Post by impossibletraveler on Oct 3, 2021 15:09:11 GMT -5
“Eddy, please... You don’t have to...” Betsy Granger’s breathless pleas turn to a cry of pain as she’s shoved to the ground.
Landing hard on her knees, Betsy turns her face up at the townsfolk she had noted as being most devoted to the excavation. All of them wore the same blank expression as silent conversation passed between them. Though they never said a word to one another anymore, Betsy knew they were always in contact. Many attempts had been made by Eddy and others to infiltrate her mind, to see if she was starting to “become” yet. She knew she could only pretend for so long, and the longer she went without losing hair and teeth, the harder it was to keep up the façade.
“We trusted you, Betsy; you were one of us once. But you left, chose big city life and a fancy new career over the people who cared for you.” Eddy shakes his head sadly towards her. “You could have been at the very tip of the next stage of human evolution; together, we could have taken the power offered to us and made this world better.”
“Buddy, listen... This isn’t the way.” Betsy’s eyes sweep to the brightly colored belt that now gave off an ominous glow. “Whatever that thing has told you, it’s lying; look at yourselves, all of you! Look at what that-” She gestures towards the belt. “-and THAT-” she gasps, sweeping her arm towards the dig site. “Have done to you!”
“We should kill her now before she has a chance to try and run.” Snarls the blonde from the post office. The crowd around her rumbles their agreement, though Ed remains silent as he stares at her.
“She’s a traitor to us all, Eddy, you can see it as clearly as we do.” Another chap follows up, to a significantly louder agreement.
“If this is really the direction we’re going in, could you all kindly go back to the telepathy? I’d like to be surprised when you take my head off.” Betsy says sourly, falling back onto her ass and looking down at the ground.
“If only it were that simple...” Ed muses, allowing his voice to trail off.
Betsy glares at the crowd as they carried on silently, their faces betraying nothing of the heated argument that was ensuing. Using the distraction at hand, she slips her hand carefully into her sweater pocket, pushing the button that would alert Director Raven that she was in trouble. If she was lucky, the signal would break through whatever invisible net was acting as a barrier over her town.
****Across Town****
Victoria Strader stirs in the arms of her lover Atara Themis, sensing that her moment was near. Even though she had managed to keep her mind free of their hold, the effects of the strange object being unearthed hadn’t left her or her lover unscathed. Teeth had been stored in a jar, along with clumps of hair that Atara had wept over as they fell from her scalp.
Soon, it would all be over and none of this would matter.
Easing herself carefully from the voluptuous brunette’s embrace, she heads into the closet and slips inside. Using a small flashlight, she shines it down on the floor to a shaggy carpet that covers a trap door. Pulling open the loose planks, she pulls out a small, handcrafted radio that the voices had instructed her to build. When the moment arrived, an imperceptible little beep flitted through her mind and she pushed the red button on her radio. As Betsy’s distress signal was rerouted to the correct frequency, a smile spreads across the face of the gorgeous blonde.
Now they waited. Their part was almost over.
****Back in the Woods***
“Your own people want to see you dead, and yet... THEY won’t allow it.” Ed narrows his eyes as he observes her. “They still deem you too crucial to the mission; but why?”
“Beats the hell out of me, but when you guys are done playing Children of the Corn, maybe we could talk this out like rational adults?” Only Ed shows emotion now as the rest of the townsfolk look on, faces empty. “You keep saying “They’, who are ‘They’ that feed you these messages?”
“The Divine Ones... They Who Would Show Us the Way.” Betsy is unable to keep from giggling at the reverent way the townsfolk speak the titles.
“Very fancy, and I do love a good rhyme scheme.” She slowly gets to her feet, causing several folks to hiss at her and tense up. “Oh, calm down, I don’t have any tricks up my sleeve. I can’t make it through all of you.”
“You don’t have to, Bets. It’s not too late,” Ed steps over to her, his hand held out to her. “Open your mind and let them in. They call to you, louder than anyone, begging to be heard. The Pilot... You are The Pilot.”
With no other options, Betsy reaches out and grasps Ed’s hand. As soon as their fingertips brush against one another, she can feel his presence deep inside her mind. Steeling herself, she creates a protective barrier for herself as a shadow materializes in the shape of Ed. Walking over to her, he shakes his head sadly.
“Why do you still deny us, Pilot? All we want to do is help make your world better and we’ve chosen you to lead the way.”
As their minds meet, a light begins to emit between their clasped hands; it burns brightly around them, causing the others to shield their eyes and step back. The world around Betsy and Ed begins to dissolve as their link deepens. Their eyes are locked on one another as Ed, through the power of the Divine Ones, shows Betsy the way of the future as they see it. Her green orbs are wide as she takes in the annihilation of the human race through violent means, frightened by the power of the beings that now had access to her mind.
Beside them, still seemingly trapped within the ground, the phone booth begins to vibrate with life.
A single gasp, followed by several screams of euphoria fills the air as the townsfolk watch the light at the top of the booth begin to glow. They drop to their knees as the light gradually fades along with the rest of the booth, only the sound of the engine remaining.
Moments later, the phone booth reappears and materializes around the glowing pair.
****Other Side of Town****
The two women stand side by side at the edge of town, watching as the headlights approach from the road up ahead.
