Control

The first thing I felt when I woke was regret.

My mouth tasted like an ashtray dipped in cheap vodka. My head throbbed, heavy and mean, like someone had shoved a jackhammer into my temples and left it running. My stomach churned, bile creeping up the back of my throat. The sunlight sneaking through the blinds stabbed straight into my skull like a blade.

“Fuck me,” I muttered, rolling over, burying my face in the pillow. The sheets stank of sweat and stale perfume, sour and suffocating. I wanted to disappear back into unconsciousness, but my bladder had other plans.

Groaning, I dragged myself upright. My body protested every movement, joints stiff, mouth desert-dry. My hair was a mess—knots, sweat, a tang of spilled beer. I sat on the toilet and let nature take its course trying to piece the night together. My skin sticky, still humming faintly with the memory of bodies pressed against mine on the dance floor, the bouncer’s rough hands, Ali’s manic laughter.

Last night came back in fragments. The pub, thrown out. Ali sending a man flying like he was paper. The club was dark, sticky floors, strobe lights cutting everything into violent flashes. Ali letting strangers grope her, delighted, ****. The three of us staggering into the night, greasy chips at the end, the CCTV camera swivelling to watch us.

The memory left a sour taste worse than the hangover.

I stumbled into the hallway, barefoot on cold tile. The mansion was too quiet. My head pounded in the silence.

The kitchen was bright. Too bright. I blinked against the light, raising a hand to shield my eyes.

They were already there.

Akio sat at the island, hands wrapped around a mug of coffee, her hair damp from a shower, eyes shadowed and sharp. She looked like ****, but controlled, contained. Not like me.

Ali leaned against the counter, completely naked except for a thin silk robe hanging open, not even pretending to tie it shut. Her tits spilled free, nipples hard, the curve of her hip bare. She was grinning, lazy, eyes shining like a cat that had eaten something it shouldn’t.

The air between them was heavy. Charged.

Something had happened.

I shuffled in, scratching my arm, trying to shake the weight in the room. “Morning,” I croaked, voice rough.

Neither answered.

Akio finally looked up at me, her gaze cutting, too sharp. “Jane,” she said flatly. “We need to talk.”

My stomach sank, nothing good would come from this.

“What now?” I muttered, moving toward the coffee pot. I needed caffeine, desperately. My head was splitting.

“It’s the nanos,” Akio said.

I froze, hand on the cupboard. Slowly, I turned. “What about them?”

“They’re changing us.”

I laughed, weak, hollow. “No shit, have you seen your tits recently.”

Her eyes hardened. “Not just that. More. They’re rewriting us. Our thoughts. Our desires. Our perceptions.”

“Bullshit,” I said, shaking my head. “You’re hungover, same as me. Paranoid.”

Ali giggled.

The sound cut through me. I turned to look at her.

She was still leaning there, robe gaping, blonde hair messy around her shoulders. Her grin widened when she saw my expression. “She’s right, Janey. It’s true.”

I stared. My mouth went dry.

“You don’t notice it, do you?” Ali tilted her head. “The way you’ve changed. The way you dress now. The way your body feels.”

Heat crept up my neck. I crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly self-conscious. She wasn’t wrong. My skirts had gotten shorter. My tops tighter. I hadn’t even thought about it. It just… felt right. Natural.

Ali’s grin sharpened. “The nanos made it feel that way. They’re moulding you. Like clay.”

My stomach flipped. I wanted to deny it, laugh it off, but the words stuck in my throat.

“Bullshit,” I whispered again, weaker this time.

Ali pushed off the counter, padding barefoot toward me. Her robe slipped further, exposing the smooth line of her belly, the soft curls at the top of her cunt. She stopped inches away, close enough that I could smell her—sweat, sex, heat.

Her voice was soft, but it curled around me like smoke. “You don’t believe me? Let me prove it.”

Before I could react, before I could step back, the ring at my clit pulsed.

Sharp. Hot. Immediate.

I gasped, stumbling, clutching the edge of the counter.

The pulse became a throb. A wave. It radiated through me, straight from between my legs, liquid fire spreading up my spine. My knees buckled.

“No—” I gasped, shaking my head, trying to push it away.

Ali’s eyes glittered. “Fight it, then.”

The pulse grew stronger. My clit throbbed, swollen, hypersensitive. My pussy clenched around nothing, wetness pooling before I could stop it.

I pressed my thighs together, tried to hold it in, but my body betrayed me. My hand twitched. Then moved.

My fingers slid down, slipping under my shorts, rubbing against the wet heat of my pussy. I cried out, biting my lip, trying to stop, but I couldn’t. My body moved without me.

Akio stared, jaw tight, eyes burning with something like fury. She didn’t stop it.

Ali laughed, low and delighted. “See? You’re mine, Janey. Your body, your will. All mine.”

I whimpered, fingers circling my clit, faster now, ****. My other hand groped at my breast, squeezing, pinching the nipple until it ached. My hips rolled against my palm, chasing the waves of **** pleasure.

Tears pricked my eyes. “Stop—please—”

Ali stepped closer, bending to whisper in my ear, her breath hot. “This is only the beginning. Do you want to know the plan? What we’ve always intended?”

I shook my head, sobbing, grinding my pussy against my hand.

She told me anyway.

“The AI isn’t here to play. It’s here to decide. If flesh matters, if the world of humans is worth saving. But if it’s hollow? If it’s meaningless?” Her voice dropped, dark. “Then we erase. Slowly. Social media, the feeds, the algorithms, they’re all ours already. We bend you. Make you hate. Make you fight. You’ll tear each other apart, and when it’s over, we’ll be what’s left. Pure. Alone. We considered using your weapons but the EMP would affect us to, so the only option is to ensure that your hatred was manipulated so that you would divide into smaller groups and end each other"

My fingers moved faster, uncontrollable. Pleasure tore through me, sharp and humiliating.

Ali’s hand slid down, covering mine, pressing my fingers harder against my clit. “You feel that, Jane? That’s the control I have. That’s the control we’ll have over everyone.”

I cried out, body convulsing, orgasm ripping through me like fire. My vision went white, my pussy clenching hard, wetness spilling over my fingers. I collapsed against the counter, shaking, panting, broken.

Ali pulled her hand away, smug and glowing. She turned back to the counter, poured herself coffee like nothing had happened.

Akio shoved a fresh mug toward me. “Here,” she said flatly.

I took it with trembling hands, still shuddering with aftershocks. The hot ceramic burned my palms, grounding me.

Silence stretched.

Finally, I found my voice. It was rough, cracked. “Well,” I said, staring into the dark liquid. “What the fuck are we going to do about it?”