The Unseen by Jake Lingwall Page B

that’s a pretty small complaint when literally everything else is perfect.

Chapter Nine
    Kari sipped her cup of coffee and slowly walked around the grounds outside Valhalla. She felt like she had woken up early, but by the time she was ready and had printed some breakfast, it was already midmorning.
    A few people invited her to join them in playing games or hacking on projects, but she just wanted some time alone to process everything. Everywhere she went there were experimental robotics running around, or hackers designing new things. She couldn’t remember what time it had been when Joseth had eventually left last night, but she knew it had been late.
    When she woke up, there was a brand new processing unit next to her bed, but she hadn’t felt like putting it on yet. There was something unexpectedly soothing about not being connected. She rolled the processing unit over in her hand before deciding to plug herself back into the digital world.
    She strolled up to the closest bench and took a seat.Lars jumped up next to her for a minute, but decided he was happier chasing a small robotic dog. Kari sighed and slid her new processing unit behind her ear, which immediately connected to the mind chip in her brain, causing screens and alerts to pop up in her vision.
    Oh no . . . There were thirty-seven missed calls from David and nearly that many from Aubrey. They had also sent her a number of messages on every communication platform conceivable, begging her to get in contact with them. They are probably going crazy with me being off the grid for so long. Kari felt a surge of guilt at not letting them know what was going on at her earliest opportunity. She knew how mad she would be if the roles were reversed. Nothing I can do about that now.
    Kari took a deep breath and a final sip of coffee before calling David. The little camera attached to her new processing unit behind her ear detached and floated in front of her, broadcasting her face to the person on the other side of the call. It took a second longer to connect than it should have. Joseth probably set up some sort of secure proxy here that communication has to pass through. Kari wasn’t a fan of her calls having to be approved by Joseth’s system, but she understood the need for extra security. David answered immediately.
    “Kari! Thank God!” David exclaimed. He took a deep breath that looked to be his first in days. His hair was messed up, and his eyes were weary.
    “That’s Kari?” Kari could hear Aubrey say from the other line. A second later she saw her face scrunch up next to David’s. She wouldn’t be able to see Kari without being invited to join the call, but she knew that Kari would be able to see her.
    “Yeah, it’s me,” Kari said.
    “Oh my God. Are you OK? I mean, are you safe?” David said, as his eyes searched Kari’s face over for signs of trouble.
    “Yeah—I’m fine, and I’m safe,” Kari said, trying to keep her voice calm.
    “You sure?”
    “Of course I’m sure.”
    “Then where the hell have you been? We’re halfway up to your house right now,” David said. Aubrey punched David in the arm, and a second later, her face joined the conversation.
    “Kari, I’m so glad you’re all right! We have been crazy worried about you!” Aubrey said.
    “Well . . . thanks for caring about me, but I promise you I’m fine.”
    “So what happened? Why haven’t you been answering our calls, then, if everything is fine?” David said. Kari wasn’t sure if his voice was relieved, suspicious, or upset.
    “I was attacked by some Middle States soldiers and had to run away from home,” Kari said. For the first time, she was starting to think about how much she wanted to tell them. Too much information won’t help them feel better.
    “You were attacked?” David asked by reflex. “I hope they are OK.” Kari smiled at that. No one believed in Kari more than David Pratt did. It was one of her favorite things about their relationship.