Worlds Colliding Ch. 03

The snow fell slowly, in big downy flakes. It wasn't a blizzard by any means, Ashley had seen far worse, but it was more than enough to mess with traffic. Between that and the regular Friday evening exodus heading north now that the skiing was good, her car moved at a crawl. Actually, a crawl would have been an improvement. At the moment she wasn't moving at all. At this rate, it was going to take hours to get to Leslie's place.

She considered giving up, and might have if she was going to see anyone other than Leslie. Of all the girls she'd gone to Rome with, of all the girls she'd been inducted into The Association with, Ashley thought Leslie the most misunderstood. It was true Leslie could be hard to deal with, a little too convinced by her intelligence, a little too blunt and unyielding. But Leslie meant well and had proven to be a good, loyal friend. All Leslie really needed was a little help in learning how to turn it down a thousand or so. Ashley considered it her Christian Duty to help Leslie do that. Plus, her raven haired friend was absolutely awesome in bed.

Ashley had long since resolved the apparent contradiction between her religion and the secular delights offered by people like Leslie. Simply put, her fortuitous trip to Rome had taught her the world was more complicated than her pastor or her parents wanted her to believe. All The Association really did was help its members to help themselves, and what could be more pleasing to the Eyes of God? The Association never told her what to believe or how to do it. The same could not be said of her pastor or her parents. In the years since she'd come back from Rome, she found her spiritual community's insular world view more and more confining, but that wasn't God's fault. The fault lay with the imperfection of Man generally, and specifically with the imperfection of the people who claimed to know what was best for her. Ashley forgave them their trespasses, just as she knew God forgave her own trespasses. Given all of that, she chose the only path available to her ... she kept her life with The Association absolutely separate from that part of her life dominated by her parents.

None of which meant keeping the two lives separate was easy. Especially at first, it had been hard work to be the dutiful, God fearing daughter on the one hand while indulging her new found passions on the other. Gradually, it became second nature and as it did, she discovered how many others in her congregation, how many women, felt as she did ... such as the church's treasurer, a beautiful 38 year old woman from Mississippi who was in every way an upstanding member of the congregation and a wildcat of a snatch eater.

But at the moment, Ashley's biggest challenge was finding the patience to finish her current trip. She thought of Job, but then, he never had to deal with a winter traffic jam. She focused on Leslie, with the additional benefit that Tammi was already up there. Though they went to school less than 12 miles from each other, she hadn't seen Tammi since forever. All she had to do was get through the traffic.

But there was no getting around the fact that she was going to be late. Since she wasn't moving anyway, she didn't feel bad about whipping out her cell phone and calling ahead. Leslie had sounded breathless and flustered when she'd answered and Ashley didn't need to be a genius to figure out what had been going on when the call came through. They'd started the party a little early. Leslie took the bad news with good nature and promised they'd stay in until Ashley arrived.

And then things had gotten weird. There'd been a shuffling noise, then a bump when the phone was put down. But the call did not disconnect. Ashley yelled into the phone, twice, to get Leslie to hang up. No one paid her any mind because they'd gone back to what they'd been doing before she called. Ashley felt a little funny, listening in as Leslie and Tammi did it, but it was more entertaining than just sitting in traffic and she'd be joining in with the fun soon enough. She took a look around, made sure none of the other drivers were taking any particular interest in her. The she let a hand slip between her legs. She gently rubbed herself as she eavesdropped.

The connection wasn't perfect, so Ashley wasn't sure what she heard at first. Among the gasps and moans and sounds of pussy being licked, she heard Leslie say something that sounded like ... "capture"? Ashley shrugged ... dirty talk was sometimes something less than cogent. But Leslie kept talking, about The Association, about the other girls and what Ashley heard was enough to make her turn around, once the cars started moving again, and head back home. * * *

Victoria had been vague, but urgent, on the phone. She made it very clear, however, she needed to see Bridget right away. When she reached the office, she was surprised to see Ashley there, along with Victoria.

"Hey, how are you?" Bridget asked as she hugged her blond friend.

"Not so good."

"Ashley has a rather disturbing story to tell, I'm afraid," Victoria said seriously, then indicated everyone should sit. "Tell Bridget exactly what you told me."

