Fade in - Somewhere in the Northwestern United States
Leo knew he was in trouble the moment he came out of the
portal. The place where he was supposed to have gone looked
nothing like where he was. Instead of being in the Arizona
desert, he was in a canyon surrounded by high cliffs and
tall pine trees. On one of the rocky bluffs he caught sight
of a herd of wild mountain goats walking along a precarious
ridge.
"Oh crap," Leo shouted, mostly out of a reaction to the
fear he felt. He grabbed his cell phone to call for help,
but found he couldn't get a signal out of the deep canyon.
Frustrated and scared, he glanced at his jump meter sitting
on the dash to see how much power it had. It would take at
least five minutes before he could make another jump. As if
Leo didn't have enough problems, the car he was driving
suddenly and mysteriously stalled. The Titan God pulled
over to the side of the road and tried starting it again -
without any luck.
"OH CRAP," the young god repeated louder, knowing he was in
serious trouble. Quickly he looked around but didn't see
anyone. Could it be that he had made a mistake when setting
his destination? It was possible, although the Titan God
didn't think so. He was still trying to start the car when
a shadow suddenly appeared over him, stopping him in his
tracks. Leo swallowed hard, and slowly looked up.
"Hello, Leo!" Mark Merrick said bitterly. "Car problems?"
"Mercury," Leo gasped. He looked around but didn't see
anyone else with him. "How...how are you doing?"
"Better since my meeting with your friends. It took me a
long time to set this all up. I was hoping to catch your
friend, Lucas - not some small, insignificant weasel like
yourself."
"Now lo...look," Leo stuttered as he got out of his car.
"Your beef is with...with Lucas, not...me. I
didn't...didn't touch...you...remember? I didn't have
any...anything to do with what...happened...to you."
"Liar!" Mercury hissed. "I saw you laughing while they
tortured me. If it wasn't for our healing muse, (read AV
18) I wouldn't be here today."
"I was only laughing to make them think I agreed with
them," Leo lied. "I was waiting for my chance to free you.
Besides...you're okay now, and the attacks have ceased.
It's over."
"No quite," the Roman God answered. "There's still a debt
to be paid for what your friends did to Venus and me."
Leo wiped the sweat from his forehead and tried to accept
his fate. He knew it was pointless to argue anymore, or try
to run. Mercury would be on him in a second if he tried.
"What do you plan to do with me, Mercury? Kill me after you
had your revenge?"
Mark Merrick shook his head. "No, I'm not some Titan scum.
I'm taking you to Peace River where you'll stand in front
of my father...unless!"
"Unless?" Leo found some hope in the word. "Unless what?"
"I'm a sporting Olympian Leo, so I'm giving you a chance to
get away. Give me have your jump box."
Leo handed it over, and Mercury took out the power-crystal.
His hand began to glow as he drained all the power from it.
When it was empty, he handed both pieces back.
"It's sunny today," Mark stated while looking at the sky.
"If you keep the crystal in the sunlight, it shouldn't take
more than 20 minutes to recharge. All you have to do is
avoid being captured until then. If you succeed, you can
create another portal and slip away."
"Escape from you?" Leo protested. "There's no way I can
outrun you."
"Yes, I suppose you're right," Mercury grinned. "Which is
why I'm not the person who will be 'hunting' you."
"Who will it be?" Leo asked nervously.
"Hello Leo," a soft, feminine voice spoke. Leo spun around
and saw Diana with her brother, Apollo, next to her. She
was wearing a loose tunic and had a small tube filled with
bows slung over her back. In her hand she held a bow.
"You remember Diana, don't you Leo? She was the one who
came to my rescue," Mercury stated impartially. "To thank
her for saving my life, I'll giving her the honor of
hunting you down. And just to make it fair, I'm giving you
a five-minute head start.
"FIVE MINUTES AGAINST HER, YOUR BEST HUNTER!" Leo
complained loudly. "You call that FAIR!"
"You now have 4 minutes and 45 seconds," Mercury frowned.
Leo stopped arguing and ran for the woods. The needles from
the pine trees were sharp, and seemed to come out of
nowhere and strike him in the face. He kept looking back to
see if they were following, and in the process tripped over
a rock and twisted his ankle. Leo screamed in pain, then
forced himself up and started limping away.
"Time's up!" Mercury yelled.
The Titan God checked the crystal; it wasn't even a fourth
of the way charged yet. Certainly being in these trees
wasn't helping the process along. His ankle hurt like hell,
and Leo sat down on a large rock to rest a moment. He
looked around to see if there was a place he could hide and
noticed a small hill to his left. If he could get to the
top were it was sunny, maybe he could find a place to hide
until the crystal charged. At least it would give him the
opportunity to see if she was coming. Leo lifted himself up
and started climbing. Each step was torture on his swollen
ankle - yet with great determination Leo pushed himself on.
Just as he reached the top Leo heard a dull 'thump',
followed by an arrow landing between his feet.
"You're making this too 'easy'," Diana laughed while
pulling another arrow from her quiver. Leo cursed at what a
fool he had been. By climbing this hill, he had made it
easier to be seen. He threw himself down the other side,
which unfortunately was much steeper than it was going up.
The Titan God found himself tumbling uncontrollably to the
bottom. Groaning in pain, he stood and looked at himself.
There was blood over his arms and hands from numerous cuts,
and his ankle was now twice the size it should've been. The
young Titan tried blocking out the pain as he made his way
into a thicket of tall trees. Thinking he was safe for a
moment, Leo sat down and rested. Suddenly another arrow
struck the ground less than three feet from where he was
sitting. That was followed by playful laughter from Diana.
"Oh crap!" Leo sprang to his feet and rushed off as fast as
his hurt ankle would allow. He managed to run about a
hundred yards before collapsing in exhaustion.
"I have to find a good hiding place," he whispered. He
looked around the surrounding area, and spotted a crop of
rocks close by. It would be a perfect place to hide. Leo
picked himself up and limped as fast as he could down a
shallow creek, hoping it would cover his tracks. When he
got to the rocks he fell behind them and waited in silence.
For the first five minutes he didn't hear anything but the
sound of the birds calling to each other. Then he heard
splashing in the creek that got closer. When the splashing
passed by, Leo peeked from behind the rock and saw that it
was Apollo walking in the water searching for something.
Where in the hell was Diana? A hand touched his shoulder.
"Found you," Diana's soft, feminine voice whispered.
Startled that he hadn't even heard her sneak up on him, Leo
turned and took a swing at her. Diana easily avoided his
efforts, and responded by hitting him in the nose with the
palm of her hand. Leo fell back stunned and saw stars.
Moments later he was lifted to his feet by Apollo. Mercury
stood in front of him.
"You failed, Leo," he sneered. "Time to go meet Jupiter."
Mercury opened a portal and the four of them stepped
inside.
