Without Merit: What Happened at the Lake House? (2/4) 6/10/22

[kerry]

This has gone in completely unexpected directions, but that just makes it more interesting. ?

[D503]

Nice, perhaps the desire goes both ways. The new character is very interesting, so too the possible dangers.

[direking]

19
 
"You were so bad today, Adam. So, so naughty. Why should I even play with you after you pushed me away?"
 
Charity made a sound argument, but Adam so desperately wanted to play. There had to be something he could do or say to get back on her good side. You know, the side that gets blowjobs.
 
"Now, you want to act like a good boy, that's so sweet." Charity pinched both his cheeks with fingers that felt like pliers. "I knew you'd eventually come to your senses, you boys always do. Your body told the truth every time we touched. It was your mouth that lied when it told me to 'stop' or 'to get off', or 'that you don't want me anymore'.”
 
“Luckily, I knew better.” Her thumb traced his lips, it was powerful and seductive. “Adam, we need to do something about that naughty, lying mouth."
 
His initial reaction was to apologize for his mouth.
 
"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset—"
 
Charity tapped his lip with a finger to quiet him, its effect immediate.
 
"I keep hearing 'sorry' like your naughty mouth wants to tell the truth, it doesn't. Your mouth wants to smooth things over so your dick can get my attention, I can see it peeking out of your diaper. You think you can talk your way back into my good graces. Think again, kiddo."
 
That’s when the kick came. Adam watched her slowly lift her foot from the floor and firmly pushed it into his chest. A slow, powerful kick that sent him flying back onto the mattress, and his world went sideways as he bounced softly atop the sheets. She never moved and just waited for him to sit back up to fully appreciate her presence.
 
Adam rose again, and halfway expected another foot to the sternum as he did, but a second kick didn’t follow. If he only knew what she wanted from him, he'd be more than happy to give it. That was now the game they were playing.
 
"What do you want me to do?" Adam asked without caring how desperate he sounded.
 
"Hold your horses, I'm still thinking." Charity rubbed her chin and looked him over from head to toe, her eyes lingering on the diaper in the middle for a little too long. "You know I'm not mad at you, Adam. You're far too cute to hold a grudge against, it's your mouth that needs to apologize."
 
"I've already told you that I'm sorry."
 
"There are other ways for your mouth to say 'sorry'. Actions speak louder than words, do you know how to say sorry without saying a single word?"
 
Adam wondered whether or not to admit that he didn’t. He just waited for her to tell him, this was all new, exciting, and he felt terrifyingly underprepared for this moment. His heart thundered in his ears, his skin slick with sweat, and he was throbbing in his diaper. Nothing in his mom’s improv sex ed class discussed what he should do while being dominated by a cheerleader. At best guess, he should do what he was told, so he awaited instruction like a disciplined puppy.
 
He loved being caught in her web, just as much as she loved having his rapt attention. Charity took her precious time, tapping a finger to her chin as she considered her next move. There was a hint of magic in the air, a twisted mixture of nervous energy and arousal, Adam began to shake. He held onto the sheets on the bed, it was his only anchor, his only way to keep from melting into the floor.
 
Charity ordered, “Adam, stand up and pull open the front of your diaper.”
 
He slowly rose from the bed, his knees wobbled as he stood, and his fists tightly clenched at his sides, anything to quiet the nerves. Adam would have to acknowledge the diaper, it wasn’t exactly easy to ignore, but he wasn’t excited about touching it with his hands. It felt too dirty, too naughty, but that’s what Charity wanted. The seductive cheerleader wanted him to feel low and debased, to have him scrimping in front of her watchful eyes.
 
The diaper itself felt suddenly thick and unyielding, noticeably spreading his inner thighs apart. Adam didn’t understand how it fit him just like the pull-up, but he was thankful for the little bit of extra room in the crotch. He reached at the diaper with trembling fingers, the slightest touch along the front elicited a loud crinkle, but he didn’t dare look down at it. His eyes looked up and away, as if the corner of the room was the most interesting thing in the world and couldn’t be missed. He hooked his fingers into the waistband, then slowly pulled it away from his body.
 
“Um. Like this?” Adam asked as he pulled open the diaper as far as he could take it. The cool, fresh air on his hard on made him shiver.
 
“Yes, just like that. You’re such a sweet boy. I would say ‘little’ boy. However, I can see that you’re anything but little right now.” She ran a finger up his length, and Adam felt so proud of himself. Hard dick in a soft diaper.
 
“You’re so happy like this, so assured and sweet, I think it suits you,” Charity whispered as she pulled close to him. “Admit that you’re a baby, and you’ll love what happens next.”
 
Was this her way of breaking him?
 
The threat sounded so ominous at the time, but he never expected it to seem so good, to be so anticipated and to feel so natural to break. Adam wanted to draw an uncrossable line in the sand, a mental barrier to stop him from admitting that he was a baby. It was easy enough to say to Katie and Marisa. He argued and fought for the right to say that he wasn’t one.
 
However, now he was in a diaper, begging for release, and the desire to fight was overpowered by the stronger desire to comply.
 
So he said it. “I’m a baby.”
 
It felt odd to say. The words turned his face red, and he could feel the heat radiate the air around his skin. Inside of him cascading emotions tumbled out without care or reason. The weight of guilt, the heat from shame, and the need of desire culminating into a pool in his chest. The collected waters were numbing and relaxing, a carefree feeling blossomed from that spot. He should have felt more embarrassed from the confession, but he didn’t, they were just words, like his diaper was just a diaper.
 
“That’s right, you’re the cutest baby I know, Adam.” Charity pinched his cheeks again which made him blush even more. “But you’re missing something, I can’t quite put my finger on it. Maybe you can help me out.”
 
“Wha — what do you need?” Adam stuttered.
 
“You’re so eager to please, I love it,” Charity giggled. “I can tell that you’re a baby because you’re dressed like one, but I’m still not convinced. Maybe because you’re not acting like one. Tell me, what do babies do in their diapers?”
 
“— they, usually. Um. They use them.”
 
“You’re going to have to do better than that if you want your prize, baby. Now tell me, what do babies do in their diapers?”
 
He swallowed.
 
“They, they mess them.”
 
“That’s right.”
 
She wrapped her hand around his erection as a reward for a good answer. Adam moaned. He needed more.
 
“Yes, that’s what they do, they mess their diapers. You know what you’re going to do for me, Adam? You’re going to make a mess in your diaper. No, I’m not talking about a stinky one, I’m not wiping down a poopy bottom tonight. You’re going to make a nice sticky mess in the front of your diaper. Do you think you can do that for me?”
 
He nodded. That all sounded like sweet release to him.
 
“Are you going to be a good boy and make a cummy diaper for me?”
 
He nodded again. Yes, he wanted it. Yes, he needed it. Charity could ask a hundred times and his answer would always be yes, yes and yes.
 
The bottle of baby oil appeared in her hands, he watched her squirt warm lubricant into his diaper. Adam struggled to stay on his feet as she rubbed his plastic crotch until the inside was fully coated, slick and wet. The sensation of oil on penis was too much for him to handle. He moaned loudly.
 
“Yeah. I’m sure you love that. I’m going to help you finish, but you’re going to have to do something nice for me first. Adam, get on your knees."
 
The paper house collapsed once again; without hesitation, he fell to the floor in front of her. She looked him over for a moment before grabbing an oversized sparkly-looking unicorn plushie from the pile amassed next to the bed. It was white with a rainbow colored mane, had a pair of black beady eyes and was close to the size of a large pillow. It looked like something you'd win from a carnival or get from a valentine with money to burn. She flopped it down to the floor in front of him. Adam didn't understand what she wanted him to do with the oversized unicorn plush, he just stared at it expecting it to come alive or something.
 
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Charity ordered with a husky voice. "Get on top and ride."
 
She was turned on, her heavy breathing gave it away. But so was he, and there wasn't going to be any stopping this time.
 
He straddled the unicorn, his weight pressing it flat to the floor.
 
There was just enough give to a pleasurable resistance against his diaper that pressed against something else in his diaper. Something hard and needing.
 
Ride. That's all she wanted him to do, so he did. Adam tentatively rocked his hips against the plushie, easing himself into it before moving faster. It felt natural to thrust into warm, wet pleasure, and a jolt of electricity shot through him every time he hit the stuffed animal just right. So he slid up and back down again, trying once again to feel the same pleasure over and over.
 
Charity just watched at first.
 
He started slow, then he moved faster, up and down, sliding his diaper back and forth in front of her. She caressed his cheek, and he looked up into her eyes. Charity didn't have glowing red eyes, but that didn't matter anymore. Adam needed pleasure from the friction and nothing else. He was moving faster now, panting from exertion and pleasure. The sweat started trickling down his face as he rode.
 
Charity eased closer and closer to him. Her skirt that barely covered her panties was now right in his face, his nose hitting the brightly colored pleats after every thrust. She had the hungry look about her again.
 
"Now you can show me how a mouth says sorry without a single word."
 
The barely-panty-covering skirt rose in front of his very eyes, and Adam saw she actually wasn't wearing any panties. He looked at her shaved nakedness for a moment before she slammed his face into it. He brought his lips to hers, pressed into a tight forceful kiss. That was too rough, Charity pulled slightly away, but when she eased back into his face, Adam understood the message.
 
"Be gentle and use your tongue," Charity corrected.
 
He followed her lead, his tongue sliding up and down to the sounds of her moans, and helped by her gyrations as she sought the same relief he did from the poor unicorn between his thighs. He rode with crinkly fury, each dip a delight. All of his senses were aflame, the touch and feel, the smell and taste all culminated into a sweaty ball of pleasure. Time didn't mean anything at all. There was nothing else besides his mouth against her, and his diaper against him. A race between the two, who would cum first? 
 
"Right there, don't you fucking stop," Charity growled and pressed harder against the back of his head. "Keep licking, keep licking. Right there, right there, I'm almost done."
 
Then her whole body tightened up at once, and her words no longer made any sense as she thrust into his tongue, his face now slick and wet. He stopped his riding as she came, the hurricane that was the last few minutes quieted and stilled as she pulled his head from beneath the skirt. She looked hungry enough for seconds.
 
"Now, it's your turn."
 
She flipped him onto his back, and before he could react, her hand cupped the diaper around him. Charity cradled him with her palm, her face over his, her hair hung over his face. Then she began to rub her hand up and down over the crotch of his diaper. It made a rustling sound like a pair of wrestling plastic shopping bags, besides his panting and moaning, it was the only noise in the room.
 
Adam thought about nothing and everything, the sensations were coming from everywhere, the room spun around, and Charity was in control of the universe.
 
She made him raise his feet from the bed, bend his knees, a similar position he held when she slid the diaper beneath him. It was painfully open and embarrassing, like he was on the receiving end in a missionary position, on his back with his legs spread. Charity clutched his diaper around him, rapidly pressing and rubbing it against him as he thrusted against her hand.
 
“Stick your thumb in your mouth.”
 
Her hand cruelly slowed, painfully gripping and pulling instead of rubbing and playing. Charity meant business, he couldn’t let her stop, not when he was so close. He had to do as commanded. His thumb shook as Adam brought it to his mouth.
 
“You’re so freaking cute, Adam. Suck on that thumb like the sweet baby that you are.”
 
Adam continued to do what he was told, his lips pursed around his thumb, mouth pulsing back and forth as Charity went back to pleasuring him. She increased the speed of her hand and the intensity of her encouragement.
 
"Show me how you just love cumming into your diaper. I want you to make the biggest mess before I change you. Do it, do it, now."
 
His tired eyes rolled back, his legs began to shake, and he grunted around his thumb, but kept it in his mouth as the feeling escalated until he could no longer contain himself.
 
Charity goaded him with a raspy voice, her intentions clearer than ever.
 
“Mess your diaper, Adam.”
 
And he did.
 
The explosions that went off in his head were blinding, there were fireworks everywhere, of all kinds of colors and sizes. The dark skyline of being was alight with their glow, the feeling of being free and weightless all at once. His body tightened, he let out a few more uncontrollable thrusts, and filled his diaper with a warm sticky mess. All worries, anxieties, needs and wants were banished to the black hole where he always wanted to hide away. There was no other feeling like bliss, and Adam collapsed into her arms, unable to stand another second of the brightness and pleasure.
 
Charity prepared a fresh diaper with a gleeful smile on her face.
 
"Wow! You did a number on this one. You're going to have to sit tight while I change you into another diaper."
 
“Yes, I’d like that,” he answered.
 
Adam sighed and slipped away, folded deep within the warm hug of contentment without care.

[D503]

*phew* ? I nearly thought she was going to pee in his nappy. Well, I guess anything could happen next. 

 

 

[direking]

First off, I’d like thank everyone for reading, leaving comments and likes. It feels good when I see comments, ideas or opinions about what I wrote. Thanks for that.

It’s kind of surreal revealing work for the first time, my weird little story hanging out with ones from much more experienced authors that I respect. I hope to complete Without Merit in 2-3 weeks. It’s 95% completed, but the last 5% takes its toll in willpower.

I’m in a hurry to finish because I’m ready to write something else. Based on the feedback, I’m aiming at a realistic blackmail story, something with more believable characters with a little darker tone. I’m in the planning phase right now.

I recognize that the sci-fi elements of this story are not everyone’s cup of tea. The sudden jolt from ‘normal’ to ‘out there’ was purposeful. However, I didn’t mean to ‘bait and switch’ on anyone. This was always a story about  a secret laboratory, an invisible fog, and a Cube. After re-reading the earlier chapters, I can sympathize with those wanting the more traditional sleepover scenario. Especially when it was set up the way it was.
 

Also, don’t worry if you’re confused with what’s going on, because so is Adam. The first half the story he’s trying to understand the opposite sex, how to interact with them, and to stand up for himself. The second half he’s trying to understand something else. Something much more difficult to stand against. All is fair game on his quest towards normalcy, especially when nothing is normal about his situation.

We are hitting the final ten chapters of Without Merit. They’re much longer chapters so there’s still a lot ahead. Buckle your car seat, because it’s going to be a freaky ride to the finish.

20
 
The early morning smelled cold. The springtime sun was late to work, maybe it decided to sleep in a bit longer, forcing the world to sit in the quiet embrace of winter chill.
 
However, that wasn’t what was on Adam’s mind at the moment. He awoke from a few hours of dreamless sleep with two needs: the need to find out what really happened last night, and well, he needed to go number 2. Each need equally pressing, and equally concerning, as he crawled out of bed.
 
Charity had been kind enough to change him into a clean diaper after their liaison. The second change similar to the first in all fashions, especially the fact that he didn’t want to remember any of it. He was still ‘in the glow’ of a toe-curling release when she wiped down the grown-up mess he had made. She did all of the work. She lifted his legs, wiped him down, and padded him up.
 
Although, it could've been summed up as ‘bad decision making’, he slightly regretted the tryst. A brief moment of weakness, and he assured himself that he would do better if she came his way again.
 
In his defense, the cheerleader was hot to trot and he was only a teenager, but he didn’t even bend before he broke. Once again he went to his knees for her, this time to please her; wasn’t it supposed to be the other way around? She was supposed to use her mouth on him. Too late now, he guessed.
 
He tip-toed across the living room, his eyes took little time to adjust to the darkness. The two couches were easy to spot, they were practically the only furniture in the center of the room. All around them were the remnants of last night’s soirée, bottles and cups were the tell tale signs, no one bothered to clean up after truth or dare, which fitted his purpose nicely.
 
Adam was somewhat of a diaper detective. What some would call trash, he would call forensic evidence. There had to be proof of what happened the night before, the key parts where his consciousness took a vacation.
 
If there was a chance to find the truth, it would be from here, the girls couldn’t be fully trusted. He hoped he’d find out that Charity was lying to him, especially the part where she said that he peed himself in front of everyone. Yikes. That didn’t sound like him at all, but here he was creeping through the dark in a diaper, which wasn’t like himself either.
 
The offending sippy cup lay on its side on a couch cushion. Adam picked it up and shook it around expecting to hear sloshing sounds of liquid against plastic. But there was nothing. It was empty, presumably drunk to the last drop, which wasn’t a good sign for him.
 
That doesn’t mean anything, Adam told himself, that doesn’t mean that Charity’s version of events was true. There was more evidence to be found, but it wouldn’t be discovered here.
 
As silently as possible, he made his way to the kitchen. His heart pounded in his chest so loud that he was afraid it would give him away. Adam tried to move in a way to minimize any diaper crinkling, which meant he walked like a constipated crab. There was a sense of excitement coursing through him despite his situation. This was a spy game. He was on a super secret mission to find out the truth. And the truth lay ahead in the kitchen trash can, assuming that they threw away the used pull-up from the night before.
 
It took him a few tries to find the right cabinet that housed the trash can. The brass hinges squeaked loudly as he opened it up, a noise easily ignored during the day, but a rookie mistake for a seasoned spy like himself. Adam stopped to make sure that he didn’t hear any noise from upstairs, any sign of footfalls on the landing would mean he’d have to abort the mission and get back into the pink room on penalty of death.
 
At the top of the trash bag was his used diaper. He meant THE used diaper, not his because that would be ridiculous. The ridiculous diaper was wrapped in some sort of smaller plastic bag, bundled into a tight little ball. No, he didn’t use that one for its intended purpose, but you could hardly tell at this point. No one goes poking around a dirty diaper to find out what’s inside. So, what was he doing here?
 
Suddenly, he doubted the very mission that brought him to the kitchen in the first place. Some things were better left not knowing. If there were two pull-ups in there; one from truth or dare which he didn’t remember, and another from Charity changing him in the pink room, it meant he had a bigger problem on his hands than wardrobe malfeasance.
 
He had to move fast. Pressing issue number 2 was making its urgency known. He danced in place a bit wondering what to do next. What to do, what to do. Adam had to find out, his diaper butt depended on it; so he started to tentatively dig, careful to not touch anything deemed too yucky in the dark, he poured through the trash, past empty plastic bottles, around a pile of sodden paper towels.
 
That’s where he found a spent pull-up.
 
His heart sank into his chest, a seismic beat reverberated through his belly as it descended to the depths like a sunken ship. Wait a sec, he saw that it was wrapped with the same plastic baggie thing that Charity had used for the diaper. Finally some good news, that was the pull-up from the pink room changing. The one he already knew about.
 
He wiped his brow.
 
There were more plastic cups and paper plates, the discarded pizza boxes were a welcome sight because they were thrown away before their game and meant that there wasn’t a second pull-up. That meant he didn’t wet himself, that Charity was just pulling his leg, and he didn’t lose his memory and that all was well, or at least, better than he thought.
 
Adam raised his hands in victory. 
 
The movement from his celebration made the trash shift inside the can, and he saw it, tucked away in the bundle of sodden paper towels, was an equally ruined pull-up. This one not wrapped in a bag, this one looking the same brand, type, and size as the other pull-up, he had it pinned as one of Tinkle’s brood.
 
The detective found the murder weapon, it belonged to him and had his finger prints all over it. The feeling almost floored him. He did have to take a step back in disbelief, but his other need made itself more present. Now the only important need on his mind, he’d have to work out the rest later. He looked at the digital clock on the microwave. It said 5:31 am. The microwave had never lied to him before so there was no reason to think it’d do it now.
 
As he made his way up the stairs he thought about what he’d say to get Marisa to open the door and let him potty. He wouldn’t use that word, but that’s what he needed to say. Five AM wasn’t too egregious a time to wake someone up, the important business of a potty emergency which was as serious as a heart attack. Adam couldn’t bear the thought of messing himself in a diaper. There was far too much shame in that, Huggies didn’t make a wipe that could scrub that away. He was at her door, out of breath and running out of time. Still, he quickly rehearsed what he would say when she opened the door.
 
He knocked twice. Soft enough not to alarm her or anything, he didn't want to be rude.
 
No answer.
 
He knocked three times loud enough to alarm. Still no answer.
 
Adam slammed both his open palms into the door and called her name. Marisa never answered.
 
Things were getting desperate, she had to have heard him. He needed that toilet.
 
Next, he tried the knob. The door was indeed locked, no dice there.
 
He ran his fingers through his hair then stifled a scream in the crook of his arm. He couldn’t wait any longer, he was in full blown panic now, which didn’t help his need to go at all. Time for plan B. He leapt down the stairs in two jumps, stumbling onto the wood floor at the bottom. He made it back onto his feet in no time, running full speed towards the door, his diaper crinkling without abandon, but he didn’t have time to care.
 
Adam would have to find a spot in the trees, away from the house to do his business. He could do that, there was still time, and he would make it in time. He kept telling himself that he would make it.
 
The front door wasn’t locked, and Adam threw it open into the cool morning air. The hues of daybreak barely lit the land, there were faint traces of trees and bushes, all the color blue as if painted from the same brush. He was off the porch, he was on the dirt road, he was almost to the trees when a bright light blinded him and made him keel over and tumble onto his backside with a crinkle THUD.
 
Adam raised his arm to cover his eyes, now that he could see more clearly, halfway expecting to see a spinning UFO; however, the bright light ended up being two bright lights. A pair of headlights in the dark, ones that belonged to a red SUV. The same car that brought them to this damn place to begin with. This wasn’t what he needed, he needed privacy. He needed to go now.
 
A car door opened and slammed shut before he had a chance to make it to his feet. Adam was stuck in the spotlight, nowhere to turn now. A voice he instantly recognized as Mrs. Hartmann cut through the darkness.
 
“Adam, what the hell are you doing out here, and what the hell are you wearing?”
 
Oh, jeez. How would he go about explaining himself out of this one? Despite all of his inner workings, he had no clue what to say, or what she would actually believe.
 
“You teens and your pranks. What is it, some sort of truth or dare thing?”
 
Whew. She was just a clueless parent after all.
 
“Yeah. It’s some truth or dare thing.”
 
“That’s so funny,” Mrs. Hartmann commented as she killed the engine and began to walk into the house. “I have to admit that you do look incredibly cute. I might have to snatch you up.”
 
“Please don’t,” Adam begged.
 
She blew him a kiss as she passed him on the way into the lake house. Adam made a great statue, not even moving an inch since she arrived.
 
“Your bag is in the back, kid. I have no idea what you wore as clothes for the past 48 hours, and judging by your diaper, I don’t want you to tell me. Listen, I’m going to go inside and start the coffee. Do you want a bottle of milk or anything?”
 
Adam asked, “A bottle of milk... ?”
 
“I’m sorry, Adam. I don’t know what’s coming over me.” Mrs. Hartmann tried laughing it off, something within began to take hold. “But seeing you dressed like a baby makes me want to treat you like one. I mean, it makes me REALLY want to gobble you up.”
 
Adam didn’t like the sound of this.
 
Bright red warning klaxons began sounding off and spinning in his head. He looked at her standing in the dirt driveway, between him and the house. It all changed then, he felt it and it looked like Mrs. Hartmann did as well. The hot mom shifted her feet in the gravel indicating that she’d give chase if he planned on running. Her arms rigid at her sides, elbows bent, and hands became a pair of fists clenched.
 
Mrs. Hartmann said, “You know, I think I ought to help you with your bag.”
 
“That’s fine, I can handle it myself. I’m a big boy.”
 
Adam was aware that he sounded stupid, but he was more concerned by the fact that she wasn’t stopping, no matter what he said. His words bounced from her like she wore Kevlar. He found himself rushing to get to the trunk of the SUV before she did. Boy, she had long strides and could move fast for someone suffering under menopause. They reached the trunk at the same time, their hands both grasping the handle to open it.
 
“I think I’m going to have to insist, little one.” Mrs. Hartmann snarled down at him, her words dripping venom.
 
There was little he could do, even if he could overpower her right then and there, it wouldn't win him brownie points with the other girls in the cabin.
 
Adam backed off as she pulled his bag from the trunk. It was right there, all of his clothes, clean underwear, a pair of shorts to cover his diaper. Or ‘the’ diaper. Yet, somehow he knew it was just as out of reach, maybe even further from his grasp.
 
So, he reached for it anyway. Big mistake. Just as his fingers graced the canvas fabric of the bag, Mrs. Hartmann pulled it up and away. The scene looked like a 5th grade bully picking on a 2nd grader, she held his bag aloft and he floundered, flailed and pulled at the air with each pathetic jump.
 
“You can stop that right now,” Mrs. Hartmann commanded with motherly authority.
 
Adam growled, “I want my bag.”
 
“And you’ll get it, but if you keep acting like a brat, I’m going to make you wait even longer. The diaper and t-shirt look is starting to grow on me.”
 
To hell with brownie points, Adam sized her up. He really did.
 
Mrs. Hartmann was a pair of generations older than him, and he could probably take her down, take back his bag, and no one would know the difference.On the other hand, she did look like she kept in shape. There had to be weekly hot yoga and pilates classes in her life, her arms and calves sculpted and toned, and she could probably cardio for days.
 
Then he remembered his plan, a plan that would avoid any outright conflict until the last moment. It was important to wait for the right timing, and everything told him that this wasn't it. Still, it felt sick to watch her pull his bag from the car. He had to wait, he had to find out what was going on. But it was so hard to wait, so hard to be patient, when everything depended on immediate action.
 
“It also makes it easier to check you, see if you’ve managed to keep it clean,” she added.
 
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
 
“I think you know what I mean. In fact, I think you need to be checked right now, you have that look on your face, like you made an oopsie-poopsie. Now turn around, now.”
 
Mrs. Hartmann made a circular motion with her index finger like she was swirling an invisible cup of tea. It took all he had not to sock her in that pretty face of hers. No, that wouldn’t be waiting, or planning, and wouldn’t get him anywhere. Cold clocking the driver is a bad way to get where you want to go. Also, he was fairly certain that she was being influenced by the same Entity as Marisa and maybe Charity. There was a way he could find out.
 
Adam took a step away from the car, and turned around like a good little boy. He kept a watchful eye over his shoulder as Mrs. Hartman crept behind him, a pair of fingers already extended towards his diaper. He knew what a diaper check looked like; he’d seen them at the mall, or a kid at the park. The nonchalant violation of privacy done by a mom on their suspected dirty pants kid. He couldn’t think about that, his focus was on the rear view mirror beside the driver side door. That tiny oblong rectangle would tell him what he needed to know, that is if he could believe the nameless toddler-girl from his dream.
 
