by P. L. Camery
“I must admit,” the familiar male voice said, “I was skeptical when you told me to meet you here, but this is amazing baby.”
Her heart fluttered as Mavis sprang to her feet and threw her arms around Lawrence. Laughing with delight he caught her in one arm and spun her three sixty before letting her down and presenting a bulging paper bag. “Lunch,” he said handing it to her, “as promised.”
Mavis turned in his arms and peered into the bag as he rested his head on her right shoulder. Lunch turned out to be two ham sandwiches, sour sweets, and cherry flavored sodas. Grinning, the girl angled her head to kiss her boyfriend before asking, “Did you make them yourself?”
“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t subject you to my form of cooking unless I can get a test subject to live through it first.” Lawrence said, laughing as he pulled Mavis to the sand.
“But Cal’s told me about trying some of your- experiments. I’ve heard that things come out glowing but not half bad.”
Lawrence gave a dismissive wave, “Alright let me rephrase, unless I can get a human test subject to survive.” Mavis laughed and leaned into him before taking a bite of her sandwich. Lawrence wrapped one arm around her waist then followed suit. For a moment they ate in silence, watching the waves crash rhythmically on the seashore. Then Lawrence swallowed the last bit of his sandwich and said, “How real things can seem when your mind believes it…”
“Lawrence,” Mavis moaned, drawing out his name. “You’re not going to start thinking all abstract right now.” The boy smiled, but his gaze remained pensive as he fisted a handful of sand and watched it drain through his fingers. “Hey, stop that,” Mavis said, slapping his cheek lightly, “come back to me. I know what you’re thinking, and later I’d love to have a discussion on the mind and perception and reality, but right now you are going enjoy this moment!”
Lawrence laughed and squeezed her in his arms, “I’m sorry love. You’re right, in the moment…”
“Mmhm,” Mavis began skeptically, “and I suppose you’re going to need some help staying in the moment?”
“What do you mean?” Lawrence tilted his head quizzically.
“That maybe,” she drew out the words, slowly walking her fingers up his chest, “You need some help,” she traced her index finger along his lips and smiled with mischief as his breathing quickened, green eyes glued on hers, “taking your mind off things.” Lawrence swallowed involuntarily, and Mavis held his gaze as her hand slid down his chest then under his shirt, grazing her fingers over his tense core muscles. She leaned closer to him, and when it looked like he was about to reach up and kiss her she pushed him down and turned away saying, “But I guess you don’t want to be distracted from your oh so important train of thought. So, carry on.”
“Oh, never mind that,” the boy replied, pushing himself upright, “I seem to have found a new occupation.”
“No!” Mavis playfully slapped his hand away, “You had your chance. You blew it!”
“Awe come on Mavis,” he said scooting closer to her, “I promise you won’t be disappointed. Satisfaction guaranteed!”
The girl crossed her arms and peered at him, “And if I’m not satisfied? Do I get a refund if I return you?”
Lawrence exaggerated a flinch, “Ouch, that hurts.” Then he reached into his pant pocket and produced a bracelet, “Maybe this will assuage your doubts about me?”
“Oh, let me see!” Her hand shot out any took the jewelry before the words finished leaving her mouth. The bracelet looked as if it was originally designed to be a gold metal watch but with the face replaced by a glass embedded image of the sun setting over a solitary bolder protruding from the ocean.
“It’s supposed to be the rock,” Lawrence explained as he took the bracelet and fastened it around her wrist, “the one from my poem.” The smile that followed was cautious, as if waiting to see how she’d react.
“It’s beautiful- but Lawrence, why is it,” she paused, taking in the sensation, “pulsating warmth?”
The boy’s grin widened, “Excellent word choice my dear.” He offered her a small cut along his wrist and explained, “I injected a tiny sensor to a vein so that every time it senses a pulse, a signal is sent to your bracelet. What you’re feeling reflects each beat of my heart.”
Mavis’s eyes widened, the narrowed, “I don’t believe you.”
