Revenge
By Karen Singer
Chapter
23 – Part 1 of 2
On Tuesday morning, fresh from his shower, Steve faced his
underwear drawer. He only gave a very
brief thought about not wearing what Monica wanted him to. Sighing dejectedly, he grabbed a pair of panties,
pantyhose, and a bra, and put them all on.
He was getting used to wearing a jacket to work now. A few people had commented favorably on
it. None of them knew the real reason he
was wearing it.
He had made love to Carla again last night. And it had been wonderful! Mostly.
He didn’t remember anything that happened from the time he arrived there
until he suddenly woke up kissing her, but the lovemaking had without a doubt
been wonderful. At least he had thought
so. He had thought she had enjoyed it as
much as he had. Actually, he had been
fairly sure that she had enjoyed it more than he had. But in the end, she had kissed him off with a
finality that left him no doubt as to him ever doing it again with her. She had said…never again.
What had happened to his life? His wonderful life that he had been working
so hard to build for himself? All of it
was suddenly gone. Or as good as
gone. His life amounted now to nothing
more than a bit of trash that was waiting to be thrown out with the rest of the
garbage. All because of…that witch! Monica!
And she had practically admitted she was a witch to his face.
He’d kill her if he could just figure out how. The only thing stopping him was her
magic. She was just too powerful. Incredibly powerful! How the hell did you fight someone like
that? Actually, there was only one
answer that came to mind. A gun. As far as he could see, the only way out of
the mess he was in, would be to shoot her.
And then what? Would he get sent
to jail for the rest of his life? Was it
worth it? Just then, as far as he was
concerned, it was worth it. Anything would be better than what he was
living with now. Anything!
The only problem was, he didn’t own a gun. He had never even fired a gun. He didn’t know the first thing about
them. But if kids could get their hands
on one and accidentally shoot someone else, then why couldn’t he get one, or
buy one, and figure out how to shoot – an evil witch!
Question – could he actually kill a witch with a gun? According to the history books, they used to
burn witches. Oh how he’d like to do
that to Monica! Oh how he’d like to burn
her for the evil witch that she was. Oh
how he’d like to get back at her for all the humiliation she had piled on
him. He’d like to kill her for ruining
his life…his perfect life. All gone now,
for her evil amusement.
Gun, or burn the witch?
Those were the choices he was considering as he drove to work.
--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---
Susan stared at the computer screen on her desk. Her first client wasn’t due for another
hour. She had things to do, but her mind
was too preoccupied with the email she had gotten from Karen the night
before. Evidently, the Carla woman had
made love to Steve again – after he had cleaned her home. She knew from prior emails that Steve and
Carla had gone out many times in the past, so they had a long history.
Susan didn’t mind that Karen had turned her body over to
Steve once she realized what Carla was doing.
Susan didn’t mind that at all.
Nor did she mind the fact that Carla had told Steve afterwards that it
was something that would never happen again.
Instead, there were now several other things that worried Susan.
Karen had actually felt crushed, along with Steve, when
Carla had told them never again. Karen had
felt like she had done something wrong in the way she had manipulated what
Steve had been doing while they were making love to Carla. And now Karen was feeling inadequate because
of it. Not for Steve’s sake, but for her
own. Once again, Susan was reminded that
Karen was like a child. She didn’t have
the years of experience that Steve had, despite their shared memories. Karen was a new creation. A personality that Susan had crafted from
taking a few of Steve’s more latent memories, and then implanting false memory
on top of false memory until she had created something much bigger. Karen was in all too many ways, nothing but
false memories and experiences, none of which were based on actual experiences. For as much as Karen knew and was able to do,
Karen needed time to grow and learn.
And then there was the other little problem Susan was
facing. Her bigger problem. Would Monica finally realize she couldn’t
win? Would Monica finally release Steve
and not bother him again? As far as
Susan was concerned, there was only one way she could possibly find out. She would have to ask Monica – directly. She would have to send Monica another
email. She pulled her computer keyboard
closer to her and got busy.
Something…simple. Something…to
the point.
