classicsubliminalbo

[classicsubliminalbo]

Alpha Summer #2: The Fantasy Girlfriend Experience

Originally published Sep 27, 2022 This series is being revised

The thought came to Corbin as naturally as an instinct.

I need it in my mouth.

It was more than a thought now, more than a set of directives programmed into her head in the Alphas basement. It was planted, tested, and repeated until it was a part of her. I need to taste it.

A desire. A fundamental drive of Corbin’s core being. Some Alphas were given more to work with. Piper actively played an important role in the Alphas organization as Madison’s number one. But Madison would never bestow an honor like that onto Corbin. Corbin served no purpose to Madison but revenge. That’s why was in the bed of a random frat boy staring down his cock like it was a prize.

I need it inside of me.

His name was Mike. He seemed nice enough. He probably wouldn’t have been there if he knew the things rolling around in Corbin’s mind. But Corbin’s performance tonight could have won her an Academy Award. It had only been a couple of days since Mike picked Corbin at the Fantasy Girlfriend Draft. With the pick, Mike owned the right to take her one date. Mike was living out a fantasy tonight.

He wasn’t a bad looking guy either. Corbin may have even described him as cute once. He had a chubby face and a wide frame but couldn’t weigh more than 190. He squinted his eyes when he smiled, his face sinking into that residual body fat. He had a bushy head of wispy, golden hair that was more delicate than it looked. Corbin can tell that it was too good to last for him. In ten years he’d be sweeping what remained of his hair to cover the bald spot, fill out his body to match his look.

They spent the first leg of the night at The Yellow Room. The club shined bright in one of the rougher parts of town, a reflection of a time when River City was Romero’s up and coming social center. But those days were long gone. Despite its location, the club was popular with students. It was one of the few reasons that anyone ventured west of Stoker anymore. To get to The Yellow Room, they drove down a long stretch of road lined by the skeletons of failed businesses. The neighborhood hadn’t changed in thirty-five years. A boarded-up theater read “Filthy Felicia” on its marquee. Half-torn posters promising “XXX thrills” and “wide-open beavers.” Corbin smiled when she spotted a woman on the corner dressed to attract. Was it a kinship or something else?

The Yellow Room was as sanitary as any place on Carpenter State’s campus. It sat there on its own block, a sort of gentrified embassy. It was Mike’s first time at the club and he looked skeptical as they approached the bouncer. The bouncer is skeptical too, but Corbin placed her hand on Mike’s chest and pouted. She’d be hanging on him like this for the rest of the night. The bouncer stepped aside, and they were in.

Mike’s friends waited for him inside. They had the look of future lawyers and politicians. Mike had a pedigree too, the son of a judge, but his frat buddies had won the gene pool lottery. They came with clean smiles and effortlessly coiffed hair. No comb overs in their futures. They razzed him a bit about never leaving the frat house, but they were mostly there to support him. If Mike plays his cards right, their boy could get laid tonight. They didn’t know that Corbin already planned to fuck his brains out. It was the Alpha Way.

Corbin had always had a healthy sex drive, but she’d been insatiable since she joined the Alphas. That was Madison’s design. Few Alphas knew what Madison’s plan was, they simply knew to trust that everything happened for a reason. Still, curiosity tugged at Corbin like a phantom limb. She wondered for a moment how Mike played into it all.

The truth, of course, was that Corbin didn’t have a role to play in Madison’s plot. Piper had advocated for Corbin to the best of her ability. “She’s a savvy investigator. She can turn up all the names of the Samurai.” When that didn’t work she pushed, “Her blog has a huge subscriber base. She could be useful in drumming up support for the house.” But Madison didn’t care. Corbin was her plaything. Something to be punished, not rewarded.

The thought left as quickly as it came.

All Corban could think about was how badly she wanted Mike. He didn’t seem to know how to respond to all of the attention. He braced himself when she touched him, and she touched him a lot in that private booth. His friends egged it on. At some point in the night, they broke for the bathroom.

“Everything is going according to your design,” Corbin spoke into her phone, raising her voice to project above the club’s booming bass. On the other end, Madison seemed pleased for the check in but largely disinterested in the details. All she wanted was to know that Corbin was behaving as a good Alpha. Follow every order, question nothing. Corbin ached as Madison called her a good girl, and a moan escaped her lips that topped anything Mike would do to her that evening. In the privacy of the booth, Corbin slipped her hand beneath the skirt of her tight dress. She massaged her clit as she reaffirmed her oath to Madison. “Alpha is everything. There is only Alpha.” The call ended as Corbin spotted the boys. They were fewer in number now, their most handsome member Dan had broken off to fuck the girl he’d been eying all night. As the rest returned, Corbin watched one of the friends slip something into Mike’s hand. The curiosity returned, but once again it’s gone before she was back in Mike’s lap.

The night ended at Mike’s frat house. Corbin swore that she didn’t usually go home with guys on the first date. It was a lie, even before she was an Alpha, but she swore it because that was what Mistress Madison wanted her to say. It worked on Mike. They made out in his bed to the sounds of Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in Speed.

“Corbin,” he said. She could see his red face even in the dim glow of the small television sitting precariously on the edge of his dresser. “I’ve never…”

“It’s okay,” she smiled, pushing herself up so that she was straddling him. “I’ll do all of the work.” “No,” he shook his head. “I’ve never even been naked with a girl before.”

For a moment, the smile on her face was the real Corbin. She’d always loved blowing a good boy’s mind. She slid off his lap and popped the button on his jeans. “Let’s start there then,” she said.

“I think,” he started, a little nervous. “I think I’m small.” “You think?” she asked. “I don’t look at them often.”

Slowly, teasingly, she slid the elastic of his underwear down his waist. He was hard and ready for her. He was right. He didn’t have a big cock but it isn’t small either. She told him that. She admires it, standing erect, inviting. “It’s beautiful,” she said, and she meant it. That was when the thoughts came to her. I need it in my mouth. I need to taste it. I need it inside of me. Her hand glided over the shaft and she looked up into his eyes and asked, “Can I lick it?”

Mike didn’t speak. He was frozen there in the bed. All he could manage was to bob his head up and down.

Corbin leaned in, pressing her tongue to the base of his shaft. She slid slowly, playfully up to the tip. Mike released an involuntary moan. She didn’t stop. She traced the head of his cock with her tongue, then closed her mouth around it. She took in every inch of him.

Madison was surprised by Corbin’s skill when she first saw her work on Jacob Maxwell in the basement. By that time, Corbin had admitted her attraction to both Piper and her roommate Kelly Gardner. Madison thought she knew everything about Corbin. But the new Alpha had experience with cock. There was little to teach her here, except for the eye contact. Always keep eye contact.

Mike tensed up as he looked down into Corbin’s glassy eyes. She began to work his cock now. In the thousands of times he imagined this moment, he never considered the anxiety. Corbin had promised Mike that the night was all about him, but he felt lazy lying there while she did all of the work. He didn’t know what to do with his hands. He wanted to reach out and place his palm on the back of her head like he’d seen in porn, but he was afraid to ruin the moment. He just laid there instead, fists clenched around the sheets as she took him to the edge. He wanted to cum, but he knew his body. He was afraid that if he didn’t cum fast, Corbin would grow tired and the mood would crash.

“Stop,” he said, blinking through sweat.

Corbin looked up with a worried expression. Her saliva creating a bridge between her bottom lip and the head of his cock. “Is everything okay?” she blinked. For a moment she feared what her Mistress would do to her if she learned of this.

“Yes,” he noded. “It’s just you’re so beautiful and…wait,” he sat up and reached for his pants crumpled up on the floor. He pulled out a small vile of gray powder. He paused, questioning his next move, before tapping out a pinch onto his knuckle.

“What is that?” Corbin asked. “Something my friend gave me tonight,” he said. “It’s supposed to take you places you normally wouldn’t go.”

“Baby,” Corbin cocked her head to the side. “You don’t need to take a drug just to have a good time with me.”

For a second Mike felt crazy. He’d never taken a drug in his life and he couldn’t believe that he’d gotten this close. But then he looked at Corbin sitting there on the edge of his bed in her underwear. He could still feel her lips on his cock and he wanted more.

Mike dove in suddenly, raising his hand to his nose and snorting the powder. He offered the vile to Corbin, blinking rapidly.

Corbin took the vile because it was Mike’s desire. It didn’t look like any drug she’d taken before. It hit her blood stream like a bullet speeding down the barrel of a gun. Her mind was set on fire. She fought through the rush of adrenaline as she finished Mike off. She looked up at him with a smile, swallowing every drop. He was relaxed now, infused with an inhuman stamina and ready for the real thing.

Corbin was aching for him too as she slid on top of his cock.

“Just like that baby,” he said, giving orders like a completely different person. “Baby,” she moaned as she began to rock her hips. “Take me, baby!”

As their rhythm picked up, Corbin felt and odd sensation spread through her body. Her consciousness was leaving. She was watching herself ride Mike from someplace high above the ceiling, floating off into the cosmos. She was suddenly aware that the woman in the bed was not her at all. She looked like Corbin, she sounded like Corbin, but she was an invading consciousness. And as Corbin floated higher into the vast void of space she feared that she would never make it back to her body. That the invader will go on living Corbin Arroyo’s life.

The scream pulled Mike from his own trance. It was a piercing, sobering scream from Corbin’s mouth. She fell off of him, hit the floor with a hard thud and backed into the corner of his room sobbing. Mike sat up quickly and held his hands out to quiet her down. “Hey! Hey!” he said frantically. “What’s wrong? What did I do?”

Corbin quieted down, but her heart was pounding. She looked around the room, confused. “Something’s wrong,” she said. She looked up at Mike. She looked through Mike. “I have to find Jacob. Why do I have to find Jacob?”

“Jacob?” Mike asked. “Who is Jacob?” “I don’t know,” Corbin shook her head. “I’m not supposed to know?” “Look,” Mike slid closer to the edge of his bed. He looked like a little boy with his legs folded beneath him. “I think you’re having a bad trip, Corb. I shouldn’t have fucked with the drugs, I just…I really like you and I didn’t want to fuck this up.”

Mike didn’t know it, but he was pulling Corbin away from her clearest thought in weeks. She was already forgetting Jacob when she turned her attention to back to Mike. This time she saw him clearly and she smiled. Master, she though, if only for a night.

“You’re right,” she spoke clearly, but monotone. “It’s a bad trip. I should continue fucking you now.”

“No!” Mike shouts back. “Let me take you home.”

There was an emptiness in Corbin as Mike pulled up to the Alpha house. It was the feeling of duty left unserved. She looked over at Mike in the driver’s seat and offered a meek smile. “I’m sorry for how the night ended.”

“It’s not your fault,” Mike smiled back. “I shouldn’t have taken it.”

Corbin reached out and touched Mike’s cheek. “You’re cute, Mike,” she said. Thoughts were swirling in her mind, thoughts that had been jogged loose somehow from the drugs. She looked passed the boy in the driver’s seat next to her and studied the dark, looming house. It called to her. She knew that she had no choice but to return and be punished. But in a moment of sobriety she looked back at Mike with clear eyes and she said, “You’re a good boy. Stay away from the Alphas.”

She kissed him, and then she got out of the car.

The thought came to Corbin as she walked to the steps of the house that she could run now. She could return to her apartment and tell Kelly everything that had happened. But something pulled her into the Alphas house, just as it always did. The lights were on in every room of the house. Even though it was late, the Alphas rarely slept. They kept busy schedules. She wondered how many girls were in those rooms right now facing the same fate that she had. She shuddered as she turned the knob.

Madison was waiting for her in the entrance. She saw the look in Corbin’s eyes, recognized the doubt.

“What happened?” she asked. “Nothing,” Corbin said. She realized that she’d failed to check in with Madison at midnight, a requirement that had been set for her the last time she tried to run. “Why didn’t you text me?” “I was with Mike,” she said. The drug was still in her system. She had more control than she believed. “We have rules for a reason, Corbin. I need to know…” Madison stopped when she saw the tears streaming down Corbin’s face. “Why are you crying?”

Corbin was sobbing as she collapsed into Madison’s arms. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she said. “I want to be a good Alpha, I want to make you proud of me. But I keep fucking up and I don’t know why.”

A part of Madison was relieved. From the look in Corbin’s eyes a moment ago, she thought she had another rogue on her hands. But the way Corbin had crumpled into her made her smile. She’d thoroughly broken this one.

She held Corbin tight, shushed her. “It’s okay,” she said in her most soothing voice. She leaned out of the embrace and pressed her hands to Corbin’s cheeks, looking into her submissive eyes. “Now tell me what happened.”

“I was good,” Corbin said. “I was really, really good. I swear!” “I know,” Madison nodded. “I believe you.” “But as soon as he was inside me, I just…I couldn’t recognize myself…I thought…” “Stop,” Madison commanded, and Corbin fell silent. “You’re an Alpha. Those are just bad thoughts.” “Yeah?” Corbin smiled. Madison nodded and said, “It’s just anxiety, love. Don’t you remember telling me that you’ve never felt like you fit in anywhere?”

That didn’t feel right. Corbin had never been insecure before. But Madison was telling her this, so it must be true.

“R-right,” Corbin said. “But you belong here, Corbin,” Madison continued. “You’ve always belonged here. Being an Alpha is everything to you.” “Alpha is everything.” Corbin repeated, her heart rate settling. “There is only Alpha.” “There is only Alpha.”

Corbin was slipping. The drug was losing its hold and Madison had worked her way back into her head. Her eyes clouded and her lips spread into a dreamy smile.

“Come,” Madison commanded, offering her hand. “We can talk more in the basement.”

Corbin sighed, took Madison’s hand, and followed her into the darkness.

