Delectica: Part 6: The Choice

On the road in the western section of Inlandsville...

The hybrid cut through the night and light drizzle, somewhat exceeding posted speed limits. Inside, the Professor drove.

"'What's green and floats in the ocean? Kelp'... Does that mean something to you?" Apprentice Seychelle had no idea what the Professor was thinking. But she knew that, with patience, the Professor would eventually let her know where they were headed.

The Professor's eyes remained squarely focused on the road. "The dispatcher wasn't sure that the note said 'kelp'. I think that it might have said 'klp'."

"'Klp'? I don't get it."

The Professor suddenly looked a little annoyed. "Think about it! KLP. They are initials. Kite Leigh Pound."

The blood drained from Chelle's face. "The daughter of the inventor of Moleculox Glue! But she died ten years ago..."

"Exactly. Everyone knows that. But is it the truth? We're here." The hybrid screeched into a dark parking lot next to an old abandoned warehouse.

"What is this place?" Chelle asked. The building was in great disrepair. Grated windows were broken out. Rusty, locked gates covered the heavy, entry doors.

"This is where the Monster Green Surf Board company used to operate. They were never very successful. After all this is Inlandsville, not some place near the ocean. Like Portstown."

"So, you think that Delectica's message was for you to come here?" Chelle asked, looking with skepticism at the dark structure.

The Professor pulled a flashlight out of the glove box. "Yep.'What's green and floats in the ocean?' Monster Green Surf Boards is the answer." They climbed out of the car into the rainy night.

Chelle followed the Professor around the edge of the building examining the windows for a possible passage inside. Finally, they came upon a broken out window conveniently located above a rusted 200-liter metal drum. With a little muscle both women were able to crawl into the window and drop to the hard concrete floor below.

The interior of the structure was cool and musty. Chelle could feel her eyes starting to itch.

A doorway led the two into a hall that they began to follow carefully - straining to see beyond the dim flashlight's beam. The Professor suddenly stopped and motioned for Chelle to do the same. Chelle strained to hear any sound above the pounding of her heart.

The Professor handed the flashlight to Chelle and removed her raincoat. She gave the coat a swift shake, sending a sheet of beaded raindrops down the hall. About two meters in front of Chelle, the drops of water briefly illuminated red.

Chelle held her breath. "What was that?"

"A light sensor, I think... to detect intruders." The Professor wadded her coat into a ball and tossed it down the hall.

Chelle jumped in fear and grabbed for the wall when the sound of a blast of spraying liquid cut through the darkness. The flashlight fell from her hand and clattered on the floor, it's light quickly snuffed out. Chelle opened her eyes as wide as she could, but could only see drifting colors of the afterimage. She heard the Professor patting around on the ground, then softly banging the flashlight. The dim beam flickered to life again.

The Professor surveyed the hall with the light as Chelle attempted to regain control of her breathing. A short ways down the hall the floor was covered in some kind of liquid. The Professor focused the light on her raincoat that now lay in a soaking heap four meters down from them. "Liquid Moleculox," the Professor said calmly. "Do you think that the sprays can be tripped twice?"

"Maybe we should go get a better flashlight..." Chelle was disgusted by the detectable waver in her voice.

"Give me your raincoat."

Chelle quickly pulled the coat from around her and handed it to the Professor.

"I'll buy you a new one," the Professor said as she tossed it down the hall. The coat sailed past the light sensor and fell approximately in the middle of the puddle. The sprays remained inactive.

The Professor then took a few quick steps forward through the light sensor and then jumped down the hall. Her foot landed on Chelle's raincoat. With another great leap, the Professor succeeded in jumping clear of the puddle of glue. She turned and lit the floor so Chelle could follow.

Apprentice Chelle, unfortunately, was about 15cm shorter than the Professor. Her first leap successfully carried her to her ruined raincoat, but the second lunge was short. Her foot landed with an audible splat. Chelle leapt again in a panic and landed next to the Professor.

"I didn't stick!"

She started to pick up her foot to examine it. "Nevermind... It's sticking now..." Chelle's sneaker was firmly cemented to the floor. "That was fast." Chelle carefully extracted her sock-covered foot from the useless shoe. "Damn!" She pulled off her second shoe and held it in her hand.

