The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Rebecca opened her eyes.

An arm—a woman’s arm, light and thin and toned—fell across her chest, its fingers coming to rest tantalizingly close to her right nipple. She stared at it, hoping its owner would keep going, willing it to brush against her tits until the motion worked her into a heated frenzy. But the arm fell still, and the fingers continued to dangle just out of reach.

Disappointed, Rebecca sighed. It quickly transitioned into a yawn, then a stretch, a move that pushed the wayward arm down to her stomach. She settled against the pillows and admired the way the light filtered into the bedroom. This is nice. I could live here. Her legs were sore, and so was the space between them. She assumed that the arm’s owner had something to do with that.

“Mmm. Hey.” The arm’s owner had a voice. “G’morning. Did you sleep well?”

Rebecca rolled onto her side, placing the girl’s hand directly on her chest. She moaned as the girl took the obvious hint and began to gently caress her tits. In spite of her soreness, she had a tremendous urge to keep rolling until she was on top of her lover, burying her with kisses and whispered declarations. Something about it just felt right. Something about all of it—the girl, the bed, the room, everything—just felt right.

She couldn’t remember the last time anything felt that way.

“It was the best sleep I’ve had in years,” she purred. “Like floating on a cloud. You guys have the best beds in the world.”

“We play hard and sleep hard here at the Action Force.” Celeste was fully awake now, and watching Rebecca with a mixture of amusement and lust. She looked ready to start rolling over until she was the one on top. “Welcome back to the free world, Rebecca. Where the beds are soft, and you can leave them messy whenever you damn well feel like it.”

The girl was so beautiful. Slave Rebecca had been told to see her that way, but even now, on the first morning of her first day of freedom, she looked positively irresistible. Rebecca scooted forward until she was close enough to wrap her legs around the beautiful brunette, their bodies intertwining in a way that made both of their pulses race.

“I was scared that I was going to wake up the same old Rebecca,” she confessed. “I thought that I was going to wake up in a brainwashing chair again. Her breaths were quick and shallow, blowing strands of brown hair across her lover’s face. “But I’m still here. You’re still here.”

“Of course I’m here!” Celeste began to giggle. She worked her other arm free from beneath her pillow and ran her hand through Rebecca’s hair. “The office is two floors down. Short commute. I want to install one of those fireman’s poles.”

“I’d pay to watch you swing around on a pole.”

“More good news, then! I’m not gonna charge you a cent.”

They fell silent, content to just stare and nuzzle, planting soft kisses here and there as the urge struck them.

“Speaking of work, I should probably…” Celeste began to pull away, but Rebecca kept her legs locked, and eventually the brunette relented. “They’re gonna want to deprogram you. Get all of that mind control stuff out of your head. You were under for so long, all of those years… there’s no telling what nasty little triggers she left in your head.”

“I trust you, Agent Celeste.” She did. With her heart and soul. The woman had been willing to die for her. Had given up her free will to save her. Rebecca was forever in her debt, even if Celeste swore up, down, and sideways that there was no such thing.

“I’m not at work yet. Just stick with Celeste until then.” She pulled, and Rebecca reluctantly let her escape. Celeste rolled to the side of the bed and blindly pawed at the nightstand beside her. “Phone… phone… phone! Shit, it’s laaaaate! We should get you up and out of here.”

“I love you.” Rebecca cringed a little. Was she being too aggressive? Too forward? Slave girls didn’t worry about those things. They did as they were told and besides, all of their emotions were someone else’s idea. Worrying was yet another thing that Rebecca was going to have to love with from now on. “I know this all happened so fast, and you’ve got all of this Action Force stuff to do, but… maybe we could?” She studied the brunette’s face for clues. “Maybe we could give it a try? The two of us?”

“I hope you love me this much when we get your brain scrubbed clean. I’d give it ten tries if that’s what it took to keep you.”

They kissed again, more carefully this time, their tongues gently exploring as Rebecca slipped her legs around Celeste again. The brunette didn’t complain.

Kiss. “So.” Mmmm, you taste amazing. “What’s deprogramming like?”

