Violet: Sleepless in New York [Complete]

[Venus]

Samantha didn’t get much sleep this night. She was far too excited. Her first ‘real’ job – a photo shoot for Sports Illustrated! It seemed only a few weeks ago when she moved to New York and finding work as a model was a painstaking experience. This opportunity was like winning the lottery.

She quickly took a shower and checked herself in the mirror frowning at her image. Her face was ok for a change but turning into profile she found her butt and breasts too small even for a model. Trying to shake off those negative thoughts Samantha sighed lowly before she started applying some decent make up. Understatement was her motto, they could add more if necessary just before the shooting on the set.

On her way to the set her mind kept circling around the photo shoot. She still couldn’t believe her luck. How could someone like her, an unknown amateur be cast for Sports Illustrated? Slowly doubt was creeping up her spine. The model agency she has been made acquainted with was supposed to be known in the big leagues but she couldn’t find anything about it on the internet.

The cab stopped right next to the building where the set was supposed to be. It was a large building with at least 20 stories. Gathering all her courage into a deep breath she stepped into the building and headed for the elevators. Her mind was racing with possibilities.

[Stargaizer]

There was no secretary, or anybody else for that matter, that Samantha could see as she entered the lobby. Luckily enough for her though, there was a board next to the elevator that told her that the agency she was looking for was on the 18th floor. Everything she could see, even the inside of the elevator, was clean and in repair, but it looked as if it were just barely so. Even the elevator ride, as it trekked 18 floors straight up, was a little on the creaky side.

Very little changed as the doors opened, presenting Samantha with her first look at the 18th floor. Most significantly was the fact that there was actually someone here. The man was standing in front of a row of several chairs, and had just finished straightening his outfit as she stepped foot out of the elevator. It might have been the adrenaline, or it could’ve been her blind enthusiasm, but she didn’t see, at all, the gleam in his eyes as he checked her out.

Once she set exited the elevator, the man hurried to greet her. He seemed genuinely pleased to meet her as he introduced himself. “Why hello there, you must be Samantha, it’s a pleasure to meet you. You know, I get to see some of the most beautiful models in all of New York every day, but it really is a rare treat when I get to see someone as absolutely stunning as yourself.” He led her by the hand down the hallway, not giving her a chance to slip a word in edgewise. As he passed by where he was setting, he picked up a sheaf of papers, continuing to talk the entire time.

“You are here a little early, which is a good thing, it means that you have time to sign these papers before we get started. Here,” he said as he handed her a pen, and he flipped through the pages as he explained what they were. “These first couple of pages are just a form saying that we can record visual images of you, the second set a release so that we can actually get these to the publishers, wouldn’t do much good to take you picture for this next issue if we couldn’t get it published, would it? Next, there’s a lot of fine print to basically say that they’ll pay us for using your image, and then we’ll pay you a standard rate for every one that they use, and this last set just says that you’re only obligated for this set, but that when everything works out we can call you back.” By this time they had come up to a small table in the hallway, where he stopped, put the papers down, and pointed to all the ‘X’s. “Here, we just need you to sign and date here, here, here, here, here and here, and initial here, here and here, then we can get you back to the changing room and out to the set before the photographer gets antsy, you know how those artistic types get.”

[Venus]

Samantha tried to follow the little monologue of the man and nodded whenever it seemed appropriate. She didn’t want to blow this by revealing how inexperienced she was. She knew some basic stuff about contracts and that she shouldn’t oblige herself too early in her career. Having several options was important but from what the man told her everything seemed to be fine.

She took the pen and flipped through the pages pretending to give it a fast read and smiled nervously at the man. Sounds, ok to me. Why do I have this odd nagging feeling that something about this is wrong. Unable to answer her own question and sensing the mans growing impatience she smiled again at him and started to sign the papers. Just before she gave the contract to the man she remembered something from a workshop she attended when she came to New York – Always ask for a copy for your own safety. “I’d like to have a copy of that contract for my portfolio, sir.”, she asked rather quickly hoping that she wasn’t too bold.

