JSParallax
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Disclaimer: So, I wrote this part and the last part back to back, but separated them out somewhat for purposes of plot, but more importantly to post this disclaimer. This part of the story has no tickling in it. None. It is meant to further the plot of the story nothing more. Don't worry part 8 will go back to having tickling.....a lot of tickling, among other things. That being said, if you are following this series I do not recommend you skip it or else you will be very confused later on.
Helpless Hayden – Part 7
“Are we fucking close yet?” Asked Hayden angrily. “We have been driving over an hour and honestly an hour is a lot longer than I’d care to spend with you in any confined space.” Hayden said glaring from the back seat at James.
James looked back in the rear view mirror to meet here gaze. He could feel her fury. Her eyes burned with righteous anger. He couldn’t blame her, she had every right to be pissed. Perhaps she wasn’t ready, maybe he did reveal too much too soon. “Oh Well.” James thought. “Too late to take it back now.”
Hayden sat in the backseat still trying to cut James with her eyes. She couldn’t believe she had agreed to go with him after their talk this morning…still…what he had to say intrigued her as she thought back the day’s earlier events.
Two Hours Earlier
Hayden opened her eyes as the sun peeked in through the window. She began to awaken feeling wonderful and refreshed. The night before seemed more like a lucid dream than anything. Especially, after the first earth shattering orgasm James had given her. She still couldn’t believe he had tickled her after that…still, the thought of it did bring a little smile to her face, though she couldn’t exactly say why.
She looked over, James was next to her, sleeping soundly and holding her in his arms. “This is nice.” She thought. Being held in his arms made her feel safe and protected…and something else….confident? She wasn’t sure. All Hayden knew was that she felt different.
She watched as James slowly opened his eyes to look at her. “You have such beautiful green eyes.” He whispered. “Hmmm….I’m glad you like them, since they are one of the few things I can still move.” Hayden said sticking out her tongue. James chuckled “You made a joke about yourself. That’s a first.”
“Well, perhaps I am embracing the new me, all thanks to you.” She said puckering her lips and hoping for a kiss. James quickly leaned over and placed one on her lips. “Oh…I don’t know how much I had to do with it. Pretty sure you did all the heavy lifting, so to speak.” James said with a wink.
“I do feel different though, I really do. It was so weird, last night I mean and not the tickling. It’s what happened during it. I swear I was like outside my own body; it was so trippy.” Hayden said. “It was like I could move again, but not exactly, more like I was floating or something.”
“Hayden…” James said with a pause. “What…..what if I told you that you were.”
Hayden giggled. “Shut up, stop fucking with me. I was just saying that’s what it seemed like, you don’t need to make fun.”
“I’m not.” James said uncharacteristically serious. “There is a long recorded history of people having out of body experiences. It’s been studied and written about for….hundreds if not thousands of years. It is a real phenomenon. “
“Oh, so your saying to tickled me out of my body?” Hayden said sarcastically. “Buddy, you are good, but you aren’t that good.”
“That’s exactly what I did.” James said totally deadpan.
“This isn’t funny James.” Hayden said staring at him. “You are making me uncomfortable.”
“Hayden…” James said removing the arm he had wrapped around her and getting up out of the bed. “What do you want out of life?”
Hayden was taken aback by the sudden directional shift in conversation. “What? OK, stop James seriously, it’s freaking me out.”
James stood at the end of the bed, his eyes unwavering. “Answer me. What do you want out of life? This is important.”
“I….I don’t know…..happiness…..freedom….to feel important….and needed.” Hayden stammered.
“What if I told you that you could have all of that…..all of that and more. Do you remember when I don’t you about control about how it was an illusion, for all of us? That you had all the control and none of it at the same time?” James said becoming more excited as he spoke. “I can show you Hayden, I can help you….to be more powerful than you ever thought possible. All of this, what is happening now has been pushing you to a greater destiny.”
“James, you are making no sense and you a frightening me. If you have any respect or feelings for me, you will leave…. RIGHT NOW.” Hayden said forcefully.
“Is that what you want?” Asked James taking a few steps back.
“It is.” Hayden replied staring through James.
“Alright. I will go, but…haven’t you ever thought there was more to life than just….this? All of this? Do you really want to spend the rest of your life trapped in that bed?” James said as he slowly backed towards the door.
“What do you mean? I am trapped in this bed and nothing can change that.” Hayden snapped with tears in her eyes.
“Only your body is trapped, not your mind. What you experienced last night….I can show you….I have friends who can show you how…..how to be free. How to be more.” James said slowing his backwards steps out the door.
“Who are you?” Asked Hayden. “No bullshit, no lies. Who are you really?”
“Look, I’m the same guy Hayden, the same guy you have been getting to know…you just….don’t know everything yet. I had to make sure you were a candidate before I could even speak to you about any of this.” James said stopping at the door frame.
