BabySofia

Yay! New chapter!!!! It was a good one too, looking forward to seeing him go home. Glad he's said yes to the therapy, hopefully it helps him get ready down the long road this little family of friends has to travel.

Sorry, woke up a little quicker and faster getting ready than expected! Posted right after I finished getting ready this morning! 😈 We shall see what happens! Thanks for the comments! 🙂 🙂 Thanks for the comments! 🙂 😈 I'm pretty sure Holly and Ivy made sure she was shown out the door that day and dumped on her rear outside. You may dream of her having landed on a padded rear, or maybe wetting her pants then... I don't think we'll ever see her again, so her fate is all yours! Thanks for the comments! 🙂 In my mind in this world it's a bit more advanced and since their weapons can effectively take people out without projectile weapons as much, they're a bit more likely to lean on the less than lethal possibilities... Someone needs to remind them that dolphins aren't fish... Thanks for the comments! 🙂 Thank you! 💜 We shall see what happens! Thanks for the comments! 🙂 Thank you for the comments! I appreciate the kind words! 🙂 True! We shall have to wait to find out what happened! 🙂 Since 30 years has passed, I would presume she has long retired unfortunately. We shall see what happens! (No doubt they have angered Amanda) <munches on cookie after quick test> Not naughty... 😇 <nods> Consistency is key they say! 🤣 No, she's a normal Big. No cryptids here! Thanks for the comments Kat! 🙂

