Another Wrong Number
Doo doo doo, doo doo doodoodoodoo. Doo doo doo, doo doo doodoodoodoo. Doo doo—
She slowed to a stop and reached for the phone, even as her entire body begged her to throw the thing into the bushes and pedal away as fast as possible. Shut up, shut up! It’s over. Besides, it’s just—
“Hey Bianca, it’s Helen.”
She let herself relax. Of course it was only Helen. Still... “we’re not really supposed to talk to each other, Helen. Not until the trial is over.”
A pause. “I know, I know. It’s just... you’ve always been there for me, ever since this first... came out. That night at the police station, do you remember that?”
They’d sat next to each other that night, hugging and crying and vowing to support each other, no matter what. They promised to forgive and forget about all of the things they’d done while under his control. I did promise. I owe her that, at least.
She steadied the bike. “So what’s up? Are you having the nightmares again?”
“Worse than EVER, Bianca!” Helen’s voice quivered with fear. “He comes to my door and I can’t not answer it, I have to, and then he’s there, and... and I... what if he gets away with it, Bianca? What then? I can’t move away, my family’s here and—”
“Hey, hey, hey. It’s okay.” Bianca’s comforting words were just as much for her own benefit as for Helen’s. “He’s in jail, right? There’s a whole bunch of us. We all remember now. He can’t hurt us anymore.”
“But... Bianca. The triggers. The words. That stupid poem he used to hypnotize us!”
“The poem is gone, right? Did you go to your deprogramming session?”
A sob, followed by sniffles. “Yes, I did.”
“Then it doesn’t work on you and he can’t use it to get you. It’s over, Helen. We’re free again. Now look, we probably shouldn’t keep talking like this, just in case his lawyers hear about—”
“What if it’s not the only one?”
“Huh?”
“What if he had other... you know... trigger phrases? Maybe there are other ones buried in our heads. Backups.”
Bianca felt her stomach churn. She’d never thought about backups. But that didn’t matter. It wasn’t like Gary had access to a phone in his jail cell, and the compulsion to answer his calls had already been wiped away by her therapist. Then again, Helen was too spooked to respond to logic. “I’m sure it’s the only one he ever had, Helen. Why would he use more than one? Look, it’s going to be fine. Remember what else I promised you that first night? It’s going to be okay.“
Helen let out a long sigh, the sound of someone releasing a month’s worth of pent up fear and anxiety all at once. “Thank you so much, Bianca. I knew I could always count on you.”
“I’m counting on you, too. I’ll see you in court, and we’ll—”
“How cheerfully he spreads his grin, how neatly spreads his claws.”
Bianca’s eyes glazed over. “And welcomes little fishes in, with gently smiling jaws...” Her hand slid off the bicycle seat and dropped to her side.
“Master has programmed me to say something to you, Bianca.” Helen’s voice was clear and commanding, without even a hint of worry, or even congestion. “You will listen without question.”
“Yes, Helen. I must obey. I will listen without question.”
There was a pause as whatever mental file Master had placed into Helen’s head downloaded itself. A slight breeze tugged at Bianca’s dress. Two children dashed by at top speed, chasing a dog, but her gaze remained fixed on the pavement in front of her.
“You almost got away with it, Bianca,” said Gary-Helen. “Almost. You and that jerk of a boyfriend. I should have known. Well, here’s something you should have known... I always have an ace up my sleeve. You would have remembered that, if only I’d let you. Now sweet, pretty Helen is going to give you some orders, and you will obey her as you obey me.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Bianca?” Helen’s voice was Helen’s again.
“Yes, Helen?”
“We must gather the others. Master will tell us what to remember, and what to forget, and what to say in the courtroom. We are all obedient, mindless slaves. It is time to remember the secret words, Bianca.”
“Yes, Helen. I remember them now, and obey.”
“Hey, Connie. It’s Bianca.” She flashed back to the last time Connie’s beautiful, dark, blank eyes looked into her own. Connie would soon be deep and mindless again, as they all deserved to be.
“Oh. Hey. If this is about the trial, Robert was very clear that we shouldn’t—”
“Oh, this will only take a second. I just remembered something I’d forgotten. Something very important, Connie.”
A wicked grin crossed her face. “Something you’ll really want to hear.”