Chapter 20: Alphabet Soup

Date-Uncertain. Location-Unknown.

Confusion, why was I so confused. Everything was hazy. It felt as if my mouth and brain had been stuffed full of cotton. Where was I? I struggled to clear my head from the fog, struggled to open my eyes. They felt glued shut. I tried to move my body, but something seemed to be restraining my limbs; all I could do was twitch.

Jake.

<Huh?>

Jake. Snap out of it. I’m doing my best to speed up your liver and kidney function to help flush the drugs from your system. Sorry, but you’re about to piss yourself.

<Wh-what? Malachar?>

I tried focusing on clearing my head as hard as I could when I suddenly felt a wet warmth spreading out over my chest, belly, and crotch. Great, I was urinating all over myself.

What can you remember?

I struggled with that too. What could I remember? A simple question, but for the moment, I was drawing a blank. So fuzzy.

<Not much, I’m so disorientated, I feel foggy. Where am I? What happened?>

You were drugged. Remember?

As if a veil was lifted from my memories, it all came back to me in a rush. They’d used the capture of my family to force Violet and me into a cargo van. They’d searched us, taken our guns, covered our heads with hoods, and injected me with something that knocked me out almost instantly. I gave myself a mental shake clearing out most of the remaining cobwebs.

<I remember everything now ... Malachar, I’m fucking pissed!>

I know. I just made you piss all over yourself, but if you didn’t mean that literally, then yes, I also know that you’re very fucking angry.

< Dude! You’re seriously going to joke now? What the fuck, man! I need to know where the fuck my family is!>

A little levity seemed appropriate to distract you from doing anything overly stupid before you’ve had a chance to think. I need you angry, but focused anger is better. When you’re upset with me, it seems to sharpen your cognitive abilities for some reason. Mayhap because you’re internalizing? I haven’t quite figured it out yet, but I will at some point. There aren’t many mysteries about how the brain works left for me to discover. When I eventually get freed from my soul prison, I’ll definitely need to write a book about the mind’s inner workings. I’ve learned some fascinating things from my various hosts over the millennia.

I opened my eyes a slit, not wanting to alert anyone that I was awake just yet. Not until I could better take stock of my situation and surroundings. Other than a few twitches when I’d first tried to move my limbs, I hadn’t moved. I hoped that no one had noticed, or if they had, then that they would’ve just thought I was merely moving in my sleep. Did people even move when put under by drugs?

I was glad that I had barely cracked my eyes and was only looking through my eyelashes because the fluorescent lights above me were harsh. It took a moment to adjust to the brightness, but soon I could see that I was in a plain-looking room with sterile white walls absent of decoration. Without moving anything other than just my eyeballs, all I could see besides the ceiling and about halfway up the walls was a silvery metal door directly across from me. It was approximately twelve feet away, and it had a small plexiglass wired window in the middle of it.

I could also see down most of the length of my body; I was nude and had massive thick metal clamps locked around my biceps, forearms, thighs, and calves, bolting me to the bed. Now that I was finally shrugging off the remnants of whatever drug they’d used, I could feel the cold of the metal underneath me. This was definitely not a standard prison bed, nor a hospital one; it was probably a particular type created just for the CIA. As far as I could tell, I didn’t have any intravenous lines stuck anywhere, so if they planned on drugging me again, they’d need to do it manually. I wouldn’t allow it to happen a second time, that was for sure.

They knew that I was extraordinarily strong, but I don’t think they realized by just how much. I hadn’t tested my restraints yet, but I felt confident that I’d be able to break them pretty easily using a charge of my ring. They probably thought that my strength was drug-induced, or maybe that I was just freakishly strong. After all, stranger things have happened, but I highly doubted that they’d be thinking that I was using magic. I mean, who believed in magic nowadays? Right?

<How long do you think that we were knocked out for?>

No clue, m’boy. I was swamped within your subconscious; the drug put me back into the semi-aware state that I was in before you activated the ring by fucking your baby sister. I would guess probably for less than a day, though, and I highly doubt that it was for more than twenty-four hours.

