The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Tome Reader 2013: Laura Crofton and The Amulet of Kousen

CHAPTER 2 : Character Development

Laura sat in the mess hall reading one of her tomes. Secretly she was listening to the various conversations around her. At the moment, her attention was on Jack and Samara.

“Man, that’s one amazing story,” Jack was saying. “Crashing on the shores of an island in search of some ancient lost kingdom. Being kidnapped for some crazy ritual and then escaping in a salvaged patrol boat. It’s too crazy to be made up.”

Renee piped in, “I wish we were making it up. A lot of good people died on that island.”

Joe commented, “The land was cursed. It was full of demons and fanatics possessed by demons.”

Jack looked back at Samara, “How exactly did you escape anyway?”

Renee answered for Samara, “That was all Laura. She may look like a sorority girl, but there is more to her than meets the eye.”

Jack laughed, “Well most sorority girls I’ve seen don’t walk around with a gun on each hip.” He looked back at Samara, “What about you, Sam? Do you have an alter ego as well?”

“No. I am very normal and boring,” she replied.

A crewmember knocked on the mess hall door, “Hey Jack, have you seen Henry. He was supposed to relieve me of my shift about 30 minutes ago.”

Jack turned to the crewman, “I told him to take care of the rations from the PT boat. It’s probably taking him longer than expected.”

“I will head over then and see if he needs any help,” the crewman said.

Jack turned back to Samara. “What I would like to know is how many relics you guys actually found on that island.”

“I’m not sure. Hey Laura, how many relics did we find in all?” Samara asked.

Laura took her time answering. She wanted to create the illusion that she wasn’t snooping. “Oh... umm. About forty, I think. I haven’t had a chance to count them yet.”

Jack seemed surprised, “Wow, real modern day treasure hunters. Think you guys found anything of value?”

Laura replied, “We won’t know until we reach the mainland. We will have to validate the age with some scans. And then there is the process of finding a collector or museum interested in the pieces.”

Samara addressed Jack, “So is this the first time you have ever answered a distress call?”

“Yes. And to be honest, when I saw your boat I thought for certain you were pirates. I mean how often do you run across a heavily armed PT with a .50 caliber machine gun. You have no idea how happy I was to discover we hadn’t fallen into some trap.”

“Is that why your men were so heavily armed?” Laura remarked.

Jack looked at Laura a bit surprised that she had noticed. “Yes, as a matter of fact, it was.”

Just then, the CB on Jacks belt came alive. “Man Down, Man Down! I repeat we have a Man Down!”

Jack pulled the CB out, “Location and Status?”

“PT Boat sir. Henry looks like he has been stabbed,” the voice said.

Jack pressed a special button on the CB causing his voice to come out of every intercom on the ship, “This is your captain. We are going to code orange; I repeat we are going to code orange. Everyone report to your pre-assigned posts and grab a weapon. We will have a sound off in two minutes.”

Jack looked to his guests. “I need all of you to return to your cabins and lock your doors. I am going to go check out the PT boat. I will make an announcement over the intercom once the ship is clear.”

Laura addressed Jack, “I want to come with you.”

Jack looked down at her guns, “If you insist.”

Samara grabbed Laura’s arm, “Hold on Laura, I need to tell you something before you go.”

Jack looked at Samara and then back to Laura, “I will meet you at the boat then.”

Samara waited until everyone had left. “Here, this will be safer with you,” she said, handing the amulet to Laura.

“Don’t worry Sam, we are going to be fine,” Laura said reassuringly. Laura put the amulet around her neck and gave her friend a hug before taking off.

* * *

When Laura arrived, Jack was helping his fellow crewman carry Henry’s body up onto the deck. A crane and hoist was waiting.

“Is he dead?” Laura asked.

“Not yet, but he will be if we don’t act fast,” Jack replied.

Laura noticed that Henry’s clothes had been removed. “Mind if I go below and take a look around,” she asked.

“No, but be careful. Whoever did this took Henry’s gun and his clothes. I know my crew, but you don’t,” Jack noted

Laura made her way below deck and immediately noticed muddy boot prints coming from the mess. She followed them to a sink where she found additional boot prints within. It appeared they had a stowaway. The tracks led from the sink to the crew quarters where there was a larger pool of blood, a discarded dagger and a black trench coat.

She recognized the coat. It belonged to a member of Fimeko’s cult: A man named Nickolas, the second in command. At one point Nickolas had actually captured Laura but she managed to escape. Not too many people wearing long black trench coats on the island.

Laura got an uneasy feeling as she imagined Nickolas under the sink the whole time she was sleeping. He probably overheard their conversation too.

Laura returned topside and spoke to Jack. “It looks like we had a stowaway. I recognize the clothes he left behind. It was a high-ranking member of the cult we told you about.”

“It just doesn’t make sense,” Jack said to himself.

“What do you mean?” Laura replied.

