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Authors: Sara Furlong-Burr
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response.
“Absolutely adorable,” he proclaimed, happy with himself.
“I bet you won’t think that in twenty years,” I said.
“Twenty years? I was going to trade you in for a new model after ten.”
“Ha, ha.”
“Celaine, I love you with every fiber of my being. Until my dying day, my heart will be yours. Unless, of course, you become sick of me.”
“Chase Matthews, the day I get sick of you is the day that pigs sprout wings and take to the sky.”
“You know that isn’t entirely impossible…” He began breaking into what I affectionately referred to as his “nerd lingo”, which usually involved talk of DNA, chromosomes, surgical procedures and pretty much anything else remotely related to the human body and how it worked.
“I’m sorry,” he stopped. “I think I’m boring you.”
“No, not at all,” I lied.
“Really? Your eyes were starting to glaze over.”
“I just like it when you go all nerdy on me.”
“Thanks. I think.”
Chase glanced up at the television on the wall to check the final score of the baseball game taped earlier that afternoon. Since the curfew, many professional games were taped as opposed to being aired live, allowing the public an opportunity to actually attend the games. The taped games were then broadcast at their normal times for the rest of the country to view within the safety of their homes. Taping not only abided the curfew laws but also served as a deterrent for The Man in Black. The shock value of an attack on a taped game was significantly less catastrophic than if the attack were to take place during a live broadcast.
Watching Chase, I looked up at the screen just in time to see a recap of the day’s news scrolling across the bottom of it. “What do you think of the death of one of our supposed superheroes?” I asked.
“It’s weird,” he replied. “I can’t say that it surprises me, but it surprises me.”
“I know exactly what you mean.”
“There’s nothing out there that is impervious to everything. Whatever this psychopath is, he can and he will be stopped. It’s only a matter of time. What makes me wonder is what will take his place...if something hasn’t already.”
“What do you mean?”
“Doesn’t this all seem a little odd to you, Celaine? We voted to basically give up some of the basic principles of democracy by being fed the explanation that it was for our own safety. How does that even happen? Do you think the public would have been so quick to give up any freedom, no matter how small, if The Man in Black didn’t exist…if there were nothing to fear? Do you think that President Brooks would now be serving in his third term? There’s just something fishy about this whole thing. Yet the people approve of this madness. They think just because the attacks have decreased by a couple of percentage points over the last few years that what he’s doing is working and we’re going to win this battle when, if you ask me, we’ve already lost.”
“I think that’s one hundred percent plausible but not probable,” I said in a tired, half-hearted attempt at sounding half as eloquent as him.
He smiled his crooked smile. “Well, Ms. Stevens, I do believe we need to start heading back, as Big Brother will sick the Feds on us if we break curfew.”
“Hey, you have a hospital badge,” I said with a sly, I’m-trying-to-live-on-the-edge smile. “You know the curfew doesn’t technically apply to you.”
“That may be true when I’m actually on duty, but right now I’m just a humble civilian. Nice try, though.”
“Can you blame me for trying to live dangerously for once?”
“Yeah, you’re a real rebel.” He rolled his eyes at me from across the table.
I took Chase’s hand as we walked out of the pub back onto the street towards my apartment. It was a spectacular night, perfect for a solitary romantic walk under the stars, and I couldn’t help but think that it was too bad we couldn’t be on the streets past
“Absolutely adorable,” he proclaimed, happy with himself.
“I bet you won’t think that in twenty years,” I said.
“Twenty years? I was going to trade you in for a new model after ten.”
“Ha, ha.”
“Celaine, I love you with every fiber of my being. Until my dying day, my heart will be yours. Unless, of course, you become sick of me.”
“Chase Matthews, the day I get sick of you is the day that pigs sprout wings and take to the sky.”
“You know that isn’t entirely impossible…” He began breaking into what I affectionately referred to as his “nerd lingo”, which usually involved talk of DNA, chromosomes, surgical procedures and pretty much anything else remotely related to the human body and how it worked.
“I’m sorry,” he stopped. “I think I’m boring you.”
“No, not at all,” I lied.
“Really? Your eyes were starting to glaze over.”
“I just like it when you go all nerdy on me.”
“Thanks. I think.”
Chase glanced up at the television on the wall to check the final score of the baseball game taped earlier that afternoon. Since the curfew, many professional games were taped as opposed to being aired live, allowing the public an opportunity to actually attend the games. The taped games were then broadcast at their normal times for the rest of the country to view within the safety of their homes. Taping not only abided the curfew laws but also served as a deterrent for The Man in Black. The shock value of an attack on a taped game was significantly less catastrophic than if the attack were to take place during a live broadcast.
Watching Chase, I looked up at the screen just in time to see a recap of the day’s news scrolling across the bottom of it. “What do you think of the death of one of our supposed superheroes?” I asked.
“It’s weird,” he replied. “I can’t say that it surprises me, but it surprises me.”
“I know exactly what you mean.”
“There’s nothing out there that is impervious to everything. Whatever this psychopath is, he can and he will be stopped. It’s only a matter of time. What makes me wonder is what will take his place...if something hasn’t already.”
“What do you mean?”
“Doesn’t this all seem a little odd to you, Celaine? We voted to basically give up some of the basic principles of democracy by being fed the explanation that it was for our own safety. How does that even happen? Do you think the public would have been so quick to give up any freedom, no matter how small, if The Man in Black didn’t exist…if there were nothing to fear? Do you think that President Brooks would now be serving in his third term? There’s just something fishy about this whole thing. Yet the people approve of this madness. They think just because the attacks have decreased by a couple of percentage points over the last few years that what he’s doing is working and we’re going to win this battle when, if you ask me, we’ve already lost.”
“I think that’s one hundred percent plausible but not probable,” I said in a tired, half-hearted attempt at sounding half as eloquent as him.
He smiled his crooked smile. “Well, Ms. Stevens, I do believe we need to start heading back, as Big Brother will sick the Feds on us if we break curfew.”
“Hey, you have a hospital badge,” I said with a sly, I’m-trying-to-live-on-the-edge smile. “You know the curfew doesn’t technically apply to you.”
“That may be true when I’m actually on duty, but right now I’m just a humble civilian. Nice try, though.”
“Can you blame me for trying to live dangerously for once?”
“Yeah, you’re a real rebel.” He rolled his eyes at me from across the table.
I took Chase’s hand as we walked out of the pub back onto the street towards my apartment. It was a spectacular night, perfect for a solitary romantic walk under the stars, and I couldn’t help but think that it was too bad we couldn’t be on the streets past
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