Friday, May 22, 2020

Monsters - Chapter 26 – Guests – Part 1 of 2


Monsters
By Karen Singer


Chapter 26 – Guests – Part 1 of 2

“Do you think she’s alive?”
“Yes!”
“Are you sure?”
“Mom, I have to believe that.  I have to!
“Are you being realistic about this, or is it really just wishful thinking?”
“Mom, I love her.  You know that.  I have to believe she’s still alive.  But more than that, I really do believe they haven’t killed her…yet.  I don’t know how much longer they’d keep her alive though.  I’m convinced that Beastman wanted to take his revenge out on her.  He wanted her alive so he could punish her.  And my take on it is that he would consider a quick death to be too easy for her.  I think he’ll want to do something to her that will last a long time.”
“Are you sure?”
“Mom, like I said, I have to believe that.  Right now, I’m so worried about her, and the fact that I can’t find her is driving me nuts!”
“Don’t let that allow you get sloppy,” Janis warned her daughter.  “I don’t want to lose you like you’ve lost Brandy.”
Carol shook her head.  “Don’t worry.  In fact, if anything, I seem to be more focused.  Although I’m also killing more than I need to.  But I don’t really care.  I just want to find Brandy, and I’ll stop at nothing to do it!  If I have to kill everyone in the entire city to find her, I will!  No problem!”
“I’m sure you mean that,” Janis replied.  “Just…for my sake, stay extra careful.  The more of a threat you become to them, the more they’re going to try and strike back.  Not to mention all those bodies piling up are going to attract an awful lot of attention from the police.”
“I don’t care about the police.  They’ll never see me.  So far, nobody that’s seen me has remained alive.  And as for Beastman trying to strike back at me…”  Her mouth turned into a wicked smile.  “That’s exactly what I’m hoping for.  Let them try!”

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There was still no sign of the motorcycles out front, which to him meant that neither Brandy nor Carol were in their room next door.  It wasn’t like Brandy to stay out of touch so long.
He wasn’t exactly worried about Brandy.  It was more like he was worried about himself.  With no constant direction from her like he usually got, he wasn’t sure what to do or where he stood.  He was stuck in an unknowing state.  Would she be back soon?  He had no way of knowing.  He didn’t know what to do.  If he screwed up in any way at all, she’d come close to killing him.  He knew that from long experience.  So he wasn’t worried about her, he was worried about himself.
Where was Brandy?

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Her body automatically strained again to move.  But as always, it was impossible.  All the unconscious effort did was to pull her awake.  Her eyes opened to see the same white door in the same dull room.  The room where nothing changed.  The room where time didn’t exist.
She could feel her breasts being pulled harder again.  She could feel that the pain had increased since they had put the empty bucket back on her.  She could feel the burning pain in her vaginal lips as well.  What she couldn’t feel anymore, was her hands.  She couldn’t feel them, and she couldn’t see them.  Maybe they no longer existed.  She wished her whole body didn’t exist anymore.  She wished she didn’t exist anymore.  Unfortunately, she still did.  She existed in a timeless place called hell.
Her stomach growled.  She was hungry.  All she had eaten since they had caught her was whatever mush that woman had shoved down her throat.  As bad as it was, she was more than willing to put up with it again to get something in her stomach.  Either that, or she was more interested in getting nothing at all in her stomach for a much longer period so she could die.  That would be the better option.
With nothing to see or do other than to dwell on too much pain and discomfort in her entire body, she closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep.  She tried, but all she could think about was the pain in her breasts.