Chapter 200: What Happened?!? BETH FELT LIKE she had been watching the progress screen above Fred blink for hours, but she knew that it was likely only a couple of minutes with the way the system worked. “Patient stabilized,” the NanoAid said. Beth let out the breath she hadn’t known she was holding. “Patient should be transferred to a medical facility as soon as possible for further care.” Beth just stared for another moment before she noticed Fred groan and open his eyes. “Where…” he rasped, then made eye contact with Beth. “Fred!” she said, “You’re okay!” He started to sit up, but Beth pushed a hand down, “Stay where you are, you were hurt badly.” “The kids?” He asked. She shrugged, “I think they’re in their safe rooms…” Before she continued, Tessa appeared, “Fred, it’s good to see you conscious. Beth, the threats have been neutralized, and friendly law enforcement is currently searching the house. When they complete their search, I’ll help you to exit this room.” “What about Carly?!?” She asked Tessa. Tessa replied, “I have not heard from Amanda. From what I can see at Emerson, it appears that she is working with Marshal Evans to extract her.” “Wait, what’s going on?” Fred asked, “I don’t really remember anything…” “The house was attacked,” Beth told him. “I vaguely remember that – I must have taken a blow to the head?” “Along with broken ribs and some other things,” Beth confirmed. “Amanda went after Carly after she was pulled from her nest and taken to the admin building. Right then, though, we were attacked here. Tessa, can you find out anything else?” Beth pleaded. “I’ll do what I can, Beth, but it will take some time. Also, I’m still bound by Doctor Westerfield’s directive to not leave the house, so it’ll be a bit more challenging to discover the information.” Beth knew her face was soaked, even as she felt absolutely sick to her stomach. “Can you show me where everyone else is in the house right now, as they search at least?” She asked. Tessa displayed a three-dimensional model of the house, then with green silhouettes of ‘good guys’ moving from room to room, checking on them. She noted that there were ten ‘red’ silhouettes on the ground in various places around the house. One green one was down flat in Beth’s bathroom, leaving her feeling sick to her stomach. “Is Nikki okay?” She asked Tessa. “She is coming around now, my sensors indicate she will need to be checked out in the hospital, but thankfully, they were only using stun levels on their weapons when they entered your bathroom. I think the concussion grenade they used on you only knocked her out and concussed her.” “So are we secure yet?” Beth asked, after seeing the green silhouettes finish moving through the house.” “I believe so, but we’re going to wait for the ambulances to be allowed inside before I let you out. I want Fred and Miss Paulson to be able to go straight out there without any issues with waiting for them,” Tessa told Beth. Fred fidgeted for a few moments before Beth heard Tessa say, “Beth, go ahead and disengage the door locks. It’s that button over there,” she said, pointing. “Why don’t you do it yourself?” Beth asked. “I’m not allowed to, and the button is protected from me in case something goes wrong.” “Tessa… it is safe out there, you’re not just setting us up, right?” Beth asked, feeling her stomach clench in more fear. “I promise, Beth, no one can get to me like they did Rachel. That’s why they had to shut down all power here to get past me in the first place. They didn’t know there was a separate backup power supply just for my program in Amanda’s lab. It took me a while to reroute the rest of the house to get it back up, though.” Beth uneasily pressed a big red button on the wall, felt a click, and heard the hiss as the physical cylinders retracted. She found herself face-to-face with Marshal Tanner from the first shift, who had been off-duty. “Tessa said Fred is hurt?” She asked without hesitation. Beth shakily pointed, “I used a NanoAid on him; he was in rough shape before it.” “Got it,” she told her, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. A local police officer said, “Miss, we want you to get checked out, too. There are a few ambulances ready to look you all over.” “Beth!” She heard from the stairs then, though. She saw Shelby running toward her, “You’re okay!!!” The smaller girl wrapped her arms around her before turning back to where her mom and brother were standing for a moment before turning to her, “Where’s Grandpa?” “He’s okay, but they’re checking him over,” Beth told her, trying to keep her calm. Right then, a set of EMTs with a gurney, escorted by an officer, entered the house and headed down to the safe room. Fortunately, Bella and her kids had been shoved in the safe rooms so quickly that, as far as Beth knew, they hadn’t seen anything other than the lights go out. She watched a bustle of activity as another set of paramedics went upstairs to treat Nikki and check on the assailants. There were probably forty officers and marshals within the house and perimeter, and she found herself and Bella’s family pushed into the living room to get them out of the way. “Miss?” A female paramedic said, approaching her. “Yes?” “One of the marshals suggested you were injured?” “I don’t think so…?” Beth said. “Beth, you’re bleeding!” Shelby said suddenly. “Where?” Beth asked. “The back of your head!” Shelby said, “Your hair’s all bloody there.” “Here, let me take a look,” the paramedic said. “How did I not even notice?” She asked Shelby as the paramedic made her wince as they took a gloved hand and began treating her. “It’s common in a case of shock, Miss,” the EMT said to her. “Can I get your name, please?” “Elizabeth Sylvester,” she told her. “Birthday?” She went through a series of questions that Beth knew were as much about verifying she didn’t have a concussion as actual information that was needed. The EMT used a topical treatment that sealed up the cut on the back of her head and noted the bruises that were forming on her body. “Miss Sylvester, I think it would be best to have you checked out at the hospital just to be safe.” Beth made a face at that and was about to respond when she watched a pair of tall women walk in wearing LPS jackets. “What are they doing here?” Marshal Tanner swore, having just come out of the safe room with Fred on a stretcher in front of him. “Can I help you?” She approached them. “Yes, we understand there are Littles here who need to be taken into custody temporarily?” “Do you mean the assailants in our investigation?” She asked. It was only then that Beth realized several wriggling masses were lying in the living room playpen. Her level of shock meant she’d completely not noticed them! “Names are Isabella Westerfield, Shelby Westerfield, and Ryan Westerfield?” “They are not under your jurisdiction,” Tanner told her. Beth was ready to get involved herself when she recognized Amanda’s brother-in-law, Matt, who came in, led by a police officer. “This man says he represents the family as their attorney.” “What is LPS doing here?” “We’re here on a wellness check and to take in Isabella, Shelby, and Ryan Westerfield into protective custody while we identify if their caregivers will be well enough to continue to care for them…” “I’m Matt Lethbridge. I represent this family, and I know they have a duly appointed caregiver and custody chain in the event of death. There is no reason for your presence, and you will not be taking them.” Beth was a bit squeamish about how forceful he was about that. She knew LPS had a longstanding history of removing Littles with very little recourse. “You cannot say that…” the older of the two women said. “No, but I can,” a tall man said, entering. “Judge Price?!?” The woman said nervously. “What are you doing here?” “A friend called me, and woke me up to tell me there was a big incident at the Westerfield’s house where his daughter was staying. I agreed to come check in on her.” He nodded toward Beth, “Care to tell me what’s going on?” “We received reports that these Littles are being allowed to stay up at night, sleep outside of cribs…” Beth watched the Judge give a look that reminded her of her dad when she or her siblings tried to lie their way out of something. There was no verbal warning; he just glowered until she stopped. “And the proof?” “A federal marshal…?” “Would that happen to be a Jenna Morales?” He asked her. “Your Honor, I don’t know that I should…” “I’ll take that as a yes. You’ll find that the former marshal has some major credibility issues right now. I recommend the following. Turn around, exit that door, and don’t even consider coming and bothering this family again without speaking to me first with evidence in hand of neglect or abuse. It had better be accompanied by ironclad proof if so! You may not know it, but one of those Littles you are trying to remove was the victim of your department many years ago - neither the Westerfields nor the Sylvesters will take kindly to your actions.” Beth watched the woman’s face drain, and the other woman didn’t even wait for her, turning tail and running. The older woman made a face like she’d had something sour, but followed her out. “Good thing you arrived when you did,” Matt told him. “I owe her dad more than a few favors over the years.” “Beth, you were injured?” Beth nodded, even as the paramedic said, “We really should get her checked out at the hospital. Fred is in the first ambulance leaving, and Miss Paulson should be down in a moment.” “Can she ride with Miss Paulson?” Matt suggested. She looked torn on that. “I’ll drive her in,” Marshal Tanner suggested. “No offense, but after what happened, I don’t think that’s a good idea?” Matt told her. “What happened?” Beth asked. “Something about Morales?” Matt looked torn, but said, “She was in on this. We don’t know all of the details, but she provided information to the culprits at the university.” “Wait! You know what happened to Carly?” She asked him. “They’re in the process of trying to get her out,” Matt said, even as his phone rang. “Hold on one second.” He stepped a few feet away. “Mandy? What happened? Is she okay...?” Beth felt her heart stop as she listened to the silence while Matt was given an answer. For a long moment, she felt her entire blood freeze cold, and couldn’t help but worry that the love of her life had the unthinkable happen to them. She couldn’t help but think about what her dad felt when she walked away toward her voluntary adoption out after saying goodbye all those years ago. He told her of the grief of finding out she had just disappeared off the face of the planet after they were engaged. Then... his finding out she was mentally no better than an infant... The grief she knew had to have eaten at him hit her like a wall, even as she watched Matt frown. “Make sure you all stay with her. We’ll get there as soon as we can, Amanda.” Beth stared at him and felt her face full of tears as he told her, “They got Carly out, but they don’t have information about her condition. I think there may be more to it because she was in the office, but Megan didn’t say. Let’s get you to the hospital. I’m sure they’ll let you see her as soon as we can get you checked over yourself.” Beth shuddered as her body was wracked with relief and tried to wipe her face. Right then, Nikki was brought down on a stretcher. She was sitting upright and seemed mostly okay, if a bit dazed. “Marshal Tanner, how about you go ahead and drive behind the ambulance that has Miss Paulson and Beth inside. Jim, would you mind following them as well? We need to make sure that she makes it to the hospital safely. I need to