Young Writers Society

Melody was waiting outside when Jamie and Ethan came out of the bathroom. Ethan still looked pretty worse for wear, but at least he was smiling.
"The download finished?" He asked. Melody nodded, handing him the computer.
"We're not going to be able to get in without Ai, though," The glitch muttered. "She was the only one who could manipulate the code directly."
"Well, the teachers have to get in somehow, right?" Jamie asked. "Don't they have a key?"
"Yes, but they all keep them on a lanyard that they wear constantly," Ethan replied. "How are we supposed to get one if they're literally right under the teacher's nose?"
"They must hang them up sometime," Melody said thoughtfully. "They can't be wearing them to bed."
"Well then, where do they hang them?" Jamie asked. Melody shrugged.
"I dunno. Ethan?"
"I have no idea."
Jamie looked at his companions. Melody's hair was ruffled and her eyes were bloodshot--Ethan was pale as chalk and extremely tired-looking.
"Y'know, maybe we should leave this until morning. I know it's an urgent matter but we're all exhausted. It's gonna be hard to come up with a good plan if we're all sleep deprived."
"That's true," Melody agreed, yawning. Ethan picked at his fingernails nervously. He didn't want to be left alone with the Voice still in his head.
Don't worry, my friend. I'll keep quiet. I'm just as tired as you are.
"In that case, I'm heading to my dorm," Jamie said. "Are you two gonna be okay on your own for a bit?"
Melody and Ethan nodded. The three of them parted ways, each going down their respective hallways.

The doorframe buzzed slightly as Melody twisted the handle, staring into her empty dorm. She had forgotten just now drab it was, with only the flickering old lamp to keep her company. She sighed, closing the door and curling up on the lumpy mattress. The thin sheets did nothing to keep the cold away, and she lay shivering, waiting for the slow arms of sleep to finally reach her.

she was laying on the sofa, her eyes dark and weary, she kept quiet, but she needed food, she'll go out here in a few minutes, she doesn't feel like going anywhere at the moment so she just layed there, silent, replaying the words melody said in her head

The next morning, the trio reconvened in the cafeteria over coffee. Ethan was looking much better after a good night's rest. The color had come back to his face, and his eyes were no longer red. However, his pupils still shifted strangely, like shadows in a cave.
Melody, on the other hand, looked like she had gotten worse. Her black eyes were dull and shallow, and she hadn't changed out of her hoodie or brushed her hair. She sat hunched over her mug as multicolored boxes of broken code drifted around her.
"You should eat something, Melody. You look really pale," Ethan pushed an English muffin toward her. She stared at it blankly.
"I'm not hungry."
"Did you sleep at all last night?" Jamie asked. "You look awful."
"I'm fine," she muttered, taking a long sip of espresso. "Just a little stressed, that's all. Have you two figured out how we're going to get the keys?"
"Well, when I went back to bed last night, I was thinking..." Ethan flipped his laptop around, pushing it toward her so she could see the screen. "We already have the Source for the entire school downloaded onto this computer. Why bother printing posters? We could literally imprint them on the walls. The teachers'll never be able to get them off, and we don't have to bother with risky keys."
"That sounds great," Melody said. "How do we start?"
"I just need to pinpoint the areas we want to shift," Ethan replied, pressing a few keys. "Then the message will develop at the push of a button."
He flipped the screen around again to show the words 'THE WARPED ARE COMING. RUN WHILE YOU STILL CAN' in dark red letters.
"Don't you think that's a little...ominous?" Melody asked.
"We're at the beginning of a war, Melody," Ethan muttered. "We need urgency. And what better way to stir things up than with a few creepy messages on the wall?"

she didn't sleep last night, she stood up, put her shoes on, put her headphones on and set her phone in her hoodie pocket and then walked out of the apartment back to the first floor and started walking to one of the grocery shops and looked around to see if she could find any ingredients to make a meal

As Ethan typed away at his computer, a creeping sense of uneasiness slithered its way up his spine.
Why aren't you stopping me? I'm actively trying to warn people of your arrival.
Try all you want, little boy. It won't make a difference in the end.
"Ethan? You all right?"
Ethan realized he was sweating again. He wiped his forehead hurriedly, eyes glued to the screen.
"I'm fine. This is turning out a little more difficult than I thought."
Help me...

her head throbbed but it seemed numb to her, she went to one of the aisles and grabbed a few ingredients and went to a few more aisles grabbing more ingredients, an hour or 2 went by until she finally walked up to the register to pay for the ingredients should a make something for them..? her hand clenched into a fist no..they won't eat it.. she payed for the groceries, grabbed the bags and walked back to her apartment

Melody was in her room when Ethan's messages finally developed on the walls. The stomping footsteps of panicked teachers and students pounded inside her skull, giving her a massive headache. She pulled her pillow over her head, waiting for it to stop. She felt dazed, like she was swimming through some sort of vague dream. The shouting, only a wall away felt distant, as if she was listening to it from the other end of the cave. She groaned, waiting for it to stop. It had been a couple of days since Ai left, and Melody's state had been slowly devolving. It felt like something was feeding on her, sucking the energy from her body like a battery.
It's just the stress, She told herself. It's been a rough couple days. I just need to rest.
But no matter how much she slept, she only felt worse. Ethan didn't seem to be getting any better, either. Dark circles had grown under his eyes and his face seemed more hollow than before, as if something was pulling him inward, like a balloon with a vacuum inside of it. Jamie was the only one who seemed unaffected. He bounced from room to room, bringing food and doing chores. He and Ethan had been spending a lot of time together, hanging out in the library or getting coffee in the cafeteria. Melody was beginning to feel rather lonely. Both her brother and her friends had abandoned her.

