Friends, Enemies, and Exes Ch. 12 (FINALE)

And it even sounded a little tempting, if it weren't for the girls.

I don't know what would happen to them if it all just disappeared suddenly. They might lose their minds, especially Katie. I can't let any of them get hurt.

If there were any way at all to save everyone in this situation, there could only be one. And in the days he'd been at the cabin, he couldn't think of one satisfying answer. He watched the snow fall gently on the ground, drank cocoa, and read his father's work. But no calm could help now. The power was returning to him, dissolving his need for sleep and heightening his physical senses.

And he was hard. It was more comfortable to walk around naked. Outside, he could feel how cold it was, but it never seemed to penetrate his skin. Snow melted as it touched him.

On the morning of December 30th, Charlie stood outside, bare to the trees and the cloudy sky, and shouted for what must have been an hour. His voice never went raw. Unapologetically falling into the snow, he began to cry and laugh and scream all at once. And when the fit ran its course, he did not move. He began to remember.

"I want to make you happy," Penny said that night at the reunion.

"But what will make you happy," he asked.

And they'd gone in this endless loop, presuming what would make the other the most happy, the most perfectly satisfied. Penny thought he wanted the sexual freedom he'd always had, and Charlie thought she wanted him to have that. He liked it, of course. But he didn't want it. He never even thought about having it again.

Because if he wanted it, he could have taken it any time he wanted.

"They have to obey me," he reasoned aloud. "I could find the right order to... what the fuck would I even say?" He knew he wouldn't be able to give the right order. More likely, he would immediately start fucking every last one of them. Already his cock was surging with the desire to fill fresh pussies with his cum.

Still, it was the only idea he had left.

Like an old film he'd seen a hundred times, Charlie envisioned a memory of their early days as a couple. They were rafting down the American River on a trip out of town. Penny jumped into the tranquil water now and again, and Charlie would splash her lightly with the paddle. Then she'd wade over to the raft and give him a tender kiss.

As they approached the end, she dragged him into the water and wiggled her way into his arms. "You know," she said between kisses, not caring that the raft was drifting away slowly, "I waited a long time for you."

"Men don't mature as quickly as women," he joked.

"It was worth it. I'm pretty happy, you know."

"I am too, Penny."

**********

Penny

She'd never been so wet in her life, and she'd never been to Maine before.

As they crossed the border into the edge of the country, Penny felt herself lunge north, like some magnetic pull had taken hold of her. He's close, she thought. Very close.

The anticipation on the long drive east was enough to make her afraid. It was as though she was going to an arranged marriage to meet her groom for the first time. But she was no pure virgin flower. She was her Master's whore, her Mistress's new toy. Soon she could revel in the joy of reuniting them.

Them? she thought.

No, that wasn't right. It was supposed to be about everyone, or if anyone in particular, Penny. I love him, and he loves me. I'm his girlfriend, not Katie.

No, not Katie. They hadn't been together in a long time. Yet it all seemed to add up to her. She'd taken control, and Penny hadn't batted an eye. The pleasure of serving her was just too immense. Every degrading order, every unnatural act, all of it made Penny feel alive and useful. Even the taste of her own sister could not take her off the high of servitude.

That did nothing to quell the nagging feeling that something was wrong.

Katie was in the bedroom of the head tour bus, as ever. One of the later additions from the house, Stefanie, was helping her practice blowjob techniques on Emily's strap on. She had been one of Master's favorites before he left. Katie seemed to have an affinity for her as well.

And as long as Katie was occupied, Penny knew she wouldn't be listening.

It had been a long time since she'd listened in to the other girls' thoughts. Once she'd begun bending to Katie's will, it was difficult to feel any shred of authority. Tapping into one of the girls felt like the privilege of someone with power, even if only symbolic. But now she needed to know something.

First she reached out to Alex, who didn't know her name anymore. It was fun to call her Cumslut, but a little frightening that the name Alexis meant nothing to her. Her thoughts were filled with nothing but Charlie's cock, even though someone was happily eating her pussy. It could have distracted Penny if she weren't so worried.

