Amnesiac

Chapter Six — The Manchurian Kate

They cuddled together under the covers, naked and wrapped around each other for warmth. He reached over and switched the alarm clock from 'snooze' to 'off.' "One of these days my wife is going to get me fired from my job, and it's going to be totally worth it."

She pressed against him. "Two sick days in a month? They're going to think you've gone soft."

"Use em or lose em," he said, nuzzling his face against hers. "Besides, after last night, I'm too worn out to think about work. You really drained the well, hun. What was that all about? Not that I'm complaining! But you've never been much of a role-play girl."

She sighed. "I just needed that. I really did. I can't even describe it. It's like, after everything, it felt good to just turn my brain off for a while, and let you be the driver. Even for just a couple of hours." She began tracing soft circles on his chest with her finger. "Especially since I really liked where you took me."

"Any chance I could command you to make me some pancakes?"

"Mmmm, no, sorry. The meter's expired now. Should have thought about that last night."

He frowned. "But I wasn't hungry for pancakes last night. Ow! Hey! No poking allowed!"

"Next time you can be the slave and I will be the Master," she said, grinning. "You can bet that I won't forget to pre-order breakfast when I'm in charge."

"As my mistress commands," he sighed.

They lay in bed for a while without speaking, quietly enjoying the feel of their intertwined bodies and the warmth they generated together. Finally, Kate reluctantly broke the silence. "So, Doctor Kapoor thinks that I've been through some heavy trauma in my past."

"Is that the therapist?"

"Mmm hmm. Remember the thing I told you about the room with the bikini girls? She hypnotized me, and I remembered more about it."

"Wait," he said, looking confused. "The bikini girl hypnotized you?"

"Try to keep up, and no, that's not what happened."

"Oh. Because that would be, you know, kind of hot."

She gave him a playful shove. "Ok, calm down, you horndog. We can role-play that scenario again one of these days. And I'm serious. I really think that this happened at some point. It could explain why I can't remember much after college. Maybe I got mixed up into something where people were scrambling my brain? People get sucked into cults and stuff all of the time. Maybe I was, I dunno, really susceptible to their charms or something."

He ran his hand through her soft hair. "You don't seem like the cult type. I mean, you're kind of, well,

willful

. In a sexy way, obviously. Ow!" He gave her a hurt look. "Again with the poking!"

"I'm trying to have a serious conversation here, husband of mine! Why did I marry you, anyway?"

"Because you're highly susceptible to

my

charms, that's why." He smiled. "Are you going to go back? To Doctor Kapoor, that is. Not the cult."

"I want to. She wants me to wait, to give my head time to think up new memories without risking things. I want to rush them, but also, part of me doesn't. Part of me is really terrified." She lay her head on his chest, letting the rise and fall of his lungs lull her to sleep. "It scares me. Not just because I can't keep my head straight, but because I don't know what I've done to people. Like Tim. Or the bikini girls. Or anyone else in the past. I could have hurt people. Or myself. I wish I knew, but at the same time, maybe it's better not to know what a monster I might have been."

He went back to stroking her hair as her eyes slid closed. "They're only memories now, hun. They can't hurt us. Whatever you did, it was a long time ago in the past. We're beyond that now."

"You're right," she mumbled. "You're right a lot, I like that about you."

She snuggled against him and let herself drift off to sleep.

* * *

James was late for work. He rushed around the kitchen, trying not to trip on his untied shoelaces as he gathered his travel mug, keys, and phone charger in one pass. The charger dropped to the floor, and Kate giggled. "I think you can be five minutes late once in a while, bucko."

"What, and ruin my perfect attendance record? Fat chance." He bent down to retrieve the charger, stuffing it into his pants pocket. "Also Wilson wants us all in a staff meeting today, and woe to the guy or gal who pokes their head through the door after it begins. You all packed?"

"Yep. Flight's at three. I'll take a cab. Then while you shiver your days away here, I'll be spending five luxurious mid-winter days on the sands of Miami Beach."

"Spending five days in a hotel ballroom is more like—oh, thanks, I forgot that—more like it, hun." He loosely wrapped the tie Kate had handed him around his neck. "Okay, I gotta go. Have fun, network like crazy, learn stuff, love you." They kissed, and then he was running to the front door. "Gah! It's SO COLD OUT HERE!"

"LOVE YOU, TOO" she yelled as the door slammed shut.

