by P. L. Camery
“There are two guards walking the halls closest to Seek’s room,” Lawrence stated, “you will have to run when one of them is past you and hide every few rooms to get close enough to Seek’s door. Then when you are within range Cal will have the security on his door disarmed and you will have two minutes to get in.”
“Correction,” Cal stated, “I’ll give her directions as you disarm the door, you aren’t level headed enough right now to get her there quickly.”
“But…”
Before the boy could finish his protest, Mavis cut him off, “Lawrence, Cal is right. You should disarm the door. You are more qualified for that job than Cal anyways.”
“I guess…”
“No, you are,” Mavis said firmly. “Now let’s assassinate this bastard.”
“You’ve got it sister,” she could practically hear the grin in Cal’s response, “Now, the guard will be walking by you soon. As soon as he is far enough, I’ll give the signal and you book it down the corridor ‘till I tell you to take cover. And remember; be careful with the archaic squeaky doors.”
“Affirmative.” Mavis waited with her hand already holding the doorknob in the open position. She picked up approaching footsteps; her heart jumped into her throat and accelerated. The guard seemed to move at a snail’s pace and it was a small eternity before he finally began to fade.
“Go!” Cal commanded. Mavis opened the door and silently sprinted. “Hide!” She skidded slightly and veered towards the room to her left. Upon entrance Mavis walked in circles at the center of the room, panting. Once she had regulated her breathing, she returned to her position holding the doorknob ready.
This process repeated three times before Cal said, “On you next exit, Seek’s door will be the third one to your right. We are just waiting for Lawrence to finish.”
Nodding, Mavis leaned back against the door, closed her eyes, and focused on slowing her breathing. Then she removed from her waist a pin, shaped like a sapphire butterfly outlined with silver, and extricated from the bottom tip of its body, a small syringe. The liquid inside was specially designed by rebel labs in Jalbec County. A clear substance that left no trace known to government technology, this drug took two days to come into effect but would result in a fatal heart attack. Mavis held the tiny weapon and faced the door, waiting for the signal.
“Okay go!”
Mavis dashed into the room, but when she closed the door there was a slight click. Horrified, all she could think to do was duck down next to the entry way and cover her head. Her heart pounded in her ears as two sets of footsteps stampeded towards her. Then she heard the doorknob jiggle, but it did not open.
“I relocked the door after you entered,” she heard Lawrence say.
“Did you hear anything?” one male voice said.
“No, I only ran because you ran,” another voice, female.
“But I swear I heard something.”
“You’re just being paranoid James…”
After several minutes of the guard’s discussion, their footsteps finally retreaded from the door and Mavis released her breath.
“You’re all clear Mavis,” Cal said, “do your thing.”
“And Mavis,” Lawrence began, “good luck. I know you’ve got this.”
The girl nodded and took a deep breath. She inched to the sleeping man at a crawl until she was at his bedside. Then she brought herself to a kneeling position to survey Seeks. The commander of the Imperial Police was a restless sleeper, breaking loud snores with periodic tossing, in which his body went rigid and his face contorted.
Probably nightmares about all the people he’s double crossed or murdered, Mavis thought to herself. I should just let you live with yourself, suffer through your nightmares.
But then she reminded herself of the power he symbolized, the evil he did daily, and decided he was not suffering as much as he needed to be. So, she lifted the syringe and began calculating the most effective area to plunge it. When Seeks finally settled in one place again, she drove it into his shoulder, emptied the contents, and yanked it back out.
The old man stirred. Heart racing, Mavis flattened herself against the ground and rolled under the bed. She remained petrified, hardly daring to breathe, until his movement stopped, and snoring resumed.
“Okay,” Mavis said in the quietest of whispers, “it’s done. Now tell me when to get out of here.”
“Wait what was that? I couldn’t hear you.”
“Shut up Cal, we heard her perfectly,” Lawrence snapped. Then there was the thud of a fist to the shoulder followed by Cal’s amused chuckle.
Then a minute passed in silence before Mavis rolled her eyes, “Any day now.”
“Hold on,” Lawrence said, “We’re watching the guards, they’ve switched patterns. Now they are only walking back and forth within ten feet of the room. You won’t be able to get out the way you came.”
“At least not without a confrontation,” Cal added.
“Which is not going to happen,” Lawrence said sternly.
“Is there any other way out?” Mavis inquired, “A vent or window maybe?”
“No windows in the room,” Cal said, “and the vents are too small; that’s why you couldn’t use them in the first place.”
Mavis sighed, “I guess I’d better make myself comfortable.” As best as she could, the girl wiggled her way away from the door. She adjusted so that as much of her body as possible, while remaining under the bed, was up against the wall. As she maneuvered, her knee contacted something cold and metallic. Mavis froze. Once she had calmed herself, she used her hand to locate the object.
A handle!
Mavis gingerly lifted the handle and a small square of the floorboard rose with it. “Hey guys, I found a trap door. Maybe Seeks had an escape route installed. I’m going to see where it leads.”
“Mavis, no,” Lawrence hissed, you don’t know where that goes. What if there are guards at the other end? We won’t be able to warn or help you.”
