Chapter 43: Login Denied
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AC: It's Gotta be a nightmare, XANA Now has Grip over Existance, 07593
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AC: No! (Remembers her Sister) My Sis...
June 5, 2021
It was the last day of school. Everyone was waiting impatiently for the final bell to ring, signaling their escape from the prison that was Tremorton High School and the release into the sweet freedom of summer vacation.
In the back row of Mr. Greer's eighth hour Physics class, two teenagers were talking in excited whispers. The first was a pretty, sixteen-year-old sophomore girl with shockingly blue hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a short white skirt and a light blue tank top that just barely met the school's dress code.
The other student was her boyfriend, a boy with silky brown hair and green eyes flecked with gold. He was two years older than the girl, and a senior. He was wearing khaki shorts and a short sleeved brown polo shirt, with his letterman jacket thrown across the back of his chair.
"Miss Wakeman! Mr. Thompson! Could you please keep it down?" Mr. Greer, a short, tubby man with a comb over and a thick moustache, called to them. "Just because today is the last day of school doesn't mean you can check your minds out quite yet!"
"Aww, Mr. Greer! We got five minutes until the bell! Why don't you let us out early, just this once?" Luke Thompson asked.
Mr. Greer looked appalled. "Mr. Thompson, whether it is the last day of school or not, my job is to mold your minds and teach you everything I can about Physics. Judging by your grades, I would say that you need all the teaching you can get."
Luke flushed; he knew full well that he had come close to failing Physics. Despite his girlfriend's best efforts to tutor him, he hadn't absorbed any of the information-perhaps because he was too busy studying her to even look at the diagrams she was trying to show him.
"However," Mr. Greer continued, "Since it is the last day of school, I shall be a 'nice' teacher and let you go."
A great cheer rose up from the students as they dashed out the door, escaping to start their summer. Only the blue haired girl stayed behind.
"Mr. Greer," Jennifer Wakeman said, "why did you say that in front of the whole class?"
Mr. Greer sighed. "I might have known you would ask me that...Miss Wakeman, it is my belief that some students' failures are inexcusable. Luke Thompson is one of those students. The only reason why he didn't fail is because he participated in class, and he always turned in his homework on time; if I graded for points, instead of for completion, he never would have made it past the first quarter. Mr. Thompson is a student who believes he has rule over the entire school-I was simply trying to show him that he is not as powerful as he thinks he is." Jenny nodded, absorbing everything that Mr. Greer had just said. It sounded true enough. "I do hope that once Mr. Thompson leaves Tremorton, you will find someone more worthy on whom to expend your affections."
"Excuse me?" Jenny asked. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, you could be with someone so much better for you than Mr. Thompson. You're a nice girl, and quite intelligent. You deserve better than him."
"I'm not sure that you should be saying that, Mr. Greer," Jenny replied angrily.
Mr. Greer looked Jenny in the eye. "Mr. Thompson is no longer my student; I may say whatever I wish about him. Now, you get out of here; I'm sure you're anxious to start your summer vacation."
"All right. Good-bye, Mr. Greer." Jenny picked up her backpack and walked out of the school. Luke was waiting outside in his car.
"Hey, pretty lady! Want a ride?" he asked cheekily. Jenny laughed and ran down to him, hopping in the car as Luke pushed on the gas pedal.
A few minutes later, Luke pulled up in front of Jenny's house. "Hey, a couple of the baseball players are going out on Friday, after graduation. Do you wanna come with me?" "Sure!" Jenny said. She leaned in and gave Luke a peck on the lips before climbing out of the car and making her way up the walk.
"MOM! I'm home!" Jenny yelled as she walked through the door. Her mother's voice trailed up the steps from the lab, unintelligible from being bounced off so many surfaces. "What?" Jenny asked.
"I'll be up in a minute!" Nora Wakeman said as she made her way up the steps. " How was your last day of school, dear?"
"Oh, it was great! Except for when Mr. Greer talked to me after he let everyone out."
"Are you in trouble?" Nora looked at her daughter with concern.
"No! He just wanted to talk to me about Luke. He said I should find someone else."
Nora squinted for a moment, peering at Jenny. "You know, I've always thought that boy was too old for you..."
"Mo-om!" Jenny yelled. "I like Luke, and he likes me! We're going out on Friday night, after the graduation ceremony."
"Oh, really? Well, you won't be going if you're grounded," Nora yelled right back. Ever since Jenny had started dating Luke, she and Nora had been having many of these arguments. Nora knew exactly what would happen next.
Jenny screamed loudly before running up the stairs to her bedroom. She collapsed on her bed and sobbed into her pillow, ranting about the unfairness of it all and how she hated her mother. Eventually, she fell asleep.
Several hours later, Jenny's cell phone awakened her. She recognized the ringer; Luke was calling. Sitting up, Jenny pulled the phone from her pocket and opened it. "Hello?" "Hey, babe," Luke said. "What's up?"
"Nothing, really," Jenny replied. "I just got in a huge fight with my mom."
"Ooh, harsh. Anyway, you wanna go and get something to eat?"
"Can't. I'm grounded."
