The New Humans

Chapter 7

Ash scratched his chin. A war criminal had been brutally killed, interesting case. He ran to the room to investigate and when he entered, he found Rachel sitting on his bed.

"I already said I don't want to play."

"I didn't come here to convince you," she said. "I just wanted to tell you that you're an idiot."

"You too? I think the only person today who hasn't told me I'm an idiot is Net."

"Net is not a person. And the only reason he doesn't tell you is because he doesn't have a mind sufficiently developed to understand the enormity of your idiocy."

"Oh really? I suspected something like that, but I refused to look at reality. And let's hear why you think I'm an idiot?"

"Because you argued with Dad again for no reason," said Rachel.

"I had every reason in the world to argue with him." Ash sat down on the bed beside her.

"Why not explain the situation to Dad? Tell him there are these guys who won't leave you alone," said Rachel.

"And what would be the point of that?"

"Perhaps he'll speak with the principal and ask him to put you in another class."

"Right. He'd just tell me to put up with it and keep my mouth shut. He's not interested in what I feel. All he wants is to not have any problems."

"Let's pretend that's true," Rachel said. "So why don't you do what Dad tells you? Don't get upset about it and don't get involved in a brawl every time. You're the one who comes out of it the worst."

Ash shook his head. "And what should I do? Turn away when I see someone attacking a Numa? Don't use my powers to avoid attracting attention? Don't be myself just because it bothers someone?"

"School will be finished in two weeks and you won't see Rike again for the whole summer. You only have to put up with it a little while longer," said Rachel.

"Yes, and then summer will end, and I'll be seeing Rike and all his cronies again. And even if I never see him again, there will always be someone else who will hate me because I'm a Numa. I can't stay here," said Ash and dropped on the bed.

"Do you think I like it? Don't you think I want to get out of this town too?"

"But nobody says anything to you. You're one of the best-looking girls in the school and the guys don't insult you only because they'd like to date you."

"I get my daily dose of contempt too. I just don't tell you. We have to put up with it. Hate hurts the people who hate, nor the ones who are hated."

Easier said than done. Ash patted her shoulder.

"The problem isn't even Rike and the jerks like him. The problem is that whatever I do, I disappoint Dad. And I have to see him all summer."

Rachel rubbed his back. "Promise me you'll try to be calmer in the future."

Ash nodded.

*

The next morning Ash was up early. When he got to the kitchen, only his mother was there, making coffee. She handed him a cup and glanced at the clock. "What's with you?"

"Couldn't sleep," Ash said.

"Are you nervous about something? Do you have another exam today?"

Ash shook his head.

While Mom poured his coffee, she chuckled and said, "I know what this is about."

Ash squeezed the cup in his hands. How does she know I have to bring money to Rike?

"You're still thinking about John Lock."

Ash heaved a sigh and smiled. "That's right, you got me."

He took a sip of coffee. "Did you know Lock?"

"He was a member of the Shadows during the Civil War."

"Is that all you know about him?"

She looked at him as if to say, Do you want to test me? "He operated mainly in the Bard area. He was especially famous for trafficking goods stolen from Numas. At the end of the war, like all the members of the Shadows, he was wanted for war crimes. It was your father who headed the operation that led to his capture. He was hiding in a cellar."

"How come you know so much about him?"

"He agreed to cooperate with the IDAN Over the years he developed an extensive network of acquaintances. He provided IDAN with names of other members of the Shadows who had escaped justice, so much so that he was called the second worst enemy of the Shadows after Luther Wall. He was placed under Witness Protection and lived with a false identity—until yesterday. Anyway, don't go around telling people that the body found is John Lock's," Mom said. "That's confidential information Serena shared with your father. If it were to become known, Lock's relatives who have lived undercover till now might suffer repercussions."

Ash made the "OK" sign. Then he finished his breakfast and got up.

"Make sure you take your key with you today," Mom said. "I'll be out till later. There might not be anybody home."

Ash didn't know where his key was, but he didn't feel like getting into another long discussion with his mother about responsibility. He left the kitchen, got dressed, and picked up his backpack.

On his way out, Ash opened the top drawer to the cabinet by the stairs to look for the spare key. It was there, on a ring of several keys, along with something much more interesting: his father's service weapon. Ash had only seen it rarely. Strange that Dad didn't bring that at work; he must have forgotten. Ash had no time to explore, however. He pocketed the ring of keys, closed the drawer, and left.

He arrived at school twenty minutes before the beginning of classes. Unlike the day before, there was not a soul in the courtyard. He sat down on the front steps to wait for Rike.

Every student in the school passed by—except Rike. He waited for half an hour. By the time the bell rang, Rike still hadn't turned up. It was 9:10 when he finally arrived, sauntering toward the front door.

"Hello, Synthetic. Were you waiting for me?" said Rike.

"Do you have the ball?" asked Ash.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rike said.

Ash pulled out the banknotes. Rike grabbed them, stuffed them into his pocket, and started walking away.

"The ball?" Ash said.

"What ball?"

Ash ran after him "I gave you the credits. Give me the ball. Or I'll—"

Rike laughed. "What? What will you do?" He took the ball out of his pocket and tossed it in one hand. "You know . . . I'm having second thoughts. I think I'll keep this ball. But no, it sucks." He threw it at Ash and walked away.

The ball was all dirty, and a glob of chewing gum was stuck to it. For an instant, Ash thought of running after Rike and slamming his head against the wall, but he remembered the promise he made to his sister the day before.

Even though lessons had started a quarter of an hour ago, Ash went to the bathroom first to clean the ball. As he passed it under running water and cleaned off the dirt, the ball became luminous and a white sentence appeared on it. It's working, Ash had waited that moment for months. He polished it as quick as he could until he could finally decipher each word.

Find the Living Dead was written around it.