Chapter 73
Home Again
Zrrkr #1: Hey Leo. You okay? Mr. Osmond told us you'd gotten released and said not to bother you, but I have to know. What happened?
Leo jumped, startled by Angie's unexpected contact.
Future Man 10/16: It sucked, Angie. They ended up drugging me, but fortunately, they didn't have the sense to ask the right questions. Kept asking about The Professor. Never asked about you and Liam, so I think you guys are safe. I told them about my vision, and they were about to lock me in the nuthouse when the aliens intervened and got me released.
Zrrkr #1: They took me in too, last August. I thought I was so tough. I tried doing what you did, but I lasted 15 minutes, broke down crying, confessed everything. Still have nightmares. Mr. Osmond said you told the agency to go fuck themselves. How did you do it?
Future Man 10/16: I've dealt with worse.
Zrrkr #1: What would you have done if they'd cut off your fingers?
Future Man 10/16: I'd have no fingers. They'd have grown back, post Change, or the Change wouldn't have happened, meaning I did something right.
Zrrkr #1: I'm a six in craziness, you're at least a twenty. By the way, I thought you should know. I worked with your sister to get the Serpent Jelly from her friend. Your sister skimmed off the top of the deal. Told us she was paying her friend $900 and keeping $100. I found out she paid her friend $400 and kept $600.
Future Man 10/16: Sounds like Lydia. But let me make it clear, if she needs to be punished, I will do the punishing. If you try anything, there will be consequences.
Zrrkr #1: Easy, Leo. It's not my money and I couldn't care less. I did tell her I know of people who've been killed for pulling stunts like that. She offered to return the money, but I told her to keep it. It's not like Mr. Osmond can't afford it.
Future Man 10/16: If we can't stop the Change, that money will be worthless in less than two weeks anyway. I'll see you guys tomorrow. We have a game to play.
Some kids around Leo's age, hanging out in a park, noticed him as he walked by, and started talking among themselves. He supposed getting dragged from the school, in handcuffs, must have made an impression.
Soon it would be time to contact Mr. Osmond and get back to saving the world. But not quite yet.
When the sun started going down, Leo turned around and headed home.
Leo walked in to the sound of the TV and a voice he recognized.
I think people underestimate the compassion of the upper class. For example, when my factory released toxic gas into the air last year, I quickly provided air filters to nearby communities at reasonable prices.
It was Ambrose, the billionaire, once again being interviewed by some fawning reporter. The seventy-year-old billionaire looked even younger than he had two weeks ago. Ambrose could easily pass for a sixteen-year-old now.
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I killed you in another life, you piece of shit. Leo thought.
The only person home when he arrived was Lydia, face glued to their flat-screen TV. The cat Sparkles had curled up on the couch next to her.
She looked up when she heard him come inside. “Oh. You're back,” she said. “You were supposed to be here this morning.”
“I went for a walk,” he responded. “Didn't feel like doing anything.”
She sniffed. “Must have been nice. They told us you were at this summer camp, learning about the agency and helping them with their investigation. Or fall camp, of course, since it's no longer summer.”
“Something like that.” He went to the refrigerator.
“What did you do there?” she asked. “They said you broke your finger playing basketball. But their doctor fixed you up for free.”
“I did some water sports. Hung around. Talked to people. Good times.” Leo pulled some leftover chicken from the refrigerator. “Did I miss anything?”
Ambrose continued talking.
I will not go so far as to say poor people are stupid. However, I believe intelligence is determined by how much wealth someone is able to accrue throughout their lives. Now everyone in this room is doing well, but there are billions of people who have trouble putting food on the table...
Leo sighed.
“You were lucky you weren't here last night,” Lydia said. “Mom and Dad invited people over for dinner. The food was okay, but they started drinking and someone got out a guitar, then they tried to play the guitar and started making horrible noises.”
“Wait. They were playing a guitar and singing? Mom and Dad can sing?”
“No, they can't sing, and they definitely can't play guitar. They kept trying, though. They sounded so horrible. Being around them was torture. You're lucky you missed it.”
“Yeah. Good thing I missed it, then,” Leo said, trying not to laugh.
“I met your friend, Angie,” she said. “She's pretty okay. She told me she lost her arm in a car accident where her arm got pinned underneath a car and she had to use her teeth and a pocket knife to cut herself free so she could get away from the car before it exploded. So I guess she's not an implant wearer after all.”
“Sounds right,” Leo said. He ate quickly, not wanting to watch Ambrose any longer than he had to, and not wanting to fight with Lydia about it.
He went up to his room to take a red pill and exercise. He had 126 Demon Tears now. But since he had a decent character class available to him, he was less concerned with raising his stats.
He pulled a book from his bookshelf. The bottle of red pills he'd stashed behind it had vanished.
He sighed. “Lydia!” He stomped out to the living room. “Where are my red pills?”
Lydia sniffed, face still glued to the TV. “How would I know?”
When I heard the doomsday predictions, I laughed. You see, the humans at Bio-Blessed, yes, I signed a contract requiring me to call them humans. Anyway, these humans are sitting on trillions of dollars. If they destroy our world, that money is gone, completely worthless. Same thing with their business. Nobody is going to be there to buy their product if they destroy our world...
Leo glared down at Lydia. “You knew about the pills, and now they're not there. Why?”
“I didn't touch them.”
“You told Mom, didn't you?”
Lydia looked scared and evasive. “No.”
Leo went to his parent's bedroom and looked around, not finding anything.
They were probably in Mom's purse, which was with Mom.
Leo stormed back to the living room. “You little brat!”
“I didn't mean to tell her. We were talking, and it happened. Then Mom went looking around your room, and I ended up telling her where they were so she didn't mess up your room.” Lydia cringed. “You're going to hit me now, aren't you?”
“The thought's crossing my mind,” Leo said, glaring at her. But he couldn't hit her, not after everything that had happened, and he suspected she knew it.
He turned around and left, feeling childish as he slammed his bedroom door behind him.