Thursday March 3rd

“Isabel? Where’d you go?”

With an effort, Isabel stopped staring into space and refocused on her friend Hannah, who was sitting opposite her in the booth at their local bar. “Sorry...”

“You should be,” Hannah chuckled. “I’m over here being hilarious, and you’re not even listening!”

“Sorry,” Isabel said again, sheepishly. “What were you talking about?”

“Just something that happened with Peyton this afternoon. It’s not important enough for me to repeat, but I was telling it with my signature wit, so you missed out.” She raised an eyebrow. “Are you OK, babe? You seem kinda stressed. And not just tonight, either - no offence, but you’ve been distracted and weird all week...”

“I know, I know,” Isabel sighed. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

“Not a very original excuse,” Hannah noted, smiling to take the sting out of her words.

The truth was, Isabel only had one thing weighing on her at that moment - but it was pretty heavy. She hadn’t been able to get her conversation with Professor Reed out of her head. The more she thought about it, the more sure she was that something was amiss, but she wasn’t sure what. She didn’t want to believe that Reed could be behaving unprofessionally, but the facts seemed to be speaking for themselves: Adam Fisher was getting unreasonably high grades. And what was up with Reed’s strange demeanour that evening?

Maybe it was time to broach the subject with someone else, and see what they thought. Not someone in authority at the college - they might go ahead and start an official investigation into Reed, which could cause all sorts of problems if Isabel turned out to be wrong. Before she went down that path, she had to be absolutely sure it was the right move. Talking to a friend first could be helpful. She looked across at Hannah, contemplating her for a moment. The stunning olive-skinned economics student was a notorious ‘party girl’, quite unlike Isabel herself - but she considered that a good thing, finding Hannah’s differing perspectives on a variety of matters useful. She could be the ideal person to talk to about Reed.

Isabel opened her mouth to speak, but Hannah got there first, suddenly blurting excitedly, “Ooh, hey! If you’re stressed, I’ve got the perfect remedy.” She brandished her phone. “It’s this guided meditation file a friend sent to me.”

Isabel frowned sceptically. “Meditation? Does that really work?”

“Oh, absolutely! This one isn’t, like, widely available - my friend’s sister recorded it. But she’s so good, and her voice is so relaxing... I swear, it changed my life. I’m so much more chill now than I used to be!”

“You? More chill?” Isabel snorted. “I didn’t realise that was possible!”

Hannah pouted. “Meanie. This was like a year and a half ago, when I’d just started college - before we even met. I was a total stress case back then, not having any fun at all - I was too fixated on studying. But since I started listening to this file a few nights a week, the old type-A me quickly disappeared.” She beamed. “By the end of our first semester, I was the Hannah you know and love! I could unwind, relax, go out and party without stressing about studying. But I can still focus when I need to, and my grades haven’t suffered at all. I’m telling you, it’s wild.”

“That file really changed things for you so much?”

“Yup! It’s just an hour out of each evening, and only for a few weeks. Pretty soon I found I didn’t need it any more - the changes just stuck.” She made an abrupt noise of derision, like she was expressing disbelief in her own words. “Well, not permanently,” she clarified. “After, like, five or six months the old anxieties started to creep back. But I just listened to the file again for a few nights, and after that I was good again. Seriously, it’s a miracle worker!”

“Right,” Isabel said slowly. “Well, I’m not sure it’s for me. Besides, the real problem is -”

“Oh, I didn’t think it’d be my kinda thing either,” Hannah interrupted, “but it really helped me. Trust me, whatever’s on your mind, I guarantee you’ll feel so much better after you listen to this file. I had so many, like, mental blocks, and it helped me overcome them, look at things from different perspectives, and just not get so worked up.”

Isabel chewed her bottom lip. ‘Look at things from different perspectives’ - wasn’t that exactly what she wanted with the Reed issue? Maybe Hannah was right. If this meditation file was as effective as she made out, it could help her figure out what to do about the Professor...

“Alright,” she said quickly, trying to get the words out before she changed her mind, “send it to me. It’s worth a shot.”

“Yay!” Hannah said, gleefully clapping her hands a couple of times. “I promise, you won’t regret it.”

Isabel tried to conceal her dubious expression as Hannah tapped away at her phone, emailing the file to her. “Did you say this thing was an hour long?”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t feel like it - when I’m, like, coming out of it, it always feels like it’s only been ten minutes, max. OK, it’s uploading, you should have it soon.”

“And, what, do I, like, lie in bed and listen to it?”

Hannah shrugged. “Whatever’s comfortable for you. I listened to it in bed, sitting on the couch - even in the bath once.”

“Huh. OK.”

They continued chatting for a while as they finished their drinks. Then Isabel said her goodbyes and headed home. Hannah was staying out and going to a club, but Isabel had a morning lecture tomorrow, so she couldn’t have a late night.