She moved closer to him, finally in the view of the tiny mirror a few feet away. 
 
Objects in the mirror are more important than they appear. 
 
He tried leaning her into the view a little more, the mirror still didn't show her face. She pulled the back of his diaper open, and peered inside, but her hair covered her face. He needed some way to make sure that her face was in the mirror, he squirmed a bit out of her grip, and then — and then he saw her face. No, not really her face, the glowing red eyes stuck out in the darkness in the mirror. Just like Marisa.
 
A pang of fear skipped through him, his blood turned colder than the cold morning. He halfway hoped seeing the eyes would break the spell over her, but it didn’t. Maybe Lindsey needed to see her own reflection? Adam didn’t know. What he did know was that she was under the influence, and that was important, he could learn what he was dealing with by observing it in action, there was a good chance that it didn’t know that he knew.
 
He just couldn’t pass up the chance to observe someone under the influence without the influence knowing, to see just how deep the rabbit hole goes. It was a risky maneuver, but Adam was running out of options. Also, he didn't have any tear-free shampoo to chuck in her direction.
 
It felt cold out there, so cold it was making the skin on his hands tingle, the same with his feet. He rubbed his palms together, but that didn't do anything to stop the tingling as it made its way up his arm. It reminded him of what happened right after Marisa went crazy, as he made his escape from the bathroom, but only got as far as the top of the stairs before blacking out. Adam did not want to have that happen again, but it was too cold, too dark, and everything looked and felt so far away.
 
"Are you okay, Adam?" Mrs. Hartmann asked with a concerned look on her face. "You're starting to turn pale."
 
A voice that sounded like his answered, but he was certain he didn't say it.
 
"Mrs. Hartmann, can we hold hands as we walk inside?"

[direking]

21
 
One blink. A single blink. The world changed. One second, he was outside with Mrs. Hartmann fetching his bag, and the next he sat at the table with a sippy cup of milk. He teleported to the couch and got a quick snapshot of the clock. 6:01 AM. His world was nothing but a confusing blur, skipping from one moment to the next without rhyme or reason.
 
He was swimming upstream, in too deep, and the current was far too strong. Each time he realized he was doing something new was like coming up for air, where he could barely get his bearings before being dragged back under.
 
Adam now stood at a corner window and watched the sun rise up over the lake, the shimmering blue water changed colors as the day became alive. A subtle breeze flitted the trees, swaying their branches, he could hear light bird song from the other side of the glass. It was picture perfect. Totally relaxing. There was no need to hold onto anything anymore. His thumb was in his mouth.
 
Marisa and her mom were talking about him at the table, but their words were lost and distant, and relevance equal to a daydream or false memory.
 
Reality became an old time reel to reel motion picture, light flickered through the sepia tone daydream, time and space stuttered as it skipped from one moment to the next, it even made a little clicking noise as it moved forward frame by frame, but that could have just been psychosomatic. Adam was aware that he was unaware, drifting and helpless as if under the influence of some spell. He was in his body, but something else seemed to be at the helm. 

It didn’t take him long to realize that he could be controlled in the same way that he suspected affected the girls. 
 
Now that he knew that, what could he do? Find a way to break free. Adam thought about what the girl said in his dream, the part about the photographs and the mirror. When Marisa saw her reflection she changed back to normal, maybe it would do the same for him.
 
He forced his eyes to move towards the smallest of reflections in the large window. The consciousness that wasn’t him put up a small fight, but it wasn’t enough to stop him from looking at himself.
 
His eyes glowed baby blue. Soft in color but glowing just the same.
 
Adam did a double take, but the color was gone, so was the out of body experience.
 
He regained control of his mind and body, pulling out of the strange daydream in almost an instant. It was all too weird. And too easy? Maybe it got tired of being him or something. He didn’t know. The good news was that he could 'overpower' the thing controlling him, but how could he keep it at bay? He didn’t know that either. He also didn’t know how much time he had lost while under the influence. What felt like only seconds to him was probably much longer.
 
With newfound authority, Adam pulled his slick thumb from his mouth and slowly assessed the world around him. The two Hartmann’s were loudly discussing something at the kitchen table, he tuned in to eavesdrop from across the living room.
 
“I’m just saying that those drug store diapers aren’t going to do the job,” Mrs. Hartmann proclaimed. “He’s got to get the real deal if he plans on having more accidents. Think of them as spare tires, that baby boy is going to burn through a lot of rubber, so we need to make sure that those diapers will hold up.”
 
“Well, we were in a hurry, sorry I didn’t know all about diapers two days ago, mom.”
 
Lindsey cackled and slapped the table.
 
“Well, you live, learn and get Luvs. If you’re going to be a good mom you have to accept when it’s time to listen to someone more experienced — like me.”
 
“Luvs? Who said we were going to buy the cheap diapers for him?” Marisa sounded insulted through insinuation.
 
“It’s just an expression, sweetie. You don’t have to get so defensive. I’m sure Pampers and Huggies would suit him just fine. Honestly, I’m surprised he hasn’t leaked yet.”
 
“He hasn’t been in them for very long, I’m pretty sure that this is his first diaper,” Marisa explained.
 
“There’s a dirty one already in the trash, how’d you go about explaining that?”
 
“Charity!” Marisa growled.
 
“I wonder why you keep her as a friend,” Mrs. Hartmann spoke in a condescending way. “If she’s not out to steal your boyfriends, she’s out to take your baby. Girls like that aren’t good to keep around, you understand my meaning?”
 
“Charity isn’t like that — I mean, she’s a good friend, mom.”
 
“Alright, suit yourself. You always know better than your mother. Maybe it will take you learning the hard way for you to start listening.”
 
Adam felt the tingling feeling again, creeping up from the tips of his fingers and toes. Tiny pinpricks, like little goosebumps, travelled up his arms and legs, leaving a cooling sensation in their wake. Or was it a warm feeling like wrapping yourself in an invisible blanket? It was strangely subtle as it moved all around his body, numbing him to his core. If he didn’t already feel it before, he’d probably never recognized the feeling as it struck him now. So he fought it. He clenched his fists at his sides, scrunched his face, and whispered to the unknown enemy.
 
“Go away. Leave me alone.”
 
It felt like it worked. The feeling vanished as quickly as it arrived, like hitting the rewind button. That was easier than he expected. He had full control now. Adam suddenly remembered that there was a pressing need, something important that he didn’t want to forget. He looked out the window, looking over the landscape, hoping it would trigger just the thing to jog his memory.
 
A group of birds flew over the lake in formation, in the distance he saw a white boat that was just a dot on the endless blue. Totally relaxing. It became easier just to let things go.
 
It was too late by the time he felt it happening.
 
Oh, jeez. Adam was pooping his pants.
 
At this point, there was no avoiding it, he squeezed, tightened, and clinched everything that he could, but to little avail. The natural instinct of his body took total control. The best he could hope for would be for no one to see, no one to find out what he was doing in the corner. However, they would know exactly what he was doing if they saw him, even as he cowered behind nearby houseplants. There would be no hiding it, pulling the curtains around him like a cape wouldn’t stop the very fact. Anyone would recognize a potty-stance, he squatted lower, his muscles tightened, he softly gasped with relief.
 
Don’t look, just don’t look.
 
Adam didn’t want to be seen, but he should at least try to stop. He had to stop pooping his pants; no, he wasn’t wearing pants. He was pooping his diaper. That felt all beyond his control now, it’d be better just to get through this, and let it all out. Still there was the serene lake scene just beyond the glass in front of him. It did as much to discourage his intervention as the feeling that he couldn’t stop. He wouldn’t stop, he couldn’t stop, what would he stop? Something powerful compelled him.
 
He bit his thumb hard enough to make it hurt a little. It helped having his mouth wrapped around something, the sucking sounds he made covered up the soft grunts as he relieved himself. His diaper drooped between his bent legs. He was wetting, too. That was nothing compared to his messy backside. And it was messy. He felt the dirtiness of the diaper on him and somehow deep within him. The Entity had totally relinquished its grip by now, allowing him full capacity of emotions that now ran through him. There was shame, guilt, but also relief. The heat that radiated from embarrassment collided with the calming balm of inevitability. It all made too much sense.
 
“Oh, jeez.”
 
Adam poked at the back of his diaper when he finished. He was finished, totally finished for good, done pooping and done living. Maybe they’d bury him in a Pokémon themed casket; he’d rather die than be caught in this loaded diaper.
 
That was the thing, though. He wasn’t caught, yet. It was a long shot, Adam could still sneak out of this corner and make his way upstairs, or even better, outside where he could discard all this evidence in the woods, wash off in the lake. However, he would have to manage to get past the pair of Hartmanns at the table first. He’d have to carefully choose his exit, the back door looked to be too close to the kitchen table, maybe even within smell range. Adam recognized that he stank something awful so he had to move swiftly before the rest of the room found out. So he crept towards the front door.
 
The table was down one Hartmann, Lindsey wasn’t there when he slipped by. He felt a brief lift, one less person between him and freedom. Marisa looked at him and smiled. He brushed it off, and kept scooting towards the door, his backside always facing away from his friend. A cold sweat beaded on his forehead, tiny droplets of wet salt slicked his skin and made his shirt cling to his chest, lower back, and damp armpits.
 
“You okay?” Marisa asked as she stood up from the table.
 
Adam backed away. “No, I’m fine.”
 
Marisa evaluated him with furrowed brows.
 
“No, you’re fine but not okay? Which is it?”
 
“Um. Both.”
 
He quickly scurried away from Marisa before finding himself squarely in front of the stairway as Charity and Katie moped down in tandem. The cheerleader looked bright eyed and ready for the day. Katie looked quite the opposite, it made Adam thankful for the Pedialyte from the night before. But he wasn’t happy to see them both, just another pair of eyes and noses to figure him out. Adam could feel their disapproving looks, their glares pierced him, an almost physical sensation, a pain that stuck into his skin like needles. The two girls on the steps didn't even finish their trip between floors before stopping and gawking.
 
Adam retreated until he felt the front door at his back. He was almost there, and only had to quickly turn the handle to break free. He was far too committed to do anything else at this point. He felt for the knob behind him, cowering under the strange looks coming from everyone. He found it with his hand, wrapped his fingers around it. He smiled.
 
Unfortunately, the handle turned on its own in his hand. Adam felt the world spin as the door opened behind him, he stumbled forwards, wobbled in place, then fell back into the waiting arms of Mrs. Hartmann. Luckily, she caught him before he tumbled outside, but she also caught onto something else — his dirty diaper. She sniffed at the air, holding him still by his shoulders when he tried to wiggle away.
 
There was a brief moment of stillness before the room reacted to his messy diaper. Adam relished the exact second, the moment where falling and flying were the same, until he ran out of air and hit the ground.
 
“Adam, do you have something you need to tell us?”
 
Adam answered with silence.
 
“Katie, could you come here and give me a hand?”
 
“Ugh. Why me?” Katie sounded tired.
 
“Aren’t you the one that’s supposed to be the babysitter? Or am I thinking of someone else?”
 
Charity laughed. “You do have that checklist, after all.”
 
“That doesn’t mean that I have to be the one to do it,” complained Katie.
 
Everyone knew what was going on, the elephant in the room no longer harbored any secrets, only responsibilities. The girls were all about shucking responsibilities, except for Katie. Yet, she seemed the least responsible for his situation, which didn’t seem fair that she would have to ‘attend’ him. Wait, Adam didn’t feel like he was responsible for the situation either.
 
He pulled from the clutches without avail, hopeless and harmless as a struggling child. ‘Going with the flow’ meant — meant nothing anymore. He thought he had a plan, but as he saw Katie accepting the ‘now clearly in the light’ LSD butterfly diaper bag from Marisa, he realized how stupid his plan was from the beginning. It was less of a ‘why me?’ situation and more of a ‘if you are in a rapidly deteriorating situation, what are you waiting for?’ The right moment to act was yesterday, now he was in a dirty diaper with Katie coming his way.
 
He avoided her eyes as she walked to him, she was nice and tried to pretend that he didn’t stink, but the choking noise she made in his presence gave her away. Mrs. Hartmann let him go and took a step away.
 
“Go ahead and check him,” she ordered.
 
“I can already tell —” Katie argued.
 
“I said check him.” Mrs. Hartmann wasn’t going to give away any ground.
 
Katie sighed before prying open the back of his diaper with a pair of fingers. Then she gagged again. It probably would have been better for the both of them if she let him drown in the bathtub the day before.
 
“Yep, that’s a dirty diaper,” Katie confirmed.
 
Mrs. Hartmann grabbed his wrist and held his hand in the air.
 
“Oh! Just look at how raw he sucked his poor, little thumb. If we don’t get him a pacifier we’re going to get charged with neglect.”
 
“We had a pacifier, but he lost it,” Marisa explained.
 
“You’re not telling me that you made him borrow that pink one your aunt and cousin left in the house,” Mrs. Hartmann gasped.
 
Her daughter didn’t have an answer. Guilty as charged.
 
“Marisa Hartmann! Look at him, does he look like a little girl to you?”
 
“Mrs. H, it’s not like that,” Charity argued. “We didn’t have anything other than the pink pull-ups and pink pacifier.”
 
The hot mom wrapped her arm around Adam’s shoulder. It was a sideways, halfway hug, and she managed to keep her hip a good distance away from his messy diaper. It was one of those, ‘it was the thought that counted’ kind of hugs.
 
“Well, that’s why he’s wearing a frown on his little face. He isn’t a toddler girl. Adam is a sweet and precious baby boy. He needs things that he likes.”
 
“Hey, I’m not a —“
 
Adam tried to argue, but was cut off by a painful squeeze from Mrs. Hartmann. Her hands were claws that cut into him. Not literal claws, but being in her grip hurt enough for him not to care about the difference.
 
“And right now, you have a stinky baby boy that needs to be changed into a fresh diaper. Isn’t that right, Adam?”
 
Mrs. Hartmann was so right and so wrong at the same time, a paradoxical MILF with immaculate misunderstandings.
 
“That’s going to become a problem,” Katie muttered. “We only have two diapers left, we only bought a pack of four. We weren’t planning, I mean, at least I wasn’t planning on him using them.”
 
“A pack of four? And him not using them? Where else was he supposed to poop?”
 
The group of teenage pranksters went silent, and Adam thought better of opening his mouth when she was obviously angry and already had him in her talons. Maybe this would be a good time to tell her how they drank her alcohol and peed on her rug, and just let the bad blood flow.
 
“That’s all we have,” Katie muttered as she shrugged her shoulders, “unless you guys are planning to go shopping again.”
 
Mrs. Hartmann straightened up and lifted her chin in a regal way, not too much unlike Queen Charity.
 
“That’s it! Girls get ready, we are going to need to make a shopping trip to get proper supplies. We're heading into town in fifteen minutes."
 
No one knew what to think. Adam was horrified, and the other teen girls didn’t say anything about how they felt. Normally, shopping would bring out some sort of enthusiasm, but they were still sleepy, confused, and they weren't going to be shopping for themselves. Buying baby stuff wasn't as fun on Sunday morning as it was on Friday night.
 
“I meant after we get him in a fresh diaper,” Mrs. Hartmann happily clarified.
 
The hot mom pushed him Katie's direction, maybe expecting her to catch him, but she let him drop straight to the floor. Adam grimaced as he landed face first on the faux oak. He couldn't be mad at her, there wasn't much of a warning before he was tossed, Katie would have had to counter her keen basic instinct and hours of combat training to catch him. The fact that he pooped himself was just another domino in the stack.
 
“Where should I, um. Where should I change him?” Katie asked as she looked down at him on the floor.
 
Slowly, Adam helped himself to his feet.
 
“We normally change the babies in Marisa’s old room." Lindsey Hartmann paired the two of them together and pushed them towards the pink bedroom. "And Katie, make sure to open the windows, and let it air out, we don’t want all of this to linger.”
 
Adam hated the dismissive swirling motion Lindsey made with her hands, but there was little he could do as Katie dragged him away from the crowd, and she wasn't exactly polite about it. He didn't try to explain himself or state his case as he fought to keep up with taller girl. The pink room felt appropriate for this kind of thing, no longer beneath him like when he first arrived. It became a sanctuary of sorts, it really did, though the sanctuary was about to be thoroughly violated.
 
Good job, Adam thought to himself, way to make the changes to avoid needing changes.
 
As he was led by the wrist to an oncoming change, he thought about his life. All the warnings that went unheeded, the familiar thread shared, the common theme was his failure to stand up for himself, and that wasn't just kept to this weekend and these girls.
 
There was Jeremy and the other table cretins who mocked his virginity even though they weren't exactly getting laid all the time, he still hung around them like a pathetic outsider, remembering who they used to be, how they used to be, and not realizing who they'd become and why he always felt so left out.
 
Also, there was his mom who instituted early bedtimes, monitored all of his communications, and stood between him and adulthood with both palms pressed to his chest. She did everything she could to slow his growth, encouraging his childish habits as if time could stand still, and he'd always be her little boy.
 
Or was it his fault for not picking up on the fact that his life was his life?
 
Every day, Adam suffocated under a blanket that kept him from sunlight, so he sought it here at this lake house with these manipulative girls, and every shuffling step towards the pink room was a forced march by their command.
 
Katie closed the door behind them, then struggled with opening the pair of windows to counter the small space and big stink.
 
They looked at each other. Well, she looked at him and he looked at the floor.
 
"Alright, Adam, what the fuck?"
 
Yikes. That came out of nowhere. He didn't expect her to be so angry, but he was also angry at himself, at himself and at the others who shared this fantastic journey with him. 'Animosity' was a relic of the past; 'Acceptance' was the new order of the day. But was this acceptable?
 
"I don't know what happened." Adam hung his head.
 
"I know exactly what's happening here, and it's all because you're so weak that you've allowed yourself to be played into this … whatever this is!" Katie slammed the diaper bag onto the pink bed and crossed her arms. "First, you're going to tell me what's going on, and why you've turned into an eighteen year old baby in like 48 hours. Then we're going to put a stop to this crap."
 
"I don't know what's going on," Adam lied. “It just happened, I guess.”
 
He partway knew something strange was  happening, but he wasn't sure how onboard Katie would be with his 'Entity possession' theory, or just how much she would follow the toddler guru-girl from a drunken fever dream.
 
"I don't think I can accept that answer, Adam."
 
"Fine, but you're going to think I'm weird." Adam had already resigned himself to the realm of being misunderstood.
 
"Try me. I'm about to change your diaper, there's nothing more weird than that. We can build up to whatever revelation is necessary to put a stop to this, so think about what you're going to say while I clean you up."
 
He nodded, that sounded more than fair of her.
 
Adam asked, “What do you need me to do?"
 
Katie looked around the room then pulled a changing pad from the diaper bag. Of course, it was pink.
 
“I guess you can lay on this on the floor, we don't want you to stain the carpet. Also, lift up your shirt, you're not going to want that to get dirty either."
 
Adam lifted his shirt mid chest, fully exposing his messy diaper before awkwardly settling onto the changing mat, the unnerving rustling sounds coming from his diaper meeting plastic floor protector did little for his nerves. Neither did the mushy feeling on his butt as it pressed into him as it hit the ground.
 
"The sooner we get this done, the sooner you're out of this diaper." Katie softly pushed him back.
 
He silently watched as she gathered the usual suspects from the bag; Huggies wipes, baby oil, and a travel sized bottle of talcum, aka baby powder. What would he tell her? Nothing about this was believable, and he had no idea where to start. Adam knew he had to come up with something, the best something was to tell the truth; at least how he saw it.
 
Katie ripped wipes from the package as she eyed the state of his diaper. Jeez! She was pulling them out like four at a time, there had to be two dozen or so wipes at her disposal, was she planning on needing all of those to clean him?
 
"I guess we're as ready as we're ever going to be.” Katie exhaled before moving to rip the tapes away on his diaper.
 
She was slow and methodical, Adam guessed that she had to be. There was stuff in that diaper that no one wanted to deal with, the more methodical the less chance that it would spread to the floor, his shirt, or her hands. RIP. Hesitation on her part. Then a reluctant second RIP. 
 
Adam didn't want to see her face when she saw him, but he looked anyway, curiosity is a fickle little thing that pulls by the brainstem. Katie dry heaved when the diaper fell open. Adam could hardly blame her for the response, he was almost doing the same on the floor. She was speedy with the wipes, they burned through the two dozen wipes, and Katie pulled more from the package as needed. She had him lift his legs into the air, he spread them and bent his knees close to his chest. Adam found out that he had nooks and crannies, as Katie wiped him with a cold wipe in places he never knew could be wiped.
 
When it was finished, she rolled the spent diaper and pile of dirty wipes into a waiting small plastic bag, then spun it around like closing a bread bag. It was done, but that was just the half of it, he needed a new diaper.
 
Katie looked him over while biting at the edge of her lip, she stared at his naked crotch with a perplexed look on her face.
 
Adam asked, "What's wrong?"
 
"Um. I think you're getting a diaper rash."
 
No way. She went back to the stack of supplies for powder while Adam tried to sit up and get a good look at his crotch which was impossible at any humanly angle. His no-no zone was kinda itchy the past half a day or so, but he didn't suspect diaper rash as the cause, adding another bullet to the list of embarrassments for the weekend. Adam thought it best not to say anything more as she sprinkled baby powder between his wide spread legs. He wanted to die when she applied some sort of thick cream to his privates, and when she rubbed it in, he wished for the apocalypse. Before he knew it, he was taped into a fresh diaper, the same as before, almost like he got a redo.
 
This time, try not to poop the thing, Adam thought.
 
"You need to think about how you're going to explain yourself while I throw this away," Katie said as she tentatively picked up the trash bag. "You're running out of time and you need all the help you can get. I'm pretty sure that we're about to leave for a 'shopping trip' and you're going to want to have me on your side before we head out. This might be one of the few times we get to be alone, and we need to talk."
 
Adam nodded. He was still on the floor on the changing pad in the zen-like throes of a clean diaper. He did notice that the fan above him spun around like normal, this wasn't any dream space, or nightmare space, this was something that actually happened. It was hard to fathom, but a fresh diaper came with a fresh attitude. However, he'd been there before, there were half a dozen unkept promises to himself that kept him tethered to this course of events. 
 
He turned his head to the side and saw the pink pacifier lying harmlessly against the wall, forgotten from the day before. It called to him. Made him aware of its position, like a beacon or a blip on sonar. Just seeing it again made the Entity-inducing pin prick feeling rise up his arms and legs, but it was softer now, something that he could banish away without as much trouble. He guessed he was normalizing the strange and the unbelievable, which was the last twelve hours of his life. He had to get up and get out.
 
Adam had just risen to his feet when Katie walked into the room with that 'look' on her face.
 
"Alright, so what's the story?" Katie asked as the door closed behind her.
 
"Oh, boy. You're not going to believe me, I'm not sure I believe it either," Adam admitted out loud. "I just want to understand what's going on as much as anyone, but I'm actually more afraid of talking about it. I'm weird like that."
 
"You would be surprised with what I'd believe after wiping your ass." Katie hustled around the room, trying to air it out via the pair of windows. "Well, maybe it would help if I talked first. I don't know about you, but I'm willing to listen to just about anything if it helps us avoid those… those stinky changes. I'm going to have to wash my hands and my brain a million times now to scrub that away."
 
"I'm sorry about that," Adam apologized.
 
"I’m not sure you’re entirely at fault, there's a lot more going on here than meets the eye."
 
Adam shrugged. Maybe she did know something after all.
 
"Well, why don't you go first?" Adam asked.
 
"Alright, that's fair. Adam, why do you think you're here?"
 
He had to think about it for a second before responding.
 
“I’m here because Marisa invited me, what’s that mean?”
 
Katie hesitated before answering, trying to time the right words without hurting his feelings. Adam already knew his feelings would still be hurt, and she could take all the time in the world and that wouldn’t stop it.
 
“I hate to be that person, but are you two even friends? I mean, is this the first time you’ve been invited to anything of hers? I don't recall seeing you at her birthday party when the whole school was there. I've never noticed you around when we cruise through town, but that's just me.”
 
“I thought it was a little strange, too,” Adam conceded. “At first, it sounded like a dream or something, but she’s been so nice to me.”
 
“Adam, I’m going to stop you right there,” Katie said with a tone that seemed to physically hurt him. “She’s not your friend, she’s using you, and you don’t know the half of it. This is all some sick practical joke meant to do you harm.”
 
He didn’t know what to think about that, it was hard to believe that the weekend was intended to hurt him, even if a small part of him suspected that was the case. No, he didn’t want to believe they wanted to hurt him, they were only being modern art.
 
“What kind of joke?” Adam’s voice slightly faltered.
 
“All of this! This turning you into a diaper messing baby was a plan they made-up about a week ago in Marisa’s basement!“ Katie tried to keep calm but the frustration sang out in her voice.
 
“How do you know that?”
 
Adam felt the heat rising in him as well.
 
“I was there when they came up with it, but I thought it was stupid, and kind of funny at the time, before I knew you.” Katie calmed herself and sat next to him on the pink bed unable to make eye contact. “I also know because I’ve helped them every step of the way.”
 
“You what?” Adam cocked his head.
 
"I helped them confuse you into believing that you're a baby, that this is somehow your fault! All of this crap that you've been suffering from was an idea of Charity or Marisa, or mine. Adam, I don't have any scholarships pending on Girls to Women, especially one that involves babysitting."
 
"But what about — ?" he couldn't find the words, he collapsed onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.
 
Katie was relentless with her confession. The dam was broken, time for the secrets to pour out into the open.
 
"I purposely left your bag in the car so you wouldn't have any clothes. Charity never needed a flashlight, she needed you to fall in the mud behind the house. We knew exactly what happened when Charity 'visited' you the night before last, we knew because we planned it, even our shocked reactions to the pajama pants was planned. It was my idea to use the water pitcher to make it look like you wet your sheets. The whole reason Charity brought the handcuffs was to make you pee yourself. If you think any of this was by accident, I'm afraid you need to think again." 
 
“That’s not all of it, is it?” Adam had an unusual amount of accusatory tone in his voice. “What did you do to make things worse for me?”
 
