“Huh?” I thought I must have misheard her.
She beamed down at me, grabbing my hand. “Come on; it will be fun!” She coaxed me to my feet.
“I don’t know if this is a good idea,” I whispered to her.
“I’ve had a bad day; it would make me feel better,” she replied.
I sighed and reluctantly put my arms around her waist, causing her to smile gently and snuggle against my body. We began to sway back and forth, the chain dragging behind me. She rested her head against my chest as I softly stroked her hair. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I enjoyed having her close to me.
I slipped my hand down her waist, expecting her to get mad, but she giggled and then purred gently, like a cat. She tightened her grip, holding me closer. “Thank you, Lance,” Lara whispered, beaming up at me as the song ended.
We both sat down, and she wrapped her arms around me, resting her head in my lap. “Aren’t you going to get in trouble for this?” I asked her nervously, but she shook her head confidently.
“The only thing my superiors care about is getting information so that they can look good for their superiors,” she assured me. “Besides, what they don’t know won’t hurt them,” she added with a devilish smile, stroking my leg.
Rain began to drizzle on us as clouds formed overhead. Within minutes, it had strengthened into a full-out storm. The continuous sound of raindrops beating on the pavement began to blend with the occasional whoosh of the wind through the treetops around the compound. Mud slowly began to trickle down a stream in the flower bed, soaking my clothes. But as if unaware of her surroundings, Lara remained motionless on my lap, purring contently.
“You’re going to get your dress dirty,” I warned her as the mud began to run along the edges of the flower bed, threatening to spill over onto us.
“I don’t care,” she muttered. My words seemed to snap Lara out of her trance, and she sat back up, leaning her head against my shoulder. “I just want to be with you, Lance.” She smiled affectionately as the rain pounded against us. We sat in silence for a moment, and then she asked, “Would you like to do something with me tomorrow?”
I couldn’t help noticing that her blue eyes seemed to glow softly in the cool night air, reflecting the dull light of the moon that peeked through a cluster of clouds overhead. “I can’t do much, stuck in these chains,” I told her with a laugh, nodding toward the multiple chains attached to my body.
“You can have them off tomorrow, as a treat,” she said.
I looked at her in surprise. She smiled and leaned over to give me a gentle peck on the cheek. I blushed, as I seemed gripped by a loss of words. “It kind of sounds like you’re asking me out on a date,” I joked nervously.
She stared at me, as if trying to read what I was thinking, while smiling mysteriously to herself. “I might be,” she said with a smirk, giving me a playful nudge with her elbow.
“Do you think we can get outside of this courtyard?” I asked, glancing around at the maze of bushes my prison contained.
“Sure, Lance.” She smiled and gave me another light peck on my cheek. “I’ll be right back.” She left the courtyard, returning two or three minutes later with one of her military-issue rain jackets. “Sorry; this is the best I could find,” she told me, offering it to me as protection from the rain.
“Thanks. I appreciate it,” I replied. I took off my button shirt to use as a pillow and threw the rain jacket over my body as a blanket. Lara gave me another kiss and then hurried away, splashing through the puddles.
I looked down at the rain jacket she had given me. I knew we were playing a dangerous game; even worse, I didn’t know if she actually had feelings for me or was just playing me for information. These thoughts raced through my mind as I lay there in the relentless rain, serenaded to sleep by the booming thunder overhead.
Chapter 4
I was gently shaken awake the next morning by Lara, who was dressed casually again in a skirt and a tank top. “Wow, you look amazing ,” I said, rubbing away the sleep from my eyes.
She crouched down, giving me a good-morning kiss on the cheek. “Wish I could say the same for you,” she joked, plopping down beside me. “When I got to my room last night, I read some things about human activities, and I think I found a good one.” She paused for a moment and then asked excitedly, “Do you know how to swim?” I nodded. “Well, then we can do that!” she said happily. She pulled out a muffin from her backpack and handed it to me. “I had some spare time last night, so I tried to make some human food.”
I nodded thankfully, accepting the muffin. I took one bite but gagged on it instantly. I held the muffin out to look at it.
Lara glared at me. “You don’t like it?” she asked me, quickly wiping away the anger that had crossed her face, even though I knew she was still upset.
“It tastes like pure salt and lemon,” I muttered, still recovering from the taste as I stared down at the muffin in disgust.
“Well, duh—it’s a salt and lemon muffin, silly!” Lara snatched the muffin from my hand and took a bite out of it. “My book said humans like this stuff. Besides,” she added, swallowing the bite, “it tastes fine to me.”
“Maybe it’s just my taste buds,” I lied with a shrug.
She handed me a pair of shorts. “Before we go, I must ask you a few questions, Lance,” she said. Lara uncuffed my neck, feet, and wrists, staring at the purple bruises as she took off the chains. She gently touched one, making me flinch. “I’m sorry, Lance,” she whispered as her hand quickly recoiled from the wound. “I’ll never get over how they lock you guys in here like animals. It makes me ashamed to know that I once lived my day-to-day life honoring the pure-blood line of Dracona.”
