The rest of the school day was fairly normal even with a science class with Devon, but she didn't talk to him even if she looked from time to time, hopefully getting used to him, but the end of the school day was only the beginning of something else at the verminator headquarters.
Their car was waiting in Jerry's driveway to pick him up as soon as he got home, which was an unpleasant surprise to someone already exhausted and preparing to relax. He told the driver he had to at least put his backpack away, so he had an excuse to go inside and see his parents before he had to go.
"I'm guessing you have to go?" His dad asked, seeing Jerry walk in. His mom walked in next to him.
"Yeah.. hopefully not for too long if it's something important.. Probably about the murder, " Jerry pouted, putting his bag down.
"Well, when you get home we can watch some T.V. if you want. I bought some hot chocolate if you want to have some of that while we watch too," His dad said.
"That does sound nice.." Jerry said.
"Was everything ok at school?" His mom asked.
"It was fine, there was this new girl but it's complicated.." Jerry said. His mom walked up to him and crouched to give him a strong hug, kissing his head several times before releasing him. Jerry couldn't help but smile.
"Tell me all about it when you get home ok? You're gonna do a great job tonight, and then you'll be right back home," She said.
"Ok.." Jerry said, "Alright.. I have to go, I love you!"
"Love you too!" His parents said.
Jerry hesitantly opened the door and left. If he waited too long there was a possibility Hellen would hear about it. As long as verminators needed him he had to act accordingly and without resistance if he wanted the job to run smoothly.
The verminator driver got out of the car to open the door for him. Jerry climbed in, already distracted by thoughts of what he was going to do when he got home. He was going to have to put himself in the present if he wanted his longing to be less painful.
"Do you know what's going on?" He asked the driver from the backseat.
"Huh? I can't read you while I'm driving. Unless it's an emergency, could you wait?"
"Sure..," Jerry nodded.
When they got to the headquarters the driver escorted him, not to the interrogation rooms, but to a recording studio on the ground floor. If they were asking him to work here they were bound to need some clarity on a recording of another translator's work. At least it meant there wasn't a maniac in the room with them at risk of getting tased. After today and the dead body yesterday he didn't need any more stress.
When his escort let him in Hellen was already there, leaning against a wall deep in thought. The technicians looked all ready to go, waiting on Jerry.
"Glad you could make it," Hellen said.
"Of course," Jerry wished he could say that coming in was easier than fighting her and staying home but he kept it to himself.
"You probably already heard due to the police curfew, but yesterday one of our convicts escaped while being transferred and killed the verminator driver transporting him. We haven't been able to recover the convict so we have a killer loose in the territory. Right next to your town actually. Before I continue, you wouldn't have happened to have seen this convict or anything surrounding him have you?"
Jerry shook his head.
"Interesting... very interesting..." Hellen said, "Anyway, this is a serious safety concern as well as a total embarrassment for the verminators. If we can't do what we promised the citizens will take legal action to remove our power. It's imperative we correct this as soon as possible before the news gets around and rumors develop. Here's where you come in. Still paying attention?"
Jerry nodded.
"Alright. Private investigators discovered a mystery call over radio waves today that they can't decipher. They concluded the speech was the same type we translate here. We haven't found the source of the frequency but the investigators suggest it came from around where you live, just like where the convict escaped. We think it might be him," Hellen said.
"Ok.." Jerry nodded.
"Play the recording," Hellen said. She picked up a notepad, "These first parts have a lot of time cut out in between."
Jerry nodded and listened.
"...S.O.S.. This is Arm requesting evac... Anybody there?.. S.O.S This is Arm requesting evac, is anybody there? This is Arm, I am requesting evac.. Please respond... If anybody is there, this is Arm requesting evac... S.O.S Emergency, please, this is Arm requesting evac from heavy verminator territory... Emergency S.O.S. This is Arm requesting evac from heavy verminator occupied land.." Arm on the recording said. He sounded hoarse, shaky.
"He's asking to be evacuated. 'This is Arm'- his name is Arm, 'This is Arm requesting evac in verminator territory. If anybody is there please respond'. He essentially says that over and over in slightly different ways," Jerry said.
"Got it.." Hellen said, writing.
The playback continued.
"S.O.S.. This is Arm requesting evac in verminator territory..." Arm said.
"Hear you loud and clear brother. Are you the antihero Arm or another one?" Another voice said.
"The antihero! A-antihero!" Arm said.
"Just so you know Arm, this is not a secure channel.. You doofus!" The voice said.
"I have no other choice! I am trapped in the verminator territory without gear and have no way of escaping on my own due to border control!" Arm said.
"Then how'd you get in brother?" The voice asked.
"I was captured by verminators but I escaped.. Please.. there has to be something you can do," Arm said.
"Um, well, I don't know. We aren't really supposed to go into the verminator territory.. Nobody's ever gone in there and gotten out.. It's kinda like a super secret superbase or something.." The voice sounded a little embarrassed.
"I understand! But couldn't you consider making an exception? I'm not in custody. If we can find a secluded location with enough firepower and speed I could escape! Please.." Arm said.
"Mmn.. I have to talk to my commanding officer. I'll alert him through my funny phone," The voice said, "In the meantime, what's it like in rabbidless country? Is it more boring? Crawling with verminators? Are even the humans prisoners? I'm mostly just curious but let's pretend this is for intel.."
"..For the sake of intel. It's mostly boring. Verminators here are the weakest, most brain dead yet, but that doesn't make them harmless. They rely on numbers to do the work. Once they realize I'm here there won't be much I can do, even if they are stupid. I thought more humans would live here given the opportunity to be without rabbids, but it's mostly wilderness. The humans are the same as they are any other place. I've never revealed myself, but I'd assume they'd be more reactive to my presence given their lack of rabbid interactions. It's almost like when we first traveled here, traveling back in time ten years but there's nobody else here. The border is where the real military prowess is. There's probably more verminators in no-rabbid's land around the border than humans that actually live here. I can't find any holes in their patrols. Every inch of space is watched keeping us out. That's why I resorted to calling for help," Arm said.
"I see..." The voice said, "So how exactly do you expect us to rescue you?"
"I can't tell you on an unsecured channel! The verminators are bound to find it and understand somehow," Arm said.
"Got it... but how are we supposed to help you if we can't talk about it?" The voice asked.
"With all due respect, you're the one with all the resources here. Anything I have you can't act on if they are to remain secret," Arm said.
"Ok, uh my officer picked up... hold on a second," The voice said. He moved away from the mic. There were mumbles that Jerry couldn't properly hear.
"I can't make out this part," Jerry said.
"See if you can try anyway," Hellen said. She was tapping her thumb on her pencil.
They waited in the vague mutterings.
"I think he's ..laughing," Jerry said.
Hellen looked at him. The whole room could understand at least that much without translation, but his confirmation didn't make them any more comfortable.
"Oh geez! Ok, brother you're going to like this! But I think we've figured something out, so just hang in there. Obviously I can't talk about it even if I really want to, but just between you and me, bring us any intel about this region and it might mean good things for all of us," The voice said, "The only hangup is the possibility of your capture. If you're a prisoner there's nothing we can do. So keep in touch as best you can so we know that hasn't happened."