take Bella and her kids to our place,” Matt directed. “They can’t stay there alone,” Jim told him. “My son Sam and daughter Leelah have passed the certification classes to sit for Littles. They can legally watch them, and have babysat before.” “Good,” he told him. “I don’t want to see you in my courtroom over this mess.” “Neither do we!” Matt told him. THIRTY MINUTES LATER, it felt like déjà vu as Beth was getting checked out in a hospital room by a doctor. This wasn’t Doctor Nickerson, unfortunately, but at least this doctor was still respectful and treated her like an adult. Ten minutes after the ambulance drove her in, they had her in an exam room. She had sat patiently while they scanned her and were just waiting for a final clear from a specialist reviewing the scan. Her parents and the marshals wanted to take no chances on her having hidden injuries. She’d been brought in with the dazed Nikki and kept together just long enough to know they were running more thorough scans on her, but initially thought she would be okay. They planned to keep Nikki under observation overnight to be safe. Beth turned on the TV as she waited for her results to see if there was any news about what happened at Emerson, because no one seemed to want to tell her any details. All she had been told was that Carly was brought out and was somewhere here in the hospital, on the other side, in the pediatric unit. She saw a ‘Breaking News’ chyron below the lower-quality screen. “Anna, what are you learning now?” “Jake, it appears that there was a major incident as federal agents moved to take Doctor Melanie Shapiro, the Dean of Littles, into custody. Our source has told us that agents observed Shapiro, the head nest mother who essentially serves as a Residential Director, forcefully taking a Little from the nest. Upon verification of a warrant for their arrests that was issued by a judge tonight, they moved to arrest her and check on the welfare of the Little.” “How is that Little doing?” Jake asked. “That is unclear. Our crews did observe a patient being taken out by a stretcher into an ambulance rapidly, and no one at the hospital will answer questions at this time.” “Were there any other casualties?” “Yes, Jake, three women were also brought out on stretchers and transported to the hospital. Their conditions are also unknown. Marshal Evans, a Deputy Marshal who is involved, has announced a press conference for the media here in the next couple of minutes.” “That’ll be a big one. Hopefully, we’ll get some answers then. We’ll be back with you when that begins. For now, we’re going to take a quick break and be back with more of this breaking news coverage!” Beth watched the commercials roll through, looking out the door and hoping someone would come in to tell her she was good to leave. Or, someone would come to say to her Carly was really okay, or… just anything! Instead, she sat bored until the next commercial. Then the next one, then the next one, until she finally saw Marshal Evans standing beside a man in an NBI jacket. The man in the jacket began, “Good evening, this will be a very brief news conference to update the public on events that have taken place on the campus of Emerson University. For the past couple of weeks, our NBI agents have been probing possible illegal activities by faculty and staff here at Emerson. Through our investigation, we have encountered many illegal actions, both nationally and here in the State of Ames.” He paused for a moment to swipe on his tablet, which he was looking at. “Among the actions are civil rights violations, human trafficking violations, and conspiracy crimes related to these. Given the nature of the cases, we will not be able to provide many more details at this time. Earlier this evening, an unknown organization or entity provided video evidence, in the form of documentaries, to news agencies and hacked into Emerson’s systems to broadcast one of them on every projector and device on campus. When the film stopped, a copy was provided to all national law enforcement agencies, along with raw evidence, and also to news agencies.” “Following our investigation, warrants were issued for the following individuals: Doctor Wendy Chester, Doctor Melanie Shapiro, Emaly Rhodes, Stuart Rhodes, and Roland Faulkner. More individuals who have not yet been served are also pending. During the course of apprehending Doctor Chester and Doctor Shapiro, our agents observed a Little being roughly handled. They brought the student out of the nest at an unusually late hour for Littles on the campus, then raised an outcry for help to a passing agent. Further investigation revealed that they, Chester, Shapiro, and Rhoades, had chosen to take out their frustration on the film shown tonight on her, though our investigation has not yet uncovered any links to the victim. Our agents followed the pair to the administration building and intended to move in and apprehend the suspects then.” “Due to a security protocol on the building, we were unfortunately delayed by nearly an hour in gaining entry. During that time, it is known that the Little in question was beaten severely, questioned, and an attempt was made to permanently regress that student. This action was outside the scope of state and federal law—and even the Emerson code of conduct. At some point, a struggle broke out, and our agents were able to gain access to the room and arrest the individuals. The Little was rescued and is currently being treated at the University Hospital.” “Additionally, during the arrest, Marshal Jenna Morales, of the national marshals, was apprehended. I’m going to allow Marshal Evans to make a statement on that.” ‘What the hell?!?’ Beth seethed, ‘She was supposed to protect us!!!! Wait! Wasn’t she one of the marshals on detail on the island, too…?’ Beth began putting pieces together and realized how they’d been found. ‘So… is this more of Mom’s past…?’ She watched as Marshal Evans came forward and gave a brief statement that the marshals were investigating her involvement and that criminal charges were pending. The one thing he added, though, was, “During the course of a struggle with the victim, Marshal Morales appears to have intentionally discharged her weapon at that victim.” ‘Carly was shot?!?!?!’ She felt panic strike her, even as she saw a man enter that she recognized as a friend of her dad’s, another attorney, from their meeting before Spring Break. “Edgar?” She asked, barely remembering his name. “Hi, Beth,” he said, coming over to shake her hand, but she hugged him instead. “What’s going on?!? Is Carly okay?” “As far as I know, she’s going to be okay. Not many people really know what happened inside the office at this point. As soon as you’re released, your parents told me to take you to see her. What did they say about your injuries? And what exactly happened to you?” Beth filled him in on the attack at Amanda’s house. The look on his face was quite severe as she explained what had happened. He shook his head, “I used to think your dad was a magnet for trouble…” She felt embarrassed, “It’s not my fault? Or Carly’s?” “No,” he agreed. “Okay, just so you know, I don’t think anyone is going to be able to stay at Amanda and Fred’s for at least a week. Your mom is flying out here and plans to find a place to stay. I think she said something about additional security, possibly too.” Beth sighed, “Normally, this is where I would rail about my mother being overprotective and overreacting…” He gave her a small smile, “Yeah, hard to say that after three problems in four weeks or so?” “More than that,” she sighed. “I don’t even know what I’m doing here anymore,” she told Edgar. Right then, the doctor came in, “Miss Sylvester?” “Yes,” she said. “You’re all clear, nothing will be long-lasting. I would recommend taking some over-the-counter painkillers for the next few days, as you will be quite sore. I’m also prescribing some cream that should help those bruises heal a bit sooner. If, for some reason, you begin to notice any dizziness, nausea, headaches, or other concussion symptoms, please come back to the ER and get checked out.” “Yes, ma’am,” she told her. “Great, just sign here, and I think your escort knows where to go next; I gave them directions.” Beth quickly signed on the tablet and was happy to walk away. Marshal Tanner was waiting outside, along with two uniformed police officers, an NBI agent, and another man wearing a Marshal jacket. “They said you know where Carly is?” she asked. “Yes,” Tanner told her. “If you’re ready, we’ll go there next.” Beth followed her, while the others flanked her, leaving no doubt that she was being guarded. The gaggle of law enforcement agents drew stares as they walked down the hallways and across a breezeway over a road to get into the Pediatric Hospital, where Carly had been taken. ‘At least I got to be with the adults this time…’ she thought. Tanner showed her badge to a receptionist, and a nurse led them to Carly’s room. Carly was hooked into the monitor system and had her eyes closed. Amanda sat in a chair beside her… crib. Beth blushed for Carly, but wasn’t overly surprised given the pediatric wing. She quietly waved at Beth as she entered. “How is she?” Beth asked her quietly. “She’s still unconscious right now,” Amanda said with a sigh. “They’re not worried yet, but she took a direct hit from Morales’s weapon at the highest non-lethal strength it can be set at. Given her size…” “She’s going to be fine, though, right?” Beth asked worriedly. “They think so. Hopefully she’ll wake up in the next hour…” Beth moved to the other side of the bed then and looked down. Besides her being unconscious, something seemed off. She couldn’t quite place it at first, not until she reached down and gently took Carly’s limp hand in hers. It was only then that it really dawned on her what was different. She felt her anger at what happened explode into rage, even as tears flowed down her cheeks for the love of her life! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading!!!!! Please press the 'Like' Button and leave a comment! So a HUUUUUGE thank you to you all for all of the love and likes on the last chapters!!!!! You made crossing a million reads even more special with them! Plus, this was a part I had been working toward for a long time! Let me know what you think about everything, and what's to come! As I've said in a couple comments, we're nowhere near the final end of the girls tales here! I'll post again on Friday morning before work. I'll have a bonus this weekend up for grabs, but I may have to slow back down to once a week after that for a bit depending on if my writing output picks back up... I'm hoping this weekend will work for that! The first volume of this series is available now on Amazon Kindle!!! It's priced at $6.95 and includes chapters 1-73 plus a bit of a tag of an epilogue that wasn't in the original postings. I'm about 85% of the way through the AI audiobook version editing too, which will be available for $10.95 on its own, or as a $1.99 add-on to the Kindle version. (Hopefully I'll finish going through that this weekend... the script for the first film is a massive pain to get to sound correct and is taking about 50x more time than I expected!) Anyway, the Kindle Book link is here! https://www.amazon.com/Lights-Camera-What-Sofia-Hammerstein-ebook/dp/B0GDRDWS5P It'll probably be 4 or 5 books in total for Carly and Beth's story, I haven't got that set in stone yet! Thanks to those of you who have already purchased, please do give it a 5-star review when you finish. I appreciate the people who did so already! (Thanks for the great review too!) 💜

