Hollow Pleasure Ch. 15 - Epilogue

*** Disclaimer ***

The following installment contains themes of hypnosis, mind control, non-consent, gangbangs and elements of incest. You've been warned.

This is a work of fiction. All characters depicted are at least 18 years of age. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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Hollow Pleasure epilogue

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3A

By the second landing, Robert Bradford had to pause. He peered up the final flight of stairs with apprehension. He did every time that he came home. The dread of facing his neighbors. But as he always did, he accepted the inevitable and started up.

As he neared the top, a pair of footsteps descended. He flinched inwardly when he recognized the pink converse sneakers, before looking up and seeing the rest of her.

Kelsey Parker no longer lived across the hall from him, in 3B. She had moved out.

After everything that had happened, she was still so fuckin' cute that it made Rob want to cry. But the smile was now gone from her big brown eyes— they used to always be bright and sunny to match her disposition. She had a cute little upturned nose, and just enough of an overbite that her front teeth displayed like a chipmunk. She could have been the cutest Hoo from Whoville... and lately, the saddest. Her hair didn't seen so perky, and the hoodie that she was wearing was extra baggy to hide that perfect flat tummy and those enormous E-cup tits.

They paused uncomfortably, staring at each other for a moment. Rob saw the subtle way that she moved the box in her arms higher up, to cover her chest.

"Hi," she said. She didn't want to acknowledge him. But it just wasn't in her nature to be rude. She was just that type of person.

"Hi," he said flatly and looked away in shame. They passed each other one last time, and that was that.

When he reached the top of the stairs, he glanced at her open apartment door. Inside, it was completely empty. That had been the final box in her arms that she carried downstairs. The overly cheerful Jack-o'-Lantern decoration that she'd hung on her door so many weeks ago (before all of this had started) had been taken down. He found that he missed it. Rob missed seeing something that smiled at him.

Nobody did the way that Kelsey had. And he doubted nobody ever would again.

With a sigh, he stepped into his apartment.

"You're late," the dry humorless voice greeted him.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to pick up some things for dinner," Rob stammered. "Y-you're all welcome to stay. I can make enough for everyone." He added hopefully. He didn't want to be alone and his offer was more than just out of politeness.

"We've been over this, Rob. We're not here to be friends." Halley Hargrove stood beside her technician, Alex, and one of her officers. Rob couldn't remember this fellow's name. They rotated in out so frequently.

They waited patiently while Rob unpacked his groceries, then he sat down at the computer console in the turret and stretched his neck. Halley and her men watched closely as he began to type.

This had been an on-going routine for the past few weeks. Rob had promised to set things right, and so far he had been making good on that promise. But that didn't mean that Halley and the group trusted him. Far from it. They saw how quickly the power to manifest whatever he wanted with the simple act of typing had corrupted him into making his neighbors engage in the most despicable acts.

Halley had tried to confiscate the computer, taking it back to her lab for her forensics team to comb through. But the fact was, it didn't function beyond the walls of the Connelly house. When Rob (or anyone) typed on it outside of the apartment, a mere word document was all that was created. This needed to be done at the apartment itself.

Halley supposed she could have destroyed Rob's computer entirely... but she was intrigued by the power behind it, and wanted to further study how any of it had even been possible. Something paranormal was at play. That was the general theory among her and her team.

After diving a bit deeper into the building's history, she had found accounts of the occult that had been deeply buried and hidden. At one point, a tenant or property owner (the details weren't clear) had developed an obsession with the seven deadly sins. In particular, how each sin had a specific demon who represented and personified them. This person had been an unattractive old hag who wanted control over people's sexual desires; she had a fixation on lust— hosting séances that frequently devolved into orgies and perversions of the flesh. She had been buried in the cemetery behind the property. Halley wasn't clear on how exactly she fit in with mind control, Robert Bradford, or a computer processor turning simple words into reality... but Halley had no doubts that the apparition in the basement was her.

