Entering my room, I found it to be almost exactly as it had been when I left the day of launch, except the bed had been made and it’d been cleaned regularly. My simple bed sat in one corner while my computer desk took up most of my room, the three screens all darkened.
“Oh, dear?” Turning to mum who started to walk towards us, she handed me a thin small piece of plastic. Her credit card. “Don’t worry about the cost, order what you want okay?”
“Ah, I can’t, mum! It’s your money.”
“Foolish daughter.” Tapping my head gently, she smiled as she put her hands on her hips. “Your ‘death’ got paid out to me for a total of nearly one million. That’s not including all of the money those people online offered me. As far as I’m concerned, it’s all yours!”
“B-bu-”
“No buts! I’ve paid off the house and have a little nest egg. I’ve only been living in the hopes that I can make you and your dad proud! Now you’re here, I’m going to spoil you rotten, I only have you for one month, you ain’t leaving my line of sight!”
“Aren’t you going to bed?”
“Do you think I’ll not wake up and chase you two down? Now shoo, don’t you two be loud, the walls are thin and I want a good night's sleep!” Mum turns around and marches to her room, turning once again with a gentle smile. “It’s still hard to believe, you know? That you’re really here. I do hope it’s not all a dream and I’m locked in some mental asylum.”
“Mm, I’m glad I’m home, mum.”
“I’m glad you’re doing well, Mrs Piper.”
“Bek I have told you time and time again, call me Tess. You children have a good rest. Then again, you don’t need sleep. Weirdos!” With a chuckle, mum entered her room. I stood there looking at where she had been before smiling and turning to Rebecca.
“Your turn tomorrow, Bek.”
A nervous look came over her face as a blush erupted before she shook her head and entered my room. The two of us sat down on the bed, unsure on what to do as we hadn’t expected mum to really believe us originally, we had thought it would take a few attempts. Looking towards my computer, I didn’t exactly want to jump on and play games like I had thought I’d be tempted to. Looking at the card, I felt a bit of hesitation before turning to Rebecca.
“What should we do?”
“A night on the town? Though we never really were ones to go out partying.”
Getting up, I sat down at my computer, the movement feeling nearly natural as Rebecca sat on my lap. Turning it on, we didn’t need to wait long for it to boot. Seeing all of my programs load up, I felt my lip twitch as I quickly closed everything.
“I hope nothing showed me online, that would certainly cause a stir.”
“Eh, most likely they’ll think your mother turned it on. Shopping?”
“Mm, we could always look up Diana’s details and give her a call? Oh, wait, we don't have a phone…”
“Let’s order one! Tess did say we could take her car.”
“Maybe we should wait? Deven might’ve not convinced her and having two girls call her randomly might make Diana more suspicious.”
“I hope all goes well for him…”
“Same with the others, everyone was nervous about making contact with their loved ones.” We both sighed lightly before I opened a browser. Navigating to Amazoom, we started looking at what we could buy.
“We really should look at machines that Deven can dismantle and you can rebuild.”
“I don’t have my too-Oh, I can just order some. What about weapons?”
“Buying guns is crazy difficult in this country. I doubt people would just let us pull apart their guns either, most guns in Australia are used for sports so they won’t have much use for us. Oh, how about books about building machines? You’ve always talked about resolving that gap of knowledge.”
“Oh yea, that will be helpful. Maybe we could try to get phones for everyone?”
“Can we? Aren’t phone networks really complicated?”
We do research on mobile phones and how it works, causing us both to pale. “Complicated is an understatement, all of this goes over my head. Rubes?”
“I have no idea…” My mind spun from the information overload of just the basics. “I don’t think we can do mobile phones…”
“It’s worth a try. Oh, bulk foods! We could bulk order a lot of food!”
“We need fridges and freezers.”
“We can buy those too…wait, how much do they weigh? Actually, how do we know when we reach two tonnes?” Rebecca tilts her head before taking over the keyboard, typing in ‘How much is two tonnes.’
“A standard car is two tonnes…That’s it?”
“Cars are heavy, remember?”
