Chapter 32

Cassie had an uneasy feeling ever since she started the first of her classes that day. Only part of her worries were over Jason. Most had to do with the new team he had assembled.

Over the course of time she had been at the school, she had dreamed about every person there at least once. Every one of those dreams were in her journals. The night before she had gone back over the entries for Becky and Ned.

She was worried about Becky. Becky was the weak link in the chain. Cassie didn't think she had the nerve to do this. Her heart was in the right place, no doubt about that. But -- and Cassie hated having to think this of her -- Becky was ultimately something of a coward. Cassie could see that in the fantasy that she had acted out under Nyssa's thrall. She had become the opposite of her normal personality.

During her class, Cassie took a glance at the rotation schedule. Becky was up this time around to pass by the nurse's office. Cassie had a bad feeling that Becky was lying to them the other day when she said she had actually gone and looked.

Cassie's current class was not too far from the nurse's station. She would have to hustle to make her next class, but if she didn't dawdle, she could head over and see for herself whether Becky did her share or not. If Becky failed to show up, Cassie was going to make sure Jason called her out on it later.

Jason lay sprawled out naked on the examination table. His mind long since had passed into incoherence, his head lolling to one side as he panted. His body writhed constantly, his moans more desperate than erotic.

Nyssa had spent the time "playing" with him by slow, sexual torture, though at first it appeared as if he were in a position enviable to any other boy his age. Nyssa was naked as well, her ruby lips sliding slowly and sensuously up and down Jason's swollen cock. Her tongue moved in ways against the underside of his shaft that seemed almost inhuman, but felt wonderfully erotic.

She playfully bounced his balls in her fingers, making them remain slack instead of drawing up towards his body as he grew closer to orgasm. It was a peak that he would never reach. He would not cum unless she gave him the permission to do so, and she had chosen not to utter a word to him.

She finally let him drop from her lips, his cock glistening from the wetness of her mouth. She drew herself forward, smiling evilly at him. She dangled her large breasts above him, letting them drape across his still pulsing cock, drawing renewed whimpers of torturous pleasure from him.

Nyssa giggled. She dropped down, engulfing his cock between her mounds. She kneaded them together with her hands, letting him slide between her warm, soft flesh. Jason's breath became ragged, his excitement rising even higher.

She finally spoke to him. "Oh yes, I saw that in your little mind, my pet. It's the one reason you wish Melinda had big tits, isn't it? So she could do this to you."

Nyssa rocked herself back and forth, letting Jason's cock thrust in and out of her bosom. Jason was panting as he rose back to the edge again, his body straining for release. She just smiled and giggled as his response. "You're the most suggestible in this state, my pet. Your mind is the most open to me when you're at the very edge, wanting so very badly to cum. Eventually, you'll do anything to be allowed to cum. Anything at all."

Nyssa relented and pulled back from him, letting his cock bounce against his abdomen once. Jason went limp on the table, but his body still trembled from the built-up sexual lust. She slid off the table and onto her feet and came up alongside of him. She traced a single finger along his chest, making him shudder. She flicked at one of his nipples, drawing a low, pleading moan from him.

"You think you're controlled now. But the mind has many layers. I have control of the outermost layers. I need to work my way in. And this is how we do it."

Nyssa leaned in close, letting her breasts sway under her and brush his chest. Her hand wrapped itself around his cock and stroked it lightly, bringing it again to the brink but no further.

"And this is how we get to where we can get rid of that pesky former self of yours... eventually." She drew back from him and let his cock fall from her hand. "Cum."

Jason gasped and his body jerked as his cock shot several ropes of his seed over his chest, throbbing so hard that he could not even speak. When he finally found his voice, he just whimpered loudly as his orgasm pulsed, making it ache with the force of his climax.

Nyssa watched with a sly smile until his orgasm began to wind down, his whimpers turning to low moans. She turned away long enough to fetch a towel for him. "Here," she said, holding it out to him. "Clean yourself up and then get dressed. You'll have your next class soon."

Despite how thoroughly drained he felt, he did not hesitate to obey her. "Yes, Mistress."

"Mmm, so obedient, are you?" Nyssa said as she watched him. "So much the good boy for me now. Once I get into the deepest recesses of your mind, slave, it will be so much more natural to you. You won't be able to think of a time when you were not my thrall. Or when you kept secrets from me."