"What? Why?"
"Apparently, my mom thinks it's going to stop me from going out with you." Jenny sighed and turned her head toward her door. She noticed a plate of grilled cheese sandwiches and a bowl of tomato soup sitting by her door, along with a glass of milk and some crackers. Her mother had left dinner for when she woke up.
"Well, what do you say we go out tonight? Your mom's in the lab, isn't she?"
"Hang on; let me check." Jenny walked over to the door and opened it carefully; the house was silent. "Yeah, she is."
"All right, then, climb out your window, and I'll meet you at the corner in five minutes."
"Okay! I'll see in then. Love you."
"You too, babe." Jenny hung up and quickly changed into a pair of low-rise jeans and a black tee shirt that said "All this and brains, too!" on the front. She combed out her hair with her fingers, applied a little more lip-gloss, and pulled on her black Converses before she climbed out her window onto a trellis that was conveniently placed next to it.
Exactly five minutes after hanging up, Jenny arrived at the corner where she was to meet Luke. She waited patiently until she saw Luke arrive in his rebuilt Ford Thunderbird. "Hey, are you looking for some fun?" he asked jokingly.
The double meaning of his words was not lost on Jenny as she climbed into the car. Blushing a little, she leaned over and gave him a kiss on the lips. "Sure!" she replied. "What did you have in mind?"
"How 'bout we head over to Mizzner's Soda Shop?" Luke suggested. "My treat."
Jenny felt a pang of guilt as she remembered the soup and sandwiches her mother had made for her, but she ignored it and replied, "I like the way you think, Luke Thompson."
"I thought you might. By the way, I completely agree with your shirt."
Jenny laughed as Luke started to drive toward the soda shop. When they arrived, they grabbed a booth by the window so that they could watch the people walking along the sidewalk and make up stories about them.
"Hmmm...the lady with the pink hat is the mistress of a high-powered attorney, and she's on her way to meet him for a dinner date," Jenny said, gesturing toward a thin lady with an enormous pink hat standing at the corner. "Ooh, good one. All right, then...the woman standing next to her is the attorney's wife, and she's going to meet her own lover--at the same restaurant."
Jenny laughed at Luke's idea, but soon realized that Luke wasn't laughing. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Luke replied. "I just love listening to you laugh."
Jenny blushed. "Oh..."
"Hey, you wanna go for a walk?"
"Sure." Luke pulled a few bills from his wallet and left them on the table for their meal, and then he and Jenny walked out of Mizzner's. They made their way to the park down the road, walking past the newly built Tremorton National Bank and Loan.
When they arrived at the park, Luke led Jenny toward a secluded corner, and they sat down on a bench. Luke cleared his throat nervously, as if preparing for a speech. "Jenny...I know we've only been dating a couple of months, but I have been happier that ever before in my entire life."
"Luke, I"—
"Wait, let me finish. I know that you're only sixteen, but I really feel like it's time to take our relationship to the next level."
Jenny looked at Luke a little oddly, worried about what he might be implying. However, Luke just slipped his class ring into Jenny's hand. "Jenny, I feel like we are meant to be together. I want this ring to symbolize our love for each other—as a promise that someday, we will get married."
Jenny's eyes widened. "Luke, are you serious?"
Luke nodded. "I'm going to go to school around here, so we can still see each other all the time; plus we'll have the whole summer together. What do you say?"
"Yes!" Jenny squealed. She threw her arms around Luke and hugged him tightly before giving him a long kiss. They stood and walked around the park together, talking about what they would do during the summer and fall.
By the time they returned to Luke's car, it was almost midnight. Jenny was practically bouncing with excitement, despite the fact that her eyes were heavy from tiredness. The streets were quiet as Luke drove toward Jenny's house; most of the people in town were already home in bed. Jenny quickly fell asleep while Luke kept his eyes on the road.
Luke pulled up to a red light near Jenny's street, taking the opportunity to look over at his sleeping girlfriend. He noticed that she wasn't wearing her seat belt; so he gently nudged her awake. "Hey, you," he said softly.
"Hey back," Jenny replied. "Are we at my house yet?"
"No. But you need to put on your seat belt."
"Oh, right." Jenny put her seat belt on just as the light turned green. Luke pulled out into the intersection, getting ready to turn left, when suddenly a car, traveling way too fast, came from the opposite direction. The car rammed into the passenger side of Luke's vehicle, completely smashing it in. The force of the impact caused Luke to hit his head against the window. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was Jenny's bloody body, pinned between the armrest and a large dent in the passenger door.
Luke awakened slowly. The first thing he was aware of was a loud beeping in his right ear, followed by several voices. He tried to call out, but found that his mouth was so dry and raspy, he couldn't get the words right. "Water," he finally managed to whisper. A moment later, he felt the cool liquid pass between his lips and wet his mouth. He opened his eyes to see a young woman with a small cup in her hand. She didn't look like she was any older than him; she was wearing a candy striper's uniform.
"Welcome back, Mr. Thompson," she said. "How are you feeling?"
"Unngh...I'll let you know when I figure that out," he said, his voice rough from disuse. "Where am I?"
