“Room service!” It only takes three minutes until someone knocks on the door. I guess I should just answer it.

  I grab my pistol and keep it behind my back, just in case. If it’s not room service maybe I can scare them away? Because I’m certainly not going to be able to shoot them.

  I open the door to a man carrying a covered silver ptter. He holds it out to me without a word and gives a deep bow. I grab it and he closes the door for me.

  That was weird. I don’t think I’m a fan of room service. I would have no problem picking the food up on my own, as long as it’s safe. It feels weird making someone come all the way up just so I don’t have to walk.

  I knock on Cassie’s door.

  “Room service.” I mimic in my own voice.

  “Come in.” Cassie replies.

  Her nose is buried in a book when I enter, and she doesn’t look up from it. She’s almost certainly still embarrassed, but at least I can be in the same room now.

  “How do hamburgers still exist? Doesn’t that require cows?” I ask to break the tension.

  “I have no idea!” Cassie says excitedly. She earmarks her page and puts the book down. Maybe she’s not still embarrassed then?

  I guess maybe you could synthesize a patty in a b? Although there’s so much that would go into growing a single serving. A quick calcution says that a hundred gallons of water would be needed, at least. Even if they could recycle most of that, it’s still incredibly wasteful.

  I’m not going to figure it out by just guessing. I pce the tray on Cassie’s p and remove the top for her.

  A hamburger sits atop a bed of vibrant lettuce. A thick patty, slices of tomato, cheese, pickles, onion, and a few different sauces are stacked between two rge buns. It looks exactly what Finn’s information tells me it should, down to the smallest detail.

  Cassie picks it up carefully, unsure how to tackle what’s in front of her. The burger itself is almost wider than her mouth is. After a few seconds she decides to just go for it and takes a rge bite.

  “Oh that’s fucking great!” She mumbles through a full mouth. She takes a few seconds to swallow before talking again. “Rich people really eat this every day?”

  “I guess so?”

  “We’re in the wrong business.” She dives back into her burger.

  “Do you mind if I read in here? Corax is a little preoccupied.” If he’s stuck, he won’t be able to help in case of an emergency.

  “Sure.” She mumbles once again through a full mouth. Apparently her burger is so good that she can’t pause to respond.

  “Ok, thank you. One second.” I head back out into the living room to inform Corax of the pn and to yell if he needs anything. He’s loving his new nest, I’m not sure I could get him to leave if I had to.

  “Fun.” Corax says.

  “I’ll try.”

  I pull out my book and return to Cassie’s room. I sit on the far corner of the bed, giving her as much space as possible. The bed is nearly as soft as the couch, and is rger than a single person could ever use.

  “So, is that better or worse than chocote?” I ask.

  “I’m not sure, but I bet I can find out!” Her face betrays her excitement of that realization.

  “Vince is going to regret letting you order anything, isn't he?”

  “Oh no, he’s going to love that I’m costing these bastards tons of money.” She finishes the st bite of her burger, licks her fingers, and leaps from the bed.

  She returns only a few minutes ter with a pile of ice cream, topped with banana slices and a whole bar of chocote sticking out the side.

  I try not to watch as she eats. She looks like she’s enjoying it so much that I’m getting a little jealous. Another simple pleasure I’ll never get to experience. At least I have Corax’s and the dog's memories to call on to know what food even tastes like.

  “Do you think we can order things beyond food?” I ask without looking up from my book.

  “Like what?”

  “New parts?” Although I’d have to give them a ton of details on how a tongue would hook up. It’d be more trouble than it’s worth. “Or books?”

  “I doubt it’d be free.”

  “Yeah.” The st thing I want to do is to get Vince in trouble. Plus I imagine if we didn’t pay, they’d just hold the car hostage.

  Cassie eventually finishes her dessert and sets it to the side.

  “Chocote’s way better.” She informs me before returning to her book.