Anticipating this, Lawrence took her head and placed it against his chest for her to listen. Sure enough, the pulses of heat matched every thud within him. She pulled her head away then gazed up in excitement, “So then as long as this is working, I know if you’re alive? Possibly if you’re in trouble or nervous about something or…”
“Yes, yes, my love,” he leaned in and kissed her, “Although it sounds like a lot of power when you put it that way.” Mavis was about to rebuttal when he put a finger over her mouth then continued, “Now it’s not full proof, I don’t know what the range is, I assume it’s not likely to work if we are in different counties, and every few once in a while I may have to replace the sensor but other than that it should be fine.”
Rather than respond Mavis squealed in delight and threw her arms around his neck. Lawrence held her tightly. Then he whispered in her ear, “Now, you don’t still plan on returning me, do you?”
The girl rolled her eyes and leaned back, appraising him, “Hmmm I’m going to have to think about that.” Amused at his nervous gaze she began her assessment by squeezing various sections of his arms, “Nice muscle definition, although- I have seen better,” she punched him in his gut, which he responded to by only taking a deeper than average breath, “Hmm, very nice tolerance of pain, although you might have felt less if your core muscles were stronger.” Those green eyes flared with the urge to rebuttal, but he held his tongue. With a sly smile Mavis pressed her hands on his chest and leaned into him, staring straight into his steely gaze, “You know when to take criticism, which is good because I have plenty of that for you.” She was aware of his anger flaring but ignored it as she took his face in her hands and moved it from side to side, struggling to conceal the adoration she felt at examining it. “Not the handsomest person in the world,” she had to force the words out, “but still…” Mavis leaned running her hands through his hair and kissing him softly. Instantly she felt his muscles relax. Then his arms tightened around her, pulling her to the sand with him, and her heart fluttered at the increasing frequency of the warmth on her wrist. He kissed her hungrily and Mavis wanted to moan from the strong hands massaging into her back. When the kiss ended, she smiled with giddy delight as she brushed the hair out of his eyes, those intense green eyes that looked at her with nothing but love. She leaned down and whispered him his ear, “I guess I can keep you. For now, at least.” Lawrence chuckled then pulled her head down for anther kiss.
The world around them vanished. For a moment they clung to each other, listening in the ensuing darkness. Then the lights flickered back on. But instead of the warm sunny beach they were in the cold metallic confines of the game room.
“Does anyone know we are here?” Lawrence asked, breaking the silence.
Mavis blinked for a moment as he spoke, the optical simulator around his eyes vanishing as her own pair activated and the beach rematerialized. “Um, no. And I had this room booked for three hours so there’d be no chance of anyone coming in.”
Lawrence nodded, staring off as if calculating a long math problem in his mind. “My dad designed the computer controlling this room, when it shows up as booked it doesn’t show or even ask for the identity of the user. Were you followed here?”
Mavis shook her head, “Not that I know of.”
“Me neither, and it didn’t seem like a deliberate move to shut down this room anyways. It seemed more like a flare in the rebel power system.” Having decided this, the boy relaxed and began stroking Mavis’s hair, “Which all means it has nothing to do with you or me directly…”
He moved to resume his kiss, but she pu
t a hand over his mouth. “But Lawrence shouldn’t we go check it out?”
“Mmm, not today baby, let someone else handle it.”
“But Lawrence! We can’t sit and do nothing!”
“But you just got me to relax! Can’t I have this moment?”
“No,” Mavis said, pushing herself to her feet. Then, reading the disappointment in his features her tone softened as she continued, “I promise you Lawrence; after we get to the bottom of this we’ll come back and relax, just you and me darling.” The boy eyed her skeptically. Then he stretched out his hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.
When Lawrence and Mavis exited the game room, all of the lights in the surrounding streets flickered, momentarily submerging the underground city into total darkness then bringing it back again.
What the hell.