The man took the contract and nodded briefly but didn’t answer her question. Instead he smiled kind of wolfish at her and pointed at a door. “This way please. There is your wardrobe. Take the first piece and follow through to the other door. The photograph is waiting on the set for you.”

Samantha smiled nervously again and managed to squeeze a barely audible, “Thank you” at him before she left for the door. The wardrobe was not at all glamorous. Poor light and just a small mirror to check out if everything fit. Still Samantha was excited in a positive way. Her big moment was about to come and that was enough to shake off her worries and darker thoughts about the sincerity of the job. While she undressed to her underwear she checked out the clothes stand to get an impression of what pieces she was about to wear. Her heart made a sudden jump when she found only swim suits, mostly bikinis and monokinis. Too skimpy for her taste. Oh god… I can’t say no now.

Reluctantly she picked one bikini that had just enough fabric to cover her breasts and ass. Unfortunately it was the only black bikini and that color contrasted a lot against her pale skin which again accentuated her body in a way she didn’t feel comfortable with. Checking herself one last time in the mirror she tried to keep her cool and breath calmly. “Here goes nothing.”, she said to herself and stepped through the door to the set.

[Stargaizer]

The lighting in the changing room was poor, except for one column of light in the center of the room, just in front of the mirror. The harsh light didn’t do anything to make Samantha’s skin look any more appealing (at least not to herself), but there wasn’t anything that she could do about that. As she looked at herself in the mirror, and glanced back to the rack of what basically amounted to strings and small pieces of fabric (if they had any at all), she realized that if this was the ‘Swimsuit’ edition of Sport’s Illustrated, that it all made sense.

Of course, the wardrobe wasn’t the only thing that Samantha’s mind had to try and rationalize while she was changing. Twice, and during various stages of undress and redress, she thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye, and twice when she investigated, she found nothing. Her mind finally settled on air coming from the one vent in the ceiling had made something move, but this as well as the rest of her fears got pushed down by her excitement as she walked through the door.

As she walked through the door, her excitement was the highest that it had been since she’d moved to New York, she was finally going to get to be on a real modeling set. But, all her excitement left her as she actually saw the set. There were about 4 or 5 lights, one camera, one video camera, five guys, and one hideously green screen.

One man, skinny as a bean pole and looking more nerdy than artistic, moved from the equipment towards Samantha, while the rest of the men, two rounder men to one side and two very hot men to the other, just sat and watched. The nerdy guy, complete with glasses, walked up to her, and then around her, looking her up and down all the way around, before stopping in front of her and finally meeting her eyes. His voice, when he finally spoke was very flat and difficult to read. “Ok, you chose the black one. Not the best with your complexion, but I guess it’ll work for a first outfit.” With that, and without touching her, he led her towards the giant green screen. This time when he spoke, his voice had a little more life to it, like he was actually interested. “This is what we call a green screen, for obvious reasons. What it allows us to do is to take pictures or video, and then to insert whatever background we want. It really saves time and money on set changes, because now all we need are the pieces and people that you interact with. Have you ever done a shoot in front of a green screen? Doesn’t matter, just stand up there, and do exactly what I tell you to, and we can get this show on the road.”

[Venus]

Her eyes remained transfixed on the green screen as she walked slowly towards her marked position. The lighting almost blinded her which made it difficult for her to see what the other men in the room were doing. At least she didn’t seem to be the only Model around, although she’d expected more female models. The two men in question did look like Models, though. As the nerdy photograph mentioned her poor choice of bikini she wanted to protest but bit her tongue. How would that be received if she complained about her dislike of extremely revealing swimwear? She was supposed to wear that if she wanted to be a good model.

“Is this ok?”, she asked carefully as she positioned herself infront of the screen. The nerdy guy just nodded and started clicking away with the camera. “We’re making a few test shots to adjust the lighting, make yourself comfortable.”

