Death by Technology

Day 1:
"No!!" I screamed, and threw my keyboard down on the desk. I watched my virtualized figure disintegrate on the computer screen, with a very large and very bloody arrow sticking out of his chest. "I am an utter failure." I said, and I dropped my head into my arms. Rikki was having similar difficulties across the room from me. A shout of rage confirmed my hypothesis.

I stood and walked over to her. "Just as unlucky?" I asked and she nodded.

"I swear, these missions are rigged." She said and drew an angry breath.

I laughed wryly. "Yeah, probably, but they were only created to help us learn." I pulled up a chair and sat down next to her.

"Yeah. To learn how to write a death wish." Rikki grumbled. I couldn't suppress a smile.

"I absolutely hate these missions," I said. "And trust me, I don't know how they're going to help us, but I think they will." As I said the words, the door at the front of the room opened suddenly and Jamal, the commander of our cyber mission, walked briskly into the room.

"Kailey! What are you doing over there? Get back to your computer. We have a lot to do." He seemed angry, and I wasn't about to upset him, so I hurried back to my seat. "Girls," Jamal continued. "Please go to the home screen of your computers and open up the blank file at the bottom of the screen." We did so, and awaited more instructions.

"Next, go to the database named 'code-5'," He nearly whispered it as we located and clicked on the database. "Now, I want you girls to read it over and then do what it tells you to do. This will help you learn how to create several different bugs to help you and your sisters on future missions." Then, he said more to himself than us, "This will tear Nanny McFiggins and MON apart."

Rikki and I read through the database, which took us about 2-3 hours because it was so long. The introduction started off with a 'Welcome to database Code-5. Please read below with care.' The next paragraph read:

The following information will guide the reader through the steps to create and put-into-action any kind of electrical bug. Continue to refer back to the table of contents when searching for different instructions. As you read, begin to build...

I didn't realize I was falling asleep until a large plastic box landed heavily on the desk in front of me. I sat up quickly and rubbed my eyes. "What... sorry. I..." I looked down at the box and inwardly groaned. I knew what was in it before Jamal even told me.

"This is a box full of mixed electrical parts. Put them together, and you'll get a bug. Off you go." With that, he stalked off. I looked over at Rikki and saw that she had a plastic box equal to the size of mine planted in front of her. Her hair was tied back and I could see she was working hard. She turned her head and returned my gaze. I smiled at her and she smiled back, but I could tell that she was tired too. How long had we been in this room? I looked around the room and realized there was not a single clock. I turned back to face Rikki and pointed at my wrist in question. She shrugged and turned back to her work. I sighed and did the same.

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Day 4:
After a couple days, I had finally finished my first bug. Even though I had had to tear it apart several times to switch a wrong part, or fix a cord that wasn't in the right place, it still looked reasonably good. I was very proud of my little contraption. Until I showed it to Jamal.

"What is that thing?" He said when I showed him my bug.

"It's a bug. Actually it's bug number 87. See?" I scrolled all the way to bug number 87 instructions on my computer screen.

"That is definitely NOT bug number 87," Jamal said, staring down at my bug and then looking at the picture on the screen. "If anything, it's bug number -87. It's completely the opposite of the bug you were trying to create." As he said it, Rikki snorted very loud, and tried to make the ugly laugh sound like a cough. It didn't work and I vowed to get her back someday.

"Oh. Right." It was all I could do not to punch Jamal in the face. I took the bug back.

"You'll have to start from scratch. These bugs need to be perfect!" Jamal called as he walked over to Rikki and began to examine her bug. "Rikki, this bug is... horrendous. It looks dead." I snuck in a laugh just as ugly as Rikki's had been before. "You need to start from scratch as well. Come on, girls. You can do better."  Jamal spun on his heel and walked through the door.

Now, I must continue working on my new bug number 87.

Until next time,
                        Kailey