Chapter Two

Two weeks after the events that inexplicably forced Raven to complete the band practice without any dissent from her, she sits solemnly inside her small rented-out bed & breakfast room. After her body compelled her to sing through the remainder of the session until Wolf dismissed the band, she knew that she couldn’t stay in that damned house. Raven scraped together some of her dwindling savings and rented out a room inside an old B&B on the other side of the small town of Sunny Springs.

Raven contemplated her decisions and consequences over the last couple of weeks, such as how she finally stood up for herself against her leering boss by punching him in the face and how that got her fired. Or how word of her violent antics traveled across the backwater town quickly, and that led to her eviction from her studio apartment. Then, how the supposedly supernatural events of her last band practice session pushed Raven to avoid contact with any of her fellow band members ever since, including one of her oldest friends, Lucian.

She slammed a closed fist on the coffee table in her cozy room. How had everything collapsed so dramatically in such a short time frame? Lucian had sent her a series of text messages since she hurried out of that garage, collected her go bag, and bolted as far away as possible. She picked up her cell phone and stared at his most recent message but couldn’t bring herself to respond. She knew that Lucian still lived with Wolf, the asshole who somehow commanded her to stay and practice, and she wanted nothing to do with him.

Walking over to the desk near her hotel room window, she opened her laptop and checked her emails, sighing at the sight. Sunny Springs was a tiny town with limited employment opportunities, and those opportunities shrank even further when word of her punch in that coffee shop spread. Joe Gomes was a hugely influential figure around here and appeared to have his claws in every small business in the area. Raven knew she only had enough savings left for another month at most, and her options were running thin.

In addition to her cash-flow concerns, Raven’s social life had also taken a huge hit. She had a small number of like-minded gothic, feminist, and political-dissenting friends, but they all preferred to hang out at Thrashers. With Lucian working behind the rock bar and Mr Gomes owning the establishment, she preferred to avoid the drinkery at all costs.

The young goth decided she needed to clear her head and escape these four walls for a while. She closed down her laptop and examined herself in the mirror. She had neglected her appearance over the last week, with her dyed jet-black hair looking much more wiry than usual and her typically pale face showing more color than she would have liked. She examined the subtle bags under her eyes just as her phone pinged. She sighed audibly; Lucian was presumably trying to contact her for the third time today.

Raven picked the iPhone up from her bed, and her heart sank when she scanned her notifications. The message wasn’t from Lucian but instead from their arrogant band leader, Zane Wolfe. She gasped, noticing that she had clicked on his message subconsciously and instinctively read the message.

Wolf: HAVEN’T SEEN YOU AROUND IN A WHILE. YOU HIDING? WE NEED TO TALK. I AM AT INKREDIBLE TATTOO’S ON MAIN STREET. GET HERE AS FAST AS YOU CAN.

Raven scowled at the haughtiness of the message. He had written it with such a tone of self-importance that it reminded Raven of everything she detested about the rich, pompous, fake goth. She had no intention of responding to his message. If she hadn’t replied to Lucian, a childhood friend she actually liked, there was zero chance she would give the conceited Wolf the time of day. Before she was able to continue her thought, Raven parted her midnight black painted lips and gasped; her legs had started moving involuntarily toward the hotel room door.

“What the fuck-” she exclaimed, managing to grab her phone and room key before hurriedly leaving. Just as when she had no control when her body decided that she needed to complete band practice two weeks ago, Raven helplessly rushed through the corridors of the bed & breakfast and out of the lobby. It wasn’t until Raven’s feet touched the cold, hard concrete of the sidewalk outside that she realized she hadn’t even put her boots on, traveling in her bare feet.

Her unthinking body wouldn’t let her turn around and fetch her footwear, instead forcing her to pick up her pace, first into a brisk jog, then speeding up into a hasty run. The cell phone message had instructed her to visit the tattoo studio as fast as she could, and her body appeared to be taking that command literally.

❖

Just under ten minutes later, the door chime of Inkredible Tattoo sounded, and a disheveled Raven stepped inside the studio. The shop was approximately a mile from the hotel she was staying in, and Raven’s legs would not let her stop until she reached her destination.

A bored Wolf was twiddling his thumbs when he heard the bell chime. Spotting the scruffy and panting goth girl step through the door, Wolf’s bored expression turned into one of glee. He was certain that his plan wouldn’t work, but he couldn’t stop thinking about it since Raven uncharacteristically obeyed his command to complete the band practice without any further arguments. The way she took off and hadn’t been seen since intrigued him even more. With all that said, he had never truly believed in the supernatural and couldn’t bring himself to imagine that a spontaneously worded wish would bear any fruit.

