There's a dream sequence in this chapter that I feel I didn't do the greatest job of transitioning to so if the story gets real different its because Mandy's dreaming.
Mandy woke in her bed, this time roused not by sunlight but by her own internal rhythm. It was overcast outside showering the world in dull grey light. Mandy liked bleak days like this, but this morning she couldn't bring herself to care.
The memories of Billy's departure were still fresh and she didn't know what to make of them. When she heard that Billy was leaving it had affected her in ways she couldn't grasp, there was an overflow of emotions she didn't know or recognize. Not only were the emotions themselves unpleasant but the fact that she was feeling them in the first place deeply concerned Mandy. Billy's tearful goodbye had left her speechless and now as she laid in bed thinking about it the unpleasant emotions came rushing back. Mandy thought to herself "I'm not supposed to feel like this, I'm not supposed to feel sad."
Mandy rose from her bed. Though she didn't know why, Mandy knew that lying in bed and thinking about Billy would only make her feel worse. Going through her morning routine, Mandy realized that there were immediate positives to Billy's absence. For the first time in her life she would be free to relax and read a book or more importantly plot something greater like world conquest.
Since it was still early in the day; Mandy decided to start with some light reading. Mandy grabbed her two newly acquired books, The Armored Offensive and The Basics of Infantry Combat with her outside. World domination had long been chief of Mandy's aspirations and while she believed that she could gain power in a single nation without bloodshed, control of the world was impossible without military action.
Mandy walked out the back of her house into the backyard. Mandy had always enjoyed lounging outside and reading in peace but in the past Billy had only allowed her to read for about five minutes before he showed up. There was a set of lawn chairs in the backyard that Phillip and Claire had bought, not that they used them as most of their time was spent hiding from their daughter.
Mandy set up on one the loungers and placed her books next to her. Picking up where she had left off Mandy opened The Armored Offensive. "While military experts have long predicted the demise of the tank due to advances in shoulder fired rockets and attack helicopters…" The sound of twig snapping radiated throughout Mandy's backyard causing her to look up from her book. There was no one in the backyard except for her, though she knew Billy was gone she had half expected him to show up and bug her while she read. "They have overlooked the fact the tanks chief asset is not the protection of its armor but its mobility and the firepower of its main gun." A giggle became audible to Mandy and broke her concentration again. Just as before when she looked up there was no one else there.
Mandy wondered if she washallucinating, every time she had tried to read in the past Billy had interrupted her, maybe she was so used to having Billy show up that her brain couldn't grasp that he wasn't coming. A disturbing thought crossed Mandy's mind, What if all those times she had tried to read in peace in the past she was really just waiting for Billy to show up. Though she'd hate to admit it, it made some sense. With that disturbing revelation sinking in Mandy found reading on to be impossible. Mandy packed up her books and headed inside, it was about time she found out what the bonehead was up to.
The Reaper sat on Mandy's couch; not watching T.V but sharpening his scythe. Sparks flew off the mythical weapon as he ran a sharpening block along the edge. On a normal day such a display of any weapon would be at the least somewhat entertaining to Mandy. Today however, her inability to concentrate on her reading and lingering memories about a certain big nosed idiot had left her frustrated and angry.
Mandy was about to "Educate" Grim on the negatives of spreading tiny metallic shards of a supernatural weapon in her living room when the doorbell rang and broke her train of thought. Absentmindedly Mandy opened her front door only to be greeted by the person she wanted to deal with the least of all. "Yo, Mandy what are you up to?"
The sight of Irwin instantly made Mandy's foul mood worse. "Nothing that concerns you Irwin."
Ignoring the obvious contempt in her voice, Irwin showed Mandy a smile. "Aww, don't be like that Mandy, especially now that Billy's gone yo."
"How would you know about that?" "Oh Mandy when it comes to you, I always have my sources." The creepy statement turned Mandy's hands into fists. She didn't like the idea of someone spying on her, especially Irwin.
"So now that Billy's out of the picture how about me and you do something today." At a speed she hadn't thought possible Mandy buried her fist onto Irwin's stomach forcing all the air out of his lungs. The nerd fell to his knees gasping for air, only to have the door slammed in his face. Mandy managed to strike Irwin an average of three times a week but that was different, even for Mandy the blow had been savage. The phrase "Now that Billy's out of the picture" had made her violently angry and she didn't like what her reaction suggested.
