Nowhere Left to Hide

“I’m in trouble…” Zoe started quietly.

“No shit…” Katie tilted her head to one side, her fingers squeezing Zoe’s arm again reassuringly.

“No… I mean… I think I did something and now…” Zoe bit her lip and gazed weakly at the blonde in despairing guilt. Katie was innocent, she always had been – bubbly, fun, naïve; the idea of telling her what was happening pained Zoe more than for just her own embarrassment, could she bring herself to shatter Katie’s world like that?

Wishes are real… Magic is real… The world is bigger and scarier than we thought and I want to keep you safe from it…

Katie frowned.

“What did you do Zo?”

Zoe gulped down the last of the water to settle her stomach and set the glass aside, closing her eyes as she started to talk.

“Just… please… listen to the end ok… I know this will sound crazy…” She bit her lip, cheeks flushing, she brought a trembling finger up to her throat to point at the collar, “I… This, thing is making me run and I can’t take it off. It whips me if I don’t and … it… it rewards me if I do…”

She whimpered quietly as she felt Katie’s grip on her arm flex, “It… whips you?”

“The strap on my wrist I asked you about – it… this is it now…”

“What?”

“It’s magic Katie… I’ve tried to think of any other explanation but I can’t… I think, I think it’s cursed or I’m cursed or something… I made a wish and now… I can’t control it anymore… It tells me to run and… I have to…”

Zoe felt Katie shift on the couch next to her, her hands left her arm and moved to the back of her neck, her fingers running around the solid metal collar.

“Zo, you’re not making any sense ok… it’s not magic sweetie… we can, look we can just take it off… it… it got on you so there must be a way we can…” Katie’s voice trailed off in confusion finding nothing but the solid band around the red-heads throat, “get… it… off…?”

Zoe shook her head weakly, wiping more tears from her eyes, “I cut off the wrist strap to make it stop… and this afternoon I woke up in this instead… I can’t stop it…”

“Zoe you’re scaring me” Katie said, her voice trembling as she withdrew her hands.

“You… you saw… me on the porch…” she blushed, “I didn’t want to… but it… it did that to me…”

**** and despairing, Zoe stood up and pulled down the left hip of her leggings, exposing enough of her ass cheek for Katie to see the red marks from the crop, “It did this to me”

The blonde’s eyes grew wide and she shrieked, covering her mouth in a mixture of shock and embarrassment, “Zo?!”

The red-head let her leggings spring back to her waist as she turned around, hugging herself protectively.

"I... I'm trapped and I don't know what to do..." she sniffed, her eyes finding the blonde's in silent pleading. Katie continued to sit with her hand over her mouth, frozen, staring straight ahead, Zoe watched her blink and shake her head before she seemed to come to, her eyes meeting hers and standing up.

"It's... it's ok..." Katie tried, though it was obvious even she didn't believe that it was, "I... we'll work something out... I can... we can... we'll get help ok?"

She moved and Zoe expected her to hug her, but she stopped, pulling back, her fear of getting near the collar was obvious - it made the red-head feel even more at it's mercy.

"Get help from who Katie?" Zoe whimpered, "The police? The CIA? the Magic Police? Who? ... who could we call about this... help me i'm being held hostage by a magical collar?... I ... I sound crazy..."

Katie recoiled, but matched her panic, "I... maybe the fire department could... they... when my brother got his finger stuck..."

"Please don't," Zoe sobbed, shaking her head as she hugged herself tighter, "I cut it off once and it came back like this... what if it just comes back again even worse...?"

Katie started pacing, her voice unsure, "Zo... I don't... you didn't, please say you didn't do that to yourself... those marks...? Are... are you fucking with me?"

"Do I look like I'm fucking with you?" The red-head sniffed back another tear.

Katie's shoulders dropped as she eyed her anxiously, "No... I just... Zoe this is insane..."

"Do you believe me...?"

Katie bit her lip, and nodded, though it was less than convincing. The red-head glared back despondent.

"You... said you made a wish right?" Katie offered, scrambling, "Just... can you take it back maybe? If... if it's magic and, we just... what if we do what you did again and try to... undo it? What did you wish for?"

Zoe whimpered in shame, "There was a weird website or something on my computer... I've looked for it for days but I can't find it... it's like it disappeared completely..."

"What did you wish for Zo?" Katie repeated, her voice softer.

The red-head teared up, trembling as she tried to remember the exact wording of her stupid wish - "I... just wanted some more motivation, you know?"

Katie's face dropped, "Zo... but that could mean anything..."

"I didn't think it would work did I!" The red-head shrieked defensively, sniffing back more sobs.

Both girls stood in awkward silence.

“Why the horseshoe?” Katie asked meekly.

“I don’t know… I… I only got to see it in the mirror for a moment before I had to go” Zoe mewled, recoiling. She desperately didn't want to think about the details of the collar around her neck, with every word she spoke or movement of her head she could feel it there, heavy and pressed to her throat, a constant reminder that her choices weren't her own.

“It's just... it's upside down…” Katie blinked after a moment, shaken. Zoe frowned, confused as the blonde stumbled through her words. “… a lucky horseshoe would be the other way up… it… it keeps the luck in like a cup… yours is… it’s upside down… it’s… that’s meant to be bad luck…”

Zoe whimpered, the existential dread hung heavily over her - she was caught in a web she couldn't see, by forces she couldn't understand. What terrified her more than anything is she didn't know how far down this rabbit hole she was going to go...

Where will it stop...? When will it stop...?

"What are you going to do?" Katie tried.

Zoe winced in defeat, "I don't know... I... I thought cutting it off would be enough and now... maybe..." she sniffed and rubbed her hands across her cheeks to clear her tears, "... I need to find a way to undo this or make another wish or something before it makes me go running again..."

Without warning both girls leapt back in alarm as Zoe's own voice rung out from the collar,

“I promise… I’ll never… ever wish for anything ever again…”

Zoe wailed, eyes wide in terror at hearing her own voice, her own words played back to her. Twisted and used against her, taunting her. Katy's eyes bulged in equal shock, stepping backwards staring at the horseshoe at Zoe's throat in alarm - both girls suddenly horrified, realising the collar was listening to them...

"That's not... I didn't... that's not what I meant!" Zoe wailed, pleading with her eyes closed to the invisible **** hell-bent on humiliating her, "I didn't mean any of it, please! Please let me go!"

"Bad Girl!"

The woman's voice from the collar snapped harshly, and though Zoe braced for the crop, it never came. The red-head opened her eyes to look into the horrified face of her best friend, the blonde staring, mouth agape and trembling as instead, the voice spoke up again,

"Strip!"