The Virus



The name is Cleo...Cleo Jasmin. My life is at risk and I’m one of only a thousand people who haven’t been struck by the bug. For being only sixteen, that’s a lot of pressure. I’m in the race to find my family and reach the end. It’s like a game except that it’s definitely not fun.
Was I confusing? I’ll explain. One week ago, on November 13, the first case of the bug was identified. I don’t know who might be reading this, so I’ll explain even further. It’s the year 2222. When we are born, a computer, the size of a grain of rice, is inserted into our brains...every single one of us. Like any other computer, our computers get viruses. The last time a virus outbreak occurred was in the year 2112 and it only affected 100 people. This bug is much different. This bug is taking thousands...even millions...every single second.
What can I do about it? Honestly, I’m not sure, but I’m willing to try anything.
My brother, Hugo, was taken at 12:46 last night. Just before the bug took over him, he told me two words: Elliot Otto. I don’t know who that is or why my brother told me that, but Hugo is intelligent. He wouldn’t tell me anything that wasn’t important.
My whole family was taken over the course of the past week including my mom, dad, brother, and sister. I don’t know why I didn’t have the bug yet. I have been petrified. I don’t know why I was one of only a thousand who are still clean. My mom and dad both vanished at work. My sister was taken at her academy school.But, I saw Hugo being taken. It was so eerie. He called me into his bedroom just past midnight. He told me the name Elliot Otto. He got up from his bed. He strolled right out the back door. He didn’t answer me when I screamed his name. He kept an agile walking pace, even after I chased him. After about a block, he began to disappear. All of a sudden, I couldn’t see his arms. Then, his legs seemed to vanish away. Slowly, his blond, curly hair disappeared. It was like a video game where your character dies. Except, Hugo didn’t die. I knew he was still out there...I just had to find him.
I searched the name Elliot Otto. Tons of articles popped up. Most of them were police records reading things like unusual behaviors and mentally ill. One article said he lived in the Bolton, Illinois district. That is twenty minutes away. It stated that he was a computer physician. He implanted computers into people. The article said that he was sent to prison in 2215 for putting a computer with a glich into one of his patients. The most recent article was the most shocking. It was created two days before the first virus was discovered. It said that he had escaped prison. He wasn’t found. So was this the leader? Did he cause everything? It was all surreal.
All of a sudden, I heard a noise. A muffled hum. I dashed to my bedroom only to find the TV on. A man appeared on the screen. He wore a black mask, so I could only see his laser green eyes. The screen was blurry. He spoke in a deep, bitter voice and growled...
“You are one of only a thousand. Among one of you is the strongest of our kind. Your family and friends are no longer yours, for they are under my rule. Do you want to save them? Then come find me. Only one of you thousand will be able to make it. And when you find me and your people, the ones you love will be set freed. You win the game. I’m afraid the other 999 of you will face appropriate consequences. Prove that you are the strongest and let the game begin!”
The television flashed off just as quickly as it began. I sprinted to my bedroom, snatched my backpack, and threw in the necessities. I slipped on my purple- striped jacket and scampered out the back door. I didn’t know where I was going, and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever return. All I knew was that I had to save my family, and that’s exactly what I was going to do.
I searched “Elliot Otto” again. This time, I looked closely at the detailed pictures. There, staring at me, were those laser green eyes. The message on the TV had to be from him.
Where did he live? 5491 Johnson Street, in the Bolton, Illinois district. That’s where I would start. I felt that I had an advantage.
After about 20 minutes of driving, I finally got a chance to see what was happening within my district. It looked as natural as it had a week ago but looked as deserted as it probably had in ancient times.
I was surprised to find that Elliot Otto lived in an older, cream colored cottage instead of a huge, modern oasis. The metal roof tiles were falling off and the paint was peeling. I didn’t even bother knocking. I’m not stupid. I understand that millions of people can’t fit in one miniscule cottage, but I had the illusion that my family and the rest of planet Earth was just behind that beige door.
