Hooked

by DeAnna Browne

  “Sure, okay,” Ari said, distracted by worries of Marco.

  “I’ve got to go to class.” He grabbed Ari’s hand. “He’s going to be okay.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  Reed was silent for a moment before agreeing. “You’re right, but even if he’s not, we’ll deal with it.”

  Ari nodded. “I can’t be late to class.” Reed let go of her hand, and Ari hurried towards her dorm that held so much of what she hated: virtuals.

  No wonder we have lock-downs, she thought. This place might be worth blowing up.

  By the next week, Marco headed home, and Mom said he was doing well, whatever that meant. Ari focused on school, spending time with Reed whenever possible. Saturday night, Reed came over to watch a movie on Tessa’s over-sized screen. They cuddled up on Ari’s bed, while Tessa sprawled out on hers. They passed around cartons of ice cream, trying to convince each other which one was the best.

  “Everyone knows chocolate is practically a food group by itself,” Ari argued.

  “If you’re like every other girl in world. Peanut butter and cherries? Now that’s a tasty variety,” Tessa replied.

  Tessa had been kinder since Ari told her that her brother had been sent home. Tessa had never brought it up again, even though Ari often heard the gossip around campus. She appreciated her roommate. Sometimes friends didn’t have to talk, they could just be.

  Reed set his spoon down and silently traced Ari’s arm, leaving it with a tingling sensation Ari loved. As they watched a fantasy movie with vampires tearing each other to shreds, Ari’s thoughts kept returning to Reed, his body wrapped around hers. Ari would love nothing more than to have his arms around her all night.

  Soon the movie faded, and Ari squinted against the bright lights that Tessa flipped on. “Ari, you are the only person I know that can fall asleep during a horror movie.”

  “I haven’t been sleeping great.”

  “Wait till finals come,” Tessa retorted.

  Ari moaned, and Reed pulled her tighter against him.

  “Let me get on my game before you two start.” Tessa grabbed a drink out of the mini-fridge and sat down in front of her large screen. Within seconds, she had her headset on and the screen full of different shots of her game in action.

  “I should probably let you go to sleep. I know we both have projects to work on for school,” Reed said reluctantly.

  “Not yet. That was a nap.” Ari held onto his arm, not ready to let him go. She’d dreamed of being with him for too long. It felt surreal some days, and she didn’t want it to end.

  His body relaxed underneath her.

  She won. “Just a little longer.” If she was a cat, she would be purring.

  He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then his hand traced down her neck, resting on her collarbone. “Are we going to catch the same tram home? I was hoping we could spend more time together over break.”

  “Sounds great. About break ...” Ari said and then hesitated. She didn’t know if she wanted to bring it up, but it wouldn’t get easier with time.

  “What? Have you not told your mom about us?”

  “That’s not it. My mom was actually excited about us.” Her mom had even said she couldn’t do much better, but there was no reason to give Reed a big head.

  He kissed the top of her head. “Good. My mom said it was about time.”

  “Really?” Ari turned back to face him, wondering how long Reed had thought of her romantically.

  Reed smiled at her, bigger than usual, which made Ari close the distance and meet his lips. She melted into his soft lips, lost in the taste of Reed with a touch of chocolate. Finally, she pushed back. Tessa was still in the room, despite being absorbed in her game.

  “You wanted to talk about break?” Reed held onto to her waist as Ari faced him. His hand touched her bare skin, sending a warm current throughout her body.

  “You’re very distracting.” Ari pushed his hands away.

  “Alright, alright.” Reed raised his hands in surrender as he leaned back against the metallic head board.

  “I want to go see my dad.”

  Reed’s brow creased, then the lines deepened. What a way to kill the mood. Not that she expected Reed to be pleased, but she’d hoped he would be understanding and willing to help.

  “You mean ...” He couldn’t say it.