“A candidate for what?” Hayden said gritting her teeth. The idea that James had been lying to her, sizing her up like she was some kind of lab rat this whole time infuriated her beyond measure.
“A candidate for project Albatross. It’s a top secret government project run by…. well it doesn’t matter, let’s just say it’s run by top secret government people.” James said.
“What’s its purpose and why do you even think I would be a candidate?” Hayden said still fuming over the betrayal.
“I’m not cleared to tell you that. If you want to know you will have to come with me. To the main facility. There are people there who can explain all this far better than I can. Please….” James said in a pleading tone of voice. “Just come.”
“What if I say no?” Hayden asked sensing she may for once have the upper hand.
“I can’t force you. I won’t even try. If you say no, I will just leave and you will never see me again, but Hayden…. please, I’m begging you, I just want to help. All I’m asking is that you come and hear them out.” James said sounding almost desperate.
Hayden continued to look straight through James, her eyes still burning with anger. “I come. I listen and I want to leave, I get to leave right. No tricks, no bullshit and after I listen, if I don’t like what I hear…you go away. No coercion, no torture, no nothing.”
James gave a slight smile “Absolutely. I promise, no…wait, I swear to you, I will not touch or tickle you again until you ask me to.”
“You are going to be waiting a long time for that pal. I don’t appreciate being lied to.” Hayden said her old sense of confidence coming back stronger than ever upon hearing James’s words.
“As long as you agree to come, that’s all that matters.” James said.
Through the haze of rage she felt at James she suddenly felt something else…. power…. Hayden suddenly felt, for the first time, that she had all the power. She wasn’t sure why James needed her consent, when he could easily force her to come with him, but it seemed important to him…. almost necessary that she give it.
The Present
Hayden continued to glare up at the rearview mirror from the back of the van, catching James’s eyes every chance she got.
“You never answered. Are we almost there or not?” Hayden said in an even sharper tone then before, one James had not heard since he first started taking care of her. “Almost” Said James not looking back as the van turned down a paved drive.
The van continued down the drive for several minutes. Hayden glanced out the windows and saw no other houses, only dense forest on either side. “Feels like you are taking me out here to murder me.” Hayden muttered.
“The isolation is a necessity.” James said. “It would be hard to do….what we are doing….without it.”
“I don’t even know what the fuck that is.” Hayden said.
“You will. Just be patient.” James said.
“Patient for what, where the fuck are we? What the fuck is this, turn the van around I want to go….” Hayden was suddenly struck silent as they pulled up to a palatial estate surrounded on all sides by the forest. The house was enormous; Hayden guessed it had to be at least three times the size of her five thousand square foot home. It seemed very out of place springing up in the middle of all this nothingness. “What….the….hell….” Hayden said awestruck.
“Not too bad, huh?” James grinned as he pulled the van up to a closed wrought iron gate with a guard shack.
An elderly man, who looked to be in his seventies walked out of the shack and up to the van as James rolled down the window. The man walked slowly over to the van and peered in, leaning against the open window. “Ah, James. Finally, back huh? You’ve been out on assignment a while.” The man said smiling, until he noticed Hayden in the back seat. “Who is this?” He asked suspiciously.
“She is cleared. Call down to command.” James said.
The elderly man walked back inside the shack and picked up a phone. Hayden could see him talk to someone on the other end for a moment, but couldn’t make out what was being said. The elderly man returned to the van with raised eyebrows. “So…. this is the one all the commotion is about down in the nest. You must be something special Miss, I hear Joan might even come back to meet you.”
“Enough Carl. Open the gate dammit.” James said in an uncharacteristically concise manner.
“OK, OK, don’t get your knickers in a bunch. I was only being friendly.” Said the guard as he walked over pushing a button on the deck inside the shack. The gate slowly opened and James wasted no time driving through.
“Whose Joan?” Hayden asked from the backseat.
James remained silent as they drove up to the house. “Time to go, he said.” He parked the car. Walking around to the back he removed Hayden’s wheelchair and unfolded it, before picking Hayden up in his arms and placing her in it. Hayden glanced around noticing the two large front doors James was now pushing her towards.
Hayden expected him to stop and knock, or ring the bell, but instead he simply stopped in front of the door and looked up in the left corner. Hayden could see there was a security camera up there, it hummed as it turned slightly and seemed to focus its lens in on them. Suddenly the two large doors opened, not inwardly as she had expected, but rather sliding apart, revealing a small silver room that looked like the inside of an elevator. James wheeled her in, turned her around in her chair and pressed his hand against a sensor. Hayden could feel the elevator start downward.
“So…we aren’t going in…we are going down?” Hayden asked with curiosity.
“That’s right.” James said as the elevator continued its downward decent.
“So wait, if we are going down, what’s inside the giant house?” Hayden asked.
“Let’s just say…what’s inside the house is there to prevent anyone from going where we are going right now.” Said James with a chuckle.