I shook my head. “Don’t talk that way. I knew I was going to end up here—or dead—eventually. It’s not your fault. I’m proud of the things I did to get here,” I reassured her passionately.
Lara took a step back, staring up at me with a faint smile. “I know that, Lance.” She paused, placing her hands on her hips and glancing around the courtyard. “So, how does it feel to be free?”
I rotated my stiff shoulder blades and neck. “Surprisingly good. It’s true—I guess that you don’t appreciate what you have until it’s gone,” I told her with a laugh.
She rummaged around in her bag until she found an electric collar. She glanced from it to me with an unhappy look. “I have to put it on you, Lance—you know the rules,” she said apologetically, gently strapping it on and adjusting it tightly. “When you went out on your missions, how many would come with you?” she asked casually.
“Usually two or three, depending on the length of the mission,” I told her, hating this part of the day.
She smiled faintly, but I could tell she wanted a more in-depth answer. “Who were those two or three?” she asked.
“A machine gunner, a rifleman, and me,” I explained with a sigh.
She smiled her thanks. She probably knew how much I hated giving up information about my past. “How long had you three been working together?” she asked, sitting me down and typing something into a strange hand-held device. I flinched, feeling a light electric shock pulse through my body as she made sure the collar worked. “Sorry about that,” she giggled, glancing up from the device in her hand. “Had to make sure it works. So … how long had you three been working together, Lance?”
“About three and a half years,” I told her truthfully.
“So when did you join the resistance?” she asked, still adjusting the collar.
I hesitated before responding. “The day of the invasion,” I finally told her.
“That was about four years ago, so you’re around seventeen?” she asked.
I nodded, putting on my shorts as she unexpectedly stripped down to a pretty blue sparkling bikini. I couldn’t help staring at her.<
br />
She handed me a towel, giggling to herself once she realized I was checking her out. “Men are all the same, even from different species, I guess,” she called over to me playfully.
“Sorry. I didn’t expect the fiends to have such a stylish wardrobe,” I joked, slinging the towel over my shoulder.
“I spent many years with your race before the war, so I guess I just picked up on their ways,” she said with a shrug, looking down at the bikini. “You like it?”
“Of course I do. You look beautiful,” I said as I followed her to the main gate.
My compliment made her blush. “Thank you, Lance. You’re so sweet.” She unlatched the gate, leading me down a path to a small pond a couple of hundred meters away from the courtyard. It felt so good to be outside of the prison. I knew the water would feel even better. Lara approached the side of the pond, kneeling down beside it, testing it with her hand. “It’s so nice today!” she called over to me happily. I threw down my towel and headed toward her. She whirled around instantly, spotting my intentions. She chucked her towel at me defensively. “Don’t you dare, Lance!” she cried out with a laugh.
It was too late, though. I lunged at her, sending the two of us spiraling into the water. She laughed as we both broke the surface and began to play-fight with one another in the water. We splashed each other for a while, eventually settling down as we both began to relax. We lazily swam around, occasionally getting out to dive back in. The summer sun was so warm. It beamed down on us from above while dancing off the surface. I was having such a great time with her, but I knew I had to keep my guard up. This could very well be just a way for her to get me comfortable around her, in the hopes that I would accidently spill an important piece of information.
“I think I’m done for now,” Lara said, giving me one last playful splash. She pulled herself out of the water, got her towel, and lay down contentedly.
I swam around for a little while longer until I became bored and swam over to the edge of the pond. I glanced over at Lara, who was still basking in the sun. “Hey, are you going to jump back in or what?” I called over to her playfully, but she didn’t respond.
I silently pulled myself out of the water and cautiously approached her side. I realized then that she was asleep. I knew this was the chance of a lifetime. I quickly rummaged around in her purse and pulled out a set of keys. I tried each of them in my collar and almost cried out in excitement as I heard the dull click of my collar coming unlocked. Snickering to myself, I quickly took off the collar, threw it on my towel, and bolted toward the tree line—freedom was within my grasp.
The joyful feeling, however, immediately faded away as I glanced back through the shrubs at Lara, who was still sleeping peacefully, unaware of my escape. I knew if I went through with my decision to set myself free, she would be killed—and this really toyed with my emotions for some reason. She didn’t seem to be like the others. “Come on, Lance. It’s war. People die,” I muttered to myself, trying to convince myself to leave.
I tried to walk away, but to my displeasure, I was unable to make myself move. I sighed unhappily and plopped down on the ground, leaning against a tree in an attempt to enjoy what little freedom I had left.
Thunk!
“Ouch! What the hell?” I muttered, rubbing my head as I saw an apple come to a rest at my feet. I glanced up at the small tree I was leaning against, a dull grin spreading across my face as I realized it was a lone apple tree. “Oh, hey there, little guy. How did you manage to survive this?” I said happily. I stood up and collected a handful of apples from it.
I glanced back through the shrubs and spotted Lara as she woke up with a jolt. I saw her gasp and smack her head when she saw my towel and collar lying there. I sighed in disbelief at what I was about to do. I gathered the pile of apples I had picked and walked away from freedom—straight back into the hands of my captor.