Samantha nodded and tried to relax. The men in the background still didn’t do much to relieve her uptightness. She put her hands on her hips and turned to face the camera and flashed her best smile. The camera just clicked away while the lighting readjusted itself automatically until she actually started to feel more comfortable because of the softer tone of the lights. Her eyes still couldn’t adjust so the men in the background remained dark silhouettes.

“Good girl – now I want you to bend forward. Show me some cleavage and flirt with the camera.”, the nerdy guy instructed her. Samantha swallowed hard and nodded nervously as she slowly bent forward towards the camera. Her face still showed her confusion and dislike of the pose but the camera kept clicking away relentlessly.

“Common baby, you can do better than that. Flash that smile again for me, will you?”, instructed the nerdy guy again. Samantha sighed and smiled, not quite as enthusiastic as before but it was a smile. The camera didn’t stop.

“Good, good. Now turn to the side, show me your profile and then slowly bent forward again.”, instructed the nerdy guy again but Samantha didn’t comply this time. “What?”, was all that she could muster to say in her half shocked state. “I don’t know if I can do that. The bikini barely covers my butt.”, she tried to explain in her defense.

[Stargaizer]

Her eyes tried to adjust to the bright lights, but between the fact that they were shining almost directly into her eyes and that they flashed brighter with each click of the camera, she still couldn’t see much beyond the lit green screen area. Every once and a while she would catch sight of a pair of red dots/lights/eyes/something in the darkest corners of the room, but every time she blinked or tried to focus on them better, they were gone.

As she got further into the shoot, though the lights still shown as brightly as ever, she could’ve sworn that everything was getting ever so slightly dimmer. She also started to hear some rustling and a few very hushed whispers from the other ‘models’. She wasn’t able to see them to tell what they were doing, or hear them to tell what they were saying. She was able to perceive just barely enough to know that they were doing and saying something.

That is, until she made her comment, then she heard muffled snickering from the other ‘models’. The photographer simply snorted, and she could just make out him putting his hand on his hip and shifting his weight. His voice as he replied wasn’t exactly that of a parent talking down to a child, but it was at least that of a professor talking to a slow student. “Look sweetheart, I’m taking pictures of you in this swimsuit. It’s not designed to cover everything, and what you’ll be wearing later will expose even more. So just do what I tell you to do, we can keep this shoot moving, and we all go home happy... or do you want to set yourself up a reputation that you won’t do what’s asked of you on a shoot?”

Then, almost as if he was about to finish the thought of the photographer, one of the rounder men inhaled to say something, but ended up just letting it back out again in a sigh. Then, in one of the softer voices that she’d heard today, he simply said, “Just do what he asks you do dear, everything will be fine. Don’t worry, we’re going to take good care of you.”

[Venus]

Samantha swallowed hard and nodded slowly. She didn’t want to set up that kind of reputation, yet she felt more and more uncomfortable with the situation as such. She was getting increasingly nervous and slowly started to sweat. Still trying to recognise more than just silhouettes Samantha squinted her eyes but had no success to see more than she did.

“I’d like to take five, ok?”, she asked carefully and slowly stepped away from the set. She needed a breather to regain her composure. She felt the dread of failing on this important shoot slowly tightening like a rope around her neck. Dizziness crept up her spine and uptightness gave way to panic. Please, just make it to the wardrobe… where her thoughts. She didn’t notice that she was almost running on the last few meters to the door.

[Stargaizer]

The photographer gave a heavy sigh when Samantha asked for the break. His voice when he responded was definitely starting to loose patience. “Ok, fine, everybody take five.” The next part was a bit louder and definitely directed towards her. “Oh, and while you’re in there, why don’t you change into a different outfit. Try the red one.”

As she made her final dash to the door, she completely missed the photographer saying, this time in a jocular voice. “Come on you two, stop it. Save some for the camera, she looks like she’ll be able to take all you can throw at her.”

Once in the changing room, the first thing that she noticed was the lighting. It had been bad before, it was worse now. There was still the single column of light in the center, but it was definitely dimmer than it was before, and the shadows in the corners of the room were definitely blacker, approaching the color of black ink. However, she was still able to see ‘the red one’. It wasn’t much more than two pieces of string with three very small patches of fabric. It wasn’t quite the skimpiest outfit on the rack, but it wasn’t far from it.