She searched deep into her memory. It felt like walking hundreds of miles just to find the parts of her mind that went back before the house, and further still to visit the days when she was Charlie's girlfriend. Penny tried to follow the feeling of Katie, like a dog following a scent. But there was no trail. Alex knew nothing about Katie and Charlie.

She tried Lanie. Her mind was more focused, thanks to the vigorous face fucking that Natalie was giving her with a long strap on. Traveling through her consciousness proved to be much easier than Alex's. But the result was the same.

Lauren's muddled mind could still remember her year as Charlie's sweetheart easily. Even Erica's tongue in her ass couldn't block that. Still, no trace of Katie. Charlie had never talked about her to any of them. Not Lauren, not Alex, not Lanie. Not me.

She could have reached out to Charlie at this point, asked him everything she wanted to know. But he'd ordered her to stay out of his head when he left. There was no disobeying him.

But then, he came to her.

Penny, he said. Don't say anything. Just write this down, if you can. Go to Ogunquit, and then turn west. I'll be in the hills.

And he was gone.

Overcome with trepidation, Penny sat beside Ashley at the wheel of the bus, and told her where to go. Her eyes were glued to the road, watching it glide underneath them. It felt like seconds had past when she realized they were on dirt.

Katie had stopped her work, dressed herself in a thin summer dress she'd taken from Emily's closet. "Penny," she said. "Come brush my hair."

The bus was crawling along, struggling its way up into the hills. Tree branches bent and cracked as the bus drove through. Penny could only hope that all the other buses would make it up fine. All she could do in the meantime was brush away at Katie's light brown hair.

"I've been thinking about this day for a long time," she said. "I always pictured it being just me and Charlie. But so much has changed in ten years. That's all right. I just want what's best."

"Of course... Mistress." She shouldn't have hesitated. That was too much of a pause.

Katie seemed to notice, but gave it no trouble in the end. "I wanted to have him first. But I think he's still struggling with his power. It hurts, just a little to say this, but you'll be fucking him first. Once he's... Rewired. That's the word he uses. Once he's Rewired you, I know he'll wonder why he ever fought it."

"Thank you, Mistress," Penny said. "I'm sure you're right."

Katie stood and looked at herself in the mirror. She picked up a little make up case and started to dab gently at her lips with a hearty pink lipstick. "He loves me. But he loves you too, and I'll just have to accept that for now."

"For now?"

Katie smacked her lips and turned to Penny, pulling lightly at the clothes she'd been given. "I can't make him stop loving you. But I'm the one who's always been meant for him. And when he sees how much I've done to give him everything, well... I can't make him keep loving you either. And if you ever try to fuck with me, Penny, I will make sure you go on the front lines of the coming war."

War. Penny shivered, looked to the floor. "I'm yours to command," she said meekly.

"Good girl," Katie said. "Now put on a smile. We're here."

Penny's head twisted around and looked out the windshield. It was a cabin, sturdy and small. A circle of land around it was cleared of trees and flattened out. The other buses began to pull ahead as Ashley brought theirs to a stop, circling around to find a place to park. Eventually, a ring of buses all settled around the cabin.

He ran, Penny thought. He left and didn't come back, because... why? Nothing at the house happened. It was in the middle of a play session when he'd abruptly gotten to his feet and escaped. But then Katie revealed herself, like a ghost Penny had known was there all along. She doubted the idea of a coincidence.

He... doesn't want her. She's been manipulating us for... god it could have been since the beginning.

"Charlie," she whispered, purely by accident.

Katie spun her, slapped her in the face. "No," she growled. "You call him Master, cunt. Always call him Master."

**********

Charlie

Charles Ellis never felt more alive. From the windows, he watched a thousand women step off the buses, dressed lightly in spite of the cold. Some of them looked as though they had never seen snow in their lives. No problem, he thought. They don't have to feel it.

The sense of touch was all in the mind anyway. Turning the cold up to a more comfortable temperature was effortless. The high twenties could feel like the mid sixties thanks to him. Almost instantly, he watched them sigh and start to strip. There really are a thousand of them.

The women, familiar and strange, started to congregate at the front of the cabin. No use waiting now. He was already naked, already hard, already aching for the wet enveloping pleasure of a warm pussy. He opened the front door, walked out, and heard the gasps and sighs of a thousand women who wanted nothing more than to submit to him.

