The Immortal Trinity: Inheritance

by Momchil Yoskov

  - Macy, he's... he's had a rough few weeks. Let him rest. - Ray said.

  - I understand, but the fact that he gets to run around and do nothing productive does not mean he should neglect his academic duties.

  - He's been molested, Macy. - Ray said bluntly.

  She dropped her fork and glanced at Ray for a moment, before shifting her gaze to Ronnie.

  - Is this true? How did it happen?

  - I couldn't protect myself, mum. I was a prisoner there.

  Macy started sobbing and continued asking questions:

  - Why could you not protect yourself? You have all of this technological mumbo-jumbo and... You're not a kid! Ronnie!

  He stood up and left the kitchen, indignant and feeling outcast. Then he angrily sat on his bed and put his head in his hands. Ronnie wanted once again to isolate himself from the outside world and not talk to anyone. Unfortunately, though, his silence was broken by Tyler over the intercom:

  - Hey... Ronnie... How did it go with your parents over dinner?

  - Don't talk to me right now. I want to be alone.

  - Alright. Sorry. But please, contact me in the morning. Don't cast me and Garret out, ok? Mate... please, for the love of God...

  - Good night.

  ***

  - So you're telling me he walked up to your house and talked to you and your parents? - Sharon said.

  The Gossip Crew and Ashlynn were talking on the phone through a conference call.

  - Yes. It was so weird. He just popped in front of the house and... he was... I don't... I don't know... very calm. I'd say too calm. I didn't want to talk to him and mom wasn't too happy about him being there. Dad, on the other hand, did nothing and just sat there and watched. Didn't take any sides. That's how I saw it, personally. - Ashlynn said.

  - But did you ask your dad about his thoughts on Ronnie? Did he ever say anything about him after he left the house? - Abigail said.

  - No. He went upstairs and wrote some notes, I think. Maybe he's doing it for research or something.

  - Find those notes and let us know what's in them. - Sharon said.

  - But... I can't do that... - Ashlynn said.

  - You can and you will. - Zoey said. - You're not stealing it, you're simply looking into it and giving us important information that we could use to our advantage.

  - For what? How does he threaten you, of all people? I don't understand you anymore. - Ashlynn said.

  - Ashlynn, I can't stress this enough; he's not good for you! He's been gone for a good few weeks, then suddenly he shows up and wants to talk to you about... whatever the fuck, your mom is angry and your dad does nothing to keep the family safe. He let a problematic man in the house, a potential criminal and a danger to you and the people close to you. Have you seen the videos on Youtube? He's been shooting some aliens. Aliens! Yeah, that shit exists apparently. But I still think it's some weird CGI prank. I've never seen Ronnie, nor his degenerate buddies use a weapon, let alone more than three at the same time for self defence. It won't be long before the police, FBI and CIA want to throw them in a lab and use them as test subjects. So I'll tell you this again: get him out of your life and find someone better for you. He's an embarrassment, a disgrace, a degenerate like his idiotic friends and an insult to your character. You deserve better. - Sharon said.

  - That deserves a round of applause! - Abigail said, put her phone on speaker and started clapping her hands. Zoey followed suit.

  - Look, it's really late and I need to get some sleep. I'll see what I can do, but I don't think dad will leave the notes at home. Ronnie is a new subject to him, so he'll guard them like his own eyes. If I have any chance of getting these notes, I'll have to wake up really early and sneak into their bedroom or ransack his office while he's on a lunch break. - Ashlynn said.

  - Do it. It's only for your own good and we'll help you through it all. - Abigail said. Ashlynn hung up shortly after, but the Gossip crew stayed awake.

  - That little shit is going to be eliminated! Did you two see the videos? - Sharon said.

  - No, not yet. Can you send us a link? - Zoey said. Sharon immediately sent her links to the videos in question, where Ronnie, Tyler and Garret were fighting the Overlord's minions and the three assassins.

  - Wow, is that... no! This... This can't be real! - Abigail sat open-mouthed. - What are those things? They're hideous!

  - This is all a scam, girls! I don't believe it. - Sharon said. - We need to find him. Does anyone know where he lives?

