Selene and Abby
Copyright© 2022 by Old Man with a Pen
Chapter 7
Still Abby
<>. Various vocalizations of denial. Most confirming that none of them was guilty of gifting Abby a watch. <I didn’t>... <I never>... <No!> were repeated by the second ... well ... by the 1o second. The seven denied duplicity.
I had said, “Doesn’t everybody?” Although the rising inflection at the end of my statement did suggest a question ... I was making a declaration and not an interrogative. Surely everyone in North America has a watch. Even the homeless have cell phones. So ... it’s not a watch ... per se ... most of them tell and keep time ... and that’s a watch ... to me anyway ... but I do have an antique windup. I found it. Yes ... it is broken and I never bothered ... I keep it because it’s pretty ... and solid gold ... emergency money.
Rambling here ... the explosion of the shipper was ... unsettling. I came THIS close to being truly dead.
“What ... in the name of The Powers That Be ... was in that container?”
<>?
“Junior?”
“What ever it was ... it wasn’t nuclear. There was a lot of ... whatever. My bubble bulged ... never done that before.”
<Abby?>
“Oh ... come off it, Seven,” I said. “If you insist ... show up.”
They emerged, discombobulated ... slightly disgusting ... I’m not used to it ... but they do it ... I can live with that.
“Finally ... people ... I can deal with that ... better than the voices in my head ... you guys drive me bonkers.”
“Short trip,” quipped Two.
“HaHa,” I retorted. The blowup had me unsettled ... with some recovery time I could do better than a squeaky laugh. As a precautionary measure, I took my pulse ... ooo ... rapid. Scared me, it did.
Suddenly, I realized I hadn’t procreated ... I could have left this realm without distributing my genes ... my ... life force would be lacking in the general population. Tragic. I began eying the male portion of the seven.
Six said ... warily, “Flattering, Abby.”
I blushed ... I forget they can read minds.
Four continued, “But no. However ... the police AND fire department are seconds away ... several of the firefighters would be suitable.”
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