Hazel and the Hypnotic Program

The room was dark. The only light came from the flickering circle of candles in the center of the table, their tiny flames swaying with every creak and groan of the old building. The windows rattled in their panes as wind slammed against them from outside, and somewhere above, something metallic tapped in a slow, irregular rhythm. Hazel Macintosh sat stiffly in her chair, her hands resting lightly on her lap, trying not to look like she was clenching her fingers too tightly.

Across from her, Azure Ravensong swayed slowly in place, eyes closed, a trail of incense curling upward from a burner in front of her. Her voice was low and rhythmic, chanting in some old language that Hazel suspected was completely made up, much like her name. The air smelled like sage and clove, and Hazel’s throat felt tight from the smoke.

Pascal had turned off the overhead lights before they'd started, and Dotty had lit an excessive amount of candles. Azure had come up with a line about spirits hating technology, but everyone knew it was just for the ambiance. Still, it was working. Hazel's skin prickled and her heart was beating faster than she liked.

Azure's chanting reached a crescendo—her voice rising, urgent and reverent—and then she went still. The room held its breath with her.

“Are we alone?” Azure asked, her voice sharp and clear.

A bolt of lightning cracked across the sky outside, casting a brief and blinding flash of light through the room. Hazel flinched and so did most of the others, Dell letting out a low whistle.

Thunder rolled in after it, deep and growling. The silence that followed seemed unnaturally thick.

Azure placed both hands flat on the table. “If a spirit is here with us… speak.”

For a long moment, there was only the wind.

Then a voice replied.

“Yes…” it hissed. Not from Azure, not from anyone at the table—but from everywhere. The voice was low, cold, echoing off the walls, seeping into Hazel’s bones. Her breath caught in her throat.

“Who are you?” Azure asked, unfazed. Her tone was solemn, serious.

“I was… Callahan Pierce…” the voice whispered. “I died… murdered…”

Hazel’s spine straightened, and she felt Dotty clutch her forearm under the table. Hazel didn't believe in ghosts. Not really. The rational part of her mind told her to look for the speaker, but her lizard brain was too amped up to focus.

“Why are you still here?” Azure asked, staring straight ahead, her expression grave.

There was a pause. The candles flickered.

Then the voice said, full of **** and vigor,

“I demand…I need...”

Everyone froze.

"What do you need?" Azure asked. "Tell us."

"Show me...show me..." The voice contained, echoing over and over again, "Show me..." The voice got louder and louder and suddenly shouted, "Show me your titties!!!"

There was silence.

Then Dotty snorted.

Pascal groaned, leaning back in his chair. “Oh my god.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Dell muttered.

"What? No takers?" Azure said, sounding rather disappointed, "Poor Callahan Pierce just needs some titties so he can rest in peace. Dotty? Hazel? Winona?"

Dell winked, "What about Azure? You gonna show Callahan the goods?"

Azure laughed, "Oh Callahan has already seen them, many many times." She pulled her phone out of her pocket and pressed a button, "Scare ya?" She said. She pushed another button and the same phrase played from her phone's speakers, in Callahan's spooky voice.

“You set that up?” Hazel said, half-shocked, half-relieved, her pulse still racing.

Azure grinned wickedly. “Bluetooth speakers. Four of them. You’re welcome.”

Dotty let out a wheezy laugh. “I knew something was up when she brought that big bag in earlier.”

“Admit it,” Pascal said, grinning as he nudged Hazel. “You were freaked.”

Hazel tried to keep a straight face, but her smile betrayed her. “Maybe a little.”

The tension eased, and the room seemed smaller now—warmer. Just a group of weird friends playing ghost on a stormy night. Hazel shook her head, but couldn’t stop smiling. That was Azure. Always the drama.

Hazel shook off the prank and clapped her hands, "Well then. I hearby declare this investigation closed. Let the record show that our third attempt to summon a spirit ended in failure. In accordance with our club charter we will commence drowning our sorrows. As the initiator of today's research, I leave it to Azure to give the first toast."

Azure stood up and set a bag down on the table. She reached in and pulled out a bottle of wine, "In honor of Sir Callahan, I present to you all the finest vintage imaginable. Of course this is far beyond our clubs budget but the spirits guided me to it and I was able to acquire it for free,"

"...you took it from your parents house." Winona said with a smile.

Azure ignored her, "Now please, silence while I perform the ceremonial uncorking..."

Hazel start to set down the plastic cups she'd gone to retrieve. She squinted at the bottle Azure was holding, “That’s a twist cap.”

“The grapes,” Azure continued, ignoring Hazel and unscrewing the cap with flair, “were lovingly stomped by topless nuns, it's said you can taste their sexual frustration, and aged delicately in industrial-grade plastic for an impressive three weeks. Except a hint of cherry, a splash of vinegar and a whole lot of questionable decisions..."

"If you're quite done," Dell tapped his cup, "Can we get drunk already? Oh, and you made your ghost a knight?"