  Zoey didn't, but Abigail knew:

  - Yeah, I know where he lives! I mean, I know someone who knows where he lives. Hang on.

  She sent a text message to friend of hers and the answer arrived soon afterwards:

  - We now know where he lives! - Abigail exclaimed.

  - Good. We'll give him a surprise visit as soon as Ash has her father's notes.

  ***

  Morning came. Ronnie's sleep was not interrupted, which surprised him. As usual, he was rolling underneath the blankets - quite a typical habit for lonely people.

  - "Alright, nobody's bothering me now... it's odd and weird." - he said to himself, but decided not to stand up for another 20 minutes. Once he got out of bed, he cautiously tramped out of his room and had a quick look into his parents' bedroom.

  - "Empty." - he said to himself once again. After going downstairs and looking at the calendar, he realised it was Wednesday. That fact was further confirmed by his internal systems, which indicated the exact same thing.

  - Ah, so... my... computer? System? Thing-a-ma-gig has calibrated itself to the... oh, it already has all of the Earth's time zones! - Ronnie said to himself out loud. - Oh, a meal. - he saw the omelette with chicken fillet, cucumbers and tomatoes on the table. Due to the fact that Ronnie was notorious for being lazy and couldn't cook to save his life, his mother always left either food on the table or money, so he could go and buy food, because usually he'd forget to look and see what's in the fridge. In a very out of the common run fashion, he chucked some slices of bread into the toaster and smacked a beer open. His appetite had awoken quickly and he wished to fill his stomach. Once the toasts sprung out of the toaster, he grabbed them and stuck his teeth in the food. Even though now, as an Immortal, he could survive without any sort of nourishment for the rest of his life, his human appetite was still present. The long days and nights spent in the prison cell amplified his starvation. That moment of bliss was short-lived, because the doorbell rang. Needless to say, Ronnie was vexed.

  - "This better not be the neighbourhood kids trying to sell me laxative biscuits" - he said to himself. Though sadly it was worse than that. The Gossip Crew were at the door. Ronnie was only wearing the ripped jeans that he wore at the stadium and no socks.

  - Oh no... - Ronnie said, but as he tried to shut the door, Zoey pushed it back.

  - We've got questions and you've got answers. Spill them or suffer the consequences. - Sharon said.

  - Consequences? Such as what - blowtorch me in effigy? - Ronnie said, acting as if he did not know what was going on.

  - Yes, consequences. Don't act too smart, asshole. - Zoey said. - Where have you been the past couple of weeks?

  - Not here... obviously. Why are you curious? - Ronnie said.

  - That's not an answer. - said Abigail.

  - How come? - Ronnie asked.

  - We think you're hiding a whole lot of secrets and we want them exposed. What were you doing in the vicinity of the supermarket? - Sharon asked.

  - "Somebody must have filmed us fighting." - Ronnie told himself and instantly received flashbacks. - Um... we were... going for some beer and wanted to have an improvised picnic? - he replied sarcastically. - Or is that not a good answer to you?

  Sharon grunted:

  - You're lying, Mason. I know you're lying. Spill the truth!

  - The only things I'm spilling is some words and my beer down my throat. - Ronnie said.

  - Oh, I'm sure that's not the only... fluid that's bein
g spilled. - Abigail said.

  Upon saying those words, the girls looked at each other viperously.

  - What fluids? You're being quite vague right now. - Ronnie said.

  - Oh, and you're not vague? Listen, we'd normally feel sad when somebody's had it rough...

  - Not believing that. - Ronnie interrupted Sharon.

  - Don't you interrupt me, scum! You are not the sort of person who deserves any sort of respect. And you know what happens to such people? They end up at the bottom of society; yeah, down there, with all the homeless rejects and drug addicts! And we'll make sure you join them.

  - How?

  - We know what's happened to you when you were away... - Zoey said.

  Upon staring at her eyes, Ronnie declared:

  - You're bluffing.

  - Oh, I'm not. But let's just say whatever's happened to you is far from a bluff for us. - said Abigail.

  - Get to the point already, because I'm falling asleep here. - Ronnie said and took a sip of beer.

