A/N: So everyone seems to think that it'll all be okay…silly readers! Why would I do that just yet? I promised five-to-six (maybe seven) chapters and I'll deliver. In other words, things will have to get worse before they get better. (That's my mantra, I say it a lot). Also, I seem to have paralleled the sappy romance movie The Vow, which I never actually saw but just read a synopsis for. That was unintentional (I didn't even know what the movie was about until after I read the plot) so I'd like to make it clear that I did not intentionally take that plot idea. I do not claim to own that storyline. So…yeah…read and review and enjoy! Thanks.
"My mom's a doctor—you know that already. I have a sister, too. She's six. Her name's Zoe. And my brother…well I haven't seen him in a while but he had a part-time job after school back in Lakeview. What part of Chicago is this anyway? Is it still in Lakeview?" Maddy was in the middle of relaying her family history to me. I had to pretend I wasn't familiar with all of this already, and I was starting to piece together what she could and couldn't remember. "I heard they have a big dome on the south side but I never saw it myself. Well except for the top of it. I could see it from the window of our old apartment when the smog wasn't too thick…"
I nodded dumbly. I was not in the least bit familiar with Chicago. I had only seen Hope Plaza and some of the city from its monorail system.
"When do you think I'll be allowed to go home?" she asked.
"Hopefully soon," I replied, knowing full-well that she wouldn't be allowed outside of the infirmary for some time to come. Nor would anyone else that went on the expedition, because it appeared that several more cases of the virus had broken out in the colony, and some of their memory loss was even more severe than Maddy's.
"What about you?" she asked.
"Huh?"
"Who do you live with? Parents? Grandparents?"
I had forgotten how chatty Maddy could be when she met someone new (or when she was nervous) and I had to suppress the smile that was threatening to split my face open. "I'm actually…on my own..." I answered after a minute.
"Oh." It was a quiet noise that carried surprise and apology. "Do you keep in touch with anyone on the outside?"
I shook my head. "My mom and grandpa died a few years back. And my dad was never in the picture to begin with."
"I know what that's like," she said. "My dad…" her voice trailed off and I realized she must think her dad was still in prison. If she was flashing back to early 2149 then Mr. Shannon would have been in Golad Prison for protecting his family. "Does my dad know where we are?" she asked.
"I don't know," I gave a noncommittal answer. "I'm sure someone at the prison must have told him."
Her eyes widened and I mentally cursed myself for slipping up again. "You know about that? How?"
"I…uh…well when you…mentioned your two siblings I figured that he must have been caught." Whew! Close call.
Maddy paused. "You know, Mark, I feel like I know you. Are you sure we haven't met before?"
My hopes were starting to rise again. "Do you think so?" I asked.
She hesitated. "Guess not," she replied quietly, but it was obvious that she was frustrated about something.
My watch beeped and I let out a soft groan. "Maddy, I have to go. I have patrol…"
She nodded. "You're a soldier?"
I nodded. "Part of the T…the security forces for the dome."
"It's that dangerous here?"
"Well…people try to…get into the dome so they need security." Geez, it wasn't easy trying to come up with logical answers for all of her questions!'
"My dad was a narcotics officer. Good luck."
"Thanks. I'll see you…tomorrow?"
"I'll be here."
I returned to the infirmary the following day, just like I had promised. Only when I got there I heard voices coming from behind the curtain. Donning the filtration device, I pulled the fabric back, expecting to see Maddy talking to her mom or her brother. Instead, I found her sitting up in bed and talking—laughing—with one of the members of security. A blond haired guy wearing the same filtration device.
"Mark!" her face lit up when she saw me enter. Then she turned to the soldier. "Sal, this is my friend Mark. Mark, this is Sal Lancaster. He's a soldier too. Out on the streets."
I knew Lancaster. He's pretty low, even by scumbag standards. The type of person who would sell his own mother if he stood to gain from it. And he had a habit of leaving a trail of broken hearts in his wake. He gave me a smug look from under his mop of blond hair and it was all I could do not to punch him in the face.
"Nice to meet you," he said, but his voice carried a tone that would suggest otherwise. "Sal Lancaster, soldier and crime-fighter." He turned and gave Maddy a look. She blushed. He offered me his hand.