“A little like brainwashing, but, you know, in reverse. But it’s something you want deep down inside, so it’s not painful or scary like brainwashing. We’re going to put you into a trance, and then erase all of the bad things in your head. Before you know it, you’ll wake up and be a whole new Rebecca. A free Rebecca.”

“Okay.” She exhaled, blowing hot air across her chest. “I don’t know if I want to be hypnotized ever again, though.”

“Do you trust me?”

Rebecca closed her eyes. “Always and forever.”

“Hey, sleepy. Open your eyes and take a look at this.”

Rebecca did, expecting to get an incoming kiss in return, or to look into a pair of lust-filled eyes. Instead, she found herself looking… looking…

“I’m going to prove how harmless this is. We use this little program to put people into a light hypnotic trance. Nothing super heavy, just enough to relax them. You can feel that now, right? So relaxed.”

Rebecca suddenly felt very heavy. She sank into the soft, comfortable bed as Celeste held the phone above her. “Yeah. Such a comfy… so comfy.”

“It’s not scary at all, is it? When someone you trust is hypnotizing you. It’s nice and safe.”

The patterns were as beautiful as Celeste. Rebecca’s eyes darted between the two, the screen gradually holding more and more of her attention until it filled her vision. She could still hear Celeste’s soft voice, and that was good enough. Just relax. Relax. Open your mind to me.

“Just let go, Rebecca. Let go, and listen to the words. Forget. Forget all of the bad things in your mind. Let those memories go. Forget.”

Someone was speaking. Someone who sounded half-awake at best. Someone who sounded a lot like Rebecca. “Forget. I’ll forget for you. Forget everything.”

“Good. I’m so glad. Listen to the voices and let them guide you, and we’ll be together forever.”

Snap.

Rebecca opened her eyes.

There was a large monitor in front of her, its screen filled with swirling yellow lines that seemed oddly familiar. Watch them, her brain urged her. Watch. You need to watch. Open your mind and watch. Open your mind and forget.

It hurt to look at, in spite of the hypnotic display, and she turned her gaze to the ground. Someone had removed her shoes, but not her socks. She wiggled her toes and tried not to think about the yellow lines. There was a loud click, and the room darkened.

“Is she awake?”

“I imagine a bit woozy from the drugs, but it shouldn’t be long now. She’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

The voices hovered above her, but Rebecca kept her eyes on the floor, afraid of the monitor and what it might do to her. What it would do to her. Even if someone had switched it off, the thing could just as easily be turned on again. She let the voices continue to have their conversation. If they wanted to include her, they’d have to come down to her level to do so. She imagined herself sinking into the concrete floor, down into the layers of dirt beneath it, away from the voices and the monitor and everything else.

“Rebecca.”

One of the voices wanted her attention, but they were still coming from above her. She shook her head. “No. Don’t.”

“Rebecca. Hey, wake up. Come on baby, talk to me.”

Someone reached for her chin, grasping it with thumb and forefinger and pulling her head up. They wanted her to look at the screen again, to sink back into trance, to melt her mind until there was nothing left of her. She squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lower lip. “No. No more.”

The person holding her chin released it, and drew closer. Even with her eyes closed, Rebecca could hear them move, could feel their breath on her skin. She tried to ready herself for a struggle, but it was so tiring to even think about fighting back. Or even standing up. She quickly gave up. As long as her eyes were closed, they couldn’t get her. Keeping her eyes closed was easy. Comforting, even. Relaxing. Peaceful…

Then she was being kissed, passionately, the kisser lingering for a moment before moving in again. The kisser’s lips were full, and wet, and warm. Even in the chilly air, Rebecca could feel the heat pass through her body, reaching her lower body and lodging itself there. Her sex hummed pleasantly. She’d almost forgotten about sex, and how good it felt, especially when Celeste was gently kissing the back of her neck as she reached for-

Her eyes flew open. “Celeste?”

The brunette stared down at her, a beautiful sunset casting a glow across Rebecca’s lake. Her smile was more radiant than any Rebecca could remember. “Hey, Colonel Sanders. How do you feel?”

