《Root》 Chapter 1 ****THIS IS A VERY ROUGH DRAFT OF MY LATEST BOOK**** ***COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOME*** Colton groaned as he turned over in bed to find his iPhone. He swatted around the blankets to turn the damn alarm off. Unwittingly, he managed tohit himself in the nuts as he swung his arm around between his battling degrees of consciousness. His mistake accomplished the task his alarm was supposed to do, and he was now fully awake. ¡°Damn it!¡± Colton groaned as he curled up in a ball. The shift in his body position moved his head from his pillow and seconds later his iPhone struck the back of his head. ¡°There you are! Stupid phone!¡± With one hand still cradling is precious gems, he reached up with his other to grab the phone. Not an easy task, but a necessary one if he wanted to turn the alarm off. Task completed he reluctantly released his sack and sat up in bed. Hey, Bae, have fun slaving away. Thanks for last night. Colton smiled. He and Camille have been dating for four years and he hoped one day they would marry. Just¡­ not yet, he had to finish school first. Colorado was way too expensive to try tomove in together with a wife. They were both students at UNCO and locals. That meant they both still lived with their respective parents. It wasn¡¯t ideal, but between tuition and his car payment, he could barely afford to go out to eat a few times a week. Colton worked for his dad at the cellphone store next to campus. He hated working there when he was in high school. His friends had cooler jobs at Hooters or Freddy¡¯s, but once he started college, he realized the slower-paced job was great for doing homework. The store manager, Maria, had been working for his dad since the beginning of time. Colton started working with Maria when he was in high school and it always felt like he was the owner''s kid. However, after all these years, Colton felt like a close friend with his ¡°boss.¡± With a sigh, Colton pulled himself out of bed to get ready for work. It was Sunday, and he¡¯d be working in the store by himself. Colton always worked the weekend schedule since his class load prevented him to work as many hours during the week. He didn¡¯t mind it as much as Camille, but he needed the hours and the weekend gave him the money he craved. Working at the store was easy to work. Colton¡¯s parents left him alone, and he stayed in his room when he was at home. They told him he could live with them as long as he was going to college and working on his education. It was their way to help him pay for college. He could eat anything in the house, so he never went hungry, but it would have been nice if they paid for his tuition. ¡°You¡¯ll work harder and appreciate your education more if you pay for it yourself,¡± Colton¡¯s dad would say every time he jokingly brought it up. Colton was just about to jump into the shower when his phone chimed again. Bae, you awake yet? ¡°Crap!¡± Colton said. Just jumping in the shower. I had fun last nightas well. Thanks for the wake-up message. KK Have fun and be safe. Oh, I had fun last night. I¡¯ll be thinking about it all day. See you tonight? Can¡¯t. Sister wants me to visit her and see the baby. Joy. Have fun with that gtg. Love you. Love you more. ### Dressed and showered, Colton rushed out to his 2005 Audi TT. He loved this little sports car. It was old and falling apart, but it was his. He bought it with his money without a handout from his parents. It¡¯s the little things that annoyed him as a high schooler that he¡¯s learning to appreciate now that he¡¯s older. He¡¯s the first to admit he grew up a tad privileged, but you can¡¯t blame someone for where they were born. Cotton''s dad wasn¡¯t rich, but he wasn¡¯t poor either. Colton had a car to drive in high school and didn¡¯t have to pay for anything, but his dad still expected him to have a job. It didn¡¯t matter where Colton worked as long as he worked 15 hours a week. Where his father came up with that rule Colton never knew, but that was a rule and he could keep every nickel he earned in high school. After graduating from high school, Colton wanted a nicer car and bought the Audi. It looked cool, and it only cost him five grand, but it was his. Since buying the car, he¡¯s had to do maintenance and get his hands dirty. Colton has torn the car apart a few times since buying it to fix certain problems, but the act of fixing it on his own brought him great satisfaction.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Colton turned the ignition and the Cherry Bomb glasspack muffler roared to life. His mom always complained about the loud muffler, but lovingly joked that she always knew when he was home before he got out of the car. Hearing his car roar to life always brought a huge smile to his face. ### Colton opened the store and turned off the alarm and started counting the till before the first customers would arrive. The cellphone store had been in this location since the dawn of time and everyone in town knew its hours of operations. Normally, a few customers were waiting out front of the store before they opened, but today was quiet and the parking lot empty. Nestled between a pizza joint and a 7-11 convenience store sat his father''s store. Campus kinda went around the store. The store was originally just south of campus, but over the years the school bought up buildings on the neighboring street and so students were frequently walking in front of the store on the way to the music studios on 8th Ave. College student never bought cellphones, but it usually brought a lot of foot traffic. Colton never minded the people watching from the front desk, unfortunately, the weekends rarely had students walking about. Colton walked to the back of the store to grab a duster when the door chimed. ¡°I¡¯ll be right with you!¡± Rounding the corner from the back, Colton saw a white male with dark hair kneeling on the floor clutching his stomach. He was in his early 30s wearing a ¡°Save the chubby unicorn¡¯s¡± t-shirt. A rhinoceros rather than a unicorn was prominently portrayed on the front next to the lettering. At first, Colton was confused as towhy he was on the floor until he spotted blood between the man''s fingers. ¡°You all right, man?¡± Colton said while hurrying over and kneeling next to the downed customer. ¡°Shit! I need to call the ambulance.¡± Colton stood up to go grab the store phone. ¡°Where¡¯s the back door?¡± Colton paused and looked down in dismay. ¡°Dude, you¡¯re not going anywhere. Give me a second to grab the phone.¡± Before Colton took a step, the man grabbed Colton¡¯s arm and pulled him to a stop. The customer grunted as the movement pulled on the wound. Before Colton could say anything the man pulled on his hand and put something in his palm and clamped down on his fingers making a fist. ¡°Don¡¯t let them know you have it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Colton said in confusion. ¡°You need an ambulance.¡± Colton jerked his hand away from the man and made his way to the phone. ¡°Hello. I have a customer in the store that¡¯s bleeding. Yes, sir. No, I¡ª¡± Colton looked back at where the customer was, but he was gone. Not dead gone, but not there anymore. ¡°Shit! Where¡¯d he go?¡± Colton ran around the counter to look for the customer thenhe ran to the backroom to see if the customerran out the back door. ¡°I¡¯m still here, but the guy is missing. No. I don¡¯t know, I¡¯m looking for him. No, he didn¡¯t leave, the door didn¡¯t chime. I just check the back. I don¡¯t see any signs of him or blood on the back door. No, it¡¯s not a prank. I¡¯ve got a floor with a pool of blood and no guy. Yeah, It¡¯s the mobile store on 16th street.¡± Colton gave the address to the operator and heard sirens a short time later. Greeley had a large police force since it was the county seed and had the University here. Technically, they had the state police there as well since they acted as the campus police. Regardless, the response time in Greeley was lightning fast. Colton was happy when the cops showed upuntil they pulled their guns on him. ¡°Get down on the ground!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Drop the gun and get down on the ground, NOW!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the phone, not the¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make me ask again! Get down on the ground!¡± Colton dropped the phone which promptly fell apart since it was a cheap cordless store phone. He slowly got on his knees and belly as the cops cautiously approached still pointing their guns at him. ¡°Put your hands behind your back!¡± Colton complied immediately, only to realize his face was inches from the pool of blood. ¡°Open your hand!¡± ¡°What?¡± Colton asked in confusion. ¡°Sir, open your hand and show me what you¡¯re holding!¡± Colton was a senior at UNCO in computer science and wouldn¡¯t say he was dim-witted, but he took a few seconds too long to realize that he was still holding something in his bloody clenched fist. He quickly opened his palm once the officer started to pry his fingers open. ¡°Where is it!¡± ¡°Where is what?¡± ¡°You were holding something. I need to know where you hid it,¡± the officer asked as he pressed down on his back with his knee. ¡°I¡ª¡± Colton''s mind was racing. The bleeding man put something in his hand, didn¡¯t he? Colton tried to think, but the handcuffs that were being put on him made it very difficult to think straight. ¡°I¡¯ll only ask one more time, where the fuck is it?¡± ¡°I¡ª¡± Colton thought back to the warning the dying man gave him. He did not understand what he wasn¡¯t supposed to tell them he had, but he didn¡¯t have shit. ¡°I have nothing in my hands, sir. I swear.¡± ¡°Bullshit! You were holding something, why else was your hand clenched.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. He grabbed my arm to stop me from calling the police. I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re looking for.¡± The officer¡¯s partner walked over to the man with his knee in his back and whispered. ¡°The store is clear. We need to hurry if we¡¯re to catch him.¡± ¡°Fuck!¡± Colton''s head knocked forward as the officer smacked his hand into the back of Colton¡¯s head. ¡°Where¡¯d he go, kid?¡± Colton started to cry. He didn¡¯t know why and God it was embarrassing, but he sobbed, ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on. Honest. The guy came in here with a stomach wound and I called the cops. He asked for the back door, but he left while I was talking to 911. I swear I¡ª¡± Colton stopped when he heard more cars pull up and doors opening and closing. ¡°Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!¡± The officer screamed in frustration as his knee ground into Colton¡¯s spine, causing Colton to cry out in pain. ¡°I¡¯ll be watching you, kid. If you¡¯re lying, I¡¯ll know it.¡± Colton breathed a sigh of relief when the pressure on his back released and the two officers stood to greet their coworkers. ¡°Hernandez, White. You got here fast,¡± a deep gravelly voice said. Colton was too afraid to lift his head for fear of getting hit again. ¡°Yes, Captain. We were just down the block when the call came in. We were checking a vandalism complaint near campus.¡± ¡°Hmm. What have you learned so far?¡± ¡°Victim came into the store at approximately 12:15 with a gunshot wound to the abdomen and this kid called 911 shortly after. When we arrived, the victim had already left.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s the kid in handcuffs?¡± ¡°We thought he was holding a weapon when we first arrived. He had blood all over him, we didn¡¯t know if he was the perp or the victim.¡± ¡°Was it a weapon?¡± ¡°No, sir.¡± ¡°Then why is he laying in a pool of blood messing up my crime scene still wearing handcuffs!¡± Chapter 2 The two officers who arrived first left after taking off Colton¡¯s handcuffs and Colton sat on the steps outside of the store. He¡¯d stupidly left his cellphone inside and had nothing to do except put on a display sitting outside the store while all the looky-loos walked or drove by to see what the police action was about. He wasn¡¯t allowed back into the store while the crime scene was being investigated. Colton groaned when his father¡¯s Jaguar XJ13 pulled into the laundromat parking lot next door. His dad¡¯s car was a kit car, but cool and still expensive. Colton watched as his dad slowly walked over to him and sat down on the steps next to him. ¡°Store busy today, Colton?¡± ¡°Oh, you know how it is, John,¡± his father never let him call him Dad at the store, ¡°had one customer but he departed before buying anything.¡± ¡°I heard you had a little excitement this afternoon.¡± Colton looked at his father with a raised eyebrow. ¡°How d''you find out, anyway? They have my phone in there.¡± ¡°They call me anytime they¡¯re dispatched to the store. They said you were all right, but when you didn¡¯t answer the phone¡­¡± ¡°You decided to pay me a visit. That¡¯s nice of you, John.¡± ¡°Smartass. How are you doing?