Authors: Kristopher Rufty
“Sounds
like a porn site,” said Karen, still eating. Her lips made irritating smacking
sounds as she chewed.
Andy’s
slice had gotten cold. That was okay, his appetite was lost anyway. “But why
delete this other stuff? Looks like he found it, then tried to delete all
traces of it.”
“Maybe
he didn’t. It could’ve been something else he was deleting.”
“Could
be…”
“Look
it up. See what it is.”
“Yeah…okay.”
Minimizing
the screen for Rosco’s hard drive, he double-clicked on the internet icon.
Google loaded as his homepage. Not knowing what else to search for, he did just
as Rosco had and typed three words into the search bar: The Skin Show.
When
he tapped the Enter button, the screen immediately went black. The hard drive
fan stopped spinning. The machine blanked out, showing no signs of life.
“What
just happened?” asked Karen.
“Looks
like it crashed.”
“Crashed?”
“Yeah.
Like the hard drive just died.” He pushed the power button a couple times and
nothing happened. “What the hell?”
“Think
Rosco’s hard drive had a virus on it and it transferred to yours?”
“I
wouldn’t doubt his is infested, but I have a block on mine. It should have
warned me if something harmful was trying to access
my
hard drive.”
There
was a soft click from the computer. The fan started to hum again.
“Now
what’s it doing?” Karen asked.
Andy
had no clue, and just like Karen, he stared dumbly at the laptop as a fresh
screen launched. A solid red background emerged, an information bar in the
center. In italic font below the white bar
phone number
was written.
“What
is this?” he said.
“Don’t
ask me, you’re the computer guy.”
“That
doesn’t make me an expert on shit like this.” He stood up.
“Where
are you going?”
“Grabbing
my cigarettes. Want one?”
“Usually
I’d say no…”
“And,
usually I’m a
former
smoker.”
“I
think I’ll take one if you’re offering.”
“I’m
offering,” he said, stepping into the kitchen. His cigarettes were beside the
sink where he’d left them, the lighter on top. He grabbed them, then filled a
cup halfway with water.
He
went back into the living room, sat down beside Karen, and placed the cup on a
small section of table that was free of clutter. He took two cigarettes from
the pack, giving one to Karen. He lighted hers first, then his. Both puffed
silently, staring at the screen.
“Now
what?” she said after a few moments.
“I
don’t know. Looks like I might be on some kind of private server or something.”
“You
accessed that just by typing The Skin Show in a search engine?”
Didn’t
seem possible, he realized, but it looked as if he was on a secure network of
some kind. He’d been permitted to access it just by, as Karen had said, typing
those words.
“What
phone number does it want?” Karen asked. It sounded as if she was thinking
aloud more than actually asking.
“Do
you think it wants my number or some other specific number?”
She
threw her hand up and let it fall. “I would imagine
your
number. But, I
don’t know what good that would do. If you’re not a member of this site, typing
your phone number in seems pretty pointless.”
“Agreed.”
“But,
there’s only one way to find out.”
“True.
But, I don’t feel comfortable typing my number on some random site.”
“What
choice do you really have?”
“X-ing
out of the screen.” He went to move the cursor to the top right hand corner
where the X should have been. Nothing was there. So, to prove his point, he
attempted shutting the computer off by holding down the power button.
It
remained on.
There
seemed to be no way, other than smashing the machine, to get away from this
screen.
“Looks
like you’re stuck,” said Karen.
“This
is bullshit.”
“I
have to agree. We can type in my phone number if you don’t want to try yours.”
“No,
it’s fine. Should I do cell or home?”
“If
it’s some kind of a telemarketing scam, you definitely don’t want them having
your cell number.”
“I
don’t think it’s anywhere close to being a telemarketing scam. But…” He typed
in his home number. Hesitating, his index finger hovered above the enter key.
“Go
on,” she said. “Can’t hurt to try.”
Ignoring
the tugging feeling he felt, his finger tapped down. The screen went black
again, his computer rebooting.