There were a million ways to respond to that question. Happy that you’re here was the obvious one, but before it could launch from her lips, another word rudely pushed to the front. “Tired. Really tired. A little sore.” She groaned and tried out various limbs and muscles. “My butt hurts.”

“It’s probably just the drugs wearing off. Alice drugged you. And you were in that chair for a long time.”

I don’t feel okay, Celeste. But to say those words risked darkening that beautiful, sunny face. She forced herself to smile instead. “I’m… okay. Just tired. Like I’ve been asleep for a month.” A vague memory drifted in front of her, and she reached for it. “I had this weird dream that you and I were part of that show Action Force.”

“Ooh!” Celeste clapped her hands together. “Were we at the beach in our sexy bikinis? I loved that episode! Here, let me…” She bent down and, with a grunt, looped her arm under Rebecca’s and helped her to stand on unsteady, wobbly feet. “Whoa, hang on! Don’t fall! Get your sea legs.”

Rebecca began to fall anyway. Celeste quickly slid in front of her to arrest her progress, and they pressed against each other. Rebecca threw her arms around the brunette for support. The fires down below rekindled themselves, and she eagerly took in as much of Celeste as she could. The long brown hair, the beautiful hazel eyes, that sweet, concerned face. The shape of her cheekbones. The flecks of blonde hair in her eyelashes. The smell of her perfume. Her sweet lips, perfectly made for kissing. She kissed them now, as she squeezed her lover in a tight embrace. I could live here. In this moment. Forever. Let nothing change.

Celeste began to squirm a bit, and Rebecca reluctantly pulled away. “You saved me. In the dream. I was under mind control and you swooped in and rescued me.”

“Well I’m glad I could finally return the favor, Supergirl.” She gave Rebecca a quick peck on the cheek. “I’ve got all of the DVDs, you know. I’m gonna make you watch the entire show when we get home.”

Oh God that smile that beautiful fucking smile!. “Where’s…” Her mood soured as she began to remember where she was. “Shit, where’s Alice?”

“Right here, dearie.”

The voice—and the nasty laugh that followed it—echoed around the dim basement, making Alice come from every direction. Then again, Rebecca grimly noted, if anyone had the power to be anywhere and everywhere at once, it was her Irish tormentor.

Celeste was in the process of helping Rebecca turn in the proper direction when Alice stepped closer. “Look at us, all together again! All of us on the same level, all working together, all trusting one another…” She motioned to Rebecca’s now-empty chair. “I can take over for you, Celeste, if you’re eager to get on with it.”

“I’ll hold her, thanks. I think you’ve done enough manhandling for one week.”

Rebecca looked up in surprise, fast enough to cause her fuzzy brain to respond with stars and fireworks. This was unexpected. Apparently there was more than a little bit of Agent Celeste buried inside the real thing.

Alice was far less impressed. “Fair enough, dearie! But I do have some things to attend to this afternoon, so if you could indulge me. Help her into the other chair while I make adjustments and get her up to speed.”

“What…” Rebecca resisted Celeste’s efforts to take her back to the chair. She wobbled, lost her balance, recovered, then wobbled again. “What did you do to me?”

“Do toyou?” Alice cackled and tapped her feet against the concrete floor. “It’s more about what I’ve just done for you! Can you stand on your own?”

“I think I—”

“Good! Because your lovely girlfriend came up with a rather good plan, and we’re about to see it through.”

Rebecca searched her thoughts for anything that seemed, well, off, knowing she was unlikely to find any evidence that way. Alice never showed her hypnotic cards to anyone. She came up empty, as expected—there was no burning desire to obey Alice, and no irresistible urge to strip naked and fuck one of Alice’s paying customers all night long. Just a few tattered memories of the weird dream that she’d had after being drugged, and nothing more.

Drugged! It was as good of a place to start as any.

“Why did you drug me, for fuck’s sake? I was helping you! We were helping you!”

“Oh?” Alice shot her a skeptical look. “Was that your idea of helping? Convince me to sell this hostel and take up retirement? Reform me like some sort of criminal? I think I’ll wait until my hair turns gray before I join the deck chair set in Sousse, dearie!”