¡± ¡°Better, now that the asshole cops are gone.¡± John raised an eyebrow and looked at the three cop cars still parked in from to his store. ¡°Not those guys. The first responders. They were¡­ excessively rough.¡± John grunted but didn¡¯t know what to say, so he said nothing and rested his hand on his son¡¯s shoulder. They sat there for about an hour before a detective approached them. She was about 5¡¯ 2¡± and maybe a hundred pounds soaking wet. She had jet black hair and dark brown eyes. She walked with a purpose, but without swagger or a swing in her hips. John appreciated a beautiful woman, and this detective was attractive and all business. She gave him a discerning glance but quickly diverted her eyes until they fell upon Colton. She squat in front of Colton and John smiled as he stared at her ass. She either ignored him or didn¡¯t see John¡¯s appraisal. ¡°Colton, my name is Detective Lopez with the Greeley Police Department. I have a few questions to ask you. Are you all right with answering them?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Colton sighed out with a tired breath. ¡°Are you his father or the owner?¡± John wasn¡¯t paying attention to her questioning and didn¡¯t realize that the question was for him until she cleared her throat. John smiled and took his eyes off her backside and gave her an embarrassed shrug. ¡°Um. Both.¡± ¡°Okay. What can you tell me about the man who came into the store? Have you ever met him before?¡± ¡°No. I only work a few days a week, so I don¡¯t know if he was a regular customer or not. Sorry.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay. What do you remember about him?¡± Colton rubbed his chin for a few seconds before answering. ¡°He wore a ¡°Save the chubby unicorn¡± t-shirt. Brown¡­ I think. I don¡¯t know¡­ In his early 30s? Not as old as my dad, but not a college student, I don¡¯t think.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Detective Lopez said while making notes in her little book. ¡°Do you know how tall or his complexion?¡± ¡°Um. I think he was Caucasian, he might have been Latino. He had black hair and either tan or darker skin, but he didn¡¯t look¡­ Well¡­ you know. He didn¡¯t look native to one of the Latin America countries if you know what I mean.¡± An irritated look briefly crossed Detective Lopez¡¯s face, but it passed quickly. John didn¡¯t think Colton noticed. ¡°Do you know how tall he was?¡± ¡°Not really. When I came to the front of the store he was kneeling and hunched over holding a wound.¡± ¡°Did you hear the gunshot?¡± ¡°Gunshot?¡± Colton looked entirely confused. ¡°Yes, I have a report that you told Sergeant White someone had shot the victim.¡± ¡°I never said that.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t?¡± Detective Lopez started flipping through her notepad trying to find something before sighing. ¡°Okay, so the victim was bleeding out in your store from a stomach wound, but you don¡¯t know the cause?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t chat.¡± ¡°And you didn¡¯t see how he got injured?¡± Colton grunted in frustration. ¡°I was in the back getting a duster when I heard the door chime.¡± ¡°Okay. Sorry, I just wanted to make sure I got the facts right. So, you were in the back, heard the door chime, came out and saw the victim.¡± She didn¡¯t state it as a question, but Colton answered anyway. ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Did he say anything to you?¡± ¡°He asked about a back door, I told him he needed an ambulance or something and I went to call the police.¡± ¡°And when did he grab you?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°He grabbed your arm?¡± She pointed to some dried blood on Colton¡¯s arm that he missed when cleaning it earlier.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°Oh, yeah. He didn¡¯t want me to tell anyone he was here. I pulled my arm free and called 911.¡± ¡°¡­ and he left?¡± ¡°No, yes. I don¡¯t know.¡± Lopez eyebrows furrowed. ¡°Well, which is it?¡± ¡°Miss Lopez¡ª¡± John said before being cut off. ¡°Detective.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Detective Lopez.¡± John gave her a broad smile. He loved spunky women. ¡°Detective Lopez, what are you getting at?¡± ¡°John is it?¡± John nodded. ¡°I¡¯m trying to determine where the victim is.¡± She turned back to Colton. ¡°When you were speaking with dispatch, you said he was gone. Where did he go?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Did he go out the front door?¡± Colton shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I didn¡¯t hear the door chime and the police showed up pretty fast. I¡¯m sure they would have seen him leave.¡± ¡°Did you wait before calling the police?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Lopez sighed for dramatic effect. ¡°Colton, we have a bit of a problem. You see, we have a lot of blood on your store''s floor. A lot. We have a phone call from you to dispatch, but we have no victim. You obviously are not injured, yet we still have at least a pint of blood on the store''s hardwood floor.¡± ¡°Linoleum,¡± John said. ¡°What?¡± ¡°The floors are linoleum, not hardwood,¡± John said with a grin. Lopez glared at him for a few long seconds before smiling. ¡°Right. Linoleum floor. I¡¯ll make a note of that. It¡¯s an important part of my report.¡± She turned back to Colton. ¡°Regardless of the floor type, we have a lot of blood and no victim. No witnesses saying he left your store. Other than the blood, we have no proof a victim existed. Do you see my problem here?¡± Colton nodded his head slowly. ¡°I understand, but I don¡¯t have an answer where he went. One minute he was bleeding out on our floor and the next¡­ gone.¡± Lopez stood and bent over to stretch her sore legs from squatting so long. She looked up at John who quickly diverted his eyes from staring down her shirt at her cleavage. She sighed and stood up straight. John turned back and smiled at her. ¡°Is there anything else you can think of?¡± ¡°The two cops, they¡ª¡± Colton stopped speaking. ¡°They what, Colton.¡± ¡°They were here fast and asked a lot of questions. They were¡ªaggressive in the excess if you were to ask me.¡± Lopez flipped through her notes and noted Hernandez and White stated they down the street. ¡°They were checking out a vandal call down the street. They were probably just a tad hyped. What questions were they asking?¡± ¡°They wanted to know where something was at. They aggressively pried my hands open and searched the store for something. They kept saying they needed to find him.¡± Lopez rubbed her temples for a few seconds and breathed slowly. Sergeant White was a real prick. She¡¯d had her run-ins with those two, but White was something else altogether. ¡°I¡¯m sure they were making sure you didn¡¯t have a weapon on you. They were probably looking for the weapon that caused the injury. I wouldn¡¯t overthink it. First responders are always on the edge since that¡¯s when all the shit goes downhill. They were also trying to locate the victim due to the amount of blood at the scene. I¡¯m sure they were professional in their actions.¡± Colton looked off to the side and shrugged his shoulder, but Lopez knew those two idiots were just being assholes. Unfortunately, all police forces have a few of them on staff. Being a police officer takes a special personality type and every once in a while you get the neighborhood bully. ¡°Detective? Do you have any more questions for Colton?¡± John asked. Lopez jerked out of her reflections on those two pricks. ¡°Um. No. Thank you for your time, Colton.¡± She reached into her pocket and pulled out two business cards. She started to write on it. ¡°Call me if you have anything else you can think of. If you call, make sure you reference the case number which I just wrote on the cards.¡± ¡°You¡¯re giving me your number already? I didn¡¯t even ask,¡± John said with a twinkle in his eyes. Lopez looked down on Johns left hand and saw a wedding band. She closed her eyes slowly in frustration. All the good-looking ones were taken or creeps. This guy was both. ¡°Call my office if you have anything to add John. Colton, think of anything¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you know. Thanks, Detective Lopez.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Lopez turned and took a step before John interrupted her departure. ¡°Oh, Detective Lopez?¡± She closed her eyes again before answering without turning back. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°When can we open back up?¡± Lopez turned back around and glanced at her watch. ¡°You close at 5 pm on Sundays?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll finish by then. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll probably want to have a restoration company come to clean the store before tomorrow. Anything else?¡± John smiled. ¡°No, you are free to go. Thank you.¡± Lopez sighed in frustration. ¡°This kid''s father is something else,¡± she muttered under breath. ### The police and CSI team packed up and let John close up the store for the night. He said they had a cleaning crew coming in the morning. Detective Lopez was standing out by her car when a black SUV pulled up next to her car. Two men in suits stepped out of their vehicle and approached her. She cringed internally at the sight of Feds. ¡°Detective Lopez?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Special Agent White and this is Special Agent Black.¡± He flashed his FBI badge so fast that Detective Lopez wanted to have a second look, but knew it would be a waste of time. They had obvious fake names. It didn¡¯t help that White was African American and Black was Caucasian. The obvious play on names was not lost on her. ¡°And?¡± ¡°We are looking for a Professor D¨¢vid Zima and have heard you might know where he is?¡± ¡°David Zima?¡± Lopez shook her head. ¡°Never heard the name before.¡± ¡°He was last seen in the Greeley area and rumors have it¡­ at this very store.¡± ¡°Our victim?¡± Black and White said nothing. ¡°Right. Then I don¡¯t know if I can help. Sorry boys, but we have a crime scene and nobody.¡± Special Agent White gave Black a slight nod. ¡°D¨¢vid Zima teaches at Mines on a top-secret project and disappeared yesterday afternoon. I don¡¯t know how he lost his tail, but we picked him up here in Greeley early this morning. We have since lost his trail again. I got word of a shooting victim here and wanted to know if you have video.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t have cameras in the store and couldn¡¯t find any cameras on the street. So, no. No video record of our victim. Honestly, I was leaning towards a staged crime scene rather than an actual crime scene. Nobody, no eyewitnesses¡ªalso, where did you hear about a shooting. I heard of no calls to dispatch for shots fired.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s classified.¡± ¡°Classified, my ass. Since there is only one other person to report to me about a shooting victim, I¡¯m wondering if it¡¯s the same asshole who talked to you, two jokers.¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ma¡¯am me. I¡¯m a detective and I work for a living. I¡¯ve earned my badge and I¡¯ll be damned if I will let two fake agents with fake names come here and try to blow smoke up my ass. I¡¯ll tell you what to do. Go talk to my Captain and have our cooperation come down through the official channels then I¡¯ll be more than happy to discuss this case further. Until then, I¡¯d like you, two gentlemen, to move your SUV out from behind my car and get out of my face.¡± Lopez paused and smiled. ¡°Please.¡± Special Agent Black¡¯s lips lifted in a partial smirk. ¡°Are you sure this is how you want to play this?¡± ¡°As sure as I¡¯m positive your name is not Black and his name is not White. I know enough to see a bullshit story when I see one.¡± ¡°All right, Detective. We¡¯ll play it your way. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get a call first thing in the morning from your Captain. Until then¡ª¡± Special Agent Black didn¡¯t finish his sentence before turning back to the SUV and driving off. Lopez stood next to her car and watched the SUV turn onto 8th street before getting into her car. She looked back at the mobile phone store and shook her head. She thought she would not try hard to solve a case without a victim before those two idiots showed up. However, now she¡¯s got to track this Zima character. ¡°What to do? what to do?