Lamia's Dream

Chapter 27

Bullets went off around me and I burst into a sprint.  A shot hit me and my vision field flashed red.  Realizing the end was near, I turned and released a spray of gunfire for my final stand.  A bullet pierced my skull.  I watched my lifeless digital body fall to the synthetic jungle floor.

“Oh, c’mon,” I growled.

“Heh, looks like you’ve lost touch,” Phil teased.

“Sucking my fulfillment out of everything else in life until I’m my girlfriend’s loyal servant-- that is my definition of love,” Jack murmured.  His eyes remained glued to the television, focused solely on his hunt.

I grimaced when I heard his words. 

My digital body re-spawned.  Finding Phil’s character to exact my revenge became my top priority.  It didn’t take long.  I had him in sight and took some shots as the countdown sounded.  I threw a grenade for good measure, but the session ended before it could explode.

“Victory is mine,” Phil said.

“No thanks to all of your easy kills on Miles,” Jack grumbled. 

“Is that really your definition of love?” I asked.

“What?  What are you talking about?”

“What you said a few minutes ago.  About sucking out my fulfillment of everything else.”

“Miles, do I look like a guy who’s given much thought to what love means?” Jack jeered.

No, he didn’t.

“Why do you ask?” Phil inquired. 

“You haven’t used the l-bomb yet, have you?” Jack demanded.

My previous grimace returned with a vengeance of its own.

“Why not?  I’ve been thinking about telling it to Becca.  How’d you say it to Valerie, Miles?”

“Whoa, whoa, I never said I did.  It’s just… we talked about it the other day.  About love, I mean.  She asked what I think it means.”

The two of them were completely intrigued at this point.  The word “continue” with a few options beneath flashed on the television screen.  Battle music played in the background.

“What’d you say?”

“I dunno.  I couldn’t get anything coherent out.  Valerie’s answer was a bit more… eloquent.  She thinks it has something to do with self-sacrifice.”

“So she wants you to die for her?”

“No, no way.”

“That’s what self-sacrifice sounds like to me,” Jack said.

“Self-sacrifice does sound kind of morbid, Miles,” Phil agreed.

“Well, that’s just one part of it.  She said it was part physical and emotional, too.”

I knew I was screwing it up.  I wish we could just drop the subject.

“I’ll tell you what I think,” Jack prefaced.  “I bet Valerie is one of those girls who is more in love with the idea of being in love, rather than knowing what love actually is.”

I gave him a sideways look.

“Wow.  That was kind of profound, Jack,” Phil said. 

My sentiments exactly.

Jack shrugged.  “It’s something my mom told me.  She said most people our age were like that.  I should enjoy the fact that I’m strong enough to be single, rather than getting into a relationship just because everyone else is doing it.”