A Battle of Minds

This is the fourth chapter of a story mainly placed in the "Mind Control" category. Though I put this chapter into the category of "Erotic Horror", there are elements of Mind Control and Non Consent.

I recommend reading all chapters of the story. However, for those who want to start by reading this chapter, here is a short summary of what happened so far:

A mysterious locket has appeared in the small German town of Leskow. This locket supplies its bearer with the power to control other people's minds. Laura is one of the first victims of this power: She finds herself under complete control of her class mate Martin, and later of her teacher Mr. Seger. However, she learns to free herself from the influence of the locket -- but since he can still control all the people around her, Martin, after recovering the locket from the teacher, has captured Laura.

~~~

The waters of Lake Leskow are calm, not one wave curls up on its dark surface. Nor does any leaf stir on the tall trees of the Grünenberger forest. And Leskow itself, a small town at the banks of the lake, is strangely quiet. The sun is still up, yet the town's inhabitants have withdrawn into their houses. They seem to be waiting for something they can barely comprehend. The whole town is holding its breath.

If there was a stranger walking down the lonely streets, he might feel the urge to leave those empty roads. He might want to enter one of the tidy little houses, just to confirm that other living beings still exist on this planet. If there was such a stranger, and if he should indeed do so, however, he would enter silent, ghostly rooms.

The good people of Leskow are indeed all inside their houses: The evening is still early, and the inhabitants of the houses are sitting around their tables for their daily family dinners, as it is customary at this time of day in a town like Leskow. Here, the day still has a specific order and there is a right time for everything -- and everything is done at the allotted time. However, if that hypothetical intruder approached the people, looked at them, tried to talk to them -- he would find himself looking at strangely empty, expressionless faces of silent people. He would see men and women and even children sitting at the table almost motionless, eating their dinner without enjoyment. He would hear none of the usual happy conversations about the past day, nor would he hear the arguments that occasionally take place on such occasions. He would hear no parent asking their children whether they have remembered to do their homework, no adult complaining about problems at work, and no comments on the quality of today's meal. The people of Leskow eat in silence, without appetite or joy; and yet, even the children finish their vegetables without protest.

The whole town is waiting in silence. It is as calm and quiet as the lake and the forest. The whole world seems to be holding its breath, waiting.

***

The light of the setting sun was shining through the trees. Its deep red color reminded of flames. For a moment, the whole forest seemed ablaze. Soon, however, this last light of day would be replaced by a soothing darkness.

It was the beginning of September. As long as the sun was up, the evening air was still mild, but Laura could clearly remember the cold of the past night. With a shiver she realized that this was just the beginning -- it would get worse, colder and colder, with every night that passed. And soon the daily rains and autumn storms would start. Was she to freeze to death out here? The girl stood up and grabbed the lattice of her cage with both hands, shaking it with all her remaining strength.

"Martin! Martin! I need a blanket, and I need it now!"

No reaction came from the little house, standing about twenty meters from Laura's cage. Nothing indicated that she had been heard. Whoever was inside the house, decided to remain silent. Other than the girl in the cage and a few lost mosquitoes clinging on to the last remains of summer, the whole clearing seemed lifeless. Just the smoke, rising up in a straight line from the chimney of the hut, proved that the little house was indeed inhabited.

"Martin!"

This time the young woman's voice was louder, angrier, almost shrill. And apparently volume had been the key, as this time she managed to provoke a reaction: Inside the house, a dog started barking like mad.

"Martin!"

Finally the door opened, and an elderly, roundly shaped woman stepped onto the clearing. Her hair was in a mess, gray strands hanging into her face or standing up straight into the air, their tips still purple. But it was obvious that she had not renewed her hair dye in months. The woman's clothing, which must have been expensive at one time, was now dirty and torn. Her face reflected exhaustion, other than that, however, it was completely void of any expression. The woman was accompanied by a small, black poodle that was jumping around her and barking loudly and desperately. The old lady, however, did not react to the animal's obvious plea for attention.