¡± she muttered under her breath. Did she honestly want to get involved with the Feds? Something fishy is going on and it stinks to high heaven. Chapter 3 Try as he might, Colton struggled to fall asleep that night. Camille was horrified when he finally sent her a text, but she¡¯d already committed to spending another day with her sister. She offered to come home and console him, but he wasn¡¯t hurt and didn¡¯t want to be selfish. They talked on the phone for a few minutes before she had to go play with her nephews again. Today was a blur and Colton¡¯s mind was running a million miles per hour. He kept playing the events of this afternoon in his mind. The victim, the aggressive cops, the questions, and the blood¡­ so much blood. Colton shouldn¡¯t have been freaked out by the amount of blood since he grew up hunting and had killed a few large game animals. However, the sight, smell, quantity, and knowing it came from a man brought shivers down his spine now that he had time to reflect on the day¡¯s events. Colton thought he remembered the victim putting something into his hand, but the more he thought about the experience the less he was sure anything was there. He never opened his palm once to look. Why? He couldn¡¯t understand why he didn¡¯t look. He had just assumed something was in his palm and¡­ forgot it was there. It wasn¡¯t until the cops tried prying his fingers open that he¡¯d realized he clenched his fist. At that point, his palm was empty, and he was just as befuddled as the jerks who¡¯d abused him. Colton had seen on the news about cops being too aggressive, but up to this point, he¡¯d experienced nothing like it. I suppose he wasn¡¯t too bad off since they hadn¡¯t shot him, but still, it shattered his preconceived notion that those attacked by cops were up to no good. Hell, he¡¯s the one who called them and they treated him like a common criminal. Colton sighed and was grateful the Captain showed up before anything worse happened. He convinced himself that they would have continued pressing the issue had the rest of the cops hadn¡¯t shown up when they did. It wasn¡¯t right nor fair. Colton snorted when remembering his father flirting with the Detective. His dad was harmless, but then again, his parents had an open marriage. His parents acted more like teenagers in public than old people. It used to be embarrassing, but he¡¯d gotten used to their antics and laughed it off with his friends whenever they noticed. Detective Lopez was hot for an older woman, not his type but then again¡­ she seemed nice enough. Colton could see his dad hitting on all the nurses when he¡¯s in the nursing home one day. The thought made him smile and helped him finally to stop thinking about the negative thought. Colton had classes in the morning and as his mind shifted from Sunday to Monday and the classwork he¡¯d have to do, he began to doze off. His mind started listing off his assignments in his CS 440 class just before he started dreaming of Unix. ### Colton thought he was awake when a UNIX terminal screen opened up. He tried to look around, but his body didn¡¯t respond and he started to panic until it dawned on him that he must still be asleep. Commands were being entered onto the screen even though he wasn¡¯t doing anything, the line command began to appear on the screen sudo passwd root [sudo] password for solearth8675309d42: ¨ƒ The cursor began flashing and Colton just stared at it for a few seconds trying to remember ever using that username before. However, before he could contemplate it further the screen cleared and a new line of text appeared. Enter new ¡Æ¡ä??¡ä¡ê??? password: ¨ƒ The nonsensical ASCII symbols for the server name confused Colton for a couple of minutes and he watched to see what would happen next. The black cursor kept flashing in anticipation for the new password to be entered. However, after three minutes Colton grew tired and thought about the typical master password he¡¯d used in school.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Retype new ¡Æ¡ä??¡ä¡ê??? password: ¨ƒ What? Colton tried to wake up at this point. To be honest, he was scared out of his mind at this stage of his dream. He didn¡¯t type command he only thought of his old password. passwd: password updated successfully su - Password: Rather than waiting for Colton to think of his password again, the terminal started flashing commands he couldn¡¯t understand nor read. The language was mostly gibberish and the only thing Colton was able to figure out was that there was a software update taking place. The language was unknown, but it looked as much as a YUM like installation process as anything else he could figure. Colton¡¯s thought processes stopped after the screen froze for a few seconds then everything went black. ### Colton woke to his iPhone alarm without feeling drowsy or fatigued. One second he was asleep and the next wide awake. As he rushed into the shower, he remembered the odd dream he had the prior evening. ¡°What a weird dream,¡± he muttered just as he jumped into the shower. Fifteen minutes later and Colton was rushing out the door to his Audi. The door hinges squeaked and the steering column was loose, but it was his baby. Once Colton turned the ignition, he slammed it into gear and took off towards campus. He always pushed his luck with getting to his first class of the day on time, which is why he always scheduled his easy electives for the start of each day. Today, was a good day since he arrived early. ¡°It¡¯s nice of you to join us on time today, Colton,¡± Samile Belafonte, said in a dry tone. Samile was the grad student who taught his writing class. The course was a complete waste of time, but it filled one of his liberal arts core requirements. On the plus side, he¡¯s learned how to write papers for scientific journals. That might come in handy if he worked in research. ¡°Miracles happen, Samile,¡± Colton said. ¡°Try to make it a habit, you¡¯ll perform better in this class if you attend the lectures.¡± ¡°I attend,¡± Colton half-heartily protested with fake indignation. ¡°Showing up late every lecture doesn¡¯t count as ¡®attending¡¯, it¡¯s more ¡®popping in¡¯.¡± ¡°At least I try.¡± Colton found a seat and settled in for another boring class lecture, he looked that class syllabus. ¡®Bloat and cut.¡¯ Colton snorted. He could think of a million things which were bloated, like this class for example. The class progressed as did so many classes Colton had attended over the years of school. He looked around the class and saw the Note Taker, Class Clown, Class Drunk, One Term Freshman, and every other student who didn¡¯t want to be here but needed to fulfill their liberal arts core. Oh, there is the Class Zombie. He smiled at the sight of the cute blonde two rows up. He wondered if the girl ever slept at home or if she just waited until class started to catch up on her sleep. Colton was taking notes when his pen ran out of ink. Frustrated he started banging it on the edge of his desk to¡­ get the ink flowing again. If he had a lighter on him, he would have lit the ballpoint up. After several attempts to get the pen to write again, he lifted the pen closer to his face to see if he had cotton lint stuck on the ballpoint. After focusing on the tip for a few minutes, he near dropped the pen with a pop-up box appeared over the pen. It was small and expanded once Colton focused on the box itself rather than the pen.
Brand: Zebra SKU: 22218 ? Spec: ¡­ ?
Durability: 1/3 ? Quality: Poor Status: Low Ink ?
¡°What the fuck?¡± Colton squeaked. ¡°Mr. Bridges, do you have a question?¡± Samile asked as the entire room turned their attention to Colton. Colton looked up at the TA and back to his pen, then back to the TA and swallowed the lump forming in his throat. Clearing his throat, he said, ¡°N¡­ No. I thought I saw something on my pen. It was just earwax.¡± The students all broke out in snickers before Samile brought their attention back to her. ¡°In that case, do you mind if I continue?¡± ¡°We¡¯re good. You have my permission.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Samile said dryly. When Colton brought his attention back down to his pen the pop-up was gone. He wiggled the pen around for a few minutes to shake the box out, but after a few side glances from the surrounding kids, he put the pen into his bag and grabbed another. Chapter 4 Colton thought he was going crazy. Throughout the day he kept picking up his pen, trying to get the pop-up box to display once more. It never did. Around mid-day, after two girls giggled and pointed at him, he stopped waving the pen around while he walked between building. His mind kept going over the stupid dream he had last night and then the box regarding his pen. Colton wondered if he was suffering from some form of PTSD, but then he shook it off. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m not traumatized,¡± he muttered, ¡°¡­ well, maybe a little stressed¡­ and weirded out, but not traumatized.¡± ¡°Did you say something to me?¡± a cute brunette stopped and asked him. ¡°No, sorry. Just going over lines. Sorry.¡± The brunette smiled and kept walking. UNCO was a theatre magnet and there were enough kids here as theatre majors that he could use that line without looking crazy himself. He has got to get his crap together before he convinces himself that he just might be nuts. When Colton finally made it to his car, he was back to his normal self, more or less. Monday¡¯s were a light day, and he¡¯d be able to hang out with Camille. She didn¡¯t have classes until Tuesday and she should be back from her sister''s house by this evening. Camille hadn¡¯t responded to his text all afternoon, but that wasn¡¯t a shocker since she was driving through Wyoming on I-80. Cellular service sucked in Wyoming unless you had their local phone provider. Verizon worked well enough, but who could afford them? Colton threw his bag onto the passenger seat and put on his seatbelt. His latch didn¡¯t work half the time, so he fiddled with it until he could pull on the belt without it coming undone. It was one of that ¡®fix-it someday¡¯ items that he never had time to do. When he turned the key to the ignition, the starter groaned like his father does when in the main bathroom and was trying to tell the world he was dropping a deuce. ¡°I guess, I¡¯ll add ¡®replace starter¡¯ to my list as well,¡± Colton grumbled. After a few failed tries, his car finally roared to life and his glass pack told every student and professor in Greeley that Colton was leaving the parking lot. He loved the sound of his car, he just wished it wasn¡¯t so much work to fix. He¡¯d taken his car into the dealership a few times, but they were so dang expensive that he couldn¡¯t afford to have them breathe on his car. ### ¡°Hey, kiddo. How was school?¡± Colton¡¯s mother, Rae, asked when he walked in the door. Rae was making the dinner in the kitchen, wearing her usual ¡®Kiss the cook¡¯ apron that she wore on barbecue nights. Her red curly hair and dimples brighten everyone¡¯s mood. She stayed home and raised the kids until Colton entered high school. Rae now has a part-time job so she can be home early in the afternoons. ¡°Fine. Just a few more months and I can say goodbye to school forever.¡± Rae sarcastically laughed. ¡°Don¡¯t be so sure of that. A bachelor''s degree was fine when your Dad and I were in school, but you¡¯ll probably need a Master¡¯s degree if you plan on working for the bigger corporations.¡± Colton¡¯s shoulders slumped, and he sat himself down on the counter stool. ¡°I know, but can you at least let me dream a little?¡± Rae laughed. ¡°Sure. You¡¯ll also be super rich from winning the lottery next week.¡± ¡°I¡¯m winning the lottery?¡± Colton asked enthusiastically. Colton had to act fast as Rae threw her oven mitten at his head. He snagged the mitten out of the air inches from his face and laughed with his mother. They talked about school and the dreaded conversation about Camille. Rae often asked Colton when they would get married and give her grandbabies. She knew they wanted to wait until they had a professional career and deep down agreed with their decision to hold off on children. However, she feared Camille would get pregnant while they are still unmarried and that bothered her sensibilities.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. After skirting around the marriage conversation Colton when upstairs to his bedroom. His room was little more than 10x10 and barely large enough for a bed and a small desk, but it was all he needed. Colton had bought a 32 inch TV from the pawnshop last year from a few bucks. Pawnshops hated buying televisions from customers since they were so cheap in the stores and took up so much space on their floor. He bought the TV for ten bucks and he knew the shop owner was ecstatic for unloading it. An erotic Samarel poster hung above his bed. The painting depicted a woman taking off her panties with her back turned towards you. The piece was benign and tasteful, otherwise, his mother would have killed him. However, it sure made him feel great coming home to it on the wall. It wasn¡¯t cheap, but all fine art has an expense to it. Colton threw his backpack onto his bed and pulled out the pen that triggered his odd behavior earlier this morning. He sat down in his desk chair at the foot of his bed and stared at his pen intently. ¡°Come on! I¡¯m not crazy. What is wrong¡ª¡± The pop-up box suddenly appeared above the pen.
Brand: Zebra SKU: 22218 ? Spec: ¡­ ?
Durability: 1/3 ? Quality: Poor Status: Low Ink ?
