VcnV

Sheri Not

“I was attacked. I tried fighting back but I guess I made contact with its antenna and it put me down on the floor. It stood on it’s hind legs and I kicked it. It stumbled back and fell over the side.

“Are you alright,” asked Josh. Molly and Yancy were right there as well.

“I think so. Help me up,” she said. Josh and Yancy helped her.

Pete was locked into looking over the side into the black depth, mesmerized.

Josh, “Lets go to Mike’s room and celebrate.”

“I’m going to wait for a while and watch Brunei do cleanup,” said Pete.

As they walked away Yancy whispered to Josh, “Should we leave him here alone. Remember the last time he was alone they captured him and used his looks as a disguise to penetrate us.”

Josh stopped and turned to look at him, “I don’t think they will try that again since the last time proved unsuccessful.”

Mike carried Brutus back into the wooded area near his office and made him comfortable on the ground. He returned to sit at his desk. The gang arrived minus Pete. Mike told them he needed to reconfigure that room with an administrative lock on the door because the room was becoming unstable as the virus deleted the core files that hosted it.

Josh said, “Wait, Pete is still there with Brunei.”

“You better go and get him then.”

“I will get him. What about Brunei?” said Yancy.

“Brunei can stay and continue to exterminate. It levitates so it is safe to stay there for now. I will retrieve it later.”

Pete heard a groan from behind the debris further back. He walked toward it and found Sheri lying on the floor. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

“What do you mean?” she replied groggily.

“You went with the others and now you are back here. Did you sneak back?”

“I haven’t gone anywhere. I was hit by one of the viruses and I am just coming back to my senses now.”

Pete stood frozen in thought and fright, “Oh no.”

Sheri was a little foggy and asked, “What is it. What are you worried about?”

“There may be two of you.”

“What?” That didn’t help with clearing her head. She thought for a moment. It came back to her that a virus assumed a disguise that they believed to be Pete. Until Brutus caught on and ended it. “So you think there is a virus walking around that looks like me?”

“Maybe. Give me a moment to think this through.” Pete went back to staring into the black void which was a large hall before.

Yancy took the wormhole shortcut and entered room CA75. He saw Pete. Then he did a double take when he saw Sheri. “What the heck?’ he yelled.

Pete spoke up, “We may have a problem. Was Sheri with you before you came here?’

“Yes, she was.”

“Well now we have two Sheri’s.”

Yancy’s face grew angry. “I know how to fix that.” He pulled his zapper from his pocket and pointed it at her.

Before he could fire, she recoiled and Pete dove through the air to not let him zap Sheri. He was able to hit Yancy’s arm causing a misfire, but a loud bang with a smoking charred wall resulted. Yancy became angry, “Why did you do that? We must exterminate it.”

Sheri cried out, “Yancy, It’s me what are you doing?”

“We don’t know which one is the fake. I think this Sheri is the real one.”

“You do?” Why.”

“Because she was passed out when the other girl got up and left with the group.” Pete’s eyes pleaded with Yancy.

“OK, I see what you are saying. Thanks for hitting my arm. I’m Sorry Sheri. How was I to know?” Sheri looked temporarily relieved.

“We need to figure a way to prove which one is which,” said Pete.

“Since I know I am the real Sheri, I will take any test to prove it. I suspect the fake will not.”

“Good point,” Pete said, “Let’s go and do some testing.” Yancy approved of the idea as well. They left the great decomposing hall for Mike’s room.

Yancy entered the grassy knoll, then Pete and then Sheri. Josh and Molly both freaked out when they saw a second Sheri enter. The Sheri seated on the grass with Josh said, “She is a fake, kill her,” pointing at the double.

Josh stood up and looked closely at each Sheri. By their looks alone they were perfect twins, but he knew one of them was dangerous. He looked back and forth until he had a thought. He whispered something in the Sheri that had been sitting with him. She said something back to him that no one could hear. Then he went to the new arrival and whispered in her ear. She smiled and whispered something back to him.. Josh smiled. He knew which was which. Only the real Sheri would know the answer to the question she asked. He walked between the two. He pulled his zapper out and trained it on the first Sheri and fired a shot at her.

Everyone gasped until she fell to the ground with an impact that sounded like a heap of metal chains. Then she returned to her real viral looks. A robotic ant-like carcass. Sheri rushed to Josh and they embraced. The whole gang joined in.

Molly asked, “What did he say to you Sheri?”

“Oh, he just asked something personal that happened when we were at that virtual beach together.”

Pete feeling slighted asked, “Personal huh. Mind telling us?” Molly and Yancy waited expecting something juicy.