"Well," Ashley took a deep breath, "I was driving up north to spend the weekend with Leslie. Tammi was going also, but she got up there before I did. I was running late, so I called ahead to let them know. After we got through, they didn't hang up or something because I could still hear them talking."

Bridget looked at Victoria, then back to Ashley, "They were talking about us ... The Association ... and how they were going to get us, all of us, and make us belong to some Professor of Leslie's."

"Wait a sec," Bridget interrupted. "Who is this Professor?"

"Prof. Karen Sawyer," Victoria answered.

"You know her?"

"Her reputation precedes her," Victoria opened a leather bound book of the type she used to take notes in. "About a week and a half ago I got a call from someone in The Association who works for the FBI. She's worried this Prof Sawyer has built some sort of mind control device and she wanted to know what I thought about the possibility."

"Right around the time we started getting those funny feelings," Bridget said. "What did you tell her?"

"I told her it was crazy."

"Maybe it isn't so crazy after all."

"That's what I'm beginning to think."

"Whatever it is, it works," Ashley said softly. Bridget and Victoria looked at her. "You guys didn't hear them. They were using a lot of scary words like "capture" and "slave", but the really scary part was how into it they were. It was like they knew they were slaves and they didn't care. They liked it!"

After an oppressive silence, Victoria said, "Thank you, Ashley. You did the right thing bringing this to us so quickly. Go home and try to relax. But be very careful. Don't let yourself be alone with Leslie or Tammi."

"In fact," Bridget jumped in, "don't let yourself be alone with anyone, especially from The Association. Just be careful all the way around."

"I will," a scared looking Ashley said. She let herself out.

"Why did you tell her to stay away from the rest of us?" Victoria asked.

"Because it seems pretty clear those spells we've been having lately have to do with this Prof. Sawyer woman. Every time she gets one of us, we feel it," Bridget explained. "We know of two people who they've got, but I've felt 'it' three times. If I'm right, then we've got a problem because we don't know who number three is. It could be anyone."

"I agree."

Another silence, "So what are we going to do?"

"I've already called Maura back and told her I changed my mind," Victoria explained. Bridget assumed 'Maura' was the FBI agent mentioned before. "She said she'd get everything she could on this Prof. Sawyer and her mind control machine. In a couple of minutes, I'll call the heads of the other covens and let them know what is going on."

"What about Leslie and Tammi and whoever else? How are we going to help them?"

Victoria looked grim, "Until I hear back from Maura, I'm not sure there's anything we can do to help them."

"But ..."

"But what?" Victoria snapped, then caught herself. Bridget wasn't the problem here. "What are we supposed to do here? We don't really know what we're up against. It's obvious their plan is to pick us off piecemeal. If we go charging after them, we'll just be playing into their hands."

Bridget didn't say anything. The logic behind the strategy was solid, she just wasn't sure she agreed with the strategy in the first place. But it wasn't her call.

"The smartest thing to do right now, unfortunately, is the hardest thing," Victoria continued. "We wait to see what Maura can turn up and plan from there."

"Do you want me to call the other covens?" Bridget offered.

"No, that's something I should do. Why don't you go home, or back to your dorm. Just be careful. Hard as it can be sometimes, make sure you take your own advice." * * *

The advice, as it turned out, was solid. After class the very next day, as Bridget arrived at her dorm, she saw Leslie sitting on a bench near the building's front door. Bridget put her head down and spun around, hopeful Leslie hadn't seen her. No such luck.

"Hey, Bridget," Leslie's voice called from behind. Bridget took a deep, fortifying breath breath and turned around. Leslie jogged up. "How's it going?"

"Great, it's going great," Bridget lied. Gently she touched Leslie's mind. Normally, Leslie's thoughts were easy to read, but not now. The thoughts were still there, Bridget could still feel them, but it was as though they'd been encrypted. She could make no sense of them. It was unnerving.

"I had a second interview for that internship," Leslie lied herself, "and I thought I'd take you up on that rain check."

There was a strange buzz in Bridget's ears, distracting her, "Well, like I said before, I wish you'd called ahead. I'm really swamped."

"You can spare a little time for me," Leslie smiled.

"I really can't."

"C'mon!"

