Interactive Story - Career Change
Choice 4
by The Traveling Master
B – Try to call the police? Maybe… What would I say? ‘Hey I’m trying to get away from a man that DOESN’T try to prevent me from leaving? No… But maybe I can just hide one house down and call a cab without trying to walk away…
As I considered my options, I couldn’t help but feel like I didn’t have a lot of time to make up my confused mind. What if he decided to come check? What if he was watching me now?
No… I had to get away as fast as I could.
I pulled out my phone as I turned around and made my way a few houses down the street. I seemed to remember a tall hedge I could hide behind. Good… I couldn’t see his house from there and reasoned that if I stayed close enough and just stopped walking, I wouldn’t get lost and find myself back at his door. From here, maybe I would be able to wait for the cab without him finding me.
If he even decided to come look for me… There was definitely something odd about his attitude. Why was he so unconcerned with me leaving?
I hit the speed dial for the cab service and waited. Hopefully… One wouldn’t be too far away…
*Ring*
“Hello, COOP Cab services.” A man answered.
“YES!” I said. “Hi! I need a cab?”
“Of course mam… Where are you?”
“I’m at…” I said turning around to check the address. “5243 Cedar Avenue.”
“Got it.” He said. “A cab should be there shortly.”
The line went dead and I sighed in relief. Ok… Good… For some reason, I thought that maybe I wouldn’t be able to call one… Or maybe that I wouldn’t be able to say where I was.
I kept an eye on his house through the green foliage of the hedge and sighed again when I couldn’t see him.
I will touch my nose for my husband.
God damn it… When will my mind stop obsessing over that stupid command? Really… This was getting annoying! It’s like my mind couldn’t let it go! Which only made me think about the spell and the tattoo.
WHICH WASN’T REAL!
Come on Taylor… Concentrate on something else… Ok… Don’t let his crazy become YOUR crazy.
Ok… Mister Fletcher will be expecting to see a rough outline of the high rise he wants me to design… I’m a little behind, but I think I can get something decent drawn up for our meeting. What else? Fuck… Did I forget to approve the last draft for the school board? No… No, I got that signed before I left Friday… Ok…
Right! Mister Jacobson got my last rendering of his beach house… I bet he’ll like how I managed to add the call backs to his navy career…
Thinking about my work projects did the trick and kept my mind off my situation until the cab arrived. Good…
I got into the back and closed the door, feeling incredible relief that nothing else happened.
“Good day Miss.” The middle aged man said. “Where can I take you today?”
I could see his smile through the rear view mirror. At least he seemed nice enough. I buckled up and sat back into the leather seat and felt a weight fall away as I finally relaxed.
“5249 Cedar Avenue…” I said as my mind drained into the soft seat.
Finally… I would be able to get out of here…
But we weren’t moving so I looked at the driver through the mirror. He was looking at me with his eyebrow raised.
“You sure miss?” he asked, clearly confused.
Why was he being so annoying?
“Of course I’m sure!” I said, no doubt with that same idiotic smile.
“Ok… You’re money Miss…” he said as he got into gear and we finally started to move.
My heart finally started to slow down as I saw the houses move past my window. Good… Hopefully it shouldn’t take too long to get home. I closed my eyes and let myself relax…
And after barely a few minutes, I felt the cab stop. I opened my eyes and looked at the driver as he put it back in park.
“What?” I asked as I looked outside.
“5249 Cedar Avenue.” He announced as he looked back over his shoulder. “Are you ok Miss?”
I will touch my nose for my husband.
I blinked as I realized with growing dread that I had told him to bring me back to his house! No… Really? I… I had told him my own address didn’t I? 3347 Georgia Road… Oh no… Did…
It was like my surname!!! I wanted to say it… But it came out different!
Fuck… FUCK!
I looked back at the driver, but suddenly, he seemed relieved. Why was he… I looked back at the window and immediately understood when I saw my reflection. I WAS SMILING!!
Of course he was relieved. I didn’t look worried or panicked at all! I was just happy! Happy about having called a cab to go 4 houses down! Wow… He must think I’m one big ditz to call him all the way over here just for that!
Should I try to tell him I wasn’t fine? Why not… Might as well try.
Ok… Look at him and tell him you are really not fine.
“Of course Sir! I’m very ok because now I’m home!” I said cheerily.
WHAT THE FUCK? I didn’t want to say that at all!
He chuckled. God… Now he really must think I’m some sort of dumb chick.
“Ok Miss… Just checking… It’s not every day I get called out for a ride around the bloc.”
I wanted to roll my eyes, but I didn’t. I just looked back at him and SMILED.
“How much do I owe you?” I asked, trying to get this over with.
I was clearly not going to be able to get him to take me somewhere else. Which meant that either he brainwashed me in my sleep, which doesn’t make sense. Or… His stupid spell is real… Which really didn’t make much sense either!
He looked back at his meter and then at his dispatch screen. He smiled as he looked back at me.
“Tell you what miss…” He said. “I really should charge you for the minimum ride fare, but since I have a customer a few blocks from here, why don’t I just give you this one on the house. Call it… A Beauty discount.”
He winked and again, I wanted to roll my eyes.
“Oh that’s so generous Sir!” I found myself saying instead. “Thank you so much!”
He smiled and I got out of the cab and watched with creeping despair as he rolled away.
FUCK!
I turned back to face the house.
I will touch my nose for my husband.
God damn it! Seems like I can’t walk OR drive away. My heart started to race as I tried to imagine what would happen if I tried calling one of my friends. If I couldn’t tell a stranger where I wanted to go, would I even be able to ask a friend to come pick me up? Probably not…
What if I texted them?
I got my phone out and thought about who to text. My friend Jessica would laugh her ass off if she learned I had been on a one-night stand, but she was fairly open minded…
So just maybe…
But then I thought back to my conversation with the cab driver. I really believed I had said my own address. But I hadn’t… Would it be like that for my texts? I took a deep breath and thought about what I wanted to write.
‘Hey Jess, would it be a bother to come get me?’ I thought.
Ok, simple enough…
I started to type and read my words before sending it.
‘Hey Jess, I hope you had a wonderful night because I met the most awesome man and now I have to touch my nose for him!’ I read.
My jaw dropped. My thumbs had a mind of their own! I really thought I was writing something else! Fuck… I can’t even text my friend without losing control of myself and thinking about his stupid command!
My trepidation just continued to climb as my mind started to believe that just maybe… This spell was real.
Oh god… No… It can’t be… Magic CAN’T exist. It just can’t!
I looked at his home and fought off the images of me staying here as his wife. Oh no… I can’t. Please god! Make me wake up or something!
I couldn’t run away…
So what should I do now?
Choice 4
A – Magic is real? God… I can’t stop smiling… I can’t communicate properly and sound like a happy dumb wife… I can’t say my real name… And his command keeps popping up in my mind! My nose… What… What happens if I do obey his stupid command? Maybe I should get it over with and just touch my damn nose to find out.
B - Should I go back in? Clearly I couldn’t seem to get away. Something is affecting my actions. So… Maybe I need to learn more about this… Ok… I’ll go back in and ask him to tell me all about the tattoo. Surely there was some way I could find to get out of this. But I WON’T touch my damn nose and give in to his fantasy of me being an obedient wife. I just need to know more before I try anything else.
C – My trepidation just continues to grow as I feel the walls closing in around me. Was there no escape? I couldn’t think of anything to get out of this! I… I just wanted to break free of this insane nightmare. I throw my head back and scream to the top of my lungs.