After
a moment, Andy scratched his head. “What the…?”
The
phone rang, silencing Andy and prompting a squeal from Karen. Gasping, Andy
whipped his head around to the counter. He could see the cordless phone on its
base, an annoying chirp resounding like a hammer pounding nails in the quiet
room.
Karen
turned to Andy, her eyes wide. “You don’t think…”
“There’s
no way.”
“Then
answer it.”
“I
don’t…” He stopped talking. He was about to tell her he didn’t want to answer
the phone. But, why wouldn’t he want to? Why would he ignore it?
Because
I’m scared.
Andy
would not allow himself to believe that. Standing up, he walked on shaky legs
to the counter, snatching the phone from the base. Checking the caller ID
screen for a number, he found nothing but a blank space. He felt a slight
flutter of fear looking at the numberless bar. He looked at Karen one more
time. If she would have told him not to answer it, he wouldn’t. And, he was
actually hoping that she would.
She
did not. She only gaped at him as if waiting anxiously for him to steal
something.
He
pushed the Talk button, raising the phone to his ear.
“Huh-hello…”
“Mr.
Raab?” The woman’s whispery voice sounded like a soft breeze in his ear.
“Yuh-yes.”
“It’s
my pleasure to talk to you.”
“How
do you know who I am?”
The
voice playfully giggled. “You inquired us, remember? By typing in your number,
you have reached out to us. Now we are reaching back.”
“Um…”
“Put
it on speaker,” said Karen in a harsh whisper.
Nodding,
Andy took the phone away from his ear and thumbed the speaker button. Then he
walked back into the living room and sat down.
“Who
are you?” he asked.
“Who
I am is inconsequential. It’s who
you
are that’s important.”
“Well…you
obviously already know who I am.”
“Not
necessarily. How did you find us?”
“Us?”
“Yes.
You searched us, so someone must have suggested us. We are a very private association.
We don’t track
you
down, you track
us
down, at your own blessing.”
“Um…well…”
Andy had no idea what to say to this woman. He knew this would be his only
chance, and he didn’t want to risk messing up and having her hang up on him.
“My brother mentioned you.”
“Oh?
And do we know your brother?”
“Danny
Raab?”
“Yesssss…”
There was an orgasmic moan to her voice.
“So,
are you a business?”
“What
we are is whatever you need us to be at any given time. We are pleasure to all.
We are The Skin Show. A place where you come and be whoever you want to be. We
grant you the freedom and in return, we request your loyalty.”
Andy
shivered. He felt pressure on his knee. When he looked down, he noticed Karen
had put her hand there. It was not a gesture of affection, but a supportive tactic
to try and calm him.
It
wasn’t working.
“When
can we expect you?” the woman asked.
“What
do you mean?”
“You
want to come to us, yes?”
“Well…”
He looked at Karen. She nodded. “Yes.”
“Will
you be coming alone, or bringing a friend?”
He
didn’t get Karen’s approval before saying, “Bringing a friend.”
“Ahhh,
excellent. We looked forward to meeting you both.”
“How
do we find you?”
“I
recognize that what you seek is not what we give, but what we are will become
all that matters. Yes?”
Andy
didn’t know how to respond. His mouth felt dry, as if coated in chalk.
The
voice continued. “We want you with us, Andy Raab. You will find soon, that you
want it too. Start traveling west. The show starts again Friday night. We’ll
find you along the way, so you won’t be late.”
There
was a click, then silence.
“Hello?”
said Andy. “Are you there?” After a few seconds passed without a reply, the phone
started to chirp, so he turned the phone off. He looked at Karen. She was
leaning forward, her smart phone out, and using her index finger to poke at the
screen. “What are you doing?”
“Trying
to find what’s west.”
“Plenty
is west.”
“Well…”
She frowned. “I better not type The Skin Show, or someone might be calling my
phone.”
“Good
idea.”
“Damn…I
don’t know what to search for.”
Andy
detected a sharp electrical smell, like rubber melting. He looked at the laptop
and noticed reedy plumes of smoke emanating from the drive-mate. “Shit!” He
quickly yanked the USB cable from the side of his laptop.