“We can lift cars!”
“Well yes…argh, two tonnes really doesn’t seem like much.”
“Let’s just buy two tonnes of snacks!”
“Ah, we need stuff. Snacks are one of them though.”
We browsed for a while, trying to figure out what to take back, but without knowing exactly how heavy it all was, we felt a bit stumped. Adding art supplies for Ghost at least, we discussed what else light and easy stuff we could take back with us.
Hearing a knock at our door, mum entered after a moment and looking at us sitting at the computer looking stumped, she laughed.
“Mum, you should sleep.”
“Ruby, it’s 8am! Bek dear, your father and Tim will be here tonight, I invited them around for dinner. Come on girls, let’s head out for breakfast and shopping!”
Seeing mum so excited as she quickly left, we got up and looked at our reflection in the mirror again. It felt strange to be back here, yet there wasn’t any emotion about missing my original body. Mum had told us they had Rebecca and I buried next to each other, all funeral expenses had been paid for by the org before they went under. She’d offered to show us our graves, but Rebecca and I honestly didn’t feel comfortable about the idea so we refused.
“When we get back, we really need to make a push on hot showers. Oh! Let’s buy lots of soap! And hair conditioner!” Hearing Rebecca excitedly bring up more ideas, I smiled and grabbed her hand. We discussed ideas while waiting for mum to finish getting ready.
As mum came out, she practically pushed us out towards the car and as we piled up, with her driving of course, I looked at her reflection in the rear view mirror. I still felt a bit worried, she’d accepted the fact we were Ruby and Rebecca far too quickly and while it’s true I never mentioned any of the topics I told her yesterday, I worried about her.
“Mum?”
“Ruby, I swear to God if you bring up my mental state I’ll turn this car around and feed you carrots!” Glaring at me from the rearview mirror, mum stood her ground. “Daring, I won’t lie, I’m still working on accepting the fact you’re my Ruby. Everything you told me yesterday and last night convinced me, so don’t worry. I’m just still coming to terms about it, okay?”
“Okay, mum. I’ll trust in you.”
“Good. Did you girls bring those guns?”
“Ah, no, there isn’t really anywhere to hide them on a dress…”
“Good then, you can’t just carry those things around everywhere!”
“W-we kinda have too over there…”
“And you’re here now. I can’t believe you actually held up a store! What if that man called the police? Another thing…” Mum started lecturing us, saying we should be more careful about not setting ourselves on fire amongst other things. Rebecca and I shrunk back a bit, but I couldn’t help but admit that I missed mum’s random rants and lectures.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“We’re here!” Pulling into a car park, I looked out the window and couldn’t help but find the sight of people wandering around without a care strange. I had gotten used to desolate streets overrun by flora, Husks stumbling down the road…oh right, we burnt that town down, didn’t we?
We get out of the car and mum excitedly leads us to a small cafe and sitting us down, we ordered way too much food and coffee. Eating and drinking all of this satisfied Rebecca and I, and as we finished, mum practically dragged us out and drove us to the shops, stating that she’ll get us ‘so many clothes that we won’t know what to do.’
We spent the entire day at clothing stores of various kinds. As soon as mum figured out our three sizes, she went completely overboard with buying clothes, jewellery and much more for us. Rebecca and I, even with our stamina, started struggling with keeping up with her. We never really shopped before, opting to buy the odd article of clothing now and then.
Sitting down outside yet another clothing store, I struggled to catch my breath. Two carts filled with clothing sat before me, thousands of dollars worth all bought by mum. Rebecca had gone off to buy us drinks while I had offered to watch over the shopping, my real reason being needing to clear my mind.
The noises of a busy shopping mall had exhausted me. I had at some point started being on guard all the time and every little noise made me reach for my handgun, which wasn’t with me. I had been straining myself to remain ‘normal’ and Rebecca is the same as me. Feeling something cold touch my arm, I nearly jumped out of my skin and looked at Rebecca who held a can.
“Fuck, sorry. I did it out of habit.” Sitting next to me in a hurry, she put her hand around my waist.