After picking the lock, I was in. When I stepped through the doorway, I immediately realized that this house was peculiar and unusual. There were projections of video games covering the walls...ancient video games, newer ones, and even some that I had never seen before. In the center of the room was a monstrous computer with a screen double my size that filled almost the whole room. On the screen flashed mysterious messages like: “Save us!” and “Help!”. One even read, “Cleo, you’re our last chance!”.
I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to do. The messages flashed off, and a video game appeared on the screen. There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of little people pictured. In the center of all the people was a larger, more powerful person with laser green eyes like Elliot Otto. The people all just stood there staring at him. They all looked scared and petrified. Then messages began to appear, again. These messages were disturbing, like: “He’s threatening to kill us.” and, “He is controlling us!”.
Suddenly, I tumbled to the tile floor, trembling. This time, someone was controlling me. Elliot Otto appeared in front of me stroking my soft, chestnut hair. “Don’t worry, little girl. There is no need to be frightened. It doesn’t matter anyway. You are too late. Your people are already in danger. The weak ones will die. The strong ones will be controlled by me. They will do whatever I please.” Elliot vanished, just as quickly as he had appeared.
I laid on the ground, weak and feeble. They can’t be controlled. My people can’t die.
I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to give up, but then I remembered my family. I had to do it for my family. I got up from the floor and hit the message button. “It’s not over yet!” I typed in as rapidly as possible.
If I were trapped in a video game, how would I get out? I paced back and forth, anxiously thinking. Then, I got an idea. What if I undid what Elliot Otto had done. I clicked the undo button, and a box popped up on the screen asking for a four digit password. I tried his address 5491. It was wrong. Maybe the year 2222. It was again denied. I had one more chance to get the password right. For some reason, a number just popped into my head, 6742. Maybe the number was just a lucky guess, or maybe it was programmed into me. I typed in the numbers slowly and attentively. Another box popped up saying, “Congratulations! You can now make changes to your game!”.
I clicked the undo icon and one microscopic person disappeared off of the screen. I didn’t know if I should be elated or terrified. Did that person disappear forever or did I save them? I clicked undo about ten more times and ten people disappeared and were freed, or so I hoped. Over and over I did this. In my gut I had a bad feeling. Maybe I was killing them. Maybe instead of saving my family, they were vanishing. For some reason, unconsciously, I kept pressing the undo button until the screen was empty of all the people. The screen was deserted and empty, and I felt as lonely as ever.
I was so baffled. I didn’t know if I should be crying with sadness or cheering with happiness. I was distraught, unsure, and scared, but there was nothing left for me to do. All the people were gone. I ran into my Turbo- Mobile scared, heartbroken, and hysterical and drove home. I had a dreadful feeling. As I drove, the streets were empty. The houses were dark. If seven billion people had arose out of nowhere, wouldn’t the whole world be celebrating?
As I drove into the driveway, I was drowning in puddles of tears. It was over. I wasn’t the strongest and I definitely wasn’t a hero. My people had all disappeared because of me. More importantly, my family had vanished and would never return.
I could hardly get up the courage to walk into my own house, that was how useless I was. I was shocked by what I saw. In fact, I had to blink a couple of times to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. Standing in front of me was my family. They dashed towards me shouting, “You saved us!” My mom and dad kissed me. My sister hugged me and cried blissfully on my shoulder. Hugo high fived me and exclaimed, “I never doubted you!”
So I guess I was stupidly mistaken the whole time. I guess I had really done it. Maybe I was my people’s hero. I was the strongest and my family never doubted me!
My family savored a celebratory dinner where we joked around like old times. We kind of avoided the subject of the “being trapped in a video game” thing.
At about midnight, I went to my room to sleep. Everything felt unreal. Everything felt so bizarre. It felt like whatever I was living, wasn’t really my life. I pulled the cool covers up to my chin and began to close my eyes, when the TV suddenly flashed on, lighting up the whole room, and a man with laser green eyes appeared. He wore a black mask that hid everything but his eyes. The screen was blurry and mysterious.
“Oh, foolish girl. You didn’t win, for the game has only just begun!”