Crash and Burn

Chapter Eleven

Scarlett's POV:

Lunch finally came around. Some of the student owners got their pets and went somewhere, while others were dropping them off here so they could go eat. I sat away from the crowd and waited for Layla. I was starving.

'Owners are Reminded that per the Law, Pets are only allowed two full meals a day. Failure to comply will result in a fine, or possibly the loss of your pet. Have a good day!' A cheery voice came from my collar. I noticed some other pets look at each other, then down at their collars.

"Announcement Mode. When you hear the click sound don't say anything or you'll get shocked. Yeah there's a new update that came out today. Announcements come to your collar automatically." Layla explained, pushing her way towards me. A few of the other girls and owners drifted away to give her room. She smiled and handed me my leash, which I nonchalantly clipped to my collar. We walked out of the room and down the less busier hallways.

"So how was your morning?" She asked, scrolling through something on her phone. I thought about if I should tell her about K. I couldn't friend her. She probably turned off friend requests or something.

"It was fine. I'm starving. Where are we going?" I replied. She turned another corner and we walked through a hallway just above the driveway of the school. I saw the cars pulling out and leaving and drivers dropping people off. A leash tug made me speed up.

"To the Cafeteria. Fair warning, you might have to sit on the floor. Especially if there's no space for another Owner at the table. Nobody usually sits with me but you've become fairly popular practically overnight." She warned as we neared the glass doors. I could see it was pretty full. I opened the door for her and she walked in. I followed silently behind her. She picked a table far from the door in the corner. I sat next to her and looked around.

There weren't many people wearing collars here. The few that were here were sitting against the wall while their Owners talked to their friends or were sitting on their knees directly behind them. I got many weird looks from both Owners and Pets alike. Layla ordered a tray of food for herself and a bunch of fruit for me. I dug into my food while Layla picked at her sandwich.

"So I've heard rumors that a new collar is coming out. They're selling 250 for half the price as a beta test for 6 months. In exchange you get a bunch of money." She said. I raised an eyebrow as I bit into a strawberry.

"So are you getting me one? Aren't Beta Tests risky?" I replied while chewing. She grabbed a napkin and wiped my mouth for me before answering.

"I don't know yet. The Beta Tests are usually super safe but this one is a whole new model of collar. New hardware, software. Everything. It has safeguards to prevent dangerous things from happening but there's definitely going to be bugs".

"No thank you. I'd rather not have my head explode alongside the collar" I said quickly. She chuckled. Then her phone chimed. She checked it, then sighed.

"Your collar charge is low. There's no wireless charging device in here. Dumb designs." She said. I nearly choked.

"Wait what. You have to charge this thing? What happens if it dies?" I asked, grabbing another napkin. She stood up and began piling stuff together for the staff to take away.

"You'd be injected with a drug that made you black out and the police would be called to pick you up and take you to the pick up center. Usually they check you out to see what happened but punishment shocks and listening to YouTube music really drain the batteries." She replied. Holy shit

"Wait so how do I charge it? This thing has a very long battery life" I said, partially to myself. She picked up my empty bowl and put it on the pile, snatching up my dangling leash.

"At night when you go to bed I connect it to the home wireless charging device. It automatically will disconnect at 100% so no overcharging. My phone gets alerts when the charge is low so I can connect to whichever is closest to charge it. I can even connect you to multiple but a few other pets might complain." She explained as we walked briskly out of the cafeteria.

My battery must of been pretty low considering how fast she was walking. Eventually her phone chimed again and she stopped walking to tap some things.

"Okay. I've turned it on so now your collar will tell you if it's low. Just ask Siri for a list of charging devices and connect to whichever. To connect just ask Siri. Simple enough?" She said. I nodded. She gestured for me to try it out. I did.

'Your Battery is now 14%. Connecting to {One} wireless charging device. Connected. Charging. Will be fully charged in 19 minutes and 43 seconds.

"Woah it charges fast. Nearly full in an 20 minutes?" I said. She chuckled and took the lead again, taking me back to the room.

(Time Skip)

Erika's POV:

Lunch time came around quick and I grabbed my coat. Zachary and London were waiting at the elevator with their own coats and hats on. The button was already lit.

I checked my phone just as the elevator dinged and blindly walked forward, crashing into London. I nearly tripped on my heels and grabbed her coat to steady myself.

Unfortunately with the coat I also managed to grab her scarf and yank it off, coming away with it when I tried to back up. Truth be told she really did have 4 jagged ugly marks on her neck. She snatched the scarf back and tied it quickly, all while glaring at me. She stomped into the elevator.

"Maybe you shouldn't come with us. Maybe next time?..." Zachary suggested. I opened my mouth to say something, but decided against it and closed it, nodding.

"It's fine. Next time then?"

"Next time"

He left and I made my way to the break room, deciding to just get some coffee. As I poured it into one of those plastic cups I began to think.

Someone here isn't who they say they are.