Human (Discontinued)

Chapter 7

We got back home to a message on my house phone from my mum, saying she was needed at work today and it was really important.
My mum was a veterinary nurse, and she volunteered to help out at work on almost all her days off. If there was really an emergency, she wouldn't think twice about legging it over there. I didn't blame her, it was fun to play with little cats and stuff. At least that bought us a few more hours, and more importantly, time to think of how I was going to explain to her how my dead best friend was walking around our house.
"So...googling huh?"
"Relax, I've got it covered. I've already found a bunch of people." I pointed out the list as she leaned over the side of my chair, her head completely blocking my view of the screen.
Fathead.
"Woah...there's so many people..." she whispered in awe. I saw her eyes light up in the reflection of her on the screen. I smirked and closed the tab, returning us to the homepage.
"Hey! Why did you do that?!" She slapped my arm in annoyance.
"Because those were all conspiracy theories about people who experienced the same thing and went missing soon after." I explained, leaning back and putting my hands behind my head.
"That's exactly what we're looking for!"
"Didn't you hear me? Conspiracy theories. As in they don't have solid proof to support them."
"So...you've got nothing?"
I smiled at her disheartened look and opened one of the minimised windows.
"Here's something. There was a story about this guy, Thomas, who used to be an engineer. A year ago he apparently went mad and started saying things about the watches shutting down. He got fired and put into a home, I think he's our closest bet to finding anyone," I glanced up at her for approval, "he seems the best. Plus an engineer, he must know how they work."
"There's nothing here that makes him better than the others..." She murmured, twirling one curl of hair around her finger while she thought.
"Well..the other ones are based off of glitches-you know when the time stops for a bit and changes?- whereas he says his stopped. And he said that he felt dizzy and fainted and when he woke up it was at zero. I think he's the best shot we have."
Meri was still looking doubtful, so I sighed and scrolled further down the page, wanting to show her the address.
"Look, he's only a few streets away. We can go and come back in a few minutes. What's the worst that could happen?"
"Ok, I guess. I still don't think it'll help, but..." she trailed off and shrugged.
"Hey, it's better than going to see Randy." I smiled at her sweetly as she scowled at me.
"Whatever...should we go now?"
I glanced outside, where it was still bright.
"The home he lives in doesn't have visiting hours after six, let's wait till tomorrow."
She nodded and stepped around the table to get to the sofa, flopping among the cushions and turning on the TV.
I wrote down Thomas's address and followed her.
She was looking at the screen without focus, biting on her lip and absent-mindedly changing the channels.
"You're being oddly quiet." I said, after an acceptable amount of silence.
"Mmm...I'm just thinking about it...this guy isn't, y'know, shifty or anything...right?" She turned her head to look at me.
"He's a fifty-five year old in a care home. I don't think he's got the opportunity to be shifty. Besides, those people always have to be friendly to visitors, it's just they're thing, no one they really know ever comes to see them." I replied, slouching down further until my chin hit my chest.
"Ouch, that seems harsh. My granddad lives in a home and we still visit him..."
"Mmm.."
I shut my eyes, wondering how my mum would react to seeing Meredith here. And whether she'd let her stay, since there wasn't really anywhere else she could go.
Meri looked up at me as I got to my feet, stretching my arms behind my head.
"Now what're you doing?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Going to make you a bedroom so my mom won't have a choice but to let you stay."