha wasn’t so sure about that. While it was true April had been complaining an awful lot lately about unfair treatment, to the point of sounding like a whiney child, Sasha wondered if it was true. He had just said there was no way their belts were out of sync, but she had yet to feel the same level of gravitational force the others seemed to be experiencing. Maybe she was just getting stronger.
Barkley led them through squats, push-ups, planking, sit-ups, and a jog around the room. April was the first to pass out on the floor, with Barkley standing over her to remind her she was the scum someone stepped in and was trying to scrape off the bottom of their shoe. Sasha felt bad for her. No one deserved that kind of treatment. On her next lap around she stopped in front of April and offered her a hand up.
“I don’t need your help!” April shot back knocking Sasha’s offered hand away. Sasha frowned, unsure of what to do and feeling awkward for even having offered. She hadn’t meant to insult her pride; she was only trying to help. She watched April struggle to even sit up, before giving up and falling back down. She needed to manually override it. Sasha stuck her hand towards the middle of Aprils belt in order to turn it off, but froze a few inches away. The pressure was so intense she could barely move her hand. Had April been trying to work out in this? No wonder she couldn’t keep up!
“What are you doing, Brindey?” Barkley said.
“There’s something wrong with her be-” Sasha tried to say, but was cut off.
“There’s nothing wrong with it; there’s something wrong with her.”
“I can barely move my hand when I put it in her field.”
“That’s because the pressure doubles when you enter someone else’s field while yours is still activated. Leave her, it will shut off with every one else’s.”
Sasha frowned, but did what she was told. She wasn’t sure he was telling the truth or not. She flexed her fingers under her own miniscule gravitational field before making a fist. Had she been telling the truth the whole time? As annoying as she was, was her equipment always rigged? They were torturing April on purpose; she was sure of it. What did they want from her though? On her third lap around, she decided to press the issue. She went back to April, who was still lying on the floor. She offered her a hand, only to have it batted away again.
“I believe you.” Sasha said, hoping somehow that would make a difference.
“I don’t want your sympathy, pants pisser.” April spat.
“What’s your problem with me?”
“Don’t think I don’t notice they go easy on you because you look like a little girl. You’re no better than the rest of us.”
“I never thought I was!” Sasha said. She was starting to get angry now. She had just been trying to be nice, only to be rebuffed at every turn. For a split second she wanted to tell her this was all a fake; to see her heart break the way hers had, but she held her tongue. Crystal thought it wasn’t a good idea to tell the others. If more people knew, they might just kill the lot of them now and start over.
“Stop.” Sasha heard. Crystal had opened their link, and was stepping in. Sasha ground her teeth and left April to fend for herself.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
“Why does she hate me?” Sasha asked Crystal as they waited in line for dinner.
“My guess is they’re making her angry on purpose. It’s best not to get involved.” Crystal said.
“Kind of hard not to when Barkley keeps comparing us. Why is he suddenly praising me? I thought he hated me?”
“You were established as the worst candidate in the beginning. By comparing you to April he’s telling her she’s the worst of the worst.” Crystal leaned against the railing and grimaced. “These workouts are killing me.”
“Thanks,” Sasha said. She had her suspicions the praise wasn’t real- or earned- but it still stung a bit. She was being used as a way to manipulate the others. “You know, my belt was lighter than everyone else’s today. It was the only reason I was able to keep up.”
“No fair.” Crystal groaned. “You get to carry my tray for me then; I can’t feel my arms.”
“You cheater!” A growl from behind them said. They turned to find April a few people down in line. “The rest of us are working our asses off, and you’re just coasting through on an easy setting! You knew my belt was turned up higher, and you didn’t say anything about your own!”
Sasha’s heart was beginning to beat rapidly. Uh-oh. Busted. Please don’t make a scene.
“Ignore her.” Crystal whispered.
“She’s cheating! I hope they find you and kick you out!” April shouted. Sasha wished they would too. “She had her belt turned off, guys!”
“Shut up; you’re annoying.” David said. April charged and knocked Sasha’s tray of food on the ground before storming off. They all stood in the awkward and quiet mess hall unmoving. Everyone’s gaze was focused on Sasha. Her eyes began to water.
“Don’t get upset over this.” Crystal said. “They’re provoking her; don’t take it personally.” Sasha shook her head.
“What a waste of food.” Sasha mumbled seeing her mashed potatoes, corn and ham scattered across the floor. “Will I still get dessert?”
“Oh my god, that’s what your upset about?” Crystal said shaking her head. “You really are turning into little kid.”
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Sasha decided she needed to blow off a little steam after dinner. She was agitated after everything that had happened. Classes were over and she still had an hour until she had to report for cleaning duties. She wished she could shoot something, but she couldn’t play games here. Where could she go? An idea popped into her head so she hurried to the classroom, happy to still see it open. She frowned and looked around. It was just an empty room. She was hoping she could use the gun range, but she didn’t know how to change the room.
“What are you doing here?” Barkley asked, poking his head in.
“It’s free time, I need to shoot something, or I’m going to go crazy.” Probably not the best way to phrase that, she realized, but she didn’t give it a second thought. She was going through withdrawals.
“Knock yourself out.” He said, and with a clap of his hands, the room changed into the gun range she had been hoping to find. “Don’t dirty my floors.” And then he was gone. Sasha was surprised he was leaving her unsupervised with a room full of weapons, but it wasn’t the real world after all. Even if she tried to shoot up the place, they couldn’t die. With the armory unlocked for her, she browsed her choices of arsenal. She had to stop herself from going for the big stuff; Crystal wasn’t here to carry her to sickbay if she blew a hole in herself again.
She picked another handgun; it seemed safe enough. She loaded the barrel and walked over to the lanes. Her first instinct was to go to the one she had been assigned the previous day, but a nagging curiosity sent her to April’s after she scanned herself. She stood at the ready, and began firing at the targets when they appeared. Her aim was terrible today; she could barely hit anything. Every time she aimed for the head she wasn’t even close, so she settled for lower scored body shots, and even then she only hit the sides. What was going on? Even worse, when she did hit them, points were deducted, not added. No matter what the target was it subtracted points. She stopped shooting and let out an irritated sigh. April really was being set up, but was she the only one?
She walked over to the lane she had the previous day and started the program. Every shot was perfect. The bullets went right between the eyes, even when she wasn’t aiming. She didn’t know what made her more irritated: that they were making April look bad or making Sasha look far better than she really was. April’s lane reflected the bullets while Sasha’s lane had pulled them in. The third lane she went to was much better. While she was far from a perfect shot, she still had better accuracy than April’s lane suggested. It took her a little while to compensate for the recoil, but it was manageable. By the end of the hour, she could hit the target every time- not perfectly, but a hit was still a hit and that would have to do for now.
It was another long and tedious night mopping the bathrooms. Everyone’s groans of pain left Sasha scrambling to pick up the slack seeing as how she was the only one capable of moving more than a few inches at a time. The harder she tried to work, the more dirty looks she got from the others as if her ability to move was a sign of her dishonesty, instead of the fact that she was trying her hardest to help the others. She scowled when she found the others huddled in a group talking. All grew quiet when she approached, which meant she knew exactly what the subject of their discussion was. She sighed and went back to work; she was an outcast once again- the reason had changed, but the results were still the same. Her frown increased when she saw the head of green hair in the group. They locked eyes for a split second and Crystal shrugged.
“Sorry, I have my orders. I’ll tell you about it later tonight.” Crystal said as they passed. Why? It wasn’t like they were going to ever give her a chip. When they finally finished, Sasha dragged herself to her room and placed her palm on hand reader. The screen glowed a bright red and her bedroom door remained locked. What? She tugged on the door, but it wouldn’t budge. She tried to scan her palm, but again an error message displayed.
Sasha Brindey, You have been assigned to room 11. Your belongings are already there waiting for you.
Room change? She glanced at the door, and sure enough, her name was no longer listed as a room occupant. Instead it listed Crystal Kisara and…April Anderson?! April was taking her room? Did that mean she had April’s room now? Three weeks ago she would have done anything to have her own room, but now, her insides hurt at the thought of being separated from Crystal. She cringed at another realization. If April hated her before, how would she feel now that Sasha was booting her out of her space, and April was now forced to share a one-person bedroom? Sasha would definitely be sleeping with one eye open tonight. |
Crystal tossed and turned in her sleep while quiet, but agitated whimpers escaped her mouth. Her cries for help grew louder and louder with every passing minute the longer she spent in the confines of her nightmare. April groaned from her spot on the bed, before trying to use her hands to block out the noise. With every attempt unsuccessful, she chucked her pillow at the sleeping girl on the floor.
Crystal awoke with a start. She gasped for air and tried to fight the confines of her blanket that wrapped around each limb pinning her down. Her eyes darted back and forth as they tried to adjust to the darkness, until they rested on the familiar ceiling above her. She thought back to what she had been dreaming about, but all she could come up with was a feeling of dread. She wondered for a brief moment if Sasha was the one having nightmares, and Crystal was the one who had been brought along for the ride. The sudden appearance of a hand dangling over her face stole her attention.
“Pillow,” April mumbled. Crystal moved her hand around blindly in the darkness, until it came into contact with the soft squishy material. If she had previously thought Sasha was a terrible roommate; she was nothing compared to April, whose constant conniption fits for unknown reasons, left damage in the walls and furniture. At least with Sasha, Crystal had gotten to sleep in the bed instead of on the floor- even if Sasha hogged most of the blankets, and had the odd tendency to try and spoon with her in her sleep. Crystal hugged April’s pillow to her chest, before handing it back. It wasn’t the same, she thought with a sigh. It was kind of funny how the things she couldn’t stand about sharing a room with her younger self were now the things she missed the most about her.
Apart from the walls and furniture, it was a good thing there wasn’t anything breakable in here, or April would have destroyed it her first night. To say she had been pissed would have been like saying ants were small, or Barkley was overcompensating for something. Crystal felt kind of bad for her, but April’s temper made it difficult to sympathize. She couldn’t talk to her; she could barely stand being in the same room with her. Crystal had decided against telling April the real reason she was being singled out and simply let her vent. One thing was clear. April hated Sasha. A message from the director told her not to interfere, or she’d find herself in worse places than the fear chamber. So Crystal was stuck trying to make the best of a bad situation.
She had offered April the bed the first night, as a way of a peace offering, but that became April taking the bed every night, leaving Crystal on the hard, uncomfortable floor. She wondered if there was a way to change the ground into the foamy, white padding like in their workout room. Even if it were just a small patch in the corner, it would beat sleeping on what felt like concrete every night.
Crystal tossed and turned, unable to fall back asleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she felt a sudden panic welling up within her. Sasha’s doing no doubt, she thought with a sigh. She might as well go check up on her, and wake her up from whatever was plaguing her sleep. Crystal grabbed her blanket and pillow and stood up, trying her best to creep towards the door undetected.
“Going to your girlfriends room again?”
Crystal gritted her teeth and ignored her. Why did everyone think they were an item? What was so wrong with visiting her split personality in the middle of the night? Was it really that weird they had shared the bed, over alternating who slept on the floor? Did it make it weirder that she shared a bed with the physical manifestation of her inner child? Or was she Sasha’s inner adult? The sooner they extracted the memory that split them the better.
“Why don’t you just stay there if you miss her so much? At least that way I can have my own room again.” April muttered, before adding, “Then I can sleep through the night without your screaming waking me up.”
Crystal hadn’t been aware she had been making that much of a commotion, or that this had been an ongoing problem, but disturbing April’s sleep cycle was the least of her concerns. She crept through the dark hallway, her blanket trailing behind her, as she traced her hand on the wall to guide her. Once she reached Sasha’s door, she knocked softly a few times, only for them to go unanswered. She tried again a little harder, until a groggy, little girl with massive bed head emerged.
Sasha mumbled something unintelligible, which Crystal took as a, “Hello, come right in.” With eyes still half shut, she stepped out of the way and let the intruder in, before closing the door behind her.
“All your nightmares are making me have nightmares.” Crystal said, as she climbed into bed. “Anderson’s one sleepless night away from adding me to her hit list as well.”
“But I’m not having any nightmares.” Sasha half-mumbled and half yawned before falling back asleep.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Sasha hummed to herself as she rinsed the remains of scrambled eggs from the large saucepan, not daring to look at the ever-growing pile she still had to do before she could eat. While dishes certainly weren’t her favorite thing to do, it sure beat her remedial lessons she had to do the first week she had been here. How long had she been here now? Three months? Four months? They kept her so busy she was beginning to lose track.
There was still a hope alive buried in her deep deep down, they would release them once they were done harvesting their emotions – even if that was a complete lie she told herself every morning to keep her last flame from flickering out in the harsh storm. Maybe if she stayed happy; they’d have no use for her and send her back home. Un-likely, but it was all that kept her going these days- that and bacon. Mostly bacon. And sometimes Crystal. But mostly bacon. If these were going to be her last days, she wished to spend them happy, so she thought of how much better doing dishes was than listening to holographs talk about The Great Silence. Or how awesome it was to have her own room, even if she was separated from Crystal now.
Speaking of, she wondered what was going on with her. Crystal had been coming to her room more and more lately, not that Sasha minded. She slept the best when Crystal was by her side. The other night she had mentioned something about nightmares. She had tried to ask her about it, but Crystal said she couldn’t remember what they were about. Either that or she was lying; she couldn’t tell.
The smells that filled the kitchen made her stomach grumble. “I’m so hungry.” She complained to no one, as she continued to scrub the dishes, too lost in her work to notice the two approaching figures behind her.
“Hey, Sasha, whatcha doing?” She turned around to find not just David, but April as well. This couldn’t be good.
“Dishes.” She said. Her eyes shifted from David, to April, back to David. What were they up to?
“I heard you say you’re hungry. Here eat this; it’s really good.” April stretched out her hand and offered the strange looking red vegetable.
“What is it?” Sasha asked suspiciously. Why would they of all people offer her food because she said she was hungry? “What did you do to it?” They probably used to scrub a toilet; no way was she going to eat anything they offered to her.
“Nothing.” April said. “None of us like doing dishes, and if you pass out, it means we have to take over.” She pulled a bag full of them off the counter and offered it to her. “Just take one from the bag. It’s used to season food, like cinnamon does.” Well…she did like cinnamon. Sasha pulled one from the bag and looked it over. It was all shriveled up and red. Her stomach growled. She took a bite out of it. At first nothing happened, and she figured she was safe, but their smirks grew wide every time she chewed. It wasn’t as good as they had said it was, in fact it was kind of- She whimpered and leaned over the sink to spit it out. Her tongues, lips, and inside of her mouth was on fire. Tears spilled from her eyes as she coughed and gagged.
“She’ll never learn.” David said as he turned on the faucet. Sasha stuck her mouth under the cold running water and cried from the pain. She heard a commotion coming from behind her, but she didn’t dare move her mouth away from the cool relief of the running water.
“Calm down! It was just a joke!” April yelled before a loud bang was heard. “No, stop! What are you doing? Get off me!”
“Let’s see who’s laughing now.” Crystal said. Unable to keep her curiosity at bay any longer, Sasha looked up to find Crystal shoving a handful of the red sticks from hell into Aprils open mouth.
“What’s all the commotion over here?” Everyone stopped what they were doing and stood up straight. Director Aspen stepped into the kitchen. She looked over Sasha’s red, tear streaked face, agitated, puffy lips, and mouth hanging open mid pant to April spitting out the whole, red vegetables into her hand. “Explain.” Director Aspen said turning to Crystal.
“Anderson tricked Sasha into eating a chili pepper.” Crystal said.
“Why is Anderson pulling them out of her mouth?”
“Because I took a handful and shoved them in.”
“I see.” Director Aspen said eyeing April. “Eat them.”
“What?” April said wide-eyed.
“So it’s okay to make other’s eat them, but not you?”
“B-but, it was just a prank!”
“I said eat them.” April remained frozen under the director’s gaze, before tentatively sticking a pepper into her mouth. “All of them.” April whimpered before knocking the handful back. “Now chew.” She said, unflinching at April’s wails of pain. April gagged and coughed, tears streaming down her red face as she begged and pleaded to spit them out, but the director remained unmoved by her suffering. After twenty seconds, Sasha had to look away. She would have laughed watching her eat one, but a mouthful was cruel, and no one deserved to suffer that much- even April. “You will take over the dishwashing from here on, and Brindey will take over your job.”
“Wha’ ‘bou’ ‘avid?” April tried to ask through her swollen lips. Drool and crushed peppers dripped out her mouth and burned her face.
“What about him?” The director asked before walking away.
It had happened in the blink of an eye. No one had seen it coming. April staggered towards a drawer, before puling out a large carving knife. She spun around and charged, thrusting the knife into Sasha’s abdomen. Sasha gasped as she stared ahead unblinking. She inched her head down and saw a blood trickling down her uniform under the protruding knife. She felt dizzy. She stumbled forward and collapsed to her knees. Everyone stood in place shocked. April stood frozen in disbelief at what she had done. The last face she saw was the director, smirking at her in the back, before Sasha gave in to unconsciousness.
………………..
“I-I- ‘idn’t mea’ ‘oo!” April stuttered as Sasha’s body slumped to the floor.
“You killed her!” David said, staring on stunned.
“It’s virtual reality; she can’t die!” Another shouted.
Crystal ran forward and lifted Sasha’s head in her arms. She looked over her body worried. There was so much blood; she didn’t know what to do. It was beginning to pool under her body in a dark red puddle. Should Crystal remove the knife or should she wait for the doctor? Should she try and carry her in the infirmary, or bring the doctor here?
Arnold came forward and motioned for Crystal to lift her under her armpits, while he carried her legs. The others moved leaving a clear path for them to carry her out. Would it even be open this early? She didn’t know where to look for the doctor if he wasn’t there. They inched forward towards the sick bay leaving a trail of blood in their wake. “Please be there, please be there.” Crystal chanted as she strained under the weight of the girl in her arms.
“His room’s connected to the infirmary.” Arnold said, trying to calm her fears. She hadn’t noticed David and Jasmine walking with them until they moved ahead. David held the door open for them, while Jasmine banged on the door of the doctor’s private quarters. The doctor emerged wearing his lab coat and pajama pants while Crystal and Arnold set Sasha down on the table.
“What the hell happened?” He asked looking Sasha up and down. “We need to take her clothes off in order for the table to work. It won’t heal her skin if anything’s in the way. Grab the scissors!” Jasmine worked on taking her boots off, while Crystal helped with cutting away here uniform. “I’m going to pull the knife out on the count of three. When I do, flip on the table. One, two, three!” He yanked the knife out while blood spattered the walls. Crystal turned the table on, and a white light engulfed Sasha’s body. “And now we wait.”
“She can’t die in virtual reality, right?” Jasmine asked. Not unless they give the signal, Crystal thought, a bitter resentment filled her core.
“She’ll be alright; just give it time.” He said, but Crystal wasn’t so sure. They had pushed April this far on purpose. They wanted her to crack. They knew she had a history of violence, but they still pitted her against Sasha. Were they going to kill Becca now? What would happen if they did? Would Crystal die as well, or would she still live on?
“Crystal, you’re bleeding!” Jasmine said snapping her from her thoughts.
“What, no, this is Sasha’s blood, I’m fine.” She said, before looking down to see her uniform slowly darkening.
“Take off your suit!” The doctor ordered. She pulled it halfway down and lifted up her undershirt. A large gash had formed in her abdomen and was bleeding profusely. She winced as the air made contact with her open skin. How had she not noticed this before? Was this their links doing?
“When did you get stabbed?” Jasmine asked, but before Crystal could shake her head, the doctor ordered everyone not injured out.
“I’m sorry I have to do this the old fashioned way since the table’s occupied.” He explained as he dug through the cabinets for supplies. “Your real body will go into shock if you lose too much blood between the both of you. This is going to hurt, but please hold this against the wound.” She winced as she held disinfectant soaked rag against her stomach and sat in the chair.
“Why am I hurt too? I didn’t get injured.”
“I don’t know. My guess is Becca’s brain is convinced she was stabbed and has split the injury between the two of you to protect Sasha, or this is a case of sympathy injury due to your link.” He said. It made sense. If they shared thoughts and feelings; it wouldn’t be too far fetched to say they could share injuries as well.
“How did you know I knew the truth about Becca?” Crystal asked.
“You didn’t really think I believed you were looking at porn, did you? If we were really hiding the truth from you; we wouldn’t have left it in such an easily accessible place. Like I said; it’s all about collecting the da-“
“Do you seriously think this is about collecting data? I know the whole truth; you don’t have to keep lying. I know what you’re planning to do to everyone once your done with us.” Crystal said. Why would he still keep this charade up after all this time? She found the information on his computer and connected the dots.
“What are you talking about? We weren’t hiding anything other than your identity.” He said, as he began writing on a piece of paper.
“I know about Sacrio; I know about everything!” Crystal said, but froze when he held up the piece of paper.
I want to help you all escape. |
Crystal looked from the note, then back to the doctor. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Why should she believe him? Everything these people had ever told her was a lie, so what makes now any different? Was he lying about leaving the information lying around to cover his tracks, or was he serious? Finding the truth had been easy. If these people were a national billion-dollar government organization, they wouldn’t leave classified information lying around unprotected. If that were the case, he had wanted her to find it. He motioned with his eyes to the corner of the room and made a gesture with his hand for her to keep talking.
“Then what about Sasha?” Crystal asked, before mouthing the word, why.
“I figured you’d tell her yourself.” He said. He scribbled another note on the pad before handing it over.
I can’t do this anymore. No one was supposed to die.
Crystal shook her head. She wasn’t going to fall for that.
The fourth life has already been taken, what do you have to loose?
The fourth life? Crystal’s eyes darted to Sasha half expecting to see her dead, but the doctor shook his head, and made an A with his fingers.
“April?”
“Yes, that’s right. We’re studying the effects of April’s I.E.D. in controlled environments, but now that experiment’s over.”
The experiment was over? So then… April was killed? “And the guy that never came back, Andrew, the one that was sent home.” He nodded his head. That’s two deaths. Who were the others?
“They determined him unfit for the program and sent him home.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, while Crystal tried to process everything.
All of you have been monitored from a young age; you’ve all been a part of this program for thirteen years. All of you witnessed something terrible in order to study the effects of childhood trauma. A seed was planted and watered in order to grow up to be harvested.
“What. Happened?” Crystal asked through clenched jaw. The thought of them doing something terrible to children in order to study the results years later sent her head spinning.
Each of you walked into an early fear chamber prototype.
“Andrew was hurt too badly to continue. He was sensitive and we received readings his physical body had been hurt in the accident as well.”
“What did they see?” Crystal asked, her fists clenched in her lap. Her body trembled in a silent rage. “Sasha…”
“It was around the same time the Sacrio accident was on the news. Before they figured out the drug needed to be given in virtual reality. It was a nightmare.”
“They didn’t!” Crystal gasped. She had heard from Sasha what it was like being stuck in the pod waiting to be synced up. “They must have gone crazy.”
“Mass suicide of all the subjects. It must have been on her mind when she walked through the door.”
“The door.” Crystal said, a flash of her dream coming back to her. “I-I remember something about a door.” Her chest tightened. The feeling of panic welled up inside of her. She kept dreaming about a door, and every time she walked through it she would wake up in a panic. Did that have any correlation to this? “What do you think she saw? Was it the ponies or…?”
“No, that happened before she walked through the door. I believe the scanner was hidden inside a castle if I remember her file correctly.”
“So then what is the deal with the ponies?”
“The organization paid employees at Sphere centers across the world to develop scarier versions of children’s games in order to hide the fear chambers. When the child came out traumatized, the employee would take the fall. The children would then receive a portable Sphere System as part of a settlement. They were also sent to our therapists to monitor them in order to pick out the best candidates possible. The Sphere was then flooded with rumors of an elite school and actors were hired as graduates to tell the world of their amazing heroics.”
“How do I play a part in all this? Where did I come from?”
“I have a recording of some of Becca’s earlier psychology visits. Seeing as how you are Becca, I see no reason why you can’t see them. Would you like to see them?”
“Please.”
The doctor offered her a chair in front of the terminal. Crystal sat facing the monitor as he scrolled through some of the folders.
“Are you ready?”
……………………………………….
Subject 1256. Session 13.
A little girl with long black hair wearing a blue and white dress sat in the oversized armchair looking down sullenly. “So how are you doing, Becca? Better or worse since the last time we spoke?” a male voice off in the distance asked.
“I don’t know,” the little girl answered, voice barely above a whisper.
“Have you been having any more nightmares?” Silence. “Becca?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you want to talk about them?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I just don’t.”
“You know I’m here to help you, but I can’t help you unless you talk to me.”
“I’m not supposed to talk about them.”
“Why not?”
“The green haired girl asked me not to.”
“Who is the green haired girl?”
“I don’t know.”
“Is she your friend?”
“Yeah, we play games together. She’s always there.”
“In the Sphere?”
“Yeah. I call her my shadow.”
“Why doesn’t she want you to talk to me?”
“She said it reminds her of the bad thing she saw.”
“What bad thing?”
Silence.
End recording.
Doctor’s notes:
This is the third time 1256 has spoken of a green haired girl playing with her. We are unaware if this person is real or imaginary. The important thing is subject 1256 has been using her Portable Sphere System to play games once again, but the games she has played involves no characters with green hair. We are unaware if her brother has built her a guardian or not, and is advising her not to speak with us. Only time will tell.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Subject 1256. Session 18
“How have you been, Becca?”
“Ok.”
“I see you brought your P.S.S. like I asked you too, good girl. Go ahead and put your helmet on. What we’re going to do today is a little different. I’m going to ask you questions while you’re in virtual reality, ok?”
“Ok.”
“Good, alright, what I’m going to do is load a game I have here. All it is is an empty playground. This is a special game though; it’s going to show me exactly what you see on my screen over here. I’m loading it now.”
End Recording.
Doctor’s Notes:
Subject 1256 started off playing on the swing set by herself, but she seemed to be looking for someone even though I told her she would be alone. To my surprise, a green haired girl appeared and sat next to subject 1256 and began talking. I was astonished. I have seen this simulation hundreds of times, and never has there been two people inside it at once. I want to say it’s impossible, but there she was! I think we are dealing with a duel personality, but I’m not sure. Becca has shown no signs of having a split personality. When questioned, she recalls no loss of time or awareness. I will need to run a few more tests.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Subject 1256. Session 22.
“Thank you for coming, Mrs. Strokes. Are you nervous?”
“A little, I’m not used to meeting people face to face.”
“I understand, I appreciate you coming here regardless.”
“My kids are much better at socializing than my husband and I.”
“It’s a different time indeed. There’s the first generation to come out of the Great Silence. Do you use the Sphere?”
“No, I don’t. It seems a little sketchy to me.”
“You should consider it; that’s why the Sphere was invented in the first place- to end the Great Silence. Birth rate has dropped to an all time low; with the world population down to 500,000 something needed to be done. Human interaction has become a lost art.”
“You seem at ease with it.”
“Psychology is one of the few remaining professions that requires the ability to speak face to face. It’s hard to study someone behind the monitor. People put on an act behind anonymity, but take it away and they become their true selves. That’s the beauty of the Sphere; it offers just the right amount anonymity, while teaching much needed social skills. If you’re at a loss for words, it will give you give you suggestions on what to say-- A sort of social prompt. How did you meet your husband?”
“Online. We emailed back and forth for about three years before we decided to meet in person. The government benefits of getting married and having children were too good to pass up. They gave us a house and 50 thousand per child.”
“How has socializing improved since starting a family?”
“Much better. It took a little getting used to sleeping next to another person, and being touched, was well, trial and error. Let’s just say the honeymoon didn’t happen on the first night, but now I can’t imagine being alone.”
“How do you interact with your children? Do you spend time with them, or will they be raised like the generation before them?”
“Oh no! I spend as much time with them as possible! I will not let technology raise my children. I didn’t even get a robo nanny, like I had as a child.”
“Good, good. I’m glad to hear that. I think this generation will be the catalyst that changes things. I believe, as a society, we have learned from our mistakes. Now the reason I asked you to come was I wanted to ask you a few questions, and also, I wanted to try something with you and Becca. She’s waiting outside, correct?”
“Yes. What did you need to ask?”
“Do you know if your son created, what we call, a fake? It’s an un-registered avatar.”
“He hasn’t said anything about it. He usually tells us all about his projects.”
“I see. Has your daughter mentioned anything about a green haired girl?”
“Y-yes, quite a bit actually. Becca’s worried about her. It’s cute.”
“Did she say why she’s worried?”
“She says she’s scared.”
“I see, well, what I’m going to ask you to do is make a user in the Sphere. Once you’re done with that, I’m going to put you in a playground. I’m going to communicate with you through my tablet. Text will appear in your line of vision. All you have to do is think of your response and I’ll see it. Then I’m going to send Becca in as well. What I want you to do is tell me if you see the green haired girl. Try and interact with her.”
“Oh, umm, all right.”
Do you see her?
No.
What do you see?
A jungle gym. A few swings. A slide. Wait, there’s a brown haired girl!
That’s Becca’s avatar, Sasha. Think of her as your daughter, but in a different body.
Are you sure it’s her? She’s acting different.
How so?
She just called me mommy. She hasn’t called me mommy in years.
It’s ok, people tend to act differently in virtual reality.
No, really, the way she’s talking. It’s almost as if she’s younger. Wait, I see her! The green haired girl!
Can you talk to her?
Yes.
Try and ask her about the bad thing.
She said she recognizes me. …Doctor, something’s wrong with her! She’s screaming!
What is she saying?
‘I remember you. I remember you on the floor all covered in blood with all the others.’ Doctor, get us out of here! I don’t like this! She’s scaring me! Is this who my daughters been playing with? Who is she?
END RECORDING.
Doctors’ notes:
I believe I’ve figured out the truth. The green haired girl holds the repressed memory of Becca. The green haired girl, who we have dubbed 1257 a.k.a Crystal, is not just a split personality, but also a split consciousness that takes place whenever Becca goes into virtual reality. This is astonishing! It explains why she takes a physical form inside virtual reality. Becca has the ability to control two avatars at once without even knowing it.
Since Crystal only manifests in virtual reality, we asked Becca to put a device on her that will send her to the SPP grounds the next time she materializes. From there, her memory will be wiped and filled with memories of being lost and wandering aimlessly for years. The SPP will be the only home she has ever known, and without an identification chip, the only home she can ever have.
We have filled the media with enough propaganda about the SPP that by the time Becca is 18, she is sure to apply. There we will have them meet again. We are unsure if they will recognize each other.
Over the years I have known Becca; her avatar has never changed. It has always remained the little blue-eyed girl. People tend to change their online appearance frequently to match their age, but Sasha has always remained the same. When asked about it under hypnosis, Sasha responded with, “My other half is missing; I cannot grow older until she returns.” When not under hypnosis, her response has always been something to do with gaming. This tells us deep down, Sasha realizes something is missing. It explains the regression. We believe Sasha to be the physical representation of the childhood innocence that was stolen from Becca- another separate identity, even though they share memories. Another sign of a split between the consciousness’s.
………………………………………………..
Crystal stared blankly ahead for a solid minute after the recording had finished. She didn’t even know what to think or where to begin. Fake memories? Brain washing? Memory wipe? She had known Sasha before, but they were separated? And her mother! She had met her mother, and mother was afraid of her!
“Am I the one with the repressed memory?”
“Are you ready to remember?”
“When do we start?”
“As soon as Sasha wakes up.”
“What will happen?”
“if my theory’s correct; you’ll become one person again.” |
Sasha grimaced as her eyes slowly opened to find herself lying under the dreary grey ceiling of the sick bay. She was starting to grow accustomed to the sight. She squinted in the harsh light and slowly sat up. How had she ended up here this time? The last thing she remembered was her mouth burning. Then the pain had traveled down. She looked down, only to find her flat, curveless stomach the same as it always was.
Sasha turned her head to find Crystal dozing off in a chair beside her. She wondered for a brief moment if she had done something dumb again, like chop a limb off when she wasn’t paying attention. She was sure she’d hear an earful when Crystal woke up.
Her hand traced her stomach again as if she had expected to find an object protruding from it. Like a knife. She blinked and looked down. Had she been… stabbed?
April! So that was it. April had finally snapped under the pressure.
She tried to wait as patiently as possible to see if Crystal would wake on her own, but she grew too impatient to sit still. She wanted to know what happened and why. As if on cue, Crystal began to stir.
“What did I miss?” Sasha asked as soon as she had made eye contact.
“You’ll see.” Crystal stood, stretched for a second, and knocked on the door that separated the doctors’ quarters from sickbay. “She’s awake!”
‘”I don’t remember any of this!” Sasha said after watching the video. “I remember having to see psychologists afterwards for nightmares, but I don’t remember meeting Crystal before.” She tried to think back as far as she could, but all they had ever talked about were ponies. And what was up with her mom? She had met Crystal? Why hadn’t she said anything? Even as she got older, not a single mention of her having an imaginary friend. You’d think there would have been at least one conversation about along the lines of, “Hey, you remember that green haired girl that you used to play with in virtual reality?”
“I don’t remember you either.” Crystal said. “So what’s going to happen? You going to put us under or something?”
“No, I’m going to help you get your memories back.” The doctor said.
Sasha and Crystal exchanged nervous glances.
He went on, “I have a recording of what you saw that day when you passed through the door. I’m going to upload it into the World Projection Room and have the both of you go through it together.”
“What’s that?” Sasha asked.
“The fear chamber. Its real name is a WPR; it can project a different reality depending on the user it scans. It can also be manually adjusted.”
“Can’t you just tell us what we saw?” Sasha didn’t like the thought of reliving this. Didn’t she forget for a reason? Isn’t this what caused the split in the first place?
“Let me rephrase this. What you saw in the room isn’t being projected; just the room itself. What we’re trying to do is drag the memory out of the depths of your consciousness. What we’re trying to accomplish is opening the link between you the rest of the way in order for Crystal to return to your consciousness.”
It still gave her a bad feeling, but with a nod of her head, she reluctantly agreed. How did Crystal feel about this? She turned her head and tried to study her expression, but she appeared emotionless.
The whole walk towards the WPR was done of silence. Sasha tried to talk to Crystal through telepathy, but her questions remained either unanswered or unheard.
When they got there they stood in front of the door and the doctor entered something into a terminal and pressed a few buttons. Sasha didn’t think she’d ever felt as scared as she did now. Behind that door was some kind of unimaginable horror.
“It’s just a room; don’t be scared.” Crystal said. Sasha turned to look up at her, but she looked just as terrified as she felt. She supposed she had more of a reason to be scared. After all it was her existence on the line. Could seeing what was behind that door really heal the tear in Becca’s consciousness? What if Crystal was the one who continued to exist and Sasha was the one who disappeared? “You have memories. I don’t.”
“Are you sure you want to do this?” She didn’t want Crystal to disappear. “Aren’t you scared?”
“Of course I’m not. It’s just a room. I’ve been in this thing tons of times. I’m not going anywhere.” Sasha could tell she was lying about being scared. She was fidgeting a whole bunch and shifting her weight from foot to foot as they waited for the doctor to finish loading the program. She was either terrified or she had to pee. Speaking of.
“I’ll be right back.” Sasha said. She tried to leave, but felt a hand press down on her shoulder.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Uh, the bathroom.”
“Stay put.”
Sasha didn’t argue. She figured Crystal thought she was trying to back out of it at the last minute. So she squirmed in place without another word.
“Everything’s set and ready to go.” The doctor said. He stepped back from the computer and motioned towards the door. Sasha swallowed. She really didn’t want to go in there.
“Let’s go.” Crystal said after a minute of silence. Sasha remained frozen in place. She didn’t think she could do this. Why not let this just stay buried and forgotten? Why bring up the past? She looked at Crystal. Would this be the last time they’d see each other? She shook her head. “C’mon.” Crystal said. She held out her hand to her. Sasha reluctantly took it. Crystal opened the door leading to the blackness inside and they stepped through.
At first it remained a solid black. Sasha stood clutching Crystal’s hand unable to see anything in front of her. Slowly things began to emerge from the darkness. Dirty floor tiles. A bed. Two beds. A whole row of beds. And then a room. She looked around craning her neck this way and that. They seemed to be in an empty hospital room with ten empty beds on one side and another ten on the other. They each exhaled their held breath. Not exactly the horror they had been expecting.
“See, nothing to be afraid of.” Crystal said. She was right. There was nothing here. Her confidence grew with each step they took and by the time they had reached the other side of the room she no longer needed to hold the other girls hand. So she let go. Almost as soon as she did a familiar scent assaulted her nose. A metallic coppery smell.
Sasha’s blood ran cold. Something was behind them now. She could smell it. “Do you smell that?” Crystal sniffed the air.
“Yeah,” she said. Her voice wavered. It sounded scared. Sasha’s heartbeat frantically in her chest. She took a step closer to Crystal. “On three?” They turned around. Sasha had shut her eyes. “There’s nothing here.” Sasha relaxed and opened them. She screamed.
Bodies littered the room. Some were in their beds, while others were half-way out dangling on the floor. Blood covered them. Smeared the bed sheets. Smeared on the walls. Smeared on each other. Fingernail scratches ran down their faces as if they had clawed themselves. Patches of hair were missing as if they had pulled it out. A body hung from the light fixture. A sheet fastened a noose around his neck.
“What, what is it?” Crystal asked in a panic. Sasha couldn’t speak. All she could do was scream. Tears ran down her face. Snot dripped from her nose. She threw herself into Crystal’s arms and shook violently. Heavy sobs racked her body. Crystal was worried she’d make herself sick. Urine soaked her uniform as a puddle formed underneath her. No matter how many times she was asked, she couldn’t respond with anything intelligible.
It wasn’t just that there were dead bodies. She had seen dead bodies hundreds of times in games. It was who the dead bodies were. Her mother. Her father. Her brother. Children she had gone to school with. And the look in their eyes. They had seen un-imaginable horrors and death was their only escape from the madness that tormented them. They had slowly gone insane. Their minds moved at hyper speed, but their bodies couldn’t keep up with them. This was what she had seen at five. This was the cause of her nightmares. This is what had given birth to Crystal. And then she remembered.
She remembered the door. The large iron door that she had thought led to safety. Instead it led to this carnage before her. The ponies were nothing compared to this. She remembered the therapy. And she remembered Crystal- the green haired girl who would come to play with her in virtual reality. They had told her to put something on her. She didn’t know it would make her go away. It was Sasha that had trapped her here for all this time.
“I’m so sorry,” Sasha cried.
“What? What are you talking about?”
It took her a few times to explain what she meant. It was difficult to talk between the gasps and sobs that came from deep within her.
“You didn’t know, Sasha. It’s not your fault.”
“I don’t want you to leave! Don’t leave me. I need you. You’re all I have left.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Sash, what are you talking about?”
“I-if I take it off you’ll disappear.”
“The thing on my neck? It won’t come off. I’ve tried.”
“So you want to go?”
“I was never supposed to exist. Don’t you want to stop feeling this pain when we’re apart?”
She did. It hurt. This wretched loneliness that consumed her. Crystal numbed the pain, but she couldn’t cling onto Crystal forever. She knew that. But it wasn’t like they had that much time. How much longer would they keep her alive for? Who would she talk to if Crystal were gone? But she knew deep down it wasn’t her decision to make. Seeing this scene was the final straw on her maturity. She could feel the last of her adult mind slipping away.
“We can be one person again. That device can only be removed by me since I was the one who put it on you. I remember. It’s your choice.” Sasha whispered. She moved her arms around Crystal’s neck to the spot she had so long ago stuck the device.
“I won’t be gone. We’re one person after all.” Crystal said. “We’ll be okay. I promise.” Sasha moved her fingers until she found the lump she was looking for. Tears ran down her face as she rested her head against Crystal’s shoulder.
“Good-bye, Crystal.” She whispered.
“No, it’s not good-bye. Remember that. I’ll always be with you now.”
She closed her eyes and pulled out the pin. She fell forward onto the hard the floor tiles now that there was no one holding her up.
Crystal’s memories flooded into her. The first time she had been brought here. The training. The brainwashing. Being trapped in the fear chamber. Meeting Sasha. Their memories intertwined to fill the missing spaces and create a full picture. She understood. It all made sense now. She wasn’t afraid. She wasn’t alone. She wasn’t in pain.
Sasha stood up. The first thing she noticed was everything was lower. No, she was taller. A foot at least. She waded through the mess. It was just a projection. It wasn’t real. These people that had died were not her family and friends. As she walked by, the scenes disappeared in a plume of mist leaving behind nothing but empty blackness behind her.
She stepped out of the door, ready to face what came next. Thanks to Crystal, she now had full access to her Sphere menu…including her inventory full of weapons and the log out button. It may not have worked for Crystal, but for Sasha it would. But she wouldn’t use it; not yet. She had to get the others out. She had to tell them the truth before anyone else died because of Sacrio-the people behind this faux training center.
“It worked.” The doctor said. A hint of a smile crept on his lips. He didn’t seem nearly as tall as he did before.
“You did this! I know who you are now! You are the inventor of the drug, Dr. Thomas Briggs.” Sasha said. She looked him in the eye as she watched his face fall. “At least your avatar is.” His face fell even further as it contorted into a tight frown. “Dr. Finnick.” He scowled. “I didn’t recognize you in the video.”
“I lost weight since then.”
“Now why would someone like you be working as a child psychologist?” His head fell down. He looked tired. “Did your first trial participants know what they were getting into 13 years ago? What did you tell them then? They were going to be astronauts?”
“I didn’t know what was going to happen. I swear! It was just an unfortunate accident.” He said. Sasha scoffed.
“An accident happens once! How many kids did you put through the fear simulator just to see what would happen? 1,855? Is that how many were before me?”
“You don’t understand! You’re a part of something that will change the world. It will all be worth it in the end!” Getting through to him was pointless. He was just another for the greater good kind of guy.
“Why did you fix me? Because you’re done studying me? Did you pull me a part just to see if you could put me back together?” Sasha said. For every back step he took, she took a step forward. “Whose really running things? It’s you, isn’t it? Aspen’s not the director; you are!”
“N-no, I’m not! They just told me what they wanted and I made it happen.”
“Oh, I see. You just made it happen, did you?”
“I wanted to fix this! I wanted to fix all of this. A society that fears others is no place to live in. I wanted to create a world without sadness. Or fear. Or anger.”
“By experimenting on children!?” Sasha shouted. The more he spoke the angrier she became. “To afflict them with the things you’re trying to take away?”
“Don’t look at me like that! I’m not like that! You weren’t supposed to die! No one was supposed to die ever! The plan was to pay each of you off to keep quiet and then we’d ship you a large supply of our products. They changed the plan at the last minute! They decided at the last minute it would be cheaper and safer to just kill you all off at the end.”
“Then how do we get out?” He just shook his head.
“I don’t know. You’d all have to be let out from the outside.”
“Then we’ll just send a message for help! The terminal! They told us we could contact the outside world.” He shook his head again.
“It was a lie. There’s no way to contact them.” She gritted her teeth.
“What about the log out button? What if you just-“
“It doesn’t work.”
She had to think of something! She had an inventory full of weapons, but what good would that do her here? If she told the others, it would just cause a panic. What to do…
“You don’t have to worry much longer.” He said. What did he mean by that? Were they going to kill her now? “Someone’s tripped the alarm a few hours ago. That’s why I put you back together.”
“What alarm? What are you talking about?” Sasha demanded.
“Remember. I’m not the bad guy here.”
“What are you talking about? What’s going o-“ She tried to say, but the words never left her mouth. Everything was going black. What was going on? Was she loosing consciousness? No. It felt different and yet oddly familiar…Was she…was she logging out? How? The others! No! She had to get the others! She wasn’t ready!
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Becca could hear a commotion all around her. She could hear shouting and the heavy, clanking footsteps of boots. The next thing she became aware of was the severe pain throughout her entire body. She had never felt pain like this before. As if her entire being was having one large muscle cramp after another. Her eyes were closed, but she could still feel a light shining down on her causing her already aching head to pound. She just wanted to lie there and never wake up. But there was a voice whispering. Begging her to open her eyes. But she didn’t want to open her eyes. She wanted to drift off into sweet unconsciousness. Why couldn’t her mom ever let her sleep?
Her mom? Yes! That was her mom’s voice.
“Please, Becca. Open your eyes. Wake up! Please! You have to wake up.” Her eyes burned. But she struggled through the pain and ever so slowly raised her eyelids. She could only stand it for a second, but she had to confirm what she was hearing was true. It was. Her mom was leaning over her. Where was she? She couldn’t open her eyes again, no matter how hard she tried. “It’s going to be okay, Becca, I’ve got you. You’re safe now.” She wanted to move her arms up and reach for her, but she couldn’t move. For now, she’d have to believe her words to be true. The pain was too much. Her body was spinning. She was loosing consciousness for real this time. She strained to listen to what was being said around her. Something about a “lone survivor”. And then there was nothing. |
The next time Becca awoke, she was staring up at the ceiling of the local hospital. It took her a minute to realize where she was. At first, she thought it had all been a dream. Her rescue. Her mother’s voice telling her she was safe now. It had all been a wonderful dream. She thought she had awoken back on the table at sickbay, still at the SPP’s mercy- until she got a good look at the ceiling above her. She knew that ceiling well. She had spent a month of her life staring up at that same square tiled ceiling. Then she noticed the oxygen tube in her nose.
It was utter agony turning her neck to the side. Her muscles protested with every inch she forced them to move. Her mother was there, sleeping in one of the chairs beside her bed. It was like déjà vu. It was so similar she wondered for a brief second if she had only now awoken from the gunshot. Except this time, it wasn’t her back that was in pain; it was all of her. It felt as if she had been run over by a truck- who then put it in reverse, backed over her and then ran over her one more time for good measure.
She wanted to call for her mother. To let her know she was awake. To let her know she was alive. But the words wouldn’t come out. All that came out were strangled croaking sounds. It did the trick regardless. Becca watched her slowly come to life. Her eyes flickered for a moment before they rested on Becca.
She wanted to ask her what happened, but even her throat hurt too much. It was as if she had lost her voice along with the ability to use her muscles. She wanted to know why. Why did she hurt? Why couldn’t she speak words? How had her mother known she was in danger? She tried to speak anyway. Nothing but different pitched moans.
Heather smiled sadly as her eyes ran up and down Becca’s body. “Hi, honey.” She whispered. “You were in there for six days. It probably felt like a lot longer to you.” Becca blinked in agreement. Her eyelids were all she could move. “The doctor said you might not be able to move for a while. Looks like he was right.” Becca blinked again signaling for her to go on. “Your lactic acid levels were dangerously high when we found you. If we were any later, the doctor thinks you wouldn’t have made it. Your heart would have given out.”
Ah, so that explained it. All those work outs her brain believed were real. Her body couldn’t keep up with them. Four months of exercise crammed into six days. No wonder she hurt.
“Sa’ ‘’em.” Becca croaked. Heather looked at her confused for a moment before bending down closer. “Save ‘’em.” The others were still in danger. She had to save them. Becca was powerless in her current state. She couldn’t even speak properly.
“I’ll be right back; I’m going to get the nurse.” Heather said. She gave her one last sad smile before stepping out the door.
Becca let out a quiet moan. This wasn’t supposed to happen! Why her? Why was she the only one saved? Is that what they had meant by lone survivor? What could she have possibly done though? What would Crystal do? No! Crystal couldn’t save her now. She WAS Crystal.
Becca rested her eyes. She wanted to go back to sleep, but she couldn’t. She had to know what happened. So she fought the urge as long as she could. She opened her eyes again when she heard the door open. In walked her mom, followed by the same nurse who had taken care of her last time.
The nurse looked at her, and in a singsong voice said, “Look who’s awake!” She wheeled a cart in front of her. On it rested a machine with a single black wire protruding from the solid black box. She turned to Heather and asked, “Has she been able to speak?”
“She’s trying to, but I can’t make out what she’s saying.” The nurse nodded her head in understanding. She knelt down in front of Becca and scanned her chip. “Looks like she’s still running a high fever. Poor thing almost went into septic shock.” Becca let out an audible moan. The nurse’s icy fingers hurt on contact. “Sorry, hon, let me just plug you in here and then you can say what’s on your mind.”
Becca let out a cross between a growl and a whimper when her head was lifted in order to put the cord into her ports on the back of her head.
“Stop! You’re hurting me!” a voice said. “Where did that come from?” Her eyes fell on the box. “Thought to speech translator.”
The nurse seemed surprised she recognized it, but nodded her head and smiled. “Yes, that’s right.”
“What happened?” The voice from the box asked. “The others…”
The two women in the room paused. A thick, heavy silence filled the room. Heather was the one to finally break the silence. “Don’t worry about that right now. Let’s just focus on you getting better.”
“What happened to the others?”
“Becca…”
“What happened to the others?”
Heather sighed before finally admitting, “Samantha and Tom didn’t make it. That’s why you’re in the condition we found you in. No one was there to take care of you. There was a break in-“
“NO! That’s not what happened! How did you find me?”
“I went to the center to ask someone a question, and I found the place had been broken into. They were both shot to death. The police said it was a robbery gone bad.”
“NO! They were executed! The whole program was a lie! Everything from the psychiatrist to what happened when I was little. They were experimenting on kids to make psych medications! The others in the SPP are still in danger! They were going to kill us all!”
Heather and the nurse exchanged glances for a moment. They sent one last look to Becca before stepping out to talk. The box let out a string of curses. Here she had thought her mother had put the pieces together and had rescued her. The whole thing was nothing but luck. She should be grateful, right? So then what was this she was feeling?
The pair came back in a moment later. “What about the others?” Becca asked through the box.
Heather sat back down in the armchair. She looked at Becca with a sympathetic smile before replying, “I think you’re confused, honey. No one was in danger, but you. But you’re safe now.”
“No! I’m not lying! The-“
“No, honey, I don’t think you’re lying. That’s not it at all.” Heather said. She lightly brushed Becca’s- now longer and unkept- bangs from her face. “It’s just the fever. You’re sick is all.”
“Mom, no, please!” Why wouldn’t she believe her? Had they done something to her mom? Was she really back in reality, or was this just another experiment? The box beside her gave voice to her worries, even when she hadn’t wanted it to. It made it sound even crazier than normal. Heather pretended she either wasn’t worried or hadn’t heard. Instead she continued to pet Becca’s head. “My mom thinks I’m delirious.” The box said.
Her eyelids were getting heavier and heavier. She was afraid if she fell asleep she’d wake up back at the SPP. So she fought to stay awake.
“Why didn’t you tell me about Crystal?”
“Who’s that?” Heather asked.
“The green haired girl.”
Heather’s hand stopped abruptly. Becca heard her breath catch before she slowly exhaled. She couldn’t see her face, but she knew she had gotten her attention.
“So she’s back.” Heather said. She sighed. “I thought she was gone for good.”
“But she was a part of me.”
“Yes, but a part of you that knew too much. I was told you only split off in virtual reality, so getting rid of her wouldn’t affect you in any negative way.” Heather sighed again before sliding her hand down her face. “That day I met her; I’ll never forgot. I knew something happened to you, and I never wanted you to learn what it was. I never wanted to know what it was. I was afraid she’d tell you and you’d remember. Whatever it was you saw changed you. You were never the same after that day.”
Becca let the words sink in. It was true. Her mom had known all along.
“I remember you on the floor all covered in blood. That’s what she said to me. It had nothing to do with ponies. I thought something evil had been born as a result.”
“You’ve seen too many movies.” The box said. Heather chuckled darkly. “I wasn’t split between good and evil, or right and wrong. Each avatar represented what the other had lost from the split. Crystal was more mature, and used her head. And Sasha, she held a childish innocence I had lost. She acted more on impulse and emotion.”
“I don’t really understand. Aren’t you Sasha? You talk like she’s a separate person.”
“I think I had three personalities; not just two. Becca, Sasha, and Crystal. When I went into VR, it was like Becca didn’t exist anymore. When you go into the Sphere, you’re only supposed to change bodies, but my personality changed as well. What makes me, me, separated into two different sentient beings.”
Heather sat quietly trying to process it. “So, who are you now?”
“I’m Becca, mom. Crystal’s back where she’s supposed to be. I’m just…me now.” They sat in silence for a while longer. Becca could tell her mom had been uncomfortable with the topic even though she couldn’t see her. She had heard every hitch of breath; every anxious movement caused the chair she sat in to creak, and every deep sigh never went unnoticed. But there was one thing they had never really talked about. She had never been able to before, but now, thanks to Crystal, she was ready.
“I lied that night. The night Brian died. I knew why.” Heather didn’t respond, so she kept going. “Brian was making a generic version of the time altering drug.” Becca heard a slight gasp.
“Y-y-you mean…he was the one…he made Euphoria?”
“NO! Euphoria was a lie! There is no Euphoria! These people are evil, mom. Please, listen. They took his research and killed him. Then they spread rumors of a fake drug killing people. Those people that died were the group of ‘cadets’ being experimented on before me in order to make pharmaceuticals. That Sacrio accident was them! They tricked me into believing Brian was still alive by using Crystal.” Becca sat in silence waiting for her mom to respond. She waited and waited, but it never came. A powerful wave of drowsiness over took her. “Didn’t you want to know what Brian died for?” she thought before she could no longer keep her eyes open. Unable to fight it, Becca let herself drift off to sleep, hoping she’d still be in the hospital when she woke up.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Heather sighed deeply. It was too much to take in. Had her daughter officially lost her mind, or was it just the fever talking? She sat in the chair watching Becca’s deep even breathing. The nurse had told her she might be delirious due to shock. So she was supposed to take everything she heard with a grain of salt. But she couldn’t believe what was coming from her daughter.
Heather was deeply concerned. Becca was experiencing severe paranoia. Government experiments? Split personalities tricking her into handing over her brother’s research? Was this really the fever? Heather bit her lip and leaned forward in her chair. She nearly jumped when the box began talking again.
“Crystal, what do I do? She doesn’t believe me.” “You have to save them Sash, just keep trying.” “What if they come after my family?” “You’ll just have to stop them before they do.”
Heather sat and listened. A chill ran down her spine. Her daughter’s split personalities were talking to each other. She watched Becca’s deep and even breathing one more time to make sure she was asleep. Please just be dreaming.
“I don’t know what I’ll do. I don’t think I could live with myself with any more blood on my hands.”
Heather hurriedly shut off the box. She couldn’t listen to this anymore. What had she meant by more blood on my hands? A dark thought crossed through her mind. What if… Becca had killed Brian? What if one of her split personalities had taken over and they had killed her son? Her eyes began to water at the thought. Don’t think that way, Heather; you’re just scaring yourself. Your daughter wouldn’t hurt a fly. But would Crystal…? All those hours she had spent locked in her room playing those violent video games… What had they done to her psych? |
Heather jumped again when her phone rang. She took a few deep breaths before pulling it out. Trevor. “Hi, honey. Becca’s awake.”
“Is she?” Trevor said. The relief was evident in his voice. They had been so worried she wouldn’t pull through the night. “Can I talk to her?”
“She’s sleeping right now. And she can’t talk. They have her hooked up to a TTS box. It’s a little hard to differentiate between her thoughts and what she’s trying to say. The fevers really messing with her mind.”
“Is she stable now?”
“Yes. They believe she’ll pull through.”
“Oh! I’m so happy! That’s great news! I’ll come by as soon as I get off work! Oh, hey, honey, what was the name of Becca’s psychiatrist? Wasn’t it Finnick?”
“Yes, that’s him.”
“Check the news. He died last night.”
“What? Are you serious? How?” Heather asked.
“They said he died from Euphoria. Can you believe that? Someone like him buying illegal black market drugs.”
Heather had been in a daze the rest of the day. She had gone home while Becca slept. She sat on couch watching the news in a trance, no longer hearing what the news anchor had to say. The same story seemed to be circulating through all the channels. How could such a well-respected child psychologist stoop so low as to buy a dangerous drug on the deep web? And why would he want to? It’s not like he was short on money like all the other young adults who had died from it. If he wanted the real thing, he could have certainly have bought it, couldn’t he?
“Hello, thank you! I’ve been trying to get through for most of the day.” Heather said on the phone as she paced back and forth. “My daughter was involved in an accident at the Sphere Center. She has been seeing Dr. Finnick for her depression…yeah, yeah, I know about that. I was hoping I could get a copy of his notes on her. I’m worried about her mental health since the accident. I’m not quite sure how much of the fever is to blame for her current behavior and how much was a pre-existing condition. Oh? She was being treated for delusions? Uh-huh…Yeah. No, I appreciate it. Thank you.” Heather said before hanging up.
She sighed as she plopped back onto the couch and hung her head in her hands. She had been afraid of this. The fever was only exaggerating the problem; it didn’t create it.
His secretary had agreed to send her Becca’s file. When her phone buzzed, she picked it up and pointed it at the coffee table in front of her. A light shone from her phone as pages began to materialize. Five pages. Ten pages. Thirty pages. Just how many notes had he taken about her daughter? Finally after fifty pages, her phone shut off.
She picked up the first page.. She frowned as she scanned through the report. Most of it was about when she was younger. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and nightmares. Then came her later diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder. Finally she came upon a more recently written page.
1856, Becca Strokes, has returned. This time she was the sole witness of her brothers’ death. The patient has been showing growing signs of hostility as well as exhibiting delusional and paranoid behavior. Even though reports say she witnessed the attack, the patient refuses to believe her brother is gone. Instead, she clings onto the delusion of a government conspiracy. When questioned further, Becca stated her brother was on the run for creating an illegal substance and has gone into hiding.
