CHAPTER ONE

"You lose. Why don't you go and get some real cards. This is pathetic." I said monotone as I slapped down my MetalGarurumon D-Tector card onto the playing mat. I sat there, looking at the cards I had played. Each one lined up neatly with all the others underneath them. It still wasn't good enough. I should have made that move ten minutes ago. What's wrong with me? A boy sat cross-legged on the floor on the other side of the mat. He let out a small sigh and began to collect his cards.

"You know...This game is easier to play on a D-Tector. Why don't I bring mine over one day and we can play." The boy looked up at me. A small glimmer of hope shone through his eyes. Did he think I wouldn't see? He knows I don't have a D-Tector. Hmf. Silly electronic toys. If only he knew. If only he knew what was really hidden inside my desk drawer. Then he'd see.

I got up silently, leaving my cards in their place on the mat. I turned around and walked out of the room. The boy stood there holding his cards with that stupid look on his face. He always got that look whenever he was confused. He looked as if he was about to cry and laugh at the same time. Freak.

I went into my room and over to my desk. Mt computer was switched on. I never turned it off. Who cares if it cost a small fortune in power bills, this was important. I pulled off the chain around my neck and took off the key suspended on it. I unlocked the desk drawer beside me and pulled it open. From within, I pulled out a small device hidden under papers and notebooks. It was perfectly rectangular and fit in my palm. It was a dark blue color, with gray sides and a gray dial in the middle. The dial had four buttons on it, one at each Cartesian point. It had a small LCD screen near the top, and a couple little dark spots at the top. I had no idea what those were for, but I didn't care. I put the device down on the desk, in front of the computer monitor. I began to type. What? I can't tell you that. You'd know too much.

Me? You don't need to know that quite yet. But, the others are who you need o be concerned about. They need all the luck they can get.

~*~*~

"Class! Pay attention!" A tall, slender woman stood at the front of the classroom, watching her students mindlessly gossip to one another. Once in a while, one student would get out of their seat to sneak to the other side of the room. She would quickly catch them and send them back. She was quite young to be a teacher, especially for junior high school. She had long brown hair that flowed in waves past her shoulders. She dressed formally, but her soft eyes didn't match her proper dress. She had a sharp, demanding voice, but rarely used it for such a purpose. Everyone in her classes knew there was something unique about her, but no one could tell what. Unlike most junior high schools, classes here had only one teacher for the entire year, much like elementary school. Today, she demanded her class' attention more desperately than before. She knew that the kids would not calm down too easily, since it was first thing in the morning. But, what got everyone's attention was the creak of the classroom door. A boy walked into the room, about the same age as the rest of them. But once again, there was something different. He walked, talked and looked the same, but everyone felt something. He went and sat down in an empty desk without saying a word. The teacher introduced him as Josh. She said that he had just transferred from the United States. He dressed quite normally, but that was not what bothered the teacher, she too felt something.

At lunch hour, Josh sat alone in the courtyard slowly eating his sandwich. He kept staring at one point on the ground, barely even looking at it. He was caught in his thoughts, and didn't even notice the two girls come up and sit on either side of him. They were the same age as Josh, but acted a bit less mature. One girl had short reddish hair and the other with long black hair; both tied back in ponytails. One girl leaned over Josh to whisper something to the other. Josh noticed them now, but didn't care what they were doing. Both girls smirked a little and sat up straight. At the same time both girls chimed "Hi."

Josh sat there, in between these two girls, having no idea who they were. He let himself say hello back to them, and continued to eat. "Mind if we hang out here with you?" One girl asked. Josh looked over to her without turning his head. He thought he might as well let them stay, his parents would transfer him again if he didn't make any friends this time.

"Sure. Do whatever you want." Josh told them quietly. He sat up and moved his concentration out of his imagination. The girls introduced themselves.

"I'm Sarah. This is my friend Tara. So, you're new here right?"

"Yes."

