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"Okay," said Maria, bringing the sponsors meeting to order, "First item is that we seem to have our first female recruit. Can anyone explain to me what that is about."
"I was at the club and I stepped out for some fresh air and there she was, lurking in an alleyway with a couple of unconscious girls that she was calling "baby", so I tazed her, called an ambulance for the unconscious bodies and got her in a taxi back to Dorley", explained Pippa. "Her vibes are rancid."
There was general nodding from around the table.
"Oh yeah I want down for the seven A.M. new recruit taunt and it took her less than ten seconds to get to threatening to eat me out,"
"It's fine," interjected Christine, "there's nothing weird about it, we'll force-femme her."
Long training before being allowed to take on a sponsor's role meant that everyone present had the sensitive ears necessary to pick out the doubled "m" and second "e".
"That seems like a departure from our modus operandi," said Maria, "the whole programme is based on breaking down the self-image that's been twisted by toxic masculinity. Can we do that to someone who is already a girl?"
"Imean, Imnotasponser thatsjustmyideasorry." added Christine, nervously.
"Christine's right. We're gender essentialist enough and Raine is butch enough that I think it still applies. The ideal we taze the first years towards is a very narrow vision of womanhood based on makeup and nice clothes and smiling and looking pretty and going out and meeting boys. Plenty of distance from where she is to where she's going." said Paige.
Raine woke up and didn't recognise where she was. Hard bunk, itchy gown, thin sheets. Light on. There was a hum of air con. She kept her breathing even. This could be bad. She'd been carrying Heather after she'd manifested her tentacles and knocked herself out (again). Then she was ... attacked and captured? What had happened to Heather? She slitted her eyes open. Bare concrete walls and ceiling and that's not something that just anyone has to hand but it could be a kidnapping of opportunity.
"I can see you stirring Raine Haynes," The voice was blaring over an intercom. Well that was professional. She sat up and looked around. Glass door. Camera and intercom system behind a grill. This was really bad. Stainless steel prison-style WC in the corner. Gross, but also hard to make an improvised weapon from.
...
"I know you want to keep me but you must see this is an unhealthy way to start our relationship!" Raine yelled after the blonde who had delivered her breakfast.
They weren't a cult. They were just some jokers with a really weird take on feminism and a basement dungeon. Raine wanted to sigh with relief but they were watching so she held herself steady. Evee would have her out of here within a day unless something bad had happened to the others. There were probably spider servitors in the room already, or some of Hringewindla's angels, if Twil was helping.
Later, Christine would review the tapes, but all that would establish was that the cameras started recording static at 15:42 and start recording an empty corridor with the litter of a broken toughened glass on the floor at 15:59. The external cameras showed a similar pattern, extending earlier and later. Christine pulling the Ring doorbell data for the local area got a couple of glimpses of a pair of young ladies - one in a maid costume, the other limping - that seemed to be slightly out of place, and afterwards they left with Raine. They could be followed from camera to camera until they got on a bus bound out of town.
All the people in Dorley hall had spent that time blacked out and dreaming of a lifeless wasteland lit by the sickly glow of a vast, red sun.
Raine was alternating between sets of triceps dips off the bed and smirking at the camera in the corner of the room when the reinforced glass wall exploded. She glanced across in time to see Praem folding her hands demurely to together at her waist, glass powder falling from the knuckles of her white gloves. She looked past the maid to Evee, who was scowling at her furiously. Raine would die before she admitted having experienced any worry, but her heart lifted at the sight of Evee's fury. Furious Evee was her second favourite Evee, just after arrogantly confident Evee.
"What the fuck do you call this Raine? It's not even a cult! It's just some weirdos with a basement!" snapped Evee.
"How did you even get captured by them? And for fucks sake put your top back on."
Raine favoured the camera with a last smirk and few gratuitous flexes and pulled the scratchy green open-backed robe back on.
"I've seen three girls eighteen to twenty-five with Tasers and they said they had PMCs on site."
Evee raised her bone wand "It'll be fine if we go now."
They did, but Raine pinched a couple of Tasers from the girls lying on the floor on the way out, and Praem took a punnet of strawberries from the kitchen.