It is unknown at this time how much truth there is in her statement she gave police. With her wild accusations and growing paranoia, I’m beginning to suspect Becca is beginning to show signs consistent with a schizoid personality disorder. When presented with the facts of her brothers’ death, the patient grew hostile. Given the patients history for memory repression, I am beginning to suspect foul play.
With no other witnesses to the crime, I am from here on stating for the record Becca Strokes be listed as the primary suspect for the murder of Brian Strokes. Motive is unclear at this time. It is possible, given the patients previous statements of wanting to join the police force, that the brother showed her something illegal. The patient may have either tried to take justice into her own hands, or a memory re- surfaced causing her to snap. I am unsure if the wound she received was self-inflicted or not. In my professional opinion, I believe involuntary institutionalization maybe necessary if psychotic behavior continues.
- Doctor Greggory Finnick
Heathers hands shook as she read the file. No! It couldn’t be true! Her daughter wasn’t a murderer! Becca loved Brian! She wasn’t crazy! And yet… all the signs were pointing that way. Delusions of a governmental conspiracy. Paranoia. She wanted to believe her daughter, she really did. But this was too much. The nurse said her behavior was due to her fever, but she held proof in her hands this had been going on for quite some time. How had she not noticed?
Becca spent all her time in her room. How was Heather supposed to notice anything?
She lay down on the couch and covered her face with her hands. What happened to you, Becca? She needed to be rational about this. The police had said there had been signs of a struggle. But there were no signs of forced entry. Becca had been injured too! Someone had shot her too! But her file said it might have been self-inflicted. She had been shot at close range in the back. Could someone shoot themselves in the back? Was it possible?
She stood up and put her arms around her back as if she were holding a gun. It could be done. Why? Why would she do that? This wasn’t the work of someone delusional. Only someone in their right frame of mind could stage the house to look like a break in. The word premeditated flashed through her mind, but she quickly shook the idea away.
What am I thinking? Becca would never hurt Brian! But what about Crystal? The more she thought about it the more likely it seemed. Crystal took over Becca’s body and attacked Brian. But it would still mean she was a danger to herself and others. She thought of the last line written in her file. Involuntary institutionalization. No way she was going to lock up her daughter! She had no proof it was Becca- just a nagging suspicion. It’s not like Becca could even move. She wasn’t a danger to anyone in this state. But what about when she gets better? There was still no proof. What would she do if there were solid evidence that Becca was a danger to others? Would she really have to commit her? She’d just have to wait and see how this played out.
…………………………………………………………………………………………
When Becca opened her eyes again, relief washed over her when she realized she was still in the hospital. She had never been so happy to be in the hospital before. Her pain level had decreased dramatically. She wondered if they had given her something in her sleep. Becca looked around the room to find the empty chair beside her. She felt a little saddened to be here alone. Where had her mother gone? How long was she asleep for?
She wobbled as she tried to slowly push herself up into a sitting position. The room spun as she held onto the table in front of her. Her body broke out into a cold sweat. She worried for a moment if she would pass out. But soon the vertigo stopped and she was able to open her eyes and let go of the table.
“Are you dizzy?” The nurse asked. Becca looked to the doorway to find the nurse named Sinna standing there with a concerned look on her face.
“I’m a bit weak.” Becca said. She was relieved to be able to talk, although her voice was quite raspy.
Sinna nodded her head before coming over to check her vitals. “How are your body pains? Has the pain medicine kicked in?”
“Better.”
“Good, glad to hear.”
“Have you seen my mom?”
“I think she went home a few hours ago.”
“Oh.” Becca felt her heart sink a little. What if someone from the SPP came after her? What if they put something in her I.V. to silence her?
“Don’t look so down; she’ll be back.” Sinna said. Becca noticed her cart of rags with a plastic pink tub of water on top. She sniffed herself and wrinkled her nose. The nurse chuckled. “Want to get washed up?”
Now that she thought about it, she felt like she was coated in a layer of sweat. And it almost felt like she was sitting on a pile of sand in her shorts. “Yes, please.” She laid back down while the nurse helped her out of her hospital gown. She eyed the open door uneasily before Sinna noticed what she was staring at. She pulled the curtain around the bed blocking them from view. It was awkward at first; it always was, but as soon as Becca felt the warm washcloth on her back she lost all resistance.
“Is my back still healing?” Becca asked. She wasn’t sure if the wound was still there or not. She had gotten used to it not being there.
“Nope, it looks good. There’s just a small scar there now. At least the time in the pod was good for something.” Becca winced as her stomach cramped and tried her best to ignore it. “I’m sorry, am I hurting you?”
“No, it’s not you. My stomach’s upset.”
“Anything I can get you?” Becca winced again, but shook her head. “I gave you something to help flush out the toxins earlier since you seem to still be fighting off a virus. You’ll feel better soon once it runs its course. It’s a new medicine they made to help you drain the excess acid out of your body.”
Becca moaned in response and curled up in the fetal position, her fists clenched into her stomach. Her body broke out in a cold sweat again making her feel like she had not been bathed at all. She barely even registered the feeling of a hand rubbing small circles on her back. Her mouth began to water as a wave of nausea hit. She clenched her body down tight hoping it would blow over. Sinna seemed to recognize her plight. She dumped the majority of the water down the sink and set the basin in front of her and rolled her over.
“You’ll feel better as soon as it works its way out.”
Becca whimpered in response as her stomach continued to churn. She wasn’t sure if it was coming or going. “Not sure…what…end…”
“Doesn’t matter what end. If it wants out, let it. It’s the only way you’re going to feel better.” Sinna said. After another ten minutes of agony, its route was finally making its self known. Her eyes widened in panic.
“Bath…room.” Becca pleaded. “Help.” She looked across the room. The bathroom door seemed so far away. She wasn’t sure if she’d make it. She tried to sit up, but Sinna moved her back down.
“Where do you think you’re going? Lay back down. It’ll be over soon.”
“B-But-“
“You’re not ready to be walking around yet.” She took in Becca’s panicked expression and followed her eyes down to her shorts. “Its just like before, you know the drill.”
“This isn’t what I was wearing before!” Becca said. She looked like she was wearing thin, navy blue biker shorts, not the puffy butt sponge from before. She doubled over as another powerful cramp struck her.
“I’m sorry, hun. It’s the same concept, just a different design.” Sinna explained. “It’s more discreet for our patients. They’re called dehydrating underwear. They turn waste into a fine powder. It’s more hygienic.”
Becca moaned her acknowledgement, but made no effort to eliminate the toxins from her body. Sinna sighed and sat down on the bed next to her. “You’re just making this harder on yourself. I know it’s not fun, but lets not go through this again.” Becca knew she hadn’t been the most well behaved patient when she learned of her limited mobility the last time- even going so far as to shout obscenities and throw a pitcher of water at her.
Becca whimpered in embarrassment as a noise on par with the breaking of the sound barrier escaped despite her clenched body. Like a 5.0 on the rectum scale. “I’m sorry!” She quickly blurted out. It was bad enough she had to do this, so why did it have to sound like a off key marching band practicing for the fourth of July?
Sinna scowled at her causing Becca’s face to redden. Why was she mad at her? She was the one just telling her to let go! “Don’t apologize, Becca! Is this the reason you’re holding it in? I’ve done way worse than sit with someone with diarrhea. I’ve been pooped on, spit on, peed on, puked on, and bled on. I’ve had to scrub off every bodily fluid you can think of. I have seen things coming out of places they shouldn’t. This is nothing. You do what you need to do to get better.” Her gaze softened seeing Becca’s upset face. “You want to stay on my good side?” Becca slowly nodded her head. “All you have to do is stay in bed when I tell you to and keep those shorts on. You need a change? Just ask. You have no idea what kind of mess I’ve had to clean up after people try to take them off.”
Becca mumbled an apology between the waves of contraction like cramps. She really shouldn’t have thrown that pitcher at her. Or that cup. Or that vase of flowers.
“Do you want me to take this, or are you still feeling nauseous?” She asked. Sinna was pointing to the tub sitting on the mattress by Becca’s head.
“Leave it.” Becca mumbled into her pillow. She didn’t trust her stomach enough. The pain was coming from every different angle.
“I’m getting a page from another patient, but I’ll come back with some more warm water to wash you up again.” She looked down at Becca as her face grew serious. “If I leave, can I trust you to stay in bed?”
“Yes.” Becca mumbled. It seemed her intentions were all too obvious. She really had seen it all.
“And will you take care of business while I’m gone so I can finish with your bath?” Becca nodded again. “I know it’s far from pleasant, but I promise you’ll feel better.” She patted Becca’s head before turning to leave, but stopped to add, “If I catch you with a single foot out of this bed, you’ll never have a private moment for as long as you’re here.”
Becca sighed once the nurse walked out the door and out of her line of sight. She looked at the bathroom door one last time. It sat there, so close but so far away as if it was teasing her. Another especially painful cramp left her in the fetal position one more time. She couldn’t take it anymore! Becca closed her eyes tight and unclenched.
……………………………………………………………..
Mrs. O’Connor sat in room 408 –one of the rooms that shared an adjacent wall with a girl who had been brought in on a stretcher the previous day. She hit the call button on her remote again and again. Where was that nurse with her water? They sure liked to take their sweet time here. She furrowed her eyebrows when a strange noise came through the wall. What in the world was that? A percussionist? A marching band? No, It almost sounded like a dying animal.
The thought left her mind once she heard the approaching footsteps. Finally.
“Sorry about the wait, Mrs. O’Connor, what can I do for you?” Sinna asked as she stood in the doorway.
“Some cold water, pl-“ There was that noise again! She stared at the wall. It persisted growing louder each time with more frequency. She looked to the nurse, who smiled sympathetically and shrugged before taking a step in. “Ah, I recognize that sound now from my time on the farm in Switzerland. The cats would get in the barn and go at it all night! I think you may have some stowaways in the attic. It’s a little early for feline mating season, no?”
Sinna whimpered as she tried her best to keep a straight face. Laughing at the patients tended to be frowned upon- the poor girl had enough on her plate. She’d probably die if she knew people in the other rooms could hear her.
Mrs. O’Conner frowned. “That’s not cat, is it?” Sinna shook her head and pursed her lips together as she tried her best to hide her smile. “What is it?” The old lady looked puzzled.
“Just some Frequency Actuated Rectal Tremors. I’ll be right back with your water.” Sinna said as Mrs. O’ Connor cocked her head to the side.
“OH MY GOD THAT’S COLD!” Came a scream from the other side of the room.
“What in the world…” Mrs. O’ Connor said.
“Looks like someone’s found out why we call them dehydrating underwear.”
………………………………………………………………………..
“Why are my butt cheeks frozen together?” Becca moaned into her pillow when she heard her nurse come back into her room.
“Because they freeze the moisture out of their contents when you’re done using them.” Sinna said covering her mouth with her fist.
“I can’t feel my butt.”
“That’s kind of the point.” Sinna said. “Would you want to feel all that acid coming out?” She set down another bucket of water and a few washcloths. “How’s your stomach now?”
“Better.” Becca mumbled. “Never. Again.”
“Sorry to do this to you, but it’s a seven day regimen. The detox doesn’t happen in one go.”
Great. Just great.
“I can put you in VR next time and let your body take care of it for you.”
Becca’s eyes went wide with fright. “NO!” She shouted. “No VR.” Sinna looked at her puzzled for a moment before realization dawned on her.
“You’re right, I’m sorry. You’re probably still shook up from what happened.” Sinna said. Becca nodded her head in agreement. She didn’t know what would happen if she went back into VR and she wasn’t ready to find out. |
Becca tossed and turned drifting in and out of sleep throughout the rest of the day. Odd scenes played in her mind as her brain made up stories to explain her body aches.
In one dream, she had crashed the hover bike and was trying to come up with an excuse for her mom. Heather dangled the keys in front of her, before making a show of flushing them down a toilet. Why there was a toilet in the middle of the forest was lost on dream Becca.
Another plausible explanation, her brain decided, was she had been injured while piloting a six story, blue and gold mecha, while she had fought in a war against sheep with harpoon guns wrapped around their wool coats. She kicked and punched her way through the flock sending the barn animals flying in the air with a distressed, “Baa!”
She had almost fought her way thru- her goal in sight on the horizon. A giant six-story porcelain toilet large enough for the mecha. She had almost made it, but at the last stretch the sheep made one last stand. From the toilet emerged two hooves, followed by a white face and large poofy coat of wool. It slowly pulled itself out. Becca sat in the pilot seat stunned. Before her now stood the sheep king. With a mighty battle cry of, “BAA!” the sheep fired their harpoon guns simultaneously all into the robots body, tipping it over towards the ground.
The sensation of falling awoke Becca with a start. She gasped as she clung onto the beds railing. Her heart hammered in her chest. As her eyes adjusted to the lighting, the realization of her strange dream dawned on her.
What was up with all the toilets? A pang from her bladder told her why.
She internally groaned when she remembered she had to stay in bed. A silent debate waged war in her head- pee in the shorts or sneak to the bathroom. Sinna’s warning rang in her ears. She tried to sit up- but a wave of pain rushed to greet her. Getting up was a definite no. Becca grumbled at her only available option. It was the 31st century! Couldn’t people come up with something better than forcing bedridden people to soil themselves? She imagined a device to open up a portal in the bed that emptied into the toilet- until she remembered they had tried that before. Imagine someone’s surprise when they sat on the toilet only for them to get an unexpected gift from the other room.
She felt the shorts. Soft spandex greeted her fingertips- not an absorbent material in the slightest. She tried to relax, but her brain shut her down during every attempt. What if they were only meant for solid waste? As far as she was aware, she hadn’t had to pee since coming here. Did she have a catheter before? She couldn’t remember. All she could picture was Sinna scolding her for making a mess of her bed sheets. Sinna wouldn’t do that, even if I did wet the bed.
A memory played in her mind reminding her it wouldn’t be the first time. When Becca was recovering from the bullet wound, she had awoken one morning still in a daze and had forgotten she was supposed to get up. She had grown a little too accustomed to just going when the urge hit. She hadn’t even realized she had done anything wrong -until she felt wet in an unusual area.
Becca had sat in it, too embarrassed to speak up. When her mother had pulled back the covers to walk her to the bathroom, she freaked out when she saw she had already went. Heather accused her of being lazy and made her apologize to Sinna for giving her extra work.
Sinna’s face was not of anger, but of sympathy when Becca- with tears in her eyes- told her what happened. Sinna assured them it wasn’t unusual, and took care of the mess. Now that Becca thought of it, she wondered if the sympathy was geared towards her having an accident or her mothers’ behavior.
Maybe Becca should call her and ask just in case. She reached for the call button but stopped when she heard someone speak.
“Good morning,” She turned her neck despite her body’s protests. Her father sat in the chair by the bed seemingly amused by something.
“Dad!” Becca squealed. She had missed him so much! It nearly made her cry out in pain, but she reached her arms out towards him. He smiled and gently knelt down to hug her. “I missed you!”
“I missed you too! You really had us worried there.” He said as he sat back down.
“I thought I’d never get out.” She looked at him feeling slightly confused. He seemed to be smirking despite the heavy topic. Clearly something else was on his mind. “What?”
“Oh, nothing.” He said sounding suspicious as he pretending to look away- large grin stretched across his face. Becca narrowed her eyes. She wiped at her face. Did she have a booger hanging out of her nose or something?
“What?” She persisted. It was obvious he was laughing at her over something. Oh god, was she farting in her sleep? She thought she had gotten the last of that medicine out already. Had it come back for another round? She pulled the blankets back and took a peek at her shorts. She couldn’t tell if she had used them or not. They seemed the same as before. That wasn’t it, she figured. The cold would have woken her.
“That was quite some dream you were having.” She looked confused for a moment. How had he known? She followed his gaze to the thought to speech box sitting on a table next to her. She felt the back of her head to confirm her suspicions-she was plugged in. Her face reddened as he chuckled. “Man, if I had known we could do this, we would have gotten you those full dive implants years ago!” He deepened his voice like a movie reel announcer. “From the deep dark depths of the sewer emerges unimaginable terror- harpoon sheep. Ruled over by the ruthless and awe inspiring Emperor Ewe, humanity must turn to its last hope. Mecha Becca.”
Becca clutched at her side as she continuously laughed for a solid minute despite the pain. Every time she managed to calm down, her father made things worse by making her laugh again. She lost it at the part where he pretended a drop kick a sheep and made pitiful, “Baa” noises.
She let out a startled,“eep.” All the laughter mixed with her weak body was too much for her bladder. Sorry, Sinna. She had half expected it to puddle under her. What she had not expected was for the shorts to bulge out like a water balloon.
“What’s the matter, Mecha Becc- woah!”
So much for being more discreet than diapers.
She was too stunned to cover up, so she just sat there watching her shorts growing bigger and bigger. It even levitated her butt a few inches off the bed. She worried they were going to pop, but she also kind of wanted to poke at it. Was she ever going to stop peeing? At long last it stopped. Now what? They weren’t going to stay like this, were they? And then Becca felt it. The cold began to seep in. Her shorts began to quickly deflate, but they hadn’t sprung a leak. Instead a thin layer of white fog began to emerge from the fabric like warmed dry ice. It floated around her for a second before disappearing. And then it was like she had never used them at all. She stared up at her father before they both burst into laughter.
Becca leaned fast that she preferred her fathers’ presence to her mothers. But she had always been more of a Daddy’s Girl to begin with. Brian was a Momma’s Boy. Heather had taken his death especially hard. Ever since that night there had been a wedge in Becca’s relationship with her. She wondered if her mother knew the truth and blamed her. She supposed she had every right to- even if it was just an accident. She could see him squirm out of the corner of her eye.
She looked up at her father wondering what he was doing. He pressed several buttons before holding his phone out. Images began to appear on the table before they began to take a solid form. He was printing something. After a few seconds, Becca recognized what they were. She laughed as little plastic sheep figurines began to appear. Sheep figurines with harpoons strapped to their backs. Next came a bigger robot, which he named Mecha Becca, followed by a larger sheep with a crown. Emperor Ewe.
They played with the figurines for a bit, before he had a better idea. He cleared off her table before printing a large black and white checkered board. Thus began the battle of mecha’s vs. sheep. Little lambs were made for the pawns, followed by goats for rooks, pigs for bishops, and with a mischievous glint in his eyes, he printed two ponies to take the place of the knights. Becca stuck out her tongue. Lastly, he made a ram to take the final place on Emperor Ewe’s Team.
He handed his phone to Becca so she could design her own pieces. She printed out different sized robots. She wasn’t feeling particularly creative at the moment, but when she made her king, she made the robot green.
This time I’ll protect you.
“Check mate.”
Or not.
“You’re taking advantage of a sick girl.” she said. She curled her lips in a fake pout. He beamed with pride.
When a tray of breakfast came for Becca, they put the game away. She looked over her meal of French toast, eggs, and bacon before picking up the silver utensils and taking a bite. She chewed for a second before nearly gagging. She forced herself to swallow before mumbling. “Gross.” Everything had a dried rubbery texture that tasted of dirt. “Don’t let me down, bacon.” She could hardly get even that down.
“Not hungry?”
“It tastes bad.”
“Hospital food.” He said with a shrug. She frowned. She didn’t remember the food tasting this bad the last time. She watched him take a bite of the eggs, expecting him to spit them out. Instead he shrugged.
“Tastes fine to me. Maybe your taste buds are off.”
“Stupid spp.” She mumbled as she realized what was wrong. She had been so spoiled by cooked food that the taste of capsuled meals was nothing short of revolting. How would she ever be able to eat this stuff again? She looked down at the plate as her stomach rumbled. She sighed before picking up her fork. There was only one way to get over this. She’d have to re-acquire a taste for it. She cringed with every bite. She gave up halfway through. If she ate any more she was certain she’d be sick.
“How was that?” Trevor asked. A moment of silence passed between them as she tried to find the right words to say. She remembered her mothers’ reaction when she tried to tell her the truth. Would he think she was crazy too? She thought of the Sacrio and all the horrible things they had done. She thought of Barkley yelling at her and thrusting a mop into her face. She thought of the fear chamber. She thought of cuddling up with Crystal at night- as odd as that sounded. Lastly her mind fell on April, Andrew, Samantha, and Tom. And of course Brian. Their lives had been taken, and for what? An experiment? To make drugs? To torture them for the hell of it? If only Brian hadn’t made that stupid drug. He’d still be alive! Then she wouldn’t have…
Trevor seemed to squirm uncomfortably. She figured he was scared he had touched a raw nerve and upset her, so she said the first positive thing she could think of. “The food was better. It wasn’t for me though.” She didn’t want to ruin the light mood. He didn’t answer. She turned her head to look at him, but he seemed deep in thought. His face became sullen as if a deep sadness had taken over.
“Becca, what ha-“ He tried to ask, but stopped and shook his head. “Never mind.”
“What?”
“It’s not important right now.”
“No, you were going to ask something. What?”
He sighed, before fidgeting uncomfortably again. “What happened that night?” She frowned. He was referring to the night Brian had died. Another topic her mother didn’t trust her on. “Your mother trusts you, she’s just worried about your mental health after everything that’s happened.”
Great, My mom thinks I’m crazy.
“She doesn’t think you’re crazy, Becca. She’s just…you know how she gets.”
“I guess s-“ She stopped mid sentence. She looked to the box and then felt the back of her head. Her blood ran cold. Trevor shifted again in his seat. She hadn’t said that out loud. Neither had the box, but the orange light was on. She stared up at him, an obvious hurt expression written on her face. He looked guilty.
“I’m sorry.” He mumbled looking away. She saw the earpiece in his ear. Her eyes welled up with tears.
“Why?” She choked out. He was listening to her thoughts, and he hadn’t wanted her to know. The wire hadn’t been in her head when she had fallen asleep last night. He had plugged her in. Who told him about the Thought to Speech box? Did her mom want him to listen to her thoughts? She wanted him to see just how crazy she was!
“It’s not like that, Becca. Please, I can explain. Your mothers just… Did you really…?”
Tears streamed down her face. “It was an accident. I was fighting over-”
“Oh god, Becca!” He tore the piece out of his ear and leaned forward with his face in his hands. They sat in silence. She could hear her father sniffling. “Why, Becca, Why?”
“The drug, he-“
He started to sob. And then he began to bawl. She sat perfectly still too stunned to speak. He rocked back and forth in his chair.
“Dad-“
He looked up at her, tears streaming down his face. She had never seen him like this.
“I’m so sorry.” She said.
“I hope that one day you’ll forgive me for this.” He said. He picked up his phone and said through his sniffles, “She did it.” Her heart sank. Who was he calling? What was going on? He broke down in more sobs. “Do we have to? We just got her back.” His voice rose in pitch with every word. ”OK…OK… I’ll wait with her.” He hung up the phone.
Wait… wait for what? …
“I’m sorry, baby…” He said. Now she was crying. She was so confused! He wouldn’t answer her questions. He just kept repeating over and over that he was, “sorry.” So she did the same. He moved from the chair to her bed and held her hand. He took a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to her. She looked it over and gasped.
“It wasn’t like that!” She said as she hiccupped. He couldn’t be serious! He couldn’t believe this! All she had done was fought for the gun! He knew that, right? She hadn’t purposely shot him! She opened her mouth to explain but no words would come out. And the next thing she knew there were several people in the room. “Dad…” she whimpered. They surrounded her. The flipped her over while she cried out in pain and shoved her arms into something. “DADDY! NO!”
He stood to his feet. “Is that really necessary? She can hardly even move!”
“Standard procedures.” One of the guys said.
“Be careful! You’re hurting her!”
“DAD! GET THEM OFF ME! DAD!” Becca screamed. They forced her legs in and snapped it in place. The flipped her roughly back over and crossed her arms. “Daddy…” She cried as they wheeled the bed out.
“I’m so sorry…” He said. “Please forgive me.” |
Trevor and Heather Strokes sat at the kitchen table across from each other picking at their food. Tension filled the modest three-bedroom house. It was so thick, it hung in the air like an invisible fog that no matter how many deep lungful’s of air they took, it felt as if it was never enough. All that could be heard were the deep, frustrated sighs of Heather, the nervous cough from Trevor, and the clanking of silverware as they moved the food around their plates uneaten. The house had not been this quiet and awkward since they had first moved in together.
Unable to take the eerie and uncomfortable silence, Trevor finally spoke the words that had plagued him all day. “Why?”
Heather set down her fork. She stared off into the distance seemingly lost in thought. Trevor examined her face. She looked exhausted. Wrinkles were beginning to appear on her cheeks and forehead and her light brown hair began to show the first signs of graying. Her brown eyes held a sort of dead look in them, but they had for quite a while now. Ever since Brian’s death she had lost the spring in her step and the light in her eyes. But now, they seemed even more hollow and lifeless.
He was beginning to think she wasn’t going to answer his question, but at long last she spoke. “We had to. They were asking questions.”
Trevor didn’t respond. He knew the they she was referring to. The police. A detective had stopped Heather on the walk from the hospital to the car in order to question her about Becca. He had wanted to know if there was any connection between Brian’s death and the deaths at the Sphere center. She had answered no. She put the encounter out of her mind- until she had read Becca’s file. Then she realized there was one connection. Becca.
Trevor had come home to find her in hysterics. The anxiety had consumed her. It took him a while to get her to calm down enough to get her to explain what had happened. She showed him the note. He was baffled. Why in the world would they be wasting time suspecting Becca? Becca was kind. Becca was gentle, and caring. Becca was capable of emotions that were lost on the older generations. Even Trevor himself had not known how to love, or what love even felt like, until he had held Brian in his arms for the first time.
Becca on the other hand… she had known how to love from the very beginning. Many people did not know how to love even after they had kids. Technology raised their children for them. And marriage, well, marriage was not based on love. Marriage was based on the ability to tolerate your partner for long periods of time, and if you were lucky, one day you would even come to like them. And he did. He liked his wife. A lot. Marriage was for the purpose of repopulation. That was it.
It had been ingrained in every person from a young age. Repopulate. Repopulate. Repopulate. It was taught in schools. It was advertised on tv. “Do your part,” they all said. He had even heard on the news the government was thinking of passing a law that mandated marriage and at least two children. There were even rumors spreading of a decree that if you were not married by twenty- a partner would be assigned to you. He thought it funny in a sad way. At first he thought civilization had gone backwards, but now he realized that wasn’t it. Humanity had gone forward. Humanity was always moving forward. Expect they were not going forward in a straight line. They had gone forward in a circle; in a sphere. And now humanity was back where it started hundreds and hundreds of years ago.
The roles of women were now nothing more than baby makers once again- scoffed at for wanting a career. How could you be so selfish, they would say. How could you put your own wants and desires above the needs of humanity? Their job was to bring children into the world. He had never really thought twice about it until Becca was born. She was strong. She refused to conform to what the world wanted her to be. She wanted to be a solider and nothing was going to stand in her way. He couldn’t be prouder.
Now the world’s political agenda made him sick to his stomach. How dare they tell his daughter who she had to be. How dare they cast her dreams aside. The scariest thing about this wasn’t what they taught women, it was what they taught men. Not men, but boys in school. He had once had to sign a permission slip for Becca’s sex education class. He had flipped through the class outline briefly. It was fairly normal things: menstruation and hormones and what not. But when he got to the boys section, his stomach dropped. Even just the name of the program sent him in a rage.
No doesn’t always mean no.
It was the mans job, the pamphlet said, to impregnate the woman. Even if she didn’t want to. He was in utter shock when he had read that. He didn’t believe his eyes. He was nauseated. Were they really encouraging what he thought they were… Maybe he had just read that out of context? He read further. It continued on about how women didn’t always have humanities best interests at heart. They sometimes had selfish desires. Not all of them wanted kids, and that, the pamphlet explained, was selfish. They even encouraged impregnating multiple partners at once.
Trevor was devastated. It wasn’t just what he was reading; it was the fact that he was seeing what it meant for the first time. The message had been there even when he was a boy- just not so blatantly. If you read between the lines, it was there. Now it was the main points on a school brochure. What made him even more sick was the fact he probably wouldn’t have noticed if he had not had a girl. They quickly pulled her from the public education system and home schooled her. They had even gone as far as moving away to a more remote location for her safety. A small village in Alaska.
He owed a lot to Becca. She had opened his eyes to the truth. He had taught her how to love and she had taught him how to think for himself. And what had he done? Locked her away. For her safety, he tried to remind himself. But that look in her eyes haunted him. The look of deep hurt and utter betrayal. Their relationship would never be the same again, he knew. Every time he closed his eyes, there she was. Screaming for him. And he just stood back and let them take her away.
“Why would she do something like that?” Heather said. She pushed her still full plate forward signaling she was done.
“She said it was an accident.” He did the same. He could feel acid rising and falling in his throat. The stress was getting to him too. She shook her head.
“If it was an accident, why would she try to cover it up?”
He didn’t have an answer for that. It made her look guilty. He could only assume she panicked and acted in the heat of the moment. So they had to hide her from the police. If they put the pieces together and saw that Becca was already in an institution, maybe they’d go easy on her. It would make an insanity plea so much easier.
“I think, I’m going to go to bed.” Heather said. She stood up; leaving her untouched dinner on the table and made her way to the back of the house without another word.
………………………………………………………………………………………
Becca slowly opened her eyes barely making out the blurry outline of a figure standing over her. Where was she? What happened? She wanted to close her eyes and go back to sleep. She felt funny. Sluggish. Drugged.
“Wake up.”
She moaned. She didn’t want to wake up. She didn’t care if she never woke up again. The right side of her neck throbbed drowning out her body’s aches. Bits and pieces were coming back to her. Her fathers tear streaked face as they took her away. The ride to wherever this was. She vaguely remembered biting someone. And then nothing.
“Wake up.” She heard again.
Becca opened her eyes as the room around her spun. Once the vertigo subsided and things came into focus, she searched the room for the voice’s owner. A middle-aged man with a neatly trimmed red beard stood over her. His hair, a mixture of brown and red, coated the top of his head as if he had spray painted it on in patches. Becca thought he had more hair on his face than he did on his head. He wore a white lab coat over a pair of green scrubs. In his hands was a tablet that he scrolled through.
She watched him for a moment as he read something before his eyes flicked over to hers.
“Where am I?”
“Sunny Shores Sanitarium.”
She scowled at the name. Sunny Shores. It sounded so happy, but not a real happy. A faux happy. A type of happy, pleasant name that raised red flags. And what was a sanitarium? Was that a type of insane asylum? She figured that’s where she was, given the jacket treatment when they picked her up.
“So they did commit me.” Becca said in a low depressed tone.
“This is not an asylum. This is a sanitarium.” He said. He lowered the tablet and looked her over. Becca squirmed under his gaze. He made her uncomfortable.
“Same thing.” She mumbled under her breath.
“We are more of a resort for convalescing patients. We offer drug rehabilitations, cancer treatments, long term care, and yes, psychological evaluations.” He said. “We offer both regular and virtual programs.”
Becca looked up and grimaced. A virtual reality helmet hung from the ceiling.
He went on to introduce himself as Dr. Bernard, one of the psychiatrists on staff. He then confirmed her fears. She was on the psychiatric floor. He said it would be better than being put with the other injured patients, but she wasn’t so sure. Instead of voicing her concerns, she let him talk.
He said she would still receive treatment for her injuries. She wasn’t thrilled to learn she’d be on the same experimental medication as she was in the hospital. Side effects and all.
“We are more equipped to handle your treatment than your small town hospital.” He said. He must have sensed her reluctance to be here because he added. “I think you’ll find this program much more to your liking.” She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but more because she lacked the energy to do so.
Becca felt a trail of drool roll out the side of her mouth. Even though her brain told her to wipe her face, it seemed to take her arm a few more seconds than normal to respond. “Sorry we had to sedate you. You bit me when we came here.” He held up his hand to show the bandage wrapped around his fingers.
“I would have punched you, but you had me in a straight jacket.” Becca half mumbled and half laughed. He scowled.
“You’re here for me to deem whether or not you’re a threat to yourself or others. You’re not off to a good start. If you want to go home-“
“You said I’d like it here. Why would I want to go home?” Her voice was thick with sarcasm. ‘”I felt someone taking off my pants. I’ve heard stories.” She closed her eyes again. She could feel herself drifting off, but he told her not to sleep yet.
“An orderly was changing you. They didn’t realize you were incontinent until the jacket…” Becca chuckled weakly. Not here even a full day and she already had a record. At least she got to ruin a straight jacket in the process. All she probably did was claim it as her own though.
“I’m not incontinent; I just can’t walk.” Becca said. Her voice was getting hoarse again.
“So they put you in diapers?” He seemed a dumbfounded so she tried to explain.
“I couldn’t roll my body over to use a bed pan.”
“Bed pan? What year do they think this is?” He shook his head. She seemed confused. As much as she wanted to get up and use the bathroom, she couldn’t. He handed her a remote by the bed. She looked at it confused. It only had three buttons on it. One said half, one said full, and the other said open and close.
“What’s this for?” Becca asked.
“The toilet.” He said. He looked at her a little surprised. “Press the open button.” She did as she was told and let out a startled eep. She heard a motor running. Part of the bed cushion was sliding out from under her. The bed itself was raising her to a sitting position. When she was done moving she threw the blankets off and looked underneath her to find a porcelain bowl full of water under the bed that was rising up to meet her.
“Press the half button for liquid waste and the full for solid.” He explained.
“It flushes?” She asked in surprise.
“A bidet too. And you don’t have to worry about not being in the correct position. It senses where you are on the bed and will automatically move under you.”
Becca looked up at him. Her eyes were full, not of contempt, but of pure admiration. “I am so so sorry I bit you.” |
Once the psychiatrist had left, Becca leaned back in bed and closed her heavy drooping eyes, but after ten minutes she was awoken by another intrusion. This time by a tall, heavily built man with broad shoulders dressed all in white. He looked exactly like the kind of guy who had brought her here. She shuddered a bit under his gaze and prayed he didn’t have any kind of needles. She had expected his voice to be deep and booming, but instead, what came out was a soft and timid voice. She smiled a little. It almost seemed comical coming from the mouth of such a huge guy.
He introduced himself as Charles. He would be her nurse. He pulled up a chair and sat down next to her before asking her a series of mundane questions. She answered the best she could despite her raspy voice and sore throat. He seemed to catch on after a minute. He stood up and pulled a monitor down in front of her. He turned it on and scrolled through the menus while explaining all the features. Whatever she wanted to eat or drink. All she had to do was select it. She picked a chocolate shake just to see what would happen. The machine whirred and buzzed for a few moments before a ding sounded. A compartment opened up by her bed on the nightstand and from it rose her desired item.
She stared at it in awe for a moment before picking it and taking a sip. It tasted bland- obviously a capsule product- but the cool liquid felt amazing to her sore throat.
“Enjoy getting what you want while you can.” He said with a hint of a smile. She frowned. What did he mean by that? “Your full menu options are only available on your first day. That toilet in your bed; it examines your waste and determines what your body’s nutritionally lacking. It will then compose a limited menu for you to choose from for the day.”
It was probably for the best, she thought after imagining herself lying in bed all day eating junk food. She’d probably get fat.
The thought reminded her of something. She had never once seen her reflection since getting out of the SPP. She looked around for something reflective, and got look at her face in the screens camera setting. She looked terrible. Her face was incredibly thin. Her skin, which glowed a sickly white, hugged her cheekbones tight. Her green eyes drooped surrounded by puffy eyelids.
She poked at her face, feeling the curve of her protruding bones. What had happened? Were they not feeding her? What about all that food she had eaten? Charles voice snapped her back to reality. He told her not to worry, and she’d be back to normal soon.
When an awkward silence fell between them, Becca closed her eyes and hoped he’d get the hint. Her parents had just forcefully committed her. She had left her fellow test subjects to die. And no matter how hard she had tried to convince someone to save them, everyone just thought she was crazy. Awkward small talk was not on her priority list. Instead of leaving her alone though, he continued to chat, much to her dismay. He was a nurse. Didn’t he have other patients to go check up on?
He asked her if she had any pets. He asked her what school she graduated from. Idle small talk. Nothing too abnormal she supposed. Becca guessed he was just a talker- a rare breed now a days. But the odd thing was, even when she stopped trying to hide her annoyance at him, he still kept asking questions. When she closed her eyes and remained silent, he’d ask again until he got an answer out of her. Then things took a turn. Her annoyance slowly began to morph into a feeling of something entirely different.
His questions grew more and more personal. Where did she live? How old was she? What was her phone number? Why would her nurse need her phone number? And then the red flags began to rise. He asked her if she was married. Not an uncommon question, but in this day and age, nothing good could come from it. She normally felt no need to lie. Her feelings on this subject were far from unknown- no matter how dangerous voicing her opinion was. If there was one thing she was passionate about; it was her hatred of the Repopulation Act. But this time… something didn’t sit right. So for once, she took her fathers advice. She lied and said she was.
The Repopulation Act was something that never sat right with her. It wasn’t a real law, but a cultural belief- and a stupid one at that. While women could work, it was in a way, discouraged. The Glass Ceiling was more of a Glass Skyscraper. Medias portrayal of women was a stay at home mom who popped out crotch spawn after crotch spawn. It wasn’t like they were portraying women as not as capable as men, but rather, a women’s successes was measured by how many kids she had. That was her job and nothing else. It infuriated Becca to no end.
It never made sense. Why, and who, was spreading this ideology? Sure, 500, 000 people was only a fraction of the former worlds population, but it just didn’t seem low enough to excuse this kind of behavior.
In 2316 there was a trial around the same time the population began to decrease. His name was James Orkin- a real backwoods uni-bomber looking guy. He was being held for sexual assault charges. She doubted his lawyer knew the half-assed defense he presented to the court would send America on a path spiraling downward. It was a terrible defense really. Was he high when he came up with it? Repopulation? Really? Everyone knew James Orkin was just another incestuous sleaze ball pervert with a taste for young girls. It was no surprise he was nearly laughed out of the courtroom by the prosecution.
Until James Orkin walked out a free man.
Then the riots broke out. They were the worst America had ever seen. Right when things seemed to calm down, there’d be another trial followed by another riot. Soon though, the trials seemed to out number the riots until repopulate became just as common a thing as self-defense. And then sexual assault stopped going to trial all together.
It was in the middle of all the chaos when virtual reality started to take off. They used to crisis as a marketing ploy with their target audience being girls. VR began to be advertised as a safer alternative to going out at night. Why put yourself at risk when you can meet up with the girl in your very own living room? When the girls stopped going out, eventually, so did the boys. Thus the first silent generation was born. That’s what they taught in school anyway.
Why though, Becca always found herself wondering. If they knew how stupid the mess that created this cycle was, why did they still think this way? At least the world wasn’t like it was back then- with a bunch of sexual predators running around. No one really had a sex drive anymore- and if they did, well, there were plenty of things to help them in the Sphere. Maybe that was a problem on its own.
Her farther would say it was coming back though - people’s sex drives. He said it was only a matter of time. And then this line of thinking would be very very dangerous.
It wasn’t like predators went away completely. They were just more unheard of, and as for the dominating part of assault, well, you’d have to be around actual people. Sexual assault was only a crime if it was for sexual reasons. But it was hard to prove and even harder to convict. Most victims didn’t even bother reporting it. But the creeps were out there, blending in with the more extreme repopulators knowing they could get away with it. That’s what her dad told her.
Ugh, her dad. Why? Why did he do this to her? Didn’t he understand Brian’s death was only an accident?
“What’s wrong, princess?” Charles asked.
The way he said it sent chills up Beca’s spine. He made her uncomfortable and it wasn’t just his size. She didn’t answer. She just sat straight ahead staring at the wall. Suddenly, she wasn’t so sleepy anymore. This wasn’t the social anxiety that she- and the world- was accustomed to. This was something entirely different. Her heart began to hammer inside her chest. She was afraid of him, but not in the same way she had been afraid of Barkley.
Becca saw him scoot forward out of the corner of her eye. His massive hand rested atop of hers. She pulled her hand away. He frowned as his eyes took in her worried expression. She peeked over at him. And then he smiled in such a way that made Becca wish she could get up and run. Not fight- but run. She was trapped and helpless.
She tried to tell herself this was all her imagination, but she knew deep inside something was very wrong. The way he looked at her, it was the same kind of look she gave bacon.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” He said. She shuddered when she felt one of his massive fingers slide down her face.
“S-Stop it.” She said. She tried to sound tough, but her wavering voice gave her fear away. She wondered if she should scream. No, her voice… Even if she tried to scream no one would hear her. He smiled again as his finger continued to trace up and down her cheek. She wanted to bite his finger off. “I’m m-married.” She lied. The look on his face said it all. This had nothing to do with civic responsibilities. This was personal enjoyment. This was the kind of person her dad had warned her about.
What could she do? She was trapped in bed without a voice to yell for help. If she couldn’t scream, her only option was to make him do it for her. But all she had to defend herself with was a half drunken milk shake. And then she remembered what she did have access to. Food. Any kind of food she could imagine. She used one hand to slap his away and another to type in her request. Ghost pepper sauce, or what she referred to it as, Devil’s Diarrhea.
He was too busy toying with her to notice the whirring of the machine near by. Her item rose. It was even better than she had anticipated. The red sauce sat in an open plastic container- she didn’t even have to open a bottle.
“Your file says you were in diapers. I need to make sure you aren’t wet.” He slowly snaked his disgusting hand down from her face and teased it lower down her chest to watch her helpless reaction. It didn’t come. Instead she locked eyes with him and smiled. He paused his hand, looking confused, and a little taken aback. That’s when she splashed the cups contents into his eyes. And then there were screams. Terrible terrible screams. And they were music to Becca’s ears.
People came running through the door. There reaction surprised her. “Not again.” One of them said. Then Becca understood. This man was not a nurse. He was a patient. And this was clearly not the first time this had happened.
She sat in her bed too stunned for words and watched them drag the crying Charles out. It wasn’t until the doctor from earlier appeared by her bed and asked if she was alright that she spoke again.
“H-he tried to…” She hadn’t realized how shook up she was until she felt herself crying. Was this what it was like to be a victim of sexual assault? She was this shook up, and yet, nothing had really happened. She got off easy, she knew. If she hadn’t been so quick to act, he really would have… She didn’t even want to think about what could have- or would have- happened.
“Don’t worry about, we’ll take care of him.” The doctor said. She relaxed a little when she knew this was going to be the end of it. They weren’t going to punish her, even though they warned her about being violent. She had heard stories of where women had fought back and had been the one’s punished.
She told him what happened and he just nodded his head. When he left and closed the door behind him, she was finally able to try and get some sleep. But she couldn’t now. She was too wound up. Every time she closed her eyes, she felt a presence beside her. So her mind wandered. The more it wandered the angrier she became.
Why was she relieved she wasn’t punished? Why should she be punished? He attacked her! It was self defense! Was this what everyone felt afterwards? Her heart ached for all the people who had never gotten justice over the years because of that stupid repopulation act. Now she hated it even more.
Her face felt dirty. She used the monitor to get a rag, but no matter how much she scrubbed at her face, she still felt the remnants of his finger there.
A little while later the doctor came back in. He apologized for what happened. Charles apparently, had a habit of playing doctor. She was right; this wasn’t the first time this had happened. He was here for being a predator. She grew angry again. Her father put her in a place that housed predators. He put her in danger!
Hot tears began to fill her eyes. The doctor said it wouldn’t happen again. She didn’t bother correcting him.
Another man entered, this time a much smaller man with short black hair. The doctor introduced him as her real nurse. She refused. It didn’t do her any good. Neither did trying to demand a female nurse. Apparently there were no women on staff. She missed Sinna. She really wished she hadn’t thrown that vase at her.
Jerry, her real nurse, told her he was going to give her a dose of the medicine to rid her body of the acid. She cringed. She didn’t want to deal with this right after what had happened. He reminded her the sooner she got this all out of her system the sooner she could get out of bed. He had her sold. Not like he was waiting for her approval. He was already readying the needle. She winced when she felt the prick in her shoulder.
She found it interesting when he mentioned there was someone here who had once had to go through the very same treatment. That was when they developed the medicine. She tried to get him to tell her more, but he said he couldn’t.
She tried to get her shorts off under the blanket in preparation for what was to come, but she struggled. He noticed her plight and reached down to help. She reacted out of instinct. Before she could stop herself, she punched Jerry right in the jaw. Awkward silence filled the room as he massaged his sore face. She tried to stutter out an apology. What had happened had put her on edge! She didn’t mean too!
She saw him pull something else out of his scrubs. Another needle.
“Wait, it was an accident!” She tried to explain. He ignored her as he tapped the syringe and uncapped the needle.
“I think you need to relax.” He said. Another prick into her arm. The room was beginning to fade in and out and then there was nothing. |
Time seemed to fade in and out as Becca cycled through wake and sleep. The antipsychotics pumping through her system left her in a drugged stupor, leaving her only vaguely aware of someone coming in and out of her room to check up on her. It wasn’t until the third time she heard a male voice speak did she snap out of her trance long enough to take notice of Jerry’s presence beside her.
“I said are you okay?” Jerry asked. He looked her up and down before making note of something on his tablet. He silently stared at her until she realized she hadn’t given any inclination that she understood, or responded, to his question.
“I feel funny,” she tried to say, but what came out was more along the lines of a “ugh.”
“It’ll wear off soon.” He said. Becca remained silent, trusting that he knew what she meant. She was in no means willing to elaborate further- or even have a conversation. What she wanted was to close her eyes and never wake up again.
Jerry checked her vitals by scanning the chip in her wrist, before pressing a few buttons on his tablet and left without another word. Becca rolled back over and stared at her hospital sock clad feet. Had she been wearing socks this whole time? Had her hair been this long? Was her hair always this color? Why did she have earlobes? Becca had halfway come to the conclusion of why she had a bellybutton when she heard Jerry’s voice by her bed again. It was about as unwelcome as Charles voice.
“Time to go.” He said. She squinted up at him through the transparent dragon that had been guarding her bed, surprised to see a wheelchair.
“Huh?” she managed to mumble out before Jerry forcefully sat her up. Her senses hadn’t had time to register the change in position, before he lifted her up and out of bed. Next thing she knew she was being wheeled out of her room.
“Where’s my nose?” Becca asked as she stared blankly at the white linoleum tiles passing below her. Jerry’s silence spoke volumes. She was sure he had taken it while she slept. Another reason not to trust this place. What would he want with her nose? Did he go around stealing parts off of people’s faces? She heard voices up ahead. She shut her eyes tight in fear of seeing faceless people.
“We’re here.” He said. She opened her eyes, relieved to see a group of teenagers in one piece. So then why had he only taken hers? Becca’s eyes began to water. “What?” He asked in an annoyed voice.
“He took my face!” she accused. The group snickered. She tried to pat where she thought her face should be, but only felt air. She cried harder. He sighed again before grabbing her wrist and moving her hand five inches to her right. She felt around for her cheeks, chin, forehead, and finally her nose. “Oh.” She said realizing it was all still there. The group snickered again.
“Great, another Josh.” A male voice mumbled.
“No way, look at her eyes. That’s Helta all the way! Jerry, how much did you give her?”
“Just enough to relax her for a bit.” Jerry said.
“Relax her? She looks like she’s going to fall out of the chair. Are you sure you didn’t give her a little extra? She thought you stole her face, man.”
“What happened to your lip?” A girl’s voice asked. The group looked up at him to see Jerry’s swollen bottom lip. Jerry patted Becca’s shoulder as way of signaling why she was drugged. He then pulled up a chair and joined the circle of teenagers.
“So she’s just drugged then? She’s not another Josh?”
“She’s violent. I had to take extra precaution.” Jerry admitted.
“She doesn’t look violent.”
“Looks can be deceiving, Stephen. Have you seen Charles lately?”
“No, way! That was her?” Stephen asked. His eyes flickered in amusement and awe.
“What? What happened to Charles? That guy’s such a pervert. I’ve caught him in my room before.”
“Haven’t you seen his face? His eyes are all bandaged up and an orderly has been guiding him everywhere.” Stephen said. “So what’d she do to him?”
“He tried to play doctor with Becca, but she wouldn’t have it. She threw chili sauce in his face.” Jerry explained. The group whistled and let out a chuckle. Becca had no idea what was going on, but she figured she’d laugh too. When she opened her mouth though, all that came out was drool.
“That’s Helta all right.” The girl said.
“Was… Helta?” Becca managed to mumble.
“Helta’s a muscle relaxant. It’s what Jerry gave you to relax.” Stephen said as he made air quotes around the word relax. “We think it’s a horse tranquilizer.”
“Ponies…bad.” Becca whimpered. She tried to use her arm to prop her head up, but kept missing. Whatever they had given her; she didn’t like it. She couldn’t tell if her head felt heavy or light. Her body protested at sitting upright more from being over tired than in pain.
“It affects everyone differently.” Jerry explained. “Some people only notice a slight drowsiness while others…” He paused as Becca’s head rolled forward. He gestured towards Becca as an example of the other end of the spectrum.
After some more chatter, the group went around in a circle and introduced themselves. Stephen sat in front facing Becca. He wore navy blue sweat pants and a forest green t-shirt that said Sunny Shores on it. He had a head full of thick curly brown hair and emerald green eyes. All Becca got out of his introduction was that he would be turning seventeen next week, and that he had been here for almost a month, but didn’t say why.
On Becca’s right sat another boy who looked to be about fourteen years old. He introduced himself as Kevin and said his parents had sent him there to get clean. Becca looked up at him with a horrified look on her face. Kevin shrugged, but shifted in his chair looking obviously uncomfortable.
“We don’t judge people here, Becca.” Jerry said as a warning. “Every one here comes from different backgrounds with different struggles.”
“B-but…but his parents locked him away because he wouldn’t shower! That’s so mean!” Becca said. Her voice rose and cracked with emotion. The group laughed again. Jerry tried to explain what getting clean meant, but his explanation was lost on Becca, who was currently preoccupied with touching her face to make sure it was still there.
Next up was the girl named Alicia, with long red hair that reminded Becca of April, but without the curls. And lastly came a young man who hadn’t uttered a single word the entire time. He looked to be in his early 20’s also wearing a Sunny Shores t-shirt with short black hair. He sat in his chair and stared off into space. He remained silent when his turn came, but no one seemed all that surprised.
“That’s Josh. He doesn’t talk much, but when he does, it’s obvious he’s out of his mind.” Stephen offered.
Jerry lightly scolded him, but followed up with a, “He’s one of our more mentally challenged patients here.” Becca stared at Josh for a moment, but the young man didn’t seem to register that they were talking about him. That, or he didn’t care. He just continued to sit there staring off into space.
The group began to talk about random personal issues, so Becca closed her eyes and tuned them out. When she opened them 10 minutes later, she saw Josh no longer staring off into space, but looking directly at her. He pointed to his ear, motioning for her to listen before resuming his staring contest with the wall. She tried to fight the drug-induced fog, and listened to what the group was talking about. The subject was Charles again.
“Why isn’t he in a drugged stupor too?” Stephen asked.
“I think he’s learned his lesson now.” Jerry said. He seemed to wave the question off.
“I’m so sick of finding that creep in my closet. About time someone stood up to him. New girl’s alright in my book.” Alicia said. “I swear it’s like all they ever do is just lead him back to his room.” If it weren’t for the drugs coursing through her, she probably would have pressed the issue. Instead she sat quietly and listened a bit longer, until something else caught her attention.
“Jerry.” Becca mumbled turning to him. “Jerry, I need to…never mind.” She went back into her stupor.
“What is it, Becca?” Jerry asked.
“I peed.” She admitted unabashed. Everyone scooted a few inches away.
“Don’t worry.” He said rolling his eyes at the group. “She’s already prepped for this. It’s a side effect of the Helta.”
“Great,” Becca said trying to sound sarcastic. Instead she sounded oddly happy and upbeat, earning herself several strange looks from the group.
“I think that about wraps up todays meeting.” Jerry said after the group chatted together for another twenty or so minutes- interrupted every so often by Becca asking what happened to her various body parts.
At one point she had asked the group where her boobs went, to which Stephen responded with a snicker and said, “I don’t think you came in with any.”
One by one the members of the group got up and left until it was only Becca, Josh- who continued to stare at the wall- and Jerry.
“Will you be okay for a minute?” Jerry asked. Before Becca could form the words, Jerry was already up and out the door leaving her alone with Josh.
She rested her eyes for a minute, but felt like something was off. When she opened them she let out a startled squeak. Josh was no longer staring out the window. Josh was no longer in his seat. Josh was three inches away from Becca’s face staring intently into her eyes. He stood as still as a statue staring at her for a solid minute. Becca was at a complete loss for words. Finally he broke the silence. “Why’d you hit Jerry?” He asked.
Becca shivered under his intense stare. “It-it was an accident.” She managed to spit out.
“Did you tell him that?”Becca nodded her head. Josh pulled back seemingly satisfied he had gotten whatever it was he was after. He turned around and began walking away, before stopping in the middle of the room to say, “Don’t you find it strange they drugged you and not him?” Then he walked out of the room.
Becca sat in stunned silence trying to make sense of what had just happened. Did that really happen, or was it the drugs doing? At first, she thought he had meant Jerry. Why would they drug Jerry? Then she remembered what the group had been talking about. Charles. Why did they drug her and not him? If he was such a problem patient…
“Ready to go back to your room?” Jerry asked. She tried to tell him about what had just happened, but he dismissed it. “Don’t let him get to you. He’s one of our more… long term patients.” He said. “He doesn’t usually make much sense.” But that was what was bothering Becca. He did make sense. Maybe it was just the drugs talking, but he made a lot of sense. Why would they let someone like that- a repeat offender no less- run around loose attacking people?
“Why do you think he’s crazy?” Becca asked on the way back to her room.
“He’s a paranoid schizophrenic. Spends more time lost in his head than he does in the real world. He keeps to himself most of the time, but when he does talk he’s pretty delusional. He thinks the CIA’s after him or something along those lines. He might have overdosed at one point.” Jerry explained. He looked down at her and frowned. “You look pretty lost in thought. Whatcha thinking about?”
“I think he took my nose.” Becca said. |
Becca’s legs wobbled as she slowly inched forward step by step. It was agonizing and brutal. If she thought the Spp workouts were harsh, it was nothing compared to Dr. Benshin’s physical therapy circuit. She let out a groan. Her legs hurt as if they were being dissolved with acid from the inside out.
“Just a few more steps, Becca, you’re doing great.” Dr. Benshin said. He held onto her waistband to keep her from falling. Becca wanted to let out a sarcastic laugh, but feared if she thought of anything besides her goal for even a split second, she would lose her momentum. The table on the other side of the room never looked so far away. She grunted through her clenched teeth. Sweat poured down her face and matted her hair down the sides of her cheeks. Her eyes burned with hot tears. She inched herself closer and closer to her goal.
“Picture a big ice cream sundae waiting for you.” He said.
“Will you rub it on my legs for me?”Becca said. He had to be the worst motivational speaker she had ever heard. Ice cream sundae? What was she, five? Besides, he knew damn well the automated system wouldn’t let her have any ice cream anymore. Oh how she missed ice cream. And bacon. It felt like all she was allowed to eat was kale and spinach. Junk food around here was like cigarettes in prison. Getting to use the toilet came at a steep price it seemed.
Becca collapsed into the table when she made it. Her head sunk face first into the pillow. She needed to roll over, but her body felt like lead. She took several shaky breathes before letting out a groan and turning around.
“You did it. See, you can do five laps down the hallway.” Becca moaned in response. “It wouldn’t be this hard if you’d just do the VR workouts like you’re supposed to in your room.”
“No. No VR.”
“It’s not good for you to stay in bed and stare at the wall all day. Wouldn’t you rather be on a beach, or fighting a dragon or something?”
“No VR. Not. Safe.” She panted.
“We’ve been over this. No one’s after you.” Becca closed her eyes and remained silent as way of ending the discussion. “You’ll have to get over your fears at some point.” She ignored him until he left to get her an ice blanket for her legs. She waited until she heard him walk out the door to open her eyes again. She let out a gasp. A face was staring at her mere inches away from her own.
“He’s right you know, they won’t take you back.” Josh said.
“Why do you keep doing this? You’re going to give me a heart attack.”
“They have you where they want you. You’re safe.”
“What makes you think that? How do you even know what I’m talking about?”
He smiled a little before backing away. “Who would believe the ramblings of a mad woman?” He asked. He looked at a tablet in hands. “Delusions, violent tendencies. Oh, this looks interesting, dissociative identity disorder.”
“Are you reading my chart?” Becca asked. She furrowed her eyebrows in anger. “How did you even get that?”
“This place is lacking in the security department. A child could break through their settings.”
“Well, stop it! That’s personnel.”
“But don’t you want my help?” He asked. He smiled again at Becca’s confused expression. “You know, I haven’t seen a single sign that you have a split personality. You’ve always been Becca- expect for that time you were drugged out of your mind.”
“I’m starting to suspect you’re as nuts as they say you are.” Becca said. She winced as she sat up making sure to keep eye contact with Josh the entire time.
“Yeah, well, so am I.” He said. He took a seat next to her on the table.
“Forgive me if I’m a little suspicious of anything you say, but what do you mean, ’help me?’” She eyed him as he seemed to zone out for a moment, before the light came back in his eyes.
