The Axeman's Carnival by Catherine Chidgey

Author:Catherine Chidgey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Victoria University Press
Published: 2022-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

‘There’ll be very few dead spots,’ said the man in the cap. ‘It should pick up movement almost anywhere in the room.’

I was watching from the hall, and when he stepped back I saw a new Eye sitting on the bookshelves by the fireplace. I stretched and wriggled inside my T-Rex costume. Rob and Marnie waited next to the coffee table, looking unsure of what to do.

‘Is it just for security?’ said the man in the cap.

‘It’s not for security at all,’ said Marnie. ‘We want a live feed, for our website.’

‘Easy as.’

‘Is it … can it see me now?’ said Rob.

‘Yep,’ said the man in the cap. ‘You can set it to live feed only, or you can record. It’ll store any videos in the cloud.’

I peered out the window at the sky.

‘It’s not recording all the time, then?’ said Rob.

The man in the cap shook his head. ‘That’d take way too much memory. The live feed is just what’s happening in real time.’

‘And when it’s gone, it’s gone.’

‘Correct.’ He checked the view on his phone screen, adjusted the Eye a little. ‘Trust me, in a few days you’ll forget it’s even there.’

‘I don’t know about that,’ said Rob.

‘And you can always turn it off when you want some privacy, then on again later.’ He showed them a black box behind the Eye, pointed at a button on it. ‘Just here, see? Or remotely. Now, there’s one to install in the baby’s room too?’

‘And the kitchen and the back porch,’ said Marnie.

‘Have you seen the muscles on him?’ I said from the hall.

‘Beg your pardon?’ said the man in the cap.

‘Have you seen the muscles on him?’ I said again.

‘Ah …’

‘Sorry,’ said Marnie. ‘That’s our pet bird.’

I strolled in, hopped up on the couch. ‘Let’s not react,’ I said. ‘Let’s pretend we never even heard him.’

‘Oh it’s you!’ said the man in the cap. ‘My girlfriend loves you! Can I get a selfie?’

I turned my good side to his phone, started to whistle Touch Me Jesus.

‘She will not believe this! Oh my God, the dinosaur suit! Crack up!’

After he’d left, Rob peered at the Eye. His face filled Marnie’s phone screen, all misshapen and strange. His forehead as big as the moon.

‘Now, Tama,’ said Marnie. ‘There are some words you can’t say in front of the cameras. Do you understand?’

‘Do you understand?’ I said.

‘No fuck,’ she said. ‘No fucking. No cock, no cunt, no wanker.’

‘No fuck,’ I said. ‘No fucking. No cock, no cunt, no wanker.’

‘Marnie, what the hell?’ said Rob.

‘I’m teaching him.’

‘You think he understands you.’

‘I know he does.’

‘No fuck,’ I said. ‘No fucking. No cock, no cunt, no wanker.’

‘Congratulations,’ said Rob. ‘Now he won’t fucking shut up.’

‘No fucking,’ I said.

‘See, he does understand.’

‘Hmm.’

‘You stay here,’ she said, taking her phone, ‘and I’ll go to our bedroom, and we’ll test the camera. But don’t get so close. You look weird.’

I followed her down the hall and made myself comfortable on their bed, nestling between the cushion with the patchwork house and the cushion with the sheep made from real sheepswool.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.