“Mm, it’s okay. I just didn’t realise how high strung we are…”
“Surviving against Husks with little to no food or weapons will do that to us. Though, we aren’t in desperate need for weapons anymore.”
“Oh, that reminds me, we should research how to make gunpowder and bullets.”
“Melody can make gunpowder.” Rebecca mutters while playing with the rim of her drink. “It’s the ingredients that are the biggest pains, she needs a chemist to help her.”
“Do you remember what she needs?”
“Sulphur, charcoal and either saltpetre or niter, either will do. We should be able to buy all of it before we leave, though it would absolutely raise suspicion on Tess.”
“And you need a bullet press, right?”
“Sure do, buying one and gunpowder will absolutely result in a ‘health check’.”
“We’ll get all of it. We can just split up and buy everything.”
“You two planning dangerous things again?” Looking behind me, I saw mum walking out of a store with a third cart, filled to the brim to the point of overfilling. “What’s that look for? Anyway, I want to do more but we have to head home, Steven and Tim will be arriving in a few hours and I need to start cooking. I haven’t cooked in months, ever since you…Oh, I shouldn’t say that aloud in public. Anyway, have you girls bought a phone yet?!”
“Oh, I forgot. We’ll go an-”
“What, are you planning to leave your frail old mother with thousands of dollars worth of shopping? We’ll head there together, come on Ruby and Bek, grab a trolley!” We bought two very expensive phones with prepaid sim cards. I had argued with mum that we only needed cheap phones and much to the entertainment of the clerk, she argued back that she’d buy us the fanciest and best phones. So she did and got us set up on prepaids with a thousand dollars in credit, much to the delight of the clerk and his commission, we left the store, packed the car and with me and Bek basically squeezed in we drove home with mum happily talking about dinner plans.
As soon as we got home and got all of the clothing out, Rebecca and I practically ran to my room to escape my mum.
“I’ve forgotten how energetic she can be. Argh, I hate shopping.”
“Well, it’s better than the alternative.”
“Mm, I’m happy. She seems over the moon…” Laying down on my bed as Rebecca sat at my computer, I started browsing my phone. I didn’t really have anything to do with it, nor did I feel excited to have such an expensive phone. We will be leaving in a month…
“A month is too short.”
“Mm, but you know what, Rubes? I’m glad we’re here, even if it’s for a month. I’m already satisfied seeing Tess go from looking like she had no life to dragging us around to various shops.”
“I feel the same. Saying goodbye is going to kill me.”
“Same here. It honestly makes me angry that we have no choice but to be dragged back to that world we were forced to. If only whoever dragged us there actually told us what we needed to do so we can go home faster.”
We remain silent for a while. Rebecca browsed the internet while I laid there quietly. This used to be normal for us, one of us chilling out, listening to music while the other played games or chilled out with the other. We never talked much while together, just enjoying each other's company. We’ve certainly increased the amount we spoke to while alone since being sent to the Prime World.
“Oh, Diana’s page is private? It was public yesterday according to the cache.” Lifting my head, I saw the back of Rebecca’s head and not wanting to get up I put my head down again.
“What about her other socials?”
“She’s not a gamer, she’s only on one. She hasn’t said anything on it in six months even though she has hundreds of posts tagging her. Not even a post mourning Deven’s death…”
“Some folks don’t post personal stuff like that. If it’s private now though, then Deven’s likely spoken to her…”
“Do we reach out? Either he’s convinced her or she thinks he’s a stalker of some type.”
“What do we say though? ‘Hi, we’re the dead friends of your dead fiance, has he convinced you that he’s alive’?”
“Well, maybe not that bluntly. We could pretend to be calling her to reach Deven for some reason…”
“Oh! How about we pretend to be debt collectors?!”
“Or real estate agents! We just need to pretend to follow up on a house he was interested in or something!”
Getting up and sitting on Rebecca’s lap, we figured out a story for why we’d be calling for Deven and located Diana’s number.
“Should I set my mobile to a private number?”
“What if she has private numbers blocked?”