¡°Ha! I knew it!¡± A tap on his bedroom door shook Colton out of his euphoria. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Is everything all right, honey?¡± Rae opened the door partway and poked her head inside the room. ¡°Yeah, mom. I just figured something out and got excited.¡± Colton gave her a sheepish grin. ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad you figured out how to use a pen finally,¡± Rae said with a snicker. Colton realized he was still holding the pen triumphantly above his head and lowered his arm. He gave her a small shrug and a smirk. ¡°It¡¯s been a challenge for me. Did you know that when you click the bottom of the pen the tip comes out?¡± ¡°Hmm. I didn¡¯t know that¡­ I guess I should pay more attention,¡± Rae stated with mocked sincerity. ¡°Dinner will be ready in a half hour. If you can figure out how to tell time next, come downstairs for some ribs.¡± Colton chuckled and slowly nodded head, ¡°That¡¯s what Google is for Mom.¡± He pulled out his phone and pressed the microphone icon. ¡°Set a timer for thirty minutes.¡± The phone chimed in and told him it set the timer. Rae shook her head in disbelief. ¡°I swear Colton¡­ You¡¯re a ham. I¡¯ll see you downstairs in a few minutes.¡± Colton gave a mumbled curse after his mother left since the pop-up went away after his mother knocked on the door. However, it only took him a few seconds to realize that he needed to think about what was wrong with his pen in order for the pop-up to return. On a whim, he pulled out his notebook and got a pop-up regarding the notebook. In a frenzied twenty minutes, Colton became very proficient at querying and receiving pop-ups on all the items within his bedroom. He realized by accident that he didn¡¯t even need to pick up the item in order for the pop-up to appear. Books, shirts, socks, the desk, his bed, and even the money in his wallet popped up property boxes. ¡°Amazing. It¡¯s just like OOPs,¡± Colton mumbled at little more than a whisper. Since the advent of object-oriented programing, programmers have learned to classify items using concepts of ¡°objects¡±, which contain data, in the form of fields, and code. The code gave objects a function. You could say Dog, Puddle, White, and 5 lbs and fit that into an object. Then you could say the dog would eat, sleep, bark, and growl as its function. OOPs have their place in software development especially with databases and working with repeatable software code. For example, if you were writing a video game of kids playing in a dog park. You wouldn¡¯t want to program the code on how to bark each time your virtual dog barks. Plus, they could use the same code every time any a dog barks. The Object for your dog could state different frequencies for the bark, gait, height, friendliness, or whatever. Colton picked up the original pen again and studied the properties of his pen. He felt the quality of the pen was better than poor, but he didn¡¯t understand the ranking system, so he shrugged it off. He focused on the Spec¡¯s line and nearly fell off his chair when line after line of property boxes scrolled across his vision. ¡°Slow down!¡± Immediately, the scrolling slowed, and he read lines for everything from the ingredient of the ink, to the size of the pen¡¯s ballpoint. Colton shuddered as he contemplated the implications of having so much information about¡­ everything. He knew everything about this stupid pen and he guessed part of that information was proprietary. Colton closed his eyes and tried to think about what he could test his theory about proprietary information. A small smile spread across his lips. Colton¡¯s phone alarm sounded and interrupted his thoughts. ¡°Oh, well, I¡¯ll check it during supper.¡± Colton threw everything back into his backpack and set it onto his desk before heading downstairs. Chapter 5 The conversation around the dinner table was mainly muted due to everyone stuffing as much sausage and ribs into their mouths as possible. Colton had three older sisters with Colton being the youngest by eight years. He was the surprise baby and spoiled to death until his next closest sister, Stephanie, moved out five years ago. His parent had the parenting thing down by the time he hit high school and thus didn¡¯t suffer under his parents'' constant helicoptering like some of his friends suffered. Cotton''s relationship with his parents was congenial and relaxed, mostly. His father, John, ran the family household much as he did with his retail store. He never messed with the details or operation of the family unless something needed to be corrected. If Colton never rocked the boat and took care of his chores and schooling, his father never dove into the details of his life. ¡°When do you work again,¡± John asked after clearing his throat. ¡°Maria has me working tomorrow after lab.¡± ¡°You okay working again. It¡¯s a lot to deal with,¡± Rae said. ¡°I¡¯m okay, mom. Honestly, it doesn¡¯t even feel real. It happened so fast and...,¡± Colton shrugged and turned his attention back to his meal. Their conversation returned to the mundane topics and Colton felt relieved that they didn¡¯t turn the conversation back to his feelings. He honestly had thought little about the incident at the store since his mind had become obsessed with the pop-up box this morning. Between the dream and the pop-ups, Colton had almost completely forgotten about the guy in the store. He figured out how to force the pop-ups on-demand only moments before coming down to supper, but now that he thought about the store incident he knew he¡¯d need to figure out if he was going crazy or if that guy gave him something. ¡°Dad, do you know if they found the guy?¡± John shook his head. ¡°Nah. I left a message with that hot cop this afternoon, but she hasn¡¯t returned my call.¡± ¡°Was she really as hot as your Dad says she was?¡± Rae asked with a smirk and gave Colton a wink. ¡°Really? You both are out of control. A guy nearly died, or probably died in your store and all Dad just flirts with the detective. Now¡­ you too, Mom?¡± Rae¡¯s eyes lit up, and she gave him a wide smile. ¡°I¡¯m teasing you, but if she¡¯s as hot as your Dad says, maybe I¡¯d like to meet this detective¡­¡± ¡°Lopez. You two are embarrassing.¡± John chuckled. ¡°No body no crime¡­ but that detective¡­ she¡¯s got a nice body. You can¡¯t deny that she¡¯s something special.¡± ¡°God! I don¡¯t even know where to start with listing all the things wrong with you both,¡± Colton said while rubbing his face in his palm. ¡°I¡¯m going to my room. Do you need me to clean up?¡± ¡°No, sweetie. I¡¯ll give you a pass today. Go finish your homework. We¡¯ll be fine.¡± Rae said. Colton gave his mother a head nod before getting up and heading upstairs to his room. As he walked upstairs, he kept looking at items throughout the house, trying to identify them with pop-ups. The pop-ups throughout the house were grayed out unlike those he found in his bedroom. He stopped in the hallway to look at a flower vase sitting on a small table in the hall.
Brand: Creative Motive SKU: 29491618 Spec: ¡­
Durability: 2/2 Quality: Junk Status: Cracked
¡°Cracked?¡± Colton mumbled. He picked up the vase and twisted it around until he found a hairline crack on the backside of the vase. The price sticker was still stuck to the bottom of the vase and he smirked when he saw that his mother bought it on clearance. ¡°Mom would buy it on clearance¡­¡± Colton tried to focus on the specs tab, but nothing happened. He wondered if that had something to do with the grayed-out box or if it was something else entirely. He¡¯d have to experiment more to figure out what the differences were. Once in his room, he continued experimenting with the various items in his bedroom. As cool as this new ability was, he did not see the purpose. When Colton played video games, this ability would help him assess the value of objects and with alchemy, it would help him make potions which would heal injuries or such. However, as best as he could tell, the ability in his everyday life to see the attribute boxes hardly had any real-world application. Colton wasted another hour trying to think of ways he could profit from having this ability and other than working in an acquisitions type job he did not see many uses in his everyday life. He sighed and turned his attention to his homework and lost himself in his studies. He lifted his head when he heard a tap and the door opening. Camille came bounding into his room and bounced on his bed. ¡°You¡¯ve been playing hard to get. Why haven''t you been responding to my text messages?¡± Colton looked around for his phone and found it buried under loose papers on his desk. He checked it and found his phone on silent. He had missed phone calls and eight messages from Camille. ¡°Crap, sorry, babe. It¡¯s still on silent. I totally forget about it after class.¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Camille hopped off the edge of the bed and threw her arms about Colton¡¯s neck from behind. ¡°Well, you must make up for it.¡± She kissed his neck and started to work her way to his ear. ¡°I¡¯ve missed you. My sister takes all the energy out of me, but now that I¡¯m with you¡­¡± He squirmed under the tickling pressure of her lips and tried to escape her grasp before he let out squealing laughter. ¡°Stop. Stop.¡± Camille didn¡¯t relent and upped the tickling by adding a few jabs to his ribs with her free hand. ¡°Damn it, Camille. You¡¯ve asked for it now!¡± Colton stood up from his desk chair, lifting Camille in the process as she didn¡¯t stop her attack. With a lunge, he threw both of them onto the bed thus breaking her hold on his neck and giving the advantage to Colton and his strength and size. He quickly gained the upper hand and tickled Camille until she was laughing so hard she had tears streaming down her cheeks. ¡°UNCLE! UNCLE!¡± Camille screamed. ¡°You don¡¯t get off that easy,¡± Colton laughed, ¡°you will have to call me Master.¡± Camille shook her head and so Colton grabbed her on her inner thighs, thus ratcheting up the screams. She only lasted a few minutes of this torture before Camille screamed out, ¡°Master, stop! Please, Master!¡± Colton stopped his attack and passionately kissed Camille until they were both out of breath. Colton reluctantly separated from Camille and flopped next to her side. ¡°I missed you too. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re back.¡± ¡°I might go away more often if that¡¯s how you kiss me when I come back. I think you bruised my lips.¡± Camille reached up and touched her lips with a finger before rolling on top of Colton. ¡°You have a lot of explaining to do, Mister!¡± ¡°About the lips?¡± Colton received a slap on the chest for that question. ¡°No. For not telling me about the guy being shot in your store.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if he was shot.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what the tribune says¡­¡± Camille scrunched up her face, ¡°don¡¯t deflect. You didn¡¯t tell that it happened and you¡­ didn¡¯t¡­ tell¡­ me¡­ you¡­ were there!¡± She emphasized each word with a hard poke into Colton¡¯s chest. ¡°It all happened so fast. I completely forgot about it.¡± Colton shrugged. ¡°You forgot about a man getting shot in your store?¡± ¡°He¡ª¡± Colton sighed ¡°he came in, I called 911 and he was gone before the call finished. The only evidence he was in the store, was the puddle of blood. I don¡¯t know where he got injured or how.¡± Camille shook her head slowly. ¡°Are you addled? You don¡¯t think you should have called your girlfriend of four years?¡± ¡°I¡ª¡± ¡°You don¡¯t think it would worry me sick when I found out about it?¡± ¡°I¡ª¡± ¡°You don¡¯t think I care about how you are?¡± ¡°Stop,¡± Colton grabbed her finger and stopped her incessant henpecking of his sternum. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ve been dealing with some weird shit today and didn¡¯t think about it.¡± He continued quickly as soon as Camille opened her mouth to interrupt him again, ¡°and yesterday was a whirlwind of events and I forgot to text you. I¡¯m so, so, so sorry, baby. Will you forgive me?¡± Camille gave him a stern look for a few seconds before relaxing and smiling. ¡°You owe me big time!¡± ¡°I do. I¡¯m sorry. I should have thought about you first. It¡¯s just been strange.¡± ¡°Strange?¡± Camille cocked her head to the side and raised her brow. Colton closed his eyes and grimaced. He hadn¡¯t wanted to tell anyone, so he wasn¡¯t going to say anything. He worried that he¡¯d sound crazy and¡­ ¡°Strange? How so?¡± He blew out a frustrated breath. ¡°It¡¯ll sound crazy.¡± ¡°You¡¯re already crazy. Spit it out, Master or the henpecking continues.¡± Camille raised her hand high above her head dramatically and prepared herself for the peck. ¡°Okay. Okay,¡± he tried reaching her hand, but she moved it out of the way. ¡°Enough with the pecking. I¡¯ll have a bruise there tomorrow.¡± ¡°Then you better talk¡­ or else,¡± Camille gave him a wicked smile. ¡°You are an evil woma¡ª¡± ¡°TALK!¡± Colton chuckled. ¡°Okay. You win.¡± He paused trying to find the words. ¡°The guy put something in my hand, but after the cops manhandled me, it wasn¡¯t there.¡± ¡°The cops¡ª¡± ¡°Let me finish. Yes, the first cops that came in were a tad aggressive. They forced me down and put me in cuffs, but that¡¯s not what is weird. Whatever the guy gave me was gone. The cops kept asking me where it was, but I hadn¡¯t a clue. I thought it was in my hand.¡± ¡°What do you think it was?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the weird part. I don¡¯t have a clue. However, that night I dreamt of me installing a UNIX package onto a computer.