The End of a Bigot, The Arrival of a Zombie

Patricia was the type of bitter old woman the word hag was coined to describe. But then that was unsurprising for a former cult member who never really left the cult. The type of cult that preached of a world in sin, of one taken over by satanist liberals with their insistence on there being more than two genders, that men could elope with each other, and so on in a cavalcade of sinful garbage. She had once been open to that kind of thing, until the liberal perverts took her daughter away with all their drinking, drugs, and debauchery!

It was this type of thinking that consumed Patricia’s life, and made her the withered old woman everyone stayed away from. Maybe that was why it was unsurprising when she fell that no one came to help her. She still moaned on the ground in pain, and begged for help. She couldn’t see anyone nearby, but she was sure there were a bunch of bystanders off to the side refusing to intervene. Typical hypocritical liberals.

But then someone came to pick up Patricia. Any gratitude she may have felt was replaced by another emotion when she saw the large, fire red hand that gripped her old withered hand.

“Patricia,” A seven foot tall demon with red skin and burning eyes. “I’ve come to get you. To prepare a dish that I find tastier than any other.”

As pathetic as it was, Patricia tried to crawl away from the demon, as every mistake, every sin she had ever made came roaring back into her mind. Had it been because she was was too wild as a child? Too forgiving of her child’s excesses? But the priest had said those mistakes were-

“Oh you are such a fool,” The demon continued to approach her. “Even now, when you should know better, yet here you are, still thinking your sin was permission, or that you failed to protect your daughter.”

Patricia’s crawling became more desperate, as she tried to get away, but soon she was picked up off the ground by the demon, and held in the air by her neck. The demon, staring her in the eyes, said, “Your true sin was against the children you hurt, and the lies you spewed. Your soul will be delicious once it has marinated in the correct punishment for the next century or so. Cheer up though, it will be faster than Austin White.”

Nobody heard the scream. Nor did anyone find it suspicious that nobody had been on a usually crowded street at 4:59 PM. When the clock struck five, the street flooded with the sound of people rushing for a bite to eat, or to catch a train home from work, none of the wiser to the fate of one old hag...

“Max, why do you have a bruise on your head?” Paisley asked. “And please, you need to tell me if-”

“An old lady hit me with a cane while I was working at the bookstore,” Max interrupted. “Sorry, I interrupted you, it’s just, I don’t want you to think I’m harming myself or something.”

“I mean that is oddly specific,” Paisley said. “Care to elaborate on it?”

Paisley looked skeptical, which didn’t surprise Max at all. His story sounded ridiculous, but it was what really happened.

Max sighed before replying, “An old lady was harassing a child in the store. It was some homophobic rant I didn’t catch the details of, but I asked her to leave. When she refused, I kept pressing her to leave until she hit me with her cane. I called the cops, and soon after, they escorted her out.”

“You did the right thing Max,” Paisley said. “You stood up for a child against an old bigot. Not everyone would do that, and it matters that you did it, especially given the cost you paid for it.”

“No one deserves to be hurt for something they had no choice in,” Max said. “I’ve done terrible things because my condition made it harder for me to control myself, and I’m still more responsible for that than say, my sexual orientation. Worse, this kid was being harassed because of her parents.”

“Her parents?” Paisley asked. “What was that about?”

“She had two moms,” Max said. “And this piece of shit hated that. She wouldn’t understand love if it hit her in the face.”

“You seem bothered by how treated the kid more than how she treated you,” Paisley said. “Why do you think that is?”

“Her parents loved her,” Max said. “More than that, I bet they made their little girl feel safe. Then a total scumbag took that all that away. Her moms are going to work really hard to make their child feel safe again, and they’ll have to explain why someone would do that to her. That kid may in turn grow to resent her parents, even if she loves them, for the bullshit that society puts her through. All that makes me then remember how my relationship with my mother changed because of my condition, and I could no longer be the boy she once loved.”

“Your mother does love you Max,” Paisley said. “And ultimately, nobody gets to have a simple relationship as they get older. Even little kids parents get on their parents’ nerves. But more than that, everyone has things that make their child resent them, or their parents resent them at times. The question is whether those things dominate your relationship, or just give it a texture. Do you understand that Max?”

