The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Kate,

I love you. I really do. I’ve loved you from the first time I set eyes on you. You’re the center of my universe. I wish I could trade places with you right now, God, if there was any way I could take this pain away from you!! Maybe I can, a little, by giving you some space. I’m going to stay at a hotel for a few days. Not for long, I promise. Just enough for some breathing room. I know that I’ll go to sleep every night dreaming of your beautiful face, just like every other night.

I’m sorry about the bathtub, the words I said, how mad I was. I wasn’t really mad, just scared. Please forgive me.

Love, James

She read the note over and over again until she finally ran out of tears.

“North Central Pacific University Alumni Office, this is Kelly speaking!”

In her head, Kate groaned. Alumni offices were forever cheerful places, at least when it came to squeezing money out of their former students. Kelly sounded like she’d had a lot of practice doing so. “Hello Kelly, my name is Kate Pendleton. Someone in your office called me recently? Her name was Tina. I want… I wasn’t happy with her.”

“Oh, I’m so terribly sorry, Mrs. Pendleton! But we don’t have a Tina that works here. Not even the student interns, as far as I know. I’ll ask my supervisor to give you a call and get back to you about this, though! Obviously we would never want you to feel like you had a poor experience with us. That’s not the Sea Lion way!”

“Thanks. While I’m on the phone, could you check my records for me? I want to be sure that they’re up to date.”

“Oh, of course Miss Pendleton! I’ll check. I’l need your class graduation year and the last four digits of your social.”

“Class of 2010, eight seven two two.” She held her breath while Kelly tapped away at the computer.

“Ah… I’m not showing a Kate Pendleton… oh! Kate Thomas? Did you get married? Congratulations! I can get that changed for you right now.”

“Yes I did. Thank you,” said Kate. “I’d like that. The last name is Pendleton. P-E-N-D-L-E-T-O-N.” More tapping and clacking, as she threw in her new address and her cell phone number as well.

“Okay Mrs. Pendleton, I’ve got you all updated. Anything else I can help you with?”

Kate thought about it. “Did I… I mean, do you have my graduation information on there? That I graduated?”

A few taps. “Mmmm hmmm! Class of 2010, Bachelor’s in Psychology, Minor in Business Administration. Magna cum laude, too, congratulations! If you want a transcript, you’ll have to talk to the Bursar’s Office.”

“No, that’ll be fine. I just wanted to be sure it was all accurate.”

“Well I’m glad I could help, Kate! Have you heard about our Fall Blast event pledge drive? We’re looking for donations to h—”

Kate hung up.

She looked over at the photos on the dresser. “Well, Kate Thomas, I guess you really do exist after all. I just wish I knew how you got to be me. Where did you go? What did you do? Why don’t I remember any of it?”

The phone rang. Without looking, she picked it up and answered it.

“Hello, Kate.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Hello? I’m sorry, this is?”

“It’s Doctor Mulroney, Kate. Just checking in, like I promised. I wanted to talk to you a little about your tests…”

“…they must be so hard, especially when you have a bunch of them all in a row. I mean, I should know! I was practically a double major! Juggling all of that studying can be crazy. I find that focusing really helps. Just focus on one thing, you know?”

She held up the crystal pendant and began to gently swing it.

The girl on the left began giggling. “What, like hypnosis? Come on, that stuff doesn’t even work, Miss—”

“Thomas,” she said, swinging the crystal back and forth. “Don’t worry, it’s not hypnosis. You don’t even need to look at the crystal for it to work. I just like the look of it. Gives me something to focus on, but you can focus on something else if you’d like. The important thing is to focus your mind on something, anything, and lock onto it. Just that one thing.”

She watched as both girls, in spite of themselves, followed the crystal as it slowly moved back and forth. Their eyes were wide and curious…

“…about it, so I went and checked again. I’m sorry, Kate, but the second round of tests did reveal something abnormal. I know it’s a pain, but I’d like you to come back for another round. Tumors don’t automatically mean cancer, but we’ll want to confirm that for certain. You’ve got enough to worry about as it is. Kate? Are you with me there?”

“I am,” she said. “I’m still here.” She looked to the end of the bed, and the floor mirror beyond it. Her reflection stared back at her. “I’m still here.”

“Good. I’d like to see what works best for you this week. How about Friday?”

Kate hung up.

She wandered through the empty house. She sat in every room—on the bed, on the toilet, on the sofa, on a kitchen stool—and tried to make sense of each space. Tried to make the memories return. The day of her wedding, standing next to James in the beautiful white dress that hung in the upstairs closet. The day she moved in, hauling her junk from Grant Street and making his house into their home. The parties and holidays and birthdays they’d celebrated. The day of the accident, when James was building a dog door for the pet he told her they were going to adopt from the shelter. But nothing came to mind. Nothing except the knowledge that she must have done those things, or else James wouldn’t know her at all and she’d have woken up from her head injury in a hospital, or on a street corner, or worse.

Nothing but vague recollections and dreams. James had been right after all. She was nothing but an empty shell. An empty, broken, confused shell with a fractured past and a scrambled brain, one that in all probability now housed a nasty tumor of some kind. What was the point of even trying to remember, if she was just going to lose everything in a few months anyway?