“Realize your childhood fantasy.” He said. Yep, this guy was nuts. Maybe she should call for Jerry. “ When I was in elementary school, when all the other brain washed saps gushed about how many kids they were going to have, there was one girl who stood out. All she talked about over and over was being a solider, and how she refused to have kids. We all thought she was crazy, of course. Our teachers called her, “un-patriotic,” I even went as far as calling her a terrorist- until she slugged me right in the jaw and knocked out my front tooth.”
Becca narrowed her eyes. It couldn’t be… She searched his face, but she couldn’t see him. “I was a bit of a dick.” He said. “Had blond hair too.”
“D-Derrick?” Becca asked. He nodded his head. “What are you doing in Alaska?” His smile faltered a little.
“We’re in California.” Becca’s eyes widened. No! She was in a different state? When had they... Was she really unconscious for that long? Was that why her parents hadn’t visited her? “Welcome back. Now down to business. Do you still want to be a solider?” She turned away from him and stared at the ground.
“What’s it matter? That’s what got me into this situation in the first place. Maybe I should have gotten married and popped out a few kids after all.”
“That’s not the Becca I remember.” He said.
“Yeah, well, the Becca you remember got locked up in the loony bin. What about you? What happened to the Derrick I knew?”
“Dead. I’m Josh Langley now.” He said. There was a slight sense of pride in his smile. Not quite cocky, but not unconfident either. The look in his eyes seemed to beg her to ask, so she took the bait and asked how. He replied with, “a new chip.” Becca stared at him. A new chip? You couldn’t just swap out a chip like you would a pair of shoes. Chips are your identity. It’s how the government keeps tabs on you. To get a new chip would mean…It’s just as he said. To get a new chip would give you a new identity. But could she believe him? She was talking to someone locked in a insane asylum. Sanitarium. Wherever they were.
“And how did you go about getting this new chip?” Becca asked. She figured she’d play along until the physical therapist came back and shooed him out. Didn’t want to piss this guy off and get shanked later.
“Witness protection.” Josh replied. He was either oblivious or uncaring of Becca’s attempts to scoot away from him. “I’m a whistle blower.”
“What did you witness?” Becca asked. She was at the edge of the table unable to scoot away any farther. Her legs were still jellified after the work out. If she tried to walk away she’d probably fall flat on her face.
He paused for a moment seemingly trying to find the right words. “It’s not what I witnessed; it’s what I did. I changed sides. I worked for them, and ran. I designed the games that tormented children.”
“I-I have to go.” Becca said. This guy was nuts!
“I’m here searching for other survivors- like yourself. I read your file. I believe you.” She froze right before she was about to push herself off the table. Not one person had said those words to her. “You’re not crazy.”
“But I had a split personality! I was turning into a child!”
He cocked his head to the side for a moment before replying, “What do you mean ‘had’?”
“Crystal and I…merged.” His eyes widened. Now it was his turn to be shocked. “I wanted to bring her back with me as her own person, but.”
“Crystal as in… green hair, purple eyes, lifeless?”
“Lifeless? She wasn’t lifeless, but yes, that was her.”
“I…I know it. I’ve been running from it. That AI is a lifeless machine…What do you mean you merged?”
Becca shrugged her shoulders. “It’s a long story.” Josh persisted until she let up. “She’s not an AI. She’s my split personality.” Now it was his turn to scoot away. His eyes were wide with fear. His face ghostly pale.
“We’ve been trying to delete that program for years! It’s a virus! It goes through the Sphere stealing information for the SPP.”
“She’s not a virus!” Becca insisted. “She’s a person! With thoughts and feelings and…”
“No. Crystal is a program designed to steal sensitive information from government programs and infect everything it touches. I’d know. I helped make it!” He said. His eyes were fierce. “I made many Crystal’s and unleashed them into the Sphere. Those games that traumatized kids. Where do you think they came from? I uploaded the program into a Crystal and sent it out. It would then find a suitable target meeting our criteria and infect the game they went into.”
“That’s…that’s not possible! She was my friend! I lived with her. She had real feelings.”
“The only thing that program knows how to do is destroy! If its infected your avatar, we need to get it out!” Josh said. He stared at her with a stern expression. He must have seen she wasn’t going to budge. Crystal was part of her! She wasn’t a program!
He turned his attention to the tablet in his hands. He flipped through some pictures before showing her the screen. “Is this her?” She stared at the image dumbfounded.
“Hey, you can’t be in here!” A voice called out. They looked up to see the physical therapist returning with her ice. Josh grabbed the tablet from her hands and stood up before giving Becca one last look.
“When you can walk, meet me in my room.”
Josh was right. That was her. At the same time though, it wasn’t. The green hair and violet eyes were unmistakable. But that picture, it was of a little girl. Was it… the same little girl that followed her all those years ago? If that Crystal was a virus, who the hell had she been sleeping next to for all those months? |
How do you feel about this as the first chapter? I used Hemmingway App for the grammar and sentence structure. I don't know how i feel about it. It wants you to make the sentences super simple.
The five-year-old girl sprinted forward into the mall store. Her older brother looking none too pleased about being drug along by the hand behind her. Her green eyes glowed with excitement while she took in her surroundings. A paper crown sat atop her head which read, 'Birthday Girl' in large pink letters. Remnants of chocolate cake still smeared the corners of her mouth. Nothing about this day would suggest the events about to unfold would traumatize her for life. Had she waited until the next day, would she not have to spend so many years being awoken in the night by her own screams? What if another little boy or girl had taken her place that day? Maybe her life could have gone done a different road. It’s funny how childhood trauma can mold you into the person you are today.
“Becca, slow down.” Brian said. She ignored him, too hyped up on sugar to stay still any longer than three seconds. Not only was it her birthday, but now she was old enough to log in to the Sphere for the first time. She had found a voucher in the mail for a free partial dive for her birthday from the Sphere Center. After much begging, pleading and crying, her parents had relented. Only under the condition that her brother log in with her.
She knew the exact game she wanted to play. Baby Mama Llama Drama. It was the latest craze these days. It was on T-shirts, backpacks, Tv, video games. She had even had a Baby Mama Llama Drama themed birthday party. Brian always said it was a show used to brainwash kids. It shoved the government’s political agenda down their little, unsuspecting throats. Becca loved the silliness of the show, and all the mischief the characters got into. Brian said the underlying purpose was to teach kids the “gender norms” of the current society. Women stayed home and had lots of children while the men worked. She had no idea what he was talking about.
On the way to pick out a game off the rack, she noticed the other people in the lobby. They all spread out the room as far from each other as possible, as if everyone had an infectious disease. They all sat still and silent. No one spoke. No one made eye contact.
Brian scowled when Becca presented him with the cover of the game she wanted to play. “Why is no one talking?” She asked, as they walked towards the counter.
Brian looked around before responding. “Not everyone is comfortable with being around people yet, that’s why they’re here. To learn through games.”
“They can’t talk? I can talk good!” Becca boasted.
Brian hushed her and tried to explain. “Shh, keep your voice down. Most adults weren’t raised like people our age. Face to face interaction is still new to them.”
“Hi there!” An employee said. He looked down at Becca and smiled. “Is today your birthday?” Becca nodded her head, and hid behind her brother. The teenager working behind the counter chuckled.
Brian rolled his eyes. “What happened to miss-I-Talk-Good?” He shook his head while she cowered behind him. “We have a coupon for a free partial dive. It came in the mail for her. I didn’t know you guys did birthday mailers.”
He scrutinized the piece of paper. “We don’t. At least not that I’m aware of.” He slid the papers barcode under the scanner before it beeped. “Oh, well I guess we do now. It accepted it as payment. Have you picked out a game yet?”
“Two dives in llama land.” Brian said. He sent a last pleading look to the teenager working the register that said, Please help me. “Can’t believe mom’s making me do this with you.” He eyed the cover with distaste as some kind of unicorn llama hybrid smiled up at him.
“You know, these games are safe.” The employee tapped the E rating on the cover. “There’s no way she could get hurt in a game like that. You could always play a different game while she does this one.”
Brian groaned, “I know, but our parents are making me-.” He paused when the emergency signal blared into the lobby. A report came on and the three of them watched for a brief moment. An announcement about the discovery of mutilated corpses found in an underground lab. It was unknown who, or what, was responsible. It urged viewers to be on guard and report suspicious activity.
“It’s been going off every hour.” The employee named Victor said.“A guy found the bodies this morning. He even said every single one of them died from self-inflicted injuries. They interviewed the person who found them. Could you imagine walking into a warehouse and finding the scene of twenty plus suicides? All were violent deaths. We’re not talking poisoning. Some people even had finger nail marks going down their faces! Whatever happened, these people suffered before they died.” Becca shuddered at the thought. “They’ll play the interview again in a few minutes if you want to see it.”
“I don’t want to see it!” Becca said. “I want to play my game!” She tugged hard on Brian’s hand.
“I can’t. I have to stay with her. I want to though.” Brian frowned before looking at the Tv, and then back to Becca. “Do you think you could play by yourself?”
She smiled wide at the opportunity presented to her. He was letting her be alone? Being five rocked! “Look, don’t tell mom and I’ll take you back next week.” She nodded her head with vigor and let out a high-pitched squeal of excitement.
“Alright, has she been here before?” Victor asked.
“No” Brian said. He gave Becca a gentle nudge behind the counter once Victor said they could come back. He tried to herd the little girl towards the scanner. His efforts were almost futile. She was paying more attention to the things around her than where she was going. He told her to look straight ahead at the wall. She glanced at what appeared to be a blank wall. Her eyes went wide as an exact replica of herself projected in front of her.
“Pretty cool, huh?” He smiled a little at her amazement. “Now all you have to do is think about what you want to look like.”
“Woah!” Becca said. She giggled as she imagined herself with different shades and styles of hair. Brian rolled his eyes, but at the same time, pleased to see her having so much fun. After ten minutes of this, he had to tell her to choose something; he didn’t want to be here all day. She settled on a little girl her age with curly brown hair and blue eyes.
Brian looked at her in disbelief, before shrugging his shoulders. “So much for kids having an imagination. Now all you have to do is name her.”
The words ‘welcome, Sasha,’ appeared in big, bold text above the image. Underneath stood Becca's avatar dressed in light green sweater and jeans.
“Isn’t that the name of our next door neighbors husky?” He asked.
“N-no! I just like it!” She said, sounding a little too defensive as she crossed her arms with a pout.
“Whatever, c’mon, Fido,”
Victor led Becca towards the back hall, around the corner and towards room number twelve. As Becca walked, she craned her neck and turned her head in all directions. There were so many things to see! Advertisements for the latest and most popular dives covered the walls. One image showed two boys decked out in chain mail. Each carried an enormous sword with a giant, fire breathing dragon in the background. Another image showed a deep-sea dive. Various kinds of fish and sea life swam around a man in a scuba diving get up. Victor almost had to drag her away from one display. Two girls with black cat ears and tails stood in provocative posses and winked at the viewer.
“Kitties! I want to go in the kitty one!” Becca said. She frowned in confusion at the teenagers’ reaction.
“No! Not for kids, sorry.” Victor said with a chuckle as he guided her forward into the nearest room. Becca looked around the room with a frown. It wasn’t at all what she had been expecting.
“Where’s the llamas?” She asked taking in the plain room with a single chair and strange helmet.
“Don’t worry, there’s llamas.” He motioned for her to take a seat. “Now since this is your first time, let me explain how this is going to work. We’re going to put this helmet on you, count to ten, and when you come to, you’ll be in LlamaLand.”
Becca sat down in the leather recliner as the guide leaned her back down. “You ready?” The little girl nodded her head before a large spherical helmet lowered down over her eyes. “Now, if you want to log out for any reason, all you have to do is say the words, ‘I want out’. A screen will appear and ask you if you want to log out. You can say, ‘yes,’ or, ‘no.’ ” He explained.
Becca nodded her head in understanding in the complete blackness of the helmets interior. She hoped the guy would stop talking soon so she could hurry up and start. Her friends at school had talked non-stop about a flying llama in the game. It was the first thing she wanted to do. “Alright, I started the program. It might feel a little scary at first, but it will be over real quick. I’ll count down with you. 10, 9…”
Becca gripped the armrest as many different colors began floating in her vision. “8, 7, 6…” A strange lightheaded sensation came over her. She had to lean her head back against the headrest and close her eyes. “5, 4, 3…” She clutched the armrest tighter as she felt the room around her beginning to spin. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. “2, 1.” The teenagers voice began to fade away as he counted down the last of the numbers, until all was silent.
When she no longer felt her world spin, she opened her eyes and let out an audible gasp. No longer was she in the chair in the Sphere Center at her local mall, but in the heart of Llama Land. Except…it wasn’t at all what she had been expecting. Instead of the bright and happy town, she stood on the foundation of the crumbled remains of the town hall. Everything around her was dark and dreary. The gardens full of flowers and plant life in the advertisement were all withered and decayed. The towns’ windows broken and shattered.
Becca inched herself forward as she looked around at all the destruction. What happened? This wasn’t anything like she heard it would be. There was a sudden rustling noise behind her. She spun on her heels to find many shadows on the walls slinking away. She followed it relieved to see a fuzzy brown llama from the game trotting over to a group of them. They were all bent over eating something. Becca approached with slow steps. This game didn’t feel right. What should she do?
A prompt from the game appeared in her vision. Lost? Try asking for directions. Say, ‘Excuse me, could you tell me the way into town?’
“Ex-excuse me,” Becca stuttered, “c-could you tell me how to get to the town?” Their heads popped up and looked at her. Becca shrieked and stumbled backwards. Their faces and fur was matted with blood. She looked to the thing they were eating. A body. A human body.
“A fresh one!” One of them hissed. “Get her!”
Becca ran and ran and ran. No matter how much she ran she never got farther. She could hear their thundering hooves approaching behind her. She looked up. They were in front of her. She tried to change direction, but they were everywhere cornering her on all sides. “LOG OUT!” She yelled. An error message appeared. “LOG OUT LOG OUT LOG OUT!”
She eyed the llamas. Their eye sockets were empty and dripping with blood. She could hear them whispering and laughing amongst each other. Their mouths distorted into horrid smiles. Their faces started to melt into a puddle on the ground. Drip. Drip. Drip.
Becca backed into something hard. She looked behind her. A door? That hadn’t been there before. There was nothing attached to it. No walls or buildings. It was just a decayed wooden door standing by itself as if held up by air. She turned the knob and opened it to reveal a room. She ran inside, stopped, and let out an ear-curdling scream.
Becca jolted awake in bed. Her nine-year-old body trembled as it shook with violent sobs. She cried and hugged her knees to her chest. Her pajamas clung to her with sweat. Another llama nightmare. How many had she had since the day she played the tampered game?
She could hear her father and brother standing outside her bedroom door. They discussed whose turn it was to check on her. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve as someone knocked on her door before opening it. It was Brian. He gave a weak smile before he sat on the edge of her bed. They sat in silence except for the occasional sniffle from Becca.
“You wanna talk about it?” He asked. She shook her head. She feared talking about it would make her have more. “You need anything?” She whimpered and reached her arms out to him. He chuckled and scooted closer, before wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug. “It’s okay, Becca. You’ll grow out of it.” He broke apart after a good twenty seconds with a cringe on his face. “You’re all sweaty.”
Becca let out a weak laugh and a quick “sorry.” Brian un-peeled the electrodes off her head. He got up and checked the dream tracker on her nightstand. He watched a few bits and pieces of her nightmare before switching it off. It was the same one as always. “You should take a shower.” Becca agreed and crawled out of bed. She walked into the hall and ran into her mother, Heather. Becca hung her head as her mother scowled. Heather muttered something under her breath before she disappeared back into her bedroom. |
I think this version of the first chapter came out better without the app.
Becca Strokes sprinted forward into the mall store leaving behind a trail of dirty snow in her wake. Her bright green eyes were alight with youthful exuberance and exhilaration as she took in her surroundings. Her chocolate smeared lips curled upward in a large smile that nearly stretched to her ears while propped up on her head sat a pink bedazzled crown which read ‘Birthday Girl’ in large pink letters. The teenage boy who followed, however, meandered forward as if he was walking into his own demise. He gave one last pleading look to the raging winter storm in silent prayer it would swallow him whole. When it did not, he heaved a heavy sigh before heading inside; shoulders slumped in prospect for what waited for him on the other side of the door.
There were many things Brian Strokes would rather be doing on his Saturday afternoon than babysitting his little sister—like getting a root canal, or shoveling snow from the entire neighborhood by hand in a blizzard. Instead here he was playing chaperone because his parents didn’t like to leave the security and isolation of the house. Hardly anyone over the age of 18 left the house unless they absolutely had to.
The weather had nothing to do with it.
“Becca, slow down.” Brian said. She ignored him, too hyped up on sugar to stay still any longer than three seconds. Not only was it her birthday, but it was her fifth birthday. Being five was a very important year. Being five meant she could log into the Sphere. She had found a voucher in the mail for a free partial dive for her birthday from the Sphere Center, and after much begging, pleading and crying, her parents had relented. Only under one condition though: that her brother log in with her. So now here he was, getting yanked by the arm by his five-year-old sister towards the display of games.
Becca knew the exact game she wanted to play. Baby Mama Llama Drama. It was the latest craze these days. It was on T-shirts, backpacks, Tv, video games --she had even had a Baby Mama Llama Drama themed birthday party. Brian always said it was a show used to brainwash kids. It shoved the government’s political agenda down their little, unsuspecting throats. Becca loved the silliness of the show, and all the mischief the characters got into. Brian said the underlying purpose was to teach kids the “gender norms” of the current society. Women stayed home and had lots of children while the men worked. She had no idea what he was talking about.
On the way to pick out a game off the rack, she noticed the other people in the lobby. They spread out the room as far from each other as possible, as if everyone had an infectious disease. They all sat still and silent. No one spoke. No one made eye contact.
Brian scowled when Becca presented him with the cover of the game she wanted to play. “Why is no one talking?” She asked, as they walked towards the counter.
Brian looked around before responding. “Not everyone is comfortable with being around people yet, that’s why they’re here. To learn through games.”
“They can’t talk? I can talk good!” Becca boasted.
Brian hushed her and tried to explain. “Shh, keep your voice down. Most adults weren’t raised like people our age. Face to face interaction is still new to them.”
“Hi there!” An employee said. He looked down at Becca and smiled. “Is today your birthday?” Becca nodded her head, and hid behind her brother. The teenager working behind the counter chuckled.
Brian rolled his eyes. “What happened to miss-I-Talk-Good?” He shook his head while she cowered behind him. “We have a coupon for a free partial dive. It came in the mail for her. I didn’t know you guys did birthday mailers.”
He scrutinized the piece of paper. “We don’t-- at least not that I’m aware of.” He slid the paper’s barcode under the scanner before it beeped. “Oh, well I guess we do now; it accepted it as payment. Have you picked out a game yet?”
“Two dives in llama land.” Brian said, his eyes nearly rolled out his head. He sent a last pleading look to the teenager working the register that said, Please help me. “Can’t believe mom’s making me do this with you.” He eyed the cover with distaste as some kind of unicorn llama hybrid smiled up at him.
“You know, these games are safe.” The employee tapped the E rating on the cover. “There’s no way she could get hurt in a game like that, so you could always play a different game while she does this one.”
Brian groaned, “I know, but our parents are making me--.” The sudden shrieking of an alarm filled lobby of the Sphere Center as everyone covered their ears. Heads turned left and right in rapid succession in search of the source of the cacophony that dared to interrupt the peaceful silence of what should have been an uneventful day. But today would be far from uneventful for one member of their two-person party—And it all started with the Emergency Broadcast System.
Brian expected to hear a weather report. Leave it to the weather station to begin sounding the alarm for a blizzard they were already halfway through. But it wasn’t about the weather. What was announced over the intercom that left him so speechless? The local discovery of bodies. Plural.
An unsettling silence greeted the end of the speech. No longer was the lobby full of the anxious fidgeting of the socially awkward, or the scratchy clearing of throats. All that was there was a silence so eerie you could hear a pin drop.
“It’s been going off every hour.” The employee named Victor said. “A guy working the docks found the bodies this morning in one of the warehouses used to store fish. They say it’s the biggest body dump Alaska has ever seen.”
Brian’s eyes went wide. “Are you serious?”
“It gets weirder! All the deaths were ruled as suicides. Every. Single. One of them.” Vincent nodded his head towards the back room. “They’ve been playing the interview of guy that found him. Poor dude’s practically in hysterics! Could you imagine walking in on that? Police suspect they were tortured before they died or something. Everyone killed themselves with their own bare hands! Some of them even had finger nail marks going down their faces!”
A shiver went down Becca’s body, but it wasn’t from the cold. She could feel all the hairs on her arms and neck stand on end. She gave Brian’s jacket a tug to get his attention. “I want to play my game.” She whined.
“They’ll play the interview again in a few minutes if you want to see it.” Vincent offered.
“I don’t want to see it!” Becca said. “I want to play my game!” She tugged hard on Brian’s hand.
“I can’t. I have to stay with her. I want to though.” Brian frowned before looking at the Tv, then back to Becca. “Do you think you could play by yourself?” Here was his ticket to escape presented on a silver platter. Becca smiled wide at the opportunity presented to her. He was letting her be alone? Being five rocked! “Look, don’t tell mom and I’ll take you back next week.” She nodded her head with renewed vigor and let out a high-pitched squeal of excitement. Brian smiled in relief; in fact, it was the first real smile he had worn all day. He could watch the news, while she could play her game. It was a win win! What could possibly go wrong in a little kid’s game after all?
Chapter Two
“Alright, has she been here before?” Victor asked.
“No” Brian said. He gave Becca a gentle nudge behind the counter once Victor said they could come back. He tried to herd the little girl towards the scanner, but his efforts were nearly futile. He might as well have been trying to herd a cat. When he finally managed to coral the small child, he pointed straight ahead at a blank wall and told her to look. Her eyes went wide as an exact replica of herself projected in front of her.
“Pretty cool, huh?” He smiled a little at her amazement. “Now all you have to do is think about what you want to look like.”
“Woah!” Becca said. She giggled as she imagined herself with different shades and styles of hair. Brian rolled his eyes, but at the same time, pleased to see her having so much fun. After ten minutes of this, he had to tell her to choose something; he didn’t want to be here all day. She almost picked an avatar with long green hair and violet eyes, but settled on a little girl her age with curly brown hair and blue eyes instead.
Brian looked at her in disbelief, before he shrugged his shoulders signaling his indifference. So much for kids having an imagination, he thought. “Now all you have to do is name her.”
The words ‘Welcome, Sasha,’ appeared in big, bold text above the image, while underneath stood Becca's avatar dressed in light green sweater and jeans.
“Isn’t that the name of our next door neighbors husky?” He asked.
“N-no! I just like it!” She said, sounding a little too defensive as she crossed her arms with a pout.
“Whatever, c’mon, Fido,”
Victor led Becca towards the back hall, around the corner and towards room number twelve, while Brian diverged to sit in front of the Tv. As Becca walked, she craned her neck and turned her head in all directions, pointing and commenting on every little thing she saw. There were so many things to see! Advertisements for the latest and most popular dives covered the walls.
One projection showed two boys decked out in chain mail, each sporting an enormous sword twice the length of their arm. As they fought, steel clamored and clanked against each other with every blow as a giant fire-breathing dragon stood above them. As Becca and Victor triggered the motion sensor, the dragon blew hot air in their faces as they passed by.
Another image showed a deep-sea dive while various kinds of fish and sea life swam around a man in a scuba diving get up. Victor almost had to drag her away from one display, which featured two girls sporting black cat ears and tails while they stood in provocative posses and winked at the viewer.
“Kitties! I want to go in the kitty one!” Becca said. She frowned in confusion at the teenagers’ reaction.
“No! Not for kids, sorry.” Victor said with a chuckle as he guided her forward into the nearest room. Becca looked around the room, her once wide jubilant smile quickly faltered.
“Where’s the llamas?” She asked, taking in the plain room with a single chair and strange helmet.
“Don’t worry, there’s llamas.” He motioned for her to take a seat. “Now since this is your first time, let me explain how this is going to work. We’re going to put this helmet on you, count to ten, and when you come to, you’ll be in LlamaLand.”
Becca sat down in the leather recliner as the guide leaned her back down. “You ready?” The little girl nodded her head before a large spherical helmet lowered down over her eyes. She wrinkled her face in disgust as a wave of stale sweat greeted her nose.“Now, if you want to log out for any reason, all you have to do is say the words, ‘I want out’. A screen will appear and ask you if you want to log out. You can say, ‘yes,’ or, ‘no.’ ” He explained.
Becca gave him the thumbs up signal and hoped he’d stop talking soon so she could start. Her friends at school had talked non-stop about a flying llama in the game. It was the first thing she wanted to do. “Alright, I started the program. It might feel a little scary at first, but it will be over real quick. I’ll count down with you. 10, 9…”
Becca gripped the armrest as many different colors began to spiral around in her vision before forming intricate shapes and patterns. “8, 7, 6…” A lightheaded sensation began to come over her so she put her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes. “5, 4, 3…” She clutched the armrest tighter as she felt the room around her beginning to spin. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. “2, 1.” The teenagers voice began to fade away as he counted down the last of the numbers, until at last all was silent.
When she no longer felt the intense waves of vertigo, she opened her eyes and let out an audible gasp. No longer was she in the chair in the Sphere Center at her local mall, but in the heart of Llama Land. Except…it wasn’t at all what she had been expecting. Instead of the glistening and jolly town, she stood on the foundation of the crumbled remains of the castle. Everything around her was dark and dreary. The gardens full of flowers and plant life in the advertisement were now all withered and decayed. The windows of shops and houses had been broken leaving pieces of grass scattered about.
Becca inched herself forward as she tried to grow accustomed to walking without feeling the ground underneath her feet. She could make out the crunch crunch crunch of her shoes on gravel, but felt no pressure or resistance when her feet met the ground. What would have been an enjoyable feeling similar to walking on air; it only added to the perplexity of her surroundings while she took in all the destruction. What happened here? This wasn’t anything like she heard it would be.
Becca heard a sudden rustling noise behind her. She spun on her heels to find many shadows on the walls slinking away. She followed it relieved to see a fuzzy brown llama from the game trotting over to a pack of them. They were all bent over eating something as Becca approached with slow, cautious steps as not to disturb them. This game didn’t feel right. What should she do?
A prompt from the Verbal Assistant appeared in her vision. Lost? Try asking for directions. Say, ‘Excuse me, could you tell me the way into town?’
“Ex-excuse me,” Becca stuttered, “c-could you tell me how to get to the town?” Their heads jerked up simultaneously and stared at her. Becca shrieked and stumbled backwards from the sight of their faces and fur dripping with the blood of their meal. She looked to the thing they were eating. A body. A human body.
“A fresh one!” One of them hissed. “Get her!”
Becca tried to run, but not matter how much she ran she never got farther. She could hear their thundering hooves approaching behind her. She looked up. Now they were in front of her! She tried to change direction, but they were everywhere cornering her on all sides. “LOG OUT!” She yelled. An error message appeared. “LOG OUT! LOG OUT! LOG OUT!”
She eyed the llamas wearily. Their eye sockets were empty black holes that dripped with blood. She could hear them whispering and laughing amongst each other. Their mouths distorted into horrid smiles before their faces began to melt into a puddle on the ground. Drip. Drip. Drip.
Becca backed into something hard. She looked behind her. A door? That hadn’t been there before! There was nothing attached to it. No walls or buildings. It was just a decayed wooden door standing by itself as if held up by air. She tried the knob, relieved to see it turn. She pushed the door open to reveal a room. With no time to be surprised, she ran inside, and slammed the door shut behind her right as the llamas charged into the door. Becca jumped away from the door as they began to charge at it over and over. It shook and rattled with every impact. She spun around to explore the room she had entered, but froze in place as her eyes adjusted and took in her new surroundings. She let out an ear-curdling scream and--
Becca jolted awake in her bed from the sounds of her own screams. Her nine-year-old body trembled as she shook with violent sobs as her heart hammered inside her chest. She bawled and hugged her knees to her chest. Her breaths came in short rapid succession.
Another llama nightmare. How many had she had since the day she played the tampered game?
She could hear her father and brother standing outside her bedroom door while they discussed whose turn it was to check on her. Someone knocked on her door before opening it. It was Brian. A fresh wave of tears overtook her as they streamed down her face and obscured her vision. She could feel the snot trailing down her nose as she tried to wipe it away with her sleeve. Brian flashed her a weak smile before he sat on the edge of her bed as it caved with his weight. She immediately crawled over to him and wrapped her arms around him tightly as if to prevent him from floating away. He held her gently in his arms as he slowly rocked her back and forth until her anguished cries turned to slight sniffles.
“You wanna talk about it?” He whispered, once she had calmed down enough to speak. She shook her head. She refused to talk about it. She feared talking about it would make her have more, despite her shrinks’ contradictions. “You need anything?” She shook her head again. “It’s okay, Becca, it’ll be okay.” She rested her chin on his shoulder as he patted her back a few times.
Brian was always the best at calming her down after an episode. Words of comfort came naturally to him, and the awkwardness of physical contact had dissipated around the tenth time he had had to sit with her in the night. Tonight probably marked around the hundredth time for him. After four years it had become routine. Her shrink had told her she needed to find somewhere she felt safe when she experienced her “flashbacks” and that place for her was with him. She always wondered if the only reason he sat with her at night was because he felt partially responsible for what happened. She honestly didn’t care he had left her; she couldn’t even remember that part. He hadn’t tampered with the game; therefore in her mind he wasn’t responsible. If anything good had come from this, it was that they were much closer now.
Brian leaned over and un-peeled the electrodes off her head before he got up and checked the dream tracker on her nightstand. He watched a few bits and pieces of her nightmare before switching it off. It was the same one as always. “You should dry out your shorts and take a shower.” Becca agreed and crawled out of bed.
As she crept into the hall, she ran into her mother, Heather. Becca hung her head as her mother scowled, before she muttered something under her breath and disappeared back into her bedroom. Becca stood alone in the hallway trying to fight off a fresh wave of tears.
She made her way to the bathroom and wrung the water out her shorts over the bathtub. The shorts contained a chemical in them to transmute any liquid into water—not drinkable water, but she didn’t have to worry about making a mess if she leaked. All she had to do was dry them, and they were ready for another night. Bedwetting was just another side effect of her PTSD; it went hand and hand with the nightmares. There was never one without the other. It just was what it was.
After a quick shower and change of clothes, she hurried back to her room to find Brian still waiting for her. He gave her one last hug, tucked her in, and told her what he always told her after an episode. “Things will be better tomorrow.” Maybe one day she’d even believe him. |
I AM working on a new chapter now ; D But in order to understand it, I'll have to post a bit of the re-write. Enjoy :)
Chapter Three
Becca sat in class struggling to stay awake as her teacher droned on about the history of the Sphere and the Great Silence—the era where humans no longer communicated with each other face to face. With the rise of technology came the decrease of social skills, and with the decrease of social skills came the drop in birth rates. When the population dropped to an all time low—a state of emergency was called. So they created the Sphere to counteract the declining population by using virtual reality to teach social skills through games. People could interact with each other, but still have the anonymity they craved by using digitally created bodies known as avatars with their consciousness projected inside of them. On screen prompts would teach them the right words to say, until they felt they no longer needed them.
Once a child turned five, they were taken to a Sphere Center and enrolled. There in the Sphere they would be taught everything they needed to know. Left from right and right from wrong. Their generation was the first to escape the Great Silence.
Becca’s eyes drooped. How many times had she heard all this before? Mr. Brenard’s voice droned on in a monotonous pitch lulling Becca to sleep. The nightmares were beginning to take its toll on her body during the day. No, she needed to stay awake! The heart rate detector built into her desk was flashing her a warning message. But her teachers’ words were becoming a jumbled mess of nonsense as they drifted in one ear and out the other. The desire to lay her head on her desk and close her eyes was overpowering. Her desk flashed its last and final warning for her to wake up.
A sudden jolt of electricity surged into the chair. Becca let out a startled cry as she jumped in the air now wide-awake. Mr. Brenard sighed and shook his head. “Becca, please stay awake. This is the third time you’ve fallen asleep in class this week.” She nodded her head, despite the urge to correct him that it was only her second offense. She could hear the snickers of her classmates beside her. She didn’t bother looking, she knew who it was. Derrick Ashton -- her brothers’ part time apprentice and the bane of her existence. Just one more year, she told herself. He was 14 now, and in one more year he’d be leaving school to work full time with her brother.
Boys came of age when they turned 15 and left school to take on an apprenticeship for a trade around town. Girls came of age when they started their periods. The girls would then be put into the system and expected to find a husband. They had until they were 18, if they didn’t find a partner one would be assigned to them. Love was not a determining factor—the ability to love had all but died out with people’s ability to communicate. Besides the relationship she had with her mother, Becca’s family was the exception; not the rule. Theirs was to be the generation that changed things—the generation that learned how to love.
When Mr. Brenards speech came to an end, he announced it was time for their math lessons. Becca stretched out her arms and legs before reaching towards her helmet hanging on the corner of her desk. Lessons were done in virtual reality by digitalized tutors, which catered to each individual child. With only 15 kids in the school, it was pointless to divide them all by age. Mr. Brenard was more of a babysitter than anything. He sat at his desk and watched to make sure they went to VR and wrote equations in the air on their invisible chalkboards.
When Becca was about to put her helmet on, he approached her desk and stopped her. “You need to go to bed earlier and make sure you get enough rest for school. You’ve been making it a habit of falling asleep in class.”
“Sorry,” she mumbled. She wasn’t about to explain the real reason she hadn’t been sleeping.
“Have you started on your class project?” She shook her head. The class was supposed to give a presentation of their goals in life. Boys got to talk about their career paths while girls presented their ideal house and husband. Even at nine she was struck by the unfairness of it all. What if she didn’t want to get married and have kids? What if she wanted a career? She didn’t know what she’d do if she could have one, but she longed for the option. “Your grades have been slipping, Becca, what’s the matter?”
“What’s the point?” She finally asked, meeting his eyes. The eye contact made him uncomfortable, so he looked to the corner of her desk instead. A trademark move for those who had been born during the Great Silence—communication didn’t come natural for them. “What’s the point of learning if I can’t use it anywhere? If I cant have a job—“
“You don’t need a job to apply the things you’ve learned here. What if you wanted to bake your husband a cake and—“
Becca sighed and looked away. “Nevermind,” she mumbled.
“Well, what is it that you want to do?” He asked. Becca reached for the helmet.
“I don’t know,” she answered truthfully. “Just not this. There’s got to be more than having kids. ”
“But society needs women to have kids; it’s the right thing to do. Don’t you want to do what’s right and help society move forward?”
“Can’t I do both? Why can’t I learn a trade AND have kids?” Becca asked.
He let out a frustrated sigh. “You know why, Becca, we’ve let technology raise our kids for us for so long, people don’t know how to love anymore. That’s why we need mothers to stay at home and teach kids what the Sphere can’t. You’re still young, Becca, you don’t understand the importance of your role in society yet.”
Becca shoved her helmet over her head to end the conversation.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“So, Becca, how are things?” Dr. Finnick asked. Becca shrugged as she sat down in her favorite comfy red recliner and pulled the recording from the Dream Tracker out of her backpack and handed it over. “Would you say things are the same, better or worse?”
“The same.” Becca mumbled. She watched the older man with the white, wiry beard as he reviewed the tape. She had been seeing the child psychologist on and off for almost four years now. “I had another nightmare last night.”
He pulled out a pen and began to take notes. “What happened after?”
“I had a panic attack. My brother came in the room and helped me calm down.” She looked around the room until she spotted what she was after—the fuzzy brown bear. She leaned forward and snatched it from his desk before squeezing it against her chest. Now she was ready to talk. She had given up long ago playing games like other children during her sessions. She had been coming here for so long she had gotten bored of them long ago, but the bear she had grown fond of. Becca never gave it a name; she just called it “the bear.”
“And your mother?”
Becca sighed and squeezed the bear tighter. “She doesn’t like that they come when I cry.”
He scribbled down her answer. “Why do you think that is?”
“Because she’s mean.”
“Do you think there’s any other reasoning behind it?” Becca ignored his question; she didn’t want to talk about her mom anymore. Instead she moved the bear around in her lap and pretended it was dancing. “Becca?”
She relented. “She thinks I’m too old to be babied. She thinks I’m doing it for attention—I’m not! I feel bad when I wake them up.” He remained quiet for a moment as he fiddled with the recording.
“Why do you think you keep dreaming of a door?”
Becca made the bear stop dancing in her lap, as she grew quiet before answering. “I don’t know; I don’t even remember seeing a door that day. There was llamas, and then my brother was there yelling at people.”
“What do you think is on the other side of the door?” Becca clamped down. She didn’t know if it was real or not, but the thought filled her with a sense of panic. “I think this door you are dreaming of is a sign from your subconscious mind wanting to escape from something happening in your life. Is there anything that’s been bothering you?”
Becca thought about it, but there wasn’t really anything bothering her other than the nightmares. She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
He stared off into the distance for a moment stroking his grey beard. “How is school going? Are you working on anything?”
Becca sighed and said in a depressed tone of voice. “We have to do a project about what we want to be when we grow up.”
“Oh, and what’s wrong with that? Sounds like it could be interesting.” Becca swung her legs and kicked at the air in agitation.
“If I was a boy.” She grumbled. “Girls have to do a stupid project about a stupid house with their stupid husband and how many stupid kids they’re going to have!” He stopped his writing and stared at her for an uncomfortably long time. Did she say something she wasn’t supposed to? Was he going to lecture her too?
“Are you saying you don’t want any of those things?” She shrugged her shoulders again. She didn’t know quite what she wanted. Becca couldn’t help but feel a bubbling sense of agitation hissing and foaming within her like a pot of water left on the stove for too long.
“I don’t know.”
“Is there something else you want to do with your life?”
“I don’t know, maybe. School feels pointless if I have nothing to look forward to. All the boys already know what subjects that want to pursue for their jobs, and I have…” She left the sentence hanging and watched as he stroked his beard.
“I think it would do you good to have goals to strive for.” He dug in the drawer of his desk before retrieving a flyer and handing it to her. She looked it over feeling more confused by the second. A military recruitment flyer?
“The military?”
“Not as an enlisted solider, but there is a branch that works solely in the Sphere in avatar form. It’s a small group called the Sphere Protection Program; their main priority is to police the Sphere, and track down cyber crime.”
Becca stared blankly ahead like a deer caught in the headlights. What was he expecting her to say? Neat? Cool? She wished they were around when they tampered with it before? It’s not like they’d ever let her join; she was a girl.
“Given your history with Sphere crime, maybe this would be an avenue worth pursuing.”
“But I’m a girl!” Becca blurted out. “What about all that stuff about having kids and teaching them to love?” Why would he tease her like this?
“Becca, if you don’t want kids, you don’t have to have them. There’s no law that says you do. If there’s something out there that interests you, then pursue it.” She gave him an expression of pure disbelief. “Look at it this way, they’re not really rules…more like guidelines.” He said with a wink. “You’re nine years old; the law says you have to get married by 18, but that’s nine years away. Even that could change by then. The law didn’t exist nine years ago, and to be honest, I doubt it will exist another nine in the future. Social norms are constantly changing in the world we live in. You don’t have to sentence yourself to a life you don’t want. I’ll be honest with you; it won’t be easy. There will be people out there trying to pressure you into what they perceive to be your place in the world. But only you have an answer to that; only you can decide what your place in the world truly is.”
Becca nodded her head letting his words sink in. Could she really be more than a housewife? Her heart fluttered at the thought. She frowned when she remembered her teacher’s words. “But Mr. Brenard got mad at me for sounding like I didn’t want to be a mom.”
“The government tells teachers what they have to teach kids. I doubt he believes half the stuff that comes out of his mouth. No one can tell you how you have to live your life—even if they think they can. If you don’t like the way things are then do something about it. Be the first person who goes against the grain and swims upstream. Show them you are more than just a housewife. If you don’t like that your game was tampered with, then you do everything in your power to keep it from happening to others. How’s that for a goal?”
Becca nodded her head as her mind flooded with thoughts and fantasies of grandeur like a child being told they could become president. “One catch,” He said, sending her stomach dropping like a rock in a stream. “You need to do well in school; they only take the best.”
When Becca stepped out of his office, her head was reeling so much she accidentally carried the bear with her while her and her mom switched places. If Dr. Finnick noticed, he didn’t say anything. When the door closed behind them, her fantasies were quickly replaced by the usual anxiety of knowing the adults were talking about her. Was he telling her mom she didn’t want to be a homemaker? Would she be mad?
After what felt like much longer than usual, Heather emerged from the back office before Becca gave the bear back to the doctor and they went home. She worried her mom would go on the attack as soon as they got in the car, but neither said a word the whole way home.
When they entered through the front door of their house, Heather said, “Don’t spend all night playing video games; dinner will be ready soon. Go work on your homework. Don’t you have a project due in a few days?” Becca gave a half-hearted groan in acknowledgment before heading up the stairs to her bedroom.
What was she going to do about that project? She had to give a presentation to the class in three days and she hadn’t a clue what to do about it. What did she want to do with her life and what influenced her decision? Of course she was expected to talk about what she planned to do to support her future husband. What kind of wife was she going to be? How many kids were they going to have? She was nine! She didn’t want to think about any of this. It was depressing.
The conversation she had with Dr. Finnick played through her mind on an endless loop. Was he telling her the truth? Was there really a police force out there that worked in the Sphere? Even if they existed, would they take a girl? Becca went over to her computer and looked it up. Sure enough, the Sphere Protection Program was real. What would her future be like if she could join them? The more she thought about it, the more enamored she became with the idea. This. This was the answer! This is what she wanted to do with her life!
So what if…her project didn’t take the tone of a supporting role. What if she did her project on wanting to become a virtual solder? Would the class support her? She looked to the dream tracker. She had a reason. A good reason. She could use her nightmares as her influence.
Becca frowned and bit her lip when she thought back to the look of annoyance her teacher had when she questioned things. She’d probably get in trouble if she outright refused to go with the flow. But what about the things Dr. Finnick said? Could she be brave enough to take the first steps? She looked one last time to the image of the cadet standing tall and proud before she made up her mind. A smile slowly crept onto her face. Looks like she just found her class project.
Chapter Four
Becca bounced her legs anxiously in the back seat of their van. It was the day of the presentation, and she had put everything she had into this. Brian had helped her with the technical stuff. She didn’t understand half of it; all she knew she had to do was press play.
Brian had seemed more amused with her excitement when she told him all about the S.P.P. He said he was surprised she had never heard of it before. He even said they were the reason she had her very own Partial Dive System in her room. With wide eyes full of admiration, she asked if they had fought on her behalf, but his answer was a tad bit disappointing. All Brian had done that day was threaten to get them involved, and suddenly, the employees of the Sphere Center were tripping over themselves to right the wrong. They ended up settling out of court for an undisclosed sum—which included her very own home system before it even hit the market.
Turns out the employee who had set her up, Victor, was supposed to have watched what was happening on a monitor while she played. If he had been paying attention he would have immediately known something was wrong the moment she started the game. The weird part was, he swore up and down another kid had played the exact same game not even an hour prior and nothing was wrong with it. They never did catch who tampered with the game or why. They had always just chalked it up to an employee’s cruel idea of a joke.
Becca’s legs jiggled more and more the closer she got to school. There’s no turning back now. She could chicken out and say she didn’t do it, but she had worked so hard on this with Brian. He had only asked her fifty times if she was sure she wanted to do this. She had been so passionate about it last night, but now it was almost time and she could feel herself getting cold feet.
Her mom’s voice from the front seat caught her attention. “Nervous? Or do you have to go to the bathroom? We’re almost there.” Becca rolled her eyes. One time! She had had an accident in the car one time! She thought her mom was never going to let up on her nagging about using the bathroom before leaving the house. Heather even kept a pair of filtration shorts in the car for her just in case. She had been six! Six year olds think they can drink entire Big Gulps on long car drives with no consequences. Six year olds will also lick frozen polls just to be sure. (She wasn’t her parent’s favorite child that vacation.) On the bright side, she had completely put an end to all sibling squabbles over who sat where in the car. The back seat on the left hand side now permanently belonged to her.
“I’m just nervous.” Becca said. They pulled up to the school and she undid her seatbelt.
“Are you ever going to let me see it?” Becca shook her head. She had sworn Brian to secrecy for fear of her mom finding out and forbidding her from presenting it after all the hard work she had put into it-- more like all the hard work Brian had put into it, but whatever.
“Maybe if I get a good grade.” Becca said. Her normal apathy towards school showed in her grades. What? Was her future husband going to ask for her report cards?
“You two worked so hard on it; why wouldn’t you get a good grade?”
“Uhh, I got to go, thank for the ride!” Becca said, as she scrambled out of the van.
“Becca!”
The classroom buzzed with nervous anticipation for what was to come. Jake Hoptin, a twelve-year-old boy with greasy black hair and a nervous tick in his right eye, had brought in a large cut out of cardboard and had posted pictures of cars. He wasn’t very technically inclined. Ashley Gibson, the thirteen-year-old blonde who sat to Becca’s right, had brought in a very large and very old dollhouse. Those were the only two things Becca noticed that stuck out from the crowd.
The majority of everyone else came empty handed, meaning they were most likely going to be presenting in avatar form for less points. Seeing as how this project was more of a social skills exercise, the more out of your comfort zone you got, the more bonus points were added. And she was about to get very out of her comfort zone.
Ashley Gibson was the poor unfortunate soul who ended up having to go first. Her face was drained of color and she stuttered throughout her whole spiel. She showed off her dollhouse and said she dreamed of living in a place just like it. Her arms were shaking so much Becca worried she might drop it. Ashley hoped to marry an architect and have three kids. The other girls in class could be seen scribbling out and changing things in their speech to try and one up her—most likely on the number of children. Mr. Brenard seemed pleased with her efforts and the class clapped politely when she was done.
Because he selected students by drawing names from a hat, they went back and forth between virtual reality and in person. For most, being in avatar form gave people an extra boost of confidence because using your avatar was like speaking through someone entirely different. You could look like anything you wanted; it was like hiding behind a mask.
Becca bit her lip as the numbers of students who had yet to go began to dwindle. All the girls tried to one up each other with the number of children they planned to have until it became so ridiculous their families would need a bus to get around. Becca didn’t see the point—it wasn’t like there were government incentives like her parents generation. The population couldn’t have been doing too bad.
When it was Derricks turn, all the other kids “ooh’d” and “ahh’d.” He was going to apprentice creating Sphere Realms. Becca couldn’t help but roll her eyes. So he could bring items to and from virtual reality. Big deal. If it were anyone but Derrick, she probably would have been just as impressed. She wasn’t going to admit it though.
“All right, Becca, you’re up.” Mr. Brenard said. “Will you be presenting in person or in avatar?” Becca remained frozen to her seat. Two people had already chickened out, was she going to be one of them? No she had to do this! Why couldn’t she move? “Don’t be scared, go on.” Her heart hammered away inside her chest. Get up! Everyone’s looking at you! Ever so slowly, Becca managed to drag herself to the front of the room, black box in hand.
“There you go. How about you start off by telling us what you have there.”
Becca swallowed her anxiety and answered. “It’s my Dream Tracker; I wear it at night and it records my dream images to play back later. M-My therapist gave it to me.” She began. “O-on my fifth birthday—“ She paused to dampen her dried out lips. “On my fifth birthday I registered at the Sphere Center, but my first partial dive was…it was tampered with.” Her heart fluttered as she tried to talk about the details. She had never talked about it with anyone outside the family or her therapist—and even then rarely. But she needed to tell her story! It was the only way to get them to understand, but she could feel the beginning stages of a panic attack.
Becca tried her best to calm her breathing and went on. “I ended up with Post Tra-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It makes me have a lot of nightmares, and I have a hard time sleeping.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Becca.” Mr. Brenard said.
She nodded her head in acknowledgement. “This is my influence for what I want to do with my life.” She looked away before hitting the play button on the device and showed the silent film from her mind. She kept her eyes closed while it played. Her palms dampened with sweat. Her breaths came in ragged gasps.
When the film ended about a minute later, she opened her eyes to find the confused look on her class mates faces. The room remained quiet; until Derrick blurted out, “Wait, so…you’re afraid of llamas?”
Becca’s cheeks burned as she reluctantly nodded her head. She wasn’t sure what she had expected to happen by playing the tape, but she hadn’t expected what came next. The room collectively burst into a roar of laughter. She stared at them dumbfounded for a few seconds, before turning to her teacher for help. Her heart dropped when even he too was chuckling.
When he saw the hurt expression on her face he said, “I’m sure that must have been scarier as a five year old. Calm down class and let her finish.” Her eyes misted over with tears. She could hear Derrick making screeching, and galloping llama noises as the class laughed harder.
When they managed to calm down enough for her to talk, she tried to tell them all about the S.P.P, but her words were getting jumbled in her mouth. Before she could get to the point of her project, Mr. Brenard cut her off. She assumed he knew where she was going with this. “I think that’s a wonderful idea, Becca!” Her eyes widened in surprise.
“You do?” She asked. A small smile began to turn the corners of her mouth as she exhaled her held breath.
“I think a member of the S.P.P. would be a great match for you! Being a victim of cyber crime yourself would make you a wonderfully supportive wife. You did a great job, Becca, that must have been very hard for you to talk about.” She nodded her head stunned. As she was walking back to her seat, her mind cleared. Wait, what? A supportive wife? He got it all wrong!
“NO!” She suddenly shouted. “I don’t want to marry a solder; I want to be one!” The class grew silent again trying to gauge if she was serious or not. When they realized she was, they burst out into laughter again.
“Becca, I’m sorry, honey, but you can’t be an S.P.P officer.” Mr. Brenard said, a sympathetic smile on his face. “Now let’s see whose ne-“
“Yes I can! I could do it! Dr. Finnick said I could if I got my grades up an-“
“Becca, he was probably just telling you that to encourage you to do better in school. They wouldn’t take you. Your responsibility as a woman is to help repopulate and-“
“I DON’T WANT KIDS!” Becca shouted over the noise. “I don’t want to be forced to be married! I don’t want kids! I want a job! I want to be a soldier!”
His once sympathetic smile fell into a look of annoyance. “We’ve been over this before; you know why you can’t be a soldier. That’s very selfish of you to say.”
“B-But…”
“I don’t want to hear another word about it! You should have just kept your mouth shut when I assumed you just meant you wanted to marry one. You would have gotten an A, now you’re getting a zero for your unpatriotic display. Now sit down.” Derrick let out a loud snort of laughter as the rest of the class snickered when Becca stood in place too stunned to move.
It wasn’t supposed to go this way! They were supposed to understand! Derrick held his phone in the air and a full size projection of a cartoon llama from the show appeared beside her. She let out a shriek and fell backwards.
“She really is scared of llamas!” One of her classmates shouted out. She peeked her tear-streaked face out from underneath her palms. Her set eyes on Derrick’s jubilant features. It was the last thing she saw from her spot on the floor before she lost consciousness.
When Becca came to she was on her feet. Her body was pinned by Mr. Bernard’s arms wrapped tightly around her armpits, which locked her in place. Her head was foggy. What happened? She looked down at herself and let out a gasp. She was covered in blood. A tiny voice from the back of her mind whispered, “You’re welcome.”
Chapter Five
She yelled, kicked, and tried to squirm her way out from his iron grip, but nothing she did loosened his tight hold on her. Unable to escape, she let herself go limp.
Why was everyone looking at her like that? Her classmates stared mouths agape. She looked around the room to find Derrick slowly sitting up, a hand clutched over his bloody and smashed up face.
Pain surged through Becca’s right hand. She looked down to find her fingers bent and slightly askew. Her knuckles were in the beginning stages of bruising, but it was hard to tell under all the blood that smeared them.
Mr. Brenard half carried and half dragged her to the back room. He let her go before slamming the door behind him. She looked up at him, eyes full of fright. She’d never seen him look so angry.
“What happened?” She asked.
“I was hoping you could tell me that.” He said. Ice dripped from his voice and his frigid glare made her shiver.
It was obvious what she had done, but…she didn’t remember doing it. Not like she had never fantasized about it before, but she’d never actually hurt anyone! Her broken fingers ached as a reminder that she had. But how though? She was nine! How could a nine-year-old girl beat up a 14-year-old boy twice her size?
He let out a sigh, sounding more disappointed than angry now. “Wait here while I call your parents to come get you. Don’t even think about leaving that chair.” Then he left.
It had been three hours since then. Fear of the unknown was gnawing at her insides. Not a single word had been spoken to her all afternoon and no one had entered the room since. Becca had never been in so much trouble before. Part of her wish she could stay in this isolated room forever so she’d never have to face what was coming, but the other more reasonable part wished they’d just hurry up and get it over with.
She hadn’t moved from her spot on the chair since she had been left here and her butt had long since gone numb. Her hand throbbed in quick, sharp pulses, now clearly swollen and turning purple. Whenever the anxiety of waiting became too much she’d focus her attention on her hand. It was the most painful thing she’d ever experienced, but it was still better than dwelling on the future.
Becca had never been inside Mr. Brenard’s office before—only the bad kids got put here. Now that she was here, she realized she was one of them now. There really wasn’t much to look at apart from a few educational posters that hung on the wall. His large oak desk was neat and tidy, except for a half eaten granola bar that sat on the corner.
The sight of the wrapper reminded her she was missing lunch. She doubted even if she had her packed sandwich with her she’d be able to eat it. Her stomach was in knots, and just to make her growing discomfort worse, she had to pee. Everything was always worse when you had to pee.
Becca squirmed in her chair. Should she try to sneak to the bathroom? It was only on the other side of the room. Mr. Brenard had told her not to move from the chair, but this was an exception, right? She got up and walked to the other side of the room, pulled the door open and frowned. What she thought was a bathroom turned out to be a supply closet. She’d have to sneak down the hall.
What if her teacher came back and she was gone? Would he think she had run away? She’d be in so much more trouble! Becca opened the door part way and peeked her head out. She could see her teacher sitting in a chair in front of the classroom. His head snapped around when he heard the creaking of the door. He scowled when he met her gaze.
“I told you not to leave the chair!” He shouted. She gulped as her lower body squirmed behind the door.
“I have to go to the bathroom.” She quickly added a, “please,” for good measure. He sighed and motioned with his hand for her to go. Relieved, Becca scrambled down the hall to the single toilet unisex bathroom.
Becca let out a yelp of pain when she went to undo the button on her pants. She tried to use her opposite side, but with her dominant hand out of commission it was a no go. Even if she could get the button undone, there was no way she’d be able to pull all three layers down with her left hand, let alone get them all back up. The thermals were tricky enough with two hands.
With her head hung in defeat, she walked into the classroom in hopes of soliciting some help from one of her older female classmates, but the room was empty now save for her teacher.
He took one look at her and shook his head. “I said you could use the bathroom; I didn’t say you could come out when you finished.” He pointed his finger towards his office, “go back, and wait for your mother.”
Becca bit her lip and let out a low whimper as she crossed her legs. “I need help.” He looked annoyed at her. She couldn’t understand it. He used to be so nice, now he acted like she was an eyesore.
“What are you, three?” She looked up at him, eyes full of hurt and held up her broken hand for emphasis. “And whose fault is that? You’re just going to have to hold it until you go home then.”
She let out a low whine. “I can’t.” She mumbled. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers before he went out the front door and came back a few moments later with Ashley Gibson in tow. Ashley stopped in her tracks when she laid eyes on Becca.
“Please, just undue her pants before she makes a mess in my office.” Becca hung her head and walked towards the bathroom with Ashley trailing behind. She held the door open with her good hand and motioned with her head for the older girl to follow her inside.
“I thought you just needed help with a button.” Ashley said, looking her over skeptically. “Can’t I help you out here?” She stood her ground outside the door looking as if following Becca in would mean certain death. Becca held up her injured hand in hopes she wouldn’t have to spell it out. “Oh.”
“Please hurry,” Becca begged, dancing in front of the toilet while Ashley closed the door.
“Lift up your coat.” Ashley said. She undid the button and pulled the zipper down. “Umm, how do you want me to do this? Should I leave your underwear on, or—“
“Pull down all of it! I don’t care, just hurry!”
Once Ashley managed to shimmy down her pants enough, Becca plopped down on the toilet. “Uh, you want me to wait outside?”
“No point.” Becca mumbled, already half way done. At first all she could focus on was the relief. She couldn’t care less if the whole class was watching her, but now that the urgency was gone the absurdity of the situation was beginning to set in. By the time Ashley had her re-dressed, Becca’s face shined bright with embarrassment. “Thank you.” She mumbled as the last button on her pants was done up.
“No problem, I have to help my little sister all the time. She can never get her overalls on and off. I don’t know why she insists on wearing them.”
“How old’s your sister?” Becca asked, as she washed her good hand.
“Three.”
This did little to inspire confidence.
Becca let out a moan as she tried to rinse the dried blood off her hand.
“Oh!” Ashley said when she saw the extent of the damage. “You should get that looked at. Derrick already went to the hospital; you really did a number on him. Not like he didn’t have it coming. Freaked everyone out.” She opened the bathroom cupboard before pulling out a first aid kit. “Sit on the toilet.”
“I don’t even remember hitting him. The last thing I remember was being on the ground before Mr. Brenard was grabbing me. What happened?”