Jason shuddered as he slipped off the examination table and onto his feet, her words making him excited again. His cock remained fully hard for her, tinged a slight purple color, as he went to retrieve his clothes.

"Once you leave this room, Jason, you'll act normal with the others." Nyssa chuckled in amusement. "Though I'm sure your little friend the Dreamer will wonder about you, and why you suddenly stopped having your delusions about the school nurse."

Something made him pause very slightly when Nyssa mentioned Cassie. It was brief enough that Nyssa didn't catch it, as much as she was reveling in her new power over him. "Yes, Mistress," Jason said tonelessly as he dressed.

"In fact... I like that... use that exact word with her if she confronts you over it. After all, it's a ridiculous notion that dreams can tell you anything, isn't it? It's a crackpot idea in the first place."

Jason slowly nodded. "Yes, Mistress. It's a stupid idea. Dreams are not real. They can't tell you anything."

Nyssa smiled. "Very good, my pet. Perhaps that will earn you a reward tomorrow. You're to return to me after last class tomorrow. You'll do that every day now. I'll play with you some more. And you'll get to be a little more my permanent pet every day."

Jason panted and shivered with delight. "Yes, Mistress," he moaned. "I want to be your pet..."

Nyssa giggled. "No, not really. Not yet. But you will. Just like you will reveal all your little secrets to me."

"I have no secrets from you, Mistress."

Nyssa stepped up to him. "Oh, yes, you do. You don't realize it, but you do. No matter. Nothing for you to worry your empty head about. In fact... " She leaned over and whispered in his ear. "... would you like me to share a little secret with you?"

Jason closed his eyes and trembled at the sound of her voice and the moist, hot breath on his ear. "I-if you wish it, Mistress..."

Nyssa smiled and gave his earlobe a single lick. His cock lurched, as if to go into orgasm, but stopping just short. Jason moaned deeply as he felt a thought enter his head.

"That was a particularly strong one," whispered Nyssa. "I know her desire already, as powerful as it is. Much like Heather's was. Ironic, that."

She straightened up and trailed a finger down his back as he continued dressing. "Oh, and one last thing... just as a little reminder of your submission to me... each night when you are ready to go to bed, you will think about me. You will grow very aroused and hard. And then you will cum and thank me for it."

Jason responded with a husky, needful sigh as he closed his zipper over his uncomfortably stiff cock.

Nyssa smiled as Jason finished dressing. "Now... off to your next class. Back to your mundane little world until I need you again."

"Yes, Mistress."

Jason turned and headed out of the room.

Nyssa paused until she heard the door to the hallway open and close. Some of her good mood abated. His mind held the same secret that Heather's and Richie's did. She assumed she would find the same thing in Melinda were she to look. They knew something that she did not. Yet as many times as she thought about it, she could not see any obvious danger. She had all four of the so-called "Harbingers" under her thrall. They could not operate without her say. The danger should be over.

She drew in a deep breath and let it go, her face growing more serious. She would be happier when she has taken the next six. Besides allowing her to begin sowing the seeds she had collected, their sexual escapades once they in turn took their intended victims would give her much-needed energy. Controlling the former Harbingers was taking more energy than she had expected. That would abate in time, but the margin was becoming slim.

No matter. She believed there was little anyone could do to stop her at this point.

Cassie hurried out of her class, trying to dodge around the other students to get to the west wing of the school. She felt a knot of anxiety form in her stomach as she grew close. She tried to convince herself it was because of what she expected to see, which was no Becky in evidence.

And when she got to the hallway junction just before the corridor that led to the nurse's station, this is exactly what she saw.

She uttered an exasperated sigh. She had hoped she had pegged Becky wrong, but apparently her journal had been true and Becky had not changed much since then. She was still a coward.

Cassie decided to wait around a bit longer to see if Becky were simply late. False hope, certainly, but she wanted to give Becky every chance to make good. Yet it was not long before the crowd began to thin as everyone headed to their next class.

Cassie sighed and started to turn away, casting one last look down the corridor to the nurse's station. It was only as she pulled her eyes away that the movement registered, and she immediately spun her gaze around again.

