Conscious, Conscientious

Lammy jumped when a sprinkle of water dripped onto his neck from the ceiling of the shady cave.

“I don’t like this,” he declared nervously, his voice reverberating against the rocky walls. “I really don’t like this.”

Zayza, who was a few steps ahead of him, turned around. “Don’t worry, Lammy,” she said in her ever-lighthearted tone. “I think I see the other side down there.”

Lammy couldn’t help but blush, so he was glad the cave was too dark for Zayza to notice. Once again, no matter what she said, her voice lifted his spirits. He was grateful to have her as a companion on this long journey.

He couldn’t believe how much they had been through together in a matter of a couple days. It hadn’t been long since he was comfortably home, in Tailpiece, where everything was safe and predictable. Now, in a blink, they were at the tip of a grander Multiverse filled with powers, on a mission back to his village.

They had already fought a snow monster, been catapulted onto a mountain, and worst of all: worked a night in food service. Who knew what else could be in store?

Lammy thought of his mother…was she still alive? Did she escape the two dangerous men targeting Zayza?

Again, he found himself thankful for Zayza’s company. She may have lost all memory of her past, but she certainly still knew how to stay positive and compassionate. She was determined to help Lammy get home.

We’ll get back to Tailpiece, no matter how long it takes, thought Lammy, trying to shake his worry. And we’ll recover each and every one of Zayza’s memories along the way.

After a few moments, Lammy could see the opening, as well. It was the same size as the entrance they had walked through a minute ago, and the slightly dim light of the next town shone from it. Lammy was relieved to be leaving this dire pathway, but now his anxiety about the town ahead sunk in.

“Don’t hate me, but I won’t tell you what’s in the next cave over,” Mariel had said to them this morning. “If I tell you, you’ll be too afraid to go. Just make sure you know how to make people agree with you…” Those statements rang over and over in Lammy’s mind as they approached the end of the tunnel.

Soon the entrance into the mysterious town was just before them. Zayza passed through first, and she waited for Lammy to join her. “This doesn’t look so scary,” she commented as Lammy came to her side.

They stood on a small cliff that ran a few steps beyond the tunnel, and the town rested far below. Zayza’s reaction was right: unlike Food Town, this place didn't shock Lammy upon first glance. In fact, it reminded him a bit of Tailpiece, but with a rock floor instead of grass. Its houses looked to be made out of the same dark wood as those in Food Town, but they were shorter and instead of running along the walls, they were arranged in a grid-like fashion with perfectly square streets in between.

Lammy noticed that like Food Town, this place used electricity: there were tall, black lamps placed throughout the town, keeping it bright enough to see, but still relatively dark as if it were always nighttime. In the center of the town’s grid-like setup rested a particularly large wooden building with a motionless, droopy blue flag propped at the very top.

There were a few adults rushing along the streets here and there. They all wore the same general outfit: black or gray formal coats, ties, dark pants, and leather shoes, each carrying a briefcase as they went about their seemingly important business.

While the town didn’t look very scary, it certainly looked boring.

“Oh, there’s a ladder over here,” Zayza noticed, walking up to the edge of the cliff. “Let’s head down.”

“Just be careful this time,” Lammy told her. “We did enough falling yesterday.”

“Agreed,” Zayza called, already beginning her steady descent down the ladder.

Lammy followed, his worries decreasing a bit. Maybe this place has changed since the last time Mariel was here, he thought as he climbed downward. It really doesn’t seem so bad.

The ladder was sturdy enough, but as Zayza and Lammy neared the bottom, the weight of their large travel bags made the climb a bit strenuous on their backs. Nevertheless, they touched down safely. When they turned around, they saw a large sign standing before them. In big red letters, it read: “Welcome to Politician Town!”

Zayza narrowed her gaze and crossed her arms, analyzing the sign fixedly.

“What’s a ‘Politician?’” Lammy wondered.

“Oh, that’s a…um…a…” Zayza began. Lammy could see the confusion growing on her face as she found no words. “Hmm…for some reason, I don’t know,” she said. “I’m sure I’m supposed to know what this word means, but it’s just…not coming to me…”

“Maybe that’s your amnesia,” Lammy figured. “Don’t worry about it—I’m sure we can figure it out…” He began to theorize. “Well, it’s spelled like it might be a variant of something…maybe ‘Politic?’”

“That word sounds incredibly familiar, too…” Zayza uttered.

“Well ‘Politic’ looks like a compound word…” proposed Lammy. He thought hard. “‘Poly’ often means ‘many’…”

Zayza nodded with interest.

“And a ‘tick’ is a bloodsucking parasite,” Lammy concluded.

“So this is…” began Zayza.

They slowly turned from the sign and their eyes met.

“So this is the Town of Many Bloodsucking Parasites???” Zayza whispered fearfully.

