Sometimes, I get these ideas for scenarios in the Trust Machine universe that don’t really need a full story around them. They’re short. They don’t need a build up of relationships and character arcs. They’re just turning folks into weird stuff. What follows is a mini-anthology of Trust Machine shorts.
Since these were collected from over a year of shorts, hopefully calling this Volume 1 isn’t a mistake:
Birthday Cake – Gather around the cake plate. It’s Georgia’s birthday.
Up, Up, and Away – Not yet 99 air balloons.
Pair of Panties – Tom & Susan with some help from a friend.
Play Ball – She never watches him play softball.
A Winter Tale – Delivering joy is what Tom is all about
Birthday Cake
“Why are we here?”
“My friend Georgia’s birthday.”
“Georgia? You haven’t introduced me to any Georgia.”
“Haven’t seen her in a year,” Merry said, kissing her boyfriend, Caleb. “You and I met a couple months after her last birthday.”
“Oh. Why haven’t you seen her?”
“That’s a surprise.”
“A surprise? Isn’t a surprise party for the birthday person?”
“In this case it’s for you.” Merry stood up on the sofa in the living room and said, “Hey, everybody. Who else besides Caleb hasn’t met Georgia?”
A couple people admitted they hadn’t.
Tonia stood in front of the couch. “Get down.” She said to Caleb, “It feels like you’ve been dating Merry forever. It’s been less than a year?”
“’Fraid so,” he said. “What’s the surprise?”
“You didn’t say? I’m not saying. You’ll know in eighty-seven minutes or so,” she said looking at her phone. A timer was displayed on the surface, counting down to zero.
Eric handed Caleb a birthday hat. “Put this on.”
“No one else is wearing one.”
“Holly and Greg are wearing them,” Eric said, pointing out the two others wearing hats. “It signifies you never met Georgia.”
“Why is that important?”
“We don’t want anyone spoiling the surprise. So everyone knows you never met her because you have the hat.”
The party continued. More people arrived. Some gifts were sitting on the dining table. Two more hats were handed out.
“Why is there an empty cake plate on the table with a bunch of used candles on it?”
“That was from her last birthday.”
“She was delici...”
“Hush.”
Greg approached Caleb. “Any ideas?”
“What? Oh the hat. No idea.”
“Holly has no clue either.”
“You’ll know in like ten minutes,” Merry said. She put her arms on his shoulders and kissed Caleb. “It’s all in fun.”
Tonia announced, “One minute. Places.”
The crowd gathered around the table. Once gathered, the crowd started singing the birthday song. Just before it ended, a woman appeared, standing on the table where the empty cake plate sat.
Cheers erupted. Birthday well-wishes were called out. A couple people said, “Welcome back.”
Abe helped her down from the table. Tonia placed a cake in the spot she had been standing and Georgie blew out the burning candles. More cheers were made.
“What happened?” Holly said, not far from an equally confused Caleb.
Greg was laughing. “She was venned.”
“Into an empty cake plate?”
“No, last year she was venned into the most delicious birthday cake.”
“You didn’t get to taste her? Too bad. I doubt this cake will be as good.”
“A birthday cake?” Holly said. “Everyone ate her?”
“It was her idea. Tell her, G.”
“What was my idea?”
“All this.”
“Oh, yes. It was my idea to be eaten on my birthday and restored on my next birthday.”
Before they could ask more questions, she was pulled away by other friends who wanted to talk to her.
“How does someone loss a year like that?”
“She probably gains it back by living a year longer than she otherwise would.”
“Unless she dies from an accident,” Caleb said.
“Don’t be so down.”
“He has to be. He didn’t get to eat her last year.”
“Oh, she was so delicious.”
Up, Up, and Away
A young man sat next to a small table and a large air tank near the entrance to the Park. On the table were a few unused balloons.
A little girl dragged her mother toward the table. “Can I have a balloon?”
“I'm afraid not,” the man said. After she pouted, he added, “But, you can help me launch a balloon.”
