The first few ssages I scrolled through were almost innocuous, getting more incoherent as ti went on. I started working through them from oldest to newest.
I could almost feel the vein popping out on my forehead. Mom never respected the no texting unless its an ergency rule, so it was inevitable what would happen as soon as she had the number for one of my burners. But Nick knew better. Especially when he was texting about going by the apartnt almost assuredly on his personal phone with GPS on.
The next ssage was from Ellison, using Moms phone.
A few minutes later.
I lowered the phone, walked behind the lobby counter, and sat down in an office chair under the iron-cast :), ssing with the chairs many levers until I found the one that would allow to recline. Then I rubbed my temples and let dismantle the anxiety slowly. I had a lot of practice compartntalizing problems, separating them out, so I could work on them one at a ti. But every so often the cracks grow too quickly and the dam breaks. I needed to seal it back up, deal with one concern at a ti.
Nick could wait. He was my best friend, but family ca first, and knowing him, it wasnt that important. Hed just convinced himself that it was.
Moms situation was much more of a problem. A potentially life-threatening one. Id had an unwanted crash course in withdrawal managent the first ti we went through this. You cant just kick an alcohol addiction like youd kick a smoking habit. The physical addiction can kill you. Your best possible option is to consult a clinic, but obviously that will cost an arm and a leg if you dont have insurance. I chided myself for not considering the possibility on the ride over. She was too clear, too much like her old self.
No shakes, though. Yet.
Tiline, I had to think in terms of tiline. How far in was she? Best and most likely scenario, shed taken a farewell-cap in the morning before dumping it all. It was late in the evening now, so shed be approaching the twelve-hour mark. Hallucinations and a laundry list of unpleasant symptoms were coming. Her best bet was either tapering, or benzos.
I was cash poor, down to whatever was left on my credit card, and probably less than that if all the systems were still downbut if most grocery stores were cleaned out, it followed that most liquor stores would be too.
Did Kinsleys store have alcohol? I strained to rember if the cornucopia of food had a beverage selection.
Either way, I needed to get to her as soon as possible.
Dam partially patched, I returned to the ssages. Back to Iris.
The fact that shed used my real na on the burner told exactly how scared she was.
My heart hamred in my chest. The ssage was from nearly four hours ago. If my siblings were Users, I didnt understand why they were manifesting it so late.
Reading the text feed felt like a never-ending roller coaster. They werent Users. They were sothing else. No ntion of a class or character screen. They just had an inventory screen and more Selve than Id started with.
Jesus Christ. Why did I even have rules if no one followed them?
I nearly shot back an irritated reply before I saw the last ssages in the chain.
There was one final ssage from my brother.
I tapped my finger on the table, the tempo accelerating faster and faster as an endless stream of thoughts flowed through my mind. Then I grabbed the phone and started typing a ssage to my brother.
The ssage ca back instantly.
I pulled up Kinsleys contact and fired off a ssage.
It was probably a stupid move, giving her my general location. a shot in the dark. I had no idea how her doors worked. All I knew for certain was that they opened in one place and led to another.
Then, a second later.
I hit the lock button on my phone, held its cool plastic to the corner of my mouth for a mont. I might have been in a hurry, but not enough so that I wasnt taking any extra precautions. That particular art museum would be a ten-minute walk and change. Id given myself extra ti for several reasons. One, I didnt know how bad things were out there. And two, I preferred not to narrow down the radius of where I was in case she was compromised.
When I scooted the chair back to stand-up, the back wheel bumped sothing. Audrey scooted away with a scrabbling growl that sounded more hurt than angry, holding a single vine away from with a glare.
I blinked. In the flurry of communication, Id almost forgotten. I had a pet flower now.
I patted her head, ruffling her petals by way of apology. She stopped grumbling soon after.
Have to put you back now, I said.
In the dark? Audrey asked.
Yes. I felt a little bad when I said it. It might not be such a bad idea to have so sort of discreet carrier for her. I wasnt certain how good her eyes were, but if it was a backpack, she could constantly be on the lookout from behind. With the increased peripheral vision from It would almost be full coverage.
Bring back? Audrey asked, her voice a whisper.
Of course. And Ill have extra at for you when I do.
Audrey began to disappear. Reversing the summoning process was far easier than its counterpart, and felt as if sothing Id forgotten was missing was finally regained.
I stored my armor, dagger, and crossbow in my inventory. It seed better to keep the mask, at least until I was a decent distance from the dungeon. If things were bad in both Kinsley and my sections of the city, it was likely that whatever was happening was wide-spread. Sothing had changed with the civilians, including my family.
They werent Users, but they were sothing else.
One thing at a ti. I placed the mask on and stepped out of the dungeon doors.
Into total fucking anarchy.
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