"Thank you. Thank you... I have limited resources but I'll try," Arm said.
"Understood soldier. Call again soon," The voice said.
"Will do..." Arm said.
They both disconnected.
After a brief construction of the translated transcript, Hellen faced everyone with her arms crossed.
"Alright so, let me get this straight," She wasn't happy, "Apparently we're stupid and rely on numbers right? Is that what we are? That's what I'm starting to think we are," She paused and looked around. The room held its breath, "Because clearly! CLEARLY! We aren't doing anything to combat this. Have we for forgotten what the whole verminator state is for? Are we all not on the same page about it? Did we all.. Did we all get the memo in the job description or did I leave it out? Nally? Nally, can you remind me what the verminator state is for because I'm not sure if everyone knows."
"With him here?" Nally pointed to Jerry.
Hellen walked up to Nally.
"WE ARE HERE TO KEEP 'terrorists' OUT. SIMPLE SIMPLE SIMPLE! YET! Not only is there a terrorist on the loose! But we haven't caught him after TWENTY. FOUR. HOURS! Utterly humiliating!" She looked at a verminator recorder beside her, "Jones, you're a grown man right? What are you still doing here?" She shoved him toward the door by his shoulders, "Do your fucking job for once and GET MOVING!"
The other two in the room ran out with him, but she wasn't done. She picked Jerry up by the back of his shirt collar and carried him to the office by the entrance. Hellen pushed the secretary out of the way and turned on the PA system.
"If you aren't on containment duty get your ass out of there and onto the escaped convict case NOW! New intel states the convict just made contact with reinforcements and they're on their way unless we catch this idiot, so if you actually like your job, I don't want to see a single pencil pusher left in these offices!" She said, echoing through the building. Even before she was finished, offices were spilling out and putting their gear on, "Contact border control on the situation," Hellen asked the secretary before walking up to office employees who were going too slow.
"Come on Keller! Let's get some pep in that step!"
All the while she had Jerry dangling next to her hip like a terrified kitten.
"I'm not waiting all day, McKind! You like your job or what?!"
When he got his mask on Hellen shoved him toward the exit.
The last few verminators were rushing out. Satisfied that her message was conveyed, she walked back to the main corridor with Jerry in hand, heading to the recording studio.
Inside, she pulled up a chair for herself and for him, and plopped him in a seat across from her.
"Yesterday you saw something. Now, be very careful about what you say next because we both know there's no use lying to me, and I'm already in a bad mood," Hellen said.
"Ok.." his stomach sank, "I saw.. I saw footprints that looked like mine.. I don't know if they were mine or somebody else's," Jerry said. He could hardly look at her.
"Yet you'd make such a big deal about it. If you thought they were yours you wouldn't have said anything to your mother but I'm hearing from her that you were pretty concerned about it. So were the footprints the only thing you saw or what? You've been here long enough and there's snow most of the year, so why haven't you mistaken your footprints for somebody else's yet? Why is this different?" Hellen said.
"..I saw the body. There was a dead verminator. I didn't do anything to him, honest! I didn't see who did it either, but what would it mean if he had feet like mine!? Is.. Is.."
"Nobody thinks you did it, Speaker. If you had a murderous bone in your body you wouldn't be here," Hellen said.
"...But, what about the footprints? He escaped your truck.. Do you know if he looks like me? Why would you hide that..?"
"I'm afraid that's confidential information.." She stood up.
"Wait what? What are you saying!? Shouldn't I know that? I thought I was the only one, is that not true!?" Jerry said, following her. Hellen turned back to face him.
"YOU don't decide what's true! I DO!" She pointed to herself, "Convict appearance has always been confidential, so don't start trying to make this case any different! There are no other people like you, no matter what you THINK you see! Any attempt to disclose the appearances of any of our prisoners WILL be confronted by the law. Don't give me any reason to convict you of a crime, Speaker. You know what I do to prisoners in our custody.." She took out her radio, "Somebody take Jerry home.."
"But General.. You told us all to go investigate.." Someone on the radio said.
"I can tell you to do more than one thing, smartass," Hellen said.
"..On it."
Jerry waited with Hellen while he held his arms close to his body. Hellen got whatever she wanted from him. She seemed concerned with Jerry witnessing the murderer in person, which made him even more suspicious. Sure, convict appearances were normally none of his business because their identities were confidential under privacy laws, but wouldn't the appearance of a murderer at large be plastered over every available space in the territory? Wouldn't his name scroll across breaking news coverages constantly? This was bound to be critical knowledge for the citizens who lived there, yet it was confidential for Jerry to know.
There wasn't a doubt in his mind that Arm had rabbid condition now. The stories added up. Arm was a convict who had been in the custody of the verminators but had escaped and couldn't get out of the territory. At least that meant it was less likely that Arm had come here for him. Arm never mentioned Jerry even conceptually. If meeting him was a priority then he would have mentioned it on his emergency call. Jerry didn't even know if Arm knew he existed besides: 'The verminators are bound to find it and understand somehow'.
As dangerous as it was, Jerry wanted more than anything to see Arm in the flesh, at least secured in one place somehow so that he couldn't hurt him. Arm was a murderer, but he was also a walking miracle being the only other person with rabbid condition alive at the same time as Jerry. If they were able to be in the same room together there were so many things he wanted to ask. Their lives were probably very different, but at the same time there was so much they were bound to share. It was oddly comforting to know there was somebody else suffering in a similar way to him. Not that he wished that kind of suffering onto anybody, but knowing somebody else had his issues made them feel more.. real.
It was on the way home when he realized something big. Arm was speaking in the slurred gibberish of the verminator's prisoners due to his own mental episode, but there was a second person who could understand and talked back to him the same way. Only people with rabbid condition could understand gibberish. Was the radio operator another person with rabbid condition? Were there really three people on Earth with rabbid condition at the same time? Maybe even four if he considered that the radio operator's 'commanding officer' didn't have any trouble talking on the phone to them. Were they communicating using a gibberish language? Could Jerry do that? There was no way to tell without another set of ears like his. It was bound to be some sort of insanity induced special language. No wonder translating it was such a big deal. If criminals could talk in a way few understood like a secret code, they could say all sorts of dangerous things like the plan to rescue Arm.
His parents were eager to greet him when he got back, walking up to him as he took off his jacket in the hall.
"How did it go?" His mom asked.
He was hesitant in telling them everything. His mom had told Hellen about the footprints when he thought she only told the police. What else would she tell Hellen if he said more? Hellen didn't want him to think there were any more people in the world with rabbid condition, and as long as she believed that's what Jerry thought she wouldn't bother him about it again.
"I had to translate a recording of the murderer.." Jerry said.
"Did he say anything murder-like?" His dad asked like Arm was generically spooky.
"Just that he was looking for outside help from more crazy people," Jerry said.
"Oh dear.. Are you scared that they'll come here?" His mom asked.
"Maybe a little.. But Hellen seemed pretty adamant about finding him so I don't think he can hide for much longer. You know how she is," Jerry said.
"I wish we didn't.." His dad said. His mom gave him a look.
"Do you still want to do what we talked about before we left? Dinner's almost ready so we can eat while we watch. Maybe we'll save the hot chocolate for after dinner though," His mother said.