As Mavis scanned her surroundings, she saw other people emerging from buildings, the same baffled looks on their faces. Then a voice boomed from rusted speakers which had long ago been forgotten, “Good evening citizens of Democris,” Mavis squealed from sheer surprise and gripped her love’s arm.
“I know that voice,” Lawrence mumbled, rage building in his eyes. Mavis could feel his arm go rigid under her grasp, “that asshole!”
“Do not fear,” the omnipresent voice continued, “this is only a demonstration…”
“Demonstration my ass,” Lawrence grumbled as he began to run.
“Wait!” Mavis called out, “Lawrence where are you going?” She broke into a sprint.
“…a demonstration to remind us all of how vulnerable we really are…”
“To the control room!” Lawrence yelled back, “That’s the only place asshole Perry can remotely control all of the city’s electricity and the speakers.”
“And how precautions must be taken, precautions to prevent our enemies from being able to do the same, and protocols for how to proceed in the event…” Mavis was no longer listening. Instead she focused her attention on catching up to her boyfriend, whose rage was apparent, and she feared might lead him to making impulsive irresponsible choices.
He led her to a pair of steel double doors flanked by two rebel soldiers. “Let me through,” Lawrence demanded, “I need to speak to the idiot who thinks he remotely has the right to play with a whole city.”
The guard on the left held out his hand, “Hold on there, no one enters unless they have security clearance.”
Lawrence blinked, “Security clearance! Since when have I ever needed security clearance! I’m Special Agent…”
“Yes, we know who you are Agent Richardson,” the man said. Mavis mentally applauded his calm demeanor in the face of her fuming boyfriend, “but you are no longer a Council Member, and my orders are to keep out all who don’t have the clearance to enter.”
Lawrence opened his mouth to speak but Mavis touched his arm, causing him to snap his head around. Before he could say anything, she spoke, “Lawrence honey, don’t you think you might be overreacting, at least a little?”
“No!” the boy protested, “He has no right…”
“But sweetheart,” Mavis spoke with exaggerated patience, “don’t you think if Admiral Perry is in there that he probably has the Council’s permission?”
She shot the security guard a glance and he nodded, “That’s our understanding.”
“Therefore,” Mavis continued, “does he not have every right…”
“Yeah but you can’t just…”
Mavis pressed her finger to his lips, “Now listen to me, I think you’re just mad because it’s Perry. I know you don’t like him, and I don’t like the guy either, but you have to admit that an announcement about caution and security is not the worst thing in the world.”
“But…”
“In fact,” Mavis pressed, “if you had thought of it, I bet you could come up with a million reasons why it was necessary. Isn’t that true?”
The boy considered this for a moment then grumbled, “Probably.”
“Then you shouldn’t go looking for trouble,” the girl concluded. Lawrence rolled his eyes. Satisfied with this response she turned to the guards, “Sorry for the trouble boys, Agent Richardson just gets overexcited sometimes- well more like regularly- so you’ll have to excuse him.”
The second guard flashed her a grin, “But you obviously have him whipped and under control. Just see to it, that he doesn’t come back without clearance.”
“Oh come on, are we done here?” Lawrence asked, obviously eager to extricate himself from the situation.
Mavis could only laugh, “Yes Lawrence, we can go now.”
*****
As time passed, excitement and hype in Hassdrin over the Quincentennial buzzed the air. The overwhelming energy made Lawrence feel queasy. Searching for an escape, he retreated to the game room; he had two speeches ready, and with the rally only a few days away it was time to decide which he would give. He activated the settings for Mavis’s beach then entered and sat himself cross legged at the center of the room. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, focusing his attention momentarily on the salty air and the rhythmic crashing of waves.