“The cherry flavored water you liked is nothing more than a mild diuretic. Do you know what that is?”
 
“Isn’t that what old people get when they eat too much sugar?”
 
Katie laughed.
 
“No, it makes you need to pee!”
 
Adam growled and tossed a nearby pillow off the bed. It fell in a clump on the floor.
 
“I just don’t understand why you guys would go through all of that trouble to do this to me? What’s so funny about making me pee myself, or what’s so exciting about making me wear a diaper? It’s like you don’t care about me at all, that I’m some means to an end, like a doll to be thrown away as soon as you tire of me.”
 
So that's where this was all going, slowly understanding how they saw him. He was the butt of an inside joke where everyone had been laughing at him the entire time, and he played their games oblivious to the obvious, walking straight into a trap of their creation, and into a baby diaper of their choosing. The worst part was that Adam fell for it every step of the way.
 
Katie grabbed his hand, but he found it easy to pull his away. He didn't want to hear anymore from her, he was still processing what he said about being a 'doll'. It was too much like his dream, the dull lifeless plastic eyes that stared back at him, the way the doll was dressed the same way he was, it was too much to write off as coincidence.
 
Katie continued confessing, not only to him but to herself as well.
 
“It was supposed to be a joke, or I don’t know anymore. I can’t explain how, or why, things happened. I also can’t take any of it back, I just want to tell you how sorry I am for my own part in all of this mess.”
 
"Why are you telling me all of this?" The tears welled up in his eyes, the numbness couldn't keep them away any longer.
 
"I didn't think it would actually work, I really thought that you'd stand up for yourself somewhere along the way, or that we'd just stop picking on you. I knew I was wrong after I found the wet diaper in the —"
 
"It's because I don't have a backbone, isn't it?" Adam spat out between clenched teeth. A pair of tears slid down his cheeks. "I never fight for myself, somehow I knew deep down inside that you guys were playing me, but I just kept playing along, you know? Everyone thinks I'm stupid, or clueless to everything, and they're right! I don't understand why everyone else is so mean to me just because I am different. What kind of place is this world? What kind of people live here?"
 
He began to shake and cry. Katie looked like she was about to hug him, but she hesitated. Honestly, Adam didn't know if he wanted a hug from the girl who told him about the knife sticking out from his back, especially if she was a part of putting it there.
 
The tears flowed as his insides emptied, there was no angry coiled spring ready to strike, no seeping, sucking darkness that consumed him, and there was no self-soothing numbness that made everything feel so far away. There was none of that anymore.
 
Adam transformed into an inside-out human, there was bleak, empty darkness where there should have been a heart that loved, a brain that felt, thick skin that protected him. Last year, he'd seen a picture of a man covered in third degree burns, he'd regretted seeing it, but that's how he now felt. Charred on the inside and outside, his skin split, his heart burnt to ashes, and his brain watched and felt the whole thing, pain and suffering brought by each pulse of blood.
 
"I'm so sorry!" Katie cried out as she wrapped him in her arms.
 
Okay. Adam was actually glad when Katie did decide to hug him, he fell into her, limp and lifeless like a drowning victim pulled from the water only seconds away from death. He sobbed into her shoulder as she cradled him, rocked him, patted his back as she encouraged him to let it all out. Katie hooked an arm under his knees, and she pulled him onto her lap, ran her hand through his hair. The sounds from her mouth were the same as Marisa's when they cuddled the day before. It seemed to have an effect, it slowed and stopped his crying.
 
Shush, shush.
 
"I just want to be normal," Adam whispered.
 
"Adam, you're so much better than normal. You're not like anyone else I've spent time with, that's why I feel so guilty. You're sweet and kind, loving and loyal, they don't make enough people like you anymore. You're super special, and you make me want to shelter you from all of this place.”
 
Katie continued to rock him back and forth on her lap. Adam began to welcome her tight grip, her soothing voice, and her soft embrace.
 
“I'm strong and I can protect you, I'm a black belt. I know that you don't understand how good I can be for you, but I'm here for you. I see you as you, Adam. You just need to stay cute. Stay small. Stay mine."
 
"Get the FUCK off of me!"
 
Adam kicked and flailed away, rolled from the bed and landed on the floor. In a split second, he was on his feet with his fists raised in self defense.
 
Katie furiously rubbed her face with her hands — Oh, Jeez! This was just like with Marisa in the upstairs bathroom, or with her mom outside the house, now the Entity was coming for Katie.
 
Adam knew he wouldn't win against her, even if he could defeat the Tae Kwon Do champion to escape the pink room, there was a house full of captivated souls intent on babying him without remorse. Adam would stand up for himself, 'go with the flow' meant letting the anger coarse through him, bringing him alive. To be alive, to survive, is to fight. He welcomed the return of the coiled spring, and the fire in his chest, even the painful thoughts that made him want to disappear, because the ceaseless fear made him feel alive. The paper house burned away, the edifying edifice that kept a man from becoming a toy was now polished steel. That's what he did, he steeled himself for whatever Katie could throw at him. His eyes darted side to side for a weaponized bottle of tear-free shampoo, but it was just him and her.
 
"What's going with me? I feel so weird." Katie seemed to shake away the Entity without much of a fight.
 
Adam guessed, “This isn't the first time you felt this way, is it?" 
 
"No, it's not. How did you know?"
 
"That's what I wanted to tell you,” Adam answered as he left his fighting stance. “I think I know what's going on, but you're never going to believe me."
 
"As I said before, try me."
 
Adam checked to see that the door was firmly closed before giving away his secrets.
 

[Pierry Louys]

Wow that’s was a intense chapter !! Now i a jumping ansiously to see what gonna happen next !! Especially this shopping trip when I think he gonna end in new diapers with all Acessories to make a happy baby boy (stroller , car seat , clothes etc )

[D503]

Very interesting. Can Katie help him? Can she help herslef? Even his mother may be have been affected by this force. Are other boys affected? The jealousy for the baby could certainly cause fireworks.

[Zylo1893]

This is fantastic. A slow burner that hits all the right notes. Seriously should be proud of your work and please continue the great job.

[direking]

Thanks for the kind words and comments, I appreciate them.

 

22
 
“So, let me get this straight,” Katie started her summary in a curt business-like fashion. “There’s a ‘body snatching Entity’ that takes control over us; one that makes you poop your pants, and wants me and the other girls to treat you like a baby."
 
Adam sighed. “Well, it sounds weird when you say it that way.”
 
The resignation in his voice bled through his words, which he couldn’t help, he’d just about given up until being hit by a sudden flood of endorphins when he thought he’d have to fight his way free.
 
“I’m struggling with coming up with another way to paraphrase your story. Consider my point of view, Adam. It’s believability is mighty suspect.”
 
It wasn’t his fault that everything was unbelievable. Adam was hoping to find a way to fix things, make changes so he didn’t need diaper changes. It didn’t matter whether he ‘believed’ that the Entity was real or not. He felt its cool touch on his hands and feet, the sickly feeling as it slithered up through his limbs, and he twice succumbed to its control. This was not the way he expected the weekend to go, but unfounded expectations are weird that way.  
 
“I knew that you wouldn’t believe me," Adam fretted.
 
He was starting to feel the effects of a long, sleepless night, only made worse by an out of body experience. Adam rubbed his face with both hands, putting pressure on his closed eyes, and pressing down on his cheeks until his palms slid free.
 
Katie shrugged her shoulders and threw up her hands.
 
“I’m just literally repeating what you just told me, and don’t get me started about that dream, Sigmund Freud would have a field day with all of that little girl and doll stuff.”
 
Adam glowered at her, even if she was trying to believe him she wasn’t doing a good job of acting like it.
 
“You’re not telling me everything,” Katie said, rushing from one word to the next, trying to solve this problem as swiftly as possible. “I need to know more about the girl from your dream. Did she tell you her name, or where she was from, or how to find her? Anything that could help explain what’s happening here.”
 
Despite claiming that she didn’t fully believe him, Katie was at least considering his crazy ‘theory’ as she called it. She wore a hole in the pink carpet with all of her pacing back and forth. He could tell that she lived for this kind of thing, it was like being inside of a genre bending sci-fi mystery, and she was the butt kicking protagonist. It's probably how she saw her life in general. Adam, on the other hand, just felt like a victim to the whole thing, which was also how he saw his place in the world.
 
“I swear that she didn’t say anything more than I told you,” Adam moaned as he again pressed his face against his hands, this time into the hard area where wrist met palms. “How many times do I have to repeat myself?”
 
“Now, before you get all sassy,” Katie continued. “I’m just trying to clarify what you're experiencing, and there's no need to be so sensitive. I just wish there was a way to test this theory."
 
Why did Adam feel like he was about to become a lab rat? Katie was giving off thunderous brainstorming vibes, snapping her fingers in the air, and whispering to herself like a homeless schizo. Honestly, he was thinking about the same thing, wishing for a way to prove that all of this insanity wasn't a product of teenage hijinks, or the result of a mental breakdown.
 
There were answers to find, he should've felt like the diaper detective again, but that felt far away in a different timezone. The childish games of make believe, pretending to be a spy or detective, ended with even more childish results. Maybe he was to blame for all of this, and a psychological break caused him to make believe all of the 'possession' nonsense in the first place.
 
No, that would make too much sense, there had to be an unseen force somewhere. Luckily, Katie was on the right track.
 
“This Entity thingy, does it have a name? Was that a word from the dreamy baby girl or something that you called it?”
 
Adam thought for a moment.
 
“I think it was something I called it, but she nodded and hummed like I said something smart, or right, or I don’t know.”
 
“I wish you would’ve paid more attention,” Katie groaned.
 
“Maybe next time you can be the one in the diaper and you can get to crap yourself.”
 
“I warned you about being sassy,” Katie snapped back at him. “We need a better name for what we’re up against, Entity doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.”
 
“Honestly, it doesn’t matter what it’s called if we can’t beat it,” Adam countered.
 
Katie finally stopped pacing, spun around, and snapped her fingers on both hands a final time. Her eyes focused and intense, her smile wide and inviting. It looked like she was close to figuring something out, like an answer to an ancient riddle. He had never seen her buzzing with so much positive energy.
 
“Well, we need to start with what we know.”
 
“Not much,” Adam complained.
 
“No, Adam, you already know plenty. You know about mirrors, glowing eyes, maybe a way to fight back. You know enough, you just want to give up like always.”
 
Adam argued, “I don’t give up like always!”
 
Crickets-crickets.
 
They exchanged a look, this time a silent Katie told him ‘even you have more self awareness than that’.
 
“Is there a way you can contact that girl? Try to bring her here so I can talk with her, maybe we can figure out more if she speaks to the both of us.”
 
Adam exhaled. “She didn’t exactly leave me a number.”
 
"Alright, that means we have to do this all ourselves. We’re going to need a mirror, but I'm not sure what 'photographs' means.” 
 
Katie worked her way through the problem out loud, and Adam would play the role of a sounding board. 
 
"Does that mean that old pictures, like physical ones, are needed to 'reveal' us for who we really are, or do we need to have pictures taken of us while we have the 'glowy eyes' or whatever?”
 
“I think it’s when we’re under its influence or whatever we can call it,” Adam guessed.
 
“Then we should probably start there,” Katie concluded. “When and where did you feel 'not like yourself'?”
 
"It's still all cloudy when I think about it, but I remember stumbling from the bathroom upstairs after Marisa tried to spank me. There was a strange buzzing noise coming from the guest room, and I started feeling all cold, like my limbs were falling asleep or something. I felt the same way this morning when Mrs. Hartmann checked my ... uh, diaper. Then, well, you know what happened after all of that."
 
That weird buzzing noise was a piece of the puzzle he hadn’t yet analyzed. Maybe it was the part that was missing that revealed the bigger picture, a hidden tell-tale element that was key to breaking the code, solving the case.
 
Adam asked, “Could it be from that strange noise I heard in the guest room?”
 
Katie shot him a glare.
 
“No. I doubt that had anything to do with anything. Let’s get back on track, did it get worse when you wore a diaper?"
 
"It could have, I just started wearing one this morning."
 
That last bit didn't sound true, the fact that he'd only been padded for just a few hours, it felt like an eternity since he was in normal underwear. In reality, he was only a day removed from his normal potty practices. This 'Entity' thing packed a powerful punch, and he was starting to feel like they wouldn't be able to beat this thing even if they knew how to fight it. The paper house was being built back with one folded crease at a time.
 
"It would fit my theory as well, ever since that wet diaper up in the bathroom yesterday, I knew something was odd with the — “
 
"What wet diaper in the bathroom yesterday?" Adam interrupted.
 
“You mean you didn’t do that on purpose?”
 
The two exchanged a look, shared another grimace, and came to a simultaneous realization. It happened before, Adam had already lost time to the Entity.
 
Yesterday, what could have happened yesterday that he couldn’t remember?
 
“What can you recall after you were in a diaper in the bathroom?” Katie sounded concerned, but so was he.
 
“The kitchen table, that’s all I remember,” Adam complained.
 
“Try to picture yourself there, in the bathroom, in the diaper.”
 
“That’s not going to work, I can’t even —“
 
A vision flashed through his mind's eye, a hazy memory from the day before, the sepia colored reel to reel rumbled alive revealing a blurry reflection of him in a diaper with his thumb in his mouth. Somehow, he knew it was just seconds after Katie left the upstairs bathroom with her 'insurance policy', a picture of him in a diaper with his thumb in his mouth she planned to use as blackmail.
 
Adam immediately tried to dismiss it as his active imagination, but it didn't come from the same place in his brain as the harmless daydreams or hard fought shower arguments. It felt different than that. Something old and lost, similar to recalling an imaginary friend, or remembering the funny voice of a stuffie, a place in the distant past long covered by the fresh silt of each new day as he grew up.
 
Where it came from wasn't as important as his immediate realization: It was memory, not a daydream. Oh, jeez.
 
The movie began to play, the clicking sound rapidly progressing, giving the mental picture life. He stood in front of the bathroom mirror in a bow legged stance, staring deep into his glowing baby blue eyes, and he began to wet his diaper. It felt warm around his crotch. Soggy. He was familiar with the feeling of being soggy. Adam audibily suckled his thumb, but not loud enough to cover the sound of pee hitting diaper like soft rain on an umbrella.
 
This felt so real, but had to be entirely fake, a falsehood, a misrepresentation of what really happened after Katie left the bathroom, but the sad part was he couldn't be sure about his own memory. The problem was he couldn’t recall anything in the space between that confrontation and the oak table where he sat all morning. He had no alibi, no way to refute the obvious, he'd been under the influence much longer than he realized.
 
The black belt had to pull her chin back into place, her mouth wide open in disbelief as Adam worked out what really happened in the upstairs bathroom the day before.
 
"I left you in the bathroom upstairs in a diaper, when you came downstairs for breakfast you wore the sailor suit, I'd just assumed that you threw the diaper away in the trash like a normal person.”
 
“That’s not what happened was it?” Adam mused.
 
Katie shook her head.
 
“Before we went swimming yesterday, I went to take a shower and get dressed in my swimsuit, and there was the diaper on the floor. It was soaked in pee. I thought you were acting out, returning the favor for a mean prank, but it made me concerned. Peeing yourself isn't normal."
 
"I know it's not normal, nothing I do is normal, we've been over that. Why haven't you told me about this before?”
 
"I didn't think about bringing it up in conversation, and I hid it from the other girls because I didn't want to fuel their cruelty any longer. Honestly, I think it would have given them a W in the win column, things may have escalated faster, and even more honestly, I didn't think it was important until now. I'm not freaking perfect, Adam."
 
"Why is this happening to me?" Adam violently slapped the sides of his head with his palms.
 
Katie grabbed him by the wrists, he tried to pull free but she was too strong. He had to accept her embrace and look into her worried eyes.
 
"That's not helping anyone or anything, feeling sorry for yourself isn't getting us any closer to figuring this out, fixing you, and making the changes so you don't need changes anymore. However, it does bring up the point, what if this is tied to the bathroom upstairs? I know, I know. It doesn't connect with how you felt this morning, which was outside."
 
This calmed him a little bit, she was right about not feeling sorry for himself, and he was glad he told her about the 'making changes' bit. They had similar goals, Katie didn't relish the role of tooshie-wiper any more than he enjoyed pooping himself. Adam was wearing thin, he had little fight left in him, and it would be best for him to stay focused on solving his problem.
 
"Maybe it's the diapers,” Adam theorized, “like they’re a cursed pack of diapers or something.”
 
"No, I don't think it's that. You claim to not remember truth or dare, we have to assume that you were under the influence of something more than alcohol, because that was all pre-diaper. What if it's something else? Like a magic phrase or words, it could be the lingering effects of hypnotism, that's not out of the question. If it's not the bathroom or the diaper, what could it be?"
 
He didn't know. Well, he did know that he'd never been hypnotized, unless he was hypnotized to not remember being hypnotized. Damn, life was confusing.
 
Adam racked his brain looking for the answers to questions that weren't even formed yet. He appreciated having Katie around to help, she was so smart and covered so much more intellectual ground. He had the sneaky feeling that they were on the right track, but they were running out of time. They were supposed to go shopping after the diaper change, and they'd been in here for almost twenty minutes. He expected Mrs. Hartmann to bust through the wall like the Kool-Aid man at any moment.
 
Then he looked over to Katie, and she had the strangest look on her face. A smarter person than Adam would describe the wide-eyed, hyper smile, and rosy cheeks as something other than a Pre-K teacher, but that's all his vocabulary could muster, because that's what she became. A preschool teacher that was always overly positive, happy to see you eat all the glue, cover your face with markers and wet your pants. With a well developed suppression of real feelings and emotions brought about years of professionalism, elastic waisted mom jeans, and daily wine o'clock. Katie was far from a Pre-K teacher, but she looked like one as she started closing in on him. 
 
“Katie, are you okay?”  
 
"Adam, did you know that you're the cutest little baby in your little diapee," Katie cooed.
 
"What are you doing?"
 
Oh, jeez. She was caught in the spell again! He backed away on the bed, prepared a pink pillow to use as a shield as she closed in, the nightmare would never end. The honor student kept creeping up to him, a manic grin on her face, like she was talking to a real toddler. Katie could have been bright and cheerful, downright endearing if he wasn't so caught up in the fraught details of permanent mental slavery and self defecation.
 
"I love how little you look when you're wearing a diaper, it makes me want to pinch those cute, little cheeks. Come here, baby."
 
Katie wrapped him up in her muscle bound arms as Adam clung to the pillow like a life vest. He felt the feeling come again, like thousands of atom sized ice cubes danced up and down his skin, starting from his big toe and spreading out one little piggy at a time. He soon felt it in his hands, too. He couldn't believe that he was feeling like this again, he fought the urge to stick a thumb in his mouth. Something from somewhere was begging for the keys to his mind, he had to fight that away, but he had Katie to fight off as well.
 
Her words were doing this to him, all that cutesy baby talk, she was coo’ing and aww’ing into his ear, whispering sweet things over and over again. Calling him a baby, telling him that he was little, accusing him of being too cute for words. She needed to stop, it was making things worse! No, that's what she was doing! Katie was doing this on purpose.
 
This was the experiment. He had to put a stop to this before she accidentally triggered 'baby mode'.
 
"Stop, stop.”
 
Luckily, Katie stopped.
 
"That's what does it, isn't it?” Katie concluded with a calm voice. “I think we've figured it out, when someone treats you like a baby you start to lose control.”
 
Adam nodded as they disengaged.
 
“I felt it in me as well,” Katie continued. “A tingling sensation all over my body. It felt cold enough to make me want to shiver when I started in on all the 'baby talk'. Man, it made me want to baby you something awful, you look so freaking cute I can barely help myself."
 
Oh, she needed to help herself. Adam knew he wouldn't be able to physically push her away like he did with Marisa; Katie was his only ally in this, whatever this all was. He had to keep her on his side, and he didn't want her to tempt the Entity any more. 

There was no clear indication of breaking point, or if the feeling became permanent after a certain amount of time under its control. This was a plausible answer, but Adam was still left with questions that he didn't know how to ask.
 
"Yeah, it'd be great if you never did that again."
 
"I had to test a theory, and I'm not apologizing for figuring this out, Adam. Besides, I was under total control the whole time, and I stopped exactly when you told me to stop."
 
Adam scratched his head, this was far too much for him to handle.

“There’s got to be something more to this, it can’t just be about me acting like a baby.”

“You acting like a baby probably doesn’t help,” Katie added as she packed up the diaper bag and placed it on the edge of the bed. “What else could it possibly be?”

Adam continued, “This theory leaves out the ‘whole controlling people’ thing, which we don’t even know how it’s done.”

“Do you have proof of this controlling thing?”

“No, but it brings up other questions.”

“Like what?” Katie adjusted her shirt before easing onto the bed.
 
"How come you can control it and the other girls can't?"
 
"I dunno, maybe because I meditate," Katie admitted. “Or the fact that I actually hate babies. I know that’s a terrible thing to say, but it’s true. They're freaking spit-up, drool, and poop factories that do nothing but demand attention. Living obstacles to the dreams and goals of countless young women who fall in love, get pregnant, and give birth to a lifetime of regrets.”
 
There was a pounding from the other side of the door. Which Adam was kinda thankful for, there was a lot to unpack from what Katie just said. Still, the fear crept back into him, a slow moving sense of unease found a home at the back of his neck. Adam turned to Katie with terror in his eyes, she had become a lifeline for him.
 
“I don’t want to go shopping, you’ve got to help me get out of this.” Adam begged her with his hands clasped together.
 
“How do I go about doing that? If what you say is true, then they may not be themselves at this point,” Katie argued.
 
Adam sputtered out, “That’s a perfect reason not to go!”
 
The pounding came again, this time more desperate than before. Its anger palpable and hungry.
 
“The problem is we still don’t have proof,” Katie lamented.
 
The lightbulb came on in his head. Finally, he had something to add to the equation.
 
“Actually, we might have proof on your phone, I seem to remember that you had a little insurance policy. You know, that freaking picture you took of me?”
 
“I don’t have my phone with me, it’s charging upstairs.”
 
Gah! This was frustrating! Nothing about this was going to be easy, but it was too late to worry about that any longer.
 
The door flew open, and all three of them were there, they even looked like bad guys. It was the way they stood there all quiet and menacing-like, awaiting their first move. Lindsey Hartmann up front, Marisa and Charity scowled behind her like a pair of back-up dancers.
 
“What’s the hold up?” Mrs. Hartmann demanded.
 
“We had just got to talking, sorry about that.” Katie got up from the bed. “He’s just about all fresh and clean, but we need a little more time before we head out.”
 
It was clear that Katie’s smokescreen wasn’t working.
 
“No, we’re losing daylight,” Mrs. Hartmann answered. “I want to beat the mid-morning rush to Webber’s, and we got to hustle at this point. Are you two ready to leave?”
 
“What’s Webber’s?” Adam asked.
 
“What’s Webber’s?” Mrs. Hartmann repeated sarcastically. “Just the best baby store in the state, it’s great, you’re going to love it.”
 
No, he wasn’t going to love it. He was pretty sure of that.
 
Katie stood up between Adam and the terrible trio, clutching her stomach and making a strained face. Adam had to keep from groaning, too. The girl was a terrible actor and no one was going to buy that she was sick.
 
“Actually, I’m not feeling very good, I think it would be better if we all stay at home.”
 
“Is that because you’re hungover, sweetie?”
 
The new and improved Lindsey Hartmann had zero chill, she looked like she was about to finally wield parental authority, and of all times to do that, Adam and Katie were going to be the ones that got hammered.
 
"That's the problem with hooting with the owls, you've got to wake up with the roosters."
 
Okay, she was out of practice with motherly metaphors, but the point was taken, Mrs. Hartmann was not going to give them any leeway. There was very little wiggle room here.
 
Adam did know a few things. The most important was he didn't want to go out in public in a diaper. He thought about the laundry list of degradations, how new lows were added with black ink almost hourly. Padded in public was almost scraping the bottom of the barrel. There was only one thing he could think of that was worse than the entire small town seeing him a diaper, it was them seeing him use that diaper, and that was also out of his sphere of control. Yes, Adam could recognize when that feeling came over him, but when push came to shove, it did what it wanted with his body.
 
Mrs. Hartmann asked, "You think you need to stay at home because you partied a little too hard?"
 
Katie slowly nodded. Adam nodded with her. There was no way this was going to work, but they had to try something. Following Katie’s lead was the best he could come up with in this short amount of time.
 
“Well, you should probably stay at home and take a nap, but the baby goes shopping with us.” Mrs. Hartmann adjusted the purse at her shoulder while eying the diaper bag on the bed.
 
Katie tried to argue. “That’s not what I meant.”
 
His jaw dropped open. Adam didn’t like the way Mrs. Hartmann called him ‘the baby’, but he was more concerned about having to go shopping with the girls without the help from Katie. It was like she ripped the training wheels off the bike while he was still pedaling.
 
No one in the room would protest in his favor, he didn’t either, too weak to stand up for himself. Adam didn't exactly have many options, he could angrily outburst at her, call her every misogynist name in the book, but he'd get nowhere. 

Patience for the right moment would be key, but moments of freedom were becoming fewer and further between. He had to come to terms with being in the hands of the enemy, the way that Marisa and Charity stood behind Mrs. Hartmann looked less like friends or peers, and more like cronies or henchmen.
 
The power dynamic had shifted dramatically with Lindsey's arrival, and he was still stumbling through the aftershocks, and judging by the way that Marisa and Charity were finally passive and quiet, they were stumbling as well. 

However, all three were infected with the hostile entity takeover, and he'd have to navigate those waters while maintaining whatever adulthood he could pull together to keep him from losing control.
 
"Fine, I'll go, but I want shorts!" Adam insisted.
 
The baby Entity triumvirate looked between one another, but none had any objections.
 
Shorts were back on the menu, he'd have to take baby steps towards the way forward, and earn his wins where he could get them.
 
