“Wow,” I whispered and drank down the shot. She gave me another without asking.

“But enough about Pa and my brother the hero.” She leaned in and nudged the glass toward me. “Now, tell me about this test they gave you.”

***

I opened my eyes and held my hand to my head. Morning light filtered in through the thin, worn curtains and I turned my head away with a frown. All the while the pounding in my skull continued. I swallowed hard and grimaced at the sour taste in my mouth.

Don’t think I’m a fan of Jack.

My tongue darted along my teeth. Yeah, I’m not.

I rubbed my eyes and looked for the metal rod. It was on my dresser, but not anymore. I then looked under the sheets, in drawers, and beneath the bed in case it rolled off.

Where is it?

I spend the next ten minutes looking around my room and then the rest of the house. I frowned and then hurried to Becky’s room. After three soft knocks, a muffled voice came back. “Ugh, go away!”

I opened the door and saw Becky rubbing her head. She looked up from the mattress with slitted eyes. “Big ‘H’… you know. Hangover.”

My lips pursed in thought. I didn’t know much about womanly things beyond the basics. She might be pregnant already and shouldn’t drink. If I said anything that would make her suspicious.

“Uh yeah. Me too.” My forehead scrunched. “Did you see the Volardi rod?”

“Not since you had it last night.”

“What?”

She held a hand up. “Quiet.” Her finger went to her lips. “Shhh…”

I whispered my question again just to make sure I heard correctly.

“You said something about wanting to send it off, so Pa would get the money transferred faster.”

My gaze went off to the side while I struggled to remember. Instead, more pounding came.

“I don’t remember.”

She smiled softly. “Not surprised. You were pretty buzzed last night.”

I searched for memories and nothing came after drinking. “Guess so.”

I breathed hard as I left. Nothing should be wrong, but I couldn’t shake off the unease.

I guess there was nothing bad, beyond the hangover. I picked the best answers for me – not the Volardi. All I needed to do was verify my answers but really there was no need. Sure, I’d do it if they were in front of me but it was too late to worry about that now.

Be a man. You made your decision. You sent it off while you were drunk. They’ll say no when you fail, and you get ten thousand dollars, tax-free. If they say yes, just refuse.

My shoulders rose. Yeah, like a man.

I heard continual taps at the front door. Gooseflesh rose along my arm. I turned slowly and walked to the door. Outside was the red and black tentacled flying robot from before – or one that looked exactly like it.

“Congratulations Peter Lynn. We’ve received your results. Welcome to the Volardi Omega Repopulation Program. Congratulations.”