One hour was far too short a time to explore the entirety of the underground complex. It was a sprawling maze of tunnels that connected various hallways, chambers and stairwell shafts. Different sections were denoted with signs and most doors had numbers on or above them. There were also maps in various places for ease of navigation. Though Mavis could still see how it would have been very easy to get lost in here if she didn’t have Francis as her guide. She doubted she’d even be able to make it back to her room without him, or without asking someone else.

  They did regularly come across other people, but no one spoke to Francis or greeted him. It had been like that before too, and now that Mavis was with him, there was no chance. She just assumed it was because of her, though.

  They passed through a hallway of dormitories.

  “Oh, hey, Monica!” Mavis’s eyes lit up at the sight of the woman ahead in the hallway up head, facing away from them. Mavis briskly went over to greet her and then realised she had made a mistake – this wasn’t Monica. It was someone else who had just looked like her from behind, with the same style of long brown hair.

  The woman froze when she saw Mavis.

  “Uhh, sorry, I thought you were someone else.” Mavis apologised.

  The woman’s pulse rate had instantly shot up, her mind racing. Her palms and forehead began to sweat. It was a panic attack. She felt a tightness in her chest like she was unable to breathe, looking around aimlessly, becoming nauseous. Her legs grew weak.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Francis caught her from behind and steadied her on her feat as she leaned against him, gasping for air in short breaths.

  Mavis stared at her, dumbfounded, unsure what she should do. Should she try and help too? Why was this woman acting like this? She hadn’t done anything to her, had she? Even by accident? No – she was sure she hadn’t.

  Mavis reached out and held her left hand too, like Francis was doing with her other as he supported her back and shoulder. The woman flinched at Mavis’s touch, her whole body stiffening as she felt a chill throughout.

  “Relax, deep breaths. Relax.” Francis repeated.

  Mavis let go as she felt like she wasn’t really helping.

  The woman focused and steadied her breathing, inhaling deeply. “I- I’m feeling sick, going to the infirmary.” She hurried off down the hallway away from them.

  “What was wrong with her?” Mavis asked, still confused.

  “I think… uhh… I don’t know.” Francis knew the reason, but at the last second decided against disclosing it.

  Mavis glared at him suspiciously. “You do know. Tell me.”

  Francis looked down at the floor. “Really, I think it’s best if–“

  “I order you to tell me.” Mavis commanded sternly, the edge in her tone of voice harsher than intended, due to frustration.

  “She was afraid of you.” Francis said. “Just very afraid.”

  Mavis sighed. It was as she had expected. She slammed her fist into the wall in frustration, causing a small dent in the stone, and was surprised to see it, for she had been holding back. She looked up at the ceiling, momentarily covering her face with her hands.

  “What am I supposed to do? I didn’t do anything to her, I was just being nice and friendly.” Mavis looked directly at Francis, as if pleading for his validation. “She doesn’t even know me!”

  “She knows of you, and that’s enough for most people.” Francis regretted what he’d said when he saw the sad, defeated expression on Mavis’s face. He took her hands to comfort her. “Look, it’s not your fault. Don’t blame yourself. It’ll just take time, but they will see. Please, don’t be sad.” Francis hesitated for a moment, before embracing her in a hug.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “As long as I have you…” Mavis said softly. His familiar scent made her feel better, like it always had.

  ??????

  They arrived at the briefing room early. It had a large, long table in the centre, surrounded by chairs. On the wall at the front was a large map. Mavis walked around the room, observing it intently. Francis closed the door behind him. There was complete silence – they were alone.

  Francis went around the other side of the room until he was behind the table, and stood beside Mavis, looking at the map with him.

  Mavis looked at him, and then at the table. “Where do I sit?”

  “Uhh, anywhere. No – actually, sit there,” he pointed to the seat at the head of the table. His mind was preoccupied.

  Mavis went over and sat down. Soon, Francis joined her in the seat to her left.

