Read Dark Application: ONE (The Dark Application Series Book 1) for Free Online Page B

it.
    Travis’
parents were trying to launch a huge wrongful death lawsuit, but there were too
many witnesses. There had been no driver in the car. No keys in the
ignition.
    Chris’s
car had been seized as evidence, so now they had no transportation. Luke
and Amit shared their bikes with Chris, rotating them out, and sometimes Luke
walked when both the bikes were being used. The snow stuck and stayed at
a steady three inches, turning the sidewalks icy and filling the streets with
slushy mud. At times, snow or the cold made biking impossible, and they
were forced to walk or take the foul-smelling city buses.
    The
party had left the house in shambles; the dishes were broken, the couches soiled, the floors muddy, the bathrooms filthy, and the food
and toilet paper completely gone. The three of them sat around the fire,
eating ramen noodles, silently doing homework around the rickety coffee table
since their rooms were too cold to stay in for long. The house remained
mostly quiet, and when Chris came home with his cheerful demeanor, Amit and
Luke hardly looked up. They generally just stared into the fire.
    “I
could get an emergency student loan to restock the place,” said Luke, flicking
crumpled chemistry scratch notes into the fire.
    “No,
don’t go into debt over it, Luke. I get my check in six more days,” said
Amit. He worked part-time at the college book store on campus.
“We’ll make it until then, and I can get some groceries so we don’t
starve” he joked. “Chris will be good for a couple months, but me, I don’t
know how long I can go without eating…” he patted his thin stomach.
    “There’s
enough here for all of us!” said Chris, grabbing his gut roll and jiggling it.
    Luke
and Amit groaned and looked away.
    Luke
did his school work, but in the back of his mind he kept trying to think of a
way to make more money. They were certainly behind; not only had the
party set them back, but rent was due in two more weeks, and Chris depended on
donations from his dad who mostly promised a lot of money, but never delivered
much. Luke had been required to appear at the sheriff’s office for
questioning twice, which required bus fare, in addition to the bus fare he
needed in order to get to his internship. In a two hour period, Luke
received text messages from his cell phone carrier, the electric company, and
the cable company demanding callbacks to avoid interruption of services.
In short, they were completely, utterly broke.
    Luke hitch-hiked to his internship the next day. A man
in a blue pickup truck gave him a lift, and when Luke pointed to the industrial
complex where he wanted off, he looked around, a little bewildered.
    “Are
you sure this is the place?” the man asked, gazing across the mostly-empty
parking lots.
    “Yep,
this is where the magic happens,” Luke joked and gave a wink. “Thanks so
much sir, your help is much appreciated.”
    “No
problem, son. Be careful. Have a great day,” he said and drove off.
    It was
nice and warm inside, as usual. Sergeant Coffield looked up skeptically
at Luke, an expression he’d grown used to. “Hey there, Sarge ,” he said, and strode back through the hallway to his
work station.
    Kevin
was there, sitting over his keyboard, the reflection of the computer monitor
glaring in his large black eyes. He turned and smiled enthusiastically when
Luke came in. “Hey there, Luke! How was
your weekend?”
    Luke
hadn’t said anything to anyone about the incident at his party, and he didn’t
know how many people knew how involved he’d been with all that. Not that
he had anything to do with the death, he tried to convince himself. Just
that it had happened at his house. That was all.
    But
Kevin was always polite and never in a bad mood, and Luke had started counting
on Kevin’s stable state of cheerfulness to lighten him up. They settled
into their work, with Luke occasionally asking a question, and Kevin always
willing to help him out.
    After
about a half