"Mark Reynolds," I shook the hand, probably a lot harder than any reasonable person would have. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous. I've kind of come to terms with that. But what really pissed me off was the fact that Lancaster was taking advantage of Maddy's memory loss for his own amusement.
"Sal was just telling me all about his latest run-in with the West-End Gang," Maddy gushed. I swear my blood pressure spiked. "I guess you're kind of like a hero, huh? The West-Enders are the most notorious group of gangsters around." He sent another smug look my way. "Mark works security for this dome," she told him. "You guys have a lot in common!"
"Oh yeah, lots!" Sal replied insincerely, leveling a blue-eyed glare at me.
We had been through this a few times before. Sal's a womanizer if ever there were one. And early on he had his sights set on Maddy. "She's not too bad looking," he once told me. "And she's inexperienced, which means she's easy…"
I thanked every deity I knew of when his watch beeped and he had to report for duty.
"Guess I'm off to save the world," he said.
"Be careful," she called after him.
"Always," he replied, shoving past me.
"How long was he in here?" I asked as soon as he was gone.
"Maybe an hour or two," she replied easily. "He came in here to get a bandage and saw me sitting up, reading. He struck up a conversation with me." She sighed. "He's really sweet. He said he'd come back and visit when his shift ended. He lives here."
I sat down in the little chair by the bedside, still bristling. "What'd you two talk about?" I asked, more than a little curious.
"It started with books and then we started talking about our families and school…and what he wants to be when he gets out of the military…I told him what I wanted to be…"
Their futures? I hadn't gotten that far with Maddy in two days. I was trying to take it slow, ease her into it. Lancaster effectively screwed that plan up.
"What do you want to be?" I asked.
Maddy paused. "Well…I want to make a difference. I want people to remember me." Oh the irony.
"But you'll have plenty of people who will remember you, Maddy. I'll always remember you."
"Yeah but…you're different. You're my friend. Years from now when I'm looking back on my life I…I want everyone to realize that…I matter…" I could see a tear welling in the corner of her right eye and I could tell she hadn't told that to Lancaster or he would have walked out on her right then and there, muttering about 'emotional baggage.'
"Maddy you do matter. You matter a lot. You could change the world." She'd already changed mine.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, anything."
"Have you ever heard of Terra Nova?" she asked me.
How was I going to go about answering this one? "Yeah…" I said hesitantly.
"What do you think my chances are of getting recruited? Once I go to college, I mean."
"Why do you ask?"
"I don't know," she sighed. "I just…I feel like it would be a fresh start. And I'd really like to work on the science teams there."
I waited, formulating an answer. "I think…that you're brilliant. And that Terra Nova would be really lucky to have you." Back, I added in my head.
Terra Nova would be incredibly lucky to have her back, but not as much as I would be.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I shouted, cornering Lancaster at the post exchange.
"What's going on?" Reilly asked quizzically, but I ignored her, stepping around her to look at my intended target.
"What do you mean, Reynolds?" he replied.
"I mean, what the hell do you think you're doing taking advantage of Maddy like that?"
"I'm not taking advantage of her, Reynolds. She just can't resist me."
"She's my girlfriend," I countered.
He laughed. "Not anymore, Reynolds. She forgot you when she forgot everything else. She's fair game now, and I intend to get my share."
I lost it. I was seeing red. I'm not quite sure what happened but when Reilly finally managed to pull me off of Lancaster my fists were hurting and he had a nice-sized bruise on either side of his face.
"Enough! Both of you!" she said, holding up a warning finger when Lancaster moved to retaliate. I shot him the same smug glance he had shot me a few hours before.
"Just you wait, Reynolds! I'll be taking Maddy Shannon! And there isn't a damn thing you can do about it!" He stalked off with a bit of hurt pride. One thing was absolutely certain: Sal Lancaster was not going to get his filthy paws anywhere near Maddy Shannon. Not in eighty-five million years.
A/N: So I thought maybe Mark Reynolds needed a rival ala Katrina Coleman in 'Trouble in Paradise' (if you don't know who I'm talking about you can go read said story. I'd appreciate it if you did). Except Katrina was mentally unstable. Sal Lancaster is just a d-bag. Anyway, let me know what you think about this latest development and where it's headed. I wonder who Maddy will end up with? You'll have to stay tuned to find out!