When the woman reached the cage, the dog squeezed through the lattice. This worked much easier than it had a few weeks ago, when it was still summer and the poodle and its mama had first started living in the forest: As time went by, the little dog was losing a lot of its excess weight and learning to move with an agility no one would have believed possible. Inside the cage, the small animal greeted the girl, Laura, by wagging its tiny tail eagerly. Then it took to licking the girl's hands with devotion. Automatically, Laura started petting the animal, but she was not looking at it. Her eyes were not focused on the woman either; rather, she was looking past her, towards the door of the wooden hut.

"Master Martin has sent me to tell Miss Laura that he is going to shoot her, should she not shut up this very instant", the woman said in a monotonous voice.

"Master Martin!" Laura laughed despite herself; it was not a joyful laugh though. „That's how he has you call him these days? Well then, go and tell

Master

Martin that I am cold and that I will freeze to death one of these days, if he goes on making me sit around naked like this."

The old woman turned back to the hut, dragging her feet behind her as she walked, and the poodle stayed with Laura, looking at her with trustful eyes. The animal knew that something was not quite right with its mama, and the other people around here seemed to behave strangely as well. Fifi sensed that they were not really there; even though he could smell them and see them walking around and even hear them speak. The only two that even seemed to have any kind of awareness of what they were doing, where this young woman, sitting naked in a big metal cage, and the strange man.

The poodle did not like the strange man at all. Nor did the man seem to like Fifi a whole lot. At first he had always shouted at the animal, even tried to kick it. At some point he stopped doing that, instead taking up a peculiar interest in the little dog that was even worse. Again and again the strange man had stared at it, and then Fifi could feel a strange prickling sensation in its head that drove it crazy. It was as if the air and everything around it was growing thicker. Usually it fled as soon as it felt this happening again; hiding in the forest or in the woman's cage. Sometimes, however, before it could flee, a strange darkness rose around the dog, and then it suddenly found itself to be at a completely different place than before. Once, it was even sitting on the lower branches of a tall tree, two meters above ground.

The woman in the cage was much, much nicer than the strange man; Fifi learned that quickly. Whenever the poodle squeezed inside her prison, she would pet it and talk to it in a soft voice, like it was the only being that understood her or cared what she had to say. Her voice, however, always sounded sad. And she disliked the strange man just as much as Fifi did, or even more. But while the man had no fear of the little poodle, he never dared to approach the cage more than five meters, and Fifi could clearly taste the aroma of the man's fear in the air when he had to speak to the woman in the cage directly.

The hut's door opened again, and Fifi's mama slowly crossed the clearing, dragging her feet towards the cage. The little dog got up with a sigh, pushed its body through the lattice, and trotted towards the old lady. She had not called it, she never called it anymore, and she never as much as looked at her pet. Despite everything, however, she was still its mama, and Fifi was not the type of dog that would turn away from its human just like that.

The old lady was carrying a brown bundle in her arms, pressed tightly to her chest. After reaching the cage, she squeezed it through the lattice without a word. Then she turned around and walked back to the hut, followed by her poodle. It was time for her to prepare dinner, the little dog knew that. His mama's main job was to cook for the mean man. She did this with precision and apparent dedication, conjuring up complex meals she had never succeeded in preparing back in the old times, when they still lived in their little apartment in Leskow. At the same time, however, her lack of attention towards her pet came in useful at those occasions: She never noticed it stealing a few lumps of meat -- and as Fifi was not being fed by anyone intentionally, the dog depended on those stolen bites for its survival.

***

With a sigh, Laura wrapped the blanket around her naked body. Though it was getting later in the evening, some of the day's warmth still remained. However, this was the first time for many weeks that she had a chance to hide her body, and it was a comfort she had barely hoped for anymore. Of course, except for Martin, there was no one around to consciously see her; but being naked all the time made her feel even more vulnerable than the fact that she was imprisoned in this cage. Now, with the blanket, she had won back a little bit of her privacy.

