It's a Psychle

Chapter 1 what

A woman with curly, dirty blonde hair, wearing a white blouse and a pair of jeans exited a building with a giant smile on her face. Jane even caught herself skipping. She quietly took a deep breath and stopped, pressing her hands against the collar of her blouse and flattening her top while pulling herself together and trying to look like an adult. "Come on Jane, you're twenty six, calm down." She said and began walking more calmly. Jane's new therapist Doctor Anne had just spent over an hour talking with her for their second appointment. It was weird. Jane could hardly tell you a word of what Anne had said, but she felt so much better after speaking with the doctor. It was nothing like her first meeting with Dr. Anne, hell, that appointment was nothing but a huge multiple choice test about mental issues. It reminded Jane of the SATs. Regardless, this time Jane's mind was flooded with relief as she left. The woman decided to get a milkshake on the way home, just to make the day even sweeter. Jane had always loved sweets in general, and ice cream in particular, and an instruction to follow her heart was one thing from the therapy session that actually did stick with Jane.

But everything changed soon after. Jane went to The Shake Shack, nominally a burger joint, but it was mainly about milkshakes, as the name says. Little did Jane know, as she walked out, that it would be her last time there. Jane felt something sharp jab into the side of her neck and turned in the direction of the feeling. That was the last thing she noticed before the blackness took over her sight. Jane never even knew what hit her.

The next thing Jane knew she was waking up, lying on her back as a tall, thin man pulled what appeared to be a hospital gurney that she was on down a dimly lit hallway. He walked with a severe limp, yet moved silently and at a good pace regardless. Jane tried to sit up without making a sound, and failed in both goals. Because, as Jane tried to sit up she was restrained by some kind of straps holding her tight on her back. Her attempt to sit caused a clattering noise to come from somewhere on the bed that Jane couldn’t see. The man pulling the bed turned around to face Jane. He was tall and whisper thin, the man had sunken in eyes with dark circles. The center portion on his head was nearly bald and he had long, thin hair stemming from the perimeter of his scalp. The man kind of made Jane think of Riff Raff from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

He said “You’re awake! The Lady will be pleased.” With a mild lisp and in a voice far too excited for Jane to feel comfortable with. She said “What the fuck is going on?!?! The Lady? Let me go!” the man chuckled, a rasping wheezing sort of laugh, then he said “Jane my dear! Worry not, I take no offence, but be aware that screaming is unbecoming of a guest.” Jane glared at him with a fury that made the man momentarily afraid, until he remembered that Jane was restrained and couldn’t move. Jane asked “Will you at least tell me what the fuck is going on?” the man wagged a finger as he said “Tsktsktsk language my dear.” without actually answering the question. Jane simply glared at the man for a moment and he went back to wheeling the gurney down the hall as he asked “What happens here? Well, whatever the mistress of the house wills to happen here. She is in control.”

Jane had a thought that she swallowed down immediately. She hoped that this Lady that the Riff Raff looking man talked about would feed her well. Jane wanted to eat something. She shook the thought from her mind as she looked at this stranger pulling her down the hall. There were far more important things to think about. Or so Jane thought. Eventually the man reached a door at the end of the hallway and said “Well, I will let you ask the lady who she is yourself.” As he opened the door and wheeled Jane into the room.

