Chapter 6
As soon as the van started moving away, Master's slaves wasted no time rushing him inside. Sofia applied pressure to his nose to stem the bleeding and the three of them struggled to drag him inside. Alicia's muscles burned as they crossed through the front doors.
"I'll call an ambulance," said Alicia, her breathing laboured.
"Not a good idea," Sofia replied. "A hospital isn't going to know what to do with him. Not a regular hospital, anyway."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean..." she said, pausing as they knelt down to lift him onto the reception couch. "I mean his brain isn't like an ordinary brain. We're going to need a specialist, someone who's dealt with people like him before."
"Do you have someone in mind?" said Alicia.
As it turns out, she did. The phone dialled, and after five rings, Alicia heard the click. She idly thumbed the pages on the worn notebook that she'd taken from Master's desk. Alicia couldn't believe how clever Master was.
"Hello?" said a feminine voice.
"Hi, I'm hoping to reach Professor Malik?"
"Speaking." She had a slight accent, but Alicia couldn't place it.
"Do you have a moment to speak privately?" Alicia traced down the page, through all the combinations of names and phrases. It took her a moment to find the entry she was looking for again. She practised the phrase in her head.
"I'm sorry, if you're selling something, I'm not interested."
"
Fanatics have their dreams, wherewith they weave
," Alicia said.
There was silence from the other end of the line. Alicia sat nervously and waited. Each moment felt like an eternity.
"
Ready to obey
," said the woman on the phone.
* * *
Zoe's wrists were raw. She had a kink in her neck that was going to take days to completely fade. She'd been tied up in the back of the van for hours. She'd screamed, gnashed her teeth, flailed and tried to escape numerous times. Slade, whose tall muscular physique had once caught her attention now made such struggles futile. Even if she broke free, he'd simply grab her again, and she couldn't just dive out of the vehicle moving 60 miles an hour or more.
What Zoe was experiencing was unlike anything she'd ever felt before. She burned with a desire, nay, a
need
to
obey her Master above all else
. More than that, she
loved Alexander Bateman, completely and without reservation
. She wanted to be with him. She wanted to make him happy. She wanted to obey his commands. But she couldn't. It was the worst anxiety conceivable.
Every few minutes, Brianna craned her neck around to look at her. Slade never took his eyes off. She saw the look of total adoration in both of them, and once again she was deeply regretting her life choices. Oh sure, they were fun at first. Fulfilling on her every desire, showering her with gifts, great sex, living in a mansion. But it got old. They were
so
clingy. She'd been dosing them with her scent regularly for her own amusement, but still. Alicia had grown tired of it all long before she had. She was always encouraging Zoe to cut them loose, and they resented her for it. In the end she was right, as usual. Zoe sent the couple on an errand one day, then slipped out while they were gone and never looked back.
"Not much longer now," said Slade, interrupting her reflections. "It's not the most comfortable place, I'm sorry, but I hope you don't mind it too much." He looked deeply concerned that she might not by happy with her new prison cell.
The van turned in and Brianna found a park easily enough. Slade jumped out and did something she couldn't see before eventually returning and guiding her out. She was immediately ready to seize upon the opportunity. To scream for help from a passerby. To make a mad dash for the street. But the property that she'd been taken to was fenced off, and there was nobody around. It looked like a two storey house outside the city. It wasn't rural, not exactly, but she couldn't clearly see that far into the distance from where she was standing.
Despite Slade's worrying, the house was lovely. It was a step down from the Jackson residence, sure, but this would have been well beyond the means of an average family. It even had box hedges separating it from the street. You'd have to get up to the second storey to clearly see outside.
"This will be your room," Brianna said. Zoe quickly realised that they'd selected this one because the window was very thick and couldn't be opened from the inside.
Slade spent some time removing most of the furniture except the bed. Topping everything off, they'd gone to the effort of acquiring a stainless steel collar and chain. They clamped it shut over her neck and fastened it. She wouldn't be able to roam more than a few feet from one side of the bed without the key to unlock it, or maybe something extremely sharp to cut it with.
"I'm sorry we have to keep you here," said Brianna. She was getting visibly emotional. "But you have to understand, this is for your own good."
"Bateman did something to you," said Slade. He looked similarly distraught. "To all the women at that place. But we're just going to keep you here until you get better, ok?"
"Then things can go back to the way they were meant to be," said Brianna, who was just barely holding it together. "The three of us together.
Forever
." The thought seemed to brighten both of them up instantaneously. Zoe wanted to puke.
Zoe didn't reply immediately. She came to a decision. In order to get out of this mess, she was going to have to earn some latitude. She was going to have to put on a show for them. She thought back to what Alicia had done to her the day prior and smiled. It was such a delicious betrayal.
I wanted to believe it. I wanted to believe it so badly that I did believe it.
She started channelling her emotions. She was going to need them.
"You don't understand. It's not that I want to go back... I
have
to. I can't help it. I wish..." she said. She could feel her eyes getting red. "I wish I could stay here with you. You were always so good to me..." she continued. She managed to start crying, and was secretly thrilled with herself. "It's s-so hard to resist..."
Zoe could see them soaking it all in. The seed was planted.
"Do you know what he did to you?" said Slade.
"I'm not sure... I was at the hotel... the bar... I don't remember much... Please, please let me go back!"
