Chapter 3

The car raced through the flashing yellow light of the intersection without slowing down, tires squealing as it took the turn in the road beyond it while traveling at the same breakneck speed.

"Jesus, Susan, are you trying to get us killed?!" Ann shouted, her left hand over her pounding heart, her right hand holding the door handle with a white-knuckled grip.

"Maybe I should be asking you that question!" Susan yelled. "That was just brilliant, Ann, simply fucking brilliant."

"Well, fuck, how the hell was I to know he'd let it slip?"

"Ann, your boyfriend Brad's age is higher than his IQ. And thanks to you and him, we have exactly twenty minutes to collect Melissa, calm her down into a semi-coherent state, and hope to God that she'll cover for us with her Mom."

"Why are you always picking on Brad?" Ann whined.

"I'm not, I'm picking on you. How stupid can you be, Ann??"

"All right already! I said I was sorry! What the fuck more do you want?!"

Susan took a deep breath and forced herself to ease off the accelerator as they headed up the road into the forest. She almost wished Ann had not come clean about her spilling the beans to her boyfriend about what they had planned for Melissa. She would have preferred to live in blissful ignorance of why Susan had been rudely awakened to the sound of the telephone a full hour before dawn and forced to deal with Melissa's distraught mother.

Melissa's mom had gotten the idea that Melissa was in some sort of trouble, and that Susan and Ann had perhaps taken her someplace they shouldn't have. Susan had tried to reassure the woman that this was not the case...

"Ann, you better hope that the little stunt you pulled with the panties didn't, like, send her over the edge," Susan said darkly.

Ann frowned. "You really didn't like me doing that, did you?"

"No, I didn't. You were way too hard on her."

"I didn't see you stopping me."

"Because it would have screwed everything up even worse. Look, I don't want to argue anymore. Let's just get up there and fetch her. And listen to me, Ann, listen real hard. We treat her like a queen this morning. She did what we asked of her, so she's in the Circle. We make her feel really good and maybe she'll convince her Mom she's okay. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it," Ann grumbled. "Treat the little cunt like the belle of the ball."

The light of false dawn was just brightening the sky as they pulled off the road and up the gravel path. Susan drove a little recklessly, the back end of the car fishtailing and sending up plumes of gravel and rock behind them.

When the reached the path that led to the clearing, they scrambled out of the car, grabbing the robe from the back seat, and ran up the path. In the back of her mind, Susan felt a twinge of fear over what she might find. Sometime during the night, she had a severe attack of conscience. She had several bad dreams where they came up to fetch Melissa only to find a bloody corpse, or a skeleton, or nothing at all. Now she entertained the same notions, but with the addition of Melissa's mother crying over a dead body.

None of these things greeted her when the reached the clearing. Instead they found Melissa as they had left her, staked out naked on the ground. Both Susan and Ann came to a stop at the edge of the clearing, staring. Susan held her breath until she saw Melissa's chest rise and fall steadily.

Susan paused, took a deep breath, then put on her best smile and strode forward. Ann followed her, but mustered only half a smile that was not very convincing. "Oh, Melissa!" Susan sang. "We've come for you. We've come to free you and accept you into the Circle! You've made it!"

There was no response for a moment. Susan's smile faded, and her panic mounted. Ann gave her a worried look.

"Good morning. You're a little early, aren't you?"

Susan and Ann exchanged glances. They were not sure what it was about Melissa's voice that frightened them. Her voice had been perfectly calm, even serene. Or perhaps that was it. It was certainly not the kind of voice they expected to hear from a wuss of a girl that had just spent the entire night in the forest tied down naked.

Or perhaps it was the realization on Susan's part that they should not have expected a response at all from someone that had her mouth taped shut.

"Um..." Susan said, having lost what she was going to say. "Um, yeah, we... we came early for you."

"We were just soooo eager to welcome you into our ranks, sister," Ann said in a lilting, sarcastic voice.

Susan slapped Ann on the arm and gave her a dirty look. Ann stuck her tongue at her friend.

"Yes, the Circle," said Melissa. "You were right, Susan, this was a wonderful experience."

"I was?" Susan said, confused. "I mean, um, yeah, of course."

"Ooo, did the goddess come to you?" Ann asked, grinning.

Melissa paused. "I was visited. And was shown power."

Susan felt nervous. She was not sure what to make of that answer.

"So are we going to stand around or are we going to free our newest member and get her back home?" Ann said in a low voice to Susan through clenched teeth.

Susan blinked. "Oh, Jesus. Yes, let's untie her quickly... so we can get this warm robe around her."

Susan started to untie Melissa's feet, while Ann did her hands. Ann looked over to Melissa, who smiled at her. Ann felt a shiver pass through her as she saw that smile. It was not a pleasant smile, or a humorous smile. It was the smile of someone that was entertaining a private, amusing, and unflattering thought of another. Ann knew it quite well, for she herself was very good at such smiles.