<What makes you say that?>

Because it would’ve made sense to stick an intravenous line in you if they wanted you out for longer; otherwise, they need to keep sticking you with needles. I suppose they could’ve, but like I said, I doubt it.

<Do you think they brought everyone here? To the same place? They better not have hurt my family. I’m going to go Hulk smash on ‘em if they did!>

I doubt they would’ve done anything more than rough them up—no point in harming them when they can be used against you. So, before you go all ballistic, play possum first, and try to gather as much information as possible. If you start killing or harming the idiots here, it might not turn out so good for the others if they are being held far away. They could suffer from your actions. Patience and control are what will see you triumphant, Jake.

<Well, I imagine that whoever’s in charge around here is waiting for me to wake up. I don’t see the point in pretending to be out of it. I’m only wasting valuable time.>

I fully opened my eyes and lifted my head, taking a better look around. I was in a square-shaped white cell, roughly twelve-by-twelve. There was nothing else in the room except the metal table that I was strapped to and the cameras that were observing me from each corner of the ceiling. I flexed my muscles and felt the sturdiness of the restraints that held me fast. For anyone without Samson’s strength, they would be impossible to break. I was confident that with a good yank, they would go flying off me in pieces.

<I wonder how long I’ll need to wait before they notice that I’m awake.>

“Ahh, you’re awake, Good. You’re probably feeling a bit disorientated right about now as the drugs leave your system. We can see that you had an accident. We are going to send in a nurse to clean you up and take your vitals. Needless to say that if you attempt to take control of her in any way that it won’t be a healthy choice for your loved ones,” a voice said clinically as it crackled through a hidden speaker in the ceiling somewhere.

<That answers that question.>

“Where are they? If any of them have been harmed or if you hurt them, it will be the last thing that you ever do. I can promise you that not only will I end the life of everyone involved, but I will also see to it that the CIA itself is completely obliterated,” I growled out menacingly.

“Tsk, tsk, boy. You’re hardly in a position to be making threats, but I assure you, none of them have been harmed as of yet. Frightened, angry, yes, but other than that, they are so far untouched. As for where they are? Not too far from here, but not close either. We’ll talk very shortly. We have lots of questions for you, boy,” he stated evenly and without emotion.

“What do you want? And why am I naked?” I asked with derision as if I was being pestered by a lowly street bum and wasn’t currently strapped naked to a metal table.

I was met with silence, and I debated about what I should do. If he had spoken the truth, then my loved ones weren’t here, and anything that I did could spell dire consequences for them.

<I don’t know what I should do! Any action I take could hurt the ones that I love, yet I need to do something! For fuck sakes! Any ideas?>

Hmm, you could take over the nurse...

<Yeah, but as soon as I do, they might hurt my girls ... Although I could burst through my restraints at the same time, I guess.>

No, you misunderstand. Take over their loyalty without alerting anyone, don’t use them yet. Wait, bide your time. Learn more about your situation first.

At that moment, the door clicked before automatically swinging open. I watched as a stunningly beautiful woman dressed in a typical white nurse’s uniform stepped into the room. She was pushing a metal cart full of various instruments in front of her. The pretty thing had silky black hair, which was bundled up into a bun on the top of her head; sexy little tendrils wisped down around her ears and neck, framing her flawless face. Her eyes met mine briefly before nervously dropping down to her cart; they were a pretty light-blue and seemed slightly almond-shaped.

Most likely, she was part Asian. She was small of stature, standing only around five feet or so, and had olive-toned skin. She had small breasts and a tiny waist; I’d love to wrap my arms around her. I couldn’t help but notice that she had gorgeously shaped arms, admiring their sleekness from where they stuck out of her short-sleeved smock. She was definitely a looker, probably mid-twenties, and I could tell that she was afraid. Her cheeks were flushed, and her hands trembled slightly as she maneuvered next to me.

“Hi ... er, I’m supposed to clean you up and take your vitals,” she stammered out nervously, refusing to look me in the eyes.