  “Yes, I want to go into the VR with him. Maybe try to help him leave like I did for Marco.” What Ari didn’t say, what she was too scared to articulate, was that she was willing to use her skills as a warper to help convince her father to leave.

  Reed pushed himself up to a seated position and stared at Ari with disbelief.

  “Please try to understand.” Ari sat up as well and placed a hand on top of his, but Reed was cold and angry.

  “I think I understand all right. You’re going to give away your life for a man that has already thrown his away more than once.” Reed’s voice grew, no longer the hushed whispers.

  Ari turned to see if Tessa was still playing. Her hands were a little slower than usual on her keyboard, as if she was trying to ignore them.

  “He is my father, Reed. You, more than anybody, should realize that.”

  “Don’t talk to me about fathers.” Reed climbed off her bed. “Sometimes it’s better if they’re gone rather than having them around to screw up our lives.”

  “I was hoping you could help me.” Ari needed him to cover her tracks, but she didn’t even know if that was possible in a hospital.

  He ran a hand over his short hair. “Of course, I’ll help you, but I’m not sure if that will be enough or if I can keep you safe.”

  She wanted him to be okay with it, but she had to do it with or without him. “I have to.”

  “No, you don’t. Does your mom know? Because I’m pretty sure she would say no. It’s too dangerous.”

  “I need to do it while I can. You’re leaving at the end of the school year as it is.” Every day was more of a struggle for Ari to conceal her abilities. She planned to finish the school year with Reed. At the end of the year, he would move on to his career assignment, and she could take Dave’s position or something. It hurt to watch Reed’s pain.

  “Why do I have the feeling you’re checking out of this relationship early? You could wait until I graduate.” Reed picked up his bag and swung it over his shoulder.

  “I can’t.”

  He nodded, his jaw tightening. Then without another word, he turned and walked out.

  Ari stared at the door as it shut, shocked at how fast things had turned sour. Maybe she hadn’t made the right choice, but she wasn’t sure what she could have said to make it any easier.

  Tessa continued playing her game, commenting between keystrokes. “Boys suck.”

  The following week was quiet for Ari. She found herself constantly checking for a message and even stalked Reed’s social network for any updates he cared to post—which were none. She started to message him several times, wanting to explain but there was nothing left to explain. He knew her better than anyone else. He knew she had to do it. He just didn’t want to accept it.

  So, she threw herself into her midterm project virtual which all her teachers would be grading. It would be the first virtual the students were required to create, and each teacher had different criteria they expected, from the storyboard, to art design, to complex code and procedure. Tessa helped a lot as she was at the top of the class, though she didn’t always agree.

  “I could name a couple guys that are a lot better than me,” Tessa said before taking another bite of their pizza covered in ham and pineapple—another one of Ari’s new favorites.

  “Maybe in complex coding, but you have moxie no one else has.”

  Tessa pulled back slightly, acting surprised. “Moxie?”

  “Something my grandfather used to say about someone with gumption, spark.” Ari bit into another piece of pizza.

  “Huh, moxie,” Tessa said the word again, her latest
lip ring giving her a slight lisp. She turned back to Ari. “So, where’s your moxie?”

  Ari stared at her for a second, confused.

  “Reed.” Tessa’s eyes narrowed at her. “Come on. You’ve been moping around all week after that fight. What’s the deal?”

  Ari picked off a pineapple. She struggled to talk about her home life or anything personal. Tessa had no problem sharing, including her dad’s sex life, which often turned Ari a couple of shades redder.

  “It’s my dad.” Ari proceeded to tell Tessa the whole story. “Reed doesn’t want me to see him on Christmas Break. He thinks it’s too dangerous.” She left out using her abilities to help her father.

  Tessa set down her slice of pizza and stood. “Let’s go to the bathroom.”

  “What?” Ari knew Tessa was not the type of girl to go to the bathroom in groups.

  “Come on.”

  Ari followed her into their small private bathroom. White tile and silver fixtures gleamed. Tessa waved a hand in front of a sensor and turned on the shower.