“Celeste.” Alice motioned to the waiting chair. “Your turn awaits.”

Rebecca tried to move between Alice and Celeste, but her injured leg failed her, and she staggered into the arms of her girlfriend. “Shit! You’re not getting your hooks into her again, Alice. I don’t know what you did to me, but I’m not—”

Then Celeste said something that made Rebecca break inside.

“It’s okay, Rebecca. This was my idea.”

“You sold us out?” Rebecca crossed her arms and huffed. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Alice watching her, arms drawn across her chest. Rebecca let her own arms drop. “Do you actually trust her?”

“This time? Yeah, I do.” Celeste remained in the chair. Her arms were crossed as well. Her eyes were full of confidence and conviction. “So, are you going to trust me?”

“I…” In her mind, she had plenty of reasons to oppose this plan. Starting with Alice herself—shifty, scheming, always ten-steps-ahead Alice, who gave away nothing without strings. Brainwashing. Secret triggers. Secret plans. The fact that they were still in the goddamn basement.

“She’s not going to just let us go. She never was. I think we both knew that. You weren’t going to let us go, were you Alice?”

The Irish woman simply smiled and shrugged her shoulders, saying nothing.

“I trust you, Celeste. I just think this is a really bad idea. We’re not going to know what she’s put into our heads unit it’s too late!”

“But we will!” Celeste’s confidence began to wane. Desperation filled the void. “I watched her the whole time you were being told to forget about all of this. I even helped with the suggestions. And I know you’ll be there for me, too.” She turned her head, eyes pleading with Alice for help. “Alice, tell her. Tell her.”

“Do you feel any different, Rebecca?”

“No. But that doesn’t mean—”

“What it does mean is that Celeste is correct. I did exactly what I promised to do, and she was right here to see that I did it properly. And you’ll do the same, like good girlfriend. Then we’ll bring Emily down for some final work, and you three can finally be out of my hair for good. Bollocks! You’ve all been a tremendous pain in my ass! And to think that I brought you here to reduce my workload! Why, all I’ve done for the past week is chase you around like a mother hen! Do you really think I want you around for another week? There’s no telling what set of mess you’ll stumble into next!”

She’s got a point. Rebecca was not entirely convinced. “All right, fine. But if that’s the case, then why do I still remember everything?”

“Because you’re—” Alice and Celeste began at the same time, then stopped. Celeste nodded, and Alice started over.

“Because you’re still yourself, Rebecca. If I’d gone and kept you hypnotized, you wouldn’t be able to ensure that I’m not slipping any secret commands into Celeste’s mind while I erase her memories. Fair’s far, after all! Now, mind you, you are fully programmed, and when I say your trigger phrases you will immediately become the two forgetful tourists you long to be, but not until you’ve had a chance to watch me settle our bill and get you sorted.”

“Celeste?”

The brunette nodded. “That’s the deal we made. When she says the words ‘Carnations in—’”

“Celeste!” Alice placed her hands on her hips and glared. “For heaven’s sake, use a bit of common sense! I can’t have her standing her all confused, asking me why she’s in a basement when she’s supposed to be touring museums!”

“Oh. Oh! Sorry!”

The glare continued, Alice eying the two girls like a stern, slightly-frazzled parent. “Now the ground rules, Rebecca. You’ll do exactly what I say, when I say it. And yes, before you ask, that’s also one of your commands at the moment, so don’t waste your time fighting it. If I so much as tell dear Celeste to stand on one foot, the spell you’re under will break and you’ll be completely free of any and all commands and suggestions.”

“Okay.”

“You’re here to make sure that Celeste doesn’t become another Olivia. I’m here to make sure that she doesn’t become another Rebecca Sanders.”

“Do I get any last words?”

Alice looked down at the brunette. “I’m not going to electrocute you, you know. I’m sure a girl like you will have plenty of things to say when all of this is done! Now, are you comfortable?”

“Pretty much. I think.”

