Young Writers Society

"...Ughhh..." Melody groaned, opening her eyes. My insides feel like scrambled eggs...
She glanced up to see Ai on the bed, lying back with one arm over her eyes. She looked exhausted. The screen still hovered above her, displaying a puzzle of half-solved code.
"How's it coming?" Melody croaked. Her throat felt like sandpaper.
"Slowly," Ai muttered. "This will take a few more days at least."
"What time is it?" Melody asked, squinting around for a clock.

"not sure..lost track of time.." her words trailed off and fell asleep almost instantly and the screen still hovered above her but she was fast asleep at this point and didn't have time to shut the screen off before she fell asleep

Melody looked down at her friend. I should leave and let her sleep. She's absolutely exhausted...
Picking up her old hoodie, she switched off the screen and turned to go, leaving Ai lying on the bed, snoring softly. Just as Melody opened the door, the floor suddenly rolled beneath her, sending her to her knees. Panic welling inside of her, she clutched onto the doorframe, pressing her forehead against the cold metal. The walls began to shake as the floor continued to roll, cracks appearing in the old plaster. Flakes of paint fell from the ceiling, and a low rumbling filled the halls, grating against Melody's ears as she held on for dear life. Ai jerked awake, staring around with wide eyes.
"What's happening?" She screeched.
"Earthquake!" Melody screamed, pulling her friend into the doorway beside her.

she quickly held onto melody, looking around frantically "are you sure this is an earthquake?" she asked as calmly as possible to try and keep melody calm

"I don't know what else it could be!" Melody cried over the sound of snapping plaster. As she said this, though, the cracks began to fill with...something. It was grayish and filled with static, yet moved in a sort of liquidy way, like putty filling the gaps in a keyboard.
"What is that?" Melody shrieked.

she stepped back with melody "i have no idea..its not good though.." she looked around, everything else seemed still except for this room "i can tell you one thing though...its only this room thats vibrating.."

"Why is that? Should we move?"

"i don't know, this aura is terrifyingly familiar to me, i don't know why.." her voice was calm, but her body was shaking

Melody could feel Ai's trembling hands on her shoulders, and knew the other girl was just as scared as she was. Taking a deep breath, she tried to clear her panicked mind.
"Okay, we jump out of the doorframe on three. One, two, THREE!"

she jumped out with melody and stumbled slightly shaking her head and putting hand on her head as if she just go a throbbing headache, she then looked up and everything was back to normal "what the...?" she was confused at this point wondering what just happened

Melody groaned, pulling herself off the ground. Her head was spinning, and her stomach whined loudly. She glanced at Ai. The other girl was rubbing her head, a confused expression on her face. Melody leaned her head against the wall.
"What just happened?"
"Dunno..."
The girls looked up at the sound of footsteps. Jamie pounded down the hall toward them, followed by an entourage of bewildered-looking teachers.
"Melody!" He cried, crouching down beside her. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"I could ask you the same question," She muttered. Her body glitched painfully.
"...Maybe we should get you to the nurse," Jamie muttered, pulling his sister to her feet. His eyes flicked to Ai. "Who's this?"

"i'm Ai or Aura, whatever you prefer, you?" she glanced over to the boy with a cold look in her eyes

"I'm Jamie, Melody's brother," he replied, mirroring her chilly stare.
"She's my friend," Melody interjected.
"Oh yeah? What were you two doing in there, anyway?"
"I was fixing her code," Ai said quickly.
Jamie glanced down at Melody, who was shivering violently. "Fixing her code, ay? Are you sure you weren't doing something else?"
He wrapped one arm around his sister, pulling her away from Ai.
"What's actually going on here?" he whispered. "You seem sick. Did she infect you with something?"
"No," Melody replied, staring up at him. Her cheeks were pale and splotchy, and her body buzzed with static. "She's my friend."
"Well, maybe you should stay away from her, alright? I don't trust her..." He cast Ai a suspicious look over his shoulder. She flipped him off.
"She's my friend, I swear!" Melody insisted. "We were just messing around, and, something went wrong. But it's not her fault! God, you are so overbearing!"
She yanked herself out of his grasp, wrapping her arms tightly around herself.
"Come on, Ai, let's go. Maybe we can find someone who will actually help us." She shot a pointed look at her brother before stomping off.

she followed behind, her eyes softening once she looked at melody and walked beside her "how are you feeling?" she said with concern

"Weird," Melody replied. "Like someone took a potato masher and squished up my insides."
She rubbed her upper arms with her hands. "Also, it just feels really cold in here..."
The glitch glanced at her friend. "Are you okay? You look a bit pale."