"Oh my goodness, a hundred percent yes," Jerry said, looking exhausted. He walked into the living room and sat with his dad on the couch. His mom went past them to check on dinner.
"I saw Felix and Jenna at the arcade today. I asked them about you and they told me you were talking to a new girl," His dad said.
"Oh yeah.. I was talking to her after she kinda freaked out when she first saw me," Jerry said.
"Sheesh, rude much?" His dad said.
"That's what Anthony said! But it's ok now cause I talked to her and she didn't mean anything by it," Jerry said.
"Is she from outside the verminator state?" His dad asked.
"I think so. I didn't ask her where she lived before," Jerry said.
"Ah, well she sounds like one given she doesn't seem to know much about you," His dad said.
"She seemed to insist the opposite," Jerry said.
"That she was from around here?" His dad asked, missing what Jerry meant.
"Uh.." Now thinking about it Devon had said she didn't want people to know what she had said to him. He didn't think any of it made any sense, but given how he felt about his own mom's reporting he decided to respect her wishes, "Yeah. Maybe she just wanted to be treated like a local sooner."
"I get that. Everybody can see right through that though. If she wants to be a local sooner, she should introduce her actual self to the community already! It requires a lot of bravery, but I hope she lets her zany side out as soon as possible! She's still so young after all. People shouldn't wait until they're my age to have fun," His dad said.
"Do you have fun at your age?" Jerry asked.'
"Of course! I have friends I hang out at the bar with, I have your mom, but I find you especially fun. I think I would probably lose my mind if I didn't have you all, and then I'd start talking crazy and they'd have to lock me up!" His dad said.
"Could that happen to you?" Jerry asked.
"Oh no, no, no. I'm not predisposed like your mother," He asked.
"You can be predisposed?" Jerry asked.
"I'm joshing with you Jerry! I don't have any idea how it works," His dad said, shrugging.
"But what if you two went crazy and I had to put you in jail?" Jerry asked.
"Jerry, it won't happen. You've known us all your life and we haven't gone crazy despite everything we've gone through, and geeze we've been through a lot. I think we're all good as far as I know, and I don't worry too much about what I don't know. I'm sure if anything happened you'll figure it out. You're a smart kid," His dad said. Jerry still didn't look convinced. His dad sighed, "Don't be anxious Jerry.. We're ok," He gently picked him up by his armpits and held him tight in his lap. Jerry knew what his dad was trying to do but it worked all the same. He exhaled the bad energy as he relaxed.
His mom walked back in the room.
"It might need a few minutes. Did we decide what we want to watch?" She asked.
"Not yet..." Jerry said. He knew he wouldn't be able to focus with what he told her in Hellen's mind, "Hey Mom, can we talk for a second?"
"Oh..? Of course.." She said.
They both got up and walked into the hall to talk one to one, his mom crouched to be closer.
"Mom.. did you tell Hellen what I told you yesterday?.. About the footprints?"
"Of course dear, you were there when I did it. Why? What's the matter?" She asked.
"I'll only say it if you promise not to tell her, ok?" Jerry said. His mom hesitated.
"...Ok," She said.
"Hellen asked me about the footprints, and I wasn't completely honest with you about them, but I found those prints where the murderer escaped. I saw the body and everything... And when I was translating the murderer's call for help it matched up with the same person who had footprints like mine. They're not here to get me, just to escape.. But if they have footprints like mine they have to have my disorder, and they talk crazy too, but there was another person answering them that talked the same way and the murderer understood just like how I understand them, so I think there might be three other people with rabbid condition, but Hellen doesn't want me to think that at all. She got really mad about it and told me she couldn't tell me if the murderer had rabbid condition because of confidentiality, but he's a wanted criminal! Everyone should know what he looks like! It just doesn't make any sense. Why wouldn't she want me to know there were other people like me?" Jerry said.
His mother gave a big sigh.
"Are we certain that they were definitely people with rabbid condition?"
"Yes Mom, A hundred percent! Only people with rabbid condition can understand gibberish like I can, and they could! They were using gibberish like a language I think.." Jerry said.
"What if they were all just having a mental break together?" She suggested.
"I don't think they'd talk the way they did if that was the case. They seemed ready to talk like that from the beginning, like it was just normal to them.." Jerry said. His mother sighed again and looked away in thought.
"I don't know why Hellen does what she does sometimes but maybe she just didn't want you to get upset if you knew the only other person or people who had your condition were criminals. It's hard enough living with your disorder sometimes. Maybe she didn't want to give you any more negative things to associate yourself with," His mom said. She gently petted his forehead with a thumb.
"Does she really care about stuff like that? Today she carried me around by my shirt while she shoved everyone out of the verminator headquarters. I don't think she'd do that if she cared about how I felt," Jerry said. His mother's face changed dramatically as she understood, her eyes wetting and her skin getting red.
"Based on that, who wouldn't assume that!? That damn woman!.." She took a breath, "As awful as she can be.. she still might be trying to look after you in her own ways. Maybe the identity of the murderer is still confidential because of the way the people in the territory would react. If they knew the murderer had your condition, now I don't think this would happen but, maybe she was afraid people would turn on you."
"Like, they'd think I was like the murderer?" Jerry gasped.
"Again, I don't think that would happen, but Hellen isn't me," She said.
"How can you be sure that wouldn't happen?" Jerry asked.
"I know people around here like you," His mom said.
"Yeah, maybe they LIKE me, but I bet they don't really KNOW me," Jerry scoffed.
"I'm sure they know you just like people know myself and your father," She said.
"But at least they trust you just by looking at you," Jerry said.
"Jerry, you don't know if that's how people feel," His mom said.
"I know.. Doesn't mean it isn't true sometimes," Jerry said.
"Yes, and that's their own problem. Don't let it become yours," She said.
"Sure.. You're not going to tell Hellen, are you?" Jerry asked.
"No.. I won't... But that also means you can't talk to her about it either, otherwise it wouldn't matter. I know you're curious, but these things are.. The verminators have some powers over us that we shouldn't challenge sometimes," She said.
"That doesn't sound right," Jerry said.
"It isn't, but sometimes you have to make compromises in order to keep what you have and keep peace with people. We won't have everything we want but at least we have what we need," His mom said.
"Sure.." Jerry said, "Is it different outside the verminator state?"
"Very.."
"Have you ever considered moving away from the verminators?" Jerry asked.
"Not yet. Maybe we'll figure something out when you're older," His mother said. She stood up, "Let's get back to your father and pick something fun to watch, ok?"
"Ok.." Jerry said.
He followed her back to the living room where his dad was waiting for them. Jerry pulled the DVD book out from under the coffee table while his mother got out a second one to look through. She seemed pretty stressed out about what had happened at his job, but she was so weird about doing anything about it. In any other situation she took every avenue she could to find a way to make it better, but when it came to his job she always got stumped. With a DVD of 'Enchanted' and his favorite volume of 'Goof Troop' in his hands he looked up to catch his parents already looking at him, visibly upset. It startled him.
"..What?" He asked.