They let him scour through his bag to find the right baggy khaki shorts that he hoped would fit over his diaper. Thankfully, it did. It wore a little snug, but it mostly covered the ridiculous diaper except for the stubborn plastic around the waistline which poked free from his shorts. His t-shirt could cover it as long as he didn’t reach for anything above his head. Also, Adam still crinkled when he walked, but he was starting to pick his battles and there was little he could do to avoid the babyish sound.
 
Luckily, he found a short space of time to sneak in a few last words to Katie without the others around. He found her laid out on the bed in the pink room, just staring at the ceiling fan with a perplexed look on her face. Though, she seemed excited to talk to Adam before they left.
 
He must have looked nervous because she immediately placated him.
 
“Don’t worry, I’m already thinking of a good way to put an end to this, your job is to survive with as much of ‘you’ still intact as possible.”
 
“What’s your plan?” Adam asked.
 
“I can’t fully trust you to keep it, Adam. So it’s going to have to be a surprise, but I promise you can trust me, I’ll be waiting for you.”
 
“What if I’m not myself, like I’m fully taken over.” Adam felt the sting of fresh tears forming in his eyes.
 
Katie cradled his cheek with a cupped hand. She had an empathic touch for a girl who could break boards.
 
“It won’t ever be too late for me to save you, keep being super brave, but now go before they suspect us.”
 
Adam nodded and left, joining the group already in the red SUV. He was now an official prisoner to the Entity, all on his own, and his only hope was Katie back in the lake house.
 
“Do you need to potty before we go?” Mrs. Hartmann asked.
 
“No, I kinda already went.” Adam hoped it was all out of system, both the bladder and the Entity.
 
He collapsed into the princess car seat without a second of hesitation. If the world were to end in fire or ice, today would make a great day to do so.

[Mugi]

Oh no Katie won't be coming a long the shopping trip? I can't see this end well ?
I hope the Entity takes over hard core ?

[direking]

Thanks for reading!

 

23
 
The car was eerily quiet. Certainly no music party this time around, just a silent ride full of fatigued teens. Adam caught himself nodding off a few times as the red SUV tumbled along the dirt outlet, seemingly hitting every rough spot in the road, gently shaking the car seat.
 
Crinkle, bounce, crinkle, bounce.
 
The slow, steady sway of the country roads was an effective lullaby, but he fought against it with whatever he had left. He kept thinking that he'd be easy prey for the Entity if he were unconscious. Adam also kept catching Mrs. Hartmann stealing glances in his direction from the driver’s seat like he did something wrong.
 
Charity fell asleep upright, eyes closed but mouth wide open like a baby bird awaiting a worm. Her head tilted to one side, her non-brushed hair bobbing along against his shoulder. It was the first time all weekend that she didn't look attractive.
 
Marisa and her mom carried on in hushed tones worthy of a librarian’s praise. However, they didn’t talk about him, or diapers, they just made small, light hearted conversation. They even discussed the weather. All of which felt obscene to him, a quiet mockery of what he was going through.

They were literally heading to a baby store to get supplies for him, but the out of season morning cold snap was forefront on their minds. He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. And he wanted to take a nap.
 
Sleep stalked him despite his efforts. The menacing, faceless and cowled creature was sure to come for him as soon as he dropped his guard. Adam gazed over the landscape as the verdant trees gave away to row upon row of tilled farmland. There was nothing but emptiness outside the car. The comforting sound of spinning tires against asphalt made a dull background noise for the listless terrain that rolled along the highway. The sights and sounds weaved in and out of him, he caught himself slipping away a couple of times, but finally closed his eyes.
 
....
 
He awoke to Charity’s voice.
 
“Wake up, sleepy head, we’re here. Let me help you with that tricky buckle."
 
Charity undid his seat belt before he could protest.
 
The sun seemed to funnel straight into his eyes, he had to scrub the light away with his fists before he could see what was going on. They were in a parking lot, surrounded by all types of cars, all of which were mom-mobiles with babies on board signs, cutesy bumper stickers, oversized car seats in almost every backseat.
 
Adam realized that he’d have to get used to the baby treatment as Charity pulled him free from the princess car seat. He’d let them have their way as long as it meant getting back to Katie with as much of his dignity intact as possible. Hopefully, she had a good escape plan brewing, he was having his own doubts on getting out unscathed.
 
He needed to focus on keeping his dignity.
 
Unfortunately, he was off to a bad start. He was already soggy, which meant he wet his diaper when he was asleep. Charity quickly picked up on his unease, squeezed his crotch through his shorts, taking some sick pleasure in being the one to find this out.
 
“I’m pretty sure that he needs to be changed before we go inside,” Charity announced to the group.
 
“Really? He can’t even keep dry for a quick car ride anymore?” Mrs. Hartman was already preparing the diaper bag.
 
Adam could read into her feigned surprise, her loud volume was meant to give away the state of his diaper to the world. Mrs. Hartmann was more into humiliating than helping him, but what else should he expect from the Entity?
 
“Bring him back here.”
 
He wondered if this would become par for the course as he was led by the wrist to the back of the SUV. The hatchback rear door was already open, and a familiar pink changing mat was already laid out for him. The casual nature of all of this bothered him, but he couldn’t make a scene. He moped into position in front of the changing pad and prepared for the worst. Which came next.
 
Mrs. Hartmann asked, “Marisa, have you ever changed a diaper before?”
 
There was something about the way that Marisa twirled her hair around her finger, eyes wandering around the empty parking lot, that told Adam everything he needed to know. She wanted nothing to do with him, or his wet diaper. His friend was a lying liar that lies all the time. Adam vividly remembered how she told him that she always wanted to be a babysitter like in her books, or how she thought changing diapers was sweet if you cared about the person in them. It was hard to accept then, just like her indifference was hard to accept now. It all hurt him. Physically.
 
Charity looked just as bored, Adam shouldn’t have been surprised with how little the cheerleader wanted to do with him now.
 
“You should watch me this time," Lindsey Hartmann continued,"and maybe you can get the next one."
 
One of the worst parts about this crappy side quest to the baby store was that it just oozed with reluctance, no one wanted to be here, himself included. It was all offensive. The lack of enthusiasm, or regret, for the trouble that they caused, and their current disinterest in his predicament. They already did their damage, now they wanted nothing to do with him.
 
Why should they? The girls had already seen their prank into fruition. Adam was yesterday’s boring pet project, an old toy no longer worth their effort.
 
The thought made him nervous again, his empty stomach shriveled into a ball that bounced about his rib cage, making him hesitant and nauseous.
 
The slow, churning pit of insignificance came to visit again, and Adam embraced it fully as he laid himself onto the makeshift changing table. Marisa sulked into a spot next to her mom awaiting a boring lesson on how to change him. All he could see was the sky and their three wonderful faces looming over and looking down at him. It was like the start of a joke: How does a milf, a slutty cheerleader, and a thespian change a diaper?
 
“Are you watching, Marisa?”
 
The mom towered over him, the large opaque sunglasses had a somewhat monstrous effect on her; as if Lindsey wasn’t human, a friend’s mom, or a caretaker with his best interests in mind. The Entity was in full control of the scene, all of them were playing their part, reading from its terrible script, but there was a slight difference between them. Lindsey Hartmann was a puppet, and Adam was a victim.
 
Adam helplessly watched his shorts being pulled down his legs. He hated it, the helpless feeling of actually being helpless, but when you're helpless there’s little you can do about it. His best hope was for a speedy change and the mercy of no one walking by to see him. That’s all he could do as the first tape of his diaper was pulled away. He suddenly felt exposed, the empty parking lot suddenly full of invisible onlookers.
 
Say what you will about her, Lindsey was an actual mother with changing experience; in no time, she had his legs in the air, and slid a new diaper under his bottom, the used one already a soggy bundle wrapped in a bag. 
 
The cold wipes and soft powder started to grow on him as an acceptable new norm, and it was over almost as soon as it started. When she was done, she sat him upright so he was now eye level with her. Adam thought he could see the glowing eyes behind the sunglasses, a reminder of who, or what, he was actually dealing with.
 
“Now, we’re going to have to set some ground rules. Are you listening, Adam?”
 
He nodded. Gulp.
 
"You're going to have to keep your smart mouth shut unless you want everyone to know that we're here to get you diapers. There won’t be any sarcastic back talk, or attempt to confuse someone by telling them that you’re here against your will.”
 
“Then why am I here?” Adam snapped.
 
The hot mom was too quick for him. He didn't have time to react before she struck him with an open palm, a glancing blow on his exposed thigh that lit up every pain receptor in the area. Adam gasped, shocked and surprised by how much it stung. Mrs. Hartmann never seemed the type to hit him, but there she was, sneering at him like he did the worst thing in the world. To the Entity, standing up for yourself probably was the worst thing in the world. Adam grimaced and cradled his leg, and watched a crimson palm-print blossom on his pale skin.
 
The other girls didn’t sit idly as this happened both objecting to what they saw.
 
“Hey, is that necessary?” Charity challenged.
 
“Mom, are you sure hitting him isn't going too far?”
 
“You see, that’s the problem with you kids.” Lindsey turned her back on Adam and laid into them. “You have no discipline, you take the back talk, rolling eyeballs, and outright disrespect — I don’t. I won’t hesitate to correct any of that behavior, and if you think that doesn’t go for you two, you better think again.”
 
They shrunk away from her well-manicured pointing finger, she quieted both of his defenders with a simple but direct tongue lashing, making them realize that their split-second of support was a mistake. Adam couldn’t blame them, this was Lindsey Hartmann’s show now, and they would have to get used to being extras. The hot mom was now the main attraction, and they’d have follow her lead. Everyone came to that understanding without a single word in a brief moment of awkward silence.
 
Still, Adam had enough of not having any say in this entire endeavor, if he had to play their game by their rules, at minimum he'd want to have a fighting chance.
 
“Alright, fine. I’ll be quiet, but you're going to have to let me call some shots here. At least keep the diaper bag in the car, it’s going to attract a lot of attention. I promise you I’ll behave.”
 
“And you’ll do whatever I say?” Mrs. Hartmann asked.
 
His gaze went downcast and away, at a slim view of asphalt between the shorts gathered at his ankles. The weird perspective gave the space a micro three-dimensional effect that was almost surreal as what was happening in real life. He swallowed. His throat felt raw and human.
 
“Fine, I’ll do what you say.”
 
Mrs. Hartmann rubbed the spot where she hit him as if it made it all better.
 
“I knew you’d be good. However, the diaper bag is coming in with us. Is that going to be a problem?”
 
Adam sighed. “Just don’t bring attention to me, please.”
 
Mrs. Hartmann cooed as she shook his bare legs.
 
“I’ll do my best baby-kins, but you’re so cute that you’re going to bring attention to yourself.”
 
It was hopeless.
 
Seconds later, Adam was back in his shorts and hand-holded his way to Webber’s baby supply store.
 
Shopping centers like this weren’t the norm in Lovington. Mom and Pop stores that lined main street were the backbone of the town, this place was an outlier, the black sheep of corporate retail that better belonged in the suburbs.
 
An Italian restaurant called Romano's sat on the far end, it looked affordable, which was the polite way to describe the tired outdoor decor. Next to the restaurant was a seedy looking place that advertised smoking paraphernalia, sex toys, and lingerie. Its sign read Triple-X, it definitely didn’t belong in Lovington. Adam wondered how they listed their place when it came time to pay taxes. Bonzo’s was a small-time party supply and costume shop sandwiched between Webber's and Triple-X like a forgotten middle child.
 
Webber’s was the easiest to spot, the largest store had the largest sign. It’s name spelled out ten foot tall multicolored baby blocks, the apostrophe was a white stork with a wrapped up bundle of joy hanging from the beak. The baby supply store was much bigger than he expected, like it was a huge department store. Adam briefly hesitated as the pair of automatic double doors opened into a temple of manic baby extravaganza.
 
“I’m so excited that we’re here!” Mrs. Hartmann sounded too giddy for her age.
 
Adam made sure that he was still in her blind spot before rolling his eyes.
 
The world was brighter inside. The floors polished white with a mirror-like shine, reflecting the unforgiving, bland iridescent light that hung overhead. The huge store smelled like citrus air freshener, cardboard boxes, and plastic wrapping; like retail copiously covered in lemon scented cleaner. A long row of cash registers manned by maroon smock-clad, middle aged women turned their way at the sound of the door chime. All was smiles and babies, and everyone seemed happy. Except for Adam of course.
 
Also, Adam smelled baby powder; judging by the way her face lit up, so did Marisa. Charity seemed to come alive as well, pointing at something in the distance and sharing a derisive laugh with her best friend. Their posture changed, no longer apathetic and bored, it was time for their inner Entity came out to play, and this place was a playground full of possibilities. Oh, jeez.
 
“Wow! Check out all the baby stuff!” Charity squealed. “Good call on coming here, Mrs. H.”
 
“Well, I’m glad you think so,” Mrs. Hartmann beamed. “What about you, Marisa? What do you think?”
 
“I didn’t even know this place existed,”muttered Marisa.
 
Adam thought the same thing. He’d lived in Lovington for his whole life, and never heard of this place. It didn't feel real, neither did the cheery greeter that waddled her way to the group.
 
To Adam, she looked in her upper-thirties, and her short, manageable brown hair probably wasn’t its original color, when paired with the oversized, jangling ear rings, overwhelming blue eye shadow, and topped off with elastic waisted mom jeans, she epitomized the Pre-K teacher look. Of course, all the cashiers did, but she looked it the most. As soon as they made eye contact, Adam felt immediately put on edge, if the Entity had a face.
 
Her name tag read Diane.
 
The worn plastic rectangle was accented with an old fashioned diaper, the cloth kind with an oversized safety pin smack dab in the middle. That wasn’t the only bit of flair on her maroon smock, baby paraphernalia pins adorned the front of the vest, each pacifier, diaper, teddy bear, baby block probably stood for something besides the tell-tale signs of fanaticism and obsession.
 
She identified Mrs. Hartmann as the one in charge, brandishing a friendly smile as she approached.
 
“Welcome to ‘Ma’ Webber’s, my name is Diane, what can I get for ya?”
 
In any other situation he would probably have enjoyed the company of Diane; she looked kind and happy, thoughtful and considerate, and was probably super helpful. This weekend shifted the way he thought about other people, he couldn't blame himself for the change, but Diane looked incredibly untrustworthy to his wary eyes. Her smile was too toothy, voice too chipper, and her demeanor too cheery. Adam saw through the glossy fake finish of the veneer, beneath the shiny layer of sham personality was a lonely woman with half a dozen cats at her one bedroom apartment. Okay, that was rude, but his empathy could only go so far.
 
“Hi, we’re here for diapers,” Mrs. Hartmann answered, “and a pacifier, for a little boy.”
 
Adam wanted to sarcastically applaud her lack of subtlety, but he thought better of it, keeping his sass in check was the name of the game here.
 
“Then you're in the right place, Ma’am,” Diane said. “Ma Webber's has the best baby products and the most variety in the state, but that's just my opinion."
 
Diane chuckled and adjusted her vest to bring attention to the numerous pins that she wore like a decorated soldier.
 
"What size and brand for the tiny tyke, I don't see any little ones with you, where's the baby?”
 
Marisa and Charity couldn’t contain themselves and let out a little giggle at his expense. Once again, Adam was the butt of an inside joke, and he felt the redness rush up his neck to his cheeks. He needed to keep quiet so they would keep quiet, but that didn’t stop him from feeling self-conscious.
 
"Oh, I see." Diane chuckled. i/Did she just wink at him? Or was he imagining things?
 
“We haven’t settled on a brand yet,” Lindsey explained, “but we’re going to need them to be the biggest and thickest you've got.”
 
“You guys either got a big baby, or you got a heavy wetter on your hands,” Diane surmised.
 
“What would you say if I told you that it’s a little of both?” Mrs. Hartmann joked.
 
The two middle aged women simultaneously laughed then sighed as if practiced. Mrs. Hartmann wiped a single tear from her eye as she recovered from the quick giggling fit. It wasn't even that funny, maybe the Entity had a bad sense of humor, but Charity and Marisa didn't laugh though, maybe bad jokes were an older generation sort of thing.
 
Adam couldn't help but feel like he was the center of attention, which was the last thing he wanted. He hated the spotlight, and he hated being a joke. He felt the spark in his chest as his stomach started to boil inside, but he knew he had to keep it under wraps, it did him no good to speak his mind.

At best, an outburst would end up further under their thumb; at worst, it would look like a temper tantrum in public. The winning strategy would be to not bring attention to himself, blend in with the environment, just a trio of teenagers following a mom in a baby store. No one needed to know the truth, no one needed to know he wore a diaper.

Diane slapped her hands together before rapidly rubbing them against one another.
 
“Alright, let’s follow the leader to the diaper aisle in the back, and that will give you a chance to see what else we have to offer; remember, I’ll be happy to assist you in any way I can."
 
The group did as told, following the greeter deeper into the store.

A weird sensation crept up from the floor as his legs suddenly felt too heavy to move. Adam immediately suspected the Entity, its invisible tendrils wrapping around his feet, making it difficult to walk and keep up, and impossible to run. Lindsey and Diane seemed to get further and further away from him, but he managed to keep pace despite fighting gravity with every step while wearing concrete shoes.
 
Adam tried to focus on walking and not look around the store as they followed Diane. However, that curiosity thing came again, and even he became a wide-eyed tourist. 
 
Baby furniture sat on display in the middle of the store, cribs, high chairs, changing tables with all shades of babyish designs and painted pink for girls and blue for boys. Cartoon giraffes, tigers, and elephants were over the zoo themed furniture. Other ones had princess stuff like the pink room, tiaras, unicorns, and fluffy clouds. Sporty babies would probably like the sporty bedsheets, the mobiles filled with hanging sporty balls. They were all organized in mini mock nurseries, divided by cubicle-looking partitions, forming an open concept maze at the epicenter of Webber’s. 
 
Some of the furniture looked kind of big to Adam, maybe babies were bigger these days, they were in the Midwest afterall. 
 
Adam looked for Pokemon themed ones, but didn’t see any, maybe that was an acquired taste for older kids. His bedsheets were classic, he hadn't changed them since he was a kid, the fabric was worn and colors were faded, but he still slept on them. They were something familiar, that he understood, and that was comforting.

“Girls, make sure you keep up,” said Mrs. Hartmann. “You too, Adam.”
 
The two teen girls tallied further and further behind, he watched their excitement build, the Entity was drinking in the room like a cup of coffee.

They were waking up to new levels of degradations to force him to suffer under. Charity ran her hand across the padding of a changing table, then she examined a nylon buckling looking thing in her hand. Was that a restraint? What kind of BDSM baby crap was in this store?
 
A few aisles over, Marisa evaluated baby bottles by reading placards from dozens of brands. They weren’t even there for baby bottles. He had to get them out of here, and pronto. The longer they stayed, the more dangerous this place became.
 
The diaper aisle made up the last row of the store, floor to ceiling high with boxes of diapers of every size and brand. He saw the familiar face of ‘Princess Tinkles’ on multiple pink boxes. There were enough diapers there for all the babies in the state, let alone Lovington.
 
“As you can see, we are well stocked for all your diapering needs.”
 
The overzealous greeter smacked the side of a huge cardboard box of Pampers that was 256 strong. At least that was the number of diapers it said it had on the box, Adam doubted if anyone actually counted them.
 
“It looks like the girls are taking their sweet time getting here,” Diane commented as she leaned against the humongous rack of diapers.“Since we have the time, would you like me to tell you the story of ‘Ma’ Webber, the founder of this store?”
 
No. Just no. Adam wanted to say something, but his mouth didn’t work anymore, and he couldn’t tell whether the guilty party was the Entity or his anxiety.
 
“I’d love to hear it,” Mrs. Hartmann gushed.
 
The greeter started slowly, her story as well-practiced as his lines in ‘A Mother Knows Best’.
 
“You probably don’t know that Elizabeth ‘Ma’ Webber, who founded this store, couldn’t be a mother due to her infertility. However, that didn’t stop her from turning tragedy into opportunity. As you can see, she really loved babies, and she dedicated her life to providing a place where moms could meet all of their little needs. ‘Ma’ Webber lived by this motto: everyone is either a mommy, daddy, or baby at heart.”
 
“That’s so true,” agreed Mrs. Hartman. “I’ve always felt that I was always a mom. I just love babies!”
 
“Don’t we all!” Diane exclaimed, brandishing a toothy grin with her cheery demeanor on display. “Now back to the story. ‘Ma’ borrowed against her entire life savings for a small baby store, much smaller than this location. Then she came into some money, the store grew, so did her influence. So did her inspiration.”
 
Mrs. Hartmann nodded her head at every stop, making the right faces at the right times, actively listening for sure, completely captivated by the story. So was Adam. He didn’t even see the two teens sneak up on him until he felt a hand wrap around his arm, pulling him away from Diane’s narrative. He turned to see that it was Charity with a wicked grin. It looked like naughty touches were back, and the sultry whispering, too.
 
“Adam, you better be good, I’m getting awfully horny just seeing you here surrounded by so many fun toys.” Charity brushed his cheek with her lips as she took in a deep breath. “You’re so nervous, kiddo. Are you afraid she’s going to see that you’re not wearing big boy underwear?”
 
He shuddered as she nibbled at his right ear before probing it with her tongue. Now, that was an odd sensation. It made him stand up on his tippy-toes, invisible tendrils be damned.
 
Charity continued, “What do you think she would do to you if she found out?”
 
He didn’t have an answer.
 
“See anything you like, Adam?” Marisa was already on his other side, her hand cupped to his ear, his skin tingled where her soft touch met his flesh. “I kinda have a penchant for Pampers, but they’re all pretty freaking adorable.”

Charity parroted her friend, “Good idea, Mars, he’s going to look hella cute in an itty-bitty Pamper.”
 
He was trapped between the two girls that slithered at his side, and coiled around him like a pair of snakes. Adam felt fingers trail down his back and pull the diaper away from his butt. They were totally checking his diaper in front of Diane! This was a breach of the agreement, or whatever they called the thigh slapping extortion that occurred in the parking lot. However, he knew better than to say anything, and he couldn’t squirm away, the two serpents held him still by wrapping around his arms.
 
“There’s no accident yet,” Marisa whispered, “but that can change any minute.”
 
“Speaking of change, I want to do the next one.” Charity pulled at him and softly kissed his cheek.
 
“I’m pretty sure my mom wanted me to do the next one,” Marisa argued. “You’ve already got a chance to change him, I want to put him in his first Pamper. Pretty please.”
 
Charity admonished her. “You had your chance at the car and you didn’t take it, Mars.”
 
“I didn’t — “ Marisa argued. “My mom was bothering me, she’s always in the way. I hate how she just takes over sometimes.”
 
“It’s no big deal, Mars, your mom will chill as soon as we get him what he needs, she’s just trying to help.”
 
“Well, she needs to back off,” Marisa growled. “Besides, there’s things I want to be able to do with him that I can’t with my mom watching.”
 
“You’re so wicked,” Charity whispered.

Adam could feel the cheerleader’s sadistic grin beside him, he didn’t have to turn his head to actually see her smile.

“Let’s try to get some baby and mommy alone time away from Lindsey, ASAP.”
 
The Entity had transformed the girls, outside the store they wanted little do with him and his diaper. In here, they were arguing over who got to change him. Adam was onto it, he could see through the hypocrisy.
 
However, the two older women were blind to this entire interaction, deep in some stupid story about ‘Ma’ Webber. While the girls went back to arguing over their baby, this time physically. They tugged him back and forth, fighting for his affection as well as the right to change his diapers. The possessive Entity was possessive after all, and there can be only one mommy.
 
“This was all my idea,” whined Charity.
 
“He was my friend first,” cried Marisa.
 
Adam got tired of their tugging, so he did some tugging of his own, bringing his arms together to pull free from their wicked embrace. It worked, a little too much. The momentum from his upper body wasn't matched by his lower body, his legs tangled, and he stumbled forward a couple of steps, straight into the back of Lindsey Hartmann, who was still enchanted by the epic tale of ‘Ma’ Webber.
 
Mrs. Hartmann spun around with the angriest face he’d seen this side of a spanking. Adam flinched and raised his arm over his face, covering his pleading eyes, his measly life flashed before him. He didn’t get a chance ‘to catch them all’. The hot mom grabbed his arm and turned him away from her, reached back with a flattened palm, and gave him a pair of firm smacks on his butt.
 
The diaper managed to protect him from most of the blows. It still smarted, and it was more embarrassing to be spanked in front of a stranger like Diane.
 
The two women stopped talking and stared at him, so did the teen girls, he returned their glares with one of his own. Mrs. Hartmann roughly pulled him to her side, and held him by the shirt sleeve like a frequently wandering toddler.
 
“I’m sorry, he was misbehaving, could you please finish your story?”
 
“That’s okay, ma’am.” Diane stifled a little grin before hastily wrapping up her story. “However, they never found her, and that’s that I guess. I’m sorry if I bored you, I can go on and on about ‘Ma’ Webber, she’s somewhat of a hero to me.”
 
“No, it was very informative,” Lindsey assured her.
 
“Now, back to business. Yes, ‘Ma’ Webber had a inclination for babies, she was lovable and well loved by the whole community. However, she was also what some might call ‘old school’.”
 
Diane did great air quotes with her fingers.
 
The hot mom poked Adam in the shoulder as if to tell him to listen. He didn’t need her encouragement, the pleasant mood of the conversation was changing, and the shiny, false veneer was beginning to peel away.

Diane rolled her tongue against the inside of her cheek as her eyes burned with deep seated furiosity.
 
“She always said that there were two types that needed diapering: babies and brats. That the only difference between the two was that brats needed bigger diapers — so she got’em. As the largest independent baby retailer in the Midwest, she had so much clout with the name brand diaper companies that they made them specially for her, only here can you find the largest baby diapers ever made. You’ll find bigger ones for brats, same look, same everything.”
 
“Brats? Like German hot dogs?” Charity asked.
 
“No, little missy. Brats are teenagers with too much attitude, ones that talk when they should listen.”
 
Charity recoiled. That killed her curiosity and the twinkle in her eye real fast.
 
Diane turned to Mrs. Hartmann.
 
“I’m surprised you guys didn’t already know this, it’s kind of what Lovington is known for, our town’s dirty little secret. This is a notorious diapertown.”
 