“Well, this stowaway had a well armed boat with a weeks worth of fuel and four weeks worth of rations for one person. Why steal Henry’s clothes and come aboard our ship? Why not just drive away? It is almost like...”

“There was something he wanted,” Laura completed Jack’s sentence. She brought a hand up to her neck and felt the necklace under her shirt. Laura suddenly had an uneasy feeling. Samara had been wearing the necklace when they went aboard.

“Oh god... Sam,” Laura said, a hand gripping the gun on her side.

“Listen Jack, this man, his name is Nickolas. He has a scar on his face, tattoos covering his chest and distinctive yellow eyes,” Laura said.

Jack looked surprised, “You’ve met him?”

“I escaped from him on the island, but he must have followed me to the boat,” Laura replied. “Anyway, I am going to head over to Sam’s cabin and stay with her until you catch him.”

“Okay. I will come by and check up on you after we sweep the ship,” Jack replied.

“Thanks,” Laura said.

* * *

Laura knocked on the door, “Hey Sam, it’s me, Laura. Can I come in?”

There was a click on the other side, but the door only partially opened.

Laura knew something was wrong. She drew both guns and kicked the door forward.

Samara was kneeling on the floor in her underwear. Her hands were tied behind her back and her feet were bound. Nickolas stood behind her holding a gun to her head.

“Nice of you to join us Laura,” Nickolas said.

“Let her go, NOW!” Laura demanded.

“Now, now Laura. I don’t want to kill her or you. I just want the necklace.”

Luckily the necklace wasn’t visible beneath Laura’s t-shirt.

“If you shoot her, you are as good as dead” Laura said. “And even if you somehow made it out of this room alive, you would be a hunted man. So think carefully about your next move.”

Nickolas seemed to consider her words before responding, “You know, Laura, we aren’t so different. Like you, I killed to survive. Like you, I escaped the island. Why should someone judge me to be any less worthy of saving than you? Because you are a pretty, young woman?”

“Because I didn’t stab the first person I saw,” Laura replied.

“As I recall, you attacked the captain. The only reason he is still alive is because your friend here stopped you from snapping his neck”

“You don’t know that,” Laura said defensively.

“No, I don’t. And tell me, does anyone else aboard this ship know just how many men you killed in the last five days?”

“It was self defense,” Laura replied.

“I’m sure it started off that way. But we both know at some point you changed. You began to strike first. The hunted became the hunter. By the time my brothers realized how dangerous you were, you had stopped asking for surrender. You broke into our camps, stole our relics and killed our family members. Does that sound like a hero to you? No, you are just a thief and a killer like the rest of us.”

“You killed my crew and kidnapped my friend!” Laura exclaimed.

“I didn’t personally do those things. And we both know anyone who laid a finger on your crew is now dead. As for your Sam: you call it kidnapping, I call it trespassing. Regardless of what it was, she wasn’t killed or violated. However you decided that our supposed crime justified killing over a hundred of my people.”

Laura did not reply to this, but the change in her facial expression indicated that Nickolas had struck a nerve.

Nickolas continued, “I am not judging you. Sometimes we kill for the right reasons and sometimes we kill for the wrong reasons. But neither of us is innocent. The main difference between us is that you wear a pretty face and keep better friends”

They stood in silence while Laura considered his words. Then Laura lowered one of her guns. “I don’t know what you went through on that island, but I know killing to survive changes people. If it is a second chance you want, I will give it to you. But you must make the first move Nickolas. Put the gun down and let Sam go as a sign of your good intentions. If you do, you have my word that I will stand behind you. We will go to the captain together and plead your case.”

Nickolas chuckled, “I was a pirate before I landed on that island. I will need a lot more than two chances to walk off this boat a free man. No, the patrol boat is the only way off this ship for me. So this isn’t about redemption or right or wrong. This is about you and me and whether you are willing to trade an amulet for your friends life.”

Samara interrupted, “Don’t do it Laura! The necklace is too powerful and you will never see your fathumm.. ummm...”

Nickolas covered her mouth. “I told you to stay quiet.”

Samara began to struggle.

“Fine. Release Sam and you can have the necklace,” Laura said.

Samara stopped struggling and looked at Laura with pleading eyes.

“Tell me where it is and she is yours,” Nickolas said.

“It is right here,” Laura said, pulling the collar of her t-shirt down.

Nickolas smiled and stepped away from Samara. He began to say something. The first few syllables out of his mouth didn’t make much sense and by the time he completed the sentence, Laura realized it wasn’t English at all. In a flash of light, Laura was suddenly floating above her body.

Laura watched Nickolas act quickly. He stepped out of the line of fire, walked over to Laura’s body and removed the guns from her hands. He then told her to kneel. Her body began to comply as he reached into his pocket and pulled out some rope.

Laura tried to resist, but she was clumsy. It was like someone had handed her a remote control to her body that she had never used before. She tried to speak, but all that came out of her mouth were gasps and grunts. By the time Laura figured out how to make her body move, Nickolas had already bound her wrists and feet together.