Chapter Five — To the Surface
Sunday was chore day, and even though James swore up and down that they didn't have to do a single thing, that they could just lie in bed and binge-watch whatever TV show she wanted, Kate insisted on getting back into the rhythm of things. "I want to spend at least one day of the week not worrying about everything and everyone," she told him as she loaded herself up with sponges, scouring pads, and cleaners.
"And here I was hoping that maybe I'd get out of painting the basement steps for another week," said James, pouting. "Let me know if you need anything or have a sudden desire to spend the rest of the day watching superhero movies."
She tackled the bathrooms first, moving from downstairs to upstairs in one smooth, efficient campaign. As she flushed the upstairs toilet, watching it sparkle as the soapy water receded, she smiled. Cleaning felt good. She wondered if it was something she had really enjoyed before the accident.
Hell, Kate, chores are the reason for the accident.
In her head, she checked another box off of her mental list.
Bathtub, toilet, sink... floor? Floor.
From downstairs came a loud crash. She jumped to her feet, fully convinced that it would soon be her turn to drive James to the hospital, but his voice followed reassuringly. "No big deal! I just knocked over the bike stand! All good, all good!"
"Only one head injury per household, James!" she yelled back. She grabbed a scour pad and examined the bathroom floor. "Putting nervous energy to good use," she said to herself. "Well done, Kate." She bent down and began to scrub. From above, a man's voice called out to her.
"You can look up from the floor now, Kate."
She raised her head.
Master.
She felt herself melt a little, especially after he looked straight into her eyes and smiled with approval. Her entire body shuddered with pleasure. He's so handsome.
He's always so perfectly handsome.
Like the other girls, she remained on her knees, maintaining her worshipful pose in spite of the dull protests coming from her lower legs.
"You are all looking especially lovely tonight," he said as he paced back and forth in front of them. "I am very pleased with all of you."
She shuddered again. "Thank you, Master," she said, her voice mixing with the other girls. Master was right, of course. They were all beautiful. It was why Master had chosen to show them the wonderful truth and to free them from their dreadfully awful old lives. Her broad smile widened just a bit more as she thought about how lucky she was to have been blessed with such good genes, so that Master had chosen her instead of leaving her down in the pit of darkness and despair. She didn't deserve to be Master's slave, not one bit, and yet here she was.
"Nikki, please stand up and come to me."
The platinum-haired blonde leapt to her feet as if she'd just won the lottery. In an instant, she was by Master's side, gazing at him with adoring eyes. Nikki was beautiful and clever and gregarious, and Kate couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy as she watched the former model fawn over her Master. Nikki had been the first person that had discovered Master's truth, and had been the one to pass along that wonderful knowledge to Kate and the other women.
Nikki reached for the strings of her metallic gold bikini. "Would you like me to undress, Master?"
Yes Master, please let her. Please. You deserve it.
"No Nikki, that won't be necessary. I would like a blowjob, however."
Nikki flashed the perfect, dazzling smile she'd used so many times on the runway and in front of the camera. "Of course, Master. Anything you want." She dropped to her knees and reached into Master's pants, pulling out the longest, firmest, strongest, most perfectly-shaped...
"...staircase until the paint dries, which should take about two hours. How's the floor coming along? Are you tired? I'll take over if you want to lie down."
Kate shook her head and closed her eyes. She opened them to find a paint-splattered James offering her his hand. She took up his offer and let him help her to her feet.
"I had another blackout," she admitted.
"Really? Are you okay? Should we call the hospital?"
She rubbed her face. "No, I..." She looked at him. "James. I remember it. I remember it this time. The girls, the room, the bikinis. I can remember it this time. Some of it. Something. Something! I can remember it!" She leaned in and kissed him on his green-speckled face.
He protested. "Kate, I'm still wet with—"
She ignored him.
* * *
"Have you ever been hypnotized, Kate?"
She shifted uncomfortably in the soft leather armchair. "No, never. Being turned into a chicken isn't really my idea of fun, Doctor Kapoor. Losing control... it scares me. I guess that's the worst thing about this week. Losing control of my memories, of my life. I don't get to decide when to turn them back on."
Kate's therapist adjusted her stylish, angular eyeglasses and studied her new patient. "I find it to be a useful tool for people who are very nervous and anxious, like you are feeling right now. The more you try to force yourself to remember things, the more likely it is that you're just going to stress yourself out even more, making it harder to recall anything. However, if you are not comfortable with it, we can come back to it another day. You have the rest of your life to put these memories back together. In the meantime, your relationship with your husband is good?"
"He is," said Kate. "He's the one thing about this that keeps things on track. When it first happened, I was a little afraid of him, because he was a stranger to me."
"Mmm. And since then, you have grown closer together?"
"He's a good husband. It's like I know it in my heart, and the more time I spend with him, the more it makes sense to me. I just wish I could remember more about it! I mean, I don't remember a single thing about my wedding day. My wedding day! James told me about it. He told me what I wore, what I looked like, what I said, what he said, where we were, who was there... hell, he dragged out the photo album and showed me the photos of myself. Everything he said was true. But it was about as real to me as watching someone's Instagram feed. Look at this strange girl in her beautiful wedding dress! Oh, is that me? I had no idea."
"Yes. And even with the photos, you did not remember anything from that day?"
She buried her face in her hands. "No, I couldn't. I still can't. It's like they're all right there, behind a curtain, and I can't manage to get to them, can't get the curtain open. I keep trying and it seems so... so damn easy, but I just can't do it." She balled her hands into fists, and glared. After a moment, she spoke again. "So, hypnosis. You can really hypnotize me? Will it really help?"
"Well first, you must calm down. Make those fists turn back into hands, and relax. You can't be hypnotized if you're angry. Now see—yes, that's much better—see, this is not going to be magic. It's all about focus. And if you're lucky, perhaps you will also remember that you were a princess in ancient Egypt!"
Doctor Kapoor laughed, and Kate found herself joining her.
"Here is what I like to use, Kate." The Doctor pushed back from her desk and began rummaging through one of its cavernous drawers, eventually pulling out a small wooden box. She placed it on the edge of the desk. "Metronomes are very Hollywood, I know, but they are good for helping people to focus, which is the secret to hypnosis."
She opened the metronome's cover and activated the arm, and Kate found her eyes immediately drawn to its swinging motion.
"Now Kate," said the Doctor, her voice low and smooth, "begin to relax. Feel your body begin to relax. Take a deep breath..."