“Yeah,” Max said. “I just often wish I didn’t have to...”

To say that Max was unhappy with the idea of dealing with Patricia was an understatement on the level of saying mercury poisoning was a cause for alarm. The woman was a religious bigot, and the type that took out her frustrations on those around her whenever something didn’t go her way. It didn’t help that the way she kept ranting about her daughter being taken away by hypocritical liberals, as it brought to mind the scourge of abusive estranged parents.

For once, Max felt no need to masturbate. Because for how out of control horny his body was, he lacked an ounce of attraction to Patricia. He knew even before he entered the bedroom she resided in that she would be a gnarled up old woman, and one with a personality that was like getting assfucked by a cactus. Opening the door to the hotel did nothing to disprove any of that as, once again, he saw a gnarled old woman with a scowl on her face.

“Patricia,” Max tried. “I have very limited time, and since I do not to spend-”

“YOU!” Patricia screamed. “I KNEW YOU WERE A SATANIST RAPIST LIBERAL!”

What followed was a tirade mixing homophobia, vague religious nonsense that reminded Max of why he was an atheist, and whining that wouldn’t sound out of place on Fox News. But then she started whining about losing her daughter, and Max, at his wits end dealing with her, deployed an argument he knew would hurt. One that may very well lead to her hitting him again, and made him wonder what would happen next.

“You’re the one who lost your daughter,” Max said the kind of icy calm voice he hadn’t used in a long time. “Because judging by how you act, you’re the kind of abuser who hits their kids, and then claims they did so because God told them to.”

Despite Max not raising his voice, that caused Patricia to stop. He could tell he hit something very, very raw, so he just continued. “You know, I heard what most angers people is something that’s true.”

“I NEVER HIT HER!” Patricia screamed, and despite her age, whined like a child. “I didn’t drive her away either, that was people like you!”

“And why should I take your word for it?” Max asked. “All I know about you is that you harass children-”

Patricia became so angry that she raised the cane she took with her everywhere and struck Max with it. Unlike the last time it happened though, the blow never landed. He didn’t have time to raise his arms before he saw Patricia frozen in place.

“Oh Patricia Constance, that was the dumbest thing you’ve done in your more than sixty-four sad years on this planet,” Paisley said. “And that includes being brainwashed by a cult, so that’s a high bar.”

Before anyone could respond to hearing Paisley’s voice, a gigantic metal casket appeared and encased Patricia inside. The casket then had metal chains wrap around it, and then it disappeared.

“Keep in mind Max, I have limits, and your physical safety is one of them,” Paisley’s voice emerged from a widescreen TV in the room. “Now watch carefully Max. There are consequences to provoking people that you too will suffer for.”

Max approached the TV very slowly, like he was approaching someone armed and dangerous. On screen, he saw a view inside the casket. Patricia was squirming from side to side, yelling obscenities trying to get out but then the casket was pumped full of fluid. It was pink, and looked thick, to the point that Patricia should’ve drowned from the stuff, but that didn’t happen. Instead the pink fluid gradually got absorbed into her, as her clothes dissolved away… and her age went with it. Decades melted away until Patricia looked like she was in her thirties at the oldest.

“See that Max?" Paisley asked. "That's the kind of transformation she could've gotten. But you did something worse than just let her rant. You provoked her, and knew you were doing it."

"I didn't kidnap her," Max knew his reply would go unheard but felt the need to say it. "I didn't let her be in my presence with that cane, and I didn't even know what the consequence would be of her hitting me. You knew and did all of that. YOU DID!"

No amount of screaming or argument could change what soon happened on screen. Various symbols lit up around this younger, nude Patricia in the coffin, and Max saw her scream. He did not hear it, he just saw her open her mouth in terror, as something horrifying happened in her mind... and then suddenly got replaced by a smile. The bright, open smile that Max saw in advertising for churches, religious cults, and MLMs. Max knew right then and there that she had just been mind controlled.

