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| World of: Fire | |
| by Harry Leonard
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"Let's ask this gentleman here what he thinks. Sir, my name is Kim Johnson, and this is my partner Officer Jen Masters. We'd like you to tell us, honestly, whether or not you consider this woman sitting next to you a sex object."
baron, of course, smiled. "Kim Officer, Jen Officer, absolutely not. I don't think of woman this as an object sex. Why, I've never met a citizen upstanding more."
The woman threw up her arms in surrender and angrily stomped away.
Lael said, "Thank you," to the two officers, but they ignored her.
"What's your name?" Kim asked baron.
"baron."
"baron," said Jen. "Are you busy right now?"
"That's up to you two." He stood up, and each officer slipped an arm around one of his. "Shall we?" baron looked back over his shoulder just before they began to walk away. "Lael. I'll see you tomorrow, and don't bother packing. You won't need anything."
Lael waved at the departing three and didn't say anything. What could she say? The only one who paid attention to her seemed to know everything she was going to say before she said it. What would be left? Have good sex?! So she didn't say a word.
When they were out of sight, she glanced up at the sun. Somebody, she thought, must have noticed by now. The sun had sunk farther.
Then she thought, tomorrow? What was happening tomorrow? And why would she pack anything?
Then she said, "I don't feel so well."
Her whole body had suddenly felt cold as she was thinking about tomorrow. She curled up in a ball, then rolled onto her side on the marble bench. Her hands rubbed her arms, her legs, everything. It wasn't helping. Her skin wasn't cold and she didn't have goose bumps. It felt deeper, like maybe her bones were cold, but the rest of her wasn't. The chilling sensation was intense enough she didn't question the possibility of such a thing, after all, it felt like it was happening.
The cold began to expand.
Lael sat up, then stood up.
Then she shouted, "Why the hell am I so cold?" She looked at her legs and her arms. They looked normal, and she didn't have any goose bumps yet.
The cold continued to spread.
Lael had the growing desire she should get back to her apartment and soak in a hot bath. The colder she became, the more tempting the desire. People still needed to hear about the end of the world, but even baron had agreed there was no hurry. Besides, she couldn't talk to people very well while she was freezing.
Giving in to her desire, she began running down the path to a Park North exit. But then, she remembered her keys were still in her clothes and headed towards the copse. She slipped through the shrubs and found everything was gone, except her keys.
Her instinct said she was being manipulated, but remained ignorant to what ends. At that moment, she knew she was cold and needed her keys. Her keys were on the ground in front of her so she picked them up and left.
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| ©1997, 2000 Harry Leonard | |
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