"You had better keep that shoe with you. You may need it later." The Professor started to continue down the hall.

The gravity of the danger they were in started to form a firm foundation in the base of Chelle's consciousness. Certainly, somewhere in this dark abandoned warehouse Delectica, the archvillainess, waited for her prey. Who knew that Chelle and the Professor had come to seek out Delectica? Who would know to look for them here if they somehow became stuck? With all her heart, Chelle wanted to run from the building, but she knew that she had to stay with the Professor. She trusted that the Professor would keep her safe.

They continued up a flight of stairs into a vast room filled with large containers. Chelle followed the Professor's lead through the dark shadows. The Professor stopped and turned the flashlight off for a second. Chelle's eyes strained against the inky darkness for a ray of light. She heard the Professor's voice. "I doubt that these containers contain old surf boards."

"What do you think is in the containers?" Chelle asked nervously.

But the Professor did not answer her question. Instead she said, "I think I see a light in the distance."

Chelle's eyes were starting to adjust to the darkness. Sure enough, a dim light filtered through the entranceway to another room in the distance. They slowly made their way towards it.

"Holy shi...," the Professor began. Chelle quickly came around the Professor for a better view into the room. It was a large room. On the far wall was a hulking machine - dark and shadowy, yet outlined by a few LED's which flashed red and green. Large tubes stretched up and ran along overhead leading to a spot on the far end of the room where a single white spotlight shone down. Chelle's blood ran cold.

There, underneath the spotlight, was a tall, thin glass cylinder. Inside the cylinder, Chelle saw the naked, struggling figure of the current Miss Inslandsville.

"Oh my god!" Chelle had forgotten about the danger and quickly walked up to the cylinder. The young, beauty queen's eyes were wide and pleading for help. Her mouth was moving frantically, though no sound could be heard. Her hands were firmly planted on the inside of the glass and her feet, too, seemed rooted to the floor. Her movements seemed to indicate that she was struggling to move from her standing position in the cylinder, but was unable to. A clear mask covered Miss Inlandsville's eyes, nose and mouth. Thin clear tubes snaked from the mask and from between her legs to attachments on the floor of the cylinder.

"We've got to get her out of there!" Chelle said frantically as she looked for a way to open the glass prison. "Maybe we should just break the glass..."

"I think that I saw a fire ax in the last room," the Professor stated. "I'll be back in a second."

Chelle saw a chair near the machine. She picked it up and approached the cylinder, gesturing for the beauty queen locked inside to shield herself if possible from broken glass. She raised the chair and brought it down firmly near the base of the glass prison. It bounced off the cylinder with a loud CLACK! that echoed through the room. The integrity of the cylinder remained intact.

Suddenly, the sound of a compressor coming to life cut through the room. Overhead, pipes started to creak and thump. Chelle looked around and prayed that the Professor would return soon with the ax. When she turned back to the cylinder, she saw a clear thick fluid start to pour in around the beauty queen's feet.

"Oh my god! It's Moleculox Glue!" With renewed strength Chelle lifted the chair and swung it at the middle of the glass prison. Once again, the chair bounced off with no effect. Inside, Miss Inlandsville struggled frantically as the liquid rose up her calves. Chelle swung again and again...

"Would you please stop that incessant banging!"

Chelle's heart stopped and she turned around to see the source of the powerful, feminine voice. Delectica! There she stood! Five meters away! She was dressed in black latex from head to toe. The only opening was for her cold, gray eyes.

"No!" Chelle screamed. There on the floor at Delectica's feet was the unconscious body of the Professor. But, Chelle knew she had to try to help the beauty queen first. "Please! You've got to let her out. Don't glue her in there!"

Delectica calmly asked, "And why not?"

It was obvious that Delectica had no intention of stopping the flow of glue that had now reached up to the beauty queen's waist. Chelle raised the chair above her head and rushed at Delectica purely intent on striking her to the ground. Delectica gracefully stepped to the side and with a light push sent Chelle sprawling across the floor.