Doing her best to ignore the distractions around her Mandy secluded herself in her room. Her plans for world domination hadn't advanced for years, now she finally had the time to work on them. The first step, Mandy reasoned was to gain control of the United States. She could attempt to run for office but Mandy realized that to be elected to the office of president one had to be likeable. Likeability was more important that even intelligence or experience. (Not a comment on any particular president, the author hates all politicians equally) Since there were only two people in the whole world that liked her, Mandy saw that a conventional political career wasn't for her. The second option was rebellion or an uprising of sorts. If she could manage a splinter state or perhaps use a political movement to her advantage then perhaps she could take power in the United State by force. From there she could use the Military strength of America and perhaps the rest of the western world to her advantage. It all sounded so simple, she knew of course that it wasn't but with her plan laid out like that it was hard not to drift off and fantasize about what it would be like to rule the world.
She would build a new capitol building, sprawling complex out in the middle of nowhere, where no one could bother her. The complex would be grandiose in scale but subtle in design. Around it would be the most sophisticated air defense network ever devised; on the ground at least three divisions of armor and mechanized infantry would be patrolling round the complex to ensure the empress went undisturbed.
Inside the complex would be sparsely furnished except for the Mandy's personal chambers and possibly the living quarters of a few servants. Billy would have his own living space near Mandy's that he could fill with whatever stupid objects he desired…Mandy's conscious mind caught up with her day dreams. Billy wasn't part of her life anymore and she had no idea if she would see him again. Mandy figured if she took control of the planet, tracking down the big nosed imbecile would pose no problem, but this did nothing to answer the big question floating around in her mind.
Why did she care so much about keeping Billy near her in her vision of the future? Her last day dream wasn't an isolated incident, previous fantasizes had always included Billy living with her or tagging along as she subjugated the world. Maybe it was because she had lived next door to him her whole life and now it was hard for her to imagine life any other way.
Disgusted with herself and her inability to focus on her plans; Mandy gave up on plotting and lied down on her bed. She had been up for only an hour but her eye lids grew heavy as her thoughts drifted off.
After three weeks they had finally pushed the enemy back. The old prison; a decaying relic from the early 20th century had been the key stronghold in their defensive line. Mandy looked the old building over, She wanted to enjoy looking over her newest conquest. Her personal guard was not happy as the enemy had fled the prison only a few hours ago. The exchange of automatic weapons could still be heard in the distance as Mandy walked through the gate that lead into the prison's courtyard. The courtyard that was positioned between the cell blocks and the massive stone exterior walls had been as a staging area by the enemy. There were a few of the enemy dead left behind along with a series of mortar tubes and other artillery pieces they had been forced to abandon.
Atop the exterior walls were guard towers that Mandy's forces had already posted forward observers in. She could see them chatting away on their radios calling in artillery and air strikes. Sure enough Mandy could hear the sound of low flying attack aircraft coming from behind her before she entered the interior of the old building.
Some of the soldiers that had finally taken the prison were waiting for Mandy inside. A shock trooper covered in weapons and armor bowed before she spoke to Mandy. "Empress, we found an enemy soldier locked up in one of the cells. He says that he was put in there by his own troops. Should we execute him or do you want to interrogate him further?"
Mandy thought the question over. The troops that had fought against her in this prison had pushed her timetable back by three weeks. The soldier locked in a cell could provide the opportunity for some revenge. "Leave him be, I'd like to see what other information I could extract from him."
The shock trooper responded "Yes, Empress." Before he rejoined the rest of his squad who were busily refilling the magazines they had emptied while taking the prison.
The short walk to the cell block where the enemy soldier was being held proved somewhat depressing. The prison; a decaying holdover from the early 20th century was even worse for wear thanks to the damage it sustained during the battle. Nevertheless there was a morbid feeling to the old building that Mandy found attractive.
Mandy and her bodyguard finally found the cell with the imprisoned soldier. Mandy took the time to draw her pistol and screw on a silencer. She had found over the years that the sight of a suppressed pistol did more to communicate the severity of a situation then any words ever could. With her weapon ready, Mandy stepped into the jail cell.
The lone soldier was sitting in a corner with his head hung low staring at the concrete floor. The only distinguishing feature visible was the red stubble growing on his recently buzzed head. Mandy took another step forward and flicked the safety off on her pistol causing a metallic click to echo in the concrete cell. The red headed soldier looked up to see who had joined him in his cell only to have his jaw drop and his eyes grow wide. His voice was pathetic and weak as the last time she saw him; Billy stammered until he finally squeaked out her name. "Mandy"
Mandy was shocked, after sixteen years she was starring at her childhood friend again, the only friend she had ever had actually. Billy had grown since she had last seen him that was for sure. His face had changed to appear far more masculine then when he was a boy but it was definitely still Billy; he still had a nose that was too big for his head.
The pair exchanged awkward glances until Mandy came back to her senses. Mandy poked her head out of the cell to find her bodyguard still waiting outside. "Leave me" Mandy spoke.
A confused look grew on her guards face." "Empress, with all due respect we haven't even finished clearing the building yet and…"
Mandy cut him off. "Would you prefer to fight on the front lines again instead of guarding me, because that could be arranged?"