"How come you came all the way from the USA?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because...Because my parents wanted me to make friends. I wasn't getting along well with people down there."

"Why'd you come here? There are other schools down there you know."

"I know. We tried all of the schools in the city. None worked out. My parents decided that we would try moving here instead of a new American city. At least that's what they said."

"Oh."

The conversation went on with Sarah and Tara popping out questions. They talked until lunch hour was over, getting along better than Josh's last couple schools. The three separated at the bell and went to their classes. Throughout the next couple weeks, Josh was getting to know the girls quite well, but never bothered with anyone else. His teacher, Ms. Logan, kept a constant eye on Josh, but not for his friend making skills. She too knew something was different about him...and the girls too. Everyone just thought they imagined it. She could feel it, deep in her bones.

1010101101101000101001. Numbers, so many ones and zeros. But, that's all they are. All of them. Nothing more than ones and zeros. How can they...Live?

Hundreds of thousands of ones and zeros flashed repeatedly on my computer screen. To the average eye, that's all they were. But me, I saw a world. A new, incredible world. A world, that I made.

It's a creation...An emulation.

That's all.

It's not possible for anything to do a thing without me telling it to.

I create little creatures to live in my world. I use Digital DNA that I created, here, in my bedroom. I make them happy. I make them sad. They grow, digitally evolve...Digivolve.

They're special. Unique. Fake. All I can do is create fake things. I can't make anything real, alive. I can't make anything here, in my world, with me. They're all there, in my computer. Isolated. Alone. Like me.

I make them,
I evolve them.
I fight them,
I play them.
I break them,
I fix them.
...
...
...
I kill them.

Josh sat in the computer room. At least twenty computers sat on desks, turned off and unused. Josh sat in front of the computer; the warm glow of the screen lit his face, and was the only light on in the room. It was after school. Everyone had gone home. Josh wanted to stay to catch up on some work. He didn't have a computer at home yet. He had to suffer with the school's old beat up leftovers that they called computers.

All of a sudden, Josh was snapped out of his daze by a flashing blue light on the screen. In the corner of the screen, he noticed, an instant messenger program had turned on. Someone knew he was there. They were trying to talk to him. He reluctantly opened the program. A message popped up. It was from a user name "dgtlwrld". Josh had no idea who it was, but read the message anyway.

"It is time, Joshua. Do you accept?" Josh read the message, completely confused. He stared at the user name. Nope, no one he knew. He started to type back to the mystery person.

"Who is this?"

"Do you accept?"

"Accept what?"

"Your destiny."

"What?"

"Go to the subway station and take the 4:30 train heading east on platform 32."

"Why? I don't need to go that way."

"It will take you to another station. From there, go to platform 9. Get on the train. It departs at 5:00 sharp. Make sure you get on."

At that moment, before Josh could reply, the user signed off. Josh sat there, looking at the message conversation. Then he noticed, he hadn't accepted or anything and this person still told him what to do. Josh was completely confused. He had been working on his homework for a while now, and his brain was shut down. He waited for it to register. When it finally hit him, he checked his watch. The time was already four o'clock. If he wanted to do what this person said, he'd have to run full speed to the station.

Now there was only one question. To go, or, not to go?

Josh ran down the street. He constantly pulled his backpack back onto his shoulders. He gasped for air as he ran down the hill towards the subway station. He saw the station at the bottom of the hill. A train was just entering a tunnel to go down to the station. That had to be his train. It was almost four thirty. All of a sudden, josh's foot caught on a rock. He went flying into the air and down the hill. He landed on his stomach, but kept going. He rolled down the hill a ways before slamming into a telephone pole headfirst. He slowly stood up, using the pole as a brace. Josh held hid head in pain was he stood crumpled over the side of the wooden post. He was nearly at the station. Through his grumbling of pain Josh heard a faint voice coming from the station. "All passengers for the four thirty train please board now on platform 32. You may ask any station employees for directions how to get there."