Victoria and Atara merely wait, both of them aware of what was happening through the internal screams of the townsfolk. They exchange a worried glance before they both look at the road ahead. It seemed to take forever, but finally, Director Raven notices the two women and slows to a stop just before he could cross the line into town. Something about the way they stared at him through his windshield was unnerving, but he knew Betsy was in trouble.
Entering town was his only option.
Getting out of the car, he cautiously approaches the two women, one hand in the air while the other sneaks down to the service gun on his hip. “Evening, ladies.”
“Director,” Victoria says simply as Atara stares in open interest.
“She’s in there?” He asks, knowing full well the women would know who he was talking about.
“We should leave... It’s already too late for her.” Victoria states.
“What? Fuck that, I’m not leaving here without her. You two can wait here, but I’m going for her.” Raven snarls, marching past them to continue up the road.
“Maybe you are the one to end this... Take this.” Victoria closes the distance between them and hands him the radio she used to get Betsy’s distress signal to him. “It’s set to disrupt the takeoff signal in the ship, but you have to hurry. Ed has managed to unearth it and has Betsy under his influence as we speak.”
Without another word, Raven snatches up the device and takes off towards town at a run. The two women watch him until he disappears before grabbing hands and stepping over the town line. They could feel the difference as soon as they breathed in new air.
They were no longer trapped by They... At long last, Victoria and Atara were free.
For them, the nightmare was over.
****In The Ship****
Betsy and Ed look around in wonder as they take in the main cabin of the ship that had been buried underground for so long. Round baubles along the walls were lighting up unevenly, out of sync with one another as the engine chugs sluggishly. Betsy marvels over the control panel as Ed continues to take in the magnitude of the interior.
“It’s incredible,” Betsy whispers, running her fingers over the smooth metal buttons and levers.
“It’s all ours for the taking, along with this planet and so many others beyond,” Ed says, his voice suddenly trembling with emotion. “All you have to do is accept their gifts.”
“I see it now... I see it all and it’s... Beautiful.” As the words tumble from her lips, she can feel something materialize around her waist.
Looking down, the belt that had been hanging from the tree now hung about her torso. The bright neon metal plate was glowing, the leather strap thrumming with the power of it. Her hand comes down to touch it and she’s unsurprised to feel its warmth radiating through her skin. Closing her eyes, she allows the energy of the belt to consume her; in doing so, she misses the look of shock on Ed’s face as he watches The Divine Ones bless Betsy with their gifts.
Even the ones they'd sworn to bestow upon him.
“This can’t be?” He says breathlessly, disappointment giving way to anger as Betsy opens her eyes to reveal they were glowing.
“This was always the way it was meant to be, Loyal One. You performed your part well, but we no longer have any use for you.” Betsy says in a voice that wasn’t her own.
Anger lights up his face as Ed is suddenly snapped out of the hold that had been over him for so long. “I did everything you ask... She doesn’t even want this... You promised ME!”
“You were unworthy... But we needed you to set our plans in motion, and you delivered beautifully. Take pride in knowing that your contributions helped reshape the universe.” Betsy says, her tone gleefully snide.
Bellowing with rage, Ed dives at Betsy, tackling her to the ground with ease. She screams furiously, fighting him off with every ounce of strength she possessed. Ed bats her hands away and reaches for the belt, attempting to yank it off of her. Shrieking in panic, the beings within Betsy muster up their powers and manage to zap Ed with cosmic radiation, forcing him off of her. Recovering quickly, they both get to their feet, though Ed has clearly taken a crippling blow. Grasping his heart, he looks at her with sadness in his eyes, distracting her from his other hand reaching around to his back pocket.
“It didn’t have to end like this, you know.” The beings tell him, inching closer to where he was leaning over. “There was still a place for you in our ranks, even if it wasn’t the one you desired.”
She reaches him now and places a hand tenderly on his head. Ed looks up, his hatred clear in his eyes. “Fuck you.” He says and with his last ounce of strength, plunges the knife deep into Betsy’s chest.
A strangled gasp escapes her as blood pours from her mouth; green eyes widen as Betsy and Ed lock eyes once more, both of them freed of the grip of the others. She lets out a gurgled cry and falls to her knees as Ed slumps over to the floor, twitching several times before falling still forever.
The knife is still sticking out of her chest when a transmission begins to come through. The last voice Betsy expected to hear begins to fill the room, giving her warmth in her last moments. Looking over to the control panel, she could see the figure of Director James Raven appear as a hologram. Crawling her way over, she reaches up and instinctively pushes a button that allows her to reply.
“James...” That is all she can manage, before coughing up another round of blood.
James’ eyes widen in horror as he takes in the scene. “Fucking Christ Bets, where are you?! We have to get an emergency team on you, NOW.”
“It’s too … too late...” She stammers. James shakes his head furiously, but she struggles to finish. “Get... out of here... go and... be... happy. I lo..ve... you....”
“Betsy... BETSY.” He screams as her eyes flutter shut and she slides down to the floor. With one last, shuddering breath, Betsy Granger closes her eyes and quietly dies.
****Just Kidding****
Jerking upright out of her strange dream, Betsy gasps and clutches her pounding heart. None of it had been real... Just a weird dream. James was asleep beside her and the post hotel around them hadn't changed. Sighing, she slides back down and curls up close to James.
Just a dream... Right?