3
He was listening
on his new headphones, delighting in the rich sound from his state of the art
stereo system, enjoying the music from artists he had not really heard of
before. He had just been "grooving" to Band on the Run by Paul
McCartney and the Wings (the Beatles had broken up - hard to get used to that)
and was just starting to get into Bennie and the Jets by Elton John.
Consequently, he
missed the gentle smack of pebbles raining against his bedroom window. His room was at the opposite end of his
parents, in his family's rambling ranch house.
He even missed the rapping that followed. At least until the Elton John song
ended.
He heard the
rapping before the next song started, and took off his earphones, turning to
see her at the window. Oh great, he thought, one of the last persons he wanted to deal with.
"Open
up!" she said, with an urgent command.
"It's me!" Oh,
god! Everything she did seemed urgent
and melodramatic.
He came over to
the window. "What is it? What do you want?"
"Let me
in!"
"I don't know
if I should. I'm not supposed to have
girls in my room."
She was
indignant. "I'm not just a
girl! I'm Morgan LaDona Tigh! I'm one of the survivors, you idiot! Just like you are, whether you care to admit
or not!"
He reluctantly
opened the window, seeing that there was actual crack spider-webbing at the
edge of the glass. How was he going to
explain that to this parents? "Make
it quick."
She came into the
room, looking over all the stereo and camera equipment. "Wow!
You do like your tunes, don't you?"
"What do you
want, Morgan?"
"What do I
want? What do I always want? We have to figure out some ways to help
Lance."
"He told us
to let him handle it himself. That's
what I'm doing."
Morgan paced the
room, nervous. Her energy level was sky
high, as if she was on something. But he
knew better. Morgan didn't need drugs to
be hyper. "We can't just sit
back," she answered. "He's on
a course where either he'll be jailed for the rest of his life, or confined to
a looney bin. Those are his
choices. He deserves better. He deserves to be free."
He slumped into
his desk chair. He wanted to have to
stop thinking about this. He wanted not
to have to worry about what would happen to Lance. "I know he does. But I don't know what I can do without
ruining my own life."
"Have I lost
you?" she asked. "Are you
denying what happened too?"
"No. Of course not," he said
reluctantly. "But he asked us to
deny it publicly, and that's what I'm going to do."
"I'm not
asking you to do anything in public. I'm
asking you to help me with something else."
He was confused as
to what else she wanted. "With
what?"
"We need to
find her. We need to talk to her."
He didn't need to
ask who she was referring to. He knew
all too well. "W-why?"
"Because she
knows things. She more than anyone else
can help us put this back together. What
she may know may help up break this open for Lance and save him."
"Are you
sure? She didn't even survive!"
"Yes, but you
know how things ended. Even if she
didn't survive, she's special, you know that."
He turned away
from Morgan. This was more than he could
bear. "Why me? Why do you think I can help?"
She put her hand
on his shoulder and turned him towards her.
"Because at one time you two were very close. I know, in the end, you felt betrayed by
her. But you have to set that aside and
think of the best interests of Lance and the rest of the survivors."
He looked at
Morgan, his eyes brimming with sadness, on the verge of tears. "But she didn't survive. No one who didn't survive remembers
anything."
"I think she
is the exception that proves the rule.
You know why. I saw her very
shortly after we came back, and I could see it in her eyes, even from across
the school student lounge. She knew
something."
"And based on
that you want us to go spelunking into her cave?"
"Don't talk
about her like that!" She pulled
away from him.
"I'm
sorry. I just can't believe we're going
to do this."
Morgan caught what
he said. "You mean, you're willing
to do it?"
He sighed. "I think you're crazy, Morgan, to be
completely honest. But if there is any
possibility, I guess we have to look into it.
Besides, someone has to make sure you don't accidently start World War Three
or anything."
Morgan hugged
him. "Thank you! You won't regret it!"
"Oh, I
already do!"
She started to go
out his window. "Meet me tomorrow
night at 8 outside her place. You
remember where it is?"
"I
remember." Really, how could he
forget?
He closed the
window after Morgan had left. She was
still like a hurricane, stirring things up wherever she went. But she was devoted to Lance, and he had
faith that she was operating in his friend's best interests.
He put the
headphones back on and was ready to get lost in I Won't Last A Day Without You
by a duo called The Carpenters.
He remembered her,
the girl he had agreed to see with Morgan.
Yes, there were things that she did that were terrifying,
disturbing. But there was something else
there too.
There was also
love.
Maybe there could
be again.
THIS CONCLUDES
HISTORY OF THE TRAP: YEAR ONE
COMING SOON
HISTORY OF THE TRAP: RESTORATION, REVOLUTION & REBELLION
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