A monster she would call herself, but she never expected to hear it from the one beam of light she had that dragged her out of the dark, it felt as a week went by when she left the school, her supplies are dusty and probably rotting away, she never wanted to hurt anyone..everyone seemed terrified of her now..she doesn't think she can ever face them again..

"Melody," A muffled voice whispered, knocking on her door. She slithered out of bed and let Ethan and Jamie inside.
"People are starting to leave. The school is shutting down!" Ethan cried.
"Yeah, the red lettering worked even better than we imagined," Jamie added. "They seem to think it's written in blood. Especially after Ai disappeared..."
Melody lowered her head. After what happened, she thought the other girl would at least stay at the school. She wasn't expecting her to completely vanish. Who knew where she was now...
I shouldn't feel bad. She hurt Ethan. She ATTACKED him. But try as she might, the little glitch couldn't get the image of Ai's face out of her head--eyes wide and scared, like a cornered puppy. Maybe she didn't mean to...maybe something went wrong. What if there's something else going on here? What if she was just trying to help...?
Melody buried her face in her hands, hot tears erupting out of her eyes.
Oh god...what have I done?

she put the groceries away and sat on the floor near the window and tears suddenly started flowing down her cheeks, she was a monster to melody, she lost the trust of ethan and jamie, she couldn't imagine how much damage was done to melody when she left, but it was for they're own good, her tears instantly turned to anger and she punched the glass, cracking it, she was once again alone and misunderstood...

"Melody? Are you all right?" Ethan asked. She didn't reply, keeping her face covered.
"She's tired and stressed," Jamie said softly. "We all are. Come on, let's go pack up our things. We'll meet you at the front door, okay M?"
Their footsteps receded around the corner, and Melody was left alone in an empty hallway. She sighed, slumping to the ground with the sheer weight of the situation. Everyone was evacuating, sure, but they still had no idea how to stop the war. And now that Ai was gone, all Melody had was the boys. Ethan was sweet and Jamie was her brother, but they didn't make for good company during an apocalypse. She missed Ai's confidence, her ability to get things done. Melody wished she could have a bit of that problem-solving now. She felt stranded, like a wooden plank in the middle of the ocean. Sure, she was floating for now, but eventually the water would overcome her and she would sink into the cold, dark depths.

she couldn't stand the fact that she felt cold and empty, she felt like she was the only person left on this wretched planet, she looked out her window and saw people piling out of the school, she was pretty far but she still saw the school from here, she didn't bother checking it out, she just sat there silently

Jamie and Ethan stood waiting at the front door, suitcases in hand. Students poured out of the school, shepherded by an array of panicked teachers.
"Ready to go?"
Melody nodded. She hadn't packed anything, so she left empty-handed.
"Where are we going to stay until our parents can pick us up?" She asked as the trio made their way into the open. A slight breeze had picked up and the sky was overcast, reflecting the dark mood of the students beneath it.
"There's an old apartment complex not far from here," Jamie replied, pointing. "We can stay there until Dad arrives."
"What about you, Ethan?"
"Can I stay with you guys? My mom lives pretty far from here and I don't have anywhere else to go."
"Of course you can!" Melody cried. Jamie nodded.
"Thanks, guys," Ethan smiled.
As they approached the apartments, Melody felt an odd sinking feeling in her chest. She was about to lose another friend--once they went their separate ways, who knows if they'll see each other again. After everything that had occurred, she doubted many people would let their kids go back to school again...
She gritted her teeth. She'd have to make the most of these last few days.

she looked at melodys code which was halfway done, she could continue fixing it, its the least she could do and its a way to get her mind off things, so she continued fixing it the rest of the way, she knows she won't be sleeping, so, she decided to work on it

The lobby of the apartment building was drab and dingy, with a few stained paintings on the wall and a rickety chair in the corner. The front desk was old and peeling, the yellowed wood shedding splintery flakes onto the carpet.
Melody grimaced, looking around. Despite its poor condition, the place was crowded. Babbling students took up every corner, filling the room with color and movement.
The disgruntled clerk gave them their keys before receiving the next person, shooing them away with her hand. The trio made their way up the stairs, which creaked loudly under their feet.
"Looks like this place is gonna be busy tonight," Jamie muttered, glancing down at the crowded lobby. "I just hope they're quiet."
"They're high school students, quiet's the last thing they're gonna be," Ethan muttered tiredly. He pushed his glasses up on his nose, squinting at his room key. "Number 42?"
"Yeah, that's our room," Jamie turned to Melody, handing her a second key. "You'll be in room 43. Are you okay by yourself, M?"
She sighed. "Yeah, it's fine."

The room was even worse than the lobby. Odd stains covered the walls, and the carpet crunched weirdly under Melody's feet. The sheets of the beds were similarly crusty, with one of the mattresses having some sort of dark spatter on it. The stain looked suspiciously blood-like, too...Melody chose the other bed.
She sighed, staring at the ceiling. The sky grew dark outside her window, but sleep never came. Eventually, she looked at the clock. 12.03.
I'm never gonna fall asleep tonight, She thought, hauling herself out of bed. Maybe I should go for a walk. Hopefully that will at least distract me.
Opening the door, she stepped into the dim hallway. She could hear music around the corner, accompanied by raucous laughter.
Just as Ethan predicted, She thought, turning the other way. Her head was pounding too much for a party. As she walked she stared at her feet, watching them carry her across the old carpet. She didn't notice someone else coming down the hallway toward her.
"Oof!"
"Ah!" Melody fell to the ground as little pieces of electronics scattered around her, bumping against her legs. She kneeled over and started picking them up, apologizing profusely. "I am so sorry! I didn't mean to--"
She looked up at the person, and a mixture of fear and relief flooded through her.
"Ai!"