赤裸裸的滑稽故事

For seven straight days, they had played this game. For seven straight days, Ashleigh had lost.

Normally, Ashleigh wouldn’t have minded these games, sure, she hated losing, but the game itself was quite fun. Capture the flag with more realistic consequences.

There was no permanent damage, all injuries were immediately addressed by a physician in the arena, and really all anyone was left with were aches and maybe some bruising. But during the battle, it was all very real.

Ashleigh’s goal was to reach the safe zone, up the hill, and over the downed log. Every other wolf’s goal was to stop Ashleigh.

Each day, Fiona brought in another wolf. They were currently up to thirteen, plus Fiona.

After the first round, she knew she couldn’t let Caleb see what was happening. If Fiona wanted to test her, she was willing to go along with it. Caleb, on the other hand, would have thrown a fit if he knew.

Ashleigh sat in her room with an ice pack on her shoulder when her phone rang.

“Hello?” she answered.

“Ashleigh, did you do it?” Clara asked excitedly.

“Failed again,” Ashleigh sighed.

Clara sighed into the phone.

“Don’t worry, I’ll win tomorrow for sure.”

“Ashleigh,” Clara said, “it’s not that I don’t think you can… but you said that we need to get into Alpha Cain’s office as soon as possible, right?”

Ashleigh looked around to make sure she was alone out of habit.

“Careful saying that out loud…” Ashleigh whispered._.

“It’s ok,” Clara said, “I’m in my own office. I already swept it for listening devices and set up a scrambler on my phone. It automatically adds a layer of static over our voices for anyone trying to listen in on the call.”

“Well, that… is handy,” Ashleigh laughed.

“Yep!” Clara replied, brimming with pride.

“Anyway, yes, we need to get into his office and see what we can learn about the days leading up to his death, see if there is anything that will help us figure out exactly what happened,” Ashleigh said.

“Right, so it’s important, and needs to be started sooner rather than later.”

“Yes, but Fiona was very clear that until I win this training game, all my time is on the training grounds. I can’t even enter the science building.”

“No, but I can,” Clara said. “I’m here right now, this is where my office lives.”

“Clara… this could be dangerous…”

“Ash, the danger is going to come AFTER we solve the mystery. I’m talking about going into a room that has been sealed for the better part of three years. The biggest risk I face is, I don’t know, a moldy sandwich that was forgotten about? Or maybe a forgotten pet?”

Clara gasped suddenly.

“Oh no!”

“What? What happened?” Ashleigh asked, jumping up from her chair, letting the ice pack fall to the floor.

“Oh… it’s nothing,” Clara said sadly. “I just got really sad thinking that maybe Alpha Cain had a gerbil or something. And it was forgotten, did it die of loneliness? or starvation? … No one will ever know. Rest in peace, Gerald B. Gerbil.”

Ashleigh stared at the wall before her, blinking.

“I… I don’t even know how to respond to… did you just… did you just invent a fake pet with a name and story for you to be sad about?”

“He was real in my heart,” Clara replied quietly.

“You’re a strange one,” Ashleigh said.

“I’ve heard that before,” Clara shrugged. “My point remains, it’s not a danger for me to enter his lab. Also, it will give me time to look through his files and see if there is anything strange or out of the ordinary.”

“Do you even know what ordinary looks like?” Ashleigh asked with a smile.

“Do you know what winning looks like?” Clara retorted.

“Ouch!” Ashleigh laughed.

“Sorry,” Clara said, holding back a giggle.

“Do not apologize for a well-executed and deserved burn,” Ashleigh said. Then, reaching down for the ice pack, she sat back down.

“Anyway, what do you think?” Clara asked.

“Well… I don’t love the idea of sending you in alone, even if it is just an old office… but, you’re right. We need to get this started, and you are definitely going to understand his files better than I ever could.”

“So that’s a yes on Operation: Clara the Spy?” Clara asked.

Ashleigh rolled her eyes.

“I guess so, but don’t expect me to call it that,” Ashleigh said.

“It’s a great name,” Clara said quietly.

Ashleigh laughed, then she remembered the items in her bag.

“Oh, actually, Clara, before you try any spy stuff, I do need you to come see me,” Ashleigh said, getting up from her chair again.

“What for?” Clara asked.

“I have a couple of things that you might find useful, or perhaps interesting, or might be nothing at all,” Ashleigh replied.

“So, you want to give me a mystery for the mystery you’ve already given me?”

“Guess so, yea,” Ashleigh laughed. “Just come over here and get them, please.”

“Alright, I’m on my way.”

They hung the phone, and Ashleigh looked through her bags, near the bottom in a hidden pouch was the watch. She opened it up to confirm the contents were still safely inside.

She placed the small memory card in her hand, turning it between her fingers.

“I really hope you have some answers for us,” she sighed.

Ashleigh put the card down on the nightstand and pulled out the other item, the small black disc no bigger than a thumb pad.

“You… I really just want to know what you are…” Ashleigh whispered to herself.

A knock at her door startled her, almost making her drop the item. But instead, she quickly put it and the memory card in her pocket, then returned the pocket watch to her bag before she answered the door.

“That was quick,” Ashleigh said as she saw Clara standing on the other side of the door.

“Yea, I was on my way out, so it made it easy to just come straight here.”

“Come on in,” Ashleigh smiled, moving out of the way to let Clara enter.

Once the door was closed, Clara immediately turned to Ashleigh.

“Alright, what’s my new mystery!” she asked excitedly.

Ashleigh couldn’t help but laugh.

“Excited?” she asked.

“I really am, I love mysteries,” Clara replied with a bright smile.

“Alright,” Ashleigh said, pulling the items out of her pocket. “This one is pretty easy.”

Ashleigh handed Clara the memory card.

“Oh, yeah, ok. I can open this for you,” Clara said with evident disappointment.

“We tried opening it on different readers, machines, whatever, it never worked. So, there might not be anything to look at.”

“No, you wouldn’t have been able to pull anything. These memory cards are designed to specifically work in our system. That way, even if they get lost or stolen, no one but us can access the files.”

Ashleigh noted the bored tone in Clara’s voice. She almost laughed again; this girl really did like a mystery to solve.

“Well, that’s good, since Alpha Cain wanted it protected, hopefully, that means it will have our answers,” Ashleigh said. “There is also this.”

She handed Clara the other item, this time, Clara reacted with more interest.

“Oh, that’s more like it,” she smiled.

“I assume this pleases your mystery-loving heart?” Ashleigh asked.

“Very much so!” Clara said with enthusiasm.

“You seem to at least have an idea of what this is, care to share with the class?”

“It’s a memory card as well, sort of. More like… a key? It opens a partitioned section of a computer. Usually, something completely off the network, completely inaccessible unless you have one of these babies,” Clara answered.

“Ok, so this could be the answer to everything?” Ashleigh said excitedly. “I mean, if he had a secret project or something he was trying to keep from the other Alphas, it would be here, right?”

“Seems like a reasonable guess to me,” Clara smiled.

“So, we got this?” Ashleigh smiled.

“Well….” Clara said.

Ashleigh’s smile fell.

“Well, what?”

“Well, usually these things have a password,” she said, looking at Ashleigh. “You don’t happen to have that password, do you?”

Ashleigh sighed.

“Well, at least it’s a start.”