********************************************
Voice of Linda Anderson - They say to judge someone; you
must first walk a mile in their shoes. When I first came
here, I regarded this town as a prison. In many ways that's
still true, but only if you look at it superficially. Years
later, with the benefit of hindsight, I can now see the
town for what it is; a last attempt to bring peace between
the Titans, the Olympians, and us, the human race. If the
town succeeds, the people imprisoned in Peace River will
finally be free and there will be peace. If it fails, the
resulting war could end the world as we know it. There are
some on all sides of this conflict who have their own
reasons for seeing the project fail.
These are the stories of the men and women who made a
difference during those dark days, and shaped history. It's
also about those who had to face their deepest, darkest
problems and what they gained from conquering them. It's a
place of second chances, hope, and peace. The name of this
town is Andersonville.
Andersonville 26 - Hate crimes
Written by Kelly Davidson 1126
Edited by Geoff, Nelson
This story is dedicated to Laura Darlene Lansberry. A good
friend who I'll miss talking with over the Internet. She
lived life to the fullest, and left us all a lot richer for
knowing her.
Fade in...
I was standing on the edge of a cliff staring at the lights
below. In the distance was the City of Chicago, with its
tall, splendid buildings lit brightly in the darkness. How
I wished I were there, or anywhere, besides here. Behind me
I could hear the two of them getting it on. One was my best
friend, Doug; the other was a girl we had picked up in
town. She was crying...begging for help as Doug continued
to deprogram her. Her first name was Jessie; I didn't know
her last. We had found her stumbling out of one of the gay
bars in the town below. Doug, who was able to talk the fur
coat off a poor man on a cold, winters night, had convinced
her to let us drive her own home. If she hadn't been in
such a drunken stupor she may have thought better of the
invitation. Instead she thanked us and got in my truck
As planned, I drove to a deserted location and helped Doug
force her out of the truck. At first she screamed for him
to stop, but when he didn't, she resorted to begging. My
friend ignored both as he wrestled her to the ground. Then
he pulled out a knife, and held the tip to her throat. He
told the young girl to stay quiet or else. Slowly, as if
opening a package received in the mail, Doug cut off her
clothes. She whimpered in fright, but didn't cry out
anymore. I watched and did nothing.
"I'm going to show you what a real man can do," he hissed.
"When I get done with you 'dike', you won't be interested
in those chicks anymore." He said the word 'dike' with
distaste, not that I blamed him. I hated gays too. While
his tactic may have seemed cruel to anyone else, I saw it
as a good thing. Once this lesbian found out how satisfying
being with a man could be, she would drop her sinful ways.
I prayed silently that God would show her the truth.
When Doug started removing his clothes, I looked away so I
wouldn't have to witness the act. However, that didn't stop
me from hearing the noises they made. From Doug there were
sounds of great enjoyment, but from Jessie it was more like
torture.
The wind picked up, and I could hear thunder in the
distance. A bad storm was coming in, and I could smell the
moisture in the air. I just hoped Doug would be done with
her before it hit. As I continued to stare out at the
lights, Jessie's painful cries started to have an effect on
me. I found myself questioning if we were really doing the
right thing. True, it had been our religious leader, Master
Komma, who had suggested the plan.
"If raping someone will turn them away from their evil,
sinful ways, and bring them back to living a normal life,
then it's justified," he proclaimed during one of his 4-
hour lectures. I could tell many of our members thought
otherwise, but then they weren't as devoted to the cause as
Doug or I was. Yet in the back of my brain a tiny voice
kept telling me what we were doing was wrong. Was it the
devil, or my own conscience speaking to me?
I heard Doug grunting loudly as he came, and the girl
responded with cries of her own. At first I thought they
were cries of passion, but when she started sobbing
uncontrollably I knew I was mistaken.
"Shut up, dike!" Doug spoke roughly as he got up. "That's
the way you're suppose to feel after making it with a good
man - emotional." He motioned me over. "Come on Eric, your
turn."
I looked at the naked girl lying on the ground crying.
Suddenly I felt shame and compassion for her. What had I
done?
"Maybe this is a bad idea, Doug," I said.
"Are you kidding me," he replied with sternness in his
voice that I hadn't heard before. "All she needs is one
more good 'push'," he chuckled at the pun, "and she'll be
free of her faggot desires. You're doing this in the name
of God, so go on."
I stared back at my best friend, someone who I considered a
brother. We had met at the 'Word of Enlightenment
Ministries'. It was a small but radical religious
organization run by our leader, Master Komma. To many of
the locals Master Komma was a nutcase, but to his
followers, we knew he was someone who had been touched by
God. As proof of this, I had witnessed many of our master's
miracles since joining the church three years ago. Once I
had accepted his teachings, Doug had been assigned to help
me in my growth.
It had been hard at first. I didn't agree with many of
Master Komma's teachings. He believed the way to heaven was
a very narrow path, and any deviation from that path would
cause someone to go straight to hell. Therefore, for your
own good, it required complete devotion to him and his
teachings. Gays were one of the things he regularly talked
about as being an abomination in God's eyes. He would point
out the errors of their ways, and talked about how one day
they would lead the world to ruin if we didn't do something
about it. Converting gays to become straight was one of
those ways.
"Go on," Doug half-encouraged, half-ordered. I looked at
the girl again, still crying and trying to cover her
private parts. She looked at me with pleading eyes, and it
was in those eyes that I could see her suffering. I got
down on my knees and tried to touch her hair, but she
whimpered and backed away like a frighten animal.
"For crying out loud," Doug yelled. "Just do it so we can
get out of here. She's not going to bite."
I pushed my convictions away and nodded, then moved closer.
That's when I heard a voice yell at me to stop. It was a
voice that caused me to jump and take notice.
"Get off her and back away," she spoke sharply. There was
such authority to her words that I assumed it was a cop.
Quickly I did as I was told. I looked to see who this
person was. I was surprised to see not a cop standing
there, but an older, yet attractive woman. She had her hair
nicely done, and was wearing a stylish dress with expensive
high heels. Everything suggested she was a harmless old
woman, everything that is except for the expression on her
face. I found myself shivering in fear at her stare.
"This doesn't concern you, 'old woman'," my friend spat out
bravely.
"When it involves a young girl being harmed by two
'cowards', then it becomes my concern," she stated coldly.
Doug laughed defiantly at her words. "She's no girl, she's
a queer! We're doing Gods work here, 'old lady'. I suggest
you leave while there's still time." He held the knife
toward her in a threatening manner, but she didn't seem
impressed by his actions.
"Come on man, let's go," I suggested, suddenly becoming
very afraid. I could sense danger in her, but didn't know
why. Perhaps it was her calm yet imposing demeanor that
bothered me.
"You should listen to your friend," the woman advised Doug
with a tight, cold smile.
"We're not going anywhere you old biddy," Doug snarled.
"Who do you think you are anyway, interfering in our
business?"
"My name is June Herns, and I'm a judge! Now lay down on
the ground, Mr. Doug Cooger and Mr. Eric King, while I call
the police."
