by Pam Jernigan
“That’s not your decision, Commander,” she shot back, every bit as determined. “Fully functioning adult here. I make my own choices. I’m staying with him.”
“You don’t need to,” Leo said.
She shook her head. “I am not leaving you alone.”
After a tense moment, the Commander stepped back, looking away. “All right, if you must. Now, climb out of the truck.”
Leo stepped down first, but Karen stayed close, holding his arm as if she expected they would snatch him away from her. When they were both standing, one of the soldiers approached, dangling a pair of hand cuffs. Leo thought her name was Margot, but he wasn’t sure. She met his eyes and even smiled a little. “Sorry, they want you cuffed.”
Karen stiffened, “Come on, Margot!”
Leo shrugged and held out his hands. “It’s okay, Karen,” he said. “I get it; they’re scared.” He cooperated while Margot snapped on the metal wristlets. They were looser than Karen’s grip on his upper arm. Together, they walked in the direction indicated, and the soldiers escorted them into another cage. It was nicer than the last one; with three actual walls and a wide cot. The door clanged shut behind them and was locked with a key.
“Any time you want out - or need anything - just yell, Karen.” The commander told her. “Somebody will be out front. Whenever you’re ready, you can go home.” He nodded once, then turned and strode away.
“Gosh, thanks. Can you take the cuffs off him now please?”
Margot looked at the commander’s retreating form, back at them and shrugged a little. “I don’t see why not,” she said, quietly, efficiently removing the offending objects. She retreated as well, leaving Karen and Leo alone. She hit a switch on her way out, dimming the lights.
“This is ridiculous,” Karen muttered, finally releasing her hold on his arm, but only far enough to slide her hand down to grab his.
“Let’s sit down,” he said, drawing her towards the cot. He could sense her weariness, weakening her anger and darkening her mood. “It’s okay,” he said again, as they sat. “We’re together. Nobody’s shooting me. They have to be careful. I was Mindless; I would have been a danger to them a week ago. Or even six hours ago.”
“It’s still ridiculous,” she argued, without much heat. She leaned sideways against him, and he put an arm around her shoulders. “Can’t they see — oh, never mind.”
“You can tell them all about it in the morning,” he soothed. “Tonight, I think you need your sleep.”
#
Inch by inch, Karen relaxed from the tension that had been wearing on her for the past twenty-four hours or more. Leo tightened his arm a fraction, just holding her.
“So,” she eventually asked into the dimness, “how are you doing?”
“I’m… tired.”
“Not surprising. Honestly, though.” She pulled back far enough to look up at him. “Borsa messed with you today, on a huge scale. And that’s on top of going through changes for a week. Or more.”
He smiled at her. “Yeah. But I’m good, really.”
Karen could hear someone moving in the outer rooms of the jail, but the activity seemed very distant. The dark room in the quiet building felt like its own separate universe, just for the two of them. She turned more towards Leo, her hand resting on his chest. “What was it like?”
“What?”
“Being Mindless.”
“Before? Or today?”
She shrugged a little. “Both, but mostly today.”
“I’m not sure I can explain it. Before this week, it was like… crashing around through dense fog, following instincts, just reacting to things. No awareness. Before the library, I had started to wake up, a little.”
“And today?”
“Today… the same, but… worse. I didn’t understand anything. There was this voice - Borsa, probably - telling us all to go kill. To find the fear and attack. We could sense people, but didn’t know they were people. Just sources of emotion. Bright lights, moving around randomly in the fog.” He fell silent for a moment. “I think I felt you. One of the lights… was different. Strong emotion, but not fear. You were close, and I tried to get to you, I think, but you left.”
She nodded against his chest. “When we came into camp, I headed straight for the cage. I didn’t see you at first, and Pip was there, but then… I saw you. What they’d done to you.” She took a shaky breath, remembering. “I thought I'd lost you forever.”
