Mind Control

“Sir, you don’t understand. I’m not mentally capable of doing something like this.”

“I don’t care. Just get to it.”

I’m struggling to fight it. Trying to escape the control. There’s no way out. His voice rumbles in my head, shaking the world around me as he tries to break down my defenses. He’s trying to make me susceptible to his every suggestion. I’m fighting and fighting, but he keeps persisting. I scream out in pain. “You don’t understand! I can't cope with doing something like that!”

“Like I said, I understand perfectly, but I don’t care.”

“Seriously. I might end up… killing myself.” It was something I blurted out to try and throw him off, but honestly, if I had to kill someone else, I don't know how much mental resolve I'd have left.

“That’s the idea. Finish the job and finish yourself.”

I keep fighting. I keep trying to resist I’m getting tired. I can’t hold him off much longer. If only I knew where he was. If only I knew how to stop him. He's taking over every aspect of my life. He’s following me until I submit to him and do what he wants. He won’t let me go. I’m trapped.

“Just leave me alone! Find somebody else to be your vessel!” I scream out in pain again.

“Why should I do that? Someone as resistant to my strength as you will eventually crumble from the exhaustion. You’ll give in eventually… and I’ll be here to relish every moment of it.”

I don’t want to admit it, but he's right. He's winning. He's enervating me, taking the very strength out of me. It’s not like he has some godly (or perhaps ungodly) power to literally suck the energy out of my body, but his insistence and his mental games are weakening my moral resolve. How much longer can I hold off? How much longer had anyone else held him off? Is it even worth it to try? I mean, if he forced Jessica Jones, of all people, to push somebody in front of a bus, how much longer can I hold him off? I’m only half her age. I shouldn’t have been able to resist for as long as I have… but here I am. What do I do? There's only one option left. I climb up onto the metal railing of the skyscraper. “You want me to finish myself? Fine.” I fall off. I feel the air rushing past me and the adrenaline cause my heart to beat faster. After about five seconds, I hit the pavement. Or at least, I think I do. When I wake up, I see someone looking over me in a sterile, white environment. I recognize her face. Jessica Jones.

“Are you alright? You took quite the fall.”

I sit up slowly. “Wait… how did I…”

“I caught you, kid. We landed together.”

“How did you…”

“It doesn’t matter. The point is you're safe. Just rest, let the doctors bandage you up, and forget this whole thing ever happened, okay?” She starts walking away.

“Wait…” I call out to her for her to stop.

She stops and turns around to look at me.

“Is Kilgrave going to come back for me? Is he going to win next time?”

She looks at me, stunned. “How do you know who he is?”

“I heard the Trish Talks story about him. I didn’t believe that he was real… until tonight.”

Jessica sighs. “I don’t know. He may come back, he may not. I can tell you that he’s not gone. No matter when and where he comes back or who he comes back for, he will come back. And I’ve got to finish it.” She turns around again and runs off. I lay there, wondering what's going to happen to Jessica Jones. I hope she can make it out of this alive. I think she can. I have faith in her. I trust her.