What a man wouldn't give to hear that sound.

The crowd parted, and from the sea of women came a face he had not seen in the flesh for ten years. This was not the gaunt and malnourished husk he'd seen that day at the house. She was gorgeous, tan, curvaceous. It was Katie, the young girl grown into a woman. There was a thin dress covering her, and with each step she took toward Charlie, she looked more and more uncomfortable in it. At last, she tore it off of her, revealing the body of a goddess.

She must have meant to dip gently to her knees, but she fell instead. Looking up at his cock, then into his eyes, she began to weep. "I'm here, Master," she whispered. "I love you."

Katie smiled once she said it, and waited patiently. But for a moment, she received nothing. Charlie was thinking, and feeling the odd sensation of pity as he realized he didn't know what to say back.

You do, he thought privately. I wonder if I ever loved you, even back then. I'm sure I thought I did.

"I want to ask you a favor, Master," Katie muttered, still breath taken by the sight of him. "Penny has been waiting for the right moment to be with you again. I think now is the time. Please Master, will you fuck Penny for us?"

Whispers came from behind her. "Fuck her, Master. She wants you. Please fuck her. Yessss..."

Something lingering in Charlie's mind shouted. There were no words at first. Just a bloodcurdling scream of pain, of anger, of wretched defeat.

The angels were proven fallible.

And all at once, like a demonic possession of his own making, the inner voice of reason began to speak along with its urgent screams.

THE WRAITH WILL RULE YOUR FATE THIS WAS THE PLAN ALL ALONG AND THERE IS NO ESCAPE YOUR SOUL IS WREATHED IN BLACK IN YOUR TORMENTS WILL NEVER BE ERASED LET THIS NOOSE START YOUR PASSAGE AND CONDEMN YOU FOR YOUR DEVILRY CHARLES AND YOUR COVETED HARMONY WILL FADE INTO ENDLESS DARK YOU CANNOT FIGHT THIS YOU CANNOT FIGHT THIS YOU CANNOT FIGHT THIS AND SO NOW ENDURE THE DISGRACE AND SAY FAREWELL TO HER FAMILIAR FACE

SAY FAREWELL TO HER FAMILIAR FACE

HER FAMILIAR FACE

Her familiar face...

Penny stood behind Katie, eyes filled with tears that threatened to fall at any moment.

"Please..." Katie begged, echoed by the harem of her making.

Her familiar face...

Penny stepped closer and Charlie took her in his arms, their bodies pressed tightly together. Perhaps for the last time.

He kissed her, again and again. Not the hurried kisses of a man eager to fuck. These were frenetic and fearful. Already he could tell they both knew what was at stake. And yet his cock betrayed him as it compelled his arms to lift her. Grasping her from her bottom, she rose until her legs could wrap around his waist, and he began to lower her waiting womanhood onto his cursed cock.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you so much," Penny replied.

Charlie entered her for the first time since their long journey began, and at once, they climaxed together in one earth shattering orgasm.

**********

Penny

Here, they were alone. They held each other, just the same as they did in the real world, only now they were untethered from their bodies. Charlie let go of her, let her float up and away, and then began to drift along with her through the ethereal space of her consciousness.

"Charlie, I'm so sorry," Penny began, still sobbing. "I didn't know what she was doing. I should have figured it out a long time ago but she's been fucking with my head for so long, I don't even know. I should have done something to stop her but, but..."

He took her in again, bringing her head to rest on his shoulder. "I didn't know either. By the time I figured it out, it was too late to fix it. I needed to get away and find a solution."

"What do we do? God, Charlie, what do we do?"

"I can still feel her lingering," Charlie said. "Whatever it is, I have to do it now."

"She wants you to Rewire me. If you do then you're going to lose control again, just like at the house, and I don't think you'll come back this time. This is all my fault... I kept so much of your cum and brought it on the road and... there's so many of them Charlie, I don't..." she was frantic beyond her own comprehension. If they weren't inside of her head, Penny would surely be convulsing and hyperventilating by now. If she didn't have an answer, and Charlie didn't have an answer, then maybe it was just meant to be.

