Hacked Into My Heart

Chapter 9 : (Cameron)

Chapter 9 : (Cameron)

By Emfaith

Cameron couldn't wrap his mind around what was going on. One moment he was in the old, dusty library, the next Philippa had grabbed his hand and ascended towards the ominous computer. Unreadable words had flickered across the blue screen and then here they were...in a jungle made out of something strange. It seemed like...pixels? The trees towering above us flickered in radiant light, giving the impression of leaves rippling in the wind; except this wind was nonexistent. Everything, besides the flickering fluorescent lights, were unmoving. The silence roared deafingly in Cameron's ears so loud that he spoke to be sure that he was not deaf. He wasn't.

"Well, I guess we should get moving..." Cameron trailed off at the sound of something whistling above his head. He watched Uma's face contort into a terrified expression and then Philippa opening her mouth to shout. Her words were drowned out by the sound of glass shattering and the loud thump of some kind of impact. Cameron automatically dropped to the ground and pulled Philippa down with him; Uma followed.

"No!" Philippa screamed, pulling him back up and pointing frantically at the 'tree' that had been hit. Cameron took a moment to study the narrow dart. A large medical-looking syringe had nestled itself deep into the tree and pixels fell freely from the permeated area. Some kind of green liquid sloshed inside the clear tube of the dart. Fear settled deep inside him as he realized that that dart could only have been meant for them. He took Uma and Phil's hands suddenly in his, ignoring the electricity that jolted through his fingertips when he touched Philippa, and pulled them forward deeper into the fluorescent jungle. Cameron tripped over multiple twigs and fallen 'trees', but when he turned to look back he watched as the pixels fell apart and disappeared all together. He shook his head, frantically trying to make this dream go away...but it wouldn't. It wouldn't because this wasn't a dream. This was real.

"What are we going to do?" Uma whimpered breathlessly to them as they continued to race through the jungle. Their pace had slowed because no more darts followed, but they still proceeded cautiously. Cameron stopped in a well-hidden clearing and sunk against a tree that flickered a light green color. Uma and Philippa did the same.

"I don't know. I just know we need to get out of here," Philippa responded back with confidence that was unexpected.

"Wherever we are, we're not alone," Cameron was surprised by how calmly his words flowed, despite their situation.

"But what would they want with us? And where's my brother? We have to find him! We have to!" Uma's voice shook with anger. Cameron looked at her sympathetically. Phil was as close to him as a sister would be and he knew he would be miserable if he knew she was in trouble.

"Look, we'll just have to keep going. I'm sure we'll find him," Cameron tried to sound reassuring, but he knew he had failed. Cameron heard Philippa's stomach rumble and then watched as she looked at him with an embarrassed expression.

"We should find something to eat," Cameron commented. Uma nodded her agreement, having calmed down a bit. Cameron wished he could just snap his fingers and give them everything they needed, but he couldn't. He stood slowly and turned a full circle, looking for any sign of food. The tree he had been leaning against was in fact an apple tree. 2D apples loomed just above his head, a worm embedded in one. Lights moved to resemble its movement. Cameron studied them and then pulled one from the tree. Phil watched him and he shrugged before sinking his teeth into it. The apple was tasteless and fell apart in tiny pixels. This wouldn't do. He turned back to look at Phil who was munching on a juicy apple.

"What...how?" Cameron gaped at her. She shrugged, looking slightly embarrased.

"You just do this." Phil reached up and grabbed two apples. With slow movements, she manipulated them so they were exactly one on top of the other. The apple began to glow before transforming into a real, 3D apple. She handed it to Uma, who bit into it and smiled satisfacitly, momentarily forgetting that her brother was in danger

"You're smart," Cameron smiled as he watched her blush under his gaze. Turning back to the tree he took two apples and placed them together. It took several tries before he got them just right. The apple glowed and grew heavier in his hand. He blinked rapidly at the luscious apple that he now held in his hand.

Phil suddenly laughed, "You picked the one with the worm in it."

"Yuck!" Cameron dropped it and it splattered on the ground, back into a million pixels, before disappearing all together. Cameron let out a quick laugh before marvelling at Philippa's beauty, her hair bouncing on her shoulders while she laughed. Cameron caught himself staring and pulled his gaze back to the tree. He made sure to get two good apples and put them together quicker this time. He waited for it to transform and then bit into it happily.

"I think this is the best apple I've ever eaten," he remarked after he had finished it off, besides the core, which he let fall to the ground and disintegrate into pixels.

Uma smiled half-heartedly. "Yeah, it would be better if Barett was here..." Cameron's giddy smiled transformed into a frown.

"I'm sorry, Uma. Let's get going so we can find him," Phil watched her sadly, looking to Cameron for an okay on leaving. Cameron, being the pack-leader at the moment in a sense, stepped forward through the clearing and into the dense jungle. Uma and Phil followed behind. He listened to Phil begin to joke around to try to cheer up Uma. The two girls laughed harmoniously; music to Cameron's ears.

Suddenly, their laughter was cut off and Cameron whipped around. Uma and Philippa lay completly still on the forest floor and sticking out of their backs was a syringe, the green liquid completly drained. Cameron felt his face pale as he fell to his knees.

"Phil! Phil!" he screamed helplessly. A stabbing pain followed and the world grew dark and hazy as his eyes drooped. "Phil..." Cameron whimpered before he slipped into oblivion.