“You were crying, and then . . . you just stopped, got up, walked over to him, and beat him up. Just like that. Took three people to get you off of him.” Ashley looked over Becca’s hand for a minute before she pulled an instant ice pack out and filled it with water. Next she set it on Becca’s hand and held it in place with a wrap. “Your presentation was really something.” Becca hung her head. She didn’t want to think about what had happened. “I liked it.”
“You did?”
“You think any of us actually want what we wrote about?”
“Then what do you want?”
Ashley looked up as she finished wrapping Becca’s hand and smiled weakly. “To be a nurse.”
Chapter Six
When Becca and Ashley exited the bathroom, they were started by the appearance of a brown haired woman with emerald green eyes waiting for them on the other side. With her hands on her hips and a deep angry scowl on her face, she stared down the young black haired girl. Becca stopped in her tracks when they made eye contact.
“H-hi, mom,” Becca mumbled. She looked away from her and stared at the ground before Heather grabbed hold of her good wrist.
“Don’t you ‘hi, mom’ me!” Heather said. “What did you do Becca?” Heather pulled her daughter along the hallway towards Mr. Brenards office. After spending close to four hours inside, it was the last place Becca wanted to be. When they entered, her teacher was there waiting for them behind his desk with a look of smug satisfaction on his face.
He smiled coyly at her. “You get everything situated, Becca? Maybe you should get some pants with an elastic waist instead. Then you won’t have to ask for help every time you need to use the bathroom. I didn’t think you were going to make it.” There was amusement in his eyes as Becca’s face flushed red.
“I hurt my hand.” Becca mumbled, clarifying she didn’t need help every time. She could feel her moms’ eyes boring into the back of her head as she pushed on Becca’s back, guiding her to a chair. She hated when people pushed on her back like that. She didn’t need to be herded! She could hear her mothers “tsk” of disproval, and when she turned to make eye contact, Becca could see the discontent in Heather’s eyes that said ‘you’re too old to be acting like this.’
“The reason I’ve called you down here, Mrs. Strokes, is because of Becca’s ongoing behavioral problems.” He leaned forward over his desk a bit and placed his clasped hands on the desk in a worried gesture. “There’s been a. . . “He paused for dramatic effect, “situation.”
Heather narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “What kind of a situation?”
“Were you aware of the project the students were to present to the class? The one about their life goals?” Heather nodded her head and pursed her lips. “Were you aware of what your daughter presented to the class?”
“No, I wasn’t made privy to the subject of her report; her and her brother worked on it together.” He let out what appeared to Becca to be an exaggerated dramatic sigh. Heather furrowed her eyebrows close together in annoyance, which Becca perceived to be aimed at her.
“Your daughters project was. . . unsettling…to say the least. Her ideals and values are significantly warped, and the message she spread to the class was downright misanthropic. I would even go so far as to call it a hate crime against society!”
“What did she present that was so awful?” Heather asked. Becca hung her head. There was no way her mom would listen to her over his side of the story.
“Did you also know right after this eremitic speech of hers she attacked another student?” Heather raised her eyebrows. “I have the footage right here!”
“Play it.”
Becca didn’t want to watch, but she knew she needed to. She didn’t remember attacking Derrick, but it was just as Ashley said. Becca got up off the floor, walked a beeline over to his desk, and lost it. Her eyes watered in fear of what was to happen to her. The silence that filled the room was long and uncomfortable.
“Can you offer me some context?” Heather asked, her voice shaken and surprised. He shook his head. “Are you telling me she got up in front of the class, delivered some kind of anti-sematic hate speech, and attacked a student unprovoked?”
“Something along those lines.”
Heather’s hand reached over to the recording. “May I?” before he gave her permission, she rewound the footage and stopped. “Do you care to explain why my daughter was curled in a ball on the floor seconds before the footage you claimed was an ‘unprovoked attack?’”
Mr. Brenards calm demeanor quickly changed. “Well, there may have been a slight altercation beforehand.”
“Slight altercation! Is that a llama next to her?” Heather shook her head and let out a sigh. “Are you aware my daughter has PTSD due to circumstances involving that show?”
“Yes, she played us the footage from her dream tracker, but that’s no excuse to-“
“And you let them project her deepest fear in front of her?! And look! You’re laughing while my daughter is literally on the floor! It’s no wonder she attacked! This is clearly an act of self defense!”
“She was in no danger! There was no need to act violently!”
“Your students backed my daughter into a corner after she revealed her deepest fear to them and you did nothing! Her adrenaline kicked in, and with nowhere to run, she defended herself! You have the gal to sit here and tell me my daughter attacked unprovoked?” Becca stared at her mom mouth ajar. She had never seen her like this! “I want to see this so-called hate speech for myself, because I’m starting to not believe you!”
“Oh, I can assure you; it’s there.” He said. His faux pleasant demeanor was gone, and in its place sat the man she had been dealing with all day.
“YOU CALL THAT A HATE SPEECH?!” Heather erupted after seeing the full footage. She was seething. “What is wrong with you?”
“Her speech was nothing more than an egotistical rant of grandeur! You have any idea what would happen to the girls if her ideals infected their minds?” He said, his voice began to rise as well.
“What? They’d have hope for the future? Have goals? Heaven forbid! So what if my daughter admitted she doesn’t want to have kids? She’s nine! Half the time she tells me she doesn’t want to brush her teeth either.”
“You clearly don’t understand the situation at present.” He said. Heather let out a disbelieving snort. He continued,“ I have explained to your daughter numerous times why things are the way they are. This isn’t about capabilities, this is about sacrifice.” Heather stared him down while he continued his speech. “We may have escaped The Great Silence with the birth of The Sphere, but there are things it cannot teach our children. We’ve made improvements with each generation, sure, but humanity is still missing something. Communication is becoming easier, but we still lack the ability to . . . properly interact. Take your daughters ongoing behavior problems for instance.”
“Ongoing?” Heather asked with a raised eyebrow.
“She lacks the ability to interact appropriately with others. She sleeps through my lectures; it’s rude. During other students presentations she didn’t clap for others, but clearly expected others to clap for hers.”
Becca wanted to groan. “Only during Derrick’s,” she mumbled. Heather pressed a firm hand on her shoulder that said nothing short of be quiet!
“And lastly, with her most recent behavior. She attacked another student! I hate to do this, Mrs. Strokes, but I no longer feel comfortable having your daughter in my class if she’s a risk to injuring the male students. Their education is much more . . . necessary than hers.”
Becca felt like a knife had been plunged deep within her chest. He was kicking her out of school? Wasn’t her future important too? She sat in silence hoping he would change his mind. Surely her mom would fight this, wouldn’t she?
“I’ve never in all my life met someone as indoctrinated by the governments ideology than you! This is just a passing phase! All this talk of sacrificing this generation’s females for the next! Unbelievable! My daughter doesn’t have a hateful bone in her body! So what if she see’s the world differently?” Heather jumped to her feet with Becca’s arm still clasped in her grip as she pulled her up as well. “Not like I want you teaching her anyway.”
The ride home was silent and awkward. Becca could see her mother white knuckling the wheel as they drove. When they arrived, Heather stormed through the front door while Becca slinked along behind. She stood in the living room unsure of where to go. How much trouble was she in, she wondered. She sat in the recliner and waited. Tension filed her as each passing minute ever so slowly ticked by. Unable to take it anymore, she stood and took a few steps towards her bedroom.
Heather’s voice rang from the kitchen. “Becca,” She jumped a foot in the air. “Come help me make dinner.” Her heart beat madly in her chest. This was it. Good-bye, Brian. Good-bye, dad. Remember me when I’m gone.
She took a deep breath to steady herself and went in. With her back towards Becca, she pointed silently towards some vegetables that needed to be cut. “Uh, mom,” Becca said. Her voice cracked in fear. “I-I can’t, my hand.”
Heather let out an exasperated sigh. “Oh, Becca!” she said as she spun on her heel. “You probably just sprained it.” She unraveled the bandages before inhaling sharply and letting out a quiet, “Oh.” Becca’s right hand had swollen at least twice its normal size. Her knuckles shone a mixture of purple and black. “How did this get so bad in an hour?”
Becca whimpered as tried to pull her hand away as Heather lightly touched. “An hour?”
Heather looked up to see the confusion on her daughter’s face. “When he called me an hour ago, he said it had just happened, right?”
Becca shook her head. “It happened like an hour after you dropped me off. He had me wait in his office for around four hours first.” Becca retracted her hand again. “It’s why I needed help with my pants.” Heather let out another agitated sigh before waving a hand through her long brown hair.
“Back in the van then, we’re going to the emergency room.”
Chapter Seven
The town of Fawks, Alaska was a small, fishing community that housed roughly 300 men, woman, and children. Since the U.S had sold Alaska and other territories to help pay off debt some odd years ago, Alaska had been under Russian government control for quite some time. Solders sprinkled the town more for decoration, but ever since the body dump of four years ago, there presence was more pronounced. If they ever solved that mystery, it was never released to the public.
The center of town held most commodities, like grocery stores, police station, the post office, schoolhouse, the Sphere Center, and the town hospital. Housing circled around, with a few mom and pop businesses in-between—most family owned and operated. A deep and foreboding forest stood to the right of Fawks, looming for miles and miles in an endless maze of thick evergreens. A large guarded fence surrounded the forest to keep everyone out--except the hunters and military personnel. When Becca asked her father Trevor about it, he told her it was because the military was tired of searching for missing residents who wandered in and got lost.
Fawks General Hospital was a small twenty bed facility. Fifteen for inpatient and the other five sat in the emergency department. It was a modest center, but they had never needed more than five beds, in fact the most they had ever filled at one time was four due to an entire family coming down with a case of food poisoning. It was that night Becca realized she just wasn’t housewife material. Her vocabulary quickly grew to include several new words and phrases such as, “Salmonella,” and “cross contamination,” along with a few words she wasn’t aloud to repeat. It was then she also learned the difference between “tsp” and “tbs.”
Becca sat in the waiting room while her mom checked her in. She could hear Heather explaining her injuries to the man at the front desk, but she hardly even had a chance to sit before they were called back. There was hardly ever anyone here . . . as long as Becca stayed out of the kitchen.
A man wearing a pair of green scrubs led them down the hallway into one of the empty rooms and told them to wait. They could each hear voices on the other side that carried and echoed throughout the hallways. Becca listened in for a moment curious who else would be here, but her stomach quickly rolled at the realization of just who those voices belonged to. It was Derrick and his family.
“Why won’t you tell me who did this to you?” A man’s voice shouted on the other side of the wall. “Was it one of the solders?”
Becca clenched her good fist and squirmed in nervous anticipation. What would they do to her if they knew the culprit was next to them? She looked to her mother for reassurance, but Heather’s pale face was hardly reassuring.
When the Doctor knocked on the door with his fist and came in, they both jumped in their seat. They must have been more on edge than they thought. “Woah, sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” He said with a chuckle. The E.R. doctor was one of the towns’ three doctors on staff. He was a short, blond man with hair that fell to his shoulder and deep brown eyes. He was also Ashley Gibson’s father.
Becca swallowed hard. He must already know, she thought. As he dug through the drawer for his scanner, he tried to make small talk. Becca could see her mother squirm as she tried to be polite. Heather was one of those adults communication didn’t come naturally to; she tried her best, but it was obvious she was ill at ease. Her mothers’ disposition during their encounter with Mr. Brenard had been nothing short of miraculous and jaw dropping.
“So, Becca, tell me, have your cooking skills improved since the last time I saw you?” Dr. Gibson asked in jest. Heather let out a muffled snort while Becca hung her head and blushed.
When he asked to take her temperature, Becca held out her left wrist as he waved the scanner over the chip imbedded inside her. All citizens of Russia-- and she assumed everywhere else-- had identification chips imbedded into their skin at birth. Inside the chips were stored everything you would ever need to know about a person: name, age, citizenship, temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. The list went on and on. It held their currency; items were paid for with a swipe of their wrist underneath the scanner. It was also used to link user and avatar in the Sphere.
“Now, Becca, it doesn’t look like you have food poisoning this time,” he said with a playful smirk. “What seems to be the—Oh!” She showed him her hand. “What in the world did you do? It looks like you got in a boxing match with a brick wall and lost.”
“Something like that.” She mumbled. Becca let out a yelp of pain as Dr. Gibson tried to bend her wrist. He pulled from his pocket an X-Ray monocle and examined her hand.
“It looks like you have some pretty serious breaks. You’re going to need surgery to put your shattered bones back together if you ever want to use that hand again.” He looked up and saw the worried expression etched on her face. “Don’t worry, we’ll put you in virtual reality; you won’t feel a thing!” It made her feel a little better, but not by much. She had never had surgery before; she’d never even had stiches!
“Becca, before we begin, there’s something I need to talk to you about. This is very serious, okay?” She nodded her head and stared up into his brown eyes. “There’s a very injured young man in the next room who won’t talk about what happened to him. Do you know anything about that?” Her blood ran cold as she stared ahead too scared to speak. She tried to nod her head, but it wouldn’t budge. “Becca, my daughter just got back from school. She said it let out early today. She’s sitting in the break room. Why don’t you go say hello while I talk with your mom?”
Becca looked to Heather, who nodded her head. She bit her lip, but did as she was told. Once she left the room and closed the door behind her, she paused for a moment in an attempt to listen in, but the sound of approaching footsteps made her flee.
Becca found Ashlee sitting on the couch watching television in the break room. They smiled in acknowledgement as Becca waved her good hand and joined her on the couch. After a few minutes of silence, Becca spoke. “Thanks for your help earlier.”
“Did you really get expelled?” Ashley blurted out. Becca nodded her head. They sat in silence for a few more minutes. “I quit school today.”
“What, why?” Becca asked feeling shocked. Why would she of all people—“oh.” Now she understood. She became an adult in the laws eyes.
“Yeah,” Ashley sighed. “I tried to hide it for a few months, but . . .” She shrugged her shoulders and let out another sigh as she hugged her knees to her chest. “I’m scared, Becca, I don’t want to join the GWP. It sounds awful!”
The GWP, or the Good Wife Program. Girls were supposed to join after they stopped going to school in order to be trained to be, as the name suggested, good wives.
“Then don’t!” Becca said. “Can’t you talk to your dad? He could pull some strings, couldn’t he? This place doesn’t even have a nurse! You’d be great at it!”
Ashley smiled weakly and shook her head. “Do you remember Olivia? She’s so brainwashed now. I don’t want to end up like her. I’m scared.”
“Me too.” |
A NEW CHAPTER! THE STORY LIVES ON!!!
The video played in the rehabilitation room as a deep scowl traced Becca’s face. What is this crap, she thought. Jerry had told her she had to go through “social rehabilitation” as part of her treatment, but this? This she had not expected.
So what exactly had she been expecting then? Certainly not for brain damaging propaganda videos to attempt to teach her her place in the world.
According to this she was supposed to have been popping out kids as soon as she had had her first period. Becca feared if her eyes rolled back any further they’d roll out of her head. Here she thought she had put all this behind her in public school.
Becca laid out across the chairs and tried to get comfortable, but every time she heard the words A women’s place is in the home; not in the world her stomach did an unpleasant flip. She turned her back to the screen and tried to think of anything else: her parents, the SPP, Crystal—anything to keep the words from seeping into her brain.
Her mind eventually went back to the topic that was currently plaguing her thoughts. What was all this talk about Crystal being a virus? Becca wanted to pull her hair out. She was so confused! Who did she trust? Derrick had been the biggest asshole she had ever met as a kid. Now here he was telling her his name was Josh and she couldn’t trust the person closest to her—herself.
“I miss you,” Becca mumbled into the air as she thought of her green haired alter ego.
“What? I was only gone for twenty minutes.” Jerry said with a smirk. Becca sat up to see her leaning against the door in the back. He took a seat next to her and they sat in silence for a few minutes, until he asked, “How’s your pain level?”
“Better, a lot better.” She could walk up and down the halls now unassisted. Being able to get out of bed felt amazing!
“Glad to hear. Once the video’s done you have an appointment with the staff psychiatrist.” Becca let out a sigh. Great, she thought, another psych evaluation. “Depending on how he thinks you’re doing, you might be allowed visitors. There’s been some people that have been calling asking to see you.”
Becca’s heart soared. She could see her parents? Did they want to see her? Would they let her explain what happened and hear her side of the story? The day they had taken her seemed fuzzy, like a distant bad dream due to all the painkillers she was hopped up on. She remembered her dad crying; she couldn’t get that picture out of head. Try as she might though, she just couldn’t remember what it was she had said that had set him off. It must have been bad to get her thrown in here.
“The physical therapist said he caught Josh alone in the room with you. Is everything ok? I noticed he seems to be watching you quite a bit which is . . . different than his usual spacey behavior. I almost want to say it was as if meeting you flicked a light on in his head.”
“He told me some things, and I’m not sure whether to believe him or not. If what he says is true—“
“Let me stop you right there, Becca. Don’t think too hard on it. Josh is a very confused individual. For one, his name isn’t Josh; it’s Derrick. No matter how many times we try to tell him otherwise, he always says his identity was changed. I’ve scanned his chip hundreds of times; he’s still Derrick. I wouldn’t rely on what he says to be accurate. He likes to play mind games; he’s smart. He likes to bring up patient charts and use the information to put himself into other patients past.”
“So he never worked for the government creating a virus named Crystal?”
Jerry smiled weakly and shook his head. “Is that what he told you?”
“He even showed me a picture . . .”
“Look at this.” Jerry said. He logged onto his tablet and brought up the same picture of Crystal. “Was this what he showed you?” Becca nodded her head stunned. “It’s an old screen shot your psychiatrist took years ago. It’s just a picture in your file.”
A weak smile stretched across Becca’s face before she began to laugh. Tears of relief filled her eyes. “He told me I was infected. I really believed him! I was starting to think I had something evil inside of me!” She wiped the moisture off her cheeks.
“Anyone ever tell you you shouldn’t believe everything you hear?” Jerry said.
Becca smiled. “I’ve heard it once or twice.”
~
This message is for Trevor and Heather Strokes, this is Officer Mills from the Fawks Police Station. We’ve been trying to get in touch with you for some time. If you would please return our call at (499) 187-2932 ext 399 at your earliest convenience. Once again, this is Officer Mills regarding an urgent matter. (499) 187-2932 ext 399. Thank you.
Heather froze as she listened to the voice on the answering machine. The calls had been coming once or twice a week. Then it became once every couple of days. Now that Becca had been rescued, the calls came every day, sometimes in multiples as if she had forgotten to pay a bill. Except this collection agency wasn’t after money; they were trying to collect her daughter. Becca was the only child she had left! They couldn’t have her!
Her poor deranged daughter. When had, “Crystal,” come back? How? Dr. Finnick said he had gotten rid of her. As for the how, she wasn’t quite sure, but whatever he had done had failed. Crystal was back now.
“I remember you covered in blood!” was what she had said all those years ago. What had Becca seen that created this. . . other part of her. How many times had Heather told Becca to grow up because she was afraid of something as ridiculous as ponies? But that phrase. . . it had nothing to do with ponies. This other half of hers had seen or done something! This situation was far from normal.
Heather tried to think back. What could have caused Becca to snap and hurt Brian? It wasn’t like the first time! Becca had been backed into a corner the first time. She hadn’t even known what she had done to that poor boy. Not to say he didn’t have it coming, but to beat him to the point of having brain damage! He was never the same after that. They had never told Becca just how much she had hurt him.
“We need to call.” Trevor said, breaking her from her trance. Heather looked up at him as if he had just slapped her across the face. “Just come and see.”
~
Heather stood in the midst of the disarray. Someone had been here. The place was now completely torn apart. Sure, the basement had been too messy to clear out in the midst of their grief, but now . . . She took in the garbage and clutter that had been shoved from the desk and counter to the floor.
“Was it the police?” she asked. Trevor let his held breath out and waved his hand through his hair.
“Someone was looking for something.” He bent down and picked up a yellow folder out of the trash. He skimmed through the first pages before setting it aside. “I guess we should clean up some of this stuff.”
They spent the majority of the day bagging trash and sifting through papers. “This stuffs so over my head.” He nodded in agreement. Brian’s notes might as well have been in another language. Drawings of chemical compounds filled the pages in intricate shapes. “What is all this stuff? I thought he made games?”
“This doesn’t look like games to me.” He spotted something sticking out of one of the folders. Trevor pulled it out and examined it, before furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. It wasn’t like any of the complex symbols scribbled across the other pages. Instead it was article about the suicides from thirteen years ago. He scanned the article before setting it aside. “You remember when they found all those bodies in the warehouse?”
Heather looked up from the pile she was meticulously scanning through. “Of course. That was terrible!”
“There’s a lot of research about it.” He showed her the article and pointed towards the ground. There were at least 50 pages scattered across the floor. Curious, they both bent down to pick them and put them in order. “Oh, god!” Trevor explained as they looked through them. “Those people were used as lab mice!” The culprit had never been released to the public, but in these science journals the reason was listed. Those people had been given the time altering drug and as a result, they slowly went insane. He shuddered at the thought. So it had been a drug trial gone wrong.
Trevor looked up as he heard a strange noise. Heather stood beside him with a hand over her mouth. Her face was ashen white. “What? What is it?” She pointed to the picture of the man responsible for the deaths. It was a picture of Dr. Gregory Finnick—Becca’s psychiatrist. Trevor’s eyes went wide. “What . . . what did Becca tell you? What happened at the SPP?”
She answered him, voice barely above a whisper. “She said it was an experiment. You don’t think. . .”
“I think it’s time we returned that phone call.”
~
Officer Mills sat across the table from Heather and Trevor Strokes as each held a cup of coffee in their hands. The room was tense. Before them sat the stacks of papers from Brian’s lab, along with their son’s hard drive. Neither parent knew what it contained, but Officer Mills called them to meet after going through it. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.
“Thank you for finally agreeing to meet with us.” Officer Mills said. “Before we discuss what we found, we’ve made a few calls to gather information from various sources and dug a little into your daughters medical history. I’m just going to ask you a few questions, and I’d like you to verify if these statements are true or not.”
The two of them nodded their heads solemnly. They were about to get to the bottom of this mystery once and for all.
“Your daughter, Becca, she’s had a history of mental illness, is that correct?” Heather nodded her head. “Can you explain?”
“We believe it all started from playing a tampered game at the Sphere Center as a child.” Heather answered. “She was never the same after that.” Officer Mills scribbled her response down on a piece of paper. Heather stared at him. She had never seen anyone take notes long hand before.
“Helps me think better.” He answered, as if reading her mind. “She’s had a history of violent behavior as well?”
“There was one incident when she was nine.” Heather answered. “It only happened once. There was in incident in school where she felt she was in danger, that’s when we believe Crystal first appeared.
He jotted it down without looking up. “Who is Crystal?”
“Her other personality.”
“And who diagnosed her with a split personality?”
“Dr. Gregory Finnick. We had been taking her to him for years after the virtual reality incident. When we found out he had moved into town recently, we scheduled Becca an appointment with him. She wasn’t taking Brian’s death well.”
“So this other personality Crystal, she has a tendency to be violent?” He asked.
Heather remained silent so Trevor answered instead. “We think she used to come out when Becca felt like she was in danger. Sort of like her brains last ditch attempt to save her from danger.”
“What do you mean she used to come out? Does she not anymore?” The officer asked.
“We honestly thought it was behind us. We hadn’t heard a thing about it; Becca seemed normal. She wasn’t talking about a second avatar anymore.”
Officer Mills looked up confused. “A second avatar?”
“Becca had, or has, the ability to control two avatars at once. One for each personality.” Trevor explained. “My wife met her once, and it startled her. She didn’t seem normal. Dr. Finnick talked about being able to cure Becca of her affliction and—“
“Being able to have two avatars? That’s amazing! Why would you want to get rid of it?” He asked.
“I thought she was evil.” Heather spoke up. “So we got rid of her. Becca said it wasn’t the case; she was just a separate identity that didn’t know any better. People were hurting Becca, so Crystal would protect her.”
“So why did you get rid of Crystal if she was just trying to protect your daughter?”
“I didn’t know it at the time, I believed Crystal was the way she was because she held Becca’s repressed memories. I thought if I got rid of the identity that held those memories, it would be like it never happened to Becca if those memories never came back.”
“Do you believe it was Crystal that had something to do with your sons death?”
“I don’t want to believe that. Becca loved Brian so much, she would never harm a hair on his head!” Heather insisted.
“I’m asking about her other personality.”
This time Trevor spoke up. “When I was in the hospital with her, she said it was an accident. I was in so much shock I never asked her what she meant. Crystal has only ever emerged when Becca was in trouble.”
“So what do you think caused Becca to feel in danger, assuming what you say about Crystal is true? What made her come out?”
Trevor shook his head. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I believe Becca was in full control that night. Becca doesn’t remember when Crystal takes over. She was never told she had a split personality.”
“Why is that?”
“We didn’t want her to know what she did to that boy.” Heather said. “She gave him brain damage. He had a bright future ahead of him and now . . .”
“What happened? Were any charges filed?”
“No, she was given amnesty because of her diagnosis. His father was livid. I believe Derricks in a health care facility now.”
“Alright. That’s all I wanted to ask. I think I have everything I need. I feel one hundred percent confident in my decision now. I believe I have some good news and bad news regarding your daughter.” Officer Mills said. He picked up the files and flash drive. “This might be a little difficult to hear, but I believe I have the answers to what happened to your son. He was murdered, as we initially believed.”
Tears streamed down the faces of both parents. Was he about to tell them what they already suspected? “Becca had nothing to do with his death. Neither did Crystal.” They looked at the man stunned. They stared in silence. “This was the information I needed to make a conviction of the real culprit. Unfortunately, the man responsible for Brian’s death has already passed.”
“What?” Heather choked out. She didn’t catch any of what he said past the acknowledgement of her daughter’s innocence.
“What did Becca mean when she said it was an accident?” Trevor asked.
“We believe there might have been a struggle that night. Even if Crystal did come out, it wasn’t to hurt Brian; it was to protect him. Thanks to the evidence you presented us.” He patted the hard drive on the table. “We were able to secure a search warrant and find enough evidence to convict the real culprit. Your daughter might have accidently pulled the trigger in a struggle for the gun, but our records uncovered evidence of a hired hit. Becca was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“So then…who? Why?”
“Are you aware of the experiment Doctor Finnick was involved in?”
“The one with the time altering drug?” Heather asked. Officer Mills shook his head.
“No, this was a different experiment. One that involved children; your daughter to be precise. The tampered game you mentioned. Groups of young children were subjected to horrific things in order to study the effects of childhood trauma. Doctor Finnick was employed by a company called Sacrio Pharmaceuticals to help map the brain.”
“Oh, Becca,” Heather whimpered. Her eyes watered as a sudden thought horrified her. “The SPP, Dr. Finnick was always the one to encourage her dream. We thought she was having a break down when she told me about it. You don’t think—“ Heather broke down in sobs. “Oh, Becca! Trevor! Oh, God. Trevor! She was telling the truth!”
“What does this have to do with Brian?” Trevor asked as he tried to console his wife.
“He was researching the experiment behind what Becca experienced as a young child. It looked like Dr. Finnick found out somehow and tried to silence him before he put the pieces together. They used the drug he was experimenting on as a scapegoat to blame the deaths of the cadets.”
“So the SPP was never real?” Trevor asked.
“There is a real Sphere Protection Program. Just not the one Becca went to.”
“What about the teenagers who were killed? And the other people with Becca?”
Agent Mills shook his head. “We looked into it as soon as we found out. It was too late. They aborted the program, and the cadets. Becca was the only survivor, if you hadn’t pulled her out when you did, she wouldn’t be alive.”
“Trevor, we need to go to California. We need to bring our daughter home.” |
The cool Spring breeze blew through Becca’s hair as she ran circles around the parks track. Her body had all but given up its protests of agony in the last few months since she was released to come back home. She rounded the last corner and stopped, heaving heavy strangled breaths as she gripped her cramping side. Sweat poured down her face, matting her hair and leaving a salty taste in her mouth.
How far had she come since the days of being hospitalized? She shuddered as a memory flashed through her mind of wheeling around the empty halls in a wheelchair. It had been a year since then. A very long and painful year. Things were better, physically anyway; her relationship with her parents had been strained. It was awkward no matter how you looked at it. She didn’t know how to act. She couldn’t talk to them. She had even debated moving into Brian’s old house to get away from the tension between them.
She was lonely. She wanted deep down to forgive them for locking her away in an asylum, but the hurt was there gnawing at her insides like a coyote chewing on a left over bone. They thought she killed her own brother. How could she forgive them for that?
She leaned against the stair railing as she tried to catch her breath. Running had been her latest escape from the world. Too scared to go back into the Sphere for fear of being found, she was left with nothing but her reality. And it was nothing but a lonely existence.
Anything green made her double take- a tree branch swaying in the wind, a car driving by. Was it her? No, how could it be? She wasn’t real anymore. Her best friend was nothing more than a figment of her mind. The doctors had explained it to her in the hospital. She had already figured most out, but it still left an empty hole inside to know for certain. Crystal was not a real person. She never was. The memories Becca held were nothing more than her mind creating a persona to fill in the space her brother left behind. But she still missed her. Real or not, she was like the sister she never had. What she wouldn’t give to see her, or even just to be scolded by her one more time.
Becca let out a halfhearted laugh. The thing she was training for, the thing she had worked so hard to achieve was now a reality. The police force had given her a position. Sure, it was a desk job so far, but it didn’t matter. She, as a female, was working. It was everything she had dreamed of. What she wouldn’t give to share it with someone. Even her spot on the force.
Even if Becca had to be the emotional and immature entity that was Sasha. At least she wasn’t lonely. Having three different personalities really was a mess at the time, but now she was just Becca. Plain and boring Becca. Back then she would have given anything to be Becca, and now… maybe being an emotional and overly attached child wasn’t so bad.
………………………………………
Becca stared at the workload of papers she had to file and let out a sigh. The pile just seemed to grow and grow no matter how quickly she worked. She looked down at the paper and took in the company name. Azcorp went into the A folder. Dishcon went into D and so on and so forth. So many papers. So many hours in the day. She didn't question why she had to do this the primitive way, if they wanted to pay her by the hour for something that could be done in two seconds with a computer, that was fine by her. She didn’t dare complain for fear of reminding them her presence there was entirely useless.
Becca set the pile down and sat in the chair. She unbuttoned the top of her blouse to let the air flow in despite the cold of the office. Everyone had a business partner. She could hear them talking and laughing amongst each other. Why did being alone bother her so much now? She’s not real! Get it together, Becca.
“You know you wouldn’t have to do this if you’d just go into VR like you were hired to.” A voice said from the next cubicle. The voice belonged to Jim. She never bothered to learn his last name and wasn't in any hurry to. His mere presence beside her made her long for the days of the academy. Stressed would not begin to describe how he made her feel. No matter if she was making the office coffee or filing papers, he always had to give his two cents. He was against her very presence here and did little to nothing to hide it.
Becca took a few deep breaths. She liked to pretend it was a test. She sometimes wondered if it was his job to make her time here miserable to see how she would react. It was the only thing that kept her sane. But he was right though, Becca knew she would have to go back into the Sphere eventually, it was in her contract after all, but for some reason they hadn't pressed the issue, and for that she was thankful. Besides, she couldn’t go back. They’d find her. Was that really the reason though? Was it because she was scared she wouldn’t be there?
Becca let her face fall into her hands. Her relationship with her parents was on thin ice, her brother was dead, and her best friend was a figment of her imagination.
“Strokes!” Barked a voice from above her cubicle wall. Her head shot up to find her boss looking down on her with a scowl. She grimaced apologetically and went back to work filing papers. Zentron went in the Z folder. Rasico went into R. “They want you down in the lab.” He said before storming off.
The lab? She'd never been inside the lab before. Only those with special clearance could go down there. She on the other hand couldn't even get in the bathroom without being swiped in. Thoughts of being strapped down and forced into the Sphere entered her mind as she followed wordlessly down into the basement.
The lab was quite expansive, taking up nearly the entire basement. White hallways twisted and turned revealing transparent glass rooms. Inside the rooms people in white coats and full body suits worked with various machines and chemicals. Microscopes of all kinds sat on tables, while VR helmets sat on hooks. Becca imagined this was where Zombie outbreaks started. She twisted her neck this way and that as she tried to steal a peek inside each room to check for human experiments. She wouldn’t put it past them. She was the byproduct of human experimentation after all. Why didn’t she get any cool powers? People in movies always got powers. Instead Becca just ended up with severe mental trauma. I feel jipped, she thought as she followed her boss into one of the white rooms.
Sat at a desk was an older man with greying hair who sat bent over some monitors imbedded in his desk. He looked up from his work as he heard them approach. His face remained expressionless as he sized her up. “Please have a seat.” he said after a long pause. Becca pulled up a chair and sat down as she anxiously tapped her foot.
“Have you signed up for the draft?” He asked, getting straight to the point. Becca swallowed. It was the first thing she was supposed to have done when she turned 18, which she hadn’t. She was reminded of it again once she had joined the force. Once again, she had put it off. The thought of an arranged marriage made her shudder. She slowly shook her head. She was sure they already knew the answer anyway. Lying was useless. “I see.” was all that was said in return. “We have selected a partner for you.”
Becca nearly choked as she sucked in a lungfull of air. She felt her blood run cold as a chill ran down her back. They were forcing her to get married? Now?
"Jim Savendest is looking for a new wife." Becca felt bile rising in the back of her throat. No please, not Jim! She wanted to beg, plead, and cry. Anyone but him! Not to mention he was nearly 35 years her senior! Her hands shook as they clung to the edge of her chair, but the rest of her sat motionless in stunned silence. She stared wide eyed at the desk in front of her before it began to blur. She only looked back up when she heard the man in front of her clear his throat.
The man behind the desk smiled as he clasped his hands together. She jumped a little in her seat. "There is one other alternative." Her heart soared. "Are you interested?" Becca quickly nodded her head “We have a. . . proposition for you.”
…..........................................................................................................................................................
Becca stumbled inside her house, the conversation from earlier replaying in her mind over and over again. Her face was sheet white. Was this really happening? She sat on the couch without a word and stared ahead.
So she had been right in a way. Her job wasn't really filing papers, it was just to keep her on standby until they needed her. She was going to be another human experiment. They had given her no choice but to agree, the only alternative being marrying Jim the Office Prick.
Becca had been so lost in thought she hadn't even noticed her father sitting down next to her. They sat in silence for some time until Becca finally noticed. Her first thought was to get up and walk away, but she was tired. Tired of the fighting, the mistrust, and most of all the loneliness. It was the longest she had been in the same room with either of them in the last six months. She fidgeted, feeling a bit awkward, but the days events had left her to exhausted to really care.
"You want to talk about it?" Her dad asked after twenty minutes had passed.
Becca slowly nodded her head and spoke barely above a whisper, "I'm getting married." He gently patted her on the back.
"So they finally got you. I knew it was only a matter of time." He said with a sigh. "Do you know who it is?"
Becca nodded, "I'm marrying myself." Trevor gave her a confused look as Becca scrambled her brain for a better way to explain. "They are getting ready to create an artificial human, and they want to use my memories of Crystal as a basis for a personality. They're going to bring her to life. "
"But isn't that good for you? Weren’t you friends with her? Wait... you're marrying a girl?"
"No." Becca shook her head. "I'm not. They're taking her personality and putting it inside a male body. They've already started growing the cells in the lab. They say it will reach puberty within a year, and once that happens... I'm to marry him and have at least two children within three years and if I don't..."
"Arranged marriage?" Trevor asked. Becca shook her head.
"Death." |
A/N: This story isn't very omo at all, but there's a small fearwetting scene toward the end. There was a prompt on the Watchmen kink meme asking for ghost stories in the spirit of Halloween. They linked to a list of haunted places in New York and I ran with the idea. My story isn't really that scary, and I'm not even sure how to write horror, but it was still fun. I chose to victimize Eddie, because when don't I?
The ghost I use in this story is one that is believed to be of a woman named Olive Thomas. I first read about her here: http://julep.triplemint.com/15-of-the-most-haunted-places-in-nyc/ but more can be found about her here: http://broadwayscene.com/olive-thomas-broadways-new-amsterdam-ghost/
It was Halloween and Edward Blake would have rather been somewhere else. Maybe throwing a party for what few friends he had and getting shitfaced, maybe getting shitfaced with strangers- hell, he wouldn't have minded giving out candy at home over this, but plenty of criminals used the busy night as a cover for their activities, and he and the other masks had to stay on alert.
That meant he had to patrol the city, and even though he knew he could skip out if he damn well wanted to and that there was no one who could really stop him, there was still some part of him that was willing to do his job. Maybe it was the fatherly instinct he'd never got to use on his kid coming out, making him want to protect all the trick-or-treaters. Maybe it was just the fact that he knew, if he stayed on top of thing, he would get to beat some poor fucker up tonight.
Whatever it was, it brought the Comedian out for the night as he kept up his patrol of the city. The most common crimes on nights like this were petty things, like vandalism or really basic robbery. Until he caught wind of something bigger, those were the things he kept his eyes out for.
Typically, a group of punks would go vandalize a place with a “creepy” reputation- some place that people said was haunted. They would all go, scared out of their wits but trying to play tough for their friends, and tear the place up to prove that they weren't afraid. Eddie intended to prevent as much of that from happening as possible, and so he set off for New Amsterdam Theatre.
He wasn't exactly clear on the urban legend, as such things didn't interest him too much, but he had heard that the place had a reputation for being haunted and he knew that it had been hit pretty hard the past couple Halloweens. It seemed as good a place as any to start.
When he got there, a quick once over did not show any signs of anyone yet, but he was sure that it wouldn't be long before some wannabe gang came by. He resolved to sit in one of the seats and wait for a bit, and if nothing happened within an hour, he would move on.
It was not long into his watch that he heard something coming from what he thought was the lobby. He chuckled to himself, imagining the looks on these punks' faces when they saw him, stepping out of the shadows to deal with them.
Bet those brats'll piss their pants in terror , he thought happily, and had to resist the urge to laugh even louder at the thought. He couldn't risk letting them know he was there, though, and he managed to hold his laughter back as he crept to the lobby.
However, when he entered the room, there was nobody to be found. Eddie held completely still and tried to listen for more sound, but there wasn't any. He wondered if he had imagined the noise, but he was certain that he hadn't. If it hadn't been someone in here, than what was it?
Not coming up with any answers, he decided to go back into the theatre to continue waiting. If there were anymore noises to be heard, that was the best place to listen for them. Ten minutes passed without incident before he heard another noise, this one sounding like it was coming from backstage.
He didn't know much about theatres, not being much of an artsy man, but he figured it was possible that there was a door connecting the backstage area to the lobby somehow, perhaps for performers to mingle with the crowds after shows if they did autographs or something. If there was such a door, whoever he had heard in the lobby had probably gone through it before he could get out there to catch them.
Ain't gonna be so lucky this time , he thought as he hopped up onto the stage and made for behind the curtains. He kept his steps as quiet as possible, but as soon as he had slipped into the dark hallway leading to the dressing rooms, the noise had stopped once again.
Resolving not to lose them this time, he started opening doors and peaking in, seeing only empty costume racks. Each room yielded similar results, but he kept searching until he felt a chill run down his spine. He could not explain what exactly had caused it, but he felt a strange sense of unease that he could not shake.
Eddie was not an easily spooked man, but there was something making him feel incredibly uncomfortable and he did not know what. It almost felt as if he were being watched, but he had not heard anything from the would-be vandals in a while. For all he knew, they had heard him coming and snuck off before he could find them, but that made the fact that he felt watched even more unusual.
He clenched his fists and shook his head, deciding to ignore whatever this strange sensation was. It was most likely nothing, and he was not one to let himself get scared over nothing. He was hardly one to let himself get scared over anything, really, and he was not going to allow himself to let the fact that it was Halloween, or that it was dark, or that this theatre was rumored to be haunted get to him.
But his heartbeat didn't slow down and his unease did not subside, try as he might to force it to do so. Every creak he heard caused him to jump, and that feeling soon grew into one of full-on dread. He hated to admit it even to himself, but he was seriously creeped out by this building.
“I'm actin' like an idiot,” he said to himself. There was clearly no one in here, and it would be better if he left sooner, rather than later. “I'm not afraid of nothin', and there's nothin' to be afraid of in here.”
He didn't know who he was trying to prove himself to, but he made no attempt to remain quiet as he strode back down the dark hallway, trying to keep his shaky hands steady. It was time for him to look somewhere else, seeing as this location had been a dud in terms of busts.
Eddie stepped back out onto the stage and was preparing to jump off and head out when he felt another chill, this one so strong that he wondered if the temperature in the room had dropped, or if it was just him. He shivered, his feeling of dread growing and his heart racing. And then he felt something brush against his shoulder.
He whirled around and saw a woman in a green dress with something blue in her hand.
His mouth hung agape as he took in the sight before him. She was definitely a woman, though she looked odd- blurred around the edges and nearly translucent. She waved at him, batted her lashes, winked.
“Hello,” she said, in a clear, charming voice that terrified him more than he could say. As he stared at her, he felt a wet warmth spreading between his legs, and then he did what any sensible man in his position would do.
He got the fuck out of there. |
Hello, Omorashi.org!
It's been a long time since I've tried out writing any stories for this site. I tried experimenting with some new writing techniques for this story. I don't really have much of a prelude for this one, just something I've wanted to do for a while. I hope you guys like it.
____________________________
The hours wore on as the first test for the newest class at Beacon Academy was underway. Among the newly formed teams were that of youngest new student, Ruby Rose, and one of the most promising, Weiss Schnee. Despite a few setbacks early on, they were now well on their way to the forest temple to retrieve their artifact and finish the test.
Or, at least, that’s what Weiss kept saying.
Despite the constant reassurance of the older student, Ruby couldn’t help but feel they were walking in a giant circle. While she was never the most anxious individual when it came to timing, Ruby was beginning to feel worried as certain issues were making themselves quite apparent.
“Okay, so next we go this way…” Weiss directed with more confidence than was justified, “Or maybe this way. Turn left at the tree with the moss. No, wait, right. No, backwards!” She shouted.
By this point, Ruby has resigned herself to a fate of being forever lost in the Emerald Forest. Or at least until a better path presented itself. The problem was, something else was occupying her mind, preventing Ruby from thinking clearly. By this point, the issue had become pressing enough; she decided it was time to address it.
“Hey, Weiss, wait a minute.” Ruby called forward.
Weiss turned around with a jump, surprised by the sudden vocalization by her partner. She drew her rapier in one fluid motion, clearly prepared for a fight.
“What is it?” She asked, alarmed, “More Grimm?”
“What? No.” Ruby responded, confused, “It’s just…” She hesitated, “Can we stop for a minute? I need to pee.”
Glaring, Weiss returned Myrtenaster to its place, “What are you talking about? No, we can’t do that!” She shouted back, sounding much angrier than was justified, “We need to get to the temple as quickly as possible so we can finish the test and get a good grade!”
Weiss shifted in place for a second, then added, “Besides, there isn’t a bathroom out here, anyway.”
“Yeah, because we’re making so much progress now.” Ruby grumbled, sarcastically. “But that doesn’t matter, I just have to pee.” Ruby responded, “I can just go in the grass.”
“What?” Weiss gasped, holding a hand to her face in shock, “That’s disgusting!”
“How?” Ruby asked confused by the heiress’s strong reaction, “It’s not like I’m doing anything I wouldn’t in a bathroom. If anything, it’s cleaner since I don’t have to touch a toilet.”
“No, I mean like…” Weiss struggled to find the most proper way to continue her statement, “Exposing yourself like that outside. It’s indecent!”
“It’s not like anyone’s going to see.” Ruby protested, “We’re in a forest. With all the trees around, I could find a pretty good hiding place. I won’t take long, I swear! I just really need to do this.”
“How would you even..?” Weiss began to question. She then cut herself short and shuddered in what Ruby assumed to be disgust. “Look, we’re not going to stop so you can… relieve yourself. You’ll just have to hold it until we get back to Beacon, like a big girl. For now, we need to keep moving.”
Weiss turned around and resumed walking, rather hurriedly.
“But Weiss, I, ugh…” Ruby sighed, exasperated. She was pretty sure she could hold it in, but it wouldn’t be comfortable. Not only that, but her bladder would definitely get in the way in the very likely event they had to fight more Grimm. Reluctantly, she continued walking to keep up with her begrudging teammate.
More time wore on as the dysfunctional duo continued their random walk through the forest, knowing nothing about where they were relative to their destination or if they would actually get there.
Ruby thought back to the decisions that led her to her current predicament. That morning, Ruby had to drink several cups of coffee just to be awake enough to make it to the testing grounds on time. She was in such a rush that morning that she hadn’t had time to use the bathroom since before breakfast. She was already feeling a bit of pressure before being jettisoned into the Emerald Forest. Now, more than an hour later, that pressure had certainly not diminished.
Ruby pressed her left hand against the front of her skirt. She wasn’t quite holding herself yet, but she still preferred the added pressure to reduce the pain of holding it in. Right now, Ruby was really wishing Weiss had left her behind earlier. That way, she could have found Yang, she would have understood, and they wouldn’t be in this situation now.
Ruby decided it was worth the effort to try and get the ice queen to stop one more time. “Hey, Weiss can we please-“
“No.” Weiss interrupted, “How can you expect to be a huntress if you have to stop to use the bathroom every five minutes?” She snapped.
“I… what?” Ruby shook her head, stunned by the other student’s strong reaction.
____________________________
As she tried to coach herself through finding the right path by trial and error, Weiss was dealing with a problem of her own. A much more disciplined huntress, she only needed one cup of coffee to wake up in the morning. However, she was sure to drink plenty of water so she wouldn’t have to deal with dehydration in the middle of such an important test. Unfortunately, such preparedness came with consequences.
Weiss wasn’t doing so well herself, and Ruby’s constant complaining only served to remind her of the pressure in her own abdomen. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to find the relic and finish the test. Although her motivations had shifted less from getting a good grade and more toward getting back to the academy as quickly as possible so she could use the bathroom. The heiress of the Schnee Dust Company was not about to degrade herself to peeing outdoors.
The unfortunate issue was that the focus needed to keep herself poised was taking away from Weiss’s ability to navigate through the forest. It was an interesting paradox: the more motivated the huntress in training became to finish the test, the less capable she was of finishing it.
As the urge grew stronger, Weiss began to slow down. Her strides grew shorter as she needed to keep her thighs pressed together to suppress the thought of her growing urge. At this point, Weiss had become practically unaware of her surroundings. All she saw was the path in front of her, and all she could think of was maintaining her dignity- and her bladder control.
The ice queen didn’t realize how much she was slowing down, as her young partner was drawing closer, distracted by her own predicament. It wasn’t long until the concentration of both girls was broken as a sudden sensation surprised both of them.
Weiss let out a small shriek as she felt something bump into her back. She quickly jumped around, putting her hand up in a fighting stance. It took her a moment to realize that something was the red hooded girl behind her, who had jumped back in surprise as well.
As soon as Weiss realized it was safe and the adrenaline rush wore off, she realized her concentration had been diverted from more pressing needs. Weiss cringed for a moment as her hands shot to her side, gripping fiercely against her legs. She wanted desperately to grab herself, but that would be beneath her, she was a trained huntress-and a Schnee- not a little girl. She managed to maintain control, but only just. She couldn’t afford another moment like that.
“Weiss are you alright?” Ruby’s high-pitched voice broke the silence.
It was then that Weiss realized exactly what she was doing, standing in front of her new teammate like this. She released her grip, brushing down the creases on her skirt, pretending that was what she was doing all along.
“Yes, I’m fine. Just… trying to make sure you were paying attention. Yeah. I need to strategize in case we come up against anything between us and the relics.” Weiss lied, unconvincingly.
Weiss then turned back around and tried to pick up her pace again, keeping her hands tightly clenched at her side. Her entire body was tensing up as she diverted more focus toward maintaining control.
____________________________
‘Weiss must be getting really tired.’ Ruby thought to herself as she observed the rigid motion of her new partner.
She could only spare a moment for these thoughts, however, as her focus had to return to keeping a plug on her bladder. The shock of bumping into Weiss earlier nearly made her leak. The hand which was previously idly resting against her stomach was now ruffling the front of her combat skirt as she gripped down between her legs to relieve some of the pressure. Ruby couldn’t remember the last time she had to pee this bad, but she was pretty sure she didn’t for long. She couldn’t imagine another situation where she could feel like this and not immediately find somewhere to let it out. It was torture.
____________________________
As the minutes turned to another hour, Ruby’s right hand joined her left in its efforts to keep control. Meanwhile, Weiss’s stance grew much more rigid.
Weiss was so distracted practicing mind over bladder that she didn’t notice the path they were on abruptly ended in a small ledge.
She took a step forward, expecting to hit solid ground, only to be met with no resistance. She nearly fell forward, but her honed huntress reflexes allowed her to grab a nearby tree branch to keep her from falling into the dirt.
However, these sudden moves took much needed energy away from other areas of Weiss’s body. With that, she felt a small amount of liquid escape from her. It could hardly be considered a full-on accident, but it was enough for Weiss to be aware it was happening, and that it might not be the end if she made another mistake like that.
Gripping tightly to the tree branch and tensing every muscle she could, Weiss managed to regain control. Internally, she was shouting at herself, ‘The heiress of the Schnee Dust Company is NOT about to pee in her panties!’ She thought.
After managing to stabilize herself, Weiss looked down with dread. The drop was hardly anything that could be considered a long way down. Under normal circumstances, the only thing Weiss would worry about was her combat skirt flying up on the way down. These were, however, not normal circumstances. The impact of the fall might upset her delicate equilibrium.
Weiss knew this had to be the right path they were on, and that finding an alternate route would take far too long. Because of this, she faced a dilemma. She would really prefer to look for a way around this obstacle, but it wasn’t going to be her fault if they were late and lost points on this test. Then, an idea struck her. That annoying little brat she was with could be useful after all.
“Hey, so the path continues this way.” She said, pointing down to the drop-off, “But if you think that might be too much of a problem for you right now, we can find another way.” Weiss looked back at Ruby, taking note of the placement of her hands. Surely this would work.
No sooner had that thought crossed her mind than she saw the girl in the red hood take off from her spot and jump down the small cliff. Weiss’s heart fell as she watched her plan backfire as spectacularly as possible.
“Hey, what are you waiting for?” Ruby asked from a few feet below.
Not wanting to be outdone by that little red gnat, Weiss steeled her nerves. She examined her options closely and came up with the best course of action. Placing one hand in the dirt, Weiss vaulted down the drop as gingerly as possible.
Weiss nearly tripped as her heels dug into the dirt and upset her balance. She managed to stabilize herself in a crouching position. She clasped her legs together tightly as she inhaled sharply, trying to keep everything inside her.
After a few seconds observing her teammate in this pose, Ruby was compelled to ask, “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” Weiss responded quickly, her voice strained, “Just tough to make that landing in heels. Not for a huntress of my caliber, of course.” She added, standing up with as much poise as she could muster.
Nothing else leaked out, so it was back to the mission at hand. Weiss returned to walking down the path, her strides even smaller and her pace even slower as she refused to risk moving her legs too far apart.
____________________________
‘That was weird.’ Ruby thought as she began to follow along. She didn’t want to admit it, but that jump was almost too much for her. As quickly as she landed, both the young girl’s hands had to be pressed onto the front of her battle skirt. She hadn’t leaked yet, but Ruby wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold on at this point.
Between bouts of bargaining with her own bladder, Ruby had a new thought to focus on. While she didn’t intend it, she caught a glimpse up Weiss’s skirt during the vault down the ledge, and Ruby was pretty sure she saw a small wet patch. That couldn’t be, could it? Was Weiss in the same predicament? No way. A fancy rich girl like her, she probably had her bladder removed or something. It must have just been her imagination. Still, it was a curious thought.
“Weiss, are you sure we can’t stop?” Ruby asked, hoping for a little sympathy if her suspicions were correct.
“Yes, I’m sure.” Weiss called back, sounding very unsure, “Mankind invented indoor plumbing for a reason: so we wouldn’t have to degrade ourselves to doing such disgraceful acts in the dirt. I know you’re young, but you are potty trained, right? So act like it.”
The whole time Weiss was berating Ruby, she didn’t even look back, instead keeping her eyes fixed on the path in front of her. Ruby groaned loudly at the older girl’s demands. Of course, expecting sympathy from the ice queen was wishing for far too much.
It wasn’t too much longer before Ruby’s foot found a stray root. Awkwardly flailing, the young huntress in training stumbled forward for a few steps before catching her balance.
Again, under normal circumstances, this was nothing unusual for the clumsy girl, but now was not normal. In the commotion, Ruby felt a strong spasm from her bladder. A few spurts managed to spill out into her panties. This was bad!
The girl in the red hood froze in place, her hands thrust deeply between her legs, leaning over to put as much pressure to stem the flow as possible. Waiting was no longer an option.
“Weiss!” Ruby called forward frantically, “Can we please stop? I’m about to wet myself!” She shouted, blushing.
Weiss halted and gave an exasperated sigh. “Alright! If it’ll stop your whining, we can stop. But know that I’m never going to forgive you if we get a bad grade because of this.”
Ruby’s eyes began watering with a mix of joy and pain, “Oh, thank you! I’ll be quick, I swear.”
The girl in the red hood rushed off as quickly as she could toward the nearest set of bushes. While she longed to use her superior speed to get to her destination even quicker, she couldn’t risk putting that much strain on her body. Instead, she stuck to a somewhat brisk walk. Even with that level of caution, a small leak began to break through after a few steps.
Quickly ducking behind a tree, Ruby lifted up her skirt and grabbed the sides of her leggings and panties. In one fluid motion, she pulled both down to her knees and squatted down. This was a technique Ruby had used many times in the past, to the point she had basically perfected it, so she knew her clothes were pretty much safe.
“By the way, if you get any on you, don’t even think about touching me!” Weiss shouted, impatiently.
With everything in place, Ruby could finally relax and let go. With a sigh, she did just that and the very loud sound of a gushing stream hitting tree roots began. It took a moment for the relief to truly set in- almost as if her body didn’t really believe this was happening- but once it did, it was incredible. Far past the point of feeling embarrassed, Ruby let out a moan as the sensation washed over her. This was the first time she had felt such bliss since coming to Beacon. Granted, that was only two days ago, but still.
After about a minute of peeing with such a powerful stream, a sudden shudder overtook Ruby’s body. She wasn’t sure, but she thought that might have resulted in some of her clothes getting damp. Now wasn’t the time to worry about such things, though. Now was the time to feel the relief.
A splashing sound started to reverberate as the puddle expanded faster than the ground could absorb it. After another minute, the stream began to slow down. Soon enough it became nothing but a small dribble, then all but stopped.
Ruby shook herself off as well as she could and took a moment to assess the damages. Her panties were black, so the rather large stain wasn’t all that noticeable unless something was staring- something she hoped no one would be doing. She looked down and saw a few water marks on her shoes. Then, she noticed something far more worrying. The base of her cape had gotten noticeably wet. She would definitely need to clean that as soon as possible.
Ruby sighed once more and pulled up her panties and leggings. She shuddered a little as she felt the wetness against her bare skin, but it was something she could deal with for now. It wasn’t nearly as bad as a full-on accident, she knew from experience.
Feeling refreshed, Ruby quickly ran around the tree to meet up with Weiss and resume their quest.
____________________________
‘What is taking her so long?’ Weiss thought angrily as she shifted in place, impatiently trying to contain her growing need. In her hurry, Ruby didn’t move far away enough to be out of ear shot. The sound of her pee hitting the ground was almost too much for Weiss to bear. She couldn’t hold still any longer.
Weiss then heard the pleasured moan from behind the tree. ‘Geeze, that sounds like it feels so good.’ She thought, venturing to place a hand against her skirt and give a quick squeeze. ‘Maybe I should… No! You are better than that! You are a trained huntress at the prestigious Beacon Academy. You can control your bladder!’ She coached, in defiance of her natural urges.
The heiress grit her teeth together as she danced in place. Her body began to feel hot; beads of sweat began forming on Weiss’s forehead. A powerful mix of pain and panic overtook her. Then, just like that, everything stopped.
Weiss froze in absolute disbelief of what was now happening. She felt it. There was no stopping it. The dam had burst and the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company began to wet herself.
It began slowly, a small trickle dampening the crotch of her panties. After a few moments of frantically battling for control, the stream grew stronger. Soon enough, Weiss’s panties could no longer contain the flood. A golden steam began working its way around her fingers and winding down her legs, absorbing into the fabric of her stockings.
For several minutes, the huntress in training stood in place, her legs clenched tightly together with her hands gripping in place, trying in vain to stem the flow. Despite her best efforts, all the liquid continued to leave Weiss’s body, being absorbed into whatever fabric it could reach and pooling in the dirt when there was no more room.
Eventually, the flow stopped, although the dripping continued for a few more moments after Weiss was done wetting herself. She hung her head in shame and leaned on a nearby tree. She tried her best to rationalize this situation. That couldn’t have really just happened. This had to be a dream, right? Right. There was no way it was real.
“Um… Weiss?” Ruby’s voice suddenly broke the silence, “Is everything alright?”
Oh, no! This was real!
____________________________
As Ruby walked around the tree, she was met with an unexpected sight. Weiss was standing in place with her hands held tightly underneath her skirt. Upon further inspection, she saw a yellow stream winding down Weiss’s legs.