"Shit Doug, she knows our name," I said in disbelief. "How
could she know our names?"
"Shut up," he snapped then glared at the judge. "She's
possessed by the devil, that's how she knows. I'll even
wager she's one of those bleeding heart judges who believes
in slapping criminals on the wrist, instead of giving them
what they so richly deserve. Well, Your Honor, I'm going to
make sure you don't tell anyone else who we are."
Doug moved toward her with his knife out. Suddenly he
stopped walking, and a look of fear registered on his face.
He threw his knife away as if some invisible person had
forced him to, then fell face forward to the ground and
snapped his hands out to his sides. The woman glared at
him, then turned to me with contempt.
"Your turn," she stated in a threatening manner. "Do you
need help getting down?
I turned white with fear, and quickly threw myself to the
ground in the same position as my friend. Jessie sat there
in a very emotionally state, watching the entire incident
unfound. When she saw that we were no longer a threat to
her, she quickly stood and ran off crying towards where I
had been standing.
"NO!" I yelled to her. The edge of the cliff rose slightly,
and in the darkness it was impossible to tell it was there
until you were right on top of it. I watched in horror as
the scared woman ran to the edge and disappeared from
sight. There was a loud scream that tapered off before
suddenly stopping. It was a scream I knew I would never get
out of my head.
"Oh my God," I said feeling sick. I ignored the judge's
order and stood. I ran over to the cliff and stared down at
the darkness below. Somewhere down there laid Jessie. Doug
and Judge Herns quickly joined me.
"She's dead," the judge said with tempered rage.
"How do you know?" I replied in despair. "Maybe she
survived the fall."
Judge Herns shook her head. "No, she's dead - and you two
killed her."
"Wait a minute, I didn't kill anyone!" Doug snapped. "I was
trying to save her life before you came along. If she is
dead, she's in hell now!"
Doug looked like he was about to say something else, when
suddenly he was twisted around to face the cliff. Slowly he
took a step toward the edge. Judge Herns looked at him
coldly and in a chilling tone said, "You're about to join
her."
"No...no, please," Doug begged. "I don't want to jump.
PLEASE!"
I stood and watched, scared out of my wits. Doug took
another step, and stood inches from the dark abyss.
"Please, he didn't mean it," I begged. I crawled over to
her on my knees and put my hands together like I was
praying to her. "Please, let him live. He's like a brother
to me."
"A poor role model," the judge replied in a harsh tone. She
looked at my friend as if gauging what to do. Then with one
hand she pulled him back from the edge and threw him to the
ground.
"What in the HELL ARE YOU?" Doug screamed.
"SILENCE!" she cut him off. "Now listen carefully. You two
are in a lot of trouble. I should throw you both off this
cliff and be done with it, but fortunately for you I've
learned that acting on my anger is not the way. For now
you're coming with me until I cool down and think of what
your punishment will be for murdering that young woman."
"Murder?" I questioned. "But...but it was an accident. You
saw what she did. I even tried to stop..." Judge Herns
looked at me sharply, and I immediately shut up. It was
obvious now wasn't the time to explain my actions.
"Both of you will sleep now," she said as if it were an
order. "Sleep until I decide what to do."
I found myself growing tried, and fought to keep my eyes
open. All my energy seemed to be draining from my body. I
watched Doug, who was much weaker from his sexual encounter
with Jessie, nod off. I turned back to Judge Herns, who had
a small, tight smile on her lips. I tried to say something,
but found the world closing in around me. My head touched
the ground and everything went dark.
***********************************************
I moaned and stirred slightly on a hard surface. Slowly I
opened my eyes and looked to see where I was. I was lying
on a hard wooden bench that looked like a church pew. The
light coming in from the windows dazzled me, and I had to
blink several times before my eyes adjusted. Slowly I rose,
and found myself alone in a magnificent courtroom. There
was a groan two rows back, and I discovered it was Doug. He
sat up slowly, and looked at me with surprise.
"Where are we?" he asked.
"I don't know," I shook my head. "The last thing I
remembered was running into that crazy witch at the bluff."
I gasped for a moment. "You don't suppose...that she
changed her mind and threw us off the cliff anyway?"
Doug looked around and thought about it. "It could be," he
said slowly. "Master Komma told us that after we die we're
judged by God. Where else would you expect to go on your
judgment day but to a courtroom?"
"Then where is everyone?
Doug frowned. "Maybe our deaths were premature, and God
wasn't expecting us."
"So this is...heaven," I said in a daze. "If this courtroom
is any indication of what the rest of heaven is like, then
it's beautiful." A lonesome whistle from outside
interrupted my admiration for our new surroundings. I
rushed over to the window and was shocked at what I saw.
"My God Doug, look! I can see a train crossing the road not
too far from here...and there's people and cars outside.
They look real."
Doug joined me at the window. Like me, he was surprised to
see heaven wasn't much different from a regular town. Where
was the city of lights with its gleaming crystals that
Master Komma had told us about?
"Look at the markings on that train engine," I pointed out.
"It says Conrail. That used to be a major railroad in the
northeast until CSX and Norfolk and Southern merged with
it. And people are driving cars. Why would you need a car
in heaven? What's going on Doug?"
"Maybe this isn't heaven?" he guessed. "Maybe you have to
be judged first before you can enter?"
"If that's so, then who are all these people?"
Doug rubbed his chin as he searched for an answer. "Perhaps
they're people who don't deserve to go to heaven or hell.
This must be a place in between the two - like purgatory."
Somehow his words didn't convince me. I looked back at the
train that was switching some hopper cars at a grain tower,
and shook my head. We were dead, I was sure of that, but
where in the hell were we?
"You're in Andersonville," someone announced as if reading
my mind. Both of us turned in the direction of the voice,
and froze in terror.
"It's...it's you," I said in a shaky voice. Judge Herns
frowned at the obvious and took a seat at her bench.
Somehow she had managed to come in without us hearing her.
Then I noticed two other women with her. A young,
attractive dark-haired teenager and another with long,
blonde hair. Both were wearing pretty skirts that enhanced
their femininity.
"Approach the bench," Judge Herns told us firmly. Doug gave
me a shrug and we did as she ordered.
"Let's see, who first?" she stated in a businesslike tone.
"Mr. Cooger, we'll start with you. Do you have anything to
say before I pronounce judgment?"
"Judgment!" my friend scoffed. "For what? I didn't do
anything wrong."
"I have a complete report on your life that says
otherwise," the judge frowned. "However, rather then spend
the whole day going through your past, we'll stick with the
murder of Jessie Ferns."
"But I haven't been found guilty of anything," he
protested.
"On the contrary, you have!" the judge answered firmly. "I
was there when Jessie died as a result of the shock and
confusion caused by you raping her. If it hadn't been for
you, she would be alive today."
"You caused that to happen by interfering," Doug argued.