Almost two months had passed by now, since Martin, with the help of her uncle's gun, forced her to walk through the whole city He spent great attention to that she was always at least a Meter in front of him. Laura realized quite quickly that he would not dare to use the locket's powers against her anymore. His memories of how he had fared with this a year earlier were still too fresh. The gun, on the other hand, he would not hesitate to use if it became necessary, and Laura still had enough of a survival instinct to do what he told her.

She was still naked as they walked through town, adorned with the juices and the sweat of the policemen that had tormented her on Martin's orders. Their dried semen between her legs made her skin itch. Her insides felt raw enough, her body exhausted enough to make every step hurt. The perfectly blue sky and the sun burning down on her were little comfort. Laura was shivering; there was a coldness inside her that would not leave anymore.

The town had not been empty at all that summer afternoon; they met many people along the way. However, no one seemed to even notice Laura and Martin's presence. The faces of Leskow's inhabitants were expressionless; they passed them without as much as a glance towards the naked girl and the miraculously awoken boy.

Laura could not help admiring Martin's newfound mastery with the locket -- Mr. Seger had, as far as she knew, usually influenced only

her

mind or that of another victim with the help of the thing, and sometimes that of two or three people at the same time. Martin, on the other hand, seemed to be in control of the entire town at once. Or at least, of all the people who approached them.

Laura had seen more than one of her friends during that fateful walk toward the forest. Once she even called out the name of one of her former school mates in desperation. The girl stopped, but in her dull eyes there was no sign of recognition, no understanding of the situation. She seemed to gaze past Laura. Martin, however, suddenly stopped pointing his gun at Laura's head. Instead, he turned to the blond girl, who was standing there motionless. The girl did not stir, as her former school mate pointed the gun at her head now, her vague smile never left her lips.

Martin's voice was calm, but it cut into Laura's heart like a knife: "If you try anything -- anything at all -- I kill her first. And then some of the others. I know which people you care about most. I've known you since you were a child, Laura. And in fact, I don't even have to waste my ammunition on them. I can make the whole town kill each other, and doesn't cost me more than a thought."

After that, Laura didn't dare resist anymore. She followed Martin without another word. Her eyes glued to the ground, she did not look up at all the familiar faces, and the familiar sight of her home town.

In the forest, Martin had taken up his camp in Mr. Seger's hut. Mr. Seger was still there, however, but without free will. The teacher was as much a slave to Martin now, as Laura had once been to him. He tied Laura to a tree on Martin's orders -- Martin himself still did not dare to even touch the girl. Soon after, other people from Leskow came into the forest, Martin surrounded himself with the most thuggish of his former school mates, with the strongest guys -- he seemed to like having a personal guard, even if there was no one who could harm him in any way. Some of his guards took turns in watching Laura, making sure she could not shake off her ties. For the time being, they left her alone at least, they did not even notice that the girl was naked. Finally, some men brought a big metal cage into the forest, and Laura could move into a slightly more comfortable prison: Rather than standing all the time, the coarse rope cutting into her hands, she could sit down or even lie down now. The cage had been a relief at first, but she had soon grown tired of it. Still, it remained her prison to this day.

Laura eventually gave up on wracking her brain, trying to figure out what exactly Martin was up to. She was sure he had some kind of plan. Else, why would he hide here in the forest rather than enjoy the comforts of the town? His power was strong enough to remain unnoticed in plain view of everyone; he had no reason to hide, as Mr. Seger might have had. And why would he keep her alive despite his obvious fear of her? There had to be an explanation for all this, and Laura was sure she would not like it one bit; but it was moot to think about all this. As long as she sat locked up here, there wasn't much she could do about it.

The sun had gone down over all those thoughts and musings. 'I should sleep', Laura thought. She was pretty sure she would not receive any food today anymore, and to be honest, she was not surprised. This was not the first time Martin forgot to send her something to eat, and after her demand of a blanket he might even let her be hungry out of spite. Laura closed her eyes, snuggling up into the comfort of the blanket. It was an old and rough piece of textile, but it was better than anything in her life during the last weeks. Within minutes she drifted away into sleep.

