entirely as a surprise. Rohan, however, is quite another matter. I am sorely disappointed in his actions and you and I shall punish him accordingly.”
Hope closed her eyes for a second, suddenly dizzy. When she opened them again, the room was spinning. A wave of panic gripped her, she didn’t feel right, at all .
“Oh, I slipped a little something in the water, keep you docile. Not just docile, but corrupted. You are too pure, dear Hope. You are not ready.”
She lifted up her hand to her face, and her hand left a trail of fingers that hung suspended in the air for a second. “What did you give me?”
Her voice sounded funny to her own ears, alien. Like her hand, her words appeared to float in the air around her head, but not come from her. She cradled her head in her hands, whimpering slightly.
“Look at me, Hope. You will soon get used to the sensation of being drugged. You are currently on LSD. You may start hallucinating, and experience some distortion of your sense of time as well as a distorted perception of the size and shape of objects and of movement in general. The way in which you usually experience colour and touch, even the way you view your own body, will alter. Your depth perception will be impaired. Just relax and go with it. Try to enjoy it.”
Enjoy it? It was too much for Hope; drugs terrified her. Hope had never taken drugs in her life, not even at university when the obligatory spliffs were being passed round. She thought of all the things she had heard about LSD, about those supposed bad trips. A fresh wave of panic assaulted her and she refused to look at him, cradling her face in horror.
“I see you panicking, you must not panic, you wouldn’t want to induce a bad trip, would you? Panicking will do that, it will bring on severe, terrifying thoughts and feelings. Don’t lose control, Hope, let the LSD bring on that glorious sense of euphoria, of certainty. Not terror, you don’t want that.”
“You bastard,” she sobbed into her hands. “What did I ever do to you?”
She was trembling from head to toe, whether from the drugs or sheer terror, she didn’t know. Her heart was beating painfully hard and fast against her sternum and she was having great difficulty catching her breath.
“Look at me!” he roared suddenly, making her flinch.
When she peeped at him through splayed fingers, he had the face of the devil, complete with horns. His face was red, his eyes a glittering, reptilian yellow. He blinked, but he blinked with sideways eyelids, like a lizard.
Hope screamed and slumped down the wall onto her backside, her knees clutched to her chest. “Get away from me.”
But when she looked up at him again, he was the same dapper gentleman he had been moments before.
“Stop panicking, Hope. Come on, on your feet.”
There was no mistaking the backbone of steel in the quiet command, but somehow, her legs wouldn’t obey the order her brain sent. She knew she had to get it under control otherwise she would drown in her own terror and never surface. Shakily, she stood up.
“Good girl. Come, I have such sights to show you, such pleasures of the flesh.”
He laughed when he said it, and Hope was sure she had heard those words somewhere before, although for the life of her she knew not where. With the faintest flick of his head he left the room, and she knew she had to follow like the obedient dog he expected her to be.
She covered the length of the room in five strides, the sense of floating and a general detachment from her own body and feelings engulfing her. It felt like her feet were hovering just off the ground; she could feel air on the soles of her feet where the carpet should have been. Dreamlike didn’t even come close to the way she was feeling; she barely felt human. A distant part of her mind was grateful for this cushioning effect; God only knew what lay in store for her.
Hope found herself in a large hallway, at the end of which a broad staircase curved gently
Hope closed her eyes for a second, suddenly dizzy. When she opened them again, the room was spinning. A wave of panic gripped her, she didn’t feel right, at all .
“Oh, I slipped a little something in the water, keep you docile. Not just docile, but corrupted. You are too pure, dear Hope. You are not ready.”
She lifted up her hand to her face, and her hand left a trail of fingers that hung suspended in the air for a second. “What did you give me?”
Her voice sounded funny to her own ears, alien. Like her hand, her words appeared to float in the air around her head, but not come from her. She cradled her head in her hands, whimpering slightly.
“Look at me, Hope. You will soon get used to the sensation of being drugged. You are currently on LSD. You may start hallucinating, and experience some distortion of your sense of time as well as a distorted perception of the size and shape of objects and of movement in general. The way in which you usually experience colour and touch, even the way you view your own body, will alter. Your depth perception will be impaired. Just relax and go with it. Try to enjoy it.”
Enjoy it? It was too much for Hope; drugs terrified her. Hope had never taken drugs in her life, not even at university when the obligatory spliffs were being passed round. She thought of all the things she had heard about LSD, about those supposed bad trips. A fresh wave of panic assaulted her and she refused to look at him, cradling her face in horror.
“I see you panicking, you must not panic, you wouldn’t want to induce a bad trip, would you? Panicking will do that, it will bring on severe, terrifying thoughts and feelings. Don’t lose control, Hope, let the LSD bring on that glorious sense of euphoria, of certainty. Not terror, you don’t want that.”
“You bastard,” she sobbed into her hands. “What did I ever do to you?”
She was trembling from head to toe, whether from the drugs or sheer terror, she didn’t know. Her heart was beating painfully hard and fast against her sternum and she was having great difficulty catching her breath.
“Look at me!” he roared suddenly, making her flinch.
When she peeped at him through splayed fingers, he had the face of the devil, complete with horns. His face was red, his eyes a glittering, reptilian yellow. He blinked, but he blinked with sideways eyelids, like a lizard.
Hope screamed and slumped down the wall onto her backside, her knees clutched to her chest. “Get away from me.”
But when she looked up at him again, he was the same dapper gentleman he had been moments before.
“Stop panicking, Hope. Come on, on your feet.”
There was no mistaking the backbone of steel in the quiet command, but somehow, her legs wouldn’t obey the order her brain sent. She knew she had to get it under control otherwise she would drown in her own terror and never surface. Shakily, she stood up.
“Good girl. Come, I have such sights to show you, such pleasures of the flesh.”
He laughed when he said it, and Hope was sure she had heard those words somewhere before, although for the life of her she knew not where. With the faintest flick of his head he left the room, and she knew she had to follow like the obedient dog he expected her to be.
She covered the length of the room in five strides, the sense of floating and a general detachment from her own body and feelings engulfing her. It felt like her feet were hovering just off the ground; she could feel air on the soles of her feet where the carpet should have been. Dreamlike didn’t even come close to the way she was feeling; she barely felt human. A distant part of her mind was grateful for this cushioning effect; God only knew what lay in store for her.
Hope found herself in a large hallway, at the end of which a broad staircase curved gently
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