“Yes, that’s what I felt.” His arms tightened around her, and he dropped a kiss on her hair. “That… your emotions were so sharp, they were painful, but… I wanted more. Wanted to take them away, maybe. Make you feel better? I don’t know, I wasn’t thinking, but… it was you. Even then, when I didn’t know anything, I responded to you. Later, though… Karen, why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did you come to me?” His eyes showed his puzzlement and distress. “I could have killed you.”
She wasn’t sure how to answer that. “I’d wanted to rescue you, to break you out of the cage - and I will get you out of this one, by the way - but by the time we got there… everything seemed hopeless. I got pretty desperate. And then… I got the idea to try to reach you. I figured it was worth the risk. If you were gone, what was the point?”
There was a long pause, and Karen felt the influence of his emotions, his love. When he spoke his voice was strained. “I mean that much to you?”
She was almost embarrassed. “I know it’s silly, I’ve only known you a week…”
“Karen… I’ve only known me a week. How can you have any idea what kind of person I am when I don’t even know?”
She looked up to see him staring at her in wonder. “You’re kind, and honest, and funny, and strong. That’s a good start, don’t you think?”
He stared back, a slow smile tugging at his lips. “If you say so.”
She smiled. “I say so.”
He leaned forward to kiss her gently before tucking her head down onto his shoulder and snuggling up. “Then it is.”
#
They stayed like that in silence for a while. Leo could see her eyelids drooping.
“I’m falling asleep here,” she said in a sleep-clogged voice.
“You could go home,” he reminded her, although he wasn’t in any hurry to let her go.
“I am absolutely not leaving you here.”
“You can have the bed. I’ll sleep on the floor,” he offered
“No, you can’t; it’s concrete.” She sat up straighter, running a hand across the sheets. “This thing is wide enough for both of us.”
That sounded wonderful to him, but… “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, it’ll be fine,” she said, not the least bit concerned. “We’re both fully clothed.” She smirked at him. “Besides, we’ve slept together before.”
They rearranged themselves, lying down next to each other. He was almost afraid to breathe, not wanting to move and accidentally touch anything he shouldn’t. “Is this okay?”
She stretched a little, then rolled halfway on top of him again, just as she had the other night. She rested her head on his shoulder and made a little happy noise. Apparently she wasn’t worried. “If I have a nightmare,” she said fuzzily, “you have my permission to make it go away.”
He nuzzled her hair. “I’ll take care of you.”
“Been a long time since anyone said that to me,” she commented in a small, sad, sleepy voice. “S’nice.”
“I’m here now,” he whispered. “I’ll always take care of you.”
No reply to that but a contented hum and a muted splash of happiness. Then she settled down further, her emotions fading out. He had no idea what the morning might bring, but right at this moment, jail cell or not, there was nowhere he’d rather be. Holding her carefully, he followed her into sleep.
#
The morning began with a clatter and a squeal. Karen’s eyes flew open at the half-famili
ar sound. “Geez, Katrina, keep it down…” She turned on the cot, realizing she’d ended up between Leo and the wall. She propped herself up on her elbows and squinted at her sister, who was standing disconcertingly close, grinning at them. The clatter must have been the cell door. “Can’t you knock?”
Katrina shrugged. “The nice deputy let me in.” She waved to indicate the young man standing outside the bars, looking wary, hand resting near his holster.
“You mean you pestered him until he caved,” Karen corrected.
“He responded to my logical reasoning,” Katrina said loftily. “Anyway, I went looking for you this morning and they told me you were in here.”
Leo was stirring now, too, and swung his legs off the side of the cot, shifting the blankets so she could move past him and stand up. She’d barely gotten to her feet when Katrina grabbed her into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re home safe; I was worried.” She stepped back and switched her attention to Leo, who had also managed to stand. “I assume this is Cute Guy?”
Karen laughed. “Katrina, this is Leo. Leo, Katrina.”
“It’s good to meet you, Katrina.” Leo held out a hand to shake.