  Once the water was pounding against the tiles, she turned to face Ari. “I get why you have to go see your dad. I do. But I don’t see why you feel like going into the government program is your only choice.”

  “Because once they know, there will be no other options.”

  Tessa gave a short laugh. “You have to stop acting like some poor little girl. You have skills people would kill for, literally. And you’re bright and smart enough to figure another way out of this.”

  Ari bristled at the remark. How could Tessa so smoothly compliment and insult her at the same time?

  “I say we start with that agent that contacted you. Dave, right?” Tessa grinned and the ring on her lip curled her lip, making her look bit mischievous and frightening at the same time.

  The next day Tessa scheduled an appointment with Dave for the following Friday after school. She wasn’t as worried about what was on her call log as she often spoke to agents or people in the industry. Thankfully, Tessa was going with Ari. Between Tessa’s father’s business and her own gaming experience, she had expertise Ari desperately needed.

  Ari focused on her project while she waited for the meeting. She’d been inspired by a picture she’d once glimpsed online and decided to recreate a fantasy world based on it. She was in way over her head but loved the challenge.

  Ari worked in the VR library on Wednesday night. They had systems where she could visualize a 3D version of her program while working on the code on a nearby screen. It made work easier, even if she had to do it in the lab instead of her dorm room in her pajamas. The lab was empty, except for the lab techs and Wake, the jerk from class, who sat at the next station. Ari had no problem ignoring him. She focused on her program, needing to pull at least an A from Dr. Coleman on the project.

  Thinking about a troublesome spot, she stared off in the distance for a moment. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed Wake’s gaze, but turned her attention back to the images in front of her. Ari tried to block him out. He might be great at programming, but his features reminded Ari of a chubby rodent.

  Her HUB vibrated with a new message from Reed. Unfortunately, it seemed as short and cold as he had been for the last week.

  Can we talk this weekend?

  Ari typed back. Sure. Saturday night?

  Tessa and Ari were meeting with Dave on Friday night.

  Sounds good. I’ll pick you up at 5pm.

  She tapped her fingers on the table, excited for her date with Reed. He was worried about her, but she also knew he would come around. He sucked at holding a grudge. Otherwise he’d never have been friends with Marco.

  She hurried to throw her stuff in her bag before rushing out the door. She’d made it to the elevator before she realized she’d left her drive for her VR hooked in the system. Swearing silently, she walked back to the library. Thankfully, it was right where she left it.

  On the way to her VR class, Ari nervously picked at a nail. Dr. Coleman planned to give each student feedback about their project, so they could finish up any changes by the end of the week, which was the last day of classes as well as finals. Walking into the classroom, the snowy landscape outside stole Ari’s attention. Gray skies hung heavy, dropping snowflakes in perfected chaos. She didn’t believe anyone would ever be able to recreate that in the virtual world.

  As students filed into the room, someone ran into her from behind, knocking her bag off her shoulder and spilling its contents to the floor. When she reached down to collect her stuff, she looked back up to find Wake chuckling with his buddies. Ari thought of a plethora of names to call him, but caught sight of Advisor Williams, watching everything and not making a single move. Stifling her anger, she finished gathering her bag and took her seat.

  Dr. Coleman stood at the front of the class ready to begin. “Please come in and take a seat. We have a lot to do today so we need everyone to please go quickly into their programs.”

  Ari pulled her long hair into a messy bun on top of her head and thought briefly about Tessa’s hair, shaved underneath for easier access to her port. It was tempting. Like her mother, though, Ari had long wavy hair that she wasn’t eager to part with.

  She slid down in the seat, plugged in the drive that held her program, then inserted the cable in the back on her head.

  Walking around the classroom, Mica stopped by Ari, “Good luck.”

  Ari hoped she wouldn’t need it.