[classicsubliminalbo]

Alpha Summer Shorts: Corbin's Education

Originally published Jul 26, 2022 This series is being revised

Capturing and brainwashing Corbin Arroyo was one of Madison Wells' proudest accomplishments as president of the Alphas. There were certainly greater rivals that she'd conquered: Claire Petruzzi, her first slave, had once been her bitter enemy within the sorority, and Caroline Bishop proved a surprising obstacle when Madison's takeover began in earnest. Piper McNeill was a good girl who took surprisingly well to her role as Madison's right hand slave, and Mel Reyes was a real bad bitch who Madison had wanted so badly to flaunt around campus as one of her girls. But one by one, they had all fallen, each easier than the last. Corbin was the only one who gave her a real fight. Motivated by her love for Piper and determination to save her friends, Corbin held out for days under Madison's marathon brainwashing sessions. While the headset projected hypnotic fantasies into Corbin's mind, Alphas took turns pleasuring Corbin until she was finally broken.

Madison called the process Discovery: a system for Alphas to realize their true nature and shed their artificial faces. Even after Corbin had submitted and joined the Alphas, she had little value to Madison. Corbin wasn't a natural sorority sister and she struggled to follow orders. She became Madison's most frequent subject in Discovery, spending dozens of late nights in the Alphas basement rediscovering her true nature. After each session in the basement, Madison demanded a tribute. Sex wasn't enough--it had to be something tangible, something that could destroy her brainwashed sisters if it ever got out. Corbin's tributes often came in the form of Snaps. She knew that Mistress Madison would screenshot them, but after Discovery Corbin didn't care. Madison Wells owned her completely--body, mind, and soul.

Corbin was Madison's proudest accomplishment not because she was a great asset to her team, but because Corbin had tried so hard to deny Madison. And every time she started to slip free from her conditioning, every time a piece of her consciousness returned, Madison got to experience the pleasure of breaking her all over again.

[classicsubliminalbo]

Assimilation #11: The Master's Voice

Originally published Dec 19. 2020 This series is being revised

When Shelby returned to Syracuse, she found it lonelier than Romero. The city was a good two-hundred miles from her hometown, most of her friends from her undergraduate program had moved on to different universities, and those familiar few who did stick around were now her rivals in the department. The competitive nature of graduate school was a bitter pill to swallow, but it was easier to do in a new environment than one surrounded by people you knew and trusted. Her return to Micah was inevitable.

Catching up with Micah was like picking up a conversation that had never ended. She met him at his new apartment where he promised to fill her up with pizza and wine. She expected that the wine was some kind of hint. A not-so-subtle way of showing her that he could be in a room with alcohol without downing the whole bottle. She didn’t object to the red Moscato, even if she preferred pink, while Micah sipped a glass of water.

The plan was to watch a movie, but there was never a break in conversation. Hours passed while they shared stories of their time apart. Micah was fascinated by Romero’s dark history, though Shelby wasn’t eager to stay on the subject. She lied and told him that she’d gotten homesick on the other side of the country. She mentioned the weird vibes, but left out the part about disembodied voices summoning her in the middle of the night.

“Weird vibes?” Micah asked.

“You know,” she deflected. “Just weird. I’m pretty sure the president of Carpenter State is a vampire.” Micah laughed. Shelby didn’t.

As the conversation finally began to lull, Micah excused himself to the bathroom. Shelby sank into the couch and took in his new place. It was a larger space than the cramped apartment above the shoe store on State Street, but she worried that he risked selling out his struggling artist appeal for the swanky new place. At least he still had the Pulp Fiction poster. That fucking Pulp Fiction poster.

He’s still cute though, she thought. Micah kept his hair buzzed short when she had dated him, but he hadn’t gotten his hair cut since they separated and for the first time since high school she could see his curls flopping messily to one side. His beard was fuller than she remembered, but he was still partial to those crewneck sweaters that she loved to wear after…

She bit her lip. She hadn’t been fucked in months. Not since…

Shelby didn’t want to think about the Image in the cabin. The things she’d done with that twisted reflection of herself. What it had done to her, and the promise that the Master would deliver a pleasure beyond the scope of anything she would feel in that cabin.

In the bathroom, Micah stood before the mirror with the faucet running. He’d just flushed and only a had a few seconds to psyche himself up before Shelby would expect him. His hands were shaking.

“You’ve got this,” he said. “You’ve got this. She came to you. She wants you.” But his eyes were doubtful and even though he tried to will it into existence, he knew that Shelby was just lonely and needed a friend. Micah was strong enough to swallow that pill. “Fuck,” he said. “Fuck it. She needs you.” He said. “To be whatever she needs you to be.” A friend. That’s all she needed. And he was okay with that.

When he opened the door to the bathroom, Micah was surprised to find Shelby standing in the doorway, biting her lip.

“I need you,” she said.

Micah pulled her into a kiss as her fingers sunk into the back of his sweater. They couldn’t get to the bedroom. As he fucked her on the hallway floor, Shelby’s mind wandered to the Image in the cabin and its promise. She imagined that Micah’s cock was the Master’s as he thrust himself inside of her.

“Take me!” she cried. “Take me, Master!”

________________

The cabin was exactly as Shelby had seen it in her dreams. To the right of the front door was the kitchen, to the left the living room. A Navajo blanket sat on the floor in a haphazard attempt to cover up the linoleum. An lumpy old futon sat against the back wall, a crooked “Footprints In the Sand” woodcarving on the wall above it. The television was so old it had a dial. Shelby had never questioned who owned the cabin because, until this moment, she didn’t know it was real. But now, under the influence of the Master’s call, she couldn’t question it. This was where the Master wanted her to be, and she wanted to be here too.

She studied Alex’s face, his blank eyes. The same eyes she’d seen in her Image. And she knew that the Master had delivered her to him.

“I have been chosen,” Alex said coldly. “To fulfill a special purpose.”

Tears pooled up in Shelby’s eyes. “I wanted it to be you,” she smiled.

Shelby knew that it could have been anyone. That if the door had opened and she stood face to face with the Dean of Arts and Sciences, she’d still drop to her knees in surrender.

submit

Shelby’s body shook as the Master’s command dropped her like a bolt of lightning. Her knees buckled and she hit the cold linoleum hard. Alex methodically unbuttoned his pants as Shelby tore at her clothes, ripping her shirt and tearing her bra off to expose her bare breasts. Alex stood before her mindless, his cock fully erect and dripping with the Master. He looked down at her with an empty smirk. In that moment, there was nothing of the man she loved inside of Alex. He was just the vessel chosen to deliver the Master’s power to her. She had never been more attracted to him.

drink

Shelby hungrily took his cock into her mouth: sucking, licking, gripping his cock and pumping. She took him by the ass and pulled him closer into her, forcing him deep into her throat until he came, the black liquid of the Master filling her mouth. She closed her eyes and swallowed, taking in every second of the transformation. She could feel it moving inside of her, the liquid seeping into her veins and taking complete control of her body.

“Take me!” she cried. “Take me, Master!”

assimilate

Alex obeyed, pushing her down onto her hands and knees and taking her from behind. She moaned as he entered her, thrusting violently as he marked her. Each penetration brought more of the Master with it, filling her with the power. The voices of the assimilated seeped into her head as she linked with the hive mind. The Master had taken countless more vessels since the night it first called to her, spreading silently through campus one person at a time. Some of the voices she recognized: Charlotte Blake, the professor who had sponsored her dissertation, was now sponsoring her assimilation.

“The Master was disappointed when you didn’t answer its call,” Charlotte whispered in her mind. “Do you see now? Do you understand the Master’s gift.” “I do,” Shelby moaned, black tears streaking down her cheeks. “The Master claims me, and I accept! Fuck! I accept the gift!”

________________

When Micah was finished, Shelby washed up and joined him in bed. “What was all of that?” he asked. “All what?” she replied. “‘Take me, master, I need you master?’” “I was improvising,” she lied because she didn’t really know the answer herself. “You know, trying a new dynamic.” “Okay,” Micah nodded. “You didn’t like it?” “No,” he quickly replied. “I thought it was interesting. Different.”

“Good different?” “Yeah.” Now Micah was lying.

Shelby curled up next to Micah, resting her hand on his chest. “I’m sorry I left,” she said. “I hated you,” he said. “I know,” she replied. “I love you, Micah.” “I love you too, Shelby.”

________________

Shelby was so used to waking up next to Micah every morning that at first it didn’t register to her that it was Alex’s arms wrapped around her naked body. She was still buzzing from the night before. It felt a lot like the night in Syracuse when she met Micah for pizza at his apartment. One moment they were laughing about old times, and the next she was thirsting for him. Had she jumped Alex in the same way?

Alex rolled over, freeing her from his hold, and she sat up, surrounded by unfamiliar territory. It wasn’t anywhere she recognized in Romero. Not her old apartment, nor the hotel she booked. It wasn’t even the cabin she frequented in her dreams. She realized that Alex had never invited her to his apartment. She’d never seen his bedroom before. She was surprised by its masculinity. His sheets were an indifferent gray and the bed sat deadass on the floor. Micah’s Pulp Fiction poster was framed; Alex’s John Wick poster was tacked to the wall. His room smelled like Febreze.

“Hey there,” he mumbled. Shelby turned to see him sitting up. “Breakfast?” he asked.

Alex returned with McMuffins and McCoffee. Shelby ate quietly while he studied her from across the breakfast counter. “Is everything okay?” she asked. “I just can’t believe you’re really here,” he said. “I can’t either,” she replied shortly. “Are you mad at me?” he asked.

Shelby sighed and said, “You stopped messaging me. I thought something happened to you.”

Alex looked down at his coffee, spinning the cup in circles on the countertop. Without looking back to Shelby he whispered. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You’re sorry?” “Of course I’m sorry,” he said. “I just don’t know why.” “Why you’re sorry or why you didn’t reply?” “Both I guess,” he said. “I saw your messages. Every one. And I wanted to reply. I really wanted to reply. I just couldn’t.” “Why?” Alex shook his head. “I don’t know. Every time I’d pick up my phone I would try to type something, anything. But I couldn’t. Like the words weren’t there. No. They were there they just…they were taken from me. I know that doesn’t make any sense but it’s the truth.”

Any other girl who had traveled across the country for a boy just to hear him say he had deliberately ghosted her would have left on the spot. But Shelby knew something about acting upon impulses she couldn’t control. It seemed that was going around lately.

She leaned across the breakfast bar and pressed a kiss to his lips. They were Alex’s lips now, not the Master’s. Truthfully she didn’t know which she preferred, but in that moment she was happy they were his.

She knew that Alex didn’t remember anything from the cabin, but she knew every detail. When the Master’s strength came from its numbers, but its success came from its ability to spread secretly throughout campus. This was easier to achieve if the vessels were left dumb, unaware of their true condition. The vessels had families, careers, hobbies, but they were ready to drop anything for their true condition.

But Shelby was different. The power of the Master flowed freely through her. She could link her mind to Alex’s at will, fuck him senseless without even touching him. She still felt the love for Alex that had driven her back to Carpenter State. Her desire to establish herself in academia, to publish meaningful research. Shelby hadn’t lost any part of her that made her tangibly Shelby. But even with all of those humanly motivations, she had become something else in that cabin. Alex was smiling as their lips parted, but when they settled back he found himself looking into the eyes of a different Shelby. Dull, white eyes. Ones he’d seen before, but couldn’t place where. He opened his mouth to speak, but before a word could escape his lips, Shelby spoke in the Master’s voice.

“Awaken.”

Alex’s eyes glazed over, ready to serve The Master. 

[classicsubliminalbo]

An Alpha Interview #1: Ashley

Originally published Dec 18, 2020

“All my life I wanted to be an Alpha. 

“I didn't know, but it always there. I felt it in the way I envied the cheerleaders in high school. How a butterface like Jeanie McNamara could slip on that tight little uniform with the short pleaded skirt and the long bow in her hair and suddenly, like magic, she had boys waiting diligent at her locker to carry her books. I felt it when I eavesdropped on the girls in the locker room sharing their dirtiest secrets. How jealous I was when I heard that Eve Skinner had won a prize like Bobby Jones, claiming him in the back of his mom's Volvo. And when I had my sloppy first, Mason Cousins. I felt it when my fear turned to pride at the sight of a hard cock that was all mine. I giggled, ‘I did this,’ as I flicked my tongue over the head of his penis, and when I finally felt him squirm with anticipation, I wrapped my lips around him and sucked.

“I felt it, but I didn't know it. Not until I met Madison Wells.

“All I wanted--at least all I thought I wanted--was a support system. A sisterhood that would foster me through those tough early days of college. An opportunity to make friends in a new place, to have a safe space where I could destress with my girls and maybe even have a few drinks here and there. But I quickly learned that things are run differently in this sorority. By the time I pledged, Madison was the center of the Alpha universe. It sounds silly now, but I was first drawn to Alpha Delta Theta because of the promise of community service. Though the Alphas were a historically marginal sorority, Madison's tenure changed everything. When I arrived on campus, the Alphas were the most socially and politically active sororities on campus. The other houses were comfortable sitting back and watching the fraternities run the show. But Madison was a fearless leader who wasn't afraid to challenge the status quo. She confronted the issues that everyone had simply turned a blind eye to: sexism, harassment, even campus crime. There was a lot of change happening on campus, but if you really wanted to be a part of it, you had to pledge to the Alphas. I was more than happy to.

“But when I met Madison I was skeptical. At first I only saw her in passing, never long enough to strike up a real conversation. I could manage a meager ‘hi,’ but she would only look through me with those cunning eyes. I know now that I was simply jealous of her. Of everything. One of the first truths we teach as Alphas is that Madison is the goddess by which all other forms are molded. But I couldn't comprehend that at first. My big sister, an upperclassman named Caroline, was so struck by Madison's power that all she could do was gush about her beauty and her intelligence and her leadership. In fact, Madison was all any of the initiated sisters wanted to talk about. Some of the other pledges were turned off by this, but my conviction wouldn't waver. Caroline made sure of that.