Jane lifted her head as much as she could to try and see the room clearly. It looked like something halfway between a corporate meeting room and a security center. The center of the room held a very long, rectangular table with a woman sitting at the head of it. The woman was a bit taller than Jane, and wore an elegant dress that seemed like it would be more appropriate in a dance hall than whatever place this was. She was fairly thin, and had brown hair tied up in a bun and a pair of glasses on. The woman looked strangely familiar, Jane felt certain she had met this woman before, but couldn’t put a finger on where exactly. The man said “And may I introduce the two of you. Jane, this is mistress Anne. . .” he kept talking, but Jane didn’t hear a word beyond “Anne." Suddenly it hit her. This "mistress" character was Jane’s therapist. What the hell is going on? Jane was shaken out of her mind by the man’s hand on her shoulder as he said “aaaannd” stretching out the word before saying, “This is Jane.” Rapidly. Jane shouted “Doctor Anne? Why?!?!” and the doctor chuckled as she put one hand over her face and said “It’s because you insist on talking to me using my first name!” as Jane stared incredulously, mouthing the word “really?” silently. Anne laughed for a second before saying “Of course not! You’re here for the same reason I am.” Jane just stared in Slack jawed curiosity as the doctor said “Because I’m the one who really needs a psychologist.” Jane just said ”What?” in an overwhelmed voice of confusion. The doctor gestured toward a screen and said “Take a look at the last woman to be in your spot and it should be clear what is going to happen.”

Jane paid close attention to the screen for the first time since she'd entered the room. In it was an absurdly obese woman, she looked like she would be on one of those weird T.V. shows. “My big fat fabulous life.” Or the like. The woman was short too, she was almost as wide as she was tall, nearly round as a circle. The round woman sat at a table much like the doctor’s. She ravenously ate the last bite from a platter set in front of her on the table. Jane didn’t even have a chance to see what it was that the woman had eaten. Jane just stared until the woman shouted something, and had the Riff Raff looking man arrive, wheeling a cart absolutely covered in pastries. Jane took her eyes off of the screen and quickly looked around the room. The man was gone. When had he left? Turning back to the screen Jane focused on the cart. It looked like a dessert cart from a restaurant. The man took a tray off of the cart and set it on the table, his mouth was moving, but this show was visual only and Jane had no clue what he was saying. The round woman gestured at the cart and said something herself, the man shrugged and walked off as the round woman grabbed a slice of cake off of the cart in her bare hands. The round woman practically swallowed the slice whole, biting off most of it in a go, then shoving the rest into her mouth as she swallowed it down like a snake. She then grabbed a platter of cookies and started shoving them into her mouth as fast as she could. The man stepped back into sight, he wheeled another, similar cart next to the woman and ducked out of the room quickly.

At this point Jane turned to face the doctor, who asked “So, what do you think? Excited to eat?” Jane was horrified, her mouth opened, but no words would escape it. The doctor said “Don’t worry, you’re free to go if you want, but before I let you go.” And she gestured to the foot of the table, saying “You’re going to have to eat that.” Jane followed the doctor’s hand to realize something, she could move herself around freely. Jane was untied, when had that happened? Did the doctor’s weird servant guy do it before leaving? How hadn't Jane noticed anything? Jane’s thoughts were disrupted by what she saw as she turned her head. There was a gigantic cake on the table, it looked like it was meant for a wedding party with hundreds of guests. As Jane stared the doctor said “Don’t worry miss Jane. You don’t have to eat it all at once.” Jane thought of the round woman from the video. Was she going to end up like that? Nothing but a blob of lard living only to eat everything put in front of her. Jane's thoughts swirled in her mind so much that she felt dizzy. Jane laid back and closed her eyes before she fell.

Jane bolted upright back in her room. She looked around and saw nothing but a glowing clock face in the darkness. Red numbers and letters dimly glowed, showing it was 5:28 A.M. As Jane looked around she noticed she was still in her room at home. That whole kidnapping must have been a dream. As she looked down to inspect herself Jane noticed something. She felt. . . Excited Jane realized she was smiling and couldn't stop if she tried. Instead whe tried to go back to sleep but couldn’t. She ended up lying in bed thinking about her dream and wanting to touch herself, or to eat. “What’s wrong with me?” Jane said as the sun rose and sunlight flooded the room through her open window. Jane’s phone alarm went off and she checked it, to see “See Doctor Anne at 9:30” showing up. “What a crazy dream.” She said to herself, “I’ll have to tell the doctor when I actually see her today.” Jane said as she got up to get dressed and face the day, she couldn’t sleep now anyway.