Hayden sat silently in her chair not knowing what to expect. After several minutes the elevator doors opened to reveal a white room. Not a room with white walls, but literally, an entirely white room. The walls were bright white, the floor was white, the room was empty except for a desk at the end, which was, as everything else, entirely white. Behind the desk sat a woman in a white pants suit. “Confirmation please.” Was all she said.
“Agent 7546071, level 5 clearance. Albatross division. Requesting access to the nest.” James said without hesitation.
“Access granted. Welcome home Agent.” Said the woman in an almost robotic tone of voice. The door behind her opened and James wheeled Hayden though. Hayden noticed as they passed the desk the woman was holding what appeared to be the trigger of a shotgun mounted underneath the desk.
“Geez dude, you think you guys have enough security in here?” Hayden asked.
“You can never have too many backups or precautions. We are all about safety here.”
“Well I hope whatever you are protecting is worth it.” Said Hayden.
“I think it is considering that what we are protecting is you…. and people like you.” Said James as he continued to wheel her down the hallway.
“People like me…. what does that even mean?” Hayden asked trying to crane her neck around to see James.
“Hayden McCall!” said a woman’s voice which caused Hayden to whip her head back around to look forward. She suddenly saw a woman in front of her who appeared to have come out of nowhere standing in the middle of the hall. “I am very excited to meet you my dear, very excited in deed. I hope James hasn’t been too tiresome for you.” The woman said with a grin.
Hayden eyed the woman up and down, she had a commanding presence. She stood 5’8 and looked to be a solid 160lb of solid muscle. Her brown hair was tightly tied back in a bun and she wore military fatigues, although Hayden did not recognize any of the insignia on her uniform, including the one indicating the woman’s rank. “I’m….afraid you have me at a disadvantage. You have my name and I don’t have yours.” Said Hayden still sizing the woman up.
“Of course, my apologies. Please forgive my rudeness, it’s just very exciting to have you here. My name is Lieutenant Commander Abigail Jensen. Welcome. Please follow me.”
James followed the woman down the hall, pushing Hayden in her chair. The woman turned abruptly and James followed pushing Hayden into what appeared to be a conference room. James rolled her up to a large table surrounded by twelve chairs, although they were currently all empty.
The Lieutenant Commander sat in a chair across from Hayday. “James, please leave us.” She said.
“I’m not sure that’s prudent Lieutenant, she just got here and….” James began.
“Leave James.” Abigail said without even so much as a glance in his direction. “NOW.”
“Yes Ma’am.” said James turning and walking out the door without another word and shutting it behind him.
“I wish I could commend him like that…” Hayden scoffed.
“Yes, well, James is somewhat of a loose cannon. He means well, but needs a firm hand to keep him under control.” Abigail said not taking her eyes off Hayden for a moment.
“OK….so what am I doing here. I told James I’d come here and listen, so start talking. The faster we go through all this the quicker I can go home.” Said Hayden.
“I see. Well then I better get right to it. How much do you know about the human mind and its psychic potential?” asked Abigail.
“Psychic potential? Nothing, that’s just a bunch of nonsense.” Said Hayden.
“I assure you Ms. McCall it is not and it is something we here at project Albatross have been exploring for the last eight years. You see we have found that under certain conditions the human mind is capable of extending out past it’s biological prison. In other words, certain people are able to project themselves, their psychic consciousness outside their own bodies.” Said Abigail.
“Bullshit. Sounds like something out of a bad sci-fi novel.” Said Hayden.
“It’s not, and I think you know it’s not Ms. McCall. I’ve seen the readings James sent to us, you have already done it once and the fact you were able to do it so early and easily, with very little conditioning beforehand is nothing short of remarkable.” Said Abigail still staring at her from across the table.
“Readings? What do you mean? The only time I ever felt anything like what your describing was last night and….wait…..are you telling me that sick son of a bitch taped all that shit he did to me and sent it to you?” Hayden said not knowing whether to scream or cry.
“Relax Ms. McCall, James didn’t tape anything. The only thing he sent was a preliminary brain scan while you were projecting, we needed a sample to verify that you were a candidate.”
“Projecting?” Hayden asked feeling a little calmer.
“Yes, that’s one of the words we use here. When someone like yourself is outside of their body, we call it projecting.” Said Abigail.
“OK….so you are saying you can teach me to do that all the time? Is that what you are offering?” Hayden asked.
“No, not exactly. Doing what you….do…..isn’t something that can be taught, it has to be induced. Someone either has a gift for it or not. Said Abigail. “People with a condition like yours are particularly good candidates.”
“I don’t understand, what does my condition have to do with anything? What do you mean by induced?” Asked Hayden.
“Well…that’s the thing. Projecting requires a not only a great deal of psychic energy, but also that the person let go of everything physical in order to cross over. This can only be accomplished by getting that person into a very deep trance like state we refer to as sub-space.” Said Abigail.
“I heard James mention that once, sub-space, what is it?” Asked Hayden.