Let’s start with a pros and cons list, he told himself. Pros: This nation idea could work; we could finally be free… Then Mavis and I could get married, have a life together. If we have kids, they would grow up with the ability to make decisions on their own, no one could bring them down and tell them what they should and can’t achieve. Cons: I could die… I could fail and then my life, my work could be for nothing… Mavis would miss me, sure she would move on but still, I would have hurt her… But my life even now is risky, even if I were a normal citizen I could die at any moment, what is life if you don’t take any chances. But what if I take a chance and it doesn’t matter, what if not enough people want change…The boy moaned. He leaned back into the sand and sprawled out. Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Just then he heard someone approach. On instinct he bolted upright and turned. Then his body relaxed when he saw Mavis jogging to his side and seating herself next to him.
“Cal mentioned you’d be in here,” the girl began with a cautious smile, “You okay? You seem a little preoccupied.”
“I’m fine,” the boy lied. When Mavis responded with a skeptical groan he smiled, “Really love, I just have a lot on my mind, but I’m alright.”
The girl shook her head, “You know I wish you would just talk to me, we would avoid a lot of trouble that way.”
The boy chuckled then wrapped his arm around her waist and squeezed. Then he said, “You know, I used to have- visions I guess you could call them- about my parents, about how they died… And about you and Cal and my sister too, about me failing you guys…” Lawrence paused, not even sure himself where he was going with this, “I-I was so terrified that I’d screw up, that I’d make a mistake and someone else would die for it. But you know, I’m not afraid of dying for my own mistakes, I’m just afraid of hurting other people.”
Mavis turned to face him, her eyes weary, “Where are you going with this Lawrence?”
The boy considered this, “I guess the first thing I want to say is, since I talked to you about my parents, I haven’t felt so guilty- I feel relaxed, like an added stress has meted off me and now I can move forward without them in the back of my mind. I haven’t had a single vision since then, and I want to thank you for that.”
“But that’s not all that’s on you mind,” Mavis stated bluntly, “there’s something else.”
The boy turned away, deliberately staring at the ocean as he spoke, “I’m not afraid of failure anymore, and I’m ready to do what I think needs to be done, and I will face whatever consequences are associated. I’m going to give the speech at the rally Mavis, the one about the creation of a rebel nation.”
“I see,” Mavis’s voice was monotone.
Lawrence glanced at her, “Are you okay baby? You sound upset.”
“Ups
et?” her brown eyes darkened to near black, “Oh no I’m not upset. What reason would I possibly have for being upset? You’re just planning to go on national television and get yourself arrested or killed that’s all!”
Lawrence flinched, “You don’t know that…”
“No, you’re right,” she almost yelled it, “I’m only 99.9% sure that’s all.”
“There’s still that 0.1%…”
Mavis threw up her hands, “You’re impossible Lawrence! Absolutely impossible! Here you are preaching how you aren’t afraid to face the consequences, but have you ever thought that maybe I am? Maybe I’m afraid of losing you! Has that even remotely crossed you mind?”
The boy turned away and swallowed, “You’d move on.”
Mavis reached for his cheek and forced him to face her, “No I wouldn’t. Now look at me and tell me I’m lying. I would not get over you, ever! I love you, you idiot! Don’t you understand? I love you!” There were tears now coming from her eyes and she began to beat her hand on his chest. Punch after punch tearing at him, as if stabbing him in the heart. “I love you, you can’t go, you can’t! I love you…”
“I- I,” Lawrence stammered, overwhelmed by the intensity of her emotions, “I love you too Mavis.”
“Then please Lawrence, stay with me.”
“But,” he turned away again, conflicted, “but baby, how is this different from any other mission? From your assassination attempt? From…”
“Because!” the girl screamed, “Because you’re walking into this in plain sight, knowing there will be guns there pointed at you. One wrong word and they shoot Lawrence! Don’t you get it?”
“But baby,” his tone was calm, “that’s the way all our missions are, one wrong move and you’re dead. That’s the life we chose, it’s the way we are, a fact that we need to accept.”
Mavis looked up at him, and he stared straight into her eyes, those tear stained eyes so full of fear and resentment. Lawrence did his best to covey everything, the logic of his argument, the reasons he had to give the speech, into his gaze.