His heart pounded in his ears. The pressure in his chest began to build more and more as the wires pulled tighter. He could faintly see the tips of his fingers turning a deep blue color. His vision began to blur and his head started to swell. He could feel the blood pouring out of his ears, the music still booming out of his headphones. He wants to scream but he can't. The lack of air in his lungs made it feel like someone had set his chest on fire. He attempts to pull and fight from the grip on his neck but it only made the wires pull tighter. I can't breathe. And he won't. He's already attached to them.
"On February 2004, the social media platform then named, The Facebook, was created in a Harvard dorm room. In 2006, the famous bluebird app named twitter was created, and Instagram in 2010. They became worldwide phenomena that..." Brandon is an aspiring computer science major. For as long as he can remember, Brandon has had his life completely planned out for him. He knows what college he wants to go for, what kind of internship he would like to do, and where he would live after college. He dreams of making his own social networking site that becomes as popular as what's in now. "Changed the game for us socially and mentally."
"That was wonderful, Brandon." A few people clap for him as he walks back to his seat. Most of the class has their noses stuck to their phone screens or have fallen asleep. "So, I think that is all for the rest of the class. You are all free to go." She sighs. The class walks out sloppily still bending their necks to look at their phones.
The teacher is an elderly, petite woman. She's worked at the school for decades and remembers a time when phones didn't exist. She doesn't resent the new technology era, she wants to embrace the change. However, she does miss the days when she had actively listening t students. Brandon is one of the many students who haven't gotten lost in the selfie-obsessed world, he only wants to make a new one.
"Have a nice weekend, Brandon." Brandon sends her a warm smile in return and collects his things. Brandon spots his friends waiting for him by his locker, showing each other their
screens.
"What's up, guys?' Brandon is never interested in what they do on their phone, in fact, Brandon doesn't use social media himself. His friends tend to tease him on why he would want to make a social network if he won't ever use it.
"Did you see Lacie's post?" Nathan cups his hands over his chest and gives his friends a goofy smile. Luke blushes at the odd gesture and slaps Nathan's hands away. Brandon rolls his eyes and hides his red face. "Brandon, you're missing out. You need to make a terrorizer account
ASAP."
"You guys know I don't like that stuff."
"But yet you want to make your own app?" Luke raises an eyebrow at him.
"Yeah and?"
"It just makes no sense. I think you should try them out. Maybe you could brainstorm what you could put on your network." Luke suggested.
"Anyways, what even is a terrorizer account?" Brandon attempts to hide how curious he is.
"Terrorizer is a new app that aims to get you addicted. You can't turn off notifications or anything. The person with the most followers in your school wins a prize." Nathan explains, he whispers the last line and hopes no one has heard him talk about the prize.
"I heard someone died from using the app." Luke blurts. Nathan glares at him and Luke looks at him stupidly. "What?"
"Anyways, Brandon jus try it out! It's fun!"
"I dunno..." Brandon looks at both of his friends. Their hands were clasped together and they were pouting.
"Maybe I could make an account." Both of his friends excitedly pulled him down on to the cafeteria table, already instructing him on what he needs for his account to make it seem interesting.
"Wha- can't I just be myself. I have some cool pictures from Comic-con." Nathan winced at the name.
"No, that makes you sound dorky. You want to seem as not-like-yourself as possible. Especially if you want to get the ladies." He wiggled his eyebrows at Brandon, earning a middle finger in return. Brandon sighed deeply. He did not like the idea of pretending someone he wasn't. It was the main reason why he avoided social media altogether. To him, everyone on social media was presenting a life that wasn't real and his friends only confirmed that theory.
This idea slowly began to fade from his mind as the weeks went on. Brandon no longer thought of social media as something he had to avoid, in fact, he's obsessed. Brandon began to go to the gym to take new gym selfies for his Instagram page, sure he hated the gym, but it got him more likes than usual. He took a photo of every meal he had. Sometimes he would let the food get ice cold for a picture and then order a fresh one to eat. Brandon, who never had an issue with his looks, began to contemplate getting plastic surgery. He tells his friends his family what he would consider getting done and will point out the many flaws he believes he has. To his friends and family, Brandon had nothing wrong. And is never able to see what flaw he saw on his face or body.
Brandon's parents thought it would be a good time to sit him down but in the back of their minds, they knew it wouldn't go well.
"Brandon, we know how much this social media is important to you. But we think you need to cut down on how much you use it..."