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“Um…Mom…what are they supposed to be?”
“Why dear, you can’t figure it out?” Janis replied, sounding slightly hurt.
Carol studied the two black men in the fenced in horse paddock.  They were both squatting down as they tried to precariously “walk” around.  Their arms were held strangely with their hands up under their armpits.  They both seemed to be intently studying the ground in front of them as their heads occasionally jerked slightly forward and back.  Occasionally, they would quickly go down and plant their faces in the ground before struggling to get back to their feet.  She looked again at the way their doubled-up arms moved.  Wings!  Their arms were supposed to be wings.  And then it hit her.  “Uh…Mom?  Chickens?  You turned them into chickens?”
“Yes!  Was it that hard for you to figure out?”  She shook her head.  “And here I thought I had done such a good job with them.”
Carol laughed.  “No Mom.  They’re great.  I don’t think I’ve seen you do a chicken before.  I know you prefer turning them into bugs.”
“Yes.  Well, now they can eat the bugs…and some chicken feed we’ll throw on the ground for them too.”
“Will they know to try eating it when you do?”
“Oh Carol,” Janis laughed.  “I had each of them studying a marvelous video all about chickens and their behaviors before I even started.  Their minds literally picked up everything about the way chickens behave before I told them they were going to be chickens.  And now…well for them…they’ll stay that way for the rest of their lives.”
Carol chuckled.  “Just like all the men you play with.  Once you get them Mom, they can’t ever get free.”
“That’s the idea, dear.” Janis smiled.
“So, what are you going to do with them?
“I thought that this time I would try to collect as many as possible right here, and then turn the whole flock of them loose somewhere down in Las Vegas.”
“That should be interesting!”
“Yes!  Something I think I’d like to watch personally.  Besides, Mr Wu has kept me away from the city the entire time I’ve been here.  By then, I’ll be due a little fun.”
“Yeah, Mom.  For sure!  A whole flock of them?  That’s a lot of work!”
“True dear.  But at the same time, you know it’s also a labor of love for me…unlike all the ones that Maria Alverez has me do where all I can do is make them her puppets so she secretly has control of all the South American governments.”
“Yeah, Mom.  I know you don’t enjoy that as much.”
But…I do enjoy all that delicious money.”
“Yes.  I know you do, Mom.  And you certainly earn it.”
“Yes.  I do.”
“But if you want an entire flock of your…chickens, then that means I’ve got to get busy.  I only brought you one to play with last night.”
“True dear,” Janis replied with a mock sigh.  “But…I know you love what you do just as much as I do.”
“Yeah.  And as much as you don’t believe in it, I like killing people, and I’m good at it.”
“I know dear.  Much to my disappointment.  But…” she added with a smile.  “If you went and bought yourself a beautiful gown, then I know there’s hope for you on the horizon.”
Carol laughed.  “Don’t bet on it, Mom!”
“A mother can certainly hope, can’t she?”
“Miss Stokley!” one of the maids called to them.  Both Carol and her mother turned.  “Mr. Liu has returned to see you.”
“Oh good!” Carol replied.  “My new riding suit.  It was supposed to be here last night.”
“You didn’t get back until later dear,” Janis reminded her daughter.
“True,” Carol conceded as they headed for the house.  “But I was having such a good time.”
They found Mr. Liu waiting for them in the parlor again.  This time he had only one box with him, but it was a fairly large one.  “Mrs. and Miss Stokley,” he greeted the two women as they entered.  “It is good to see you again.”  He turned to Carol.  “Did you have a chance to try the new helmet?”
“Yes,” Carol replied with a smile.  “I love it.  I’ll take a dozen.  Four in black.  Four in dark grey, and four in red.  And I’m keeping the one I’ve got now as well.”
Mr. Liu smiled.  “Very good.”
“Is that the new riding suit?” Carol asked.
“Yes it is,” Mr. Liu replied as he pulled open the box.  It’s all black I’m afraid, but if you like it, you can order any colors and designs you like, just as you’ve done in the past.”
“Perfect!” Carol replied as she got a look at the thick black garment.
For the next few minutes, Mr. Liu went through all the pockets and accessories.
“And how about the gas mask?” Carol finally asked, anxious to get on with the most important part for her.