Katrina ignored it and gave him a big hug. Karen smothered a laugh at the look of startlement on Leo’s face, even as he gingerly returned the embrace. In the hallway, the deputy looked alarmed. Katrina pulled back after only a moment and stood there grinning at them both.
Well, there was at least one person who wouldn’t be entertaining any doubts about the possibility of a cure.
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Leo said.
“I’ve not heard nearly enough about you,” Katrina replied. “But that’ll have to wait. You’re going to have breakfast with the council. I’d offer to get you a lawyer but I’m not sure it would help.”
Karen scrubbed a hand over her face and then smoothed her hair. “Ugh. I need to freshen up before facing people.”
Katrina turned to smile brightly at the deputy. “Nate will be glad to arrange things, I’m sure.”
Karen would bet good money on his willingness but not much at all on him being happy about it. Leo would know, but really, who cared? “All right, give me a few minutes, then we’re going to breakfast. Yay. Here’s hoping we’re not on the menu.”
#
Breakfast wasn’t fancy, but they had rustled up some coffee. No one ate much though; the council members were too busy pretending not to stare at Leo.
Leo wasn’t eating much, either, Karen noticed, and she looked his way, raising an eyebrow in silent question. He met her eyes, then looked down. A mixture of confusion and embarrassment touched her mind, and she realized he didn’t quite know what to do with the silverware. She put hers down and ate a muffin with her fingers. He smiled faintly and mimicked her.
Karen kept up a light stream of chatter about nothing much, until Mrs. Ambrico set down her coffee cup and looked at Leo straight up.
“So, Leo… Karen tells us you’re cured.”
He nodded. “Yes, that’s what she tells me, too.”
That produced a few smiles. “Well, obviously something has happened,” Mrs. Ambrico stated. “I understand you and Karen have spent some time together, including being locked in a jail cell last night?” She cast a disapproving glare at Commander Harris, who had the good grace to look abashed.
“They said they’d let at any time,” Leo clarified. “All she had to do was ask.”
“I wanted to be there, ma’am,” Karen said firmly. “And I’m perfectly fine. We talked for a while, but we were both tired after yesterday, so we fell asleep. He offered to take the floor, but I wasn’t worried. As you can see, no damage done.”
Commander Harris sighed. “Okay, Leo, you’re cured. And so are a bunch of your friends, apparently. So now what do we do with you?”
“I’m glad you asked,” Karen said smoothly. “I’ve been thinking about that. We need to re-integrate them into society. Slowly and carefully,” she specified, looking at Mrs. Ambrico. “But we can’t leave them on their own. Remember what I said about them being kind of psychic?”
“Yeah…”
“That part might not change.” She glanced sideways at Leo. “Does it feel like it’s going away?”
He looked to the side for a moment, considering, then shook his head.
“Well, Dr. Crankypants might come up with some tweak to his formula, but for now I think we’d better assume that they’re going to keep on needing emotions. It’s kind of like fuel for them.” Fuel was a much less predatory metaphor than food. “We do not want them to run out of gas. However, the good news is, it won’t take much.”
“But they liked feeling fear,” Harris objected. “What if they decide they aren’t happy with more peaceful emotions?”
“Arrest ‘em,” Karen said, shrugging. “If they break the law, I mean. Some of them probably will, but you know why? Because they’re human. Some humans like doing awful things. Dr. Borsa, for instance.” That point seemed to hit home. “Most of them will be fine, though,” she continued. “And being around people will be enough to keep their tanks full.”
“More than enough,” Leo added. “It’s too much, sometimes. I’m learning to block it.”
“And we can block them, too,” Karen said. “I can’t really explain it, but this ability of theirs, it’s something we’ve all got, it’s just a lot more developed in them.”
Commander Harris frowned. “It will take some getting used to.”