“‘I don't know,’ I frowned, holding the pair of lingerie out at arm's length. I'd heard stories about Obedience by Fleur, the kinds of things that girls would do under the lingerie's soft seduction. I couldn't imagine what kind of pledging ritual needed my complete obedience.

“‘That's the whole point,’ Caroline objected. ‘We used to do trust falls. Now we do this. Wearing Obedience signals to us that you can place your full faith and confidence in your sisters to care for your wellbeing. It's the ultimate gesture of trust.’ She smiled that bright white smile. A lot of money had gone into Caroline's smile. Thousands. Tens of thousands. I was just a middle class girl from cowtown, Washington.

“‘I trust you,’ I said.

“It's hard to describe the feeling of Obedience. First, you lose any doubts. You can feel all those silly inhibitions slipping away like a heavy rock lifted from your chest. Second, you feel your mind opening. The next thing you hear will be the absolute truth.

“‘No more doubts,’ Caroline whispered into my ear.

“I sat at the edge of the bed in my room, my arms limp by my side, my head tilting slightly back and forth. ‘No more doubts,’ I repeated.

“‘Madison Wells is a goddess,’ Caroline said. I repeated her. ‘You'll help the other pledges see that, won't you?’ ‘Yes.'

“And so, I became a willful participant in the enslavement of the other pledges. Once a few of us began wearing Obedience, it became easy to get the rest. Peer pressure hadn't gone away with high school. Soon we were all discussing Madison like the other sisters, repeating everything we had been told about her until it was an absolute truth. I barely knew Madison, but by the end of that week she was the center of my universe.

“After a month of service, I was finally granted an audience with Madison. It was the first conversation I'd had with her since moving into the household. Each pledge was granted an opportunity to mee with Madison one-on-one to discuss their place among the sorority. These meetings took place late at night in the basement of the sorority house. We were instructed to come fully nude, without the influence of Obedience to ensure our loyalty was growing deeper than the control of the lingerie itself. Obedience was the first step of Madison's three-step pledging process. She called this step ‘Cleaning,’ or the process of emptying out a pledge's mind for reeducation. Step two, ‘Discovery,’ was the process of studying a pledge's innate desires for a better educational experience.

“In Discovery, Madison and the pledge would share a small space--the basement--sitting face-to-face. She would fire off rapid questions which the pledge is encouraged to answer without hesitation. If there is hesitation, Madison would slap the pledge across their face. The questions begin simple--favorite color, name of a grandparent, first fuck.

“‘What?’ I asked.

“I cried as Madison's hand clapped hard across my face. She didn't blink, didn't miss a beat, just moved on to the next question. ‘Favorite weather?’ ‘Rainy,’ I shot back quickly for fear of another slap. ‘Who was your favorite teacher in high school?’ ‘Mr. Hughes.’ ‘What is your major of study?’ ‘Economics.’ ‘First fuck.’

“‘I'm a virgin.’ The words stumbled from my mouth, but I managed to end confidently and spare myself more abuse.

“The questions grew more sensitive as the session continued. She asked me if I'd had oral sex (yes), if I enjoyed the taste of a man's cum (no), if I'd imagined myself with a woman (yes).

“‘Do you imagine yourself with me?’ she asked. ‘Yes.’ ‘What do you find desirable about me?’ ‘You're powerful,’ I replied. ‘Do you want to be dominated?’ ‘No.’ ‘Do you want to dominate me?’ ‘Yes.’

‘A smile spread over her thin lips. 'Why did you pledge to this sorority?' 'To be powerful,' I said. 'Like you.'

“All told, the session felt like hours but could have been minutes. My mind was still swirling from the pleasure response of Obedience, but I was beginning to feel that familiar pang of need that I got whenever I took it off. Madison released me, and I returned to my bedroom where I immediately sank once again into Obedience's embrace.

“Madison had all the data she needed to prep me for the final step of pledging: "Education." Her secret weapon was some VR technology that she'd gotten from like, NASA. The headset itself was your standard mind control device. You know the gist, hypnotic spirals, entrancing colors, coded subliminals designed to enforce Madison's will. It was enough to drop the wearer deeper into trance than any pair of Obedience yet released on the market. The same concept, of course, but visual rather than physical stimulation. The sophistication in Madison's program was in the way it used standard hypnotic subliminals to hack the wearer's brain. The headset was custom made to scan brainwaves, searching for the wearer's latent submissive triggers to manifest experiences in the wearer's field of vision. The program can do the heavy lifting on its own, but Madison said it worked best when pushed in a certain direction. If all of this sounds like silly technical mumbo jumbo, let me just put it more simply:

“While my eyes were distracted by a pretty light show, my brain was simulating my deepest, most submissive desires. I later learned that it was common practice to have a sister perform oral sex on a pledge who fights the programming. But why would I fight? At that point I knew that all I wanted was to be an Alpha. It was truth that had followed me from birth, through grade school, and finally into college. I needed her to command me. To own me. To dominate me.”

The skeptical click of Dr. Fielding’s tongue pulled the Alpha from her memory. Her glazed eyes flitted up to the professor sitting in the chair opposite her.

“What?” the Alpha asked.

Dr. Fielding mulled over her approach, then said thoughtfully, “When Madison asked you if you wanted to be dominated, you said no.”

“Of course,” the Alpha smiled. “That’s what the program gave me. A simulated space where I could be the dominant. Where I took control of Madison and made her mine. Can you imagine?”

“I cannot,” Dr. Fielding replied dryly.

“The only thing was that I didn’t realize how empty it would feel to have total control. It was Madison who suggested a role reversal.”

“Interesting,” Dr. Fielding scribbled on her notepad.

“She said that to be a better mistress, I could try being the slave. I unclasped the collar that I’d used to ensnare Madison and she placed it around my neck. That’s when I realized how much I truly enjoyed to submit. Obedience offered me a constant, beating pulse of pleasure. But Madison’s program gave me an existence.”

“And when you woke up you felt nothing but loyalty to the Alphas.”

“Please don’t take it away from me,” the Alpha said. Her hand twitched on the arm of her chair. Dr. Fielding noted how she gripped it like she were fighting to stand. “I know about the other girls. I know what you do to them.”

“I deprogram them,” Dr. Fielding said. “Once I have the full story.”

The Alpha was as powerless to Dr. Fielding as she was to Madison. The professor proved to be a powerful hypnotist, able to sway a person with only her words. She didn’t need any NASA technology. A tear streaked down the girl’s cheek. Dr. Fielding wasn’t apathetic.

“What you’re feeling right now is artificial. Madison planted it in your mind. I’m going to clear all of those desires. I’m going to make you the person that you were before you pledged, and you’ll barely remember anything that took place at the sorority. You won’t thank me, because you won’t know to, but I know you’ll be happy. You just have to trust me.”

The Alpha wanted to protest, but the click of Dr. Fielding’s pen ended the session. The girl’s head dropped as she fell into a deep sleep, ready for deprogramming.

________________

“Another one down,” Sylvia sighed as she collapsed into her chair behind her desk. She reached down into her drawer and pulled out a bottle of Wild Turkey and a glass. Sylvia never refused an opportunity to go digging into someone’s head, but the Alphas cleanup was becoming monotonous. Two-dozen brainwashed co-eds, a basement stuffed with narcotics, Madison Wells on the run, and the whole mess was Sylvia’s to clean up. She took a sip from her glass and considered the nuclear option of leaking the whole story to the media.

But then she’d have to start over somewhere else, find a new name. And she liked Sylvia Fielding. It suited her way more than the last one.

As she drank, Sylvia absently scrolled through the Alpha’s file, searching for any trace of Madison Wells. She pulled up the information recovered from the girl’s phone; text messages, call logs, and of course the camera roll. The girl’s camera roll was filthy with pornographic images taken, Sylvia was certain, for Madison. Sylvia was certain of this because it was a tactic that she herself had taught Madison. You can never have too much dirt on someone. Even if they’re you’re mindless thrall. Sexting could be strong leverage if a slave broke control, as well as an effective tool for reinforcing their conditioning.

A moan escaped Sylvia’s lips as her fingers slid down her waistband, probing her hardening clit.

Of course it was hot too.

It took a strong will like Sylvia’s to sit across from a sexy, mindless bimbo and not act upon her urges. As the Alpha related her experience being brainwashed by Madison. This one’s was mild, only having been a pledge for the last semester. The other girls were unbearable: the terrible, dirty, sexy things that Madison had made them do to her and the others drove Sylvia wild. When she felt herself soaking through, she would scribble unflattering thoughts on her notepad to keep back her urges.

Now that she was staring at the Alpha’s blank eyes and massive tits, she had no choice but to indulge herself. Sylvia believed she earned it.

When she was finished, Sylvia did as she would with all of the Alphas she deprogrammed. She copied the contents of the girl’s camera roll to a hidden file on her hard drive. She had thousands of folders on her computer for each student that she had worked with. She made a new file for the Alpha titled: Mangum, Ashley.

[classicsubliminalbo]

Album Covers (2015-2020)

Originally published Jul 28, 2020

In 2018, Deviantart rolled out "Eclipse" for beta testing. Eclipse was the first update to Deviantart in four years and the first major UI update in almost a decade. It was awful, and everyone who had access (the beta version was only available to paying subscribers) immediately switched back to the old UI. In late 2019, Eclipse was made available to all users with the option to toggle back to the old site. It was still awful, and everyone immediately switched back to the old UI. But in 2020, Eclipsed launched for real and Deviantart officially killed the old UI.

The biggest loss for me were these custom gallery images that ran down the left side of my page. Deviantart has added some minor customization options to Eclipse in the years sense, but it's never been the same.

[classicsubliminalbo]

Assimilation Bonus: Shelby's Image

Originally published Oct 27, 2019 This series is being revised

Though Shelby feared her Image in the cabin, she found herself returning to the cursed place in her dreams, its message imprinted on her soul: "The Master's will is stronger than any amount of distance. It will find us. It will take us!" Even after fleeing Romero for the safety of the east coast, the Image pulled Shelby back to the forest on Romero's outskirts. The same one she'd felt compelled to the night the Master first called out to her.

Even though Shelby was terrified, a large part of her personal horror was that she was so fond of her time in the cabin. She dreaded the way her mind would wander in the middle of a long afternoon into daydreams of the cabin. That was when Shelby realized that she was losing control. When the cabin was no longer limited to the space of her dreams, when it began to invade her conscious mind, she knew that the Master had rooted itself somewhere deep inside of her.

She considered something drastic. Maybe psychotherapy, or even an exorcism, but the thought of losing her time with the Image was too much to consider. So she buried the fear, and accepted the pleasures of the cabin.

Her Image was an alchemic mixture of her subconscious mind and sleaziest desires. It was the part of her that had surrendered itself completely at the Master's first calling, and now it was dutifully poisoning the rest of Shelby's mind. The Image knew every way to please her. It knew where Shelby wanted to be touched, tasted. And it was totally, completely, and wonderfully relentless.

[classicsubliminalbo]

Assimilation #10: Shelby's Submission

Originally published Sep 30, 2019 This series is being revised

“This is irrational, Shelby,” Micah wedged himself between his girlfriend and the door, forcing one last confrontation before she could leave. Shelby had given Micah a day’s warning, but that had been hard to take seriously. Now the sight of his girlfriend at the door with a packed suitcase was giving him some serious breakup flashbacks. “Romero’s history. You don’t have to go back.”

“Micah,” Shelby said softly, raising her hand to meet his face. “It’s only for a couple of days. Look,” She flashed the plane ticket for him to study. “Round trip.” “But why?” he demanded. “Why now?”

It was inevitable that Shelby would find her way back to Micah when she returned to New York. He was one of her oldest friends. The two had grown up together in Lake Placid but hadn’t started dating until their paths crossed three hours away from home at Syracuse University. Micah liked to think it was fate that kept bringing them together. That’s why he wasn’t surprised when he received a text from Shelby that she was in town. He was even less surprised when they ended up sharing a bed that night.

Micah wasn’t the same person that Shelby left when she took that position at Carpenter State. He’d replaced pints of Crown Russe for artisanal coffee, traded in his crippling self-loathing for a position teaching creative writing at a junior college. He’d set this all in motion the day Shelby walked out, swearing off the old vices in favor of getting his shit together. It wasn’t entirely about self-worth—Micah wanted to be ready for Shelby when she returned.

Micah only asked Shelby once about Carpenter State, but he never pushed too hard on the subject. He preferred his fantasies where she returned out of love for him rather than something else. Shelby was equally withholding on the details. “Administrative bullshit,” she said. “You know how it is.”

Micah had an idea how it was. He knew more had happened than Shelby cared to share. At night, she trembled so violently in her sleep that it sometimes jolted Micah awake. He would find her breathing heavily, a cold sweat sticking to her soft skin. Micah never woke her. Instead he would hold her into the early hours of the morning, pressing her head to his chest and running his hand gently over her back until her breathing slowed back down. He tortured himself imagining the horrors that existed in Shelby’s head. He took for granted these borrowed days with her. He worried that it came at the cost of her mental health.

When she awoke she would shrug off the night with a simple, “Bad dreams.”

But those nights faded with the passage of time, and soon it was like she had never left at all.

Shelby’s fist clenched around the handle of her suitcase. “I can’t explain it,” she sighed. “It’s like there’s something inside of me,” she paused when she saw Micah’s reaction to that description then added, “Something in my mind. Something’s pulling me back, and I don’t totally understand it but it’s real and I have to go.”

“At least let me go with you,” Micah pleaded, a fleeting compromise in the face of a lost cause.

Shelby smiled sympathetically. She knew that Micah cared for her. She cared for him too. And that was why he couldn’t go with her.

The truth was, Shelby had never been completely honest with Micah about anything. She’d kept him at an arms distance since the breakup, and even after returning, their relationship was never more than something physical. She needed someone. Leaving Romero wasn’t a simple choice for her. Shelby hadn’t just left Syracuse to escape a train wreck of a relationship. She wanted to prove to herself that she could settle thousands of miles away from home, succeeding on her savvy alone. Few people knew who Shelby Irving was in Romero, and in an ultra-competitive academic world, that was a blessing.