"If you hadn't, she would also be alive today. You let her
run off that cliff. Why didn't you use your powers to stop
her?"
"I was too busy keeping you in line," she glared. "If you
had followed my directions instead of threatening me with a
knife, I could have stopped her. On top of that, you made
false judgments about her life. For starters, Jessie wasn't
gay."
"That's bullshit," Doug shot back. "We both saw her coming
out of a gay bar. Why else would she be in there?"
"Why indeed," Judge Herns told us with distaste. "Because
I'm a equitable judge, I'm going to tell you why. That way
both of you will know what fools you really are." The judge
emphasized the word, 'fools'.
"Jessie had a rough beginning. When she was four years old,
her father started molesting her. This continued until she
was 13, when the county welfare center finally stepped in
and placed her in a foster home. Fortunately she never saw
her father again, but that wasn't the end of her troubles
because the foster home wasn't any better. Her foster
parent's son raped Jessie repeatedly late at night.
"Scared and confused, she ran away when she was 17 and
ended up in Chicago. There she hooked up with Carrie,
someone she had met on the Internet. Her friend, yes, a gay
friend, took her in; but unlike her father and that boy in
the foster home, Carrie didn't force herself on Jessie in
any way. As long as Jessie kept the apartment clean she was
free to stay there until she got her act together. Carrie
even took Jessie to the battered women's shelter for some
much-needed counseling.
"Why you ask? Because Carrie had compassion for Jessie, and
cared about her as a person in need. Yes, the same people
you hated and rejected treated Jessie with more warmth and
dignity than the two of you combined could muster. It was
only after years of counseling that Jessie was able to
start moving on with her life. She 'wasn't' gay, Mr.
Coogar. Jessie was having a drink with some friends, who
were gay, when you showed up. Her only crime was not being
a bigot like you two. All she was trying to do was forget
the horrors of her childhood. Then you two showed up...and
brought all those horrors back! You're the reason why she
ran away, and ultimately fell to her death!"
"Oh my God," I whispered in horror at what we had done. If
what the judge had said was true, then we were guilty of
more than just murder.
Judge Herns gave me a swift, stern look, and then turned
back to Doug. She narrowed her eyes and pointed her finger
at him. "And just so you know Mr. Coogar, if it had been
Carrie you picked up and murdered that night, we would
still be holding this trial. I judge people by what's in
their heart, not by their words or beliefs. You have a very
dark heart, Mr. Coogar!"
"You still can't find me guilty of a crime," my friend
argued vigorously. "First of all, you don't have the
authority. There has to be a trial by my peers. Second, and
most important, you're a witness to this crime that you
yourself accuse me of. You can't be a witness and the judge
- it's illegal."
"Your laws," she stated firmly, "have no meaning in this
case. When you're guilty of a crime, you're guilty of the
crime. And despite what you may be thinking young man, I
find rape worse than murder."
'Worse than murder,' I thought. Why would she consider rape
worse than murder? The poor girl was dead for crying out
loud, what could be worse than that?
"This is ridiculous," Doug said in a pointed manner. "I
demand to see a lawyer!"
"YOU DEMAND!" Judge Herns bellowed as she stood and stared
down at him with angry eyes. "You're in no position to
DEMAND anything. This is my town, my courtroom, and you
have been found guilty of your crimes. Now it's time for
the punishment phase."
Slowly the judge raised her hands in front of her, with her
palms together as if she were holding something. I looked
over and saw that Doug was trying to say something, but
while his lips were moving in protest nothing was coming
out. When I looked back I saw the judge was whispering
something under her breath. That's when I noticed her hands
started glowing, and a blue ball of energy/light rose from
them. It hovered a few inches over her hands, then rushed
at Doug and hit him squarely in the chest. A frighten look
appeared on his face as he tried to protest even more. Then
he started to shrink right before my very eyes. As this
happened, his face and other features also began to change.
His jet-black hair turned blonde, and started getting
longer as it grew past his shoulders that were getting
narrower. His legs and arms grew thin, as the muscles
seemed to melt away. However, that was nothing compared to
what was happening to his face. The skin grew softer, and
his nose became small and feminine. The eyebrows on his
tiny face seemed to rise up and get thinner. Even his
eyelashes become darker and longer.
His clothes, which were now several sizes too large and
meant for the other gender, started to change. His coat and
shirt merged together, and become a bright, yellow and
white dress that hung just above his tiny knees. Doug's
pants dropped down and changed into a pair of white socks,
with lace around the top. His brown, scuffed boots became a
pair of shiny, white shoes that strapped around his ankles.
From his size and the way he was dressed, I judged him to
be about three years old. When the changes stopped Doug
grabbed the edge of his skirt and held it out in
bewilderment.
"What...what's happening?" I whimpered after seeing what
she had done to my friend. "What did you do to him?"
Judge Herns gave me an evil smile. "Your friend needs lots
of time to grow up. Perhaps starting over as a little girl
will help him see things differently." Then she turned her
full attention to my friend, who was in too much shock to
speak. "From now on until you die, you will be known as
Cynthia Ann Zimmer."
"Cyn...Cynthia," he repeated back.
"Or Cindy if you prefer," Judge Herns smiled unpleasantly.
"No!" My friend shook his head and backed away. "No...NO!
This can't be happening. I'm a member of the word of the
enlightenment church - THE TRUE BELIEVERS OF GOD'S
ALMIGHTLY POWER! In his name and our master's name, I
command you to change me back you DEMON BEAST."
Judge Herns gave him an impassive stare, and motioned for
the blonde-hair woman to move forward. "This is Dr. Green.
She is here to help you accept what has happened and teach
you about your new life. You will go with her now,
Cynthia."
"No, I won't. You're all crazy," my friend shouted like a
deranged, little girl.
"Maybe we are," Judge Herns replied calmly, but I could
sense bottled-up rage in her tone. "Unfortunately for you
my dear, we also have the power to back up our judgments,
crazy or sane. In time you'll get used to wearing pretty
dresses and playing with dolls. In time you'll see the
errors of your ways, and hopefully not make them again. But
for now you'll do as we say. You will go with Dr. Green and
behave, because if you don't...I will be very, very angry."
"I won't," Doug answered rudely with tears in his eyes. He
ran to the main doors to try and escape, but found they
wouldn't budge.
"Carol, I suggest you used the office across the hall. I
made sure the security system was set up this week."
"Yes, Your Honor," the blonde-hair woman replied crisply.
She grabbed hold of my friend around the waist and picked
him up. "Come with me, Cynthia. We have a lot to talk
about."
Doug kicked and screamed at her to let go, but the doctor
held him tightly and carried him out the side door. The
room they went into must have been soundproof, because I
heard the door slam shut and his screaming ended. I felt a
shiver of fear go up my spine at what I had just witnessed.