Click to reveal..

3Per + 0Awareness = 3d10

Diff 8

3d10 [9,2,1] = 0sux = 0(failure)sux

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1883749/

[Venus]

Samantha’s heart was pacing and she felt it pounding in her temples. She tried to breath slowly to calm down, inhaling deeply to get as much air as possible. It didn’t help much to slow her heart down, though. The red one? Does this even qualify as a bikini?, she asked herself as she took it off the rack. She had seen this kind of bikini on Brazilian carnivals and always wondered why the women even bothered to wear anything. The bikini left nothing to the imagination. It simply covered parts barely enough to avoid censoring. This was not turning out as she had planned or hoped for.

Reluctantly she took off her black bikini and put on the red piece. Aside from being obviously not designed to really cover her nipples or genitalia it felt like it was too small. She fidget around trying to keep it where it was supposed to be but even breathing was enough to make the fabric slip to the sides of her breasts if she didn’t constantly put it back on her nipples. Shaking her head she kept telling herself that this is not possible. God, I can’t do this. This is like a nude shot. My father will kill me if he ever puts his eyes on these pictures…

She looked around helplessly and considered the option to get dressed and just leave when she heard someone at the door saying, “Time’s up, sweetheart. You know – time’s money in this business and we haven’t got the whole day to wrap it up.”

Samantha swallowed hard and felt her resolve completely slip away. She had no choice. Bailing out now would destroy her career even before it really got started. She fought tears back and felt like crying. “I just need to refresh my make-up! I’ll be right there.”, she answered and took a hanky to wipe away the tears that where about to drop down her cheeks. Maybe she could talk to the producer and ask for some other swimwear that she could present? There had to be a way to compromise.

With uneasy steps she came out of the wardrobe with her arms across her chest to cover her modesty. As she reached the green screen she swallowed hard and asked carefully, "Can we talk about this, please? I don't want to do this."

[Stargaizer]

Once again, just like the last time that she was in the dressing room, she caught slight bits of movement out of the corner of her eye, but again, just like the last time, when she turned to look, there was nothing there. Plus, to compound matters, once she got the red one on, there was so much skin exposed that she started to get slightly chilled... which didn’t help the situation at all, needless to say.

As Samantha stood before the door, trying to compose herself she was unable to see the shadowy figure that seemed to separate from the shadows behind her. Though the shadows were as black as ink, the figure was darker; he was so black as to actually seem to absorb the light around him. And, luckily for Samantha’s resolve, she was also unable to see the hundreds of pairs of red, glowing eyes that leered at her from the wall behind the dark figure.

On her way to the set, there was no mistaking the lecherous looks that she got from all the men on set. They all, apparently, really liked this wardrobe change on her. But, once on the set, she made her request, and it went over about as good as a lead balloon. The photographer simply gave a deep sigh, resting one elbow on the camera and putting that hand on his forehead, rubbing his temples.

Just after the words left her mouth, before anybody else had a chance to react, a thought sprang into her mind for the briefest of seconds. You know, they actually seem to like my body, for whatever reason, and I did come here to shoot for the swimsuit edition... maybe if I get into this and try and have some fun it won’t be so bad, right? And, it’s not like dad ever reads Sport’s Illustrated, and no way mom would ever let him look at the swimsuit edition... so I’m covered, right... come on, this is my big break, what I’ve dreamed of... and then it was gone.

It was now that one of the producers actually stood up walked over to her the entire way. He was actually kind (and good) enough to change his lecherous glare into a sympathetic, business like expression. His tone matched his appearance as he put one hand in his pocket and the other on her shoulder. “Look, Samantha, I know that you’re new to this, but this is the industry. You came here to model swimsuits, right? Well, this is the latest fashion. There are women, big, important, rich women who wear this out in public, to pools, to the beach even; there’s nothing wrong with this. Now, I know that you’re uncomfortable with this, most women are during their first shot, but if you’re willing to stick with us, I’ll give you a hundred dollar bonus, in cash, right now. How does that sound? Plus, you already signed the contract saying that you would perform for this shoot, didn’t you? I’d hate to have to tell your next prospective employer that you broke contract with us...”