“It’s the state of mind a person enters when they are forced into a state of deep, deep submission via…various methods. Think of it as the initial door you must find and open in order to let go and extend your mind outside of yourself.”
“Various methods? You mean like tickling.” Hayden said with a shudder.
“Not necessarily. The trigger for each person can vary slightly, although tickling is one of the preferred techniques used to push psychically sensitive individuals like yourself closer to subspace.” Said Abigail.
“Why tickling? Why not some other method?” Asked Hayden.
“Because in order for the candidate to enter deeply enough into subspace to cross over, the level of submission and torture must be….extreme. We try to use things that cause extreme discomfort and distress, but do not cause permanent damage. Early in the program we experimented with pain, but…the level of pain needed to elicit the appropriate state of mind was so extreme that it nearly killed the subjects, not to mention the recovery time afterward. The methods we use now are more….nuanced and psychological.
“OK, I guess I understand that, but what I don’t get is the point. I mean….you have these “psychically sensitive” people who you claim they can project themselves outside of their bodies if you torture them enough. So, you torture them and they project, so what? What can the government possibly have to gain from that?” Hayden laughed.
“Are you kidding?” Abigail asked in a somber tone. “A person who can become incorporeal and project themselves anywhere. Who can’t be seen or heard, but can listen and see everything. It’s the perfect spy…..you are the perfect spy my dear.”
“In the eight years since project Albatross began we have prevented numerous attacks on this nation, neutralized threats you were not even aware of and gained strategic intelligence without our enemies having any clue how.” Said Abigail.
“What’s with the name? Project Albatross? Seems like a weird choice.” Hayden said letting Abigail’s explanation sink in.
Abigail laughed. “All I just told you and you think the name is the weirdest thing? Well if you must know, it’s a reference to a poem by an English poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge called the Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
It’s about a mariner whose ship is led out of harsh waters by an Albatross, which at the time was considered a sign of good luck. However, the mariner shoots the Albatross. His crew enraged by the killing forces the mariner to wear the dead Albatross around his neck to represent his suffering, his burden and as a reminder for what he had done.” Abigail pointed to the conference room wall. Hayden looked and saw the symbol of a bird and words beneath.
Hayden read the words out loud:
Ah! Well a-day! What evil looks
Had I from old and young!
Instead of the cross, the albatross
About my neck was hung.
“So, that’s it. The Albatross….it represents the burden people like me have to suffer in order to access our abilities.” Hayden said softly.
“No. You misunderstand, the torture is not the Albatross.” Said Abigail still staring across the table at Hayden.
“What is then?” Said Hayden confused.
“It’s you. You and people like you. You ARE the Albatross. The burden is hung around everyone else’s necks to protect you, to take care of you, and to nurture your abilities. The story is a reminder to all of our handlers that they are not here to shoot you down like that foolish mariner did to the Albatross. No my dear, we are here to make you fly.” Abigail said smiling.
“What exactly is a handler?” Asked Hayden.
“Each Albatross is assigned a handler. That is the person responsible for getting them into their projecting state.” Said Abigail. We like to always have the same handler assigned to the same Albatross. It fosters a level of intimacy and trust, which is essential in order to facilitate entry into sup-space and ultimately into projection.”
“So I get my own personal torturer, great. What if I don’t want to go along with all this? You plan to keep me here against my will?” Hayden asked.
Abigail looked genuinely shocked by Hayden’s statement. “My God no, is that what James told you?”
“Well no, he didn’t really tell me that much about anything.” Hayden said.
Abigail sighed. “That freaking moron. I thought he had already explained all this to you. Hayden, our program is strictly voluntary, even if we wanted to keep you here and torture you against your will, it would be pointless. You cannot force someone to project, you can only help guide them to the right frame of mind. Please, stay and observe some of our sessions, it will help you understand the process. At first it may look like torture, but I promise every one of our Albatross’s is here voluntarily and voluntarily gave up all of their rights to be a part of this program.”
“I…..I don’t know. This is all a lot to take in.” Said Hayden.
“I understand, but that’s exactly why you should stay a little longer, to help you really wrap your head around what we are doing here. Who knows, you might even have some fun.” Said Abigail smiling as she stood up and walked around the table behind Hayden’s chair. “After all, even torture can be pleasurable.” she said taking a single finger nail and sliding it lightly along Hayden’s neck.
A pleasurable shiver crawled up Hayden’s spine. She suddenly felt very vulnerable again in the presence of this woman.
“OK, a few hours wouldn’t hurt I suppose.” Hayden said trying to stifle a giggle.
“Very good. I will show you around and we can meet up with James a bit later.” Said Abigail grabbing Hayden’s chair and wheeling her out of the conference room and down the long metallic hallway.
They stopped in front of a non-descript metal door. Abigail tapped a few keys on the keypad and the door slid open. Loud long peals of laughter suddenly hit Hayden’s ears. It was female laughter….and it sounded like the poor woman was coming unhinged. Abigail wheeled Hayden into the room allowing Hayden to take in the strange spectacle before her.