Shelby needed the safety of Micah’s warm embrace to remind her that she’d made the right choice returning home. And she was impressed with his change. She’d left a cheap drunk and returned to find a grown adult who’d pieced his life together. Even more impressive was that he’d made the change without her as an incentive.

Without Micah, life in Syracuse was rough. In the day, she fought the constant nagging of her failures at Carpenter State. At night, she returned to campus in her dreams. She saw the faces of the she left behind. The students and the coworkers she’d abandoned. A whole new life left unlived.

And of course, there was the cabin in the black pond.

Those dreams had started back in Romero and only grew more vivid with distance. At first the cabin had felt like a location in a fairytale. It was a lodge buried at the bottom of a deep, black pool of water in the heart of the Romero woods. Inside of the cabin lived a mirror image of Shelby.  A wicked caricature of the woman that had been sent as a messenger by the very voice that haunted her. The Image claimed to be a part of Shelby’s soul, ripped from her body the night the Master first called to her. Shelby told herself that this was some bizarre, recurring nightmare. But she feared her subconscious couldn’t be so original. Micah was the writer, after all.

And the more Shelby returned to the cabin, the more it came to life in startling detail. It was a cozy little hut with only three rooms. The living room shared space with a kitchen area, with a cramped bathroom and bedroom packed into the back of the building. The cabin was dimly lit, no electricity to keep a city dweller sane. In place of entertainment was a lone bookshelf containing volumes of nonfiction war books. The décor was Native American, with anachronistic Navajo rugs on the floors. On the bedroom wall hung a gaudy photograph depicting “Footprints in the Sand.”

This wasn’t the kind of place that Shelby would visit by choice, but when drawn to the cabin in her dreams, it felt as if she’d lived in this place her entire life. Every time she returned it got a little harder to imagine herself anywhere else.

And there was the Image, always luring her deeper. Tempting her with promises of the Master. Shelby caught herself consenting to the Image, allowing it to take command of her within the cabin. She would lie down on the bed and allow her mind to fade away as the Image buried its head in her pussy. Whatever the image was—her subconscious, a piece of her soul, or fragile bits of her sanity chipping away—it knew how to take care of her. Each orgasm would weaken Shelby’s defenses, taking her closer to that mindless state she’d refused so many months ago. She knew this was happening, but it didn’t scare her anymore. With the condition that this was all just a dream, Shelby felt safe to indulge in her darkest desires.

She would tremble in her sleep not out of fear, but from the pure ecstasy of being putty in another being’s hands.

Sometimes the Image would test its control over her. When Shelby had cum and was sated and most susceptible to the Image’s control, it would settle down next to her glistening, naked body and whisper a command in her ear.

“I love sucking cock,” Shelby would repeat, as if it was her own will.

The next morning when Shelby awoke, she’d find herself unable to contain her carnal urges. Micah would welcome this change in Shelby’s behavior as her lips wrapped around him. “What is this?” he’d breathe.

Shelby would look up with glassy eyes and smile, “I love sucking cock.”

Displays of obedience in real life would be met with rewards in the cabin. The Image treated Shelby well if she continued to obey. She looked forward to her nights in the cabin, she looked forward to her training with the Image. But the experience was fleeting. A few months removed from Romero, from the powerful voice of the Master, the dreams suddenly stopped. And Shelby was left completely alone.

But it wasn’t the Image that commanded Shelby to return to Romero. It was something a bit more simple, something a bit more human. Shelby wanted to go back to Romero for a boy.

She hadn’t told Micah about Alex. She didn’t want to complicate their reunion with the needless drama of a fling. But while she was rekindling her relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Shelby remained in contact with her best friend from Romero. They spoke through text, failing to fall out of contact like long distance friends inevitably do. Alex kept her up to date on all the Romero weirdness. The Dean of Arts and Sciences had recently died mysteriously, for example, in the middle of a video chat with a camgirl. The dean wasn’t popular and had become the subject of much dunking on Twitter.

It wasn’t anything Alex said that spurred Shelby’s sudden trip, rather, it was everything he didn’t. In a year apart, Alex had never failed to respond to any of her messages. But now he’d completely ghosted, leaving her that cursed checkmark that confirmed he’d seen her last message. At first Shelby told herself that Alex was busy. The semester was ending, and he was likely buried in his senior thesis. But weeks passed, and with the memory of everything that had happened in Romero, Shelby felt that she had few options.

Something had happened in Romero. Something had happened to Alex.

The following morning, Shelby was driving back into Romero alone in her rental car, white-knuckling the steering wheel.

Carpenter State students joke that Romero is the last stop in the United States. Though a couple county roads twist like veins through the dense forest surrounding Romero, only one route leads into Romero proper, creating a city that feels largely isolated from the rest of the continental United States. As Shelby approached her exit from the east, her instincts to follow the GPS conflicted with her knowledge of the area. Ultimately, she trusted her GPS more than memory, and soon the car was bumping down a poorly paved county road as the GPS led her down a detour through the woods.

Though unexpected, the detour was a welcome change of scenery from the stretch of highway she’d followed all morning. Shelby had never actually taken a hike through the Romero woods, scared away by the local ghost stories. Shelby had always considered herself a skeptic, but when it came down to it she’d always thought it was best to air on the side of caution. That is how she got out of Romero, after all.

Miles of massive pines towered over the woods like watchmen keeping anyone from entering the city—or leaving it. Shelby followed the tight road for a mile before the GPS directed her to the right at a fork in the road. Her instincts were on high alert now, warning her that she was moving away from the city, closer to the heart of the woods.

Her hands had softened on the wheel, her knuckles receding as she relaxed, overtaken but a sudden peace. She would follow the GPS. It would take her where she needed to go. 

The road came to a sudden stop at a rusted metal gate barring entrance from any vehicles. Shelby didn’t know how long she’d been following it, driving absently down the winding road like blood through an artery. She blinked, trying to recover her senses. The GPS was caught in a loop of recalculating her route.

awaken

Slowly, Shelby opened her door and stepped out into a cool morning breeze that licked across her skin. The sensation didn’t register to the entranced woman.

come

Shelby stepped forward, following the call of the voice into the heart of the woods. Like the women before her, she knew that something was controlling her but those nights she’d spent in the cabin with the Image had dulled her once alert senses to the power of the Master’s call. She was now totally in its thrall, a puppet, a pre-vessel ready to submit herself to its power.

As she neared the black pond, the nature around her showed signs of bending to the Master’s will. The plants moved, not as if alive, but twitching like a poor stop motion animation from the 1950s. Black, glossy tendrils creeped up the bark of gray pine trees, the Master feeding off of the life force of this once great forest.

Shelby came to a stop at the edge of the pond, admiring her mindless reflection, the mirror image she’d gotten to know so intimately. The surface of the pond bobbed slowly up and down as if it were breathing.

It was all like her dream. And it was all real.

come

For a moment, Shelby thought the Master was calling her into the pond. Just like her dream, she would dip her toe into the dark waters of the Master and find the cabin hidden beneath its depths. But the Master wasn’t calling her to the pond.

She looked up from her reflection and spotted across the pond a small cabin.

Shelby approached the cabin slowly, not out of caution, but out of absolute reverence for the voice controlling her. As she stepped up onto the porch, she was surprised to see the cabin door creep open.

From the shadows of the cabin entrance, Alex stepped out onto the porch. He studied Shelby with an expression of pure terror.

“This is a dream,” Shelby whispered.

“No,” Alex replied. And as his eyes glassed over, his gaping-mouthed terror twisted into a proud smile. “The Master willed it.”

Shelby took Alex’s hand and he led her into the cabin.

[classicsubliminalbo]

Alpha Summer: The New Pledges

Originally published Sep 14, 2019 This series is being revised

With the threat of Corbin Arroyo neutralized, Madison is free to move forward with her true goal: supplanting Carpenter State's Seven Samurai as the primary source for narcotics on campus. Though Madison's plan comes with the promise of vast financial gain, it's her lust for power that motivates her. The Samurai remain largely a mystery, but the elite and secretive student society is known to have existed for over fifty years. The society is rumored to be involved in a long list of crimes, ranging from drug smuggling and prostitution to blackmail and internet piracy.

Despite the campus' typical summer semester lull, Madison plans to keep her sisters busy as she enters the second phase of her plan. Armed with a group of loyal followers, Madison plans to use her resources to infiltrate Carpenter State's fraternities and ascertain the identities of the Seven Samurai, all under the guise of sexy summer parties.

Beta Phi Alpha's three newest pledges all serve valuable roles in Madison's scheme.

Pledge Piper

Piper wasn't even on Madison's radar when she wandered into an Alpha party in search of information. Madison was particular with her first few pledges, choosing those who would best suit her plan. When brainwashing Piper, Madison exploited her virginity to expose long-buried sexual desires. She wasn't an easy convert, but surrendered quickly enough. Though Madison was initially skeptical that Piper would find a useful role in the Alphas beyond a pretty decoration to disarm frat boys at parties, she quickly proved herself as a valuable piece to the Alpha family. Piper's strength is in her ability to maintain a high level of intelligence, even while most of Madison's sisters are loyal beyond reason. This makes Piper Madison's greatest asset in strategy, often playing more of a behind the scenes role in Madison's scheming.

Pledge Melanie

Unlike Piper, Melanie's value was more obvious. Melanie's womanly assets aside, her status as the university's best athlete makes her a lofty goal for most jocks on campus, many of whom feel that her success dwarfs their own. Mel was the easiest of the three women to brainwash as Madison exploited Mel's history of substance abuse to illicit a strong and positive reaction to falling under her influence. The process took a mere few hours. Since joining the Alphas, Melanie has undergone a complete transformation, shirking her tomboy wardrobe and trademark scowl for tight, revealing dresses and a bright, classy smile. Despite her newfound elegance, Melanie can still scrap.

Pledge Corbin

Corbin was the most difficult for Madison to brainwash but the most satisfying. Ultimately it was Corbin's own self-loathing in losing Piper and a secret desire to be controlled that sealed her fate among Madison's sisters. Corbin is a symbol of opulence for Madison, an indication of her power and desire to control everything. Madison has no defined role for Corbin in her plan, but that doesn't make her any less important than Piper or Melanie. Corbin is Madison's greatest prize, a trophy of her triumph over her adversaries. Followers of Corbin's blog may note the recent focus on the Seven Samurai but none know the ghost writer behind the articles.

[classicsubliminalbo]

Captured: An Epilogue

Originally published Jun 2, 2019 This series is being revised

"You're probably wondering why I'm even telling you this story. Did you expect anything else from it? Didn't you think it was strange when I called you in for a follow up interview?"

"I should thank you. If not for your email, Piper and I would have never gotten mixed up with the Alphas. I may have never had the blessing of surrendering to my beautiful Goddess...

"Oohh...

"fuck...got a bit turned on there for a second...careful Corbin.

"I guess...I just wanted you to know that it's not personal. Goddesses demand sacrifices. And you're a loose end.

"Of course I'm not publishing that article. I'm tired of being Carpenter State's watchdog. Sister Madison's got a big event coming up at the Hedren that I think should make a splash on my blog. A new direction.

"She was generous, you know. She didn't give everyone the chance to leave. You wasted it. You should have never come to me.

"Now, Emily, are you ready? Just like we practiced."

"I embrace her. I obey her. I worship her. I embrace her. I obey her. I worship her."

Sister Madison isn't happy with your betrayal, Emily."

"I am Alpha. Alpha is everything."

"How could she ever trust you?"

"I will do anything she asks of me! I will be her soldier! Her slave! Her plaything! Please! I will surrender my soul to her eternally!"

"Fuck. Not even I promised an eternity."

[classicsubliminalbo]

Captured #8: The Long Night

Originally published May 28, 2019 This series is being revised

“Could you please, please, please stop pacing?!"

“I’m sorry!” Jacob cried. “I’ve never been a part of anything like this!” “Just sit down,” Mel rolled her eyes. “You’re totally freaking me out.”

Mel wasn’t the type to lose her cool, but Jacob was right. No one had ever been a part of anything like this. She’d taken the plate in the seventh down one with the tying run on third and didn’t bat an eye. But somehow Jacob pacing around her living room mumbling, “Fuck, fuck, Jesus fuck” was more tense than any trip to the plate.

Jacob collapsed on the couch next to her.  “I shouldn’t have done it,” he said. “I should have just…stuck to Tumblr.” “Damn right you should have!” Mel snapped.

Jacob clutched his legs to his chest like a bullied child on the playground.

Mel frowned and said, “But like, you can’t do anything about it now. Shit, I ain’t kink shaming.”

“But I should have known it would be used like this. When I sold my program I was just thinking about the money.” “I’ve got a thing for nerds,” Mel said. “What?” Jacob asked.

“Cute nerds, y’know, with stubble. A real D&D character sheet, Firefly binge night, dress up like a Jedi for the Thursday night premier ass nerd. Guy who has all kinds of opinions about Marvel and will absolutely worship my pussy. See, I’ve dated my share of jocks and it’s a real mixed bag. Most of them are too scared even taste it.” “Why are you saying this?” “It’s my kink. Nerdy guys who’ll fix my laptop then fuck my brains out.” “Huh,” Jacob dropped his feet to the floor.

Silence.

“Y’knew,” Jacob said. “I don’t play D&D but…I am kind of a thing on the YuGiOh circuit.” Mel turned to look at Jacob, sizing him up. Then she said, “I don’t date white guys.” “Cool, cool, cool.” “You smoke?” she asked.

I could hear the voices but I couldn't make sense of the space around me. Everything was black. Every noise filtered through the droning whistle in my head. A shattered eardrum, or the effects of a concussion? Maybe a bit of both. “Take care of her!”

Even in my state I knew they were talking about Tina. I made a conscious effort to protect her but my body wouldn’t budge. I was barely gripping on to reality.

