I went to get the USB drive that I had stowed inside a drawer in my room. Thankfully, Deen didn’t lose this stupid thing. It could’ve easily fallen out of her pocket when I stuffed her inside a tree to hide her from the Corebrings. I hated to admit it, but I was so pissed at Deen back then that I forgot about the PCM’s USB.
“Wait a minute, Erind.” Deen, standing behind me, combed my hair with her fingers.
“What is it?” I asked, looking over my shoulder. Somehow, this didn’t activate my hatred of physical contact. The warmth of another person’s flesh was what usually triggered me.
“Your hair… There are white strands.”
Shit, I cursed inside my head. My body had resumed its Adumbrae seeding, a slow transformation into Spooky Erind. I hadn’t told Deen about this, and it was best not to. It’d validate her suspicion that the Adumbrae inside me was winning.
‘Oh, that.” I whipped my head back, pulling my hair away from her. This should be easy to explain. I held the end of my hair and raised it to cover my mouth and nose. Act all embarrassed. “I-I… You shouldn’t have seen this. I used this new brand of hair dye. Um, I didn’t expect it to fade so fast.”
“I didn’t know you dyed your hair,” Deen asked with fake nonchalance. I could tell she thought this was a manifestation of my seeding. This time, she’d be right.
“Mom’s genes.”
“Genes? Oh! Her white hair.” Deen audibly sighed in relief.
“Yeah, I’ve been dying my hair for a couple of years now. Like, stray strands of white hair are normal. But they multiplied when I reached twenty years old. That’s the same age this happened to Mom.”
I knew for a fact that this wasn’t true. Every time I transformed, I’d have more white hair strands along with patches of skin turning into marble. I should check the rest of my body later if there were more transformations. Though if I hadn’t been seeded, maybe my hair would turn white like Mom’s, too.
Was Spooky Erind’s appearance connected to this somehow? I didn’t have issues with my parents, unlike Deen.
“The USB,” Deen said with a business-like tone. “Let’s think about this. What if it spreads a virus to our computers?”
“We can buy a cheap laptop to be our guinea pig,” I replied. “There’s a second-hand computer store around five minutes of walking from here. We still have time before Mom comes.”
“What if it tracks our location?” Deen asked. “Can it forcefully activate the GPS of the laptop? I’m not sure if it’s possible.”
“Wouldn’t airplane mode fix that? But I don’t really know. So, what if it tracks us? The PCM knows who we are. Not that hard to check my address in my school records.”
“I suppose you’re right…”
I raised a brow at Deen. “You’re not agreeing with me just to maintain peace, are you? Say what’s on your mind.”
“You’re right. The worst it could do is to track our location, which isn’t new information to the PCM. But… I can’t shake off this feeling that we should expect something more than a virus or sinister program. This is the PCM we’re talking about. We don’t know what’s inside.”
“And we should know,” I said. “Our identities could be in there. Maybe the BID has the files by now? Like, their techie people could retrieve deleted stuff from hard drives. I saw that in a couple of movies.”
“Oh, you and movies.” Deen smiled at me with what I assumed to be fondness. What a weirdo.
“What if we should already be packing our stuff to go on the run?” I asked. “And don’t forget Dario. Not sure what he managed to download in the short time he was there, at the PCM base. But if he found evidence that we’ve been in contact with the PCM—"
“—then he’ll know we’re his enemies,” Deen finished. “But I’m still not sure…”
“Do you need more convincing? I’ve been thinking about this while we ate breakfast.”
Deen frowned. “Donuts are not breakfast.” She just drank coffee earlier, which also shouldn’t as breakfast.
“I ate donuts for breakfast, making them my breakfast. The surge of sugar gave my brain a kick. There’s a big hole in Auron’s story. The PCM is prepared for the possibility of their underground bases getting found, right?”
Deen nodded. “They rigged the tunnel with explosives to collapse it.”
“Yep, yep. They should also have protocols for their precious data in there. Copy and delete everything. Run away. Press the big red button and cave in the tunnel. Why did Auron ask us to download a file that they should already have, and should be gone from the computers in their main base.”
“Perhaps they rushed their evacuations?”