“Welcome to level one conditioning Hayden. Let me know if you have any questions.” Abigail said watching as Hayden sat there trying to comprehend what she saw.
Helpless Hayden – Part 7
“Are we fucking close yet?” Asked Hayden angrily. “We have been driving over an hour and honestly an hour is a lot longer than I’d care to spend with you in any confined space.” Hayden said glaring from the back seat at James.
James looked back in the rear view mirror to meet here gaze. He could feel her fury. Her eyes burned with righteous anger. He couldn’t blame her, she had every right to be pissed. Perhaps she wasn’t ready, maybe he did reveal too much too soon. “Oh Well.” James thought. “Too late to take it back now.”
Hayden sat in the backseat still trying to cut James with her eyes. She couldn’t believe she had agreed to go with him after their talk this morning…still…what he had to say intrigued her as she thought back the day’s earlier events.
Two Hours Earlier
Hayden opened her eyes as the sun peeked in through the window. She began to awaken feeling wonderful and refreshed. The night before seemed more like a lucid dream than anything. Especially, after the first earth shattering orgasm James had given her. She still couldn’t believe he had tickled her after that…still, the thought of it did bring a little smile to her face, though she couldn’t exactly say why.
She looked over, James was next to her, sleeping soundly and holding her in his arms. “This is nice.” She thought. Being held in his arms made her feel safe and protected…and something else….confident? She wasn’t sure. All Hayden knew was that she felt different.
She watched as James slowly opened his eyes to look at her. “You have such beautiful green eyes.” He whispered. “Hmmm….I’m glad you like them, since they are one of the few things I can still move.” Hayden said sticking out her tongue. James chuckled “You made a joke about yourself. That’s a first.”
“Well, perhaps I am embracing the new me, all thanks to you.” She said puckering her lips and hoping for a kiss. James quickly leaned over and placed one on her lips. “Oh…I don’t know how much I had to do with it. Pretty sure you did all the heavy lifting, so to speak.” James said with a wink.
“I do feel different though, I really do. It was so weird, last night I mean and not the tickling. It’s what happened during it. I swear I was like outside my own body; it was so trippy.” Hayden said. “It was like I could move again, but not exactly, more like I was floating or something.”
“Hayden…” James said with a pause. “What…..what if I told you that you were.”
Hayden giggled. “Shut up, stop fucking with me. I was just saying that’s what it seemed like, you don’t need to make fun.”
“I’m not.” James said uncharacteristically serious. “There is a long recorded history of people having out of body experiences. It’s been studied and written about for….hundreds if not thousands of years. It is a real phenomenon. “
“Oh, so your saying to tickled me out of my body?” Hayden said sarcastically. “Buddy, you are good, but you aren’t that good.”
“That’s exactly what I did.” James said totally deadpan.
“This isn’t funny James.” Hayden said staring at him. “You are making me uncomfortable.”
“Hayden…” James said removing the arm he had wrapped around her and getting up out of the bed. “What do you want out of life?”
Hayden was taken aback by the sudden directional shift in conversation. “What? OK, stop James seriously, it’s freaking me out.”
James stood at the end of the bed, his eyes unwavering. “Answer me. What do you want out of life? This is important.”
“I….I don’t know…..happiness…..freedom….to feel important….and needed.” Hayden stammered.
“What if I told you that you could have all of that…..all of that and more. Do you remember when I don’t you about control about how it was an illusion, for all of us? That you had all the control and none of it at the same time?” James said becoming more excited as he spoke. “I can show you Hayden, I can help you….to be more powerful than you ever thought possible. All of this, what is happening now has been pushing you to a greater destiny.”
“James, you are making no sense and you a frightening me. If you have any respect or feelings for me, you will leave…. RIGHT NOW.” Hayden said forcefully.
“Is that what you want?” Asked James taking a few steps back.
“It is.” Hayden replied staring through James.
“Alright. I will go, but…haven’t you ever thought there was more to life than just….this? All of this? Do you really want to spend the rest of your life trapped in that bed?” James said as he slowly backed towards the door.
“What do you mean? I am trapped in this bed and nothing can change that.” Hayden snapped with tears in her eyes.
“Only your body is trapped, not your mind. What you experienced last night….I can show you….I have friends who can show you how…..how to be free. How to be more.” James said slowing his backwards steps out the door.
“Who are you?” Asked Hayden. “No bullshit, no lies. Who are you really?”
“Look, I’m the same guy Hayden, the same guy you have been getting to know…you just….don’t know everything yet. I had to make sure you were a candidate before I could even speak to you about any of this.” James said stopping at the door frame.
“A candidate for what?” Hayden said gritting her teeth. The idea that James had been lying to her, sizing her up like she was some kind of lab rat this whole time infuriated her beyond measure.
“A candidate for project Albatross. It’s a top secret government project run by…. well it doesn’t matter, let’s just say it’s run by top secret government people.” James said.
