“I don’t know…” Krista said.

“What don’t you know?” Dana asked. “Small Greek island. Summer sun. Clear blue water. Mediterranean cuisine. Uzo. Deeply tanned, well muscled lads. And we two hot American babes enjoying it all.”

“Well, when you put it like that.”

“I do put it like that. And we’re going, right? Right?”

“Okay, yeah, we’re going.”


<><><><><>


“I don’t know…” Krista said.

“I’m telling you, snorkeling is super easy, and you see amazing stuff,” Dana said. “These snorkels have a valve in them that closes if you go under the surface. So you can dive down and not worry about sucking in water. And we’re going to want to dive down because I saw this cave earlier that we can totally make it to and back from in one breath. What do you say?”

“Well, the fish sure are pretty here. And a cave does sound cool.”

“Doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, fine, I’ll go with you.”


<><><><><>


“I don’t know…” Krista said.

“We have to explore! How can we not?” Dana said.

The two women stood upon a rocky ledge, knee deep in gently lapping waters. Above their heads loomed the jagged stone ceiling of the cave, illuminated in sea green tones by some sort of phosphorescent growth. Below and behind them, fully under water, lay the cave mouth that they had swum through moments before. Before them, the ledge rose slowly up out of the water to become mostly flat ground that stretched far off into the distance.

“I just feel like maybe we’re pushing our luck,” Krista said.

“And I feel like our luck is asking to be pushed,” Dana said. “This cave has both flowing air and natural light. Why would we come this far and then just leave?”

“Maybe it’s something’s lair? Something air breathing or amphibious?”

“I don’t see, hear, or smell any indication of an animal. Do you?”

“No, but…”

Dana didn’t bother responding. Instead, she walked forward until she was completely out of the water. She stripped off her mask and the attached snorkel, then she pulled off her flippers. Now clad in only a bikini, she reached out a suggestive hand to Krista.

With a reluctant sigh, Krista followed her friend’s lead. When she was on dry land, she stripped off her water gear, leaving herself in a one-piece bathing suit. She noticed with discomfort that the craggy ground pushed into the soft flesh of her feet.

“I wish we’d brought water shoes,” she said.

“Don’t be a wuss,” Dana said. “Just step carefully, and you’ll be fine.”

Leading the way as always, Dana turned and walked deeper into the cave. Krista followed at her heels.

“Ooh,” Dana said, not managing to avoid a sharp spot on the ground. “Ooh, oh, oh.”

“Don’t be a wuss,” Krista said, taking care to not step where her friend just had.

“Quiet, you,” Dana said with a laugh. “Exploration is not without its perils. Besides, when we get back, I’ll have Tony nurse my wounds.”

“From the way he’s been looking at you, I think he’d be more than willing to give you some TLC. At least if you injure your boobs or your butt. Not so sure about your feet.”

“He’s not going to have a choice. He either starts with a long, soothing foot rub, or I find another nurse.”

The two friends giggled, as they carefully made their way along the rocky floor.

“How far do you want to go?” Krista asked.

“Until the light or the path ends.”

“Or how about for another five minutes?”

“I don’t want to pigeonhole us into a restrictive timeline. What if the big discovery we’re destined to find is seven minutes away?”

“If we’re destined to find it, then it should be within five minutes.”

“You’re no fun,” Dana said.

“And you’re too cavalier,” Krista said.

“Probably. But if you don’t try new things, then you’ll never--hey! Check that out!”

Dana stopped and pointed. Krista stepped up beside her.

“See that rock formation?” Dana asked.

“Yeah,” Krista said. “Wow. Is that natural, or did someone carve it?”

“Let’s find out.”

Not waiting for her friend to nay-say, Dana jogged forward. Krista sighed and then followed at a walking pace.

“Look at this,” Dana said, reaching the object. “It’s...it’s a big chair! Like a recliner!”

“I don’t know...I mean, yeah, it looks like a chair,” Krista said. “But that’s just coincidence. It’s like the organ at Luray Caverns. We’re just assigning it the properties of something we’re familiar with.”