“I don’t think BID agents or cops were anywhere near that base, or the PCM wouldn’t have risked blowing up the tunnel and drawing attention to that spot. They definitely had time to do their thing, whatever it was. Like, why would they forget to delete or download their stuff? No way that wasn’t part of their evacuation plans.”
Deen pursed her lips while examining the USB drive. “I agree with you about the inconsistencies. Assuming you’re right, then what’s Auron’s purpose for sending us?”
“I got a simple explanation. There’s a super-secret file that the people present during the evacuation didn’t even know about. Remember that we killed Cecilia and that other PCM leader guy? No higher-up was in the PCM central base when the news arrived that the BID and police started some tunnel exploration. Auron was telling the truth that this USB is supposed to download something really, really, really important.”
Morbid curiosity incited me to check the USB. Deen would never guess in a million years that I hoped to see some gory footage of the PCM’s experiments. And how did they piece together monster and human parts? Not the technical aspect of it. The actual thing done would be fun to watch. This’d be like watching Animal Channel back in my childhood. Minus the animals.
But I bet that the files would be something we couldn’t even understand. Maybe schematics of an anti-Adumbrae weapon. Numbers and boring data from experiment results. Or recipes for various chemicals.
“Is that the true reason you want to check the USB’s contents?” The left side of Deen’s mouth curved into a sly smile. “You never believed that information about our identities is inside this, did you?” She shook the USB. “Is being this proactive part of your change?”
I jutted my chin out. “Are you thinking that the Adumbrae is controlling me?”
“Oh, Erind. We’ve settled that issue already. Don’t keep bringing it up. I’m just being cautious, and you should be, too. Anyway, wasn’t our deal with the PCM to leave each other alone after this?”
“You don’t want to stop their human experiments?” I asked, knowing which of Deen’s buttons to push. “You don’t want to learn of the PCM’s weaknesses? We are going to strike first. No way we’ll wait for them to make stronger anti-Adumbrae weapons.”
Fighting the PCM wasn’t really a priority. This was just character development for previously timid Erind. I also knew how much it irked Deen that I was taking charge.
And I really wanted to see what was in the USB. I had been through a lot to get this shit. I better see the files!
“Since this USB is super important to the PCM, we can also use this as a bargaining chip,” I added. “They’ve threatened to expose their identities, but I have a feeling they want this file more than they think we want to continue our human lives. Like, they assume we’re both Adumbrae that have taken over our hosts. Not too surprising if we changed our minds about pretending to be humans.”
“Bargaining chip in exchange for what? To leave us alone? But that’s our current deal with the PCM. Why withhold the USB?”
“I’m… We’ll think of something to ask of the PCM. Anyway, what if the files inside here can help me slow down my seeding? Don’t you want to see?”
Deen sighed. “Fine, I’m switching over to your side. I’m not going to be a contrarian this time.”
This bitch! “You’re admitting—!”
“This isn’t an admission of anything. I’m just a supportive best friend. Anyway, the PCM should expect us to check this. There must be a security system protecting their files.”
“We won’t know if we don’t try to see what’s what. If we can’t open it, then it’s fine.” I plucked the USB from Deen’s fingers. “Let’s go buy a laptop.”
Twenty minutes later, Deen and I, certified technology experts on Opposite Day, were back in my room. With us was a second-hand laptop in quite good condition. I didn’t see any dents or scratches, with only a slight fade on the letters on the keyboard. At the price we paid, I expected a beat-up junk. The guy at the store gave us their best deal, probably because of Deen. She was the walking proof of beauty privilege.
Deen sat on the chair by my study table and placed the laptop in front of her. It was a subtle power move to take charge, even though this was my plan. Guess I’d just stand by her side.
“Hand me the USB,” Deen said, switching on the computer.
I didn’t give it to the demanding dictator. “So… I’ll just plug this in?” I stared at the end of the bulky stick. It looked like it could fit the port.
“I’ll do it,” Deen said with a bit of steeliness.
“Check first if the laptop’s really clean,” I said, though the guy at the store had already demonstrated it. “And make sure it’s on airplane mode.
I had turned off my wi-fi router, but the neighboring rooms had theirs on. I had this idea to wrap the laptop in aluminum foil to stop it from connecting to the internet. Not sure if that would actually work, but it was a stupid idea because we’d cover the port if we did that.
