The New Humans

Chapter 32

Ash lay on his bed staring at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. The early afternoon sun came through the window, warming the room.

Someone knocked on his door and entered without waiting for permission.

"Mom's gone," said Rachel. "If you want, we can play a little virtual reality before she comes back."

"Go away," Ash replied.

She frowned. "Have I done something to annoy you?"

"No, but I want to be alone."

Rachel sighed and left. Poor girl, grounded for two weeks just like him; she was just looking for someone to share the boredom with her. But Ash didn't want to talk to anyone. He had still the image of his father in front of him; how he'd humiliated him in front of everyone. It pushed the ridiculous idea that you could ​​become an agent even further into your stupid head. Ash would have liked to deliver Crane in handcuffs to show him how wrong he was.

And then he thought of Miriam. He had sent her a message, but she hadn't replied. Hadn't she regained consciousness yet? He overheard the ding-dong announcing a message from Net.

"Rachel Mack wants to add you in a group conversation with Owen Felim MacDermott and Herbert Kovacic," said Net. "Would you like to participate?"

Ash rolled his eyes. His sister was merciless. He accepted the conversation only so that he wouldn't seem rude to the other two.

"Hi all," said Owen. "You grounded too?"

"A week," said Herbert. "Let's hope the air conditioning doesn't break down."

"Two weeks for me and Rachel," Ash said. "If I had stolen a car, I would have gotten less."

Ash heard some giggles, though they didn't sound very sincere. He waited for someone to say something about the previous evening. But nobody said a thing. What they had seen and experienced the evening before was too personal to be shared, even with best friends.

"Has anyone heard from Miriam?" Rachel asked. "I tried to call her, but she didn't answer."

"Yes, I spoke with her this morning," Owen said. "She regained consciousness almost immediately last night, slept in the hospital and returned home early this morning."

Ash checked the messages on his phone. He had texted her at eleven; why hadn't she answered?

"That's good news," said Rachel. "How did she seem to you? She must have had a fright."

"Yes, she was . . . I don't know how to say it—detached."

He meant angry. And how could he blame her? She'd ended up in a muddy cave with a crazy killer who had hanged her. And I was the one who brought her there. He sank his head into the pillow. He had spilled ice cream on her on the first date and had put her life in danger on the second. Obviously she didn't want to see him again. It was over; no wonder she didn't answer the phone.

His friends continued to chat for another half hour, but Ash didn't even listen. He thought only of Miriam, Miriam, Miriam. Owen asked him a question, but Ash was so absorbed in his thoughts that he was forced to ask him to repeat it.

"I said what you are going to do with the investigation now? What's your next move?"

"There's not much I can do, stuck here," said Ash. "And even if I wasn't, I don't know what I could do." Plus, his father had threatened to kill him if he tried to investigate again.

"Well, if you need a hand, let me know."

Ash chuckled. "After everything that's happened, you still want to investigate?"