"It's your turn, Mr. King," she said with no compassion in
her voice. I turned slowly to face her. There was tension
on her face that clearly showed she wanted justice for what
we had done to Jessie. It was more than I could bear, and I
lowered my head in fear and shame.
"LOOK AT ME!" she ordered sternly. I shuffled nervously
from one foot to the other, and look back into her
eyes...those piercing, accusing eyes. "Do you have anything
to say before I pronounce judgment?"
"What am I accused of," I whispered in a scared voice.
"Accomplice to murder," she said in a neutral tone. "I
could go on, but that will do."
"I'm...I'm sorry, Your Honor." The guilt of what I had done
became too much for me to bear, and tears started to fall
down my cheeks. "I'm sorry Judge, I really am. I'm guilty
of this crime - I can see that now. Please, have mercy on
me. I'm sorry. Please forgive me!"
"I'm not the one you need to ask forgiveness for," she
dictated. "And sorry doesn't bring Jessie Ferns back. There
are some things you must live with for the rest of your
life. Like your friend, you will be punished for your
crime."
"No," I begged softly. "Please, Your Honor...I don't want
to become a little girl! I'll do better with my life, I
promise. I'll treat people with respect, like I want to be
treated. I'll make amends for what I did. I'll volunteer my
time and money to a woman's shelter. I'll do anything you
ask...just please; don't change me into a girl. I couldn't
stand that...it would kill me."
"Like your hate killed Jessie," she said in a pointed
fashion. "While your actions displease me a great deal, my
judgment doesn't reflect my anger. What I'm about to do I
do for good reasons, Mr. King. This isn't about punishing
you. What good does it do to make an individual unhappy for
the rest of their life? No, punishment should be used to
improve the person's life, not take away from it."
"But...but I promise that I'll do better, Your Honor," I
sniffed. I could see it in her eyes - she was going to
change me into a girl. I started backing away while she
observed me carefully, like a cat watching a trapped mouse.
"Don't try to run, Mr. King...it'll only make it worse."
Suddenly I found myself frozen in place. I looked down at
my feet and tried to move, but they were stuck solidly to
the ground. I found my hands glued to my side, and no
matter how hard I tried I couldn't lift them. It felt like
someone had a strong grip on my body. When I looked back at
the judge, she already had her hands up and was muttering
something under her breath. I saw a blue ball of energy
rise out of her palms and hover there for a moment. Then
like a speeding bullet it moved forward and struck me in
the chest. Whatever was holding me in place must had
suddenly disappeared, because I found myself moving
backwards a few steps even thought I had felt no impact.
There was a tingling sensation in my chest that went away
after a few seconds.
"You will follow me, Mr. King," she told me.
I placed my hands over my chest but couldn't feel anything
differently. "What's going on?" I asked a little confused.
"Why didn't anything happen to me?"
Judge Herns ignored my question as she stepped off the
bench and motioned me to join her. "Dr. Green will be busy
with your friend for a while, and unfortunately we don't
have anyone else who can see you. I'll take you to a place
where you will wait for her. And in case you're thinking
about leaving, the windows and door will be locked. Trust
me, Mr. King. There's no place you can go where I can't
find you, and if I have to go looking for you I won't be
very happy. Do I make myself clear?"
I nodded fearfully that she had. To be honest, I wanted out
of that courtroom. If I never went back there again it
would be fine with me. Judge Herns led me to a place that
was set up similar to a waiting room at a doctor's office.
It was a 15 by 20-foot room with a row of chairs and a rack
of books and magazines. She motioned me inside.
"There's a bathroom over there," she pointed to door in the
corner. "Dr. Green will get you when she's done. DO NOT TRY
TO LEAVE young man. If you do, I'll know." The stern
expression on her face indicated she was telling the truth.
"Yes, Your Honor," I answered meekly. She gave me one more
glare for good measure and closed the door. I heard it
being locked.
"What have I gotten myself into?" I asked myself. I sat
down in a chair and put my head in my hands. What had
I...no...what had we been thinking that night when we were
tormenting Jessie? I was just one more hurtful male in the
long string of hurtful males to infest Jessie Ferns life.
Doug and I hadn't been the cure; we had been part of the
problem. Suddenly I felt sick to my stomach. I had stood by
and cheered while my friend had raped an innocent girl -
all in the name of God. It was so clear to me now how wrong
I had been, why wasn't it clear last night?
I stood and walked over to the magazine rack, expecting to
see something with the title, "Welcome to Andersonville!
Your official magazine to your new life." Instead I was
disappointed to find just your usual stuff. I went to the
window and stared out at the people walking by. On the
outside everything seemed so normal, but from what I had
seen I knew this was a very different town.
"Aliens?" I questioned out loud. It was possible. Perhaps
we had been whisked off to a secret base on another planet.
I look at the mountains in the distance, but they didn't
seem out of the ordinary. Neither did the sun seem brighter
or dimmer in the sky. If this was another planet it had to
be very similar to earth.
I continued standing there looking out the window at the
people going by. Everyone seemed young, healthy, and
dressed fairly decently. Was that the norm here? I noticed
most of the cars were fairly new, although a few clunkers
rumbled by now and then. There was something else
different. The town, from what I could see, looked clean.
It was almost as if everything was only a few years old.
After about 15 minutes of watching the people and traffic
go by, I got bored and sat down. I picked up a sports
magazine and started going through it, but found myself too
nervous to read. I tossed the magazine on the table and put
my head back into my hands. What have I gotten myself into
I asked myself once more? There was a knock on the door,
and the teenager girl I had seen before in the courtroom
came in carrying a small cooler.
"Excuse me Eric, but I thought you might be thirsty. Would
you like a pop?"
"Yes, I would," I smiled with relief at her kindness. I dug
into the cooler and pulled out a Coke.
"I'm a Pepsi person myself," she grinned. The young lady
closed the lid and turned to leave.
"Wait," I said, grabbing her arm. "I don't even know your
name."
"I'm Linda Anderson," she answered, eyeing my hand
carefully.
"Thank you, Linda." I gave her a nervous smile and added,
"Can you tell...tell me what's going to happen to me,
Linda? I'm so, so..." I couldn't admit to this young,
attractive woman that I was scared to death.
The expression on her face, one of caring and compassion,
indicated that she understood what I was going through.
"It's okay, Eric. No one is going to hurt you, I promise. I
know what's going to happen, but I can't tell you. That's
really Dr. Greens department."
My mouth went dry hearing her words, but I did feel better
by her reassurance that I wouldn't be harmed. "Can you tell
me what's going on here? Where am I - really? And who are
those people out there?"
She gave me a sad but understanding nod. "You've seen the
people outside?"
"Yes," I answered cautiously.
"About 90% of them aren't real people, they're computer
generated images. The rest are criminals who traded their
jails cells for a new life here, all except for a few who
came here for other reasons."
"So most of the people here aren't real?" I was
flabbergasted.
"Correct. Except for the fact that their eyes flash, you
can't tell the real people from the computer generated
ones. They're just as human as you and I."