Chelle reached for the chair and jumped to her feet again, but stopped in her tracks when she turned and saw Delectica again.

"Tsk tsk," Delectica taunted Chelle while pointing the barrel of a pistol at her.

Chelle looked over at poor Miss Inlandsville inside her glass prison. The glue was covering her breasts. "Please! It's inhumane!"

"Is it!?" asked Delectica. "She truly is a beauty, don't you think? This old world will only tear her beauty apart. Gravity will yank at her bosom. The sun will dry lines and wrinkles into her face. Time will stain her beautiful hair gray."

Meanwhile the glue rose up to the beauty queen's chin. Her golden locks were beginning to float in a cloud around her head suspended by the thickening glue.

"I'm preserving her beauty! She will still be alive, but she will be just as beautiful as she is now for the rest of time!"

The glue quickly rose above the beauty queen's head and filled the rest of the glass container. Inside, Miss Inlandsville had either stopped struggling or was no longer able to. Chelle could see tears dropping from her closed eyes.

Chelle dropped to her knees and began to weep tears of her own.

"Apprentice Seychelle... You have always been so empathetic. You have such a big heart. It's not your fault that Miss Inlandsville met this fate. There was nothing that you could do. Don't cry."

Chelle looked up. "What the hell do YOU know about me?"

"Oh... I know a little about you. But I'm ready and willing to find out so much more..."

Suddenly a second spotlight illuminated. Underneath it was a cylinder with that looked identical to the one that now contained the immobile form of Miss Inlandsville. However, instead of being made of glass, it was made of stainless steel.

"Indestructible glass cylinders are so hard to come by. So I had this one made of steel. Either way they are very expensive. And so, you see, I have a problem. I only have one container, yet I have two women. I originally planned to use this cylinder on the Professor, but now I've found a new little game to entertain myself with. Seychelle! Listen to me! You must choose. Who will be permanently encased in this steel cylinder? Unable to move. Unable to communicate in any way. Permanently held in darkness. Dependent upon some caregiver to hook up a food supply each day. Dependent upon some caregiver to extract the wastes. Will it be you, Seychelle? Or will it be the Professor?" Delectica paused for a moment. "You must choose!"

Chelle felt weak and beaten. She looked over at the Professor's motionless body on the floor. She looked at the beauty queen suspended in the glass prison. "What is the fate of the woman who does not go into the cylinder?" Chelle asked.

"I promise you that they will go free," Delectica replied. "And I will never bother them or the town of Inlandsville ever again. Make your choice now!"

Chelle was on her hands and knees. Her stomach was upset with anxiety. Tears fell to the floor. "Me...," she mumbled.

"What was that?" Delectica asked.

"Me. Take me..."

"Hot damn!" Delectica laughed. "I can't believe it. Holy shit! You've chosen loyalty over common sense! You are incredible, Seychelle. One of a kind. Now... Get undressed!"

Chelle looked up and saw the gun still trained upon her. Slowly she began pulling off her socks. She stood weakly and pulled down her pants. Soon she stood in just panties and a bra.

"Too bad that I didn't get two glass cylinders. The world will miss not only your foolish loyalty, but also your beauty. Come on. Take off everything."

Chelle's underclothes dropped to the floor.

"Your jewelry too."

Several rings bounced to the floor. Chelle tossed her earrings onto the pile of clothes. She carefully extracted the ring from her belly button.

"Now..." Delectica stated. "Get in the cylinder."

A pressurized hydraulic sound hissed though the room and the front portion of the steel cylinder slowly swung open. Chelle staggered to its entrance.

"I had this cylinder made especially for the Professor. You're quite a bit shorter than she is. There is a lot of headroom left over. Get inside!"

Chelle climbed in and turned to look out the door. The cylinder was very narrow. There was not enough room to raise her arms up to her face. Chelle let out a gasp when the door started to close and seal her in the darkness of the tube.

Chelle felt her knees go weak. Her body fell against the cold, metal interior of the tube. Chelle waited for the thick liquid to flow in and close around her. But what about the mask? What about the tubes? How was she going to survive the encasement? Maybe Delectica had taken mercy upon her and was going to let her die in her dark coffin.

