Chapter 7 Close Call
Quint went to the bus stop while I started my path down the school property's side, into the forest once more. I wished there was an easier way to get back home. With each step, my anxiety grew. I didn't want to see that gruesome scene again. The way back felt like it took years compared to this morning. I would have just walked in another direction, but I hadn't explored it that much despite living here all my life. I could hear the leaves crunching, the wind blowing through the trees, a bird chirping around me.
My heart thumped harder and harder. It was time to walk by the area where I had seen the man die in front of me. I didn't want to look at the spot where his body was, but my eyes went there on their own.
Gasping out loud, I noticed his body was gone. Dried-up blood was all that was left at the spot where he had been. Even the little flower I had placed on him was gone.
I didn't know how to react to this. On the one hand, I had hoped he would've still been here so I could pay my respects. Still, on the other hand, I was glad he was gone. I was uncertain if I could experience seeing his corpse there after what had happened.
I had wanted to do something, but if I had, I might've messed it up and gotten myself killed as well. I didn't want to think of Grandpa's reaction to seeing me dead.
Emotions welled up inside of me. I continued walking before it got any worse and eventually made it home. It felt like a breath of fresh air after today; I just wanted to hop onto my bed, play with my badge, and forget everything that had happened today.
"I wonder if it'll work way out here in the woods," I thought as I went inside.
Grandpa wasn't home yet; he usually came back right before dark.
"I hope you're not working yourself too hard, Grandpa."
He tended to go overboard on some things, which ended up exhausting him to the point where he would be bedridden for a day or two.
Before going into my room, I picked up some of the wood logs near the fireplace and threw them inside. I lit up a match and threw it on the logs, and the fire started to ignite slowly. It was still summertime, but the weather had started to get cold lately; preparing for a cold night was a good idea.
When the flame was at a good size, I headed to my room. The small cozy area gave me protection from any dangers from the outside. It was a place where I could be myself with no one around to see me fail or succeed; I was in control of how I felt. Despite the room's comforts, I still felt the emotions from when people had sneered at me this morning and when I had encountered Luna at lunch. I wanted to forget it had ever happened, but no matter how hard I wished, I knew it would never come true.
I jumped into my bed. The soft blanket stuffed my face with its wool, tickling my nose. Rolling over to my side, I looked at my desk, the computer on it. It was a rusty, outdated piece of equipment. It was slow, and I couldn't do much without the internet, but even so, it was a gift from Grandpa, and I got to use it to my heart's content. I couldn't count the times I had taken it apart just to put it back together; I even got to a point where I could do the whole process with my eyes closed. I could remember the first time I had thought of that and tried it out. Of course, it was hard to do since it was an entirely different feeling, but I eventually got the hang of it.
I walked to the desk, thinking that maybe if I did what I loved to do, it would help me feel better. Still, I couldn't bring myself to do anything.
"Maybe seeing what my b00k can do will help cheer me up," I thought to myself. I put my thumb on the emblem on my chest; the b00k activated and sprung alive. Some files could be used for personal activities, while others were for school purposes only. I attempted to reach the web and successfully did so. Still, it was really slow because I didn't live near any towers. Although I mostly found info about daily social life events, I also came across a locked section.
"I don't think I was supposed to see this. This might be where the teachers keep their class materials." I left the section before anything else came up and went back to the home screen; I wouldn't want to get in trouble for even finding it.
The translucent screen sat still in front of me. As much fun as it was to have something years above what I currently had, I wanted to know more about how it worked, what powered it, who made it, and even how it stored its data. I took off my uniform shirt and placed it near my desk, with the emblem facing upward. I inspected its shape, its texture, what it looked like on the inside of the shirt, but I didn't see anything protruding on the other side. I tried to take it off, but it wouldn't budge. I didn't see any place for it to slide or clip off, and I certainly didn't want to break it. I couldn't imagine how much this tiny thing cost. Then it occurred to me. "Is there a way for me to connect this thing to my computer?"
