*"There's something you didn't consider," Zoe said softly. At the sound of my lover's voice, Sarah turned around, still blank in the eyes. The sight before us would have terrified most, and looked like something right out of a slasher flick. Most of Sarah's face was covered in dark, congealing blood, and when she opened her mouth, she showed us a set of similarly stained teeth. Her arms were covered up to the elbows and her cheerleading uniform was stained. Beside the corpse were bits and pieces of flesh lying on the ground.
Once again I found it difficult to look away. Even the smell, which was putrid, was overpowered by the visual.
If any of this was having an effect on Zoe, she didn't show it. She simply held the stone tightly and started to make her wish *
It looked as though she was about to make her wish, and then Zoe turned suddenly to face me. "I mean you have to think this through Karyn. Poor little Sarah here," and she leaned down to stroke the blond girl's hair, "is on the verge of eating herself to death, but we can fix that pretty easily." All I could do was nod.
Holding the stone tightly, Zoe began to speak, "I wish that Sarah would have no trouble completely devouring Rachel's remains, and that no harm would come to her physically as a result." She paused as the stone flashed. I thought she was going to stop there, but she kept on going. "By the way, controlling her with a loch of hair? Really hon? We are so far beyond that right now. I wish that Sarah McMillan was completely subservient to myself and Karyn, and that she had to obey any commands we give her." Once again there was a flash of light. When it was over, Zoe dropped the stone back into my outstretched palm. It felt warm.
It was then that I noticed the look of deep satisfaction, almost pleasure in her eyes. Minutes ago, she had been so offended by the sight that she had all but bolted from the room. Now, not only was she watching it, but she seemed to be enjoying it. "After all," she added, her eyes glued to the spectacle. "We want them to suffer. We can't have them dying right away now can we?"
Slipping the stone into a pocket on my skirt, I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist, resting my chin on her shoulder. "What would I do without you?" I asked softly. I felt her hand grip my arm tightly, and we both stood there watching for a time. Sarah was really going to town. Probably the result of being such a skinny, anorexic bitch, I mused.
Zoe broke the silence, "You know my parents and my brother are gonna be home soon. We should really do something about that." Once again, she was right. We couldn't have them walking in on this. They weren't liable to handle it very well. I reached into my pocket and brushed my finger against the stone. Zoe's parents hadn't been extremely nice to me, but they hadn't shunned me either. I'd work out something for them later, but for now we just needed them out of the way.
"I wish that, until I state otherwise, Zoe's parents and her brother were staying at a hotel." That would keep them out of our hair for the moment anyway. Now, there were important matters to attend to.
"There's a second stone," I whispered casually. This piqued her attention, so I continued. "Apparently, when combined with this one, it has the ability to reverse wishes, and it acts as a kind of amplifier. If we had it, we could mold the entire world to our tastes." Zoe cooed.
"Any idea where it is?" she asked quietly.
"No," I told her. "Your grandfather was close to finding it though when something happened to him. I think he knew where it is. Somehow he was able to communicate with your sister from wherever he was. He told her that she needed to find it, and that if she could find his journal, it would point her in the right direction."
There was a pause, "Have you tried using our rock to find it?"
I nodded and answered her, holding her a little tighter. "I get nothing. It's like the journal and the other stone are both protected from the effects of our stone."
Another moment of silence passed before Zoe continued. "Maybe I can use my powers to help." She turned around, looking up into my eyes.
"It's certainly worth a shot," I told her, running my fingers through her short black hair. "I know we're not the only ones looking for it."
She nodded, and leaned in for a brief kiss. "I'll have to think about it a little, but I'll see what I can do."
"I'm sure you'll come up with something," I told her, "but while we're trying to figure this out, we might as well have a little bit of fun, don't you think?"
Her smile could have lit up the room. She was practically cooing. "Can I start? Please? Can I? Can I?"
How could I turn that down? I suppose I couldn't. "I don't know," I said playfully. "What's it worth to you?" I held the stone high above her head. I was several inches taller than Zoe so keeping it out of her reach wasn't much of a problem. To my delight, she stretched her arm, trying to reach for it. She even jumped a couple of times, but to no avail.
Feigning a frown, she looked up at me. "Well," she said quietly, "If you let me do this I'll be really happy, and if I'm really happy, I'll want to make you really happy." She winked and pressed her body against mine. I thought about what had happened a few moments earlier on the staircase and how I wanted so much more from her.
"I suppose," I relented, lowering my hand and offering her the stone. I couldn't get past how much I was enjoying her enthusiasm.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she said, taking the stone eagerly in her hand. She held onto it tightly. "I wish that Cassandra Wilson was standing in this room right now, and that she was all too aware that something strange was happening." A flash of light later a young girl, probably about Zoe's age, was standing in front of the doorway wearing a rather bewildered looking expression on her face. Cassandra had long red hair and somewhat prominent freckling on her cheeks that made her green eyes that much more prevalent. In addition to the confused look, she was wearing a black halter top with spaghetti straps that came up around her neck and held her moderate bust in check. It was complimented by the blue denim mini skirt that was wrapped around her waist.