Under the circumstances of finding out their apartment building was haunted by the spirit of a devil worshipping pervert with supernatural powers, most residents were packing up and fleeing for greener pastures. Kelsey Parker of 3B was one of them. Perhaps she would try to reconnect with her boyfriend— a relationship Rob had been responsible for wrecking. Perhaps not.

Regardless, Rob needed to hurry before everyone left. Hence why Halley and her team spent most of their days over here. Rob was basically on an extended supervised probation. They had a system in place to monitor him. Rob had promised to use his new found gift to try to improve people's lives, but that didn't mean they were willing to trust him. A series of fail-safes had been put into place in case he ever tried this bullshit again. Halley wasn't taking any chances. None of them were.

Rob had worked out a deal with them. It was a closed door deal. The fact was, Halley's firm was private law enforcement. Going public with some wild story about a computer granting supernatural powers to its user that could give them whatever they wanted with the typing of a word sounded ridiculous... and explaining to a court that said user had employed it to mind control his neighbors into his private harem was so crack pot, Halley would have locked herself up if she hadn't witnessed it first hand. In this case, she and her team had to be the judge, jury, and executioners themselves.

If Rob was unwilling to be cooperative, or expressed no desire to change, they would have made him disappear. Halley had enough connections, and was friendly with enough real police who'd be more than happy to look the other way. But she also wasn't a stone cold killer.

Halley had been fair... more fair than she had to be to a man who had no choice in the matter. She would let Rob keep his freedom, in exchange for round the clock supervision, and limited supervised access to his computer. She sometimes suspected that Rob sort of enjoyed the company. He seemed like a pretty lonely guy in general. And now suddenly, each day he had people hanging around in his apartment. Rob was desperately trying to make friends with them, and once in a blue moon, she'd give him a smile or let him join in a conversation with her and her men. Baby steps. She would even be willing to put him on her payroll eventually. But that would be much further down the line— after he could prove to her his willingness to make amends, and that he could be trusted. But that was far far away.

For now, they had tasks to do.

Rob's eyes wandered to the window and he glanced out in time to see Kelsey climbing into her car with the last of her boxes. His shoulders sagged.

"Saying your goodbyes?" Halley leaned against the wall, following his gaze.

"Yeah, I guess," Rob said without looking up.

"You kind of liked her, huh?"

He nodded. "Biggest crush I ever had. Even before the whole... you know..."

"You know it was all hollow, right?" She responded. "All the affection she was showing you when you started controlling her. That wasn't her. That wasn't free will. Like that puppet in the basement... it was you all along, just making her dance."

"I know," he said. "But sometimes it was nice to pretend. Reality is much crueler than fantasy." He swallowed and his throat bobbed.

Halley watched it. She lightly patted his shoulder. "We'll stay for dinner," she said at last.

"Really?" He seemed to perk up slightly from his inner turmoil.

"Really. Just don't think this makes us friends. You'd need to make one hell of a meal for that."

Rob shook his head. "No, I wouldn't assume. W-what do you like? I mean for future meals? Assuming you guys want to do this again in the future."

Halley let a ghost of a smile lift the corners of her mouth. "I don't know about the rest of the guys, but I'm a slut for beer and pizza."

***

1B

Apartment 1B sat empty. Chris and TJ Berger had moved out following the events of the past several weeks.

It wasn't all because of Rob and his antics in the apartment. They were a young couple and it had been in talks for a while to purchase their first house. They had moved in with TJ's parents for the fall and the winter while they saved their money, and in spring, they would begin shopping around. Something small and pretty was in both of their minds. Someplace for TJ to garden and garnish with flowers and fun and life.

Although neither of them would know it until much later, their inability to conceive a child was no longer a problem. Miraculously, Chris's issues in that department had cured itself...

Equally miraculously, before they'd moved out, all of their stolen items had been returned to them with an apology note. Everything that the burglars had been broken, had been fixed and returned to their rightful places, as good as new.

Similarly, Galloway's stolen guns and equipment had resurfaced in those returned goods.