The threat hung heavy in the air as the rotund man took a $100 bill out of his pocket to show that the offer of extra money was genuine. The threat wasn’t all that made the air thick though, because Samantha noticed, definitely this time, that at the edge of her vision, the room was actually getting darker. Plus, for the first time, she actually saw the sets of glowing red eyes, and they didn’t go away. The sense of dread and evil that she was starting to get from this place, with barely any clothing on, and surrounded by 5 men and two cameras was undeniable. But, then again, so was the reality that she had signed the contract, and that this was the biggest break in her short career, and that if she didn’t follow through with this shoot her entire career could be down the drain.

[Venus]

The man was right. She had signed the contract. Stepping back would destroy everything she was trying to achieve. Still this felt all wrong to her, even though the large man talking to her seemed genuine and professional. As she reached for the $ 100 bill she noticed the red eyes out of the corner of her field of vision and instinctively backed off. What is going on here?

Samantha felt her heart pounding heavily in her chest and then the look of the man with the bill in his hand. He was still offering it to her but there was a slight hint of confusion and maybe anger as she backed off. Not wanting to create any more confusion Samantha took the bill and step passed the man to resume the shooting. She held the bill tightly closed in her hand and squinted her eyes again. Was she having illusions? Why did this feel so wrong to her? She never felt so exposed and helpless before.

[Stargaizer]

As Samantha took the money and went back to her position for shooting, she noticed that the room got a little darker. The lights were still just as bright in her eyes, but everything seemed, somehow, darker. The rotund man who had given her the money sat down as she reached her spot on the green screen, and though she was just as blinded as before, she could clearly see several pairs of red eyes beyond the lights and behind the photographer. She could also see the red light on the video camera, meaning that it was recording as well.

Once on her spot, instead of giving her instructions or beginning to shoot, the photographer simply cleared his throat and spoke with an ‘oh geez’ tone. “Look, I know that you like your money, we all like money, but you don’t really have anywhere to put it in this outfit, do you? So, if you’d just put it down up here out of the way, we can get back to shooting, ok?”

[Venus]

Samantha didn’t realize that she was holding on to the bill as if it was some kind of handle to provide her more balance. “Of course.”, she stuttered and put the bill down and out of the way. As she returned to her spot the bikini was slipping again and she had to put it back in place cursing to herself. “This thing just won’t fit and stay in place.”, she complaint but the photographer just started shooting. The flashlights blinded her unexpectedly and she raised one hand to shield her eyes from the light. Unfortunately that made the top slip again exposing her breasts to the camera.

Then she saw the red eyes again and the strange noises the supposed models where doing in the dark. Where they actually panting?. She could imagine them watching her with greedy eyes which made her sick in the stomach. “Common baby, I know you can do better than that. No give me another profile and then some cleavage, right? And stop fiddling with your hands around the bikini.”

The photographer was getting more and more aggressive or annoyed with her and Samantha was caught between confusion, fear and disgust. She put the bikini back in place and bent awkwardly to the side, trying to give the camera a profile shot. I’m as good as naked… I want to get out of here

Again she saw the red eyes in the darkness and the room seemed to shrink ever so slightly with every flashing of the lights. Panic took the better of her and she felt like she had to faint. Not wanting to collapse right there in front of the shadowy men and the camera which kept recording her she suddenly turned around and dashed for the wardrobe.

[Stargaizer]

Samantha’s flight back to the dressing room was cut short when she ran into, quite literally, one of the rotund men. Between her speed and the bounce of his stomach, she ended up on the cold hard floor. The man that she had run into simply looked down at her, as the one that had given her the money approached from the other side. The first one, in a voice that didn’t sound as disappointed as his words implied, said “Now, now Ms. Moody, just where do you think you’re going?”