“Too late,” the girl chimed as she wormed her way in, “already going.”
“Are you sure Mavis?” Cal asked. “Lawrence is right- this time. You’ll be out of our line of sight.”
“Mmhm.” Mavis slowly lowered the door on top of her then fumbled through her pouch.
“Plus aren’t you claustrophobic?” Lawrence accused as Mavis switched on a tiny light and swallowed a lump in her throat.
“Uh- y-yes.” Then she shook herself and continued. “But it’s not that bad. Still better than waiting up there with Seeks.”
“Please Mavis,” Lawrence begged, “just stay where you are and wait till…”
“No,” Mavis said defiantly moving forward, “Really, I’ve got this.”
There was a pause before Lawrence responded, “If you must, I can see there’s no stopping you. Just please be careful. And tell us where you are when you resurface.”
As Mavis strode forward, the dirt ceiling was so low she had to walk at a hunch. The young rebel kept one shaky hand clenched to her light as the other trailed the wall. The tunnel took her at a slight downward slope, and as she descended the walls and ceiling seemed to come in closer. She stopped moving. Her breathing picked up.
“Mavis what’s wrong?” Lawrence’s voice echoed in her ear. Instinctively she searched for him, finding nothing but dirt walls. Coming closer, closer, closer, closer. She released a small whimper. “Mavis! Mavis please, what’s happening, what’s wrong?”
She panicked at the urgency in his voice and curled into a ball muttering, “It’s this place, the walls, the ceiling. It’s going to swallow me, crush me, suffocate…” Her eyes widened as she clutched at her neck, panting, “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe! Lawrence, please I can’t breathe!”
“Shh, shh,” Lawrence soothed, “You have breath enough to scream darling, you’re fine love.”
“No!” the girl responded, “I’m going to die here. I’ll never, I’ll neve
r…” Her sentence trailed off as she began hyperventilating.
“Mavis calm down!”
“Can’t,” she huffed, “can’t, can’t, I can’t.”
“Yes, you can, just close your eyes and take a deep breath. Good another. Ok, now hug yourself.”
“But…”
“Just please love, trust me.” She did as she was told. “Are you hugging yourself?”
“Mmhm,” she squeaked out.
“Okay, now pretend those are my arms around you. Pretend I’m holding you, we’re in the park and you’re relaxing, you’re safe.”
Mavis took deep breaths, struggling to focus on the scene in her head as Lawrence’s voice continued, “Shh, you’re safe Mavis, you’re safe. Nothing can hurt you now. I won’t let anything hurt you. I love you too much Mavis, you’ll always be safe with me. I love you.”
Mavis listened to him for a few minutes before she whispered, “Thank you Lawrence.” Then she opened her eyes and said, “I’m ready to go on.”
“Are you sure Mavis?”
Her answer was clear and confident, “Yes.”
“Okay, come back to me darling.”
The girl nodded and swiftly advanced through the tunnel. Finally, she came to a ladder leading upwards. Mavis easily scaled it but paused to listen before pushing on the door above her. When she surfaced, she scanned the area with caution, “Okay I’m out now,” she heard both boys breathe a sigh of relief, “and I think I know where I am, it’s the back of that old tablet store that went out of business last year. I should be safe.”
“Well that wasn’t so bad then was it!” came Cal’s cheery voice.
“If I were there,” Mavis countered, “I’d be glaring at you Caleb Short!”
“Don’t worry,” Lawrence said, “I’ve got that covered.”
*****
Felling antsy the third day after her mission, Mavis walked in a daze, hardly aware of the students around her and earning angry glares as she bumped into them, sending more than a few phones flying on her trek to the cafeteria. She was worried about Seeks, what the consequences of his assassination would bring. Destroying the figurehead of the Imperial Police would shake the nation to be sure, diminishing confidence in the effectiveness of the force meant to ensure order and thereafter weakening the Guardian’s Regime. But the Imperial Police as well as the Army of Hassdrin were likely to retaliate with a vengeance, and she was tired of waiting to see what that vengeance would look like. As she approached the double doors, Mavis was distracted from her thoughts by a strong grip on her arm jerking her around. “You’ve been avoiding me Mavis Cruz,” Roland began.
“Any reason I shouldn’t?”
“Because I miss you,” the boy gave her a shy smile.
“Not good enough.”
“Because I love you.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“But I do. What do I need to do to prove it?”
“Break up with Kara,” Mavis snapped as she strode from the cafeteria doors, her appetite having vanished.
“Done.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“But it’s what you want,” Roland protested trailing after her.
“Since when do you care what I want? You’ve never acted on it before.”
“But you never tell me! How am I…”
“Roland just stop,” Mavis sighed, spinning around to face him, “Look, the thing is I don’t think you care about me or how I feel. You love the idea of me, of owning me. And now that I’m out of reach you’re upset, okay, fine, I get that. Now get over it.”
“But that’s not true,” Roland argued, “I don’t want an ideal you. I want you and only you for the rest of my life. I…”
The girl turned on him, “I don’t believe you. For years you’ve had every opportunity to break up with her, to choose me. And now that I have someone who actually cares about me, you think you love me enough to fight for me?”