¡± ¡°UNIX as in¡ª¡± ¡°System software that we use in class and as I use a server. Anyway, this morning in class something happened and I couldn¡¯t get it out of my mind.¡± Camille waited for him to continue, but when it became clear, he would not talk she struck quickly with a jab in the sternum. ¡°Dang it! Stop. That hurts. You mean thing. I got a status pop-up when I was looking at my pen.¡± Camille stared at him with no form of expression for a few seconds. ¡°A pop-up? What do you mean?¡± ¡°You know¡­ Like in video games? Dagger, quality poor, durability, level, etc.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± She didn¡¯t know what to think and started to get a little worried. ¡°I see that look. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t want to tell you. I¡¯m not crazy. I came home from school and figured out how to recreate the pop-up and I can see them all the time now.¡± ¡°You see gamer boxes now?¡± ¡°No! I mean. I could if I want to know something. It¡¯s not all the time, only when I question something in my mind.¡± ¡°¡­ and you know what is wrong with your mind?¡± Colton laughed. ¡°Bae, I swear I¡¯m not making this shit up. I can prove it.¡± Camille raised an eyebrow and pressed her lips. ¡°How?¡± ¡°I¡ªDo you have something on you you can hold up?¡± Camille held up her hand. ¡°Not the hand. Something like a¡ª¡± he didn¡¯t know what to ask her for. ¡°How about my pants?¡± ¡°Your pants?¡± ¡°Sure. I bet you didn¡¯t even notice them.¡± ¡°I noticed you wearing pants, otherwise we¡¯d be doing something more interesting right now.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a pervert,¡± she playfully patted his cheek. ¡°They¡¯re new and you didn¡¯t even notice them.¡± ¡°I¡ªhonestly, Bae? You can¡¯t expect a guy to nice when a girl buys new clothes. You¡¯re lucky we look at anything other than tits and ass.¡± ¡°Pig!¡± ¡°Whatever¡­ at least we know what we want, but I¡¯ll play this game. I assume you want me to tell you about your pants?¡± ¡°Without looking at the brand tag on the back. Yes. Can you do it?¡± ¡°Not sure. I¡¯ll try.¡± From Colton''s position under Camille, he wasn¡¯t able to get a good look at the pants but tried, anyway. After a few seconds of investigation, ¡°Brill Boutique, KanCan, color is Kendra whatever that is, and with a three durability rating. Good enough?¡± Camille¡¯s jaw fell open as she looked at Colton in disbelief. ¡°My top?¡± she asked just barely above a whisper. ¡°Abercrombie & Fitch short-sleeve crewneck bodysuit,¡± Colton said before adding, ¡°olive green with the durability of five.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. That¡¯s what I was trying to figure out all day. At first, I thought I was crazy because it only happened in the morning, but when I got home¡­¡± ¡°You figured it out.¡± ¡°Right. However, I still have no clue why or how it happens.¡± Camille climbed off of Colton and laid down on the bed next to him, neither of them speaking for a while. After about five minutes, Camille asked, ¡°Can you change anything?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I was just thinking it would be cool if you could change the quality. That¡¯s my only complaint about Buckle¡­¡± Colton turned his head towards Camille¡¯s and stared at her for a few seconds. ¡°You know¡­ I wouldn¡¯t even think about doing something like that. You have a strange way of thinking.¡± Camille giggled. ¡°You¡¯re just a dumb boy who thinks logically, that¡¯s your problem. I mean, why have a superpower if you can¡¯t change the world for the better.¡± ¡°By changing the stats on your Buckle pants?¡± ¡°Hey, the world would be better if they didn¡¯t sell just cool looking pieces of trash. I mean, these look great. Right?¡± ¡°You¡¯d look great in anything¡­ or nothing.¡± ¡°Stop it.¡± ¡°So, you want me to save the world by fixing your new jeans? I never thought about it, but why the hell not. Let¡¯s see¡­¡± Colton looked at the pants and concentrated on the durability stats on Camille¡¯s jeans, but nothing happened or changed. He tried thinking of a brute force attack on the jeans when a box popped up taking over nearly all of his sight. ACCESS DENIED: ITEM ASSIGNED TO SOLEARTH3641389F2A. Chapter 6 ¡°What do you mean it won¡¯t work?¡± ¡°It tells me it''s assigned to something else. I don¡¯t understand what it meant.¡± Camille thought for a few minutes. ¡°Maybe you couldn¡¯t change it because it was mine.¡± ¡°That might explain the coloring,¡± Colton said as he slapped his forehead with his palm. ¡°Coloring?¡± Colton told Camille about the color differences he noticed after lunch. ¡°So, maybe the color shows items you can change?¡± ¡°It¡¯s worth a try I guess.¡± Colton grabbed the pen that started this mess and set is on the desk in front of him. ¡°Okay, this is the pen that¡¯s out of ink. Let¡¯s see¡­¡± He focused on the pen, bringing up the pop-up box once again.
Brand: Zebra Model: 22218 Spec: ¡­
Durability: 1/3 Quality: Poor Status: Low Ink
Focusing on the brand name Colton tried to get it to change. He didn¡¯t know any pen companies other than BIC, so he tried to force the brand to change to BIC. After a few minutes of effort, an error message appeared. ERROR: INSERT Statement Conflicted With the FOREIGN KEY Constraint ¡°Okay¡­ Now I¡¯m confused,¡± Colton drawled. ¡°What? What happened?¡± ¡°I just got an SQL error message, and it makes no sense. I mean¡­ Am I tied into an SQL server? Honestly, I¡¯m really confused.¡± Camille sat back on the bed with her arms behind her to support her sitting upright. ¡°So, Mr. Computer Nerd, are the messages tailored to you since you know what an EXTEL server is?¡± ¡°SQL¡­ No¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°So, what does the message mean?¡± ¡°Well¡­ If this was a database¡­ it means that the field I was trying to change is locked because it¡¯s tied to a different database.¡± ¡°Was it? I mean, what field were you trying to change?¡± ¡°The brand name,¡± Colton grunted in frustration. He ran his hand through his hair as he tried to figure out what he was dealing with. ¡°So, try a different field that¡¯s not locked.¡± ¡°How do I know what¡¯s locked and not locked?¡± ¡°How would I know? I don¡¯t see your imaginary box,¡± Camille gave him a shit-eating grin. Colton laughed at the stupid look on her face. ¡°Fine, let me think a little.¡± He looked back at the boxes and nearly slapped himself when he realized the asterisk gave him a clue which fields were modifiable. ¡°I think I got it. Let me try changing the model number.¡± Camille shrugged since she had no clue what he was talking about. Colton focused on the model number and thought about changing it and a new pop-up box appeared over the first with a list of model numbers. Unfortunately, none of the numbers had descriptions next to them. ¡°Great¡­ Let me try something¡­¡± He randomly picked model number 29811. Camille gasped as the pen shimmered and morphed into a different pen. Colton let out a low whistle as he looked down at the pen that had was new, but not. Matter of fact, it had teeth marks indented exactly where he usually liked to chew on his pens. He pulled up the pop-up box and noticed the durability was still at one but the quality increased to ¡®fair¡¯ rather than the poor. ¡°Well, that was cool, and a tad frightening,¡± Camille mumbled so close to Colton¡¯s ear that he jumped. ¡°Sorry, didn¡¯t mean to scare you. So¡­ what does this mean?¡± ¡°It means that I can change the model number of my pens.¡± ¡°No, Idiot! What does this mean? Are we living in the Matrix or something?¡± Camille was referring to a movie made at the turn of the century where the characters broke out of the computer simulation they were living in. Colton had no clue what this meant. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it means. I¡¯m not even sure what happened.¡± ¡°The pen changed¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, I got that, but why? I mean¡­ It makes little sense. If the world is an illusion, then what are we?¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Humans plugged into a jelly-filled pod playing a video game?¡± ¡°Or NPC¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Non-player character¡­ They¡¯re the characters you interact with that aren¡¯t real. At least that was I believed 5 minutes ago.¡± ¡°So¡­ you¡¯re not real?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know!¡± Colton stood up from his desk and paced the narrow space between the bed and walls. Camille pulled her legs onto the bed so Colton wouldn¡¯t bump into her. ¡°Maybe life is an illusion. I know that people have wondered it and religion even supports the idea.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Well, my parents have always said that God put our spirits into our body and when we die, we return to Him.¡± Camille shrugged. ¡°That sounds like an illusion to me or at least a simulation. I know that the bible says Jesus changed water to wine¡­ isn¡¯t that what you just did?¡± ¡°Lightning will probably strike you down for comparing me to Jesus.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not saying you are Jesus, I¡¯m just suggesting that history has stories of people doing what you just did. You just broke every law of physics in the book. I mean matter can¡¯t be destroyed or created and yet, you created a new pen where a different one existed. I don¡¯t know how you did it, but it¡¯s not normal.¡± ¡°No shit¡­¡± ¡°So¡­¡± ¡°So, what?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the stats?¡± ¡°Of the pen?¡± Camille rolled her eyes and nodded. ¡°Um. Durability is still at one and the ink is low. Quality and overall durability maximum improved. Other than that, I haven¡¯t checked the specs but I¡¯m pretty sure they all changed with the pen since it¡¯s obviously a different pen.¡± ¡°Can you make it new?¡± ¡°Let me check¡­ I still feel it shouldn¡¯t be possible¡­¡± Colton focused on the pen once more and changed the durability to 5/5 and status too full. ¡°That¡¯s a neat trick. It looks brand new.¡± The teeth marks and scuffs were gone, and it shined as if he¡¯d just taken the pen out of the package. ¡°Yeah. It really does.¡± Camille gave Colton another big grin and suggested they try it on more items. ### They experimented with everything in Colton¡¯s room over the next two hours before Camille had to call her night to an end. Colton and Camille spent a lot of time looking up model numbers for the different items in the room. Some serial numbers they could find, but most of them were not within Google¡¯s database as far as they could tell. They learned a few things, which luckily they learned it before Colton lost his data. When he updated his iPad it wiped its memory clean and gave him a brand new device. Luckily, once he logged into his device, it downloaded his data. It was a close call and made it so he didn¡¯t want to mess with his MacBook until he backed it up. He also never messed with his textbooks or notebooks so his notes wouldn¡¯t be cleared. With that said, he changed out his Samarel poster with some very erotic art but eventually changed it back to his original piece in case his mother came in for a quick visit. Some items had more fields he could change than others. For instance, he couldn¡¯t change his iPad to an iMac even though the brand was still Apple. The same FOREIGN KEY error message came up more than once as he learned what could and couldn¡¯t change. Colton could change things that belonged to him, but couldn¡¯t change things that belonged to others. For instance, he couldn¡¯t change his bed, but he could change his bedding since he bought those last year. He could change the durability and status of the currency in his wallet but could not change the denomination. That last bit disappointed Camille and him since they both hoped he could become stupid rich by changing one-dollar bills into hundred-dollar bills. In essence, they learned that if he owned the item, he could change it unless another database tracked it. He couldn''t upgrade serialized items tracked by different databases. He wasn¡¯t able to take his cheap Samsung J7 and turn it into a Samsung Galaxy or Note model since the serial number was tracked and belonging to a different model of the phone. In some ways, that made sense to Colton, but it still bothered him. Colton was sitting back down at his desk finishing up homework when he received a text message from Maria asking if he could work in the morning. Lucy called in sick and wasn¡¯t able to open the store and Maria had a doctor''s appointment down in Denver that she had scheduled three months out for. Colton thought back to his class schedule and figured he could miss a class without too much damage being done and agreed to work. Maria sent him a big XOXO text and Colton felt a little better about missing a class. They only had three employees working in the store and his dad would have worked for them, but he¡¯s clueless as to the current product line-up. He snorted and wondered if his dad should work in the store once in a while, but glad he didn¡¯t at the same time. His dad was a control freak in the store and he ended up cleaning more when his dad was there. When Colton finished up his assignment, he emailed it off to his professor and let him know he¡¯d miss class in the morning. He¡¯d have to grab the notes from ReElle tomorrow. He went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and looked at his reflection while doing so. On a whim, Colton pulled up his pop-up. He honestly didn¡¯t believe it would work and dropped his toothbrush when it did.