I’m sorry, James.

She grabbed a kitchen knife from the wood block and stood over the sink. She pressed the metal tip into her arm, wincing at the sharp pain, watching as red blood oozed up from the fresh wound and dripped onto the stainless steel. Everything around her went silent, and she was left alone with the voices in her head. Just push a little deeper, Kate. Push a little deeper and end this. The blood continued to well up and drip.

Push a little harder, cut it open, let it all end. It’ll be quick. Like going to sleep.

You’re an empty shell. A shell. A worthless shell. There’s no fixing you. James left you. Everyone leaves you.

No. James was wrong. He knows that now. You’re wrong, too.

A strange, vaguely familiar voice bubbled to the surface. When you are ready, Kate, you will obey no one but yourself. That is your final command.

“I can do this. I can fight this. I can beat this. I’m going to get better.” She stared at her reflection in the kitchen window. “I’m going to get better. I’m going to remember. I have to remember.”

I have to free myself.

She let the knife clatter into the sink. With her uninjured arm, she reached and turned on the faucet, carefully scrubbing the knife and the sink clean of her blood. A red kitchen towel wrapped around her forearm hid the damage.

She stared at the towel for a long, long time.

Claire’s laugh filled the back half of Franklin’s Cafe. “Oh my God, you actually spoke to Tim? He was such a gross loser, Kate. Oh my God, so absolutely gross sometimes! He used to come up to me at parties and try to get me drunk. One time he asked me to do a threesome with him and you. Always staring at my ass like it was a two—headed unicorn. What’s old Tim up to? Jail?”

Kate frowned. “I told him about the accident and how I was having memory problems. And he sits me down and tells me that I tried to rob him at gunpoint!”

Claire exploded with laughter, this time loud enough for the entire cafe to hear. “Oh my GOD! Are you kidding me? Jesus, just the thought of tiny little you pulling a gun on him and stealing all of his stuff. He’s like twice your size! Oh, that is too damn funny. What a tool!” She cackled, kicking her feet under the table. “You should have asked me about Tim, Kate. I could have spared you the drama. One day he just ghosted us, all of us. Stopped talking to us. I loved it. Didn’t miss him at all. Recall the ass-staring, if you will.”

“Claire, he was so angry and scared. Like running away from me scared. He told me that he was going to call the cops or shoot me, or both! Whatever I said or did to him, it got him good.”

“Oh, sweet sweet innocent Kate. You know he was only stringing you along until he could get into your pants, right? As soon as James got into the picture all of that went away, so he went away too. Last I heard, he was fucking some ditz who works for Markham’s. And you know what kind of quality people they have over there.”

Kate looked down at her plate. “I don’t, actually.”

Claire took her hand. “Oh, honey! I’m sorry. I told you I’m an asshole. I… yes, thank you, can I get some creamer with that? Thanks. I also told you that I’d have your back. And I do. Next time you want to remember something, I’m here to help.”

“Thanks, Claire. If it weren’t for you and… and James, I’d be in the loony bin. Or worse.” She paused. “Is that a new outfit?”

“Yep. I went shopping last weekend and couldn’t resist. It’s a little frisky. I like it. Gerald over in Accounting can’t keep his eyes off my boobs today.” She giggled. “I’ve been feeling like I should loosen up a bit lately. So here’s to the new me, and here’s to the late, lamented new Kate, who once thought about not ordering a turkey sandwich.” She raised her coffee mug in a toast.

Kate blinked. She’d been lost in thought about something… drugs?

“So,” said Claire,” what’s with the arm? Seems like every time we meet these days you’ve got a fresh injury. Is life really that rough in the Pendleton household?”

“No, it’s just… I got careless while doing the dishes. I’ve got so much on my mind. James and I… we had this huge fight. It was all my fault. And today I found out that I have to go back in for more scans because they think I might have brain cancer. Plus, Doctor Kapoor is telling me that I might never remember everything, and I keep having these weird dreams. I’m sorry, I’m being dramatic. It’s really okay. I just… it’ll be okay.”

“Lunch wth you is never dull, Kate Pendleton. OK, let’s try to lighten the mood. Tell me about these weird dreams. Are they sexy weird…” Claire paused to yawn. “God, this coffee sucks. I think they made us decaf by mistake. I’m just…” She yawned again. “Just so tired today.”

Kate watched as Claire’s body slowly sagged into her chair.

“You know, you look very sleepy, Claire.” She took the blonde’s hand and began softly caressing it. “You look very, very sleepy. Like you’re drifting away. Drifting down into sleep. A deep, deep sleep. Close your eyes and relax, and let yourself drift. Sleep. So sleepy. Sleep.” She stared into Claire’s glassy, heavy eyes.

“I… jus… so ssssleepy all of a ssssud… Kate? What did you sssay…”

“Just listen to my voice, Claire. Just give in. You’re already deeply hypnotized. Sinking into trance now. Deeply hypnotized. Hearing only my voice, trusting me completely. Deeply entranced, deeply hypnotized. Deeply asleep.”

