The sound on the station platform was cacophonous. Even at rest, the great Western Arrow was still quite loud, and the gaggle of rich folks eager to board this massive new vehicle were even more so, chatting about this and that and whatever. All of this, punctuated by the shrill whistle from the conductor, meant even inside the carriage Suzy could not escape the noise. Which was terribly unfortunate, because she really must hear what her superior was telling her! “Er, excuse me sir, what i-“ Her instructor hopefully had merely not heard her as he continued to explain the rules, clearly frustrated himself with having to repeat the spiel. And Suzy understood his frustration, but it wasn’t her fault! She was as caught off guard and disoriented as her new co-workers when she was hired to replace another attendant the day before the maiden voyage!

Working on the Western Arrow was certainly something that interested her, but she hadn’t expected to be called back after she was rejected the first time. However, her predecessor had suffered a terrible accident just the day before, and as they were suddenly short on staff, they contacted the only person close enough to arrive in time for training: Suzy. Her co-workers weren’t too pleased about having to go over everything again with a new person while in the process of making the final preparations… And so Suzy worried she wouldn’t even be prepared for her duties…

“ALL ABOARD!”

People began to enter, and her supervisor groaned angrily. “Uggghhh… Look, just go attend to them, okay? We can’t fall behind schedule.” He left to ensure the kitchen was ready, sending Suzy out into the horde of passengers. Her fellow attendants were dutifully collecting luggage, answering questions, offering reassurance, and generally providing the necessary assistance. She swallowed. Perhaps it was best to just begin immediately, no use worrying… She walked up to a lady who seemed to be struggling with a heavy suitcase and gave a warm smile. “Would you like help with that, Ma'am?” The lady stated daggers at her and responded icily. “No. I can handle this perfectly well myself, you know. I am not a child.” Suzy was taken aback at the hostility, but kept her smile up. “Ah, alright, Ma'am! Is there anything else I can help you with?” The lady looked her over, clearly unimpressed, but deigned to ask, “I need to know what the weather will be like when we arrive. Can you tell me that at least?”  Suzy had absolutely no idea how one would even figure out what the answer to that question would be, and she wracked her brain for anything she might have heard about that in her training. “I, uh-“ The lady scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Useless.” She walked away with her heavy suitcase, leaving Suzy in stunned silence. She… Had she done something wrong…?  Was she supposed to have been trained to handle questions like that? Or maybe the woman was just grumpy… Yeah, hopefully the rest wouldn’t be like this…

---

They were. All throughout the journey, Suzy was constantly subjected to snide remarks, requests she had no idea how to fulfill, and even angry yelling quite a few times from people who evidently weren’t used to things not going their way immediately. She tried not to let it get to her, but it was horrible having people yell at you for not knowing how to do something you were never told how to do! She tried asking her co-workers for help and guidance, but even the ones who were willing to help were simply too busy with the constant demands to give more than a couple pieces of advice. Hour after hour, it took its toll, and by the second day of the journey she was so exhausted… Each incident wore her down bit by bit, until she finally broke down and began sobbing in front of an oil tycoon who was yelling at her about the fish she delivered him not having enough salt. She tried to ignore the nasty looks from the passengers as some of her co-workers kindly escorted her into an empty room in one of the sleeping carriages where she could cry in peace. As she sobbed out all her frustrations, it only made her feel worse. She’d looked so pathetic out there… Why did things have to turn out this way? She hardly even knew what she was supposed to be doing… It wasn’t her fault that they never told her what to do… And while she was crying back here, her co-workers had to pick up her slack… She… She had to go back, put on a brave face… She didn’t want to let the others down… Wiping away her tears, or at least most of them, she started heading back to the passengers' carriage. As she entered, she suddenly lost her balance, almost slamming her face into a seat. As if she needed more ways to look so incompetent… But nobody seemed to have noticed. In fact, Suzy realized she didn’t just trip… The train itself had shaken… As if something had just hit it…

Out the window, Suzy spotted, to her horror, several masked outlaws on horseback riding towards the front of the train. The passengers began to loudly panic, and there was no way for any of the attendants to keep them calm anymore. Nobody had any idea what to do. Another lurch threw several people to the ground, Suzy barely keeping herself upright with the nearby chair, as the train suddenly and rapidly slowed down. She peeked out the window in fright, seeing the previously blurred landscape becoming clear and still as the train came to a complete standstill. A few of the outlaws tossed hooks onto the roof of the train, the dull thuds barely audible over the panic, while the rest began trying to enter the carriages. Suzy looked around for something to try and barricade the door next to her, and saw a dinner cart on its side nearby. Narrowly avoided becoming trampled, she grabbed the cart and pulled it upright, pushing it over to the door. But just before she could get it into position, the door was wrenched open, and she found herself staring down the barrel of a polished silver gun. 