“What’s its purpose and why do you even think I would be a candidate?” Hayden said still fuming over the betrayal.
“I’m not cleared to tell you that. If you want to know you will have to come with me. To the main facility. There are people there who can explain all this far better than I can. Please….” James said in a pleading tone of voice. “Just come.”
“What if I say no?” Hayden asked sensing she may for once have the upper hand.
“I can’t force you. I won’t even try. If you say no, I will just leave and you will never see me again, but Hayden…. please, I’m begging you, I just want to help. All I’m asking is that you come and hear them out.” James said sounding almost desperate.
Hayden continued to look straight through James, her eyes still burning with anger. “I come. I listen and I want to leave, I get to leave right. No tricks, no bullshit and after I listen, if I don’t like what I hear…you go away. No coercion, no torture, no nothing.”
James gave a slight smile “Absolutely. I promise, no…wait, I swear to you, I will not touch or tickle you again until you ask me to.”
“You are going to be waiting a long time for that pal. I don’t appreciate being lied to.” Hayden said her old sense of confidence coming back stronger than ever upon hearing James’s words.
“As long as you agree to come, that’s all that matters.” James said.
Through the haze of rage she felt at James she suddenly felt something else…. power…. Hayden suddenly felt, for the first time, that she had all the power. She wasn’t sure why James needed her consent, when he could easily force her to come with him, but it seemed important to him…. almost necessary that she give it.
The Present
Hayden continued to glare up at the rearview mirror from the back of the van, catching James’s eyes every chance she got.
“You never answered. Are we almost there or not?” Hayden said in an even sharper tone then before, one James had not heard since he first started taking care of her. “Almost” Said James not looking back as the van turned down a paved drive.
The van continued down the drive for several minutes. Hayden glanced out the windows and saw no other houses, only dense forest on either side. “Feels like you are taking me out here to murder me.” Hayden muttered.
“The isolation is a necessity.” James said. “It would be hard to do….what we are doing….without it.”
“I don’t even know what the fuck that is.” Hayden said.
“You will. Just be patient.” James said.
“Patient for what, where the fuck are we? What the fuck is this, turn the van around I want to go….” Hayden was suddenly struck silent as they pulled up to a palatial estate surrounded on all sides by the forest. The house was enormous; Hayden guessed it had to be at least three times the size of her five thousand square foot home. It seemed very out of place springing up in the middle of all this nothingness. “What….the….hell….” Hayden said awestruck.
“Not too bad, huh?” James grinned as he pulled the van up to a closed wrought iron gate with a guard shack.
An elderly man, who looked to be in his seventies walked out of the shack and up to the van as James rolled down the window. The man walked slowly over to the van and peered in, leaning against the open window. “Ah, James. Finally, back huh? You’ve been out on assignment a while.” The man said smiling, until he noticed Hayden in the back seat. “Who is this?” He asked suspiciously.
“She is cleared. Call down to command.” James said.
The elderly man walked back inside the shack and picked up a phone. Hayden could see him talk to someone on the other end for a moment, but couldn’t make out what was being said. The elderly man returned to the van with raised eyebrows. “So…. this is the one all the commotion is about down in the nest. You must be something special Miss, I hear Joan might even come back to meet you.”
“Enough Carl. Open the gate dammit.” James said in an uncharacteristically concise manner.
“OK, OK, don’t get your knickers in a bunch. I was only being friendly.” Said the guard as he walked over pushing a button on the deck inside the shack. The gate slowly opened and James wasted no time driving through.
“Whose Joan?” Hayden asked from the backseat.
James remained silent as they drove up to the house. “Time to go, he said.” He parked the car. Walking around to the back he removed Hayden’s wheelchair and unfolded it, before picking Hayden up in his arms and placing her in it. Hayden glanced around noticing the two large front doors James was now pushing her towards.
Hayden expected him to stop and knock, or ring the bell, but instead he simply stopped in front of the door and looked up in the left corner. Hayden could see there was a security camera up there, it hummed as it turned slightly and seemed to focus its lens in on them. Suddenly the two large doors opened, not inwardly as she had expected, but rather sliding apart, revealing a small silver room that looked like the inside of an elevator. James wheeled her in, turned her around in her chair and pressed his hand against a sensor. Hayden could feel the elevator start downward.
“So…we aren’t going in…we are going down?” Hayden asked with curiosity.
“That’s right.” James said as the elevator continued its downward decent.
“So wait, if we are going down, what’s inside the giant house?” Hayden asked.
“Let’s just say…what’s inside the house is there to prevent anyone from going where we are going right now.” Said James with a chuckle.
Hayden sat silently in her chair not knowing what to expect. After several minutes the elevator doors opened to reveal a white room. Not a room with white walls, but literally, an entirely white room. The walls were bright white, the floor was white, the room was empty except for a desk at the end, which was, as everything else, entirely white. Behind the desk sat a woman in a white pants suit. “Confirmation please.” Was all she said.