“And Rebecca? Don’t worry about the monitor. Enough of the drug has worn off by now that you won’t be affected. It will give you a headache, though, so try not to stare.”

Rebecca moved closer. She stared directly at the monitor in defiance, until Alice rolled her eyes and walked away.

“Are you sure about this?” Rebecca watched as Alice tugged open the cellar door and stood just beyond it. She was calling someone on her phone, but she was too far away to be able to make out the words.

“I know you’ll be there looking out for me.” Celeste attempted a brave smile. Rebecca could see the fear running beneath it. “Because you have, this whole time. Even when I wasn’t looking out for you.” She looked down at her feet. “I’m sorry I drugged you. I’m sorry I forced you to change your mind about things. Before we both forget about that, I wanted to say sorry.”

Rebecca placed a hand under Celeste’s chin and raised it, until their faces were level. “You wanted what was best for me. Im not going to be mad about it. I love you too much for that.”

“I love you, too. It’s weird, huh? I mean, without Alice, we’d have never met.”

“I can’t wait to tell our grandkids that story.” They both looked to the cellar door, where Alice was wrapping up. Rebecca kissed Celeste again. “This is it.”

“Yeah. I’m super fucking nervous.”

“Don’t be.” She climbed into Celeste’s lap, putting her hands behind the brunette’s head and leaning in until their lips touched. “Remember, Celeste. You will always be my shining star.”

“Mmm. Yes, Rebecca.”

“Good. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Rebecca!” Alice’s stern rebuke startled them both. “Behave yourself, dearie! I dare say you’ll get enough of that when you get home!”

“Sorry.” Rebecca did as she was told.

“Elizabeth will be down in a moment with another dose. It will take about ten minutes to really settle in, and then we can begin.”

Celeste tried the doors. They were locked.

She rubbed her upper arms and shivered. Heat wave or no heat wave, it was freezing inside, and her skimpy bikini did little to keep the cold away. Her bare feet were already beginning to tingle as the marble floor drained the heat from her soles.

No windows. No vents, either. The only other opening was a skylight, a good thirty feet above her head. A stealthy escape wasn’t in the cards; she’d have to fight her way out. If they didn’t tie her hands this time, if she could get a hold of one of their guns…

“You look good in a bikini.”

Celeste spun on her heels to face the voice. A young woman was looking her over with hungry, calculating eyes. The door she’d come through was now closed again and, Celeste suspected, already locked. “And you spend a fortune on air conditioning.”

“You don’t remember me, do you” The woman took up a position in the center of the room, the light from the skylight surrounding her, making her glow. “Of course you don’t. You were ordered to forget everything. And good slaves always forget.”

Always forget. Good slaves always forget. Forget. Forget.

“I…” It was a weird sentence to respond to, and she wasn’t sure what to say. Forget? Good slaves?

Forget, Celeste. Forget. Forget.

“Are you cold, or are you happy to see me? Would you even know?”

The woman was staring directly at Celeste’s chest. She tried to block the view with her arms, but they wouldn’t stay put, drifting to her stomach the minute she stopped concentrating on them. “My eyes are up here,” she ventured. Her quip came out soft and weak instead of bold and snarky, and she cringed. She wasn’t going to escape if she kept acting like… like…

Good slaves obey. Good slaves forget.

“And my eyes are right here, Celeste.” The woman held up two fingers, and held them in front of her face. Look into them again. Look into my eyes.”

The fingers began to weave back and forth, like twin snakes, mesmerizing their prey. Mesmerizing Celeste. She was the prey.

And she was helpless to resist.

“Watch and obey, Celeste. Listen to the words, and obey.”

“Listen to the words, Celeste.” Alice’s tone managed to be both soothing and commanding at the same time. “Let them into your mind. Obey them. Watch and obey.”

Celeste saw only the monitor in front of her. Her eyes were huge and glassy. “Yessssss…” Her mouth hung open as the word slowly fizzled into the air.

For what had to be the millionth time, Rebecca fought the urge to rush to Celeste’s side. Just because she’d been programmed to be incapable of attacking Alice didn’t mean that she couldn’t do something. But this was what Celeste wanted, and as much as she hated to admit it, the whole plan did make a certain kind of sense.

