Ian

I really was surprised the little bitch hadn’t broken yet. I debated this appetizer for just that reason, I didn’t want to take away from the main course, but she was tougher than I gave her credit for.

The second Drow finished with her. I could feel her misery through my link, it was delicious. I had to use it to wrench her back to consciousness twice. The great thing about this place is you can overcome the programmed physical limitations of the Echoes when you want to. In meat-space we would have had to wait around for her to come to, but here I can just tweak the algorithm.

“Get her up,” I said to them. “Time to go outside. I don’t want to keep our special guest waiting.”

I was hard again. Another great thing about this place vs Meat Space, my cock acts like I’m 14.

“Bring her out,” I told them. “But keep her conscious.”

I like Drow. They’re enthusiastic. Sometimes overly so.

We went out into the light. The set up was exactly as I pictured. This was going to be great.

I heard gunshots off in the middle distance.

“What the fuck, there’re no guns in this setting! Alexander, what’s going on?”

“One of your patrols has stumbled on to a pair of Echoes and is engaging with them.

“Ha!” I crowed. “Who are they?”

“It is Paul and Tom,” Alexander confirmed.

I turned to Meg and grabbed her face, forcing her to look at me.

“Your husband and your boyfriend are trying to stage a rescue,” I said, grinning. “So pathetically predictable. If they can get you or kill me, the Sim is over and your contract with me is completed. Bullshit. This ends when I say it ends. I didn’t get to where I am in life by allowing pathetic little worms get the better of me. I’ve got patrols out all around us. They’ll ensure we’re undisturbed.”

She was crying. I licked a tear off her face.

“And your little friend Ani, that pathetic cripple. I’ve started the process of getting her fired so you’ll never see her again. Let’s see how long she lasts without medical insurance.”

“Alexander, how do they have guns in this zone? This is a Fantasy sim,” I demanded.

Fucking AI was getting squirrely. I fully intended to lobotomize his ass once I had corporate control over the corporation. Him sentient? Ridiculous, and if he is, I’ll kill him in his cradle. Computers are tools, nothing more.

“I am unsure,” Alexander replied. “Someone seems to have altered the Sim parameters.”

“That fucking Ani,” I swore. “I’ll deal with her later.”

The volume of gunfire seemed to increase.

“Are they getting closer?”

“No, Paul and Tom are approximately 1.1 kilometers away and stationary.”

“Advise me if they begin to come closer,” Ian instructed.

“Your little friends aren’t going to save you, bitch. You’re all mine. Tie her to the frame, let’s bring in our special guest.”

While the Drow secured her to the frame, I opened the cage under the platform. The Arrak crawled out from under the platform and sniffed the air, zeroing in on Meg tied to the frame.

Her eyes opened wide and I opened my link to her. Waves and waves of fear flowed through the connection, making me gasp in their intensity.

“I see you recognize our friend,” I crowed as the human/spider hybrid began to stalk towards her.

A little research on my part and it was easy to find her worst fears. It was going to be delightful watching it play out. The Arrak was a female and ready to implant her eggs.

She looked away, I stepped behind her, grabbing her by the hair and forcing her to look in the direction of the Arrak.

“Open your eyes little bitch, or I’ll cut off your eyelids,” I crooned to her. “Look who I invited to the party. I know how much you love spiders…”

The fear and revulsion coming across the link was intoxicating. Using Echoes for this was my idea. NPCs just can’t give you this kind of response. It’s not the same. Real fear, real pain. That cunt Ani trying to get them recognized as sentient. She’d ruin everything. Of course she’s friends with these pathetic creatures. I’ll deal with her soon enough. I’ll force her out.

“Look, Meg,” I whispered. “Her ovipositor is erect. She’s going to implant her eggs in your womb. Look at the size of it, I bet you tear. Then all those eggs will hatch and I’m going to watch as they devour you from the inside out. I’ve tweaked the algorithm to keep you alive and awake through the process.”

The Arrak climbed up her body, scraping trenches in her skin with it’s claws. She screamed delightfully.

“You don’t get to say no to me. You don’t get to say anything any…”