Caleb 05 - The Dream

"Thanks for your help," he said. Before he could summon the courage to say anything more, she was gone.

For days he watched for her, waiting to see her again. He had hours and hours of imaginary conversations with her, where he would profess his love and she would swoon at his feet. They would spend the rest of their lives together.

Then, the week before the party, he saw her.

He was delighted and rushed out of his house to go and speak with her, only to see her kissing another man: Bob.

I almost felt sorry for him, then I remembered the atrocities I had witnessed him committing and my feelings of sympathy evaporated.

How could she do that to me? his black soul sputtered. She knows that she's mine, and yet she's being unfaithful to me with this jerk!

He stormed over, prepared to take retribution, but as he approached, Bob saw him and invited him to the party the following week.

Immediately he decided that he would wait. He would humiliate both of them in front of all of their friends. He would make sure that they would never be together. If she was not to be his, then no man would ever want her.

Then the screen cut to the party. It showed the events from his perspective, and heard his internal monologue about his plans for Angela. They were worse than I had originally feared.

Yes, he had planned to force himself on Angela while Bob watched. Then he had planned for all the other male guests to fuck Angela, making sure that they all came in her pussy, with the express intent of getting her pregnant.

His depravity didn't end there though.

He had also intended that Angela would be forced to go down on every female at the party, before finally being serviced by four neighborhood dogs, whose owners he had instructed to come over at a certain time.

He ran through the scenario in his head, and it played out in the court as if it had actually happened. I was forced to watch, horrified, as first Harold, then all the other males at the party - myself included - raped poor Angela. Her body was reacting like she was enjoying the experience, but her face and eyes told the truth. He wanted her to experience the horror of what was being done to her.

Next came the women, each of whom stripped naked and forced her to eat them out. Sue, Louise, Mary, and every other woman there used her as some sort of masturbation aid.

I finally tore my gaze away from the screen and looked at the version of Harold in the courtroom. I had thought he would have been gloating, but that was not the case. Tears were flowing down his face as he wept bitterly.

I looked back at the screen in time to see one of the neighborhood dogs being led up to a sobbing Angela. I stood up.

"Your honor, I object," I said.

The screen froze and the judge turned his eyes to face me.

"On what grounds?"

"Because this never actually took place. The intent may have been there, but the defendant was interrupted and therefore unable to carry out his plans."

He considered my point for a few seconds. "Sustained," he said finally. The screen cleared.

"To the charge of the attempted rape, how do you find the defendant?" he asked me.

I looked across at Harold, who was slumped over now, still sobbing.

"Guilty."

The judge nodded, then said, "This court would like to thank the jury for its service and will proceed immediately to sentence."

"The defendant must rise," the clerk intoned.

Harold stood.

"Harold Bleasdale, you have been found guilty of all charges levied against you. Do you have anything to say before I pass sentence?"

Harold looked directly at me.

"I loved her," he said. "Please tell her that I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt her, but she betrayed me."

I realized at that point that he was truly mentally unhinged.

Strange really, that it took that statement, considering all that I had sat through in this trial. Quite simply, Harold was mad. He had grown up being given anything he wanted and thought he was entitled to it. He genuinely believed that Angela belonged to him; since he hadn't used his powers on her to create that imaginary connection, he believed it to be pure and unassailable on any grounds. Thus, he also genuinely believed that she had betrayed him.

I also remembered - or rather, became acutely aware in that moment - that my upbringing had been different from his. If I'd wanted something, I'd had to work for it. If I'd done something nasty to another child or to my parents, I'd been punished, but more importantly, lectured on the why of it. I knew that that didn't mean I would not be corrupted by my powers, but, to my mind, it made it less likely. That thought comforted me.

Thinking of my parents made me wonder what had happened to Harold's, there had been no reference to them in the dream after they had bought him the car. My question was answered in the form of a flashback, which was presented to me the instant I had wondered about them.

On the night of the kiss, Harold had returned home and tried his powers on his parents. He had not had any sexual urges toward either of them, but he controlled them, forcing them both to do menial tasks for him. Up until the time he finally decided to move out of a house he considered to be beneath him he treated them as slaves, forcing them to pander to his whims. After that time, he simply forgot about them, he had outgrown them, and he had no more use for them.

I didn't hear the sentence that the judge handed down. It didn't mean anything; it was just noise. I was watching Harold as he collapsed on the dock, sobbing. I didn't feel sorry for him.

I opened my eyes.

I expected it to be morning. In my dream it seemed like weeks had passed, but it was still dark, and Dianna was lying beside me, her eyes closed, her breathing regular.

I examined Harold's memories in my mind. They were still there, but fuzzy and indistinct. They had a 'dealt with' feeling to them and did not affect me, other than to make me angry. That was an emotion I was happy to have attached to them. Seeing something like that should make you angry; it would make any sane person angry.

I noticed Dianna's eyes were open and she was regarding me steadily.

"May I?" she asked.

I nodded.

I felt her touch - the warmth of her mind enveloping mine. This time I did not react. I neither pulled back nor tried to deny her access.

She smiled.

"You have dealt with them well," she said. "A trial seems like an appropriate method. Interesting that you were a juror and not the judge. I think that shows your humility - another good sign. I do sense that for an instant you had some sympathy for Harold?"

"He fell in love," I said, "His expression of that love showed that he was batshit crazy, but his motive for attacking Angela was that he loved her. All that power, sex, and money left him empty. He had all that, but he didn't have something that I already have, in spades. If there's anything to learn from what I saw tonight, is that my biggest advantage over Harold is that I know that I have people who love me. My parents, Mary and Amanda..."

"And me," she added, putting her hand to my face. "I saw you born. I was the one who placed the amulet on you. From a distance I watched you grow, and I have always loved you."

I looked at her, surprised.

"I didn't realize..." I began.

"Your mother and I have been friends for a long time. She and I shared my daughters' first times, just as you shared yours with her. Carolyn, my daughter, was a year older than your mother, and they were good friends. Her death hit us both very hard."

I didn't want to ask what happened; I could see that the memory was painful for her.

"Carolyn," she said, "and Tim, her husband, were both with the agency. They were flying back from an assignment and their plane went down. There were no survivors. The girls were two years old at the time."

I saw tears in her eyes, and I moved to embrace her. Simultaneously and instinctively, I wrapped my mind around her, enveloping her in my feelings for her, and she smiled.

"Thank you," she said. "That is beautiful, but if you want to help someone, you might want to tone down the 'horny' some."

I blushed yet again and drew my mind back.

"It takes training and practice," she said, "but you have good instincts. Now, it's still very early, and although I might not need a lot of sleep, I do need some, and so do you."

Her words made me realize how profoundly tired I was. I had slept, and dreamt, but I hadn't rested - quite the opposite. Our conversation concluded, there was nothing left to distract me from that fact. Once more, I felt Dianna's mind embrace me with all of its love and warmth. I knew she was using her powers to get me back to sleep quickly. I was happy for the help. I welcomed her in, and then faded away.