She moved to the sofa and curled herself into a comfortable ball, wrapped in her robe with a heavy blanket layered on top of it. Unlike her new husband, who was perpetually running behind, Kate prided herself on her ability to plan things ahead. Upstairs, her fully-packed luggage waited for her. The taxi was set, and she'd already researched the best way to get from the airport to the conference hotel. With any luck, and barring any winter delays getting out of town, she'd touch down hours before the opening reception, giving her plenty of time to try out her new bikini on the warm Florida coastline.

Her phone rang. She reached around for it, then grumbled when she realized that it was still sitting on the kitchen countertop, a good ten chilly feet away from her. She thought about just letting it go to voicemail, then remembered that she'd asked the airline to call her about any delays. With a groan, she freed herself from her cozy couch-den and skittered across the chilly floor into the kitchen.

"Hello, this is Kate."

"Are you tired of the Weltschmerz, Kate?"

"I..."

"Are you alone?"

"Yes. I am alone and ready for instruction."

"Listen carefully. Your instructions are as follows..."

* * *

Kate stretched, enjoying the sensation of activity flowing into her muscles, and cringing at the occasional creak and snap of her slowly-aging bones and joints. She rolled over, expecting to crash into her husband, but he was already up and out of bed. From down the hall she could just make out the sounds of the shower running. James was singing a tune of some kind.

Is that... oh God, he's singing 'Africa' again. Oh James, why?

She giggled to herself as James tried and failed, once again, to hit the high notes of what he insisted was his favorite song of all time. Sinking into the soft feather pillows, she felt sleep begin to press down on her again, and she willingly surrendered to it.

* * *

She was giddy with excitement. "Oh, Richard! I've never had so much fun in my entire life! Oh, this is wonderful. Come to the balcony! Look, you can see the whole town from here. It's incredible!"

He joined her on the upper deck. Below them, the lights of the ski town twinkled like a carpet of diamonds. The full moon was out on this cold, cloudless night, and their breaths hung in the air as they peered over the railing. "You look incredible in the moonlight, Carol," he said.

She smiled. She did look good in her lovely ballroom dress, with its plunging neckline and tapered waist. Her auburn hair was drawn up in an elegant bun, allowing her to show off the emerald earrings that just matched her sparking eyes. She watched as Richard stared at her cleavage, and flashed a winning smile. "Not too bad for a secretary from the boring suburbs, huh?"

"I told you that they have everything fancy in this town, buy or rent. We could have gotten a horse-drawn sleigh and a team of ponies, if that's what you wanted."

"Mmm, it's much too cold for that. I'd rather spend a little more time with you. After all, this is it for us. Tomorrow we're both back on our own planes back to our own little lives. I'd like to end this with a little more... magic. She reached up and released her hair from the clips, letting it fall over her shoulders. She gave her head a movie star shake before brushing the hair from her sultry, lustful eyes. "Come hither, lover."

He reached for her and they embraced, their lips eagerly making contact with lips, tongues, faces, necks, breasts. "Mmmm. Mmmm. Mmmmwait a second, love. I think I'm going to take a shower, first. If that's okay with you." He pulled away.

She gave him a seductive stare. "That's fine. I'll be here getting ready. Don't be long." Her eyes followed him all the way to the bathroom. God, what an amazing couple of days,

she thought, as she worked her way out of her dress.

One second I'm on vacation and the next I'm fucking one of the richest and most powerful guys in the country!

She stripped down to her lacy black bra and panties, another Richard-funded purchase.

Carol, you're the luckiest woman on Earth right now.

Her watch alarm beeped, and she looked down at the sparkly silver timepiece. That's funny, I don't remember setting-

Her face went blank. Her hand moved to turn off the alarm, then fell limply to her side. She stared straight ahead. In her mind, the voice was calm and commanding. "You will carry out your orders. You will obey without hesitation."

Wordlessly, she slipped out of her underwear and walked to the bathroom.

* * *

"Doo doo doo doo do do do doooooo..." James held his hands up and shook his head between them, rubbing the shampoo into his hair while he sang along to Toto. He heard the bathroom door creak open and immediately clammed up, feeling very much like a teenager getting caught with an old copy of Playboy. "Oh hey," he said, trying to sound completely innocent. "Don't flush the toilet when you're done, this stupid shower scalds me when you do that."

Kate pulled back the curtain and climbed in, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Just joining in for a shower. We can try scalding later."

"Soap's down in the dish. It's manly soap. Next to the manly shampoo."

She moved in front of him and soaked her hair. "Manly shampoo for my 80s pop rock husband?" She winked at him and grinned. "Yeah, you're busted."

"I'll have you know that I can belt that song like a champion on any karaoke night. Just my bad luck that you haven't started to remember those memories."

"Shhh... soap me up and hum a tune from this century."

* * *

"Carol, I'm almost done, you—oh, well. Hello there."

