You wouldn't believe how sorry I am that it's this late. If any even still remembers what this is, I'm trying my best to keep it updated, but I'm not doing so good. Really sorry people.
It was raining out. The clouds had thundered in around two P.M. and caused a deep darkness. The darkness caused the highway streetlights to flicker on, which illuminated the scene bellow.
"Get him out! Hurry up!" screeched the head paramedic. "He's bleeding out!"
Steve Tonsay Barely heard the words. The only thing keeping him conscious was how much focus it took to keep hold of the CD in his pocket. He knew he was losing a lot of blood and fast. He had to think about something, anything to keep himself focused.
What about the CD? his mind offered.
"What about it?" he muttered, summoning all of his strength to talk.
Why wouldn't your car, hell, any CD player play it?
"How should I know?"
You found it at your workplace?
"So?"
Where?
"I don't know,"
Think.
"In my office?"
No.
"Then where?" Steve groaned as a huge surge of pain coursed through him.
"He's getting worse!" yelled the paramedic over the rainstorm. "Get…him…OUT!"
Think, think, think! Time is running out!
"I…don't…know…," Every word was becoming an effort.
In someone else's office, maybe?
"Someone…else's?"
Your…
"Boss!" he said quickly. "It came from that girl's uncle's office!"
Exactly.
"So maybe it's…"
A computer disc?
"That girl," thought Steve. "She doesn't even know that Varuchio's her uncle."
Steve gasped. A sharp pain in his chest was rising. His world was starting to fade. Lighting flashed, and thunder boomed, and Steve remembered nothing else.
Terry sat in her room doing the little homework that her teachers were confident in giving her. They were treating her even more different than before, and Terry didn't like it.
She heard the phone ring, and saw the cat pawing at her door to get out. Terry smiled, and reached down to pick up the small cat. She brushed the white fur on its stomach with her fingertips. Smiling as it began to purr, she turned it over and began to stroke its back. The cat looked up at her, and back to the door.
"Alright," whispered Terry. She pried her door open, and let the cat jump out of her arms. It walked out into the hall and down the steps towards her kitchen. Terry was about to close the door when she heard Kate call.
"Pick up the phone in your room!" called Kate. "It's Claire!"
Terry muttered that she got it, and looked around her room quickly for a phone that was supposed to be there. She found it in a corner on an awkwardly positioned table. She picked it up, and greeted Claire.
"Terry!" shouted the voice on the other side of the line.
"Ow," whispered Terry as she rubbed her left ear. She switched the side that the phone was on, and let Claire finish.
"I just found out about Belle!"
"Oh?" asked Terry, slightly more interested.
"She stuck a message on the message board of "The World"!"
"What does it say?" asked an interested Terry.
"Maybe it'd be better if you came over here," said Claire.
"Achoo,"
A sneeze sounded on the phone.
"Did you just sneeze?" asked Terry.
"No," responded Claire. "I thought you did."
"Oh," said Terry. "It must have been the wind."
Terry knew it wasn't the wind. She already thought of a way to find out who was listening on the other phone of the house.
"Can you hold on a second, Claire? I have to use…the bathroom."
She softly set the phone down on the table. She pushed open her door, and walked towards the bathroom. She closed the door to it, making sure it could be heard in the kitchen. Then she crept down the stares, and peered around the corner.
Terry stared awe struck at Kate who was holding the other phone.
"Kate!" screeched Terry. Kate looked up in shock as Terry stared at her.
"Uh…n-no. I'm not interested in changing my long distance, thank you." she attempted hit the off button, but pushed the button labeled 3 on the phone. She put it down on the counter, and stared nervously back at Terry.
"How could you?" Terry demanded.
"I…I," stammered Kate.
"Just because I forget a couple of things, I can't have a conversation?"
"It's not that…" Terry cut her off.
"What if it was personal?
"Well, it wasn't, so…"
"So nothing!" stormed Terry. "I'm going over Claire's house!" she threw open the front door, and ran through the rain.
"Oh, Terry," whispered Kate. Then she thought. "I really blew her trust in me, didn't I?" she muttered as the screen at the front door flapped open and closed uselessly.
Claire had hung up the phone seconds after she heard Terry storm out of her house. Now she was waiting for her to show up at her house. Maybe telling the mail she found under Belle's account would help Terry focus on something else.
The doorbell rang, and Claire went to open it. Terry stormed in, clearly shaken up, but when she looked up at Claire, she wore a smile.
"Now, you were telling me something about the message boards?" Terry said.
"Uh, yeah," Claire decided not to pry on Terry's life. She turned towards her computer, and pulled up two chairs. She motioned at the screen. "The World's" message board was showing. "Right here," Claire tapped the computer screen. Terry stared in confusion at the bunch of letters. It looked like Belle just leaned on the keyboard when she posted this. Claire looked over at Terry.