The shock hit her harder than the sudden release from Nyssa's thrall had that day she had been stopped from enslaving Richie. She went weak, her books dropping from her hands and clattering on the floor. She staggered until her shoulder struck the wall beside her. Her eyes went wide, shimmering with a terrified look.

Jason emerged from the corridor. Darkness swirled in horrible inky black around him. He smiled to her and waved.

Cassie bit her lip hard enough to draw blood to stop herself from screaming. Without bothering to pick up her books, she turned and fled as fast as she could. It was only when she was nearly to the east entrance did she remember she was still in school and needed to get to her next class. Yet even as the bell rang to signal its start, she couldn't get herself to move. Instead, she burst into tears.

Her grief was short-lived. She couldn't do this. Having a breakdown now would not do any good. She had made a promise to Jason in the event that he fell. She shivered violently and wrapped her arms around herself as she choked back her tears. All four of them! Jason, Heather, Melinda, and Richie. All Nyssa's slaves. There was no one left from the original team.

Cassie swallowed and forced herself to stand up straight. She wiped at her face and took a few deep, though quavering breaths.

"Cassie?"

Cassie gasped and whirled around, her heart leaping into her throat. When she saw who it was, she let out a relieved sigh.

"Oops. I'm sorry," said Marcie sheepishly. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"I-It's okay, Miss Fuller."

"Are you all right?"

"I... um... y-yes, I am. I have to be."

Marcie gave her a puzzled look.

Cassie forced a smile. "Never mind, Miss Fuller. Oh, damn, I'm late for class, I better... um..." She suddenly gave Marcie an odd look.

"Something wrong?"

"Didn't you used to wear glasses, Miss Fuller?"

Marcie beamed. "That's where I was just coming from, Cassie. Miss Bendon paid to have me fitted with contacts instead. She said I look so much better without the glasses."

Cassie slowly nodded. What the lack of glasses also did was emphasize how startling a transformation this woman had undergone in only the past two weeks. When Cassie had first seen her, she had been a mousy woman with hair and clothing that dated back to the early sixties. Now it might have well be a different person altogether.

Cassie's eyes widened. Something about that thought sent another chill through her, and suddenly her dreams about the woman took on a more ominous tone.

"Um... Cassie?" Marcie asked tentatively. "Are you sure you're all right? You don't need to see the..."

"I'm fine, Miss Fuller," Cassie said a bit loudly. "Um, sorry. I'll be getting along to my next class. Bye."

She quickly turned and fled again.

Cassie now understood that something was seriously wrong concerning Marcie, and it had something to do with the Principal. She had wondered why Principal Bendon had remained largely silent through everything that was happening at the school. Was she instead focused on doing something to Marcie all this time?

The frustrating thing was that there was nothing she could do about it now. All their attentions had to be focused on what Jason had set out to do, which was disrupt Nyssa's attempts to take any more students. That had the highest priority.

And now, the stakes were a lot higher than they ever had been before.

Ned wasn't looking where he was going when he ran, and as a result he ran into a brief spot of trouble. He collided with one of the jocks from senior year, and he had to endure some shoving and one light slam against the lockers before he could slip away from him, retreating to the sound of derisive calls mostly centered around his nose.

Usually Ned gave as good as he got, but he was in no mood for it, not after what he had just seen.

He ran into the cafeteria, but food was the furthest thing from his mind. He waded through the crowds of students, searching table by table until he spotted what he was looking for. Seated at the far end of a table near the back was Cassie, staring morosely at her plate and barely picking at her food.

Ned quickly slid into a seat next to her and said, "Hi."

He had moved so fast that Cassie flinched in surprise at the voice that was now suddenly in her ear, and then again when she turned her head and saw Ned's bulbous nose right before her face.

"Oh, um, sorry," Ned said, drawing back. He paused. His eyes scanned her up and down. "Uh... you don't have it, do you?"

Cassie blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

"Um... I'd see it on you if you had it, right? Even though you're sitting down?"

Cassie was in no mood for mysteries. "Ned, please, what are you talking about?"

"Those aura things. I'd see it no matter what, right?"

"I don't have an aura, Ned," Cassie said in annoyance.