“Agent 7546071, level 5 clearance. Albatross division. Requesting access to the nest.” James said without hesitation.
“Access granted. Welcome home Agent.” Said the woman in an almost robotic tone of voice. The door behind her opened and James wheeled Hayden though. Hayden noticed as they passed the desk the woman was holding what appeared to be the trigger of a shotgun mounted underneath the desk.
“Geez dude, you think you guys have enough security in here?” Hayden asked.
“You can never have too many backups or precautions. We are all about safety here.”
“Well I hope whatever you are protecting is worth it.” Said Hayden.
“I think it is considering that what we are protecting is you…. and people like you.” Said James as he continued to wheel her down the hallway.
“People like me…. what does that even mean?” Hayden asked trying to crane her neck around to see James.
“Hayden McCall!” said a woman’s voice which caused Hayden to whip her head back around to look forward. She suddenly saw a woman in front of her who appeared to have come out of nowhere standing in the middle of the hall. “I am very excited to meet you my dear, very excited in deed. I hope James hasn’t been too tiresome for you.” The woman said with a grin.
Hayden eyed the woman up and down, she had a commanding presence. She stood 5’8 and looked to be a solid 160lb of solid muscle. Her brown hair was tightly tied back in a bun and she wore military fatigues, although Hayden did not recognize any of the insignia on her uniform, including the one indicating the woman’s rank. “I’m….afraid you have me at a disadvantage. You have my name and I don’t have yours.” Said Hayden still sizing the woman up.
“Of course, my apologies. Please forgive my rudeness, it’s just very exciting to have you here. My name is Lieutenant Commander Abigail Jensen. Welcome. Please follow me.”
James followed the woman down the hall, pushing Hayden in her chair. The woman turned abruptly and James followed pushing Hayden into what appeared to be a conference room. James rolled her up to a large table surrounded by twelve chairs, although they were currently all empty.
The Lieutenant Commander sat in a chair across from Hayday. “James, please leave us.” She said.
“I’m not sure that’s prudent Lieutenant, she just got here and….” James began.
“Leave James.” Abigail said without even so much as a glance in his direction. “NOW.”
“Yes Ma’am.” said James turning and walking out the door without another word and shutting it behind him.
“I wish I could commend him like that…” Hayden scoffed.
“Yes, well, James is somewhat of a loose cannon. He means well, but needs a firm hand to keep him under control.” Abigail said not taking her eyes off Hayden for a moment.
“OK….so what am I doing here. I told James I’d come here and listen, so start talking. The faster we go through all this the quicker I can go home.” Said Hayden.
“I see. Well then I better get right to it. How much do you know about the human mind and its psychic potential?” asked Abigail.
“Psychic potential? Nothing, that’s just a bunch of nonsense.” Said Hayden.
“I assure you Ms. McCall it is not and it is something we here at project Albatross have been exploring for the last eight years. You see we have found that under certain conditions the human mind is capable of extending out past it’s biological prison. In other words, certain people are able to project themselves, their psychic consciousness outside their own bodies.” Said Abigail.
“Bullshit. Sounds like something out of a bad sci-fi novel.” Said Hayden.
“It’s not, and I think you know it’s not Ms. McCall. I’ve seen the readings James sent to us, you have already done it once and the fact you were able to do it so early and easily, with very little conditioning beforehand is nothing short of remarkable.” Said Abigail still staring at her from across the table.
“Readings? What do you mean? The only time I ever felt anything like what your describing was last night and….wait…..are you telling me that sick son of a bitch taped all that shit he did to me and sent it to you?” Hayden said not knowing whether to scream or cry.
“Relax Ms. McCall, James didn’t tape anything. The only thing he sent was a preliminary brain scan while you were projecting, we needed a sample to verify that you were a candidate.”
“Projecting?” Hayden asked feeling a little calmer.
“Yes, that’s one of the words we use here. When someone like yourself is outside of their body, we call it projecting.” Said Abigail.
“OK….so you are saying you can teach me to do that all the time? Is that what you are offering?” Hayden asked.
“No, not exactly. Doing what you….do…..isn’t something that can be taught, it has to be induced. Someone either has a gift for it or not. Said Abigail. “People with a condition like yours are particularly good candidates.”
“I don’t understand, what does my condition have to do with anything? What do you mean by induced?” Asked Hayden.
“Well…that’s the thing. Projecting requires a not only a great deal of psychic energy, but also that the person let go of everything physical in order to cross over. This can only be accomplished by getting that person into a very deep trance like state we refer to as sub-space.” Said Abigail.
“I heard James mention that once, sub-space, what is it?” Asked Hayden.
“It’s the state of mind a person enters when they are forced into a state of deep, deep submission via…various methods. Think of it as the initial door you must find and open in order to let go and extend your mind outside of yourself.”
“Various methods? You mean like tickling.” Hayden said with a shudder.