"I said no!" Bridget snarled. She felt light headed. The buzz in her ears had become a throb. "I'm serious Leslie. You can't keep just showing up like this. It isn't cute, it isn't sexy, it isn't cool, it isn't anything except a pain in the ass. It has to stop."

Bridget stomped away, ran her ID through the door's reader and let herself into her building, making sure to close the door behind her tightly. Leslie waited until Bridget was out of sight before she reached into her bag and shut off the control sphere. Then she called Prof. Sawyer.

"Did you get her?" Karen asked as soon as she picked up the phone.

"No, I couldn't get her alone," Leslie explained. "I tried keeping the sphere on and in my bag while I talked to her. It seemed to have an effect, but not enough."

"Too much background noise, probably."

"And there's something else. I think they know about us."

"Why do you say that?"

"Just the way Bridget acted when she saw me ... she doesn't usually get so worked up. She didn't want anything to do with me."

"Well, we knew they'd figure it out eventually," Karen said, "and if they do know, this is something we can use to our advantage. I think it's time for Plan B. Do you know how to get here?"

"Of course."

"How long will it take for you to get here?"

"I'll have to take the bus ... about 30 or 45 minutes."

"Make it 30 minutes."

"On my way." * * *

When she'd calmed herself to the point she could form a coherent thought, Bridget tried calling Victoria. The call dumped directly into voicemail, which meant Victoria was on another call. Eventually the phone rang before dumping into voicemail. Bridget didn't leave a message, she needed to see Victoria in person about this.

She peaked out her dorm room window, which gave her a clear view of the front of the building. Leslie was no where to be seen. Bridget headed out, then dashed to her car. If the traffic cooperated, she'd be at Victoria's in 15 minutes. * * *

She picked up the phone on the first ring, "Hello?"

"Victoria?"

It was a voice she'd not expected to hear, "Allie?"

"Victoria, I think I'm in trouble."

"What is it Allie, where are you?"

"At my parents place," Allie sounded like she'd been crying. "They're out of town for the week."

"Why aren't you at school?"

"That's just it. These really weird girls showed up in Florida last week. They said they were from around here and they wanted to talk with me ... but they totally freaked me out and I didn't want anything to do with them ... but they wouldn't leave me alone and they were everywhere I went ... it was like they were stalking me ... so I came back up here to get away ... and I just saw them walking up and down my street ... and I'm really, really scared."

Allie did start to cry and Victoria assured her things would be okay, over and over, until the girl was calm enough to ask, "Can I stay at your place, at least until my parents get back?"

"Of course."

"Thank you SO much ... I hate to ask you this, but can you come and get me?" Victoria didn't answer right away, so Allie continued, "I just don't want to go out there by myself."

Victoria agreed Allie going out by herself was a bad idea. The only question was who would go get her. She considered sending her driver, but she had no idea how dangerous these girls Prof. Sawyer had sent (and she was sure they were sent by Prof. Sawyer) were. She paid him to get her from Point A to Point B, not get entangled with things like this. So that left only one person.

"I'll be there in a few minutes," she promised.

Victoria dismissed her driver for the day. Allie's house was on the other side of town. Victoria drove the length of Allie's street to make sure the two mystery girls weren't around. Convinced the coast was clear, she did a u-turn and pulled into the driveway. Allie met her at the door.

"Thank you so much," Allie said earnestly. "Hurry, come in."

Victoria stepped in, "Let's go."

"I have to get my bag. Wait for me in the living room, you can watch the street from there."

Victoria went through the indicated doorway. Including Leslie and Tammi, there were six girls in there, clustered around a woman dressed simply in jeans and a sweatshirt.

"Oh Allie," Victoria whispered sadly.

Allie placed her hands on Victoria's shoulders, "It'll be okay, you'll see. In a few minutes, everything is going to make perfect sense."

The woman in the jeans said, "Victoria, it's so nice to meet you. We have a lot to talk about."

Prof. Sawyer stood. Victoria couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was, tall and fantastically proportioned with sandy brown hair and green eyes. The six other girls stood as well, and fanned out across the room.

"Yes, much to talk about indeed," Prof. Sawyer purred as she touched the top of a grey sphere on the coffee table. A soft hiss filled Victoria's ears. The women took a step towards her.