“I honestly had no idea,” Mrs. Hartmann awkwardly laughed.
 
If it was a secret how did Diane expect them to know that?
 
“No one seems to use them these days as attitude adjustments. There was a time that we’d have an angry mom of an obstinate teen or a teacher sick of a misbehaving student bring them in. It was almost a once a month occurrence back when ‘Ma’ was alive. We’d have the brat pick them out, we’d take them to a special table in the front of the store so everyone could see them get diapered up, especially us cashiers.”
 
“Wow, I can’t believe that,” Lindsey said.
 
Adam could.
 
”Neither could the kids!” Diane cackled again. “In my opinion, that was back when parenting was still parenting, it solved their problems alright. A brat in a diaper wasn’t a brat for very long. Sometimes, we’d invite friends and family to watch them take their medicine. And even if they cried, and promised they’d be better, they’d still be put in a diaper. So which is it, are you here for a baby or for a brat?”
 
The friction in the air was palpable as Diane scanned over Adam, Marisa, and Charity. Their ‘Entities’ didn’t seem to like the idea that they could be in diapers, too. Which was way different than how ‘It’ treated him, were there two separate Entities at play?

That’s something he should’ve considered earlier, that there were conflicting Entities with different goals, a sort of give and take. The new idea shouldn’t leave him, he’d have to finish that thought later with Katie.
 
“Oh, that’s not necessary, we’re only here for —“
 
“It’s entirely necessary,” Diane interrupted Mrs. Hartmann. “How else do you get out of control children to behave?”
 
The two Boomer women shared an understanding.
 
Adam couldn’t tell if Mrs. Hartmann was enamored or concerned. Or a bit of both.
 
The Entity was controlling the girls, Mrs. Hartmann, maybe Diane the greeter, but he couldn’t help but feel their own natural personality would creep out in the open when it wasn’t paying attention. The Entity acted as if they were just a role to play, trying to convince everyone that they really were their hosts. A game not so different from theatre, if so, who was the audience?

If they were capable of total control, why was there a power dynamic between Mrs. Hartmann and the other girls, and why was there a sense of animosity between Diane and the trio of teens? They were all infected, he wasn't sure how he knew, but he knew that Diane was just as malleable as the rest.
 
Mrs. Hartmann started to say something but was again interrupted by their new friend.
 
“So, which one is it? Or all three?” Diane had her hands on her elastic waisted blue jean covered hips. “I can sniff a brat out of the bunch, and we’ve got changing tables out front, it’s been awhile since we’ve had ourselves some live entertainment around here.”
 
Charity and Marisa slithered away from Adam, creating as much distance as they could from the one actually in a diaper. The space between them and the two adults became an invisible battleground, it couldn’t be seen but they all knew it was sitting right there. He looked at Mrs. Hartmann, tried to read her face, there was no way she’d consider the ridiculous idea.
 
“While that might be a good idea, Diane.” Mrs. Hartmann slowly played the suspense with the cadence of her words. “We’re only here for a few things, and I wouldn’t want to stray too far from our list, this time.”
 
Mrs. Hartmann flexed her power over the three teens as a wielder of their fates. The girls breathed a collective sigh of relief, but Adam already knew he was a dead man walking, he wouldn’t be getting any reprieve here.
 
Diane wrinkled her nose into a rodent-like smile, liking the way Mrs. Hartmann seemed to consider the preposterous notion.
 
“Alright, one last thing, since you guys don’t have a brand in mind, it usually helps if you have him pick it out himself, it really adds to the gusto.”
 
“I think that’s a great idea.” Mrs. Hartmann motioned towards the boxes that filled the aisle. “So, which will it be, Adam?”

[Pierry Louys]

Poor Adam !!! What he gonna pick 

[D503]

I love this chapter - the tension and excitement builds incredibly WHILE AT THE SAME TIME underscoring how the girls are technically bored and disinterested in their pet now that they've had their fun AND YET THEN there's a heart-stopping moment for the girls when they too could be roped into this horrible diaper punishment. Not to mention the store and its backstory.

My guess is the the store IS the cube.

[kerry]

That throwaway line as the "Ma Webber" monologue was ending about her never being found...

Theory: the Entity is Ma, who was somehow captured by the spirit realm and now is trying to make Lovington once again the diaper capital of the world.

[direking]

Thanks for the comments. I love the theories! You guys are on the right track, thanks for making this fun.

24
 
“Adam, you heard the nice lady, hurry up and pick out your diapers.” 
 
Mrs. Hartmann encouraged him, but there were too many choices. Adam needed to choose the right diapers, and choose the right words.
 
But, Adam couldn’t find the right words, or any words to describe the overwhelming feelings that burned through his veins like neon. His brain became an empty dictionary, page after page of nothing to say.
 
Compounding emotions, like lightning bolts, shot up his arms and legs; shock and betrayal, depression and anger all bounced around his body until his muscles twitched, his heart pounded in his ears while simultaneously stopping in his chest.
 
The anxiety overpowered them all.

His nervous nature is what controlled him in the outside world, despite his constant inner chaos, it was his nerves that kept him firmly in place. Like a stone statue, a face burning hot while cold sweat trickled down his back, Adam was a living oxymoron. Doing nothing while feeling everything, suffering while forced to wear a mask of complacency.
 
“Do you need some help, little guy?” Diane’s falsetto voice had a bit of extra falsity. “If there are too many wonderful diapers for your little bottom, then let’s make it easier for you. Let’s get your size right, then we can move onto tougher choices.”
 
He looked up and down the row of diapers, there seemed to be every brand present, even some he’d never heard of in his life. And if he understood the numbered placards that ascended down the aisle, they went up to size 30, there was a lot take in here. His chest felt tight, making it harder to breathe.
 
“I don’t even know where to begin,” Adam complained, it felt so cold he had to check if he was standing beneath an AC vent. “It doesn’t even feel real, like why are they so big?”

It just felt so impossible. The feeling couldn’t be shaken away, like a slight itch on his nose that he couldn’t scratch because his hands were full. He knew it wasn’t right, a baby store that just shrugged its shoulders at the thought of diapering a teen like a baby.
 
Diane chuckled.
 
“Well, we can start by pulling down your shorts and letting me see how your current diaper fits right now.”
 
Great. She knew everything. The charade was over before it even started.
 
“What? You think I haven’t seen a crinkle butt before?” Diane contorted her features into a sickening wide-mouthed, fake-surprise face. "You didn't think I would find out your little bitty secret, did you? You're not half as clever as you think, little boy."
 
“I don’t know, I just … “ Adam sputtered.
 
Every attempt to say something in his defense came up silent. The Entity seized control, stealing the words from his mouth before they left his lips. He became a puppet again, a puppet with full brain capacity. Adam knew what was happening, It was cruel enough to make him sit through his embarrassment, to not bail him out with sepia tone daydream and spare him the suffering.
 
“Don't be shy, little guy. I've seen more than my fair share of diapees in my day, I've also padded bigger babies than you, so there's no need to be bashful."
 
As Diane chastised him, Adam tentatively wiggled his toes in his shoes. No more cement feet. No more invisible tendrils. The Entity seemed too busy keeping his mouth shut to continue controlling his legs. In other words, he was free to run.

If he got a head start, he'd be out of the store, maybe catch a taxi to freedom. They were in public, maybe he could get help here from the other mommies, or other normal people, ones not corrupted and insane. The urge to take off became overwhelming, captivating him, and he couldn’t think of anything else but running.
 
The two older women in front of him seemed to read his mind, each taking a step closer to him as he considered his escape. He turned to find that Marisa and Charity were moving into position behind him as well. Adam was the last one with brains in a room full of zombies, completely surrounded by the Entity, and even if Diane wasn't under the influence, she was still a threat to his adulthood.
 
"Do I need to call in a code Baby Blue?" Diane pointed to one of her flair-pins indicating it was some sort of hidden microphone to call for backup.
 
Mrs. Hartmann said, "There's no need for that, he's a good little boy."
 
Marisa joined in. “Just do what she says, Adam. The quicker we do that, the quicker we get home.”
 
Charity closed in on his right side, almost close enough to grab him. "You don't have to be so wild all the time, Adam. Listen to the nice lady so we can get back to chilling at the abode."
 
The walls were closing in all around him, he was trapped, and there was no way out except to play along. Adam knew about playing the part, he learned a little about acting from Marisa. It was time to convince an interdimensional, alien Entity that he was defeated. Shoot, he didn't even know if the Entity was interdimensional or alien; it could be the result of a poltergeist, hypnotism, evil curse or spell, or a pervasive acute hysteria only affecting him and his friends at the lake house. It was anyone’s best guess. His mind raced, he was out of options.
 
“Like right here?” Adam spun around addressing the entire group. “I’m in the middle of the store, and someone may see me. I’m not sure that was the deal back at the car.”
 
“The deal was that you’d do what we asked without question, ” Mrs. Hartmann firmly corrected him. “Not guessing about what you think you should be doing. Do I need to pull down your pants for you? If I have to move a single muscle, I’m dragging you to the front of the store, and we can check your diaper there in front of all of the cashiers.”
 
"We call that a code Baby Blue," added Diane.
 
"I'm glad we're on the same page," agreed Mrs. Hartmann.
 
Adam had to convince himself there was no other way, even then, he still didn’t want to pull down his pants in front of everyone. Unfortunately, he had to do what he was told, ‘Code Baby Blue’ didn’t sound like his idea of a good time. His hands shook as he slowly undid the button of his shorts, hesitating before pulling down his zipper and fully exposing his diaper to what felt like the entire world. All five of them held their breath as his khakis shorts slid to his ankles.
 
Diane gushed, “That’s so precious!”
 
The Pre-K-teacher-faced greeter assessed the diaper from afar, then moved in on him, tugging and pulling at it without a care to his feelings.
 
What were his feelings? It was hard to explain. Adam was handicapped by the Entity, mortified about reality, but he stood solid and firm against each forceful tug from the overzealous greeter. The edifying edifice that kept him from being a toy hid inside of him like a fortune in a cookie.

He had to play his part, the Entity could read everything about him, or could it? How passively could he resist without the Entity knowing? It was easier to fool the group around him, they were human, and he could paint his face just like Diane, or Marisa. He could trick them, who knew what was going on beneath their surface?
 
That triggered a thought. An idea, or a consideration of an idea. What if they were on the inside wanting to get out? Not the Entity, that was on the outside. The real them, the ones he had come to know in the lake house, before they were taken over by the body snatchers. Maybe they had their own internal struggles like he did; he may be writing them off too soon, Marisa, Charity, and Lindsey could become allies like Katie if given the right chance.
 
What if?
 
What if he could appeal to the human host?
 
Suddenly, there was a new way to win, a fresh game plan that didn’t involve Katie waiting at the lake house.
 
If he could placate the Entity long enough to find a soft spot in the armor, he could strike at its heart, pull its allies away and bring them back firmly in reality. The reality in which he didn’t need diapers, and they didn’t want to sniff baby powder and wipe poop all day.
 
Diane gave the diaper wrapped around his waist a firm tug, pulling Adam out of his daydream, or his new plan to break free.
 
“The bad news is that it’s just as I thought, the diaper doesn’t exactly fit him. I mean, look at the red marks along his poor, little belly, this diaper is way too tight. We might have to graduate to a larger size, maybe two sizes up, if he’s still a growing boy.”
 
“They were the biggest we could find,” Charity argued. Her words fell on deaf ears.
 
The greeter pulled back and rubbed her chin before pointing around at his midsection, evaluating him like he was a show dog.
 
“Also, it’s not nearly thick enough, it’ll leak if it gets too wet, and you can see from the obvious skin irritation around his thighs that’s from this low quality product. I’m so glad you guys came in today.”
 
Of course, Diane didn’t like his diaper, she was a salesperson who really liked her job. They quietly listened as Diane gave a critique of the diaper they chose for him. Of course, they each looked a bit offended and they even made lame excuses, but Adam tuned that out.
 
He was looking for the girls beneath the mask of the Entity, they had to still be in there like he was, maybe they were begging to be let out. He had to find a sign.
 
Then out of the darkness, he found one: Charity rolled her eyes.
 
The cheerleader appeared to be sick of being lectured on the shortcomings of his diaper. That’s the Charity he remembered from when they first exchanged words in the SUV. That’s the snarky attitude that he had come to know and love. Adam continued to watch her get impatient, and saw opportunity when she clenched her fists and quietly scowled at Diane.
 
“The good news is that he’s around a size 10, which means there are plenty of options at his size,” Diane confirmed. “Now, what will it be?”
 
It was time. He pushed his new plan out of his mind and onto the back burner of rebellion. Adam shuffled forward with his shorts around his ankles. He should have pulled them up as soon as Diane stopped messing with his diaper, but he didn’t for some reason. Adam had a knack for finding himself in awkward and embarrassing situations, why would this be any different?
 
His eyes paced over the floor to ceiling of stacked boxes full of all diaper varieties, in the search for the least childish, babyish, infantilish look possible. That was a more difficult task than he expected. He was woefully underprepared for diaper shopping.
 
He had Pampers on his mind. That’s what Marisa wanted, probably Charity, too. If he understood her correctly when her tongue danced in his ear. So he looked over all the boxes until he saw Pampers. He took one look at the cherub faced toddler on the box and decided he didn’t want Pampers after all. Then there were the Huggies, not much better luck there either. There was a curly headed, bite-sized ragamuffin on the box which steered him away. Adam remembered Mrs. Hartmann talking about Luvs at the table back at the lake house, he passed on that box as well. There were far too many choices, none of them good ones. Being a baby was confusing after all.
 
The problem was they were all for babies. Or was that the problem? Adam was supposed to placate the Entity, make it think that it was winning; you know, find the weak point in the armor. ‘Going with the flow’ meant that he should try to make everyone happy, that was the only thing he could control.
 
He swallowed what was left of his pride and turned towards a large box of Pampers. The box had the babiest baby, bald head, clear eyes, large white diaper. Baby Dry. It even had a baby in the name. They looked thick, the diagram on the side appeared legit, and he knew of two girls that were interested in him wearing that brand. Adam gave the box a big hug and pulled it from the shelf. He made sure to pay attention to their reactions, try to see the inner human, separate them from the Entity, but all he saw were twinkling eyes and smiles from the entire group.
 
“Those are going to be so cute on him, and he’s such a big helper to pull it from the shelf with those mighty muscles!” Diane seemed happy with his choice, maybe his ruse worked after all. "And they're thick for pee-pees and poo-poos, I think he'll be a lot happier in a comfy diaper that actually fits him."
 
Okay, maybe his ruse worked too well.
 
Thankfully, Marisa pulled the box from him, his mighty muscles were already giving out. The heavy box was almost half the size of him, and it was a minor miracle that he could hold it up in the first place.
 
Adam took another deep breath, it was time to put his plan in action, which meant divide and conquer. Time to take a more active role in what was going on. The women circled the box, reading the useless information along its side, imagining what they'd look like on him. They fawned over the box more than they fawned over him. Adam welcomed that kind of distraction, maybe he would just slip away. He took a little step away from their huddle, testing their limits. Nothing happened. He took another step, and all four women turned on him at the same time.
 
"Where are you running off to, little guy?" Mrs. Hartmann questioned.
 
"I was — I was wondering about —" Adam still couldn't find the right words, he hated himself.
 
Oh, jeez. They were all staring at him now.
 
"Can I try one on?” Adam peeped. “This diaper is a little uncomfortable — and I, I like the designs."
 
“Oh, he is precious,” chuckled Diane, “I didn’t know he was so into Sesame Street.”
 
Sesame Street? What did Oscar the Grouch have to do with — Oh. He saw the cutesy characters on the diaper, and picked up what they were putting down. And? It didn’t really matter much at this point, he’d had a good look at the entire diaper collection, and he didn’t see anything that really stood out as age appropriate and maturing in any way. The point being that he could do much worse than Sesame Street.
 
Adam hesitated. “Can I wear one?”
 
Mrs. Hartmann slowly answered, “I don’t see how that’s a problem, where’s the nearest changing room?”
 
“There’s one just around the corner, you can’t miss it.” Diane licked her lips as she reconsidered something. “Are you sure you don’t want to change him up front?”
 
“I’m sure!” Adam butted in. “And can Charity take care of me?”
 
He couldn’t sound too excited about this stuff, he was starting to look suspicious. The older women judged him with a pair of husband-reducing glares. Mrs. Hartmann pulled her sunglasses down so he could see her not-so-human, probably-glowy eyes. He’d take their unapproving stare downs if it meant getting Charity to flip teams. This was his best chance to get Charity alone to somehow get through to her inner self.
 
Adam made himself look small. Which was easy to do.
 
“I mean, only if you want, Mrs. Hartmann. I’m just trying to be good, I don’t want to be spanked again.”
 
Mrs. Hartmann folded her arms over her chest, unsure of where this was heading.
 
“Don’t worry, mom.” Marisa assuaged the diaper bag free from the shoulder of Mrs. Hartmann. “I’ll be there if Charity needs help, you wanted me to learn how to take care of him. I have to start somewhere and it might as well be here, right?”
 
“What am I supposed to do until you get back, twiddle my thumbs?” Mrs. Hartmann was trying to play the victim here, typical.
 
“You could — um.” Charity was at a loss for words.
 
Marisa chimed, “You can find him something to wear!”
 
The hot mom turned to the greeter.
 
“Is there anything here that he’d fit into? Did Miss Webber have an inside connection into the onesie business?”
 
“If you tell me you have in mind, I’d love to be able to assist any way I can.”
 
“Something with easy access to the diaper, snaps at the crotch, regular teen boy clothes aren’t the best when it comes to changing bottoms.”
 
Diane considered Lindsey’s words for a moment before that crinkle faced smile showed up again.
 
“We may not have anything here, but if you follow me, I think we can find exactly what you’re looking for next door.”
 
Oh, jeez. He’d have to cross whatever bridge they were building another time. He had work he needed to do on Charity, or on Marisa as a plan B. Get them alone, pull them free from the Entity, and get the F out of here.
 
Still, Mrs. Hartmann didn’t exactly look too confident in leaving him in the hands of the two teens. The hot mom kept looking back with an uneasy expression in her face as she was ushered away. Charity picked up on it as well, she wrapped her arm around him, jostling him a bit on his feet.
 
“He’s in good hands, Mrs. H.” The blonde cheerleader gave him an uncomfortably tight hug. “We got this, don’t we, Mars?”
 
Charity and Marissa exchanged a high five before escorting him to a private changing room supposedly just around the corner. Just being alone with them made him a little nervous. Okay, a lot of nervous. However, he didn’t have much of a choice right now.
 
Now, what would he say?
 
Adam wanted to hit himself, he probably should have come up with something to say, like a script. He wasn’t good at talking, and he needed to say all the right words, right things, let them know the right feelings. Maybe help them find themselves, but first he had to separate them. He didn’t know how to do that either.
 
This was all sounding more and more like a dumb idea. So, he came up with dumber one.
 
“Marisa, I’m starting to feel super nervous about being in a big store,” Adam whined.

Marisa lowered herself to his level, looking into his eyes over the large box of diapers.
 
“Adam, there’s no need to be nervous, you have your mommy right here.” Marisa jostled the box of size 10 Pampers as she repositioned herself to get closer to him. “Fine, what can I do to help?”
 
Adam asked, “Could you get me a pacifier?”
 
It hurt Adam to pretend he was a child, but he needed Marisa out of the picture to get to Charity. He needed to do more to get her to move.
 
“I know I may look like a big boy, but I think I’d look extra cute with a paci,” Adam said, somehow without gagging. “A good mommy would get one for her baby, can you be my good mommy?”
 
Oh, jeez. He was in deep. Adam had to rely on his acting, everyone he knew agreed on one irrefutable fact, that he made a cute kid. Charity was the one who told him that he should play to his strengths, and Marisa taught him how to put on a show. He gave her his best big puppy dog eyes. Blink-blink. Pretty please. She melted.
 
"How can I say no to a cute face like that?" Marisa cooed. "Let me go up to the front of the store where I saw some when we first came in, what color do you want me to get sweetie?"
 
Adam feigned ambivalence. "Why don't you pick one out for me, mommy."
 
He hated having to say that ‘M’ word. That word belonged to one woman, and one woman only. What would his own mom think about him right now? What would she say about him in a diaper, the box of size 10 Pampers 256 strong, about him falling apart all weekend long to find himself in the here and now? It didn't matter, only Charity mattered.
 
Marisa dropped the box of diapers at his feet and headed towards the front of the store like a good little mommy, leaving him alone with Charity. He could tell that the cheerleader didn't like the way he called Marisa 'mommy' as well, she pretended to browse a nearby collection of various electronics, but he knew better. It was fun to watch her Entity suffer as he suffered.
 
It's funny how you take something like mirrors for granted, Adam couldn't find one in the store to literally save his life. He orbited around Charity as they waited, careful not to wander too far and aggro the Entity, trying to find any reflecting surface. Didn't most retailers hang them from the ceiling in case of shoplifters?
 
This was the first store he'd ever been in that didn't have a freaking mirror. This had to be Entity related. In a sick way it made sense, Superman wouldn't keep a stock of kryptonite in the Hall of Justice. The Entity would be smart enough to cover all the mirrors, right? He didn't know, it was a stretch, but it didn’t change the fact that he was out of luck.
 
Adam had to come up with another way to convert Charity, bring her back to the good guys. He collected his wits as he shuffled over to the cheerleader, who was busying herself by harassing a group of tinker toys and development thingies by pressing all of their buttons.
 
“Charity, do you think that I’m a baby?”
 
“What makes you ask, kiddo? I mean, of course you are, you’re wearing a diaper.”
 
This was never going to work, the cheerleader was too obtuse, he should have tried to turn Marisa instead. Too late now, he was stuck with the bimbo, and he had to change her mind without her realizing he was trying to do so.
 
“No. I mean, would I still be a baby if I wasn’t wearing a diaper?”
 
Charity cocked her head. “Are you asking for permission to run around the store bare-ass naked and piddling in the aisles? Quit being a silly goose, Adam.”
 
“I’m not being —,” Adam snapped. “Last week, do you remember last week?”
 
“Yeah. What’s your point?”
 
Adam stopped and grabbed her arm, making her glare at him.
 
“When you think about me last week, was I a baby then?”
 
Charity froze in place. Her eyes narrowed, her lower lip found a tight spot between her teeth, and she stopped pressing buttons as countless lullabies and baby songs chimed on behind the cheerleader as she stared at an empty space just over his shoulder.
 
She muttered to herself, a mantra from the seed Adam planted in her empty head, repeating it over and over again.
 
“Was Adam a baby a week ago?”
 
Adam wished he could peer into the cog-works of her mind, see the gears grinding and in motion, to see if his words were actually working. His only way of telling was by watching the slow change happen all across her face, and it was happening. The cascading changes in attitude played out as she began to second guess her reality.
 
No way! This was working!
 
The cheerleader looked at him differently, and this was finally progress in the right direction. He smiled as he watched ‘It’ lose its grip.
 
Charity grimaced. “What the hell is going on?”
 
“I need your help,” Adam pleaded. “Everyone is brainwashed into thinking I’m a baby.”
 
Charity looked him over for a few long seconds, catching onto his overly baggy shorts and the top of the disposable stubbornly sticking out from his khakis.
 
“Dude, are you wearing a diaper?” Charity asked with a look of disgust on her face.
 
Disgust was an emotion that he’d take right now, it meant she wasn’t seeing him as ‘needing’ the diaper. That was a good sign.
 
“You’re the one who put me in it,” Adam whispered. It was halfway a lie, but was the best he could come up with at this time.
 
“That’s funny, Adam. I would remember putting you in a diaper, there’s no way I could forget that — but you’re right, I don’t remember, like anything. Did we make out?”
 
Adam didn’t know what she meant by making out, so he couldn’t exactly answer.
 
Then she held up a finger to stop him from talking as she closed her eyes and swallowed hard, pausing for a moment of realization.
 
“Yep, I remember now, we totally made out. I can’t recall if we went all the way, please tell me that we didn’t do the dirty deed.”
 
Adam slowly shook his head.
 
“Good, I was worried that we — you know.”
 
Charity made a circle with the fingers of one hand and rammed her the index of her other back and forth into the circle. It was crude, and it involved sex, but that was the way she communicated.
 
Adam muttered, “We didn’t do that.”
 
“Oh, thank goodness,” she sighed with relief. “No offense or anything.”
 
“None taken.”
 
Adam was familiar enough with the short term amnesia that what she was dealing with, having himself gone through the split seconds of denial to an awaiting realization of what actually happened. He could barely contain his excitement as it played out on her face.
 
“I don’t get what’s going on, but you in a diaper is kinda weird. Even weird for you.”
 
Charity re-evaluated the way he looked in a diaper, she looked almost as confused to why it was there as Adam.
 
“It was supposed to be a joke,” she sadly admitted.
 
“Yeah. I know.”
 
It was all supposed to be a joke, but it was way past that now. Charity was slowly coming to terms with their current situation, but they were running out of time, who knew how long it took for ‘mommy’ Marisa to find a pacifier. They had to move fast.
 
“Help me get out of here,” Adam repeated with more urgency.
 
The cheerleader raised both eyebrows and slowly slid a clenched fist his direction for a fist bump.
 
“I’m game for whatever you have in mind, kiddo.”

[Pierry Louys]

Great chapter 

[Mugi]

Cute chapter, if they only made pampers in these sizes ?

Good for Adam he has another one on his team, still kind of hope he will end up loosing to the entity though ?

[littlebabyjanner]

18 hours ago, Mugi said:

Cute chapter, if they only made pampers in these sizes ?

Good for Adam he has another one on his team, still kind of hope he will end up loosing to the entity though ?

 

With a store selling that many different types and sizes of diapers I'm guessing the entity has a pretty good winning record! I think Adam has a long way to go yet if he wants to avoid ending up in diapers. 

[Jayme]

So Adam has 2 possible allies now... the Entity will surely find a way to retaliate back.

[direking]

A few "Team Entity" fans here, probably a good bet. Probably.

25
 
The first question of the day: how would he escape?
 
