บท 961: Ch 961 - Lost in the Dark
Christopher was thrilled to see his two friends enter the dining room. He stepped forward, finally remembering his friendship with Louis. "Hey, man! What's going on?"
For a moment, everything felt like it went back to normal.
Louis reached out. "Christopher, you're back! How was your coma patient? Save a life?"
When Christopher opened his mouth to answer, Tom Sawyer appeared behind him. He put his hands on Christopher's shoulders. "He certainly did, and I'm doing quite alright, thanks for asking."
Louis' jaw dropped at the sight of Tom. "What are you doing here?!" He ran over and embraced his friend.
Chuckling, Tom patted Louis' back. "I told you. I was the coma patient."
After hearing the news, Louis pulled away. "Excuse me?"
Tom pointed to the bandage on his head. "Yeah, I got into a brawl with a super soldier. I almost got my skull bashed in, but somehow, I survived."
Christopher shrugged. "Luckily, when I saw Tom, I remembered how to perform complex brain surgery. Tom's skull was bashed in horribly. I'm not sure that he would have made it. Honestly, it was a miracle. I walked in the room, saw him on the table, and a lot of my memories came back to me."
Louis's eyes lit up. "Really? What kind of memories?"
Christopher tapped his chin. "I remember that one time you asked out that blonde chick at the bar."
His friend raised his eyebrow. "What blonde chick?"
A playful smirk tugged at Christopher's lips. "The one told you she only dates alpha males. It sent you into an existential crisis. You spiraled for days because you were positive that you were the epitome of the alpha male."
A pained expression flashed across Louis's face. "I wish you remembered something else."
Tom patted Louis on the shoulder. "Don't worry, buddy. We conveniently reminded him of the night he went streaking across the city."
Louis snapped his fingers. "Oh, my gosh! In front of the Baltimore General Hospital? After the Super Bowl party, right?"
Tom chuckled. "Yup, that time."
Christopher's eyes widened. "You're saying it like I streaked more than one time. Is there something you're not telling me?"
All three men burst into laughter.
Then, Yvonne, Alex, and Flora walked into the dining room, carrying the food and the rest of the cutlery.
"Looks like the party's started without me," Yvonne said.
Louis reached out his arms. "It's never a party without the famous Yvonne Wheeler!"
Yvonne tucked her hair behind her ears. "You're in a chipper mood."
Louis shrugged. "I guess I'm just happy to have my best friend back."
Yvonne glanced at Christopher, offering him a warm, subdued smile. "I'm glad to have him back too."
Flora put down a tray of casserole on the table. Then she faced the group. "Okay, where's this Ken Stokes fella? I'm ready to give him a talking to."
Ken stepped forward, with one hand behind his back and the other extended toward Alex's mother. "You must be Mrs. Ambrose. Oh, the pleasure is all mine."
Instantly, Flora's sassy attitude disappeared. She put her hand on top of Ken's. Then, he gently kissed her hand. "Mon cher."
Delighted by Ken's manners, Flora pulled her hand back with a giggle. "Oh, you speak French?"
With a nostalgic look in his eye, Ken gazed into the distance. "Ah, yes. I learned how when I was painting by the banks of the Seine River in college."
Impressed, Flora blushed. "Oh, just like Seurat!"
Ken smirked. "A fellow art lover I see. It's so obvious how such a wonderful woman could raise such a remarkable son. I'm honored to make your acquaintance. Now, what was it you had to tell me?"
Everything Flora had been saying for days, all of her complaining about the house and the renovation faded away into the depths of her mind. All of her concerns vanished. "Ken Stokes, I love this renovation."
Alex almost dropped the food. "You've got to be kidding me."
Yvonne raised an eyebrow. "Flora, are you having a stroke?"
Flora whipped her head in the direction of her son. "No. I'm not. Ken Stokes is a gentle and learned man." She turned back to Ken. "He certainly knows what he's doing."
Beaming with pride, Ken stood up, straight and tall. "I'm happy you feel that way, ma'am. This renovation was the love child of my architectural design and Louis's interior decor genius."
Flora gazed around the room as if she had never seen it before. "I can tell. I can absolutely see your vision."
Ken put his arm around Flora. "You see, for this dining room, Louis found this vintage wooden table from the 1960s. It's so chic. I knew it would fit perfectly with Alex's vintage posters."
Flora nodded in awe. "Oh, yes. I certainly thought the posters in the dining room were a nice touch. I would have never disparaged them."
As Alex was about to call out his mother, Gideon entered the room. "Has anyone seen Justin? I went to tell him dinner was ready, but I couldn't find him."
Tom Sawyer swallowed hard. He remembered how Justin had threatened him, how he had told Tom he couldn't leave his sight. Tom had noticed that Justin disappeared a while back, but he didn't feel like going to look for him.
