*Ahem* So anyways. I have another question for you, Jeremy. Can I assume that you are really Wire?" Luke asks the young boy while watching him intently. Jeremy remains silent for a moment before answering him in a cold tone, "Yes, I am Wire. But how do you know that?" Luke smiles and chuckles before replying "Well that's simple. Because I read that article about you last week." Luke answers jokingly. "I don't know if I should be impressed with you or embarrassed for the press. They've been looking all over for me and still haven't found this place. But what does it matter if I'm Wire or not. I'm not particularly interested in the hacking scene anymore." "It matters because we need your help. There is an incident going on right now that is very dangerous and you're my best bet in putting a stop to it." Luke tells him with determination in his voice as he leans closer to him. Jeremy rolls his eyes and shakes his head before replying sarcastically, "Why would I want to help you. You
Luke and Caroline spend most of their day searching around the city for parts needed for Jeremy. By the time they had managed to gather everything on his list, they both looked worn out. They arrive back at the orphanage exhausted and sweaty before they finally collapse onto the sofa, barely managing to keep their eyes open as they hand off the goods to the young hacker. "Whoa, I didn't think you guys would be able to find even half of the stuff on your list by the end of the day but look at this haul. It's kind of impressive." Jeremy comments with disbelief as he stares at the pile of things in front of him. He was amazed at how much stuff they managed to find for him so quickly. "Yeah, you better be impressed. Because it cost us quite a lot." Caroline responds as she leans back against the couch with her head resting on the backrest of the seat. "So is this enough for you to get started? I'd rather get this ball rolling as soon as possible. Even if my legs feel like noodles righ
The sun fell behind the horizon as night arrived, bringing with it the end of a long day. After spending almost a whole day acting as a moving company, They had managed to successfully bring everything that was asked for, allowing Jeremy to begin setting up his work station. The massive pile of messy electronics had turned into an orderly and impressive looking setup which looked similar to something you would see in some sci-fi movie. Jeremy sat on top of the workstation's large stool while staring intently at the screen. With his monitor open in front of him, His fingers danced across the keys, typing away and entering commands into the console faster than Luke could see. The screen displayed several lines of text scrolling by at a rapid pace, each one containing a different set of instructions or code that the software ran through. "Wow... This is so cool." Luke whispers reverently under his breath as he watches the young boy work. His eyes were solely focused on the bright scr
Luke leans in closer to the screen as he watches Jeremy and the unknown person continue their struggle with each other through the text on his screen. The fight between them continues on with Jeremy in complete silence, only focused on the task at hand. As for the stranger on the other end of his connection, Luke could only imagine his fingers racing over the keys in an attempt to stop Jeremy's action. But as Luke observed the battle that played out on his screen, he also came to the realization that despite how intense Jeremy looked, He still had no clue what was happening. Figuring that they would be at it for a while, Luke decides to go and take a seat outside while he waits. He walks outside and takes a seat at the side of the house next to Caroline. She had been resting after the long day of driving and moving. Deciding not to wake her, Luke began to rest his eyes and let his mind wander aimlessly as he drifted off into sleep. Opening his eyes, Luke could see the clear night
With a final glance back towards Luke, the child walks away with a devious smile plastered on his face before vanishing from Luke's view. As Luke looks onward, his vision darkens and becomes blurry as he finds himself still sitting down next to Caroline. "Why am I having so many of those weird dreams lately?" Luke mutters out loud as he shakes his head in disbelief. Standing up from his seat, Luke thinks about what he had seen inside the dream world and tries to wrap his mind around what had happened. After all, not everything was just a dream. It was real. And if the decrepit child was right, then he couldn't just leave things up to Jeremy. But what could he do to help? It wasn't like he could just hop on and start hacking away at the system. That would be asking too much of someone like him who had no clue what was even happening. He was a total novice when it came to handling anything that complex on a computer. If it was physical work, then he would be able to figure it out no
Why Would his father want him to ruin his own children's image, and why did he need him to do it? Was his father truly that heartless? Was he really that cold? Whatever the case was, Luke felt that he needed to put a stop to it right now. His anger grew with each passing moment and soon enough he reached inside of his car for the still loaded gun. He figured that it wouldn't hurt to take it along with him just in case. It was likely that he would be met with force if he was spotted within the premises. And if that was the case, He would need something to fall back on if there were no other choices. With his car parked in such a discreet area that no one would notice if someone were to pass by. Luke makes his approach towards the large property. Slipping past the unaware gaze of the guards, Luke makes his way towards the backside of the home. He was hoping to enter the home in the same manner as last time. Unfortunately, there was no way that it would be possible. The window was shut