Chris kept in touch with Galloway and the other neighbors, feeling compelled to check in regularly. After all, that's what heroes did. With his IT background, Halley was relentless about offering him a job with her firm, but he had yet to make a decision.

Although it had it's appeal. After saving his neighbors, Chris's confidence had improved ten-fold. So had his sex life for that matter. Perhaps Rob's meddling had woken something up in both— he and TJ's sex was practically acrobatic now. They'd broken their fair share of furniture, or come home from long walks in the park with grass stains on their knees and TJ's panties missing.

Not that Chris would ever endorse an open relationship after what he'd witnessed, but there was something about watching another man take his wife that spurred his own assertive tendencies to life.

They would be just fine.

***

1A

Apartment 1A also sat empty. The three college students had moved out and parted ways. They were a bit freaked out.

Lucy moved to a different apartment, and although she had been horrified to learn all of the things she'd done under the control of Rob, a small guilty part of her was slightly proud. She had acted and dressed in ways she would never in a million years have had the self-confidence to do under normal circumstances. And she'd seduced a sexy older man in uniform— and he'd gone along with it, of his own free will, no less!

It was still horrifying and embarrassing, but part of Lucy felt a little surge of triumph over it all. She kept in touch with the investigators and private police force who'd saved her. Captain Graver checked in on her once in a while too. That attention was nice, even if he was already taken. And Investigator Hargrove bore her no ill will. If anything, Halley often teased Graver about his new admirer.

Tina, and her family had gone into therapy. There wasn't much to tell there. They all had some issues that needed resolving, and dad's money was getting them there.

Danni had the biggest obstacles to surmount. Low on funds, Danni had transferred to a community college in a different city and relocated a few hours away. She had tentatively reconnected with her brother. They'd spoken about the situation, hashing out what they had done via video chat with a sense of embarrassment. But they had always been close and they needed to get through it and put it past them.

One thing that both she and Bill had agreed on was that they were too dependent on each other emotionally. In the middle east, isolated from the world, Bill had started to see Danni as a girlfriend that kept him motivated. He needed to separate those feelings and put them in different boxes. And Danni realized that she needed to stop putting all of her self worth in her big brother. She needed to become her own woman and find someone that she could connect with romantically. They still kept in touch, but they severed much of their emotional ties.

***

2A

Ethan was up when his alarm screeched. He hated that thing. "Self righteous pain in the ass," he said to the clock as he slapped it into silence. But despite the tiredness, he was going to work, and that brought him joy. Working at a library was nothing glamorous, but it gave him some identity, didn't make him feel so helpless, and allowed him to contribute around the house.

He snugged his arms into his crutches and made for the bathroom. Along the way, he passed his mother. She was fixing her earrings as she was heading for work.

"Have a great day," she said with a cheerful smile. She leaned in to give him a peck on the cheek, but hesitated. The worry washed over her features, she thought the better of it, and moved along.

Things were still a little weird between Ethan and his mother. Once she had come to terms with everything that had happened, there was a lot of guilt and shame. Influenced and under mind control or not, she had still had sex with her son... her baby boy... and she felt horrible about it. She was having trouble forgiving herself, even if Ethan forgave her.

Ethan had made every effort to try to get his mother back into the groove of normalcy— coming to terms with what happened. After all, he'd been a participant too... and as much as it pained him to admit it, he'd been a *willing* participant. The fact was, he'd never been mind controlled, and as much as he tried to resist her sexual advances... he was weaker than he thought. His mother was a good looking woman, and the temptation just too great.

They'd spoken about it at length several times, clearing the air and getting all of the cards out on the table. They now seemed at the stage where they accepted it, and could move on in a relatively functional way. But Ethan often sensed lingering shame and sometimes... sexual tension.

That tension sometimes worried the both of them. Maybe Meg hadn't been as strongly controlled as they both liked to believe. But that revelation was enough to decide that Meg needed to start dating again. At the moment, Ethan was the only man in her life, and she needed to loosen that cord a bit, before the wires in her head crossed into something more.