The other man chimed in, “We’ve been very patient until now, giving you your time and your space. I even gave you an extra hundred dollars.”

The first one finished, “Now we’re going to have to insist that you finish this shoot.”

Samantha didn’t notice the ‘model’s approach until one of them, coming up behind her added, the lust dripping off of his voice, “Yeah, we’re going to have to insist that you finish what you started.” The other ‘model’ approached from her last open side, both of them wearing nothing but a Speedo that left less to the imagination than her outfit. And it was easy to see the effect she’d had on them.

Samantha found herself in a tight spot, on the floor, wearing next to nothing, surrounded by four men who insisted that she finish... and she didn’t think that they were talking about the photos. Then, as she looked around, the shadows behind the men visibly darkened, and she could see pairs of red eyes glowing in the darkness almost everywhere she looked.

[Venus]

Slowly Samantha realized that this was all a setup. This wasn’t a photoshoot, it was a trap and now she was going to get raped and these bastards probably would film it. She was practically naked and the ‘models’ where slowly closing in on her. The larger men in business suits just kept smiling, obviously knowing what was about to happen next.

Samantha still saw the red eyes in the darkness getting closer to her and she wasn’t sure of what she was more afraid. Her heart pounded harder than ever and she thought she had to faint any second, but then she’d be defenceless and her doom was sealed. Gathering her wits and willpower she managed to get on her feet and even tackle one of the ‘models’ shoving her knee as hard as she could into the man’s crotch. She didn’t wait for him to collapse knowing by the sound of his wailing that she had hit home. She quickly turned around facing the door to the wardrobe, the only room where she could escape to but suddenly came to a full halt. A huge shadowy figure rose in front of her and she saw the red eyes staring at her. She froze completely unable to move or say a word. A wordless scream was painted on her face and she had forgotten about the men behind her.

[Stargaizer]

As Samantha skidded to a halt, time seemed to slow down. As she searched frantically for another exit, she noticed that everything was getting blurry. Everything that is, except for the red eyes and shadowy figure. Disorientated, scared, upset and fearing passing out, she backed away from both the men and shadowy figure, until her back finally hit the wall.

The men approached slowly, with the shadowy figure following closely behind. The men, of course, didn’t respond to or even seem to see the shadowy figure or the red eyes, which now filled all the shadows. As the men drew closer, their forms seemed to blur more, and the red eyes and shadowy figure seemed to come more into focus, until she could actually just barely see the short, twisted and slowly swaying bodies behind them. But it wasn’t just her vision that was being affected. The closer the men got to her, the more indistinct and murmurish their voices became. And, as the mens voices became more indistinct, she started to hear, more clearly the din of voices coming from the creatures with red glowing eyes.

Everything that was happening was simply too much for Samantha, and she was on the verge of giving up, of acquiescing to her fate when suddenly another figure appeared directly between her and the men. This figure seemed to be the exact opposite of the shadowy one, as light seemed to emanate from his body. He had short cut beautiful blond hair, beautiful yet fair skin, and was wearing a white shirt and jeans. He turned slowly to face her, and his gorgeous, piercing blue eyes locked with hers, staring deep into her soul. His voice was deep and commanding, yet calming and soothing. While he was looking at her, his eyes never left hers, and he simply said “Fear not, you have been chosen.”

He then turned, and his focus seemed to pass beyond the group of four men, whose advance was slowed down along with the rest of time, and settle on the shadowy figure. The shadowy figure’s voice was shallow and raspy, cold and left an oily feeling on her skin, even though it wasn’t her to whom it spoke, especially because she couldn’t understand the language it was speaking.

The glowing man replied, and while his voice was still deep and soothing, it had the ring of absolute authority to it this time. He spoke in the same language of the shadowy figure, and as he spoke, the creatures with the red eyes let out a hiss.

Then, everything started to go blurry for Samantha, including the red eyes and two figures. The last thing that she remembered seeing as she fell slowly to the floor was a sword of light appear in the hands of the glowing man, and him charging the shadowy figure.

--TO BE CONTINUED--