“Launch?”
“I've run out of string so you wouldn’t be able to hold the balloon. But, look at that clear sky. Wouldn't it look better with a balloon floating away in it?”
The little girl nodded. “Launch the green one.”
“The green one? A wonderful choice. That one is named Claire.” He picked up the balloon and gave it a few stretches. “She'd love to fly away. She looks a little limp at the moment. Doesn’t she?” He put the balloon on to the end of the tank's inflation valve and twisted the knob. The balloon began to fill and strained to lift away. “See how the balloon is already trying to fly away.”
“Is this going to take much longer?” The little girl's mother asked.
“Not at all. As I said, I have no string. Once I tie the end of the balloon off, we're going to let Claire fly off into the sky.”
“Can I launch it?”
“That's the idea, young lady,” he said as he turned the knob the other way. He pinched the end of the balloon as he rolled it off the valve. Then he tied a triple knot in the end of the balloon. “Now, I'm going to hand Claire to you. Don’t let go until you’ve tell her to have a good flight. Then, you let her loose to fly away.”
“Okay,” she said as he handed her the balloon. “Claire, you fly very, very high and very, very far.”
“Tell her who are.”
“I'm Katey, Claire, and I'm going to let you go.” She looked at the man and he nodded. Katey bend down and gave the balloon a big push into the sky. “Bye, bye!”
Not that the balloon needed a push, it was above the tree line in seconds.
“Thanks, Katey, for giving Claire such a lovely send off.”
“Now the blue one,” she said, her eyes still trying to watch Claire as she flew higher and higher.
“No, we have to get going,” her mother intervened.
“I'm sorry, Katey. Only one balloon per customer. Someone else will launch Tom, the blue balloon. I think this young man here wants to launch a balloon.”
Katey stopped watching the green balloon and saw there were two other kids looking at the balloon man expectantly. “Okay, bye, bye, Mister.”
“Before you go to bed, think about how far away Claire must be.”
As she and her mom left, the little boy said, “Do you think the balloon will make it to London?”
“I don't know, young man. Do you want to launch a balloon?”
“Yes, not Tom, the red one.”
“Parker. A splendid choice.”
*****
Three days later, “I was losing altitude over the lake. I was worried I would have to swim half a mile to get back to shore. But, an updraft took me to the other side and I landed on a road. Must have gotten run over twice,” Tom said.
“I landed on the roof of a house. Took a few hours before the owner came home and we had an amusing conversation about what I was doing on his roof. He was a nice older gentleman though,” Parker said. “He got a ladder out of his garage and help me down. Invited me in and made some tea. He said he never thought about using the Venn machines to something that wasn't alive.”
“Oh, we've infected someone,” Claire said. “I only met her once, but I miss Katey.”
“Katey?” Tom said.
“My launcher. She was a sweet little girl.”
“Oh yeah, I gave her the long spiel.”
“How was your venn, Mark?”
“Being a helium tank is weird,” he said. “It feels like small bits of me were fed into your balloons and then I just sat there for a day before I started filling up a bunch more balloons. Very disorienting when the kids all took one bit of me home and I slowly leaked through the balloon.”
“I’m sure the parents of the kids were confused when those balloons were all completely deflated this morning.”
“We need to buy a helium tank so you don’t end up being both the helium and the tank.”
“Next time.”
Pair of Panties
Tom’s hand slid down her side and landed on her ass. He gave it a good squeeze.
Susan nibbled his lip in response. The make out session was getting hotter. Her hand slid down his pants and found he was ready. She unzipped his pants and pulled it out.
He broke the kiss and turned her around. As she put her hands on the wall, he flipped her skirt out of the way. She let out a moan as he teased her dripping hole.
“Put it in.”
“We have time. Let me tease you a bit.”
“You’ve teased me plenty. Fuck me.”
“Okay.” He slammed it in with a grunt.