She’s scared shitless because she overheard the agent who brought her here speculating with another stooge about whether you needed direct eye contact to take control of someone’s mind or not. She’s running a mantra through her brain—repeatedly. Don’t look into his eyes, just do what’s needed fast, and hopefully, that’ll be all they need from me, and then I can go back to St. Mary’s.

<She’s obviously bait. I bet that she was chosen for her looks as much as anything else—poor thing. Still, they chose well. I’d definitely love to nail all three of her holes.>

You should reward her with your cum after all is said and done. Fuck her ass until she’s cross-eyed.

<Is that some sorta dig against Asians?>

Huh?

<Nevermind.>

“Okay,” I agreed pleasantly. “What’s your name? I’m Jake—sorry, normally I’d offer you my hand, but as you might have noticed, I’m a bit tied up at the moment. Excuse the piss. Apparently, the toilets around here are out of order,” I laughed.

“Sorry, but I’m not supposed to talk to you,” she mumbled as she pulled the cart up next to my head.

“No worries, you’re just doing your job,” I replied cordially. “Relax, I won’t bite,” I said soothingly as she dropped one of the rubber gloves that she was trying to put on because she was shaking so badly.

Tingle.

I took momentary satisfaction in seeing that she instantly became a little more self-assured. I watched quietly as she dipped a cloth into a bucket of warm water and then started to wash the urine from my neck, chest, and belly. She had to touch my cock to clean it, and then she had to manoeuver it to get at the area around it, so obviously, I hardened, causing her to blush furiously. I watched, amused as she kept giving it furtive glances. I was proud of my dick and definitely had nothing to be ashamed of.

“Mmm, that feels nice. I see that you’re no novice when it comes to giving sponge baths. Well, I’ll give you a half-hour to stop touching me like that!” I murmured huskily as I flexed my shaft so that it pulsed in her hand. “What? Not going to talk to me or even tell me your name? Normally I’d at least take a pretty girl like you out to dinner before we got this physical,” I chuckled.

She blushed even harder but still wouldn’t look me in the eye or say anything.

“I seriously hope that collecting a sperm sample is a part of your check-up, Doc, ‘cause that feels too damn good. Besides, you wouldn’t wanna leave me suffering from blue balls, now would ya? That’d be against the Hippocratic oath, no?”

I watched her with interest, feeling highly engrossed as she cleaned around my groin area, all over my legs, under my ass (which I lifted up for her), and between my thighs.

<Man, you made me piss a lot! I feel like a bloody newborn!> I laughed to Malachar in my head.

Guess it sucks for you that your first foray into water sports had to be solo like this, huh? I bet you’d love it if it had of been Heather pissing all over your face and into your mouth instead! Then she truly could be your little Pee-nut!

< Dude! And oh, God—the laughing! Are you sure that you’re not really the ghost of the creepy janitor from my grade school?>

We’ve been through this before; stop being prudish. You can’t hide your desires from me, no matter how kinky they might be. I don’t judge you for it, besides as I told you before—after you live for a few centuries, you need to spice it up any way that you can! You’re all over the place, getting mad at me for joking a bit, and then you go from serious and anxious to joking and aroused yourself. Make up up your mind.

<Fine! You know my deepest darkest fantasies then! That doesn’t mean that I like talking about them; some fantasies can stay just that, you know—fantasies! Jeez!>

Touchy, touchy! If it makes you feel any better, I’ve enjoyed my fair share of piss over the centuries. Why my wife had the best-tasting urine that I ever had the pleasure of sampling, especially after she drank a liter of chushionberry juice. I remember this one time, though—

<Jesus fucking Christ, Dude! Give it a rest! I’m clamped down naked to a metal table. God only knows where, and I have no fucking clue where my family is being held! I think we have better things to discuss! As far as my mood swings well, I’m just trying to cope, and the damn ring makes me perpetually horny, for Christ’s sake!>

Fine. What do you think the chances are that they’d hurt your family if you blew things up here and took control of these mental midgets? You might not end up having a choice in doing so.

