What Happened in Strasbourg

Chapter twenty four: The party

Ava sat in silence as I whispered the story to her -- all the things Acheron had done and covered up for years. Once I finished I expected some dramatic reaction from Ava but she just stared into my eyes, her mouth slightly open. "It all makes sense now," she said. Her voice was a thousand miles away.

"What do you mean?"

"Why my parents say misinformation about Mir-Tek is the worst thing on the internet -- they got so hung up on it... But it was never all misinformation, it was just -- just the facts... that nobody was listening to... Wow, now I feel like a conspiracy theorist too."

"Not every story about Acheron is true," I said. "We should take everything with a grain of salt, just to be safe. At least at first. But there are just some things you can't make up."

There was the electric whine of my mom's car as it pulled up to the curb. I waved to Ava and jumped inside.

"Why aren't you wearing your mask?"

"Mom... I didn't need it. Nobody was coughing or anything."

"Yes, you do need it, I'm serious -- I don't want anything to happen -- Is Imogen okay? What's going on with her?"

I explained what Imogen had done and watched as my mom's face fell. I thought she'd start crying. "Scott really needs to stop hiring people like that. I'm happy we're moving so he'll have a nice office job that doesn't endanger people like that--"
"Every single job in Acheron endangers people. The whole company is messed up. I don't think it can be fixed."

"I know, I know. But try not to think about it."

"Try not to think about it?" I said. "You're spending your whole life thinking about things that happened to you when you were a teenager!"

Her hands clawed the steering wheel, and she sighed.

"I just want you to be happy," she said. "I'm like Acheron, I'm beyond hope. But you aren't. I want your teenage years now to be better than mine were."

"Then quit."

The car stopped in the driveway and we got out, both closing the doors harder than we should've.

"I can't," she said. "What do you think I should do? I can't work at a restaurant, or a clothing store, or a book publisher, or a movie studio — anything -- without being under Acheron's control in some way or another. Besides, I need to have a job where I can stay safe and clean at home. Not some front line --"

"Mom, the pandemic is OVER." I was surprised by the edge in my voice. "It's been over for more than twenty years. We don't need a shipping company to save us. We don't need to be scared anymore."

"Yes, we do," she whispered. "We need to be very scared."

"Of Acheron," I cut in.

She brushed the hair from her eyes and pulled down her mask. "We might be able to let go of Acheron... or try. But Acheron won't let go of us."

The second we walked inside she slunk off to her office and locked the door. I washed up and went to change out of my "hospital clothes" knowing the antiseptic smell lingering on them would only make my mom more anxious. While I was upstairs I was surprised to hear the sound of fast typing from my dad's own office room. He must've decided to stay home from the distribution center for the day. I hoped he didn't notice me. I didn't know what would slip out of my mouth if I tried talking to him. I couldn't trust myself these days. About thirty minutes later, when I heard the door open and his loud footsteps coming down the stairs, I almost felt like screaming in frustration. What was he going to bug me about now?