If Alice let them go, at least. Rebecca wasn’t so sure about that.

Still, she went along with the plan. “How long will it take?” she said, as much to her self as to Alice.

“We’ll know when she’s ready, trust me. I’ve done this more than once. Perhaps not this surgically, mind you, but…” She trailed off, brushing a stray hair from her face. “Well, I’ve got fresh experience with you, Rebecca. And look how you turned out! A smashing success!”

“No. You just erased them. Like Olivia.” She thought of the olive-skinned girl, speaking with an accent that didn’t belong to her, dutifully reciting personal details that didn’t exist in reality. ”My name is Angela Delarino. I’m from Richmond, Virginia.” It was one memory that Rebecca didn’t mind losing.

Alice was adjusting dials again. “To be perfectly fair, Rebecca, I hadn’t tried to selectively erase memories until you came along. Besides, Arthur made a complete haymes of the poor girl’s mind. I’m not sorry for it, if that’s what you’re angling for.”

“Besides,” she added, “by tomorrow morning, you’ll have forgotten all about Olivia, and me as well. Ignorance really can be bliss.”

“What are you, slave?”

The answer came as naturally as breathing. “I am perfect.”

The young woman towered over her. “And why are you perfect?”

Celeste kissed Mistress Rebecca’s feet. “Because I am mindless, Mistress. Because I obey.”

“And?”

She pressed her forehead against the floor, like a Good Slavegirl. “Because I am yours, Mistress.”

“Good. Stand up. I want to show you something.”

“Yes, Mistress.” Celeste rose to a kneeling position, bowed her head, then stood. By now all of her movements were governed entirely by hypnotic programming. They, too, came as naturally as breathing. “I obey, Mistress.”

Mistress Rebecca let her hands roam Celeste’s body. Even before being enslaved, Celeste would have welcomed the attention. Now, every touch was better than the last, every single time, an ascending staircase that spiraled into the clouds without end. Only her training kept her from exploding right then and there. She only orgasmed on command these days.

“Turn around,” Mistress commanded, and Celeste obeyed. A row of woman stood before her nine in all, clad only in the same sort of bikini that Celeste herself had worn in the Before Times. They looked at her with empty eyes and blank, placid faces.

Deeply hypnotized. Deeply hypnotized. Hear only my voice. Obey.

“Do you recognize them?” Mistress Rebecca kissed the back of her neck as she spoke. “Who are they, Celeste?”

“They’re… they’re my friends. From the tour group. From the spa trip…”

“That’s where I first saw you, Celeste. That’s where we first met. It’s also the first time I hypnotized you. Do you remember that?”

She did. It was the best day of her life. “You offered to hypnotize Jenny as a demonstration, but you were really putting all of us under at the same time.” She sighed, happy to recall that sensation of letting go. “You’re so clever and talented, Mistress.”

“I planned on taking all of you. Forever. But I changed my mind, Celeste. I only want you. If I can have you by my side… what do I need nine other girls for?”

“Every woman should worship you without question, Mistress,” she offered. “You should be in charge.”

Mistress shook her head; it was something she’d never done before, and it terrified Celeste. She could only stand there, trembling, as she watched her all-powerful Mistress express… guilt? Regret? Remorse? How is that even possible?

“Forget it. Forget that I said that, Celeste.”

Forget. Forget. Forget.

“Yes, Mistress.”

“We’re going to leave the island tomorrow, just the two of us. We’ll have a chartered jet waiting for us at the airport. These other girls will stay here. I’m going to free them from my control. They won’t remember any of this. And you won’t remember any of them.”

“Yes, Mistress. I will not remember them.”

“Whenever you hear the words ‘Carnations in spring open their petals,’ you will remember to forget. Forget what you have been told to forget. Let it wash away from your mind forever.”

“Forever.”

“I want to be with you for the rest of my life, Celeste. Your Mistress is madly in love with you. Don’t ever forget that.”