"Tremorton General Hospital. You were in a terrible car accident a few days ago."
"Car accident? Oh, God...Jenny! Where is she?" Luke asked.
"The young woman who was with you?" the girl asked. "I'm not authorized to give you that information..."
"Where is she! Where's my Jenny!" Luke roared. Suddenly, he broke down. "Oh, God...Jenny..." He remembered his last glimpse of her broken, bloodied body, and hard, racking sobs tore through his own frame.
The candy striper ran out of the room, returning a moment later with the doctor who was in charge of Luke. Dr. Krust was a tall, thin man with olive skin and short, black hair.
"Mr. Thompson, what is the problem?" Dr. Krust asked.
"Jenny..." Luke half-sobbed, turning toward Dr. Krust. "Is she all right?"
Dr. Krust sighed. "Lily, please fetch a wheelchair for Mr. Thompson." The girl nodded and walked out of the room to obey. "Mr. Thompson, I will take you to see your companion; but I have to ask you a few questions first."
Luke nodded and swiped at his eyes with the back of the hand not connected to the IV drip. "All right. Just please, tell me she's alive," he said.
"She is alive," Dr. Krust responded. "Now, will you answer my questions honestly and truthfully?" Luke nodded. "All right. Were you drinking alcohol last night?"
"I'm only eighteen."
"Legality doesn't matter to most teenagers, Mr. Thompson. Were you drinking?"
"No."
"What do you remember of the accident?"
"I...I remember, Jenny and I were sitting at a red light; it was almost midnight. I noticed she wasn't wearing her seat belt, so I told her to put it on while we were waiting for the light to change. Then the left turn light turned green, so we turned. All of a sudden, someone came barreling at us without stopping; they were going in the opposite direction from where we had just been before I turned. The other car smashed into mine...and that's it."
Dr. Krust nodded; that story added up to what the police department had found. "Well, Mr. Thompson, would you like to go see Jenny now?"
Luke nodded eagerly. "Is she awake? Can I talk to her?"
Dr. Krust's face grew grim. "Unfortunately, Mr. Thompson, Jenny suffered the brunt of the impact from the accident. She is not in as good of shape as you are."
"What does that mean?"
"It means..." Dr. Krust sighed. "It means that she is unconscious and not responding to any outside stimuli. There is nothing more we can do for her except hope that time will heal her."
Luke paled. "No..."
"Do you still want to visit her?"
Luke nodded mutely, trying to swallow around the lump that had appeared in his throat. It's all my fault...if I hadn't suggested she sneak out, this never would have happened. I could have just waited until she wasn't grounded anymore...Oh, God, not Jenny! Not my Jenny! Please, take me, just don't let her die!
August 15,2021
With tears in her eyes, Nora Wakeman closed the door on the stasis chamber for the last time. Her daughter was safe; suspended in time until she could find a way to repair the damage to her only child's brain.
Luke Thompson stood in the background, trying not to touch any of the experiments and machines scattered throughout the lab. "So, what is that thing again?" Luke asked.
"It's a stasis machine. It will hold Jenny's body in suspended animation-meaning that she won't age or feel the effects of time-until such time as I can find a way to fix her problem. Then I will take her out, repair the damage, and reanimate her."
"Reanimate?"
"Basically, I will inject a chemical into her body that will make her body start to live again."
Luke nodded, though he didn't really understand some of what Nora had said. I will always love you, Jenny, Luke thought to himself as he walked up the stairs behind Nora. And I'll get a perfect grade in Summer Physics to prove it.
There had been no funeral for Jenny, but friends and family members had expressed their condolences and brought over an enormous amount of food. After Luke left, Nora sat down and stared blankly about the kitchen, all too aware of the silence. She decided to get up and go for a walk.
Making her way down the street, she saw a moving van in a nearby driveway. A man with brown hair and a woman with red hair walked out of the house, a child walking behind them.
"Mom, Dad, are there any other kids around here?" the redheaded eight-year-old asked.
"I don't know, Bradley," the woman replied. The three all looked up to see Nora standing on the sidewalk, looking at them. "Oh! Hello."
"Good morning," Nora said softly, her eyes on Brad. "So, you're moving into the Campbell place?"
"Yes," the man said. "The name's Carbunkle. Gregory Carbunkle."
"I'm Elizabeth," the woman added. "And this is our son, Bradley." Brad was standing behind his mother, no doubt frightened by Nora's lab goggles and wild hair.
"I'm Nora Wakeman," Nora introduced herself. "I hope you enjoy your life here in Tremorton. Please, be careful with your child." With that, Nora turned and walked back home.
"Oh, dear," Elizabeth said. "I hope she's all right?"
"Mom, that lady is weird looking," Brad said loudly.
"Hush," Elizabeth told Brad reproachfully. "I'm sure we'll find out about her soon enough.
That night, Nora threw herself feverishly into work down in her lab. I have to find a way to keep these people safe... since I couldn't protect Jenny, I'll protect everyone else.
Three weeks later, Nora was finished: Global Response Unit XJ-1 had been born.
AC: I Lost Her Once, I Won't Lose her AGAIN!