“If you’ve got time tonight, check out that file,” Hannah told her as they were saying goodnight.

“Yeah, sure,” Isabel replied with a wary half-smile. “Night, Hannah. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“That doesn’t give me a lot of range, choir girl!” Hannah chuckled.

***

Friday March 4th

Her bedroom door was locked. Her curtains were drawn. Her lights were turned down low. If she was going to try this meditation stuff, she was going to do it properly.

Isabel lay on her bed, still fully dressed in her white blouse and light blue jeans. Her earpods were already in place, and the meditation file was cued up on her phone. “Here goes nothing,” she muttered, and pressed play.

There was a sound like white noise or static, quiet at first and then growing a little louder. After it continued uninterrupted for at least ten seconds, she realised it was probably part of the process - a way to create a relaxing atmosphere. It was kind of working.

Moments later, a soft female voice began to speak. “Hello,” it said. “My name is Lana, and I’m going to guide you into a state of deep peace and tranquility.”

Isabel rolled her eyes. Yeah, hi, Lana, she thought dubiously.

“Let’s begin,” the voice continued, speaking at a slow, steady pace, as if she had all the time in the world. “I would like you to focus on a spot in your direct sightline. If you’re lying down, this could be a point on the ceiling right above you. If you’re seated, it could be a spot on the wall. It’s not important where, exactly, but it helps if it’s straight in front of you, so you don’t have to exert your eyes too much...”

That voice - wow, Isabel had to admit, Hannah wasn’t kidding. Lana’s voice was truly relaxing. It was already making Isabel feel really chilled out. She fixed her gaze on the plain, cream-coloured ceiling above her.

“Very good,” Lana purred in her ears. “And just stare at that spot. Let yourself focus on it completely, banishing all thought from your mind, and find that it’s so easy... All that exists for you right now is that spot, and my voice.”

To her faint surprise, Isabel found that her mind was indeed growing empty. It was like she had slipped into a daydream, staring blankly into space - except that some part of her mind was still listening to the soft words in her ears.

“And as you continue to stare, your eyelids begin to grow tired. It’s hard to keep them open for this long, to fix your eyes on one point for such a long time...”

“Huh,” Isabel grunted involuntarily, as her eyelids began to flutter.

“Go ahead,” Lana whispered. “You can close them.”

Isabel’s eyes flickered shut.

“And relax down, deep into a trance. Good girl. You’re doing so well. You’re so good at meditation.”

A small sleepy smile appeared on her face at the sound of the praise.

“Now, I’d like you to picture yourself at the top of a staircase, looking down. The bottom of the stairs is dark - you can’t see what’s down there. But there’s enough light to see a few steps in front of you.”

With no effort on Isabel’s part at all, the clear image of the staircase formed in her mind, just as Lana had described.

“I’m going to count down from twenty. And with each number, you find yourself taking a step down those stairs. The light moves with you, illuminating the path just ahead. And the further down you go, the deeper you sink into a peaceful, thoughtless, wonderful trance.

“Twenty. Take that first step down...”

In her mind’s eye, Isabel saw her feet move below her, as she descended onto the first stair.

“Nineteen. Another step, and feel yourself drift deeper...

“Eighteen. Growing more peaceful...

“Seventeen. Growing more vacant...

“Sixteen. Growing more tranquil...

“Fifteen. Your body utterly relaxed...

“Fourteen. Your mind going completely blank...

“Thirteen. Doing so well, my dear...

“Twelve. Such a good girl...

“Eleven. Such a good subject...

“Ten. You love the way this feels...”

A single, simple thought drifted through Isabel’s empty brain: I do.

“Nine. My voice is so compelling...”

Another faint, insubstantial thought: Like honey pouring into my brain...

“Eight. Being under my spell is so wonderful...

“Seven. Being under my power is so incredible...

“Six. You could stay this way forever, couldn’t you, Isabel?”

Yes, Isabel thought dimly.

“Five. You can see through the darkness a little more clearly now. There’s a door at the bottom of the stairs...

“Four. It will open when you reach it. The room beyond is your subconscious mind. A storeroom, containing everything that makes you, you...

“Three. And when the door opens and you step inside, you’ll be completely under my control...

“Two. And it’ll feel even more amazing. You can’t wait...”

More amazing... I can’t wait!

“One. Just one more step to go...

“Zero. You reach the bottom. The door opens...”

Wait... How did she know my n-

“You step inside.”