<nods> Thanks for the comments! 🙂 <nod nod> People have done very good job!!!! Sofia appreciates their valiant effort to feed her lots of likes! (And none of those nasty bananas!) Tomorrow! About 7.5 hours and I'll post it! Yes, long ways to go! Thanks for the comments! 🙂

🤮 DON'T ABUSE CHOCOLATE LIKE THAT!!!!!! NO MATTER SOFIA'S SINS... THE CHOCOLATE IS INNNNNNNNOCENT! 🥺 <nod nod> Tuesday morning's chapter might not happen... Sofia might be too busy hiding from the bananas!

Wow... I figured it was a month... you hadn't been specific before this. Two months of conditioning? I don't think she probably has any clue just how many things she's been affected by at this point. Your Hypnosis Doesn't Work Like that series definitely would have had more than enough time to have taken her down... Looking forward to more, even as I'm curious why Brown sent it to her in advance... Look forward to seeing more from you on this!

🤩 Sofia loves her readers, thank you for the tasty Likes! 💜

Oooh.... Sofia should rewrite to give you what you asked for... 😈 🤣 🫣 Thanks for the comments! 🙂 😳 <Sniffs to be safe> Thanks for the comments and the yummy cookie! No nanner attacks please! Of course you do... 🤦🏼‍♀️

😈 🤣😈 Thanks for the comments! 🙂 They say consistency is key! 😇 <Bribes Kat with leftover Christmas chocolate candy.>

🙂 Thanks for the comments! 🙂 <nod nod> 😈 <nods> Thanks for the comments Kat! 🙂 👿 <nods> Kat you can push him in, it's okay! With a name like Poco I'm sure he's just a Little waiting for the right Big. Make sure it's one Xerxes doesn't like - that would be a good sign of how good they'll be! 😈 Thanks for the comments! 🙂 Not evil.... 👿 Glad to hear that! 😈

