Terminally Abstract

Chapter 9

Arthur smirked. He refocused onto his laptop and started typing furiously. I watched him in panic as his face grew grim and his hands were swift like a blade. Maybe this was the wrong choice.

"We've gotta get in range with him at school, that's all." Arthur turned to me and beamed.

"What do you mean, "that's all"?"

"I mean, that's all. We live in an era of radio waves and WiFi, how much easier could this get?" Arthur cracked his knuckles and laid down. "But I'm guessing you'd want to know the whole story." He faced me. I nodded.

"Welllll. I had started this project about a few weeks ago. Maybe I can put this on my college resume, ey? It's very simple. I took a peek at my mom's chip, with her permission of course . She gladly accepted to be a part of my experiment for "Science Class"." He hesitated. "Okay now I feel bad."

"But how did you get the base coding?"

"USB." Arthur shrugged. "Turns out there's a convenient slot for it, in case you need to cram for a test. Too bad our intelligence is just memory. But it turns out that it works exactly like a computer. Because it is. It's base code is very basic, I'm a little confused why no one else has tried this before."

"Maybe because no one would think of a stupid thing like this. And it's only been less than 10 years.."I scratched my chin. Maybe this could work after all.

I laid down with Arthur, setting my mind at ease.

"Michael, I could potentially hack everyone else since the old program is just piled over with new adjustments. I could help them. Save everyone from this robo-pacalypse."

"But what does it do?"

"For now, it's only a microphone. I could hear and speak to Henric and his thoughts. If I messed with any of the basic coding, it'd screw everything up in him."

"So we'd find out his main plans."

"Precisely."

"But could kill him if we touch anything else."

Arthur stood up.

"Come on, Michael! Loosen up! We just won't touch any other parts! This is a brand new discovery!"

I stood up as well. Arthur saved and closed his clutter and played music. I noticed I hadn't had my phone all day, so my daily tunes had been missing. As I watched Arthur goofing around, I leaned on his dresser.

I felt a bit awkward watching him lank about. But, slowly but surely, I began to sing along.

"With this world we've got. That we've all forgot. We've lost it all. But we're in it for the long haul."

Arthur joined in.

"The world the world, we've all got. Honey, don't be so distraught. We've got the world in our pockets tonight." He took the bass and I took the light. The strong and the bright, we were the light. I'm sure this will work out right. We must we might.

We giggled and we snorted. Arthur busted out his rock moves and I started rapping a verse.

"Because all we got here is something we're fond of. Something out here that we are all proud of. And I-"

The door bashed open. "Hey kids, making sure ya'll are alright. I heard some really funny language up in here... No funny business, ya hear?"

With a shriek, Arthur slammed his laptop shut, but Fergelicious was already playing.

"Oh, you boys! This was my favorite song when I was a child. Listened to it with my grandmother! Okay, dinner's ready in 10, so I suggest you all clean up."

With a reddened face, Arthur nodded and Sarah left the room.

"No funny business, Arthur." I whispered. He snorted.

________________________________________

We all gathered around the dinner table and began to feast on delicious chicken, bread, and corn. The chatter grew louder and louder, although there were only three of us.

"And did you hear about that time when Arthur-" Sarah whooped, sending her snorts down the hall. She slammed the table and her face grew red. I had no idea what she was about to say, but started genuinely laughing with her. Arthur merely giggled, ashamed from the countless stories she'd already told.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Three steady thumps rapped on the front door.

"Mom, I think that's him." Arthur murmured.

"I know, I'll get it." Sarah's face hardened as she wiped her chin and got onto her feet. Arthur and I looked at each other.

"She knows, don't worry." he whispered. Why'd Arthur have to tell his mother everything?

"Mrs. Scherbius, what a pleasure." a recognizable voice spoke. My father. "I heard from one of Michael's friends that he was here."

I face palmed. Why did Arthur stand right outside my window?

"Well you're right, he is. But he is not leaving my house."

"Why is that now?"

"The boys are having a sleep over tonight, sir. Your son is SUCH a riot!" Arthur and I exhaled our tight breaths.

"Is he now, may I see him?"

"I'm afraid they're asleep now. But I bet these pastries will bring you some comfort." We heard the scuttle of a plastic bag. There was a long silence.

"Please, tell him I'm sorry."

"Sure will! Good night, Mr. Angelo."

What a parasite. I told myself. I'm so glad I'm here now.

"Woowee! This night just got interesting, wouldn't you agree? Now for real, time for bed you chums!"

________________________________

Arthur and I were brushing our teeth when he suggested we'd take our plan out tomorrow. "The sooner the better."

As we got to his room, he began spreading his blankets on the floor.

"W-wait. I can't take your bed again." I hesitated, then placed a pillow border at the half point of the bed. "Here, come and sleep."

"Aw gee thanks." Arthur leaped onto his side and tussled at his blankets.

"Stop squirming." I muttered. I turned off his lamp and started drifting to sleep.

___________

I started having a nightmare. A man, no, a boy was standing before me in black. His body was made of scribbles and his face contained two white dots. Its scream was static.

It started crawling towards me. I yelled at it to stop. Stop. Stop! STOP!

It latched onto my arms, legs and body. It's sickly goo ran through my veins and mind. I was filled with static. My mind ached and my hands were coal. I screamed and tried ripping my own skin off, but the monster stayed put. Voices were all around me, of my mother, father, myself. I scratched myself, my head, my body, pleading for release. For mercy.

As my eyes were turning dark, it began to rain.

The cool water washed away my scales, regenerating my form. With a swish of the howling wind, the noises faded farther and farther away.

In awe, I stepped back, admiring my hands, closer and closer to a ledge. It had felt like hours whizzed away, oblivious to the fact there was a void behind me. I felt a padding on my back, preventing me from my death. Waking up, I had realized it was Arthur.

"Stop squirming." he mimicked. His arm was over my shoulder, holding me close. His eyes close shut and my face was a few inches apart from him. His breathing steadied my heart beat; my hands growing warm once more. My eyes began to water in gratefulness.

"Thank you."