"What are you looking at?" Ann snapped in a soft voice.

"One of my Circle sisters," Melissa replied. "Am I not?"

Ann swallowed, then suddenly came to a realization. "Hey, what happened to the tape and your panties?"

"Ann, please hurry up!" Susan hissed.

"All right, all right." Ann gritted her teeth and set her face hard as she struggled to untie the ropes from around Melissa's wrists.

"Is there a problem?" Melissa asked.

"Um, no, not really," Susan said as she finished, picking up the robe again.

"You just seem in a terrible hurry. I was hoping I'd be left for a little longer. I was starting to enjoy it."

"Figures you would," Ann muttered. She looked up at Susan, pointed to Melissa, then encircled a finger around one ear.

Susan pressed her lips tightly together. As soon as Ann finished releasing Melissa, Susan stepped forward and held the robe open for Melissa.

Melissa slowly stood up, moving as effortlessly as if she had never been tied up. She did not appear in any hurry whatsoever, looking up at Susan and the robe for a few moments.

"So what are you waiting for, your majesty?" Ann sneered.

"Ann, shut up!" Susan exclaimed.

Melissa gave another of her strange smiles. "Such contention among the Circle. Has something gone amiss?"

The more Melissa spoke, the more anxious Susan became. This was not like her at all. Even before the "initiation" Melissa did not speak like this. The hesitation in her voice was gone, as was the perpetual submissive undertone they had found so endearing. She did not seem the least bit nervous about her nudity. She even appeared comfortable with it. Had Melissa actually lost it sometime during the night? Was she even sane any longer? Was it just a matter of time before she exploded?

Susan decided that the only way to get Melissa moving was to tell her the truth.

"Look, Melissa," Susan said urgently. "I think something got back to your Mom about all this and she's going to call the house really soon. If you're not there, we could all get into deep trouble."

"And I for one don't want to get into trouble just because you're still communing with the goddess," Ann said in a mocking voice. "So get up and let's go!"

Melissa looked up at Ann and flashed a grin and a wink. Ann's mouth dropped open, and she stumbled back a step. It felt as though an ice-cold wind had chilled her to her very core.

Melissa stood and let Susan help her into her robe. "All right, let's head out," Susan said. She placed an arm around Melissa's waist and hustled her down the path.

"What about the stakes and rope?" Ann asked as she jogged to catch up.

"Leave it! We'll come back later and get them. We've got less than ten minutes to get home!"

They put Melissa in the back seat before spinning the car around in a U-turn that made smoke issue from the tires. When the car bumped back onto the paved road leading back to town, Ann turned around and frowned angrily at Melissa. "You better not cross us on this, Melissa!"

"Ann!" Susan cried, exasperated. "Look, Melissa, we told your Mom we were up late talking and you were tired."

"Yeah, and you better say you had a wonderful time."

"Oh, but I did," Melissa said. "I had a most wonderful time after you two left last night. That was the best thing that had ever happened to me."

Susan glanced briefly at Ann. Ann took one more look at Melissa and her strange, secretive smile, shuddered, and remained quiet the rest of the trip home.

"Oh, Jesus, the phone is ringing already!" Susan cried as she burst through the front door of the house, panting. "Melissa, you better get that."

Melissa calmly strode past an anxious Susan and upset Ann, in no particular hurry, letting the phone ring another three times before she finally reached it and picked it up. "Hello?... Hi, Mom."

Susan blew out her lips in a relieved sigh. She shut the door behind them and collapsed into an easy chair. Ann passed her and plopped herself down onto the sofa, making a face as she stretched herself out, her back up against one of the hand rests.

"Of course I'm okay, Mom, why wouldn't I be?" Melissa asked as she twirled one of the ends of the belt on her robe. Her voice was completely calm and self-assured. "I've been here the whole time, with my friends."

Melissa turned her head towards Susan and Ann and smiled, dropping a wink. Ann rolled her eyes but looked relieved nevertheless.

"No, Mom, I haven't been out at all, not since I got here yesterday. Why would you get the idea that I was out?"

Susan gave Ann a dirty look. Ann sneered in response.

"Why, what did you hear?... Oh, really now." Melissa grinned. "What a fantastic story. I mean, the very idea that my friends would be so cruel as to take me out into the forest and leave me there."

Susan shifted nervously in her seat. There was something in Melissa's voice that made her uncomfortable. Moreover, she felt an odd sensation along the back of her neck. It had started soon after they had picked up Melissa. The only other time she had felt something like that was when she was practicing magic and believed she had come close to actually achieving the effect she had wanted.

Ann rolled her eyes again, but even she started to look a little nervous. She did not feel any of the odd sensations that her friend did, but she was growing increasingly uncomfortable having Melissa around. She intended to go home very soon after Melissa was done with her call.

"Now, mother, do I sound like someone that just spent the entire night alone in the forest?" Melissa asked.

No, you don't, Susan answered in her own mind. And that's the problem.

