Thirteen's Thirteenth (NANOWRIMO 2019)

Chapter 9 - Young Locomotives

Chapter 9 - Young Locomotives

Listening to: Mad World by Gary Jules

It had been a week since the news of my parents broke and shook the nation. Slowly, the reports had diminished from the media outlets, and the accident became old news. I was grateful. No longer did I have to keep a lookout for wandering eyes. My heart got a chance to settle. That is until a breaking story came over the Jetty radio speakers:

"Breaking new details in the investigation of the car accident that led to the deaths of two Family Thirteen members. Mechanic Abby Young removed the totaled car from the scene as part of her car towing and repair company. While she's been working on repairing the vehicle so that it can be resold, she came across a substance --"

The broadcast cut out and by an announcement as the Jetty pulled into the Margosville station. "Please watch your step as you exit to Jetty," the robot recording said over the loudspeakers. Lovely timing. What was the rest of the news story?

I dragged Eddie and Caroline off the Jetty quickly, speed walking my way up the stairs and out of the stop. They made no mention of the broadcast. "Hey, slow down, Vee, now would ya!" Eddie hollered.

I rolled my eyes and turned around, walking backward down the street. "Can't keep up, old man?"

"Hit your head on that pole, and you're going to be walking like an old woman."

I turned around to find myself face to face with a street light. I yelped and leaped out of the way, earning a mocking laugh from my two endearing friends. I turned my nose up at them and shook my head.

The rest of the walk home, I stayed beside them. Eddie and I dropped Caroline off at her house a few blocks away from our street, and then he walked me to the door of mine. We paused for a moment on the front step, him watching me intently before engulfing me in a tight hug. "You know it's going to be okay?" he whispered. I sighed.

I pulled away and nodded. "I know. I just need time to think. And to breathe."

"Line and I can help you, you know. You've just gotta let us in. You don't have to do this alone."

I gave him a soft smile. "Thank you. You just have to understand that the whole "letting people in thing" is new for me."

Eddie nodded. "Practice. One day at a time. You'll get used to it." He dug into his pocket and retrieved a napkin. "Fidanie," he said as he handed it to me. "It means trust. Call me if you need me."

"Thanks, Dee. And you as well. Valye."

With that, Eddie disappeared back into his own home. I ran inside to turn on the computer only to find that it was still dark. I clambered under the desk, removed its plug, then inserted it into a different outlet. Moments later, a chime signaled the computer coming back to life. Standing back up, I mentally face palmed myself. Turning it off and back on was the answer to every technological problem.

Once the computer was resurrected, I opened the browser and searched through the top headlines. I could only find one about the car crash, and I clicked on it only to have my computer return an error message: ERROR 716: Unable to Process Request. I clicked back to the home screen and then on the article again, but the same error message popped up. What on Earth?

To test if it was a problem with my internet access software on my end, I opened a different article, one about the construction of a new library in the city. There were no error messages; the article opened without difficulty. I tried the same thing with three more stores, one from the same website that published the first article on my parent's deaths and two from different blogs. They all opened without a problem.