Any doubt in Wolf’s mind disappeared immediately after he saw his female singer. Raven was visibly breathing heavier than normal, a single drop of sweat furrowed from her eyebrow. Noticing she looked shorter than usual, his grin widened as his eyes lowered to her bare feet. Raven was typically short at 5’4 and usually disguised her actual height by wearing tall platformed combat boots. Her entire appearance confirmed to Wolf that Raven never intended to meet him there.

“What the hell do you want, Wolf? What is going on?” Raven questioned, a mixture of fury and trepidation in her voice. Wolf simply stood up from the chair he had been patiently waiting in and slowly approached the angry woman.

“Shhhh, close that bitchy mouth of yours, and don’t speak until I tell you to.” He placidly instructed her. Raven’s black lips instantly closed firmly shut, and her widened eyes told Wolf that his command had worked. Raven’s face blushed in anger, and after several attempts to speak, she brought a hand up in frustration and slapped Wolf across the face.

The arrogant man was taken by surprise, and the force of the slap drove him back. Wolf rested a hand on his sore face momentarily before turning his attention back to the woman, who suddenly looked marginally more satisfied despite her predicament. “Now that wasn’t nice of you,” Wolf retorted to her assault. “Slap yourself across the face, hard.”

Raven didn’t have time to register his response before she felt a hard smack across the side of her face, the slap unfathomably coming from her own hand. In shock, she let out a muffled squeal, but her lips refused to open even then. Wolf chuckled at the sight before him, revealing just how much power he suddenly had over the 21-year-old goth.

“Now, let’s take care of that,” Wolf sinisterly spoke. “You are never allowed to cause me pain physically, and you are forbidden from knowingly allowing harm to come to me.” The fiery look in Raven’s blue eyes and her clenched closed fist told the smug antagonist that Raven had attempted to strike him again, this time to no avail. He paused momentarily as if to savor her helplessness over him. “Good girl. Now go sit in my seat over there. We have a lot to discuss before the tattooist comes back.”

Raven’s body turned and headed toward the chair. Despite her constant internal battle against her actions, her body showed no signs of rigidity or fight, as if it knew exactly what he wanted her to do and worked to ensure it complied. Raven silently sat on the waiting chair, and Wolf approached her, stalking his prey.

“Now, I have no idea how or why I was bestowed this gift, and I’m pretty sure you have no idea either, but I don’t intend to let it go to waste.” Wolf started, with the jet black-haired woman having no choice but to sit wordlessly and listen. “But we both know that something happened in my garage that day, and whatever it was has given me this awesome power.”

Raven anxiously sat restlessly in her chair; her lips still forced together as if they had been glued, her palms sweaty from clenching, her mind rattling off all the ways she was going to destroy his life when she regained some semblance of control.

Wolf steadily paced back and forth before reaching into his back pocket and pulling out two envelopes. “Now, while you have been avoiding us, I have been working out how to use this power to our advantage, and I think I have it all planned out.” The band leader sneered in a way that unsettled the silent Raven. “First things first, your look is too tired and outdated. We have a female lead singer in a rock band; we need to cash in on that sex appeal. You need a makeover.”

Raven narrowed her eyebrows in concern and tried to retort, but her lips wouldn’t budge. She had no idea exactly what he meant, but considering where they were holding the conversation, the goth woman was not looking forward to hearing what he had in mind. She did the only thing she could think of to express her displeasure and shook her head wildly, an act that made Wolf chuckle.

The arrogant man held up one of the envelopes. “Inside this envelope is a set of instructions for the tattoo artist to follow. You will follow any instructions he gives you. You are not permitted to open the envelope or read the instructions yourself. If the artist asks you any questions, you will always answer in the affirmative. You are not permitted to act in any way that might indicate to the artist that this is not what you want.”

Raven gritted her teeth, sitting uncomfortably in the chair. A shudder ran down her spine, and she was unable to do anything but listen to her antagonistic captor. She watched him hold up the second envelope. “Once you are finished here, you will visit the beauty salon next door and hand this envelope to the beautician.” Raven’s eyes widened; she had never visited a beauty salon before, nor did she ever intend to. “Again, you are not permitted to open the envelope or read the instructions. You will follow their every direction. If the beautician asks you any questions, you will respond positively, and you will not act in any way that could lead the stylist to doubt that this is what you want.”

Wolf stepped forward and handed the reluctant goth both envelopes. “Now sit here patiently until the tattoo artist greets you and hand him the correct envelope. I know you’re struggling for cash, so don’t worry, it’s all on me.” He winked at her and smirked. “Once you’ve finished with the stylist, you’ll be pleased to know I’ve left you a gift, a brand new outfit. When you’ve changed, send me a selfie of your new style and await further instructions.” Wolf then takes out his phone and snaps a photo of the angry goth sitting anxiously before chuckling to himself and leaving the shop.