Suddenly, however, the door opened up again and Chelle fell out onto the hard floor of the warehouse. She heard the sound of something land beside her head.

"Put those on!" Delectica commanded.

Chelle looked up and saw a pair of thigh high latex boots next lying next to her. The boots had heels that were at least 12 cm high. Chelle slowly stood up hopeful that Delectica had decided to be merciful.

"I don't like the idea of wasting all that headroom," Delectica explained. "These boots will give you a bit of a boost. Also, their tight embrace and the way they hold your toes will remind you of our meeting for a long time to come."

Any sense of hope that Chelle had was quickly shattered. She picked up one of the boots and began to stick her foot in it.

"Wait!" Delectica yelled. "Before you put your foot in you should pour the contents of these containers into the boot."

Chelle looked to where Delectica indicated and saw two half liter cups of clear liquid - Moleculox Glue.

Chelle picked up the first container and poured it down the long tube of the boot. She started to slide her foot in knowing that once on, these boots would never come off ever again.

Chelle heard movement on the floor next to Delectica. It was the Professor. She had awoken! The Professor looked and Chelle and screamed "Don't do it!"

Delectica calmly turned the pistol towards the Professor and pulled the trigger.

"No!" Chelle screamed, expecting a bullet and blood. Instead there was only a hiss of air and a red dart embedded itself in the Professor's stomach. She slumped back onto the floor, unconscious.

Chelle pulled the boot up her leg. She felt the cool liquid fill in around the empty spaces until a small amount seeped out the top of the boot around her thigh. Delectica threw a rag at her. "Wipe that up before you stick to everything."

Chelle repeated the process with the second boot, permanently sealing her leg inside. The boots were a perfect fit. When she stood up she almost fell forward. The heels were so high!

Delectica's cold eyes looked deep into Chelle's. The dart gun was pointed directly at her abdomen. "Now it is time to prepare you for eternity," Delectica said and she pulled the trigger.

Chelle felt the prick of the dart and quickly started to fall forward. She screamed, "But I've still got so much more to say..." and collapsed unconscious on the ground.


Two years later...
A lab on Vine Street in Inlandsville...

Two cylinders stood in the middle of the room. One cylinder was made of glass. The naked body of a beautiful woman was suspended inside. The second cylinder was made of steel. Computers and tubes were hooked up to both cylinders monitoring the precious lives of the victims inside.

A door opened at the far end of the lab. A staccato clicking sound of heels on a hard floor echoed through the lab.

A soft, pleasant computer generated woman's voice welcomed the newcomer. "How was the celebration tonight?"

Seychelle gracefully walked in her extreme heels to the front of the glass cylinder and used sign language to indicate that it had gone well. She pulled a ribbon with a heavy medal from around her neck and tossed it into the trashcan. A camera trained on the lips and eyes of Miss Inlandsville recorded their movement and translated it into speech.

"Why do you seem so mad?" the computer voice asked.

"I don't deserve a medal!" Chelle signed.

"Yes you do," the voice stated. "Delectica is gone from Inlandsville. You and the Professor are heroes."

Chelle looked at the steel cylinder. She approached it slowly and lay a hand on its cold surface. Inside... Well, every day she refreshed the intake and outtake containers of the two cylinders keeping the occupants alive. "No. The Professor is the real hero. And she will pay the price of it for an eternity."

Miss Inlandsville decided to change the subject. "I bet that Stoney and Raquel are happy today. They must have an incredible sense of freedom."

For four years the two swimsuit models had been planted in a solid block of concrete hardened with Moleculox Glue. It had taken two years and lots of money to make a single cut though the block. The two women were still embedded to their thighs in stone, however they were now in two separate blocks. The day's celebration had been for two young models as well as all the other victims of Delectica and her hench women Zill and Candshaw.

"Did they request to get away from each other after all the years?" Miss Inlandsville's computer-generated voice asked.

"Actually...," Seychelle replied, "if anything, they are positioned closer together than they were before."


In the town square of Inlandsville...

Two figures buried to their thighs stood in the fading light of the setting sun. Slowly they reached out and grasped the other's hand for the first time in four years.

The end?