“Yessss… Missss…” Her eyes rolled into her head as she swelled with pleasure. She began to finger herself, moaning with mounting frustration as even that failed to bring relief. “Never… nev… for… get… nnnnn… I won’t. I won’t…”

“When you come, you will sink much deeper into trance. As deep as you’ve ever been.”

“Y… yes… M… mi… mmmmmmm…”

Snap. “Now.”

The fireworks began.

“You really are quite the hypnotist, Rebecca. It’s a tremendous shame we couldn’t make it all work out. But we all make our own decisions, don’t we?”

“Sometimes.” Rebecca massaged Celeste’s unresisting shoulders, taking care to avoid looking at the monitor. “And sometimes someone sticks us in a chair like this and makes our decisions for us.”

“Touché, dearie. But this is the best decision, is it not? You’ll have Celeste, and Emily, and you’ll never be troubled by your conscience again. No ‘but Alice, this is wrong!’” Alice attempted her best Rebecca impersonation. Rebecca’s frowning response only made her more giddy. “‘Oh, I’ve got this wonderful talent and I simply cannot decide what to do with it!’”

“Because what we do is wrong! Because hypnosis ruins lives! I almost got Celeste run over by a train, you’re over here turning girls into hookers and sending them off to Asia when they get too fucked up… Jesus! I nearly got the shit kicked out of me by my own best friend! So you can spend the rest of your life always being afraid that someone like me is going to get the best of you, Alice. It’s not how I want to spend the rest of my life.”

Alice looked disappointed. Hurt, even. “You’re about to get your wish, then,” she said coldly. “I’ll never forget the look in your eyes when you were trancing those girls in the booth, Rebecca. How happy you looked. How it fit you like a glove. How easily you took over their minds. The power behind your voice! I was once that girl, you know.”

“I figured as much.”

“That girl, that Rebecca, she’s going to end up just like Olivia.” Alice lowered her voice, her earlier giddiness forgotten. “And it’s every bit as much of a tragedy.”

Cold. Cold and wet.

The whole world was cold and wet. Her hands, her bare feet, her clothes, the filthy back alley and the brick and stone walls that framed it, everything. Wet and slimy and foul, just like the girl that lay at her feet.

“You’re my enemy.” She reached for the knife, grateful to have it on her. She gripped the wet handle so that it wouldn’t fly out of her hand when she…

“I don’t know what you remember,” said the girl, “but I’m sorry. I really am.”

“You tried to brainwash me! Now I’m going to kill you!” She raised the knife into the air, like a killer in a bad horror movie.

“It wasn’t like that.”

The girl was crying. Emily ground her teeth. Tears just made everything even more wet. “I trusted you, you bitch!”

She brought the knife down. It slid into the girl’s stomach without resistance. Warm blood poured from the wound, covering Emily’s hand. She swore, pulling the knife out and backing away.

The girl moaned, clutching her stomach and trying, without success, to stop the bleeding. She rolled onto her side and looked up at Emily with eyes that were rapidly losing focus. “I’m sorry,” she said. Bright red blood trickled from the corners of her mouth. “I’m sorry, Emily.”

The knife clattered to the ground. Emily fell to her knees. “Oh my God.” She reached for the other girl. The skin she touched was already starting to grow cold.

“Reb… Rebecca?”

Rebecca looked her in the eyes. “Are you awake yet, Emily? Can I come in?”

“What? Huh?”

Light. Beautiful sunlight filtered in through the window. Someone had left the curtains open. She was happy to leave them that way. “Celeste? Did you lose your key?”

“It’s Alice, dearie. May I come in?”

Emily wrapped a comforter around her body. It was cold in the room again. Cold and wet. Cold and… wet? What does that even… “Hurm. Hey, Alice.” She tried to sound as annoyed as she could without crossing over into rudeness. “Is everything okay?”

“It’s quite okay, dearie. I’m just checking in on you. We haven’t seen you this morning and Rebecca asked me to look after you. Mind if I come in?”

Sigh. “It’s locked. Or it should be. Hang on, I’ll be up in a second.”