--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---
Monica’s life was finally starting to feel normal
again. Somewhat anyway. She still wanted to basically kill Steve, but
she was now doing her best to put him out of her mind, along with everything he
had done to her. A normal life. Trying to live a normal life. But the reality of it was that she was trying
to emulate what she had always thought a normal life should be. Her life was anything but normal. Not since she had married her husband. And especially not since she was now a
murderer. A normal life. A happy normal life. Her dream.
She just wasn’t sure what a normal life was anymore.
But she had a new job now.
A good job. One that paid a lot
better than waitressing. She had a new
home for herself too. As crummy as it
was, it was still far better than what she had been living in before. Or at least, it used to be. Since what Steve had done to her, she still
had nightmares every time she walked into her apartment. And leaving it every day to go to work felt
like all too much of a relief. But it
was still her home, and it was still better than where she had been
living. Now she was only hoping that it
would all soon start feeling like a normal happy home for her again. A safe haven for her. A place she could relax and feel good. She was hopeful she could feel that way
again, but she was all too afraid she never would.
She had murdered her husband. She had murdered another living being. Did she deserve to feel happy and safe?
The door to the shipping department opened and she noticed
Diane coming in. She smiled. Diane had become a good friend since she had
gotten here. Diane might be a bit
kinkier than she originally thought, but Monica certainly couldn’t hold that
against her. Diane had proven herself
many times now to be a good friend.
Proven it! And that meant a lot
to Monica.
She looked around.
The shipping department where she worked was fairly large. She was one of five people who worked
there. She and Diane did a lot of the
small everyday stuff and wound up delivering small packages to people all over
the building. There were three other
guys who worked in the department, including her boss, who all handled the
heavier stuff. Monica didn’t mind. They all got along well. Her boss had even been very sympathetic and
understanding after her apartment had been trashed. That meant a lot to Monica too. And Mike upstairs had called her several
times since that night asking how she was…not to mention asking her to go out
with him again. He too appeared to be a
good guy. So basically the new company
she worked for was filled with good people. Except for Steve. One rotten egg, amid a company of good
people. One very rotten egg.
“Lunch?”
Monica looked up and saw Diane standing in the little office
doorway. She smiled. “Sure.
Let me check my email first. She
opened up her email. She often got
company emails asking her to pick something up or to watch for a particular
package. She and Diane did things like
that all day long. It was something they
had to stay on top of. But when she
checked for new emails, she immediately saw one that brought all her anger and
troubles crashing back.
“What’s wrong?” Diane asked, noticing the sudden change in
Monica’s face.
Monica pointed to the screen. “The Sorceress,” she said.
As Monica opened the email, Diane walked around so she could
see as well.
Monica,
I
hope by now you realize that there is no way you can win against me. I hope you realize how futile anything you
can possibly do to Steve would be. I
have fixed him so that no matter what you try to do to him, he will only love
it.
Will
you please back away now and leave him to me?
I am better prepared to take care of him, and I can assure you that I
will more than adequately handle what needs to be done with him. So please do me the courtesy now of leaving
him alone. Forget about him. I was there first. He’s mine to play with, not yours!
Thank
you,
The
Sorceress
Monica had been feeling somewhat good all morning – until
now. Now she felt angry all over
again. And no small measure of it was
because the Sorceress had been right. As
far as she could see, all her efforts to get back at Steve had been completely
thwarted…somehow.
That is, if it really was the Sorceress doing it.
“What are you going to do?” Diane asked. “Say yes?
Because as far as I can see, she’s really screwed him up. No matter what we did to him this weekend, he
only wound up loving it more than ever.”
Monica didn’t answer.
Instead she started a reply to the Sorceress.
Sorceress? Ha!
You’re not fooling me one bit Steve.
I know it’s you. It’s always been
you! This made up Sorceress scheme isn’t
going to fool me at all. It’s all
nothing but a lame excuse to make people feel sorry for you. Well I’m not buying it! So stop it!
And
Steve, since you insist on trying to use this silly scheme against me, I expect
you down here again after work tonight, and we’ll see just how much of a
Sorceress you are then!
Monica
---
§§§§§§§§§§ ---
Because of the time difference Susan
found Monica’s reply just before she herself went to lunch. A lunch that was somewhat ruined by the anger
she now felt against Monica. She quickly wrote back.
