Beyond The Fence

Chapter 20:

"Why are we laughing?" Austin spoke, his voice light and raw.

To Clary's ears, it sounded foreign- his voice, his merriment. Perhaps, it was different, because his laughter was more than just a mere contraction of the diaphragm. It shone in his eyes, setting them alight. It was visible in the rhythmic movements of his chest, in the lines of his face. He almost looked like the teenager he should've been, but never got to be.

She racked her mind for an answer to his question, but none came. She didn't know the reason behind her mirth, but she knew she enjoyed it-- being happy. When she turned her head to face Austin, it didn't look as if he was waiting for her answer. And maybe he wasn't, because the silence that stretched between them had already spoken it for her. It's ironic isn't it? Silence speaking? But it had. It spoke of the desire to live normal lives, the wish for everything to be carefree like it should be. Placing her hand on the tiled floor, Clary pushed herself upward.

She hadn't lived more than 17 years of life, but they were enough to teach her that not all dreams come true. Not everyone gets to live the fairy tale they wish to have. That time span was sufficient to educate her that there was no other way around life, except to live with what you have. She wanted to laugh more and act silly, but that wasn't what fate had decided for her. It had hardships and struggles, battles and trials. For her there were two ways to embrace her destiny: either to plunge right into the combat, unprepared, or to take her steps wisely, clad in armour, with her moves dressed in strategy. She was clever enough to choose the former.

"What is the Menticide, Austin?"

He turned to look at her and Clary tried to turn a blind eye to how close their faces were, how on the ground beneath them, their fingers were slightly touching. She attempted, instead, to focus on the seriousness etched on his face, mixed with confusion and disappointment. From the way his shoulders slumped at her question, Clary knew that Austin wanted to laugh more and act silly. But she had already wasted a lot of time.

She didn't even know the amount of time she had left before her little secret was exposed- she didn't know if she should be counting in days or months or years. Nothing was certain, and it was about time Austin started giving some answers.

"How do you know about it?"

"Jason told me," she answered, pulling her right hand away from where it lay near Austin's and placing it on her lap. She didn't need any more distractions.

Beside her, Austin pushed himself upward, bringing his eyes level with Clary's- smoky grey meeting the grassy green. He looked at her for a moment, contemplating if he should tell her. On a normal day, he would've refused. It was fun to annoy Clary, but the day had been anything but normal. Though he wouldn't say he didn't enjoy the abnormality.

"Well, the Menticide is where the chips come from. The ones with the ability to alter your memory."

"How do you make them?"

"The chips?" he spoke, scratching the back of his neck. "I thought it should've been pretty obvious to you by now that I don't work there. But if it wasn't, I'll tell you: I don't work there."

Clary rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant. I mean, it just seems impossible to alter memories."

"Oh, it is possible. Our generation masters in mind control."

"Is there some way we can...stop it?"

The way Austin's eyes widened was enough for Clary to understand she had gone too far. Crossed some line she wasn't supposed to.  What was she thinking, asking the president's son if she there was a way she could disrupt his father's government's workings? She was almost about to apologise, but Austin's answer made her swallow her sorry.

"Yes. Yes, there is."

Clary opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. Despite today's events, she knew she wasn't on friendly terms with Austin. Asking how to stop mind control would be a step too far. There is a limit for everyone and a limit to everything.

She spared a glance at him, from the corner of her right eye. He was looking down at his feet as if they held the answers to all the questions in the universe. His shoulders were slumped, his hair falling in his eyes. He almost looked...vulnerable. As if one more burden of reality would make him crumple under the weight. She wanted to say something to comfort him, but words refused to come out. She wished Stephanie were here for him. Sometimes, no one can console you the way a best friend can.

Reminded of best friends, she shifted her gaze to Nelson. He had missed out on so much she needed to fill in him with. But her learnings of the past few hours still weren't sufficient. There was still a lot more to discover.

Despite the long travel she had made today, there was still a long way to go.

*****

Author's note: Hi, guys!

Over the course of the past weeks I've been editing this story, in my mind and on my laptop. Some of my previous chapters have been too short for my liking, so I've added a few more scenes here and there. I haven't gotten the chance to upload these chapters on Wattpad as yet, butI will do that soon. Eep, I just can't wait to share them with you guys!

One more thing:

You guys are probably aware of the OnceUponNow contest going on right now. If you aren't , it is a fantasy contest for US-based writers who have a chance to get published in an anthology!

Some of my favorite writers are taking part in it, ( @KarateChop and  BlAckRosE7777777 ) and it would be great if you'd check their stories out! All you have to do is to vote on the first chapter of their story for this contest. You have time from now to next Tuesday! So go give their contest entries a read and make their day!

I know this completely irrelevant to the story and I'm not forcing you to check them out either, but it wouldn't do any harm to help someone achieve their dreams, would it? :)