Code # Broken

Chapter 7

System error: 01000010 01000111 01100101 01110010 01110010 01101111 01110010 00101111 01100011 01101111 01100100 01100101 01100011 01110010 01100001 01100011 01101011 01100101 01100100. WARNING TRIGGER released

Oh no, was the last thought I thought before the I slammed straight into many strangers. I was stupid enough to think I would make this out okay. I was as dumb as many others all in this "game." We all had run straight into each other without the blankest of expressions. I remember seeing and hearing our codes merge and tear apart with a very loud cracking noise. I also remember seeing tiny shards of our codes floating down onto the ground around us. Then the burning pain began.

Through my clouded vision, I could barely see all the others lying on the ground like me, screaming in pain. We all were the same at that moment; we were one for about a second, and even through the aches and pains, it was a wonderful experience. I watched myself glitch a few times before turning painfully my head to see the others. All were very glitchy, but still alive as far as I could tell.

I was pretty sure we laid there, on the cold ground, for hours. I finally was able to sit up, though I ached all over and I winced all the way upwards. My throat felt dry and it was hard to breathe. Even then I could move, crawl over to the others, speak, all on my own. Through the pain, I felt free, I wasn't controlled, pushed in line, forced to do things I never liked to do. I was free so free, I hoped time would stop and never start again. If only that were a possibility.

I forced myself to move my arms and legs to do what I want. It was pretty difficult considering all of us were used to just being controlled without much strength of our own. I managed to get on my knees, and slowly checked everyone for a pulse. I sighed in relief knowing everyone around me was still alive and well. I caught myself stiff as I still hurt all over and being relaxed wasn't helping.

The first thing that had been in my mind second though from first checking for pulses on the others, was to check my character tag.

Sheara

Age 16

Level: =0%^

Class: ?&^%

Now what in the blazing haze just happened to my tag? As far as I could tell my "BG" was gone and replaced with a class label, which was glitched out, of course. But why was everything still bugged? I Maybe cracking my code was the biggest bug I could make. It was common sense, but still... why was a class lable there?

I think I broke myself more than I thought. I looked to the others who were waking up with groans of pain as they tried and sit up. "Is everyone alright?" I asked as loud as I could talk, my voice weak and toneless.

"Other than feeling like I just got ran over by a two-ton truck, I'm just fine," moaned the taller guy with a backpack on and a sword at his side his voice dripping with pain. "Name's Alex by the way."

"Would someone care to tell me who's bright idea that was?" a girl with short amber hair and olive-green eyes said, sounding more annoyed than in pain. "Scratch that. I don't care, but I DON'T want to do that again..."

I wasn't exactly sure, but I believe I heard "For God's sake, I just want some cheese." The voice seemed to come from a short girl with dark-toned skin and cyan-white hair. It was in two pigtails that resembled giant cotton balls. She opened her eyes and looked at me with her dark-blue gaze. "This better be worth it..."

"Well, it has to be, or else Madeline and (Y/N) are going to be fuming," replied a smaller guy with brown hair with some gold, I think.

"And who might you be?" says Alex as he walks over to the guy that just spoke.

"I'm... Maoz, nice to meet ya." replied the smaller guy.

"Nice earrings. Sure would be a shame if someone took them," Alex said, suddenly holding Maoz's earrings.

Maoz glares at him and holds out his hand, "Can I have my earrings back, please." It seemed to be more of a statement than a request.

"Check your ears," Alex suggested with a smirk.

"Okay, now is really not the time for petty thievery." The amber-haired girl rolled her eyes as she spoke.

"And who said you were the boss?" Alex shot back.

"No one besides me, myself, and I. I make my own rules." She shrugged smugly.

The other boy with earrings sighed, "Can we stop fighting? We only just met... by the way, I'm Gavin. Hey, Maoz," he added as he looked Maoz.

"Hi, Gavin," Maoz said, and tried to walked over to Gavin. We all seemed like we were thrown in a war and half survived it. I sighed having not spoke for awhile. To be honest after all I did, I don't trust them. I may just be just be too harsh, but I never trusted any after I got my tiny, unnoticeable bug. I couldn't anymore; it was simply too risky. Even if we all were destined somehow to meet each other, fate will have to try and make me trust them, even if I just walk away.

I stayed silent for a very long time, watching them carefully and listened to their conversation. I'm pretty good at being invisible, I thought after I slowly crawled around still aching and watched them just talk without notice.

I caught the cotton-haired girl silently observing me. I hadn't heard her talk much, either. She seemed to disapprove of the others' behavior, but not in an arrogant or hateful way. "What's your name?" she asked me in the same deep and quiet tone from earlier, but with a hint of honest curiosity.

"Yeah, what is your name? I remember you from the café yesterday when you almost fainted," Alex said after he spun around.

"Sheara. My names Sheara," I replied, a bit quietly. "And I didn't almost faint; I was just startled." I responded to Alex's statement, eyeing him from where I was, facing the cotton-haired girl. I didn't like his judgement of me, and I didn't care whether I was being rude or not.

"Sorry. Here, have some fudge," Alex said while throwing fudge at me. I caught it with both hands, though I just stared at it for a while. I then knew really well that I did not understand others at all.

"So, basically, people get freedom, and this guy here -" the girl with amber hair said, pointing at Alex, "- decides that the most productive way to use it is to throw fudge at people? Tell me how that's logical."

"It's not. There is no logic about my actions," Alex joked as he pelted the girl with more fudge.

"Can I have some?" Maoz asked Alex.

"You can have mine," I said, handing the fudge Alex had tossed me. I never liked much of it anyway, and there was too much of it. How can one person get that much fudge, let alone eat that much?

"Thanks!" Maoz replied, snapping me out of my train of thought as he took a bite out of his fudge.

I just nodded while staring at the ground. I wasn't used to being looked at, to having my presence acknowledged. It made me feel nervous and uncomfortable. I guess I have to get used to it, have to get used to being with these people. I doubt any of us could survive alone with cracked codes.