Ethan watched her head off to work, knowing that she would do just fine. She was a hottie. She would have no trouble finding someone.

Ethan hobbled into the bathroom and began his rituals, listing off the things he'd want to do before he left for work. Shower, make coffee, pack a lunch. Maybe he'd make one for Galloway. He was also considering what he wanted to say in some little note to tack to her door, just like old times.

He showered with all of these thoughts in mind, not thinking about much else other than his day ahead. When he made to step out of the tub, he accidentally knocked his crutches from the spot they were leaning. He swore as they toppled into a planter that his mother had placed beside the toilet. He darted across the floor and caught it before it could break. That was when it hit him... he was walking without the crutches!

"What the hell?" his brow lowered in confusion. He was in the middle of the bathroom floor, totally naked, and standing with no problems or ailments.

Tentatively, he took a step and rested his weight cautiously on his leg. There were no muscle tremors, no spasms, no cramps, and no issues. His knees moved smoothly and his ankles pivoted. Ethan stood in the bathroom for a long time, testing each leg, one by one, back and forth. He bent, he crouched, he stretched, and he flexed his muscles. He was mystified.

Slowly something began to dawn on him and he glanced at the ceiling above him.

"Oh my god," he said out loud. He jumped a little, coming down with a dull thump. His legs were working! "Oh my fuckin' god!" he shouted, more excited than ever. His first thought was "I have to show Galloway!"

He was so excited that he almost forgot to put on pants before he dashed across the hall.

By the time he was finished showing Galloway this miraculous transformation, they were both crying and hugging each other.

***

2B

Galloway found Halley and Captain Graver in Halley's cramped second floor office. It was disorganized and, much like the owner, it was modest and purely functionary.

Her training was almost complete. In a matter of days, Kate Galloway would be an official private police officer for this firm. A soldier-for-hire with the skills of an officer, investigator, security guard, body guard, and crisis responder. But before that became a reality, she needed to have a talk with her bosses.

Graver was waiting patiently with his broad arms folded and his butt resting on the edge of the desk. Halley looked over from their conversation. Her expression didn't register surprise. It seldom did.

"Galloway, what brings you out here?" Halley asked.

"Hey, I wanted to have a talk with you about something, if you've got a minute," Galloway said. Her mind was already made up on this. The decision was a little rash, but she wasn't going to back down. Galloway's face, which was normally so placid and filled with good humor, today looked hollow and a little drained.

"That's fine," Halley replied. She looked to Graver, then back to Galloway. "We wanted to have a talk with you as well."

Now Galloway was taken aback. "You did? You go first," she said, worried how this might affect what she was about to ask of her bosses.

"Relax, you're not in any trouble," Graver chimed in.

A corner of Halley's mouth lifted in a slightly amused smile. She plucked Kate's file from the corner of the desk and flipped through dozens of pages of her training regiment and certifications.

Galloway remained cautiously silent.

"I was talking with the captain, and the instructors over at the State Police that you've been working with. We're all really impressed with you."

Galloway's eyebrows lifted. "Really?"

They both nodded. "You know the Captain. He talks you up."

Graver added, "I've known you for a long time and believe you to be a sincerely good person. I trust you to make good decisions and put the safety of everyone around you above all else. Halley agrees. I don't know how dedicated you are to the job, but I certainly think you're dedicated to yourself and those who trust you. Likewise, we've both seen you in action. And everything we throw at you, you handle. You handle it all with an even temper and a 'bring it on' attitude that impresses the hell out of us."

Galloway shrugged, feeling a little uncomfortable about the compliments. "I appreciate the kind words, but I don't know about that. Pretty much everything I've done during training, I've been scared shitless for."

"That's a good thing," Graver said. "You're supposed to be scared. If you weren't, I'd think you were reckless. We want to make you an offer. I know you're training to be a regular officer at our firm. But the truth is, we want you to lead the tactical division here."