"..Nothing. What did you want to watch?" His dad said, breaking out of his trance. His mom looked away. Had they said something while he was looking through the DVDs? It wasn't like them to look sad all of a sudden. He could only wonder if he was seeing it right or if there was truly something wrong.
Trying to sleep that night was difficult with all the new revelations. Tonight was the first night he knew for sure that there were other people out there like him. In what ways? He still didn't know. He looked out his window for a time, afraid he might see someone. A street light illuminated a spot, the wind swaying the bushes around so much he almost mistook some of it as a person, but knew it was all in his head. Maybe closer than he realized, there was somebody within the territory lying down under the same moonlight tonight. This was probably the closest he'd ever been to another person with rabbid condition.
While he tried to sleep he kept waking up dream after dream acting out meeting Arm. In some dreams Arm was only a shadow he'd chase but could never fully see. In others Arm had been caught by verminators and restrained in a chair, beaten and tired. In a last minute decision Hellen decided Jerry could come in and see him. The image of Arm changed in his imagination from something more humanoid, to something more like a rabbit, and then something that looked more like him.
Sometimes Jerry dreamed he woke up and Arm was on the other side of his door, only a voice. Sometimes he dreamed they planned to meet peacefully and the murder was just a misunderstanding and his parents drove him to the ice rink to see him. Jerry was shy at first but when he got the confidence it was so magical to see him even if his imagination couldn't properly define him. There were small detailed parts that were vivid in the ice rink dream. Jerry was allowed to touch Arm's arm and feel fur on another person and think about how everyone found this aspect of them so curious.
When he really woke up the imaginary warmth of that closeness was gone, replaced with the awkward frost of his confusing feelings.
Arm was dangerous, so it wasn't right to fantasize about meeting him in a positive light, yet he couldn't let the idea go. Besides the surface, Arm was just like everyone else on the inside. Jerry didn't have to go looking for someone who looked like him in order to connect to someone.
What did he think was going to happen once they met? After they talked about what was similar about their disorders, if Arm even wanted to talk about that, what would they have in common then? They were clearly very different on the inside.
What did Jerry expect would happen if they talked? Their meeting could never end peacefully. What if seeing Arm even awoke something ugly in him that was a part of the both of them?
Still, no matter how many times Jerry made up negative scenarios to convince himself, he somehow felt meeting Arm was something he needed to do. Something he needed to see before he died that he supposed he'd regret forever if he missed his chance.
His mom had suggested what they already had was good enough and that he needed to back down and stay out of the verminators' way. It sounded reasonable, but at the same time completely unjust. Didn't anybody understand that for the first time there was someone out there who knew something he didn't about how this disorder affected him? He knew it was dangerous and stupid but if he could understand himself just a little more maybe he could find a way to forgive the stranger he often was.
At school it was all he could think about, yet he couldn't tell anyone. If the information got out it would eventually get to Hellen somehow. Besides, he never told his school friends about work. The entire operation was confidential.
Before homeroom he spotted Devon from across the cafeteria.
"Psst!" She said, big enough for him to see. Anthony and Felix were distracted so Jerry slipped away to see her.
"Good morning.." Jerry said once he sat across from her.
"You too!" Devon signed, although she still had her whiteboard and marker.
Anthony noticed Jerry had moved. He looked over, unnerved, but didn't do anything.
"Did you want to tell me something?" Jerry asked.
"All the time! But not anything in particular right now. I just like talking to you," Devon smiled.
"Oh.. Thank you. That makes me feel better. I thought that maybe you didn't like me or was still afraid of me," Jerry said. Devon thought for a moment before going to her white board.
"I can like things that are intimidating. It's like getting to pet a wolf," Devon said.
"You think I'm like a wolf?" He kinda liked the idea.
"Did you say wolf? Do I think you're like a wolf?" Devon asked. Jerry nodded, "You're much cooler than a wolf. You can talk!"
"Only to people who understand sign language," Jerry said, although he still appreciated the idea.
"Yeah, but don't you think that's lucky anyway that that works? If you couldn't learn sign language nobody would ever hear what you're really thinking. It's really cool I get a chance to talk with you at school like this," Devon said.
"Yeah, it would suck if I couldn't sign.. Some things I still can't sign because I don't have fingers. People around here tend to get what I mean most of the time though," Jerry said.
"What's it like having no fingers?"
"I don't know. I've never known it any other way. I guess I can't interlock my hands like you guys can, but my hands can pretty much do anything a normal hand can anyway. My dad always thought that was amazing," Jerry said. Devon hesitated before going back to writing, as if she paused to think first.
"Can I touch your hand? You can say no if that's weird I don't mind," Devon said. She didn't look at him but then remembered she had to in order to see what he'd say.
"Sure, why not? Most people don't ask," Jerry said. He extended his arm to show her his palm. She hesitated before gently poking it with her pointer finger. She didn't do anything more, getting a little red in the face. Jerry noticed, puzzled.
"That seemed to mean a lot to you!" He chuckled a little.
"Yeah..." Devon said. She tried to regain composure.
Jerry looked back toward Anthony.
"Hey, do you mind if I ask what Anthony talked to you about?" Jerry asked, trying not to let Anthony see him.
She looked confused. He said it again but slowly. She understood before he finished.
"He wanted me to be nicer to you and go to my class. That's ALL we talked about. Completely everything discussed :) ," Devon said.
"Ok?" Jerry said.
"Ah. I'm sorry. I'm not brave enough to tell you the whole truth. I'm not in danger or anything tho. You don't have to worry. Some stuff has to stay secret, at least for now," Devon said.
"I get it. I'm pretty secretive too sometimes," Jerry said. Devon shrugged, unsure of what he said, "I like to keep secrets too," He said slower.
"Ohh! You like to keep secrets too!" Devon said.
Jerry nodded.
"Got any fun ones on your mind? Not that you have to tell me if they're big secrets," Devon asked.
"I have some on my mind, but it is a big one. I think we'd both get into trouble if I said anything, so I probably shouldn't," Jerry said.
"I understand. Maybe we should talk about other stuff then, to keep us both safe. Is there anything you'd like to know about me? Maybe we can get to know each other better," Devon said.
"Sure! Uh.. Where are you from? Out of the territory?" Jerry asked.
Devon nodded.
"Just a little south of here. My family wouldn't have moved here if we weren't already close by," Devon said.
"So you didn't come from a place with more people living there than here?" Jerry asked.
Devon shook her head.
"I wish! When I get older I'm saying goodbye to this frozen wasteland and starting a band far away from my parents. There's no audience for rock bands out here, esp here. Nobody ever goes on tour here. There's not enough people to play for," Devon said.
"Oh neat! A band? What instrument do you play? Or do you.. Nevermind," Jerry asked.
"If you're asking what I play, it's guitar, but a little bit of piano too. Mostly taught by the internet. When school's over I'll have time to do it more I think. For now I just upload covers on my youtube channel. You don't have to check it out if you don't want to," Devon said.
"I can give it a listen if you want. Er.. do you have any questions for me?" Jerry asked. Devon lit up at the opportunity.
"Of course!" She erased her board and wrote more, "How old are you?"
Jerry asked for the board and Devon passed it to him. He drew fifteen tally marks and gave it back to her.
"Fifteen?" She asked.
