As I sat there thinking about my options, I heard a really strange noise coming from under the bed. It sounded like a grinding gear mixed with a beeping phone.
And it was loud as hell.
Emma stirred. “What’s that?” she muttered.
“Go back to sleep,” I said. “I’ll handle it.”
I got out of bed and looked underneath it. I saw my laptop there, every light on it going crazy, flashing all over the place. The sound was coming right from it as I grabbed the computer and carried it into the other room.
I glanced at Abram’s body but decided to keep ignoring it. I sat down on the couch and opened the lid, grumbling to myself. I hated technology and sucked at it. The only technology I had any mastery of was my gun. I was a primitive man, through and through.
In place of the usual password screen, it was all black. The beeping suddenly stopped, and I sighed in relief.
But something started happening. Text appeared on the screen, green text on the black background.
“Hello, Brooks.”
I stared at the screen, surprised. I’d never seen anything like this before. Frankly, I barely ever used the thing, and I was pretty sure I never used my real name on anything.
I tried to shut it off. I held down the power key, but nothing happened. Next, I shut the lid, but that just started that horrible beeping again.
I grumbled and opened the lid again. The message was just sitting there.
I decided to answer. “Stop making that fucking noise and fuck off,” I typed back, grinning to myself.
The answer came back right away. “Sorry about that, Brooks, but we needed to get your attention.”
“Who the fuck are you?”
The answer was a bit slower this time. “You call us the Spiders. We’ve been watching you, Brooks.”
“Oh fuck,” I said out loud, standing up. My laptop clattered to the floor. I shut the lid and it started beeping again. Emma appeared at the bedroom door.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Nothing,” I grunted as I went into the kitchen. I found my hammer under the sink and walked over to the laptop. Emma watched from the doorway as I smashed the laptop to little pieces.
That made the fucking noise stop.
“What was that all about?” she asked when I was done.
I collapsed onto the couch. “Some fucking assholes trying to be funny,” I said.
There were maybe a few seconds of peace and quiet before I heard that same noise again coming from the bedroom.
“What the fuck,” I said, standing up.
Emma went into the room and came back with my phone. “It’s this,” she said, holding it out. “I think someone is calling.”
“Mother fuckers.” I took the phone from her and answered it. “Fuck off,” I said.
“Please, Brooks,” came a woman’s voice, vaguely familiar. “You should talk to them.”
I paused. “Who is this?”
“You don’t know my name, but I know yours. Do you remember the night, not so long ago, when you were shot?”
“Which fucking time?” I grumbled.
“Twice, in the chest, by the Spiders.”
“I remember.”
“You let me escape. You told me to run, and I didn’t believe you. It wasn’t until they got closer that I listened and took all the girls with me.”
“It’s you,” I said softly, recognizing her voice now. It was the girl I let go that night, the one who spoke English.
“Listen to what they have to say, Brooks,” she said.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m okay. Just listen.”
“Fine,” I said. “Okay. Put them on.”
The line went silent for a minute. Emma was looking at me like I’d gone insane.
Then a voice spoke. It wasn’t human, or at least it didn’t sound human. Whoever was speaking was using some kind of voice program to make them sound like a robot with an incredibly deep, booming voice.
“Hello, Brooks,” the voice said. “I’m glad you decided to listen.”
“Talk fast,” I said, “because I don’t have time for bullshit right now.”
“Is he dead?”
I paused as a bolt of shock ran through me. I looked around, suddenly feeling like I was being watched.
“Who?” I asked.
“Abram. Is he dead?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Come on, Brooks, I thought you said you didn’t have time for bullshit?”
“Are you watching me?”
“Yes and no. We’ve been watching him watch you, and we saw him enter your apartment. He has been there for some time now. We suspect you killed him.”
I didn’t know what to say. On the one hand, it was obvious that Abram was dead. On the other, I didn’t know these people. I didn’t know if I could trust them or what they wanted from me. I usually didn’t want to help out people who watched me from the shadows.