Her eyes immediately fixated on Zoe. "Gibson, what the hell's going " her expression turned to one of extreme terror when her gaze drifted toward Sarah and the meal that she was enjoying. "Oh my god!" she screamed. "She's What the Oh my god!" She turned and was about to bolt when Zoe started again.
"I wish that for the next five minutes Cassandra was completely unable to move, or make any noise whatsoever." The terrified young girl froze in place, and Zoe walked slowly over to her. Like a vulture, she slowly circled her prey a few times in an appraising manner. I had to admire her composure. Every so often she'd reach out and gently stroke Cassandra's long red hair, or her cheek.
"You made my life a living hell you stupid little whore," Zoe said. To my surprise there was no malice in her tone. She spoke to Cassandra in the same tones that a parent might lovingly use on their child. "You called me a Goth Freak and much worse." Her tone didn't change and she continued to circle the other girl. "You know," she said conversationally, "I've spent the last year and a half thinking about what I would do to you, how I could get back at you if I ever had the chance. Nothing I come up with ever seems to be enough though." Now she was gesturing with her hands as she spoke, and using a more matter-of-fact tone. "I could kill you right now you know, and I'd get away with it, but where's the fun in that?"
I was mesmerized. I had known from the start that Zoe was emotionally wounded. It was one of the things that had attracted me to her. Her pain was something I could use to my own ends. I hadn't for a moment realized that she'd been this far gone though. Then again, maybe she hadn't. I recalled my wish, the one where I'd just wanted Zoe to truly understand what I'd gone through. It had obviously changed her.
"So I had another idea," Zoe said casually. "In a moment, you're going to unfreeze. When you do, you're going to tell me your greatest, deepest fear and I," she paused in speech and motion, standing directly in front of her victim and looking her in the eye. There was a deliciously sadistic glint in her eye. "I," she began again, "am going to make that fear a reality." She stopped and took a step back. "I wish that when the five minute time limit expires, Cassandra will still be unable to move below the neck, but will regain her ability to speak."
There was silence for a few moments before Cassandra began to sob. "Please," she begged. "I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! Please don't hurt me!" Her words were muffled by her own cries.
"It's a little late for sorry dear," Zoe said softly. She leaned in and gently caressed Cassandra's cheek before giving her a long kiss on the lips. When she pulled away her eyes were closed. "You're a good kisser," she whispered. "Suppose you've had a lot of practice."
"I'm begging you," the red-head began.
Zoe smiled, "I know you are sweetie. I'm just not listening. Now, for the main event. I wish that Cassandra here would tell me what her greatest fear is."
There was a flash of light and the other girl started to speak. It was clear that she was struggling against every word, but she simply couldn't fight the power of the stone. "I've always been afraid of bees." She cringed as the words escaped her lips.
"Not very original," Zoe said, "but I can work with that. She turned and walked toward the stair. Sitting down and motioning for me to sit beside her, she held the rock up. I sat down beside her as she continued. "First, I wish you were facing me Cassandra. I so need to see the look on your face and the fear in your eyes." A blinding flash of light later and the terrified young girl was facing us. I'd never seen somebody looking quite so scared. It definitely had its appeal.
"Now," my young lover continued. "I wish that over the next fifteen minutes, a swarm of bees would fly in and begin stinging poor little Cassandra." I heard a gentle buzzing, and looked toward the suddenly open window as three bees flew in, heading directly toward the petrified girl.
"No," she cried, and I heard Zoe chuckle. The first one landed on her cheek, and I watched as her eyes turned toward the prickling sensation. Then she cried out in pain.
"Can't have that," Zoe whispered. "Somebody might hear her and come running in. "I wish that, aside from Karyn and myself, nobody could hear Cassandra's screams or cries. I also wish that as more of the bees fly in, they'll begin to swarm her, covering her entire body, aside from those delicate little eyes of hers."
We watched as the other bees landed on her, and several more came flying in through the window. They didn't pay any attention to us, or to Sarah who, rather impressively was about halfway done with Rachel. They were completely intent on our young victim. "Oh, one more thing," Zoe added in a cruel voice. "Can't have you going into shock and dying on us cause, well, where's the fun in that? I wish that, though the swarm may bring her to the brink of death, Cassandra will survive this ordeal because bitch," she looked directly into those terrified eyes, "this is just the beginning."