The camera the TV was watching from gradually zoomed out to reveal the coffin lid had been removed. Patricia, or whoever was in control of her body, was helped out of the coffin by a long red arm. As the camera continued to zoom out, the figure... was a demon. Max couldn't describe the figure any other way, given she was seven feet tall, had burning eyes, and possessed the kind of fire red skin he associated with such figures. Was this whole Harem Hotel thing an elaborate version of hell?

“That demon you see is not from any hell you'd be familiar with," Paisley's voice broadcasted from the TV again. "I'm told the hell she escaped from, three times, is most similar to Naraka. I can't tell you the demon's name, because if I did, it'd bake your brain, among other things."

While this explanation of the demon occurred, Patricia was helped out of the coffin, and lead down stairs to a laboratory by said demon. The demon then lead her through the lab full of dangerous equipment, and laid her down on a medical gurney. Said gurney was then moved to another room, and dominating that room was an arcane symbol of such complexity that Max couldn't even begin to make out all of its details through the screen. At the very center of said symbol was where the demon finished pushing the gurney that Patricia was on.

"I want you to know Max that there's a piece of Patricia’s old self screaming inside her body that you will never hear," Paisley said. "The demon eats souls, but they have to be prepared. That preparation is through suffering. Lots and lots of suffering."

"She only hit me once Paisley," Max said. "Death isn't as excessive a punishment for assault as-"

"Patricia hit you, the Master," Paisley said through the broadcast. "That is an unacceptable breach of the rules, which Patricia had every opportunity to read through the pamphlet on the bed."

While Max had this argument he couldn't win with Paisley, the footage continued. The demon had left the room, and then come back with a jar, the cap already twisted off. She proceeded to lather Patricia's breasts with goop from the jar, and as the demon massaged it into the woman's breasts, they grew. Bigger, and bigger, until eventually they reached proper hentai proportions. Only then did the demon stop applying more of the goop.

"And she will now spend a long time making up for it," Paisley said. "Patricia is now going to spend a long time with you, as her soul is prepared for the demon's maw."

The sheer horror hitting Max was indescribable. All of this had come from him provoking a woman to hit him with a cane. He couldn't even come up with anything else to say as he watched, helplessly, as the demon repeated the process by flipping the woman over, and applying a different substance from a different jar that had the same effect on Patricia's ass as the prior goop had on her breasts. They were proportions that were impossible in the real world, and yet Max couldn't help but be aroused by them. Damn his fucking hypersexuality.

"She's for you now Max," Paisley said. "One way or another, she will serve you. Now, this process will take awhile to complete, but there are other matters to attend to..."

After the footage cut out, Max tried to bolt. But he found the door indestructible, and to his surprise, all the other furniture as well. He couldn't scratch the king sized bed when he tried removing one if its legs, or blemish the closet when he tried manipulating it for his purposes. Paisley didn't say anything, perhaps content to just watch him flail around to no end. Eventually, after what must have been several minutes of this, her voice returned.

“Sorry for keeping you there Max, but your next contestant is ready,” Paisley announced. “Brace yourself, she had a rough journey here. Oh, and keep in mind, she wants to be here.”

What Max saw next was horrifying. A walking corpse opened the door and stumbled inside. It looked like a woman, but everything else screamed that she was undead. Her skin was pallid grey, her hair was white, her body stumbled around uncoordinated, and her motions were... jerky. When she entered, she lifted her head to meet his gaze, and the movement looked like a puppeteer jerked her head up.

"I..." Max trailed off. "Who are you?"

The zombie just stared at him. She couldn't even talk, from what he could tell. Max, terrified by the sight in front of him, and feeling like whatever artificial calming Paisley had provided was wearing off, tried to flee through the door. But the door remained sealed shut, and forced him to stay in the room. So, once again, Max did his best to gather himself, and turned around.

"Okay, I'm going to ask you a series of yes or no questions," Max said. "For yes, nod. For no, shake your head. Can you do that?"

The zombie nodded in response. It was jerky, and looked scary, but she could at least do it.

"Good," Max said with shaky breath while staying near the door. "Okay, are you here willingly? Please tell me the truth."