"So where is this place?"
"Somewhere in Montana," she told me. "Sorry, but I'm not
allowed to be more specific than that."
"Earth?" I questioned with some relief. "For a moment I
thought I was transported somewhere else."
"Nope, you're still in the United States."
"So what's the purpose of this town? Why does it exist in
the first place?"
Linda frowned slightly. "I don't know for certain,
Eric...and even if I did I couldn't tell you. There are
lots of secrets in Andersonville."
"Well, the fact that Judge Herns' not human isn't a
secret," I pointed out. "Someone needs to escape and inform
our government. Whatever she's doing, it needs to be
stopped."
"First off, there is no way out of Andersonville," Linda
explained. "Trust me Eric, I know. If you try to escape
you'll be caught and punished. Second, our government is
involved in this project. Where do you think all our
residents come from?"
"Well, I thought they came here the same way Doug and I
did."
Linda shook her head. "They didn't. In fact you're the
rarity here. Most are screened very carefully beforehand.
Your crime really pissed Judge Herns off, otherwise she
would've turned you over to the authorities in Chicago."
I looked carefully at the pretty young woman. There was a
question burning on my tongue that I had to ask. "What
about you...Linda. Are you a criminal, or one of those
people who came here on your own?"
She looked down at the ground and frowned. "Both I guess.
It's complicated, Eric. I did something that I was never
put on trial for, but I'm just as guilty as those here."
"How long will I be kept here?" I asked, dreading the
answer that I already suspected.
"I don't know, Eric. Most likely for the rest of your
life."
'The rest of my life,' I thought. I rubbed my hand over my
thick beard in serious thought. Andersonville seemed like a
nice place to visit, but I definitely didn't want to live
here forever.
"Linda, I don't want to stay here for the rest of my life.
There has to be a loophole that will get me out of here. I
didn't ask to come here, and I would rather spend my life
in jail than be forced to live in this town as someone
else."
She nodded with a serious expression, as if she understood
where I was coming from. "There's only one way I know of
that will get you out of here, Eric. Somewhere along the
line they're going to offer you a contract to sign. You
see, they can't or won't keep you here without the proper
paperwork. Maybe our government won't allow that to happen,
I don't know. Anyway, if you don't sign a contract, legally
they can't change you into someone else. That doesn't mean
they won't, but if you don't sign a contract it's the best
chance you have of getting out of here. The director
overseeing Andersonville is a real stickler when it comes
to paperwork."
I nodded my head slowly. "Thank you, Linda. I'm
really...I'm really sorry for what happened to Jessie."
She gave me an understanding nod. "I understand, Eric. I
don't condone what you did, but I know how you feel. Like
you, I watched someone else commit a crime and did nothing
about it. We both should've stopped the other person and
yet...we approved of the crime at the time. I think Judge
Herns understands, and took that into account when she
passed judgment on you. Most of Judge Herns' anger was
directed at your friend, she was only slightly pissed at
you. Speaking of which, she's going to come looking for me
if I don't get back to my desk. Talk to you later, Eric."
"Thank you, Linda," I replied. As soon as she left I felt
lonely again. Linda had provided me with some answers, but
did they really do me any good? I had been brought here
against my will, and this Judge Herns didn't seem too
concerned about any contract. I drank my pop and thought
about the events that had led me here. I was guilty of the
crime, but being punished to live in a town run by a female
alien seemed unreasonable.
A knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts. It
opened, and Dr. Green stepped in smiling. If I had any
ideas of rushing past her they were quenched when I saw the
cop behind her.
"Sorry for the long wait," she explained cheerfully. "Your
friend wasn't too happy about her new life, and it took a
while."
"You'll find I won't be any happier," I replied in a curt
fashion. "I want to see the judge."
"Sorry," the doctor smiled sympathetically. "She's busy
right now. I'm afraid you're stuck with me. This way,
Eric."
"Where...where to?" I asked cautiously.
"My office," she beamed, being a little bit too cheerful
for my taste. The cop on the other hand eyed me with
contempt. It was clear he wasn't going to let me cause any
trouble as long as he was around. I shrugged my shoulders
in frustration and followed her upstairs to her office. The
cop closed the door after I went inside.
"Have a seat, Eric," Dr. Green told me in a pleasant
manner. I did as she ordered, and looked around the room
nervously. I had seen the power that the judge had, and
wondered if this person had those same abilities. Still, it
was hard for me not to like Dr. Green just a little. She
seemed like a nice, upbeat lady who cared about how I felt.
Not that she was as concern about my life as I was.
"What now?" I asked.
"I want you to play a game with me," she replied, taking a
seat across from me. "I want you to start at five, and
count to one." I looked at her funny, but the doctor just
grinned as if everything was normal.
"Why do you want me to do that?"
"Because I asked nicely," she answered in a cheerful tone.
"Don't worry, no harm will come to you if you follow my
order."
"But it will if I don't?" I shot back suspiciously.
"Calm down, Eric. If we wanted to hurt you we would've done
so already. Now please, humor me. Count down from five."
Her mannerisms made me nervous, for she seemed to have no
fear of me. Slowly I started counting down from five like
she asked. When I got to one, all hell broke loosed within
my body. A tingling of pins and needles started in my chest
and moved throughout my body. To my horror, I started
shrinking, not only in height, but also in muscle size.
There was a heavy concentration of activity located around
my chest and groin, and I could feel a tugging on my hair
as it grew several inches and dropped below my shoulders.
My breast started to push out against my shirt, and I
watched in horror as they grew. I could feel the skin
stretching, as they shot out, yet there wasn't any pain.
Then my butt move on it's own as my hips shifted out and
higher up my body. The area around my groin continued to
tingle intensively, and I felt my penis shrinking, as more
internal changes seemed to be taking place. It was an
almost pleasant, tickling effect that was beginning - I
hated to admit it - turn me on. My legs grew narrower, as
did my arms, and my hands got smaller. Both hands looked so
tiny and feminine now, and I gasped hard at the changes
being done to me.
The worse part was my clothes. They shifted and were
transformed into other garments to meet the new
configuration of my body. I felt a bra wrap itself around
my new breasts and confine them, as my cotton underwear
turned into something silky and clingy. A pair of dark
pantyhose that had once been my socks quickly covered my
new underwear. My shirt was transformed into a lacy, white
slip that stopped several inches above my knees, and my
pants moved upward and became a red skirt and white blouse.
It certainly was the perfect outfit to show off my new,
unwanted figure. I watched in shock as my old tennis shoes
turned into a pair of red, high heels. All this took place
in a manner of seconds, and thoroughly dazed me.
I felt a final tugging my manhood that wasn't painful, but
caused me to cry out. It was gone - somehow I knew that
without looking. The tingling stopped as if a switch had
been thrown, and I sat there in a semi-state of shock.
"Take a deep breath," Dr. Green said. "It'll make you feel
better."