"Well, I was late in getting up because we were up late last night. Yes, I know that's unusual for me, but how often do I do things like this?" said Melissa, sounding slightly annoyed. "Look, everything is obviously okay with me, so why not just drop it?... Really? I certainly don't think so... Anyway, I'm fine, and I'll probably be over here for awhile longer."

Susan tried to hide her distress at hearing this. She had hoped that Melissa would be eager to leave. The longer Melissa stayed in the house, the more nervous it made Susan feel.

"Okay, I'll call if I'm later than that. I'll see you later. Good-bye, Mom." Melissa quietly hung up the phone and turned towards the others with a smile. "Well, that's all taken care of."

"Thank you, Melissa," Susan said sincerely.

"Yeah, thanks," Ann said half-heartedly.

Melissa came around the other end of the sofa and sat down. Ann drew her legs towards herself, as if afraid of being too close to Melissa. There was total silence in the room for the next few seconds, so heavy that Susan could almost feel the weight of it upon her shoulders. She finally broke the silence when she said in a contrite voice, "Hey, Melissa, you... you've been really good about all this."

"Well, it's not like she didn't agree to do it," Ann said.

Susan sighed. "Yes, Ann, but we could have been a little nicer about it."

Ann just shrugged and folded her arms.

Melissa smiled. "Oh, no, please, I should be thanking you for that experience. I quite enjoyed it."

Susan leaned forward in her chair. "Um, Melissa..."

Melissa fixed her steady gaze on Susan. "Yes?"

Susan paused a moment as she locked eyes with Melissa. The tingling on the back of her neck grew worse. "What, um, exactly happened to you in the forest?"

"Oh, what I'm sure you had expected, at first," Melissa answered as she turned herself to face Ann more, her back against the hand rest. "I was cold, I cried my eyes out, I was terrified, I was humiliated."

Susan swallowed. Though Melissa's voice was calm, her eyes had a hard edge to them that sent a shiver down her spine. "I'm... I'm sorry about that."

Melissa shrugged. "Like I said, that's how it was at first. Then the Power came to me, and I was no longer upset. It was a wonderful experience."

Susan nodded slowly. She both wanted to know and didn't want to know the details about how this "power" came to her and what exactly she was talking about. For the moment, the latter won out.

Ann, however, was not smart enough to keep her mouth shut in similar fashion. "Melissa, what the hell are you talking about?"

Melissa turned her steady gaze to Ann. Ann appeared nervous at this scrutiny but did not flinch or retreat. Part of her mind was still trying to believe that Melissa was the same weak-willed wimp from the day before. "What do you mean?"

"What's this power that you keep talking about? What, you can work magic now?"

Melissa smiled. "Wasn't that the whole idea?"

"Yeah, sure. So show us some magic then."

Susan's eyes widened. "Ann, please, stop it," she said softly but urgently.

"Don't tell me to 'stop it'!" Ann snapped. "We go through all this trouble for Melissa to get her into the Circle, so I think we have a right to see a little proof that the 'power' really came to her." She grinned malevolently. "And if not, she's out."

Susan felt control of the situation completely slipping away from her. She looked to Melissa to try to discern what the girl might do next. Was this where she blew up at them when she could not produce anything? Though at this point, Susan was not so sure Melissa would fail in this regard.

"So you want proof of my power, do you?" Melissa asked darkly.

Susan never felt more frightened by a single sentence in her entire life.

Ann faltered for a moment, hesitating, shifting nervously in her seat. She drew her legs up, her knees to her chest, as if going into some defensive posture. "Yeah," she said in a lower voice. "Show us something."

"What about you, Susan?" Melissa asked. "Do you need a demonstration too?"

Susan shook her head. "No, you don't need to prove it to me any further."

Ann gaped at Susan. "What the hell are you talking about? It was your idea to think of some reason later to kick her out." Susan gave Ann a stricken look, and Ann's mouth dropped open. "Why... why did I say that?"

"Ann, tell me," Melissa said. "That bit you did with my panties, was that part of the ceremony like you said?"

"Y... Ye... N... No," Ann sputtered, as if struggling against her own mind, trying to repress the words tumbling out of her mouth. "It... I... I did it because I was just being mean to you... Why am I saying this??"

"You said you wanted a demonstration of my power," Melissa said with a serene smile.

"She can't lie to you?" Susan asked warily.

"She can no longer lie, period," Melissa said.

"Stop it, whatever you're doing to me!" Ann shouted. "You're... you're scaring me!"

"If you don't want to be scared, I can arrange that."

Ann stared at Melissa, her eyes widening. "What... what do you mean by that?"

Melissa smiled evilly. "What it means, dear friend, is that I have complete control of your mind right now, and I can make you feel or think anything I wish."

Ann did appeared frightened, but defiance was mingled with the fear in her eyes. "You... you can't do that. I don't believe you."

"Oh, jeez, Ann, don't provoke her!" Susan cried.