<Yeah, you’re probably right. I’m hoping that the asshole who spoke before pays me a visit at some point. I’ll wait a while and see what’s on his agenda, figure out their game plan. I wonder how they figured out the mind control part, though? I mean, I get that they speculated that it was a possibility, but they seem way too certain about it, not just curious.>

I stayed still as the pretty nurse took a couple vials of blood, checked my blood pressure, took my temperature with a point and click reader, and then listened to my heartbeat. When she was finishing up, I decided to give her my instructions.

<I’m going to try something different ... Hmm, I wonder... >

What?

“Hey gorgeous, thanks for the poke and stroke. Do you wanna go for drinks sometime? Cause you’re smokin’ hot, Babe; the best! You gotta let me do that to you one day because I’d love to meet up with you and do it right. Stick around if you can, and I might just make you feel better than you’ve ever felt before in your life after they’re all done with me. I know that I definitely need to cum now, and I could really use your help too. I mean, you practically had me halfway there,” I said as I flexed my rock-hard cock.

Tingle. Tingle. Tingle. Tingle. Tingle. Tingle. Tingle. Tingle. Tingle.

“But if you’ve got a husband or a boyfriend, just don’t tell them when we do. It’s not just anyone that gets me excited like this, you know—only the super sexy ones! So do you want to help me out here? Just for shits and giggles? We can pretend that you tied me up and that I’m your willing sex slave! Rrrroww! Want to stay to play? No? Maybe we can help each other scratch an itch and give them some entertainment on their spy cameras,” I stated flirtatiously.

Tingle. Tingle. Tingle. Tingle. Tingle. Tingle. Tingle. Tingle. Tingle. Tingle.

What did you just do!?

<I concentrated on using the power to only enforce specific words. Basically, I hid a command in all of my jibber jabber. Why? What’s wrong with that?>

Tykhê’s frozen tits on a skewer! That shouldn’t be possible! What did you just command?

<I said—hey, do your best to stick around. I might need your help, but don’t tell anyone that you want to help me. Just pretend that you’re willing to stay to help them.>

Hmm, after giving it a second thought, theoretically, there’s nothing actually preventing the magic from working in the way that you just used it ... It’s certainly not conventional! Ingenius, m’boy! You’re an enigma, Jake! Sometimes I swear that you’re as smart as a Crumininch, and then at other times, you pull something like this outta your ass. I never for the life of me thought of using it in that manner.

<Thanks? I guess? What’s a Crumininch?>

They are similar to your Earthworms except stupider. They are attracted to the scent of electricity, and yet even the slightest voltage kills them. A whole species of electric mole-like creatures, Knittz, evolved around them as their primary food source. They emit low amounts of static charges underground in their burrows like a pulse, and their meals stupidly crawl to them. An evolutionary puzzle, to be sure.

<Sorry, I asked.>

“Bye, gorgeous! You can clean me up anytime, Darlin’!” I quipped as the sexy nurse pushed her cart out of the room, the door automatically clicking shut behind her.

So what do you expect her to be able to do to help you? Did you have a plan in mind already?

<Nothing, I’m just hedging my bets. It’s always good to have someone on the inside, and besides, she’s fucking hot! If she’s still around when I decide that it’s time to leave, I’m most likely going to drag her along for a little fun. Maybe Chayana needs a nurse? I know that Brock and the boys would love me forever if I gave them that!>

“You’re acting awfully smug for a guy who’s shackled to a table and doesn’t know where he is. I almost feel like making an example out of one of your women just to wipe that smirk off your face—”

“What the fuck do you want? And again, why am I naked? Do you like looking at a real man’s cock? Is that it? Do you want me to act scared? Grovel maybe? Sorry, not going to happen. Now, if you want to have a normal discussion, perhaps I could give you some cooperation. If not, quit wasting my time and get someone here who feels like telling me what in the Hell they want with me before I start getting angry. I can guarantee you one thing for sure, I’m going to get tired of these restraints very fast,” I sneered while looking into the closest camera.

“We want answers, and you’re naked for multiple reasons. At some point, we’ll need to perform a series of tests on you, and your clothes would be inconvenient considering how you’re being restrained. Plus, it leaves one feeling more vulnerable, and that’s just how I want you. So we’ll play it this way—for now. I ask a question—you answer truthfully.

