Sneaky
On tiptoes in her bare feet, Melanie moved quickly and silently down the hall. When she reached Holly’s door, she knelt down so that the knob was at eye level. With one hand, she waved a blonde curl out of her face. Then with both hands, she deftly took to the lock with a set of picks. A minute later, a soft click rewarded her efforts. She stood, turned the handle, and pushed open the door.
Late afternoon sunlight streamed in through open blinds. Forgoing the lightswitch, Melanie walked over to the small desk and sat down in front of a docked laptop. She booted up the computer and entered credentials at the sign-in screen. Then she opened a Web browser, went to a site, and started a download.
“Mel, what are you doing on my computer?”
Melanie turned to face the voice. Holly stood in the doorway, arms folded across her chest, one sculpted eyebrow raised in interrogative impatience.
“I asked what you’re doing.”
“I...I guess I’m...surfing the Web,” Melanie said.
“You’re surfing the Web on my computer, which was password protected, in my room, which was locked?”
“Um…”
Holly frowned, not at the fact that Mel was there, but rather that her roommate seemed truly confused about what she was doing.
“Come here, Mel.”
Sheepishly, Melanie got up and walked over to the door. Holly placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Tell me the truth,” she said.
The words struck Melanie as if she’d been punched. She staggered. Her shoulders sagged, and her eyelids drooped. Holly took her by both shoulders and maneuvered her to the bed, then gently but firmly sat her down on it.
“Mel, you are now hypnotized.”
“I am now hypnotized.”
“What must you do when you’re hypnotized?”
“I must tell you the truth and obey your commands.”
“Good,” Holly said. “So tell me what you were doing in my room, on my computer.”
“Heather sent me to download an application onto your computer. It will open up automatically and run in the background the next time you login. It will use subliminal images and sounds to hypnotize you.”
“That sneaky little bitch! So how did you get in here? And how did you get onto my computer?”
“Heather taught me the skills to break into both your room and your computer.”
“That damn sneaky little bitch! Stealing my plan that I was going to use on her. Which, by the way, you were supposed to carry out. Why didn’t you?”
“Heather’s schedule had unexpectedly changed the day you sent me over to her apartment,” Melanie said. “She intercepted me before I could get to her computer. She hypnotized me and made me remember the post-hypnotic suggestions that you’d given me and made me forget. Then she overrode them with her own, which made me come here and carry out your own plan against you.”
“That damn sneaky conniving little bitch! Well, it looks like I need to brainwash her brainwashing out of you. And then I need to find another way for you to hypnotize her without her knowing it, so I can brainwash her. Hm.”
Still entranced, Melanie got up.
“Mel, what are you doing? Sit back down.”
She walked over to the laptop and tapped several keys in succession.
“Don’t touch that! Move away from it! Get back over here and sit down!”
Melanie turned away from the laptop, then stepped to the side. Holly’s eyes went immediately to the screen...where a rotating spiral pattern greeted them. Behind the spiral, unseen by her conscious mind, but wholly visible to her subconscious, words flashed over and over again--sleep, obey, sleep, obey. At the same time, a rhythmic hum sounded, and within it, those same words flashed aurally into her mind.
For an instant, Holly knew what was happening to her. But she couldn’t pull her gaze from the spiral, nor lift her hands to her ears to block the hum. Soon her eyes glazed over, and she began to sway to the rhythm that had overtaken her brain.
Melanie walked over to the bed. Much as Holly had done with her moments before, she sat her roommate down on it.
“You are now hypnotized,” Melanie said.
“I am now hypnotized.”
“You must tell the truth and obey the commands given you.”
“I must tell you the truth and obey the commands given to me.”
“Heather is your mistress. She will brainwash you into her devoted slave.”
“Heather is my mistress. She will brainwash me into her devoted slave.”
“Heather’s slaves must be barefoot as a sign of subservience. Take off your shoes and socks, and then put your feet up on the bed.”
Holly did as she was told. Her eyes were large, and her stare was blank. Melanie moved around the bed and sat down beside her. She pulled a phone from her pocket and dialed a number on it. Speaking briefly when the call was answered, she then listened to what was said back to her and hung up after confirming her understanding.
She put her own feet up on the bed, next to Holly’s. Then she looked at the laptop screen. The spiral instantly captivated her, as it had her roommate. Together, they sat hypnotized and ready for their mistress’s arrival.