Jerry nodded.
"Me too!" Devon signed, "How long have you lived here?"
"My whole life really," Jerry said.
"Really? Have you ever left the territory?" Devon asked.
"No," Jerry said.
"Not even for vacation?" Devon asked.
"No," Jerry said.
"Figures," Devon said.
"I'm not sure what you mean," Jerry said.
"Most people at least go on vacation out of state once in their lives! You must be bored out of your mind all the time, trapped here surrounded by people who always lie to you. Don't tell anyone I said that. I'd get in a lot of trouble," Devon said.
"I don't think I understand. Who's lying? The verminators? The mayor?" Jerry asked.
Devon paused to write for longer this time. She even erased a little bit.
"EVERYONE is a liar here Jerry. You have to be if you want to live in the verminator state. Everyone has to sign paperwork and download software on their computers and phones and stuff. Recently though, we may not have to lie for much longer," She erased and wrote more, "The verminator general recently found some really really young people to help her with something that young people don't usually like to do, but they're so young they don't know any better, so she might not need this whole territory anymore. She thinks there's a chance the young people might be able to do what the verminator state does cheaper and a way she prefers, but she's not sure yet and she has to be sure. That's why I think you should run away or something. But don't ever say you did it because I told you to. I'm not as durable as you," Devon said.
"What? I'm confused, do you mean to say that Hellen found some new young verminators to make running the territory cheaper?" Jerry asked.
"Sure... We can say that.." Devon said.
"Ok? I don't know how that has anything to do with me. Do you think the cheap verminators would make them dangerous? They hardly ever do anything if they're not guarding the border," Jerry said.
"I'm just saying to look out, ok? Verminators don't have your best interest at heart. It's kinda their whole deal," She erased and wrote some more, "You ever see those chicken nugget ads with a cartoon chicken as the mascot and it's awkward if you think about it?"
"Yeah, why?" Jerry asked.
"That's like you, working for the verminators," Devon said.
"Who said I work for verminators?"
"We all work for verminators under the verminator state. Also everyone knows a lot about you," Devon said.
Maybe there was something to what Devon was saying after all.
"This is going to sound a little random but, would you happen to know anything about the murderer on the loose?" Jerry asked. Devon lit up.
"He killed a verminator with his own weapon! Some sort of electric pole taser that looks like this," She drew it. It was a long two pronged fork with an electric current running between the two prongs.
"I've seen that before. I didn't think it could kill someone.." Jerry said.
"Why do you think verminators wear rubber?" Devon asked.
"Do you know anything else?"
"Some stuff I can't tell you, but there are rumors that the murderer's calling for backup. My parents are freaking out and are beyond mad. They almost kept me home from school," Devon said, erasing and writing more, "My parents also liked the idea of moving here because of the verminator's protection even if it wasn't the biggest reason they came here, which is 'taking care of me' apparently, but anyway, outside the verminator territory there are a lot of 'criminals', but they're really more like 'punks' because they're not all bad, even if my parents like to think they mostly are," She erased and wrote more, "My uncle, my dad's brother, isn't around anymore because of the punks. He used to think that the punks were going to take over the world and abduct us and eat us. That they were going to make way for some sort of never-before-revealed alien regime that was trying to take control of the government. So when the punks came my uncle and his friends captured them and tortured them for a while and then we stopped hearing from him," She wrote more, "Apparently from what my dad said, he and his friends and all the punks he had locked up were gone. But everything was all smashed up and there was blood all over the place. They never found him so it's safe to say he's gone."
"Oh..I'm sorry.. That's really messed up... Does that happen a lot outside the territory?" Jerry asked.
"Not necessarily. It was my uncle who instigated the attack, but my parents still took it as evidence that punks are dangerous," She said.
"You say punks but do you mean like a criminal gang or conspiracy or like a terrorist group?" Jerry asked.
"Can't say," Devon shook her head.
Jerry looked at her, confused.
"Well, do you think there's a chance the same punks that killed your uncle are in the same league as the murderer here?" Jerry asked.
Devon raised her brows.
"Absolutely..." She said.
The lights flickered before going out.
The electric hum of the industrial fridges and heating went silent. Only the light from the windows illuminated the room.
"That doesn't usually happen.." Jerry said.
Everyone in the room was signing with more urgency, looking around wondering what to do.
"HEY! Relax everybody! Let's wait and see if it comes back on," A teacher said. Another teacher repeated the statement to others.
Jerry looked at Devon, only half her face was illuminated.
"Is it wrong for me to be really interested in who this murderer is?" He asked.
"No. True crime documentaries have audiences for a reason," Devon said.
"But I'm not usually into that stuff. Maybe it's just different, or more personal for me, not for a reason I can tell you. Like how you told me about your uncle. As tragic as it is, you're interested in it because it happened to someone related to you," Jerry said.
"That is true! And I think I have a good idea what you mean now. Don't worry I won't tell," Devon said.
"Ok.." Jerry said, "What do you think I should do?"
"I don't know if there's anything you can do. If the murderer on the loose can't run away I doubt you can," Devon said.
"Why.. Cause I..?...Cause.." He couldn't finish his sentence, "Do you know what he looks like?"
"I can't tell you that.." Devon said quickly.
A teacher walked over to them.
"We can't get the power back on so we're waiting on the buses to come back and bring you home. Apparently the whole town's out of power!" The teacher said.
"What?" Devon asked. The teacher said it again. She sat down next to Devon and started talking to her. Devon briefly glanced at Jerry, not ready to leave her conversation with him, but was asked to pay attention as she was surveyed on her emotional wellbeing and paperwork her parents still had to hand in.
Jerry didn't get to talk to her again before the buses came, even though he still had a lot to ask her. It was moments like this he wished he could text.
She seemed to almost talk in code, telling him about new young verminators making the territory obsolete somehow. But how could anything be better than a protective territory all on its own? What did the verminator state achieve that young verminators did better enough to make the state obsolete? Wasn't the whole point to protect the citizens from terrorists? How could they do that without the territory and its border? Surely an alternative anti-terrorist procedure wasn't a better solution. What would they even choose to implement in place of the territory? Everyone having their own personal verminator agent outside their houses? Something like that was bound to make people even more uncomfortable with verminators than they already were.
Maybe there was some other alternative anti-terrorist procedure Hellen was planning on implementing that Jerry couldn't imagine on his own. Maybe the type of service was going to be worse on purpose because people were fed up with the verminator state, especially since at least now, it wasn't working as designed.
Worse service would be worse, but maybe more affordable and personable. Devon did say Hellen was aiming for something cheaper. Maybe that was what she meant.
On the way home Jerry saw more verminators on the streets than ever before, including some around his house. At least they seemed to be doing something for once, their aggressive dogs pulling them into people's yards.
Devon said she wasn't allowed to tell him about Arm's appearance, but did she mean that she knew and couldn't tell him, or that she couldn't tell him because she really didn't know? Based on the way Devon liked to tell secrets to a fault, he assumed the worst: Other people knew what Arm looked like while he was purposely being left in the dark. Hopefully the people that did know were in a league of informants that Devon's family just so happened to be connected to. It wasn't like everybody knew and they weren't telling him, right? Devon seemed to be implying everyone was against him somehow. He tried not to let the idea unnerve him. He was already so anxious around the idea of people seeing him as mindless.