Lammy gulped. “We need to get out of here!” he exclaimed, heading towards the ladder.

“Wait!” Zayza called.

Lammy spun back around. “What?”

“Mariel said the only safe way out is through here,” she reminded him. “I think we have no other choice but to pass through.”

Lammy moaned. “I don’t want my blood being sucked by many parasites…”

“If we get there quickly and quietly, maybe the parasites won’t catch us,” Zayza suggested.

With a reluctant sigh, Lammy rejoined her. “Fine,” he said. “Let’s do this thing.”

Zayza and Lammy stayed close to each other as they began to walk into the town, looking around with large, wary eyes. They reached the nearest street, in between two rows of houses. Nobody else seemed to be present, so they rushed along the walkway. Because of the Politician Town’s symmetrical, boxy structure, the street ran all the way to the other side of the town. Lammy and Zayza could vaguely see the cave wall just beyond the houses on the other side.

When they had made it about midway through, Lammy detected a woman walking quietly along a road that intersected with theirs. Like all the citizens Lammy and Zayza had seen, she dressed professionally and carried a briefcase.

“Zayza…” Lammy murmured uneasily. “Someone’s over there…”

Zayza noticed the woman. “You’re right,” she whispered back. “Do you think she’s a parasite?”

“Please don’t be a parasite…” muttered Lammy.

Suddenly, the woman noticed them and perked up. “Hello there! I’m a proud mother of three, and I’ve always cared about this town! You can totally trust me with your life!” she shouted abruptly, waving them down.

“Who starts off a conversation like that?!” Lammy whispered in horror. “And why does she sound so rehearsed?!”

“This must be how she lures in her victims!” whispered Zayza.

“So what do we do??”

“Um…” began Zayza. “RUN!!!”

Zayza grabbed Lammy’s hand and tugged him along as they began to run down the street.

As they passed by the woman, she watched them with a puzzled gaze. “Uh…those allegations about me are definitely false!” she added, but Lammy and Zayza were too far to hear.

“Another parasite on your right!” Zayza warned Lammy as they sprinted.

A man with a forced smile and alarmingly perfect hair was stepping out of a building close to them. Just like the woman before, he tried to get their attention.

“Hey kid! I notice your hair is dyed white!” he exclaimed. “That’s great! I just want you to know that under my administration, no matter how you look or where you come from, you’ll be valuable!”

“Don’t listen to him Lammy! It’s a trap!” cried Zayza.

They almost ran into another man, and screamed as they pivoted to the side to get past him.

“Hey there!” he greeted. “I see your travel gear—you must be hikers! Hiking blood actually runs deep in this town’s history! The first hikers to travel here helped this town grow big and strong! My name’s—”

“THAT GUY’S NOT EVEN TRYING TO HIDE IT!!” Lammy wailed to Zayza.

“Sir, our blood isn’t very tasty!” Zayza called back.

“Huh?” uttered the man.

Zayza and Lammy raged on, speeding up whenever they saw someone nearby. All of the citizens reacted like the first few people they saw, watching with confusion. Eventually the two friends made it to the other side, sprinting past the final row of houses. The cave wall was bare besides one tunnel opening in the middle, identical to the one at the end of Food Town. But there was a problem.

It was blocked off.

Lammy and Zayza reached the closed-off tunnel and came to a skidding stop, gasping for air. Thick planks of wood were nailed into the stone wall, covering the exit entirely.

“You…have to be…kidding,” breathed Lammy.

“Hey there, what’s the commotion?” someone asked from behind them.

With a start, Lammy and Zayza whirled around and kept their backs flat against the wooden planks. A man with short light hair, small eyes, and a friendly yet uncomfortable smirk approached them. “Is everything okay?” he asked.

“P—Please don’t suck our blood, mister,” Zayza pleaded fearfully.

The man stopped his advance as his eyebrows furrowed. “Suck your blood? Why would I ever do that?”

“Isn’t this the Town of Many Bloodsucking Parasites?” asked Zayza.

The man appeared even more confused. “Huh? Of course not—this is Politician Town. We don’t suck people’s blood here; that’s unlawful…and most certainly unjust.”

“Oh,” Zayza and Lammy said together with a sigh.

“Don’t worry, this town is the most fair, caring, and selfless town you’ll ever happen upon!” the man continued. “We allow everybody’s voice to be heard. Before we make any decisions around here, it goes through a very organized voting system that we encourage everybody to participate in.”

“That seems like a good approach,” Lammy commented.

“It most certainly is, my boy!” the man agreed enthusiastically. “By the way, I’m Charles G. Cook, the Block 7A Vice Assistant Secretary of the Third Board of the Representatives Committee.”

“Wow, you must be really important,” said Zayza.