For several minutes the sounds of their rutting drifted into Angela’s ear as she stood on the other side of the wall. She was nearly as turned on as they were. Her finger brushed against her clitoris and soon she was stroking it in a rhythm informed by the sounds heard from the other side of the wall.
“I’m close,” Tom said.
“Wait.”
“I’m. Close.”
“WAIT!” Susan’s breathing got heavier. “There. Right there. Don’t... unh... Don’t… Don’t stop. Don’t. Stop.” She let out a loud moan.
Angela’s finger slid a bit lower and she started moving it in and out.
“Susan?!”
“I’m… I’m… Oh! Yes!! I’m cumming. I’m. Cumming.”
“I’m cumming.”
Their moans crescendoed. Angela shook her head and remembered her role. She slammed the green button. The immediate silence drove her over the edge and she let out her own moan.
The doors to the Venn machine opened. Angela quickly straightened her skirt and left the Venn machine. She walked around to the other side.
“Hey, look. She’s finally done.”
“Took forever.”
She disappeared into the other side and walked out wiping her fingers on a lone pair of lacy, red panties.
“It took you over half an hour to turn your friend into a fucking pair of panties.”
She looked the guy straight in the eyes. “Two friends. One fucking pair. Yes.” She dropped the panties in her purse as she walked away.
Play Ball
His hand slipped inside like it was made to be there. She’d been waiting patiently for hours. She relaxed. Molded to her insides, his hand felt amazing. He flexed and squeezed sending waves of pleasure through her body.
He ran his hand along the leather. The venned glove fit perfectly. He couldn’t wait to try it out. He punched his fist into the center.
She felt her body open and swing through the air. Something solid landed inside and it felt like slap against her ass. With the fingers inside her squeezing and the slap to what she perceived as her padded ass she orgasmed. If she could get wet, she would be dripping down his wrist.
When he got into the car, he tossed the first baseman’s mitt onto the passenger seat. She wasn’t happy to be removed from his hand but the playful way he tossed her always made her happy. She knew he was headed to his game.
She felt him pick her up, carry her for a while, and put her down. They must be at the dugout. She heard several men talking about softball. They were the visiting team for today’s game. Without his hand inside, her mind wandered until she felts two firm hands grip her waist.
He was batting second and he held his bat, the other half of her venn, by the handle. Being a glove forgotten, she felt him rubbing her hips with pine tar before taking a few practice swings. The air rushed over her surface like a lover’s caress. His hands on her hips made it feel like they were dancing.
Soon, she felt her body make solid contact with a ball. Her entire body vibrated and she barely felt it as he dropped her to the ground to run the bases. To her it was even harder than the spank she’d felt earlier. She was in a post orgasmic haze when she felt someone pick her up and return her to the bat rack in the dugout. She was happy when she heard someone saying he’d gotten to second base. She laughed since she felt he’d given her a grand slam.
After a while, the glove half of her was lifted and he slipped his hand in. This was her favorite part. His fingers flexed inside her. The ball landed in her pocket frequently as the infielders took their warm ups. She was always dizzy from the activity by the time the actual inning started. Two ground balls had been caught by her before she found herself in the dugout again.
The game continued. By the third inning she’d orgasmed so many times she couldn’t count to three: a necessary skill to follow a game of softball. When she recovered her wits she wasn’t sure where she was. A flat wall was outside of the… car. Yes, car. She was in his car. She was looking through the windshield at a wall.
It took her a moment to remember she was human. She got out of the car and entered the bar. The Lone River Ducks were boisterously celebrating in the back room. She guessed from their laughter that they’d won. She saw him as soon as she crossed the threshold to the room. She spun him around and kissed him.
His teammates cheered them on.
“Sorry I didn’t see your game,” she said. “I bet you did well.”
“Two doubles and a single,” one of the other men said. “She always seems to know when you have a good game.”
“She’s really in touch with the game,” he said. “I assume you want me to leave now.”
“I do,” she cooed into his ear.