Suzy stumbled back against the wall, and the outlaw's leader entered, holding her gun high. She was… Surprisingly beautiful, her long orange hair flowing behind her as she stepped inside. But despite that, she was incredibly intimidating, and the atmosphere inside the carriage froze into a terrified murmur as she surveyed the passengers with a predatory smile. Another attendant suddenly tried to lunge at her, and she pointed her gun at him. “Don’t try anything brave, now.” Her voice was clear and rich as it cut through the terrified whispers. “Now, I will shoot if I must, but I don’t want to have to hurt any of you. Just stay calm and let me say what I need to. As long as you listen to me and do exactly what I say, you’ll be safe. I’m only here to speak, hear me out and I won’t have to hurt you, you’ll be perfectly safe. There’s no need to panic, there’s no need to move, just calm yourselves. You’re perfectly safe as long as you’re listening to what I have to say, so you can be calm. Calm and safe, you’re perfectly calm and safe as long as you keep listening to what I have to say. Listening to what I have to say makes you feel calm and safe. Listening to my words, and doing exactly what I say. You know if you do exactly what I say, you’ll be safe. Calm and safe, if you do exactly what I say, you’ll be calm and safe. Calm and Safe... Calm and Safe… Calm and Safe…” She looked around the room as she continued to repeat “Calm and Safe…” in her powerful, clear voice, looking over all the blank expressions and relaxed postures of the passengers in front of her. She smiled. “Now you will do exactly what I say, because it makes you calm and safe. You will place anything valuable you have on your persons in the sack my girls will pass around. You will write out any information you believe will be valuable to us. And you will be Calm and Safe…”

The outlaws carried around a large burlap sack, and the rich passengers obediently placed their jewelry, wallets, cash, and other valuables into it without so much as a sound. Suzy stared ahead, feeling odd… Feeling Calm and Safe… It was like everything else had drained from her mind, replaced by a perfect calm clarity that what was happening was what was best. Deep down, she knew it was wrong, but she could only feel Calm and Safe, so that’s what she felt. It felt nice, especially after the day she had had. She could still think and remember everything, but she couldn’t feel anything but Calm and Safe, and it was deeply refreshing. As she stared blankly ahead, she saw the leader begin to walk around, speaking quietly with the passengers and other attendants, asking them questions and telling them what to do next. The leader came to her and put a gloved hand on her cheek, wiping away the remaining tears. “Tell me why you were crying, sweetheart, I won’t judge.” Her voice slid perfectly into Suzy's Calm and Safe mind. Suzy obediently told her everything that happened that led up to her breakdown, and the leader smiled kindly. “You know, this job doesn’t seem to do well for you. Not telling you what to do, throwin' you at the whims of these awful parasites… Seems like it’s not your way. You need someone who can tell you exactly what to do. Someone who deserves your respect and hard work. And, well, you’re quite purty too~… I think you’ll do well as one of my girls.” The leader's voice engraved itself into Suzy's mind like polished crystal. A perfect, undeniable clarity that yes, she should be one of the leader's girls. It was just how things should be.

The other girls calmly carried the valuables back to their horses, and the leader looked over the crowd. “You will forget that this robbery ever happened. You will not wonder where your valuables went. You will accept that you gave them away and that nothing strange happened. When the train starts back up, you will no longer feel Calm and Safe but you will remember what I told you to forget. You will remember that when you hear what my words, you will do as I say because then you will be Calm and Safe.” She matter-of-factly turned to leave, gently grabbing Suzy's arm. Suzy obediently followed her out of the train and back to the horses. Her leader helped her mount alongside another one of her girls, and they returned to the hideout. The feeling of perfect clarity filled Suzy's mind all the way back, and she obediently followed her leader into a small room after dismounting. She sat on a soft cushion and blankly smiled at her leader, who warmly smiled back. Her leader reached out a hand and gently caressed her face. “Don’t you worry, girl. I’ll tell you everything you need to know. All you need to do is listen, and everything will be fine.” Her leader lit a candle and began to chant in her perfect, clear voice.

“Your mind is mine and you obey.

You will listen to what I say and obey it happily.

Your mind is mine and you obey.

You will think what I tell you to, and everything I say will be your truth.

Your mind is mine and you obey.

You are my thrall and I am your leader, you obey me and I take care of you.

Your mind is mine and you obey.

You will never feel sad or lonely, for I am always in your mind.

Your mind is mine and you obey…”

With every repetition, another part of Suzy vanished. But it was fine. This was how things should be. She deserved a boss who always made sure she knew exactly what to do.