"No...no," I kept repeating. I didn't want to be a girl.
What had that crazy judge condemned me to?
"It's okay, Erica," Dr. Green tried to reassure me. "It's
all over now. You won't have to go through that again."
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" I screamed, lunging toward
her. "What did you DO TO ME?" But before I could reach the
good doctor someone grabbed my arms and pushed me back into
my chair. It turned out to be a man; a very big, muscular
man with a sneer that showed he meant business. He hadn't
been there moments ago, so where had he come from? Then I
noticed his eyes flashing menacing at me.
"Don't try that again," Dr. Green warned me sternly.
I broke. Tears formed in my eyes, and I placed my head in
my hands and started bawling uncontrollably. The man let go
of me, and his grasp was replaced by the warm and gentle
touch of Dr. Green.
"Shhh, it's okay," she told me. "It's not the end of the
world, Erica. This is the beginning of a new and wonderful
life."
"No, no, no," I said over and over again. "I don't want to
be a girl. Please change me back."
Dr. Green must have had lots of practice in these types of
situation, because she let me cry and get all my emotions
out. I found myself turning to her for comfort, even
burying myself into her arms, despite my mistrust and
hatred toward her. I felt better being held in her arms. I
bawled like a baby, pushing out all those feelings that I
suddenly found inside me. Shock, horror, guilt, and then
surprisingly...relief. Where in the hell was my relief
coming from? I wasn't happy about what they had done to me!
"It's going to be okay," Dr. Green reassured me after I was
done. "You're going to get past this and accept what has
happened."
"No, I don't want to," I whimpered. "I don't want to stay
here."
"I'm sorry, but you don't have a choice anymore," she
explained. "Eric King is gone now. From this day on you'll
be known as Erica Hawk."
"STOP IT!" I screamed, and found myself crying again. I
didn't want to hear about my new life anymore. I wanted my
old life back - I wanted to be me again.
"It's okay," Dr. Green cooed. She patted me on the back,
and ran her hand through my hair in a smoothing manner. I
suddenly became turned on by her actions - and cursed
myself for being seduced by the enemy.
"Leave me alone," I told her. I pushed her away, and found
myself examining her lovely, feminine face. A wave of
sexual feelings rushed through my body, and images of Dr.
Green standing there naked filled my brain. I wanted her.
"What's wrong, Erica?" Dr. Green asked in a puzzled tone.
She must have noticed I was looking at her funny.
"You know what's wrong," I yelled. My feelings for her were
so strong I could almost feel my hands touching her warm,
smooth body. I bet she was a tiger in bed.
"No, I don't," she shook her head. "Let me get you some
water, and then we can talk."
As she walked over to the sink to get me a drink I followed
her movements. I wanted her - badly, despite my new
equipment. What the hell was going on here? I had been
given a female body, but not the emotions that went along
with it. She returned with my water and handed the glass to
me. I took a sip and continued to stare at her with lust.
The doctor picked up a book from the table next to her and
handed it to me.
"This is your new life," she told me. I took the book,
which was several hundred pages long, and sat it on my lap.
"In it you'll find all the information and history about
yourself to fit in here."
"I'm not interested," I told her sternly.
"As I said Erica, it doesn't matter," she insisted. "You
won't be able to leave Andersonville ever again, so you
might as well make the best of it."
"And if I don't?" I threatened, suddenly finding a new
surge of strength to resist my sexual feelings for her.
"I'm afraid the judge won't be very happy if you cause any
trouble," she explained. "Judge Herns can be your friend,
or your enemy. Those who get on her bad side can find life
most unpleasant here."
"Yeah, I bet," I snapped rudely. "You can't keep me here."
"That remains to be seen," she nodded knowingly. "Speaking
of which, I have something I need you to sign." She handed
me a piece of paper.
"What's this?" I asked, known full well what it was.
"A contract," Dr. Green replied. "I need you to sign it, so
we can care for you."
"And if I don't?" I challenged. "You can't keep me here
unless I sign it, isn't that correct."
"Well, technically that's true," she admitted.
"That means you'll have to change me back!" I smirked,
playing my trump card.
"No," Dr. Green shook her head sadly.
"What do you mean 'NO'? Without a contract, you can't touch
me. Linda Anderson even told me so."
"I don't know what Linda told you, Erica," Dr. Green
explained with a serious expression edged on her pretty
face, "but she's wrong. The only thing this contract does
is allow us to provide you with a new life here. By signing
it, you're agreeing to let us set you up with a new
identity, job, and place to live. Your transformation has
nothing to do with this contract."
"I don't believe you," I snared.
"It's true, Erica. I wouldn't lie to you about this."
"So what the HELL does that mean to me?"
"It means young lady, that if you don't sign this contract
you don't get to stay here. It means we'll have to release
you into the real world as you currently are. It means that
while you won't remember how you became a girl, you will
remember who you once were. I suppose you may be able to
convince some of your church members that something
happened to you - but judging by the actions of your church
leader, it's unlikely they would accept you back into their
fold. Anyone else you tell will assume you're crazy and
lock you up. How do you feel about a group of doctors
trying to convince you that you're really a young woman? So
you see, whatever you do Judge Herns won't change you back.
In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she made you younger
before releasing you, so you'd have to start all over
again."
"You're lying," I said crossly. "Judge Herns can't possible
be planning to force me to live as a girl for the rest of
my life even if I don't agree to stay here."
"What's to stop her?" Dr. Green responded in a matter of
fact tone. I thought about it; she had a point. I resorted
to begging.
"Look, all I want is to be changed back into my old body.
Do that and I swear I'll leave this place and never come
back here again. I promise I'll change my ways, and help
out women anyway I can."
"I'm sorry, Erica, but I don't have the power to change you
back. If I could I would, but only Judge Herns can do
that."
"I want to see her," I insisted.
The doctor shook her head. "No you don't...at least not
right now. It's going to take a least a day for her to cool
down. Look, I'll make a deal with you, Erica. For now go
along with your new life. Behave, and give the judge a
chance to calm down. Do that for me, and I'll set up a time
for you to meet with her tomorrow. Then you can present
your case to her."
"And what happens if she turns me down?" I asked.
"Then I guess we'll be back at square one," she shrugged.
"Look, you've got nothing to lose by doing as I requested."
"Yeah? Well maybe I don't and maybe I do. If I behave and
act the part like you suggest, that may be the proof you
need to show the judge that I can fit in here, and then
she'll turn down my request."
Dr. Green shook her head. "I have no stake in this what so
ever, Erica. Believe me, the last thing I need is a client
who doesn't want to stay here. But just so you know, I have
no sympathies for your current state. Your actions caused a
young woman to lose her life and for what? Your bigotry? If
there's anyone I feel sorry for, it's Jessie Ferns."
"Point taken, doctor," I expressed sadly. "Okay, I'll take
you up on your offer. What do I do now?"