I fear what would happen if I spoke up, he thought. I really don't feel like going back into a coma, especially now. Everything seems to be going so well.
Flora waved a dismissive hand at her husband. "Oh, Gideon. You know Justin. He has a mind of his own. He never wants to eat dinner with us anyway." She gestured to the rest of the group. "What do you all say? Should we sit down to eat? Gideon caught the fish fresh today. I keep telling Alex, there's nothing like sourcing your own produce."
While he closed his eyes, Ken reverently brought his hand to his chest. "Ah, I couldn't agree more."
Everyone sat down at the table, ready to eat. They passed plates of food around to one another as Flora started gabbing about her trip to Venice.
She cleared her throat. "Ken, have you ever been to Venice?"
Ken passed a basket of rolls to Louis. "Have I been to Venice? Does the Pope live in the Vatican?"
Flora clapped her hands. "Oh, you have! It's so lovely this time of year. We were sailing through the Grand Canal when Alex called us. While I was happy to see my baby, I never wanted to leave."
Gideon helped himself to a big pile of fish. "Mr. Stokes, are you a fan of fishing?"
Ken nodded. "Of course, my old man and I used to do it every Sunday."
Gideon pointed a fork in Ken's direction. "Now that's a good man. We fished a bit while we were in Venice, but I always say that there's nothing like fishing in the Chesapeake Bay."
Ken grabbed the salt from the middle of the table. "I couldn't agree more."
Flora held up her hand. "Ken, be careful. That's sea salt. I'm worried that we'll all die from iodine poisoning."
Alex groaned. "Mom, enough with the salt. We're fine."
Yvonne glanced at Alex. "Wait, you don't have kosher salt?"
Flora tossed her head back. "Thank you!"
A silence fell over the table as everyone eagerly prepared their food.
When everyone finally settled down, right before anyone took a bite to eat, all of the lights in the house turned off.
Flora jumped up and screamed.
Yvonne grasped Christopher's arm. "What's going on?"
Louis hopped out his chair. "Is that spy back? I'll run out there right now and knock him on his ass."
Ken reached into his pocket. "I have a GoPro on me. I wonder if it has night vision."
Alex slowly stood up. "Okay, everyone, calm down. It's probably nothing." He cleared his throat. "SCOT, scan the house."
SCOT didn't reply. Alex scratched his head. "Huh, that's weird. If the electricity goes out, SCOT is supposed to trigger the backup generator so that he could run."
With a huff, Gideon grumbled to himself. "I never trusted these stupid robots."
Alex rubbed the back of his neck. "SCOT's not a robot, Dad. It's an AI." He pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Let me check here if there's anything…"
The light of Alex's phone was the only thing that illuminated the room. When he unlocked his phone, he was shocked. He had several notifications. His bank accounts had been drained and then shut down. Everything was gone. Every account he had, any insurance he subscribed to, and all of his utilities had been canceled. It was a miracle that his phone still worked.
He stared at his phone with wide eyes. His mouth dropped open. "How is this possible?"
Yvonne squinted, trying to catch a glimpse of Alex's expression, but his phone wasn't bright enough to shed light on his face. "What's going on?"
Alex didn't say a word. Instead, he continued to gawk at his phone. This can't be possible, he thought. I have to be dreaming. Maybe I should pinch myself.
Before Alex had the chance to prove he wasn't living inside of a nightmare, Flora leaned forward. "Honey, is everything alright?"
It was all so confusing. Alex didn't quite know how to answer her. "All of my accounts have disappeared. I don't know how else to explain this, but I have absolutely nothing."
Flora stood up and walked over to Alex. She looked over his shoulder. "Oh, that's so odd. Alex, you should call the bank. Maybe the accounts got hacked, or it was a mistake."
Alex's pulse hammered in his throat. "Call the bank? What good is that going to do? They're the ones who lost my money!"
Gideon reached out his hand, knocking over his fork in the dark. "Alex, you have to call the bank. It's the only way you're going to get answers."
Alex tried to keep calm. "Okay, sure. Fine." He took a deep breath, and then dialed the bank's phone number.
While he waited on the phone, Flora shuffled around the dark room. "I wonder if he has any candles. We should light something so that we can see."
Yvonne stood up. "That isn't a bad idea. I'll help you look."
His anticipation, and anxiety, grew with every ring of the phone. He let out a sigh of relief when someone on the other end answered.
His voice shook as he replied. "Uh, hello? This is Alex Ambrose. I have a question about my accounts. All of them appear to be canceled, but I didn't cancel anything."
After a few moments, Alex dropped his phone.
It wasn't the answer he had expected.
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