“Oh, come on. This is the backrest, and the armrests, and the seat that extends out to a footrest. It’s perfectly shaped for a person to sit in. And see how smooth it is? No crags or rough spots. It’s probably really comfortable. Only one way to find out.”

“Dana, don’t!”

“Why not?”

“Because...what if it is a natural formation, and you damage it? Or, what if it’s not natural, and whoever made it doesn’t want you sitting in it?”

“Krista, if you think my cute little ass is going to crack solid rock, then I’m really offended. And why would someone make a chair and not want people to sit in it?”

With a shrug and a pout, Krista gave up the fight. With a nod and a smile, Dana climbed onto the chair. She scooted back in it, placed her arms on the armrests, and stretched out her legs. Then she wiggled her toes in delight.

“It really is kind of comfortable,” she said.

“Cool,” Krista said, looking all around the cave nervously and not really paying attention to her friend.

“Want to try it?”

“No, thanks.”

“All right, then. I’ll enjoy this by myself--whoa!”

Both women heard a loud but distant thud, and Dana felt a tremor beneath her seat.

“Dana, I think you should get up,” Krista said, “and we should leave. Now.”

“Yeah,” Dana said, looking uncharacteristically concerned. “I think you’re right.”

But before she could get out of the chair, crystalline bands shot out from it, encircling her wrists, ankles, and waist.

“What the f---?” Dana cried out.

She struggled against the bonds, but they were rock hard and didn’t yield. Krista raced over to her and began pulling against, slapping, and punching one of the wrist bands.

“What’s going on?” Krista asked.

“I don’t know!” Dana said, her normal calm now having completely dissolved.

“We have to get you out of here!”

“Yes! But how?”

The combined efforts of both women proved futile. Then, another thud sounded, and another tremor shook the chair. Dana and Krista stopped and stared at each other.

“Maybe...you should get out of here,” Dana said, swallowing hard.

“No, I can’t leave you,” Krista said. “There has to be a way to--oh, no!”

At the top of the backrest, another crystalline formation emerged. This time, it it took several seconds to reveal itself as something akin to a helmet. When it was fully visible, it began descending in a path that would ultimately end over the chair occupant’s head.

Seeing this, both women furiously renewed their efforts to free Dana. They continued until, a moment later, the helmet ended its drop and covered Dana’s face down to just above her mouth. A glow much like the sea green phosphorescence on the ceiling pulsed within the helmet, in time with a low, rhythmic hum.

Krista’s nerve broke, and she backed away from the chair.

“Krista, I--” Dana said.

And then she began to sob. Her sobbing stopped suddenly and was replaced with laughter. That in turn ceased, and she began to babble incoherently. The emotive cycle repeated itself several times, and then stopped entirely.

“Dana?” Krista asked tentatively, wanting desperately to leave, but unwilling to abandon her friend.

Dana began to moan. Unlike her other vocalizations, her moans didn’t cycle through or stop. Instead, they grew louder and matched the rhythm of the pulsing glow and hum. They continued until they reached a crescendo, at which point, she yelled out. Then she sighed and went silent.

Krista could have sworn that her friend had just experienced an orgasm.

“Dana? Are you okay? Dana?”

As if in response to her query, the crystalline helmet lifted off of Dana’s head. Then it and the bonds regressed back into the rock. Though now free, Dana didn’t move. Her eyes were closed, and she wore a relaxed, contented expression on her face.

“Dana?” Krista asked again, still keeping her distance. “Are you okay?”

Dana’s eyes opened, though otherwise she stayed perfectly still.

“Yes, I am fine,” she said.

“What happened? What did it do to you?”

“I have been brainwashed. I am now in an extremely heightened state of suggestibility and obedience.”

“What?”

“I have been brainwashed,” Dana said again, exactly as she just had. “I am now in an extremely heightened state of suggestibility and obedience.”

“Who are you supposed to obey?”

“My master or mistress.”

“Who is that?”

Dana said nothing.

“Who is your master or mistress?” Krista asked again.

Dana remained silent, staring straight ahead.

“Dana, am I your mistress?”

Krista still received no response. She thought for a moment, then took a breath and spoke.

“Dana...I am your mistress.”

“I will obey you, Mistress,” Dana said.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!” Krista said, not believing what was happening.