"I want you to go home and study this book. Inside you'll
find everything you need to know about your current life.
We've already made arrangements for you to miss school
today.
"SCHOOL!" I choked out. "How old am I?" I suddenly realized
that I didn't even know what I looked like, let alone how
old I was.
"You can read about your bio on page one," she replied.
"I'll have Officer Scott drive you home. Tomorrow you'll
report to school as planned. After classes you'll come
here. I'll set up the appointment with Judge Herns that
afternoon."
"You promise?"
"I do," she nodded.
I stood and handed her back the contract she had given me.
"Okay, I'll go along with this...until tomorrow."
"Good," Dr. Green smiled. She opened the door and told the
cop to drive me home.
********************************************
The first thing I did when I got home was find my room.
That didn't turn out to be a problem. There was a sign on
the door that read 'Erica's room' in big, bold letters,
followed by words, 'enter at your own risk'. I peered
inside and spotted a queen-size, canopy bed near the
corner. A pink and white comforter with ruffles along the
sides covered it. Other things revealed it was a girl's
room, like the dolls on the shelves and dresser...and the
vanity table with makeup strewn about. I swallowed hard,
and walked into the room...my room.
There was a full-length mirror on the back of the door. I
didn't know how I knew, but I did. Taking a few deep
breaths, I slowly closed the door. The image of a young,
teenager girl with a shock expression on her face appeared.
As I raised my hand and touched my cheek, the girl in the
reflection did the same thing. She had long, black hair
that was straight and hung several inches past her
shoulders. Her face, it was an attractive face, had a
small, feminine nose, long dark eyelashes, and lips that
looked like they were meant to be kissed. I moved my hands
over my breast, which were big and firm, and down my narrow
waist and past my hips. I felt a shiver of sexual
excitement run through my body as I watched the girl
checking herself out. It was a definite turn-on. Then I
caught myself. I was the girl turning me on. ME - now a
young, sexy girl but with my male emotions still intact. I
flung the door open to hide the image, but when I turned I
found myself looking in the mirror on the vanity table.
"Shit," I swore. I picked up a towel and covered it so I
wouldn't have to see the dazed look of the girl that I have
become. I sat down on the bed and thought about what to do
next.
"The first thing I need to do is get out of this damn
dress," I told myself. I swore Judge Herns had made me wear
this skirt because it was so damn short and uncomfortable.
I started rooting through my drawers until I came across an
oversize T-shirt with the words 'Andersonville Track Team'
and a pair of gray sweat pants. I unzipped the skirt and
let it fall to the floor, followed by the white blouse, the
lacy half-slip, and the dark pantyhose. I suddenly felt
better standing there in just my bra and panties.
"How can women stand wearing this crap ten hours a day?" I
asked myself. I slipped into the shirt and sweat pants and
plopped down on the bed. I opened up the book Dr. Green had
given me and started reading. Despite the fact it was
suppose to be an aid for my acceptance into their town, I
found it interesting. I learned I was 17 years old and in
the 11th grade. I had a younger brother who was 15 and
another who was 13. While I was just an average student, I
was something of a star on the Andersonville track team. In
fact the trophies on my shelves indicated that I was one of
their best runners. I smiled, because as a boy in school I
had also been a good runner. I least I wasn't a
cheerleader, or on the girls dance team.
I read on, learning about my parents, my history, and my
friends. Much to my surprise, I wasn't dating anyone. My
history showed I had dated one guy for about a month but
broke it off. One guy! Hell, I was a hot looking chick. Why
didn't I have more boyfriends? Then I caught myself. What
was wrong with me? Not having a boyfriend was a good thing!
Suddenly I became confused over the situation. Why did not
having a boyfriend bother me so much?
The sound of the front door opening and closing caught my
attention. I looked at the clock and was surprise to see it
was late afternoon. I placed the book down and walked into
the kitchen, where I found my youngest brother looking in
the refrigerator for something to eat.
"Um, hi," I said.
He looked at me strangely and replied, "Hi back." I noticed
the pupils of his eyes flashed weirdly at me. He turned
back to the refrigerator, completely ignoring me.
"Um, what are you looking for?" I asked.
"What's it to you, sissy?" he shot back.
I felt my ears start to burn. "What did you call me?"
"What?" he replied curtly, reappearing from the
refrigerator with an apple in his hand."
"I asked, "What did you call me?"
"Sissy," he commented as if it were no big deal. "What's
your problem?"
I was about to say something, then remembered reading that
this was the nickname my brother Michael, or Mike as he
preferred, had given me when he was just learning how to
talk. "Um, nothing," I replied. "Did you have fun at school
today?"
He rolled his eyes in a disgusted fashion. "When is school
ever fun, Sissy? You're starting to get weird on us."
With those parting words, my brother picked up his books
and walked past me while biting into his apple. I stood
there for a moment, then turned and watched him go into his
room. I was going to follow but stopped, deciding it would
be better if I didn't. Suddenly I felt so alone in this
house, and wanted desperately to call someone.
'Why not?' I thought. 'On one of the pages in my book there
was a listing of friends. I could call one of them and
then...and then what?' I found myself asking. What would I
do? Get on the phone and talk to them about makeup,
clothes, and maybe even boys? I realized that I really
didn't want to just chat; I wanted to talk to someone about
what had happened to me. The problem was I didn't know out
of all my friends who I could trust. I sat down at the
kitchen table and stared out the window feeling so out of
place.
Almost a half-hour of sulking later I heard a car pull up
outside, and the sound of two doors closing. I walked into
the living room to see who it was. A teenage boy came
through the door holding a bag of groceries. Behind him
followed a middle-aged woman, also carrying a bag. I
noticed she had short, black hair that was femininely
styled and curled just above her shoulders. She was also
trim and attractive, and wore a dark blue skirt suit with a
light, blue blouse.
"Hi honey," she smiled, while handing the bag over to me.
Out of reaction I took it from her. "Put this on the
counter while I get the rest."
I did as she asked, not really knowing what else to do. I
followed my brother into the kitchen and placed my bag next
to his.
"You can put the stuff away," he ordered. "I had to bring
it in."
"Wait a minute, that's not fair," I protested. "I had to
help carry them in too."
He snorted. "Only from the front door. I carried it all the
way in from the car. Besides, I have things to do."
"And I don't," I snapped sarcastically.
"You said it, not me," he smiled triumphantly.
"Now listen here..."
"What's going on?" my mother questioned while carrying in
another bag of groceries.
"I have homework to do," my brother replied. "I asked Erica
to help you put the groceries away and she threw a fit. She
thinks everyone else should do all the work while she acts
like a queen."
"That's a lie," I snapped, but my mother would have none of
it.
"Enough, you two," she said, putting her hands between us.
"Steve, go do your homework. I need to talk to your sister
in private."
Erica's in trouble," he mocked with joy. "While you're
bawling her out mom, why don't you tell her to hang her
pantyhose somewhere els