I
am not Steve! How can you possibly think
such a silly thing? Now please leave him
alone!
The
Sorceress
---
§§§§§§§§§§ ---
Monica found the Sorceress’s latest email early in the
afternoon. She had been fairly perturbed
by her first email all during lunch, and she was even angrier about it
now.
How
can I think you’re Steve? I don’t think
– I know! Only you yourself Steve could
possibly put on such an act as you’ve been showing all of us these last few
days. Only you yourself could know to do
the things you’ve been doing. Now stop
this lame excuse! If you like wearing
women’s clothes and you love being humiliated that much, then just come out and
say it. Stop pretending it’s someone
else that’s doing it to you. And if you
want that kind of humiliation, then trust me, I’m more than angry enough to
give it to you.
And
don’t forget. After work! We’ll all be here then.
Monica
---
§§§§§§§§§§ ---
Susan read Monica’s latest email and got even angrier. Of all the dumb stupid women in the
world. What was it going to take to
convince her?
Monica. What will it take to convince you that I’m
not Steve?
---
§§§§§§§§§§ ---
Monica read the latest email. So Steve was still trying to play his little
games. She wrote back quickly.
If
you’re not Steve, which I find it impossible to believe, then tell me who you
really are! I’m not buying any of this
Sorceress crap! I know it’s you Steve,
so stop pretending.
---
§§§§§§§§§§ ---
Susan was becoming more irked with every email she read from
Monica. The damn woman!
Monica. I will not tell you who I am. Steve will NEVER know who is doing this to
him. NEVER! May I suggest you find some way to get Steve
where you can see and watch him. Then
email me again. I promise I’ll write
back to you. That should convince
you.
And
Monica, I would very much prefer that Steve continues to know nothing at all
about me. As far as I can tell, despite
the difficulties between you and me, he still knows nothing about me. He does however firmly believe that you are a
very powerful witch and that it’s all somehow you that’s done everything to
him.
Steve
can be a very vengeful person. He has
never had a problem with being downright cruel.
That is why I am punishing him.
But you might want to consider, for your own safety, and if you want
that small bit of protection to remain, then don’t let him know anything at all
about me. Allow him to continue to
believe that you are a witch. Believe me
when I tell you that he truly is afraid of you.
It’s why he continues to do whatever you want. It’s also why he hasn’t done anything more to
try and strike back at you in an even worse way.
So
please back away now and leave Steve to me to play with. I am far better equipped to handle him then
you are. He is my puppet to play with
from afar.
If
you still aren’t convinced, then if it’s convenient for you, I can be free for
about an hour at four o’clock your time.
I will be more than willing to exchange emails with you then.
The
Sorceress
--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---
Monica read the Sorceress’s latest email. As she did, several things jumped out at
her. First of all, this Sorceress was punishing
him because he was cruel? Had Steve done
something to her in the past…or more likely, fairly recently, since she was
just now trying to get back at him? She
remembered what Steve had done to her apartment, not to mention letting the air
out of her tires. Yes, there was no
doubt about it, Steve could be cruel.
Very cruel!
And then there was the mention of another time zone. Was this Sorceress really that far away? Or was it just some way for the Sorceress to
try to disguise that she was really much closer than she wanted anyone to
think. That seemed much more
likely. She would have to have some way
of knowing what Steve was doing – if it wasn’t actually Steve himself.
Monica also noted that the Sorceress went out of her way to
remind her that Steve still thought she was a powerful witch, while at the same
time, the Sorceress didn’t want Steve to know it was her that was doing
anything to him. Was the Sorceress that
afraid of him, despite how much control she seemed to have over him? It didn’t make much sense, but it was all she
could think.
And finally, Monica noted that the Sorceress seemed to think
that Steve believing that she was a witch, was the only thing that was keeping
Steve from striking back at her somehow.
And after what Steve had already done, that was something that Monica
firmly believed could happen.
As Monica wrote back, she realized one more thing. It was looking very likely that the Sorceress
may not be Steve at all.
Sorceress,
I will play your game. I will try to get
free around four o’clock – my time! And
I will try to find some way to also keep an eye on Steve to make sure it’s not
him returning my emails.
---
§§§§§§§§§§ ---
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