Azure grinned and pretended to pour into his cup, but then moved quickly to give the first one to Hazel, "Ladies first." Azure winked back at Dell.

Once everyone had their cup full Azure raised hers for a toast, "To titties!"

Hazel rolled her eyes but joined in with everyone else, "To titties!" She took a sip, "Oh and can someone get the lights? It's so creepy in here."

"You weren't really scared, were you Hazel?" Pascal asked, as he got up to get the lights.

"Of course not, but I will admit this was well planned by Azure. It'll be hard to top next week."

"Oh ya, any ideas yet?" Winona asked her.

Hazel shook her head, "No, but I'll think of something."

Hazel and her friends ran the Blackridge University Occult Research Club. Nominally they investigated paranormal activity, but practically they used the club room to drink and play games. It was a convenient hang out spot on campus, a prime location really, and it was exclusively theirs. The university even provided a small budget to help with club activities. Of course that did come with strings, namely that they really did have to spend some of their time investigating the occult. That's why their charter stated a goal of one investigation each week, it didn't matter if they were all bullshit, it was fun coming up with news ideas and it kept the administration off their backs. Unless someone had a brilliant idea they took turns coming up with each investigation and next week it would be Hazel's turn.

They quickly finished the bottle Azure had liberated from her parent's liquor cabinet and moved on to the cheap beer favored by Dell. Hazel only sipped at her drink, still a little shaken by Azure's prank. She hated feeling like a wimp and was worried if she got too drunk her friends would start to make fun of her and she wouldn't be able to defend herself. She needed to keep a clear head tonight.

They had traded the candles for a board game. Azure kept trying to make it a strip version, but the rest of their group wasn't horny or drunk enough to go along with it. Hazel always felt a little intimidated by Azure. She was so confident and outgoing, she always said whatever she wanted to. Of course, what could you expect from a woman who renamed herself Azure Ravensong from Lisa Smith. More than that Azure was openly gay, flamboyantly so, and her constantly flirting made Hazel's heart flutter in a very confusing way. She'd never questioned her sexuality before coming to University. She'd knew she was into men, her first Kiss with Damien Hersch still invaded her dreams sometimes, so why did her pulse quicken when Azure whispered in her ear? Of course she knew bisexual people existed, but that just didn't feel like her. She wasn't lusting after men and women, she was just...drawn...to Azure's confident manner. It was probably just jealously, she wished she could be like that too.

Winona yawned, "Whelp, I think I should head home. I promised my roommate we'd go to the farmer's market tomorrow morning."

"Aw, boo." Azure said, "The party was just getting started."

"Nah, me too," Pascal said, "I promised my girlfriend I'd come see her after club."

"Pascal...it's 1130..." Hazel said seriously.

He winked at her.

"Huh?"

Azure laughed, "Oh innocent Hazel...he's going to go fuck her."

Hazel blushed, "I k-knew that."

Pascal laughed and got up to leave.

"Well that's my cue too then," Dell said, "No girl to go fuck, I'm just tired. Unless," He looked at Dotty, "Dotty?"

"Fuck you." Dotty said.

"Yeah, that's what I was getting at."

Dotty threw a token from the board game at him.

"Hey, don't lose those pieces!" Hazel said, standing up to go get it, "Ya. I think I'm done too."

"Ok, I'll walk you home." Dell offered.

Azure stood up and put her arm around Hazel, "No, I'll walk her home."

Getting in on the joke Dotty threw her arm around Hazel from the other side, "No! I'll walk her home."

"You idiots. Let's just go." Hazel said. Of course they would all walk her home. She was the only one of them who lived on campus and it would be a considerable detour for any of those three to get home without walking past her dorm. A few minutes after leaving the club room they arrived at Hazel's building, "Well thanks guys. See you tomorrow."

"What, no goodnight kiss?" Azure teased.

"Goodnight." Hazel said, turning away while blushing.

"Night." The other two called. Hazel hurried up to her room and closed the door. Her dorm room was tiny. Barely big enough for her bed and desk. It was no wonder she spent so much time at the club room, but it was good to have the excuse not to ever invite anyone up her. It was her private refuge. Although right now it wasn't privacy she needed, just sleep. She quickly got ready for bed and went to sleep.

"Good morning! Welcome to Celestial Delights, I'm the owner, Didi, how can I help you?" A bubbly blonde woman said, moments after Hazel entered the store.

"Um, hi..." Hazel started. She'd gone out wandering around downtown looking for inspiration for her next investigation and saw this new shop. Celestial Delights. From the window it looked like it had a bunch of quirky, vintage things. She thought she'd be able to find something here to use as an excuse for an investigation.

"CO-OWNER!" Another voice rang out from the back. Seconds later a fiery woman with red hair burst out and stormed over, "I'm Vivi. Co-owner and brains of the operation. How can I help you?"

Hazel looked back and forth between the two women. They were both gorgeous, in an intimidating way. She gulped, "Um...well..."

"You want bigger tits?" Didi suddenly offered.