“No, I’ve always loved you,” a hint of frustration crawled into his voice, “I was just too scared, you…”
“Scared? Scared of what Roland?” Mavis pushed him back, “I was crazy about you, or at least I thought I was! If you had just fought, even a little, I might have been yours right now. But you gave that up. You, Roland! I didn’t take it away, neither did my boyfriend, but you gave it up. Now live with it.”
“But I can’t live without you,” the soldier’s voice shifted to a plea, “There’s no one else like you Mavis, you’re the most beautiful, the most interesting person I know. I want to have a life with you.”
“A life with me?” Mavis sneered in disgust, “As what, a whore on the side? Someone to come home to that you can’t commit to?”
“No,” he paused, searching for the words, “a best friend, someone I can trust, someone I can talk to, confide in.”
“You don’t need me for that. You have your army friends, your father, your girlfriend…”
Roland’s face twisted with distain, “None of them understand me the way you do. They’d all think I’m a coward.”
Mavis appraised him, “A coward for what?”
Roland looked away from her and placed his hands in his pockets, suddenly hesitant to speak.
“Hello I’m listening now!” Mavis snapped her fingers in from of his face, “So spit it out.”
“It’s about the army,” he waited as another student passed by then began to walk down the hall. Mavis sighed, knowing it would be better to follow then have him searching for her later. “I mean life is good. I’m respected, which feels like such a novelty, compared to my dad, who you know is never impressed, and Kara, the nagging fanatic girlfriend.”
“Still waiting for a point.”
“The pay is also good,” he continued as if he hasn’t heard her, “If there’s anything you need, by the way, I can get it for you. The whole idea of casts is gone. Being second cast means nothing- if I can perform, I can make something of myself. But still,” he paused, staring at the floor and tapping his foot, “things have just been moving so fast. My dad, he wants me to be active, in the field, a general to be respected, I’ve never wanted that…This morning he convinced Seeks I should command a small IP squad for a raid and if I do well, I’ll start to prove myself and…”
“Wait,” Mavis interrupted, her mind racing, “You’re saying your dad has been talking to Seeks?”
“Yes, why?”
Mavis had to swallow down her utter disbelief, “No reason, I was just surprised.”
Roland shrugged, “My dad doesn’t really want me to be a leader. He wants me to be another advocate for his ideas, his decisions. But I don’t want to do that,” he looked down again, “because following in his footsteps means people would be under my control, I decide what happens to them, whether they live or die. But what if I make the wrong choices? What if I can’t even command a small group and I lead my men to be butchered, how could I live with myself? And what if I don’t live,” he turned to look at her, “What if I get killed? I’m afraid to face the rebels Mavis. I’m afraid to shoot and be shot at by another living human. They believe in their cause, they are willing to die for their ideals. And to me this is just a job, a chance to prove I’m not a pathetic screw up.”
Roland hung his head, “You must think I’m a coward for telling you.”
“No,” Mavis said, her tone slightly softer, “No I think it took a lot of courage to tell me and that it was good for you to tell someone.” She paused then continued, “You deserve to have someone to talk to. But Roland, that someone just can’t be me anymore.”
*****
When she left school that day, Roland’s conversation was still on her mind, particularly the part about Seeks. I saw him there, her mind fumed, I injected the vile into his body, I know I did! He can’t still be alive! She clenched her hands into fists, ready to pummel the next person she saw as she walked into Footwear. I didn’t risk my life for nothing, damn it!
Mavis shook her head and leaned in for a kiss. But when they parted, she was surprised to see her boyfriend’s brows knit together. “Is something wrong?” he asked, brushing a lock of hair from her face, “You seem pensive.”
“I saw Roland today.”
Lawrence’s expression darkened, “And what, may I ask, could he have possibly wanted to say? That he loves you? That he thinks he can still win you?”
“That, but more importantly that he was scared. And that he is to be deployed on missions soon…”
“Good,” the young boy said coldly, “then maybe I’ll finally get a chance to kill him.”
“But Lawrence there’s something else,” she placed her hand on his chest ignoring his comment, “he said his forces would be coming from the IP, issued by Seeks himself- the man isn’t dead.”
“Yeah,” Lawrence said gravely as he took her hand and lead her down the stairs, “I got an email from Grant informing me. The council is meeting tomorrow to discuss it.” Before Mavis could open her mouth to speak, he cut her off, “Can we actually not talk about this right now? I’d rather enjoy my spare moment with you.”
“Uh- sure, okay,” Mavis agreed, “What did you have in mind?”
“How I’m going to kill that idiot soldier boy.”
The girl laughed, “I’ll have to veto that topic; your murderous intentions are old news.”
Lawrence chuckled, “Alright then let’s talk about this,” he abruptly wrapped one arm around her waist and maneuvered her into the staircase wall, his mouth possessing hers as he moved his fingers up and down her body.
“Mmm,” Mavis moaned before pushing him back, “if you want to talk about how good you are at kissing, I’m going to have to disappoint you.” She patted him on the cheek, her smile radiating in the dim light, “I pride myself in the fact I don’t appease to your arrogance.”