Gretchen sped home, her fatigue forgotten. She ran upstairs and turned on her laptop, pacing as it booted. She snapped the USB drive into its slot.

The screen went black. Gretchen waited. After a minute, the low-resolution cartoon of Wynette appeared. She opened her pixelated mouth.

"Hello?" a voice said from the laptop's speakers. It sounded like a gruff old man from Brooklyn. The mouth opened and closed. "Hello? Anybody there?"

"Um, hello," Gretchen said.

"Oh, it's ...