“Sorry, boys. I’ve got to go.”
More hoots and hollers followed and they walked out arm in arm. When they were outside he whispered. “How much do you remember?”
“Maybe four innings. There were a lot of ground balls early and you got those two of those hits in your first two at bats.”
“True. I guess I hit better when you aren’t euphoric.”
“We’ll have to see how well you hit when we get home, Stud.”
“I love how revved up you are after my games.”
“I think I could only be more turned on if you were the Ducks’ catcher.”
“I’d probably find you in the car a drooling, mindless mess when I left the bar if I were a catcher.”
“Don’t tempt me with a better time.”
A Winter’s Tale
Bells jingled. In the quiet night, the eight children of the halfway house were confused. The jingling sound grew louder.
“Neighbors must be celebrating Christmas Eve,” one boy said.
“Loudly,” said a young girl.
“To rub it in,” said another boy.
“Evan, don’t think ill of people until they prove you should be,” the older woman said.
There was a loud thump in the backyard.
“I… What was that?” Evan said.
The gaggle of eight to twelve year olds rushed to the back door.
“No running,” the woman said, but didn’t mean it.
Evan opened the door.
“Ho, ho, ho,” a man in a faded red coat and long white beard said. “Merry Christmas.”
“Boring,” one of the girls said.
“No look!” a child said.
In the yard, behind the man in the Santa costume were nine reindeer and a sleigh with a big canvas bag in it.
“Boring, did you say, Michael?” Santa said.
The child swarmed the animals.
“Do you have any carrots so we can feed them?”
“Yeah, I don’t like carrots.”
“Where are the presents?”
“Who said that?” Santa said. “I might have to revise my lists.”
After some time, the woman came out. “Okay, children, Santa has a busy schedule. Let’s leave the reindeer alone. I believe someone asked about presents.”
“Of course, dear woman. Evan, this is for you. Serafina. Michael. Claudia. Jose. Maura. And, I believe you’re Vika. I didn’t forget you. I have to go. Rudolf, if you would be so kind.”
The lead reindeer padded the ground with one of its hooves. It looks upward and the end of its nose glowed a bright reddish color. The reindeer lifted into the air carrying Santa and his sleigh into the night.
“What?”
“How?”
“You can open those presents tomorrow.”
“Aw, why not now?”
The woman looked sad. “Because there won’t be anything to open tomorrow if you do it now. You got to pet the reindeer tonight.”
“That was cool.”
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“Let’s put them under the tree.”
*****
The reindeer landed at the firehouse. Santa hopped off was handed a new bag of gifts. “Where to next?”
An elf woman in a green tights with white fur trimming rushed up to the tiny sleigh. Santa’s helper said, “The lodge. The brothers will have about fifteen displaced families there. The presents are already at the lodge. They’ll get the bag to you before the kids see you.”
“I suppose fifteen sets of presents would be hard for the drones to lift.”
Two of the reindeer snorted.
“Oh, hush, Mark. You guys are just fuzzy drones. How else would we get you to fly?”
The reindeer named Mark snorted again.
“Oh, you love when the kids pet you. I always end up being Santa because the nine of you prefer to be the deer team.”
“Okay, Pat, do you know…”
Rudolf snorted.
“Sorry, Rudolf, do you know where you’re going?”
Rudolf stomped twice.
“Then get going.”
“Wait, I have to get on,” Santa said, handing his orange juice drink box to the helper. “Okay…. On Dasher, on Prancer, on Donner….” His voice trailed off into the night.
“When did Tom come up with this?” Angela asked Susan.
“Like I ever know. I can’t figure out how he got the drones to be so silent hidden inside the animals that aren’t really animals.”
“Yeah. Pat doesn’t like to venn but this was a good cause.”
“He’s a lovely Rudolf.”
“And you aren’t a big block of wood,” Angela said. “I like these ears.”
“Me, too,” Susan said. “Though I prefer my handle bars.”