The Chapter Where A Girl Is Attacked By Dogs

CP1 floated through the open ceiling, out of the garage, and into the sky. Liane’s cumulusboard followed along automatically.

With CP1 leading the way, they glided over the suburbs, heading parallel to the city toward an area with fewer homes. The sun was still low, but there were plenty of cars cruising through the air. With her Second Sight reactivated, it was impossible to tell which were real and which were ghosts created by the System.

As they flew, Liane fidgeted with the little package and tried to imagine seeing Claire again after so many years. She reminded herself not to act too familiar. She would need to pretend to be a stranger, and act like this was their first time meeting. Except she didn’t know how to meet other humans. She had never interacted with a stranger before. She’d raised Claire from a baby, so she didn’t count, and Aurelia certainly didn’t count. How was she supposed to act?

Liane pondered her dilemma and before she knew it, the cumulusboard had landed, shaking her from her thoughts. She disembarked and dropped her helmet on the board.

“Wait here,” she told the cumulusboard. It settled into the grass.

Liane was about to ask CP1 which house was Claire’s, but a quick glance around made it immensely obvious.

The houses here were large and spaced apart to allow each one an extra large yard, but one was clearly not like the others. Where the other houses were curving or round like Liane’s, Claire’s house was blocky with a sharp, steep roof. What's worse, it was plain to see the roof was not retractable, meaning the inside would be closed off from the open air like a crypt. And worse yet, the covered porch wrapped around the whole building, effectively blocking all sunlight and preventing any hope for a wallscape garden. It left the house embarrassingly bare and naked.

Even if the house were ordinary, Liane would still have been able to pick it out by the bright red barn looming tall and large from the backyard. But even stranger was what seemed to be a jungle canopy growing even taller than the barn.

“Is this really where Claire lives?” Liane asked.

“Yes,” CP1 said.

“So you can talk. Good to know. Okay… let’s do this.”

Liane puffed out her chest and marched for the front door of Claire’s house. She went straight up the steps and reached for the handle, but CP1 got in her way.

“What?” Liane asked.

“Knock please,” CP1 said.

“Knock? But I’m making a delivery. Delivery drones just come in.”

“But you are not a drone.”

She was about to argue the point when a chime in her brain stopped her. A message from Aurelia popped up on her Second Sight. She opened it, letting it hover before her so she could read it.

‘Hello, love. Hope I caught you in time. I forgot to tell you something important.’

A knocking interrupted her reading.

She turned on CP1, “What are you doing?”

“Demonstrating knocking,” CP1 said, tilting to one side.

“Dadgum drone!” She began, but the sound of something approaching made her stop.

Liane rapidly tried to read the remainder of Aurelia’s message while backing away from the door. Claws scratching at the wood made her jump back. She was pinned against the porch railing when the door opened and Claire stepped outside.

“Hello, little drone. Do you have a delivery for me?” Claire asked CP1.

Two big furry beasts wiggled past Claire. They sniffed up at CP1, then spotted Liane at the same time as Claire. She lunged for them but was too late. They charged Liane. She screamed and leapt over the railing, landing flat on her back. Above her, the two furry dogs looked down at her, whining and wagging their tails viciously.

“Oh my gosh!” Claire said from the porch, “Adélie. Gaston. Inside.”

The two dogs disappeared from Liane’s view. She heard a door close and quick steps across the porch. Then, like an angel, Claire appeared above her. She was still all curls and her blue eyes sparkled just like Liane remembered, but she’d matured into a beautiful young woman. Pride and joy filled her heart.

“Are you okay?” Claire asked.

Liane’s eyes were flooding with tears. She tried to speak, but the wind was knocked from her lungs. She didn’t expect she could speak anyway with how full her chest was.

“Oh! Oh, no! Did you get hurt somewhere? Hold on, I called my Home Helper. I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you at first, or I would have kept them in,” Claire said.

Liane tried to say it was okay. That she was alright, but she couldn’t manage it. All she could do was cry softly as tears rolled down her face.

Claire took Liane’s hand and held it gently. “It’s okay. You’ll be okay. Everything’s alright,” she soothed.

Liane recognized the same words she had often said to Claire as a little girl when she got hurt and would hold her safe and close.

A drone a little bigger than HH drifted over the porch railing to join Liane and Claire.

“She fell off the porch,” Claire explained to the drone.

The drone looked down at Liane.

“Her Second Sight indicates she is physically unharmed, simply out of breath. However, emotion readings indicate—”

Liane forced herself to sit up. “I’m okay,” she wheezed, “Just need… a minute.” She wiped her face on her sleeve.

“Don’t overdo it,” Claire said, “I know! You can come inside and rest till you feel better. Henri, can you help her?”

Before she could protest, the drone stuck itself to Liane’s back like a jetpack and lifted her off the ground. Claire led the way through the front door as Liane—carried like a ragdoll by the drone—drifted after her.

The drone set her down on a plush chair in a spacious room, which was by far the strangest house she had ever seen. Visible wooden beams held up a high, steep ceiling from which lights hung by wires. And in the corner was a brick fireplace that Liane hoped was just for show.

Claire handed Liane a glass of water, then dragged a chair closer so they were face to face.

“Thank you,” Liane said. She took a drink, but nearly choked when the two dogs accosted her from nowhere.

“Adélie. Gaston. No. Here,” Claire ordered. The dogs obeyed and sat fidgeting next to her. “I’m so sorry about them. They didn’t mean any harm earlier. They were just excited. Are you okay? Feeling better? Not hurt anywhere?”

Liane put down her water and said between coughs, “It’s okay. I’m okay.”

“Oh good. I’m Claire. This is Adélie and Gaston,” she said, petting the dogs in turn. The first one golden brown and the second one chocolate.

“Li— Liane,”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Claire beamed, “Would you like to meet these two?”

“No! I mean, no, thank you.”

“Oh, okay. Do you not like dogs, maybe?” she asked.

Liane’s mind flashed back to a little Claire begging and crying to be taken to a real farm, to meet real animals, but she was too afraid. She wanted to kick herself. Was she going to let fear hold her back again?

“Actually… I would like to meet them. I’ve just never met a real dog before. I’m a little nervous.”

Claire’s radiant smile returned. “Oh, that’s why. You don’t have to worry, they are both sweethearts and were both trained by the System. Adélie, Gaston, go on. Say hello.”

Claire released the dogs, who skipped straight to Liane. They squirmed and wiggled, pushing each other out of the way to win the most attention from Liane. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to pet them. When they licked her, she didn’t withdraw her hands, despite how much she wanted to.

“Ah! They like you. Aren’t they the sweetest?”

Liane forced a smile. “Yeah. Sweethearts. Like you said.”

Claire watched Liane intently, her eye’s sparkling. She was biting her lip, a tell Liane remembered from when she was growing up. It meant she had an itching question to ask.

“Did you have something to ask me?” Liane asked.

“Was it that obvious?”

“No! I mean, not at all. Just a lucky guess,” Liane laughed, mentally reminding herself not to give away her real identity. “Go ahead. Ask me anything.”

Claire took a breath. “Okay. So tell me, if you were stranded on a desert island, what one thing would you bring with you?”