"Are you sure, Mrs. Farington?" Aidan asks, concerned.

"Yes," Gertrude replies.

 

The phone call appears on the screen, like it would on a phone. Thankfully, it's audio only, and they can't see her AI-overidden home.
 

"Hello, is this Gertrude Farington?," a stern voice comes through the speaker."
 

"Yes, this is she," Gertrude replies.
 

"Mrs. Farington?," the voice asked again.
 

"Yes, it's me!," she replied -- again.
 

Apparently, she did not reply. So used to not having to speak, Gertrude forgot how to do it. When she "spoke," she had simply conjured a thought, which in and of itself had taken up a little too much effort from her decaying brain. When she actually tried to speak, her tongue fumbled in her mouth, and all that came out was gibberish.
 

Gertrude Farington was arrested that same afternoon.
 

...
 

Paloma is a terrible jailmate. She never brushes her teeth, but loves to speak right in Gertrude's face. She smokes like a motorbiker, curses like a sailor, and poops like an anxious chihuahua.
And Gertrude can do nothing about it but mumble disjointed thoughts to herself. She still hasn't regained her speech, and her movements are limited to small walks around the building. She has no friends because she has no speaking abilities, let alone social skills. The food is atrocious, the days are long, and the mattress is too hard. Sleeping is impossible, especially when Paloma decides it's time for some lady time on the bunker above.
 

Being old and alone was hard enough. If Aidan was here, he would kill her out of mercy.