“I won’t deny that,” said Charles. “Without me, there would be nobody to make the coffee or keep the office bathroom clean. Anyway, what brings you two kids to our town?”

“I’m Zayza and this is Lammy,” Zayza introduced. “It’s a rather long story, but basically we’re passing through on a long journey back to Lammy’s home to save his mother.”

“Hmm,” responded Charles. “Well I’m sorry, but as you can see, the exit is blocked off. We had a vote three years ago. The majority decided that this town is so functional, nobody really needs to leave it.”

Um…what? Lammy wondered. So they just…blocked it of???

“But…is there any way you could allow us to get through?” Zayza urged. “Our situation is very urgent.”

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple. You see: it’s against the law to leave. The only way out is towards Food Town, but that’s just for grabbing meals. By the way, have you tried their Cow Butt Special? Amazing!” He laughed cheerily.

“So…we’re trapped in here??” Lammy asked as his nerves returned.

“I suppose so,” confirmed Charles. Then he stopped to think. “However…you could appeal to the mayor for another vote. Then you would have to convince the town to vote in your favor of re-opening the exit.”

“Hmm…how possible do you suppose that would be?” asked Zayza.

“Very possible,” Charles assured her. “Allow me to very briefly explain: you’ll need an impressive campaign if you want to change the minds of most of the town. That means you’ll first need lots of credentials, or they won’t be convinced. You should both get involved in working for the town and climb your way up the office positions by building good reputations as hard workers that care about the people. If you can do that, eventually you’ll be in positions high enough that everyone will know and respect your names. But you can skip all of that if you have a lot of money. What follows next is the necessity of having supporters. Build relationships with other politicians and support their causes—specifically those that are well liked by the majority of citizens. If you have them on your side, it will greatly increase your influence on people’s opinions. Or, just target an uninformed demographic and lie to them. Either is acceptable, though the latter approach is probably more effective. Next, you’ll need to prepare a proposition to the town council, raising awareness about why closing off the exit is indeed a public issue. Persuade them, using any means necessary, to believe that it’s worth having another vote on the matter. If they accept your proposition and open up the poles, you can then start your campaign by holding debates with politicians who disagree with you. Perform random acts of kindness for the citizens to get them on your side, even if you don’t care about their situation. Also—and this is an extremely crucial tool—post obnoxious and colorful signs everywhere you possibly can. Always make sure your signs are bigger than your opponents.’ And most importantly, above all else, you need to make your opponents look bad. Find everything controversial they’ve ever done, and let that be the leading argument for your cause. If you can’t find much, be sure to take things out of context and make stuff up. Slander, slander, slander. That’s the name of the game, you see. And if they have any dirt on you, just lie about it. Then, you’ll be in the clear to convince everyone that your personal views are in their best interest, and victory will be yours.”

Zayza and Lammy stared at Charles blankly and wordlessly.

“And that’s the beauty of democracy!” Charles added with a smile. “That’s all you have to do to allow your voice to be heard!”

“So…if we do all those things…” said Zayza slowly, “…we can pass through?”

“Well, not necessarily,” Charles answered. “If the town votes in your favor, there’s also the high probability that the mayor will repeal the law. But that’s your best shot!”

Lammy stared at Charles, trying to mask his increasing disgust. Now he knew why Mariel hated this town. “Um, sir…?” he began timidly.

“Yes, my friend?”

“So to summarize, we have to lie, manipulate, cheat, slander, and hurt people?” Lammy questioned.

“Uh…well, that’s just how the game is played…” Charles stammered as his smile grew even more plastic.

“How is that fair to anyone?” Lammy asked.

Charles gazed at Lammy and Zayza for a moment as they awaited an answer. He shifted back a bit.

“Um—well, good luck with your campaign!” he suddenly said, turning and walking away quickly.

Lammy and Zayza remained there, watching the politician leave into the streets of the dim town. A cadence of silence marked the end of their odd discussion with him, leaving them feeling just as hopeless as when they had first noticed the blocked-off exit.

“Well…” Zayza uttered, “at least we don’t have to worry about bloodsucking parasites after all.” She faked a light laugh, which quickly died out when she noticed Lammy wasn’t joining in.

“I’m not so sure about that,” he said sardonically.

Zayza watched Lammy with concern as he stared ahead grouchily. “We—we can’t let some silly blocked-off passageway stop us, Lammy,” she said, though with little confidence. “If the only way to get you back to Tailpiece is to spend years working here, then I’m willing to do it!”

“I’m not,” stated Lammy. “If we wait that long, we’ll definitely never save my mom from those two guys. And I don’t want to become like these people.”

“There…must be another way…right?” Zayza wondered.

“Oh, there is. There totally is,” someone said from off to the side.