  - Do the words "sexual humiliation" mean anything to you? - Sharon said.

  That sentence curdled Ronnie's blood with horror. Last night, before he went to bed, he chatted over Skype with Ashlynn and confessed that he had been raped.

  - "She's told them!" - he said to himself. - Uh... what? - he once again acted dumb.

  - It's true, isn't it? - Sharon said. - If it wasn't, you wouldn't be so shocked right now and asking yourself: "How do they know?".

  He couldn't figure out a way to escape the situation. Ronnie didn't have to, anyway, because the Gossip Crew left him with the following words, snapped by Sharon:

  - Give us information or the whole town will find out about how unfaithful you are to Ashlynn.

  As soon as they left in Sharon's Mercedes, Ronnie charged towards his laptop.

  - "Have you talked to Sharon, Zoey and Abigail recently?"

  - "Yes, why? I'm in a lecture now, I can't talk to you."

  - "They came to my house and claim to know about me being raped. Did you tell them?"

  Ronnie did not receive an answer for the next 3 minutes, so he asked again:

  - "Did you tell them anything about me?"

  - "Yes."

  - "WHY?"

  - "They're my friends."

  - "They are SCUM! And they will tell everyone about it and then I'll turn into the laughing stock of Frankfort... again! Do you ever think?"

  - "Don't talk to me like that! Also I'm in lectures. Leave me alone."

  Ashlynn signed off Skype. By that point Ronnie had no idea what to do next. He couldn't interrupt Ashlynn's lectures and drag her out of university, let alone find the Gossip Crew and blackmail them for information. So he contacted Tyler and Garret:

  - Guys, I've got a problem.

  - What is it? - Garret said.

  - They know about... me being raped.

  - Who does? - Tyler said.

  - The Gossip Crew. I told Ashlynn about it and apparently she's told them.

  - Why would... Why would you do that, Ronnie? - Tyler was furious.

  - She's my girlfriend, so she has the right to know! I didn't consider that she'd tell someone else about it. It's supposed to be something private, right? - Ronnie said.

  - Yeah, but you didn't consider the fact that she's hangin' out with those snakes! - Tyler shouted. - You're not thinking, Ronnie.

  - Cut it out, Tyler. He's had enough already and you're not helping him. - Garret said.

  - When I help someone, that someone has to deserve my help. He has to make some sort of effort in that direction. I don't see him doing that. - Tyler said.

  Ronnie ended the connection. He then decided to finish his meal, then go to university and find Ashlynn. Another conflict of thoughts arose in his mind. Should he fly there and save time, but attract a lot of attention? Or stay on foot, but spend more time getting there and having to deal with stares of passersby? Or just turn his invisibility cloak on and only have to circumnavigate the puzzled people, who will be wondering if there's a poltergeist nearby.

  - "Right, invisibility it is." - Ronnie said to himself and turned invisible. As he was walking, he had an epiphany - he could eliminate the noise from his footsteps, if he simply levitated whilst being invisible. So he tried it. For someone who had a hard time multitasking, this was no easy feat. He'd levitate for a minute or two, before dropping himself back to the ground on his feet. It was easy for him to remain invisible, because the invisibility cloak worked exactly like a switch. The case with the levitation was not the same - that ability worked much like a volume knob on a sound system. Trying to levitate was much like trying to do one of those childhood "feats", most of which seem unimpressive today - balancing the light switch right between on and off. That only caused more tension within Ronnie. On top of all of that, some people did notice him and eventually he stopped cloaking himself in favour of simply walking to university. He looked silly trying to stay invisible and that generated a couple of chuckles and weird looks from people in the streets. It was far from helpful and worst of all, it was distracting - merely an addition to his current frustrations. He gave a sigh of relief, when the university building was in his sights. Just like last time, he hacked into the university's database to find out where Ashlynn was having classes. Sadly, he had to interrupt the professor by saying:

  - Excuse me, sir, may I talk to Ashlynn for a moment? It won't take long.