It was impossible to believe, but it was really happening. Ruby didn’t really know what to do; she hadn’t been on this end of the situation before. With nothing else to do, she stood and stared at her teammate as she peed all over herself.
After it became apparent the accident was nearly over, Ruby felt she should try and speak up.
“Weiss? Is everything alright?” She asked.
“No, I’m obviously not alright!” Weiss snapped back, “Do you see what just happened? Oh, they’ll probably kick me out of the academy for this!”
“I don’t think they’d do that.” Ruby muttered, “I mean… everyone has accidents. I nearly did.” She admitted, trying awkwardly to find some way to comfort the other girl.
“You should have just told me,” Ruby continued after getting no response, “I would have understood. If you don’t know, I could have shown you how to pee outside.”
“You don’t understand! I was raised better than this. Maybe it’s fine wherever you come from, but where I’m from, big girls have control over their bodies. They don’t rush to the bathroom, they don’t pee outside, and they certainly don’t wet themselves!”
“But it does happen.” Ruby tried to reassure, “You’re okay. No one needs to know about this. We’re teammates. We can trust each other with stuff like this.”
Weiss just fumed in silence for a moment.
“Now… you should probably get out of those wet clothes…” Ruby suggested without thinking.
“I’m not doing that!” Weiss shouted, offended, “It’s bad enough this happened, I’m not stooping to exposing myself so the whole world can see! I didn’t exactly bring a change of clothes with me, you know?”
“Okay.” Ruby responded, trying to speak softly to calm her teammate down, “Well, let’s at least keep going, then. Maybe your clothes will dry before we see anyone.”
“Yeah…” Weiss resigned, looking down dejected. Her eyes begin to water out of shear embarrassment.
Ruby looked around, trying desperately to find a way to break the awkwardness of this moment. That’s when her eyes caught something in the distance.
“How, look!” Ruby shouted, “A giant Nevermore! Maybe we can ride it to get an aerial view of the forest!”
“What?” Weiss responded, finally looking up, “Are you insane?”
Before she could even finish asking the question, Ruby had already taken off and was partway down the path, chasing after the Nevermore.
“Apparently…” Weiss sighed before taking off and running after what had to be the worst teammate assignment in the history of Beacon Academy. |
CHAPTER 2 OUTTA NOWHERE! VINTAGE KID_OMO.
*Ahem*
Anyway, folks, far from my normal work rate, I've produced a second chapter to this story. I hope you enjoy it.
________________________________
The relative peace and silence of the Emerald Forest was broken by the day’s activities. The leaves rustled as the entire freshman class of Beacon Academy ran through its innards. The roars of Ursi and the howls of Beowolves mixed with the clashing of weapons as the world’s newest class of promising young huntsmen battled through the dangerous woods. Indeed, today was the day these promising initiates would show their incredible prowess.
“Pyrrha, help!” Cried Jaune Arc as he sprinted through the shrubbery, chased by a large bear-like creature, his sword and shield still holstered on his hip.
Within moments, the Ursa’s threatening roar was cut short as it fell forward to the ground, skidding to a halt mere inches from the blonde hunter in training. A quick look revealed the source of this fall: an orange and gold javelin sticking out of the top of the beast’s bony back.
It took a few seconds for Jaune to realize he was no longer being pursued. The second he did, he stopped and broke out into a violent fit of panting as he leaned over with his hands placed on his knees.
“That would have been much easier if you could have gotten the Ursa to hold still.” Pyrrha Nikos commented casually as she strolled into the clearing. On the way, the fiery-haired girl retrieved her weapon from the creature’s already withering back.
“Sorry, it’s not easy to hold still when you’re about to be mauled to death.” Jaune retorted between gasps.
Pyrrha patted the boy on the back, worried she had offended him by criticizing his rather unique combat strategy. “You run surprisingly fast. That’s good to know.” She offered, trying to be comforting.
“Thanks.” Jaune said, suppressing a retch.
Once the adrenaline of saving her new teammate had worn off, Pyrrha took a look around; trying to evaluate the situation the duo was now in. It appeared the chase had led them deeper into the forest, as there were now no discernable landmarks in sight.
It was then that Pyrrha became aware of something else: a dull, throbbing pain just below her stomach. Normally, this would hardly be enough for the huntress in training to notice, but she was fatigued from unlocking Jaune’s aura earlier. Coupled with the weariness from needing to do a larger portion of the fighting than she had anticipated, Pyrrha was not in the most optimal condition for dealing with this annoyance.
It seemed that now was quite the fortunate time to have this revelation, though. Given the team would need time to reorient themselves, and they were certainly far away from any other teams, this would be an effective place to take care of her urge.
Wordlessly, the Invincible Girl set her javelin and shield back in place on her back. She then turned and walked over to the nearest tree. Taking another glance around to be sure there were no prying eyes, Pyrrha moved her hands to the hem of her skirt. Unfortunately, before she could begin, her train of thought was interrupted.
“Pyrrha? What’s up?” Jaune asked, observing this unusual display.
“Hmm?” She hummed, looking back toward him, “Oh, sorry. I need to use the restroom.” She commented casually.
“Oh.” Jaune responded, “Okay. Well, where is the nearest bathroom?” He asked, much to the confusion of the tournament-winning huntress in training.
“I would assume back at the academy…” She commented slowly.
“I don’t think they’re going to let us go back before we get the relic. Besides, that would take a lot of time.”
With that statement, it became apparent to Pyrrha that there was a disconnect in the team’s communication.
“No, no.” She clarified, “I didn’t mean I need to find one. I just meant that I need to relieve myself. I can do so right here.”
“What?” Jaune asked, surprised, “Wait… girls can do that?”
The green eyed girl paused and blinked for a moment, unsure of how to respond. “Yes. Don’t you have sisters?”
“Yes. Seven, actually. But they never did… that outside.” He answered, blushing slightly.
“Well, yes it is possible. I have needed to do so many times during training. I figured now would be the optimal time to take care of this need.” Pyrrha said.
“Oh, okay. Well, sure. I guess we could take a short break.” Jaune said, suddenly falling back into a sitting position on the ground.
With that clarified, Pyrrha turned back toward the tree and resumed lifting up her skirt.
“Wait!” Jaune interrupted again, “Do you mean you’re going to do it right here? I-in front of me?”
“Well, yes. We are teammates are we not?” Pyrrha asked, innocently, “Comrades in arms must be comfortable with one another as you never know what kind of situations may arise in the field.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready to get that comfortable with you yet.” Jaune said quickly, standing up, “You know, not that I’m scared of… uh… I mean… um… We only just met…” He stumbled through his words, awkwardly. “Can’t you at least go behind the bushes or something? You know, not so close?” He finally asked after a few moments’ stammering.
Pyrrha thought about this for a moment before responding, “I think it would be best if we didn’t split up… for the team.” She said, trying to find the most polite way of expressing the sentiment that she feared he would die if left alone.
Jaune’s response was to begin stammering again. Pyrrha sighed, giving her teammate a patient smile.
“It’s fine. I can just wait until we get back.” She said calmly, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder, “In light of that, we should probably continue looking.”
“R-right.” Jaune sputtered, “I think I saw something over there when I was running.” He said, pointing vaguely in the direction he had just fled from an Ursa.
“That seems as good a place as any to start.” Pyrrha responded with a smile.
The two then began walking back through the thick rows of trees. Pyrrha placed a hand on her abdomen. She hoped their search would be done soon. She was no stranger to needing to put off such urges during tournaments or long training sessions, the Beacon Academy initiate felt certain she could keep it contained. She also knew that doing so was not going to be pleasant.
“Ta-da! Here we are!” Jaune exclaimed after a few minutes of walking yielded the result of a large stack of rubble in another clearing.
“It… appears to be a large pile of rocks…” Pyrrha commented, hesitantly.
“Exactly!” Jaune responded excitedly, “Not just that, it’s an old looking pile of rocks! Where better to hide a mysterious relic?”
“I suppose you are correct.” Pyrrha agreed, contemplating the rubble, “If nothing else, it would likely serve as a good vantage point for finding other potential locations.”
“Right!” The blonde haired boy called back enthusiastically, “So what do you think? You climb up and look around while I check the cracks and stuff around the bottom?”
“Would it not be more efficient for us both to focus on the same task? We could examine the area much faster together.” Pyrrha questioned.
“Maybe…” Jaune hesitated, “but I don’t have a lot of climbing experience, and those rocks look very unsteady… I’d prefer not to go soaring through the air two times in one day.”
Pyrrha spared a moment to look at her teammate quizzically. Sure, he was cute and nice, but his capabilities were rather low for a student at one of the most prestigious huntsmen academies in the world.
A jolt of pain from her bladder reminded Pyrrha of the situation at hand. She supposed this plan may prove effective in quickly accomplishing their objective. “Very well.” She submitted.
With that, the fiery-haired girl took to the arduous task of climbing the rubble pile. This task was not difficult for a trainee of her caliber, but it was rather irritating given her current condition. With every step, Pyrrha’s abdomen throbbed, her bladder begging for relief. She didn’t think she was in severely bad shape, but the strength required to haul herself up along with how far she needed to stretch her legs to climb made keeping her control rather difficult.
Halfway through the large climb, disaster struck. With much of her concentration dedicated to maintaining her composure, the huntress in training was not paying enough attention to where she was climbing. On her next step, the rocks gave way, making her lose her footing.
Pyrrha managed to react quickly enough to prevent from tumbling down the rubble, but the sudden drop was jarring to other parts of her system. An intense pain emanated from between Pyrrha’s legs as gravity took its toll on her bladder. She hung on the rocks for a moment, clenching her legs together to keep anything from leaking out.
“You alright, P?” Jaune called from below.
“I really wish he wouldn’t call me that right now.” Pyrrha muttered to herself. “Yes, I’m fine. Just… lost my footing.” She shouted back.
Steeling her nerves, the decorated fighter resumed her climb. It wasn’t much longer before she reached the top of the rock pile. Much to her chagrin, though not her surprise, the summit of this climb yielded little more than the top of a giant rock.
Disappointed, the Invincible Girl called down to her teammate, “Have you found anything yet, Jaune?”
“Nope!” He shouted back, “It doesn’t look like they hid anything here. What about you?”
“There’s nothing up here, either.”
“Well, can you see anything up there?” Jaune asked, “Somewhere a relic might be stored.”
Pyrrha looked around, but saw little more than trees as far as the eye could see. “What exactly would that look like?” She asked.
“I don’t know. Some place that looks really… ancient and mysterious! Kind of… relic-y.”
As descriptive as that was, it did little to assist Pyrrha in her search. After a moment of gazing out over the forest, the huntress in training spotted a large cliff with an outcropping. She figured that may be a functional hiding spot. It would keep anything below it relatively safe from the elements.
“I see a cliff in the distance!” She called downward, “Perhaps that is out destination.”
“Perfect!” Jaune shouted, “Cliffs have plenty of great hiding spots.”
Her work done, Pyrrha looked down the rock pile with dread. Keeping everything contained inside of her on the way down would prove another difficult task. Surveying the area below, she decided on a quicker solution.
Pyrrha leaped off the top of the rubble toward a tree below. As she approached, she reached out, grabbed a branch, and swung to reduce her momentum. This allowed the initiate to land on the ground in a crouched position.
Altogether, the move would have been rather impressive were the landing not so strenuous on her body. The moment the girl landed, she was hit with yet another bladder spasm as a few drops leaked out into her panties. Quickly, she shoved both her hands in between her legs to regain control. Doing so only required a few seconds’ effort, but the warning signs were clear. They were going to need to find the relic quickly if Pyrrha had any hope of making it to a bathroom.
Jaune ran up to where she landed and crouched next to her. “Are you alright?” He asked, concerned.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Pyrrha responded, not wanting to worry her teammate, “I seem to have overestimated the effort required in that jump.” She added, managing to stand up.
“Oh, okay. So where did you say you saw this cliff?” Jaune asked.
“Straight back in that direction.” Pyrrha said, indicating the direction where she saw the most notable outcropping.
“Excellent. Let’s go.”
As they navigated the thick brush of the forest, Pyrrha began to question her decision. Perhaps she could manage to hide behind a bush. Unfortunately, the image of the Ursa attack earlier brought about the idea that Jaune would not be safe alone. As much as she tried to convince herself otherwise, the huntress in training could not shake the thought that, were she incapacitated for too long away from her teammate, he would be attacked before she could save him. This anxiety would not allow her to give in.
Another thought that occurred to her was to try and explain the situation to Jaune and take care of her need in front of him as she had intended. However, she was afraid that would make him too uncomfortable. If she was going to be teamed up with him for the next four years, it may be best not to offend the boy so early.
Because of this, Pyrrha was resigned to holding it until they returned to Beacon Academy.
The relative silence of the duo was broken by Jaune’s awkward attempt to strike up a conversation with his new teammate.
“You know, when it isn’t trying to kill you, this forest is actually kind of nice.” He rambled, “Like, it’s very picturesque. Like this post card my mom once sent me. Yeah. You’ve got the mountains over there, all these trees; all you would need is some non-murderous animals. Maybe a flowing stream…”
Unintentionally, Pyrrha let out a groan at the mention of a stream.
“Oh, right. Sorry.” Jaune apologized awkwardly.
“Oh, no, it’s fine.” Pyrrha tried to comfort, “I didn’t mean anything by that. You are correct. The Emerald Forest is a very beautiful location. I’ve heard the view from Beacon Academy is truly breathtaking. It is a shame that the creatures of Grimm have overrun it.”
“So how are you holding up, Pyrrha?” He asked, uneasily.
“I will be alright.” Pyrrha said, uncertain. She rubbed her abdomen again, trying to calm the raging flood threatening to burst its way free. She could feel her bladder fighting with the fabric of her belt. As much as she longed to loosen it, she knew it would not aid in the situation for long.
The Invincible Girl regretted engaging in a conversation with Weiss earlier that day. Had that not happened, she would have had a chance to use the bathroom before this test began and would not be in such a pressing situation. Unfortunately, this was how the chips fell. It was an issue she would now need to deal with.
“I just hope this path is correct. I would like to get back to the academy quickly.” She added.
“Don’t worry; this will be the right one. I’m sure of it!” Jaune replied, confidently.
“How are you sure?”
“Um… because… Well… I don’t know,” Jaune admitted, “But my mom tells me to always stay positive, so that’s what I’m doing… That sounded dumb, didn’t it?”
“Actually, optimism is an admirable quality in a leader.” Pyrrha responded flatly. Her hand drifted slightly lower to give a push on the front of her skirt. The added pressure felt good, but she did not want to rely on it. That was hardly the image she wanted to convey to her new teammate so early: the girl who couldn’t hold her pee without grabbing herself like a child.
“You think so?” Jaune asked, seemingly oblivious to his teammate’s predicament, “I’ve always fancied myself a natural leader, you know? Optimistic, passionate, brave…”
Jaune’s self-serving rant was cut off by a loud rustling from the nearby trees, causing him to jump back with a shriek.
Reflexively, Pyrrha drew her javelin and reached out her other arm to fight back anything that may come forward. She also spread her legs into a fighting stance, preparing herself for any Grimm that may be about to attack them. Unfortunately, this meant she was no longer in a positon to apply pressure and keep her natural urges under control, a fact her bladder wasted no time in reminding her.
Pyrrha felt another small spurt leak into her panties, much larger than the last, but still small enough to be contained. She could certainly feel the pressure in her body threatening to release more, but could do nothing about it at this point. She had to remain focused on her potential attacker.
A few moment of silence followed and nothing happened. Another small leak made Pyrrha grow impatient. Whether this was a Grimm, another classmate, or just the wind, she was not about to let this distraction be her bladder’s downfall.
Pyrrha switched her weapon to its rifle mode and looked down the scope, scanning the tree line in front of her. Failing to see anything, Pyrrha relaxed and returned her weapon to its place.
“It must have been the wind. I do not see anything.” She said, sliding her legs closer so she could clench her thighs tightly.
Jaune breathed a sigh of relief. No sooner did the team resume walking than another loud rustling emanated from the leaves.
Jaune screamed again as a large bird-like creature flew out from the trees, diving straight for the duo. The Nevermore bore its claws in preparation of an attack.
In one fluid motion, Pyrrha turned, retrieved her weapon from its place on her back, and fired the rifle at the Nevermore. The bird fell to the ground instantly and several more flew from the trees, fleeing the team.
As impressive as it was, that move did not allow Pyrrha to properly brace herself for the recoil from her rifle. The sudden shock sapped what little power she had left to control herself. She felt a small leak begin, growing quickly into a full-on flood. Pyrrha shoved her hands below her skirt, trying to stem the flow, but to no avail.
Within moments, a yellow steam began winding down Pyrrha’s legs, flowing below her armor and getting into her boots.
Quickly, Pyrrha did the only thing she could think of to reduce the potential damages.
“I’m sorry about this, Jaune!” She shouted. As she did, she turned to face away from her teammate.
Pyrrha reached down and lifted up her skirt, spreading her legs far apart and arching her hips forward. The huntress in training then pulled her soaked red panties to the side, revealing her most private area. With that, she relinquished control and allowed the rest of her bladder’s contents to empty.
A powerful steam shot out of the girl, creating an arc in front of her and making a loud splash as it impacted with the ground. Relief washed over the warrior as she gave a soft, delighted sigh. Pyrrha could feel goose bumps forming on her skin as a sudden wave of pleasure like she had never felt before overtook her.
The fiery-haired girl was frozen in place like this for nearly a minute as all the liquid she had to drink since the night before came rushing out of her body in one mighty flow. Pyrrha could not remember feeling a sensation like this before. It hurt slightly, pushing everything out of her fatigued bladder, but it also felt very good to let it all go. While many concerns filled her mind moments ago, she was now thinking of nothing except for the relief.
After a few more moments, the stream died down to a small trickle, then dripped to a stop. Figuring no further damage could be done from the residual drops left, Pyrrha slid her panties back into place, shivering at the sensation of the wet fabric against such a sensitive area. She gave another soft sigh, glad the ordeal was over.
Pyrrha reached down and wiped off her legs with the armor plating on her arm as best she could, then shook the liquid off as much as possible. As she was doing this, Pyrrha’s thoughts were consumed with the reality of what had just occurred. She had basically wet herself in front of her new teammate. If this story got out, she would become a laughing stock. The mascot of Pumpkin Pete’s Marshmallow Flakes peed her pants. The Invincible Girl with a flimsy bladder. It was awful. No one would ever talk to her again. Her time at Beacon would be spent devoid of friends or socialization.
Collecting her thoughts and steeling her resolve, Pyrrha turned nervously to look at her teammate. Jaune was staring at the ground, facing away from her, his face beat red.
“I-I’m really sorry about that, Jaune.” Pyrrha shouted, embarrassed, “I guess I overestimated my limitations. I hope that was not too unsettling for you. I promise it is not a common occurrence. If you wish to leave me behind, I understand.” She added quickly, hoping she had not just ruined her chance with the training hunter… as a teammate, of course.
“Pyrrha.” Jaune said softly, placing a hand on both her shoulders, “It’s fine. These things happen. I shouldn’t have asked you to do that. I didn’t know.”
“You’re… not angry or ashamed of what just happened?” Pyrrha asked, still staring at the ground, humiliated.
“Hey, I threw up on… several people on the airship to Beacon. If you can handle being on a team with Vomit Boy, I think I can handle being on a team with the girl who peed herself.” Jaune said, sounding far too genuine for such a ridiculous series of statements.
“Alright.” Pyrrha said, calming down, “Although, please, if I could ask one thing, could you not use that name again. I would rather no one else be told about this. At least, not until we are sure who our teammates are.”
“No worries,” Jaune reassured, “I won’t tell a soul. I mean, I can’t tell you the number of embarrassing incidents I’ve had. And if anyone knew about those, well…” He cut himself off mid-sentence, a blush overtaking his face again, “I may have said too much already…”
Pyrrha chuckled slightly at her teammate’s antics, her fears put more at ease, “It is fine. I do not intend to pry. Just… thank you.”
“Of course. We are a team, after all.” Jaune said with a smile.
“Now, how about we continue toward that cliff? Maybe they hid the relic in, like, a cave or something.” He added.
“That seems like an odd choice.” Pyrrha said as they resumed walking.
“Hey, could you just humor me on this for a second?”
Pyrrha chuckled, “Of course.”
With that, the team continued on their way to what they hoped would be the location of the relics, both members doing their best to forget what had just transpired. |
Now for the moment everyone's been waiting for...
Ok, so I've decided to go ahead and do a chapter for the other groups of the main cast. And I decided to go with Nora first since I figured it would be more challenging, and the revelation of her Semblance gave me some ideas...
This chapter was kind of tough for me, but I think I've managed to put together something acceptable. I got a little bit weird with it, but then again, it is Nora.
Anyway, I'm rambling. On to the story:
__________________________________
The serene beauty of the Emerald Forest did its best not to betray the chaos that occurred underneath its calm exterior. The tension was at a particular high on this otherwise beautiful day as the hopeful initiates of Beacon Academy fought their way through legions of Grimm in the hopes of finding their teams and their places in the Academy. As prestigious as Beacon was, these were truly among the brightest, most disciplined, and most serious young Hunters in all of Remnant.
“Whee!” Came the shout from Nora Valkyrie as she leaped from the bushes onto the back of an unassuming Beowolf.
The creature howled with surprise, flailing wildly in an attempt to toss its assailant off its back. The Grimm tried in vain to claw at the training huntress, but its arms would not reach.
As the creature flailed, Nora flew around like a ragdoll, the only thing keeping her secured to the wolf’s back was her strong grip around its throat. The problem with her positioning didn’t dawn on Nora until about a minute later when the startled monster’s movements became slower and less furious. Gradually, the Beowolf’s strength was sapped out of it until it fell to the ground, unconscious, having been unintentionally choked out by the young huntress.
Once she realized her ride was no longer moving, Nora looked around, confused, then stood up, giving a disappointed “Aww.” She poked the unconscious Beowolf with her foot and frowned.
“I told you riding a Beowolf wouldn’t work.” Lie Ren commented in his typical monotone as he approached the scene from deeper in the forest.
“No, no, didn’t you see? I was totally riding it!”
“Nora, I don’t think being thrown around by a Grimm while you choke it out counts as ‘riding’ it.”
“Hmph.” The orange-haired girl pouted, “Then I’ll just have to find something bigger!” She shouted, suddenly cheering up, “Like a Nevermore. Ooh, or maybe a Deathstalker! Could you imagine? Me riding on a giant scorpion!” Nora finished triumphantly, flexing in a victorious pose. Her eyes lost focus as she got lost in her own imagination, envisioning her reign from atop such a creature.
After a short beat between them, Ren tried to return to progress, “Weren’t you in the middle of a story?” He responded.
“Oh, right!” Nora yelled, snapping back to reality. “So where was I? Oh, yeah! So I landed in the forest right into the middle of a nest of Nevermore! After shooting down at least a dozen of them, I knew I needed to think of something else! So, I figured I could fashion a distraction using two leaves, a piece of string, and a fishing hook…”
As Nora began rambling through her story, Ren pulled her arm to get her follow him deeper into the forest.
Nora proceeded to tell the tale of her time in the Emerald Forest. It was a truly massive tale whose truth maybe even Nora didn’t fully know, though given the time since the exam had begun, none of it seemed plausible. Ren silently listened to the story, all the while watching their surroundings to be sure they weren’t about to be attacked.
“…I was so awesome!” Nora’s story concluded, “And then I found you, thanks to my expert sloth call! And I’m so happy I did! Before that, it was dark, and I was alone, and I had to pee, and…” Nora paused both her speech and her pace as a sudden realization hit her. Her eyes widened, legs clamped together, and her posture bent forward.
It took a moment for Ren to realize his teammate had suddenly grown silent. He turned around to investigate and was met with this display.
“Nora, are you alright?” He asked, allowing concern to enter his tone.
“Huh?” She asked, looking up at him, her face racked with concern, “Yeah, fine, fine. Well, no, not fine. I need to pee! Like really bad!” She said. The training huntress pulled her arms in closer and twisted her body around in a desperate dance.
“Do you want to stop and take care of that?”
“Yeah…” She responded. Nora turned toward a nearby bush, but then she paused as an idea entered her mind, “No, wait! What if this is part of the test? Seeing how we handle ourselves under pressure!”
“I don’t think they would do that…”
“But what if it is? You can’t be sure!” Nora turned back around and grabbed Ren’s shoulders, shaking him wildly. This violent motion proved to be a mistake, as it jostled all of the fluid in her bladder. Nora cringed at the painful sensation.
“They could be watching us right now!” She added, unaware of just how true that statement was.
“Nora, do I need to remind you about the day before the entrance exams?” Ren questioned flatly, softly removing his partner’s hands from himself.
“Hey that was different!” Nora objected, blushing slightly at the reminder of a past unfortunate battle against her bodily needs. “We hadn’t stopped for a day and you saw how much I drank!” The young huntress’s natural energy worked against her, as every one of her normal gesticulations shook her body and sloshed the liquid around inside of her.
“When’s the last time you went to the bathroom?” Ren asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Uh…” Nora paused in realization, “Well, let’s see, I woke up and was on my way to the bathroom, but then I remembered what day it was and saw that you weren’t awake yet, so I went to be sure you didn’t sleep in and miss the test. Then I woke you up. I was with you while getting ready and we ate breakfast and you had coffee and… and… I haven’t peed since last night…”
“And how much soda did you drink last night?”
“Look, that’s not fair! You know I can’t resist People Like Grapes soda! And I had to drink all four cans, since none of the other students took them.”
“That’s because you drank all of them before you offered to share.”
“Yes, well…” Nora tried to debate his point, but was cut short by a sudden wave of pressure. She twisted her legs around one another and held her hands over her abdomen.
As Ren looked over his teammate, locked in a hopeless battle against her own biology, he tried to resolve the problem before it became worse, “Look, I think you may just want to go now. It shouldn’t take too long and it’s best to minimize distractions in this forest.”
“No, it’s fine. I can hold it.” Nora said, more to herself than her partner.
“Are you sure?” Ren responded with a stern look.
“Yes, of course I’m sure!” Nora shouted back, a little offended. It was almost like he didn’t believe her! Like he was saying she wasn’t good enough! It was almost like Ren was challenging her holding skill! In fact, that’s what it was, a challenge! He was saying she wasn’t good enough.
‘Well, I’ll show him!’ Nora concluded. She resolved to prove herself. She would make it back to Beacon Academy completely dry.
“Alright, then. I guess we should be on our way.” Ren responded, dismissively. He figured Nora would come to her senses soon enough. After all, it was clearly the most logical decision to take the few minutes to relieve herself, rather than risk an accident during a fight.
A few minutes of walking later, Nora had managed to get her urge relatively under control. She trotted happily next to Ren, taking much more careful and measured steps than normal. Usually, the young initiate would be jumping around and bouncing off the walls- quite literally- but now, she took much smaller steps, her legs held close together, and much less bounce in her stride.
The orange-haired girl tried her best to distract herself from her aching bladder by focusing on the scenic environment around her.
“Oh, I like that tree, it’s got character!” She rambled, “That moss almost kind of looks like a heart. Aww! Like it’s talking to us. Hi, tree!” She said, waving at the plant in question.
“Wait.” Ren said, halting in sudden realization, “Didn’t we pass that tree already? Have we already been this way?”
“Maybe. Or… that tree could be following us! I’m onto you, tree!” Nora shouted, pointing accusingly at the lumber.
“I think we’re lost.”
“What, no way!” Nora shouted, hoping saying it loud enough would make it true, “We took a right turn, then a right, then another right, and then a right turn. There’s no way we’re lost!”
“Nora, we just went in a circle.” Ren admitted, burying his face in his palm, embarrassed he hadn’t noticed sooner.
“Really?” Nora asked, her right eye twitching. She began shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other.
Normally, she wouldn’t mind, she got lost all the time. Now, however, was different. Getting lost meant they just used up a lot of time they could have been using to get back to the Academy so she could use the bathroom.
Ren though for a moment, “I think we need to get a better perspective. Maybe the view from on top of one of these trees would help.” He suggested.
Nora looked at him blankly. Just thinking about trying to climb a tree in her current state made her tremble in desperation. She rubbed her abdomen with one hand, trying to calm the furious ocean that was searching for an escape.
“Right.” Ren responded, “I’ll go up and see if I can find anything. You stay here and stand guard in case any Grimm show up.”
“R-Roger!” Nora strained out, giving a salute, her body still shaking.
“Are you sure you’re alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just kind of need to go potty, no big deal!” Nora answered, putting her dilemma mildly.
“Alright.” Ren responded, raising a quizzical eyebrow, “But, really, try not to push yourself too hard. You may want to think about taking care of that while I’m away.” He added before running off and jumping up a nearby tree.
“Eh, I’m fine.” Nora responded with a dismissive wave to thin air. At this point, even she wasn’t convinced of her words.
While Ren was searching, Nora leaned up against a tree and tried her best to think about anything other than the sweet relief of peeing. She pulled out her weapon, currently in the form of a grenade launcher, and checked it, making sure it was in working condition. Meanwhile, the Beacon initiate crossed her legs tightly. She could feel the pee trying to escape, it felt like it could burst out at any moment.
Playing around with Magnhild was doing nothing to help her situation. That was a sure sign that she was in real trouble!
Nora kept twitching as she tried to figure out anything to help her out of this situation. She hadn’t heard from Ren yet. Between her current predicament and her normal hyperactive nature, Nora’s perception of time was usually skewed. Still, it felt like she had been sitting alone for hours. Maybe it was time to give up her challenge and just go already.
Before she did, Nora needed to make sure she wouldn’t be interrupted.
“Hey, Ren! You see anything yet?” She called into the air. As she waited for a response, Nora began walking to a nearby set of bushes. She started to lift her skirt and prepared to grab the sides of her panties.
Just then, she got a response that made her freeze on the spot.
“I think I see another group of students nearby, so we can’t be too far off.”
Nora halted her march and groaned. Another group of students? Nearby? As in, they might cross paths with her and Ren? As open as Nora was, she still wasn’t too comfortable with the idea of some random other students walking in on her with her panties down in the forest.
‘What should I do?’ Nora thought, frantically, ‘I don’t know how much longer I can hold it! But I can’t risk being walked in on. It’d be so embarrassing, and then I’d have to go through the next four years in shame as the girl who goes around flashing people in the forest! Best case, we get partnered up with them and spend the whole time not being able to look each other in the eye. Worst case…’
She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice her teammate walking up behind her.
“There’s a clearing in the distance. I think that’s a good place to start our search.” Ren’s voice broke the silence.
Surprised by her the unexpected sounds of her friend’s monotone voice, Nora jumped and let out a small “Yipe!” With this sudden jolt, Nora could feel a small spurt escape into her panties. She shuddered as she felt the warm wetness spread over her more sensitive areas. It was only a little bit, but Nora knew this was a warning of what was to come if she didn’t act fast.
Quickly, the orange-haired girl leaned over, shoving her hands under her skirt. She continued shifting from right to left, gritting her teeth as she tried to combat the internal pressure.
“Nora, are you alright?” Ren asked in surprise. He assumed Nora took the logical route and peed while he was in the tree, so he thought something new must be wrong.
“Yeah, I’m fine...” She said through gritted teeth.
“Are you sure?” He persisted, somehow seeing through Nora’s masterful ruse, “We don’t want to risk your abilities being impaired if we run into any trouble.”
Nora groaned as she twisted one leg over the other. She didn’t want to give in and admit she couldn’t keep control through the whole test, but she also didn’t want to wet herself.
That’s when the idea struck her. That’s it! “Her abilities”! Her Semblance could help her solve this without having to give up on Ren’s challenge.
Quickly, Nora focused and shifted the electrical energy through her body to strengthen her Kegel muscles and help hold it in. This worked rather well. True, all the pressure was still present in her abdomen, but it no longer felt like she was about to lose control. If the young huntress could keep this power up, she knew she would be able to hold it for several more hours, no problem.
Once she was sure of her new control, Nora straightened up and looked at Ren with a smile. “Yup! All good. No problems at all! Let’s get going!” She said, giving a thumbs up.
Ren stared at her for a second with a sigh. He was pretty sure he figured out what was going on, but he also knew there was no arguing with Nora when she got like this.
“Alright, then. It’s this way.” He said, ushering her along in the direction of the clearing he saw.
Nora happily bounded along after him, humming a tune to try and appear nonchalant. Or, at least as nonchalant as the bubbly girl could. She returned to her normal, bouncy gate, trying to maintain the illusion that she was completely alright.
With every step, Nora could feel the liquid in her bladder push down on her muscles, trying to escape. She had to admit, this was a very strange sensation. Certainly, she had tested her Semblance on many different and strange muscles before, but this was the first time she had used it quite like this. She was aware of and could feel her bulging bladder, pushing up against her armored waistband, but she couldn’t feel the usual tingling that came with being in such desperate straits. It felt kind of exciting, actually. She might have to experiment with this later, when her life isn’t in possible peril.
This strange train of thought was interrupted when the duo heard a violent rustling in the forest behind them. Nora turned around and drew her weapon. Ren began cautiously approaching the noise to investigate.
No sooner did he peer past the trees than a vicious howl sounded and a pack of four Beowolves pounced at the team to attack. The one in front looked somewhat familiar. At that moment, the duo remembered the Beowolf Nora had tried to ride earlier. While it was rendered unconscious, they never finished it off. It had probably been tracking them.
Ren skillfully dodged out of the way. Nora managed to jump back before one of the wolves got to her; she lifted her weapon and quickly shot a grenade directly into its face. She could feel the heat from the explosion, but could see it was worth it once the smoke cleared and the creature was on the ground.
Nora knew this meant the team was in for a serious fight. Still, she was afraid of going all out in the battle. Even with her Semblance as added security, she didn’t want to devote too much energy into swinging her hammer around, even if that would be more effective. Between the two of them, she was sure they could handle these Grimm, no problem, even if she wasn’t giving her all.
Instead, Nora kept her distance and took aim with her grenade launcher, trying to line up a good shot, but the Grimm were moving around too quickly. Each shot she took, they ducked out of the way, rendering the huntress in training’s attacks ineffective.
Ren noticed Nora’s change in strategy and tried to assist her. He continued to nimbly dodge around the Beowolves’ attacks as much as possible. He struck them with his open palms and aura, trying to push them into the path of the projectiles. Even so, there was only so much he could do against all three of the remaining Grimm.
Soon, Ren was caught off guard and knocked to the ground by one of the creature’s swinging claws. He skidded to a halt near his teammate with a grunt.
It was then that Nora realized just how dangerous this situation really was. Now was not the time for messing around. One of them could get seriously hurt.
Steeling her nerves, Nora swung Magnhild out and switched it into its hammer form. She focused her energy into her arms and planted her feet, waiting as the Beowolves charged in. Once the creatures were within reach, Nora twisted in a wide swing and caught all three of the wolves with her hammer, sending them flying against a tree with a heavy impact. They fell to the ground and didn’t get up.
Once it was clear the threat was gone and the adrenaline wore off, Nora realized something. While she got rid of the Grimm, focusing that energy into her arms required her to take it away from somewhere else.
Nora was far past her limit, and her bladder wasn’t about to pass up this opportunity. She felt a small trickle begin to flow out into her panties. She twisted her legs together and shoved her hands beneath her skirt, trying her best to do anything to stem the flow, but her muscles were too fatigued from holding for so long. There was no stopping it this time.
Ren stood up and dusted himself off, “Good work, Nora.” He commented, turning to his partner only to be met with the sight of her body contorted in agony as she fought her last, losing battle for control.
“Ren, it’s happening!” She shouted frantically.
“What?” He asked in confusion.
“I’m tinkling!”
Nora’s legs grew weak and she fell to her knees, legs splayed to the side. As she did this, the flood gates completely burst open and the stream grew much heavier.
Thinking quickly, Nora removed her hands from between her legs and lifted up her skirt, revealing her pink, lacy panties and the dark patch around her crotch. By now, she realized there was no stopping it, so instead she decided to minimize the damage.
A hiss sounded through the air as the teammates stood in stunned silence at what was occurring. The stream grew even louder and the spot on her panties grew even larger and darker. Within seconds, her panties could contain no more. The urine began spilling out from the sides, winding a path down her thighs and pooling on the ground around her knees, creating a yellow puddle below her.
After about a minute of this, a new sensation filled Nora. She let out a moan of pleasure. Sure, it was kind of embarrassing to wet herself, but she couldn’t deny that the relief felt amazing. It felt warm, relaxing… and a little bit tingly. Again, this was something she might need to investigate further when she got back to the Academy.
Another minute and a half went by with Nora washed away in the sheer pleasure of finally letting it all go. Finally, the stream died down and the hissing subsided.
Nora sighed again and stood up, a few drops still falling from her now drenched panties. She looked around, blushing slightly as she realized just what had happened.
“Feeling better?” Ren asked flatly from his new position sitting against a tree.
“Oh, so much better!” Nora commented happily.
Nora smoothed her dress back into place. As she did this, she grabbed the sides of her panties and carefully slid them off from under her skirt. She stepped out of them, being sure to avoid touching the puddle on the ground.
“Nora! What are you doing?” Her teammate shouted, shocked.
“What? It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve gone commando.” She said, wringing out her panties before balling them up. “And I can’t just go walking around with wet underwear on.”
“Are you sure it won’t be a problem walking around so… bare?”
“Nah.” She responded, slipping her soaked panties into a pouch on her back. “This skirt is designed for combat, it’s not like it’s going to go flying up or anything.”
“Wait!” Nora shouted, suddenly, “Bare… bare… bear…” She repeated to herself. Then, a lightbulb went off in her head.
“Bear! I should ride an Ursa! That would be perfect! It would be big enough to ride and tough enough that it won’t pass out.”
“Seriously?”
“Absolutely! Come on, let’s go find one!” Nora shouted, taking off and sprinting deeper into the forest.
“Wait, Nora!” Ren called out, chasing after her. |
Man, life has really bad timing. I had a draft of this story ready for so long, but wasn't able to actually finish it until now.
Well, anyway, the wait is over! I present the final, climactic chapter of the Emerald Forest.
I think at points my mind kind of... wandered while I wrote, but I think that turned out for the better.
So, without further ado; I present to you the story of Blake and Yang's trial:
____________________________
The leaves rustled, swords and claws clashed, and bellowing roars mixed with explosive outbursts as the Emerald Forest was plunged into chaos. The initiates of Beacon Academy were in the middle of their first test which would set the trajectory for their entire time at the Academy and beyond. Today was the day that these young Huntsmen would prove themselves and earn their place in the world.
Among those promising initiates was the faunus, Blake Belladonna. Nimbly, the young huntress ran through the forest, stealthily maneuvering to avoid attracting unwanted attention- from Grimm or the other students. This was the moment; the beginning of a journey for which Blake had trained for years to earn. However, that was not where her mind was focused right now.
With all the excitement of getting adjusted to Beacon, not to mention all the people around, it was hard for Blake to get to sleep the night before. Consequently, it was nearly impossible for her to wake up that morning. This caused her to be in a serious hurry to get ready and get to the cliffs before the test began. She was so nearly late that she wound up far in the back of the line-up on the cliffs. So far back, in fact, that she could barely even see Ozpin as he delivered their instructions.
In her hurry, Blake barely had enough time to eat breakfast, and she had to skip certain other parts of her morning ritual. Unfortunately, it was now becoming apparent that it was a mistake to skip certain parts.
Right now, Blake needed to pee. Quite badly. It was hardly the worst she’d needed the bathroom in her life, but she knew it would prove to be a distraction which she could not afford in such dangerous territory as the Grimm infested forest.
As such, the young huntress tried her best to avoid the attention of monsters or students until she could take care of her need. She quickly moved through the forest, trying to find a nice, secluded spot to go.
In her time in the White Fang, Blake was not always afforded such modern luxuries as indoor plumbing. She was quite familiar with using the bathroom outdoors. However, she didn’t want to be caught off guard while doing it. It wouldn’t be ideal to have to try and fight any Grimm while she was in the middle of answering nature’s call. And if another student stumbled upon her… she didn’t even want to consider it. That was probably one of the worst first impressions Blake could think of.
After a few minutes of searching, Blake found an area that appeared to be relatively secluded from the other students. It was further than most of them should have landed, so she figured few would be out this way.
Blake found a nice spot surrounded by bushes and trees that was just large enough for her to squat down and avoid any wandering eyes. The task at hand seemed simple enough: get her hiding spot, take care of business, then be on her way to find her partner and finish the test. It was a good enough plan, but things never could be that easy.
Blake calmly walked over to the bushes, taking one last look around to make sure she wasn’t seen, and began to squat down. Suddenly, she was caught off guard as the sound of multiple blasts from a nearby weapon echoed through the area. Shortly after, the faunus heard the roar of an Ursa.
She listened for a few moments, but the fight showed no signs of stopping. It seemed like someone was in trouble.
Blake sighed. She couldn’t leave someone on their own to be beaten down- or worse- by a bunch of Grimm. Her pee would have to wait. For now, someone needed her help.
The faunus ran toward the origin of the sound, drawing her weapon in preparation for a fight.
When Blake got there, she saw another huntress with long blonde hair facing down two Ursi. It seemed as though Blake’s worries were unfounded, though, as the girl was beating one of the bears quite handily on her own. Soon enough, one of the Ursa was sent flying through a nearby tree.
Even still, it looked like this girl severely underestimated the strength of the monsters she was fighting.
Blake saw the girl square up with the other Ursa and angrily challenge it. That’s when Blake noticed her positioning. She was directly behind the Grimm while its focus was completely turned toward the fiery girl.
Seizing her opportunity, Blake threw her sword directly into the spine of the Grimm. Her expertly aimed shot hit its mark. The bear paused, then fell forward, beginning to deteriorate within seconds.
Blake pulled on the ribbon attached to her sword to bring it back to her, then looked up. She noticed that the other girl was looking at her. Their eyes locked together. It was then that Blake remembered the rules of this test. This meant that this girl was now going to be Blake’s teammate from here on out.
She smiled. Blake could certainly think of worse candidates to team with. This girl seemed like a capable fighter, and- from what Blake had seen- fairly nice and reasonable, if a bit boisterous. It was definitely better than teaming with the Schnee heiress, or that bubbly orange-haired girl.
However, this did present a problem. Blake felt a dull throb from her abdomen and realized she had again been denied a chance to relieve herself. She figured it would leave a pretty bad impression to excuse herself to pee literally the minute after meeting her new teammate. This meant Blake would have to wait a little longer for relief. It would be difficult, but at least she had someone to watch her back now.
“I could have taken it, you know.” Yang Xiao Long said, breaking the silence between the two girls.
“I’m sure you could.” Blake responded flatly, sheathing her sword, “I just figured it would be best not to waste the energy, since I had a good shot.”
“Yeah, yeah.” The blonde haired girl dismissed playfully. “Anyway, I’m Yang.”
“I know, we’ve met…”
“Oh, yeah.” Yang said in sudden realization, “Blake, right?” She asked, pointing at the dark-haired girl.
“Yes.”
“Whelp, looks like we’re together now!” Yang exclaimed happily, giving Blake a rough pat on the back.
It seemed Yang didn’t quite know her own strength. The pat on the back knocked Blake off balance, causing her to stumble forward and nearly fall over. This sudden jolt evoked another wave of pain from her bladder as her delicate equilibrium was thrown off. Blake winced and gave a sharp inhale.
“Oops, sorry.” Yang said, seeming concerned for her new teammate.
“Oh, no, it’s fine. I’m alright, just didn’t expect that.” Blake quickly replied, trying to cover up her real problem.
“So, any idea where we’re supposed to be going? They seemed kind of vague on that.”
“I’m not sure, but I saw something that looked kind of strange earlier. We could start there.”
“Great! Let’s go.” Yang responded, giving an enthusiastic thumbs up.
The newly formed team took off in the direction of the sight they hoped was their destination. Along the way, Yang tried to make small talk to get to know her new teammate, but Blake was giving her precious little for her efforts.
Blake was normally not the most talkative of individuals, but she was being even worse about it than usual. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk to Yang, but her mind was currently occupied with much more pressing issues.
The dark-haired girl was feeling a constant, throbbing pressure from her bladder. Blake kept her hands resting on her stomach, hoping that would help to alleviate her discomfort even a little.
The whole time they were walking, Blake was trying to assess the situation and calculate the appropriate response. It might reflect poorly on her if she asked them to stop for a bathroom break too quickly. Maybe a half hour would be an appropriate buffer? Or maybe she should wait for an hour. That’s certainly enough time for anyone to need a break under normal circumstances, right?
This train of though was interrupted by a sudden, unexpected question from her teammate.
“Hey, you think we can stop for a second? I gotta take a leak.”
Blake was stunned by the blonde huntress’s forwardness. She was also relieved to hear that question.
“Sure.” Blake responded, trying not to sound too eager, “I could probably stand to go, too.”
“Cool, so do you just want to go together? Here seems like a good enough spot.” Yang asked, without the slightest hint of shame.
“What?” Blake called back in shock, her cheeks growing red.
“I figured it would be faster. My sister and I used to do it all the time.”
“Um…” Blake struggled to find her words. This had taken her more off guard than anything. “I think it would be best if we weren’t both incapacitated at the same time. In a place this dangerous, someone should probably stand guard.”
“Oh, okay. That makes sense. Well, you think you can wait here? I’ll be really quick.”
Blake didn’t want to say yes. She wanted to beg Yang to wait so she could get the sweet relief she had been denied for too long. But that didn’t seem right; Yang was the one who asked to stop, after all. Besides, Blake had no idea how back of a situation the other girl was in. Yang may have been even worse off than she was.
“Yeah, no problem.” Blake finally responded.
She watched as Yang turned around and reached under the bottom of her jacket and grabbed the side of her shorts. Blake bit her lip in anticipation. ‘Just a little longer.’ she thought.
Just then, the girls were caught by surprise by a loud roar somewhere nearby. They froze in place and looked around.
“That sounded like an Ursa.” Blake commented, “And it sounded close.”
“Oh, yeah?” Yang asked, removing her hands from her shorts and cracking her knuckles, “Looking for a round two?”
“I wouldn’t suggest it.” Blake advised, “We don’t know how long we’re going to be out here and there are Grimm all over- some very powerful ones, too. We should conserve our energy as much as possible and only fight when we have to.”
“So what do you suggest we do?” Yang asked, hesitantly.
“As much as I hate to say it, we should probably keep moving and see if we can get away from the Grimm rather than engaging it.”
Yang groaned as she heard this, to which Blake responded, “I know. I really want to stop, too. But we can’t risk another dangerous fight in our current condition. Especially when we don’t know how close we are to our goal.”
“Come on!” Yang responded, impatiently, “Can’t I just beat it up so we can pee?”
“We don’t know how many of them there are. Grimm don’t always travel alone. Do you really think you can take another group of them right now?”
Yang let out a small groan, “You’re right. But it I have to change my pants because of this, I’m personally killing every Ursa in the forest.”
“Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that. Come on, let’s keep moving.”
Both the girls reluctantly turned away and departed toward their dubiously defined destination. Blake grit her teeth as yet another opportunity to empty her bladder was denied her.
____________________________
This was bad. Like, really bad. Yang really needed to pee. Like, really bad. She could feel her bladder pushing against the spandex of her shorts. She crossed her arms, trying to appear casual, but she could feel goose bumps starting to form.
Having her sister at Beacon was great, but Ruby could sometimes be a hassle. This morning was a particularly noteworthy example. She had to help Ruby wake up, get ready, and get to the testing grounds, all the while also calming her anxiety. This meant Yang didn’t have time to take care of all of her own needs.
Because of this, Yang desperately needed that bathroom break earlier. She had decided it would be better to meet her teammate first, then ask to take a break, rather than literally being caught with her pants down. Still, she was already bursting by the time she encountered Blake, and the passage of time was only making that worse.
Now, she had to hold it for who knows how much longer. She couldn’t deny that Blake had a point. Yang wasn’t totally sure she’d be able to hold it through another fight like the first one. But she kind of regretted not taking the risk.
Of course, this wouldn’t be nearly as bad if she had a teammate she could at least talk to. Yang knew from experience that a good conversation could help take the focus off the lakebed she was trying to contain in her abdomen. Unfortunately, she wasn’t getting that from Blake.
Still, she decided to try striking up a conversation one more time. She figured Blake could use a distraction, too. After all, she said she needed to go as well.
“So, do you have any family?” Yang broke the silence.
“Shh.” Blake hushed sharply, “I’m trying to listen for any signs of Grimm. We don’t want to be caught off guard, especially now.”
Yang looked over at her teammate. The positioning of Blake’s arms told the entire story. Her right arm was held straight down; hand rubbing against her thigh, and her left arm was crossed over her chest, gripping her right elbow.
“Come on, I’ve told you plenty about me, but I don’t really know anything about you.” Yang persisted, ignoring the warning, “Like I don’t even know what combat school you went to.”
Blake was silent for a little while, and Yang was about to give up, before she got a response, “I trained outside of the Kingdoms.”
“Oh, wow, that’s crazy.”
“Yeah, you have to learn to fight in order to survive out there.”
“So,” Yang began, a smile creeping across her face as a new thought entered her mind, “Any cute boys in your life?”
“No, not really…” Blake said, her voice falling.
“Don’t be so glum, there’s plenty of students at Beacon, and you’re pretty cute. I’m sure you can find someone.”
“Thanks…” Blake said slowly, “I’m not really worried about that, though.”
“Oh, I’m sure you’re not. You’ve got that whole mysterious girl thing going for you. I’m sure you could get anyone you wanted.”
“Not what I meant…” Blake hesitated, “What about you?”
“What?” Yang asked, shocked she actually got a question out of the enigma in black, “No, not really. I’ve got my eye on a few people, but I want some time to really feel out my prospects first, you know?”
There was a pause, followed by a commotion somewhere in the distance. Blake stopped and put her arm out to signal Yang to stop as well.
“What’s up?” Yang asked.
“Sounds like another group has run into some trouble. It sounds like a serious fight.”
“Wow, you have really good ears.” Yang commented, “But that’s really far away, it’s not like we can help.”
“Yes, but it means more Grimm might start to get attracted over there and leave us alone.”
“Really?” Yang asked, more excitement in her voice than she intended. She could feel the walls of her dam struggling not to burst at the mere prospect of getting a chance to let go.
Blake looked around for a moment, “I think we should keep moving a little longer. It looks like that stirred up some activity.”
“Okay.” Yang reluctantly agreed.
The duo walked for a few more minutes and the pressure in Yang’s bladder continued to ramp up. She rubbed her thighs to try and distract from the pain. She was pretty sure this was a legitimate form of torture.
Finally, after just a few more steps, Yang cupped her gloved hands over her bulging bladder and stopped walking.
“Okay, seriously, if we don’t stop soon, I’m going to explode.”
“It seems we’ve gotten far enough away.” Blake strained out in response.
“Great so why don’t you stand g-“ Yang turned around to observe her teammate’s posture.
Blake was bent forward, her right hand now buried deep in her crotch and her knees practically knocking together. The training huntress was visibly trembling under the strain of keeping her bodily functions under control.
Yang felt a lot of sympathy for her partner. She remembered seeing her younger sister in similar situations, and something about that triggered an instinct in her. As much as she needed to pee, it was clear that Blake had it worse.
“Why don’t you go ahead and go? I’ll wait here.”
“R-really?” Blake stuttered, her eyes practically watering.
“Sure.” Yang responded with a smile, “Just be quick about it!”
Blake nodded and rushed toward the nearby bushes. Her hand was planted firmly between her legs, grasping on tight, as the girl took short, quick steps.
Yang leaned up against a tree and crossed her legs tightly, taking a deep breath as she waited for her turn to release all of her pent-up liquids.
____________________________
Blake could feel her face growing hotter. She was so close to being able to let it all out, all she had to do was keep control for a few more feet. With each step, that was beginning to feel more and more like an impossible task.
She could feel the flood coming on. A few small muscles was all that stood between Blake and an embarrassing accident, and a few inches of fabric was all that stood between her and the sweetest of all relief.
The faunus managed to waddle her way through the bushes and into place. All that was left now was to get her clothes out of the way and get into position. She could feel the river inside her pounding against her floodgates in anticipation.
Slowly, carefully, Blake removed her hand from between her legs and grabbed the sides of her shorts. She spread her legs and bent her knees slightly. Right as she was in position, Blake felt a small stream begin to leak out into her panties. She panicked, not wanting to lose the battle when she was so close to the end. Blake quickly looked around, hardly even able to take in the world around her through her blurred vision. She then pulled down her shorts and panties and squatted the rest of the way.
By the time Blake was in position, a few drops were already falling to the ground. However, that was all that was coming out. Maybe it was the pressure of having another desperate girl waiting, maybe it was the new environment, or maybe it was because she held it for too long, but nothing was coming out. Blake had to really concentrate to try and let it all out.
After a moment, a small trickle began to pour onto the ground, and Blake felt some relief. But this was cut short as a feeling of terror ran through her.
She caught a vicious sound from nearby. Faint at first, but it grew louder and louder, rapidly approaching her. In seconds, a monstrous roar echoed as a large Ursa burst through the bushes, charging straight toward the peeing huntress.
Blake was caught by surprise, but her instincts took over in that moment. She used her Semblance to create an illusion of herself and jumped back to dodge out of the way of the Grimm’s attack.
Blake quickly pulled her pants back up and took half a second to regain her composure. The adrenaline rush gave Blake the energy she needed to cut off the flow, aside from a few stray drops.
The faunus knew there was no way she could fight this monster alone in her current state. But she figured maybe between her and Yang, they could take this monster down without both wetting their pants.
As the bear recovered from its missed swing, it turned its attention to the real Blake. She turned around and ran back toward where she had left Yang.
“Wow that was fast.” Yang commented, as Blake emerged from the bushes.
“I didn’t go! An Ursa found me!” Blake frantically explained.
At that moment, the aforementioned creature tore through the bushes, now charging at both the Beacon Academy initiates.
“No worries,” Yang said, knocking her gauntlets together to prepare for a fight, “You take care of yourself, I’ll take care of this guy.”
Blake barely had time to process what she was just told as she charged past her teammate and into another set of nearby bushes.
By the time Blake was out of sight, she was also out of breath, her pulse still pounding from the sudden surprise. More importantly, her bladder was bursting. She could feel another steady stream of pee leaking out into her panties.
Blake grabbed for the sides of her shorts in a panic, trying to get them out of the way before more damage was done. However, before Blake could even spread her legs, the flood started. The small leak had now grown into a powerful stream pouring directly into her pants.
The faunus clamped her thighs together to try and stem the flow, but this only served to upset her balance. Blake was forced to brace herself against a tree to keep from falling, her free hand still trying in vain to pull her pants and panties out of the way.
Within moments, the fabric of Blake’s white shorts was darkened. She could feel the warm liquid spilling out of her pants and soaking into her stockings, the uncomfortable sensation slowly working its way down her legs.
At this point, Blake was forced to accept the reality of the situation. She crouched down, no longer attempting to pull her pants down, and allowed her system to empty itself.
She couldn’t deny that it felt good to finally let it all go after holding on for so long. The release of pressure was amazing. Just as Blake was about to let out a sigh, she felt a drop wind its way down her now drenched stockings, down the side of her foot, and into her shoe. She felt her face turn an even deeper shade of red and buried her head in her hands, mortified at what was happening.
‘Great, one test into Beacon Academy and I’m already peeing my pants.’ Blake thought. This could not be a good omen for things to come. One thing was certain, Blake could not let it slip that she was a faunus to anyone after this, not even to Yang. The jokes about not being housebroken would never stop.
Blake sat there for another minute as her bladder forced out everything that was left. Even as the final few drops dripped to the ground, Blake stayed still, completely frozen in place by the shock and horror of what had just happened.
After a moment of silence, a breeze came along that chilled the young huntress and snapped her back to reality. She remembered Yang and how she left her: alone, desperate, and fighting an Ursa. Blake couldn’t hear anything now. She hoped that was a good sign.
Blake stood up and looked herself over. Her white shorts were totally soaked through. Thankfully, they were thick enough to not be totally see-through, but her dark purple panties were still visible in some of the more water damaged parts. The inside of her stockings were also wet, but the black and purple fade made it much more difficult to see.
She took a step and felt the liquid in her shoes squish around her feet. Blake could feel her clothes sticking to her, the once warm liquid now cooling her as it met the air.
Blake slowly walked back to the path to meet Yang. She stared at the ground in utter humiliation, afraid of what her new partner would say after seeing her in this state of affairs.
____________________________
Yang was really annoyed with this situation. Sure, it wasn’t Blake’s fault, she could never have known. Still, if they were going to have to fight the Ursa anyway, why didn’t they just go ahead and fight it when they stopped the first time. It would have saved them another hour of torment.
But this was the situation now, no sense dwelling on what could have been. And the situation now was that there was a large bear standing in front of the bursting young huntress.
“Bring it on!” Yang yelled, preparing her gauntlets for a fight.
The Ursa swung, but Yang ducked out of the way. She managed to land a glancing blow, which the Grimm shrugged off before swinging again.
Yang was nowhere near her peak form for this fight, and it showed. Normally one Grimm, even one this big, would be something she could take down with a few good hits. But right now, she couldn’t seem to land any good hits.