Deen looked up at me. I met her gaze with a raised brow. Then I stuck my tongue out at her. We both burst out laughing. I really did find the whole thing funny; maybe there was something more to being fake best friends.
I plugged in the USB drive before Deen could stop me. They say that ‘curiosity killed the cat’. But I wasn’t a cat, the last time I checked. “There. The light’s blinking. Click this icon to open the—”
“I know what to do, Erind. I’m not a caveman.”
“This computer thingy here,” I went on, poking the screen, almost elbowing Deen’s head. Of course, she avoided it.
“I know!” Deen shoved my arm away. “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”
“Is that your assessment of the situation, Oh, Almighty Seat-Taker? I kind of assumed I’d be the one sitting in front of my desk.” Some of my annoyance at Deen subsided after punching her earlier. I kind of just wanted to tease her now, some light banter between best friends.
“I’m your esteemed guest,” Deen countered. “You should’ve offered me your chair. And I accept.”
“Where should I sit, then? This sounds like you’re imposing yourself on me.”
“Not an imposition at all. Go sit on your bed. You can see the laptop’s screen from over there. Or do you want to sit on my lap?” Deen patted her upper leg.
I frowned. “Don’t treat me like a kid. You’re just—” A tiny blip of light in my peripheral vision. My head snapped to the laptop. A green light on the top edge of the screen. “The webcam’s on!” I quickly covered it with my hand.
“That wasn’t me.” Deen’s finger hovered above the mousepad. “I haven’t done anything.”
“Did the guy at the store install some program to spy on you?” Just couldn’t tell what people were capable of nowadays. “Or… is it the USB? Turn off the camera. Somewhere in the settings.”
“I know that much,” Deen snapped, frantically clicking stuff. “Camera disabled.”
I peeked under my palm. “The light’s still on.”
“A defect that wasn’t shown at the store? We should complain about this.”
“Nah, I think it’s the USB. Open it.”
Deen flashed me a mischievous grin. “Standing behind me and telling me what to do, you make it seem like you’re my—”
“Do your job since you’re sitting on my chair,” I barked authoritatively.
“Yes, boss!” Deen clicked the USB folder.
The screen went black. But it wasn’t the blackness of an old laptop, with a subtle backlight remaining. Bright green text appeared.
[Hello there!]
“What the…?” I looked down at keyboard.
“I didn’t type that,” Deen said, raising her arms.
[It’s been a while, dear Adumbrae.]
I jolted. “Turn it off!”
Deen pressed the power button. “It’s not working.” Her hand went to the USB.
I stopped her from pulling the flash drive out of the port. “Hang on. We have to test how this works.” My instincts told me this was something big. We were starting to find out why the PCM wanted this so much. I had seen a couple movies with a computer program gone rogue. Was it time for my role as Erind the Hacker?
Another messaged flashed on the screen. [Can we talk?]
“It’s continuing, Erind,” Deen said. “This is dangerous.”
“Did your Guardian Angel—?”
“No. But we don’t need Gabe to tell us that something is wrong.”
“I’ll remove the battery.” I closed the laptop and turned it over. In one smooth move, I unslotted the rectangular bar attached near the top. We went with this oldish model with a detachable battery. Newer laptops, especially those ultra-thin ones, had internal batteries.
The laptop wasn’t plugged in, but the USB’s light was still on. How was it possible? But I knew that the PCM’s USB was doing this.
I opened the laptop a crack, making sure my hand covered the webcam. New messages. I lifted the lid some more to read them.
[Erind Hartwell.]
[Amber Deen Leska.]
“It knows us,” I said, placing the laptop back on the table. “Who are you, spirit of the laptop?” This was so awesome! Could this program control other appliances? Would it take over the world with a robot army? I couldn’t recall the title of the movie with such a plot.
“Erind, what are you doing?” Deen asked. “Stop talking to it!”
“It’s writing again,” I said.
[Don’t you gals miss me? I’m your best friend head, Cecilia.]
(Author's Notes: We’re starting to tackle some unanswered questions from Book 3. Add in some banter between Deen and Erind as their dynamics change. The reveal at the end of the chapter might be an unexpected plot twist. Sorry for the delay. Thank you for your support!)