“Corbin!” Tina cried. I felt a panicked hand on my shoulder but it did little to pull me out of it. “Corbin, help! Help!” Tina’s voice was pulling away from me. “No! No! I belong to her now! I won’t go back! I won’t go…”

Tina’s protests were replaced by muffled cries before no sound remained but the monotonous click-clack, click-clack of my turn signal, inadvertently engaged during the accident.

“God, she’s heavy,” a second voice said from my passenger side door. “Like, does she even follow Sister Madison’s diet?”

The other one laughed. “She’s probably the one eating Sister Madison’s Nutella. Figures, always acting like the special Alpha.”

“Maybe we’ll be her special Alphas now…” “Daisy, what is Sister Madison’s first rule?” “An Alpha never wants…” “An Alpha only obeys. I’ll take her legs.”

As the two Alphas carried Tina to the truck, my vision returned to me. At first I thought I was looking up through a spider web into the starry sky, but soon I realized that it was my shattered windshield. They ran me off the road somewhere around Carpenter State’s ag department. It’s a lonely stretch of Romero that feels more like rural Kentucky than northwestern Washington. At this time of night the Alphas knew they could take their time cleaning up the mess before any kind of cop arrived. I knew I had underestimated Madison’s slaves. I should have expected anything after the show that Piper put on in The Lonely Pine, but I assumed that the rest were more like Tina.

Driven on momentum alone, I lurched sideways toward the passenger’s seat, stretching my hand down to the floorboard where I felt around for anything that I could use as a weapon. I cursed myself for turning down Mel’s shotgun. There was nothing on the floor. I knew I had no option but to make a run for it into the woods. They couldn’t follow me in there with their truck. That would even things out a bit.

The woods were on the opposite side of the road, about a fifteen-yard dash from my car. I could make it if I got the jump on them.

I heard a loud plop into the bed of the Alpha’s truck and I knew that I had to make a move quick. I took a deep breath, pushed my door open, pressed my foot into the moist grass and began my sprint. I made it all the way to the road before my legs gave out and I collapsed on the ground with a yelp.

I could only see the Alpha’s silhouette in front of the truck’s headlights as she stalked toward me. I was helpless, and the nonchalance in her stride made sure that I knew it. When she closed in I began to make out the features of her face. Maybe it was the concussion, but the Alpha appeared angelic in her bath of light. She smiled, leaned down, then quietly pressed the rag over my nose.

“I'll take you to the Alphas tonight and fuck your head so bad you won't even know your own name."

“Come on, baby,” Mel begged. “Make me your VR slave.

Jacob heaved a frustrated sigh. “It’s not VR. I mean, it is VR. But it’s not like…we’re not talking Resident Evil 7 here. The program only stimulates the viewer’s brain. It triggers a reaction in the pleasure center, forcing the wearer to live out an erotic fantasy that ultimately subjugates their will. Essentially it uses your deepest, darkest, sexiest desires to turn you into a perfect slave. That’s why it’s so powerful. The VR gives you the push, but your brain does the rest.”

“Fuuck!” Mel cried as she flicked a finger over her clit, clutching at her breasts with her other hand. “You fucking nerd!” she laughed.  “Are you eating me out or am I doing all the work myself?”

“You don’t mind?” Jacob asked, looking up at Mel from his view between her legs.

Mel rolled her eyes and pressed her hand to the back of Jacob’s head, burying his mouth into the folds of her wet pussy. She closed her eyes and waited for Jacob’s tongue, but a few seconds of an anticipation yielded no results. When Mel opened her eyes she saw Jacob looking back up at her.

“Do you think we should call her?” he asked.

“Jesus, Jacob,” Mel groaned. “She’s gonna walk in the door any minute and the last thing I want is for her to find us like this.”

My head was spinning, a coat of drool caked to my chin when Madison pulled the visor from my face. It was the first time I’d seen her since The Lonely Pine. Maybe I was expecting too much in Madison assuming that she’d have a speech prepared for me. But she’d said everything she wanted to at the bar. I truly was nothing more but an inconvenience to her. At least she respected Piper enough for the “Who sent you?” routine.

All I got was the visor. Stripped down, tied to a chair, an Alpha’s lips anchored to my pussy. I woke up like this. My mind already bombarded by seductive images. The first time I came, I genuinely feared for my mind. But I clung to the reality that all of this was my fault. That I’d put Piper in this situation and I was the only one who could get her out. I counted the number of times I came, making mental tally marks on my brain. That’s how I managed, that’s how I broke the unbreakable control of Jacob’s program.

When Madison pulled the visor from my face, it was easy to mistake my vacant expression for mindless bliss. But there’s a difference between brainwashed and tired. And I was tired as shit. I didn’t know how long I’d been in that chair. As far as I knew it was the same night. A very long night.

Madison scrunched her nose and said, “She looks pretty empty to me.”

“Fuck yourself,” I whispered.

I whimpered as the Alpha between my legs worked me to another climax. She backed up for a breath and, adjusting her jaw, she said, “We’ve been at this for hours…” I recognized the voice immediately. Madison had already wrangled Tina back under her sway.

“This shouldn't happen,” The other Alpha said behind me. I recognized her voice as the one who subdued me on the road. “The others couldn't hold out for more than a session, let alone a dozen.”

I straightened by back in an attempt to look strong, but my body was so sensitive that I feared any movement could make me cum again.

Madison was losing patience. She took a fistful of my hair and yanked my head until I was looking into her eyes.  “Fight it,” she said. “But you will worship me.” She backed away and then nodded to the Alpha leading my therapy.

I held my breath as the visor slipped back over my eyes.

I lost count somewhere around the thirties.

“You’re wasting your time,” I forced a twisted smile. This time when the visor was pulled from my eyes my whole world was distorted. Though Madison stood before me in clothes, I couldn’t shake the image of her naked, dripping wet. All for me. The program was warping my mind. I could feel my knees scraping against the carpet as crawled to her. I wanted to know how she tasted under all of those fucking clothes.

“Why?” Madison asked curtly. Her arms were crossed like a disapproving mother.

“I’ve gone…” My voice caught in my throat as the Alpha’s tongue lashed viciously over my clit. The last time I was conscious they were still gentle with me. By now they’d learned their lesson, desperately working my sex to keep me in a near constant state of climax. It was agony. It was bliss. “I’ve gone under this before. Your connection? My fu…fucking ex, you d-dumb, crazy bitch.”

“Jacob?” Madison asked.

My smile widened. “I have…a trigger.” I said. “E-Even if I g-give in…he’ll…break it! Fuck!”

Madison’s sneer brightened into a smile of her own. “Jacob’s gone, honey. I think he took your trigger with him.”

“Wh-what?”

“Yep,” she said. “Saw what we did to his car and I guess he made a bee line for the airport. Exes, am I right?”

“Mel!” I protested. “Mel knows the trigger. Mel knows…” “Yeah,” Madison shook her head. “I think Mel’s gonna keep her mouth shut though.” “Wha-?” I gasped. “What do you think, Mel?"

The Alpha between my legs dug her fingers into my thighs as she began to lick more vigorously. I glanced down to make sense of the sudden change in tempo and my heart stopped.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuckfuckfuckfcukfuckfuckfukcfuckf

The sight of Mel’s face buried in my pussy made me cum harder than I had all night.

“Oooo,” Madison admired Mel’s work, offering her a loving pat on the head. “I like this one. Grabbed her last night. Way more useful here than at the Circle K, I’ll tell you that.”

When Mel leaned away from my pussy, her mouth was soaked in me. A dreamy grin stretched across her vacant face and she echoed the Alphas. “Thank you, Sister Madison.”

“I’m sorry…” Tears dripped down my face as I peered into my friend’s empty eyes.

I couldn’t save Piper. I couldn’t save Mel. I couldn’t save myself. As the visor slid back down over my eyes, I knew that the next time it came up I would no longer be Corbin Arroyo.

“It’s okay, Corbin. You’re safe now.” “How long did I hold out?” “Longer than anyone.” “I did it for you.”

It’s a strange feeling when your thoughts come back to you. You don’t think much about how precious your thoughts are until they’ve been ripped from your skull. When my conscious mind returned to me, it was like I was being pulled up from the deepest depths of the ocean. I was drowning, and suddenly I could breathe.

“Corbin?” Piper snapped her fingers at the bridge of my nose before gently taking me by the shoulders and shaking me. “Are you with me, Corbin?”

I blinked. “Piper?”

“Thank God,” Piper said. “We don’t have much time.” “What’s going on?” I asked.

Piper freed me from my bindings and I stumbled out of my chair to the floor.

“Careful,” she said. “I got Madison under, but the slightest disturbance could wake her.”

For the first time since I’d been taken to the Alpha House I saw the full room of my captivity. It was a simple bedroom. Behind my chair was a queen sized bed and sitting on the edge of it was Madison Wells herself. Her eyes were closed, her head slumped over and a thin line of drool had begun to drip from her lips.

“What did you do to her?” I asked. “Hypnosis,” Piper said. “We’ve gotta get out of here.” “Wait,” I said. “What about Mel?” “She’s driving,” Piper replied.

On the drive back to the apartment, Piper explained how she’d broken free from Madison’s control. “The visor requires frequent therapies to reassert the Alpha program. When I saw you at The Lonely Pine it just…jogged something loose.”

I looked to Mel in the driver’s seat and asked, “What about you?” “I was never under Madison’s control!” Mel smirked. “Piper needed someone to distract Madison while she put her under.” “Distract, like…?” “I figure you once you eat one pussy you pretty much eat any.”

I blushed.

“You taste great, by the way,” Mel winked.

That night we celebrated our victory over drinks. “To friendship!” Mel cheered, holding her Pabst high. “To the Alphas,” I replied. Piper glanced at me, then Mel, then said. “Tomorrow, the real work starts. We’re going to free every girl under Madison’s power.”

“Well,” Mel clapped her hands. “I’ve got “I’ve got things to see, people to do…”

Mel left us in a silence heavy with unspoken thoughts. Piper knew where my mind was.

“It’s okay, Corbin.” She assured me. “You’re safe now.” I looked down at my feet and asked, “How long did I hold out?” Piper took a few longing steps toward me and said, “Longer than anyone.” My eyes darted up to her, “I did it for you.”

“Piper…” I moaned her name as she pushed me onto the couch. She popped the button on my jeans and pulled the zipper down, exposing a triangle of panties. I closed my eyes as she slipped her hand beneath my waistband. A loud cry escaped my lips.

“Ohh,” Piper moaned. “You’re soaking wet…” “Piper…” I repeated her name, my voice dripping in lust. I looked up to find her eyes, clear and powerful. “Fuck me,” I begged. “I’ve wanted it for so long. Needed it.”

“That’s right,” she said, pushing her finger inside of me. “Only me.” “Only you,” I repeated. “You love me…” “I love you…”

“…I embrace you…” “…I obey you…” “…I worship you…” “…Sister Madison…”

The thing about the bottom of the ocean is that if you come up too quick you’ll get the bends.

I am no longer Corbin Arroyo.

Madison was giddy at the sight of me on my on my knees. My arms were weak, floating at my sides. My head was wobbled on its shoulders as I repeated my mantra, a drooling, mindless, obedient, Alpha pledge. “I embrace you. I obey you. I worship you. Sister Madison. I embrace you. I obey you. I worship you. Sister Madison.”

Madison clapped her hands with a squeal and pulled Piper into a tight hug.

“Are you pleased, Sister Madison?” Piper asked. “I have to admit, I was nervous,” Madison said. “I can’t imagine a tougher assignment for your first time, but you really did a number on her. And your best friend,” she clicked her tongue. “You’re ruthless, Pipes.”

“I only did as you taught me,” Piper smiled. “Corbin was a bigger threat than anyone on sorority row. She had to be neutralized.”

“I embrace you. I obey you. I worship you. Sister Madison.”

Madison placed her hand on my cheek, admiring her latest prize. “Yes,” she said. “She could have been a problem for sure. But now, I think we can put her talents to good use.”

[classicsubliminalbo]

Alpha Summer #1: Alpha Is Everything

Originally published Apr 27, 2019 This series is being revised

The Hedren Theater in downtown Romero hadn't shown a movie since the AMC moved in ten years earlier. But before its demolition, the theater was saved by a Carpenter family petition and it was designated a historic landmark. The small, two-screen cinema was renovated and restored to its original state when it was first opened in 1928. Now it was one of the premier theater houses in northwestern Washington. A popular outlet for political fundraisers, theater department productions, and the occasional off-broadway show, The Hedren was often too exclusive for any random student organization to book.

Of course, the Alphas weren’t any random student organization. Not anymore.

A lot had changed since Madison took over as president of Carpenter State’s Alpha Delta Theta chapter. Under Claire Petruzzi’s leadership, sisters in the chapter were happy just to coexist with the other Greek societies on campus, leaving a minor impact in the form of small and infrequent community service projects. From the beginning of her presidency, Madison made it clear that the girls of her sorority weren’t Betas, but Alphas. They were what the boys in Alpha Kappa Psi could only pretend to be. Carpenter State’s brightest, strongest, and sexiest students. Madison implemented aggressive recruiting strategies that tripled Alpha Delta Theta’s membership. While the other sororities were scrambling to understand how Madison could poach so many of their members so quickly, Madison bolstered the Alphas’ popularity on campus by throwing extravagant parties at night and sending dozens of Alpha volunteers to the children’s hospital in the day. Now with a power that few students had ever wielded on the campus of Carpenter State, Madison was ready to take on its most exclusive group—The Seven Samurai.*

It all started with this one event: Alpha Delta Theta’s first annual Fantasy Girlfriend Draft being held in the main auditorium of the Hedren Theater. To date, it was Madison’s most elaborate project as Alpha president, and few of her sisters had ever seen her so wound up. It would be wrong to call Madison nervous—she didn’t have a nervous bone in her body. But despite Madison’s bottomless reserves in confidence, she didn’t have total faith in her brainwashed sisters not to fuck the whole thing up.