"Okay. Okay. Fair enough. Is it, like, possible to imagine one around someone that doesn't really have it?"

Cassie paused and took a guess as to where this was going. She looked at him with dark, shimmering eyes. "Jason's been taken, Ned," she said quietly.

Ned just stared for a few moments, his mouth open. Finally he turned away and looked straight ahead. "Bogus," he muttered.

Cassie's eyes flashed anger briefly. Jason was enslaved and that was all he could think of to say? She stopped herself from responding sharply to him, biting off a retort before it could pass her lips.

"So is that it?"

"So is what it, Ned?"

"We're done? Through? Kaput?"

Hearing this filled her with indignation. She considered this a good thing. It was better than being filled with utter despair as she had been when she first contemplated carrying on without him. "Of course not! We've still got me, you, Becky, and Diane. That hardly means we're through."

"Oh, yeah. But wasn't he, like, the leader or something?"

"Even if he was, it doesn't matter now. We just keep doing what we've been doing."

Ned nodded. There was a long moment of silence between them.

"Um... that's, y'know, kinda scary," Ned finally said in a low voice.

"Yeah, it is. When wasn't it?"

"I just mean... with Jason gone..."

Cassie rounded on him. "He's not 'gone, ' okay? Stop making it sound like he's dead or something!"

"Okay, okay, chill. Sorry..."

Cassie sighed. "It's all right," she said in a more contrite voice. "Yes, it is scary that Jason got taken by Nyssa. But... but I think he was expecting it. I just wish I had been."

"Wait... are you that gal that's supposed to, like, have those funky dreams and such about people?"

Cassie's lips drew to a thin line. "Yes, I am," she said, looking at him defiantly.

Ned stared at her for a few moments. In a sincerely impressed voice he said, "Cool."

Cassie's expression softened. "You mean that? Seriously?"

"Yeah. I mean... if you don't think that's weird for a guy to be interested in dreams and stuff."

"Of course not."

"Do you, like, think your dreams tell the future or anything funky like that?"

Cassie shook her head. "I wish they did. Maybe I could have warned Jason that Nyssa was going to try this today. I just wish I knew what made him go to her. He told me he would try to leave the school."

Ned glanced in the general direction of the west wing and shuddered. "Man, she's got some sorta pull," he said in a hollow voice. "And I don't mean because she's hot."

"Yes, I know," Cassie said in a small voice.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I forgot you were... um, you know..."

Cassie managed a small smile. "It's okay."

"So, um, do you know if what we're gonna do is gonna have any affect on her?"

"I think it will. Yes."

"Something you saw in your dreams?"

Cassie hesitated just a moment. "Yes."

Ned nodded. "Good enough for me. Okay, I'm still in."

Cassie smiled, genuine this time. "Thank you, Ned. I hope the others feel the same way after we tell them what happened."

"Well, that Diane chick, she won't even see it herself, right? But Becky..." He shook his head. "Dunno about her."

"Tell me about it. She never showed up when she was supposed to."

"Oh, you mean to peek at Nyssa's office? Yeah, I did that when I was supposed to. Didn't see anything."

"That's when I saw Jason."

"Oh, um, yeah. Maybe it was better you did. Becky woulda just wet her panties and run away."

Cassie didn't care for the imagery that conjured, but she unfortunately had to agree with the sentiment. "Well, we're supposed to all meet after classes in the parking lot. We'll deal with her then."

"Gonna come down on her?" Ned asked with a small smirk.

"I guess I'll have to, won't I?" Cassie hated the idea of doing it. To her it meant having to act just like her haughty parents did with others. She despised the way her parents dealt with people outside of their little rich circles. "But if she's going to be a member of this team..."

"The Harbingers, right?" Ned said with a grin. "You're gonna keep the name, right? It's a cool name."

"Yes, we'll keep it. It was... Jason's idea to call us that," Cassie said, her voice wavering.

"Then it's a great way to remember him by. Uh, I mean, not that, like, we're writin' him off... uh... damn... I really suck at talking to girls, you know?"

Cassie giggled at this.

"See why I kinda jumped at the chance to, uh, y'know, not hafta worry about it anymore..."

Cassie nodded. "Yes, I understand that feeling as well. And you're talking to this girl just fine."