  Before she could even open her eyes in the program, Ari knew something was wrong. Darkness surrounded her, a void that had no end. A blinding pain went through her mind as she struggled to see her program. The lush landscape highlighted with purples and blues that she’d spent hours creating was all gone. She couldn’t even see the code. Where had it all gone? Despite the intense pain, she tried to concentrate on the background and bring into focus the picture she had worked on for so many hours. She couldn’t lose everything, not when she had worked so hard all semester. Her efforts resulted in a stabbing sensation in the back of her eyes.

  Ignoring the nails pounding into her temple, she focused on codes she’d spent hours typing and re-typing. She pulled some of it from memory and pushed it into the program. She hoped to have something there, light even, before Coleman showed up. Green grass and a basic light flickered on and off for a couple seconds before it all went black. Pain exploded in her mind, and she screamed out in agony.

  Then it ended.

  As Ari struggled to open her eyes against the blinding light, she found a worried Mica hovering over her. “You okay?”

  “Not really.” She had a piercing headache. Her hand blocked out the florescent lights in the room as they seemed to only amplify the pain. It was only a few seconds before Ari recognized Dr. Coleman standing next to her. Ari struggled to sit up and Mica grabbed her arm to help. Advisor Williams stood several feet behind Coleman but kept his gaze locked on her.

  “What happened in there, Ms. Mendez?” Dr. Coleman asked.

  “My program ... it’s destroyed,” she said between pained gasps.

  Mica turned to the computer. “It looks like the one you downloaded to our server is empty. Maybe a virus wiped it.”

  “Really?” Coleman’s impatience at this delay was obvious. “Just what I needed. Shut down her computer.”

  “Do you have your backup?” Mica asked.

  Ari nodded. “In my bag.”

  Dr. Coleman motioned for Mica to retrieve it, and she obliged. When she had it in hand, he told her to check it out on his protected computer and upload it to the network.

  He then turned his attention back to Ari, pulling up a nearby chair. For a moment he actually appeared concerned, but maybe Ari was reading him wrong.

  “What happened in there?”

  She froze, unsure of where he was going but knowing he was asking more than his words said.

  “It was dark. I was searching for my program and this pain took over.”

  “Was there anything else? Any
changes to the program?”

  Ari remembered the code she tried to push into the program to no avail. He didn’t need to know that. “No, sir.”

  “It could have been a virus or something else. I will run a diagnostic to see what I can find.”

  Mica approached them, shaking her head slightly. “It’s empty. Totally wiped. I checked our school backup network and can’t seem to find anything stored there either.”

  Ari’s mouth hung open as unintelligent gasps came from it. All of her projects, homework, and notes were on that drive. Her mind flew through the possibilities of what could have happened. She had been in the library last night, less than twenty-four hours ago.

  Then Wake popped into her mind—annoying, evil, beady-eyed Wake.

  “It was Wake.” The words came out as a whisper.

  “What?” Dr. Coleman leaned forward.

  She straightened in the chair and looked her professor in the eye. “It was Wake. He was in the library last night when I forgot my drive.”

  “That is a serious accusation, Ms. Mendez.” His face tightened, questioning her.

  It was the only explanation. Wake had been out for her since day one. “It’s the truth.”

  “Okay then.” Dr. Coleman stood, smoothing out the wrinkles in his pants. “I’ll send a report to your advisor and the ethics board and see what happens. In the meantime, I would start on your project.”

  “What? That took hours to complete. There’s no way it will be good enough in time.”

  “It will be quicker the second time. Better get started.” He strode off, obviously not willing to discuss it further.

  Ari bit the inside of her lip. Her emotions coiled tight inside of her—any leak and she wouldn’t be able to stop the flow. Ditching her last class and praying she wouldn’t get another demerit for it, she spent the afternoon in the library re-creating her program with triple backups. She didn’t finish as much as she wanted before she received a message, or more like a command, telling her she had a meeting with Advisor Williams at 3:30pm.