  - Yes, absolutely, go ahead. - said Prof. Vakel. Unlike most self-respecting lecturers in university, who, to the misfortune of most students, act like a shrunken version of the Almighty One, he was a bit looser, a bit more forgiving, a bit more understanding and equal in relation to the mindset of his students. Once the door slammed shut, Ashlynn became senile:

  - Have you lost your mind? Why are you here?

  - I want to know exactly what you told the Gossip Crew about me. - said Ronnie.

  - What we spoke about last time. - said Ashlynn.

  - That was supposed to be private. As in, just between us two! - said Ronnie.

  - So what, now I can't share my stories, my experiences with friends? - said Ashlynn.

  - No, I'm not saying that. Of course you can. But when it comes to stories like mine... you can't, especially considering my current state. - said Ronnie.

  - Your current state is not clear to me, Ronnie. I don't know who you're hanging out with, what you're doing, why you're so silent and why you barely say anything to me.

  - I've told you already: it's too complicated and I'm trying to make sense of it all. Once it's all clear, I'll tell you everything. - said Ronnie.

  - You're lying. There's someone else, right? - Ashlynn said.

  - What? Why would I cheat? I've got so many problems right now. - Ronnie said.

  - Your problems are not important right now. What's important is you and I right now. - Ashlynn said.

  Ronnie stayed silent.

  - So? Are you going to say anything or not? - Ashlynn asked him.

  He gave no answer.

  - Come on, say something! - she said.

  - You're pressuring me for answers I can't give right now. - Ronnie said.

  As usual, when put under pressure, Ronnie could barely formulate sentences with complete meanings and messages. This irritated Ashlynn further and she said:

  - I have lectures. Once you have anything meaningful to say, say it.

  Ashlynn then returned to the classroom, leaving Ronnie standing in the middle of the corridor. The situation became increasingly complicated for him. With nothing else to do, he walked the long walk back home, his shoulders slumped and his gaze fixed to the ground.

  - What happened? - Garret contacted him over the intercom.

  - Nothing. Or rather... nothing good. - said Ronnie.

  - How come? What happened? - Garret asked.

  - I just came out of uni. Spoke to Ashlynn. It was ugly. - said Ronnie.

  - What did she tell you? - Garret asked.

  - Well... she wa
s wondering what I was doing, who I was seeing and what was happening to me on the whole. - said Ronnie.

  - Did you tell her? - asked Garret.

  - No, of course I didn't. Are you nuts? - said Ronnie.

  - Ok, ok, just calm down. Where are you now? - asked Garret.

  - Just left university. Can you not, like, track my location? - said Ronnie.

  - Oh yeah, I can see you now on the map. You wanna grab some beers and chips? You know, to unwind a little. - Garret suggested.

  He thought for a while, then said:

  - Ok, but I don't have much money on me.

  - That's alright, I'll be right over. Just stay put. - Garret said, ended the connection and left the house immediately. 15 minutes later he found Ronnie in front of the university building. Garret could easily see that he was far from pleased.

  - Hey... I know it's hard right now... but... maybe we can try loosening up a little. Tyler's not here at the moment, but he said that he should join us later. He's out of town to see that professor I told you about...

  - Whom you work with. - Ronnie added.

  - Yeah, exactly. - Garret said.

  - Why? - Ronnie asked.

  - Don't worry. I trust my professor. It's only for a superficial overview. He's not going to reveal any secrets. - said Garret.

  - He better not do that or else... - said Ronnie.

  - No, no, he won't. Now let's go grab some beer and chips, crack a few jokes and breathe in. - Garret suggested and tapped Ronnie's right shoulder, as he began walking. When Garret asked about Ronnie's choice of beer, he replied:

  - I'd like to... try something different. I'm curious about all the European beers that exist. Lots of people say that they're great and, honestly, I'm tired of the American ones. What do you say?

  Garret's answer was a keen as mustard "yes". Once they entered the supermarket, the low spirits gradually elevated and Ronnie began smiling and giggling. Garret's unpliant efforts paid off:

  - Hey, there's that smile that's been missing those last couple of weeks!

  Of course, as usual, Ronnie remained silent, though the smirk stayed on his face. He even suggested contacting Tyler to find out what sort of beer he'd like to drink.