I went to the cabinet with the table and brought out a box filled with all kinds of wires and cords. I looked at the emblem again to see if there was anywhere to plug in any type of cord. I felt it all around to see if I could feel a slot or something. After a good minute, I was able to find something that resembled a socket. However, it was behind the emblem, where it attached to the uniform; there was no way to get it from the inside of the shirt unless I cut through it.
I went to the kitchen, looking for something to cut the fabric. After some digging, I found a small cutting tool that wouldn't ruin the whole thing. Back in my room, I turned the uniform inside out so that the area where I needed to cut was facing me. My hands started to shake; I was nervous about even doing anything that could put me in trouble or, even worse, my Grandpa since he was the one paying this off. But the desire to know more overcame my senses. I slowly made an incision and opened the cut to find a small port.
I tried every plug-in I had, but nothing worked; some were too big, others were too small, and the rest were shaped weirdly. This was a port I hadn't seen before on any computer. "Maybe it wasn't meant to be," I thought to myself.
Giving up, I returned the small knife to the kitchen. As I was putting it away, I noticed a little metal object sticking out from the pile of tools inside the drawer. I set aside the tools around it and made it so that I could easily pull the wire out. This drawer was for tools, not cords; the box was in my room, and there wasn't another one in the house.
"Grandpa, you gotta keep your stuff more organized." I said that, but one look at my workstation, and you could tell it was a mess. Still, at least I knew where everything was.
I hadn't seen this cord before; it was short, but the plug-in had a distinct shape, one I didn't recognize. Bringing it back to my room, I didn't want to hype myself up for disappointment. It wasn't a certainty that this would actually go with my b00k, but it was worth a try. Having to place my uniform on the desk weirdly, I plugged it into the computer. Then, with a careful gesture with the cord in my hand, I brought it to the emblem port, and it slid in.
It actually went in! However, nothing happened. A minute went by before turning into a couple, then a few more. Still, nothing popped up on my computer, indicating that it read what I had plugged in. "I know it's old, but it works decently."
As I was about to unplug it, a voice rang out of nowhere. "Warning! Warning! Warning! Unauthorized use of the emblem detected!"
The sudden blast of sound made my heart jump. Panicking, I shuffled around, not knowing what to do. Nothing on the screen showed any sign of anything transferring. I attempted to muffle out the siren sound coming out of the thing with my hands, but it was so loud they barely did anything to cover it up.
"Carnite, I'm home!" I heard a frail voice call out.
Crap! I thought he wouldn't be home until a bit later.
In desperation, I pulled the cord from the computer, forcefully shut it off, and disconnected the plug-in from the b00k.
"You in your room?" he asked.
I could hear him putting his stuff down and heading towards my room.
"Turn off you stupid thing," I thought since yelling at it wouldn't create any results.
It was still spewing the loud alarm even after I did everything I thought would help turn it off. I didn't know what to do other than close up the small incision in the uniform in an attempt to hide what I had done. It was probably for nothing since there was no indication that the emblem was attached in some way to the uniform that would make the siren stop.
I heard the door slowly open. I closed my eyes in fear for what was to come. "Great. Grandpa's going to see what I did to the uniform. He'll get in trouble because of me and have to pay to have it fixed. Who knows how much that will cost! He's going to hate me for it," the thoughts raced in my mind.
"Hey there, little computer. You working hard?" he said with a smile.
I opened my eyes to realize I hadn't even noticed the alarm had turned off.
"Y-yeah. I sure am," I nervously giggled.
"That's good to hear. Tell me about your day while we eat. They had some food left over from the user staff room." He closed the door, leaving me alone.
"Really dodged one there." I let out a huge sigh, thinking how fortunate I was the alarm died out just before he got into the room. Trying not to give it much thought, I left it for now and joined Grandpa for dinner.
Chapter 7 - End
Edited by: Katepopa (Fiverr)