***

There it was again, a strange buzzing feeling in the air, everything growing more solid in a way, and the impression of standing at the edge of a dark precipice. Fifi got up and growled, the hair on its neck standing up. Opposite the little dog, Martin was sitting on his bed and staring at the animal. Until a moment ago, Fifi had been sleeping, hiding in the darkest corner of the hut, as always. However, the dog always woke up when Martin tried to control it.

"Come on, stupid mutt. You are supposed to dance on your hind legs," Martin murmured, without turning his gaze from the growling poodle. The locket was hanging down from its chain around his neck; Martin could feel the strength that was emanating from it. This strength, this power helped him to control many people at once. Why was it so much harder to control one little dog? Martin suspected that it might be even more difficult with beings that were yet smaller, simpler, less like human beings -- like a fly, or an ant for example. Still, it should be possible to control even those, if he could just learn to think like them, feel like them. He was going to learn it, he was sure. One day, he would be in control of everything around him.

The strange feeling in Fifi had diminished, and with a sigh the poodle lay back down on its usual spot. It did not trust the strange man. As long as Martin was here, the dog knew it had to stay alert. If his mama were not here and would not insist on staying in this horrible house, it would have long ago disappeared into the forest.

For a moment, all was calm, and the poodle decided to have a little nap. However, before it had time to drift off to sleep, the strange feeling was back. Fifi gave an angry bark, but this time the precipice was stronger than ever, pulling the animal down into its darkness. The dog jerked and growled, trying to resist its force, but it was a lost fight. Within seconds, everything turned black inside Fifi; the dog only vaguely felt its body lifting up onto its hind legs.

***

Raindrops were drumming down onto the big plastic plane, set up on Martin's orders Martin a few days ago to cover Laura's cage. The plastic sheet helped against most of the rain, but constant moisture crept into everything anyway. Everything was moldy, and even Laura's skin felt swollen, though that was probably just her imagination. With a shiver the girl wrapped her clam sleeping bag more tightly around her body. This was another novelty, given to her by Martin, along with the plane and a comment on his own graciousness. It had been more than time for her to receive better protection against the autumn weather; otherwise, she might have frozen to death during the last nights. It was much too cold for just a thin blanket by now; after all it was October already.

Time passed slowly in the cage. Martin still did not dare to approach her more than a few meters. Every now and then the old woman brought her some food, but she was completely under Martin's control. Her eyes were empty and her face expressionless, no matter what Laura did to catch her attention. It was no different with Mr. Seger, who had affixed the plane over her cage. At times, some boys from Laura's and Martin's school class turned up as well, but they never spent any attention to Laura. Laura had no idea what Martin was up to with them or with Leskow in general. Sometimes she wondered if he really had a plan after all. He could control big groups of people at once now, without any problems, giving them different tasks each -- and he did not even have to be anywhere near them. Laura did not understand why he kept living in this hut in the forest; there was no reason for him to hide.

Then, sometimes, girls turned up on the clearing; Laura knew most of them from school as well. However, the knowledge that they were no different off than she had been a few years ago, did not touch her; she had long given up on emotions like sympathy, or sadness. She was not sure why she did not just give up in general, why she was still trying to talk sense into Martin, why she still wanted to figure him out. It was no use, after all, but somewhere inside her there was still some instinct that told her to survive, to get out of this alive. Her life in the cage did not make much sense; she had nothing to live for really. And it would be easy to end it all; just one night without her sleeping bag and her blanket, and it might all be over soon.

Something kept her from giving up. Somehow, she still clung to the idea that there was some hope, however small it was. She kept thinking that there was a chance for her to get out of here one day. After all, Martin was afraid of her, he could not control her. And Laura was probably the only person in the whole town of Leskow who knew what was happening. Bit by bit, Martin seemed to be getting the whole town under his control. He seemed to think of this place, the town he grew up and spent his whole life in, as his personal playground. To him, Leskow was nothing but the stage for his strange schemes. And once he was in complete control of Leskow, how would he go on? No, this could not be allowed to happen. No matter what it meant for her, if there was any remote chance of her preventing whatever Martin was planning on, Laura had to stay alive to use it. She was the only one who could, maybe, stop him.