“What’s
wrong with it?” cried Karen.
“The
damn thing’s on fire!”
Andy
grabbed the drive-mate, singeing the tips of his fingers. Groaning in pain, he
hopped off the couch and ran into the kitchen. Heavier gusts of smoke came from
the external casing, stinging his nostrils and making his eyes water. He
dropped the drive-mate in the sink, cracking it open. Tiny flames licked out
the cracks.
He
felt Karen leaning against him, smelled the fruity scent of her hair as she
rested her chin on his arm. “Tell me, please, that this sort of thing is
common.”
“What?
Hard drives randomly bursting into flames?”
“Yes.
That.”
“Want
me to lie?”
“Please.”
“Very
common.”
“Ah…”
Karen sighed as if relieved. “Guess there’s no need for me to worry, or to try
and look too deeply into it, then.”
“Same
here.”
The
flames started to dwindle, the height of their orange-blue teeth shrinking.
Karen
looked up, her lips close to his ear. “Since you said you would be bringing a
friend, I guess that means I’m going with you?”
“I
only said that to see if it was even allowed. I bet that’s how Danny got
involved. He tagged along with Rosco to check it out.”
“And
now I’m tagging along with you?”
“Can
you? Can you get the time off?”
“Well,
we’re just going to check it out, right?”
“Well…yeah.
But, I have no idea how far away it is.”
“Either
way, we’d have to come back late tomorrow, so it won’t be a big deal. I’ll
reschedule my appointments and tell my superior that I have to go home for an
emergency. No problem.”
Although
Andy shouldn’t feel this way, he couldn’t stop the faint jitter of excitement.
He felt like a detective of sorts. And taking a trip with someone that looked
like Karen made him tingle with eagerness.
“Are
we leaving now?” she asked. “Heading west until they find us?”
“Fine
by me.”
Before
leaving, they each used the bathroom. Karen packed up what was left of the
pizza and grabbed the cold jug of tea from the fridge. Andy insisted on taking
Ebony. He felt more comfortable being in his car, and this way,
he
could
drive. If he sat in the passenger seat of Karen’s car where he could relax,
he’d definitely fall asleep and miss the time with Karen.
Karen
agreed to the driving arrangements. Before they loaded up in the car, Andy set
the ruined drive-mate outside. No longer burning, he felt it would be safe. The
components were charred black, rendering Rosco’s hard drive useless. Knowing
there was more to it than just a simple malfunction, he ignored his feelings
and climbed behind Ebony’s steering wheel.
The
car was on Highway 165 within fifteen minutes of Andy’s conversation with the
woman and her mysterious breathy voice.
After
filling the car up with gas, Andy was about to climb in when he noticed Karen
had dozed off. Sighing, he stood in the space between the car and open door. He
was still going on zero sleep, and had hoped conversation with Karen would keep
him from feeling groggy, plus buzzing about what they were doing.
He
would have to stop again for coffee before they got much further into the
countryside. Where he lived was considered rural, but the areas they’d driven
through in the last twenty or more miles had been barren. He’d seen a lot of
trees and empty fields, some smeared green shapes of foothills off in the
distance. Not much of anything to suggest civilization, other than this gas
station that didn’t even have a sign to tell him its name.
He
was about to sit down, but stopped. Maybe he should see if they had some coffee
inside. He hadn’t gone beyond the gas pump because of the installed credit card
slot on the machine. It was all that suggested the gas station had embraced any
kind of technology.
Knowing
what they’d already driven through left Andy with little hope of coming across
a Starbucks between here and The Skin Show. So, quietly, he eased his door shut
again. The sticky heat of the day fell heavily on his clothes. A smart man
would have put on shorts. But, Andy was wearing jeans, and he still had to do his
laundry, so he was stuck wearing pants. Myriad birds chirped all around,
insects buzzed, adding their own tones to the chorus of the day. It was a
pleasant sound that Andy had always enjoyed.