Oh no, Josh thought, He was going to miss the train. Josh began to pick up speed, lugging extra weight from the bump on his head. He ran as fast as he could into the station. An elderly man was standing at the automated ticket booth. He slowly pushed in his coins and selected his fare. The little red ticket popped out of the machine. The man slowly went to reach for it. Josh ran in between the man and his ticket. Josh grabbed the ticket with one hand and threw his change at the man with the other. "Sorry! Here's the money, buy another one!" Josh yelled over his shoulder to the man. Josh jumped the gate and around a corner. The man just stood there, his arm still in front of him, as it was when he reached for the ticket. He kept looking where Josh had just been, with surprise and utter fear in his eyes.

~*~*~

They are made, and they are unmade. I control it. Me. It's all done by my hand. My mind. They do not think. They do not feel...They do not live...Or do they. Hmm....

~*~*~

The train was filling up fast. Young and old crowded into the small compartments. Josh ran through the crowd, trying to push and shove his way to the train. The bell sounded to tell everyone the train was leaving.

~*~*~

They don't follow me anymore. Why? I tell them to stop, but they don't. They have started to Digivolve faster than I can delete them. I need someone in that world, on my side. Someone who can delete them for me. I still have some digital DNA left...

~*~*~

Josh pushed through the doors of the train as it started to pull out of the station. He shuffled through the crowd and luckily found a spot to sit down. The train wouldn't reach the correct station for another half-hour at least. Josh began to use his time to think about that email message he got. Someone knew who he was and where he was. Josh began to think this was all one big scam. But, then again, even if it was, he couldn't exactly go to front of the train and ask them to stop. He'd have to wait until five o'clock when the other train left.

~~~~

Josh got off the train into the fresh afternoon air. The next train must be above ground, he thought. Josh looked at the ticket he held in his hand. The old man had actually planned to go on the same route as Josh. What luck, maybe this was destiny. Josh wandered around silently, looking for platform 9. When he found it, the train was already being boarded. Josh quickened his pace. He got on the train in just enough time. As he did so, the doors closed behind him. Oddly, the train seemed almost deserted. Other than two girls, he was the only one in the compartment. Wait, those two girls. It's Sarah and Tara. Josh went over to them. The girls hadn't heard him walk up to them. They turned with a start when the saw him. "Hello Josh. What are you doing on this train?" Tara blinked at Josh, obviously confused.

"I got an email. It told me o get on this train. What about you? I thought you two went home hours ago." Josh sat down across from the girls. They told him that they too got an email, on one her computer, the other on their cell-phone. Josh looked around. "Is there anyone else on this train?"

"Yes. Some girl is in another compartment. She was really grumpy and yelled at us to go away. So we came to sit down here." Sarah then began to tell Josh about the other girl. She had shoulder length brown hair and a slightly rounded face. She wore an orange wristband on her left arm. Sarah told Josh that she wasn't friend type at all. This made Josh wonder. The four of them all got onto the same train after getting a strange message. What was going on here? And even more important, what awaited them at the other end of that train track?

~*~*~

And that's how it began. Josh, Sarah, and Tara, are being pitted against an enemy who knows no mercy and is no fan of slow death. Can they make it out alive? Or have I made a mistake sending them? I wish I hadn't sent that email to Josh in the first place. But, I never sent a message to that other girl. I wonder why she is there.

~*~*~

Hmm. Almost done. It just needs one more adjustment. A little more power. Perhaps a conversion subprogram would help it recruit some followers. Yes. Its main program is conversion and deletion. It will do perfectly...Maybe a bit more black on the left forearm. And a horn here. No, that doesn't work.

I typed in the codes and watched as the ones and zeros came together on my screen. The numbers began to form a picture. This was my latest creation, my best. My strongest. The most evil simulated being ever created.
...
These incompetent, insubordinate little creatures are going to learn a lesson their emulated "brains" won't easily forget.
...
...
Those of them who survive the night.
...
...
My Digital World will once again be mine. Even if I have to destroy both worlds to do it.