It wouldn’t be as easy as just walking out, the Entity wouldn’t just ‘stand down’ as they grabbed a taxi. Evil didn’t give up that easily. Yet, there wasn’t anything actually standing in their way either.
 
Charity appeared restless as Adam kept his thoughts to himself, but her impatience was just a part of character, a flaw that came attached to her spontaneity.
 
“Are you going to tell me what’s happening, or are we going to stare and smile at each other all day?”

Adam didn’t immediately answer, still looking for the right words.
 
The second question of the day involved explaining all of this madness to the cheerleader, and doing it as quickly as possible. He would have to find a place to start, but even he didn't know where this began. Did it start as a mean prank by three girls at a lake house, or was it something deeper than that, a hostile Entity takeover that went as far as Adam could imagine?
 
The latter would be more difficult to explain, but that was the truth, the Entity was as real to him as real could get.
 
However, he pictured an invisible sand filled hour-glass, already tipped, and the time was already trickling away. Adam could feel it, like Mario music kicking into second gear. Who knew how long it would take him to explain all of this to Charity? Time was considered important, even the little girl in his dream said it was important to pay attention to time.

He cleared his throat.
 
"There’s this thing that is making you guys think that I'm a baby, even though I'm not."
 
Adam pointed at the ground as a point of emphasis.
 
"It's been controlling you until you can't see that difference anymore, and no one is safe. Not Marisa, not Mrs. Hartmann, they're bad guys now.”
 
“Yeah, you’re acting crazy, Adam. You’re lucky that I’ve been around crazier things.”
 
“It doesn’t matter what’s crazy anymore,” Adam barked back. “I need to get out of here right now, and I don't care how crazy that sounds."
 
“And how am I supposed to do that?" Charity answered with her own side of sass. "I don't have keys to the car, Mrs. Hartmann does. Besides, I don't even know where we are, where are we?”
 
“We're at a place called ‘Webbers', it's a baby supply store.”
 
“The one next to the Triple — I mean, the one next to Romano's Italian?”
 
“Yeah, that one.” It made sense that she'd know about the sex shop.
 
“Alright, I know where we are, there is a bus stop just across the parking lot, and we can catch a ride there.”
 
Suddenly, she went silent.
 
“You don’t believe me, do you?” Adam pouted.
 
“I believe you, mostly. No, a little. There isn’t any other explanation that makes sense right now.”
 
Adam ran his hands down the sides of his shorts to wipe away the sweat from his palms.
 
The side of her mouth turned inward, she was biting her lips with a perplexed look on her face. There was this ‘lost’ look on her that he normally didn't associate with the cheerleader, she was the confident one, outlandish, outspoken, and outpaced everyone around her.
 
This had to be hard on her, but Adam understood and could relate, he had felt this 'lost feeling' before, when he found himself in front of a window looking over the lake after being under the influence for almost an hour. He pooped himself during that one. However, Charity was in the dirty hands of the Entity for much longer, maybe even for a full day, who knew what she remembered or understood for the entirety of that time?
 
Still, the cheerleader seemed to be taking it rather well, she didn't freak out, rip off her clothes, and run into the hills.
 
“Charity, are you okay?" Adam asked as he approached her. "I mean, I just told you that you were brainwashed, and you’re just kinda chill about it.”
 
Charity just smiled and gave him an incredible wink.
 
“Brainwashed? It wouldn’t be the first time, and probably won’t be the last, cheer camp is in a few weeks.”
 
The blonde cheerleader slapped both of her hands on his shoulders and began to playfully shake him.
 
“Listen, Adam, there are different ways to deal with bad news. The first is what you do, get all whiny and complain or apologize about everything. The best way is this: don’t worry about it. If I was out of sorts, I’ll figure it out later. I'm good, dude, don't worry about me."
 
Adam couldn't help but return her smile, Charity was a lot of different things, but first and foremost, plucky.
 
"Oh." Adam just remembered there were other people there with them. "What about Marisa?"
 
"What about her?" Charity quipped, and looked around to make sure that Marisa wasn't in earshot. “It isn't like she's a little girl that can't handle herself, and if she’s on the same team as the bad guys, she’s probably someone we’d want to avoid.”
 
Still, it also bothered him to leave Marisa in a place like this. What would Mrs. Hartmann, or Diane, do to his friend? No, Marisa wasn't his friend. Both Katie and toddler-guru-girl explained that to him, he just wasn't willing to listen. Adam could bail without bringing Marisa, leaving her at the whims of her mom and that crazy Diane lady, but Adam wasn't sure Charity could do the same. BFFs were supposed to be forever.
 
"Charity, you're willing to leave your best friend behind?"
 
"Yep."
 
Charity pulled his face up to hers, and looked directly into his eyes.
 
“We don't have the time to do everything perfectly, we need to get you out of here and into some clean underwear. I have some weird mommy part of me that still wants what's best for you, and I can't get it out of my head.”
 
The way Charity carelessly giggled about being his mom should have disarmed him, but it didn’t.
 
Adam even tried to brush it off with a laugh of his own, but her comment about ‘it being in her head’ concerned him. Did the Entity leave a residual effect in her brain? Like a psychological controlling calling card, a to-do list for while it's away?
 
He had to take things at face value at this point; for now, Charity looked like she was on his side, and it would be wise to move quickly while they had the chance. The most important part of his escape was his escape, but he stopped in his tracks. Adam wasn't one to question a plan that got him to freedom, but there had to be a catch somewhere.
 
“So, it's that easy," Adam thought aloud, "we just skip on out of here while no one is looking?”
 
“Nah, not that easy, you need to get into that changing room and take off that diaper. I'm not going anywhere with anyone in baby pants. Sorry, not sorry.”
 
Charity jokingly made an 'L' on her forehead with her hand to try to play it off as nicety, but she was a popular senior with a reputation to uphold, and Adam had to remember that the rest of the world would view his crinkly butt as something too weird to ignore, especially on a city bus.

She could always pretend not to know him, but her request wasn't all too impossible, he'd just head inside, rip off the diaper, and go 'commando', if he was using the cheerleader's words to describe an underwear-less existence.
 
He went to take a step then stopped.
 
“Wait a second, Katie told me that this diaper thing was entirely your idea!”
 
Charity smacked her luscious pink lips together and rolled her beautiful blue eyes. Adam couldn't believe that he used to think that the dismissive motion was sexy, but two days ago he was a different person entirely.
 
"You found that bit out, huh? Well, don't expect me to apologize, it's kinda your fault for falling for all that stuff. Besides, what I did was in private, and not in public. I’m not the kind of girl that wears my kinks on my sleeve."
 
“My fault? You guys manipulated me!”
 
“You weren’t complaining when I had my hand on your cock.”
 
Her memory looked like it was coming back to her, the raunchy parts at least.
 
“That’s different! It was a trick!” Adam struggled to keep his voice down. “You knew what you were doing, and I didn’t, I could almost compare it to rape.”
 
“Listen, kiddo. Two things: the first being that I was brainwashed, the second is that you know you wanted it. I'm pretty sure you said 'yes' to everything that happened, but we can’t change what we did together, no matter how much we regret or complain about it. Honestly, I'd like to think that we had a good time, and we should leave it at that.”
 
“I don't know if I can do that,” Adam admitted.
 
“You’re going to have to learn to do that. Sometimes the only lesson we can learn is how to move on and realize when it's nobody's fault. What happens to us isn't always right or fair, but no one cares for the difference."
 
Adam nodded. The stupid cheerleader was right; but only halfway right, because what she wrote off has ‘nobody’s fault’ was actually something terribly wrong.
 
“I'm trying to say that it isn't important right now, Adam. Hurry up and dress normal so we can get out of here.”
 
“That's a good idea,” Adam agreed and headed into the changing room a few feet away.
 
It took exactly three steps before the Entity made its opposition known. A powerful stomach cramp came over him, he grabbed his belly and doubled over.
 
"Are you okay?" Charity didn't mask her concern. "Is something wrong?"
 
Adam didn't know how to answer because he was not okay, but he knew exactly what was going wrong. The Entity was trying to make him mess himself, but Adam wasn't going to poop his pants without a fight.
 
Still, a stomach cramp was a stomach cramp.
 
He summoned whatever bodily control he still had to push it away. No, 'push' wasn't a good word, more like clamp or clench, counter-attacking the tightness in his abdomen. It felt like a wrench going to work on his insides, trying to force the contents out of him via his butt.
 
Adam covered his backside with both hands without a care how it looked.
 
“Dude, are you seriously going to shit yourself?”
 
Charity took a cautious pair of steps away from him, and he couldn’t blame her, things were feeling mighty explosive between his belly and his behind.
 
“No, I'm fine.” Adam grunted. Even he didn’t believe that.
 
A lone bead of sweat trickled down his forehead and dripped onto the cleaner than clean white floor.
 
He shuffled, waddled, and wiggled from side to side while holding his insides in through his bottom. This internalized locational attack on his body was new. The invisible Entity was a wily one, coming up with new plans, and striking when he least suspected it. However, he should have suspected it, but converting Charity gave him hope. That was a mistake.
 
Adam took a deep breath, focused his will on his stomach, easing the tightness with each inhale and exhale. It reminded him of the one time he did yoga with his mom, about breathing into a space, but this time the tactic was used to stop him from messing himself instead of stretching a hamstring.
 
Breathe in. Breathe out.
 
He was winning. He could feel it. The tightening loosened up, the sudden rush of potty emergency out maneuvered by his mindfulness. That hope started filling his chest again, and he couldn't help but to smile as a sense of relief cascaded through him like an internal hug. This winning battle gave him the confidence that he so desperately needed.
 
Just a few feet away, Charity watched him contort in front of her, as he squatted like a duck, with his hands over his butt, while happily grinning at absolutely nothing.
 
Whatever. He would have to put up with her thinking he was weird until they got to safety. In a way, he welcomed that kind of attitude from Charity, it was much better than the one that wanted to diaper him.
 
The feeling of tightness eventually dissipated. Hopefully, banished to the pits where it belonged.
 
Adam turned to Charity to say something funny, witty, or distract from the fact that he almost pooped himself in front of her. Adam did his best sly grin, raised his eyebrows, and opened his mouth – at the same time, the Entity opened up his bladder. Adam started peeing himself. His eyes went wide as he felt the diaper balloon at his crotch. A warming sensation like dipping himself into a hot tub, crotch first.
 
His pants wetting didn’t go unnoticed by Charity, who watched him with a hand clasped over her mouth and whispered three letters which stood for three words which stood for one emotion: Disbelief.
 
“O. M. G.”
 
“I'm sorry,” Adam gasped.
 
He couldn't stop it, his best hope was that the generic drug store diaper would hold up against the torrent now flowing free; he had his doubts, Diane didn't exactly give it glowing reviews.
 
Adam saw Charity change from just seconds before, her eyes narrowed and her lips tightened, she did this freaky thing with her eyebrows that he couldn't quite describe. The cheerleader looked a little less friendly and a little more patient and predatory, like a cunning lion waiting for the gazelle to tire before striking.
 
“It's alright, kiddo. That's what diapers are for, isn't it?" Charity closed in on him, violating his personal space without a care. "Did you think that we'd let you go that easy? You're our baby, Adam, and we plan on keeping it that way. Let me know when you're done being a potty pants and we can get you in a Pamper where you belong.”
 
And just like that, he’d lost her. He was so close to getting another ally, finding actual freedom, developing a proper escape plan. All of that tinkled away by evil design. How frustrating? Very.
 
The cheerleader giggled as he struggled to finish. It was just like when she handcuffed him to the tree the day before, he couldn't move until it was all said and done. It was completely embarrassing to stand in front of a peer and pee your pants, especially the way she stood there laughing at his misfortune.
 
Adam growled, “What's so funny?”
 
Alright, he was bowlegged and peeing in front of the Entity which probably was the highlight of its day, but Adam failed to see how any of this was funny.
 
“Irony, Adam. That's what is so funny about all of this. Things begin where they end, and end where they begin. This whole shindig started with a Pampers commercial, and now it's going to end with you in a Pampers diaper. Like freaking poetry.”
 
This was something new, he could feel it. He was speaking directly with the Entity now, Charity was no longer the human filter between him and 'It'. The guessing game was over, the mask removed, and the gloves were finally off. All of the questions that he harbored no longer held any meaning, seeing ‘It’ in person removed any reasonable doubt. Adam watched it soak in everything as he finished soaking his diaper.
 
What would he say to It? Would he be angry, or would he beg for mercy? He would do as he always did, say nothing, do nothing. Keep his internal sass bottled up until it fermented into an outright explosive.
 
“What's wrong, Adam? Cat got your tongue?” Entity-Charity circled him while poking with an extended finger.
 
She prodded his shoulder, his forehead, and even blooped his nose before squeezing it a little too hard. Adam pulled his head away, trying to keep his anger under control. The spring in his chest was already coiled, he'd been frustrated all day because he felt so stupid and helpless. He gritted his teeth and bided his time.
 
“Temper, temper! I don't want to have to pull you over my knee,” Entity-Charity continued to tease. “Or do I? I can only imagine the looks we'd get while I warmed your behind.”
 
“What do you want from me?” He could feel heat from the fire in his eyes.
 
“Adam, I'm sure a smart little boy like yourself is catching on to the way things are heading around here. Don't worry, I'm almost done with you, and I'll move onto the next doll as soon as I'm done. I like to finish projects, don't you?”
 
“I'm a person, not a project.”
 
“Look at Mr. Badass over here, he's certainly found his voice now, too bad it’s too little, too late.”
 
Adam found that she had a finger in his face, so close it made him cross his eyes.
 
“That's always been the issue, Adam. You're the kind that will sit in a boiling pot complaining about the heat until it starts to hurt, then you refuse to move because you think you can take the pain.”
 
“Even when you know it's wrong, that you know that it hurts, you're willing to sacrifice your well being for someone who doesn't have any of your best interests in mind; especially if it's from a girl as pretty as Marisa, as easy as Charity, or whatever Katie is, that one is an actual tough nut to crack, but she'll crack, they always do.”
 
Katie was his ace in the hole, and it sounded like the Entity was having a difficult time corralling her which was good news to him. Adam reminded himself not to think about Katie too much, he didn't know the psychic abilities of this thing, could it read his mind?

He knew that a part of it was inside of him, but if it could read his mind then it could have more control over him, and it wouldn't be too concerned with whatever plan Katie was hatching back at the house. Which was beginning to look like his only hope at this point.
 
“I'm going to win,” Adam whispered.
 
“What was that, kiddo? Remember to use your big-boy voice when you talk to grown-ups.”
 
He didn't look away when Charity lowered herself to look him in the eyes. He stared deep into her sapphire blues until he could barely see the dim red light deep within her pupils. Adam wanted to make sure that the Entity knew it was talking to it, not the shell of a cheerleader that it inhabited like a hermit crab.
 
"I said that I'm going to win, you're going to lose, you're nothing but a parasite."
 
“That's what the last one said, too. Well, not the parasite bit. Adam, honey, I don't want to fight you. It's not worth our time to battle each and everyone that tries to make a stand against us. We’re not your enemy, you are. We only showed up to lightly push you along, you were well on your way before we came into the picture, and you know it.”
 
"That's not true," argued Adam, who wasn't entirely sure that it wasn't true, but he needed to say something to break up the villainous monologue. "I can stand up for myself, I do it all the time!”
 
“Really? You stand up for yourself all the time?” The corruption inside the cheerleader seemed to have mastered her host's sarcastic arts.  “Adam, I struggle to find anyone in your life that doesn’t walk all over you. I can see your nose growing a little longer with every lie you tell yourself.”
 
Adam bit his lip. ‘It’ was right, so what?
 
“I’m still going to fight you.”
 
"That's where you're wrong, kiddo,” the Entity quipped, it mimicked Charity in an uncanny way. “By the end of all of this, you're going to want to give yourself up to us."
 
“You’re wrong about me,” Adam muttered. “I want you to leave me and my friends alone.”
 
The Entity had a different kind of evil laugh than Charity, one with less panache, and slightly more disturbing.
 
Adam searched around their lonely aisle, hoping for a soccer mom or something to pass by, he could use a distraction to get away. However, there wouldn't be any good luck to bail him out, all there would be was him and It. Adam vented that pent up inner rage, he wanted to feel the steam shoot out his ears. He was going to need all of that anger, things were about to go down.
 
She leaned down and got in his face.
 
“You okay, kiddo? It looks like you’re about to explode.”
 
"I'm not your kiddo, bitch."
 
Immediately, he knew that he said the wrong thing. Entity-Charity pushed him up against the beige wall next to the open door to the changing room. The shove and the power in which it came took Adam by surprise. She was in his face before he could get out. He was confined in a small space, shelves circled around him, making him feel incredibly small. Adam tried to be brave, and actually stand firm, but he couldn’t even touch the ground at this point, as he felt her lift him from the floor.
 
It was a mistake to challenge the Entity, and now it looked like it would make him pay, big time. 
 
Entity-Charity was all over him, her free claw roamed down his chest, and found its way into his shorts, cradling and cupping his now wet diaper. Stop, he wanted to tell her to stop, but she didn't because he didn't. There wasn't enough strength left to even speak on his behalf, he clutched his balled fists to his chest and hoped that it would all end soon.
 
"What? You're not going to say 'Oh, Jeez'?”
 
She sneered and grabbed him by his shirt with both hands, eliciting a squeak from his lips, like a baby mouse that stubbed its toe.
 
“I just love it when they squeal," Entity-Charity growled as she dragged him up the wall until his feet could no longer touch the floor. "Mmm, look at how scared you are, Adam. I can't tell if I want to fuck you or change you. Maybe do a little of both, we've got nothing but time on our hands."
 
She ran her tongue up his cheek as he withered away into the wall.
 
Charity taunted, "I can taste your fear, baby."
 
The spring in his chest finally coiled and gathered enough energy to fire back. A spring, good idea. Adam pressed his feet against the wall, he planned to use it as a springboard to fly against her, he pushed with all of his might. It wasn’t martial arts, but it resembled a flying knee, or what he thought looked like a flying knee. It probably didn’t look cool at all, but he collided into Charity sending them both tumbling to the floor. Which created just enough of a gap for him to make a break for it.
 
Adam shouted, "Get off me!"
 
Entity-Charity clawed at him with pink polished nails, but Adam managed to stumble free and took off running towards the front of the store.
 
He no longer cared about the scene he caused, there were no more ‘rules of war’ after being cornered by that thing in Charity's body.
 
He had to run, he had to get away, he looked to the end of an open aisle. He broke into a sprint, getting separation between him and the Entity. His feet were free from any control, Adam pulled himself around the corner of the aisle, pushing towards the front of the store. He could do it, he looked at his fast moving sneakers against the whiter than white tile floor. The soggy diaper swayed from side to side in his shorts, it made a crinkly sloshing sound with every footfall.
 
Adam wasn’t ever considered athletic, but he was small and agile, with snap second escape skills honed by years of avoiding wedgies, wet willies, and noogies.
 
The other moms in the store, the regular ones with carts full of regular babies and regular shopping stuff, stared at him as he rushed by. He cut around a corner too fast, slipping and sliding into a row of baby food, accidentally knocking the tiny containers off their shelves. The crashing sound of the glass jars roared behind him as they fell to the floor.
 
He over-corrected into a basket of rubber balls, sending it toppling to the floor, its contents bouncing around everywhere. It was quite the mess.
 
That didn't matter now, Adam turned towards the front of the store, he was almost there, and could make it if he was fast enough.
 
The overhead loudspeakers crackled alive:
 
CODE BABY BLUE
CODE BABY BLUE
 
The row of cashiers sprang into action, they weren't smiling at him now, lining up in positions to tackle him if he got too close. Adam skidded to a stop. He had to go around them, there was now a line of eight minimum wage monsters heading his way.
 
He didn't realize that one was already behind him until she grabbed his arm with a ridiculously strong grip. Adam flailed against the larger woman, wildly slapping her arms, punching her shoulders. Then he applied a well-timed strike to her foot with his heel. She howled in pain and let him go. Adam used that opportunity to run in the opposite direction, all around him he heard the crackling sounds of live walkie-talkie chatter as they chased him.
 
He retreated until he found himself in the middle of all of the baby furniture. 
 
Before he knew it, Adam was in the midst of the tiny nursery mock-ups, surrounded by various themed cubicles, he'd have to navigate this little maze as they seemingly came from every side. There was a changing table to his right, a pair of cribs on his left, an oversized rocking horse blocked his front.
 
Adam rolled under the closest crib, shimmying on his belly to get to the other side, where there was another Webber worker waiting for him, but she only caught his dust as he was already a pair of steps away from her before she could bring her hands together. He was already in the next nursery, leaning against the wall as he tried to figure out where to go next, and maybe catch his breath.
 
But Diane came from around an opposite corner, trapping him in, and she looked less than happy.
 
"I knew I should have called it in, but your friends were being too nice, I know a naughty little brat when I see one."
 
Adam desperately looked around his immediate surroundings, he was in the sporty baby room now. A mobile full of all kinds of sporty-balls hung above a crib adorned with sporty-sheets featuring football fields and baseball diamonds. The sour faced greeter had him cornered, trapped between the sporty crib and padded rocking chair.
 
It wasn't hopeless, but the light was beginning to dim. Without a second thought, Adam quickly moved to the padded rocker, jumping and putting both feet onto the chair like it was a skateboard, it tipped over and catapulted him away from the trap. Diane followed just steps behind, too slow to grab ahold of him.
 
The success of the move surprised both of them, and he stumbled out from the corner with a new sense of determination.
 
He didn't pay attention to much else besides the maroon smocks, the grasping hands that tried to grab him, the sounds of angry voices over the walkies. Adam was a squirmy one, he could shift and move between the furniture with an ease these postmenopausal women couldn't match, no matter how much extra strength that the Entity gave them. They were all under the influence, he was sure of it.
 
The chase ran in circles, cutting, dashing, sometimes crashing around the furniture displays, bringing down cubicle partitions, destroying several nurseries that were only in the way. Adam ducked and dodged until he found himself actually closer to the front of the store, with only a pair of parallel changing tables standing between him and the automatic doors in the distance. The chaotic scene had managed to pull all of the cashiers from their 'tackling' positions.
 
The workers had him mostly surrounded, there were about a dozen now, but it wouldn't be enough. Adam took off, sprinting straight at the first changing table, he leapt over it like a hurdle, but his foot caught just an inch of the padding that lined the top, and he fell to the ground.
 
It knocked the air out of him.
 
He grabbed his side and got back to his feet. He began to feel tired, but he couldn't give up. The glass doors beyond the abandoned registers were just twenty or thirty feet away, but there was only a single worker in the way, just on the other side of the last changing table. The same one that grabbed his arm from earlier, she walked with a noticeable limp from his cruel heel strike. She was joined by Charity, who snarled at him, but maintained position like the rest of the corrupted workers of the baby store from hell.
 
The next changing table was too tall to clear with a jump, he could probably roll over it, find the space between the wounded worker and the angry cheerleader.
 
After that, nothing but the double doors to the parking lot, then what would happen? He didn't know, it was all he could control. ‘Go with the flow’ meant running for his life, not knowing where exactly it would lead, but understanding that he had to get there. He allowed himself one heartbeat, one deep breath, and one last desperate wish for freedom.
 
Adam sprang from his spot, his speed surprised both of the enemies in front of him, he tucked and rolled over the changing table as their hands flailed at the air around him.
 
There was nothing left between him and those automatic doors.
 
He scrambled towards them full speed ahead, he turned to see the crazies still chasing, screaming at him, like wild animals that lost their prey. Adam smiled. He did it. He got away. Adam ran through a skinny spot between the registers.

Only to find Marisa as she popped up from behind one, her hands overflowing with so many different colored pacifiers, it looked like she was having a hard time picking one out for him.
 
Surely, she was there to help. Surely. Then Adam looked again at the mountain of binkies in her possession, and remembered who she became, or who she just actually was the entire time.
 
He tried to slow down, his feet only slid against the tile floor as he tried to change direction, running far too fast to control himself against that kind of surface. Marisa snarled at him, a weird look on her normally well composed face, but he'd seen it before in an upstairs bathroom. He knew about that madness firsthand.
 
Charity was right about leaving her behind, especially if she was one of the bad guys.
 
All of the pacifiers fell to the the floor as she reached for him with angry claws of her own, Adam managed to tuck away from her hands and continued to stumble away and into the automatic doors, that were sure to open automatically for him. To his horror, they didn't.

The final second of his escape attempt moved in terribly slow motion, he noticed the red light above the doors which meant they were already electronically locked, and he realized that he wasn't going to be getting away, there was no hope of an empty parking lot, catching a taxi, or city bus. There was only the Entity and the Code Baby Blue.
 
Adam slammed into the glass doors.
 
Spun once, no twice.
 
His feet flew over his head, the world tilted upward, he saw the ceiling and felt the floor crash into his back. He bounced on the ground, landing on his spine, feeling the reverberation up and down his neck as the back of his head slammed into the tile.
 
Everything became blotchy and blurry, like bad preschool art that only a mother could love. First, Marisa loomed over him. Diane and Charity joined her, too. The poor woman that got his heel to the foot was also there, but it was already fading to black.
 
Diane addressed the gathering crowd of onlookers, there were a few normal people there, worried mommies with worried toddlers in tow.
 
“It’s alright, just a stupid teenager trying pull off a prank. You know how immature they are, always looking for trouble. Well, this one's found trouble.”
 
The evil greeter pulled her vest to her mouth and pressed on one of her many flairs.
 
“We’re going to need a store wide clean up, starting with aisles 11-15, it looks like somebody had a little spill.” She turned to Marisa and added, “Take him to the changing room, and put him on the table.”

[direking]

26
 
Lovington is a strange place.
 
A small town entirely out of sync with normal, where babies came in all shapes, sizes and ages. A simple place where no one seems to notice, and even worse, no one seems to care. As pristine as the American dream, like ice cream and apple pie, only left out in the sun to melt and rot away. What was once nice, suddenly spoiled, poisoned, and not fit for consumption. That’s the story of Lovington, something that used to be sweet now turned sour.
 
Yes, Lovington is a strange place, but it wasn't always that way.
 