Thanks for the comments! 🙂

Always very predictable they are! <nod nods> 😈

Chapter 199: Not Without a Fight BETH WAS DISAPPOINTED to see that she missed the distorted face! But at least it forced the assailant to duck down. Unfortunately, her shot also weakened the door further! A second later, when another face peeked up, Nikki got a shot off and managed to send that one to the ground with a grunt! Just then, Beth heard a whine as something spun up, and felt her stomach plummet as an electrical discharge suddenly passed through the door and struck the field! It lit up with little sparks and arcs, creating a pulsing rhythm that grew faster and faster, ending with a high-pitched squeal before a loud pop made her ears ring! “That’s it!” one of the men said and must have thrown his weight against the door, sending it flying open! Beth made eye contact with one of them, even as she began rapidly pulling the trigger and spraying bolts toward the men! She saw one drop from her shot, even as Nikki must have gotten two more. Suddenly, though, something flew through the air and landed right in front of the tub they were covering in. Wordlessly, Nikki threw her body on top of Beth to protect her, and she screamed as a loud blast and a bright light filled the room! Nikki’s weight felt different then… She was heavier. It took her a moment to register the change that Nikki was now dead weight! She gasped, and Beth felt panic fully engulf her as she worried she was dead!!! She wanted to try to crawl out from under her heavy bodyguard, but knew it was better to play as if she were immobile at this point. She managed to slip her tiny pulse gun under her shirt and into her bra just before the heavy bodyguard was lifted out. “Got her!” The man said. Beth looked at where the man’s face should be, but noted the pixelated and scrambled mess that greeted her. It was incredibly disconcerting! “Grab the brat, and let’s go!” The man said. Beth did everything she could to wriggle free, and she bit the man’s arm that landed beside her face! She even managed to land a couple of good punches and kicks to his sides and stomach in rapid succession. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to make it through his body armor, and in the end, he gripped her tightly like a misbehaving toddler and began carrying her out of the room. She couldn’t help but notice that Shelby’s door was caved in, as was Carly’s. The others seemed untouched for some reason, but as they rounded the staircase, she felt her heart drop at the sight of Fred. He was lying still on the ground with blood oozing from a wound to his head! I HAD SEEN approximately two seconds of color and felt some weird sounds coming in like the auradots had, when ‘connection established’ flashed in the HUD, and my world turned into my Sphere room instead!!! ‘Thank God!’ I thought to myself. I rapidly activated a console and frantically tried to see if my internal unit could connect with the WombView unit to shut it down. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the connections were wide open, and a few tricks Grandma had shown me let me quickly gain control of the device. I shut it down in a way that I was certain should permanently disable the existing circuits, and breathed a small sigh of relief. ‘I’m not certain it couldn’t somehow do damage…’ I thought. ‘Mom said her nanites should filter hypnosis, but I have no desire to test her on that!’ I had no time to waste, though, and quickly reestablished a connection to the cameras that had been recklessly placed in the office as a security risk. “How long until she’ll be ready to transport?” Marshal Morales asked nervously. “A minute should probably do it, but just to be safe, we’ll wait fifteen minutes. Then we can take the hood off, and she’ll be as compliant as a newborn?” Emaly answered. “Would she be partially cooked sooner?” she asked. “Questionable, better not to risk it,” Shapiro told her. “Wendy, you probably should get back to the nests and have a ‘meeting’ with the nest mothers. Obviously, several had to have been complicit for that much internal footage to have gotten out.” “I’m not so sure,” Morales said. “Doctor Westerfield is incredibly talented. Everything in her file indicates she would have had no problem getting to it. You all had the cameras in there; all someone had to do was hack the server storing the footage.” “Either way, go ensure they’re going to behave!” Shapiro told Chester. “Got it, make sure you get her away from here soon, Mel. The longer you have her, the more likely someone is to come to get her back,” Chester responded. “Not likely with what’s going on at Amanda’s house,” Morales said as the door closed. “She should be finally taken care of?” Shapiro asked her. “She should be,” Morales said. “I couldn’t believe how badly she neglects all of the Littles at her house. She has no business being a mother!” My blood boiled as I heard all of this. I pulled away from the feed to try to contact Grandma. She answered to my surprise! “Grandma!” “Carly?!?” She asked. “How are you calling?” “Through my Sphere connection. Grandma, I’m in Shapiro’s office…” “We know… she’s locked down the admin building completely, though, so it’s taking us some time to override the locks.” “Chester should be walking out in a second,” I told her, “If you can catch the door while she’s going…?” “On it!” Grandma told me. “You get that, Evans?” I heard a muffled, “Yes,” and some other gibberish. “Grandma! There’s more! Something is going on at your house! ” Grandma scowled at that, “I know, we’re working on that too. I’m here for you first, though, since no one else is going to be able to help you. Just sit tight a little longer…” “Grandma, you have to also let the marshals know that Morales is involved! She’s in the room with me!” Right then, I noted the window that Evans was looking out of. Shapiro and Emaly followed. “I’ve got to go,” I told her, even as you could see she was genuinely surprised by that knowledge and wanted to ask questions! I exited the main SphereVerse then and activated the HUD. It was able to overlay a view of the mask’s exterior, so I could still see. I kept my head forward, though, as I began pulling my hands free of the restraints that had inexplicably loosened, taking advantage of the time while they were distracted to remove the harness! “LET’S GO!” THE lead man said. The man carrying Beth started down the staircase, going two at a time, but suddenly stumbled when the lights flooded on! “Shit!” he said, stumbling and dropping Beth in the process of trying to catch his momentum. He managed to stay upright, even as Beth’s body was flung down the last four steps and landed beside Fred! She groaned in pain, but her hand had landed near the energy weapon she’d concealed. With nothing to lose, she pulled it out and shot the man who had been carrying her and was rewarded by watching him crash to the ground. The leader turned and glared at her, his own weapon suddenly raised, “God damnit! This mission was a cluster, but you, little girl, are going to be getting…” Right as he was about to say something, Beth saw Tessa materialize in between them and watched her slam her fist straight into the man’s head! He went flying across the room and crashed into a cabinet along the wall! Tessa wasted no time in rounding on another of the men and attacking him too with some sort of energy pulse, and then punching another guy into the next room. She took one look at Beth and Fred and said, “We need to get you to safety!” She told her. Tessa scooped Beth up like she’d been carried by the other man, then did something to generate a gurney under Fred. “This way,” she told her while holding her like an upset toddler. A couple of quick turns led them to the pool room, and she pushed into one of the changing rooms as a back wall and a hidden metal door slid open. “In here,” she told her. “There’s a medkit there; use the scanner on Fred. I’m going to take care of making sure these monsters don’t get away!” Beth watched in shock as the hologram disappeared, then turned to Fred. She was relieved to see he was breathing, but the sound was ragged, and she noted the blood was still oozing from a head wound. She opened the kit and found the scanner. It was one of the self-treating emergency units that every high school kid back home was taught how to use. All she had to do was use the pair of scissors to rip open Fred’s shirt and place the palm-sized NanoAid device on top of his heart. On top was a green button that she pressed to activate. A projection of a display appeared above his chest, and a voice announced, “NanoAid scan beginning. Please keep clear of the patient during the scan.” Beth anxiously watched as a light rapidly shot from the top of Fred, down to his feet. She was glad he was breathing at least, but it was raspy, and she was terrified then! Adrenaline kept her from screaming right then as it said, “Scan complete. Patient is suffering from Blunt Force Trauma to the head, with multiple lacerations present in the cranial region. Thoracic Trauma detected, lung functionality at fifty-eight percent and falling. Fluid detected.” A laundry list of other damage showed rapidly before asking, “Nanite Response Programmed and Ready. Activation Required to Respond. Press the Green Button to Activate, and Stand Clear of the Patient.” Beth didn’t hesitate, pressing the green button and stepping back a couple of feet to ensure she wouldn’t be inadvertently infected by the response nanites. She watched Fred’s body convulse for a second, even as a beep went off and she knew the nanites were engaged in a race to save someone who had become family to her. She wiped her face from the tears that streamed down as she watched, and hoped that he would be alright. I WAS ABLE to pull my arms free of the restraints without any of the three women noticing. If they’d left my shoes on, I was sure they would have helped trap my feet, but like my arms, those straps had come loose too. It was tough to get the harness off, but the designer must have thought the arm restraints would protect the latch, so I was able to wriggle my way to freedom much more easily than I expected. Soon, the only thing holding me was a strap around my head that I was able to duck under. They hadn’t quite puffed up the pacifier enough to make it impossible to release the last time they pushed it into my mouth, so I was able to carefully extract it from my mouth after taking care not twist the knob in any way! I rubbed my jaw for just a second before turning to my right and seeing that all three women were looking alternately at the outside and their phones. Believing I had just a moment left, I tried to pull the hood off my head, but quickly encountered a zipper that, looking through the camera, I was sure was covered by a Little proof set of snaps. After everything, I was done playing by the rules. I’d been physically assaulted and beaten! They’d illegally attempted to wipe my brain and abilities! I was naked… And I was not going to go down without a fight anymore!!! I thought for a second about covering myself with pieces of my discarded clothes, but knew that would likely give them a minute to catch me. Instead, I hopped to the ground and debated about trying to make it out the door. Just then, though, Morales turned and stared at me. “How the hell did she get loose?!?” Morales swore. Both Emaly and Shapiro turned toward me with the same look. “Those restraints were tight! That should have been impossible!” Shapiro said. I shrugged, knowing now I was buying time for help to come, as well as I would be better off if rage put them off balance. “It’s probably just due to your incompetence,” I taunted them. “I mean, pretty terrible criminals, it seems? Everyone knows about what you’ve done, and I would imagine there will be arrests coming soon.” “Not a chance,” Emaly said. “No one will touch me!” “Maybe, but in the meantime, what are you going to do about me?” “What do you mean?” Shapiro said. “You’re so incompetent you couldn’t even wipe my brain properly? This thing is just a toy, right? Probably a sign of your maturosis?” “You little brat!” Shapiro hissed. With that, she did what I was hoping for, bending down and reaching to grab me. I’d intentionally been turned slightly so she’d be overconfident, but tumbled and used every bit of force and strength I could to smash her knee with a jump-kick. It sent her off-balance, and she fell to the ground! I had no time to waste because Morales was drawing her service weapon right then. I dove at her ankle to do my best to crunch it, before diving around from her back side and delivering a kick to the side of her knee as hard as possible! She stumbled for a moment as she swore! Morales stopped grabbing her sidearm and instead tried to reach for me! Her hand just grazed my skin as it closed, and I tumbled away! This was where their leaving me naked hurt her, though – if I’d been clothed, she probably could have caught hold of my shirt. I danced a bit more out of her reach and managed to get to her side again, and kicked her other knee as hard as I could! “FUCKING BITCH!” she swore as I heard the sickening crack I’d hoped for. She grabbed for her knee, and I had to dive out of the way from Emaly, now trying to attack me. A quick bit of footwork, and she was off balance, landing on the still-down Shapiro. “Fuck!” I heard one of them say, even as I was pretty sure she’d done as much damage with her clumsy weight falling on Shapiro as I’d done with my kick. Shapiro’s head had landed right into a desk, and I guessed she was probably at least dazed enough for me to return to Morales. The HUD and internal video helped me literally have eyes in the back of my head as I continued to deal with the much better-trained federal officer! Right when I thought I was making headway, she said, “Fuck it, you’re dead!” Morales was favoring her right foot and knee, but still used that injured leg to try to kick out at me. I moved a little too slowly and took a pretty heavy blow to my back as I tried to clear her reach. ‘FUCK that hurt!’ I thought to myself. There was no time to stop and feel pain, though, and I realized her foot was ripe for a grapple. I leapt into the air and ripped in a counterclockwise motion with all of my body, being rewarded by a scream, as well as an absolutely horrific sound as her knee dislocated! I released her and noted the absolutely inhuman way her leg now bent as she landed on the ground in a heap! I’d been so focused on her, though, that Emaly had somehow pulled a paddle from the Dean’s wall and swung it at my head and struck me hard! I tumbled to the ground a few feet away, feeling dizzy as I stood up and returned my attention to her, still holding the paddle. I felt myself sway a bit and knew I likely had a concussion from that hit! “How do you like that, you little bitch?” Emaly seethed. “You have to be the best case ever for newborn status!” “And you have to be the best case ever for a regression sentence and mind wipe!” I taunted her, even as I tried to clear my head. “It’ll never happen!” “You should ask Aubry Harris about that kind of never.” “She was nothing but a two-bit hack,” she told me. “And you’re not?” “Better organized,” she smiled in a predatory manner then. “We may have missed your mom back when she was here, but you’re going to be treated the way she should have been if that moron Mark hadn’t blown the whole damn operation!” I stared at her. “Venture?” I asked. She smiled, “I guess your mommy told you about us? I still can’t believe she managed to get away and neuter our agents in your world…” “If she were dealing with idiots of your caliber, that makes total sense to me,” I told her. I knew I couldn’t wait any longer, so I feinted that I was diving for her legs as I had been. Instead, I managed to leap onto a small coffee table we were standing beside, and then propelled myself into the air in a parkour-like move that let me launch a spinning kick straight at her head! Her leaning down to try and strike me where she thought I would be was kind of her, and I was able to fully connect with her temple! She crumpled to the floor right then with a crack, and I suspected my kick probably fractured her skull. I was just about to mentally declare victory when I realized Morales had pulled a backup service weapon from her holster, and she was aiming it shakily straight at me. “God damnit! Where the hell did they create you?!?” “Huh?” “You can’t possibly be a normal Little! What did your grandma do to you?” “Nothing,” I told her, as I tried to weigh my options. There was a couch sort of between us that I might have a chance to duck under. I was currently just in front of the table I’d used to leap up at Emaly. Meanwhile, Shapiro seemed to still be crumpled up and unconscious from the way she’d hit her head after Emaly landed on her. The only real threat was Morales, at least then. ‘Keep her talking,’ I thought to myself. “What are you going to do?” “Good question. I think the first thing is to get out of here after I deal with you.” “That’s not going to help you,” I told her. “What do you mean?” “I’ve been sending a live feed out this whole time,” I told her. “Bullshit! You don’t have contacts or a way to connect!” “I do have nanites, and you all put me in this handy-dandy computer mask,” I told her. “Fuck!” she shook her head. “They should have just gotten you out of here! That explains why I saw people in front.” She waved the gun at me, “So you’re saying I’m going to get busted?” “Seems likely? Every bit of this has been recorded, and I can’t imagine you talking your way out of it.” “Well, what’s to stop me then from…” Right then, there was a pounding on the door, “National Agents!!!” In the span of a single heartbeat, three things happened. One - the door crashed open under the battering ram’s weight. Two - I saw an expression of absolute rage on Morales’s face that sent chills down my spine. Three - The corrupt Marshal pulled the trigger! Firing her weapon that was still pointed straight at me! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading!!! Please press the Like Button and Leave a comment! I can make you all wait until Friday on this cliffhanger... or, because you were so kind to give me a million reads, I'm open to a little bribery. 45 likes by tomorrow night and I'll post the next chapter Tuesday morning? 🤷‍♀️ I really appreciate all of the comments, I know many of you expected this to lead to one of my action sequences, I do hope you weren't disappointed by what you got. Please let me know what you think is going to happen to everyone! The first volume of this series is available now on Amazon Kindle!!! It's priced at $6.95 and includes chapters 1-73 plus a bit of a tag of an epilogue that wasn't in the original postings. I'm about 70% of the way through the AI audiobook version editing too, which will be available for $10.95 on its own, or as a $1.99 add-on to the Kindle version. (Hopefully I'll finish going through that Sunday... the script for the first film is a massive pain to get to sound correct and is taking about 10x more time than I expected!) Anyway, the Kindle Book link is here! https://www.amazon.com/Lights-Camera-What-Sofia-Hammerstein-ebook/dp/B0GDRDWS5P It'll probably be 4 or 5 books in total for Carly and Beth's story, I haven't got that set in stone yet! Thanks to those of you who have already purchased, please do give it a 5-star review when you finish. (It doesn't show up who did that fyi as long as you don't actually leave a review - and you can change names on those in your settings) I appreciate the person who did so already! 💜