“Lance!” Lara screamed in panic, still looking around. She hadn’t yet spotted me.
“What’s up?” I called from behind her, while cradling my stash of apples.
She whirled around in surprise. I guess she was shocked by the fact that I hadn’t run away. To be honest, I was probably more shocked than she was that I hadn’t. “You … but it can’t be … you’re here? You … you just gave me a heart attack, you friggin’ prick!” She angrily stormed toward me, grabbing the collar of my shirt and throwing me to the ground with her fiend strength. It sent my collection of apples flying. “I thought you ran away!” she yelled at me with an angry fiend growl in her voice. “How would I have ever explained what just happened to my boss?” She took in a deep breath in an attempt to slow her breathing as she stared down at me, probably debating how she was going to punish me for what I had just done.
“I was going to run away,” I told her truthfully.
She stared at me in disbelief for a moment. “Then why are you still here?” she asked tersely.
“I decided not to because I knew you would be killed, so I had to settle for the next best option.” I smiled nervously and held up one of the apples for her to see.
Lara stared at me in disbelief, and then, to my surprise, she began to laugh and helped me collect the apples that had scattered all around on the ground. We brought them over to our towels. “May I?” she asked, nodding toward the apples. I nodded, and we both grabbed one and ate happily. “If there’s anything about Earth that I love, it’s the fruits,” she told me, pausing for a moment to inspect her apple. “We never had anything so natural-tasting on my planet.”
I laughed, looking over at her nervously as we ate in silence, finishing them off. “So you’re not mad at me?” I asked her hopefully.
She laughed and then whispered affectionately, “Of course not. How could I ever be mad at you?” She leaned over to place a light kiss on my cheek. “Would you mind telling me a little bit about the New World Order?” Lara asked me.
“What?” I asked, surprised. Her question had come completely out of the blue, but it was a chilling reminder that even though we were having fun, she was always on duty.
“My superiors feel that the NWO is going to be a threat to us in the near future,” she said with a shrug.
“There a radical faction of humans that is our enemy,” I told her simply.
“Duh. I’m not stupid, Lance.”
“It’s a long story,” I said.
“We have all day,” Lara shot back with a playful smirk.
I sighed, tossing what remained of the apple behind me. “When I was initiated into the PLF there were two men in charge of it: Captain Murphy and Lieutenant Stark. They were both very strong-minded individuals with two completely separate visions for the post-war world,” I began. “Eventually, a power struggle developed between them, which finally exploded into a mutiny and an attempt on Captain Murphy’s life. The two declared war on each other two years ago, which has been in effect to this very day.”
She stared at me; interest spread across her face. “Your loyalty lies in Captain Murphy?” she asked.
“I would die for him. He’s basically the father I never had.” I couldn’t believe how much information I was giving away to her.
“What happened to your father?” she asked.
“Lara …” I said, not wanting to get into it.
“Fine. I’m sorry. I just have one more question.”
“What is that?” I asked her, spotting a playful grin spreading across her face.
“Where is the PLF’s base?” she asked with a smirk.
“Um, probably up your ass,” I said, giving her a playful push with one hand. We both burst out laughing.
The two of us stayed out until the sun began to set behind the mountains that seemed painted into the background, far off in the distance. As we walked up the path to the gate of the courtyard, I slipped my hand into hers.
&
nbsp; “I had a good time today, Lance,” she told me.
“Me too, but don’t you think, as friends, we’re getting a bit too close to one another? Not to mention, aren’t we a little too different for each other?” I asked, not wanting to ruin the exceptionally good mood Lara was in.
“How so?” she asked, stopping at the main gate of the courtyard.
I gave a light tug on the electric collar around my neck with a dull smile.
“Huh?” Lara asked, playing dumb.
“Well, for starters, I’m a prisoner; you’re my guard. I’m human, and you’re not. Did I miss anything?”
“Ha-ha. Those are only minor details, Lance.” She playfully ruffled my hair.
“What if we get in a fight and you turn into a …” I stopped as Lara turned to face me.
“A what?” she asked as a slightly offended expression spread across her face.
“Nothing. It’s just … I don’t want to get into a fight and then be killed. But I don’t want to mess up what we have going on here either, if you know what I mean.”
“A fight? Like this?” she asked, giving me a playful push.
I laughed. “Yeah, something like that.” I returned the playful shove, which soon turned into a pushing match and spiraled into a play-fight. After a short scuffle on the ground, I had her pinned. She stopped struggling and beamed up at me affectionately. What was left of the sun seemed to be shining off her as she leaned up to kiss me.
The sounds of guns cocking around us, followed by the cold barrel of a rifle placed forcefully against the back of my neck interrupted us. Lara quickly opened her eyes, glancing around angrily. I got up slowly, with my hands in the air, looking down at her, slightly panicked, for help. Three fiends surrounded us; they seemed a little older than me.
Lara jumped to her feet, scolding them in her native language. I could tell that she was furious that they’d interrupted her moment with me. She pointed into the garden, and they nodded, letting us in.
The Unexpected War Page 3