She placed one foot in the tub, slowly running her hand along her toned leg. The other leg followed, and she pressed up against his chest. He stared at her, mesmerized by the sight of the water running down and between her breasts. "I couldn't wait," she cooed, pulling him to her, letting his growing erection press against her body. His hands slid across her shoulder blades, and she began kissing his chest, slowly moving up to his neck and face.

The shower water engulfed them both. She turned away from him and felt the warm spray run down her body, adding to the slickness between her legs. She guided his hands over her, lingering on her breasts, running down her sides, down to her round, firm ass, then back up again. He began to cup and squeeze her tits, and she responded with soft moans of pleasure. She gently let her fingers roam over her outer lips, feeling the warmth and arousal spread through her body. From behind, she could hear him getting worked up as well. He pushed her hair aside and began kissing the back of her neck.

She turned around again, facing him, and placed her hands against his chest, moving them in circles across his upper body, smiling and gazing into his eyes. She wrapped her legs around his and pressed into him as he groaned. She could tell that he was close to getting off. "Close your eyes," she said, "and relax. This won't hurt a bit."

With one smooth motion, she gave him a forceful shove, letting her arms fully extend. At the same moment, she hooked her feet around his heels. The tub lacked a bathmat, and his slick feet immediately gave way as he tumbled backwards. His head collided against the edge of the marble tub with a sickening thud. She stepped back into the shower head as his legs twitched once, then went still. A trickle of red began to mix with the water pooled at her feet. He stared at her.

"Kate, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Soap stung her eyes. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear away the burning sensation. James was on his ass, at the bottom of the tub, one arm twisted behind him and gripping the towel bar for dear life. He was rubbing the back of his head with his other hand. "Christ, you could have killed me! What the hell was that all about? My head... Jesus! What did I do to deserve that?"

"James..." She tried backing away from him, until the 'hot' and 'cold' handles pressed into her backside. "James, I..."

"Just get out of the tub, please. Just... go."

"...so sorry, James, I..."

"GO!"

She tore open the shower curtain and stumbled away, blindly grabbing his bath towel from the hook on her way out the door.

James watched her leave. He stayed in the tub.

* * *

She stumbled down the stairs, leaving wet footprints in her wake, making her way to the kitchen and her car keys. She was halfway through the living room before she remembered that she was hardly in a condition to escape the house, with only a bath towel wrapped around her waist. The air rapidly cooled her wet skin, and goosebumps began to form on her arms. Reluctantly, she crept back upstairs, towards James.

What did I do what is wrong with me what the hell did I do that for I could have killed him oh my God I almost killed my husband what the fuck what is wrong with me what am I doing what am I DOING oh God oh God oh God James I'm so sorry please I'm so so sorry oh fuck oh God no please be okay please.

From the bathroom came sounds of life. A groan, a moan, some muttered swearing. "The fuuuck, Kate? Owwwww. That's gonna leave a gigantic lump on my head.... what the fuck is wrong with her? Jesus! She's been like this ever since... owww. Fuck!"

She steeled herself and tiptoed silently into the bedroom, easing the door closed and turning the handle so that the latch wouldn't make a sound. The bed was still unmade, and she pulled the comforter off the top and wrapped herself in it. "I'm going crazy," she whispered. "I'm really going crazy. It's not getting better. It's getting worse. I'm getting worse. Please, help me. I'm getting worse."

Ignoring the bed, she sank into the corner, propping her feet against her dresser. Her body shuddered with fear. "Please, please, make me better."

A wave of nausea and dizziness overtook her, and her eyes rolled into her head as she sagged against the wall.

* * *

She lay motionless on the tanning bed, letting the electric rays wash over her body. She was wearing the stylish white bikini she'd picked up for the Miami trip. It fit her body perfectly, just as she'd hoped it would, although the only onlookers she was currently attracting were the two men in the room with her. She didn't notice them, anyway. She hadn't been told to. Instead, her attention was fully captured by the pretty spiral hanging above the tanning bed.

The voice spoke. "You will remember only the programmed events."

"Yes, sir."

"What will you tell people when you return?"

"I had a wonderful time in Miami," she said in a dull voice, her eyes never leaving the spiral. "The conference was great. I met a lot of good people. I learned a lot about networking and product promotion. I snuck out a few times to work on my tan." A smile spread across her peaceful, placid face.

"Very good." He turned to the man standing next to him. "Black motel zen stud askew, Hundred works dictation lighthouse."

The words drifted over her, until the whispering voice in her headphones drowned them out. The whispers began filling her mind with all of the other little things she would remember the next day.

To be continued