"I have to do it," he said. "I have to Rewire you." Penny felt her heart sink, crumble, and wither. Just until she saw that look in his eyes, the one he always had when his gears were turning.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You and Katie are like... conduits to all the other girls," Charlie said, looking around the undefined space. "Maybe she's stronger than you for being my first, but you have that same touch. Ever since that first night at the house. I might be able to reach all the others without leaving you. Even Katie."

"But... why me?"

"She's been connected to every girl I've ever been with because of that connection. I can find a way to take it away from her, but that still leaves you. This won't truly be over until every road is blocked."

"So you'll Rewire me... but not the way she wants."

"No," Charlie said, frowning.

"What's wrong?" Penny asked.

"It's... nothing. Nothing's wrong. I'm just scared."

Penny took his hands and smiled for him, as best as she could through her own panic. That was one of the ways she knew that he really did love her. A well timed smile could pull him out of his worries, even for just a moment.

"We can do it," Penny said. "I'm here with you. How do we do it?"

Their time was limitless, or at least it felt that way. The looming sensation of Katie's immeasurable desire kept them focused, however. Charlie needed focus, and plenty of it. Penny started to reel in her own abilities, to the limited extent she'd been given, and Charlie found the passageways to the other girls. He would disappear, sometimes for what felt like hours, and then return with a weary smile.

"Another one clear," he would say, or, "a girl from Arizona."

Then came three long spells without him. The first lasted nearly a day, or what felt like a day.

He came back with no smile at all.

"What happened?" Penny asked.

"Lanie," he answered solemnly.

"Is she okay?"

"I think so," he answered. "It's hard to explain, but... I can't just put all the pieces back. I'll end up making things worse. I had to find a different way to cut the connection."

"What did you do?"

"I just... I don't know if I can put it into words. I just hope it worked."

She tried smiling for him again, and this time he managed to smile back, albeit not very convincingly. "Let's keep going," she said. "We can do this."

Lauren was next, and thankfully he returned quickly. Alex took much longer. She even feared he wouldn't come back. But while she waited, she kept her focus. If the ways were shut, he could get stuck. That was a different problem Penny never wanted to explore.

Finally he came back, nearly in tears. "What I did her... fuck! I never meant for her life to be so... awful."

"It's okay," Penny assured him. "You gave it back. She'll never have to live like that again."

"You're right," he said. "She's okay now."

Days passed, and then weeks. And all the while, Penny knew, they were still standing out in the cold Maine winter, entwined in tearful sex. Not a moment had passed in the real world. One by one, Charlie released the girls from his thrall, in whatever way he deemed necessary. Sometimes she wanted to follow him and see what he was doing, but knew he would only tell her to turn back. He did not want Penny to see it. As long as he was okay, then she would not argue.

At last, there was only Katie.

When he returned, long after Penny could reasonably measure how much time had passed, Charlie had an expression on his face she had never seen before. That face did not want to do anything but rest.

"Is she okay?"

"I... I think so," Charlie answered. "There was a lot to unpack. A lot of years to clean up."

"But we're here," Penny said, closing her mind to the others at last. Instantly, she felt a weight lift from her soul. She could feel the sunrise of a new life already.

"I love you, Penny," he said, holding her by the shoulders and smiling as best he could.

"I love you too. I always will."

Charlie said nothing, but she didn't care. His eyes were on hers, and that was all that mattered. She could see the thin ring of gold that lined his bright brown eyes. That was one of her favorite parts of him. It forced her to see the beauty in his soul, even when she wanted to scream and shout and tear her hair out. She couldn't always read his mind, despite the old saying that the eyes were the windows of the soul. Despite the power she'd been given by his peculiar condition.

He was already walking around in her mind before she snapped back to the moment at hand. But quickly she was lost again as he looked back at her. In his hand was a memory of the blowjobs she'd given him that started the whole mess. She laughed, embarrassed at his precision in finding it. He smiled again, this time sadly.

That was odd, she thought. This was a success, and once they left her mind they could go home, settle down, be a couple again. But that was Charlie. Even when he was happy, he was always just a little bit sad. At least now she knew why. He had the weight of his own decisions on his hands.

"I'm sorry for everything," Charlie said. "Katie was manipulating us, but in the end it was my decisions that brought us here. I was weak, and I can't pretend that it was anyone else's fault."