"How long has she been like this?" Colleen asks.

"I don't know," Heather says. "When I got here, she was fine. Walking around, talking, eating, drinking."

"Hm."

"What's wrong with her? Do we need to call an ambulance?"

"No. That wouldn't help. I know what the problem is. I just need to think. Hm..."

Colleen is tall and curvy, with dark, wavy hair that falls over and around her shoulders. She wears a witch's costume that includes a floppy brimmed hat, low-cut bustier, layered skirt, and high heeled boots. The outfit is clearly designed to be sexy, rather than scary.

Heather is a petite brunette with a pretty face. She is of mixed Asian descent. She has dressed as a steampunk heroine, wearing an overcoat adorned with retro gadgetry, tight pants, a gun belt, leather gloves and boots, and goggles resting atop her head.

"So, what is the problem?" Heather asks.

"She's in a hypnotic trance," Colleen says.

"What?"

"She's been hypnotized."

Both women stare at their mutual friend, Kayla. She wears a sexy nurse costume comprised of white blouse, skirt, and fishnet stockings, and complemented by a stethoscope. To make it more Halloweeny, she has added splatters and smears of fake blood on the outfit, along with some well-placed bloody hand prints.

What she wears fits in well with the holiday crowd. But her pose and expression definitely speak of something being amiss.

She sits upright in a chair, with her legs resting on an ottoman in front of her. Her eyes are open but stare blankly ahead. Her jaw is slack. She holds her arms straight out in front of her. On the floor by the ottoman lay discarded white pumps. Her hosiery ends at her ankles, and below it her feet are bare.

"What?" Heather says again in disbelief.

"Yeah, she's been hypnotized, all right," Colleen says. "Look at her face and the way she's holding her arms."

"So, is there a hypnotist at this party? Is it like a party game, or something?"

"Hm."

"Or, is she just faking it? Kayla, hey, nice gag. But the joke is over now."

"She's not faking it. Look at her eyes."

Heather leans in and peers into Kayla's eyes. She gasps, then straightens back up and takes a step back.

"What the hell? Why does she have spirals swirling in her pupils?"

"It's indicative of her being hypnotized. It's just a narrative effect, really."

"A narrative effect?"

"Nothing. Never mind."

Colleen looks at you and shrugs.

"So, what do we do? Can we wake her up?" Heather asks.

"We can try," Colleen says. "But honestly, we have other things to worry about."

"Like what?"

"Like not being hypnotized ourselves."

"What are you talking about?"

"Look, we're two attractive women at a Halloween party. We just found our friend, who is also very good looking, in a hypnotic trance. See where this is leading?"

"No, I don't."

"Don't you read the stories?"

"What stories?"

Colleen spares a glance your way, just long enough to roll her eyes.

"Never mind," Colleen says. "Here are our options, as I see them. We can try to avoid what's coming, or we can just wait for it to happen."

"You're acting nuts," Heather says. "I think you're just egging me on. You and Kayla both. Eye spirals or not, I think she's faking. You're faking, Kayla! So here are my options. I can keep going along with your weird, not funny joke, or I can go find someone else to talk with. Later."

"If we split up, we're all the more likely to succumb. But, whatever."

"Yeah, whatever."

Heather leaves, shaking her head. Colleen sighs and turns back to you.

"Oh, well. Even if we stuck together, we probably couldn't avoid it. I know how these stories go. Hm. I wonder if she'll look as good when she's a barefoot steampunk heroine. Those boots really do complete her costume."

She looks down at her own boots. She frowns thoughtfully. Then, after a moment of contemplation, she shrugs.

"Bare feet kind of works for mine. Cool. At least I'll still look good when it's my turn. Anyway, I might as well grab some food while I have a chance."

Colleen exits the room and heads to the food table. After helping herself to a plate, she mingles for a few minutes. As she talks and eats, she notices that she doesn't see Heather anywhere. More curious than worried, she politely extricates herself from her conversation. Then she begins walking around and looking for her friend.

In another room, Colleen finds Heather. The pretend steampunk adventurer sits upright on a couch, with her bare feet resting on a coffee table. Her expression is blank and distant, and she holds her arms straight out in front of her. 

Just in case she is now being egged on by her friend in revenge, Colleen walks up to Heather and peers into her eyes. Sure enough, they contain swirling spirals.

"Sleep well, sweetie," Colleen says. "And for what's it worth, you have cute feet, even if they don't really work for that costume."

She sighs and looks back to you.

"What would you do? Try to escape? Wait for it to happen? I mean, honestly, I'd just as soon maintain control over my own mind. But when you're a sexy woman in a story like this, what are the odds that you won't end up like her? Oh, and please don't think I'm arrogant for calling myself sexy. I just know how I'm written to look, just like I know how the writer wants this to go. Well, you're not going to give me any answers, so--oh!"

Someone has entered the room. Colleen turns to face them.

"Sorry, you scared me," she says. "I wasn't expecting you. Well, actually, I guess I was, just not right at that moment. Look, you don't have to be all dramatic about it. I know what you're going to do. And I know I can't resist it. I won't scream or fight, or even protest. But if you don't mind, let me at least get comfortable."

She sits down next to Heather.

"I do like these boots," she says regretfully, as she begins taking them off. "But I suppose you'll make me like being barefoot more. Or you'll keep me mindlessly unaware, and I won't even know what I'm wearing or not wearing. Yeah, I think this is one of those stories. So, mindless obedience it'll be."

After peeling off her socks, she wipes her feet clean, and then places them up on the coffee table. Then she takes a deep breath and releases it.

"This is really all for you, so enjoy," she says to you, then to the other, "I'm ready when you--"

The spirals fill her vision. The words fill her mind. She loses herself to them. She sinks deeper and deeper and deeper.

And while this story now ends, Colleen's story as a barefoot, hypnotized slave goes on....