Name: Colton Bridges ID: solearth8675309d42 Species: Homo Sapiens Ethnicity: 76% Southern European 9% North African 8% Finnish/Volga-Ural 7% Scandinavian
Languages: English - 89/100 Spanish - 15/100 Age: 21 Height: 177.8 cm
Health: 89/100 Strength: 32/100 Intelligence: 47.5/100
Dexterity: 23/100 Agility: 15/100 Endurance: 14/100
Wisdom: 7/100 Charisma: 10/100 Luck: 3/100
PROFESSIONAL SKILLS Explanations:
MECHANICAL: 15/100 You know when to use duct tape or zip ties. It might fall apart, but you know where things go in general
COMMERCE: 45/100 Congrats, you know how to count change and not overtly lie to customers.
COMPUTERS: 60/100 Humans! You think you know it all.
MATHEMATICS: 20/100 AS IF! You¡¯re barely understanding the universe. For a human, you¡¯re way above average.
CONSTRUCTION: 5/100 Enough said.
????MORE????? ?
After looking over his personal stats, the descriptions of his skill sets offended him and he was surprised to find that he could change some items. ¡°47.5 intelligence? That¡¯s rude,¡± Colton mumbled, ¡°I¡¯m sure my IQ is higher than forty-seven¡­¡± After a few minutes, he realized it wasn¡¯t recorded as an IQ but a percentage between zero and one hundred. ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯m no genius, but I thought I was smarter than the average. That sucks. And why the hell can¡¯t I improve it?¡± Of course, no answer replied to his complaint, but it still surprised him he could change some of his skills. With very little thought, he changed his Spanish to a 100/100 and promptly blacked out. Chapter 7 Colton woke up on the floor of the bathroom with dried blood and toothpaste on his chin. His head throbbed and for the first few minutes upon waking up and he saw double of everything in the bathroom. It took him five minutes before he could sit up and rest his back against the bathtub. ¡°Mierda,¡± he mumbled. Colton rubbed his temple in a vain attempt to alleviate his throbbing headache. ¡°I don¡¯t know what the fuck just happened, but I won¡¯t be doing that again.¡± When Colton felt that he could finally stand on his own two feet without seeing double of everything, he picked up his toothbrush off the floor and slowly pulled himself up to the counter. He pulled up his¡­ character sheet? Whatever. His health was down to 75, but his Spanish was at 100/100 as he wanted. Without a thought, he started talking in Spanish to himself and surprised that he knew as much as he did. Colton didn¡¯t fully understand the mechanics of how he learned Spanish in a few seconds, but happy it worked at all. Colton looked at his health score and with serious trepidation changed it to 76. His chin began to tingle, and he felt a slight wave of dizziness, but otherwise, he couldn¡¯t tell if anything changed. Once the feeling passed, he tried again but increased it to 89/100, which was where it was at before he fell and hit his head. A wave of dizziness most sever struck Colton, and he had to lower himself down on the ground as he lost his equilibrium for a few minutes. He was grateful that he didn¡¯t pass out and could sit down, but¡­ Colton leaned over to his side and vomited the vilest shit he could imagine. The smell caused more vomiting and dry heaving for another five minutes. He was sweating and shaking by the time he recovered from the experience. Sweat was stinging his eyes and tears were still flowing from his eyes when he could sit back up. Looking at the mess on the tiled floor nearly started the process over again, but he had more control and stopped himself from throwing up again. ¡°What the FUCK!¡± A knock on the door responded to his outburst. ¡°Colton,¡± John said from behind the bathroom door, ¡°are you okay? Open the door. Would you, Bud?¡± ¡°I¡¯m okay Dad. I just ¡ª I may have eaten too much barbecue tonight, that¡¯s all. I¡¯ll clean it up.¡± ¡°Can you open the door?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, Dad. Go to bed, I¡¯ll be fine. I would rather clean up and head to bed. I¡¯d rather you not see me right now.¡± ¡°Um. Okay. Are you sure you¡¯re all right?¡± Colton rubbed his forehead in frustration. ¡°Yeah, Dad. I¡¯m fine. Thanks for the concern. I¡¯ll see you in the morning. Okay?¡± ¡°Sure, Bud. If you need to go to the hospital¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m not dying. I¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Well, okay¡­ but from out here, it sounded like you were dying. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay. Don¡¯t hesitate to ask for help. Okay?¡± ¡°Yeah. Thanks.¡± He heard his dad¡¯s feet prattle down the hall and Colton looked down at his shirt in disgust. He had black vomit splattered on his chest. ¡°Note to self: Don¡¯t vomit on the floor when you¡¯re already on the floor,¡± he mumbled to no one. It took a few minutes before he felt well enough to clean up the floor and jump into the shower to clean up. He kept going over what happened and decided that forcing knowledge into his head caused him to pass out, hit his head on the counter, gain a concussion and a gash on his chin, and finally healing himself ¡ª must have been too much for his system to take all at once. He didn¡¯t know for sure, but he knew he needed to be more careful when messing with his personal stats.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. When Colton was finally clean and standing in front of the mirror again, he noticed the cut on his chin scabbed over. He thought increasing his health back to his old stat would have healed the cut completely, but apparently it healed something else entirely. Sure, the cut didn¡¯t look fresh but apparently cuts needed time to heal properly. He didn¡¯t feel up to increasing his health to 100/100 tonight. That was asking for trouble. ### Colton woke up three minutes before his scheduled alarm. He felt refreshed and better than he could remember. He thought about going back to bed, but he wasn¡¯t tired in the least. He sat up and waited for his alarm to sound and quickly turned it off. He thought about last night and his horrible experience messing with his own character sheet and recommitted to himself that he would not make the same mistakes twice¡­ well, for the third time. He thought he learned his lesson after the Spanish change. That rule now applied to all characteristics of his personal stats. Colton took care of his morning ablutions and was sorting through his closet looking for a shirt when he decided to wear his favorite t-shirt that was a tad worn thin at this stage. With a quick stat change, it looked good as new. A quick few minutes later, Colton sported a whole new/old wardrobe. He didn¡¯t mess with the SKU¡¯s but restored everything back to mint condition. He ran downstairs to the kitchen to grab some breakfast when his mother stopped him from grabbing a bowl for his cereal. ¡°Hold on, kiddo. Let me make you some eggs. It¡¯s good to eat something better than cereal after you have tummy issues.¡± ¡°Tummy? I¡¯m not five, Mom¡± ¡°You¡¯ll always be my baby, so shut it,¡± Rae said and gave him a stern look, ¡°now sit down and tell me about it, while I cook you something to eat.¡± ¡°I really should¡ª¡± ¡°Sit, Mister!¡± Colton pulled out a stool at the counter and sat down. ¡°Spill it. What happened last night?¡± Rae cracked two eggs onto the already warming skillet and put salt and pepper on them. ¡°I was brushing my teeth and felt nauseous. Next thing I knew¡­,¡± Colton replied, feeling a tad guilty for not telling his mother about the truth, but making sure he didn¡¯t lie outright. ¡°Did you gag yourself brushing your teeth? You used to do that when you were little, but I thought you grew out of it. No. Don¡¯t answer. I see that look. Okay. So, are you sure you¡¯re well enough to go to school today?¡± ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m opening the store this morning and skipping school. Before you say anything, it¡¯ll be fine. I already emailed my professor and turned in my assignment. I¡¯m helping Maria out since Lucy called in sick and Maria had an appointment already booked in Denver.¡± ¡°Hmm. John could open¡ª¡± ¡°No. Dad wouldn¡¯t know what was on sale and what wasn¡¯t. I¡¯ll be fine. Plus, I need to go back to work, just to get back on the horse, so to speak.¡± Rae flipped the eggs over and turned off the stovetop. ¡°Are you feeling anxious?¡± ¡°No, but I¡¯m not looking forward to going back in either. So, it¡¯s probably best if I get over the hesitation before it builds to anxiety. You know,¡± he shrugged, ¡°the mind does funny things.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Rae grabbed a plate out of the cupboard and put the two eggs on it before handing Colton the plate and silverware. ¡°Do you want Orange Juice? Coffee?¡± ¡°Water would be great. Thanks, Mom.¡± Rae nodded. ¡°I can understand your desire to get back into the store. I¡¯ve been a little worried about you since the incident and last night¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. Thanks. Tell dad I¡¯m sorry I was short with him last night. I was a mess after the whole¡­¡± ¡°He gets it. You¡¯re an adult, he won¡¯t pry if you don¡¯t want him to. Just ask for help if you need it.¡± ¡°I will.¡± Rae walked around the counter and gave Colton a hug and a kiss on the forehead. ¡°We love you and only want the best. You let us know if you need help in the store. Okay?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Rae pulled back and looked at Colton closely, scrutinizing his clothing. ¡°Did you buy a new t-shirt? I never liked that shirt and hoped it would die in your closet. Why in the world would you buy it again?¡± ¡°What? You don¡¯t like The Ass Family shirt?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be a Smart Ass.¡± ¡°You want me to be the Dumb Ass?¡± Rae playfully swatted the back of his head. ¡°Wise Ass.¡± Colton smiled and shoved the last of the eggs into his mouth. ¡°I better get to work so I¡¯m not a Lazy Ass. I love you, Mom. Never change.¡± Rae pursed her lips and snorted. ¡°Love you too. I just wish you hadn¡¯t bought that stupid shirt again. Be safe.¡± Colton gave his mother a kiss on the cheek and a quick hug before running back upstairs to grab his backpack. As he was walking out the door, his phone rang. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°Mr. Bridges, this is Detective Lopez. I was wondering when you can meet with me today?¡± ¡°Um. I¡¯m working today in the store, I probably won¡¯t be free until late tonight. Someone called in sick, and I¡¯m covering.¡± ¡°Great. I¡¯ll come see you at work. Is there a time that best?¡± ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t think you¡ª¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for permission, Mr. Bridges. What time would be best for me to come into the store so we can chat?¡± ¡°Right,¡± Colton felt a lump form in his throat, ¡°early afternoon after one. It¡¯s usually slow after lunch hour.¡± ¡°Great. I look forward to having you answer a few questions. Some things aren¡¯t adding up and I think you might know more than you¡¯re letting on. Have a good morning, Mr. Bridges, and I¡¯ll be seeing you soon.