Before the scientists opened up that door, Lovington was just as boring as the teenagers believed. However, something came in with the Cube, something that crept through the empty minds of the populace like an angry centipede, crawling from one consciousness to the next, seeking to reclaim what was lost when the door was opened.
 
Always on the hunt, always seeking prey, and always just out of sight.
 
They pretended to be neighbors, co-workers, teachers, and entrepreneurs, like Elizabeth Webber, whose dream of being a mother dashed when a medical reality rained on her parade. She was one of the first, the easiest, the willing. When her suppliers balked at her demands for bigger diapers, bigger furniture, cribs that could sleep an adult, she used her influence to change their minds.
 
Deep down in their supply chains lay countless dirty secrets kept under wraps, hidden in dark shady corners where not even the best of auditors could find, there existed a small marketplace for products to be shipped to without question.

The Entity required no explanation from its dolls, they just did what they were told, even if they were clueless to where size 22 Huggies were actually heading. The same could be said about the car seats and cribs, tricycles and toys, for larger than average baby girls and boys.
 
Elizabeth Webber was one of the first to give in completely to the Entity. It stayed around, and when she got too old for their games, they found a new body. One belonging to a chipper teenager named Diane, whose penchant for diaper discipline was as well fostered as its former host. It was just a short matter of time before they saw eye to eye on just about everything.
 
Sometimes the Entity borrowed a person, sometimes it kept them around for good.
 
There was a reason why diapers at the drugstore were big enough for Adam, because all diapers ran a little big in Lovington, there was a demand there that just didn't exist outside of its tiny sphere of influence.
 
This careful song and dance, this battle of wills had played out in Lovington for decades, but it was always a well-kept secret. Big babies told no tales, neither did their happy mommies and daddies. It was as if they just poofed away from existence, for only they knew what happened behind the walls of homes surrounded by white picket fences, or what lay beneath the cheery faces with sinister intentions, the causes for disappearances that weren’t even a blip on the radar for Adam, Marisa, or Charity.
 
The strange occurrences were just by-products of a fog that no one could see or shake, an influence that bought and sold consciousnesses like it was going out of style. The fog kept looking, searching, needing that Cube.
 
Unfortunately for the people of Lovington, the Cube remained out of their reach, and the Entity would have to settle on what it had around them: a town full of blind and willing puppets of which to pull strings, dolls that needed dressing, and babies in need of babying, even if the people remained ignorant to the fact.
 
However, the games It played barely scratched the surface of that hunger, it never satisfied, only dulled the pain and occupied their mind. They would never settle on feasting on Lovington, but that didn't mean they wouldn't have their share of fun in the meantime.      
 
All of which didn't matter to Adam, when you find yourself tied to a large changing table about to be Pampered against your will, you're less concerned about how it was built, or where exactly it came from.
 
If you're like Adam, you're more worried about why you're there and how you're going to get away. And he was about to find out why, but at this point, there was no getting away. Even if it wasn't his fault that he and his friends had stumbled upon a townwide conspiracy, he was still going to reap the consequences. He should've listened to his gut from the beginning or realized that he was just a doll in a giant dollhouse.
 
There were warnings after all.

….
 
“Wakey-wakes, eggs and bakes, little guy.”
 
Adam felt sick when he recognized Diane's syrupy voice.
 
That wasn't the only thing he felt, the dictionary within his brain found his words again. He was dazed, battered, beaten, frazzled and frayed, tired of being a victim, and tired of fighting to keep them away. They caught him, taken him down, and he knew that he was close to the end, whatever they considered his end.
 
What he wanted was just a wish or dream at this point, he'd have to put up with their subjugation, it was hopeless and helpless, just like a baby needing a mommy. He had to admit to himself that it was pretty 'Meta' in that way.
 
He struggled to open his eyes.
 
"Oh, he's finally waking up," Diane excitedly chittered like Adam was about to stroll into his own surprise party. "We’re going to have a little talk about his next steps, and I can tell by the tantrum he pulled in my store that he's one that needs to calm down before we proceed any further. We're almost done here, I can feel it, can't you?"
 
She obviously wasn't speaking to him. Adam turned towards her voice with partially opened eyes and saw the older woman huddled with Marisa and Charity. The two brainwashed teens nodded mechanically along with Diane.
 
His ears rang, pain radiated from a sore spot on the back of his head, and there was possibly a concussion in the mix as well.
 
“You girls stay still, and let me do the talking,” Diane ordered.
 
Diane had her eyes on the changing table, confident, assured in her victory.
 
Adam lifted his hands to rub his head, but quickly found that he couldn't move. Adam pulled at his arms and they didn't respond, stuck to his side like they were tied there. Because they were tied there. He opened his mouth to speak to find that it was tightly gagged as well, by a pacifier. He recognized the plastic fake nipple like an old friend, the bulb filled his lips and depressed his tongue.
 
He opened his eyes, looked up, and saw himself.
 
There was a mirror fastened to the ceiling above the changing table, and he was fastened to the changing table, seeing himself in the mirror.
 
His eyes brightly glowing baby blue.
 
Adam desperately looked around for answers, but no one there would give him any. He assumed he was in the changing room. It felt claustrophobic, the tiny hideaway for mommies and babies to take care of their dirty business didn't need to be roomy. There were plenty of diapers, supplied by a familiar open box of Babydry, and somewhere at his feet was a waiting diaper pail for the one he had just wet in front of Charity.
 
“Hey there, little guy,” Diane cooed from across the room.
 
Adam wanted to tell her what he really thought about her and her stupid vest, but he couldn’t.
 
The damn binky was impossible to spit out, and he didn’t exactly understand how the Entity controlled just enough of his lips, his tongue, maybe even his brainwaves to make the possible impossible. The fact was that it didn't matter, the fake nipple thingy was like him, not going anywhere without a permission slip from the Entity.
 
With one final try, Adam pursed his lips around the plastic edges of the baby blue soother in his mouth, if only he could gain enough leverage to pry it free. It didn't move then, either. He tried letting out an exasperated sigh, but it came out as a suckling pop. He didn't sigh again.
 
His quiet temper tantrum amused Diane, bringing her over to the table grinning ear to ear, but that was just that false veneer Adam noticed when they first met. This woman was Entity incarnate, he picked up on it from her first words, but now she was practically dripping of the stuff like a soapy sponge.
 
“Still a fighter?” Diane chuckled. “After all you’ve been through, you’re still trying to stand up for yourself. I have to admire the way you stuck to your guns, but it’s over now.”
 
No, it wasn’t over. Even if he was tied to a changing table, mouth sealed by a pacifier, and already in a wet diaper, Adam wouldn’t take this lying down. He wouldn’t let it happen like this, he wouldn’t give up so easily.
 
"Want me to get that out of your mouth?" Diane meant the pacifier gag. "But only if you're going to be good, no one likes a screamer."
 
Adam nodded, tentative and unsure.
 
It was just him and her, the other girls stood deathly quiet and still. Just a pair of aimless humans watching the wall with open expressionless eyes not even blinking, barely breathing shallow air. In all shapes and circumstances, they were dead to the world around him, awaiting their next command.
 
"Also, no biting." She wagged a finger inches from his eyes. "That's how babies lose teeth."
 
Diane leaned over his supine form, the baubles and trinkets on her maroon vest jingled, so did her hoop earrings and the numerous bracelets around her wrists. She jingled just like he crinkled. Adam looked beyond her at the mirror above him, the kryptonite seemed to be within his reach, he just needed her to look up and it'd all be over.
 
If Diane saw her reflection in the mirror, she'd be freed from the Entity, that's how the rules worked. The dream girl told him that much.
 
She easily pulled the pacifier from his lips, it popped out. His mouth was finally free.
 
Adam opened his eyes as wide as he could, he could feel the pupils shake from side to side as he pretended to panic.
 
Adam shouted, "What's that behind you!"
 
Diane quickly spun around towards the ceiling. Her face was visible to him as well, he’d see her glowing eyes, she’d see her glowing eyes, but that’s not what happened. Her eyes didn’t glow, only his.
 
Diane smiled, then winked at her reflection.
 
"Hey, good looking."
 
"Wha-" Adam was flabbergasted.
 
“I’m sorry, did you think it would be that easy? Think again, baby. We aren’t as skittish with our reflection after a while, and the eye thing goes away after a few months. And baby, I’ve been here since the beginning.”
 
This was a stronger version of the Entity, in Pokémon terms, evolved. What little he knew about facing this thing didn’t matter anymore, it had him at It’s mercy. He futilely pulled against the restraints, maybe she would be dumb enough to untie him from the table. Evolution didn't always mean intelligence. He had to place his hope somewhere.
 
Diane chuckled.
 
“It’s so cute, trying to get away when it knows that it’s cornered. Humans are predictable animals after all, you're just like a mouse caught in a trap, a fly wrapped in a web, or a baby closed in a crib.”
 
“Just who are you?” Adam mumbled.
 
His face felt tight and strained, like confusion put his cheeks and brow into a vice, and just being around Diane twisted it into submission.
 
“I’m Diane, remember.” The greeter cheerfully pointed to the name tag on her lapel. "However, names are such a confusing concept, there are thousands of Dianes and Adams, only one of you, but there are dozens of me. So you see, names don’t really apply to this whole scenario.”
 
“I’m supposed to believe that you’re just some greeter in a baby store,” Adam said sarcastically.
 
“Greeter?” Diane sounded a little offended and taken aback. “Baby, I’m the manager, I’ve been calling all the shots since I’ve got here.”
 
“And where did you come from?”
 
“I’m from out of town, Adam. I come from a place where things are ‘different’.”
 
“I knew you were an alien piece of garbage,” Adam spat.
 
“Are you going to let me monologue, or am I going to have to bring back your binky? I’ll say that you’re due an explanation of sorts, given the fact that you’re on the tail end of a wild ride. I'll talk only as long as you behave, because you have choices to make, and you're not the kind that makes them easily."
 
Choices to make. Adam wasn’t sure what Diane meant by choice, none of this was his choosing, and he doubted the Entity planned on giving him a choice, maybe the exact meaning was lost in translation along the way. A way in which choice meant no choice at all. However, he settled in, the ‘Ma’ Webber story was long and boring, he had to prepare himself for this one to be the same.
 
“Let’s start on who we are, and why we are here, then you can choose to help us out.”
 
Adam sighed, not overtly because that would be rude.
 
“Alright, here’s what you need to know. Out beyond the door we are one, formless and free, more of an idea than a thing. In here we are many, just trying to coexist as best we can. We’ve been in your world for awhile, and we have the tendency to manipulate ones around us in special ways. Unbeknownst to your kind, of course.”
 
Diane took a deep breath, Adam wondered if the Entity had to breathe or was it a human thing.
 
“There are consequences for the way we have to exist here, certain rules we must follow. Things we cannot help.”
 
Adam interrupted, “Like turning people into baby-fiends?”
 
“Yes, that’s one part of us,” Diane conceded. “Probably the part you care most about, or the only aspect of our being that concerns you. I assume you’ve noticed a number of changes?”

“You can say that again,” Adam mused.

“Let me be the first to offer you an apology.”

Adam pinched the side of his leg, that’s all his bound hand could reach. The Entity actually apologizing to him, he didn’t expect that while tied to the changing table.

“When it’s done right, you’re not supposed to notice; however, not all of us are on the same page.”

Diane did that tongue in the side of her cheek thing as she stared off past Adam, her mind was elsewhere for a couple of seconds.

“You know, this individuality thing is a bug, not a feature. Isn’t it so annoying to be human? When we ‘imprint’, ‘conjoin’, or control we lose some of ourselves and we gain you. All of you. I’d like to say we keep what we want and discard the rest, but we have to hold onto your human baggage.”

Diane pointed towards the mirror with her hand, and Adam looked upwards, deep into his blue shimmering eyes.
 
“The whole eye thing is from us, as you probably already guessed. Sometimes, just being in our proximity makes you want to be a baby or take care of one. It means you’re being ‘imprinted’, or if you’ve agreed to share your body, we become somewhat of partners, ‘conjoined’ if you will. Red for mommies and daddies, baby blue and pink for baby boys and baby girls.”

“I know what you’re thinking,” Diane continued. “We don’t pick your roles, it’s more of a natural disposition kind of thing. Adam, you’re just naturally inclined to be a baby.”

Adam argued, “Am not.”

“Are, too.” Diane grinned, then exhaled slowly. “You weren’t supposed to know about any of these things, and I’m sorry about all of this confusion.”

Diane sighed again melodramatically as she eased herself onto the edge of the changing table.

"As I said before, when we do a good job, you can't tell the difference between us moving you and you moving yourself."
 
Adam muttered, “What are you getting at?”
 
“Individualism, the bane of our existence. It didn’t exist on our side of the door, it’s something new to understand, and it’s the only reason we haven’t taken over your world. We would have to drag your ‘baggage’ along with us, and honestly, that’s just not worth the effort. Besides, the door is mostly closed now, there’s nothing to do here but linger, and play games.”
 
“Play games?” Adam wondered if it really was just about fun times with the humans.
 
The greeter-manager opened her eyes wide, her heavily lacquered eye shadow became a pair of waxing navy blue half moons, her sincere smile bone-chilling, and her face genuinely concerned in some sick way.
 
“We’re hungry, Adam, so terribly hungry because somebody took away all of our food. We don’t eat like you do. No delivered pizza or hamburgers for us. We feed off of your distress: fear, humiliation, pain and suffering. We didn’t pick our diet, just like you don’t choose to breathe air.”
 
“Are you going to eat me?” Adam wondered if the changing table was actually a buffet table.
 
“Oh, sweetie, you’ve been food all weekend. I’ve been nibbling on you since you toddled through those doors.”
 
Adam gulped.
 
“We tried other foods, and we’ve done nasty human things that I don’t even want to talk about, the worst of the worst. It did nothing to replace the Cube, but we found something that sorta scratched that itch.”
 
The Entity stretched her wide mouth into a wicked grin, taking such joy from pain.
 
“Isn’t regression just the best?”
 
She licked and sucked at her fingers, loudly popping the digits in and out of her mouth like he was the most delectable icing of a padded cupcake. Then she cackled again.

"You'll never understand the taste of terror of forcibly taping an older ‘baby’ into a diaper when they don’t need it, or savor the humiliation when they realize that they do. Those are things you’ll never understand, like I don’t understand why you keep fighting the inevitable.”
 
Diane chided him as she adjusted the restraints around his chest and waist, tightening them against him, now they dug into his skin.

"It's not our fault, Adam. I didn't choose to be the way I am, and you didn't choose to be the way you are. Babies like you are blood in the water, it brings out the worst in us. The reality is that some of you are meant to wear diapers, others are there to wipe away the mess. I know you don't think that's fair, but that's the way the cookie crumbles."
 
It wasn't fair. He wasn't going to argue that point, especially since it was obvious to him that it wasn't designed to be fair.
 
“What about the one in me?” Adam offered, if this was a game, he felt cheated by the whole thing. “Controlling me and reading my thoughts, making me do and say things.”
 
“Adam, there’s nothing in you but sugar, spice and everything nice.”
 
“I know you’re lying,” Adam growled.
 
“Alright, you’ve been played with, and not just by me. I was the one that made you pee your pants in front of the dopey blonde. You have to understand, you were close to getting away, and we just can’t have that, can we?”
 
She laughed, then suddenly turned serious and emotional, carelessly zigzagging between emotions like a two-sided drama mask caked in makeup. Diane bounced from one feeling to the next, always a chaotic pendulum swinging too far for comfort. 
 
“Don’t blame us, honey. We weren’t the ones who opened the door, that’s on you guys, we just came on in.”
 
Adam had no clue what she was talking about. What freaking door? The thing kept stroking his hair like she actually cared about him, but he didn’t care for her touch.
 
“I wouldn’t worry your little head too much,” Diane added. “Soon you won’t have any concerns at all.”
 
“I still don’t understand,” Adam said as he shook himself free from her hand. “If you can control everyone, then it’s pointless to give them free will.”
 
“Adam, there’s no fun making you do anything. You’re playthings, not puppets. When you regress like a baby on your own, without our direct intervention, it just makes it so much sweeter. You have no idea what it does to us, the difference between you acting on your own and us making you do it.”
 
Diane hungrily kicked her lips and made a lewd moaning noise.
 
“Humans are wind-up toys, down to the last one. We may nip and tuck, pull a string, alter your behavior, but only a little bit. It’s all about when the toy begins to walk on its own, and we watch the sparks fly through the efforts of our creation.”
 
Adam slightly turned his head towards Marisa and Charity who remained motionless behind Diane. They looked like plastic dolls with lifeless eyes, waiting to be played with. They were pawns or puppets, pushed across the board as a sacrifice, strings pulled and mouths forced to say mean things, betraying themselves in the name of the Entity. Was this his fate now?
 
Adam asked, “Fine, I listened to you, now what do you want from me?”
 
“I need you to tell me where she is hiding,” Diane pleaded with surprising intensity and weakness. “I know she’s been sending you messages, even showing up in person.”
 
“I literally have no idea what you’re talking about,” Adam insisted.
 
“Our baby! Our sweet little girl, the one who is in the Cube. Some of us think that she’s been taken by your scientists, but I know she is out there all alone. If you tell me where to find her, I might have it in my heart to go easy on you.”
 
“What does ‘easy on you’ mean?”
 
For the first time, she actually captured his full attention, and he wanted to give her what she needed. Negotiations had finally begun, Adam had a sneaky feeling he knew who she was asking about.
 
“Easier on you means pull-ups, not diapers. Pee-pees, not poo-poos. There are varying levels of incontinence, Adam. You haven’t been a baby long enough to understand what it’s like, and you have no idea how far down that road I can take you.”
 
Yeah, she was an admitted alien and a crazy manager of a store for oversized babies, he had a pretty good idea about ‘how far she could take him’. His active imagination tried to kick up again, but Adam was able to easily file it away. Nothing about this scenario was even plausible in his wildest of daydreams. Still, he felt compelled to learn more, so full of freaking questions. So full of fight.
 
“No deal.” Adam clutched at some inner strength, it wasn’t much, but he wrapped his fist around what was there. “I’m potty trained! I mean, I know how to use a toilet.”
 
“Oh, I’m sure you used to be housebroken, but things are changing, Adam. You’re not the one who gets to call those shots anymore, you should take what I offer, and help me help you.”
 
Adam futilely pulled at his bindings again. It sounded so tempting. He’d already wet himself a few times, he could put up with that, and pull-ups weren’t so bad when he considered the alternative. Still, no.
 
“You’re not going to get away with this,” Adam raised his voice. “You can’t mind control everyone around me forever.”
 
Diane laughed and pushed her hand in a dismissive way.
 
“That’s where you’re so mistaken, I don’t have to ‘mind control’ anyone. Your stupid girlfriends are going to remember taking a little bedwetter to a lake house. A few soiled sheets and one messy accident later, they’re going to remember you picking out a 256 pack of Pampers Babydry. Your mom dropped off a teenager on a Friday and picked up a baby on a Sunday. She’s going to love having you back as her precious little boy. As for me, I’ll have you as a customer for life. There’s no way where I lose, baby.”

Adam couldn’t swallow or speak, the alien Entity was right. He hated Diane.

Even in certain victory, Diane hid her true intentions behind a sham personality. Pretending to be bubbly like a can of shaken soda, but more like a cauldron of boiling poison. Her placidity was just a false face that harbored a special, condescending way of hatred.
 
“Wait a sec,” Diane muttered as she pulled up from the changing table. “Well, it looks like our mutual friend, Mrs. Hartmann, saw herself in a mirror and is beginning to second guess her reality. Don’t blame us, she’s been like that for years.”
 
Diane extended her index finger, held it up in the air as if something sat invisibly on her finger tip. She stared at it for a moment, like it was a lethal injection, and Adam knew he was the one condemned.
 
“However, that brings our little Q and A to a close, and you’re still being an obstinate little brat. It looks like I have no choice but to properly finish a poorly done doll. It’s a shame you didn’t choose to play along.”
 
She brought that finger to a spot between his eyes, where his forehead met his brow just above his nose.
 
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Adam whined as he squirmed away from her finger. “I promise! Please don’t do whatever you’re going to do to me!”
 
He felt it as soon as she pressed her finger into his skin, a mind splinter. Something thin and barely perceivable, something that would drill deep into his brain, and change him from the inside.
 
“Just don’t!” But it was too late. His final words silenced by a pacifier that refused to leave his lips.
 
“We will see how you like being a baby, the more you fight me, the more I take away. But since you’re all about ‘free will’, I’ll let you decide when to give up.”
 
Adam couldn’t speak, he felt the splinter pierce the skin. Painless and bloodless.
 
“You’re going to show me how much you love your diapers, like a teenage boy shows his love for anything — through his thingy.”
 
Diane snapped her fingers, she probably didn’t have to, it was more for show, but Marisa and Charity sprang to life.
 
“Girls, make him show you how much he loves his diapers. Anything goes.”
 
Diane turned at the door, gave him one last disapproving look, then left him alone with the harlot and the starlet, without another word.
 
“Lookie at what we have here,” Charity teased without even realizing that she’d been on ‘sleep mode’. “A cute, little baby in need of a change.”
 
“I don’t know, the tinkle pants hasn’t exactly asked for one, has he?” Marisa added, her classic tendency towards sadism kicking into gear. “Maybe we should make him beg, can you change my diaper? Pretty please?”
 
Adam wasn't planning on begging, he had plenty of fight left in him. The Entity would have to know that he wouldn't give up so easily. Besides, the wet diaper wasn’t too uncomfortable, he could sit in soggy britches a little longer before surrendering to Entity-rattled girls.
 
This was it, the end of the line. There were no lines to be drawn because there were no lines left to cross anymore. It was here. It was the now. Here and now, this was his last effort to put this to a stop. He was running out of chances, and he knew it.
 
They had already pinned him down to the table, they were going to rip off his clothes, and change his diaper. But they weren't even moving. They just stood there, mildly entertained by his predicament.

He began to conjure up the most vivid daydream, where he fought the good fight, staving them off with a well timed punch or kick, and he would make a final stand.
 
He imagined them laughing at him as they strapped him to the changing table. Their mocking catcalls, infantile nicknames echoed in his mind, the helpless feeling seeping and creeping into every tiny pore of his being until he became a baby. A real baby. Helpless and bawling, needing their care; no, wanting their care as if that’s all he desired.
 
Adam tried to shake himself free from his own imagination, but he was swimming so deep that he couldn’t see the sun. The false reality of his creation had a hold on him. The coward within wanted to remain there, settle down, and build a little cabin within his own psychosis. To give up felt so much easier than to keep fighting, to keep trying to break free. It was the work of the mind splinter, amplifying his imagination.
 
But he was still tied to the table, no amount of daydreaming would change that fact.
 
Resolve was a new word for the moment, it cautiously bubbled beneath his skin like the last dagger hidden in a boot. Even Ash Ketchum punched MewTwo when it all seemed too far gone, too hopeless, which was still pretty bad ass in his opinion.
 
The girls were already next to him pulling their supplies free from the butterfly diaper bag. They were still arguing about who got to change him.
 
“I’m the one with the most experience, so I should be the one to change him,” Charity argued. “You can get the next one, you’re starting to get just as uptight as Katie.”
 
“I just told my mom that —“
 
“I don’t care what you told your mom, I’ve got this one. You don’t think I can do this myself? I’ve already diapered him, you haven’t. Charity - 1; Marisa - 0.”
 
“No one is keeping score,” Marisa fumed.
 
“Then what is it, Mars? Are you jealous about how close I am with the baby, is that what’s got your panties in a bunch?”
 
Charity shot daggers at her friend.
 
“I’m not saying that you can’t, Charity. I think you’re a great mommy just like me. It’s just that I haven’t got my chance yet, and I don’t think that’s fair.”
 
Now, Marisa crossed her arms and tapped her foot. This was going nowhere fast.
 
“Then let’s come up with a compromise, you help me have some fun with this change, and I promise you that I won’t be in the way of the next one.” Charity defused her friend with a wink. “He’s in diapees for good, Mars. Maybe he will leave you a little present in the next one.”
 
They both let out a little squeal, convulsing in excitement. Adam hated the Entity.
 
“Alright, as long as I get to change his next dirty diaper,” Marisa sighed. “How can I help?”
 
Charity grinned and made a come hither motion with her finger. Oh, jeez. Adam tried to shimmy his way out from under the nylon cage across his chest, but even he knew it was useless. He watched them whisper to one another in his periphery, they were close but he still couldn’t hear them. Charity looked hungry. He recognized that look, but this was the first time where Marisa shared it.
 
They clasped hands and giggled to one another, it didn’t matter whether their closeness was due to being a pair of BFFs or body snatchers, they were surfing on the same wavelength. He would have to endure whatever they had in store for him. They moved to opposite ends of the table, Marisa sallied over to his head, Charity took position between his feet.
 
Marisa leaned over him, her caramel-colored, curly hair a canopy shrouding him from the outside world. He felt her hand comb through his hair, another brushed against his cheek. The feeling sensational and unnerving, the comforting feeling of being petted lost its luster when it came against his will.
 
Yet, his submissive side relished the soft touch in spite of the situation. Adam hated himself for that realization, his own body would betray him in their name. He was a paper house after all.
 
Adam looked down to see Charity already unbuttoning his shorts. She was always catlike, the kind of kitty that enjoyed playing with her food before taking a bite.
 
“Adam, sweetie.”
 
Marisa was inches from his ear, her whisper soft and overpowering. Tingling. Desiring.
 
“Adam, I used to touch myself thinking about you. I bet you didn’t know that.”
 
He didn’t know that, but this had to be a trick or something. Her siren call wouldn't work against him, he was tied to the mast like a Greek hero.

No, he wasn't safe from her words, because she didn't want his boat to crash against the rocks, she wanted access to his brain. To his rebellious thoughts, his plan with Katie. Adam had to keep her out, but it wouldn't be easy.
 
“We spent so much time together after school, practicing our lines, making sure you got the faces just right. Did you know that we left some parts out of the script of ‘A Mother Knows Best’? Since it was a school play we decided to skip over the more controversial scenes — like the spanking one.”
 