“And people may not take it well, that these former-Mindless can read their emotions,” Mrs. Ambrico fretted. “I mean, the privacy issues alone…”
Karen shrugged. “It shouldn’t be that hard a sell. Peaceful neighbors who know when you’re happy or sad, versus desperate creatures who hunt you down and kill you? I’m thinking they’ll go for being neighbors.”
The council members exchanged reluctant smiles, and Mrs. Ambrico nodded. “You… may have a point.”
Mr. Getty sat back in his chair. “We’re going to need a plan, a program of some sort.”
“Someone to teach them,” Leo added, watching her. “To help them grow.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Much later, they ended up at Karen’s house, sitting on her living room couch. Leo looked around with interest as Karen sagged against him. There were a few pictures that he’d really like to study, but for the moment he had another job to do: taking care of Karen.
“Oh, man, I'm tired,” Karen sighed, stretching out and leaning against him. It had been a busy day, getting various arrangements started, and she had been very involved, with him tagging along for moral support. "We must have walked for miles today."
Leo hugged her sideways. “You did great.”
The front door banged, and an unfamiliar female voice called, “Karen, are you here?”
Karen tensed, and shot to her feet. She was apprehensive, which worried him. He rose and stood next to her.
An older woman entered the room. “Karen!”
Karen smiled tightly, not moving. “Hi, Mom.”
“Baby, where have you been all day?” Her mother stopped a foot away, watching Karen and glancing at him. Disapproval and anxiety swirled around her.
“Working,” Karen replied, with an undercurrent of… not anger, exactly. Resentment? “You know how that is.”
“I’ve been trying to catch up with you. Um…” her eyes were flickering sideways between Karen and him. “Who’s your friend?”
Karen forced a smile. “Mom, this is… Leo.” She turned towards him. “Leo, allow me to introduce my mother, Cordelia Forbes.”
He nodded carefully, reaching out. “Mrs. Forbes, it’s good to meet you.”
Her eyes widened as she shook his hand. “You’re the Mindless.”
“Not anymore,” Karen corrected. “Obviously.”
Mrs. Forbes smiled slowly. “That’s wonderful. Thank you.”
That was apparently aimed at hi
m. “For what?”
“For helping my daughter.”
He shrugged. “She helped me, too.”
“So I’ve heard.” Cordelia stepped closer to Karen. Tentatively she reached out, and Karen submitted to a hug. “I’m so proud of you, baby.”
Karen threw him a startled and doubtful look, but he nodded confirmation. Carefully, he tried to channel some of the older woman’s affection. Karen’s eyes closed, and she hugged her mother. “Thanks, Mom.”
A moment later, the two separated, and Cordelia wiped her eyes. “Have a seat, you two, and tell me what’s going on. Katrina told me a lot, but you’ve been busy today.”
“Well, our people control the camp now,” Karen said, settling back down onto the couch, holding his hand. “Borsa’s people are still scared, but Pip went back with Jake and his team. They’re all moving over there for a while. They’ll set up some kind of governing system - bureaucracy, yay - but in the meantime, Pip’s gonna be in charge, which she thought was pretty funny.”
“She knows the camp residents, and the Mindless trust her,” Leo added. “She can work with all three groups.”
“So while she’s negotiating the day-to-day stuff, the bio-nerds will try to figure out the mad scientist’s stuff.”
“And what about the other recovering Mindless?”
“They’re staying there for now,” Leo said. “They need to rest.”
“And the city’s not ready for them to move in with us,” Karen said. “But the university is planning to send a few people to work with them, to help them recover. Bonus - they’ll be a great source of emotional fuel. Leo and I will go visit in a day or two.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?”
Karen smiled. “Nope. But we’re doing it, anyway.”
Cordelia frowned slightly, leaning forward from her seat on the other couch. “I hope you’ll be okay.”
“I’ll take care of her,” Leo promised.
“We’ll be fine, Mom. That’s only a short-term fix, though.”
“What would be a long term fix?”
Karen shrugged. “We have to work up to getting them integrated into society.”
“That will be a major project,” Cordelia observed.