❖

Five minutes after Raven had given up on her efforts to flee as far away as possible, a slim, scruffy man with light blond hair stepped out from the back. He has several piercings on his face; two on his lower lip, one in his septum, and one on the bridge of his nose, and he wore a white vest that showed off his heavily tattooed body. He started tidying his workstation when he noticed Raven sitting patiently in the reception area.

“Ohh, didn’t notice you there.” He said, approaching the barefoot gothic woman. “You my 2PM appointment? Raven, right?” Raven found her head nodding automatically, and she held up the envelope Wolf had given her, allowing the man to take it. “You look nervous as hell. Relax, I don’t bite.” She actually felt her body relax after his off-the-cuff comment, taking it as a command.

“What’s this here then?” The tattoo artist says, taking the envelope and opening it up. Raven nervously watched as the shaggy-haired man raised an eyebrow, reading through the contents of the mysterious letter. “You really want all this today? It’s a lot of work in one go.” He quizzed her, but Raven immediately nodded again.

The man paused for a moment before smiling down at her. “Okay then. You’ve prepaid, and the customer is always right after all. The tattoo will take about two hours, so we best get started on that.” He spoke to her. Considering her location, she surmised she would receive a tattoo, but hearing it from his mouth gave her a knot in her stomach. “Just take off your hoodie and t-shirt and lay your chest down on the face cradle chair.”

Raven finally found herself able to stand up, but any relief was short-lived when she trod over to the strange chair before lifting her ACDC hoodie over her head and slipping out of the plain t-shirt. She looked down at the weird chair; there was a seat to rest her ass on and padding for her knees. The chair included a soft leather rest cushion for her chest and a round cradle to place her head. Raven, topless except for the plain black bra covering her chest, stepped into the chair, resting her knees and slipping into position, placing her head inside the cradle.

Raven heard the footsteps approach her. “I’m Travis, by the way. Now relax; this will take a while.” The tattooist spoke reassuringly as he prepared his tools for the procedure. Raven felt her breathing slow, and no matter how much she wanted to keep her anxiety strong, she felt the stress wither away from her body.

The goth gasped sharply when she felt the needle press against her lower back for the first time, knowing that whatever was being drawn on her body wouldn’t be easy to remove. Throughout her session, Raven tried to decipher what image Travis was drawing on her lower back, but she couldn’t piece it all together. What she did know was that it covered a considerable area above her ass and would be a prominent tramp stamp.

After two hours of tiny pinpricks constantly assaulting her lumbar region without a break, Raven’s back felt tender and sensitive. The tattooist could sense that she was not the most talkative spirit, so he kept his conversation to a minimum. The hours dragged on, and Raven was half asleep when the light, constant stinging all over her lower back dulled as Travis caressed a soothing healing cream over his handiwork. “Your letter said you didn’t want to see the tattoo before I patched it up. Is that right?”

“Yes, of course,” Raven spoke immediately, her eyes widened under the cradle at the sound of her voice. That bastard wasn’t even going to let her see what graffiti he had scrawled on her skin.

“Okay, a bit unusual, but I won’t push you.” The tattoo artist responded before wrapping up her brand-new tattoo, covering it in a semi-transparent patch. “Now, the piercings. You sure you want all six piercings right now?” He continued.

Raven gasped even when her mouth moved of its own accord. “Yes, that’s what I want,” she reluctantly replied. Six piercings? Despite her dark gothic style, Raven was careful to keep the number of tattoos on her body to a minimum, and she never wore facial or body piercings, preferring to characterize herself through her clothes and makeup.

“Right then.” He smiled and patted her back to signal that she could get up off the bench. “This won’t take too long. Now, mouth open and tongue out.” He directed to Raven’s horror.

❖

Raven stared in internal outrage at the small silver septum ring hanging from her nose. While it was undoubtedly the most obvious new piercing on her body, it certainly wasn't the most invasive. She parts her jet-black lips and spots the small silver ball now fixed to her tongue; the metal ball felt huge in her mouth despite its modest appearance. With her t-shirt and black hoodie back on, her clothing hid the small heart-shaped chain piercing in her navel and the two silver barbell piercings in her nipples. Finally, and most degradingly, her clit was pierced with a silver piercing in the shape of a small ceremonial padlock.

Her lips automatically thanked Travis before leaving the tattoo studio, still as shoeless as she was when she entered the shop. "Fuck!" she exclaimed the moment she left the studio, suddenly able to act herself without the tattoo artist around. However, her sense of freedom was short-lived when her bare feet moved her to the business next door, a business she had never paid any mind to.