"um... No," Brandon chuckled. "Are you kidding? I don't even use it that much."
Brandon's father sighed deeply and leaned in, "Brandon, you aren't the same person you were before all this. I mean, you even start talking about plastic surgery. We really think all of this is affecting you mentally."
Brandon could feel his blood boil. Affecting me mentally? How could they say something like that? There is nothing wrong with what I am doing! Brandon slammed his fists onto the table and stood up abruptly. "There is nothing wrong with me mentally. I'm literally only doing this to win a prize!"
"What prize, Brandon?"
"You wouldn't get it!" Brandon huffs and stomps up the stairs into his room. He slams the door behind him and tosses his phone onto his desk, causing his Hydroflask to spill over it.
"No!" The phone began to glitch and released a screeching noise before turning black. Brandon attacks the power button and smacks it with his palms. The phone was broken. "How am I going to keep updating my terrorizer account?"
Then the phone began to glitch again. A spark of hope lit in Brandon's eyes but it began to fade again. The phone vibrated violently and the phone's flashlight turned on and off. The screen finally displayed the words. "YOU LOSE." And it turned off again. Brandon gulps slightly freaked out by the phone's odd behavior. He shakes his head and tries to ignore what had happened before laying down on his bed.
He groans, boredom already consuming him. Until an idea came to his head, "I heard someone died from using that app." Brandon decided to find out the story behind the kid who died. He grabs his computer from his backpack and quickly begins to research anything about the terrorizer app. To no avail, he could not find anything about the death of the random kid or anything on the app itself. The idea that he and thousands of others have put their face on an anonymous app sent chills down his spine. The fact that there was absolutely nothing about the kid dying gave him the idea that maybe they covered up the story to remain hidden. His stomach churns. He rubs his temples and pushes his laptop away from him.
Brandon glances at the time displayed on the screen. 2:15 AM. Maybe I should sleep. Brandon stretches and pops a Sugar Bear hair gummy into his mouth, then rests his head back down onto his pillow. I should try looking for a new phone tomorrow.
The phone began to vibrate violently again, tipping over the Hydroflask that stood next to it. The contents inside spills over the extension cords. The phone vibrated violently once more before falling off the desk and onto the ground. The phone's charger found it's way to the phone's port and connected itself. The extension cord began to spark and a flame started. The cords attached began to move up the bed towards the sleeping boy. The thick wires wrapped around his wrists and pushed them down the sides of the bed. The fire began to spread throughout the room.
Brandon wakes up, balls of sweat covering his body. He notices the flame starting across the room and his heart begins to race. He attempts to rush out of his bed but the wire's tight hold on his arms pushes him back. The abrupt movement causes his shoulders to let out a crunching noise. Brandon knows that his shoulders may have dislocated or broke but he cannot feel the excruciating pain he expects to feel. In the fire lit room, he can see another wire making his way up his legs. He's confused but his brain tells him to kick the wire away. Brandon groans in pain, each kick at the wire gives him an electrical shock. The wire rises above him and pauses. Brandon stares at it. An unsettling feeling burns in his stomach. He doesn't know how it's happening but his only thoughts are on what it is going to do next. The plug drops and pierces him. Brandon could feel the hot, 3 pinned plug in his abdominal. He lets out an agonizing scream. The plug leaves his body and makes its way up again.
"No no no no..."
Brandon moves frantically. He feels the wire wrap around his neck once then once more and again. Then it stops. He could feel his headphones in his ear. He glances down to see it plugged into his phone. His face contorts. Music booms in his ears and the wires begin to tighten.
His heart pounded in his ears. The pressure in his chest began to build more and more as the wires pulled tighter. He could faintly see the tips of his fingers turning a deep blue color. His vision began to blur and his head started to swell. He could feel the blood pouring out of his ears, the music still booming out of his headphones. He wants to scream but he can't. The lack of air in his lungs made it feel like someone had set his chest on fire. He attempts to pull and fight from the grip on his neck but it only made the wires pull tighter. I can't breathe. And he won't. He's already attached to them.
Brandon could feel the last bit of life leaving his body. More wires began to move up his body. He can't fight them off. They move towards his face and into his throat. Brandon gags harshly and coughs letting out the last bit of air in his body. His eyes roll back and his body stops.
The phone next to his bed vibrates again. The black screen displays the words, "YOU LOSE" and shows his most liked post: a picture taken from his laptop's webcam at 2:30 AM.