The bodyguard took the message and began walking back in the direction they had come from. Mandy turned back around and placed her gun on the bed Billy had elected not to use. Billy was still sitting in the corner looking up at her. Mandy was at a loss for words, she had long assumed that Billy had died, another bystander caught in the crossfire. To see him before her now was a surprise and though she'd hate to admit it a pleasant one.
The question of what to say crept into Mandy's mind. When they were kids she had almost always spoken to him with venom and disrespect, she had never learned to speak with him without being mean. Though she didn't want to now, she realized that she could only do what she had always done to him, give him grief.
"Billy, why the hell are you wearing that uniform?"Billy was wearing the uniform of the army that was sworn to stop her and she wanted to know why. To her astonishment Billy flashed her smile like he knew what she was doing. It hadn't occurred to Mandy that the mean and bossy Mandy was the only one he knew. Mandy had wanted to be nice to him after 16 years, but ended up being mean anyway. Despite this Billy seemed happy anyway which Made Mandy feel like she was ten again.
"They made me join their army, they said you were gonna enslave humanity." While the red head looked up at his long lost friend Mandy looked back. In the earlier excitement Mandy hadn't noticed that Billy had a large gash above his right eye that was still bleeding. The soldiers that had stumbled across Billy had probably given him a good beating while they interrogated him. They hadn't known that Billy was an idiot that would tell them whatever they wanted.
"I kept telling them you were my friend and that you wouldn't take over the world, but they wouldn't listen and they locked me in here. That's okay though because you found me."
Even after sixteen years Billy still thought of positively of her. He had even tried to defend her in front of people that hated her. Billy was lucky they hadn't just killed him instead of locking him up. Mandy wondered if he still obeyed her every command. "Billy, stand up!"
The big nosed idiot hauled himself to his feet without question. The idea that Billy still adored her and obeyed her no matter what made Mandy feel happy; an emotion she was not at all used to. Succumbing to an inexplicable urge to move closer to Billy, Mandy moved herself till she was about a foot away from him. She hadn't noticed till now but Billy had grown to be taller than her. Though she realized that it made sense that a male would grow up to be taller than her, it was still something of a surprise that Billy would surpass her in height. When they were children they had always been the same height.
"You got a lot bigger Billy" said Mandy having finally found something pleasant to say to him.
"You changed to" said Billy nervously.
"How so?"
Billy broke eye contact and looked down to his feet causing small drops of blood to land by his feet. "You're even prettier than the last time I saw you."
The memories of their last time together came rushing back and Mandy swore she felt as awkward now as she had then.
"Mandy" Billy asked to get her attention.
"Yeah, Billy"
"Can I join your army? I don't like the one I'm in now." The urge Mandy felt to get closer to Billy came back stronger than before and this time she simply stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. Billy went stiff for a second in surprise before he returned the hug. Mandy buried her face in Billy's chest and tightened her hold on him. Billy raised his head rested it on top of Mandy's. Small drops of blood began to drip into her hair but she didn't care. The disgusting things Billy did or that came from his body were a small price to pay to have him with her again. "You can join my army Billy, but you have to promise that you will never leave me ever again."
The mid afternoon sun fought its way through the clouds and landed on Mandy's eyelids. The blonde girl woke up drenched in sweat, whether it was the heat of the sun or the contents of her dreams that caused it remained to be seen. Fairly disgusted with the dampness of her clothes and her bed sheets, Mandy got out of her bed and headed for her bathroom for a shower. The seclusion of the shower and sound of falling water made Mandy fee isolated, forcing her to confront her thoughts. To dream about Billy was one thing to dream about being reunited with him and her being the one that initiated physical contact was another. Between the dream and her inability to concentrate on anything other than Billy, Mandy had to admit to herself that she missed him.
Mandy stepped out of the shower and dried herself off before she headed back to her room. Once she was inside her room, Mandy opened her closet in search for something to wear. Inside the closet there was her usual array of pink dresses, Mandy rifled through her wardrobe until she saw it.
Their lying on the floor of closet was the Dinobinoids sleeping bag that Belonged to Billy. He had forgotten it when her left earlier and Mandy had dragged into her room before she went back to sleep because of how early Billy's dad had showed up. Mandy picked up the sleeping bag, now only a memento of her slave/companion. Much to her dismay it still smelled like Billy, which was unpleasant in two different ways. First the boy's scent had never been pleasant and secondly the smell flooded her mind with memories of Billy. Despite her wishes to be an emotionless vector; Mandy couldn't help but feel sentimental as she remembered all the times she and Billy had hung out or got into trouble. Concerned that she was growing soft, Mandy picked an outfit and threw it on. Mandy decided she had to get out of her house and do something before she began to feel emotion again.