After he got home it wasn't long before Anthony and Felix showed up at his door to finally go ahead and test his strength.
With what Devon had said still in his mind it was difficult to focus on the journey. They agreed to do the experiment in an abandoned factory downtown.
Surely his friends would tell him if they knew the murderer had rabbid condition right? Or maybe they knew and were just protecting his feelings? His mom had proposed the idea that Hellen would keep Arm's identity a secret in order to keep people from associating negative things with his disorder, but people were often worse than his mother liked him to think. Maybe Hellen had put out information on Arm's appearance, so everyone knew, but were specifically told not to upset him over it. He could see Hellen doing something sneaky like that to keep her ace 'golden dog' working at 100%, but it wouldn't work.
No matter what she told them people wouldn't be able to keep their judgements to themselves. People that were suspicious of him would find Arm to be a good reason to hate him now. That is, if Devon was implying she, and other people knew, and not just herself.
While he and his friends walked, Jerry was working up the confidence to talk about Arm. For a full blown murderer on the loose he expected his friends to be talking about it non-stop, but they were acting pretty normal besides taking reasonable precautions. Felix had at least tried to get them talking about it at school, but Anthony called the idea 'upsetting'. It sounded suspicious, but maybe it wasn't that Anthony had anything to hide, but truly found the situation disturbing. It was a logical reaction, even if he expected his friends to stoop a little lower and sensationalize it. As mature as they supposedly were, there had to be a time to talk about it, at least acknowledge it.
In the factory Anthony was just about to try snapping a tile with his hands. Jerry had his camera ready to record the results, but hesitated.
"Uh hey... Before we start, could we talk for a second?" Jerry asked.
"What's up?" Anthony asked, signing with one hand with the tile in the other.
"I know we haven't talked about it much but, do you guys know anything about the murderer?.." Jerry asked.
"Not really," Anthony said.
"No, not really," Felix said, looking at Anthony first.
"Are you sure? Not even what he looks like?" Jerry asked.
"We don't know what he looks like," Anthony said.
"But how do they expect people to find him then?" Jerry asked.
"I think that's mostly the verminators job, right?" Felix asked.
"Yeah," Anthony said.
"But that seems silly to me though.. Cause, what if we saw the murderer just walking down town? We'd never know because there's no way to recognize him. Wouldn't it be better if we knew for sure? What if he killed somebody else?.. It doesn't make much sense," Jerry said.
"Honestly Jerry, I'm with you. I don't know how it makes sense. Maybe it's some legal thing or something," Felix said.
"Legal thing?" Jerry asked.
"Maybe?" Felix shrugged.
Jerry hesitated. Were his friends lying to him right to his face or was he completely wrong? He couldn't stand it.
"Be honest. Do you know what he looks like but just aren't allowed to tell me?" Jerry asked. He narrowed his eyes.
Felix exhaled nervously while looking away.
"Why wouldn't we be allowed to tell you?" Anthony asked. He looked surprised.
"I don't know.." Jerry said, backpedaling already.
"I just think that's strange that you'd think that is all. If anybody told you they know what the murderer looks like they were just messing with you. Nobody knows, and we don't know why either," Anthony said.
"You sure? You know, I can take the truth if you know something I should know. You don't have to protect my feelings," Jerry said.
"How does any of this have anything to do with you?" Anthony asked.
"It's... Just forget it," Jerry said.
Anthony scowled, suspicious.
"Is this because of something Devon said?" He asked.
"What?" Jerry said.
"Devon! That new girl you were talking to. She's into conspiracies but they're not real, ok?" Anthony said.
"Then why do you look so mad?" Jerry said.
"Why shouldn't I be mad, you're calling me a liar over nothing," Anthony said.
"Sorry..." Jerry said.
They stopped for a moment.
Jerry walked out of the room toward the back of the factory. His friends didn't follow.
On the receiving end of the factory were open garage doors facing the forest, the parking lot filled with snow. Broken glass, pallets, and cinder blocks were left over wearing away from the weather that got in. Jerry sat on the edge of a receiving door and tried to let the sight of the woods calm him.
He hadn't confirmed what he was thinking nor did he wholly prove it wrong. Instead he was making a wedge between himself and his friends, well, more Anthony. Felix didn't seem as upset by all the accusations. Anthony reacting so much was suspicious, but how could he say that? What was he even doing?
He heard his friends approach from behind him. He turned around to face them.
"It's not safe to be by yourself," Anthony said.
"We kinda forgot that when we wanted to give you some space, but I think your mom would kill us if anything actually happened to you," Felix said.
"I'm sorry guys, I didn't mean to accuse you of anything. I've just been feeling really upset over this whole murderer thing," Jerry said.
"... It's been pretty scary for me too," Anthony sat next to him, "My family always lived in the area so I've always known safety in the verminator state. Having this murderer on the loose is like a taste of what it's like out there."
"It isn't really that bad. Stuff like this is rare even on the outside," Felix said.
"Then what's the point of this place?" Jerry asked.
They didn't say anything for a moment.
"Just because it might not be all the time doesn't mean people won't try to live in a place where it's never," Felix said.
"Are they going to get rid of the verminator state?" Jerry asked.
"They were talking about it," Felix said. Anthony gave him a look, "Chill dude it's not a big deal! People are upset about the murderer, of course they'd talk about letting the verminators go. I don't think it'll happen. Some people here are way too used to them.."
"Are you afraid of the verminator state going away?" Anthony said, looking at Jerry.
"Not really. I'm just trying to piece everything together is all," Jerry said.
"Well.. I am," Anthony said.
"How come?" Jerry asked.
"It's.. It's complicated," Anthony shrugged.
After a bit of collectively looking into the woods they got back up and decided to try and break stuff again.
They headed back into the building.
Before they passed the stairs, something standing on them ran up with reckless abandon making a clatter. Jerry didn't see them, but he could hear their footsteps dash up a floor and run before breaking glass and going quiet. It was so sudden Jerry was petrified, looking in the direction of where he heard the stranger last. Did they just jump out of a window?
"Jerry you ok?" Anthony asked. Being deaf, neither of Jerry's friends heard anything. They tried to follow Jerry's locked gaze but it didn't help them.
"Did you hear something?" Felix asked.
Jerry nodded.
"There was something here. Something big.. It ran upstairs.." He said slowly.
"Wait really?" Felix asked.
Ignoring any logical reasoning Jerry started heading toward the stairs.
"Jerry what are you doing?! What if it was the murderer!?" Anthony said.
"I.." Jerry paused, realizing how much danger he would be in if he found Arm. What if Arm had a gun and shot all three of them? As curious as he was, he couldn't go any further if it would cause his life to end today, "What should we do?"
"I'll message the verminators, but we really should just go," Anthony said, getting out his phone. The three of them ran out and back to the street. They got on a steady jog once they were far enough heading close to Felix's house.
With the whole town out of power, generators rumbled all over, keeping food from spoiling and people warm.
"Did you message the verminators?" Felix asked, pausing to catch his breath.
"They said they'd check it out," Anthony said, pausing with him.