Mr. Liu reached into the neck and pulled out some material that turned out to be an attached hood.  “Just pull the neckline out and pull it over your head,” he said as he spread that part of the suit out.  “As you can see, there is only an opening for your eyes, the rest of your face is covered.  Buried in the material over your mouth and nose is an air filtration system that should work against most gasses we’ve tested it against.  And if you’re worried about your eyes…as my people tell me you should be…”  He reached into a new pocket located near the waist and pulled out a thin pair of goggles.  “These goggles, when used with the suit, will do the job perfectly.”
“Can I test it?” Carol asked.
“Of course!” Liu said with some surprise.  “Do you have some kind of gas here to try on it?”
“Yes.  I managed to get a sample last night of the gas they’ve been using so far.”
“Then by all means,” Mr. Liu replied.  “I would also be very interested in reporting the results of your test back to our developers.”
Carol called for her maid, Susannah, and asked her to get the small glass vial she had brought back with her last night.  While Susannah was doing that, she pulled the new riding suit on.  It fit like it was made for her.  But over the years she’d had so many custom riding suits made for her that she expected it to fit perfectly.  By the time she was dressed, Susannah was back with the little glass vial.
“How did you want to do this dear?” Janis asked.  “We’re not protected.”
“I thought about just using one of the bedrooms upstairs, but I think if I just wave this around under my nose and try to smell it, that should be a pretty good test.  Besides, I don’t want to waste this in case it doesn’t work.”  She looked to Savannah.  If I pass out, please put me on the sofa until I wake up.  Judging by what I’ve seen this stuff do, it will probably last a while, so just let me sleep it off.”  She looked at her mother and Mr. Liu.  “You all might want to stand way back.  And if I do pass out, make sure you hold your breath before you close this glass vial up again.”
Janis and Mr. Liu retreated to the far side of the room.  Savannah retreated out into the hallway.
Carol pulled the built-in gas mask out from the collar of the suit and pulled it over her head, leaving only a narrow slit for her eyes that was exposed.  She sealed the front of the mask inside the neck of the suit.  With that done, she took several deep breaths, testing her breathing.  “It’s a little tight to breath through, but not bad,” she told them, her voice now slightly muffled.
She pulled out the special goggles from their pouch at her waist and pulled them over her eyes.  “Not bad,” she said as she looked out through the goggles.  I could probably use these in place of the helmet if I needed to.”  She grabbed the glass vial.  “Ready?  Remember, if I start to go down, hold your breath.”
She opened the glass vial, held it under her nose and took a deep breath, fully expecting to get light-headed.  But nothing happened.  She took another big whiff from the tiny jar.  Still nothing.
“Oh dear,” Janis replied as she grabbed for the arm of the nearest chair and started to collapse into it.
“Uh…” Mr. Liu said as he too started lurching sideways.
Carol quickly sealed the glass jar and ran for her mother.  She helped her to her feet and half-carried her out of the room, across the hall and directly into the next room where Savannah helped to settle her into the nearest chair.  Then Carol went back for Mr. Liu.  When both of them were safely in the other room, Carol went back and opened all the windows in the parlor to air it out.  Only then did she go back to her mother and Mr. Liu.  Both of them appeared to be still dazed, but they were both awake.
“That’s some stuff,” Janis finally noted, her head still spinning.
Liu didn’t say anything, but his head nodded somewhat unsteadily.
Carol pulled off the goggles and pulled up the mask.  “I think that was a pretty fair test,” she decided.  “Sorry, Mom.  I didn’t expect just opening the jar would let it get that far across the room so fast.”
“That’s what got your friend Brandy?” Janis asked.
“That’s it.”
“No wonder they got her,” Janis replied.  “I barely got the faintest whiff, and I nearly fainted.  How did you avoid that stuff in the past?”
“I held my breath.”
Janis merely nodded.  “I take it…I hope…you’re taking that new suit, and that you intend on using that little feature.”
“For sure, Mom.  Absolutely!”

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