Victoria spun, grabbed Allie and threw her at Prof. Sawyer. She ran for the front door, getting far enough to reach touch it. She could feel the cool metal of the knob in her hand just before someone drove her head into the heavy wood of the door. She collapsed. Someone loomed over her.

"Bet you wish you'd listened to me now," Leslie hissed in her ear as she was pulled up. Three girls dragged Victoria back to the living room and placed her on the couch. The hiss she'd noticed before seemed to envelop her brain. Two girls held her arms down while a beautiful, busty brunette knelt down in front of her and pulled her still weak legs apart. The brunette produced a pair of scissors, reached into Victoria's skirt and snipped her panties away with two quick cuts of the waistband.

"Victoria, this is Dana. Dana, Victoria," Prof. Sawyer stepped into view. "Dana's going to explain to you how things are going to be from here on out before we have our little talk, but don't worry. She has a very pleasant way of expressing herself."

Dana smiled, and winked, and lifted Victoria's skirt. She began by kissing around the exposed lips, occasionally licking and nibbling, and despite herself, Victoria started getting wet. After a while Victoria discovered Allie had been right. Things suddenly made a great deal of sense. * * *

Bridget parked in her usual spot, noticing right away Victoria's BMW was gone. She waited in the library and did some schoolwork to pass the time, but she was in the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of water, when 'it' swept over her again, more powerful and nauseating than ever before. It felt like a giant, frozen hand had reached into her belly to squeeze her entrails between its clenched fingers. Doubled over with pain, she passed out.

She had no idea how long she'd been out, once she came to; she sensed it had been a little while. There was a crease in her cheek where her head had rested against the tile floor. Using the butcher block table as a crutch, she slowly got back on her feet and gulped down her water. She was pouring another glass when she looked out the window.

Two cars were pulling into the driveway: Victoria's and another Bridget didn't recognize. The unfamiliar car parked so as to block Bridget's car in, which Bridget thought was pretty rude considering there was plenty of room. Her indignation turned into surprise when the driver turned out to be Allie. Two women Bridget didn't recognize got out of the car with Allie and headed for the front door. Another woman Bridget didn't know was driving the BMW. Surprise turned into a paralysis when she saw Leslie and Tammi were with her.

"What are they doing here?"

"And how did they get Victoria's car?"

"And where is Victoria?"

". . ."

"Oh God!"

She ran, the first couple steps not knowing where she was going, aware only that she had to move. By the time she reached the hall, and full speed, she had a plan. The hall ran the width of the house, it would take her dangerously close to the front door, but it couldn't be helped. The hall flew past her in a claustrophobic blur. As she reached Victoria's office, she heard Leslie yell, "She went this way!"

Bridget slammed the door shut. There was no lock, so she pushed a heavy leather chair against the door, its top wedged under the doorknob. The door shook violently as someone slammed into it and the chair moved, but just barely. She'd bought herself a little time.

She looked at Victoria's desk and froze. There was so much she could grab and so much she should grab, but she only had time for what she had to grab. Another thump on the door, along with the groan of the chair legs sliding on the floor, broke her brain lock. The office door had opened a crack, enough for hands to slip in and push at the chair.

"Don't make this harder than it has to be," Leslie yelled.

"Please, just open the door," Allie beseeched. "It'll be alright."

Bridget grabbed Victoria's ledger, the one she'd been referring to when they'd first discussed Prof. Sawyer. She stuck it under her shirt, grateful she'd decided to go loose and baggy today. There was another door on the other side of the office. She went through it and ran.

The hall bent 90 degrees to the left and went a short distance before terminating at one of the porches. At the bend, she pressed a discoloration on the wall, as Victoria had taught her. A section of the wall swung open to reveal a staircase leading down. The escape tunnel led to the river about 600 yards away. Bridget started down.

She stopped herself. The only other person, that she knew of, that knew about the tunnel was Victoria, and she still didn't know where Victoria was. Once she was in the tunnel, she was committed. It led to one place only and she wasn't 100% sure of what she'd find there. She'd have no room to run or maneuver. She went back up the stairs, but left the tunnel door open ... anything to distract the girls who'd soon be hot on her trail.