"I hope they find something, I'd kinda be embarrassed if Jerry was just hearing things or it was a squirrel. No offense," Felix said.
"None taken," Jerry said.
Obviously it wasn't in his best interest to keep asking, but there was still a chance that Anthony was lying. Devon had implied that 'everyone' was a liar which included Anthony, but Anthony had told Jerry that anyone telling him that people knew Arm's appearance was the liar, so he couldn't believe them both, or maybe he was still misinterpreting what Devon had said.
She seemed to suggest telling the whole truth had consequences. Maybe it really was for the best that he stopped trying to ask.
Later that day when Jerry got home, he was returned to the realization that his house was still out of power too. it wasn't much warmer inside besides the fireplace. He had to be close to it for it to have any effect. It was only by their generator that they were able to make dinner, as well as not freeze in their sleep. The Speakers opted to sleep in the living room together with the fireplace and heated blankets, which turned out fine except for any part of them that stuck out.
The next day was still the same. No power, No school, limited heat. It was well into the afternoon before anyone was willing enough to get up, but it was only a matter of time before any one of them got hungry or had to use the bathroom.
The day was defined by efforts to make the living room the coziest and most entertaining it could be. His parents and himself took turns going out to buy wood, pellets, as well as gasoline for the generator and propane for their outdoor grill. The whole town seemed to be doing the same. Cashiers operated in blankets and space heaters talking to neighborly regulars to keep them company. It was almost its own event. After a while Jerry realized this was the longest the power had ever been out. As much as it snowed in the territory, it was also built for those conditions in mind, so when the power did go out due to a fallen tree or other storm debris, it tended to last at max a day, usually only a few hours.
At home again with nothing left to do Jerry curled up in the corner of the living room couch and surrounded himself with the heated blanket. Just as he was getting comfortable he heard a knock at the door. Being hearing, his mother got to it.
"The general has requested Jerry," it was a verminator. Jerry felt his heart sink. He was going to have to leave his cocoon right after getting into it.
"He'll be in just a second.. JERRY!"
Jerry sat up at the call.
"I'm up! I'm up!" He said. His eyes still half lidded.
Similarly to his last shift at the verminator headquarters, he was brought to the recording studio to translate something pre-recorded, and he didn't expect a surprise as to whose voice he was going to hear. At least the headquarters building still had power, or at least running on some sort of generator or reserve of its own. Half of the lights were off but at least the building was the same temperature it always was.
Hellen was in the recording studio, looking even more pissed than usual. Jerry assumed that could only mean they hadn't caught Arm yet. Before he got here he was hoping they had caught him and he was going to translate a live interrogation, but no. The search was still up in the air.
"We've got another recorded distress call most likely from Arm. It was recorded last night," Hellen said, "Multiple reports from citizens say that the destruction of several power lines and transformers was no weather event. Our detectives believe terrorists have entered the state in an attempt to rescue Arm. The power outage might be a strategy meant to weaken us as well as better hide in the dark during the night. We're in the middle of placing trail cams in the woods to hopefully capture an image of these terrorists, but we need to wait and see for results. We're hoping what we translate here today might give us an edge."
"Understood.." Jerry said.
"Play the audio," Hellen said, picking up a notebook.
Jerry twitched his ears, listening for the first pops of audio to be played.
"This is Arm requesting communication, do you hear me? This is Arm requesting communication, do I read?" Arm said.
"Read you loud and clear dude!" Another voice said, "We're making progress in our attempt to rescue you brother. Obviously no spoilers since the verminators can understand us somehow, but just do the best that you can. Are you alright?"
"I'm as good as I can be. Not very many close calls. They aren't on to me at all yet, which should be good for your mission I presume," Arm said.
"Yes, well, it might also be too good. We haven't got a sniff of you in the slightest either!" The other voice chuckled.
"I may have a way to combat that. If we can talk freely we don't have to keep walking around in the dark hoping we bump into each other. But that plan is very risky and requires some experimentation on my part. Keep acting as usual until I state otherwise. I may know how they are translating our messages and how to stop it," Arm said.
Jerry felt cold.
"Anything to make this easier. Nobody likes being here you know," The voice said.
"Just imagine how I feel... Nothing else to report," Arm said.
"Stay safe soldier," The voice said.
"Don't have to tell me twice.." Arm said before cutting out.
The room was quiet after getting everything down. The people were silent but clearly agitated, or looking to Hellen for her reaction.
"He MAY know how we're translating..? He MAY?" Hellen started she looked at Jerry, "Jerry.. Have you seen anything suspicious or even witnessed Arm in person and didn't tell me!?"
"No, no! At least not that I can know for sure! I didn't think to mention this but me and my friends were hanging out in an abandoned factory, and I heard somebody run away but didn't see them. I thought that was pretty suspicious because, why run from three teenagers? It's just not exactly what I expect from townsfolk, but it doesn't necessarily mean anything so that's why I didn't tell you," Jerry said quickly.
"Fine.. Either way we still have to react as if he knows about you," Hellen said, "Miss Cedar, schedule an emergency meeting an hour from now. McHale, keep an eye on Jerry. He does not leave this building or your sight until I say otherwise, got it?"
McHale nodded. Miss Cedar sent out a message to her coworkers on her work phone behind him.
Hellen left the room and so did Cedar, so Jerry was left with McHale in the recording studio.
"Do you understand sign language?" Jerry asked, McHale looked at him, puzzled, "Nevermind.."
He didn't leave that room for the next hour, and the hour after that and so on. At first he stayed entertained by doodling on the back of Hellen's clipboard, which due to the dark color he hoped she wouldn't be able to see. For a little while he tried to peek at whatever McHale was watching on his phone, but the verminator moved away so Jerry couldn't see. After that his boredom was turned into sleepiness, so he abandoned any embarrassment he might've had doing this in any other situation and sprawled on the floor to take a nap. This was the most comfortable he'd been in the verminator headquarters in a long time.
Usually he'd be sent home if Hellen hadn't planned on him doing anything else, but it was dawning on him now that she might've left him here because he was in danger. The more he worried the more he tossed and turned until he eventually settled by curling up into a ball.
He was deeply asleep when the door opened and he was nudged awake. When he opened his eyes he was delighted to find his parents there.
"Oh my gosh! What are you two doing here? Are we going home?" He asked, going up to them.
"Not quite," His dad said. Jerry noticed they had suitcases with them.
"Hellen's having us stay over in the headquarter suites for a while, just until she knows it's safe for you," His mom said. Jerry pouted.
"Man.. I hate this place! At least you're here," he said.
"We know! That's why we came! Also this place has electricity and is heated," His dad said.
"I guess there's still a silver lining," Jerry said.
"Most definitely. Would you like to head up?" His dad asked.
"Sure. I'm ready to do anything if it means I don't have to spend another second in this room!" Jerry gagged.
McHale escorted them out of the room and into the elevator up two stories. The verminator suites were for visiting verminator guests, unlike the barracks a floor below them, which were cheaper and exclusive to travel verminators who didn't want to or couldn't live in a hotel.
Most of the suites were empty, luckily the filled ones weren't near theirs.