"I think she was infected with that virus," Claire said. Terry froze.
"How would you know about the virus?" Terry asked.
"Who doesn't?" Claire responded. "It was all over the message boards and CC Corp. didn't do the best job covering it up." Terry shoved her suspicions aside and focused on the problem at hand.
"Anyway. Why do you say that she was infected?" Terry asked.
"They said," began Claire, pushing her glasses up a little. "That when the virus infects the player, an extreme pain courses through the body. Maybe when she was infected, her real body clicked around 'till she reached the message board, and then maybe she collapsed on the keyboard. That would post this illegible mess."
"So," whispered Terry to herself. "I made her feel that pain?"
"Hm?" asked Claire, not understanding what Terry said. She'd said it so quietly, that there was no way for her to hear it.
"Oh," Terry said, looking up. "N-nothing." Claire shrugged it off, and clicked off of "The World".
"Now," began Claire as she clicked open a login screen. "This is where I learned a lot more." She typed in the name Belle, and began typing furiously at her keyboard. She shortly gained access to Belle's account.
"How'd you do that?" asked Terry.
"You still haven't remembered everything I told you, huh?" Claire said smiling. "I'm a computer genius." Terry smiled faintly, and then looked at the long list of mail that Claire had pulled up.
"Wow. Fifty-six new messages," sighed Terry.
"I know," Claire agreed that it was shocking. "This tells us around the time that she was infected." She clicked open the earliest unread mail. It was dated during the time that Terry was unconscious. Terry felt a shiver go down her spine.
"And this is the message that confused me the most," Claire said as the clicked open another mail.
"It's…it's all ones and zeros!" exclaimed Terry.
"I think it's a computer code, but I don't know what it is exactly," Claire said.
A new mail flashed. Claire clicked it open out of curiosity.
Sender: Belle Subject: Help…me…
:H)lp…me…plese…! I…cn'(…(e! Hl me pl#! I ca&'
s! P(AS! && & & & ! (&(! #….
"Most of it's illegible, but I think it's saying 'help me'," Claire said.
"It's from Belle! That means she's alive!" exclaimed Terry. "I have to tell Steve!"
"Wait," said Claire as Terry went to get up. "Steve Tonsay? Dark hair, average build, and black eyes?"
"Uh, yeah. That sounds right. Do you know him?" asked Terry.
"He's in the hospital," Claire said, and continued at Terry's look of horror. "His car was rammed by a truck. It was on the news."
"I have to get there, then! Claire, please do me a favor. Try to analyze what that code is under Belle's mail, and don't tell my mom where I went!"
Claire nodded, and watched her friend charge out the door. Why was she still acting so strange? Was she really feeling better? Claire sighed, and went to work on the code.
The hospital was quiet until Terry went charging in. She ran up to the nurses' station.
"Please," Terry panted. "What room is Steve Tonsay in?"
"Are you family?" asked the nurse.
"Uh, sure! Just, what room is he in?"
"Room 112 down the hall," the nurse answered politely.
Terry ran through the double doors, and burst into room 112. Steve was propped up by two pillows and watching TV. He was fine. The only things that terry could see wrong was a bandaged he and arm in a sling.
"Terry?" he asked. "What is it?"
"I found out information on Belle," Terry wheezed.
"What?" demanded Steve, suddenly anxious for information.
"She's still alive in "The World"!" Terry said.
"That game, huh?" Steve closed his eyes.
"What's wrong?" asked Terry.
"Terry," Steve started. "I think that the person in the truck behind me was after this," He pulled out a shimmering computer disc from under his pillows.
"Mas…ter…Va…ru…chi…o…," moaned a voice outside the hospital, standing in the rain. "Must…retrieve…his…work." It threw open a fuse box, and cut a wire.
"Just take it," Steve began. "And guard it with everything you have." Terry nodded at the strange request, but if the enemy really was after the disc, she might be better off holding on to it.
As soon as she touched the disc, the lights went out, and Terry saw nothing.
FLASHBACK
Terry was logging into "The World". It was a joyous feeling, although you can't really feel anything in a game. Then she felt her uncle Varuchio's hands clasp her shoulders.
"Surprise," he whispered.
Her joyous fall turned into one from hell. The sides of the tunnel glowed red briefly, but soon all turned pitch black.
She was falling, falling down a tunnel of darkness. She screamed, but it seemed to go unanswered. Her eyes were pinched shut, but if they weren't, she wouldn't have known the difference.
A cruel voice laughed somewhere, and she was suddenly surrounded by a harsh blue light. The light encased her, and she began to forget. She forgot everything, her friends, who she was, and only one dark name was burned into her head. A name for evil. Varuchio. Her uncle was evil.
END
Again, very sorry about the extremely late update. Just a to let anyone who still might be reading know, the next chapter's the last, then I start the true sequel. Please review.