As soon as the black-haired goth stepped foot inside the salon, a bubbly redhead wearing a red and white summer dress that showed way too much of her generous cleavage came running up to her. "Oh my god, aren't you totally adorable! My name's Cristal. How can I help you today?" she said with so much patronizingly bubbly energy.

Raven thought the crazy red-headed bimbo would hug her but ended up relieved when she stopped short of that. Raven's hand lifted and handed the woman the last remaining envelope before responding to her. "Huh, I think I have an appointment."

"Ohh, yea, totally. I was expecting you like half an hour ago." The busty woman responded, taking the envelope and reading it carefully as if she was struggling to comprehend every other word. "Umm, is this serious?" she questioned Raven.

Raven immediately nodded her loose jet-black haired head. "Of course." She heard herself say, still forced to obey Wolf's damn commands. The stylist read through the letter again with a slightly confused, vapid expression. Her befuddled face quickly turned into glee, and she excitedly clapped her hands. "Oh, yay! This is gonna be so much fun. It's such a nice thing to do for your boyfriend. Follow me."

Boyfriend? What the hell was written on that note? Regardless, Raven was led to an elaborate salon chair, and Cristal tilted it backward. The bubbly hair stylist started massaging Raven's scalp, a technique that wasn't entirely unwelcome despite Raven's predicament. "Like, I got a lot of work to do. Relax, take a nap, and I'll totally wake you up when I'm finished." Raven had no intention of sleeping while the woman was free to do god-knows-what to her hair, but she noticed herself becoming more lethargic. That sonofabitch! She thought, recalling Wolf's words in the tattoo studio, commanding her to follow the stylist's instructions, and that dumb bitch had just instructed Raven to take a nap. It wasn't long before the goth could not keep her eyes open and had no choice but to fall asleep.

❖

“Wakey wakey! All done.” Raven groggily started to open her eyes, part of her feeling like she was still in some kind of dream state. It took her a moment to register the soft, lilted tone of Cristal’s voice and remember where she was. As she steadily regained her bearings, she noticed everything felt slightly off. Her lips felt numb, her eyelids were heavy, and she could spy bright pink strands in her peripheral vision.

“Your boyfriend dropped this off earlier. You can use a fitting room in the back over there.” The bimbo remarked before Raven had the opportunity to panic and handed her a paper bag. The goth took the bag and headed directly to the changing room at the far end of the salon.

Ten minutes later, Raven was seething as she stared into the full-length mirror. Her style had not just been altered; she felt like her personality had been replaced. Her prized midnight black hair was no more, instead replaced by a shockingly bright bubblegum pink color, tied off into two high twin tails. Her dark-lined eyes remained, but pink shadow surrounded them, and her lashes were extremely long, tickling her face when she blinked. She carefully studied her lips just below her new septum piercing. They looked huge compared to their usual style. They had clearly been plumped up with filler, forming a naturally inviting pout even when her face was resting. They were colored a similarly pink color to her hair, and they were highly glossed.

Just as outrageous was the outfit she now adorned. A two-strap black leather choker wrapped around her neck, with a silver cat bell attached to an O ring at the front. Her shoulders were totally bare, and a glossy black PVC crop top wrapped around her breasts, leaving her newly pierced midriff exposed. The material was thin enough to just make out the barbell piercings in her nipples. The front of the crop top had the words ‘ROCK ME’ emblazoned in white font.

Her lower half was just as humiliating. The same black PVC material was wrapped around her hips, covering her pussy and ass but only reaching down to her mid-thigh, leaving most of her legs wholly uncovered. Black patent 4” stiletto platform heels were strapped onto her feet.

Raven typically dressed to minimize her femininity, but everything about her style and outfit screamed sex. She knew she needed to devise a plan to get out of her predicament and skip town, but first, she needed to return to her hotel room. Just as the transformed goth attempted to leave the fitting room, her body stopped; she picked up her phone and opened the camera app. Against her own control, she snapped several selfies of herself and her pink and black appearance before sending them to the worst possible contact, Zane Wolfe. It didn’t take long for Raven to receive a response from her arrogant tormentor.

Wolf: WOW. LOOKS BETTER THAN I EVER THOUGHT. NOW HEAD OVER TO MY PLACE. IT’S TIME TO INTRODUCE THE NEW YOU TO THE BAND.

Her stomach sank when she read his dreaded reply. She didn’t want anyone to see her looking this way, not least one of her oldest childhood friends, Lucian. She needed to get out of town before Wolf took too much control of her life. However, even as she was lost in thought, her legs started moving. The clack of the stiletto heels and the ringing of the bell in her choker made it impossible to stay invisible. She was going to kill that evil asshole, she thought as she reluctantly started walking down the street of her small town.