BooksBarbecue
Back Nothing to See Save as PDF
Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Dedication
  4. Dedication2
  5. 1994
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 2006
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 2018
  45. 38
  46. 39
  47. 40
  48. 41
  49. 42
  50. 43
  51. 44
  52. 45
  53. 46
  54. 47
  55. 48
  56. 49
  57. Acknowledgements

She worked until six, when it looked like it was settling down for a bit, then she got up, had a shower and made some toast. She needed to make some more bread, but it would have to wait a while. She should probably get back to the computer. There was a whole bunch of other work for other contractors that she needed to do. She put the jug on the gas-top and the Tamagotchi phone beeped. She’d taken it out of the charger that morning and without noticing had tucked it into the band of the trackpants she slept in. It was in the pocket of her sweatshirt now. There was a message. She scrolled through it. Numbers and then some words that meant nothing to her. Were they names, she wondered for the thousandth time since the phone had appeared. There was no pattern. She worked out patterns all the time. She understood rules, she understood calculations, she understood codes, but there was no pattern here. She got her phone out, opened the spreadsheet, and copied the message into a cell. And then she sent a message back. She sent the same message she’d been sent, but she changed one number. The message wouldn’t arrive anyway because it never did. She did it out of habit. Habit that looked like hope.

The toast was crisp and nutty. She stood at the bench eating it and scrolling through Instagram and then had a look at TikTok. It was terrible but it interested her because Ash loved it so much. Then she looked at Tinder, and there was nothing. No one. Everything would be fine. The panic had slowed down. She’d heard nothing from the consultancy she’d made the app for, and the story had disappeared from almost every news site and social media feed. It was almost over and there was nothing to see here and it looked as if she’d gotten away with it.

41

41

She woke up with a vague sense she could have a day off. She never had to set her alarm. Although she’d moved flats several times, she always woke up at the same time. The first move dispelled the idea that it was the motorway that woke her up. There had been very little traffic until a bypass onto a motorway was built and the road outside her house became a thoroughfare for the suburbs above them. She lived in a valley now. Her bedroom got slightly more light but she didn’t think the waking up had anything to do with nature. When daylight saving came on or went off, she still woke up at the same time – according to the clock, not the sunrise or the birdsong.