She’d found that sorority girls were quite easy to manipulate, but maintaining a comfortable balance between loyal servitude and sharp intellect was a tenuous practice that Madison had yet to perfect. Claire Petruzzi for example, the first of the original Alphas to fall under Madison’s thrall, could have used her leadership experience in arranging the draft, but Claire had been so thoroughly dominated by Madison that little remained of her ability to lead. She was simply a follower now, one of Madison’s most prized possessions. And yet other sisters proved too headstrong to even risk loosening the leash on, such was the case for the sorority treasurer, Caroline Bishop. Caroline was old money Romero and before her rebirth at Madison’s feet, she’d played that role of entitled rich girl down to the designer purse stereotype. The funny thing about privilege is that it’s often the strongest motivator when fighting back against a dominating force. Caroline had proven a worthy adversary for Madison in the early days of her presidency.

Few Alphas had the qualities of Piper McNeill. Though Madison had only captured Piper to prove a point, the young Alpha quickly revealed her value. She had a unique mix of intelligence and meekness that made her fit to serve. She was Madison’s head organizer, the most important piece of tonight’s event, and the only Alpha who was doing a damn thing to reassure Madison that the night wouldn’t be a complete disaster.

Though the event wasn’t Piper’s own idea, she’d been the architect of the whole show. Madison knew that Alphas were her greatest commodity and she hoped that a charity auction would bring out the hungry frat boys. It was Piper’s idea to hold the event on the night of the NFL draft and model it as such. One member from six of Carpenter State’s fraternities would pick in the draft, and they would each choose their own Alpha from a pool of a twelve sisters. The members were chosen at random to encourage a higher turnout, with an admission of $50.00 at the box office. It was convoluted, sure, but the kind of stupid stunt that frat boys loved.

Piper buzzed around backstage, obsessively studying the twelve prospects that she’d handpicked for the Fantasy Girlfriend Draft. This was a large operation and it required not just absolute obedience from all Alphas involved, but it had to be executed with impeccable style. Piper wasn’t just selling these girls, she was selling a brand. The Alpha, the perfect girlfriend.

Though some of the Alphas struggled with the idea of being outsourced as escorts to frat boys, Piper had assured them that it was all part of the plan to get into the Seven Samurai’s circle.

“But why?” Claire scrunched her face as she tried to process the question in her head. “I thought Sister Madison was all about like, girl power and everything?”

Caroline elbowed Claire in the ribs and quickly replied, “Of course she is. You shouldn’t question Sister Madison’s will, Sister Claire.”

“But what if I have to fuck one of them?”

“It won’t come to that,” Piper interjected as she followed down the line of Alphas standing obediently before her. “I promise that Sister Madison has a plan, and when tonight’s over we’ll be one step closer to realizing her dream.”

Claire and Caroline shared a sigh.

Madison floated in backstage, moving swiftly toward Piper and taking her by the arm. “He’s here,” she whispered. “Row F, seat 8.”

Piper nodded and took note of the seat number on her phone.

“It’s imperative that he’s picked, okay? Otherwise the night’s a waste.”

“I understand, Mistress,” Piper replied. “We’re following your script. Just find your seat and everything will go smoothly.”

Madison bit her lip, then did a quick glance over the twelve prospects. She pointed to the Alpha’s newest pledge. “She doesn’t look comfortable,” Madison said. “Make sure she fits in.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Piper replied.

“I don’t think I’m fit for this,” the pledge frowned. “Nonsense,” Piper smiled. “You’re gorgeous. You’re charismatic. The frat boys will love you.” “What if I disappoint Sister Madison?” “You’re perfect, okay? Alpha is everything.” The pledge’s eyes snapped wide open as she intoned, “There is only Alpha."

Piper looked out among a packed crowd while Tina Kennedy took the stage as the night’s MC. She introduced the evening’s twelve prospects to a slideshow of their “bikini bod” pics which elicited plenty of cheers from the crowd. Piper could see her mistress in the front row, pleased with the way the introduction was shaping up. When the draft commenced, Piper began texting Tina random seat numbers which she then read for the audience. Members from each fraternity jumped out of their seats as they were read off.

First, Freddie Simmons, Carpenter State’s own star baseball player. Excitedly he yanked the microphone from Tina’s grasp and shouted, “Melanie Reyes, baby!”

“Our first surprise of the night!” Tina said when she regained control of the microphone. “With the first overall pick in the draft, Freddie Simmons selects Melanie Reyes.”

Mel entered stage right, strutting confidently in her high heels and bareback gown. She flashed a white smile for the crowd, defying the sporty tomboy image she’d once so proudly embellished. “Like Freddie,” Tina said. “Melanie is a star athlete, smashing a school record thirty home runs last season for the lady Gremlins.”

Freddie admired Mel as she closed in, flashing his own confident, “I’m gonna put you in your place” smile. Mel closed the gap and pulled Freddie into a kiss. The crowd went wild as they exited stage left.

Piper sent the next number and the draft continued. Caroline went with the second pick, and as she entered the stage she put on an even racier show for the crowd as each Alpha would try to top the last.

With the third pick, Piper laid the bait.

“Row F, seat eight,” Tina read. “Yeah!” Gregory Mortensen cried as he realized where he sat. He was a paunchy young man with a haircut that didn’t seem to quite fit his head. He was out of breath by the time he jogged his way up to the stage.

Tina kept her distance as she asked him his name and fraternity.

“Greg Mortensen…my friends call me Morty. Sigma Iota Nu.” “Wow,” Tina offered a polite golf clap. “From the prestigious Sigma Iota Nu, we have Morty, ready to take the third Alpha off the board.”

Morty spoke into the microphone, “Claire Petruzzi!”

Madison couldn’t have staged this better. Not only had she tracked down one of Carpenter State’s storied Seven Samurai, but she’d also managed to string him along. But the greatest surprise of the night was that he’d picked Claire, her oldest enemy. Madison watched with a wry smile across her face as Claire pranced on stage, powerless to disobey her orders, Claire was forced to Morty for an evening of truly distasteful activities.

“Have you ever seen Blade II?” Morty whispered in Claire’s ear. “It’s the superior film of the Blade Trilogy which many overlook as the series that normalized superheroes in our popular culture.”

Somewhere inside Claire was screaming.

With Morty in her clutches, Madison was free to enjoy the rest of the evening as she watched her conquests individually embarrass themselves on stage. But it wasn’t until the final pick that Madison found absolute delight.

“With the final pick in the first ever Alpha Fantasy Draft,” Tina said. “Mike Olsen selects…”

She held the microphone up to Mike’s lips and the frat boy proudly announced, “Corbin Arroyo!”

Backstage, Corbin was a mess of anxiety. As the newest Alpha, she was only just adjusting to a life that she had once mocked. Piper tried to ease the pledge’s nerves throughout the ceremony , assuring her that, if her name was called, it would just come natural to her. Serving Madison always did. “Look at Mel,” Piper said. “She took to being an Alpha easily. The will to obey is inside all of us.”

Corbin nodded and repeated her oath. “Alpha is everything. There is only Alpha.”

Piper smiled.

Corbin continued to repeat her oath until the sound of her name over the speakers and instantly she was pulled into trance as her mind played out her programming. She moved fluidly toward the stage, like a veteran supermodel walking the catwalk for the thousandth time. Driven by a powerful and primal desire to please her Mistress Madison, the pledge put on a bright Alpha smile for the crowd, strutting on stage in her tight, form-fitting dress.

When she reached Mike, she parroted Mel’s move by pulling him into a kiss, but as their lips touched she plunged her tongue into his mouth before spinning around and grinding her ass against his tightening pants. The crowd loved it.

“Are you gonna fuck me tonight?” Corbin asked with a slight, mischievous grin. “I…dunno? Is that allowed?” “Baby,” she playfully slid her tongue over his mouth, quickly tracing the outline from his chin to his nose. “I insist.”

For the first time that night, Madison had joined the applause. But unlike the dozens of frat boys around her, applauding one of their own who was surely going to “get some,” Madison was applauding something else. She was applauding her own work.

Alpha is everything. There is only Alpha.

*The Seven Samurai are an elite group of fraternity members who traffic drugs throughout campus. First mentioned in Captured #7: Confrontation

[classicsubliminalbo]

An Alphas Christmas Card

Originally published Dec 26, 2018

[classicsubliminalbo]

Psychology 8: Finale

Originally published Jul 4, 2018 This series is a non-canon CYOA

Do you...

Enslave Madison

Warn Madison

As you exit the psychology building you find Madison sitting on the steps. "Took your time," she scoffs.

You heave a frustrated sigh and reply, "Well, you didn't give me the easiest job." "Please," Madison says with the flip of her hair. "I had the hardest job." "Getting her out of the room? Sure. Why couldn't I do that?" "Because," Madison shrugs. "So where's the thing."

You hold out the USB drive between your thumb and pointer finger. "Of course."

Madison smiles and says, "With this information I can get rid of Dr. Fielding for good." "You like this, don't you?" you ask. Madison cocks her head and replies in a sickly sweet voice, "What do you mean?" "Making people do shit for you. You've been playing me this whole time."

"It's in the name, hon," Madison says, her voice dropping its sweet ring. "I'm an Alpha." She snatches the USB drive from your hand and pockets it.

As Madison struts away, you call after her. "Are you sure about that?" Madison stops in place, turning slowly back around to face you. Her brow narrows as she considers the implications of your question. "What do you mean?" "Sometimes a person gets it in their head that they're a lion," you say. "When they're actually just a little lamb."

You can see Madison visibly shudder as the trigger takes hold of her psyche. Her eyes drift close and then, as if her body is moving in slow motion, Madison begins to tip face first over. You jump to catch her, and her chin lands on your shoulder. At first you're shocked by Madison's reaction. You've only been on the receiving end of triggers, so it's a new experience to have a completely brainwashed person hanging limply in your arms. You shake her and shout, "Madison?!"

Madison's body tenses as she begins to regain control. She balances on you as she pushes herself back up, and then she stands there, straight as a statue. Her eyes are trained on you, but they aren't focusing on anything. You've felt that kind of intoxicating emptiness before. "Madison?" you repeat.

"Yes?" she replies quietly. "Are you alright?" "I feel great," she says. "Okay," you nod. "I'm going to take you back to Dr. Fielding now." "Oh please..." Madison smiles. "I miss my Mistress so much!"

Madison eagerly obeys as you lead her back to Dr. Fielding's office. She slips into the chair across from the desk and sits there stiff and silent as Dr. Fielding exams her.

"You did good," she says to you. "Right," you reply. "Understand that I couldn't have done this without you. Sure, I could have found her myself but people might ask questions, a professor snooping around a sorority." "You could have sent someone else," you say. "You've got dozens of students in that computer who will do anything you ask."

Dr. Fielding smiles. "I suppose you're right." "But it's not really about that. It's a rush to subvert someone's will, isn't it?" You place your hand on Madison's shoulder and the mesmerized girl shudders. "But to get someone to do your bidding, without having to warp their minds--that's the ultimate rush." Dr. Fielding's smile fades and she says, "I suppose you're right about that too." "I think I've had it with psychology. I've had it with this school." "It's not for the faint of heart, I'll tell you that," Dr. Fielding says. "I gave you what you wanted," you say. And then you turn around and step toward the door.

Dr. Fielding speaks as you leave. "But you're forgetting something."

When you turn around to face Dr. Fielding, you see that watch, its face cracked, swinging in her hand. Dr. Fielding says, "You still belong to me."

On queue, Madison steps out of her chair and slinks her way over to you. You're frozen in your place, eyes locked on the watch as she presses an index finger to you lips. Then she leans in for a soft kiss.

"Isn't this what you wanted?" Madison asks.

You look for the answer in the watch.

"Yes," you reply absently. "Why leave," Madison says, sliding her hand down your chest. "When there's so much more to explore." "So much..." "Submit to Mistress Fielding. Submit, and we can be together in her service."

What do you do?

Submit

Submit

Submit

[classicsubliminalbo]

Psychology 7: The Full Picture

Originally published Jun 21, 2018 This series is a non-canon CYOA

What do you do?

Snoop some more!

Get out of there!

The pointer hovers over a video titled "Session 6." You check the doorway one more time, take a deep breath, and double click on the file.

You don't need to hear any words to know that the Madison in this video is not the Madison you've come to know. She sits there with the camera on her, spaced out and head wobbling like she's about to pass out. Her eyelids droop down, then snap back open, all while her eyes try to follow some object moving back and forth offscrean.

"Stop..." Madison groans. Offscreen you hear Dr. Fielding's familiar voice ask, "Stop what?" "You're doing something to me..." Madison says. "I'm not doing anything that you didn't ask for," Dr. Fielding replies calmly. "No..." Madison tries to shake her head, but it responds in one clunky movement. "No, that's not right...I wouldn't ask..." "Tell me how you're feeling," Dr. Fielding says. "I feel...weightless..." "And you like that feeling."

Madison nods her head.

"You wanted this, Madison." "Yes," Madison replies meekly. "I want it." "And how can you have it?" "By serving..."

"She's a funny girl, Madison," a voice pulls you out of the video and you look up to see Dr. Fielding standing in the doorway. You quickly pause the video, but it's too late for denial. You can only glare at Dr. Fielding like a deer in headlights as she steps further into her office. "Madison believes she's a lion, but she's really just a little lamb."

"You enslaved her," you say. "That's why she couldn't go near you. That's why it had to be me."

Dr. Fielding nods along as you piece it all together. "I don't suppose Madison sent you to me originally but I knew the second you came along asking about hypnosis that she had to be behind it. My little lamb has been trying to escape my flock for some time, but she's getting smarter. She knows that if it's a matter of face-to-face confrontation she'll be on her knees drooling for me all over again. She just can't accept the natural order."

"But why?" you ask, gesturing toward the monitor. "Why all of this?"

