Living and Loving Lies [FICTION]

I cover my mouth with one hand as something brews deep down in my belly. I carefully sit down at my computer. As the dainty burp escapes without my cubicle neighbor’s notice, I use my free hand to hastily type my password. A pop up alerts me of a new email sporting the subject “Everything you know is a lie.”

I glance around the office to see if any of my coworkers is watching their prank unfold. Everyone is busy with their own interests, presumably getting all our new books ready to hit the shelves and our digital holdings appropriately linked to the online catalog. I click on the email, furrowing my brow as I read.

“Act calm as to not alert anyone, but everyone around you is not who they say they are. You need to quietly get out of there and meet me at the spot where you had your first real kiss. You know the place. My name is Mark.”

I glance at the timestamp. Five minutes ago. I survey my coworkers again, none of whom are named Mark, and find each remains oblivious to me. I tab over to the department calendar and find that both the boss and the office tattler have taken this afternoon off. I lock my screen, slip my keys and phone into my pockets, and casually walk toward the door closest to the stairs to the restroom. I glance at a few screens on my way past, surprised to find that even game-loving Jemma’s attention remains on work and work alone.

I shake my head and hurry out the back door, relieved to find no one lingering near the mailroom. I relive my first kiss as the sun caresses my face on my way down High Street. As the road ends, I turn left to head toward the old high school. High grass grows around it since the school decided that letting it go to hay in the summer season made more sense than paying someone to mow it once a week. I suppose they weren’t wrong since a local farmer quickly offered to give them ten percent of the earnings he made from bailing it and selling it to his peers right before the school year starts again each year.

A clear path runs through the summer hayfield and right toward the small stream running behind the school. I look around the empty parking lot for any clues as to who Mark really is. Nothing moves except high grass with every breath of wind. I finally decide to risk it and follow the path. That doesn’t mean I don’t turn to glance over my shoulder more than a few times just in case something suspicious catches my eye. Even in a small town, one can’t be too careful. 

As I hear the stream burbling blissfully over smooth rocks, I slow even more, listening for any other sounds. The air carries nothing unusual to my ears. I step into the clearing, cringing as a twig breaks under my bumbling foot. A tall man with broad shoulders turns to face me. While I swear I don’t know anyone quite that tall, the smattering of freckles across his nose and the blue eyes looking out at me from under a shaggy mop of red hair strike me as familiar.

“Ethan?” I gasp as his lips curl into a familiar smile.

“You were expecting someone else?”

“You signed the email Mark.”

“My middle name…” He holds up his hands as if that explains everything.

I shake my own head in confusion.

“I am a little hurt that you didn’t know it was me.”

“You expect me to remember your middle name after one kiss?”

“Well, we did got to school together for a decade before I finally snagged that kiss.” The intensity of his gaze makes me blush, but a chill dissipates the heat as he continues. “But sadly that isn’t why I needed to talk to you.”

I nod. “So your email implied. What’s going on?”

“Have you noticed anything odd lately?”

“Got a weird email today.”

He folds his arms and purses his lips, “I’m serious.”

“So am I…”

He sighs, “So your coworkers are all behaving normally?”

“Well…” I bit my lip.

He gestures encouragingly.

“Everyone seemed a little too into their work today, even the ones who like to goof off.”

He nods. “Anywhere else?”

I ponder all my interactions over the past week. “You know, people in the grocery store seemed more focused and driven…”

“Like buying groceries was an inconvenience not a necessity?”

I nod and shiver a little as the coincidence settles into my mind. He reaches out to take my hands.

“What does it mean?” I whisper.

“I don’t know. I saw you pausing to sniff some peonies this morning outside the library and realized you haven’t been affected.” His face lit up. “I knew you could help me figure this out.”

“But where do we start?”

We stare at each other for a minute then he offers me a smirk. “Aren’t you the librarian? Shouldn’t you be the research expert?”

“Okay, jerk, let’s go back to my realm,” I grab his hand and begin hiking determinedly back to the library.

“You’ll blend in perfectly like this, as long as you let go of my hand,” he mutters with a snicker.

I drop his hand and mumble a few choice words of my own, but I hear his footsteps keeping pace with mine, undeterred by unmanly giggles.

~

We slip in through the employee entrance to attract as little attention as possible. Luckily, the out-of-character behavior of my coworkers motivates them to spend as much time at their desks as possible. No one questions us as we take determined steps to sit at one of the public computers. I quickly enter my credentials and pull up the website of the local paper. Nothing leaps out at me from the headlines, but I realize that the articles seemed much shorter than usual, filled with just facts and no fluff to make them interesting to read.

Ethan and I exchange looks and dig deeper. We don’t look up until a shadow looms over us. I look up into the face of my boss. Her fake smile doesn’t reach her steely, empty eyes.

“This is a breech of your work ethic, Miss VanDyne. You will have to come with me.”

My eyes widen as they meet Ethan’s equally frightened expression.

“Bring your friend.”

“I was just leaving. Thanks.” Ethan motions for me to come with him as he stands up and steps toward the stairwell.

“It wasn’t an invitation,” my boss’s voice holds no inflection.

I start to follow Ethan, only to find a small hoard of my coworkers converging on us from every direction. “Um.”

Before I can blink, they have us solidly surrounded like bison protecting their young, except they press in close and force us to step into line behind my boss. She calmly leads us into her office and nods for the others to close the door after shoving Ethan and I inside.

“Take a seat,” she gestures at the wooden chairs before her desk, “There’s no reason for this to be uncomfortable.”

“I dunno,” my sarcasm flows despite my better judgment, “I feel pretty uncomfortable.”

Ethan laughs nervously but plops into one of the chairs at a glare over my boss’s glasses. My mouth snaps shut and I followed suit.

“So it seems you haven’t been indoctrinated yet,” she purses her lips, “We have to change that. Tea?”

We both shake our heads in the negative as she gestures to a pot steaming happily on her desk. She frowns and begins pouring tea into a couple of delicate tea cups anyway.

“Really? I find tea quite calming.”

“Never touch the stuff,” Ethan offers, “Religious reasons.”

“You don’t need religion when you have technology and reason,” she offers me a cup.

I shake my head again and push my hands under my thighs. Her eyes narrow as she holds the tea under my nose. Realization rushes in and I turn my head to avoid breathing the steam rising upward from the cup.

“If you won’t cooperate, I will have to have our friends come back in and help.”

“Maybe we would cooperate if we understood better,” I hope her response will help me find a way out of this.

She shakes her head now. “You watch too many movies. I’m not a villain who will monologue until you can escape. I am a sentient life form from outside your galaxy, who rather likes my new host.” Her eyes scan up and down my body, “And I have a friend who would be perfect for you. If you will just…”

She pauses for a second and hope nestles into my breast. Then she finishes her sentence in the shrillest tones ever to touch my ears, “Open up.”

I scream and place my hands over my ears. As I ds so, she steps forward in one swift motion and pours the tea into my mouth, letting the cup fall to the carpeted floor as she clamps a hand over my mouth. I try to fight the liquid back out of my mouth, but she refuses to loosen her grip. Once the liquid touches my throat, drowsiness overtakes me. 

“I’m sorry,” I mumble to Ethan as I slide to the floor.

~~

When I awake on the floor of my boss’s office, Ethan lies at my side. I don’t think anything of it. Getting back to work is far more important. I have work to do to make the planet a better place for my new family. I smile as a warm consciousness jiggles deep inside my belly somewhere, knowing my life had been changed for the better.

~~~

See! My June theme continues! More romance! The love between a host and its parasite is eternal—well, at least until death do them part.