She kept dodging the monster’s lumbering attacks, but she knew she had to find an opening and finish this before the fight dragged on.
After ducking another large swing, Yang went in for a jab on what she thought was an opening. Instead, the Ursa shifted out of the way and caught Yang off guard with a huge swipe of its claws.
Yang slid back, but managed to stay standing and squared up with the beast. She had taken much worse hits before, but it wasn’t her physical strength that was in question.
As she recovered from the hit, Yang felt a contraction in her bladder as a wetness began spreading in her underwear. The leak stopped after only a moment, but this was a clear warning that Yang was at her limit, and that there’d be trouble if she didn’t end this fight soon.
“That is it!” Yang shouted as her aura exploded from her. She was sick of messing around, sick of this fight, and sick of holding her pee, and all that rage was about to be unleashed on this one unsuspecting monster.
Yang charged at the Ursa, using her left hand to blast its paw out of the way before delivering a powerful right to the bear’s armored head, coupled with a blast from her gauntlet. The beast went flying back, crashing through a tree behind it and falling out of sight.
Yang breathed heavily and watched the tree line for a moment as she calmed down.
That was when a sudden realization hit her. When her aura burst out of her, something else also burst. Yang noticed that a small, but persistent, leak was soaking into her panties. She knew this was a warning sign that she was about to pee, whether she was ready or not. She panicked slightly as she felt a few trickles winding their way around her thighs.
Without looking around, out in the open, Yang spread her legs, lifted her jacket, and grabbed the sides of her shorts. In one fluid motion, Yang yanked down her shorts and panties and squatted down.
This was not a second too soon. The moment Yang’s clothes were out of the way, her floodgates burst open and a strong flow of liquid forced its way out.
The blonde huntress sighed as a hissing sound filled the air, couple with the loud pattering of her pee hitting the dirt with incredible force.
For the first few seconds, it didn’t even feel good. Her bladder was too full. It just hurt to feel it shrinking back down to normal size.
Yang looked down to make sure that her clothes and shoes were out of the splash zone. A quick glance reassured her that she was in a good position, but she also noticed something else. Yang saw exactly how strong her stream was as it hit the ground. This was probably the strongest pee she had ever had in her life.
Just after that thought hit her, Yang shivered and goose bumps covered her body. She tilted her head back and let out a deep sight that came out more like a pleasurable moan. It had begun to feel good.
No, “good” was an understatement. It felt amazing. Almost orgasmic. It was a feeling unlike anything she’d experienced before. That said, Yang was pretty sure it wasn’t worth going through that ordeal ever again, no matter how good it felt.
Yang was frozen there, intermittently letting out a few more moans as the occasional shiver overtook her again. After more than a minute, the powerful stream slowed more and more until it was nothing but a steady drip.
Once she was done, Yang stood up, shook herself off, and pulled up her pants.
She looked down and noticed- aside from the impressively huge puddle- that there were a few yellowed streaks on her thighs. Yang tried to wipe them off with the back of her wrist.
Yang gave one last satisfied sigh and turned around, only to be met with Blake, who was staring at the ground, her face redder than Ruby’s cape.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” Yang shouted, believing Blake was embarrassed about walking in on her taking a leak, “I didn’t mean to, but I just had to go so bad, I couldn’t hold it anymore…”
Yang paused when she realized Blake wasn’t even looking at her. She then looked Blake over and saw the telltale signs. She noticed the dark patch on Blake’s shorts- unable to help that she also noticed Blake’s panties through the fabric- as well as on her stockings.
“Oh, Blake…” She said sympathetically.
____________________________
There was no horror as truly abstract and terrifying as that which Blake was experiencing right now. She had only barely met this girl- who she had to admit was pretty cool- and she had just wet herself. She was standing there, in the middle of the Emerald Forest, a student at one of the most prestigious Huntsmen academies in the world, in wet pants.
“I’m so sorry!” Blake shouted, hearing Yang acknowledge her, “I didn’t mean to. This isn’t a normal thing. Please believe me!” She begged. She was filled with the dismal feeling that the other girl would never understand what really happened.
Blake could feel tears welling up in her eyes, so she shut them tight and turned away.
That’s when the wet huntress felt something unexpected. There was something heavily resting on her shoulders, and a warm presence in front of her.
“Oh, Blake,” Yang reiterated, “It’s okay. Accidents happen. I mean, I didn’t make it out of this completely dry, either.”
Blake then opened her eyes and looked at the face of her partner. Where she expected to see disappointment or derision, she instead saw a warm, patient smile. It was the most strangely reassuring thing Blake had seen in her life. Something about that look made her immediately feel much better.
Blake almost burst into tears again, but this time of joy. She buried her face in Yang’s chest. Blake then felt her partner’s arms wrap around her in a strong embrace.
This lasted for just a second before Yang let go and pulled back.
“Really, don’t worry. I mean, I had to carry around a spare pair of pants for my sister until she was, like, thirteen.” Yang said in a much lighter tone.
Blake looked up just in time to see Yang cover her mouth, eyes wide with realization.
“But don’t tell her I said that, okay?”
“No worries.” Blake said quietly, “Just don’t tell anyone about this and we’re even.”
“Believe me; I’m in no hurry to share this story.”
Blake took a deep breath and looked herself over again. She was a mess. Unfortunately, she couldn’t really do anything about it. She didn’t have a change of clothes out here, and she couldn’t exactly go running around with nothing on below the belt.
“I really hope this dries before we see anyone else.” Blake commented, trying to lighten the mood.
“It dries faster than you think. Especially if you stay in the sunlight.”
“Well, we should probably get going.”
“Right.” Yang said, enthusiastically.
“Oh, hey.” Yang spoke up as the girls turned to resume their journey, “Cute panties, by the way.” She added with a goofy smile and a wink.
Blake glared at her, but the smile on her face betrayed the fact that she wasn’t entirely serious. One thing was certain: this was bound to be an interesting year. |
Hello! Faust here! it has been a long time since Faust's last post, but Faust has been busy with life lately.
Things have changed a lot over the time period that Faust has been gone, and the world has expanded greatly......
So, Faust figures he'll ease everyone into it! With a few new faces.......
Faust hopes you enjoy! ^_^
=====================================================================================================================
Faust's Family Featurette
Knock knock knockIt had been a routine morning for Faust. Sun was shining through the windows, his apartment was clean, save for a few discarded soda cans beside his desk. Faust had a particularly...notty picture of a certain blonde haired girl on his computer...But, he paid it no mind.
Knock knock knock
"Ah, I'm coming." Faust's voice called as the person outside knocked once more, walking towards the door. The only people that usually came around this early were door-to-door salesmen, and religious recruiters.'I'll just listen to what they have to say, and politely refute them. he thought to himself, sliding open a lock, and opening his door. What awaited him was neither a salesman, or a pastor....But instead..
"Hiya! You're...Faustus Necromonium, right?"It was a girl. One that was about a head shorter than him, with short violet hair. Two hairclips that resembled a direction pad decorated her hair, and she was wearing a white jacket that stopped just shy of her hips. Under that, he could make out a purple skirt that barely touched at her outer thighs."Hell-o? Are you Faustus Necromonium, or do I need to check another house?" the girl called, purple orbs glancing up at him as she spoke. "I've already been to six, and I'd really like to find him before.."
"No, No, you're right here." Faust stammered quickly, having been staring a bit more than intended. "I mean, I'm right....Yeah. I'm Faust. Sorry about that."
"Ah! Finally!" the girl called, before tackling into him, arms wrapping around him in a vicegrip that threatened to cave in his lungs. "I've been looking all over for you! My mom said you lived in the area, but I didn't think i'd find you so easy, Cuz." Faust blinked a bit, wincing from the agony of affection.
"C..cuz?" he groaned out, trying to gently ease the girl off of him.
"Oh, right." the girl called, letting him go for a much needed breath of air, before spinning around. "I'm Juuni. Juuni Neptunia. Or, Nep if you prefer. Or Nep-Nep, or..."
"Faust." He stated lightly, holding his hand out a bit. "Call me Faust, Nep."
"Faust, then!" Juuni mused, lightly bouncing on her heels. "Your Mom and my mom were sisters! Well..still are...and all. Just...you know. So, that makes us first cousins! Hence, why I called you 'Cuz'. Cause you're my cuz, Cuz."
"Right." Faust replied lightly, glancing the girl over. She seemed to have a habit of...motor-mouthing. Though, there was something oddly endearing about her. 'No idea Mom had a sister. Though...'
"Thaaaat being said....Mind if I come in?" Juuni asked, glancing to the sides of the door. "I umm...I need to wash my hands. Been shaking too many strangers hands, and...you know. Germs and all that."
"Hm? Oh, sure." Faust stated, opening the door. The girl started into his apartment eagerly...And as he turned to move back in, he caught full view of the picture on his screen. A flush rose to his face when he realized he hadn't clicked out of the image, and he quickly started to pace over to his computer.
"A..Ah? What's wrong?" Juuni asked back, watching as he backed up over his monitor.
"O..Oh, nothing." Faust lied quickly, his hands moving to grip at his mouse. "Just..figured you didn't wanna see this...Um....Movie I was watching."A small chuckle escaped the girl's lips at this, as she moved over, lightly poking his nose with a finger.
"We're family, ya know?" she stated with a chuckle. "S'not gonna matter if I see some of your porn, cuz. It's just how boys are, after all."
"It's not porn!" Faust protested, as Juuni shook her head, walking on.
"Suuuuuuuuuure it's not." she stated, walking into the bathroom with a few stiff steps. "Well, so long as you don't have any naughty thoughts about
me, it should be fine."The door was shut before he could defend his case anymore, and he quickly spun around to close the images he was looking at. Anything that he figured could be even remotely damning was quickly exited out of, as he moved to pick up the soda cans next to his desk.
'That was too close.' he thought, depositing the cans...before a thought found it's way to his head.'Wait, why would she close the door if she was just washing her hands?' he thought, before shaking his head, trying to purge it just as quickly as it came. 'No...No, it's fine. She's..probably just weird like that.'
The sounds of flushing filled the halls at this, as the door was opened once more, and he heard her calling out in relief.
"Whew....That was close." Juuni mused, stretching a bit. "An extra DP this morning was definitely not the best idea."
Faust opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it as he pushed the thought out of his mind.'Shut up...quit while you're behind.' he told himself, before the girl walked over to him, glancing up."So, we just kinda sorta moved into town the other day, and I don't know my way around at all." Juuni started, looking up at his uneasy face. "If you could...It'd be super nice if the bestest cousin of all time could show me around...Plz?" She made an absurd pouty face as she placed her request, forcing Faust to avert his eyes.
"Yeah...Yeah sure." he quickly retorted, trying to hide his flush. "It's Sunday, so I'm free. I can show you around town."
"Yay! Thanks cuz!" the girl called, glomping onto him once more, before starting to tug on his arm. "C'mon C'mon C'mon, let's go!"
"W..wait, let me get ready real quick at least!!!"=========================================================================================="And over there, is the Library. We've got one at school, but this one's got a bunch of other things we could read. Books, Manga, manuals.." Faust explained, gesturing over a hill at a tall building.
"Oooh, I wonder if they have that manga about the guy who wins fights with a single hit!" Juuni piped back, smirking. "One-hit man, or something like that..yeah?"
"They might." Faust replied with an easier smile, looking around. The two had been walking around the neighborhood for a while now, from the Park, to outside school grounds, to some of the big-chain convienence stores. A low growl escaped his stomach at this, as he looked around once more.
"Ah...I'm getting hungryyyy!" Juuni moaned, glancing around. "Is there a place we can get some food around here? I'm starved!""I was just thinking the same thing." Faust replied with a small chuckle, glancing around. "We could get something at the Wcdonalds, if you want."
"Yes, Please!" Juuni mused back, prompting the two to move over to it. A place that specialized in all of the generals. Burgers, Fries, and other fatty foods.
"So, what would you like?" Faust asked Juuni, lightly. "I've got a bit of money, so Order whatever you like."
"Sure thing Broth..." Juuni started, before cupping her hands over her mouth. "I..I mean..Cuz."Faust raised an eyebrow at this, before looking over at the person behind the counter. A familiar head of pink, with similar eyes glancing back.
"Ah! Faust!" Yuno's voice mused, waving eagerly as she saw him. "Yuno didn't expect you to swing by!"
"Ah, hey Yuno." Faust replied, lightly. "Didn't know you worked here." Eyes glanced over the girl's figure, a black shirt accentuating her body, while some jeans hugged her sides neatly. A nametag was placed in a precarious place to be caught looking..Though, he didn't need it to know her.
"Yuno just got the job a few days ago." she piped back, glancing over to see the purple haired girl. "And...Who is this?"
"Ah..! I'm Neptunia...Juuni Neptunia!" Juuni replied, with a small wave. "Faust here's my cousin. We just kinda moved into town, and he was showing us around."
"Ah...Is that so?" Yuno mused back, glancing over her for a few moments, before smiling sweetly back at him. "Yuno didn't know you had Family. It's nice to meet you, Neppy."
"Thanks!" Juuni called with a small smile, missing a small flicker in the girl's eyes.
"So...What can Yuno do for you two today?" the pinkette called, tapping at a computer. "Yuno's been on register for hours, but she can help you two before she takes her break."
Faust had to stifle some particularly naughty thoughts at the girl's mention of a lack of breaks...And put on his best poker face."I'll just take a number 1." he answered, gesturing up at the menu. A simple burger, fries, and a soda. "What about you, Nep?"
"Ah..! I'll take a seven! With a large drink!" the girl piped up quickly, pointing.
"Yuno sees.." the pinkette replied, typing them up...And then discreetly dancing her fingers over a few buttons. The drawer opened, and shut immediately, without giving Faust the chance to even pull out his wallet.
"Um...How much is it?" Faust asked quietly, as Yuno glanced around.
"Yuno'll cover it." she called with a wink, giving a small wave. "Yuno'll prepare it..So, just go find a seat, okies?"Faust paused, but nodded quietly, smiling.
"Sure. Thanks, Yuno." he replied, walking around the restuarant. Juuni paced alongside him, leaning over to whisper.
"She likes you, doesn't she?" She teased, elbowing him slightly in the side. "Pinkie there."
"Maybe.." Faust replied innocently, quickly taking a seat at a booth. "She pays for my food a lot, and cooks for me."
"You liiike her, don't you?" Juuni replied, gently poking him as she sat across from him. "You liiiiiike her."
"Maybe.." Faust retorted in the same tone, but with a mischievious wink, prompting the girl to smirk.
"You liiiiike her. You waaaaaaant her." Juuni mused, starting to reach over the table. "Faust and Yuno, Sittin in a tree. K-I-S-S-...""Yuno can see your underwear, Neppy." the pink haired girl mused flatly, holding two trays of food. The purple haired girl yipped at this, hands moving to tug down her skirt as her face flushed redder than the ketchup.
"S..Shush." Juuni stammered, her gaze averting. "D..Don't look at something like that."
"Heheheh..Yuno was kidding." the pinkette called, setting down the food, and drinks. "Though, Neppy needs to be careful when wearing a skirt in public. Otherwise, people might get an unintended view."
"I didn't see anything." Faust interjected with a small chuckle, prompting a glare from the purple-haired girl.
"Hush you.." She pouted, averting her gaze. "We're related...So, You shouldn't be looking anyways."Faust nodded a bit, starting to put a fry in his mouth, as the pinkette leaned back.
"Well, Yuno's gonna go take her break now." she mused, a small tremble in her step as she moved away. "Yuno hopes you both enjoy your meals!"
"We will, thanks." Faust replied with a wave, as the girl quickly paced towards the restrooms. He had to suppress another flush that rose to his lips, as his embarrassed cousin examined the quality of the tile floor. A few quiet moments passed, before one of them had to break the silence."You..really didn't see anything, right?" Juuni replied meekly, prompting a quiet smile from Faust.
"Of course not." he replied, honestly. "Though...I think you almost called me brother, earlier." A red flush made it's way to the girl's face again, as she looked down.
"W..well..I've just." Juuni replied, now busying herself with pushing around her food. "I'veneverreallyhadabrotherbefore....And..You..Well.."
"I've never really had a sister before, either." Faust replied lightly, prompting the girl to look up. "If you really want..you can call me brother, instead of 'Cuz.' I don't mind." There was a small pause, before he looked up again. "Though..you probably should eat, before it gets cold."
"R..Right, bro..brother." Juuni replied, before starting to devour her food hungrily. With the occasional slurp from the fountain drinks, dips in ketchup and various condiments, and a few movements from refills...The two eventually finished their meal.
"Phew...that was good." Faust replied lightly, as Juuni hopped up from her seat.
"Yeah.." she replied, glancing over at the path that the pink haired girl had taken earlier. "Be right back though...I need to...wash the grease off of my hands."Faust gave a small, teasing smile...before standing up.
"I'll go wait by the door then." he mused, opting to be sweet, instead of pestering her. The two parted ways for a few moments...before Faust saw the girl walking over to the doorway with him.
"Ah? Washed them that fast?" he asked, prompting the girl to stand up a bit stiffer than usual.
"Wha..? I..I mean yeah." Juuni replied, starting to push him a bit. "W..we should get going. Like..nowish. Yeah?"Faust had enough time to look up and see a yellow sign in front of one of the bathroom doors at this, in case the girl's insistance wasn't enough to tip him off. He had to suppress a small smirk at this, moving along as the girl pushed him out of the Wcdonalds."So..where do we go now?" he asked lightly, watching the girl lightly tremble as he moved behind her.
"Somewhere! Anywhere! B..back home." the girl hurried called, her legs starting to tense up a bit. Faust could see her biting her lip, as he moved along beside her.
"Back home? We're not even done with the tour..." he mused, prompting the girl to turn around and pout at him.
"Let's...Go..Back..to your..home." she stated firmly, tears lightly welling in her eyes. Faust flinched a bit, but nodded quietly.
"Y..Yeah..let's go." he stated, flushing as the girl took several, terse steps along. They had a bit of a winding path to take...And as they slowly progressed in silence, he could see her shaking more and more....her pace slowing minute by minute.
"Juuni...Are you okay?" he eventually asked, breaking the silence with an obvious question.
"I..I'm FINE!" Juuni retorted sharply, biting her lip as her hands slid between her thighs, gripping at herself. "I just....I....Ohhh..It's never been this bad before.."
"Nep?" Faust asked lightly, as the girl let out a small whine, bouncing on her toes. "Are you.."
"I...I...I'm gonna be honest...I've....I've really gotta pee." Juuni replied hurriedly, shaking her head. "I..I don't know what's happened....I only had o...one soda.."
Faust had to avert his gaze at this, blushing deeply as she voiced her concern.
"F...Faust...Faust it's really bad.." she quickly stammered, glancing back at him with a needy, flushed face. Her hands were balled into fists, as she pressed into her skirt, whimpering.
"We..We'll be home in a few minutes.." Faust tried to assure Juuni, as the girl stomped her foot.
"Faust, I Can't hold it that long!" she borderline yelled at him, blushing. "I Have to pee in the next few seconds, or I'm going to p..P...P.."The girl whimpered, closing her eyes and trembling wildly as she fought to contain herself."
O..okay.." Faust replied meekly, glancing along the path to see an alleyway. "H..here...just..over here..And you can..."
The girl quickly barreled past him at the mention, Faust's eyes glancing down to her glistening thighs with a flush. The girl's hands quickly hooked her skirt, hoisting it up over her thighs to show off a pair of blue-striped panties that hugged her hips and rump perfectly."D..D..Don't look... Don't watch...I'm.." Juuni sobbed, as a Pssssh...Pssssh..PSSSSSSSSSHHHHHH-ing sound rang out. A small stream started to spray out between her thighs, the white material starting to quickly darken grey as a pool puddled at her feet. Despite her insistence, Faust couldn't tear his eyes away from the girl's untimely accident, clear piddle flooding down her legs. After a solid minute of release, the violet haired girl's stream died down...Even as she sniffled and whimpered."I...I...I.." the girl sniffled, starting to rub her eyes. "I...can't...can't believe.."Faust had eventually managed to tear his eyes away from the girl, as she slowly stood up, holding her skirt out to avoid saturating the front of it. "I..I..Uwahhh.."
"T..there there...It's...okay." Faust replied, moving over. "I..I don't think anyone...s..saw.."
"YOU saw!" Juuni replied quickly, pointing a finger at him...As her skirt matted to the front of her soaked waist. "And...I just..I...Ohhh..."
"It'll..be fine." Faust replied, quietly as he glanced around. "If..If we move quickly..We'll make it home, and no one will see."The girl flushed, and whimpered...before glancing away, and gesturing.
"G..Go on ahead..." she stammered, averting her gaze. "I'll..i'll catch up in a sec.."Faust wanted to say something to her, but quickly started to move along the path, stealing a quick look back at his cousin...To see her peeling down her striped panties."I..I said go ahead!" she quickly snapped, blushing. "I..Illicit skirtographer! Vulgar cousin! L-Lewd brother!"Faust quickly blushed himself, turning around to make his way towards his place hurriedly...Being joined by Juuni after a few minutes.=========================================================================================The two made their way to Faust's apartment after a few minutes, having been in complete silence, and avoiding each other's gaze the whole path. As Faust went to open the door, Juuni turned.
"Well..I should be heading home about now." the girl called, curtly.
"Oh..okay." Faust replied quietly, trying to not picture what he'd just seen. Some girl he'd learned he was related to him...And she'd just had a shameful, gusher of an accident right in front of him. It was enough to plague his mind, but he was still worried about how the girl felt.
"It...It was kind of nice." she replied back, a bit of warmth coming back into her voice. "Even with...what happened..I really enjoyed hanging out with you, Faust."Faust smiled lightly, as he turned around.
"It was really nice too, Si...Nep." he replied back to her, the girl's expression softening as well.
"We'll have to do it again, sometime. Well, maybe not exactly what happened, but like, hanging out..and not having to worry about bathroom stuffs and...Um..Well..you know what I mean."Faust did his best to suppress his flush at this, nodding.
"Yeah...We'll have to again sometime." he replied, holding out his arms for a hug.
"Y-Yeah!" she called back with a smile, reaching to wrap her arms around him..but then quickly backing up. "O..Oh...maybe sometime when I'm not...I mean, when my skirt's not...Ya'know."Faust's eyes glanced down for a moment to see the wet spot on her skirt, before averting his gaze again, and rubbing the back of his head.
"Y..Yeah. Next time." he replied, before moving over to rub her head instead. "I'll hug the stuffing out of ya, Sis."
"Not if I hug it out of you first..brother." Juuni mused back, before turning. "I'll see you later...Lecherous skirtographer."Faust smirked lightly, before turning to go back into his apartment, shutting the door as he heard his phone buzzing. He quietly moved to the desk where his phone was, picking it up and flipping it open.
"A message?" he said out loud, before pressing a button, opening it up quickly.'Hey Faust. Yuno hopes your cousin wasn't too upset about what happened. Yuno just wanted to play a little prank on Neppy...Or, would it be better to be Nep-Pee? Ehehehe...Sorry, Yuno is silly.'
Faust smirked lightly at the teasing nickname, before hearing his phone buzz again. He exited the previous message, and opened the other, flushing deeply at the contents.'Yuno Found these in an alleyway! Yuno wonders if Faust and Nep-pee would know anything about these. =3'Below the text was a picture of the wet, striped panties he recognized as being discarded by his cousin...And he quickly closed the phone, quashing several vulgar thoughts.'She's my cousin...She's my cousin..she's my cousin.' he thought to himself, quickly. 'Don't think vulgar things about your relatives...'
============================================================================================================End |
Featurette #2. Faust knows it says 'Faust's Family Featurette', but Faust wants to focus on more than just relatives to Faust!
...And with a little bit, Faust hopes you enjoy this fic as well as the others.
Now then..a peek into another family....With a twist Faust will reveal later...
============================================================================================================================
Bzzt....Bzzzt...Bzzzzt...Ca-lick
It was early in the day. A slender hand moved over to shut off an alarm clock. A few moments passed...Before the covers on the bed were flung off, and the figure before responded to her own personal alarm clock.
'Ahhhh..! No no no...Stop!..' she thought, a hand shooting between her legs to grip at her leaking faucet. A dark, damp spot was shining on her green pajama pants, as she scampered down the hall. Jet after jet wet her hands, as she barrelled through the door to the bathroom, and quickly turned. Her rump was almost completely soaked through as she plopped down on the toilet.
"Uwahh....I...kind of made it." she called to herself, examining her damp clothes as her bladder relaxed, warmth spreading under her as she flooded her pajama pants. A few mostly quiet moments passed, before the girl stood up, took off her pajama pants, and dried off her legs."Those'll have to go in the wash..." she said with a somber pause, striding across the house bare from the waist down. She wadded them up, and tossed them into a hamper, as she quickly moved back to her room.
'Good thing Dad's out.' she thought, closing the door to her room. A quick rummage through some drawers, and she quickly covered herself with a pair of black boyshorts. She quietly moved over to her desk, and pulled out a small black book. Her other hand reach for a pen, and she quickly started writing.
'Dear Diary. It's Youmu again. she started, letting out a light sigh. 'I wet myself again this morning...But, at least I didn't wet the bed!....At least, I don't think I did.'She peered over at the bed where she'd flung off her covers, seeing the pristine white sheets.
'Yeah. Didn't wet the bed at all!' she wrote with a small, confident smile. 'An improvement. Hopefully, a good sign of things to come from here. Sis is still at her friend's, so I don't have to worry about her teasing me...And Dad's busy with work again. I hope he can get some time off soon. Oh, sorry Diary..I didn't mean to rant. I was just writing to mention this'll be my first day at our new school. I'm a bit worried, because of my...condition...But, Dad says he spoke with the Superintendent of the school...And that things'll be fine. I surely hope so..'
She lightly placed the tip of her pen in her mouth, nibbling on it for a few moments, before writing a little more.'Well, the only way i'll know is when I go. So, I'm gonna go get ready now Diary. I'll tell you how my first day went when I get back!'
Youmu closed her diary, and placed it back on her desk, quickly rummaging through her clothes. Gathering a green top, with a matching skirt that would come to her knees, she made her way back to the bathroom. Stripping her clothes off, she hopped into the shower quickly to wash herself off. Warm water splashed over her...and she could already feel the lightest of pangs.
"I really hate having a tiny bladder.." She grumbled to herself, scrubbing at her own silver hair, and slender, lithe body. Her breasts were barely B's, and she didn't have much in the way of curves...But, she was content with almost everything about her body. Everything...save for her own small bladder.
The doctors didn't find anything wrong with her body that could explain it, nor was there anything that could be done about it. She could hold her urges in for just over two hours during the day...But any longer than that, and it would usually end up running down her legs. It was an embarassing, personal problem.. But, she'd have to manage it. As she grabbed her towel and dried off, she quickly sat on the toilet and loosed her waters once more. A soft sigh escaped her lips, as she then wiped herself off...And pulled on her clothes."Well, here goes nothing." she sounded to herself, clenching her fists to try to pump herself up. She moved to the door at this, pulling on her shoes and starting out.She had a small walk over to a bus-stop, a few minutes to ride...And she'd be there. At least, in theory. She held her things over her chest as she waited, the morning air a bit cold.
'I hope It doesn't take too long to get here.' she thought to herself, shivering lightly as she tapped her feet. 'And that everyone's nice...and...ohhh, I'm overthinking this, aren't I?'
Youmu sighed again, before hearing some telltale signs, the big yellow bus driving on down the road. She smiled lightly, a hand moving to dust at her outfit and steel herself. It was coming closer.....Driving closer....Closer....
'It's here!' she thought, the door on the bus opening.
"New girl? Konpaku?" the bus driver's voice called, looking her over. They were an older woman...Though, it was hard to read the woman's expression.
"Y..Yeah. That's me." Youmu replied, nodding quietly. The woman gestured for her to step on, so she did. Moving up the steps, she peered in at the crowd of students on the bus. A myriad of faces, hair colors, and outfits greeted her. Appraised her...And generally made her uneasy. She peered down the row of students....and inched her way back. Heads turned away from her as she walked...All looking rather indifferent, or otherwise uninviting. Her grip on her things tightened as she glanced for a spot to sit.'There has to be somewhere..' she thought, as one person's eyes looked over her. A figure with dark green hair, and blue eyes."Hiya." the boy called, scooting towards the window. "You can sit here, if you like." Youmu stopped for a bit, as the bus started to move forward, prompting her to nod.
"Sure...Thank you." she called, quickly moving to sit down next to the boy. He held a warm smile as he looked her over, both of them seeming to pause in an uncomfortable quiet...before the dull roar of chatter and gossip began anew."So, you're new?" the boy asked her, breaking the ice.
"Y..yeah. We moved here over the summer." Youmu replied, nodding. "Though, this'll be my first time going to this school."The boy nodded quietly at this, before holding out his hand lightly."Well, welcome!" the boy called, smiling. "I'm Faustus. Faustus Necromonium."Youmu paused for a few moments, before taking his hand in a gentle shake.
"Youmu Konpaku." she answered, lightly shaking his hand up and down. "Thank you.."The two had some light conversation as the bus went along it's path, only two stops before they would be at the school. A girl with pink hair that sat behind them, and a girl with black hair that took a spot near the front. Though there was a bit of unease on the way to school, she brushed it off as nerves. Soon enough, the bus pulled into position in front of the school, and everyone started to stand up."Well, we're here." Faust mused lightly, holding his things under his arm. "Here's hoping we have classes together, or something.""Yeah.." she called to herself, filing in line behind the mass of students, as they filed out of the bus.
====================================================================================
A few minutes, a few turns into the wrong classes, and some forgiving teachers later...She finally made her way to her first class....Math class.
'Hoo boy...You're ten minutes late on your first day. Way to go, Youmu.' she thought to herself, looking over the class. Much like her old school, the students seemed...Less than enthused to be learning numbers."And I hope you all treat Miss Konpaku here with the same respect and decency that you give me." the teacher called, snapping Youmu out of her minature trance. "Miss Konpaku, you can take a seat wherever you like. We're just reviewing some basic things, so if you have any trouble, you can ask me.""O..okay." She replied quietly, as she glanced around the room once more. The students seemed about as interested in her as they were in the lesson...save for one waving hand near the back. She peered over to see the boy from the bus, inviting her to sit next to him in the back...Along with the pink haired girl next to him. Youmu breathed a small sigh of relief, before starting to the back, taking a seat to his other side.
"Didn't think I'd see you here, Konpaku." Faust's voice called quietly, trying to not attract the attention of the teacher. "Guess we're in at least one of the same classes."
Youmu nodded lightly, as the lesson began. She didn't dare talk while the teacher began her lesson, merely nodding and taking notes. A light panging in her bladder alerted her to a need that would need tending to quickly, as the teacher turned around to face them again."Alright. That's everything we had to cover for today." the teacher called, setting her ruler on her desk. "You can spend the last ten minutes of class doing whatever you like...So long as you are quiet."The class's mood seemed to raise considerably at the freedom, everyone breaking out into conversations with one another. Youmu went to raise her hand, before the green haired boy moved over.
"So, what's your next class?" Faust asked, prompting the girl to pull out a piece of paper."Ah..here. Biology." she answered, meekly. "Then there's lunch, and after that, I have PE..""Ah, I have PE after lunch too!" Faust called with a barely contained smile. "So, we'll see each oth-"
"Is Faust excited to have PE with Yuno too?" the pink haired girl called from behind him, prompting him to turn.
"Oh...Most definite-"
"Or does Faust just want to see Yuno in gym shorts?"There was a quiet pause from the green haired boy, as he started to blush ear to ear. A moment's peace for Youmu to hold up her hand, and excuse herself....But...
"Teacher! Yuno..needs to go to the bathroom." the pinkette called, sniping her chances quickly.
"Ah..Sure thing, Miss Gasai." the teacher called, holding out a pass. The pinkette quickly moved over to snatch it up, darting out of the room. Youmu felt her bladder redouble it's efforts at this, her hands quickly darting between her dress.
'It's okay...You can hold it..' she encouraged herself, lightly whimpering as she felt her body tensing up. It was only a few more minutes....Surely, she could manage that.....The ringing of the bell came sooner than she expected, and the girl stood up quickly, starting towards the door.
"Ah! Konpaku, Don't you want some help getting to your next class?" Faust's voice called to her, as she darted.
"I'mSorryButIgottarunNow" she quickly stammered, darting through the halls, her eyes scattering about. There were crowds of students, people cluttering the halls, and lots of dangerous places to be standing. She held herself brazenly as she moved, too worried about soaking on her first day to care about her self-image. Room after room she passed, door after door, and pulse after pulse from her bladder.....
'Where..ARE the bathrooms in this school?!' she thought in a panick, feeling her lower muscles lax slightly. 'Ah..No no..! Not now..Not yet..!'She redoubled her efforts, before seeing a door with a figure on it.
"Ah...F..finally..!" she called to herself, shoving her way into the room and darting for a stall. She shut the door firmly, and hoisted up her skirt, a warmth starting to sputter through her underwear."No no..! So close...!" she called, hooking the waistband of her undergarments, before yanking them down to her ankles, and plopping down on the seat. A rushing torrent of fluid gushed out from her lower lips at this, spraying all over the bowl of the toilet as she let out a sigh of relief.
"M..M..made it.." she mused to herself, looking down at her underwear. There was a wet patch just bigger than a half dollar on them..But they weren't completely ruined. She could take them off, and wash them easily...and no one would be any the wiser.At least that was the plan, before she heard the door shutting once more, and a pair of very much...masculine voices calling out."Hey, did you see that silver haired girl running through the halls?"
"Isn't she the daughter of...Well, you know who?"
"What? Voldemort?" one boy snarked, prompting a thump.
"No, Stupid. The.."Youmu's face had gone from relieved, to aghast with horror. A quick peer under the stall let her see the base of what was definitely not another commode. Rather, it was a urinal....Which told her all she needed to know.....
"I'm.." She spoke softly to herself, her face starting to burn in shame. "I'm..In the boy's bathroom.."
[To Be Continued....] |
[Part 2/2 of FFF, featuring Youmu]
Faust hopes you enjoy, and read it all the way through. For...reasons.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Ah, we'd better get to class." one of the boy's voices called, as Youmu felt her heart pounding in her chest. "You know how tough Miss Shiranui can be."
"Ah...Right. She doesn't relent for anyone that's late." the other voice replied...as Youmu listened to the sounds of their retreating footsteps. Youmu gulped nervously, wondering...worrying if she should try to leave the bathroom."J..just a little longer.." she thought to herself out loud, pulling her panties up, and standing against the door. Nervous fingers slid towards the lock...and pulled it open, as she held a breath.
'Just..the faster I get out of here....' she thought, as she peered outside of the stall. 'The less..I have to worry about.'She started forth with a hesitant step.....Then another...and a last one. She peered around nervously, looking for any signs of life into the bathroom, before breaking out into a sprint. She quickly paced out of the bathroom, shoving the door open with a trembling hand. However, as she rounded the corner to ensure her escape...she found herself slamming into another wayward student."A..Ah...Sorry about.." a familiar voice called out in pain, as Youmu was knocked on her butt. "Oh..Konpaku! Are you okay?"
"F..Faust?" Youmu stammered slightly, her face positively glowing as she covered herself. "I..I'm sorry! It's just..I'm running late...and..Umm..""A..Ah, it's fine." he replied, waving a hand. "I understand. Things like this happen."
The boy offered her a hand up, the girl quietly taking it as she appeared to be examining the quality of the floor.
"Just...probably should be more careful, yeah?""R..Right." She apologized, her eyes slowly moving to meet his. As she did though, there was something....sticking in his hair. "Where...did that come from?"
Faust paused at this, his expression going a bit blank.
"Where'd what come from?" he replied, prompting the girl to stand up on her toes to pull it from his head. It looked like...
"It's..a feather?" Youmu sounded, looking it over. The material was too fine to belong to a bird...and yet, something about it sent a shiver down her spine. "I've...never seen anything like this.."
Faust's expression suddenly paled again, as he darted past her.
"Oh, Sorry, but I...have some urgent business to take care of!" he called out hurriedly, darting past her in the way she'd been moving out of the bathroom. She paused for the lightest of moments to consider, before flushing herself, and reaching for her schedule."Room...Two-ten.." she called to herself, busying her thoughts, and anxiously awaiting her judgement from the teacher. She counted down the doors as she walked down the halls, a nervous, slow pace making the situation that much worse."Two oh-six...Two oh Eight.....Here.."Two ten. She held her breath, and pushed open the door meekly.
"Ah...it seems we have a late guest." the teacher's voice immediately called, making the girl flinch. "Well, don't be shy now. Come on in..."Youmu whimpered softly, before pushing open the door. Twenty eight pairs of eyes focused on her at this, as she clutched her things."I..I'm sorry. I just.." she started to explain, before the scornful expression of the biology teacher melted, and he put on a warm, if plastic smile."O..Oh, I'm sorry Miss Konpaku." he quickly interjected, his hands moving as if waving away her worries. "I didn't know it was you. Please, have a seat."Youmu paused at this, blinking incredulously. The teacher had been stern mere moments ago...and then, changed his tune. She idly wondered if it had to do with..."Did she just get Mister Freeze to relent?""Man, I didn't know he could show mercy.""She must be..."The voices of her classmates made her flush slightly as she sat down, and pulled out her biology book."So, if you'll all be so kind as to open to page 32..."
=========================================================================================Most of the hour passed by fruitlessly, with Youmu doing her best to ignore the murmurs and stares of her classmates. She crossed her legs under the desk, feeling her body starting to remind her of her own personal timer. A small pulse in her lower belly made her bite her lip slightly, pondering if she should make a break for the bathroom when the door opened. However, as the bell rang, she quickly saw the group of students seem to completlely swarm the door. It was amazing how well they moved in synch....and filed out of the room. As she started to her feet though, the teacher appeared at her side...As if by magic."Do you need any help finding the Cafeteria, Miss Konpaku?" the teacher called, prompting Youmu to gather her things quietly."N..No thanks. I saw it on the way here.." she called out nervously, quickly pushing past the teacher. He'd been acting a bit strange the whole period...putting on a cautious tone when speaking with her. As if worried he would offend her....'Nevermind that..' she thought, starting to round the corner. 'I should probably head to the bathroom first. Don't want to risk..'"Ah! It's that girl from first period, Faust!" a peppy, girl's voice called out. Youmu flinched at the familiar tone, turning as a head of pink haired girl approached her quickly. A slam not dissimilar to the one she'd been victim to pre-class resounded into her again..as the girl did what could only be called a glomp. Another warm, soft body pressed against her, hands wandering over her body as she wriggled. "Yuno was wondering about you!""A..Ah...Gasai.." she replied meekly, as the girl wrapped her arms uncomfortably around her stomach. "P...P..please let g-""Yuno must insist that you eat with us!" the girl cooed lightly, as the green haired boy walked over nervously."Yeah..sorry, she's a bit.....Er.." He apologized, struggling to find the right words."Forceful?""Yuno just wants to make sure Youmu enjoys her time at our school!" the girl called with a wide grin, squeezing her a bit tighter. She could feel her body winding up..protesting..and tensing at the pressure. She writhed, and tried her best to escape the girl's seemingly iron grip...before suddenly feel her grip lax."Sure, but you don't have to take her prisoner." Faust lightly admonished with a small, but playful bop on her head. "She can sit with us if she wants, or not. It's her choice. Right, Konpaku?""I..It's fine.." Youmu stammered back, blushing as she tensed her legs. The sudden relief in pressure was assuring, but she had been dangerously close to a leak there. Not that she would admit it with the two nearby... "I..I don't know anyone else around here..So I'd..Love to. I just...F..Forgot something in class!""Ah...I hate it when I do that." Faust replied, waving lightly. "We'll wait for you in the lunchroom, okay?""Okay!" Youmu quickly interjected, darting off away from the two. Her bladder was panging idly, as if warning her that she was going to be hitting a dangerous spot soon. She quickly circled the corner, and went to check the sign on the door...before her heart sank.Closed for Cleaning."No...!" she called out, crossing her legs firmly. She bounced in place, trying to calm herself. "No..No no...."She took in a sharp breath, and exhaled just as quickly.'I..I can hold it a little longer..' she told herself, applying some pressure between her legs. 'Just...just until after lunch. Then, I can go before the next class. Yeah...Yeah...Yeah, I can do that!'She took a few more deep breaths, before slowing down...and straightening herself out.
"Just...have to be careful....when I eat." she told herself, starting to quietly, but quickly pace back to the lunchroom. "Can't let them know...anything's up."She was far too embarrassed to admit she had a problem, especially on her first day...And, if she could manage....."Hey! Over here!" Faust's voice called out to her after she grabbed her food. She looked over at the two, the pink haired girl holding up a fork with some food on it."Say 'Ah' Faust!" Yuno's voice cooed, even as Youmu took her seat. Faust bit down on the food, turning his eyes as he chewed on the offered morsel."So...." Faust called between bites, swallowing. "What's up? Anything happen in Biology? Mister Volorian give you any trouble?""Mister...Voloria..." Youmu started, before a small ding seemed to almost ring out. "Oh! You mean...""Mister-Freeze!" Yuno chimed in, with a smirk. "He's infamous for being cruel, and merciless towards his students. Yuno had him once...""Ah..but he seemed nice to me." Youmu replied meekly, lightly pushing at her food. "Maybe.....""Ah...Well, that's good news!" Faust replied, shoveling more food into his mouth. "So...Um..Whatcha do for fun? Do you like singing? Play any instruments?""Er...No." Youmu added, meekly. "I kind of..Dabble in Kendo..but, I've never really...""Oooh! Yuno sees!" Yuno chimed in, entwining her fingers as she looked over the girl with...strangely analytical eyes. "Yuno's never been fond of that kind of thing, but she bets you can do some really cool stuff!""W..Well, I'm just.." Youmu started, before pausing with a sharp breath. She crossed her legs under the table, her bladder making itself known once more. Her hands practically rushed for her lap, as Faust chugged at his own drink."You'll have to show us sometime." He called, Yuno's lips curling into a small smile."Yuno bets you have a lovely singing voice!" Yuno mused softly, her eyes now darting across the lunchroom as a whole. "You just need Yuno to give you a little...Push.""No..! No...I'm..Fine." Youmu's voice stammered out, flushing. "I..I mean...W..well, maybe... We'll see...."Her bladder was pounding...demanding that she try to leave now...But, she didn't want to make a scene of things. And since the two had been so nice as to sit with her..."Ah..Yuno needs to freshen up before next class." the pinkette called to the two, standing up hurriedly. "Faust knows how the lines are before gym class..""Ah...Go ahead." Faust called, oblivious to Youmu's own plight, as he turned. "I'll make sure Konpaku can find her way to class.Youmu saw this as her chance. She could just excuse herself with Yuno, and go to the bathroom! All she had to do was open her mouth, and....ask.
"Are you going to eat that?" Faust asked lightly, pointing at her food. She'd barely touched it, having more pressing concerns."A..Ah..No.." she replied lightly, pushing the tray towards him. "I..I'm not feeling that hungry.""Oh..Thank you." Faust replied, starting to chow down on her food as well. "School food's not the best...but it's something, yeah?""Y..Yeah." Youmu replied, turning her head. The pinkette had vanished from sight, thus ridding her of her escape. She bit her lip softly, trembling as the pressure in her lower belly mounted. It was getting bad...Very, very bad..."U..Ummm.." She stammered, mustering up all of her courage. "F..Faust...Is...is there..any way..."'Briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing..Briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing"E..EEP!" Youmu squeaked, tensing up as she felt her heart skip a beat...and the tiniest amount of warmth escaping her. She crossed her legs sharply, as Faust started to stand up."Ah..looks like Lunch is over." he called somberly, before lifting the trays. "C'mon Konpaku, I'll show you the way to the gym.""S..Sure....." She replied sheepishly, her face burning lightly. She could tell by squeezing her legs it wasn't a big spot...But, there was something in her panties now. It was probably about the size of a penny, or a nickle...but, it wasn't showing through her clothes. "T..Though..I kind of...need to.."The rush of the crowd drowned out her request at this, as she struggled to keep her vulnerable bladder out of elbowing range of the rampaging students. Faust weaved his own way through the crowd, giving her an idea of which way to move to avoid the worst of it. As they managed to get into the hall though, she lightly tugged on his shirt."Umm...Faust..." she started, meekly. "I...Um...I really...really..."Tears were starting to well up in her eyes, as she tensed her lower muscles as best she could. "I...really.. need to...head to the bathro...""Ah..! ...Oh no.." Faust replied, glancing down the hall. A myriad of students had been gathered up around the bathrooms, all looking furious or agonized as the Janitor held out his hands."I'm sorry, but you can't go in." the man called, apologetically. "There's..been an incident, and one of the water pipes burst. It's not safe for you students to use this bathroom..""But I need to go NOW!" One student called, trying to barge past him. The Janitor pushed the girl back gently, waving his hands."It's not my call to make.." he replied sternly, holding up his broom. "You'll have to go to the upstairs one. Or, somewhere else...Just..Not this one."Youmu let out a soft whimper at this, her face scrunching up as she fought to keep it all in. A burst water pipe? It had to be something like that...Faust however, took the girl's arm and started to gently tug her along a different path. Youmu flinched a bit at the sudden contact, but did her best to follow him along..as they came outside of one of the larger rooms in the school."In here.." Faust called, waving a hand. "The Gym's got changing rooms, and bathrooms in there. You can make it!"Youmu staggered her way in, whining as she hesitantly took step after step towards the room he was pointing at.'Gotta....gotta be careful..' she thought, placing one foot in front of the other, shakily. 'So...I'm so close...'Step by step..inch by inch...she got closer to the door. And, as Faust held said door open for her to walk through, she felt another spurt of warmth escape her."A..Ah..! No no no!" She called to herself, darting into the room at this, her eyes scrunched shut in need. However, as she moved around the corner to where she could find her salvation....Disaster struck, in the form of a familiar figure with pink hair."Ah...!" Yuno's voice sounded out, too late as the two collided with a resounding force. Youmu's heels caught along Yuno's body, and she felt herself careening towards the ground.As if in slow motion, she felt her body connect with the floor...And then...Warmth. If the previous bursts had been little squirts, or sprays, this was an ocean of warmth spraying through her clothes. What had been a small spot was completely eclipsed by the burst of her own held waters crashing against her garments. She let out a pained, needy whine as her body's holding muscles finally reached their limits...And she flooded herself. Golden warmth spread out from beneath her, soaking her from her rump to her ankles...And making a sizable puddle underneath her. For a solid minute, she gushed, whimpered, and sobbed....having been within reach of a toilet...and having failed, utterly."Wow...Youmu must have been holding it for a while." Yuno's voice called, adding to Youmu's own embarassment. "Yuno is impressed...""I..Impressed?!" Youmu stammered out, in tears. "I..I just wet myself! In SCHOOL!""Yuno knows." Yuno mused, softly. "But...Yuno hasn't seen anyone flood quite as well as Youmu did. Yuno wonders...."Youmu's face was burning red, as she tried to straighten herself up and try to make herself presentable."I...It's not like i wanted to..." she stammered out, blushing. "It just..It happens..""Yuno knows." Yuno's voice mused once more, smiling softly. "Yuno knows you just had an accident. Yuno just...wonders how a..certain someone would feel, upon seeing this."Youmu's face lit up once more, as she bowed down deeply."A..Ah..! You mean Faust?!" She started, hurriedly. "P..please don't tell him! I..I don't want him to know that I..""Yuno isn't trying to blackmail Youmu." Yuno quickly interjected, waggling a finger. "Yuno would never do something so...vile. No...Yuno just wonders for a...different reason.""D..different reason?!" Youmu stammered, as she heard another sharp ringing. Yuno grinned lightly, and started to push the girl behind the lockers."Yuno thinks Youmu should get changed...Very soon." She commented, lightly. "Yuno thinks Youmu doesn't want to be known as the school panty-piddler, does she?"Youmu blushed deeply, but nodded, trying to cover her wet spot up. The girl wasn't..ridiculing her, but she was..helping her? Her intentions weren't clear to her...But when the girl came back with a set of gym clothes and a towel, she quickly accepted the girl's kindness. She wiped herself dry, before starting to change into the outfit, hearing the crowd of girls walking into the room and chatting amoungst themselves.Youmu herself stayed hidden from the others, tugging on a pair of gym shorts and a white T-shirt over it. The shirt was a bit loose on her, but the shorts hugged her a bit tightly. Already, she could feel the lightest bits of pressure protesting under the tight shorts, and she bit her lip.'After everyone leaves.. she thought, remembering the teacher beforehand. He'd been nice enough to giv her some time...So, the gym teacher would likely have the same reaction once they knew who she was. It felt odd taking advantage of her heritage like that, but...As she thought, she could hear the door shutting several times....signalling the girls having flocked out of the changing room. She waited for a few moments, before peering out of the corner. Her puddle had seemingly disappeared, likely the work of Yuno...And she had the room to herself once more."W...well..better safe than sorry.." she called, moving to tug her shorts off as she moved towards the toilet. She'd just had an accident, after all...So, she wasn't going to take any chances."KONPAKU!"Or..so she'd hoped. An unfamilair voice sneered at her, an older women with raven-colored hair and a scowl yelled at her through the locker room. She froze, her fingers having been in the sides of her shorts as she heard the woman stomping over to her."We can't begin class, if you keep wetting around in here!" She snarled, grabbing the girl by her shoulder roughly. "Out. Class is NOW, and I will not be kept waiting.""A..Ah..Wait.." Youmu started, before being tugged out of the room. She was...most definitely not familiar with this woman. Before she knew it, she was already out in the gym with the others dressed similarly."Class, this is Youmu Konpaku." the woman sneered, with a sour tone to her voice. "Don't give her any special treatment just because she's new. Just like how I won't be easy on you all, just because I'm substituting for gym class today.""Ah..? What happened to miss..""She got sick, and had to leave early." the woman called, bitterly. "So, it's up to me to make sure you brats are in shape. So, let's start with ten laps around the gym. Come on, get moving!"The class quickly started to pace around the Gym, as commanded. Youmu moving as quickly as she could, in fear of agitating the substitute once more. Yet, as she moved around for the ninth lap, she felt a horrifyingly familiar pressure."A..Ah...?!" she sounded to herself, slowing down as she lowered her hands. "O..Oh no...not now...It's too soon."Her pace started to slow to a crawl, as her bladder's pressure mounted abnormally fast. As if someone had been pouring a pitcher of water directly into her bladder. "M..Miss..I..""You what?!" the teacher snarled, stomping over to her. "You think you're going to try to get off without finishing your laps?""Miss, please..! I need to go to the restroom!" she pleaded, with a whimper. "I'm certain my Father has sent notes to..""I don't care what your father says." The woman sneered, pointing. "When you're in this Gym class, you'll do as I say. Understood, Konpaku?"Youmu whimpered, nodding shakily as she tried her best to continue running. The pressure under her shorts continued to mount, quickly reaching critical levels as she barely made her way around for the tenth, and final lap.'Don't pee...Don't pee...Don't pee..' she thought to herself, biting her lip as she rounded the first corner. It was maddening....The way her bladder nearly felt like it was sloshing, and splashing about inside of her. The way her shorts dug into her waist didn't help matters, especially as she rounded the second corner.
It was all she could do to not grip herself directly, in front of everyone else. Some of the students had slacked off, and were still circling around....While others like Yuno and Faust had already finished their laps, and were watching the others.'Please, don't let them look my way..' she thought as the third corner was conquered, looking up at the fourth and final one she needed to pass.Just a little more.. she thought to herself, before something strange seemed to appear.
A small windfall of black feathers seemed to flutter down from the skies, lining up her intended path. From the last corner, to the locker rooms....And likely to the toilet. The girl could make out pale skin...and black wings.
"What is.." she sounded as her foot crossed the line to the fourth corner, before a voice pulled her down to reality."Konpaku!" the teacher snarled, venomously. "If you have time to daydream, you clearly don't need to go to the bathroom!""A..Ah! No..That's not it at all!" Youmu stammered, turning to gesture at the feathers, and figure. "It's just that I.."As she looked though, the figure, and feathers had vanished. She blinked quietly, wondering if she had just been dreaming...As the woman glared her down."You're clearly just delusional." she snapped, putting her hands on her hips. "You can do fifty jumping jacks, and other stretches with the others. Then I might let you go."Youmu's face paled at the woman's request."F..Fifty?!" she thought, her bladder pounding at her. "B..But...I don't think I can even...""Fifty, or else." the woman replied coldly, staring her down. "I can just as easily get you wrote up on your first day. I'm sure your father would love to hear about that."Youmu recoiled, whimpering softly as she staggered over to the only two people she knew in the room."Is..she always like this?" She called meekly, Faust peering over her shoulder."She's not our regular teacher...but yes." he called, with a flat tone. "She tends to pick on people, and try to force them to perform their best. But, she's way too harsh.."Youmu stood on shaky legs as she tried to gauge her ability to contain herself. She felt like she hadn't gone after lunch at all....And she hadn't drank anything extra.
'Why is it..so bad..? she thought, as she did her best to spread her legs and arms for a jumping jack.Spurt!Bad idea....."A..Ah..!" She called softly, hands shooting down to clench at herself quickly as the teacher turned her way. She gripped herself as tightly as she could, trying to fight the incoming flow......But.."Miss Konpaku..!" the teacher started, snarling. Youmu could feel her resistance melting under the woman's cold stare, even as she started closer. "You call that a Jumping jack? It's clear that you're too.."
"Shut up!" Faust's voice quickly interjected, causing the girl...and the rest of the class to freeze. The cruel teacher looked at the boy, dumbstruck...as he moved over in front of the girl.