  We read together for a few hours. Cassie doesn’t feel the need to keep an eye on me the whole time, a far cry from when we used to read on the roof together. In fact she’s doing the opposite, doing her best to not look at me a single time. I’m not about to bring that up, I’m sure I’d just embarrass her.

  “It’s nice reading together again.” I break the silence. “Corax is nice to read to, but it’s really nice to sit with someone doing their own thing.”

  “You can join more often if it means so much to you.” She says quietly, still not looking up from her book.

  “I will, thank you.”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  Corax flies through the open bedroom door and nds on my shoulder an instant before the front door sms open. Vince is practically carrying Ivy into the room. She looks awful, jittery and pouring sweat. Her arms are held close and she’s scratching herself raw. A small gas mask covers her mouth and nose.

  “The fuck happened?” Cassie yells and sprints over to Ivy’s side, and I follow close behind. She slides under Ivy’s arm, taking some of her weight and helping her into a chair.

  “Fuckers put something in the air.” I’m not sure I’ve ever heard Vince swear. If any time is reasonable, it’s now.

  “Blur. Minor stimunt and hallucinogen unless abused. Too much binds to nerves and can reactivate.” Ivy rips off her mask. “Get me in the shower.”

  “Ok. Cassie, 3, 2, 1, lift!” Vince calls out.

  The two of them carry Ivy into the bathroom and pce her in the shower. Ivy reaches up and puts the heat on max, not even bothering to take her clothes off.

  “That’s better.” She sighs inside a cloud of steam and pulls the curtain closed. It’s hard to understand her with the sound of water filling the air, but I can just about manage. I can faintly see her silhouette tossing wet knives and guns onto the floor next to her.

  “Do you need anything?” Vince asks and sits on the ground just outside the shower.

  “No. I just need to boil myself for a few hours.” Her clothes quickly follow her weapons onto the floor.

  “If you need anything just say so.” Cassie squeezes Vince’s arm and leaves the bathroom.

  Vince nods, but doesn’t say anything.

  “Are you going to be ok?” I ask Ivy.

  “The heat makes it bearable.”

  “Ok. I’ll be right outside.” I’d stay in there with the two of them, but I don’t think that much moisture is good for me. The steam could seep in through any imperfect seals.

  Instead of returning to Cassie’s room, I drag a chair just in front of the door. I want to be close in case Ivy needs something.

  “Are you ok if I don’t read aloud?” I whisper to Corax. “I don’t want to disturb Ivy.”

  “Ok.” Corax settles down into my p.

  I pull out a poetry book and do my best to distract myself. I can hear Ivy and Vince talking behind the closed door, but I don’t want to eavesdrop. I make sure not to process the meaning of anything that’s not my name.

  It’s six hours before the water gets shut off. The door opens a few seconds ter, followed by Vince helping a bathrobed Ivy walk. Every surface in the bathroom is covered in water.

  “Hey Little Blue.” Vince says quietly, exhaustion dripping in his voice. “Thanks for keeping watch. We’re going to try to get some sleep.”

  “Ok. Do you want dinner first? I can get you something.”

  Ivy shakes her head, her wet hair faintly swaying.

  “We’ll have a big breakfast.” Vince says.

  The two of them shuffle into one of the bedrooms.

  “I guess we can cim the third one.” I hold my hand out for Corax to climb on and head into our new bedroom. It’s almost identical to Cassie’s room. A bed rger than anyone could ever use, and the most opulent dispy of wealth and waste I’ve ever seen. I don’t know why anyone would ever need or want a two-foot tall, solid gold statue in their bedroom.

  Corax immediately gets to work constructing his nest, and I help him collect all the sheets. Together we make a nest fit for a king, although not half as fine as Corax deserves.

  I switch back to our book, but before I start reading aloud, I have to ask a question.

  “You weren’t stuck, were you?”

  He only shrugs. That’s a yes then.

  “Thanks for lying. Reading with Cassie was really nice.”

  Corax settles deeper into his nest, satisfied with himself.

  JanePtinum