That was abrupt - but makes total sense that he was protecting them. She was about to blab! Curious to see what she's missed there! The mine shafts are interesting. I wondered if the the elevators weren't moving horizontally in some fashion! A lot of info in this chapter! Looking forward to more, and hope to see some willing play at some point here too 🙂

Thanks! 🙂 <sigh> I really do hope everyone is being careful around you. Loose lips sink ships and all that... 💜 Appreciate the comments! (Even as I view you as a dangerous Big sympathizer... 🤣) Guilend... we know you want them spanked and diapered... I mean... is there a character in my stories who you don't want that from? 🤷‍♀️ 🤣

Good way to keep her from being a security risk! That being said, trying to get her to keep in the role after everything immediately is a lot to ask... I have a feeling we'll see a few interesting chapters here! 🙂

Sofia was in process of about to say that! Beef stew baby food is decent… She would eat ALL of those over bananas any day of week! Your restraint is noted!

Feel free to on discord if you ever need to. No worries though! 🙂

I'm pretty sensitive with that ingredient and noticing it/associated liqueurs. Generally most rum I've had has been extra aged, spiced, coconut flavored, ...some chocolate...? Or crazy high proof stuff mixed in things. Haven't had a rum runner before I don't think... I didn't grow up drinking at all though, and in the last couple of years have rarely had them because it causes other health issues. (Not to mention I always found it hurt my creativity for writing when I drank more frequently.) 💜 Thanks! 🤣 I look forward to reading that too! Thanks! 🙂

🤮 I couldn't get drunk enough to think that sounds good... <sniffs> This is acceptable. <chomps down> Thanks for the comments! 🙂 (I think... 🤣)

😈 Thanks for the comments! 🙂 Thank you! 🙂 🤣 You know what they say about broken clocks and all that, right? 😉 Thanks for the comments Guilend! 🙂 Lol, I almost considered giving you enough bonuses to speed it up to here just to give you that! 😈 But... not enough in the can to do that and not make you take a big break. (As it is we're closing in faster than I would like! Hopefully next week will begin the pushing back of that by writing a lot more) Thanks, and thanks for the comments! 🙂 Thanks for the comments! 🙂 🤣 I think they had done a reasonable job of hiding things, but not a perfect job. This is part of a sign that they're not infallible in their attempts to hide this. 😈 Thanks! 🙂