Dr. Fielding slides into the chair on the other side of the desk, taking a moment to admire the view from the other side. Then she crosses her legs authoritatively and says, "I never really liked teaching. But when you're a grad student, you do what they want you to do. As soon as I got my phD, I left academia behind me to pursue my true calling."

"Hypnotism?" you ask. "I can make people believe things. Like, really believe things. Any two-bit stage hypnotist on a couple's cruise can make a woman believe she's a dog, but I can make a woman a dog. And there are a lot of people, organizations, governments who will pay good money for that kind of skill." "You mean, someone hired you to brainwash the students?"

Dr. Fielding sighs and gives you a sympathetic look. "There are things about this place that people don't know. Things they shouldn't know. And I'm here to make sure that they forget. I rarely get an opportunity to use my talents to help people."

"And what about me?" you ask. "Are you going to help me forget?" "If that's what you want. I can only help students who come to me." "And they ask you for help?" Dr. Fielding offers a mischievous smile. "I...nudge them in that direction." "Why?" you ask. "If you're only here to wipe memories, why are you taking slaves?" "Because I'm fucking bored! Do you know how many papers I have to grade? It sucks." "I'm not going to be your slave again," you say.

"Oh honey," Dr. Fielding frowns. "If I really wanted you, you wouldn't have a choice. But I don't. I want Madison. And if you want your freedom, you'll help me get her." "How?"

Dr. Fielding leans in and whispers, "She has a trigger. Two words is all you'll have to say and she'll be under your control."

You nod along, playing the scenario through your head. The way you see it you only have two options.

Do you...

Enslave Madison

Warn Madison

[classicsubliminalbo]

Psychology 6: A Simple Plan

Originally published Jun 14, 2018 This series is a non-canon CYOA

What do you do?

Get out of there!

Help Madison

"It's a simple plan," Madison promises. "You'll be in and out and then you'll never have to worry about me or Dr. Fielding ever again."

Of course that was a ridiculous promise. So far Madison has only managed to use you, get you brainwashed, and break your head. But Madison does this pout with her lips, and then she says, "Please. You're the only one who can help me." You're amazed how quickly Madison can go from aloof to full-on damsel. And apparently it works. Despite your reservation, you aim to finish what you've started with Madison and you agree to her plan.

That's how you've wound up back in Dr. Fielding's office, sitting in the same chair the professor had hypnotized you in just earlier that afternoon. You find an eerie comfort returning to her domain, like you belong here. Residual effects of Fielding's hypnotism, no doubt, but your brain is swollen and that probably makes it easier for you to fight those seductive triggers threatening to pull you back into the fog of mindless bliss. You should definitely probably see a doctor at some point.

Right now, however, you've got work to do. Madison's plan relies on the fact that Dr. Fielding doesn't know that you've escaped her spell. You have free access to Fielding and her office, but first you have to step back into the role of hypnotized slave, which isn't exactly a tall order in your state. It turns out the symptoms of a concussion aren't too different from what Dr. Fielding expects from her slaves. For a moment she studies you suspiciously from across the desk, but the vacancy in your eyes disarms her.

Dr. Fielding's eyes shift from you to the pocket watch that you've placed down on the table. "What's wrong with it?" she asks, picking the watch up. "It doesn't work, Mistress," you reply.

Dr. Fielding frowns as she runs her thumb over the cracked glass. "How did you break it?" "I fell," you respond slowly, trying your best not to sound too free willy. "And that's how you got the bandage," she nods to your head. "Yes, Mistress."

The faint sound of a car alarm interrupts your conversation, but Dr. Fielding ignores it. She heaves a sigh and says, "You know the watch doesn't have to work to hypnotize somebody, right? You just swing it. It couldn't be more simple." "I'm sorry, Mistress," you force a frown. "I've failed you!" "Relax," she says, tossing the watch down onto the desk. "You're new to this."

Dr. Fielding's phone rings. "Yes?" she answers, and on the other end a good Samaritan from the night staff warns her that someone is messing with her car. "The trunk?" she asks. "Are you sure it was mine? Okay. Okay, thank you." She hangs the phone up quickly and rises from her desk. "Stay here," she commands. "I'll be right back."

You doubted that Madison could really lure Dr. Fielding away from her office, but here you are, alone. Alone with her computer. You don't have much time before Dr. Fielding returns, so you collect yourself and move quickly to the other end of the desk, retrieving a USB drive from your pocket.

"Dr. Fielding records all of her sessions," Madison explained to you. "I'm talking hundreds of hours of evidence of misconduct on her computer, and you can get it for me."

You connect the drive to the computer and begin your search through Dr. Fielding's files. You're surprised to find "Patients" on the desktop, and when you click on the folder, it reveals several sub-folders, each a different person's name. You click on one of the folders at random: Baldwin, Samantha. The folder holds a couple of Word documents and several image and video files. It seems you've found what you're looking for, so you click back to Patients and begin highlighting and dragging over the folders in the file, but when you reach the bottom of the file, a name jumps out at you: Wells, Madison.

You bite your lip as you weigh the temptation to open the folder. It's clear to you by now that Madison has more to do with Dr. Fielding than a couple of her friends acting strange. If Madison was just suspicious about Dr. Fielding, how did she know so much about the professor? How did she know about these files? But you remember the last thing Madison said to you before you split up: "You might see some weird shit on that computer, hon, but stick to the plan."

So you decide to stick to the plan, watching anxiously as the progress bar inches its way to 100% copied. You glance at the door, expecting to see Dr. Fielding standing right there, but she still hasn't returned. You can breathe until you look back again. When the files are copied over to the USB folder you exit out of Patients and take one quick look over the USB folder to confirm that everything copied over.

And that's when you see it again. Wells, Madison. Tormenting you like the Ark of the Covenant.

You just need one look to confirm. Madison's been jerking you around since you showed up at Carpenter State, and you deserve to know the truth!

You click on the folder. It's much like the Baldwin's, full of images and videos. But this time you click on one of the JPEGs, and you have to stop yourself from gasping at the image that pops up. Madison is staring back at you with that trademark look of a Dr. Fielding slave. Emotionless, vacant. Your heart skips a beat as you exit the window, but now you can't tear your eyes from the screen. Dozens of video files sit there in the folder tempting you further. Dr. Fielding can't be much longer, but you know that Madison won't be far from the Psychology building and as soon as you hand over this USB drive you'll never see these files again.

What do you do?

Snoop some more!

GET. OUT. OF. THERE.

[classicsubliminalbo]

Captured #7: Confrontation

Originally published Jun 11, 2018 This series is being revised

Tina was posed on the bed, naked, as I held up the phone. I made sure that her body was perfectly framed before I held down the record button and asked, "Who do you serve?"

Tina smiled, and began crawling toward the camera on all-fours purring, "I serve you, Mistress Corbin. I live for you, and your delicious pussy."

I bit my lip. The last line wasn't in the brief script I'd worked out with her, a bit of improv I hadn't expected Tina to be capable of in her state. It was vulgar, but definitely the kind of thing that would catch Madison's attention. I took another second to mull my play over, and then I hit send, first double-checking that I hadn't accidentally added some unwelcome recipients. Tina had half the campus on Snapchat and I wanted to make sure that this video would only be seen by Madison.

"It's done," I said when I returned to the living room. Jacob was still buried deep in his thoughts, but Mel looked up from her phone and said with a scrutinizing look, "You were in there a while." I felt my face grow hot, but I'd been doing the undercover reporter thing long enough to know how to dodge suspicion. I didn't blink. I just said, "I got a text from Madison. She wants to meet face-to-face at the Lonely Pine."

The Lonely Pine was a bar on the outskirts of town that had once been the favorite after-work spot for employees of the sawmill before it closed down. Now it was quiet, living up to its name. I figured Madison had picked somewhere discrete because she knew there would be too many witnesses downtown, and I didn't really like my odds of coming back from that meeting. But I had a plan.

"You're not going alone," Mel argued when I took Jacob's keys and headed for the door. "I know," I replied. "I'm taking Tina with me." Mel turned to Tina who followed obediently in my tracks and scoffed. "Right, like she's worth anything." "I'll die for my Mistress," Tina frowned. "You don't have to do that," I said to Tina, then I turned back to Mel and added, "I'll be fine. It's a neutral site." "It's a trap," Mel pushed back. "Probably," I nodded. "But I still have Tina, and Madison won't make a move on me without her favorite slave." "Are you sure about that?" Mel asked. "No," I shook my head. "But it's the best I can do."

I drove Tina out to the edge of town and parked Jacob's car in a small Buy-Here-Pay-Here lot across the street from the Lonely Pine. The bar looked quiet. There were only two cars parked outside, an F-150 and a Prius. Madison wouldn't drive a truck, which meant the Prius was her. If she was true to her word, Madison would be alone, but I figured she could fit five girls max in her car. It wasn't the best odds, but it was better than facing down the whole sorority.

I heaved a heavy sigh.

"What's wrong, Mistress?" Tina asked. "I was just thinking how bad a plan this is." "It can't be a bad plan if you thought of it." Tina's innocent smile made my heart sink. I could only offer a meager, "Thanks," before I said, "Now let's get you in the trunk."

I eyed the bar across the street while Tina climbed into the trunk of Jacob's car. No one was watching. "Why do I have to be in the trunk?" "Because," I said. "I can't risk one of Madison's girls seeing you. Watch your head." Again Tina flashed that innocent smile as the trunk came down. "I'll just be a minute." I whispered.

Tina was the only card I had to play. As long as I had her I knew I could walk out of that bar safely. That didn't make me feel any better as I stepped into The Lonely Pine and saw the bartender, a pretty young blonde with a flannel shirt and a vacant expression. The kind of country gal who, I figured, might drive a truck. Not an Alpha, but Madison had taken the liberty of brainwashing her anyway. Despite my fear, my face was stone-cold. I wouldn't give Madison that satisfaction. The bar itself was a folksy little dive with dim lighting and wood paneling. John Wayne and Gary Cooper smiled at me from black-and-white photographs on the walls. A tacky chandelier made of antlers hung from the ceiling. Tammy Wynette sang a sad song from the jukebox.

And there she was, Madison, sitting at a booth scrutinizing a basket of peanuts like it was condescending her. When she spotted me she smiled, and gestured for me to join her at the table. I slipped into the seat across from her.

"Can you believe they just throw peanut shells on the floor here?" Madison asked. "Not exactly your scene, is it?" I asked. "I'm more of a nightclub kind of girl," she replied. "But it's perfect for clandestine meetings." "You have a lot of those, huh?" Madison laughed. "I've got plans, Corbin. And until I have control of the police, which I will, I have to do my business in dives like this. Drink?" "Only from a bottle," I said.

Madison held up two fingers at the bartender and shouted, "Jim Beam, two glasses." The woman obeyed, collecting the bottle and the glasses and marching over to our table. Madison admired the bartender as she poured the bourbon into our glasses. "She's a cutie, isn't she?" Madison asked me. "That'll do, Wendy, leave the bottle." "Anything for you," the bartender responded, and marched back to her spot behind the bar.

Slowly, Madison picked up her glass, studying me with an amused smile. She held the glass up to her lips and took a sip. "I understand your caution," she said. "Can't be too careful with you," I said. I took a sip from my own glass. "Tina told me everything." "Tina told you what she knows," Madison winked. "I know you're going to war with the Greeks." I added. Madison offered an amused smile and then leaned in and whispered, "What do you know about the Seven Samurai?" "I don't have time for four-hour long movies, but A Bug's Life is pretty good," I said. "It's a club on campus," Madison replied. "Exclusive. Mostly privileged white boys with a hopeful future on the stock market." "That explains the appropriation." "They like to pretend like they're Skull and Bones but they're really just drug dealers. The Seven Samurai are Carpenter State's pharmaceutical pipeline. You ever been to a frat party, Corbin? You know how much money you could make in one night dealing Molly at one frat house?"

My eyes narrowed as I tried to follow Madison's logic. "This is about drugs?" I asked. "Control the Greek houses," Madison said. "And you control the trade." "And the money," I said. "It's more than about money, Corbin. It's about peace of mind. I don't object to fun, casual, consensual drug use but for years the Seven Samurai have turned a blind eye to what's really going on around campus. The girls whose lives have been forever changed because of what was slipped into her drink." "So magnanimous," I said. "How is it that you can talk about rape culture, yet justify what you've done to the Alphas?"

Madison's look turned serious as she said, "Because of what they've done to me. I was eighteen, still just a pledge. His name was Joey, a frat boy from Alpha Kappa Psi, and we'd had a lot to drink." Madison's gaze, which she'd kept trained on me since I sat down, finally darted away. "I wanted to press charges but I was scared. So I did the only other thing I knew I could do, and I took it to the Alpha president. I told Clara everything, how Joey had shoved me down on the bed, pressed his elbow to my neck. How I begged him to stop, but he wouldn't listen. His friend intervened before he could fuck my life up for good, but I was still traumatized. Do you know what Clara did?"

I shook my head.

"Nothing. She told me that I was lucky. You know, something really bad could have happened, but I got out of there. And she didn't want to drag the sorority into controversy. You know, just looking out for our sisters. So forgive me if I don't have much sympathy for Clara and her lackeys." "I'm sorry," I said. "What was done to you is terrible, but it doesn't justify anything." "Maybe not," Madison shook her head slowly. "But it still feels good to look Clara in the eyes and see nothing but a slobbering, obedient bitch." A dry laugh escaped my lips. "You know what I think, Madison?" "What do you think, Corbin?" "I think that you were gonna do this no mater what. You'd find some bullshit reason to brainwash your sisters and you'd tell yourself anything just to believe you're not the bad guy."

"Do you really think you're any better than me, Corbin?" Madison asked. "It felt good, didn't it? Getting into Tina's head. Molding her new mind. I'll bet you got wet just filming that video." "Enough," I said. "Let's talk deals."

