"Kill him." Frank's demonic voice resounded in my mind in the form of a hellish dream. The reenactment in my brain of Jeff's still body in a growing pool of blood made me nauseous as I tried to forget what I had done. I murdered him. I couldn't stop myself, and now I was under Frank's control more than ever.
"Please-" Jeff's painful whisper burned at my heart like an acid burns away metal. The tormented pleading in his eyes brought me to an unending age of pure despair. I tossed and turned under my sheets in a state of perpetual torture.
A sheen of sweat covered every inch of my body, my mind throwing me into a paroxysm of anguish and sobbing. My body convulsed with sorrow and I wished that it had been me in his place. Jeff deserved to live, and now he would never get the chance.
"Lola, are you okay?" An outside voice spoke in concern, dragging me away from my blood-draining hallucinations. I turned my bleary eyes to the direction of the murmur. My vision slowly cleared to reveal Frank lying beside me.
"Lola?"
"Get away from me!" I screeched, jumping off the bed.
"Lola it's okay! Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you."
"No! Get back! Don't you dare touch me!"
My screams didn't deter him. He backed me into a corner, all the while trying to soothe me.
"Lola, calm down." My body obeyed, but my mind rebelled. There had to be a way to retake control.
"Lola, kiss me." A pang of absolute fear and dread filled my chest, resounding in steady waves throughout my body. I wanted to say no, to scream. I prayed that someone would intrude and interrupt what was about to transpire, what Frank was manipulating me to do. But nobody came.
"I don't want to-"
"But you will. You are under my control, you will do what I tell you to do."
"What good is it if I'm doing it against my will? Wouldn't you rather it was genuine?" I asked, trying to stall. Frank stared at me for a second, then his lips curved into a smile.
"I know what you're trying to do, and it won't work. No matter how much you try to stall, you will always obey. It is your new nature. You were made to be ruled, and I am your ruler. I am your King."
"Of one subject. You will never have the kingdom you desire."
He wagged a finger at me mockingly, "Oh Lola, don't you see? One subject can convince others, like a traveling evangelist. You will help me seduce the ignorant majority into servitude. People need something to follow, they need a light in the darkness. I am that light."
"I will not help you." I hissed at him.
"Sweet, innocent Lola. You already have."
I couldn't resist his control any longer. I grabbed the back of his neck and pressed his lips to mine.
And so began the end of my life; with the tenderness of a kiss.
~*~
A month can feel like an eternity when it is spent in grief. I sat in silence in my room, weeks on end of rigorous training had taken all the fight out of me. I lost all hope of ever breaking through this mournful state. Life simply had no meaning, food had no taste, and the world had no color. I laid on my bed as the door to my perpetual prison opened. Frank stepped inside the threshold.
"Oh come now, sweetheart, don't pout." He sat on the side of my bed and rested a hand on my shoulder. I did not flinch at his touch, nor did I push him away. Frank was the only person that I could see without having to kill, and that was enough to tolerate him.
"I don't want to hurt any more people," I whispered, wanting to cry but unable to do so.
"This tribulation is only for a little while, my dear. Soon you will be able to spend your days in paradise." He leaned in so close I could feel his breath on my ear, "I promise."
His promise sent shivers up my spine. Was he telling the truth? Could there really be an end to this hell? It seemed to good to be true, surely he was lying to me as he had done before.
"You're lying; paradise died the day I murdered my friend, the day my heart was destroyed."
"Why are you still hung up on that? Lola, he wasn't your friend; I'm your friend. Your only friend." His words seethed into my brain like poison into blood.
"Believe me, Lola. Believe me." His voice took on an air of authority. He wasn't asking me anymore, he was ordering. "Believe me."
Perhaps Frank was right. He was my only friend, Jeff was nothing. I killed him because I had too, and why should I care?
"You know you want to be here. You desire me; deep in the depths of your being, you need me." He was right. Suddenly Frank didn't seem so evil anymore; he was warm and inviting, "And you know you need me. I can show you dreams that you never knew you even had. I can fulfill them. I can complete you."
Suddenly a thought crashed into my head; Frank was ordering me to believe him. In horror I realized that the serum was turning me, and I noticed that Frank's lips were incredibly close to mine. His breath was soft, steady, and tickled my face.
"I am complete." With a surge of resolve I pushed Frank away from me and bolted. I had just flung open the door when... "Crack!" an electric current passed through my body in a flash. My mind became fuzzy and I dropped to the floor. My eyes closed on the image of Frank rising from his seat on the bed, and waving a finger, chiding me.
"Nice try, Lola. But you can never escape me. I am your destiny."