Luke acts quickly and grabs whatever was available to block the door. Although he locked it when he came in, He wasn't sure how long it would last if the guards chose to use force. *Bang Bang* A guard slams his fist into the door from the opposite side, while shouting for him to let him in. "Open this damn door before we have to kick it down." Another guard yells back as his partner continues to pound away at the door with his fists. "Come on guys. Give me a fucking break here." Luke thinks as he turns to look at the window behind him. He wasn't privy to the idea of leaping from the top floor of the manor but there weren't many other options at this point. If he wanted to escape alive, he would need to go with his gut feelings on this one. And with the sound of wood cracking and breaking under the guards pressure, he needed to get going right away. With a deep breath, Luke prepares himself for action as he reaches over to unlatch the window frame and pushes it wide open. He climb
Luke found himself in a large White walled room reminiscent of a hospital. He stood up and took a good look around, seeing that there was nothing here but a few different doorways that seemed to lead deeper into the facility. Luke felt as though he could hear the faintest sound of voices coming from the nearest doorway. He figured that he should take a look around and see if he could track down the source of the voices. It would also lead him closer to his destination. Luke's footsteps echoed off of the white walls as he walked through the barren hallway. He had expected for there to be at least someone else besides him around, but everything was eerily quiet aside from the faint noises he could hear from afar. Carefully making his way past each doorway, Luke continued down the hall, listening closely for any suspicious sounds that might betray where his targets were located. Eventually, Luke arrives at the end of the hall where he finds one final doorway. After hearing voices from
The passenger side door swings open to reveal A thin passenger with long hair tied up into a ponytail. He was dressed casually in a white collared shirt and black slacks. "Welcome back brother. You made quite the entrance I must say." Jonathan said with a smile from within the vehicle. "So how was your vacation?" Luke looked at his brother with disdain, "What are you doing here!? Why did you have to show up now!?" He growls angrily. "That's a silly question. I'm just here to pick up my brother and his companion." His older brother explained, "why don't you have a seat so that we can catch up. It's about time that we have a talk." Jonathan suggests with a grin while gesturing with his hand out towards the passenger seat. "Don't get your hopes up. I wouldn't ride in the same space as you if you paid me to." Luke retorted coldly. "How about you run on home and wait for me to tear you down, just like I did with Marilyn." Luke tells him with a scowl. "I'm sorry to hear that, but I don
Luke watched on in shame at the mess taking place in front of him. The room was already cluttered as is with the bodies of the guests scattered about, but now Ella and Le were making an even bigger mess of things. And all over a single bottle of liquor. "Haha, your going to have to try harder if you want to catch me." Ella remarked as she kept away from Lee while holding on to the bottle loosely in her hands. "You think you're funny!?" Lee huffed in frustration as he attempted to tackle her but she effortlessly dodged him and quickly disappeared behind the bar. "Ha Ha Ha! Very cute Lee." She taunted him as she tipped the bottle upside down, allowing the liquid to flow down into two glasses. She handed one of them to him with an amused look before downing her own glass in an instant. "Hey! You can't just drink it like that! It's not a shot!" He said while pointing his finger accusingly at her. "Oh yeah? Well I don't have any patience today so I'm going to just drink it however I d
A week and a half passes and Luke, Ella and Lee are now able to see land. It wouldn't be long now until they were back on solid ground. "Ahhh, Doesn't it just look so nice?" Ella exclaimed joyfully while looking out the transparent plane covering their room. Her eyes were fixated on the land as if it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Luke couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm, but he also found it somewhat amusing seeing her this way given how much she had been through recently. "When I get back I'm going to take a nice long bath with extra bubbles and candles. Maybe even light some incense while I soak under the starry sky. Then I'll get out and dry off slowly while laying out by a pool somewhere in the desert with an ice cold beer in my hand." Ella continued on with her fantasy. "What about you half-pint? Are you going to go back to your family to tell them what happened? I'm sure that they would want to know how their youngest son almost died on his business tri