"What? No you dumb slut," Vivi said sharply, "That's not something normal people wander into stores for. She probably wants a love potion. That's it, isn't it? You want to make some guy fall hopelessly in love with you?"

Before Hazel could answer Didi shot back, "Are you kidding? Everyone loves big tits. Even you. But a love potion? Look at her. She's gorgeous, she doesn't need that. She probably wants a fun and magical boardgame."

"Oh, that sounds..." Hazel started to agree to that idea.

"No. We have enough problems with the last one we sold, remember? It's gone rogue and keeps morphing and changing. I don't even know who has it now. There's probably someone playing it right now. I can picture it, 6 friends, sitting together around a table. 3 guys and 3 girls, no, make that 4 girls and 2 guys. I bet..."

"Um actually I was just looking for something vintage, maybe spooky...I'm part of the Occult Research Club and-"

"You are?" Didi shouted, "How wonderful. So like magic and stuff?"

Hazel nodded slowly, "Sure. Magic...and stuff..."

Didi ran to the back room without saying a word. She returned quickly holding a small sphere, "Here. This is-"

Vivi snapped her fingers and the sphere disappeared, "Not for her. Idiot."

Hazel blinked. Had it really disappeared? Was it a magic trick? These two seemed like idiots, but maybe it was all an act.

"Right. Of course." Didi said, "Sorry. Vintage...oh, what about-"

"-that machine," Vivi finished for her, "Yes. Well look at that, you had a good idea. I suppose it was bound to happen eventually."

"Thanks!" Didi said, apparently genuinely happy to receive that comment.

"Follow us." Vivi said, leading her towards the back of the store. They reached a shelf and Vivi patted it, "This is what you want. It's mysterious and spooky. Definitely vintage. We found it at the land...mark place where we find all our good stuff. Yes. Landmark..."

"That's right, we don't know what it does but you said you are a research club. Why don't you find out?" Didi offered.

Hazel stared at it, "Are...are you two joking?" It was clear from their faces that they were not, "It's a computer."

"A com what now?" Didi said.

"Idiot. A computer is the device you use to watch porn," Vivi explained. "But are you sure this is a computer? I've never seen one so...ugly..."

Hazel nodded, "Oh ya. Look it even says IBM right there. It's just a really, really old one. Probably from the 80s by the looks of it."

"Alright. Then it's yours. We don't know how to use it, you can have it for free." Vivi said.

"Free?" Didi said, "Shouldn't we charge something. She could show us her t-"

"Yes. Free." Vivi said, "After all we only found it in the land...um...nevermind."

"Oh, well thanks..." Hazel wasn't sure she wanted it, but the way those two stared at her..."Ok, I'll take it."

It was heavy and awkward to carry all the parts, but Didi's offer to help her carry it home seemed like a bad idea. Vivi produced a rather large bag which made it possible to carry by herself, if not easy. She decided to bring it to the club room, since there was no space in her tiny dorm.

After Hazel had gone Vivi and Didi looked at each other. "Do you think we should have told her it was cursed?" Didi asked.

"Is it? We could never get it to work. We don't know for sure." Vivi said seriously.

"We found it in the land of cursed objects. Of course it's cursed." Didi said.

"It might not be." Vivi said with a straight faced.

"It's totally cursed." Didi insisted.

"Not."

"Is."

"Not."

"Is."

"Not."

"..."

"..."

Didi put her hands on her hips and sighed, "I guess there's a chance. I mean that razor I found works perfectly."

Vivi rubbed her temples, "No, that one is cursed. It permenantly removes hair but also prevents you from ever wearing underwear again."

"Oh...I guess you have to wear underwear in the first place to notice. Oh but the x-ray goggles I picked up isn't cursed."

"No...that one is cursed too. It makes your clothes invisible." Vivi sighed.

"Ya, that's the point right. You put it on and can see everyone naked."

"...and they can see you naked too..."

Didi shrugged, "Um. Ya? That's what I want."

"Nevermind. Somehow we switched sides, didn't we? Fuck. I guess it is probably cursed. Too bad, she seemed like a nice girl."

Didi was surprised, "Really? Since when did you care about our customers?"

"I don't. But she's not a customer. We gave it to her for free, remember? Oh well, I'm sure she won't get into too much trouble. She probably won't even get it to turn on..."

Hazel wiped the sweat from her brow, "There. All done." She initially thought it would be hard to find the cables she needed to get it working, but then she'd had the brillaint idea to bring a box of donuts to the IT club. Now just a few hours after picking up the computer from Celestial Delights it was ready for her to turn on. "Here goes..." She pushed the power button and it flared to life.

It made rather a lot of noise as it turned on, and it took much longer than she expected. But eventually the screen flicked to life, with green text flashing across the screen faster than she could read. Finally it stopped with a single phrase.

Would you like to run the program (Y/N)

Curious her finger hovered over the 'Y' button on the keyboard. With a shrug she pushed down, then looked at the screen. Letters and symbols were flashing faster and faster and Hazel found herself unable to look away as...