¡± The phone line went dead and Colton felt a wave a panic form wash over his body. Chapter 8 Detective Lucero Lopez hung the phone up with the kid from the store. He sounded nervous and she wondered if there was something he hadn¡¯t disclosed about his encounter with David Zima. Someone had leaked the story to the Greeley Tribune and gave them faulty information regarding the incident at the cellular store. She had a good idea in which two dirty cops leaked information about a shooting. She spent all day Monday looking for a witness or anyone for that matter who actually heard gunshots fired in or around campus Sunday. Twelve thousand students attended UNCO, you would have thought someone would have heard gunshots if they occurred anywhere near campus. However, not a single call came into 911 except for Colton Bridges'' call. Lucero interviewed people from 7-11, Blackjack Pizza, and even the hair salon from across the street. Nobody saw the customer who walked into the phone store. Not one person. Granted, most people don¡¯t pay attention to who is entering stores around them, but she¡¯d hope someone would have seen a man bleeding. Lucero went back to the store Sunday night and looked for a blood trail between the store and the parking lot, but found nothing of note, no bloody footprint, droplets, smears¡­ nada. The lab came back with preliminary results that the blood came from a middle-aged male victim 45-60 years of age. It was still too early to get a positive match on David Zima. Lucero ground her teeth thinking about David Zima. She wasn¡¯t a missing person detective and yet Agents Black and White somehow got Capitan Johnson¡¯s cooperation in a joint investigation. When Capitan Johnson said, ¡°joint¡±, he should have said, ¡°Detective Lopez, you do all the work and let these two fine outstanding members of our government know what you¡¯re doing and when you¡¯re doing it.¡± Every time she thought of those two spooks her ears felt like flames were soon to burst from them. They were so sure the victim was David Zima that any time she suggested they broaden their search, she was rebuffed. ¡°If they know so much, why aren¡¯t they taking over the case so I can do something more productive?¡± ¡°Did you say something?¡± Detective Tena asked from the desk next to hers. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I¡¯m still bitching about those idiots I¡¯m stuck with.¡± ¡°It could have been worse.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°They could have shut you out and left you hanging.¡± Lucero barked out a laugh. ¡°I could only wish! Do you know how many leads I have? No? I have one lead and it was from those ass wipes who are making me chase ghosts. The kid has no clue who the victim was, the two offisewers are probably involved since they¡¯re the ones who keep saying the victim was shot, and the two goons were most likely pulling their strings.¡± ¡°Offisewer?¡± ¡°New word for you? An officer who works within ethical codes he found in the gutter? No?¡± ¡°Lopez,¡± Tena said in a deep rumbling laugh, ¡°I swear one day you¡¯re going to be called into IA.¡± ¡°For calling them what they are?¡± Tena leaned forward and lowered his voice to just above a whisper. ¡°Listen, Lopez. We all bleed the same blue. You need to be a team player. Even if you think they¡¯re crooked you can¡¯t be saying this shit aloud. If you continue acting up, you¡¯ll find yourself the center of the wrong kind of attention. I get that you¡¯ve been a cop for years, but you can¡¯t say this shit and you know it. Just be careful.¡± Lucero ground her teeth again and felt a tension headache build. ¡°I hear you.¡± ¡°Good. Then take my advice and run the dog and pony show for those Feds and be happy you¡¯re not being benched.¡± Lucero nodded her head slowly for Tena¡¯s benefit, but she wasn¡¯t happy and she doubted she could fake it. ¡°Anyway, you said you didn¡¯t have any leads?¡± Tena asked. ¡°What about that kid?¡± ¡°He¡¯s hiding something.¡± ¡°Why would he do that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think Hernandez and White have him spooked. Cap said they had the kid face down in the blood when they arrived.¡± ¡°What would he be hiding?¡± ¡°What is everyone hiding? Look,¡± she lowered her voice, ¡°Hernandez and White know more than their saying, the Feds know more and I¡¯m 95% sure the kid knows more. The only one who¡¯s in the dark here is me.¡± ¡°So fake the kid out. Make him think you¡¯re in the know.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what the know is to be in the know.¡± Tena¡¯s deep bass laugh thrummed in Lucero¡¯s chest as he barked out a long laugh. A few seconds into his laughter, Lucero joined in and they shared a moment.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°Look, kid¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m 34!¡± ¡°Right,¡± Tena rolled his eyes, ¡°Look, kid. That young man doesn¡¯t know what you know and what you don¡¯t know. Play with him and see if he spills any clue as to what game you¡¯re playing.¡± Lucero gave Tena a questioning look, ¡°you think I¡¯m in over my head¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you? You¡¯ve got the feds involved and you don¡¯t even have a victim. They don¡¯t stick their noses in local crimes. This is on a level you¡¯ve never played before and you best watch your step. You¡¯re a pawn in their chess game and you don¡¯t even know your color.¡± ### Colton pulled into the parking space behind the store and walked around to the front of the building. The parking situation near campus was limited so parking in front took up customer parking spots. Parking behind the store wasn¡¯t horrible except during the winter since they never cleared the snow off. The air was chilled, and it felt like a football season. Not cold enough for ski season, but cold enough that enjoying a baseball game was hit and miss. Colton likes spring and fall in Colorado and didn¡¯t mind a crisp air. Two customers were waiting at the front door to make their monthly phone payments so he quickly entered the store and skirted around the super clean spot on the floor. The two Hispanic customers followed him in the door and sat in the chairs by the window while he counted the cash drawer. They didn¡¯t speak English well and Colton recognized them as regulars. Colton asked them in Spanish how he could help them once the drawer was open and their eyes lit up. ¡°Hablas espa?ol ahora?¡± a customer by the name of Luis asked in surprise? ¡°Supongo que s¨ª,¡± Colton responded without missing a beat. ¡°Miguel el gringo no es tan est¨²pido como era ayer,¡± Luis said to the other customer, and they both started laughing at Colton¡¯s expense. ¡°Luis, you¡¯re English was always worse than my Spanish. If I was stupid for not knowing Spanish what does that make you?¡± ¡°Colton, me acabas de llamar stuipo?¡± Luis asked looking pissed off and Miguel took a step closer to the counter. ¡°No¡ª¡± Colton sighed and then repeated his earlier statement in Spanish. Luis stared at him for an uncomfortably long time and then both he and Miguel broke out in laughter. ¡°I understand English, Pendejo. I choose not to use it here. The girls are prettier and you¡¯re not my type,¡± Luis burst out laughing. Colton, Luis, and Miguel took care of their needs and talked about mundane topics while flitting between English and Spanish. Colton was amazed and surprised at how well he understood and spoke Spanish. He¡¯d always known there were subtle differences in the languages depending on the country you hailed from, but Miguel complimented his accent. Lucy came into the store around noon and they spoke in Spanish whenever there were no customers in the store. Lucy wanted to know how he learned Spanish so fast, but he couldn¡¯t give her an answer that made sense. He stuck with the lie of him having a dream in Spanish and understood it in the morning. He learned Spanish overnight and although Lucy thought Colton¡¯s story was shit; She had no way to explain his sudden understanding of Spanish. Colton spoke it better than her and she was born there. Although she spoke Spanish her whole life, there were things that Colton said that she would have said differently with a mixture of English and Spanish words. Colton didn¡¯t do that unless there were no Spanish words for it. She had grown lazy and would say ¡®cellular data¡¯ rather than ¡®datos del celular.¡¯ ### Colton¡¯s heart skipped a beat when Detective Lopez walked into the store during a time he was helping a customer activate a new phone. Lucy wasn¡¯t busy, so he asked her to take over so he could talk to the Detective. ¡°I thought you said you were working alone today?¡± Lucero said as soon as they were in the back office area. ¡°So did I, but I¡¯m glad she came in today since we are somewhat busy.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± she replied while waving her hand as if she didn¡¯t care what I said, nor believed a word of it. ¡°Colton, what did David Zima hand you?¡± ¡°Who?¡± Lucero pulled out her cellphone and pulled up a picture of David and turned the phone back to Colton. ¡°Hey! You found him! Is he okay?¡± ¡°No. What did he hand you?¡± ¡°I already told you and the other cops. I opened my hand and it was empty. He didn¡¯t give me anything?¡± ¡°Why was he being chased?¡± Colton narrowed his eyes at Lucero. ¡°Chased?¡± He shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know about being chased, shot, stabbed, robbed, mugged, beaten, or fucked. We literally didn¡¯t say hardly anything to each other.¡± Lucero stared at him and he started to sweat. ¡°It¡¯s the ¡®hardly¡¯ part I¡¯m interested in, Mr. Bridges.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Mr. Bridges now? Not Colton?¡± Lucero¡¯s facial muscles tensed. ¡°Don¡¯t be a smart ass, kid. I know you¡¯re holding something back and I need to locate Mr. Zima. He could be dead for all we know. If you¡¯re hiding something you could be charged with a crime for obstruction.¡± Any nervousness Colton felt before, vanished with the implied threat. ¡°Listen, Detective. I¡¯ve been straight up. I called the ambulance, I was thrown to the ground by asshole cops, and now you¡¯re threatening me with obstruction? I think we¡¯re done here. I do hope this David guy is all right. However, at this stage, I fail to see how threatening me for withholding¡­what? It doesn¡¯t matter. I think we¡¯re done. Contact my Dad if you need anything else.¡± Lucero sat still without moving, partly in a state of shock, and partly pissed off. She ran through several scenarios in her head of different things she could say and quickly crossed off the ones where insulting and threatening this snot-nosed college kid was listed. She took a gamble and came clean. ¡°Please, sit back down. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Colton sat back into the chair he had just vacated. ¡°As I was leaving the other day, two federal agents approached me outside your store and asked for information about Professor D¨¢vid Zima. They knew your John Doe¡¯s name and knew he was here. I¡¯m trying to save you the hassle of dealing with the feds. If you know anything. ANYTHING. It¡¯s best if you tell me now before they come asking.¡± Colton¡¯s anxiety returned. Feds? Shit! ¡°Look. The only thing he said to me that I left out of my statement¡ª¡± The office door opened suddenly, ¡°Colton! There are two guys from Homeland Security looking for you?¡± ¡°They with you?¡± Colton asked Lucy. She shook her head and started to stand. ¡°Tell them I¡¯ll be right out.¡± Lucy left and Colton stood to follow, but Detective Lopez grabbed his arm and stopped him from going out of the back office. ¡°Hey, I ¡ª I don¡¯t think they¡¯re from HSA. Keep your mouth shut. Let me do the talking.¡± Colton started to walk out again when she grabbed his arm again. ¡°Wait. What did D¨¢vid Zima say to you?¡± ¡°He,¡± Colton stopped and had a quick debate inside his head, ¡°he said not to let them know I have it.¡± ¡°Have what?