Kat, I've told you! It's a nanite cluster system! It's not rocket science! 🙄 😛

Chapter 198: Breached I COULDN’T BELIEVE that she just touched my eyeball with her bare hand, even as I reflexively tried to close my eyelid!!!! The feeling of her finger directly on my eyelid felt scratchy, and I knew it had the potential to cause an infection! “Please stop!” I told her. “I don’t have anything in my eyes! You’re going to hurt my eyes.” I could feel the tears streaming from my right eye as she pulled back her hand! I blinked rapidly, but had no time to even think about relief before she forced open my left eye and did the same!!!!! I yelped! The bitch of a board chair laughed then! “Well, okay, maybe I am overthinking Amanda Westerfield’s prowess here.” Right then, I heard a drip. Another drip. And realized it was coming from below me. Without a diaper on, I was unable to stop the pee that had flowed from me and onto the chair. “That’s a set of demerits there at least?” Emaly told Shapiro. “Obviously! She took her diaper off and chose to piddle on my carpet like a naughty baby!” I just glared at them, even as I triple-checked through the augmented reality system that a recording was still being made. “I haven’t done anything! And you all are the reason I can’t control my bladder anymore!” “Oh, you silly whittle baby!” Emaly sneered, “Can’t you tell fiction from reality?” She came over again and said, “I think she needs a reminder about not peeing on university property before we send her to Twinkle Tots.” Without warning, she suddenly activated the chair’s function to make me expose my butt to her again! I was already sore from the beating with the diaper on, and winced just from the motion of turning me over. I jolted as her hand rubbed my bottom for a moment, moving from one cheek to the other. It made me not only wince from the soreness, but also from the contact that no one should have without my consent. “At least you are smooth as a baby down here. Those nanites that went awry on you seem to have done a good job with your skin, too! It’s not quite what you’ll have after Twinkle’s vat gets done with you, but I think most mommies would already be happy. Unfortunately, I don’t think your skin is quite the right color yet.” Without any warning, the hand pulled away, and I felt the painful impact of the hairbrush!!! SMACK!!! SMACK!!! SMACK!!! SMACK!!! I considered myself to have a high pain tolerance after years of martial arts injuries, but something about the hopeless situation, the exposed skin, and the repeated beating that would let up for a second, before going again, broke my ability to control my emotions. I felt the tears stream down my face, even as I heard a horrible gut-wrenching scream that I had trouble processing was my own! I closed my eyes, hoping that it would all just end already!!!!! BETH COULDN’T HELP but continue crying. Shelby hugged her tightly. A tone sounded in the house, and Shelby sat up in alarm. “Grandpa?” She said. “Upstairs!” He told her tersely! Without any explanation, Shelby bounded up the stairs like a cat and was gone. “What’s going on?” Beth asked Fred. “That’s an alarm Amanda set up for any suspicious vehicles approaching the roads toward our house,” he told her. Right then, Beth watched Tessa materialize in front of them. “Fred, there appear to be four Little Protection Service agent vehicles on the way to the house.” “Why?” He asked. “I will investigate, but I don’t know. It could be related to everything else?” “Of course, Mandy isn’t home! Bella, Shelby, and Ryan are in their rooms, correct?” “Yes, and all are now asleep,” she added. “Keep an eye out if we need to activate intruder protocols,” he told her. “Under no circumstances are they to be allowed to take the kids.” “Of course,” she said. “What’s going on?” Beth asked Fred again. “Sounds like someone is using LPS to grind an axe here. Marshal Greaves and Nikki are in the kitchen. Beth, would you please go get them and then go upstairs yourself? You don’t have to go to sleep or anything, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to be…” he started to say. “Doctor?” Greaves suddenly came in! “Yes?” “There are several large vehicles attempting to approach the house. We only have one other agent besides myself and Miss Paulson.” “You might call for some backup,” Fred told him. “Beth, go grab Nikki and get upstairs!” Beth stared for a moment, but did as she was told. “Nikki, Fred said you should go upstairs with me?” She noticed her bodyguard was as tense as she’d seen her and was looking down at her phone. It took her a moment to respond to Beth, “Probably smart…” she told her. As a chime sounded at the gate, Nikki pushed Beth onward toward the staircase even faster. “We need to move,” she hissed at her. As soon as they reached the top of the staircase, she watched Nikki press a hidden button on the side of the rail, before she pushed her down the hallway to her room. As soon as they entered, she closed the door behind them and turned the door lock that probably wouldn’t do much to stop someone. Then, though, Nikki put four small buttons on the corners of the door frame and activated a field. “A force field?” Beth asked nervously. “Just in case…” Nikki told her. “What about Shelby, Ryan, and Bella?” “They should be okay - I know Amanda and Fred have a plan in place,” Nikki told her. “But you are my top priority right now.” Beth walked to the window that overlooked the entry drive and saw four unmarked vehicles in a line right behind the entrance gate. LPS would definitely have jurisdiction to conduct a wellness check on Littles if there was a complaint. The concept of sending four vehicles led Beth to believe it would be much more than that. Suddenly, she watched the lead car jolt forward and try to crash into the entry gate!!! The gate held, but the car suddenly disgorged several people, followed by the other vehicles. She watched in shock as they began attempting to climb over the wall! “Nikki!” she said to her, “Look!” Nikki had been looking at her phone then and said, “Fuck!” Beth couldn’t help but feel the blood drain from her face as she watched one of the people make it over the wall. Then another. And another! “Beth, hit your panic button for the marshals!” Nikki ordered. Beth floundered around for the small bracelet she’d been quietly given and pressed on, then twisted a little fake jewel on one of the charms. There was no indication whether anything worked, but she had been told there would be a response, even though nothing would be obvious. Another man jumped the fence and began running up the driveway. Her stomach twisted as she noticed they were wearing the same blurred-face gear from the islands! Moments later, a loud alarm began sounding in the house, even as she watched the window suddenly darken as a physical shutter closed in front of it! I WAS ROUGHLY sat back up, still naked, and barely conscious as I tried to tune out the pain shooting through my nerves. My butt had just been put through something out of a horror plot. This was no simple spanking – this was closer to one of those canings that I’d heard about in some countries back home. Each smack with the hairbrush landed with a mix of pain and a sickening sound! I was pretty sure that I could feel dripping from my bottom that wasn’t urine or poop – it had to be my blood. I caught a glimpse of the brush in her hands and confirmed it was bloody and looked like a murder weapon! I winced in pain, but did my best to not sob out loud any more than I already had. “Okay, baby girl, let’s try this again!” Emaly said to me. “Your mom got away from us, but you’re definitely not getting out from here. The only thing you’re going to decide is if you might keep a few teeth and be mobile on your hands and knees. How did you all do this? And what else have you done?” “I don’t know!” I cried to her. “Bullshit!” She told me, smacking me across the face! “Is it possible she didn’t do it?” Chester said. “Maybe it’s all her grandmother?” “Faulkner said there were too many odd things in the code of stuff going on. It has to be a student!” “It wasn’t me,” I told her. “Melanie, do you still have that WombView unit I sent you?” Emaly asked her. “I shouldn’t after that Grace fiasco… but yes?” “It’s here?” she asked in follow-up. I wearily watched as Shapiro dug through a cabinet and produced a pink bit of fabric that she shook out, and I felt my stomach clench as I realized this couldn’t be good for me. Between her comment and the video I had seen, I was certain I recognized it from what happened to Grace. “What is that?” I asked, hoping she’d enjoy stalling. Emaly took it from her, “This is some of the latest tech from back home in Calisota! It was designed for whittle baby girls just like you! Once we place this on your head and adjust some settings, you’ll receive the conditioning that will make you the perfect baby girl for your new mommy or daddy! Between this and a few weeks’ stay at Twinkle Tots, not even your granny is going to be able to help you pretend to be a big girl again! Don’t worry, I’m going to make sure we take lots of precious photos of you with no teeth and chewing on your rattles and teething toys to send her!” “Wait!” I said. “Why? Are you going to confess?” Emaly asked. “I can’t confess to what you want me to? I didn’t have anything to do with those things?” “Then why is it that you’re the only Little who is taking the classes and could create these things?” Chester asked me. “What makes you think it’s Littles doing this?” I asked her. “Huh?” Emaly sputtered. “Did you not see the protestors? There were hardly any Littles out there! Everyone out there was a Big or a Mid! Not to mention, Bigs and Mids with time on their hands! When would we as Littles have time to put something like that together?” “You go home with your grandmother. I’m sure she doesn’t enforce bedtimes there?” “She does,” I told her. ‘Just not yours…’ Shapiro snorted, “Bullshit!” She shook her head, “We’ve had reports for the past couple of weeks that you are staying up past curfew.” I looked up at her, “Who’s been lying to you about that?” Just then, another knock came at the door, and I learned the answer to my question, even as I felt my hopes fade even further of making it out of there as a student! BETH WAS SHAKING as after the clang, there began a pounding on the front door! “Nikki, what’s going on? Those aren’t LPS