"You shouldn't be picking on her...especially because it's her first day! Some of us aren't exactly experts on fitness and such, like you."The woman sneered, and gave a firm smirk as she looked at Youmu's anguished face."Well, I am the gym teacher for a reason.." she started, telltale cruelty in her eyes anticipating the moment. "It's only right that I am to educate you all on how to do things the right way. Running, Jumping jacks..Push ups...""Like pushing up your bra, S..saggy tits?" Faust countered quickly.The whole room fell silent, and one could almost hear a snapping sound, as the woman's attention shifted audibly."What. Did. You. Say. Necromonium?" the teacher sounded, more malice seeping into her words with each passing syllable."We..well..I was just thinking..." Faust called, starting to buckle much like the girl had been. "Maybe..you're acting like that, because you're...getting on in the years. So..instead of being a rational..adult about it. You're..being a.....B..B..Bitch."The whole class fell silent, in awe of the boy's words. Was it bravery, standing up to her? Or..stupidity, provoking her so strongly? Whatever it was, the woman had forgotten about Youmu entirely, stomping over to the boy with a renewed rage.....Which meant.."Youmu! This way!" Yuno's voice called, tugging the girl by her arm as the teacher's anger started to boil out."I can't..! You...Piece of....! Disobedient...Impudent......"The teacher struggled to avoid using swears, but it was clear by the strain on her face she was fighting a losing battle. "Oughta...string you up by your....And.."Youmu's bladder pounded at her mercilessly, forcing her to take attention away from her classmate that had drawn the ire of the teacher, and focus it on her body's failing control."Youmu is almost there!" Yuno's voice called, dragging her through the door. "Yuno knows she can make it! Just..hold it a little longer..and..!"Step by step, drop by drop...Youmu could feel herself losing it. She rounded the corner, and saw the toilet, staggering towards it with the pinkette's guidance.She felt damp...Part of it had started to trail down her legs...But, she couldn't give up quite yet...And..eventually, she could feel her body's final assault on her unleashing. She didn't have time to fight with the shorts, or any other part of her...She only had the time to sit down on the toilet, and gush out the unnatural flood through her tight shorts. The material darkened considerably in a flash, and streams gushed down her legs, through the crotch of her shorts...and into the toilet. A maddening sense of relief started to wash over her, her whole body relaxing as she gushed into the commode."O.O..Ohhh..." she moaned softly, feeling her tensions melt away as her eyes fluttered closed. For a few moments, she could forget about the close call, her soaking shorts,And about the previous incident...Merley content to let her waters flow as quickly as they could. Eventually, she could feel it sputtering to a stop...and she heard a girl clearing her throat."Yuno..presumes Youmu is done?" the girl called, with a small, uneasy smile. Youmu's face lit up again, as she threw her hands over the soaked portion of her shorts."O..Oh.. yes." she stammered, blushing ear to ear. "B..B..But..There's no way I can go out there...right..now..""Yuno understands." Yuno called, holding up another set of clothes, and another towel. Youmu idly wondered where, or why she had such things...but, quickly made use of them, wiping and changing hurriedly as she dreaded leaving the locker room.'I really hope she's not gonna turn back around on me when I get out..' she thought to herself, a single hand pushing on the door to head out.A few ominous moments of silence......And then, nothing. As she peered around the corner, the others were all talking amoungst themselves, pretending to do the exercises mentioned by the substitute. Though, the woman in question, and the boy that had helped her were nowhere to be found."I can't believe Faust said that.""Yeah...he's gonna get in serious trouble..""Especially with Vess on the case...I Think she's gonna kill him.""No, stupid. Teachers can't kill students..."Youmu moved about quietly, looking for a quieter place to sit as the students talked, and bickered amoung themselves. The fact none of them turned an eye to her meant she clearly wasn't the focus of the school. A small sigh of relief washed over her, as she glanced around."Don't worry about Faust." Yuno's voice called, seemingly out of nowhere as Youmu felt herself surprised by the pinkette again. "He's been through worse. And he has Yuno to help him.""I..I wasn't..." she protested, before sighing quietly. "Okay..maybe a bit. I just...Well..I should probably thank him. And you too, Yuno. For..well..."Yuno merely gave a small, coy grin as she leaned in to whisper."Yuno's good at keeping secrets." She whispered, quietly. "Yuno won't tell everyone about what Youmu did....And she appreciates your thanks..."Youmu's face flushed again, as she buried her head in her knees lightly."T..Thank you again.." The girl meekly replied. "An..and..if you see him before I Do..thank Faust for me too, okay?""Yuno will do!" the girl replied with an enthusiastic tone, as the bell for class started to ring, signalling the end of gym.======================================================================================As the last period of class ended, Youmu put away her supplies neatly."Well..at least that was normal.." she sounded to herself, as she started to follow the herd of students out of class. It was the end of the school day....and what a day it had been. She hadn't seen Yuno or Faust since they parted aways from Gym, nor when she got on her bus. The two seemed inseperable, but she still worried why neither of them got on."Not to mention, my clothes went missing.." she spoke to herself, wondering. True, they were soaked, but it still worried her slightly. Her bladder hadn't had any strange spikes in need...and she'd managed to get through the bus ride quickly, and neatly. As she peered out the window though, there was a long black car in the driveway."Ah?! Dad's home!" She called excitedly, darting through the bus, and to her front door. She thrust open the door, looking up as a figure wearing a large black robe turned around."Ah..Honey, shoes." the voice called, as she glomped onto him, excitedly."Dad!" she mused, nuzzling into him. "You're home!""So I am.." he called, a firm hand patting her head. "I Hope your first day at school wasn't too troublesome. I had a talk with all of the staff, but I heard they had a substitute."'That explains a lot..' she thought, chuckling a bit."Dad, I know You're The Grim Reaper." she started, lightly patting his robed shoulder. "But I'm a big girl. I can handle myself now.""I know dear.." he called, sheepishly. "I just worry is all, sweetie...."====================================================================================="Yuno can't believe you did that, Faust." The pinkette's voice called, as the two made their way into his place. "Calling out the Sub like that. Yuno was very, Very impressed at your bravery.""Yeah...Tell that to the week of detention I got." Faust replied back, shaking his head. "She was just being way out of line. I couldn't let her bully Konpaku like that, ya know?"He pushed open the door, feeling the pinkette moosh up behind him in a hug."Oh, Yuno definitely knows." the girl cooed, pushing the door closed with her feet. "Yuno thinks Faust deserves something...special for being such a brave...kind boy.""What'd you have in mind?" Faust replied lightly, as the girl pressed something warm to his hands. A flush came to his lips, as the girl leaned in to whisper."You'll find out in a minute...Fausty." she whispered, lightly blowing in his ear. "Meet Yuno in the shower in..two minutes. And be....prepared."Faust blushed from ear to ear, as the girl skipped off to the bathroom. He looked down into his hands, green stripes soaked with lewd warmth....As he put his bag on the counter."I see you've become a bit bolder with your note." a familiar, sensual voice called out, as he turned his head. "And here I thought I'd never see you touch it again.""Well, I can't abandon something as good as this." he called to the Goddess of Lust that followed him, Saril. A hand pulled out the familiar black note, as he opened it up. "Though, I haven't had to use it at all today. Maybe it's a bit of good fortune on my part with her.."Saril smirked, running her fingers over the boy's chin."Fortune, or misfortune?" she mused, with a grin. "I suppose only time will tell...""You're as ambiguous as ever." Faust mused, running his fingers over the book once again. "Though...I have to wonder if she could see you. She was..acting a bit...weird when you were around.""I doubt it." Saril assured, with her confident grin. "It'd take something special to be able to see a Goddess of lust like myself. Nothing short of divine...""Fauuuuust~ Yuno is waiting~""Much like her." Saril teased, nudging him. "You'd best not keep her. It's rude to make a lady wait.""Right...right." Faust called, setting the notebook back in his bag. "I suppose I'll have to save my thoughts for...another time."[Part 2, End] |
A/N: I'm assuming, since you paid ten, you wanted a long oneshot, so that's what I went for here. I tried to divide it as half-and-half as I could between the two scenarios listed.
Neither Sonny nor Tawni were really sure what Penelope was hoping to gain from her little scheme. It was obvious she wanted to steal Chad from Sonny, but why she had tied both of them up was still unknown to them. Of course, it was still a major annoyance, and they regretted letting her get the jump on them.
Now they were tied up in Penelope's room, while she grinned at them menacingly and began to set up a camera. “When Chad sees what the two of you do, he'll never want to see Sonny again!” she declared.
“What do you mean by that?” asked Sonny.
“And why am I even here?” asked Tawni. “I'm not even involved with Chad!”
“But you're involved with her!” declared Penelope, pointing an accusing finger at Sonny. “And I can't have you interfering. Better to subject you to the same punishment as her, and kill two birds with one stone!”
“But what are you even doing to us?” Sonny asked.
“Oh, you'll see.”
~X~
Her plan had been to force them to drink a lot of water and then film them while they wet themselves. So far, that plan was going absolutely perfectly. Both Sonny and Tawni sat in front of the camera, squirming and desperate as their bladder filled from all they had had to drink.
Penelope had left them alone for a bit, but no matter how they struggled, they could not break free of their bonds. Sonny rocked back in forth of the floor, unable to find a comfortable position. She was at least lucky enough that she was sitting up and could cross her legs, but that she all she and Tawni could do. Otherwise, they had to try and hold it with just their willpower, and that was already getting her.
“I do not want to pee my pants on camera!” said Tawni.
“Well, neither do I,” said Sonny, “but I'm not really sure how we're going to get out of this one!”
She knew there was no point in arguing with or attempting to console Tawni, especially when she had to focus on her own problems. She squeezed her thighs together as tightly as she could and bounced up and down where she sat, but nothing seemed to relieve the pressure. Her limit had almost been reached, and there was no telling when her friend would lose control.
Tawni had been fidgeting for a lot longer than she had and bit down hard on her lip whenever she wasn't speaking. She was shaky and looked to be in pretty bad shape, probably even closer to her limit than Sonny. With the camera rolling, neither of them wanted to lose control, but they had no choice if they couldn't find a way out of their bonds.
“I swear, that girl is crazy,” said Tawni after a moment of silence. “What does she really think she's gonna accomplish with this? I mean, yeah, it'll be a humiliating video, but anyone can tell from looking at it that we're tied up. It's just gonna make her look as crazy as she is if she shows it to anyone.”
“And I really don't think her plan would work with Chad, either,” Sonny agreed. “If he watched the video, he would just think she was crazy too. Even he wouldn't make fun of us for this, considering what she's doing to us.”“But if we try to tell her that, she won't listen. She'll just think we're making it up to get out of this,” said the other girl. “Jeez, she really is crazy.”
The two girls laughed at that, and then both cringed at the adverse effect this had on their full bladders. They fell into silence again, both fidgeting and rocking back and forth as they tried to regain composure from their fit of laughter. Sonny groaned and wished, for the hundredth time, that she had not let her guard down around Penelope, had not ended up in this situation.
Her bladder ached, and no matter what she did, she could not alleviate the pressure. It would not be long until it was past the point that she could manage, and there was nothing she could do about that. She grit her teeth, fighting back tears from how painful it was to try to hold it in at this point.
She heard a whimper from Tawni, who was also close to tears and likely in just as much pain, if not more. Sonny felt bad knowing that this situation had happened because of how close she had gotten to Chad recently, but, at the same time, she knew that it really wasn't her fault. There was clearly something wrong with Penelope to make her overreact in such an extreme way.
“I'm really not gonna last much longer,” said Tawni, her voice breaking. “It really hurts, and I keep feeling a little bit come out.” She groaned, struggling in vain against her bonds. “What am I gonna do?”
“I don't know,” Sonny said. “I really don't know. I'm hurting too and...” She trailed off, not knowing what else to say. How could she hope to comfort her friend when she knew just how hopeless it was for the both of them? She was no better off, and she had no way out of the situation.
Tawni continued to struggle beside her, seeming to lose her ability to speak as she was reduced only to whines and whimpers. She could not sit still for even a second, rocking back and forth and squirming while she moaned in pain. Tears began to run down her cheeks as her control slipped, and all Sonny could do was watch as she suffered.
“No, no, no!” she heard her friend cry, and they both watched in horror as a large dark patch begun to spread across Tawni's pants. She groaned as the liquid leaked through her clothing and began to puddle on the floor, all while she could do nothing to stop this from happening.
The sight and sound of Tawni wetting herself was almost too much for Sonny, and it was all she could do to slow the first leak that came from her. She managed to stop it before much damage was done, but she was sure there was a visible wet spot on her clothes after that. That was nothing compared to what had happened to her friend, who was in tears from fully wetting herself.
“I promise we'll get back at her for this,” said Sonny, saying the only thing she could think of to comfort the other girl.
“We'd better!” replied Tawni. “I want her to pay!”
Sonny nodded, her own situation reaching its critical point and leaving her unable to say anything else on the subject. She grit her teeth, shaking as she tried to maintain control, even knowing that she would not make it much longer. She had only a few moments left, leaving her no chance to try to escape. Not that escape was possible, as they had already learned.
“Please,” she whispered in a strained voice, not sure exactly what she was begging for or who she was begging. She wanted to make it, and she wanted to be some place else, and she wanted to be somebody else, and she just wanted to be anything but this close to wetting herself.
In the end, though, wishing and begging could do nothing for her. She was at her breaking point, and she groaned as she felt a strong stream escape, steady and warm as it flooded her pants. Before long, she had formed her own puddle on the floor, that extended far enough to reach Tawni's.
Her bladder's cramps slowed and stopped as her stream did the same, and she could not ignore that it felt good to be empty, but her humiliation far outweighed that. And just as she thought the situation could not get any worse, Penelope bounded into the room, an expression of glee on her face.
“I see everything happened just the way I wanted it!” she said happily. “A shame I missed the good part, but it's okay.” She tapped the camera. “I've got it all on film to enjoy over and over again! And I'm sure Chad will enjoy it too.”
“You're really crazy if you think this will work,” said Sonny, but Penelope ignored her. She gathered up her camera and loosened the ties on the girls ever-so-slightly. They would be able to wriggle free, but not before she got away with the evidence. She ran out of the room, leaving them alone again to struggle their way out of the rope.
When they were both standing and free, Sonny looked at her friend and said, “Ready to start planning revenge?”
“Of course,” replied Tawni. “But first, can we please shower?”~X~
The two girls stayed up late planning their revenge. By the next morning, they had the perfect plan concocted, and were pleased to see that Penelope hadn't done anything with the video just yet. No one treated them differently or looked at them weird, and Chad seemed just as oblivious as everyone else. That meant they were good to go.
Just as she had done to them, they took Penelope by surprise. It was much easier for the to subdue her and tie her up, what with the fight being two on one and all. As she kicked and screamed and fought, they tied her up in her room and dug out her camera with the incriminating video on it.
When Sonny deleted it, Penelope laughed and said, “I already uploaded it to my computer! You can't get rid of it that easy.”
“Oh, I think we're going to have a little more leverage than that,” Tawni replied. Sonny handed her the camera and she set it up on a tripod, just as it had been the day before.
“What are you doing?” asked Penelope, even though it was abundantly clear just what they had in store for her. Without another word, they closed in on her, water bottles in hand as she protested and tried to fight them off.
~X~
It was not long before they had forced Penelope to drink much more than she would be able to handle for a prolonged amount of time. Now all that was left was to sit back, watch her suffer, and let the camera record every second of her humiliation. After they had their own file of hers, they could be certain that she would do nothing with the one she had, and then they would be free from her and her crazy scheme.
After a few minutes, they noticed the first fidget, which she quickly tried to cover as just adjusting her position. However, being as tied up as she was didn't really leave much room for adjusting and it was easy to tell what was really going on with her.
“Feeling a little full?” asked Tawni in a taunting voice.
“What? No!” Penelope snapped. “I'm not pathetic like you guys. You'll get bored waiting for something that isn't going to happen!”
“Oh, I don't think we'll get bored at all, honestly.”
“We'll see about that,” she replied, glaring at them even as she began to squirm even more.
~X~
To say that Penelope was not happy would be quite the understatement. She was downright enraged but, as much as she hated to admit it, they had outsmarted her and she was stuck like this. She could already feel her bladder filling rapidly from all of the water they had forced her to drink, and knew that it would continue to fill until it couldn't hold anymore, just like what had happened with them the day before.
It wasn't fair! She had planned everything out perfectly, they weren't supposed to retaliate. They were supposed to be too afraid of her and her video to do anything to get back at her, but instead they had taken action and now everything would be ruined. On top of that, they were going to possess a very humiliating video of her.
Her bladder throbbed and she glared at her two captors, who seemed completely unfazed by her venomous stare. They stared back, devoid of expression, as if they weren't struggling to not laugh at her, and she knew they were struggling to not laugh at her. After all, they had her in a very compromising position. Why wouldn't they laugh? She certainly would, and she had, when she had had the upper hand.
But now the upper hand was lost and she really, really needed to pee, and it was only getting worse, and it was getting worse incredibly quickly. She could do nothing to make it easier on her, and she could do nothing to fight what was coming. For all her cunning, she was stuck here, without any hope of freedom or escape. Penelope fought back tears, refusing to show any weakness that she could avoid.
She could feel her bladder swelling and threatening to spill over at any moment, and she grit her teeth. It was all hopeless; there was no saving herself. She knew this, yet she still fought, no matter how it hurt her to continue holding. And her captors silently watched her, waiting for her to give in.
The least she could do, she decided, was not beg. Even if she lost control, things would at least be a little bit better if she did not give in to begging. They would win again if that happened, and she could not stomach giving them any more victories. This one would be hers, even if the rest would not. She would retain one tiny shred of dignity even as she lost the rest.
And so she entered the last legs of her pathetic, futile battle. She squirmed openly now, unable to resist doing so even as she watched the two girls snicker at her display. It was so close to the end and her bladder's resistance was so low that it was all she could do to hold on. She had consumed so much water that it was only a matter of time before it all came rushing out, her humiliation recorded.
Yet she still fought on, resilient as she was. Bouncing her knees and wiggling around where she sat, crossing her legs as much as she could, then uncrossing them, and crossing them again. She couldn't even pretend to sit still, and bouncing and squirming had become necessary.
Even so, they hardly did anything to assist. Her bladder hurt so much that those movements only slightly alleviated the pressure, but otherwise did nothing. Her eyes watered again, but still she tried to hold back her tears- though this seemed even more futile than trying to hold back her pee.
“If you guys let me go,” she said, before she could stop herself, “I'll delete the video. You can even watch me do it.” Already, she was going back on her promise not to beg! It was pathetic, but the pain had increased so rapidly that suddenly, holding on to her dignity didn't seem worth it. She just wanted this whole nightmare to be over with.
“That would be okay, except we want to see you suffer just like we did,” said Tawni. “The video will be useless once we have something on you, so why not kill two birds with one stone and get to see you wet yourself?”
“You're not going to get away with this!”
“Who are you going to tell?” asked Sonny. “I mean, you have your video, we have ours. You did it first, remember?”
Penelope fell silent, knowing that their argument made sense. Still, it wasn't fair that she was willing to surrender and they weren't letting her. She would admire their ruthlessness if it wasn't directly causing her problems. A small whimper escaped, and she felt a leak escape with it. It wouldn't be much longer now.
She considered, for just a moment, apologizing for what she had done. Perhaps something as simple as that would get her out of this, but that would require actually being sorry and she wasn't. She was only sorry that they had gotten the drop on her and gotten revenge, but she wasn't sorry for what she had done. In her mind, they had deserved it, but what she faced was unfair.
It would be impossible to get them to see things her way, though, and she felt another leak escape into her panties, dampening them as she moaned. She clenched her muscles as tightly as she could to try to hold off the impending flood, but there was nothing more she could do for herself. Her body was tired of holding back and her bladder needed to empty itself, so fighting was useless.
The stream started slowly, but quickly picked up speed, flowing into her panties and flooding them. It took no time at all for the stain to spread onto her clothes and begin to form a puddle on the floor, and then her captors noticed and began to snicker and she wet herself in front of them.
She moaned again, the relief nearly overwhelming the distress she felt at her defeat. It was nice to finally be done with all of this, even though the outcome was the exact opposite of what she had wanted. There had been nothing she could have done to stop it, after all, and it was at least better for it to finally be over.
She would lose the edge she had with the old video, but as long as she didn't show it, she would not have to worry about hers getting out. It was terrible that they knew about it, but they were only two people and that was still better than everyone knowing. She would find her way to get revenge on Sonny someday and steal Chad for herself, she would just have to plan better.
Until then, she had to face her current humiliation and watch as Sonny and Tawni laughed at her, shutting off her camera and pulling out a laptop that had to belong to one of them. “Just saving the video forever,” said Sonny as she plugged the camera in. “Then you can have your camera back.”
Penelope remained silent as she watched them download the video and put her camera back down. They loosened her rope ever-so-slightly, just as she had done with them, and then they left her to fend for herself. |
When the Peanuts became Peenuts
Lucy decided to try selling lemonade again. It seemed popular as a lot of kids drank a lot. Linus had asked Lucy why she charged double for him. "I'm your brother." "In that case, it's triple," said Lucy. Schroeder paid despite Lucy offering to give him lemonade for a kiss instead. When Charlie Brown arrived, Lucy had sold everything. "Sorry, kid. That's the way it goes," said Lucy simply. When Lucy returned to her usual booth, she started to feel the need to pee. "Good grief, I have to urinate," said Lucy. She tried to resist the urge, but couldn't help crossing her legs and holding herself.
"I can't wait any longer." She looked around, making sure she was alone. Noticing the empty pitcher, she placed it under her. Lucy lifted her dress, pulled her panties to the side, and peed into the pitcher. Lucy sighed in relief, looking down amazed how quickly it was filling. When the pitcher was half full, her peeing stopped. Lucy had to clean herself with a piece of her dress, then she dressed and got an idea. She put the pitcher on the booth with a sign for lemonade half price. She would tell anyone not to ask why it's half price.
As the strong lemonade began taking effect in the others who drank it, everyone started to feel the need to pee. While the little red haired girl squatted over the grass and Eudora peed in a gutter in an alley, Sally was walking home, fighting her growing desperation. Soon, she was jumping around. "Oooh, gotta tinkle, gotta tinkle." She realized she had to go here. She looked nervously around and saw no one around. Sally reached under her dress and lowered her panties. As pee began dripping out against her dress, Sally threw it off and let the contents of her bladder pour out. Sally sighed in relief and giggled as her pee poured out her body and onto the grass. "Ahhh, that feels so good, letting it all out." She focused on the pitter patter of her peeing and the growing relief as she stood naked, letting her stream make a large foamy puddle at her feet.
Finally, Sally noticed her peeing had slowed to drops dripping from her vagina. She pushed out the last of her pee and cleaned with the inside of her panties. As she got dressed, she noticed Linus walking by. Sally hid behind a tree as Linus looked back. "Good, no one's watching. I have to pee so bad I can't go another step." He walked up to a tree and lowered his shorts and underwear. He aimed his penis and peed onto the tree, letting it drip down the bark and pool onto the grass. Sally blushed as she watching. "Linus is so cute when he's going potty outside. He really is my sweet babbo. I'll let him finish tinkling by himself." Sally slipped away and Linus finished soon after. He pulled up his underwear and shorts. "Boy, that's better. Now to get home before anyone finds out." He walked on, carrying his security blanket, never knowing Sally was watching.
Schroeder was also on his way home when he realized he had to pee. Being a boy and able to stand, he casually found a large bush, pulled down the front of his pants and underwear and peed into the bush. At the same time, Peppermint Patty and Marcie were walking home. "I was thinking of visiting Charles," said Marcie. "You can't do that. Chuck will think you like him," said Peppermint Patty. "I do. I am rather fond of Charles," said Marcie. "I guess you like him too?" Peppermint Patty was spared from answering by the call of nature. "Hold that thought, Marcie. I have to whiz." Peppermint Patty walked up to a tree, lowered her shorts and panties, pulled on her folds and let out a long yellow arc that hit the tree. The sound of peeing, combined with the lemonade she drank, caused a sudden wave of desperation in Marcie. "I think I should urinate somewhere, sir." "Stop calling me sir, Marcie. Just whiz here next to me, no one's looking." Marcie had no choice. She stood next to Peppermint Patty, pulling down her pants and red panties and bending down before peeing. When both girls were finished, Peppermint Patty cleaned with leaves and gave some to Marcie as she pulled up her panties and shorts as Marcie did the same. "Thanks, sir." "Stop calling me sir," said Peppermint Patty.
Violet had just made it home when the growing desperation from the lemonade reached its peak. She could feel pee beginning to dip out. Seeing she was all alone, she sat down on the stairs and pulled down her panties, lifting her dress. Then she sighed in relief amidst the torrent of pee that now exited her body, dripping down each step as it pooled into the grass at the bottom. When her peeing stopped, Violet went inside. Wanting to wipe with something proper and not wanting pee drops from her vagina on her panties, Violet headed to the bathroom, her panties in her hand. Fredia, meanwhile, also made to her yard, but the walking and movement had increased her desperation. Now unable to bear it, Fredia went up to her inflatable pool, held up the front of her dress and yanked her panties off. She bent over the water and peed. As Fredia sighed in relief, she looked down and watched as the strong amount of pee began to turn the water yellow. Once fully relieved, Fredia washed with the hose, then dumped out the pee filled water in the pool and refilled it. "At least it didn't affect my naturally curly hair."
Patty was hoping to find a bathroom soon. As she came upon the wall and saw no one around, Patty decided to let nature take its course on the wall. Standing against the wall, Patty reached under her dress, pulling her panties to her ankles. Making sure her dress was held up so her vagina was exposed, Patty relaxed and peed onto the bottom of the wall. So immersed in her peeing, she didn't notice Shermy walk up, pull down his pants and underwear, and pee with her. Soon, she noticed him. Shermy just shrugged. "Since you were peeing here, I figured it was ok if I peed here too." Then he handed Patty a handkerchief to clean with. Then to get away from the awkward moment, Patty started a casual conversation with Shermy.
The next day, Patty was discussing her problem with Lucy. "Shermy caught me going to the bathroom on the wall." Lucy casually asked, "What happened next?" "Actually we had a nice talk and he treated me to ice cream," said Patty. "Then you have nothing to worry about. Five cents please." Fredia also consulted Lucy. "I don't understand why I had to pee so bad like that and I can't believe I peed in my pool. At least my naturally curly hair was still perfect." "Just look at the bright side and don't worry about the rest," said Lucy. "Five cents, please." Violet confessed to peeing on her steps. "We all have situations like that," said Lucy. "You're no different from anyone else. Five cents, please." Linus also came by. "Yesterday, I peed on a tree and can't shake the feeling I was watched." "You're just feeling guilty," said Lucy. "Practice in the yard and get over the idea someone's watching you. Five cents, please." When Sally explained her experience and said she saw something cute and couldn't forget it, Lucy advised her to find something else to think about before charging her five cents. Finally, Marcie came by and explained she thought the lemonade was too strong and made her pee. Marcie suggested she didn't make it again. "Why do you think I run this booth instead of a lemonade booth? Besides, I'm making more money today than yesterday." Lucy smiled and shook the collection of nickels. "My favorite sound."
Edited November 6, 2015 by omofan77
(see edit history) |
Something I've thought of for a while. I thought about putting in a little NSFW line where he comes,possibly aroused from relief. But then I thought,nah,maybe later. So here,have me torturing Mario with a full bladder whilst feeling no shame.
"Uuuhh..I need a restroom.."
Mario squirmed a little,his legs tightly crossed. He'd been outside for nearly two hours without finding anywhere suitable to relieve himself. He was stuck in a desert area,with a large brick building ,which was some sort of a temple,he thought. He regretted drinking all that water earlier to stay hydrated.
He tried to walk around and ignore the pressure building up in his bladder.-which was near impossible. Mario groaned and unsteadily shifted towards the side of the large temple. He really really needed to pee,and he could have just went somewhere over here,but peeing out in the open? Hell no. But his choices were slowly dwindling down to that one decision. One thing was clear-he needed a bathroom,and now. "Mmmmmhh...Gotta pee..."
Mario could barely move without feeling little twinges in his bladder,but he was able to get up the side of the building and inside-which revealed a hollow,cavernous space leading to the top. "Cool…" He took a couple steps forward in admiration, only for his bladder to give a sudden spasm.
"H-Hwaa!!" Mario jerked forward sharply,almost losing control. He obviously needed a bathroom,but he couldn't find one. Frantically looking around,he shifted a little closer to a door. It was marked with something, and Mario wanted to see what it said-hopefully it was a restroom.. Slowly but surely he pushed open the door by leaning on it-he was too desperate to use his hands,they were tightly pressed in his crotch to keep himself from leaking-and found a narrow hallway which led to somewhere outside. Frantically,Mario ran towards the hallway-only to feel another spasm followed by a tiny spurt of warm urine jetting out.
"A-Ah!!" Mario nearly screamed as he ran down the hallway. He bit his lip trying not to moan,he had to go really badly...But running seemed to be a bad idea,as more spurts of warm pee jetted out,becoming increasingly longer. There was a tiny wet spot in the crotch of his overalls,and at the end of the hallway there was a warp pipe which led to outside. He quickly jumped into the pipe,his bladder giving another spasm,causing him to leak more.
Mario was desperate. He really really needed to pee. "U-Uuuuhh...nnnnhh.." He hopped around on one leg,shifting from foot to foot while his hands were pressed tightly into his crotch. Sighing,he realized and accepted the fact that he had no choice but to pee outside. He unsteadily shuffled behind the large building,grabbing his crotch and pressing intensely,only to feel another,intense spasm,followed by a small yet long spurt which would have quickly turned into a flood if Mario hadn't regained control of himself. "O-Ohh..." His bladder felt tight and painful,and he was sure that he had a small bulge where his overfilled internal organ was. "Gotta go,gotta go..." he mumbled to himself.
He unsteadily unzipped the small zipper on his overalls,and after a while his manhood was held steadily yet shakily with both hands. It was bad enough having to pee outside,and the last thing he needed was someone seeing his private body parts.
"C-Come on..." Mario squirmed and fidgeted,he really,really needed to pee. When he was sure he was alone,he relaxed and let himself lose control of his bladder.
"Aahhhhhhh~...Mama Mia..." Mario sighed loudly as the warm liquid instantly jetted out of him with near violent force,curving into a perfect arch before splattering the side of the building. A loud hissing sound had formed while his body forced out the urine. Finally getting to pee felt deliciously relieving for him,especially since he'd been holding it for that long. The urine trickled down the wall to the sand below,where it at first dried up upon touching the hot sand,but then gradually formed a small puddle,which increased in size over time. He was suprised that he'd been holding that much urine for so long. The pain in his lower abdomen still didn't go away though. His bladder was being filled as fast as it was being emptied. Nevertheless Mario continued peeing.
"O-Ohhhh~..." Mario was completely beyond himself in relief and euphoria. A small drop of drool trickled down his mouth,which hung slightly agape from his relief. He felt unsteady-his legs were shaking a little,his muscles exhausted from keeping his bladder from overflowing. "Mmmmhhh...that's better.." he moaned to himself. This sensation felt amazing and relieving...More relieved,pleasured moans and sighs escaped him time to time.
When he was done-or he thought he was-he tucked his manhood back into his overalls,only to feel another intense twinge. "N-Not done...!!" He quickly pulled it back out and let loose another stream of urine onto the wall. "Aaahhhhhh....This feels soooo much better..." He couldn't help it,the relief was taking over. "Ohh..." He figured he'd be here for a while. |
I'm not sure if this is an idea that someone else has had before (i think I've seen one fic with a similar premise, but I'm not sure), but this is just a random idea I had.
***
CHAPTER ONE
Aiden was born with a gift. Ever since he could remember he could look at a person and know exactly how much urine they were holding, and their exact bladder capacity too. It had always been a part of him, and as such was so ingrained into his being that he went for many years without noticing it much.
That was, until middle school. When the other boys his age started noticing how pretty girls were, Aiden began noticing their bladders. The bladders of the girls and the boys. He began to realize that he quite enjoyed watching a desperate boy or girl in class, fidgeting or squirming occasionally. Aiden always felt a thrill of excitement when he saw how much they were holding in their bladders. Sometimes, if he had the time, he would follow them to the bathrooms as discreetly as possible, always feeling a strange thrill when he saw them go into the bathrooms bursting, then come out relieved. But the opportunities to see such displays were rare, which disappointed him, but there wasn't much he could do about it but savor the few sightings he got.
By the time high school rolled around, he had many more opportunities to see people bursting to pee. His school was very strict, and teachers rarely let students leave the classroom to use the bathroom. On top of that, the school campus was quite large, and there was barely time between classes to stop at the bathroom. And since the school only kept two of the restrooms on campus unlocked, you were very, very lucky if you got to pee between classes. So students had to wait until lunch, or just wait until the end of the school day.
Of course, this led to many, many sightings of desperation by Aiden. He did enjoy seeing his peers desperate, but he had found during his Freshman year that it was extremely distracting and had started causing his grades to slip. The next couple of years he had gotten good at getting his schoolwork done before turning his attention to his interest. But now, in his Senior year, he was really trying to buckle down on schoolwork and extracurricular activities.
It was a crisp fall morning, and Aiden was walking to school. He was tall for his age, and rather good-looking, with messy blonde hair and eyes the color of the summer sun. Freckles dusted his cheeks, and he had begun growing a bit of facial hair on his chin. Today, Aiden was wearing light blue jeans, a black Pokemon tee shirt, and a gray sweatshirt. He wore old, comfortable sneakers, and had his backpack slung over one shoulder.
“Hey, Aiden!” Aiden turned toward a familiar voice, and saw his best friend Emily waving at him from across the street. He stopped walking to wait for her to catch up, and she dashed across the road as soon as it was clear. Aiden and Emily had been close friends since they were kids, having lived down the street from each other their whole lives and going to the same school since kindergarten. She was short and slender, with short black hair and tan skin. “Happy friday!” Emily smiled cheerfully.
“Heh, yeah.” The two began walking together, heading to school.
“Got any plans tonight?” Emily asked. Aiden rolled his eyes.
“Same as you, stupid.” He nudged her. “Football game tonight. Band performance. Remember?”
“Ohhh.” Emily pretended to act surprised. “Riiight, I almost forgot.” Aiden chuckled to himself. She hadn't shut up about the game all week.
The two walked in silence for a while, which Aiden realized was odd. Emily usually talked his ear off all the way to school. He glanced at her questioningly, and as soon as he really looked at her he realized her bladder was full. Almost completely full, actually.
“Hey, are you....um...” Aiden paused. Of course, he was well aware that no one else had the ability to see how full other people's bladders were. He had decided as a child to keep it a secret, knowing his ability was quite abnormal and not wanting people to think he was a freak. “Are you...feeling alright?” Aiden asked.
“Oh. Yeah.” Emily said briskly. “I'm just a bit distracted, is all. Excited for the band performance, you know?” She smiled at him. Aiden smiled back and focused his attention back on walking, lost in his thoughts. He wondered what Emily was going to do...she was so full. She must not have peed that morning... “I'll meet you in the band room, okay?” Emily said, snapping Aiden from his thoughts. They had reached the school, and were walking across campus toward the band room. “I'll be right back.”
“Kay. See you there.” Aiden smiled as she bounded off toward the bathrooms near the cafeteria. He walked the rest of the way to the band room, joining the crowd of band kids waiting outside. Their director was almost always late, showing up barely before the bell to unlock the door. He waited for Emily, briefly noting the almost empty state of all of the bladders around him. Aiden checked the time on his phone, and saw that they still had twenty minutes before the bell. It would be at least fifteen minutes before their director got there.
He played on his phone for a few minutes, checking his facebook, then looked up when he saw Emily out of his peripheral vision. She was frowning, which was odd for her. She was normally extremely up-beat and excitable. Aiden quickly saw why. Her bladder was still full.
“You okay?” He asked. “You look stressed.”
“Oh...I do?” Emily frowned. “Sorry...It's just the bathrooms are locked...”
“Oh?” Aiden probed.
“Yeah...” Emily looked quite uncomfortable, and it was no wonder with the fullness of her bladder. “Bree was hogging the shower this morning, so I didn't have the chance to pee...” She muttered under her breath. Oh, so that's why... Aiden thought to himself. “Ah, well. Guess I'll wait till second period and ask Ms. K if I can be excused...”
When Mr. Webber, the director, finally showed up and unlocked the door, everyone went into the band room and got their instruments. Emily went and grabbed her clarinet, and Aiden headed over to the corner of the classroom where the sideline percussion instruments were located. He dropped his backpack by the piano that was hardly ever used and positioned himself in front of the marimba, waiting for the band to start warming up.
Throughout the entire period, Aiden kept his attention split between practice and the state of Emily's bladder. He noticed she had begun to fidget occasionally in her chair, crossing her ankles tightly and squeezing her thighs together. Her bladder didn't seem to be filling too quickly though, and Aiden knew she would be able to hold it for at least a couple hours. Definitely not until lunch, but she still had time.
By the end of the hour, when the students had packed away their instruments and were gathering by the door, Emily's desperation was visibly worse. She was fidgeting and looked worried, much quieter than usual and seeming to be occupied with searching for something in her bag. Aiden checked her bladder again, slightly disappointed that they had separate classes next period. They had third hour together, then fourth and lunch, but Aiden was sure she'd be able to relieve herself next hour. Ms. K was generally pretty lax about bathroom policy.
So when the bell rang, they left the band room and went their separate ways, Aiden shrugging off Emily's desperation and turning his attention to math. |
Hey, look, an update already! Glad you guys are enjoying it so far. :)
***
CHAPTER TWO
Aiden was rushing to his third period class, Government, trying to make it before the bell. His math teacher had kept the class after the bell to pass out homework, and now he was afraid he'd get another tardy. Luckily though, he rushed through the doorway just as the bell rang, and quickly sat down at his desk.
He sighed and leaned back in his seat, panting slightly from the rush in getting there, and pulled out his pen and notebook from his bag. He spared a glance at Emily as Mr. Taylor began the lesson, and was surprised to see her bladder was even fuller than before. Ms. K didn't let her go? Aiden thought. He watched Emily squirming in her seat out of the corner of his eye, unable to focus on the lesson. She was shifting in her seat frequently, her thighs pressed together tightly. She really was desperate and reaching her limit.
“Alright everyone, now split into groups of three.” Mr. Taylor instructed. “You're going to work on this worksheet together.” The students began chatting excitedly and moving their desks, grouping up with their friends. Aiden slid his desk and chair against Emily's.
“Um, Mr. Taylor?” Emily squirmed in her seat, her hand raised. “May I please use the restroom?” Aiden could hear the desperation in her voice.
“I'm sorry, Emily, you know the rules.” Mr. Taylor sat down at his desk, barely glancing at her. “You're just going to have to wait.” Emily lowered her hand, looking disappointed.
“Ms. K didn't let you go?” Aiden asked.
“No...” Emily muttered. Aiden looked at her, concerned, then picked up the worksheet Mr. Taylor had passed out earlier.
“Erm, excuse me...” Aiden looked up. A tall boy with black hair was standing in front of his desk. “Can I join your group? Everyone else grouped up...” He asked shyly.
“Oh.” Aiden smiled in a friendly manner. “Of course.”
“Thanks.” The boy turned a desk around to face theirs. “I'm Daulton, by the way.” He said. “I'm new, just started here a week ago.”
“Oh, really?” Aiden asked. He wasn't really surprised. Families in their area seemed to move often, and it was a growing community, so new students were a pretty common thing. “I'm Aiden.”
“Nice to meet you.” Daulton smiled and pulled out his worksheet. “And you're...?”
“Emily.” Emily muttered quietly. She seemed to be focusing all of her attention on her full bladder. Aiden watched her for a moment, distracted. She truly was nearing her limit. He began to worry that she would have an accident.
“Emily...Nice to meet you.” Daulton smiled.
“Well...” Aiden forced his attention away from Emily. “Let's get started on this. It looks pretty simple.”
They began work on the assignment, Daulton and Aiden looking up answers in the book and letting Emily just copy their work. Aiden knew that even Daulton could see how desperate Emily was. They were almost finished when Aiden heard Emily gasp next to him. He looked over. Her bladder was absolutely full, and by her stiff posture and the blush spreading in her cheeks Aiden assumed she had leaked.
“Hey, um...Are you okay?” Daulton leaned forward, his hand brushing Emily's just slightly. As they touched, Emily's expression changed. Her posture became more relaxed, and she sighed quietly. Aiden watched her, expecting to see a puddle spreading from her chair, but there was nothing. He checked her bladder, and saw that it was suddenly almost completely empty.
“Y-yeah...” Emily leaned back, looking confused. Daulton moved his hand back to his own desk, picking up his pencil. His expression looked strained. And his bladder was....full? Had it been full a minute ago? Aiden glanced at Emily again, utterly perplexed. She had just been bursting! What the hell happened?
“Glad to hear.” Daulton smiled, but to Aiden it seemed rather forced. “Come on, let's get this finished.” He went back to the worksheet, but Aiden couldn't focus. Daulton seemed to be having issues too, looking extremely uncomfortable and squirming in his seat. He glanced at the clock frequently, his light hazel eyes darting back and forth from the clock to his worksheet.
When they finished, Aiden leaned back in his seat, doodling in his notebook in an effort to distract himself from the predicament Daulton was now in. He was tapping his foot anxiously, fidgeting, squirming, and biting his lip. His bladder really was full. Daulton only had room for another 100 milliliters or so. And at the rate his bladder was filling he really didn't have long to wait.
“Well, um...” Daulton stood up slowly. “Guess I'll leave you guys alone now.” He moved the desk back quickly, looking nervous. “See you around.” Aiden smiled at him and then continued doodling as Daulton walked past him and made his way back to his seat. Aiden felt the boy's forearm brush his shoulder just slightly, and he suddenly doubled over in pain. His bladder filled so suddenly it felt like a knife had gone through him.
“Aiden?” Emily touched his shoulder, concerned. Aiden clenched his thighs together, clutching his stomach. He had barely needed to pee a minute ago, and now his bladder was so full it hurt. "Are you okay?"
“Yeah...” Aiden leaned back. “Yeah, I'm fine.” He lied. Aiden glanced at the clock. Class was almost over. In five minutes he could run to the bathroom and take a quick piss before fourth hour. Aiden pulled himself together quickly. Just five minutes. You can hold it for five minutes. He assured himself. He moved his desk back to it's normal place when Mr. Taylor instructed them to, turned in his worksheet, packed up his bag, and waited, preparing to bolt.
He was out of his seat as soon as the bell rang, hurrying toward the bathroom. His bladder pulsed and ached, begging to be emptied. He had no idea how he'd gotten so desperate so fast, but he was too desperate to puzzle it out. Aiden dashed to the boys' bathroom and pushed on the door. It didn't budge.
No... Aiden tensed, clenching his thighs together. He pushed on the door again.
“Sorry, kid.” A security guard nearby was watching him. “Some kid clogged a few of the toilets in there.”
“But..the urinals?” Aiden asked desperately.
“It's totally flooded in there. Bathroom's closed.” The security guard glanced at his watch. “Now hurry up and get to class, or I'll have to send you to sweep.” Aiden bit his lip, trying not to groan in frustration. He had to pee so badly! But he had no time to make it to the restroom on the other side of campus, and he was not going to get sent to sweep again. It was an utterly useless form of in school suspension as punishment for being tardy, and Aiden was not going to sit in a classroom doing nothing and missing class. Aiden took a deep breath and made his way to his English class, getting to his seat before the bell rang.
Aiden crossed his legs under the desk and looked at Emily in her assigned seat on the other side of the room. She shot him a questioning look, and Aiden just shook his head. He placed his bag on the corner of the desk and pulled out his notebook. At the same time he sneakily moved his phone from his pocket to his bag, preparing to text Emily throughout class without the teacher noticing.
Fifty minutes... Aiden told himself. I can wait fifty minutes...I'm not a child... |
CHAPTER THREE
It was barely two minutes into the lecture when Aiden saw his phone light up.
What's wrong? It was Emily.
Gotta pee. Didn't have the chance before class. He tapped out quickly, glancing up to make sure the teacher wasn't paying attention. They weren't supposed to be texting in class, but at least half of the class did it every day. As long as the teacher didn't notice, and as long as he got his work done, Aiden didn't see any issue in it.
Oh. :(
Wbu? You still gotta go? Aiden knew she didn't, but she didn't know that he knew that. There was something about that Daulton kid...Aiden wanted to puzzle it all out, but his full bladder was making it difficult to concentrate.
No, actually...It's really weird...All of a sudden I didn't have to go anymore...
Weird.
Mhm, you're telling me.
A sudden throb went through his bladder, and Aiden clenched his thighs together, leaning forward slightly. God, he had to piss. He noticed that his phone lit up again, but he didn't check it. He needed to focus all of his attention on his throbbing, bursting bladder.
Aiden crossed his legs under his desk and forced his attention to the whiteboard, hastily scribbling down a few notes to make it look like he was participating in class. He bit his lip to muffle a groan and tapped his pen on his notebook anxiously, briefly checking the bladders of everyone in the class to distract himself from his own bladder. Everyone seemed okay, except, interestingly enough, the teacher. Aiden looked at her bladder more closely. It seemed she was quite full, but hiding it well. Aiden figured she'd had lots of practice in holding. He wondered if her own predicament would soften her up to bend some of the rules...
Aiden glanced at the clock. There were still thirty minutes of class left...He knew there was only a slim chance he could make it. He pressed his thighs together and shot his hand into the air.
“Yes, Aiden, would you like to remind everyone the differences between a simile and a metaphor?” Miss Beck smiled at him.
“Um...no, actually...I was going to ask if I could please use the restroom?” Aiden blushed slightly, painfully aware of how desperate he sounded. Miss Beck frowned at him.
“No, you may not. You'll just have to wait.” She said. Miss Beck looked away from him and called on another student. Aiden put his hand down, feeling embarrassed. Now everyone knew. He hated that feeling.
Aiden looked down at his desk, and noticed his phone light up again. He unlocked his phone and looked at the message. It was Emily again.
Fucking bitch. No offense but it's pretty obvious you need to go.
Oh that's comforting. Aiden typed. He knew Emily would understand his sarcasm. Aiden picked up his pen and took a few more notes, trying to distract himself. He hadn't needed to pee this badly in...well, a long time. He'd always had a pretty strong bladder. Generally he seemed to be able to hold it much longer and much easier than most people. But, at the same time, that put him at a bit of a disadvantage at the moment. Aiden wasn't used to feeling desperate, and he was finding it impossible to focus on anything and to sit still. He was sure half the class was probably watching him squirm around in his seat.
He gasped quietly at a particularly strong throb from his bladder, and felt a blush spread through his cheeks as a small dribble of pee dampened his underwear. Aiden glanced at the clock again. Twenty minutes left. He bit his lip and shifted in his seat. There was no way he could hold it. He shot his hand into the air again. Ms. Beck was still lecturing, but stopped when he raised his hand.
“Yes, Aiden?”
“May I please use the restroom? It's an emergency and--”
“I already told you no, Aiden. Now stop disrupting class.” Ms. Beck turned back to the board. Aiden lowered his hand and stared at his desk, beginning to feel panicked. He had leaked already; he absolutely could not hold it another twenty minutes.
Aiden folded his arms on top of his desk and rested his forehead on them, feeling himself tear up. His bladder was so full it felt like it was going to burst. Sharp pains radiated through it, and no amount of squirming or thigh clenching could hold back the ocean in his bladder. A small moan escaped him as his bladder throbbed again, and another dribble of pee leaked out. It was longer this time, soaking through his boxers and onto his jeans before he could stop it. He couldn't do it. He couldn't hold back the flood.
Urine began escaping in small spurts, dripping down his left leg and soaking into his sock. Aiden tried to stop it, but once the spurts started he couldn't stop. Another spurt, forceful enough to make a soft hiss, soaked into his jeans. And another, and another.
Finally his bladder released fully, urine quickly saturating the crotch of his jeans and dripping into the growing puddle beneath him. Aiden's face burned with embarrassment. He heard his classmates gasp, then whisper and giggle. Ms. Beck had stopped speaking.
Aiden kept his face hidden, waiting in shocked embarrassment while his bladder emptied. His bladder really had been full. His stream went on and on, finally beginning to slow after a couple of long minutes. It was still silent when his bladder was finally empty. Urine dripped softly from his jeans. Aiden was too embarrassed to even feel the relief, his insides burning with shame. He felt nauseous. He couldn't believe he had just pissed himself in the middle of class.
The silence in the classroom was finally broken when Ms. Beck cleared her throat.
“Well...ah...I suppose you should go to the nurse...” She said uncomfortably. Aiden felt a sick sense of pleasure when he saw her bladder throbbing, probably reacting to his accident and wanting to empty. He raised his head off his arms, his face flaming. “You're excused.”
Aiden shoved his stuff into his backpack, stood, and walked out of the classroom, not daring to look at anyone. His shoes squished with each step. He felt gross and sticky with urine. He just wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
Keeping his eyes on the ground, Aiden headed to the nurse's office. |
Okay, so no real desperation or wetting in this chapter but there will be some in the next chapter. :) I'm really happy with how this is shaping up so far.
***
CHAPTER FOUR
An hour later, Aiden was sprawled out on his bed, hair damp from his shower and wearing clean clothes. The nurse had told him to just change into a pair of gym shorts she had in her office and go back to class, but Aiden refused and called his mom. She was working, of course, but after Aiden had explained what had happened she told the school that he had her permission to miss the rest of the day and go home. Aiden was relieved. He had wanted nothing more than to just go home and hide in his room.
And now he was home, comfortable and sketching in his sketchbook. He'd started sketching people he'd see at school a few years back, with their bladders visible in their abdomens. It was something he'd do some days when he got to see desperation, as a way to help him visualize better. Currently, he was sketching Emily, and still puzzling out in his head what had happened that day.
Emily's bladder had been full; he knew that for sure. She had even told him she needed to pee. Then right when Aiden assumed she'd leaked...that Daulton guy had leaned closer, asking her if she was okay. Thinking, Aiden began drawing a rough outline of Daulton leaning over. Aiden tried to remember the exact moment to get the details right. Hadn't he touched her hand...? Aiden drew their hands quickly, his mind still buzzing. Whether Daulton had touched her hand or not, Emily's bladder was suddenly empty after that. And Daulton's had suddenly become full. Had Daulton done something?
Now that he thought back, he hadn't even noticed his own bladder until Daulton had touched his arm on his way back to his seat. That was when Aiden had suddenly felt like he was going to explode. Aiden realized he hadn't checked Daulton's bladder after that. He'd been too desperate and distracted. But with what had happened to Emily, and then him, Aiden wondered if Dalton's bladder was empty again suddenly.
Confused, Aiden lay down his pencil, staring down at his half-finished drawing. It seemed impossible, but the more Aiden thought about it, the more it made sense. Had Daulton actually taken the contents of Emily's bladder, then transferred it to Aiden? Aiden shook his head. That was impossible.
He shoved his sketchbook aside and rolled onto his back, reaching for his phone. Emily had probably been texting him like crazy. He unlocked his phone and saw nine texts from her, plus a text from Thomas, another band member. Thomas's message was asking what time they needed to be at the school that night for the game, and Emily's escalated from a simple, 'You went home?' to 'Seriously, fuck this school I cant believe teachers are allowed to pull shit like that!' Sighing, Aiden quickly typed out a text to her.
Ya, I went home. He said. Emily responded in seconds.
Are you okay? She asked.
Fine. He lied.
:( are you still going to the game?
I kind of have to. Aiden texted back. He really, really didn't want to, but he knew Webber would be pissed if he didn't show. And besides that he didn't want to let down his fellow band members.
Want me to come over after school? I'll bring some tacos. Aiden smiled just slightly. Emily always knew how to cheer him up.
Yeah, sure. :)
Kk, see you later!
Aiden quickly responded to Thomas's text, reminding him of their call time, then slipped his phone into the pocket of his sweatpants. He got up and wandered into the kitchen, preheating the oven and popping in some pizza rolls. He hadn't eaten lunch, and realized after the tiring morning that he was starving. He grabbed a soda and plopped down in front of the T.V., watching some cartoons while the pizza rolls cooked. Once they were done, he piled them onto a plate and sat back down, whiling away the rest of the afternoon munching on pizza rolls and watching T.V.
At exactly 2:45, the front door was thrown open.
“Yo, Aiden!” Emily burst in, clutching a Taco Bell bag. She closed the front door behind her and bounced into the living room, dropping her backpack by the couch.
“You've gotta stop opening the door like that, Em. If you bust the wall my moms gonna kill me.” Aiden said, clearing some pillows off the couch so Emily could sit down.
“Yeah, right.” Emily sat down, handing him the bag. “Your mom wouldn't hurt a fly.”
“I dunno, she sure kills a lot of them in the summer.”
“Yeah,” Emily snorted. “Mrs. McCoy, the fly killer and destroyer of rowdy teenagers.” Aiden chuckled and opened the bag of food. “Anyway...” Emily reached into the bag and pulled out a wrapped taco. “Are you okay?” Aiden shrugged, unwrapping a taco and taking a bite.
“I guess for now. But you know I'll be a laughingstock tonight at the game. And Monday at school.”
“I dunno...” Emily said thoughtfully. “It seemed like more people were just indifferent. You know you're definitely not the first kid to wet themselves....And actually, I heard someone else wet themselves today.”
“Really? Who?” Aiden asked.
“One of the football players. I dunno his name.” Emily finished her taco and grabbed another. “Both boys' bathrooms were closed all day, I heard.”
“Huh. That's weird.”
“They shouldn't be allowed to do that.” Emily said. “It's ridiculous.”
“Yeah.” Aiden finished his second taco.
“Hey, you wanna get some slurpees and hang out at the school before the game?” Emily asked. “Nate finally got the projector in the band room to work. He was gonna hook up his Wii and play Smash Bros. I wanna see Caitlin get her ass kicked.” Aiden smiled. He knew, at least, the band kids wouldn't make fun of him. The marching band was like a family, after all.
“Sure.” Aiden got up, wondering briefly whether the bathrooms near the band room would be unlocked that afternoon. “Let me grab my stuff.” He went into his room, changed into jeans and his band tee shirt, slipped on his shoes, and grabbed his backpack. He shoved his phone into his jean pocket, grabbed his sweatshirt, and stopped in the bathroom to take a quick leak before leaving the house with Emily, heading out of their neighborhood and down the road. Maybe the game won't be bad after all. Aiden thought. Maybe word hasn't even spread that far yet....I mean, who cares about someone wetting themselves when the first football game of the season is tonight? |
Okay, finally! So sorry for the delay. Was busy with school and then a comic con thing, but I've finally got chapter five finished. Sorry, not much desperation in this chapter either but there will be more. I promise.
***
CHAPTER FIVE
“What the fuck, Caitlin, you can't just spam Down B that's not fair!” Emily shouted angrily, dodging around the stage.
“No rules, bitches.” Caitlin giggled. “I can spam with Pikachu all I want...YES!”
“No!” Emily groaned and flopped onto her back on the floor, her dark hair splayed under her head.
“Hey guys it's 5:45, time to wrap that up.” Mr. Webber was peeking into the band room from his office, holding a stack of sheet music.
“Okay.” Caitlin got up, bringing her controller over to Nate and started helping him pack the Nintendo away. Emily and Aiden handed his controllers back too, getting up and stretching. Aiden slurped down the melted remains of his cherry slurpee.
“We've gotta do this again.” Emily said. “I want a rematch.”
“Ha! Gladly!” Caitlin grinned. Aiden threw his empty cup away and went into one of the storage rooms with Emily to grab his uniform. Some of the flute players were gathered in one corner, halfway in uniform and giggling over each others haphazard ponytails and buns.
“Grab my helmet for me?” Emily asked, pointing to the shelf. “I'm too short.” Aiden chuckled and pulled it down, along with his own, then grabbed his uniform and went into a practice room to change.
Half an hour later, Aiden was out on the track in between the bleachers and the football field, arranging the percussion equipment and placing chairs so that he and the rest of his section could sit. Mr. Webber always put them down in front of the bleachers where the rest of the band was sitting so that when the band performed their field show, the pit could quickly and easily move their equipment to and from the football field. Though, tonight they were only performing one section of their music, but Mr. Webber still wanted it to sound perfect.
“You got all the mallets, right?” Aiden asked his section, doing a last-minute check of their equipment.
“Yeah, I got them.” Thomas said.
“Good.” Aiden sat down in one of the chairs. “Now we just wait.” He stretched, turning slightly so he could watch the bleachers. There were quite a few people already, mostly students and the parents of the football players or marching band kids. The air was heavy with excitement and anticipation.
“Um...” Thomas was still standing, looking nervous. “Are we allowed to go use the bathroom before the game starts?” Aiden glanced at him and noticed that his bladder was fairly close to full. Not quite full, but Thomas was probably just feeling it more out of anxiety. It was his first band performance, after all.
“Yeah.” Aiden pointed to the bathrooms near the concession stands. “Just hurry up. Once the game starts we're stuck here until after half time.” Thomas nodded and walked toward the concession stands quickly. Aiden watched him for a few seconds, then turned his attention to the other three members of the pit section. Amber, a junior, was leaning back in her chair and playing with her cell phone. Her bladder was close to empty. Rachel and Greg, both Freshmen like Thomas, were looking over their music. Neither of their bladders were empty, but Aiden was sure they wouldn't have any issues tonight. Unless they drank a lot of water or something.
Aiden waited for the rest of the band to get to the stands, silently people-watching and peeping at the bladders of the people in the bleachers, not having anything better to do. He didn't notice anything interesting though, and after a few minutes the rest of the band got there, filing into their section of the bleachers loudly. Most everyone was chatting excitedly and discussing music, with only a few rookies looking more than just a little nervous. Emily waved to him when she got seated, grinning widely.
It wasn't long until kickoff, and then the start of a routine football game. The pep music went smoothly, and even the bit from their show went off well. Their team was winning, and the whole atmosphere was so infectious Aiden soon found himself completely forgetting the events of earlier and cheering with everyone else every time their team scored. The whole night was going exceptionally well, and was definitely the start of a fantastic weekend, until Aiden got into the concession stand line during the third quarter.
He had just used the bathroom, and was just getting in line to grab a soda and some popcorn to snack on when he spotted someone familiar in the line next to him. It was Daulton. He looked about the same as he had earlier that day. Messy black hair, olive skin, dark eyes, and a baggy green hoodie. He was looking at all the people surrounding them, his dark brown eyes piqued with interest. Aiden watched him, thinking about the mystery of that afternoon again. Daulton noticed and caught Aiden's eye.
“Oh, h-hi...Um..Aiden, right?” Daulton looked nervous suddenly, and had begun to sweat.
“Hey.” Aiden watched him, checking his bladder curiously. It seemed full, but Daulton didn't look uncomfortable from it at all. It suddenly struck him how large Daulton's potential capacity was. At least three liters, Aiden guessed, which was much much larger than an average person's.
“Um...Listen...” Daulton looked toward the ground. He looked slightly guilty, and like he was trying to figure out how to say something. “Um...” Aiden's line was moving. He stepped forward and turned toward Daulton again. Daulton was still looking at the ground. His gaze flicked upward for a moment, and a strange look of realization crossed his face.
“'Um...'?” Aiden looked at Daulton questioningly.
“N-nothing...” Daulton shifted his gaze away.
“Next, please!” Aiden looked toward the counter quickly, realizing it was his turn. Tearing his gaze away from Daulton, he stepped up to the counter. He purchased some popcorn and a can of Dr. Pepper, then turned and started walking back to the area the pit equipment was. Aiden stood near the concessions for a few minutes and kept his eye out for Daulton, to see what he'd wanted, but he couldn't see him anywhere. Aiden checked the scoreboard to see how much longer there was of the third quarter. There was barely three minutes, and they were supposed to be back to their seats by the time they hit the two minute mark. He couldn't keep waiting around.
Brow furrowed with confusion, Aiden hurried back to his seat. To further his confusion, there was a note on his seat.
“Who put this here?” Aiden asked Amber. Amber shrugged.
“Some black-haired kid. Looked new. Anyway, he said he was looking for you.” Amber flipped her drumstick in her hand, looking bored. Aiden set his can of soda on the ground next to his chair and picked up the note curiously.
It was written on slightly wrinkled piece of paper that had been torn out of a notebook. The handwriting was very sloppy, hastily written in pen.
I know what you can see. Please meet me in the park across the street, tomorrow at 10am. I can answer all of your questions. - D
Aiden froze. 'I know what you can see'? 'D'? As in Daulton? Does he know? Aiden looked toward the bleachers.
“Hey Amber? The kid who put this here, was he wearing a green sweatshirt?” Aiden asked.
“Yeah.” Amber said.
Aiden looked back at the paper, trying to keep his expression neutral. Internally, he was freaking out. He knows...How does he know? Does this have something to do with what happened earlier? Aiden reached down the neck of his uniform jacket to shove the note into his tee shirt pocket. Whatever this was all about, he was going to find out. |
Woohoo next chapter! I'm really rolling with the ideas now and will definitely update more frequently.