The zombie nodded yes. Max wasn't sure he believed her, but decided he had to take the creature's word for it.

"Is there anything that makes you be here, or that could compromise the answer you just gave me?" Max asked. "I don't even know how you're alive, if you are, but could they be threatening that?"

The zombie shook her head no. The movement was jerky, but forceful. At that point, Max tried something as he remembered something Paisley had said earlier.

"I give up!" Max screamed. "You've won, I will not try to debate this contestant-"

For once, Max was thankful when he was teleported out of the room...

Paisley was waiting for Max. It had been amusing to catch up on reading material from Max's former porn collection or fantasize about some shopping while he was gone, but it was time for that to end. He had all his contestants, there just the matter of one last conversation. Paisley knew he would be furious with her, and needed to deal with that as soon as possible.

"You gave up," Paisley said. "You didn't even try to convince her to leave. Smart decision actually-"

Max was put back on the effect of the calming magic. Said calmness allowed him to think, but also to become furious all over again. "That debate was stacked against me. Both times. If you weren't so fucking powerful, I'd beat you to death for what you just did to her. You-"

"Punished someone for assaulting you," Paisley said. "You may not like it, but that was the fault of Patricia for refusing to follow the rules, and you for provoking her. I have demonstrated to you many times the power I possess. Did you really think I was going to let someone hit you? With a weapon, for that matter?"

"If you're going to claim you have my interests at heart after everything that has happened," Max said, "then you are delusional, insane, or refusing to see the reality in front of you. I-"

"I gave you the chance to free those women Max," Paisley interrupted. "I let Claudia go after all. Really, when have I lied to you while you have been here?"

That was even true. Not a technical version of the truth either, Paisley had laid out how Max could free these women. She knew he would fail, but that was in large part because of his weaknesses. He was out of patience for the people who pretended his condition didn't exist,

"You lied to me about who you actually were for years!" Max's voice was loud and sudden. "I trusted you with things I haven't told anyone, including my parents. Why should I trust anything you say again?"

Paisley got into Max's personal space again, and put a hand on his shoulder. She could tell he wanted to hurt her. But he was smart, and the lesson was getting through his skull that wouldn't work. Not with the power she possessed. However, Paisley needed more than just mere compliance from Max if she was going to have a successful season. She also needed to head off certain bad habits he could adapt if he got into the space of learned helplessness.

"Max, you don't have to like me," Paisley's tone adopted that of a teacher's. "In fact it's kind of important that you don't. You know why?"

"Is it boring if the master is an asshole?" Max asked. "Because so far, you're kind of just encouraging that."

"You need to hate me more than you hate them," Paisley looked into Max's eyes to maximize her point. "I know how you feel about Hanna, how much you despise Kimberly, and how much you disliked Magnolia. With Patricia, I'm showing you the consequence of that. A worse man than you would've loved that she was eliminated, and therefore, the consequence wouldn't work."

That answer worked for Paisley's purpose. It got Max into a confused state, as he realized whatever move he made would, on some level, play into Harem Hotel's hands. More than that, she was planting the seeds of her strategy this season: Make Max feel protective of his harem, and in the process, do activities that he thinks would help protect them from her. If he realized that was where he had agency, combined with how his extreme lust would subconsciously push him towards embracing the show, then Paisley's job would be done.

"With all that in mind, why did you give up on the final contestant?" Paisley asked. "Is it because she couldn't speak or..."

"She couldn't talk, she apparently was here willingly, and she's a zombie," Max said, voice laced with sarcasm. "Okay, she isn't rotting, I do have to grant you that I guess."

"Well, as I said, that was a smart decision, because was she here willingly," Paisley said. "Purgatory is awful, and you'll find many willingly put up with quite a bit to escape it, including Harem Hotel. However, because you refused to even try to argue her out of leaving, she will get two transformations, instead of one."

"What are these transformations you keep talking about?" Max asked exasperated. "And when will they happen?"

"Funny you ask that," Paisley said amused. "They're going to start RIGHT NOW!"

The last thing Max saw before being teleported once again was Paisley with a devilish grin...