Before she could move, she heard the sound of keys, and the door swung open. Alice stepped into the room. “You won’t be surprised to learn that I’ve got all of the keys,” she said, grinning as she settled into the empty bed across from Emily. “But it’s rather rude to just burst in without an invite!”

The bed was made; Emily wondered if Rebecca and Celeste had stayed out all night, or if she’d slept right through a visit from the cleaning service. “I, um, I haven’t seen Rebecca today,” she said. “I kinda slept through today.” She rubbed her head, as if to offer proof.

“Oh, they’re fine. Saw them this morning. We had a lovely little discussion.” Alice patted the edge of the bed. “I’m more worried about you, dearie. Have you enjoyed your stay? Are you happy with your trip thus far?”

Alice was still grinning as she spoke, and Emily couldn’t resist helping herself to some of that positive energy. She cracked a smile. “This place is really nice, Alice. You really run a good place. And the beds are so comfortable! No wonder I’ve been sleeping so much! I feel bad, though. Sleeping all of the time when I should be out doing tourist stuff.”

“I do pride myself on the quality of my beds, if I may say.” Alice glowed with ample pride. “But you had some fun before you got here, didn’t you? Rebecca tells me that you were on a castle tour.”

“Yeah.”

“If you’re hoping to convince me, you’ll have to do better than that.”

“I mean, everything started off great. Rebecca and I split up at Hauptbahnhof, and she came here while I caught the train out into the country on that castle tour.” Her movements became more animated as she spoke. “It was so cool! Germany is really pretty. All these little towns, and everyone was super-friendly and spoke English. This one place, Wernigerode Castle? Have you ever been around the country, Alice?”

“You might say I’m quite familiar with those places. I can almost picture your entire trip in my mind. But go on! You got back to Berlin, and then?”

Her brown eyes darkened. “I got back here, and it’s been great and all. Just disappointing, I guess.”

“Oh? Certainly it wasn’t your stay here, was it? I’d hate to be responsible for ruining your trip!”

“No, no! You’re fine, honest.” She leaned forward until she was within reach of Alice’s knees, placing a comforting hand on them before reversing course and leaning back into her own bed. She stared at the ceiling. “Everything’s been kind of a blur ever since. I’m just so tired and sore all the time! I’ve spent more time in here sleeping than I’ve spent hanging out with Rebecca, and it sucks. I’m such a shitty wing girl, you know? We had all sorts of plans to do all kinds of crazy shit and welp, here I am. In bed. A… lone.”

“That’s not too terrible, is it? I was afraid you’d gotten sick, or had some other unpleasant memories of your time here.”

“Fuck.” Emily sat bolt upright. She curled her hand into a fist. “Fuck!”

“Well that was sudden! What is it?”

“My boots. My boots!” Emily punched her mattress in frustration. “I lost them somewhere. They should be next to the door and they’re gone. I remember thinking that I might have left them someplace last night, before… fuck. I fucking wore those things everywhere! She exhaled, defeated. “So yeah, that’s my Berlin memories for you. Sleeping, eating, a couple of coffee shops, and this book.” She held up The Fault in Our Stars and waved it about. “Annnnnd, no boots. So yeah, that’s my trip!”

“Today’s your lucky day, then! I know just the way to make a bad vacation into a good one.” Alice leaned forward, and beckoned for Emily to do the same. “It’s brilliantly easy, really.”

Emily took the bait. She leaned forward as well, head cradled in her hands and elbows on her knees. “Does it involve booze?”

“Much better! Now, Emily, you will listen carefully to every word that I say, and you will do exactly what I tell you to do. Understood?”

“Yes.” Her brown eyes glazed over. “I will always obey Alice without question. When she commands me, I will obey.”

“I’m going to take you downstairs now. I’m going to brainwash you. You’ll not resist in the slightest, will you?”

“I won’t… resist.”

“You want to be brainwashed.”

“I want to be brainwashed.”

“Wonderful!” Alice stood, turning and smoothing out the rumpled comforter before facing Emily. “Your friends are waiting for you. Get dressed and follow me, dearie.”

“Yes, Alice.”