***

“Hey, Adam, I did as you asked. Isabel’s got the file now, and I think I sold her on it - she was kinda sceptical, but she trusts me. I really talked it up, made it sound like it made me who I am - turned me into this person from a type-A nerd. As if I was ever like that! But yeah, I think I convinced her it’s real. I even told her the effects weren’t permanent, because I thought it’d be more believable. Whether or not she uses it... No, yeah, I’m pretty sure she will. She does seem stressed, actually. So, what’s this about, anyway? You never told me why I should send her this file... No, I haven’t listened to it. I mean, it was part of the deal for me not to, so... Yeah, OK. I guess I don’t need to know all the details. I was just curious... But, as long as I get those six free hours with Sadie you promised me, I’ll do whatever you want! No questions asked...”

***

Isabel was in a storeroom. A bulb with no lampshade dangled from the ceiling, flooding the room with dim light. Surrounding her were shelves stacked high with brown cardboard boxes, and filing cabinets.

On a table in front of her was a big black safe with a combination lock. The door on the front was slightly ajar.

A smooth voice was speaking softly in her ear. Far from alarmed by the inexplicable sound, she found it intoxicating. She could listen to that voice for hours. Perhaps she had been. She wasn’t really sure how she got here, or how long she’d been here - or of anything, really.

“Take one of those boxes down, Isabel,” said that gorgeous voice.

She obeyed, fetching a box and placing it on the table next to the safe.

“You’ve been struggling with something lately, haven’t you? There’s an issue that’s been weighing on your mind. It’s been distracting you, upsetting you... hurting you. You remember feeling that stress.”

She could. She remembered the anxiety building up over the course of days, making her head hurt, her gut growl, and her skin shiver. Though she couldn’t recall what exactly was causing her so much stress, she knew it must be bad...

“I can take it all away, Isabel. I can stop you from feeling any worries or concerns. All these boxes contain pieces of you - parts of your mind, your spirit, your personality. While you’re in here, you can move them around, browse through them at your leisure... and lock them away, so they can’t do you any harm. That’s what the safe’s for.

“I want you to open the box. Inside, you’ll find a piece of expensive jewellery - a necklace. Remember, all the boxes contain parts of you. The necklace represents one such part - one of the most valuable.”

Isabel removed the lid from the box and peered inside. Sure enough, lying on the bottom was a necklace adorned with amethyst gemstones. As she lifted it out of the box and held it up in front of her, it sparkled in the light, sending faint beams of violet spreading across the room around her.

“Now, place it inside the safe. It’ll be protected in there, until you need it again. Don’t lock the safe yet, though - we still have more to put inside.”

She complied, putting the necklace gently inside the safe.

“Good girl... Now, fetch another box. This one contains a stack of papers, all of them covered with lines and lines of typed words. They represent your stress and anxiety. And they’ve really been piling up lately, thanks to this one issue that’s been troubling you so much. You know how wonderful you feel right now? How blissful, calm and tranquil? Don’t you want to feel that way all the time, even when you’re out of this state - awake, and back in the real world?”

Isabel nodded slowly, smiling as she imagined the wonderful state of peace lasting forever. God yes, she wanted that. It was so much better than letting her worries build up and cause her such mental and emotional pain.

“Of course you do... and you can be. All you need to do is lock your stress away. Take those papers out, and tuck them into the safe. Then, close the door, and turn the handle until you hear the lock click.”

She obeyed eagerly.

“Very, very good... And now that the papers and the necklace are locked up in the safe, they can have no effect on you any more. Not while you’re here, in your subconscious storeroom. And not when you’re awake, in the real world. You won’t feel any stress, any concerns, until that safe is opened again - and only I know the combination. You don’t need to know it, do you? You wouldn’t want your worries back, would you?”

No, Isabel replied wordlessly. Of course not.

“The papers were your stress, Isabel. Would you like to know what the necklace was?”

She shrugged. She was vaguely curious, but she wasn’t sure she would mind too much if she never found out. A small laugh escaped her lips, as she realised that this must be because her worries and concerns were locked away - she couldn’t be bothered about it if she wanted to!

“The necklace is your free will, Isabel. Your free will is locked away, and you have no access to it.”

She pondered this. The idea of losing her free will was strange, but sort of exciting. What did it mean?

“Now, you see that there’s a notebook on one of the shelves. It’s got a black leather cover, and gold writing embossed on the front, and there’s a fountain pen lying on the shelf next to it. The book’s empty, and nothing could be written in it while you had your free will. But now that the necklace is locked away, we can put whatever we want in it.” The lovely voice had taken on a playful, mischievous tone. “I will tell you what to write. And the writing will stay there - even after I have you take the necklace back out of the safe - and it’ll have a lasting effect on you. So now, Isabel, pick up the notebook, and the pen.”

Isabel obediently trotted over to the nearest shelf, where, sure enough, she found a leather-bound notebook and a fancy gold fountain pen.

As she picked up the notebook, that entrancing, amazing voice told her exactly what the writing on the front said. She wore a curious smile as she read it.

It said, ‘Hypnotic Triggers’.