“If I think you’re lying, I hurt one of your women. Maybe I’ll start with the little blonde one first; she’s your baby sister, I believe. How long do you think that she could take waterboarding? Longer than a minute? I’ve seen grown men, murderers, real tough guys, guys who fall apart and beg us to stop after just a couple of minutes. Why two of my own colleagues volunteered to try it out, and they both failed to last even more than a minute.

“So if you fail to cooperate, I’ll tell her that you caused it personally, and then we’ll do it to her for five. After that, If you still don’t see the light, then we’ll move on to the rest of them. We’ll go down the list one at a time, and that’s just for starters; that’s the tame stuff, the stuff that doesn’t leave marks. Do you understand what’s at stake here, O’Conner? Do NOT push me, son!”

Just bend a little bit, for now. If you keep antagonizing him because of your pride, he’ll probably really overreact and hurt one of them. See what he wants, also see what he knows. It might be useful.

“Fine! Ask away, just be warned—hurt my family, and you’ll suffer ten times worse!” I grunted angrily as I made a show of trying to break my restraints.

“How long have you been able to control people’s minds, and how do you do it?”

<He wants to know my secrets. I’m going to spin a tale, my friend. I can’t appear too eager to play with them, though, so a little token resistance is in order. Might as well find some fun in all this shit! First, I’ll fuck with his mind, and then I’ll REALLY fuck with his mind. Dumb fucks have no clue what I’m capable of.>

Just don’t be stupid.

“What makes you think that I can fucking control people’s minds!? Do you think that I’d be in here if I could do that?” I snorted with contempt.

“Really? You’re going to start off lying? I guess we need to make an example for you, after all. Tell you what, I’ll have a monitor brought in so that you can see what we do to,” he paused a moment, and I heard the distinct shuffle of paper, “ahh, yes, Heather. After watching her suffer for five minutes or so, then we’ll see if you decide if cooperation is worth it,” he said matter of factly.

I told you not to be stupid. You’re forcing him to make an example, and you don’t have enough information to react appropriately. It would be like blindly striking out in the dark.

<Shit. You’re right.>

When are you going to learn, m’boy—I’m always right.

“Okay, okay! Jeez! Leave them alone, I’ll tell you what you want to know. It started when I was very young—to be honest, I don’t remember if I was five or six, but my first recollection of being able to get my way was with my mother. I wanted to watch cartoons, and she wanted me to go down for a nap. I’ll never forget what happened next because it scared the shit out of me...” I paused, trying to give the impression of remembrance.

“What? What scared you, Jake?” a second voiced asked excitedly.

“When my Mom picked me up, her skin came into contact with mine, and all of a sudden, it was like I could hear her thoughts within my head, but at first, I just thought that she’d spoken out loud. She was saying—God, I can’t wait until you’re sleeping so that I can take a nap too; Mommy is soooo tired, Jake-e-poo! I replied to her—but I’m not tired; you go to sleep! I wanna watch cartoons. She just gave me a funny look and kept carrying me towards my bedroom, and then I heard even more of her thoughts swirling around. This time they were even more confusing—”

“So you’re saying that you need skin-to-skin contact to affect someone?” the second voice asked curiously.

“Yes,” I replied, doing my best to shrug while looking into the camera.

“So, why didn’t you take control of Aimee when she was cleaning you?” the original voice demanded.

“Because she put on those damned surgical gloves,” I vented, sounding annoyed. “Trust me, I wanted to. I would have made her suck me off! I mean, you guys aren’t gay, right? She’s fuckin’ hot! Send her back in without gloves if you want a demonstration. I’d love to cum in her sweet little mouth!” I chuckled.

“Nevermind that for now,” the second voice grunted, “continue explaining how you first discovered what you can do. Explain exactly what happened with your mother.”

“Well, as I was saying, I heard even more of my mother’s thoughts, but I still didn’t realize that she wasn’t speaking out loud. She was thinking about how she’d love a hot bubble bath but that she was so tired that she was afraid that she’d fall asleep in the tub. I remember it clearly because when I told her to take her bath and that I’d make sure that she’d stay awake, she looked at me funnily and said that she hadn’t said anything about a bath. I replied—yes, you did, Mommy, you said that you wanted a hot bubble bath,” I sighed, trying to look full of regret.