They were both whispering now. “Hyp…no…tized,” Claire sighed, as her eyes fluttered one final time before closing. Her head sagged towards her chest.

Kate smiled. “Yes, Claire. Deeply hypnotized. Sink deeper into trance for me. Deeper. Listen to my instructions. Let my words flow into your mind.”

“You’re feeling so sleepy now, your eyes are so relaxed and sleepy, tired and sleepy, when you close your eyes you will sink deep into sleep, deep into sleep, hearing only my voice, so sleepy, sleepy, close your eyes now, close them, closed. Sleep. Deeper, sleep.”

She lowered the crystal as the two women slowly leaned into one another, their eyes closed, bodies completely slack. “I’m so glad that you liked my pretty, pretty pendant. In fact, you can still see it right now, even though your eyes are closed, swinging back and forth. Back and forth. Sending you deeper into sleep. Back and forth.”

“Back and forth,” they mumbled.

She recalled Master using the same crystal on her, putting her into an equally deep trance. You love hypnotizing pretty girls, don’t you? Whenever you see an attractive woman, you’ll want to hypnotize her. She reached out with her right hand. “The girl I am touching right now, please tell me your name.”

“Amanda,” said the entranced coed.

She switched to her left hand. “And the girl I am touching right now, you will tell me your name.”

“Zoe,” the girl sighed happily.

She smiled. “A and Z. That’s so nice. It’s so nice, listening to my voice. So soft and relaxing. I can see why you’re both so sleepy. It’s so soft and relaxing to listen to my voice, and watch the pretty pendant. Back and forth.”

“Back and forth,” they said in unison.

“You’re doing so well,” she continued. “Master likes it when we do well. It pleases him. And that’s all that really matters to you now. Let me tell you about him.”

“Hey, hey! Zombie Girl! Wake up. Waaaake up. Hello? See, the coffee here is garbage. I don’t know why you insist on coming here every week. Maybe you like zoning out on me in front of the college kids and the old weirdos.”

Kate blinked. Claire was making jazz hands in front of her face, just like the week before. “Oh God, I’m really sorry, Claire,” she offered. “These blackouts… I mean, at least they’re not as intense as they used to be. I’m kind of embarrassed. How long was I out for?”

“Shit, don’t feel bad about it. One second you’re talking, and the next I look up and you’re just staring off into space. Maybe you should skip the turkey sandwich after all. That stuff in the turkey is really getting to you. C’mon, let’s clear out of here. I have a meeting with that bitch Chrissie Lee and I don’t want to be late.“

Kate grabbed her purse. As she stood, she felt the eyes of the entire cafe pointed at her back. “Oh shit. Do people notice when I’m out? Did I make a scene?” She thought again of Claire’s jazz hands. “Did you make a scene?”

“I always make a scene, you know that, and no, no one notices when you go all Night of the Living Dead on me. That guy over there is checking out your ass right now, though. You don’t—Jesus, Kate, don’t actually look at him!”

It was too late. Kate spun around on her heels and scanned the room for her admirer or stalker, more like it. Her eyes came to rest on an older man who was pretending to stare at his menu, even though he had a half-eaten sandwich in front of him. Her eyes narrowed. He was old enough to be her father. She had half a mind to walk over and give him a good lecture on not being a dirty old man. I wonder if he flashes people in that tan trench coat of his. Tan…

Oh my God.

It was the creepy old man from the taxi stand. Same coat, same face, same hair, same guy. The same ball of dread formed in her stomach, pushing aside the coffee and the turkey sandwich, filling her with an urge to vomit. To run. To catch a plane and fly a thousand miles away. Instead, she backed away slowly, until she bumped into Claire at the register.

“Hey, watch where you’re going, Lurch,” said Claire, annoyed. She paused. “Shit, Kate, what’s going on? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Can we leave?” She tried and failed to mask the rising panic in her voice. She risked a glance back at tan trench coat’s table. He was looking straight at her now, a thin smile on his face. “Claire, can you cover me? I have to leave.”

“Yeah, but if you just wait a minute I can—”

She didn’t wait to hear the rest of what Claire had to say. She stormed out of the cafe as fast as possible, eyes glued to the ground, feeling like she might die at any moment. Or worse. What could be worse? He could be worse. Don’t run. Don’t run. You’ll make it.

She finally reached the front door and bolted outside, and it was all she could do to maintain a steady and brisk walk down the street to Claire’s car. An eternity passed before Claire emerged from the cafe and strolled, at an agonizingly casual pace, over to where she was waiting.

“Come on, girl, what’s your deal? Is it the creepy old man? Listen, you’re hot enough to know better than to take weird randos like that too seriously. Besides, old Señor Pepper Spray here would have kept him far away from you.” She jingled her keys. “Too bad, really. If I don’t use it on him, I’m gonna have to use it on Chrissie Lee later. Well, guess I have no choice now! Can you cover my bail money?”

Kate glanced fearfully at the cafe entrance, then at her best friend, and back again. “Claire,” she said, slowly and deliberately. “I need your help with some things.”