"So how long do you think it will take before we set foot on solid ground again? I'm starting to get a little nauseous." Ella said while looking down at her stomach. "Not too long I hope." Luke replied while staring ahead at the transparent plane covering the room. It's been a little over a week since we set off, so I would guess that it would take around the same time going back" He told her while scanning through different screens on the walls. "At this rate, my boredom is going to kill me before Jonathan can get the chance. I can only sit here so long without going insane." Luke complained with a groan, as he sat down in one of the seats. "I need something to read, or do... anything would be nice" Luke added as he began scanning around the room for any kind of entertainment that might be lying around. Searching the cluttered floor, Luke spotted a few different magazines that were spread open on the ground. grabbing a few of them, Luke tossed one of them over to Ella as he began
Ella follows Luke as he opens the door leading further ahead inside the ship. Covering their eyes to shield themselves from the sudden increase in brightness, The duo enter into the vessels bridge. The sun is raised high in the sky outside, and the warm air from the heat vents makes itself known throughout the ship, creating a strong contrast against the dimly lit interior of the ship. "This thing looks like it's straight out of the 2000's." Ella mumbled aloud as she followed behind Luke, staring down at the small computer consoles on the wall before them and their array of buttons and dials. Luke turned around and nodded while he scanned through the screens and monitors displayed in front of him on the wall. "I hope this isn't as complicated as it looks." He said as he reached out his hand and pressed a few buttons on the panel in front of him, causing the ship's lights to brighten up. "I guess I know what this does now. Hmmm, Let me check on some things real quick." Luke tells her
Turning his back to his sister's unmoving form, Luke walked over to where Ella stood and wrapped his arms around her. Holding her close to him as he tried desperately to hold on to what little sanity he had left. He had acted confident in the moment, but had yet to fully realize what he had just done. Once again, he had managed to find his way back to the path that his brother had set for him. He was finally beginning to take control of his life and destiny and yet, once again he found himself on the verge of losing it all. "What is wrong with me?" Luke whispers into Ella's ear while tightening their embrace. His hands shaking as he attempted to calm himself down, but the thought of what he just did continued to plague his mind and make him panic. "I killed Marilyn. I didn't just kill her, I actually strangled her with these hands. I watched her life leave her body. What the hell have I become?" Luke asks as he tries to calm down and regain his composure. Ella could feel his hands
"Is this what you call fun!" Ella said through gritted teeth as she glared at Marilyn. "Is this truly just one big game to you!" Ella shouted with rage. "You're just picking and choosing who lives and dies because you think you can! Just like those poor kids!" Ella screamed at the woman before her as she bawled her fists and raised them high. Marilyn let out a small laugh at her statement before turning her gaze down to Ella and giving her a smile that was meant to look kind and welcoming but instead gave the girl chills. "Oh, sweetheart! Don't you know that there are more important things than living or dying. Everyone here is doing their part to ensure a brighter future for everyone. Even you." She said as she stood up from her seat. "But you see, I don't have any plans for you today dear. Your time hasn't come just yet. The only one I need is my dear brother. After all, this was set up just for him." She said as she attempted to walk past Ella. But Ella's anger flared up once ag
As the screen fades to black, Luke can hear the sound of heavy machinery above him. Swimming up with his key in hand, Luke pops his head out of the water to find a thin catwalk extending from the wall opposite of the door. It continues to extend until it reaches the door, creating a path for him and Ella to stand on. Although out of reach currently, The water continued to rise which would soon allow them to reach the door if they wanted to escape. With a glance at Ella, Luke can only shake his head as he watches her playing in the water like a child. She's definitely enjoying herself way more than she should have been. Watching Luke play must have truly bored her. Once the water level was high enough, Luke grabbed hold of the catwalk's railing and pulled himself up. After taking a quick look back towards the water, Luke reached his hand out to pull Ella up from below. "Why, thank you kind sir." Ella replied sarcastically as she placed her hand in Luke's grip. The two were now sta
Pushing to finish this game in the next round, Luke raises his head and takes a deep breath, as the water was now high enough to cover his face. Turning to his side to check on Ella, Luke could see her floating away on her back while giving him a thumbs up. He could tell that she was having fun despite the obvious danger approaching. But at least this meant that she trusted him to pull through. Finishing his breath, Luke dives under to see what was happening on his screen. His starting hand turned out to be a 15 made up of a 7 and an 8. Unfortunately, though. It seemed as though player 1's turn was taking much longer than usual. The same thing happened last round, so it wasn't unusual. Luke was just in a bit of a hurry considering his circumstances. Finally taking his turn, Player 1 instantly used the cover option and ended his turn with a Hit. Putting his cards count at three and locking down anyone's ability to manipulate his cards was most likely the best alternative. With playe