“Ah, good point. Alright, let's hope Deven and her are okay.” Pushing the dial button, I raised my phone to my ear as Rebecca leaned her head close to it.
“Hello?” Hearing a female’s voice speak with uncertainty, I relaxed myself and started speaking.
“Hello, this is Ruca from Investments Insurances. I’m calling today to speak to Deven Roman. Is he available?”
“Um, why are you calling me? Deven…he…huh? They said they’re from Investments Insurances…yes, it’s a dumb name…are you sure? Okay, if you say so. I’m sorry, everything still feels a bit unreal, why are you calling again?”
“This call is a courtesy call to check in with Deven Roman about his investment in Prime Coins. Can you pass on a message for me if he’s unavailable?”
“They said…why are you laughing? Oh! I can’t say that! Are you sure? Sorry, I have someone with me. I just wanted to ask you a question, is that okay?”
“No problem, Madam.”
“‘Can you two please, for the love of God, buy a ‘We’re having sex’ sign while we’re here.’”
“You tell that fucker to stop interrupting us and we won’t need one!”
“She said…hahaha, so it’s her? She’s with her fiance too?! You told me to say that! No no, she absolutely was talking to you!” Hearing laughter come from the other end, I rubbed the bridge of my nose as I heard the phone be passed on.
“Ruby? Or is that you, Rebecca? Sorry, I couldn't help but have a bit of fun.”
“It’s fine, Deven. How is everything on your end? I guess it went well?”
“You could say that. Considering you’re calling me and not fretting about your situation I assume your end went well?”
“Yea, mum believed me, we’re at home now. Have you heard from any of the others?”
“I don’t know their details nor their family details. Ruby, I have to go, Diana and I are in the middle of discussing everything, but do you want to meet up tomorrow?”
“Sure. Rebecca’s dad is coming over tonight so we might have to delay, but let’s sort out meeting up tomorrow anyway.”
“Delay? It’s not tonig-oh, you’re right Diana. We’ll come to yours, how does that sound?”
“Coolio, mum would absolutely love it. Our address is…come by about…2pmish? No, 11am, mum would kill me if she can’t make lunch or dinner for you two.”
“Bet. Alright Ruby, I’ll see you tomorrow. Diana’s still trying to accept everything but she’s accepted the fact I’m alive, seeing you two will help. Ciao.”
“Ciao, Deven.” Hearing the call end, I looked at Rebecca who had stayed silent. We both sighed out of relief before Rebecca balled up her fist.
“Bastard. Let’s see how you like being interrupted when we return.”
“Easy, girl. Let’s play the long game, it’ll be more satisfying.”
“GIRLS, STEVEN AND TIM ARE ON THE WAY, GET DOWN HERE AND HELP ME!”
Rebecca paled as she looked at me. Smiling and cupping her face, I kiss her forehead. “Don’t worry, I’ll be right by your side. No matter what happens.”
She nods wordlessly before gasping and getting up. “Quick, I need to put something on!”
“You’re wearing a dress already.”
“No no, I need to dress up a bit more. MRS PIPER, CAN YOU BRING UP SOME CLOTHING FROM THE PILE?!”
“DON’T CALL IT A PILE! AND IT’S TESS, BEK!”
Laughing at their exchange, I watch as mum runs up and drops off clothing while Rebecca quickly changes, doing up her hair before turning to me.
“You too! Your hair is too long without tying it up.”
“Ah, wait. Bek, I’m fine, aren’t I?”
“No no, we need to be better dressed. Come on.”
With Bek using me as a dress up doll, she finally settles on an outfit for me that matches hers before tying up my hair. Just as she finished, a knock came from my door.
Mum sticks her head in and whispers in a low voice. “They’re here at the dinner table, come down when you’re ready. I haven’t even mentioned that you two are here. If you’re not down in five minutes I’ll drag you both down.” She quietly closes the door as her footsteps fade away.
“She’d bloody do it as well…” Rebecca had paled a lot before turning to me. “Ruby, help!”
Grabbing her hand, I smile gently and drag her with me out of the room, ignoring her complaints about not being ready.