She began pacing back and forth, trying to process everything that had just occurred. What was that chair? And the crystal mechanisms? Who put it there? What had it done to Dana? Was she really brainwashed? Was she really going to blindly obey Krista as her mistress?

Despite herself, Krista kept going back to the last two questions. Something about the thought of Dana being her brainwashed slave intrigued her. No, intrigued wasn’t what it did. It aroused her.

“Stand up...slave,” Krista said. “And come here.”

Without hesitation, Dana rose from the chair. The she turned to face Krista and walked towards her, stopping about an arm’s length away.

“Bow to me. Now, kiss my feet. Stand up. Take off your bikini top. Rub your breasts.”

Dana did everything she was told. When Krista stopped giving her orders, she simply stood at attention. To Krista, she certainly seemed to be in the state that she said she was in. But, could she be faking? What if the chair hadn’t really done anything to do her, and she was just pranking her naive friend? Krista didn’t think it likely. But she needed to know for sure.

“Slave, I want you to masturbate,” Krista said. “As you do, I want you to fantasize about serving and obeying me. It will be a huge turn on for you, and you will have no problem coming many times. Start now.”

Krista’s eyes widened in surprise and fascination, as Dana reached into her bikini bottom and began carrying out the instructions she’d been given. Soon, she climaxed. Not stopping then, she climaxed again.

“Enough,” Krista said, causing Dana to immediately stop. “Wow. Just wow. Okay, I need to figure out what I’m going to do with you. For now, get your top back on.”

Dana put her bikini top back on, as Krista pondered what to do.

“Slave,” Krista said after a few minutes, “how long will you stay like this?”

“I will remain in this state until either you release me from it or I fall asleep.”

“Can I give you, um, what do they call them? Post-hypnotic suggestions? You know, so that even when you’re awake, I can make you say or do certain things, or have you behave a certain way, without you knowing it?”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“Good. This is going to work out well. Here is your first post-hypnotic suggestion: When I wake you up, you won’t consciously remember anything that has happened to you since we entered the cave. You’ll be happy that we came here, but you’ll be ready to leave. Understand?”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“Cool. Also, any time I say, ‘I don’t know,’ you will immediately stop trying to convince me to do something. You will simply agree with me and let the topic drop. Got it?”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“And if I say, ‘Slave, obey,’ you will return to the state you’re in now, where you’ll act as my obedient slave and do whatever I tell you.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“Amazing! This is frickin’ amazing! Now, what else? Hm...Oh, yeah. Slave, do you remember the names of those two women at our hotel? The cute ones, who sat one table over from us at breakfast? The ones who liked to go snorkeling?”

“Yes, Mistress. Their names are Penelope and Marta.”

“Right. Well, you’re going to convince them to come to this cave and explore it with us. Then you’ll help me get them in the chair, one at a time. That way, I’ll have three brainwashed slaves, not just one.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“That’s all for now. Let’s go back to the water.”

Krista led the way, and Dana followed her.

“Slave, awake,” Krista said.

Dana blinked and shook her head.

“Wow,” she said, looking around as if for the first time. “What a neat cave! Aren’t you glad we found it?”

“Yep,” Krista said, warily observing her friend.

“Well, we should probably get back,” Dana said. “But you know what? If we see Penelope and Marta again, we should bring them out here with us. I bet they’d like it.”

“Oh, I know they would,” Krista said. “But there’s one thing we should do before we leave.”

”What’s that?”

“Slave, obey.”

Dana’s eyes glazed over. Krista nodded.

“Just testing. But, now that you’re in my power again, I might as well give you one more suggestion: You have no interest in Tony. If he talks to you, you will do everything you can to make him interested in me.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“Sweet. As with all my other suggestions, you won’t consciously remember this when I wake you up.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“Wake up.”

Again, Dana awoke without realizing what had happened.

“So, what do we need to do?” she asked.

“We need to get our gear on, so we can get out of here and go drink some Uzo on the beach!”

“That’s a great suggestion,” Dana said, grabbing her mask, snorkel, and flippers.

“Trust me,” Krista said with a knowing grin. “From now on, all of my suggestions will be great ones....”