agents, right?” Beth quietly asked. “Zero chance they’re legit LPS. I’m sure they’re someone else,” she told Beth. “Probably the same group as on the island.” “What are we going to do?” She whimpered. “We’re going to sit tight and hope that the backup call made it through. I don’t think most people can even break through the front door of this house, let alone upstairs.” “What about Fred?” Beth suddenly worried. “I’m sure he’s found a safe place to be now, too,” Nikki reassured her. “Now, I want you to go into your bathroom and clean up, then get down into the tub.” “Clean up?” Beth asked. Nikki’s eyes moved down, and Beth felt even worse! She’d needed to go to the bathroom when she’d gotten home. Then this happened. And apparently so did a fear reflex. Fortunately, she’d been wearing a Pull-Up. Unfortunately, it was now sagging and appeared to have leaked onto her pants, based on the half-moons on her pants. “What if they are LPS and they find this?” Beth shivered. “Put them in the trash can in the bathroom; it’ll disintegrate them for you. Put on a fresh pair of panties and some pants you can move in.” Nikki pushed her to move, even as she heard banging outside on the front door. She’d just managed to finish cleaning herself up when Tessa appeared. “Beth, Nikki, I believe the men will be making it inside the house in two minutes or less. The force shields on the doors should hold, but they seem to have some experimental disrupters with them that might be able to get through them.” “What do we do?” Nikki asked. “I assume Amanda has a plan?” “All of the main bedrooms have safe rooms. I’ve got Shelby, Bella, and Ryan safely locked away in theirs. You don’t have one in this room, unfortunately.” “Can we make it to one?” Nikki asked her. Right then, there was a shudder, and the power to the house failed suddenly! Along with it, Tessa faded out. “Damnit!” Nikki swore. Beth watched her reach into the bag she always carried, push her into the bathroom, and activate another shield around the bathroom door after closing it. She also grabbed something else, “Beth, take this.” Beth nervously held the energy weapon in her hands. “Have you ever fired one of these?” Nikki asked her. Beth nodded nervously - one of her family’s bodyguards had taught her a few lessons on how to fire one when she was younger. “If anyone comes through that door, we shoot until they stop.” Just then, she could hear heavy footsteps coming up the stairs as they took cover in the tub, the best that they could. A weird crackling sound occurred, followed by a high-energy whine, and a loud POP! Beth heard more footsteps and banging on doors as the men began pushing their way down the hallway. A smash came from one of the doors near instantaneously, and Beth hoped she was correct that it was Carly’s empty room. A moment later, she heard more pounding, then the crackling sound repeated. After another pop, she heard someone swear. “Locked safe room!” “Keep going! The target should be down the hall anyway!” Beth felt her heart stop then. Target? Who… Her? ‘It can’t be a coincidence that the marshals were pulled tonight!’ she worried. It sounded legitimate that they were being pulled over to the university to help there… ‘Trapped animals get more dangerous,’ Beth thought, thinking of how she’d almost hoped that maybe the day would end with a victory. She’d tuned out from the world for several moments, and it was jolting to realize she was hearing that same pounding on the other side of her door now! After a smash, she heard another swear. The forcefield must have managed to foil them for a second, because even after the crackling sound she’d heard several times, they didn’t seem to have come inside the room from what she could tell. Suddenly, there was another pop and a swear! “It burned up!” “We’re running out of time!” “How long?” “Five minutes to exfiltrate,” the voice said at a low volume. Beth was surprised by how loud they were actually talking, though. ‘Maybe the pop I heard messed with their hearing?’ There was more bashing at the door to the bathroom, and cracks started to appear in the door on the other side of the shield! “Get ready to fire,” Nikki told her, pointing her own weapon at the door. Suddenly, a piece of the door pulled away from the field, and Beth could see one of those figures with the HoloMasks staring straight at her through the field! “Targets!” The man said, glancing around the door frame with just his head. Beth aimed at the head and wasted no time pulling the trigger at the only part of the attacker she could see! I FELT MY rage boil over as I realized that one of the Marshals who had been protecting us at Grandma’s during the night was in cahoots with this group. “Well, hello there, baby girl,” she cooed at me. “Jenna?!?” I hissed. “You’re in with these guys?” She laughed, “Of course, they pay a lot more than the Marshals do! Enough from this job that I can look at moving to a cozy little island like you were just on.” “You know you’ll get busted, right?” I told her. I could still feel the pain in my rear then, and as dire as the situation had been before, I knew it was worse now. She laughed, “By who? Your Grandma and Grandpa? They’re being taken care of right now, along with your cousins. Beth makes an adorable potty training dunce, so we’ll just help her find her place like that. I’m sure Emaly won’t have any trouble helping find her a new home? That is, if she makes it out alive.” Until that point, everything had been about me – and my fate. So I had held back on a few resources. That was over! I activated my HUD and overlayed everything in the office. The high chair was my first problem, as those straps were so tight. Wait… they were so tight. Not so much just then! I didn’t have time to think much about it, though, as Emaly started speaking again. “Everything is on schedule then, Jen?” “Like clockwork, they just entered the house. This whole fiasco is horrible for you all, but it was fortuitous that it happened the week we were waiting around hoping for a hole to open up.” “Good! Maybe we can salvage this situation,” Emaly told her. “Melanie, it sounds like we’ve got a Little here who has earned her demerits?” “Indeed! Staying up all night is enough, even without the dating that’s not allowed, add in the risky behavior on spring break? Plus, all of the insurgent behavior she’s obviously involved with? Baby Carly, you’re no longer a university student here at Emerson; instead, you’ll be a daycare resident at Twinkle Tots. Emaly, if you want to go ahead and start her education?” Without warning, the tall woman reached for the hood. She forced it down over my hair and eyes, leaving me with nothing but my mouth uncovered and my nose barely peeking out through another hole. Just as I took a breath through my mouth, something was pushed inside. I guessed a pacifier, as it inflated most of what had been done to me before! I noticed I couldn’t hear anything, and it was pitch-black. ‘Shit!’ I swore internally, and began doing everything I could to activate the Sphere connection. Something about the hood, though, seemed to be blocking the signal! I knew my arms could come free, but I also knew that they had to be watching me right then. The pitch-blackness, combined with the room's isolation, was disorienting as I sat there considering my options. In an instant, though, my view and environment all changed! Suddenly, in front of me was suddenly a vibrant sea of color! As it began swirling into patterns, music began playing through the hood, and I swore I could just hear a soft voice beginning to speak! I tried to shut my eyes, but the hood was prepared for that, and I felt tendrils attach to my eyelids, stick to them, and then force them to stay open! That meant I couldn’t help but gaze at the colors in front of me as cartoon characters began hopping toward me. I felt my stomach twist and turn as I plunged into a world that seemed as lifelike as the SphereVerse was! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for reading!!! Please leave a comment and press that Like Button!!!! Well... Is this where you thought things were going...? Where I never dreamed of this going was crossing a million views! I went to bed thinking this chapter would be required to get there, but instead it's already there!!!!!!!!!! I hope this has been a worthy chapter to do that with! Please let me know what you think! Sunday you'll get the bonus either way for that read count! Likes would be nice though still!!!! 🙃 I mean... A million views should equal a whole bunch of likes... right...? 🥺 Please? Pretty please with cherries on top! (Just no bananas, you know how Sofia and Carly feel about those!) Once again though, thank you all so very much for continuing to comment, like, and such!!! This is my 'fun' outlet, and it's nice to not write to an empty void! Last week I did get the first volume of this series posted on Amazon Kindle!!! It's priced at $6.95 and includes chapters 1-73 plus a bit of a tag of an epilogue that wasn't in the original postings. I'm about 70% of the way through the AI audiobook version editing too, which will be available for $10.95 on its own, or as a $1.99 add-on to the Kindle version. (Hopefully I'll finish going through that Sunday... the script for the first film is a massive pain to get to sound correct and is taking about 10x more time than I expected!) Anyway, the Kindle Book link is here! https://www.amazon.com/Lights-Camera-What-Sofia-Hammerstein-ebook/dp/B0GDRDWS5P It'll probably be 4 or 5 books in total for Carly and Beth's story, I haven't got that set in stone yet! Thanks to those of you who have already purchased, please do give it a 5-star review when you finish. (It doesn't show up who did that fyi as long as you don't actually leave a review - and you can change names on those in your settings) Sofia is sad about the innocent replies, but believe Fenny must have had a part in the views, so she bids the magnificent Fenny a big thank you! 💜 Thank you!!!!! 💜 (We were both off on our guess here!)

Lol, glad to see you all so excited! I'll post in the morning before I head off to work! Lol, assuming you all roll it over to the million count over the weekend you'll get your bonus chapter Sunday. (I don't think you'll hit it before I do post it, but I will say I think it's a worthy post at the million view mark! 😈 )

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