“I’m afraid you don’t need to know,” Sheri teased.

“I asked them both what I did to move faster in the water at the beach. Sheri number two,” he looked at her, “correctly answered, ‘Hitched a ride on a sea turtle.’”

Yancy asked, “What did Sheri number one say?”

“What beach?”

They all realized instantly why Josh was so sure.

“Too bad Brutus was down temporarily. He would have known quicker which was the fake. OK, can I lock room CA75 now?” an unfazed Mike asked.

Yancy said, “Go ahead, its clear.”

“And done. What else do we need to do?” Mike felt accomplished.

“Well there is still the matter of us being locked out of our class with wristband exit buttons not working. So we can’t go home.” Josh answered.

“Sometimes a week goes by in no time and a school day lasts a week,” Yancy added.

“Can’t go home is easily fixed.” Mike got up from his seat.

Pete snarkly, “How?”

“We just need to get your door unlocked.”

“How?” Molly chimed in.

“Lets go and have a look at it.” Everyone headed to the classroom wormhole and passed into the hallway. Mike checked the door and it was still locked. “Hmm, that sucks. I kind of thought eliminating the virus would have helped with that.” He tried the door to the mirror across the hall. Also locked. He went back to his office and they all followed hoping for a quick solution. The kids sat on the grass while Mike looked at his display.

Yancy said, “It’s weird but in here I don’t get hungry or as tired as I would on the outside but when I do get back I’m exhausted and famished. I practically inhale food to satisfy my hunger. Anybody else feel that way.” They all shook their heads affirmatively.

“I have gone to bed and not woke until it was time to return to school several times,” said Josh. He moved over closer to Mike so he could talk with him.” How were you able to administratively lock room CA75?”

“I wasn’t able to directly. I added it to my network security ticket that I filed on the computer virus we discovered so that they would do it.”

“How are you going to get Brunei out of there?”

“In my haste I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Let me check on Brutus first and then I will go and bring Brunei out.” He went back into the woods where Brutus was resting and found him looking pretty good. “You want to come with me boy, huh?” He sprung up to his feet. “That’s my good boy.” they came out together and went to the wormhole to room CA75. Josh accompanied them. Mike opened the door and there was nothing left inside except Brunei hovering in the air. The side walls, the upper deck and even the ceiling where gone. There was nothing left. It looked like space without the stars. He muttered a command to Brunei and it floated toward the door way and came out into the hall. Mike closed the door. He checked out the anti-virus for damage. There wasn’t a nick or scratch anywhere on it.

Josh said, “Mike, we have become friends right?”

“Yes.”

“As a friend, there is something I know about you that I have told you. I feel you have a right to know. Should I tell you?”

“Why wouldn’t you just tell me.”

“I was afraid it would make you unhappy or even mad.”

“I see.” A loud magnetic lock sounded. Mike tried to test the door when it and the frame disappeared from view. It appeared as a blank wall instead. “I guess security finally turned off the room. Yes I want you to tell me.”

Josh said, “OK, Yancy’s father told us that you passed away in your pod five years ago. He was surprised that your consciousness was still active in here. He couldn’t understand how it could be. But we knew it to be true. We actually thought you might be lonely in here. The question is did you know it?”

Mikes face grimaced, “No, I didn’t know. I would be lying if I told you I didn’t wonder about it from time to time. At the age of ninety-five I didn’t have much of a social life out there and I was hampered by my frail condition. All my friends and family had passed away. The generational changes leave the aged in a tough position, even those who don’t lose their memory. I dreamed of being able to survive in here if one day I passed away out there but, I didn’t think it possible. Maybe, because I was in here when it happened I was afforded this miracle.”

“So you are happy to here what I have told you?”

“Yes. I am also sad at the same time. I would rather be here than not at all. Of course part of me would prefer to be out there and have all the greatness I experience in here or my youth back again. Do you see?”

“I can see in simple terms. At my age it is hard to think about old age. It seems so far away right now.”

“You are lucky. You now know that when you get old there will be possibilities of some type of life extension. Possibly much better than this. I have it now, but I never knew it would be. For some unknown reason this virtual world captured my essence and continues to breath life into it. It gives me more reason now to continue. To figure it all out.”

“I’m happy that you feel that way and you will always be able to count on me and my friends from now on. We have your address.”

“Oh, but you must not go into the hallway. It’s not safe.”

“But we now have the wormhole next door.” Josh added.

They both cracked up laughing as they re-entered the grassy knoll with Brutus and Brunei in tow.