“Not necessarily. The trigger for each person can vary slightly, although tickling is one of the preferred techniques used to push psychically sensitive individuals like yourself closer to subspace.” Said Abigail.
“Why tickling? Why not some other method?” Asked Hayden.
“Because in order for the candidate to enter deeply enough into subspace to cross over, the level of submission and torture must be….extreme. We try to use things that cause extreme discomfort and distress, but do not cause permanent damage. Early in the program we experimented with pain, but…the level of pain needed to elicit the appropriate state of mind was so extreme that it nearly killed the subjects, not to mention the recovery time afterward. The methods we use now are more….nuanced and psychological.
“OK, I guess I understand that, but what I don’t get is the point. I mean….you have these “psychically sensitive” people who you claim they can project themselves outside of their bodies if you torture them enough. So, you torture them and they project, so what? What can the government possibly have to gain from that?” Hayden laughed.
“Are you kidding?” Abigail asked in a somber tone. “A person who can become incorporeal and project themselves anywhere. Who can’t be seen or heard, but can listen and see everything. It’s the perfect spy…..you are the perfect spy my dear.”
“In the eight years since project Albatross began we have prevented numerous attacks on this nation, neutralized threats you were not even aware of and gained strategic intelligence without our enemies having any clue how.” Said Abigail.
“What’s with the name? Project Albatross? Seems like a weird choice.” Hayden said letting Abigail’s explanation sink in.
Abigail laughed. “All I just told you and you think the name is the weirdest thing? Well if you must know, it’s a reference to a poem by an English poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge called the Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
It’s about a mariner whose ship is led out of harsh waters by an Albatross, which at the time was considered a sign of good luck. However, the mariner shoots the Albatross. His crew enraged by the killing forces the mariner to wear the dead Albatross around his neck to represent his suffering, his burden and as a reminder for what he had done.” Abigail pointed to the conference room wall. Hayden looked and saw the symbol of a bird and words beneath.
Hayden read the words out loud:
Ah! Well a-day! What evil looks
Had I from old and young!
Instead of the cross, the albatross
About my neck was hung.
“So, that’s it. The Albatross….it represents the burden people like me have to suffer in order to access our abilities.” Hayden said softly.
“No. You misunderstand, the torture is not the Albatross.” Said Abigail still staring across the table at Hayden.
“What is then?” Said Hayden confused.
“It’s you. You and people like you. You ARE the Albatross. The burden is hung around everyone else’s necks to protect you, to take care of you, and to nurture your abilities. The story is a reminder to all of our handlers that they are not here to shoot you down like that foolish mariner did to the Albatross. No my dear, we are here to make you fly.” Abigail said smiling.
“What exactly is a handler?” Asked Hayden.
“Each Albatross is assigned a handler. That is the person responsible for getting them into their projecting state.” Said Abigail. We like to always have the same handler assigned to the same Albatross. It fosters a level of intimacy and trust, which is essential in order to facilitate entry into sup-space and ultimately into projection.”
“So I get my own personal torturer, great. What if I don’t want to go along with all this? You plan to keep me here against my will?” Hayden asked.
Abigail looked genuinely shocked by Hayden’s statement. “My God no, is that what James told you?”
“Well no, he didn’t really tell me that much about anything.” Hayden said.
Abigail sighed. “That freaking moron. I thought he had already explained all this to you. Hayden, our program is strictly voluntary, even if we wanted to keep you here and torture you against your will, it would be pointless. You cannot force someone to project, you can only help guide them to the right frame of mind. Please, stay and observe some of our sessions, it will help you understand the process. At first it may look like torture, but I promise every one of our Albatross’s is here voluntarily and voluntarily gave up all of their rights to be a part of this program.”
“I…..I don’t know. This is all a lot to take in.” Said Hayden.
“I understand, but that’s exactly why you should stay a little longer, to help you really wrap your head around what we are doing here. Who knows, you might even have some fun.” Said Abigail smiling as she stood up and walked around the table behind Hayden’s chair. “After all, even torture can be pleasurable.” she said taking a single finger nail and sliding it lightly along Hayden’s neck.
A pleasurable shiver crawled up Hayden’s spine. She suddenly felt very vulnerable again in the presence of this woman.
“OK, a few hours wouldn’t hurt I suppose.” Hayden said trying to stifle a giggle.
“Very good. I will show you around and we can meet up with James a bit later.” Said Abigail grabbing Hayden’s chair and wheeling her out of the conference room and down the long metallic hallway.
They stopped in front of a non-descript metal door. Abigail tapped a few keys on the keypad and the door slid open. Loud long peals of laughter suddenly hit Hayden’s ears. It was female laughter….and it sounded like the poor woman was coming unhinged. Abigail wheeled Hayden into the room allowing Hayden to take in the strange spectacle before her.
“Welcome to level one conditioning Hayden. Let me know if you have any questions.” Abigail said watching as Hayden sat there trying to comprehend what she saw.
