Characters: Jesse, Sophia, Pip
Location: East Shore High
Time: Day 4 - 3:22 PM

Jesse parked his car in the grass and jumped out, running towards the alley where Sophia disappeared. He plowed through kids with school bags, pushing them down, and made his way to the back of the school. The wind blasted his face. Ducking into the alley, he slowed down to a jog and rounded the corner. Sophia was standing there with her back to him.

“Sophia?” he said, stepping closer. “Sophia? Why’d you run?”

She didn’t turn around. “…Something’s not right, Jesse.”

“Nothing’s right anymore! What I said before, in the car…”

“This isn’t about you, Jesse! I just saw Marcus.”

“Marcus? What were you doing seeing him!?”

Sophia shook her head. The clouds were black now and ran shadows across her face as she faced her boyfriend. “It’s not that. I saw him and he ran from me. …He’s not supposed to be here.”

“Maybe he was picking up something?”

“Why would he run from me then?”

“I don’t know. Maybe—”

Sophia’s cell rang again. She didn’t hesitate this time. Reaching into her pocket, she flipped open the phone and put it to her ear. “Hello?”

“Sophia!” came Pip’s voice from the other line. “Oh, thank God. I’ve been trying to reach you for over an hour. What have you been?”

“My business is my own, Pip.”

“I know, I know…”

“How’d you get my number anyway?”

“Your father gave it to me.”

“And why would he do that?”

“…I know you’ve had a long day, but he wants you back here, Sophia. You’re the only one who knows Tony’s protocols.” There was a pause. “I wouldn’t normally ask you for anything, Sophia. You know that. But we’re really close to isolating this virus and taking it out and if you could just come back for a couple hours…”

“Where is Marcus supposed to be?”

“What?”

“I asked where Marcus is supposed to be right now. Didn’t you send him to check on somebody’s house?”

“Yes. He found the computer where the virus originated. He’s at the house right now. If you could just—”

“Whose house is he at?”

“Um… A girl named Siarra lives there, apparently with her grandfather and little brother.”

“How close is it to East Shore High?”

“How close is it?” Pip echoed. “Why? Are you at school?”

“Nevermind that. Is it within walking distance?”

“Yeah, it’s on Holland Street.”

“Where’s Gibbers at?”

“Sophia, we really need you to—”

“Pip, where is Gibbers!? Is he with Marcus?”

“N-no… We sent him to check on another house down on Holland. The one with the LAN party.”

“Okay. Give me both of the addresses.”

Pip did and tried to say something else, but Sophia snapped her phone shut and pushed Jesse back around. “Come on, we’re going back to your car.”

He started walking. “Okay, but why? What did CNN want?”

“That’s not important. We need to find out why Marcus wasn’t where he was supposed to be.”

“What do you have against the guy? You don’t know why he was here.”

“I know!” she snapped. “I know. That’s exactly what I need to find out.”

“…You don’t trust him, do you?”

“Does it look like I know who to trust? …All I know is somebody was familiar enough with our systems to release a virus into them. Whoever created that virus knew something about our hardware.”

“Whoa, whoa, wait,” Jesse said, putting his hands on Sophia’s shoulders. “You’ve been watching too many spy movies, girl. CNN wouldn’t have a mole. It’s just a gaming company.”

“One that could revolutionize the way video games are played! Do you realize what my dad and Tony were trying to achieve? Do you know what will happen if Neverquest reaches the open market?”

“Yeah. You’ll become the daughter of the richest man in the world.”

“Forget the money! I’m talking about the people. What will virtual reality do to this world?”

“But Sophia, it’s not this world. Virtual reality is a world of its own. It’s just a game.”

“Does this look like a game to you!?” Sophia screamed, pounding her fists into Jesse’s solid chest. He hardly flinched, but she continued punching him until she felt weak and her forehead sank into his chest and her fingers were latched onto her hair like sharp hooks. Then she was crying again.

“Sophia…”

“Don’t say it,” she cried. “Please, don’t… I’m so tired of hearing it…”

“What do you want me to say?”

She looked up. Her eyes were bloodshot, moist puddles in the wind, and her lips only opened a crack. “…There are things…you can never know about my father… He…he knows Neverquest will change this world forever…” Her breaths quickened and she looked down at Jesse’s stained jacket. “…And I know it too. This is so much bigger than you could imagine.”

He combed back her hair. “Sophia, your father won’t let the game reach the open market if there’s a virus in it. He won’t put this world in jeopardy.”

But her dark face and muffled laughter told otherwise. “You really don’t know my father…”

“He’s not a bad man. He loves you. If you just talked to him…”

She only laughed harder and shook her head.

“Sophia, we can stop this. I know your father isn’t behind the virus.”

“Oh, I know that,” she said. “It could be any of them. Marcus, Pip, Neil. But it won’t matter. Nothing will stop the release date. Come September 16th, this whole world will change.”

“The 16th? That’s next Tuesday! What the hell is your father doing moving the release date up!?”

“Some people can’t wait for the future.”

Jesse’s face was hard and he embraced Sophia in his meaty arms. “That gives us five days to stop this insanity. That’s more than enough time to save this world.”

Her laughter turned to whimpers and she continued to cry as thunder rumbled in the distance. Jesse looked up just in time to see the first drop of the angry sky plummet to the earth, splashing against Sophia’s nose without a sound. More followed. Jesse put his arm around Sophia and led her out of the alley as rain pelted their skin, making them shiver through their clothes. The wind whistled. And from above, the sky began to rumble again.