Lammy and Zayza looked and saw a young man in his early twenties standing nearby. To their surprise, he wasn’t dressed at all like the rest of the people they had seen. The man wore a black leather jacket with a red hooded sweatshirt underneath, and carried a sort of side bag that was strapped over his shoulder. He had on tight, dark jeans and expensive-looking casual shoes.

The man had a handsome face: tough features, small, focused blue eyes, some unshaved stubble and a chiseled, bony chin. His dark hair was in an odd fashion Lammy had never seen before: the sides of his head were shaved to a buzz and the top was longer, with his bangs slicked back. The man stood relaxed, with his hands in his jacket pockets and his head tilted back a bit.

“Sorry, I guess I kinda eavesdropped on your conversation with Block 7A Vice Assistant Secretary Cook,” the man said. “I’m Ryan, by the way.” His voice was smooth and laid-back.

“Um…how long have you been standing there?” questioned Lammy.

“Pretty much the whole time,” admitted Ryan with an embarrassed laugh. “Truth is, I kinda get a bad rap with the people in this town. We don’t really see eye-to-eye, to say the least.”

He walked up to them casually. “I’ve been stuck in this dump ever since they passed that stupid law that blocks this place off from the rest of the world. I was just stopping by for a couple hours to get some research for a paper I had to write, and next thing I know, they’re telling me it’s against the law to leave. Like, I’m not even from here, but I’ve been in this God-forsaken place for three years.”

“How terrible,” Zayza commented.

Ryan shrugged. “I’m alright; could be worse, I guess. And I didn’t want to raise a fit—I’m sort of a pacifist—so I tried the whole ‘campaign’ thing Cook was telling you about. Trust me, it’s not worth your time or energy. They say their system here is fair, but that’s only if you’re willing to give up some humanity.”

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” said Zayza.

Ryan laughed lightly. “No it’s all good, I’m just complaining too much. The point is, you guys sound like you need to get outta here ASAP. Me too, and I just finished up a way to do that.”

“Really? How?” Lammy asked.

“It’s simple: we just blow up the wooden planks.”

Lammy looked at Ryan with confusion. “Isn’t that sort of…against their rules?”

“Dude, everything’s against the rules in this hellhole,” Ryan responded nonchalantly. “Don’t you wanna get out of here?”

“Yeah,” said Lammy. “But wait—how are we supposed to break this down so easily?”

A twinkle appeared in Ryan’s eye as he smirked. Without answering, he reached for the bag strapped over his shoulder. Ryan unzipped the top and pulled out a somewhat large, unfamiliar rectangular device. He unfolded it, revealing a screen on one half and many black, square buttons on the other. Ryan pressed one of the buttons and instantly light emitted from the screen. Lammy had never seen such an otherworldly object.

“I know this looks like any old laptop,” Ryan began, “but let’s just say it’s got a few tricks up its sleeve.”

“Thank you so much for doing this,” Zayza suddenly said. “It’s very nice of you.”

Lammy noticed a tone in Zayza’s voice that he had never heard before. She seemed nervous, but not in a fearful way.

Ryan looked up from his computer and his eyes met Zayza’s. “Sure, no prob,” he told her. “Hey, not to be weird or anything, but you have really pretty eyes.” Ryan returned his attention to his laptop.

“Thanks…” Zayza uttered shyly. Lammy noticed that her cheeks had gone a bit rosy.

Lammy’s eyes half-closed with disgust. Oh please…what’s so great about this guy? he thought.

“Alright, you guys might want to step away from the wall,” Ryan warned.

Zayza and Lammy did so, confused as to what Ryan planned to do with his laptop to open up the exit. They stopped several feet away and watched with curiosity.

“Now, don’t go around telling anybody about this,” Ryan advised.

Lammy and Zayza nodded.

Ryan proceeded with his plan: he rapidly pressed several buttons on his laptop. A moment later, a pinkish circular light appeared in front of him. It produced a smooth, high-pitched buzzing noise as it floated before him. Satisfied, Ryan pressed a few other buttons, and immediately the light darted forward, colliding with the wooden planks. The planks exploded with a deafening crackle, and in an instant the exit was wide open.

Lammy and Zayza stood in amazement. “What?!” they exclaimed.

“And now we book it so no one catches us,” Ryan told them. He shoved his laptop back into his bag and darted through the rocky exit. With a start, Lammy and Zayza followed him, still in awe of what they just witnessed.

As the three of them raced into the darkness, Lammy’s mind raced even faster. What was—how did he—why could…he thought rapidly. Is he a consciousness? He must be! I assumed if this place was like Food Town there wouldn’t be consciousnesses, but I guess there are! But what type is he? I’ve never seen…

Their rushed footsteps echoed against the rock walls and Lammy continued to wonder as they headed for the next unknown destination.