  Francis had been gathering his courage to ask her something. He had been tasked to do this by the generals, which is why he went to find her initially. He had kept putting it off. The meeting was going to start in 15 minutes. With anxiety, he clenched his hands underneath the table. It had to be done now.

  “Mavis, can I ask you something? It’s ok if you don’t want to answer, just know that I support you 100% fully wholeheartedly, but I’m just curious, what happened yesterday… with the regiment… ?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, err, I learned this morning that command had sent a regiment… to greet us, at the border. But… we didn’t encounter anyone. Did you see them?” He knew exactly what had happened, but wanted to give her the option of denying it, if she didn’t want to tell him. He had seen the landscape for himself – at the time, he had assumed it had been the enemy. Maybe that’s what she had assumed too. It was an easy enough mistake to make.

  Mavis felt a knot form in her stomach as she remembered. Their faces flashed through her mind – the soldiers and their tank, as she disintegrated them. She still vividly remembered it. At the time, she had taken pleasure in it. Now, she felt sick. It was like a nightmare. They had been allies. “I– I didn’t know…” Mavis stammered. “I didn’t know they were on our side.”

  She began to cry. It wasn’t out of concern for the lives she had taken. She had killed many other people before and had never felt like this. It was because of what he would think of her.

  “Look I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. It was just a split second decision. I regret it.” Mavis sobbed. They had been so kind to her. The moment she had got here, she had tried so hard not to screw this up. But none of it had mattered. Because before she had even stepped foot inside this complex, she had already made a mistake.

  “Hey, don’t worry.” Francis rose from his seat and went over to comfort her like he had done many times before. He hadn’t known what he’d expected, but it wasn’t this. His fear completely left him – in this moment, she was just a girl crying like she had done many times in the lab before everything had happened.

  “I killed them! I killed them all!” Mavis wailed. “And I enjoyed it!”

  “Shh, don’t worry about it, everything’s going to be okay. It doesn’t matter.” Francis spoke softly as he held her shoulders in his arm, leaning in near to her. His hand found hers on the table and he squeezed it affectionately.

  “I don't want to lose you, Francis, I feel like you're the only one here who cares about me... who likes me...” Mavis whimpered through sobs.

  “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll always be here for you. I’ll always support you, no matter what.” Francis affirmed.

  Mavis stood up and turned around to look at him directly, blinking away tears. “How are you not absolutely terrified of me… just like that woman in the hallway was. You– you know what I’m capable of. She doesn’t.”

  “Exactly. People are afraid of the unknown.” Francis stared directly into Mavis’s glossy eyes. “Even if you kill me, I wouldn’t mind. I’ve made my peace with it. So what’s there for me to be afraid of then?”

  Mavis embraced him in a hug, burying her face in his shoulder as she wiped away her tears on his jacket. She had stopped crying now. She took extreme care to be gentle with his fragile form as she held him close to her.

  “I would never hurt you…” she half-whispered, her voice buried in her sleeve as she stepped back and wiped her face. “Please, don’t hate me…. for what I’ve done, or might do…”

  “I won’t, ever.” Francis looked into her pitiful deep green eyes. She wasn’t the monster everyone thought she was. She was just a girl. She cared. She had feelings.

  “Is that a promise?” Mavis asked, relief washing over her, she took a shaky deep breath.

  “Yes, I promise.” Francis said lovingly as he observed her cute face, the same one which had captivated him the first time he had seen her in the lab all those years ago. He watched her look away from him shyly. Did she… could she possibly feel the same way about him?

  They were interrupted by a knock at the door. Someone else had arrived.

  Mavis, startled, turned around to see who it was. A military officer was just outside the door. Mavis let go of Francis’s hands and walked over to face the wall in the furthest corner of the room, so that if the military guy entered, he wouldn’t see her in this state. She needed to regain her composure. One she had done so, she went back to sit down at the head of the table where she had been, just as the guy entered the room.