Code # Broken

Chapter 8

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

I bit the inside of my cheek and held my tongue despite wanting to speak out. I listened to and held onto every word, observing all that I saw. Remembering these characters - these people - from the times I had seen them before, and making my mind up about who they were and why. Simple, objective analysis.

Sheara. A lonely girl, one who no one had likely payed much attention to. A girl who had hardened her heart to the ways of the world, and who found it difficult to accept her newfound freedom, though she thought it would be all she ever wanted. She was a mirror image of me, as we both knew to listen and stay away from that which did not apply to us.

Another girl, the honey-haired one, enraged by the cruelty and unfairness of this game so much that it turned her harsh and judgemental as well. Someone who allowed the world to shape her being, though rejecting its rules outright. She was intelligent and intolerant of the lesser. Molded by the cold, strict patterns of her life.

Alex. A boy. A thief. One who had given up on making sense of this reality and sworn to bend its rules as far as they would go. One who lied and stole just for the fun of it, just to see what he could get away with. A prankster and a jokester who rejected his own feelings as well as those of others, shielding himself in obliviousness. Similar to myself in that he had been able to act more freely than some.

Gavin and Maoz. Two different yet identical boys. Truly the same person, but shaped through different circumstances. Dreamers and thrill-seekers, romantics and adventurers, who longed to see the world for what it was, yet could not bear to see its cold and unforgiving truths. Blinded by emotion, yet their eyes wide open to all the wonders of this reality. They were like me in that they longed to see all that this plane had to offer.

These are the people I will spend the next period of my existence with, I told myself. I must know them. I must understand them. And, difficult though it may be, I must accept them, or risk being rejected myself.

After observing my companions, I looked down at my tag.

Name: Coral

Age: 17

Level: <?//%.;

Class: _+l{.>

Another new statistic had appeared, and "BG" had been removed. I would study it more later, but for now I decided to address my more immediate concerns.

I glanced at the cold girl with honey-colored hair, who looked at each of us with a deeply understanding look, yet still a burning rage in her eyes and a tension in her shoulders. "And what do they call you?" I questioned.

"Athena," she answered shortly and simply.

Alex suddenly tried to move over but he failed, like the rest of them. He ate a piece of fudge and asked, "And who might you be, Miss Dark-and-brooding?"

I stared him in the eye. "Coral. My name is Coral."

"That's a cool name! It's like the coral reef!" Maoz exclaimed, sounding excited and enthusiastic. He almost dropped his fudge in the process, and Gavin nodded along at Maoz's statement.

Alex quickly leaned down and whispered lightly to me, "Don't think I don't know you were standing there analyzing every single one of us, trying to piece together who and what we are. I know that look."

I did not return his glare, and did not speak in a whisper when I replied. "I assume we will be sharing living arrangements in one way or another, and expect that we will come to know one another, whether it is now or much later." Pausing, I matter-of-factly addressed the others. "That I am observing you now should not matter; we will all observe each other eventually. I am simply preparing myself for the interactions that lie ahead rather than making the simple mistakes that I would otherwise."