***
CHAPTER SIX
The house was dark and silent. Daulton knew for sure his brother was asleep. It was at least 2 in the morning. His bladder was nagging at him, but that wasn't what was keeping him awake. His stomach felt knotted with anxiety and guilt. Anxiety because of what he had realized about that guy, Aiden, and horrible guilt over what he had done to him. Daulton hated himself, but he hadn't had much of a choice.
Daulton, too, had been born with a gift. Since he was little he had been able to see how much urine was in a person's bladder just by looking at them and their capacity. But as he got older he noticed other strange things happen to him or the people around him. Sometimes, when he'd be playing tag at recess, he would tag someone and have a noticeable amount of urine suddenly fill his bladder, and the bladder of the person he'd tag suddenly became empty. And, on the reverse, sometimes if he had a full bladder he would tag someone and their bladder would suddenly become fuller.
It happened other times too. Casual touch while passing things to people. Hugs. High-fives. Around age ten it had become more frequent, and Daulton was suddenly dealing with other issues. He had never had problems emptying his bladder before, but he began finding himself often having trouble peeing. He had asked his mom about the problem peeing, and she had simply chalked it up to what she called “stage fright”. Daulton had experienced many extremely desperate situations where he simply could not empty his bladder, but had always been able to pee eventually. In the process, he had increased his bladder capacity quite a bit. And Daulton felt that he could deal with all of that. The weirdness and occasional discomforts were tolerable. Until the day his life changed forever.
One day, he just couldn't pee anymore.
He had gotten up for school one morning in eighth grade, and went into the bathroom in a sleepy haze. Daulton had tried to pee, but to his annoyance he hadn't been able to. It wasn't an altogether uncommon occurrence for him by that point, so he had continued his morning and went to school. He waited through the school day, only trying to pee again once he got home. Once again, nothing. Daulton had continued his evening. He had done his homework, eaten dinner, watched T.V., and gotten ready for bed, getting increasingly desperate all the while. He had tried peeing again before bed, but again, nothing. Daulton had begun to worry by that point, but went to bed anyway.
Daulton had woken up in the wee hours of the morning, in absolute agony from his bladder. His whole abdomen was distended. He felt like he was going to explode. Daulton had crawled out of bed and hobbled to the bathroom, positioned himself in front of the toilet, and tried to pee. But he just couldn't. His bladder had been so painfully full but he just couldn't empty it.
Panicking by that point, Daulton had hobbled to his parents' bedroom, only to find it empty. Daulton had felt himself tearing up at that point. He had forgotten that his dad was out of town. His mom worked nights, and wouldn't be back until later that morning. Having no idea what to do he had ended up in his older brother's room. He had touched his brother's shoulder, to shake him awake, when he froze.
His bladder had begun to feel less full suddenly. Daulton had begun to relax when he heard a sleepy moan from his brother, followed in seconds by a hissing noise. His brother was sprawled out on his bed, with no blankets, so Daulton had been able to see his brother's boxers darkening. The dark wetness had spread, soaking into the sheets and undoubtedly soaking the mattress.
When Daulton had finally felt relief from his bladder, the bed was soaked. Daulton had stepped back, staring. His bladder was empty, and yet he hadn't peed. His brother's bladder was empty too. And there was huge mess on the bed.
Confused, shocked, and feeling intense relief, Daulton had hurried back to his room.
From that day on, Daulton had not been able to physically pee. When his bladder got too full, he had to pass his urine off to someone else to deal with. He tried to do it in small bits, which was agony to him but possible, but sometimes he overdid it.
And today, it seemed, Daulton had overdone it.
He had felt awful for that girl, Emily. He didn't want her to embarrass herself with an accident, and he knew she had been seconds away from wetting herself. He had only meant to take some urine, to take the edge off. But he'd somehow completely emptied her bladder, and adding that to the urine that was already in his bladder quickly became painful. Of course, he wasn't at risk of wetting himself, but it was so much urine it hurt. Daulton had only meant to pass some off to Aiden, to just get a bit out. But before he could stop it he had emptied almost all of his bladder, which had been two liters of urine.
Of course, Daulton had heard at lunch that Aiden had wet himself. He felt absolutely awful about it. He really tried not to pass off all of his urine all at once. His capacity was quite large now, impossible for a normal person to hold. Daulton had fretted about Aiden all day. He had seemed nice, and there was something about him that seemed really unique, unlike everyone else.
Then that evening, at the game, it had finally clicked.
When Daulton got a clearer, not-distracted-by-a-bursting-bladder look at Aiden, he had noticed something different about him. Daulton could see his bladder, of course (a fairly large one, he noticed), but he also saw something else. Aiden seemed to be surrounded in a sort of glow, which was odd in itself, but what struck him most was when they locked eyes at one point while standing in line. Aiden's gaze had flicked down to his abdomen, and had stayed there while Daulton was stuttering, trying to figure out how to apologize. Daulton had noticed the slightly impressed look on Aiden's face, then the guilt when they locked eyes. And Daulton just knew. Aiden had seen his bladder. Aiden could see everyone's bladders. He wasn't completely sure how he was so certain, but he was. He just knew.
So when Aiden had gone up to the counter, Daulton had bailed. He'd scribbled a quick note, left it for Aiden, and left the game entirely, practically running home.
They needed to talk. Daulton absolutely had to know for sure that Aiden could see. |
God, FINALLY. Haha, was a bit uninspired for a while but I've got ideas flowing now. So here's chapter seven. :)
***
CHAPTER SEVEN
Aiden awoke around 9 the next morning, having gotten home rather late from the game and then having been up half the night puzzling over Daulton. He rolled out of bed and made his way to the bathroom sleepily, taking a quick piss before brushing his teeth and showering. A towel wrapped around his waist, he returned to his room. Aiden dressed quickly, putting on a pair of jeans, a tee shirt, sneakers, and a jacket.
He made his way to the kitchen and made himself a bowl of cereal, then sat down to eat it. He dawdled a bit over his breakfast, still having almost fifteen minutes before he needed to leave to meet Daulton. He scrolled through his Facebook absentmindedly, half-wishing he'd wasted a bit more time in the shower. Once he finished his cereal he rinsed his bowl and put it in the dishwasher, then wrote a note on the pad by the phone for his mom that he was hanging out with some friends and would be back later. Since it was the weekend and she didn't have to work, she was probably going to sleep in a while longer before she went to run errands and do her usual Saturday things.
At 9:30 Aiden left his house, walking through his quiet neighborhood. He made it to the park without incident. It was completely empty, except for a dark-haired figure in a green hoodie sitting at a picnic table. Aiden approached the picnic table slowly and sat down across from Daulton. Daulton seemed surprised , like he hadn't heard him coming. He glanced at Aiden briefly, then looked at the table, looking nervous.
“Hi, um...Thanks for showing up...” Daulton mumbled. Aiden nodded curtly, watching Daulton with interest. Why the hell is he so nervous? And why is his bladder so full? Aiden stared at Daulton's abdomen, surprised. He was currently holding a liter and a half, but Daulton wasn't even fidgeting. Other than his general nervous demeanor, he was showing absolutely no signs of having such a full bladder. Then again...his capacity is pretty large...But still... “You can see it...can't you?” Daulton asked, straightening up slightly and looking Aiden in the eye.
“See what?” Aiden asked, looking at Daulton's face. “I'm not blind.”
“Well, I mean...” Daulton shifted his gaze again. “My bladder...you can see it...right?” Aiden stared. He does know... He remained silent, unsure of how to react or what to say. He had never told anyone about his gift...He was afraid of people thinking he was some sort of freak. But Daulton seemed to already know... “I...um...Well, I can see yours...” Daulton looked at Aiden again. “I can see everyone's...” Aiden continued staring.
“You...” Aiden paused. “You can see bladders too?” Aiden blurted out. Daulton nodded. “How long?”
“Since I was little...” Daulton said. Aiden just stared at the boy, processing it all. A huge weight that had always been on his shoulders suddenly lifted. I'm not the only one...there's someone else too... He grinned suddenly, feeling giddy. “Er...what...?” I'm not alone...
“Nothing it's just...” Aiden shook his head. “I thought I was the only one...”
“I did too.” Daulton said.
“Do you know why?” Aiden asked, remembering the note. He said he could answer all my questions.
“Honestly...no...” Daulton admitted. Aiden felt disappointed suddenly. The boys sat there quietly for a while, unsure of what to say. Aiden looked at Daulton's bladder again curiously, watching it fill a bit suddenly.
“Are you gonna go empty that?” Aiden asked, glancing at the outdoor bathrooms nearby. Daulton laughed suddenly.
“I can't. I haven't pissed in...” Daulton leaned back slightly, thinking. “Six years? It's been a while.”
“What? That's not possible...” Aiden said.
“Well, I can technically empty it.” Daulton said. “I just can't pee physically.”
“What do you mean? How do you...?” Aiden trailed off, confused.
“I don't really know how to explain it...but I could show you...” Daulton reached out nervously, looking at Aiden's bladder.
“Show me? What are you talking about?” Aiden asked. Before he had a chance to react, Daulton touched his hand lightly.
“I know you can pee, so...” Daulton sat back.
“Aah!” Aiden doubled over, pain going through his bladder like a knife. He clenched his thighs together tightly, squirming. Holy...fuuuck I need to pee... Aiden glanced at the bathrooms, then back at Daulton. He looked relaxed suddenly, and his bladder was empty. Aiden's breath caught in his throat, and he sat there in shock, squirming. It was him... Daulton watched him, looking nervous again.
“Ah...you should go empty that...” Daulton said, watching his squirming. Aiden bit his lip and struggled to his feet, his bladder so painfully full it was hard to straighten up. He hobbled over to the bathroom, which wasn't very far, and rushed inside, hurrying to a urinal. Aiden got his pants undone in seconds, whipped himself out, and relaxed, groaning in relief. His bladder emptied, urine hissing loudly.
Relieved, Aiden left the bathroom, returning to Daulton.
“What the hell was that?” Aiden asked.
“I can't pee, but my bladder still gets full...” Daulton explained. “I have to transfer my urine to different people, or my bladder will rupture...I wasn't really that full just now, I just wanted to show you.”
“Oh...” Aiden thought back to the incident with Emily. “You can take urine from other people's bladders too, can't you?” Aiden asked, though he was sure he knew the answer.
“Yeah...” Daulton looked down at the table, looking guilty suddenly. “I, uh...About Friday....I'm really, really sorry...It's my fault you wet yourself...” Aiden watched him, feeling slightly angry. It is his fault I wet myself....but... Aiden felt a prick of sympathy. I don't think he meant for it to happen... “Your friend was about to wet herself..” Daulton explained. “I only meant to take some of her urine, so she could make it until lunch, but I accidentally took all the contents of her bladder. I wasn't exactly empty, and it was really hurting so...” Daulton stared at his hands on the table. “I'm really sorry...I only meant to transfer some to you...I really don't know what happened...it's been harder lately to only transfer some...”
“I see...” Aiden said. Questions were buzzing in his head. How the hell does he do it? If every time he needs to pee he has to transfer urine to someone else...How much time does he spend desperate? Especially if he doesn't transfer all at once...
“I'm sorry...I know I caused you so much embarrassment but...” Daulton sighed. Aiden held up his hand.
“Look, it was an accident...” Aiden smirked slightly at the double meaning. “I know you didn't mean for it to happen.
“I really didn't.” Daulton agreed. Aiden nodded.
“Listen...maybe...” Aiden stopped for a moment, thinking. The idea of Daulton being desperate so often was awakening something in him. He felt like a middle schooler again, skulking around the bathrooms trying to see desperate boys a girls... Plus, just the fact that Daulton had a gift like his gave Aiden an odd sense of kinship with him. “We should hang out.” Aiden said.
“Really?” Daulton asked.
“Yeah.” Aiden really wanted to get to know him better. “Plus, you're new in town so...If you're not doing anything I could show you around.” Daulton's face lit up.
“Really? That'd be great.” Daulton smiled. Aiden found himself smiling too. I'm not alone... |
Haha guess who stayed up half the night writing two chapters?? Meeee cuz who needs sleep. No female desperation or wetting in this chapter, but have some in the next.
Also, shamelessly using my own family drama and issues with my siblings in this chapter. No regrets.
***
CHAPTER NINE
Friday passed without incident. Daulton slept most of the day, getting up occasionally to eat or get something to drink. On Saturday morning his fever broke. He still felt pretty crappy with a sore throat and mild headache, but better now that the body aches and chills were over. He spent most of Saturday lounging on the couch, watching T.V. and getting some homework done. He pretty much stayed there until evening, barely looking up when he heard his brother Jared walk into the house loudly.
“Ey, where's mom?” Jared asked.
“At the neighbor's house.” Daulton said, looking up from the grilled cheese sandwich he'd been nibbling on. “Why?” Jared shrugged.
“Just wondering.” Jared shuffled off down the hall, toward his room.
Daulton groaned and shifted on the couch, his bladder throbbing. With all the liquids he'd been drinking, his bladder had filled steadily, and at this point Daulton was beginning to feel quite desperate. He was so full and uncomfortable, and on top of being sick it just made him feel irritable. So when he heard Jared talking on the phone, sounding suspiciously like he was talking to his dealer (Jared smoked a ton of weed, and did an awful job of hiding it from his family), Daulton felt a bit annoyed.
Jared had really been annoying him anyway lately. He was 20, had no job, didn't go to school, and spent his days smoking weed and playing his guitar, convinced that someday he'd be famous. How he had the money for all the weed, Daulton didn't know. He didn't want to get involved in the mess. In fact, he really wouldn't care if it hadn't been for the fact that their family was struggling so much.
Their dad had taken off about six months earlier, which had been the reason they'd moved and the reason Daulton had changed schools. The house they were currently living in was smaller than their old one, and more affordable, but even with their mom working overtime every week they were struggling. Daulton had been applying for part-time jobs since they'd moved, to be able to help out his mom, so he really didn't appreciate Jared leeching off of them when he had the time and capability of working.
So when Daulton heard Jared stop talking, and saw him walk toward their mom's room in the reflection of the back window, his irritation crept up another notch.
“What are you doing in mom's room?” Daulton asked.
“I'm not in mom's room.” Jared replied. Daulton sighed and got up, looking for Jared.
“I saw you, you idiot.” Daulton said, approaching the master bedroom. He walked in, then stopped dead in the doorway. “What...are you doing?” Jared was standing by the dresser, holding several crumpled twenty dollar bills and looking guilty.
“Nothing.” Jared stuffed the money into his pockets hastily and replaced the jar their mom saved money in. She tried to save it for family vacations or fun things, but lately money from it had been going toward car repairs and other unexpected expenses. And now the jar was nearly empty.
“You're stealing money??” Daulton exclaimed. He was appalled. This was over the line. Neither of them were even allowed in their mom's room, and taking money from her was just completely out of line.
“I like to think of it as borrowing.” Jared shrugged.
“Yeah? You're gonna pay her back?” Daulton snarled, surprising even himself.
“Chill out dude. She doesn't even notice.”
“Bullshit, Jared. She's not stupid.”
“Whatever. I have somewhere I gotta be.” Jared pushed past Daulton in the doorway, and Daulton finally snapped. He felt like shit, he was desperate to pee, and now his good-for-nothing brother was a thief as well as lazy. Daulton felt a rush of adrenaline, and as Jared passed he punched him in the side. It was a well-placed punch, right over Jared's hip bone. Jared cried out in pain and surprise, and Daulton panicked, feeling his bladder empty suddenly. Shit, shit, shit!! In his rage, he had just transferred all two and a half liters of his urine to Jared.
Jared yelled in pain and confusion, doubling over. There was an unmistakable hissing noise, and in seconds Jared was fully wetting himself, wetting a torrent through his baggy gym shorts.
“What the...?!” Jared wheeled around and looked at Daulton. “What the FUCK?! You finally learned how to fight?!” Daulton stepped back fearfully as his brother was bearing down on him, fists raised. He was still peeing, but seemed too angry to care. Daulton gulped, trying to speak. “Fight me then, bitch!” Jared yelled, punching Daulton's stomach. Daulton grunted and raised his arms, trying to protect his face. Jared shoved him to the floor and got on top of him, punching at his face and chest.
Daulton and Jared had never quite gotten along. Jared had picked on and bullied Daulton relentlessly for years, mocking him for not liking cars, calling him gay, all kinds of petty insults that struck Daulton deep. He'd been bullied for years for being a “sissy”. Even once Daulton grew taller than his older brother, the insults and punches didn't stop.
“Stop!” Daulton shouted.
“You want me to stop?” Jared punched Daulton's cheek with a well executed right hook, bruising him. “MAKE ME.” Daulton struggled, trying to get Jared off of him. Jared punched him a few times in the side until Daulton went still, then got up. “That's what I fucking thought, faggot.” Jared kicked him, stomped away, slammed the bathroom door closed, and stayed in there for a few minutes.
Daulton lay in the hall, his whole body screaming in pain. Bruises were forming from Jared's punches, and he was covered in urine. His mind was reeling. He prayed to every deity in existence that Jared wouldn't figure out exactly what had just happened. I have to get it under control...that's another uncontrolled transfer...
He flinched when Jared threw open the bathroom door, wearing clean shorts. Jared walked past him, glaring, and left the house, slamming the front door shut behind him. Aching and feeling miserable, Daulton got up and walked into the bathroom, getting some towels to clean up all the urine. |
TEN
Aiden awoke Monday morning, his phone buzzing and beeping. He picked it up groggily, opening a text message from Daulton.
I'm out front. It read. Yawning, Aiden got out of bed and shuffled to the front door, unlocking and opening it for Daulton.
“Morning.” He mumbled sleepily. Daulton nodded silently. Aiden checked his bladder out of habit. He was holding just under two liters. “Come on.” Aiden stepped back to let him in. Daulton walked inside, and Aiden led him toward the bathroom.
“Ready?” Daulton asked. His voice was quieter than normal, and he seemed to be keeping his head down.
“Ready.” Aiden yawned again and held out his hand. Daulton touched it, and Aiden felt the familiar pressure of an overly full bladder. He stepped into the bathroom, nudged the door closed, and peed, sighing in relief.
Their first couple of transfers had gone disastrously wrong when Aiden had wet himself, unable to hold in Daulton’s and his own urine. So the next few times they had tried having Aiden pee first, then take Daulton's urine and pee again. It worked better, but was more time-consuming. Then they tried doing a slow transfer while Aiden was already peeing (with Daulton standing behind him and touching his shoulder), and that had worked well for a while. But now, Aiden's capacity had grown quite a bit, and if Daulton was holding two liters or less they could transfer all at once, then Aiden would pee.
When he was done, Aiden took a quick shower and brushed his teeth, going back to his room wearing a bathrobe and carrying his pajamas. Daulton was waiting for him as usual, sitting at Aiden’s desk chair and finishing up some homework.
“Did you eat breakfast yet?” Aiden asked, dressing quickly with his back turned.
“No.” Daulton replied.
“Want some Poptarts?” Aiden asked as he pulled on his jacket.
“Sure.” Daulton packed his school stuff into his bag and stood, smiling. Aiden slipped on his shoes and grabbed his backpack.
“We just have strawberry flavored, is that—“ Aiden stopped mid-sentence, noticing that Daulton was sporting a black eye and split lip. Daulton noticed Aiden’s stare and quickly tried to hide his face. “What the hell happened to you?”
“It’s fine, it was just my brother…”
“Your brother did that?” Aiden was shocked.
“Yeah, but its fine.” Daulton said quickly. “Really, when my mom found out she said if he did something like this again she was kicking him out.” Aiden sighed.
“Alright…” Aiden said. “If you’re sure.” He left his room, leading Daulton to the kitchen. They grabbed their breakfast, and left Aiden’s house, meeting Emily on the corner before heading to school.
The day passed as a usual Monday did. Slowly and uneventfully. Aiden had band practice that evening, so at the end of the day, instead of going home and then coming back later for practice, Aiden and Emily decided they’d hang out in the band room. They had gone to the nearby gas station to grab something for their dinner with a large group and were heading back to the band room when Aiden spotted her.
It was a girl Aiden had seen around campus before, tall and slender, with light brown hair that hung to her shoulders. She was wearing a short black skirt and a black tee shirt, with knee high black boots and gray leggings. A black belt rested over her swollen bladder. Aiden stopped, feeling a thrill of excitement go through him.
“Aiden?” Emily was looking back at him, noticing that he had stopped.
“Huh?”
“Are you coming or what?”
“Oh…” Aiden shook himself. “Yeah, I’ll catch up. I just realized I left something in Mr. Miller’s room.” Aiden lied quickly.
“Oh. Okay. See you in a few then!” Emily grinned and waved at him, continuing back to the band room with the group. Aiden, on the other hand, made his way toward the girl quietly, sneaking along at a reasonable distance behind her. She didn’t seem to notice him, which was no wonder. Her bladder was almost at capacity, and she seemed to be doing everything she could to hold it. She was walking with her thighs pressed together, hunched forward a bit. The girl stopped suddenly, burying her hands in her crotch. Panicking, Aiden ducked behind a vending machine, peeking around the corner to keep his eye on the girl. She was still struggling, squirming in place as her bladder throbbed and pulsed. She froze suddenly, swearing. Aiden was positive she had just leaked. And as Aiden watched, her bladder began to empty in tiny spurts. A wet patch began to grow on the back of her leggings, and began to trickle down her legs. With a sob the girl let go, peeing herself forcefully. Urine cascaded down her leggings, leaving long wet streaks before dripping to the ground. A puddle grew around her boots, pale yellow urine puddling on the pavement.
When her bladder was empty the girl was crying harder, and Aiden hid himself. He realized he was hard within his boxers; he hadn’t witnessed someone else wetting in years. Heart pounding, Aiden hurried back to the band room, keeping the incident as a clear picture in his head. He couldn’t wait to sketch her later. |
So, it's been at least forever and a half since I wrote an Omorashi thing, and I've been on a bit of a RWBY craze lately. Specifically I've been obsessed with The Blake and Yang pairing (RWBY fans know it as Bumblebee), especially since rewatching Burning the Candle as part of my Volume 2 binge prior to the release of Volume 3. Anyway, thought I'd write something short to get back into the swing of things, so to speak. I kind of wrote with the flow rather than planning anything out first, so things might be a little disjointed. Regardless, I hope you enjoy.
The bright yellow lights hung form the high ceiling poked around bookshelves and filled the busy library with a warm, ambient glow that calmed the nerves of readers and those trying to cram away from the sanctity of their dorms. The sound of the yellowed pages of old tomes and fresh white sheets of newer books could be heard in conjunction, filling even the most remote corners of the library with a soft, intermittent cacophony that provided some sense of kinship amongst readers otherwise distanced and isolated in their own worlds.
It was among this ambience, in a soft upholstered chair in a small enclosed space created with one wall and two bookshelves, where Blake Belladonna sat with book in her hands and feet resting on an ottoman matching her seat.
Blake had journeyed down to this comfortable corner of Beacon’s library to seek reprieve from the rest of her team. It wasn’t like they had in any way angered her or pestered her enough to make her want to leave the comfort of their shared dorm, but it was more to the effect that she wanted some time away from the rambunctious group that made reading (or, for that matter, doing anything aside from joining in on their antics) difficult.
So here Blake sat, enjoying the peace and solitude of the library and the novel she had engrossed herself in entirely. The book that sat in her hands looked to be some sort of old tome, with yellowed pages and words written in a long-dead language decorating the black leather bindings. However, this was merely a front, a discrete and subtle skin for what was in actuality a saucy romance, something of a guilty pleasure for the raven-haired girl.
Blake was grateful for the solitude this alcove provided, for otherwise reading such a thing in public might prove dangerous. It wasn’t that Blake wasn’t convinced she couldn’t keep a poker face even while reveling in the more juicy details of her novel, but the thought of being watched at all while reading such a thing made the otherwise calm and collected Faunus blush in embarrassment.
Blake was entirely aware just because she had chosen a remote nook of the library to hole herself away in, the possibility of someone else seeing her wasn’t out of the question. That was well enough, because Blake had no intentions of acting on any urges such an arousing read might bring about, and the limit of her interactions with someone poking around back here would be nothing more than a quick glance to see if the chair Blake was seated in had been taken.
No, things like this were fine, and Blake had no reason to close her novel even when she reached a scene where the characters began to elope.
Blake’s face remained stoic as her eyes danced across the page, taking in every word and registering all the details, the increased rate in her breathing as her heart raced inside her chest the only indications of arousal from the alluring scene.
Blake swallowed hard as she continued to read, reveling in the details of the scene as she sat calmly in the library. The area between her legs twitched in desire, but Blake did not come here to engage in such actions. She instead ignored it in favor of continuing the scene, eyes scanning the pages faster as the words became shorter and the sentences became choppy to emulate the approach of climax.
“Whatcha doing, Blake?”
Just as Blake reached the peak of the scene and the height of her arousal, the voice calling out to her tore her away from all her thoughts and left her staring blankly at the page as a blush rose fast on her cheeks.
It took her a few moments to register that the voice was familiar to her. Mature, yet with an energetic tone and lighthearted inflections that could only belong to her partner and team RWBY’s resident powerhouse, Yang Xiao Long.
It took her even longer to realize that her partner’s question had been entirely and completely asinine. She had been reading, that much had been obvious, and while Yang was definitely more brawn than brains, she wasn’t unintelligent by any stretch of the word.
Perhaps, at any other point, Blake would’ve pointed out how useless such a question was, but as it stood now all she could do was stare silently at the page as her heart threatened to beat out of her chest.
“Remnant to Blake!?” Yang called again, walking ever closer to her partner when all the raven-haired girl wanted from her now was to leave her alone until she could compose herself fully, “You’re squirming around like you’ve got ants in your pants, is everything alright?”
Blake’s brain instantly snapped back into action as she registered the blonde’s words. Sure enough, Blake noticed that she was wiggling her legs around shaking slightly, something she hadn’t so much as noticed earlier.
It wasn’t a result of her arousal either, at least not fully. Instead, Blake noticed a significant pressure in her abdomen indicative of a full bladder. Blake’s eyes darted to a clock on the wall nearby and her eyes widened as she realized just how late it was. She had come here almost immediately after dinner at seven, and now it was going on midnight. She has spent that whole time sitting in the library without so much as a bathroom break, having been far too engrossed in the book she was reading to so much as notice.
It was a bad habit Blake had developed, and it had gotten her in some dangerous situations in the past. Blake recalled one time back when she was with the White Fang where her decision to read immediately up until she left for a mission backfired and she was left fighting two security guards while wearing a swimsuit on a full bladder.
It was a long story, and Blake still wasn’t convinced that the swimsuit had been entirely necessary for the mission.
Still, that was then, this was now, and Blake was caught needing to pee with a raunchy novel in her hands and her blonde-haired partner pressing her hand against her forehead in concern.
Wait… Yang was…
“You’re bright red,” Yang noted, brushing Blake’s short bangs out of the way and pressing her palm to Blake’s forehead.
“Y-Yang, what are you-!?” Blake sputtered out with an uncharacteristic lack of composure. None of what was happening right now was doing anything to diminish her blush or her desperation.
“Hmm… nope!” Yang shook her head, “I’ve never been able to tell using that trick. Probably because I’m always so hot.”
Blake regained enough of her composure to groan at Yang’s double entendre, arching an eyebrow at her partner and giving her a deadpan, “Really?”
Yang grinned, “Oh of course. That gets a response. Anyway, it was getting late so I came down to check up on you.”
“Thanks,” Blake nodded, steeling her bladder and pulling herself to her feet. As she did, her bladder let out a pang of protest as the pent-up fluid sloshed around from the movement. Gasping slightly, Blake pressed her thighs together and stumbled forwards, falling into Yang as she staggered.
“Woah, easy there,” Yang replied, “You sure you’re feeling okay?”
Blake nodded, pushing herself off her partner and trying not to fidget around too much, “Yeah, just a little shaky from sitting in that position for so long.”
A half-truth. While Blake’s current predicament did in fact stem from sitting in the chair for too long, it had been her negligence to listen to her body’s needs that was the direct cause.
Still, Yang didn’t need to be privy of that information.
“Alright then, let’s go back to the dorm, shall we?”
Blake nodded silently and Yang grinned widely, turning around and heading off before Blake could say another word. Blake set off next to her, trying to match her pace to Yang’s as best as possible without overexerting herself.
Luckily, Blake knew she wouldn’t have to keep on holding herself much longer like this. There was a bathroom just outside the library, and it would only be a matter of asking Yang to hold on as she slipped into the ladies’ room.
At least, that’s what Blake had assumed. Unfortunately, upon their exiting the library, Blake was met with a disheartening sign that made her bladder cry out in protest. In front of the bathroom was a custodian’s cart, and a sign with “out of order” written on it had been hastily taped to the door.
Blake unintentionally let out a frustrated whimper at the sight, which inadvertently caught the attention of the blonde leading the way in front of her.
Yang turned around and frowned at her partner, following her line of sight to the closed bathrooms.
“Ah,” Yang noted in realization, “So that fidgeting back there was…”
Blake’s face lit up and she turned to her partner.
“Wait, no, I just… I mean…!”
Yang grinned, “Come on, don’t try to tell me I’m wrong! Besides, what’s got you so embarrassed all of a sudden? If ya gotta go, ya gotta go, ya know? Now come on, there’s another bathroom further down the hall. I kinda gotta go to, now that you mention it.”
Blake didn’t feel any less embarrassed about the situation, but nevertheless she followed Yang as the blonde set off down the hall. She was feeling a little less conscious about concealing her need now that Yang knew about it, which was just as well, because she was at the point where external pressure was a welcome addition to her holding efforts.
Subtly but swiftly, Blake’s hand snaked down to between her legs and she applied pressure to her crotch, sighing a little at the temporary comfort the gesture provided. Hoping fate would favor her and Yang wouldn’t turn around, Blake held herself as she followed the blonde down the hall to the other bathrooms.
When they got there, however, all they found was more bad news.
“Ah come on,” Yang whined, met with the sight of a small sign reading “Cleaning in Progress” taped to the door of this bathroom as well, “They can’t all be closed!”
“Well,” Blake noted, removing her hand from her crotch as Yang turned towards her, pressing her thighs together in silent lament as she did so, “It’s midnight, so most students are at the dorms by now. I guess they assume this is the best time to clean the bathrooms.”
Yang sighed, glancing over her raven-haired partner in concern.
“Think you can make it back to the dorm?”
Blake frowned. Beacon’s library was part of the main building where the lectures were held, and the dorms were a good walk away. Blake had learned all too well just how far the dorms were from the school’s main hall when they were forced to run to class on their first day. Blake didn’t want to admit outright that she wouldn’t be able to make it that far, but she had let her need get away from her and she wasn’t confident she could stay dry at this rate.
Blake blushed and looked down, knowing fully well that not giving an answer was in and of itself an answer.
“No, huh?” Yang frowned, crossing her arms, “Well, there’s the bathrooms in between all the lecture halls on the second floor, and then another all the way at the end of the hallway on the third… or maybe we can try the cafeteria? I doubt they’d be open, but it could be worth a shot?”
Blake closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as her urge for relief grew stronger.
“I don’t care,” Blake replied, losing all composure and speaking more quickly and sharply than normal, “I don’t have time to sit here and think!”
Yang nodded, “Alright, second floor it is! I’m sure they’ll be open!”
The blonde’s voice wavered at this last point, and either way Blake knew very well that there was no way she could say such a thing in confidence anyway, but nevertheless the raven-haired girl nodded and the two set off towards the stairwell.
As the two reached the two flights of stairs they’d have to climb to reach the second floor, Blake had no choice but to grab herself openly as she took each step. Spreading her legs to climb did nothing to help her already urgent need, and even though the amount of stairs they had to climb was relatively small, it was still an arduous task for the desperate Faunus.
Blake fell behind Yang once again as they made their way down the halls of the second floor, heading towards the conveniently placed bathroom situated in the middle of the floor, an equal distance away from all the nearby lecture halls.
As they rounded the corner however, Blake’s heart sank as her eyes fell upon yet another custodial cart parked outside the bathroom doors. As Yang ran ahead to check the door, her bladder twitched in desperation and she had to jam her other hand between her legs to fight back the flood.
“Dang,” the blonde before her snapped her fingers as she read the sign posted on the bathroom door, “I guess they really do clean the bathrooms at midnight. Bummer.”
It was more than a bummer. Blake could hardly hold out anymore. There was always the third floor bathroom, but Blake had no reason to believe the situation there would be any different than what they had seen so far.
“Well, guess we could still try upstairs,” Yang offered weakly, “Or maybe we could wait here for them to finish, or-“
“Yang,” Blake cut her partner off, gazing onto the blonde’s eyes desperately as she held herself openly, “I can’t…”
“Huh? No, come on, we can try-“
“I really can’t… hold it anymore,” Blake admitted, blushing despite already holding herself boldly in front of her partner. She wriggled around and clamped her hands down on her crotch, but she really had reached her limit.
“Hang on,” Yang replied, walking over to her raven-haired partner.
Blake opened her mouth again, but instead she froze when she felt herself being hoisted up by Yang. The blonde lifted her up gently and avoided any sudden movements as she positioned herself to carry the raven-haired girl bridal style.
“Y-Yang… what are you-!? I’m going to…”
“Hold it for just a bit longer, I know where we can go,” Yang replied in a gentle tone before heading down the hall in a swift, but manageable pace.
Blake blushed furiously, both at the situation she landed herself in and at the position she was in currently. She was eternally grateful that it was midnight, otherwise the fear of being spotted like this would undoubtedly force the Faunus to lose any remaining control she had over her bladder.
The raven-haired girl pressed her hands against her crotch tightly as Yang carried her, scrunching her face up in effort and inadvertently burying her head in the blonde-haired girl’s chest as she squirmed in her arms.
In spite of the situation she was in, there was something incredibly comforting about the way Yang was holding her. The blonde’s always fiery aura warmed her and the gentle and firm grasp around Blake’s bare shoulder sent strange tingles up and down the Faunus’s arm.
As Yang’s walking inadvertently jostled Blake, the desperate girl drew in a sharp breath as she clamped her thighs together and pressed her fingers harder against her crotch. As she did so, a pleasing scent of light perfume and fruit that Blake did not have the mental concentration nor desire to identify filled her nostrils and she ever-so-momentarily forgot about her current issue.
“Hold on tight, things might get bumpy,” Yang warned. Blake snapped her head up, only to find that they had reached the stairwell and Yang was preparing to descend it. Blake clenched her muscles and tightened her hold on her crotch as she readied herself for the inevitable shaking that would accompany the blonde’s descent.
The first step had been worse than Blake was expecting, and she let out a quiet gasp as a hot spurt of pent up urine escaped into her panties. The raven-haired Faunus fought desperately to prevent another leak, writhing in Yang’s arms and clamping down on her crotch so hard that her knuckles were starting to turn white.
Yang adjusted her grip on Blake before continuing, and whatever she had done seemed to have helped. While there was still quite a bit of uncomfortable jostling as the blonde carried her partner down the stairs, it wasn’t nearly as bad as the first step, and Blake had gone the rest of the trip without another incident.
As the pair exited the stairwell, Yang turned down a hallway that Blake was almost certain she had not traveled down. None of Blake’s classes were down this way, and the library and any other place Blake might be interested did not require use of this hallway to access. As such, despite her desperate situation, Blake found herself growing curious as to where Yang was taking her.
As the two reached the end of the hallway, Yang tilted Blake over and carefully placed her on the ground. The transition from being carried by the blonde to having to stand on her own again nearly made the Faunus lose it, but somehow she managed to contain herself and found herself fidgeting restlessly outside the set of double-doors as Yang smiled proudly.
“The Gym,” Yang announced, pushing the doors open and walking inside. Blake spent most of her time training outdoors and she was never really one for lifting weights or hitting punching bags, explaining how her partner knew of its location when she didn’t. “The bathroom in the back is always open. I’ve spent some nights here after midnight and I’ve never seen anyone go back there to clean. I didn’t think about it at the time, but we should’ve probably come here first, huh?”
If Blake had but a sliver of rational thought left to spare, she might have gotten mad at Yang for not mentioning these bathrooms sooner. As it was, however, Blake couldn’t hold it in anymore and she needed relief now.
The raven-haired Faunus pushed her way past Yang and darted to the back of the gym, ignoring the few leaks her sudden, swift movements had caused. As she made her way to the back where the locker room and showers were, her eyes fell upon an open stall and she rushed inside, all but slamming the cubicle door behind her.
Blake hesitated in removing her hands from her crotch, worried that such an action would cause her to let lose right there. Still, she couldn’t get anywhere grasping at herself desperately when there was a toilet right in front of her. The Faunus tore her hands away from her crotch and grabbed at the button of her white pants. She unfastened the button swiftly and moved onto the zipper, attempting to tear it down as the penultimate barrier between her and much needed relief.
As she tried to force the zipper down, it jammed, perhaps a direct result of the violent force she had applied to it, and Blake’s eyes widened. As she fought with the fastener, she felt tears lick the corners of her eyes and her bladder start to give out against her will.
“No… No no no!” She whined, attempting to tear the pants off of herself without undoing the zipper fully. Unfortunately, her outfit was form-fitting and allowed no room for her to wiggle her hips out of the impeding cloth.
Blake returned to the zipper in a last-ditch attempt to force it open, but she was met with the same stubborn resistance as before. She thought about asking Yang for help, but it was too little too late. Her bladder had been taxed to its extreme, and she couldn’t contain herself for one second longer.
Blake’s dam burst and a loud, hot gush of urine exploded into her panties, quickly soaking through them and making their way into her pants. She could feel warm cascades of the pent up liquid cascading down the insides of her legs, soaking both the front and back of her pants and further filling the black-and-purple leggings she wore over them. As she continued to lose control, the raven-haired Faunus could feel the hot urine pool in her boots and splash on the floor between her legs.
The torrent continued for at least a minute before Blake felt the flood taper off and stop completely. During that time, the Faunus hadn’t been able to process much of anything except the overwhelming relief of her release, but as her higher cognitive functions returned, the raven-haired girl froze in place.
She didn’t know entirely what to think, or how to react to the situation that had transpired. She had just wet herself. Blake Belladonna, age 17 and student of one of the most prestigious Hunstman Academy’s in all of Remnant, had just pissed herself like a little girl.
That in and of itself would be reason enough for Blake’s petrifying shame, yet what was worse was the fact that Yang was somewhere on the other side of the cubicle doors. In her eyes, Blake had made it. She hadn’t been overcome by circumstances beyond her control, she had been in the toilet and fully capable of relieving herself properly.
Furthermore, the blonde had specifically carried her here from the second floor to ensure she would make it back to the dorm dry. Yet here she was, pants soaked in her own urine in front of a toilet like a little kid who had waited just a little too long.
Despite the sizable puddle of urine pooled at her feet, Blake collapsed and resisted the urge to cry.
She was a Huntress, damnit! This wasn’t supposed to happen to huntresses! Despite her bad habit of getting caught up in her books, Blake hadn’t wet herself like this since she was eight. It was entirely and completely humiliating, and all the raven-haired girl wanted now was to curl up in a hole somewhere and cry so she wouldn’t have to face Yang.
“Hey, Blake, you alright in there?”
Blake groaned silently as the blonde knocked on the door just outside.
“Blake?” Yang asked again, knocking once more, “Hey, are you crying?”
The raven-haired Faunus hadn’t realized it, but her inaudible sniffles had turned into full-out muted sobs.
“I’m coming in,” Yang replied. A loud thud and the sound of the stall’s lock breaking as Yang busted her way into the cubicle. As the blonde’s eyes fell upon the sight of Blake before her, all she could utter in response was a weak “Oh.”
Blake froze, unable to so much as meet her partner’s gaze. Oh how childish she must have looked. Sitting on the floor of the stall sobbing in a puddle of her own urine. Her partner must’ve been disappointed in her. To make matters worse, Blake was a Faunus and Yang knew it. Rather than viewing this incident as simply childish, perhaps the blonde would simply come to see this as the sad inability of a filthy animal trying to act like a human. Maybe the blonde would start looking down on Blake, maybe…
Blake felt the warm aura of her partner wrap around her as the blonde knelt down behind her and wrapped the black-haired girl in a hug from behind.
“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Yang spoke soothingly, pressing herself deeper into the hug as she tried to calm her partner down, “Zippers suck. They get stuck at the worst times. Happens to everyone.”
Blake stopped crying, but she couldn’t yet bring herself to respond. Instead, she sat there silently for a moment, taking in the warmth Yang’s aura provided. Blake hadn’t noticed it, but the pee pooled underneath her had grown cold from contact with the air.
Suddenly, however, Blake’s eyes widened in realization and she whirled around to look at Yang.
“Wait, Yang, your sitting in my-“
Blake had glanced down at her partner’s legs to make sure her clothes weren’t getting wet, but she froze when she noticed the wet patch spreading out from Yang’s crotch.
An imperceptibly quiet hissing noise filled the otherwise silent room as Yang wet herself, her expression showing absolutely no signs of embarrassment or concern as she let loose in her shorts. As Yang’s pee soaked through her black shorts and began streaming down to the floor, it splashed into Blake’s own puddle and made the pool of urine even larger.
Yang sighed in relief as she finished and beamed at Blake, who could only stare back at her partner with wide eyes.
“Why did you…?”
“I let you go first because you were way worse off than me, but I was getting pretty full by the end of it,” Yang admitted, “Anyway, now neither of us have to worry about being embarrassed, because we both wet ourselves, right?”
In spite of all that had happened, Blake allowed herself a smile and she moved to pick herself off the bathroom floor. Yang, as well, pulled herself to her feet, and the blonde beamed widely.
“Heh… guess it’s good we’re at the gym, huh? We can shower up here and stop by the laundry room before heading back. No one has to know what happened here.”
Blake nodded, smiling gratefully at that particular stroke of luck. It was unfortunate she had wet herself, but she was glad it had been here, rather than in the hallway where she would have to walk shamefully down the halls with her accident on display.
Yang turned around and began to undress, eliciting a blush from the raven-haired girl as she turned away. Deciding to work on her own clothes, Blake removed her boots and then her stockings, revealing the extent of her wet pants, which, being white, had grown quite see-through where her pee had soaked through them.
As Blake reached the zipper to tug it down, she was quickly reminded of the cause of her accident in the first place.
The raven-haired Faunus turned back around, watching Yang as she removed her wet shorts leaving her in a pair of soaked orange panties. Blake blushed, both at her partner’s current state of undress and the question she was about to ask, and she called out to the blonde.
“Hey, Yang, uhm…” Blake averted her gaze, rubbing her arm in embarrassment as the blonde turned around, “My zipper’s still stuck…” |
Well here's another don't know what more I could add and feel free to take some ideas I've done and do your own take because I honestly feel there's others who can do these stories better than I have..
Plot: Amy (been in all my stories except ones based on actual properties) is invited to her former co-worker Abby's party but what do you do when your desperate and there's people occupying the bathrooms and too many people outside? Well plant looks like it needs a drink.
Amy was standing around and chatting to friends. Abby who worked with her at Home Depot until she was fired for being caught peeing in a display toilet was hosting. Of course both her and Michelle who wasn't with her due to doing something else had gotten away with peeing in one of those toilets and she did feel bad for Abby getting caught. As she gulped down her 5th drink of the night she started to feel something as she began to cross her legs in desperation signifying that she had to pee.
"Hey I gotta take care of something nice talking to you Lisa" Amy said waving goodbye as she ran out of the room into the hallway and walked over to the downstairs bathroom and tried opening it to no avail.
"What the?" Amy said
"Wait one minute" a male voice called
"No big deal she has another one" Amy said walking off
She then ran up the stairs and walked towards the main upstairs bathroom and tried opening it up now being more desperate but again it was locked.
"What now?" Amy whispered
Suddenly she heard the noise of a fart as Amy put her fingers to her nose.
"Abby is that you? I think I've made shit of your toilet quite literally" a girl called out as she groaned in pain
Great now what was she gonna do? Looking around as she hopped in desperation Amy ran back down the stairs and then walked into the kitchen barging through the various people and decided she'd take her chance at peeing in the backyard however when she walked towards the back door she saw nearly half the guests conversing there and nearly the entire backyard had people at every corner giving her no privacy.
"Damn it" Amy said now really feeling desperate
"Amy how are you enjoying things?" Abby said smiling
"Fine" Amy said trying to hide her desperation
"Well I'm sorry Michelle couldn't come tonight but do give her my regards" Abby said
"I will" Amy said as she tried to walk away
"So how's work? Did they ever catch the person who crapped in display the toilet?" Abby said slightly annoyed that she had been fired while this person who committed an even more disgusting act got away
"No they didn't" Amy told her
"You think if I caught the person behind it they'd give me job back?" Abby said hopeful
"I don't know listen I'll see you later." Amy said rather quickly running away desperate up the stairs as Abby looked at her curiously
"Amy...?" Abby pondered confused but continued to attending to the party.
Amy ran back up the stairs and looked over to the bathroom still occupied as she sighed and looked around and saw a potted plant in the corner. Looking around and looking back to the door she then sighed.
"I guess Abby's plant could do with some watering" Amy said as she ran over to it.
Once again checking to see if anybody was there and finding nobody she pulled her pants and panties down and positioned herself over the plant and let go as she had to resist sighing in relief over being heard as she let her pee soak the roots and dirt in the plant. As she continued to let her pee flow she suddenly heard the bathroom open as she quickly pulled up her pants and panties squeezing her muscles and stopping her pee flow and quickly ran into what was Abby's bedroom as she saw her another co-worker Sarah walking out of the bathroom and then down the stairs. As Amy looked out the door she crossed her legs in desperation as she still needed to pee. Noticing there was another plant in Amy's room she quickly shut the door and pulled down her pants and panties again and positioned herself over the plant and let her remaining pee flow out of her as she sighed in relief.
"Much better and hey she get's her plants watered although I've heard sometimes it kills them so in which case I'm sorry Abbey" Amy said to herself
Shaking any remaining droplets of pee she pulled up her pants and panties and took a minute to wander around Abbey's room noticing it was very glamorous and seemed to have a lot of makeup stuff and nice looking clothes well clothes that were nice but not entirely expensive.
"Seems she meant it when she said she wanted a guy to notice her" Amy said remembering when Abbey told her how guys always ignored her and she's often tried to make herself look different and move away from her shyness so that she no longer feels invisible to society. Suddenly she heard Abbey's voice.
"Amy? You up here?" Abbey called out
Abbey walked by the bathroom door and held her nose wondering what Sarah ate. She then walked to her plant and noticed it had been watered. Examining it further she smelt it and moved away in disgust and confusion.
"Pee?" Abbey pondered as she then opened her bedroom door and walked in. Looking around she then looked at the plant by her door and noticed that it too had been pissed on. What was going on here? She looked around and noticed nobody was there. Walking over to the window she looked out upon the party guests. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary she walked away from the window and out of her bedroom. Unbeknownst to her however Amy had crawled out the window and onto the roof, the party guests not evening noticing due to being drunk and the fact that it was so dark.
"That was a close one. Now how do I get out of here?" Amy said to nobody in particular before quickly tripping and falling off the roof and into the bin on the ground below which was near the house wall as it closed trapping her in there for the night.
The next morning the effects of the party had taken the toll and Abbey was left to clean everything up.
"Still don't know what happened to Amy though nor who the hell peed on my plants of all things? Does stuff like this just happen the store my plants I heard there was a lot of public park urinations and defecations? I should look into this. Or maybe I'm crazy because here I am talking to myself as I throw away garbage waiting for the garbage guy to come" Abbey said to herself.
Opening up the bin she didn't look inside as she through the garbage bag in as Amy quickly woke up and called out for Abbey but the bag landed on her head no doubt giving her more injuries. All this just because she had too pee which she had to so now again because it was morning time and she had to take her morning pee as Abbey closed the lid down unaware of Amy's predicament.
Then the garbage guy came and grabbed the bin and loaded it onto the truck and opened the truck and then opened the bin itself dumping the bag and Amy into the truck and closing it not noticing Amy falling in as he got back into it and drove off unaware he was taking a young woman to the dumps.
"Should have just waited for the bathroom" Amy said as she groaned at being in the darkness and being surrounded by the garbage and what she landed herself into.
THE END.
Anyway hope you thought it was okay and no Amy won't be living in the dumps by the time of the next story she'll find a way out I just felt this time she and/or Michelle needed some kind of comeuppance for peeing in places they shouldn't even if the people who's property was damaged didn't know it.
Edited November 11, 2015 by SAM996
(see edit history) |
So it's been a while since I've posted a story on here, but I've been working on other writing projects lately. I decided I wanted to do another Toph story. The timing of this story isn't completely obvious, so I'm just going to go with it taking place a year or two after The Rift.
Toph awoke with a sense of urgency. Her sleep muddled brain slowly processed the feeling, coming to the conclusion that it was probably because she needed to piss.
No. She didn't need to go that badly. What was this about then? Her eyes cracked open slightly as she sucked in a deep breath, the scent of musky sweat rushing in through her nostrils. She felt the heat of another human body beside her and she smiled tiredly.
Right. She had spent the night with Satoru.
She had spent the night with Satoru in the small room he had above the Earthen Fire Refinery, where Toph had brought her metalbending students to help with the machines. Her students, who were in an inn on the other side of the small town, waiting for her to bring them to the refinery, which was owned by her father. That's right, her father was planning on greeting her at the refinery in the morning... Toph's eyes snapped open fully.
Shit.
She sat up abruptly, feeling the sudden movement shift the liquid that had settled into her bladder overnight. She wasn't supposed to fall asleep! She fumbled desperately with the bed sheets, trying to get them out of the way as she clumsily attempted to swing her uncooperative feet out of the bed and onto the floor. She succeeded, but only after kicking Satoru roughly in what she assumed to be his shin.
"Hngh, wha?" she heard him say sleepily. The movement of his body shifted the mattress underneath her.
Her feet hit the ground and she could finally feel the room properly. How long had she been asleep? Was it light out yet? Maybe she could still sneak out before anyone else woke up.
She stumbled across the room, grabbing her pants and tripping over one of Satoru's shoes in the process. She stopped her fall by grabbing the windowsill and felt the heat of the sun warm up the back of her hand.
"Fuck," she said out loud. "It's morning, isn't it."
"Mmm, ya," said Satoru sleepily from the bed. "You don't have any clothes on..."
There was a pause during which Toph assumed his brain was processing the situation in a similar way hers had just a moment ago. She felt him shift even more on the bed, but her tired feet were having trouble making out his movements through the softness of the mattress.
"You shouldn't still be here!" he finally hissed.
"You think I don't know that?!" she hissed back as she quickly pulled her pants up over her naked legs. She grabbed her shirt off the floor and quickly pulled it on. She would worry about wrapping her breasts back at the inn. They were small enough that it didn't matter anyway.
"Maybe you can still sneak out." Toph felt Satoru's foot hit the floor as he climbed out of bed. She took a moment to admire his naked body as he came into her vision. She smiled slightly, but as her focus shifted to the rooms around his and the space outside the door, her smile faded.
"I don't think so," she whispered in a hushed voice. She felt her bladder throb and she shifted her weight a bit.
"What's wrong?" Satoru asked hurriedly. "I didn't hurt you last night, did I?"
"Of course not, you idiot! I have to go to the bathroom."
Toph felt around the room again, trying to think up a way to get out of Satoru's room without being caught. If any of the workers saw her they might mention it to her father, and if there was anything that wasn't befitting a lady of proper society, it was premarital sex. Fuck, she'd just gotten back on good terms with her parents too!
"Oh ya," Satoru said. "Me too."
"Now what do we do?" Toph asked. "How am I supposed to get out of here without being seen? There's people outside!"
"Are you sure?"
"I'm positive. I can see them with my earthbending remember?"
"I should double check anyway," Satoru said nervously as he threw on a robe and headed for the door.
"What do you mean you should check? My feet don't lie!"
But he'd already cracked the door open and slipped outside.
"You're going to take a piss, aren't you?" Toph hissed as he disappeared. "Traitor!"
Toph paced around Satoru's room as she felt him walk towards the bathroom. She wanted desperately to be in his place at that moment now that she'd realised her own bladder was much fuller than she had originally thought. She pressed her legs together and tried to think of something else.
When Satoru returned from the bathroom, Toph was angrily shoving her hair into its usual bun.
"Sorry about that," Satoru said. "I really had to go. You were right, by the way. There's too many people out there. There's no way you could sneak out without being seen."
"Why do the factory workers have to get up so early?" Toph asked, dejected.
"Your father runs a tight ship."
"Tell me about it."
"So... sucking it up and getting caught is completely out of the question then, huh?" Satoru asked as Toph shifted her weight again. Her bladder was throbbing more urgently now and she was starting to think that getting out of there without being seen wasn't going to remain her top priority for much longer.
"Best case scenario, you get fired and I have to run away all over again," she replied. "I'll probably have to leave the Earth Kingdom completely this time. Maybe restart my metalbending academy in the Fire Nation..."
"For some reason I don't see that working out very well."
"So let's think of a way to get me out of here!" Toph was hit with a sudden wave of desperation and hunched over with a groan. Shit, she needed to go bad.
"Are you okay?" Satoru asked, rushing to her side. He grabbed her by the shoulders.
"No!" Toph snapped. "I already told you, I have to pee!"
"Right." He rubbed her back as Toph slowly regained control of herself. Once she was standing upright again, Toph began to tap her foot urgently while Satoru wandered over to the window. "I think that's your dad's carriage out there," he said.
Toph cursed. She was having a hard time trying to think of a way out of this mess when all she could think about was relaxing her full bladder. But the longer she waited, the less likely she was going to be able to get out of there, and the fuller her bladder became.
She began to feel around the room with her earthbending. Maybe Satoru had something she could piss in.
"What are you thinking?" Satoru asked.
"I'm thinking I need to pee too desperately to do anything useful right now," Toph replied. Her feet were firmly set on the floor now, but her hand had started tapping anxiously on her thigh. "Hey you've got a bowl on your desk. Maybe I can use that!" Toph started walking towards the desk as Satoru did a double take.
"What? No!" he exclaimed. "That's for rice!"
"Now it's for wetting," Toph responded, snatching it off the table.
Satoru grabbed her wrist in an attempt to stop her. "You are not peeing in my rice bowl!"
After years of earthbending, Toph wasn't exactly lacking in muscle. Unfortunately for Satoru, that meant she was able to pull out of his grip with ease. He spluttered as she walked briskly to the other side of the room, but she was forced to double over once again when her bladder screamed at her for release. She grabbed onto the bed and stomped one foot as she clenched every available muscle to stop herself from leaking.
Don'tpeeDon'tpeeDon'tpee...
Satoru was glancing nervously at her as she struggled for control, but his gaze shifted back out the window. Whatever he saw out there, it had his heart racing.
"Okay, fine. Hurry up!" he whispered urgently.
Toph dropped the bowl on the floor while she crossed her legs, still barely in control of herself. But she was so close to being able to pee that it was incredibly hard to stop herself from letting loose right then and soaking straight through her only pair of pants.
She started to shimmy her pants down past her butt, but her crossed legs were making it impossible to pull them down far enough. Even though she was barely holding on, Toph took the plunge. In one swift motion she uncrossed her legs, yanked her pants down to her knees, and dropped her butt over the empty rice bowl at her feet. She was peeing before she was even in place, but luckily she was quick to adjust her positioning and only got a small splash on the floor. Satoru could deal with that later.
Toph sighed as her urine finally sprayed out of her. She could hear it hiss loudly as it left her body and splashed into the awaiting bowl. Sweet spirits, she felt so much better! Maybe soon she would be able to think clearly again.
The bowl was filling up quickly and Toph was starting to worry that maybe it wasn't quite big enough to hold a full night's worth of urine. But she continued to pee a forceful stream until she'd felt her bladder deflate to a much more comfortable state. The bowl was almost full, but she was almost done. She let her stream die down to a trickle and shook her butt a little to try and shake as many drops off as possible. She wasn't looking forward to feeling it dribble down her legs. She didn't have anything to wipe with and she wasn't wearing any underwear.
Toph stood up once she was fully done and pulled up her pants.
"Your dad's in the building!" Satoru hissed urgently.
"Ya, I know. I can feel him," Toph responded as she tied up her pants. "Is there anyone outside the window?"
Satoru looked outside and shook his head. "No," he said. "It looks like the carriage driver's wandered off to get breakfast or something."
"Good. Because I'm pretty sure I can just climb out the window."
"What?! We're three stories up!"
"Ya, the side of the building is made of metal. I can just bend some footholds for myself and then straighten everything out when I get to the bottom." Toph was already unlatching the window and hoisting it open.
"Why didn't you think of this before you peed in my rice bowl?!"
Toph paused. "Oh, I dunno," she said sarcastically. "Maybe because I was having trouble thinking straight." She smacked him hard on the arm before grabbing the metal bars outside his window and prying them open effortlessly.
She climbed out the window and kicked at the wall underneath, letting her foot sink into the metal. She stopped once she was fully outside and had bent the bars back into place, her head was level with Satoru's. She grinned.
"Don't forget to clean that up," she said. Pointing to the bowl by his bed.
Toph climbed down the wall and rushed back to the inn to get ready for the day. |
Subsets and Splits
No saved queries yet
Save your SQL queries to embed, download, and access them later. Queries will appear here once saved.