Victoria entered the same trance-like state that Allan had a few moments ago. Another 30 second passed and another new figure appeared in the room. This figure turned out to be much more pleasant in appearance. It was a woman who looked about my age. She had long, brown hair and a very attractive figure. She was probably better looking than Victoria, but that had as much to do with being younger than anything else. I felt they would be equally attractive if the same age. What struck me, however, was that there seemed to be something familiar about this woman.
“So nice to be back,” the new woman said. She looked at me and said, “Oh, we have our new member, I see.” Then she narrowed her eyes at me as a confused look came over her. “Wait a minute. Don’t I know you?” she said. She stared hard at me again. “Yea, you’re Joe…Manfred, isn’t it?”
I looked at her again. Suddenly I knew who she was. “Julie Pruitt?” I asked.
She smiled. “Yes, that’s me,” she said. Then she turned to Allan. “How did this happen? How can we both be here if we know each other?”
Allan looked shocked. “I…I have no idea. This has never happened before. We can’t do anything about it now, he’s already accepted,” he said.
“Time out,” I said. “What’s the big deal? People can’t know each other and be in P.H.A.N.T.O.M.? I didn’t know Victoria, but she lives in my town, so I might have known her.”
“Actually, Joe,” said Victoria. “I do not live in your town. I was there visiting a friend. It was mere coincidence.”
Julie said, “Joe and I don’t live in the same town, either. We haven’t for years.”
“That’s right,” I said. “Julie moved after our sophomore year of high school.” That was true, but it was strongly rumored there was more to it than that. Stories and suspicions about Julie had been prevalent at our school both before and after she moved. Even her closest friends, of which I was not one, were surprised when she moved. It seemed to happen with little warning. The rumors were far-ranging, and most were farfetched. The most popular story was that Julie had a drug addiction. “How…how have you been?” I asked nervously.
Julie took a deep breath. “Well, they all know the story, and if you’ve joined, there’s no reason not to tell,” she said. “I’m sure you remember how suddenly my family moved. It was because of me. I know there were stories about me. I’m guessing all of them were wrong. Which ones did you hear?”
“Oh, a lot, I suppose,” I said. “The one I heard most was that you had…well, that you had a drug problem.”
She nodded patiently and said, “I had a problem, but it wasn’t drugs. Actually, I say that I still have a problem. I’m a nymphomaniac.”
“A sex addict?” I said in a loud and disbelieving tone. She appeared hurt by my outburst. “Sorry, I…I’m shocked. I just…would never expect to hear that.”
“Imagine how I felt the first time I admitted it,” she said. “But it’s the truth. Pretty much as soon as I started to grow breasts, I had an uncontrollable sex drive. Who knows, I might have gotten around to you eventually. But most of my encounters were with boys from other schools and older guys. Did you ever hear that this was the reason I moved?”
“No,” I said. That was the truth. The rumor might have existed, but I never heard it.
“Well, when my parents found out, they were ashamed,” she said. “So they moved us away and near to a place where I started having therapy and treatments. Some have worked and…well, some haven’t. It wasn’t long after we moved that I joined P.H.A.N.T.O.M. I feel that being here has been my most successful form of treatment.”
“But that was nine years ago,” I said. “You’ve been here longer than Victoria?” I asked.
“Indeed she has,” Victoria answered. “I may be ‘the leader,’ but in terms of tenure, I am right in the middle.”
Julie said, “This is still so strange. Allan, you always said it was impossible for two people who have known each other to be members. So how did this happen that someone I know was chosen?”
Allan shook his head. “I just don’t know. This is the first time I’ve ever seen it happen, and it’s the first time I’ve ever heard of it happening. I would have to search the archives to see if it ever actually did happen. All I can really say is…well, I don’t know what to say. We don’t call it The Mysterious One for no reason. There must be a reason, even if we cannot see it yet.”
Julie and I looked at each other. We both had uncomfortable looks on our faces. I remembered finding Julie attractive, but we weren’t in the same social circles in school. Seeing her in the flesh again made me think she was more attractive now. I was also sexually active now and, quite frankly, sometimes I could develop a pretty strong craving for sex. I called it the curse of having a big cock. I couldn’t let anything happen now, however. Who knows what or how I might be punished if something should happen.
I think Victoria must have sensed the slight tension between us. She said, “Yes, hopefully that will reveal itself sooner rather than later. I think we need to move on. Joe must receive his alter-ego.”
“Good idea,” said Allan. “Just take a seat, Joe, Victoria and I have to prepare a few things first.”
Allan and Victoria walked to the same side of the room where Allan and Bradley had gone a few minutes ago. I sat down at the table and was a little surprised when Julie sat next to me. “So how have you been all these years?” she asked.
“OK,” I suppose. “Nothing too remarkable. Until now, of course.”
“I wish that could have been my last nine years,” she said.
“You regret being here?” I asked. I found it peculiar she would have been here for so long if she didn’t want to be.
“No, not at all,” she said. “Like I said, I feel it’s the only thing that’s really helped me with my problem.” She looked away for a moment. She turned back to face me and said, “It…it just never goes away. It’s an addiction. I don’t think addictions can be cured.”
I asked, “How has being in P.H.A.N.T.O.M. helped you?”
“You’ll see,” she said. “Once you meet my alter-ego, you’ll see.”
Bradley scoffed. I didn’t think he had been listening to us, but I was apparently wrong about that. “Oh, yea, you will,” he said.
Julie shot him a very nasty look. The smirk that had spread on his face immediately vanished. Julie muttered something under her breath that sounded like, “Mongrel.” She turned her attention back to me. “I just hope you won’t have a lot of problems embracing your alter-ego. Bradley hates his and Victoria took some time to get used to hers. Allan won’t admit it, but I think he still wrestles internally with his,” she said.
“What about you?” I asked.
“Actually,” she said, “it didn’t take me all that long to embrace mine. It surprised me. I’m sure it will surprise you, too.”
Just then Victoria and Allan returned to the table. “All set to go,” said Allan. He held something in his hands. It was a metallic, circular band of some kind. It looked much too large for my head and too small for any other part of my body except maybe my thigh. It was about an inch tall and half an inch thick all around. There were several bits of electronics of some kind that flashed different colors all around it as well. “Time to start the process.”