Inside was a pristine hotel room with its own kitchen and bathroom, and of course, bedroom/living room that took up most of the space.
Jerry rushed over to a bed with a remote on it and tried turning on the tv. Nothing happened.
"Nothing good would be on anyway," His mom said, sitting on the bed across from him.
"Is there a room where the TV works?" Jerry asked.
"I doubt it sweetheart," His mom said.
"We won't need the T.V. anyway. I bought games and toys from home! I can even go and get more if you really miss them," His dad said. He opened a suitcase that had an equal amount of activities as there were clothes for him.
"That's fantastic, thank you!" Jerry said. He went to look through what his dad had brought. It was weird not to have everything with him, but it made these items that much closer to him. It was especially nice to see his practically ancient rubber t-rex toy painted and dressed in craft felt like he was a ringmaster called Showchomper. The toy wasn't very huggable, but he hugged it anyway.
His parents started to settle in while he did the same. It was like an evolution of their blackout procedures, as if they had been adopted into a better, but still work in progress home. In the past the Speakers would 'vacation' to a hotel away from home. It wasn't safe to leave the territory, but they could still take a break from routine living somewhere different. Doing the same thing here was an almost pleasant surprise besides the fact Jerry couldn't leave the building, or that they were only there for an emergency.
Only by nightfall did it truly settle in that they weren't going back to the house tonight. There was somebody in the territory that looked like him, and knew about him too. Maybe at some point Arm had been in closer proximity than he realized, or maybe Arm didn't really know about him and it was all speculation. Still, there was a chance somebody with his same disorder wanted to see him too, although maybe not with any good intentions, but Jerry liked to at least be known.
He tried not to think about it as he fell asleep and even as he woke up the next day, but he couldn't help it when he was bored. Why did he want to know so much about someone who was clearly harmful to him?
There were more people out there like him, and he wasn't sure if people were told to lie to him about it or not. Anthony was pretty reactive to the idea that anyone was lying to him. He hoped he hadn't hurt his feelings too badly. They didn't talk about it much after their initial conversation, instead focused on finding better ways to pass the time despite the power outage. They agreed to assume the figure in the factory was only a dog or a fat rat. Maybe.. Maybe not.
In the present while Jerry was still stuck in the verminator headquarters, there was a commotion on the lower floors. Jerry watched a great number of verminator vans race onto the road all at once. He was lucky he was in a suite and not downstairs since Hellen was likely barking her head off getting them mobile. He hoped it meant they were going to catch Arm, but as time passed the sun had significantly sunk, the vans had yet to return. All that urgency didn't seem to amount to much. Another bad report, or did they have Arm on the run this time? If they caught him Jerry wanted to see him.. but Hellen was never going to let him do that.
By nightfall Jerry's mom left to go to a public territory meeting, leaving Jerry and his dad at the hotel to finish a board game.
When she got back a little less than three hours later she went straight to his dad and took him to the hall. Jerry tried to follow but his mom told him to stay inside so he did. He waited anxiously for them to figure it out so that they could know how to tell him.
His mom came back first and then his dad.
"What's going on?" Jerry asked. His dad looked especially upset.
"The verminators found the murderer in town today and chased him and even got a grip on him, but he escaped their grasp and took another verminator's life in the process. Because.." His mom paused, "Because the verminators lost him, Hellen suggested it might no longer be safe to stay at the headquarters.."
"Oh no.. So where are we going?" Jerry asked.
"Home.." His dad said.
"Really? That's safer?" Jerry asked.
"It's a lying low kind of tactic, but either way we can't stay here," His mom said.
"That's insane! There's no power!" Jerry said.
"We'll just make the most of it," His dad said.
"I guess we have to!" Jerry said, disappointed.
"Let's pack up ok?" His dad said, before starting.
His mom didn't though, going straight to the bathroom. She closed the door behind her. His dad noticed and watched her, trying to focus on putting things away. He suddenly looked very upset, but still continued to pack away their game.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Jerry asked.
His dad only shook his head.
They continued without saying anything. At least he was driven home in his parent's car for once. As soon as they got there, there was no relief. They immediately got to work starting up the fire, blocking up the living room and getting it nice and hot again.
While tending to their newly lit fire Jerry noticed his mom walking upstairs with an extra long extension cord trailing behind her. She rarely ever went up there, so Jerry went up after her to see what she was doing. He found her in his room.
"Oh, hi Jerry.. I think it would be best if you stayed in your room tonight so I'm hooking up the heated blanket for you," She said.
"Wouldn't we be warmer if we all stayed together?" Jerry asked.
"Yes, but it might be safer for us to not all be in the same room in case anything happens.." She said.
"Alright?.. Is everything ok? You two've been acting a little strange. I'm worried," Jerry asked.
His mom sighed.
"I'm sorry Jerry, I was hoping that maybe you wouldn't notice. I'm a little cross over having to come back here after such a nice night away.. But I'm especially afraid now how easily that fugitive can kill. The townsfolk are starting to get desperate. Even Hellen has to listen to them now," She said.
"Is that what happened at the meeting? The territory citizens ganged up on Hellen?" Jerry asked.
"Something like that," His mom said.
"You have to bring me to one of these sometime if Hellen's gonna get roasted at it!" Jerry smiled.
"As funny as it is to see, Hellen decides a lot of really important things in our lives. We wouldn't want her to be rash all the time because people push her to," His mom said.
"Maybe it's just me but I think I'd rather have the town decide that kind of stuff over her," Jerry said.
"Well then that's you," She said, "Are you ready for bed?"
"I just need my PJs," Jerry said before walking past her to his dresser.
His mom prepared the heated blanket while he got changed.
"It's inside out.." She said when he went up to her.
"I don't mind," He said, getting into bed. His mom rolled her eyes. She sat on her knees next to his bed, looking at him.
"Do you ever think about what life would be like if we'd never met?" She asked him aloud.
"You mean if I was adopted by another family?...Why?" Jerry asked.
"Sometimes I think you'd be better off somewhere else, without your job or this state and things like that, even if it meant we never met. Living here stresses you in a lot of ways you don't deserve. Now we're in a freezing cold house with nothing to do but wait for a miracle or something awful," She said.
"I'm sure it's not that bad. I'd be upset if I didn't meet you. No matter where I live there's going to be stuff that stresses me out. At least I have you and dad to talk me through it and know me. That's really important and means a lot to me you know," Jerry said.
"Yes, but I still think you could've had a better life somehow," She said.
"Hey, we'll work on it for the future, ok? We'll get through this. No need to worry or feel bad," Jerry said.
She slowly nodded, brushing the fur on his face with a thumb.
"You're a very kind boy Jerry.. I just wish the world could be kind to you back, even kinder than I can be," She said.
"You're plenty kind mom!" Jerry said.
She didn't say anything, continuing to pet him for just a little longer. After a while, she got up.
"Get some sleep now..Ok?" She said.
"Ok.." Jerry said.
His mom hesitated, watching him in the door frame before closing the door behind her. It had been a while since he was in his room to sleep, it was almost refreshing. With the heated blanket it wasn't so bad, but it never got warm enough.
6/21/2024
Title "Nobody's Cold, Nobody's Warm" from 'Power Out' by Arcade Fire.