More flew in threw the window, landing on her and crawling around. I watched as a few crawled up her skirt and beneath her shirt, and I listened to ever scream, feeling a strange sense of power. I could tell Zoe was getting into it in a serious way. Though her eyes were glued to the spectacle before us, I felt her hand on my knee, felt it begin to slide up and down my thigh. This was totally turning her on. After a moment, she turned to look at me, and there was pure unbidden lust in her eyes. I didn't need any more of a signal than that. Amidst the ear piercing shrieks and screams, I leaned in and planted a deep kiss on Zoe's lips, my right hand sliding up and down the side of her body, occasionally fixating on her breast, as my other hand started at her ankle, and slowly traced its way up her calf, pressing on underneath the fabric of her black dress.
Pulling away from the kiss, I subtly gestured down toward my hand working its way past her knee. Zoe just nodded and there was a pleading in her eyes that I simply couldn't ignore. Taking one more glance at Cassandra who, aside from her eyes was completely covered in a constantly shifting mosaic of yellow and black, and who's terrified screams and moans were starting to get me a little wet as well, I climbed down the two stairs to the landing and turned, dropping to my knees in front of my lover.
She just nodded as I lifted her dress. Zoe lifted her ass a little so I could slide it back. Not wanting to waste any time, I pulled aside the front of her sheer black thong until her young, sparsely haired opening was exposed to me. She spread her legs apart as I leaned in. Her scent and taste were intoxicating and I spent the next fifteen minutes using my tongue and my fingers to bring her to an orgasm that shook her entire body. When I finally came up for air as it were, there was a contented smile on her face and the screaming had come to an end. As I climbed up to kiss her on the lips, I could still almost feel her hands pulling at my hair, trying to press my lips even more tightly against her. When I broke away from the kiss and turned to look, the bees had flown away and Cassandra was lying unconscious on the ground. Her skin was covered in red welts and her breathing was extremely shallow, but she was still alive.
Sarah, for her part seemed unaffected by any of what had just transpired.
"That was amazing," Zoe whispered, "and the sex was pretty good too," she offered with a devilish grin. I smiled and kissed her quickly again. "So, what's next?" she asked, leaning back against the stairs and basking in her afterglow.
"I've been thinking about that," I told her, and in truth I had. There was something that had been nagging at the back of my mind since the stone had revealed the "TRUE" past to me. "All of this happened because that stupid little bitch was trying to save me, or rather an earlier version of myself, one that existed before the shit hit the fan."
"So?" Zoe asked. "Who cares what led to this. We have the stone now, and we can do whatever we want. Who cares what my stupid cunt of a sister was trying to do?"
Part of me felt like she was right. There was so much to do and distractions were only going to hurt us and slow us down. I'm not sure why, but I couldn't get my mind off of this one little thing. "Makes you wonder what was so special about her though, doesn't it?"
Zoe stood up, smoothing her dress down and walked slowly up to me. Draping her arms around my neck, she looked up into my eyes. "Don't do this to yourself Karyn," she whispered.
"Do what?" I asked innocently.
"I know what you're thinking," she told me. "I understand you Karyn, and you're wondering what might have been, what your life could have been, and down that way lies madness. "Besides," she added, "that Karyn is gone, and as powerful as the stone is, you can't use it to reverse an earlier wish, so it's a moot point." She leaned in and kissed me softly on the lips. "I love you Karyn, and I don't want to watch you do this to yourself. We need to deal with what is."
I nodded and smiled. "When you're right, you're right." She smiled back.
"Good," she said, and then she took a long look around the room. Her eyes fell first on the cannibalistic cheerleader, and then on the unconscious eighth grader. "Now," she said firmly, "We should probably figure out what we're going to do with them."
It was late and I leaned over in bed to make sure that Zoe was asleep before quietly climbing to my feet. In my heart, I knew she was right, but I couldn't stop myself. I simply had to know. Sarah and Cassandra were sleeping downstairs courtesy of the rock until we figured out what to do with them. Zoe wanted to keep Cassandra around as her own personal slave, and I wasn't inclined to deny her that. As for Sarah, well, I was reasonably sure she could still be useful, but time would tell.
Before long I was standing down in the living room in nothing but a plain black bra and matching underwear to cover my modesty. In my hand I held the wishing stone. Zoe was right of course. I couldn't reverse an earlier wish, but I thought that I might have found a way around it. I didn't know if this was going to work for sure, but I had to try. I had to know what was so special about this other Karyn. Aside from Zoe, who I sometimes think began hanging out with me to spite her sister, nobody would have lifted a finger to save me. What was so special about this alternate version of myself? What had she done to inspire such loyalty?
There was only one way to find out. I thought about what the wishing stone had shown me. I recalled how things had begun with a boy named Jon, and his friend, one Karyn Black. I could remember the image of them sitting on the wall in the schoolyard, and I could almost see her making the first fateful wish to alter reality.
"I wish," I began, trying to ignore my racing heart, "That, standing before me right now, was a perfect duplicate in mind and body of the Karyn Black who existed immediately before she made the accidental wish to change her hair and breasts."
My heart began to race as the room was enveloped in the familiar flash of light