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been telling you. I had nothing in my hands when Officer Dumb and Dumber took me to the ground.¡± Detective Lopez thought for a few seconds before finding her resolve. ¡°Don¡¯t tell them. I don¡¯t know who they are, but¡­ just stick to your original statement. We¡¯ll talk again.¡± When they emerged from the back office, Detective Lopez grabbed Colton and pulled him to the ground as the two men whom she¡¯d never met before pulled out guns and opened fire. Chapter 9 Three shots in rapid succession rang inside the store. Lucero felt like someone had punched her in the kidneys but years of training and kicked in and she quickly retrieved her pistol from her ankle holster. She¡¯d thrown Colton to the floor as soon as she saw the first guy reach for his handgun. She acted fast, but not fast enough to avoid at least one of those bullets. She knew someone had hit her, but didn¡¯t have time to worry about petty details like pain. The female employee was screaming as from somewhere and Lucero quickly scanned her field of view for the perpetrators however the customer counter was blocking her view of the store and the gunmen. Colton started to stir thus rocking her body a little, and she hissed out for him to stay down and stop moving. ¡°Ms. Lopez,¡± an Asian male voice called out from the other side of the counter. ¡°Throw out the gun I know you hold. There is no need for you to die today. Leave boy and we¡¯ll let you live.¡± ¡°Show your face and I¡¯ll give you my answer.¡± Wood splinters whizzed by her ear as a shot fired off from the other side of the counter. Lucero returned fire with two of her own shots. She heard a man grunt and curse after being hit. ¡°Very unwise Ms. Lopez. You¡¯re in over your head. You can¡¯t protect the boy. It¡¯s unfortunate timing that you were here.¡± Lucero knew they didn¡¯t have a view of their position behind the counter and hoped they were guessing at where to shoot at her before. They had pistols, not machine guns, so she wasn¡¯t too concerned with them blindly wasting all their rounds shoot through the cash wrap. If they were here to kill Colton, they had to get a visual on him. Colton had rolled out from underneath her and practically humped the cash wrap. A quick glance at the female employee told her that the girl was curled up in a fetal position in a clear view of the shooters and yet hadn¡¯t been shot as far as she could tell. Lucero heard shuffling and expected someone to come around the counter within seconds. If they were professional, which she suspected, they¡¯d perform a two-man clearing technique and she knew she had one chance to stop them. No sooner than she finished that thought An Asian male in his early 20s dove in a forward martial arts roll around the edge of the cash wrap. It tempted her to shoot him first but noticed his hands were empty. Instead of pulling the trigger on the rolling ninja she aimed up towards the counter and pulled the trigger as the other Asian male came around the corner in a professional shooter¡¯s stance for clearing a room. BOOM! Lucero put a hole between his eyes and quickly aimed towards the first guy and pulled the trigger center mass just as he pulled his trigger. She flinched but quickly realized he wasn¡¯t aiming at her. ### Colton opened his eyes and realized he wasn¡¯t at work anymore. Aside from a dull ache in his head, he felt superb. He looked around the hospital room and quickly realized he was alone. He reached up with a free hand to his head and felt a bandage on the side of his scalp. ¡°So¡­ I guess that wasn¡¯t a bad dream,¡± he muttered. He heard a faint knock on the door and a nurse came into the room a squeaked out a startled sound when she saw Colton staring at her. ¡°Oh! You¡¯re awake.¡± ¡°The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated,¡± a smiling Colton said. The nurse looked to be the same age as Colton, perhaps a few years older. She was a cute blonde with a nice enough chest that he could tell she had a great rack although the scrubs she was wearing hid most of her body features. ¡°That line gets old after a while. Maybe you should try Arnold Schwarzenegger next time.¡± Colton scrunched up his face and winced from a sharp pain above his right ear. ¡°I¡¯m not sure saying, My nipples are very sensitive, works in this situation.¡± The nurse burst out laughing and quickly covered her mouth with her hand. Colton couldn¡¯t help but notice that she had very cute dimples. ¡°No! You goof. I was thinking¡­ I¡¯m back.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s famous enough. He usually said, I¡¯ll be back, but I doubt I want to come back here, but perhaps you can tell me where here is?¡± ¡°Oh,¡± the nurse blushed, ¡°I¡¯m Natty. I¡¯m your nurse at NCMC.¡± Colton smirked and winced again. ¡°Your parents named you Natty? Are you sure you¡¯re not Naughty?¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Natty blushed and broke into another laugh where she covered her mouth once more. ¡°No¡­ It Natalie, but my friends all called me Natty.¡± ¡°Hmm. I like Naughty better.¡± Natty winked at Colton. ¡°Maybe you have a tumor.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a tumor,¡± Colton tried to say in his best Arnold voice. Natty laughed and changed out his IV bag checked his vitals before heading for the door. ¡°Oh, Naughty Nurse,¡± Natty turned back to look at Colton. ¡°Do you mind telling me what happened?¡± ¡°You took a knife to a gunfight.¡± ¡°I think that¡¯s Indiana Jones, but I didn¡¯t have a knife.¡± Natty giggled. ¡°No. I guess not.¡± ¡°So, what happened?¡± ¡°How would I know? I¡¯m just your nurse. Give me a second and I¡¯ll let the doctor know you¡¯re awake.¡± ¡°What about my family?¡± ¡°It¡¯s after midnight and your girlfriend went home. She would probably have stayed if we let her, but it¡¯s against hospital policy. Plus, you weren¡¯t dying.¡± ¡°Gee. Thanks.¡± ¡°No problem,¡± Natty said with a wink. ¡°Do you want me to get you anything while I¡¯m out?¡± ¡°Other than my girlfriend?¡± ¡°Other than your girlfriend. Do you want your mommy?¡± Natty gave him a big grin. ¡°It would be nice, but I¡¯ll live I guess. Isn¡¯t the room supposed to be filled with people when you wake up in the hospital?¡± ¡°Maybe if you would have woken up during the day¡ª¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a few minutes after I let the doctor on call know that you¡¯re awake. You have a few cops waiting in the lounge area down the hall. I assume they are here for you?¡± Panic gripped Colton¡¯s chest. ¡°What ¡ª what do they look like?¡± Natty shrugged and gave him a funny look. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ cop like?¡± ¡°That helps a lot. Do me a favor. Can you not let them know I¡¯m awake?¡± Colton gave her a pleading look. ¡°I¡¯m not feeling up to answering questions right now.¡± Natty looked uncomfortable and glanced at the closed door and back. ¡°I need to tell the doctor on call.¡± ¡°No. That¡¯s perfectly fine.¡± ¡°He might talk to the cops and let them know you¡¯re awake.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to cause you to get in trouble.¡± ¡°Pfft. I won¡¯t get in trouble not talking to cops, but I would if I didn¡¯t call the doctor.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Colton gave her a grateful smile and Natty relaxed and smiled back. ¡°I don¡¯t like cops either. I can understand you not wanting to talk to them. I¡¯ll talk to the doctor and see if we can give you a full nights¡¯ rest before letting them in here. Does that work?¡± Colton gave her two thumbs up. ¡°Perfect. Thanks, Naughty.¡± Natty blushed. ¡°No problem. Try to get some rest. It¡¯ll probably be a while before the doctor comes. We¡¯re kinda understaffed today.¡± Natty washed her hands and was drying them when Colton remembered to ask something. ¡°Oh. Are Lucy and that detective all right?¡± Natty shook her head. ¡°I can¡¯t talk about any other patients, but we haven¡¯t had the mortuary pick anybody up.¡± Colton sighed in relief. ¡°Right. Thanks, Naughty. That takes a load off my mind. I¡¯ll talk to you later.¡± ### After Natty left, Colton pulled up his personal stats and saw that this health was down to 73% and a list of injuries displayed which confirmed his suspicions that he was shot in the head and in the upper right arm. After carefully reading the gibberish that probably made sense to a physician, he concluded that he was shot once, but the bullet ricocheted off a bone and then impacted his head. All things considered, he felt lucky to be alive. Colton wondered what would happen if he moved his health all the way to 100% and quickly dismissed the whole idea. For one thing¡­ cops. Since so many people knew someone had shot him¡­ it would be stupid to heal himself magically. His personal stats showed he was on a painkiller of some type, which would explain why he hadn¡¯t noticed his shoulder had a bandage on it. He couldn¡¯t even feel discomfort at all. He dug into his settings and realized that his system was muting the pain receptors automatically and didn¡¯t know if it was a default setting since he¡¯d never looked too deep into the whole interface before being shot at work. There was so much he didn¡¯t understand about having root access to his life. He wondered briefly about God and quickly dismissed the whole notion. It didn¡¯t matter if there was a God or not at this time. He¡¯d always figured that if he lived a good life and treated people fairly, then everything would work out in the end. Just in case there was a God, he thought a good life would cover his shortcomings. As it stood¡­ he had the unique opportunity to mess with a few settings. He ticked up his health to 75%. He wasn¡¯t sure what would happen but figured a small increase wouldn¡¯t make things too noticeable. Once he mentally clicked accept, he felt the veins in his left arm with the IV, contract and draw fluids from the IV bag. It was a weird thing to watch since they set the IV for a specific draw rate. The drips came quicker, and he watched the IV bag drain a quarter of its fluid before resuming the original draw rate. During the drain, the drops were falling so fast it looked more like a stream coming into the IV line than the slow drip. Colton confirmed with a quick glance that his health had improved slightly, but he was still suffering from a concussion. Honestly, he couldn¡¯t see any difference from the list of injuries at first until he noticed that a contusion on his hip was no longer on the list of ailments. He hadn¡¯t looked at his hip to verify he had a bruise there, so he doubted it made a difference if he tried to look now, but he looked anyway. He couldn¡¯t see anything on his hip, so he didn¡¯t know if it did anything or not. Colton wouldn¡¯t exactly say sitting in the room by himself was boring since he was looking at his stat sheet, but he started wondering what he could and couldn¡¯t change. When he discovered that it listed his penis measurements¡ª ¡°I mean¡­ who wouldn¡¯t?¡± Colton snorted. Being as cautious as he could, meaning not cautious at all, Colton ticked up the length from 16.5 cm to 19 cm and mentally confirmed the change. There are only a few times Colton can remember feeling so much pain in his life. Imagine sticking a thousand needles into your penis and then pissing on an electric fence. The latter being something Colton was stupid enough to do as a child. That wouldn¡¯t even come close to the raw nerve pain he felt as his penis lit on fire. His throat was raw before he realized he was screaming, but luckily he passed out after only two or three minutes of mind-numbing torture.