“So what happened next?” the first voice prodded impatiently.

“She got scared, very scared—it made me cry because she was suddenly terrified of me. We had a weird conversation, and the longer it went, the more terrified my mother got. Every thought she had I replied to and the last one, the one that makes me sad to this day, was that she wondered if I was somehow the spawn of Satan or had become possessed by the Devil...”

Ha! How rich! You were right; this is highly amusing. These morons sound as if they’re buying it too.

“So, what did you do?” the second voice asked, clearly enthralled by my tale.

I sighed again—dramatically. “Without even realizing what I was doing, I told her not to be scared of me because that in itself was frightening me worse than anything I’d ever felt. I told her that I loved her and didn’t want her to be scared of me because then I’d be sad. The effect was instant. She went from growing terror to tearful loving acceptance at my word,” I said with another shrug.

“So? That’s it? You didn’t command her to do anything else? No, bring me some cookies? Or my bedtime is whenever I say it is?” voice number one asked skeptically.

“No,” I replied, emphatically shaking my head. “I told you, I didn’t realize what I had done or how. I only understood what had happened years later. You asked me how long I’ve been able to control people and how. Well, that was my first time doing so, even if I didn’t understand the half of it. So no cookies or extended bedtimes; in fact, right after she stopped being scared of me, she smothered me in love, probably feeling a bit guilty, and we took a nap cuddled up together,” I stated evenly.

“At what age did you realize exactly what you can do? Can you read minds from a distance even if you need touch to control them?” the original voice asked.

“Around thirteen, when I hit puberty, and no, I need touch to do both,” I replied with another shrug.

It felt a bit surreal to be having a conversation while strapped naked to a metal table, yet I felt strangely calm as if I was the one in control, not them.

“Details—tell us exactly what happened the first time you consciously knew what it was that you were doing,” voice number two asked eagerly.

<Man, these morons are really eating this shit up! They haven’t even asked me about the murders!>

“Well, I’d been hanging out with a girl from my school, it was summer break, and we’d gone over to a mutual friend’s house who had a pool—you know, to go swimming. I had this crazy crush on her, and I wanted to ask her to be my girlfriend, but I was a bit shy. Anyway, we got to horsing around in the pool, and it quickly got to the point where we were trying to dunk each other, and that’s when it happened.”

“What happened?”

“I swam up behind her and grabbed her by the waist, intending to dunk her, but at the same time, she spun in my arms, and I paused just holding her. For a second, we both just froze, feeling that awkwardness that most kids felt at that age when their hormones were raging, but you weren’t sure what to do about it,” I said with a fake wistful grin.

<Man, am I ever laying it on thick!>

“Just get on with it, how’d you use your ability, and what did you do?” an eager yet impatient sounding voice number two interjected.

“Simple, really; I just looked into her eyes and told her that she should kiss me and be my girlfriend. I felt a tingle shoot from where I was touching her bare skin all the way up into my brain, and I saw her eyes kinda glaze over funnily as she said, okay. The next thing I knew, she was giving me a kiss that made my knees weak. At that moment, I realized what I’d just done and what I could do. I felt it, and when it happened, it was like a switch clicking on in my head.”

“What did you do with it after that? Did it always work? How long does your control last? Do your subjects know that they are under your control? After knowing what you could do, how did you use your abilities?” voice number two excitedly rambled out at me rapid-fire.

“What didn’t I do!” I laughed with a snort. “Let’s put it this way, I got laid—a lot! No, my abilities don’t work on everyone. Some people have way too strong of a will power. I’ve only encountered a handful of people like that, though,” I shrugged with a smirk. “My control lasts roughly two to three weeks. I never did figure out why some lasted longer than others. As far as them knowing if they are under my control? Sometimes—it depends upon what I make them do and how I word things when I initially take them over. If it’s against their nature, then they’ll know something isn’t right.”