Marisa inhaled a deep breath, the noise like a jet engine in his ears.
 
“I knew about that scene because I read the real script. Every time I thought about it, it filled me with something, I dunno, carnal? I obsessed over that one part, fantasized about keeping it in the play.”
 
Why was she telling him this? He couldn’t tell whether it was another trick from the possessing thing that had her, or it could’ve been real at one time, like the real Marisa actually doing these things. One thing was for certain, Marisa was turned on, and Adam was starting to get that way himself as he watched his shorts being pulled to his ankles, his wet off-brand diaper on display.
 
Not to be left out, Charity played with his diaper, squeezing his saturated crotch a few times, and rubbing it against him to get a reaction. Adam was tied down, he couldn’t pull away. Still, Marisa continued whispering her story to him, and Adam had to admit he wanted to hear every single word.
 
“I came so many times to thinking about acting that one scene out, in front of a sold out audience. The script didn’t specify how exactly I was supposed to spank you, so my mind filled in the blanks for me.”
 
“Sometimes it was bent over a table, and the crowd would count every smack as you cried, sometimes it was as you stood with your bare bottom turning red in front of them, other times it was you over my knee, taking every pop of my hand while you sucked your thumb. The sexiest part about all of it was how much they wanted me to do more; their applause, I lived for their applause.”
 
He watched her relish in the invisible spotlight with a wistful expression on her face, he’d seen that look before on stage, when she was bathed in limelight and adoration. She was right, she lived for this. He didn’t even notice Charity working on the tapes of his diaper until he felt the sudden cool rush of air on his crotch. The calm before the first wipe.
 
Marisa rifled through his hair again before giving it a sharp tug bringing his attention back to her.
 
“That’s what I used to think about; until one day, Charity comes up with this wild idea to put you in a diaper. I tried to play it off as silly, but that night, when I was alone in my room.”
 
His blood chilled as she let out a low moan right in his ear. Then moved to the other to do the same, making sure it wasn’t left out.
 
“You get the picture. I could barely contain myself every time I saw you, but the worst was when I saw that you wet that sailor suit. I had to go back to my room to frig myself. The thought of you on a changing table on stage, in front of all of them does something to me that I can’t describe.”
 
That’s the Entity, Adam thought. That’s all it was, a lying Entity, but it spoke with Marisa’s voice. It expressed her needs and wants, the same way that she talked about herself. It was almost impossible to tell the difference between the separate Marisas. That scared him, could the human Marisa be just as sadistic as the Entity?
 
“So, what are we going to do with you, sweet boy?” Marisa purred.
 
“Whatever we want, Mars.” Charity had already pulled the spent diaper free, he was now naked from the waist down on the table.
 
If only they would look up!

They’d see their reflection, it would break the control over them. Somehow, Adam knew they wouldn’t. He couldn’t exactly tell them, his lips were literally sealed. He could see his own eyes in the mirror, however. Turning bright baby blue, and it made him want to cry.
 
Shush-shush.
 
Marisa cooed in his ear, Charity ran her nails softly over his bare legs. They were tempting him, teasing his mind and body, trying to coax a reaction. He didn’t want to give them what he wanted, there was a line in the sand, but Marisa blew it away when she blew in his ear.
 
“Our very own diaper boy, isn’t he a peach?” Charity said.
 
Marisa seemed to agree.
 
“I’m surprised, Adam. I really am. I thought you’d give in sooner than this, but this is where you break, and you know it.”
 
The two girls giggled as they manipulated him, physically and mentally. Playing with his body and thoughts, making him betray himself give into their urges, turning them into his urges. He saw himself stiffen in the mirror above him, he wanted to hang his head in shame, but there was nowhere to go, no way to look away. This was his then and now, and the Entity would feast on him in any way that it wanted. But, what did it want?
 
“To give in, Adam,” Marisa answered his internal question. “That’s all we want, for you to give in and become our baby boy.”
 
It was reading his mind now. He couldn’t block it out, it was sitting there in his head going through his brain, almost like reading a book or catalog, prying into his innermost thoughts, fears and fantasies.
 
“This was way better than that roll of condoms, wasn’t it?” Charity cradled his balls in the palms of her hands. “You wanted us to get together, you bragged to your freaky friends, but here we are, and you don’t want to play anymore. Is it because you thought you would be in control? You’ve never been in control, Adam. You secretly want to be a victim, held down and forced into your depravity.”
 
The mind splinter dug deeper into his skull, he could feel it in there, like an oncoming headache, like a spec of dirt in his eye, and brains didn’t blink. It was in him now, he couldn’t fight it away, it wouldn’t back away. No. No. No.
 
“Oh, come on!” Charity proclaimed. “Being our diaper boy won’t be so bad, you can say that it’s have its own set of perks.”
 
She motioned to her tits and giggled.
 
“That’s got his attention,” Marisa chuckled.
 
“Maybe he’d be into being nursed after all, most of the baby dollies love it. You’ll learn to love it, too.”
 
No. He wouldn’t. It just — it just — he was failing and he knew it. His quickly thought up ‘divide and conquer’ plan only managed to get him cornered and trapped in their hands. However, he still had to hold out. Katie would be at the lake house and she’d —
 
“Katie won’t protect you, Adam,” Marisa assured him. “You shouldn’t have trusted her, but we will get to your mom. She’d love to have you back in diapers, almost as much as we do. Just think of your nursery filled with Pokémon plushies, toys, and blankies.”
 
Charity unfolded a fresh Pamper.
 
“Remember that you need this, kiddo.”
 
Adam still resisted. He groaned behind the pacifier and fought against the restraints so hard that his sweat made him stick to the soft padding on the table. He couldn’t take anymore, couldn’t hear anymore.
 
The bit about turning his mom against him scared him to death. The new idea that this would never end sunk in, he absorbed it like a sponge, understood what that meant.
 
There was no fighting the Entity, it was futile and hopeless. It was a cancer on reality. The Entity cheated, that’s how it always won. It didn’t fight fair. The invasive feeling in his head was now a searing hot knife, stabbing into a spot where it wanted to take him. It’s goal was to make Adam lose his mind within his own mind.
 
“Charity, get the baby oil. Time to finish this.”
 
Everything was so blurry, was he crying?
 
“Adam, we’re going to make you cum, but you’re not going to think about how sexy we are, or anything like that. You’re going to cum to thinking about your life as our diaper boy.”
 
“When you do, you’re ours,” Charity promised.
 
Marisa ran her index fingers aside his forehead and pushed them into his temples so hard he felt their pressure in his brain. Charity covered his dick with cold oil, using both hands to rub it into his skin, with the occasional pump up and down his length. His eyes rolled into the back of his head. Jeez, she was too good.
 
But then they were gone. He floated away into blackness, swimming in the empty space of his imagination. He knew it was his, the Entity gave him that awful right. He’d be doing the damage to himself, that’s how sadistic psychological Entities worked.
 
The final battle would play out in a consciousness of his creation.
 
He was almost home. He opened the front door. His mom was in the kitchen, wiping down the dishes with a towel, but he didn’t want to see her. She’d let him go to school in pull-ups, a big mistake. He paid back her kindness by messing himself right after getting off the bus, and now she was going to find him out. She always did.
 
“Sweetie, how was your day?”
 
His mom turned his way, her eyes already glowing red and he’d just gotten home. Adam didn’t need a photograph or mirror to see them anymore. It felt like a lifetime had passed since that strange neon dream, and the even stranger conversation with that weird little girl. The lake house was also a foggy memory, cast away from the forefront of his mind. That place was the least of his worries.
 
His mom was now right in front of him.
 
“Adam, honey. Is something wrong?”
 
He didn’t say anything. There was a lump in his throat just like in his pull-up. His mom dramatically sniffed the air, rounded him, and then checked for herself.
 
“Another accident! That’s back to diapers for you! I can’t believe that I let you talk me into pull-ups.”
 
“But mom, I — I — I’m sorry, you were right.”
 
It didn’t look like mom was done tearing into him. He couldn’t excuse the inexcusable.
 
“Tell me how I’m supposed to send you away to college if you can’t even keep your pants clean?”
 
“It was an accident!” Adam protested.
 
“They’re all accidents, sweetie. That’s why you need to wear protection, we’ve been over this a thousand times.”
 
“I still have time to fix this, to change all of this — I don’t want to stay at home all of my life!”
 
“How many times do I need to warn you to watch your temper?” His mom reprimanded him, she had turned scary after she changed for the worse. “But you’re right, you can’t stay home all of your life. At least we can both agree on that. It’s time we made plans for you after you graduate next week. Our friend, Diane, recommended a school for bigger kids like you, and I was planning on talking it over with you tonight, but your messy bottom and stinkier attitude has made up my mind.”
 
His mom turned to go back into the kitchen. What was she planning on doing? He felt scared, petrified to the floor just inside the front door.
 
“Where— where are you going, mom?”
 
His words tumbled free from his trembling mouth. Adam didn’t want to know the answer, somehow he knew it was only going to get worse.
 
“I’m making a phone call,” his mom answered, “so you’re going to need to keep quiet unless you want a pacifier between your lips.”
 
Adam sullenly followed her into the kitchen, she sat down at the table. The lights weren’t on and the way the afternoon sun came in from the window, the shadows played a game on her face — half-hidden in the dark, her glowing eyes surrounded by shadow. She had some small pamphlet in her hand, he couldn’t make out the details in the dark, but he knew it read of nothing but bad news.
 
He waited as the phone rang. Gulp.
 
“Yes, is this Lovington Littles daycare?”
 
No fucking way.
 
“Oh, good. I was hoping to find a place for my little boy for the summer, and you came highly recommended. Is it too late to check for any spots available?”
 
He could hear the woman on the other end of the phone but couldn’t make out what she was telling his mom.
 
“Yes. Mmm. Yes. And yes.”
 
What was she saying ‘yes’ to?
 
“Oh. He’s still in diapers, is that going to be an issue? No. Then he’ll be right at home then, I’m about to change him right now, turns out he wasn’t ready for pull-ups after all. You know how excited these little guys are about big boy pants, they can just about talk you into anything if they’re sweet enough.”
 
Oh, jeez. Adam wanted to say something, shout, distract his mom enough to put a stop to this terrible phone call. Then he thought about that pacifier, and the way his mom meant business when she threatened him.
 
“His name is Adam. A-D-A-M. He likes those little Japanese animals and just loves Sesame Street. Anything I should bring for his first day? I’ll make sure to bring plenty, he goes through so many — oh so many.”
 
No. This wasn’t his life, this was the Entity’s way he would live and Adam wouldn’t accept it. He turned to go out the front door, his mom calling for him as he opened it into another world of blackness. This world went nowhere as well. Adam hung his head as it all disappeared around him. He would have compared the sound it made to a flushing toilet, but toilets were becoming less and less a part of his new life.
 
Fading away into inky black.
 
It felt safer here in the corner, away from their prying eyes. Adam hid behind a row of lockers as they passed, the cheer squad always messed with him because of his diapers. The tardy didn’t matter, being late to class was less embarrassing than what they usually did to him. Or, what they always did to him.
 
Adam was Lovington Highschool’s very own diaper boy.
 
It didn’t matter if other schools didn’t have diaper boys, or that it wasn’t actually a real title. This was Adam’s new life. His future.
 
He’d do well to avoid the gaggle of cheerleaders laughing, gossiping, lip smacking, and strutting their way in his direction. There were six of them, five girls and a jacked dude that threw them around for fun. They were getting closer and closer until they finally passed. Close call.
 
After the coast was clear, Adam snuck out from his hiding place, he could still make it to class on time if he hurried.
 
“Stop right there!”
 
Adam froze. That girl’s voice sounded familiar. How did he not spot Charity among them? Oh, jeez. She was the worst.
 
“Whatcha hiding in the corner for, kiddo?”
 
The blonde cheerleader wore her hair in a tight ponytail, her glittered cheeks sparkled, and her well-fitted varsity uniform gave her special authority that could only be given to a Senior cheerleader.
 
Adam didn’t answer.
 
“Adam, are you getting too wild in the hallway? Not every room is a restroom, you can’t go pottying around the school all the time.”
 
“But I —“
 
“I don’t care about any butts but yours, and I think a little pants check is in order, what about you guys?”
 
The cheer squad agreed, loudly.
 
Adam knew the drill, he turned and faced the wall as Charity undid his shorts and let them fall to his ankles. His diaper was clean, but that didn’t stop her from inappropriately touching his diaper, caressing his lower back, and squeezing his bottom. She even snuck a pinch at his crotch.
 
The strongman laughed, “Dude, is he wearing Pampers?”
 
“Yep. I was there when he picked them out himself. Adam just loves that Sesame Street, who doesn’t?”
 
Charity pinched his cheek.
 
“You guys go on without me, I need a little alone time with the diaper boy.”
 
The group all giggled, ‘alone time’ was an easy to crack code for deviancy. Adam had figured that out.
 
A black haired cheerleader crossed her arms in the middle of the pack. She scowled at the two of them. Adam couldn’t tell if the look came from disgust or jealousy, girls were hard to figure out.
 
“Charity, you’re such a slut.”
 
“Takes one to know one,” Charity countered.
 
The offended cheerleader huffed and puffed, swung her ponytail, and shifted her hips in a condescending way before they all turned to go about ruling the school. The group left as they arrived; loud, beautiful, and popular. Charity waited until they turned the corner before directing her attention back to Adam.
 
“Let’s put that mouth to work, shall we?” Charity ran a finger slowly across his quivering lips.
 
Her glowing red eyes darted to an empty classroom right next to them, Charity grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him inside. The cheerleader climbed onto a desk, spreading her legs and raising her skirt. She used a pair of fingers to pull aside her school-colored bloomers.
 
“Now, remember, just how we practiced yesterday.”
 
He didn’t need the reminder, he dropped to his knees.
 
And this world began to disappear, too.
 
The light was bright, the rest was dark. Adam had this, he was well-practiced and well-prepared. He scrunched his face, tightened his fists and shouted:
 
“But I want to play with my toys!”
 
The audience all laughed, some aww’ed, a few coo’ed. Marisa was right, It felt good to give them what they wanted.
 
There she was, in the black no-nonsense dress, she gave him a wink that the audience didn’t notice. He’d done such a good job, and she was proud of him. It felt good to give her what she wanted, too. She was so pretty, and she liked him. He could tell that she did.
 
Adam danced a pair of happy steps in his sailor suit, his diaper rustled underneath as he moved to his next spot on the stage. Closer to his mommy. No, Marisa. His real mommy was in the audience with a camera. There were a lot of cameras, dull red lights that dotted the audience. Almost two for each seat.
 
“Time to get into character, baby.” Marisa whispered in his ear. “Come on, I know you can do it, mess your diaper.”
 
They'd practiced this bit, too. That's why he took the medicine before coming on stage, this was where he could prove to the audience that he was a real actor, a real baby. But why did there have to be so many cameras? All of the red dots unnerved him for some reason. Adam couldn’t quite pin it on stage fright, but something else entirely. Where had he seen them before?
 
It didn’t matter, only giving mommy what she wanted mattered now.
 
Time to address his pressing need number two. Adam squatted on stage, eyes shut, teeth clenched. He thought about pristine lakes, clear blue water, boats and birds far in the distance. It was enough to let go. Boy, did he ever. His belly rumbled, so did his butt. The microphone attached to his shirt collar had to pick up the noise as well. If his potty stance didn’t tell them the full story, his trumpeting bottom would.
 
Adam turned towards the audience with his thumb deep inside his mouth.
 
“Uh-oh! I made an oopsie-poopsie!”
 
It started as an awkward spattering of giggles in the dark, then it became a series of loud laughs, slowly a raucous applause and cheers, jeers and catcalls rang out through the auditorium, all disorienting and deafening. 
 
Adam cowered behind the prop couch on stage, and covered his ears and hoped for the best. Stage hands wearing all black rolled a changing table onto its center, a bright spotlight shined upon it canceling out the rest of the fake living room set. The changing table was identical to the one at Webber's. Strange.
 
"Come on, Adam." Marisa assured him.
 
He didn't realize he was still cowering behind the couch.
 
"Just give them what they want."
 
No. No. NO. Adam curled into a human ball of toddler emotions. Each feeling was so new, experiencing fear and comfort, joy and pain, like fresh skin receiving its first sunburn of the season. Adam was raw and burning on the inside.
 
The spotlight had an odd effect on Marisa. She was a lady of the cosmos, a planetary sized humanesque-being against a backdrop of red stars. He couldn't make out her face, just her glow. The way she stood halfway in the stage light framed an angelic outline around her body, turning her hair a golden color. Her body was a bright shadow juxtaposed to all of the cameras, there were so many more now, the dull red circles seemed to float in the endless darkness. It scared him.
 
He didn't want to leave that couch, it was a life raft in this angry ocean. Adam gripped the edge of the old sofa with white knuckles. The old him would have drawn a line in the sand by now, but the lines were always useless anyways, he never backed them up.
 
Marisa extended a hand in his direction.
 
"Adam, it's time."
 
"No!"
 
He hid his hands under his armpits, which was the furthest he could pull them away from her without cutting them off. Was amputation still a choice?
 
"Adam, I can make this all go away. I know you're scared, but you don't have to be anymore. I can make sure that you're never afraid again. Doesn't that sound nice?”
 
Adam nodded.
 
“Help me take you far away to a special place. Don’t you want to go far away, and never worry about trying to be like other teenagers. You've never fit in here, you're so childish, short and small. You’re never going to be normal.”
 
“I can be normal,” Adam argued from his hiding place.
 
“Let’s go to a place where you’re free to be who you really are. It's okay to be a little, Adam." 
 
Marisa couldn’t be trusted, she was owned and controlled by the Entity. Did that matter anymore? She was the only one in the light when all around him was dark, the tiny red orbs now appeared behind him on the stage. It was her or nothing, the lady bathed in light or literal darkness, falling away into shadow.
 
"Just hold my hand, Adam. I promise that it doesn't hurt."
 
"It doesn't hurt?" Adam asked. "You promise?"
 
"I promise, baby."
 
He took one hand from beneath his pits, extended it her direction, it too became a shadow against the dazzling light. He could feel the room feeding off that one hand, willing it into Marisa's open palm. It all moved so slow, so tantalizingly slow. Adam closed his eyes, until he felt their fingers touch, it was electric. So was the feeling from the quiet crowd.
 
Marisa lifted him from behind the couch. He had no idea she was so strong. The light blinded him as she placed him on the changing table. His honey-haired mommy made sure he was safe by strapping him to the table. It was such a long drop for a little boy like him, he didn't want to get a boo-boo, did she? Each strap slowly pulled over his body, clicking into place was a comforting life vest; Marisa was right, he didn't need to fight here, there was no fear, no anxiety, no pain of reality.

Here he belonged and here he would stay. A single tear trickled free and slowly dripped down his cheek.
 
Marisa caressed it away with a curled finger.
 
"Oh, honey. Are you okay?"
 
A second one came like the first, a third from the other eye, he was crying now. Not outright sobbing, just a slow methodical cry. He remembered how he felt as Charity punished him in the pink bedroom, how the numbness turned into purpose. It was another reminder of why he struggled through all of this life. Could this finally end all of that struggle? All of that pain associated with reality? He didn't want to deal with it anymore, the lying Entity was right, he'd want this in the end. Was this the end? Or was it the beginning of something else?
 
Marisa positioned herself at his feet, and made a whooshing noise with her mouth as his shorts flew off and disappeared into the prevailing darkness.
 
"Mommy, can I stay here?" His voice came out light and airy, without form, and with a tiny detectable lisp. It sounded like his voice, but he knew the difference.
 
"Why yes, honey. You're finally home."
 
His diaper was already open, the wipes felt magical, neither cold or hot, they didn’t even smell like wipes. It smelled like nothing at all. Maybe that’s the reason Marisa didn’t choke or gag like mean old Katie. Mommy Marisa enjoyed changing diapers. The spotlight flickered above them, Adam looked to Marisa for support, but she was no longer there. Instead, it was Charity. She winked at him, called him a 'kiddo', and it all felt right. The audience crept up around the circle of light, getting a better view of his change.
 
The small glowing red orbs circled around him, just on the edge of the shadow. They weren't cameras, they were eyes. Hundreds of unblinking eyes that watched every part of this dream, this nightmare, his surrender.
 
The spotlight stuttered again, this time leaving him longer in the pitch black. He was wrong about the eyes, they did emit light, he couldn’t see them until now. The hungry red ones moved closer and closer, his own eyes glowed blue.
 
He closed his eyes. When he opened them he was back on the changing table. The one under the mirror.
 
Adam was back in a tiny room in Webber's, almost done being changed.
 
Charity had both hands between his legs, slick with oil, she was working him furiously now. It wouldn't take much longer, especially the way Marisa was feverishly whispering her spell. He looked up to the mirror above him, deep in pleasure, he was openly moaning now, his eyes were so freaking blue. It was almost time, he'd already given up. He'd kept resolve in his boot, the last knife never spent in his defense. He didn't need the dagger now, he didn't need to protect himself from an invisible enemy Entity. That's why he had mommies.
 
It all made too much sense.
 
He climaxed. The feeling of explosion that came from his crotch was something else. He bucked into her hands, and Charity giggled as she dodged the spray. Marisa told him he was a good boy, which felt almost as good as the orgasm that came with the praise.
 
Charity cleaned up his grown up mess before disposing of the wipe. She pulled out a diaper with a free hand, sliding in beneath him while Marisa softly caressed his face and stroked his hair. He was taped into some fresh, new, and clean while still entrapped in a dream.

The new diaper was a little more ‘roomier’ than the previous one. He couldn't feel the change in quality, he'd have to take Diane's word, but it felt thicker, it kept the baby dry, he guessed that was him now.
 
That part of him that questioned this became so quiet, lulled to a peaceful sleep, Adam wondered if he was still there underneath. Luckily, the pacifier was in his mouth, he needed it to get through this.
 
“My mom told me to meet her at the car,” Marisa told Charity.
 
They had put him in a shopping cart and were wheeling to the front of the store. He could've sworn he saw 'Princess Tinkles' out of the corner of his eye.
 
However, all toddlers did look the same.
 
Adam still thought it was her, standing alone in the middle of an aisle, in a gothic black dress, a matching black veil covering her face, something she would wear at a funeral.
 
She silently watched him as the cart slowly passed, as if to say: Welcome to the Inevitability Club. He should have paid attention to the warnings, should have made the changes so he wouldn’t need changes. It all felt too late, there was no more sand in the hour glass, no more Mario music, only a black screen with two words in white: Game Over. 
 
The little girl’s lips trembled, her face turned pink, a frown formed on her lips. It felt like a crime to make her cry, he was glad they moved on before she broke into tears.
 
There were more items in the cart besides the pack of diapers. There was a baby bottle, a few pacifiers, and an extra three packs of wipes. A blue baby rattle with an elephant on it, the elephant had a blue rattle, too. A tiger striped tiny tambourine, a few oversized baby blocks, but not oversized for him. Also, more toys that made noise. He should’ve counted his lucky stars that there wasn’t any baby food. Would mashed peas be in his future as well? He’d have to wait and see.
 
Charity was in a playful mood, pushing the cart around while making race car sounds. Adam just sat and giggled. His mind was slipping away, he knew it, but didn’t care.
 
Vroom-vroom.
 
Sadly, they had to leave the cool cart in the store. They told him to wave bye-bye to the nice cashier with the hurt foot. Buh-bye.

“Sowwie about your foot,” Adam said as they parted.
 
They were barely outside the store when Diane rushed up with a coupon and business card in an extended hand. She was nice enough to offer a discount to his mommy, his real mommy back in his real home. The smiling greeter mentioned that his mom may want to buy some new furniture for his bedroom. And the tiny sliver of Adam kept sliding further and further into the abyss.
 
Mrs. Hartmann was already waiting by the car, a large black plastic shopping bag cradled in her hands. The girls loaded up the car, talking excitedly about their shopping trip, how everything was just ‘too cute’. Adam enjoyed the taste of his right thumb until Mrs. Hartmann replaced it with a yellow pacifier. This didn’t taste nearly as good, but it was oh so relaxing.
 
“You’ll never guess what I got him,” Mrs. Hartmann beamed.
 
“Mom, I’m not guessing anything, you’re going to have to show us.”
 
“Oh, you two are a pair of fuddy-duddies.”
 
The hot mom pulled free some sort of yellow colored footed pajamas. They were big enough for an adult, but looked like a onesie or something. There were snaps around the crotch, Adam was pretty sure he saw them as she swiftly showed it off to the girls.
 
“And look, it has ears!” Lindsey squealed. “Even better, it has a tail!”
 
No way. Adam looked at the costume, that’s where she went, that Bonzo’s costume store. The Entity had its evil hand in this last intolerable cruelty. Mrs. Hartmann wouldn’t have been able to pick this out for him, it was too perfectly humiliating, it was the salt in his burnt earth, it was an extra, unnecessary nail in his coffin. It was —
 
“A Piekachu!” Mrs Hartmann announced. “He just loves those little Japanese monsters.”
 
Charity hid on the other side of the car while she doubled over laughing, Marisa covered her forehead with her hand and shook her head.
 
“Mom, it’s Pikachu,” Marisa corrected, “not whatever way you said it. You can be so embarrassing sometimes! Say it right next time. Pika-pika!”
 
“I just hope he doesn’t Pika-pee all over it,” Charity joked.
 
They all laughed. Even Adam. Some part of him thought that he should’ve been scared, but why would he? He was in the car with three mommies, and life couldn’t get any better.

[Mugi]

Hehehe seems like Adam has just gotten the good ending. ?
The Pikachu footed pajama is it like a footed pajamas or a kigurumi? I have wanted to get one of those pikachu kigurumis myself ?

[forever21months]

If this is the end of this story, I want you to know that this was an absolute treat. I checked the site every day to see if it was updated. Up there with some of my favorite epics on this site. Well done!

[D503]

Bravo! *standing ovation*

Bravo. The dream sequence was just perfect. Love your work DireKing, this will go down as an absolute banger.

(I do wonder how many other boys have gotten sucked in: there are thousands of Dianes and Adams, only one of you, but there are dozens of me)