Madison held up her hands. "I'm ready if you are." "Tina for Piper, straight trade. In addition to the swap, I look the other way. No articles on the blog, you're free to do with the Greeks as you please. This is a good deal, Madison. You should take it."

Madison sighed and picked up her phone, tapping out a quick message. She placed the phone back down on the table and said, "Tina for Piper, tough decision." "Don't play with me, Madison." I said.

"I'm not playing, Corbin. It's just...I think you overestimate how much Tina is worth to me. She was my favorite for a minute, but then I got Piper. You should be proud to know that your friend is a model slave. Tina is loyal to the end but, between you and me, she's not too bright. Clara, of course she'll always be a favorite, but I've fucked her mind into oblivion. Piper, on the other hand, is smart. She can think for herself but her world revolves around me. When Tina thinks for herself, she gets captured. I don't like slaves who get captured, Corbin."

"Whatever," I said. "It's still a good trade, Madison. You don't want me to publish my article. I'm promising you no press in exchange for Piper." "So beautiful," Madison shook her head. "Piper must be so important to you."

I wasn't going to beg, but I wouldn't leave that bar without Piper.

"And speak of the devil!" Madison cried.

I heard the bells above the door and when I turned my neck I saw her. My Piper, dressed in a crop-top and scandalously low-cut shorts. I was shaking as Piper strutted toward the table and slid in next to Madison. She moaned as Madison pressed her lips against hers in a kiss that lingered. Piper smiled as they separated.

I was struggling to hide my shock, my outrage. My hands clenched hard on the edge of my seat. "Piper," I breathed. "Piper, it's me. Corbin."

Piper looked at me with disinterested and eyes and said, "I know, dummy, you're like my best friend." "See, Corbin," Madison smiled. "She's fine. She remembers everything from before and she's happy to leave that behind." "But we can still be friends," Piper said. "I know I've been absent but things are pretty crazy round the Alpha house these days." "Piper!" I shouted. "You've got to fight this!" "Corbin," Madison shook her head. "Don't be such a cliche."

My eyes were burning with the threat of tears.

"Now, about your blog," Madison said. "You can publish that article, I really don't give a shit. You see, Corbin, I think that you're under the false impression that you actually matter to me. Do you think I've been sitting around for the last few weeks planning my retaliation? I should be thanking you. If you hadn't sent Piper to spy on my party I never would have met my favorite slave. And of course, I have this now," Madison held up her phone to reveal the video of Tina that had instigated our meeting. "It's not hard to pull a video from Snapchat, Corbin. What does this look like to you, Piper?"

"Like Carpenter State's own social justice hero Corbin Arroyo brainwashed an innocent young girl," Piper replied. "I'm not a lawyer, Corbin," Madison said. "But I think they call that a smoking gun." "It hardly proves anything," I objected. "Yeah," Madison said. "I thought so too, but then...I found another girl. One who is willing to share the story of her harrowing escape from Corbin Arroyo's harem."

"It was horrible," Piper cried. Her face changed instantly from the permanently bubbly expression of an Alpha to the tortured face of a survivor. Tears welled up in her eyes. "I begged Corbin to let me go, but she said that...that..." "Go ahead, honey," Madison said, wrapping her arms around Piper sympathetically. "She said that I'd be begging her for more!" Piper burst into sobs.

"This is bullshit!" I cried. "Drama club," Piper smiled. "All four years of high school." "You're blackmailing me?"

Madison triumphantly downed the rest of her glass. "Take my advice, Corbin," Madison said. "Run. Because I don't need to trade Piper for shit. I'm gonna get Tina back. And I'll probably get you too. But if you don't leave me alone I'll take you to the Alphas tonight and fuck your head so bad you won't even know your own name."

When I stepped out of the bar I felt that familiar wave of dread rush over me and it took all of my power not to collapse in the parking lot. I was shaking too much to take a step, just frozen there in my place. I heard the bells chime again and turned around to see Piper. She walked quickly toward me and before I could say anything she pulled me into a kiss. I pulled her close to me. I wanted to pull her into me, to hide her away from Madison and protect her forever. But I knew that Piper had changed, and the confidence in her eyes when she pulled away conveyed something surprising. She was the one protecting me.

I opened my mouth to speak but she placed her index finger on my lips.

"I understand," Piper said. "But it's okay. I'm happy, Corbin."

I nodded, even though I didn't understand. Piper wiped the tears from my cheeks. "Okay," I said. "Okay."

And that was it. I drove away from the lot knowing that I had lost. I hadn't just lost the battle against Madison, but I'd lost the battle for Piper.

"What do you want, Tina?" I asked on the drive back to Mel's. "I just want to please you," she smiled. "No, not like...what do you really want, Tina? Outside of this...relationship."

Tina looked at me with empty, confused eyes. Then she said, "I guess...I just want people to like me." "I like you," I said quietly.

I glanced at the rear-view mirror and saw a pair of bright lights coming up on me fast. The whole car was soon illuminated by the lights. "Jesus," I mumbled. "Turn your goddamn brights off." But the driver didn't turn their brights off, and they didn't slow down either. My mind registered too late that we were being rammed. The F-150 crashed into the back of Jacob's car at full speed. My hands jerked the wheel but I couldn't regain control of the car before spinning into a telephone pole.

For a moment I sat there in my seat frozen, my head pounding. Then I turned to see if Tina was okay.

"Corbin!" Tina cried. "Corbin you're bleeding!"

I held my hand up to my head and felt the warm blood dripping down my forehead. "Yeah," I said. "I guess I am."

And that's when I lost consciousness.

[classicsubliminalbo]

Dirty Work

Originally published Jun 2, 2018

It was half-passed midnight and Andrea was ten minutes into a promising night's sleep when the phone rang. She answered with a curt, "What?"

"We got a job," Tyler said on the other end of the line. "It's a weird one." "Jesus, Tyler, I've got a midterm in nine hours." "We've all got shit on our plate, okay, Andrea? But it's a weird one. And weird ones..." "'Weird ones pay more,'" Andrea repeated. "Fine, whatever, pick me up." "Already outside."

Andrea met Tyler in the small parking lot across from her apartment. He was driving that same old shitty mint green Crown Vic he'd been threatening to trade in for a Tesla since they started the job. At least Tyler had a car, a thought that helped Andrea retain some humility every time she settled in the passenger's seat. The ignition stuttered when Tyler turned the key, and he shot Andrea an optimistic glance before the engine roared to life.

At a stoplight he asked, "What do you think about Vietnam?" "The war?" Andrea replied. "No, for spring break. I know it's a little esoteric but everyone does Orlando or Cancun." "That's because they're on this continent, Tyler." "Right," he said, driving through the light. "I think if you asked daddy he'd buy you a fucking beach." "You don't have to insult me," Tyler frowned. Andrea smirked and added, "What are you even doing still driving a beater?" "Honestly?" he asked. "College girls don't want to date a guy with a nice car. It's intimidating." "I wouldn't fuck a guy in this car. It smells like cheese."

Tyler continued on to Romero's main business strip, finally pulling over to the shoulder in front of Argento's Pizzeria. "Here we are," he said. "Argento's?" Andrea asked skeptically, studying the restaurant through her window. The lights were on but the neon open sign was switched off. Argento's Pizzeria and Italian was a staple of Carpenter State student life. Most students on a budget were regulars at Pizza Joe's, but Argento's was where you took a girl if you wanted a second date. It was never closed before two.

"I told you it's a weird one," Tyler said. "A couple of hours ago this girl goes batshit crazy, starts writhing on top of the table, really making love to this plate of spaghetti." "Gross." "Yeah. Junior can't get her to leave and she's making a scene so he does the logical thing and closes up, feeds her all the pasta she wants till she passes out." "Why doesn't he call the cops?" Tyler shrugged. "Bad for business, I guess. People round here know about us, Andrea. They know our deal with Pierce."

Their deal with Pierce. Most of the time he had them tailing his daughter, Monica, taking her into Dr. Fielding when she got too crazy. But things could get weird around Carpenter State and whenever the dean found himself or a friend in trouble, he called upon his team of fixers to clean it up. It was shit work, but it payed well. Most students wanted internships to build their resumes for life outside of college, but Andrea and Tyler's work with the dean was strictly off the books. That wasn't as big of a deal to Andrea who had the ambition of a hibernating bear. Tyler was the rising star of the pair, a journalism major with lofty goals and the family connections to achieve them. Growing up rich taught Tyler a lot about climbing ladders, and though he couldn't put "fixer" on his resume, Dean Pierce did promise to write any recommendation letter Tyler would ask for and had managed to secure him the position of head editor at The Daily Gremlin, Carpenter State's official student paper. Tyler found that controlling the news media around campus made his secret job a little easier.

"This place always gave me the creeps," Andrea commented as they waited for Junior at the door. "Why?" Tyler asked. "Who opens a pizza joint in a church?"

They heard the lock click, and the wide doors swing open. "Thank Christ you're finally here," Junior Argento breathed. "Where is she, Junior?" Andrea asked.

He nodded toward the back and the pair followed him into the kitchens. There they found the girl, Amy Teller, lying on the floor at the base of an industrial sink. Her boyfriend Jay was sitting next to her distracting himself with his phone. When he saw the two new faces he hopped up and eagerly asked them if they were cops.

Junior slapped Jay and sternly shouted, "No cops!" "We're the next best thing," Tyler winked.

Jay introduced himself and when Andrea asked, he explained what had happened.

"I swear it's those goons from Carmella's again," Junior grumbled. "They're trying to run me out of business!" "Tyler, come look at this," Andrea said as she examined Amy. "What is it?" Jay asked, taking a respite from his cuticle.

Tyler knelt down next to Andrea. She lifted up Amy's eyelid to reveal a solid crimson eye underneath. "You have any idea what that is?" she whispered. "I'll call Dr. Fielding," Tyler whispered back.

Amy jolted to life, startling the pair to their feet. "More!" she cried, grabbing hold of Andrea's arm. "So good...I need more!" "Baby!" Jay cried back. "It's gonna be okay, baby!"

Andrea placed a calming hand on Jay's shoulder. "We're taking her to the Psychology building. You should come with us."

Amy continued writhing in Tyler's backseat as they drove her down the road to meet with Dr. Fielding. Jay held her in his arms, trying to bring her back down, lull her back to sleep. Andrea and Tyler could only share uncomfortable glances at each other as Jay whispered hopefully in his girlfriend's ear. "Why the psychology building?" Jay finally asked.

"Dr. Fielding knows a lot about behavioral science," Andrea replied. "We just want to rule out a psychotic episode." "Jesus Christ," Jay cried.

Dr. Fielding was waiting in her pajamas outside the psychology building. She told them that she'd spoken to Dean Pierce and asked them to wait outside of her office while she worked with Amy and Jay. Andrea felt an eerie feeling of déjà vu sitting there, but she pushed through it while she discussed strategies with Tyler.

"It's not just going to sweep under the rug," she said as she rubbed her eyes. "A lot of witnesses." "It's midterm season, maybe school got the best of her?" Tyler suggested. Andrea shook her head. "Nah, Pierce'll never go for that. Too much heat on the school. Next we'll have parents asking what Pierce's doing for our mental health, he'd have to call a special investigation to save face." "What do you think then?" Tyler asked.

Tyler had the future, but Andrea was the real brains of the operation. This was where she was invaluable.

"What if...a new drug is going around campus, making students loopy." "I could print that," Tyler nodded. "No. We leak it to local news. Start a real hysteria, 'the new designer drug and why you're eleven year old is using it.' That way people aren't talking about Argento's, they're talking about the drug." "That's really smart, Andrea."

"I know," Andrea said. Sometimes it scared her how good she was at this job. "You ever think this is fucked up?" "All the time," Tyler replied.

Before they could continue discussing the ethics of their job, Dr. Fielding's office door opened and a surprisingly content-looking Jay stepped out. Fielding followed behind him and whispered in his ear. "Yes, Dr. Fielding," he said. Andrea and Tyler exchanged nervous glances as Jay shuffled blissfully away.

"I eased Jay's concerns," Dr. Fielding clarified. "But it's going to take a little bit more than hypnotherapy to bring Amy back." Dr. Fielding shook her head then added, "Of course you two don't have to worry about that. It's awfully late now, you'd best get along."

"Thank you," Andrea said, inching toward her seat. "Oh!" Dr. Fielding chirped. "There's just one more thing before you leave." "Yes?" Tyler asked. Dr. Fielding smiled, and somehow Andrea knew she had seen that smile before. 

"No!" Andrea cried, trying to leap out of her chair. But Dr. Fielding said, "Sleep," and Andrea was powerless to disobey the doctor's command. 

Andrea's body plopped lifelessly down in the chair as her chin hit her chest. Her heartbeat slowed, but she was still alive. Conscious even, but unable to think without a command. Andrea heard Dr. Fielding's voice echo clearly in her mind. "You both did a wonderful job tonight," she said.

"Thank you, Dr. Fielding," Andrea and Tyler said in unison.

"Pierce will get you your money but you understand by now that he needs you insurance you won't go telling your friends about the job. It's all very confidential." "Yes, Dr. Fielding, we understand." Dr. Fielding turned to Tyler and said, "Tyler, affirm your loyalty." "I am a loyal student of Carpenter State University. I swear to proudly serve Dean Pierce and protect the legacy of this institution." "Andrea, affirm your loyalty." "I am a loyal student of Carpenter State University. I swear to proudly serve Dean Pierce and protect the legacy of this institution."

"Very good," Dr. Fielding smiled. "Now, I want you two to take all of those doubts you have, all of those nagging ethics and questions that you have and lock them away someplace in your head that you'll never find. When you wake up, you'll understand what you've done tonight, and you'll be proud." "Yes, Dr. Fielding. We are proud to serve."

Andrea didn't remember leaving Dr. Fielding's office. She awoke the next morning in her own bed with a foggy head and an email granting her a makeup on the midterm, another benefit of working for the dean. Andrea smiled, happy that she could play a part in protecting her school.