The System

Chapter Twenty Five

"Hello!" she beamed, "Is this place yours? Oh, I had to knock! I'm so very sorry!" 

    Lieserl outstretched her hands as if to hug her. It was Jeanette, in front of her very eyes. It wasn't a dream, she was there. There were so many things she wanted to say to her. She was here now and that's all that mattered. A firm hand enclosed on her arm from behind. Lieserl sharply glanced over her shoulders. Josh stood behind her, a frown on his face. He shook his head and tugged her back. Desperately, Lieserl tried to break free of his grip. His hands grabbed tightly onto her shoulders and forced her to take a careful look at the girl. 

    Her heart sank. It wasn't Jeanette. From afar, they had the same splitting image, but now that she eyed her long enough, Lieserl realized that they were different. Jeanette had a thinner face and paler skin. Her eyes were never as focused as this girl's either. Jeanette was dead. Lieserl bit her lip to abstain from crying. What an idiot! She knew Jeanette was dead and this is the System! Jeanette wouldn't be here. Her hands brushed past the lump against her side and slightly pulled back her sweater. Any surprise attacks and Lieserl swears that the girl would go down first. 

    "Who are you?" Lieserl asked, keeping her tone even. Josh stepped up to her side and she understood. The girl wasn't human. There was no way. The HERI would never send a girl this young into the System, even if their controls were hacked. Humans were their prized treasures and should a kidnapper threaten to rip all the officials' heads off, their priorities would always be the children. What kind of sick joke was this?

    The girl grinned. She stood straight and pressed her fingers tight with an open palm. The tip of her fingers rested on the side of her head as she saluted. "My name is Allison!" she exclaimed, "I'm..." She paused and held out her hand. She mumbled under her breath a few numbers and counted on her fingers. Then, she looked up, the certainty and pride present in her high pitched voice. "I'm seven years old!"

    Josh noticed the short moment that Lieserl grimaced. He moved the pistol back and forth behind him. The girl--Allison--definitely wasn't human...was she? Yet again, no Unknown has ever spoken before. If she's not an Unknown, what is she? She shouldn't be human. Was it alright to shoot her? She wasn't attacking, though. He could tell that Lieserl was just as stumped. He should shoot, but he couldn't bear doing it to a young child. What if she really was human? What would she be doing here in the System? 

    "Where did you come from?" he gently inquired.

    Allison started to speak. Then, her eyes widened as if she realized something. She pulled her hands behind her back and tilted her head. "I told you my name," she whined, "What about yours?"

    Josh held back his words. Why should he tell her? What's the use of telling an Unknown? 

    "I'm Lieserl," he heard Lieserl say, "and this is Josh."

    Allison's grin widened. Josh pulled Lieserl aside and whispered, "Why would you tell her?"

    Lieserl glanced at Allison. She turned back to him and smiled. "She looks harmless," she replied, "Besides, how can telling her our name hurt?"

    She turned away from him and leaned down. Allison was at most half her height. Standing far away from them, Josh could finally see the resemblance between the two. They had nearly the same colored hair, with Allison's being more of a darker brown--almost like Rachel's. "Now that we've told you our names," Lieserl smiled, "Can you tell us where you came from?"

    The child nodded willingly. "Allison lives here with her gramma and grandpa!" she raised both her hands in the air with her eyes lighting up, "A lot of other people, too!"