It didn't take long for me to decide to return to Logan's Corner. I just didn't have any other options. My parents and the rest of my family lived out of state. I did want to contact them to let them know I was okay, but how could I explain my current situation? My friends here wouldn't help, they would never believe me. I didn't really want to get any of them involved anyways. For now I just had to hope that Sidney could use her notes to upgrade the body changing device quickly.
I arrived back at Logan's Corner late at night. The tavern had just closed, and Sidney and Ed were back at Ed's house. Sidney was shocked and disturbed to learn that the agents were watching my house.
"How could they possibly find you? If they can find your house, could they find us?" Both of us thought for several moments. I came up with an answer first.
"Oh gosh! The hose!"
"The hose?"
"When I like, saved you from the fire, I used a hose to pull you up, right?"
"Right..."
"And, ummm, maybe they checked the hose for fingerprints."
"Hmmm, has there been any time in your life that the police took your fingerprints?"
"Like, no way! I'm no criminal! But the last time I got my, you know, driver's license, they made me give my fingerprints."
"Ugh, great, so they do have your prints on file." She thought for several moments. "That makes sense. The recovery team would have had time this morning to check for fingerprints. After what we did last night, they would have looked over everything. I can't think of any other way they could have tracked you down. On the positive side, at least that means they still probably can't find you in your new body. You didn't touch anything last night that they could take prints from."
"Could they find you the same way?"
"Claire is a little girl. Nobody has her, err, my fingerprints yet. I'm not even sure how many people knew she was living with me."
"What if they like, check out my pad or something? My new fingerprints are in it."
Sidney frowned. "Crap. Let's hope they don't bother going over your house as in depth as they went over mine. Either way, they still don't know you're here."
Ed came into the room and said to me, "Miss, if ya' still need supper there are some leftovers you can have."
Dinner was leftover stew. Afterward the three of us had some idle chit-chat before finally going off the sleep. Again, I slept on Ed's couch.
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The next morning I woke up to the sound of sizzling. Ed and Sidney were both in the kitchen preparing pancakes and bacon. Breakfast was satisfying, and helped cheer me up a little bit from my feelings of hopelessness now that my whole life had been stolen. I still knew almost nothing about Kelly, including her last name. All I knew was that she was a bimbo runaway who used drugs. That last thought suddenly made me scared.
"Crap on a stick! Ummm, Sidney, since Kelly took Ecstasy, will I be going through withdrawal or something?"
The girl finished chewing a mouthful of bacon and said, "That drug could have bad effects. Ecstasy mostly affects the mind, and it was Kelly's mind that was addicted. Since I used the remote to get rid of Kelly's needs from you, I think you're probably safe." She paused. "Let me know if you start feeling funny in the next day or two, though."
After breakfast we talked about what I would be doing. I couldn't go back to my house. I had no job, and I didn't know what kind of work a teenaged girl with no real identification could get. Kelly had some cash, but it wasn't enough for me to get by on my own. Fortunately Ed already had an idea.
"Since ya' can't go back to your home, you can stay here till' ya' work things out. Now, I can't have a guest sleeping on the couch, and Sid's got the spare bedroom, but I do have a lounge in the second floor of my tavern. I haven't used it much since the wife passed on, so I figure it would work for you. Hope ya' don't mind."
"Of course I don't mind. Ummm, thanks and stuff, really."
"You saved the life of my friend Sid here, it's the least I could do."
Ed and I walked over to the tavern and went to the kitchen behind the bar. The second floor was reached by a narrow set of stairs. Except for a bathroom in one corner, the lounge took up the entire second story. Like the tavern below it had wood paneled walls, and I was surprised to see a small, second bar up here along with a refrigerator. Ed explained that this was his 'private stash' of liquor. Amongst the other furniture up here was a futon and a television. Ed explained that it was hooked up to satellite television, and when the tavern was closed I could also watch the big screen TV in the bar downstairs. I helped him convert the futon into a bed. While I took a quick look around he told me a few simple rules and requests for living here. Finally he gave me a key to the building and told me to guard it carefully. I thanked him again for his hospitality. He told me to "make myself at home" and left to return to his house.