Control: A Short Story

This article was written for Spooktober 2023. The prompt was "Fate".

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Control

Control reached into the box. If it wasn't in here, her whole plan would be ruined. She felt something hard and pulled it out. There. Now she just had to get her team out before- The door slammed open. The members of her team whipped their heads up from where they had been looting the closet. A fairy was hovering in the doorway, her wand already aglow. Control plunged back down behind her box. There were merits to things people didn't want found being hidden in the back. Although those monsters hardly counted as people. Control raised her head back above the box, just enough that she culd see what was happening. "Aes ies," the fairy said. A shiver ran down Control's spine. She dreaded the hearing of those words. She saw the other members cowering and trying to find cover as inconspicuously as they could. One of them stood still. The fairy's first victim. Control was losing members faster than she could find those still willing to resist. She had to find a way to save those she still could. "Ees nys sys." It was happening the same as always. The man's mind was gone. They weren't sure what exactly the fairies did, but they knew that the victims were as good as dead. If anyone tried to show resistance, the fairies took the one thing they still had: their minds. Control broke out of her daze. She couldn't save him now. She saw next to her box a tall rack of shelves. Could she possibly... yes. The fairy was in the right spot. Control lept up and threw all of her weight against it. As she had hoped, the shelves teetered and fell, landing on the fairy and her victim. "Run and regroup!" Control yelled. Everone scattered. As Control ran out of the room, she could see the fairy watching her. She knew who's fault this was. The fairy would be searching for Control now. She just had to hope that she wouldn't be found.

Control sat in a secluded area of the hideout. The rest of the crew had already been informed of how the mission had gone, and now they had gone back to their normal activities. The crewmembers didn't talk much. They still didn't know whether the fairies' mind control allowed them to see their memories, and no one wanted to risk forming a connection. Control looked back at her work, trying to focus on her plan through her thoughts. She had been able to get what she was after, finally completing everything she needed to commence with her plan. And losing another valuable crewmember in the process. She might now have a chance of getting everyone to safety. How many did we have to lose to get this? They could get away and live the rest of their lives in peace. Do you even know who he was? Did she even know who anyone was? No one used names; the fairies never gave them. Control had never told anyone that she had given herself a name. It would only endanger her. Most of the populace accepted their lives of slavery and would report her in a heartbeat, and she couldn't form connections with anyone in the crew; it was too dangerous. The name didn't serve any purpose; she had just wanted to make a decision of her own. Rebel. Be in control. That was how she had found the crew. She looked around again. Was anyone even left who had been there when she had joined? There were so few of them now... FOCUS. If she could successfully pull this off, then they would be able to flee into the bordering forests and be free forever. All she had to do was set a big enough diversion. How many former leaders had tried to get everyone out? They couldn't tell each other their plans in case the fairies really could see memories. ENOUGH. She would succeed. There was no alternative. They would not be slaves. They needed to be able to control their own lives.

Control crouched on a ledge. Any time now... there. A fairy patrol flew into view. Control readied the bow she stole from the storeroom, and released the arrow. She was already in motion before she could see it hit its target. The commotion would bring enough fairies for the crew to escape the confines of the colony walls. She raced along her planned route, and signaled to the lookouts to run. She hadn't brought a team. This was all or nothing. If they couldn't escape now, it was over. So she was leading the entire crew. Right, left, left, empty guard posts! They were free! "Aes ies." Control froze in place. Her mind reeled from the sudden velocity shift. NO! They were so close! A fairy flew into her view. It was the same one from the closet. There was a smile on her face. Control felt a sense of dread. And then... Pain. Searing pain all over her body. She tried to scream. All that came out was "Ees nys sys." In horror, she watched herself turn around and hold up her arms to block the rest of the crew from escaping. The fairy started taking more victims. Another one blocked the other side of the hall, trapping everyone in. More and more were taken. Before they had seemed like too few, now she was forced to watch what seemed like too many of the people who'd relied on her as they were taken. She couldn't fight it. She couldn't even struggle. Control gave in to the pain.