Vyrus

[Whyntir]

The chilled wind of early March swept low, tugging at the messy locks of chestnut. Olive eyes glanced towards the heavens, smothered under a thick blanket of angry gray clouds. An exceptionally violent gust passed by, his knee-length trench coat following the path as stray wisps of frigid air fought to sneak in under the high collar and cashmere scarf. Distant thunder rolled in, the sky threatening rain to those hurrying through the streets below. His sigh was accompanied with a cloud of mist before turning back, the crosswalk now free to pass, the bright green neon giving an all-clear to the mass that moved as one off the curb.

It was like any other day in any other city in the younger months of the year; people going from one place to the next, eating lunch, going home; talking on cell phone, laughing at unknown jokes, yelling about one thing or another. As his feet returned to concrete, the sign above was given little notice as it emanated a shrill beep, signalling that none may pass, followed closely with the humming of engines as they crisscrossed the spiderweb of avenues to their unknown destinations. No one would have been able to tell this wasn't just any city. Not as long as you didn't pay attention to the officers that paroled the sidewalks, as long as the distant guard towers did not catch your eye, and of course, trying to leave would lead you to nothing but a roadblock and armed men informing you to turn back. But it was just like any other city.

Dark splotches began to hurl to the earth, waiting umbrellas popping open like flowers thirsting for the rain. It was a mechanical movement; to press the button and hold it up, a shield from the outside. With is free hand, he pushed the nose of his glasses back into place, gazing distantly at nothing as thoughts clouded his sight. In this city, where it could have been any other city, no one would have suspected the truth underneath it all. No one would have even dared to think that a dangerous secret was being hidden in plain sight. He blended in and moved along side them, these ignorant peoples, invisible, closed to the rest of the world. However, if he were to open up just even a little bit-

'I'mlateWhydoIevenbotherThistimeforsureIhavethates saytowriteshedoesn'tneedtoknowihateyouwhatacrappyd ayGodI'mstarvingTodaytodayforsure'

He closed them off again, the walls sliding as he turned into the library, ignoring the rows of books in favour of the computers in the far back courner of the building. The chair was worn, the keys so used that the characters were all but wiped clean. Pulling up the internet server, the dull glow of the screen reflected off the lenses. A forum page came up, his eyes scanning the contents. It was utterly plain, very little in regards to look at other than the walls of text that; in placement of a welcome logo was one word, demanding attention to itself:

Vyrus

OOC

[Our Lady Muffin]

Every once in a while, his mind would wander but his warm, tan eyes would continue to scan the page behind a pair of metal rimmed spectacles. They moved smoothly over the printed words, gliding from one end of the page to the other in an almost mechanical manner. It was a strange sort of trance he would fall into now and then, with him not really registering what he was reading at first but the very moment he stopped, the information would come flooding in as though he had been paying attention.

Anyway, this was exactly one of those times.

Austin blinked, refocusing on the page of the book in his hands. The gentle patter of fat spheres of water hitting the window’s glass had shaken him out of his almost meditative state. He straightened up, his back cold from leaning against the glass panel. Austin was in his regular corner at the very back of the library. There was a corner off to the right where two walls of glass panels came together at the corner and where benches, whose cushions were practically nonexistent from overuse, lined the ceiling high windows. There was good lighting here and he liked being able to look up to the sky to tell time.

Today, however, his usual method of telling time wasn’t doing it for him. The sky was a thick blanket of grey clouds; nimbostratus clouds. Somewhere amongst the mass of clouds, thunder rumbled and Austin could just barely hear it through the glass. With a stifled yawn, he picked up his green hoodie from the spot beside him and shrugged it on, zipping it up and effectively covering the black T-shirt he was wearing underneath. Slipping his cellphone out of the pocket of his jeans, he noted that it was around four in the afternoon. Between that and the last hundred or so pages of the encyclopedia he had picked out for a fun read. He figured that he could finish the book first before leaving for home.

So, he settled back against the glass panel, feeling the cold slowly seep through the material of his sweater anyway. Austin continued to read his book, flipping the thick, paper cut notorious pages every once in a while. The only thing that broke his concentration was the sound of another person entering the back of the otherwise deserted library. Austin had glanced up over his book briefly, but hadn’t seen anything of interest as the man in the trench coat settled at a computer, so he had turned his attention back to his book.

[icmasticc]

The slightly chilling wind was a mere afterthought to the woman hunched low on her motorcycle, flying between cars and cutting through the air defiantly. A red light blinked into existence ahead of her and she expertly slowed down just behind the painted white line on the road. Once fully stopped, one could observe the beautiful machine that carried the woman at such speeds; a cherry red, Suzuki Hayabusa K9. With 172.2 horse power and 7600 rpm of torque, it was truly a beast of a bike. Its body was cleaned and shined to pristine condition and it only shone brighter against the backdrop of silvery gray clouds above. The woman adjusted her leather jacket before the light changed and the roar of her engine screamed off down the road.

Truth be told, it was a terrible day. Thunder rumbled overhead and the smell of heavy rain thickly perfumed the air. The weather didn't seem to stifle life in the city though. People still hustled from one place to another, handling their agendas as if it was a bright and sunny day. Street lamps illuminated the surroundings and created an attractive glow in the dark and gloomy atmosphere. Finally reaching a destination, the woman slowed and parallel parked near the front door of a small business on a seemingly random sidewalk.

The engine died down and the woman sat all the way up, removing her black helmet to reveal black hair and stylish frames with orange lenses. She unzipped her jacket all the way as she pulled a leg over the seat and stepped onto the sidewalk next to her. The wallet chain on her tight black pants jingled as the black-haired woman strolled into the building, which turned out to be a sports bar of sorts, and found a lonely seat at the counter. Slung over her shoulder was a strap which attached itself to a computer bag. She didn't do anything with it as the bartender approached her, a smile cracking onto his face as he realized his customer's identity. "Well well, if it isn't the elusive Rita Abercrombie." He said. Rita pushed the nose of her shades down just a little before a grin also broke onto her own face.

"Douglas, long time no see. Let's hope you didn't forget my usual order." Douglass nodded and disappeared under the counter for a few seconds before appearing with a slim bottle and a small, wide glass with ice.

"Of course not. Vodka with ice, right? Unless today is a double day?" Rita shook her head and took the bottle and glass.

"Today hasn't been too bad." She said as she served herself. Douglas nodded and went to attend to other customers. Finally, Rita opened her bag and pulled out a thin, silver laptop. She sipped her drink as the machine powered on. A sigh of satisfaction escaped her lips as she felt the warm liquid travel into her stomach. When the laptop had reached her desktop, Rita navigated to her internet browser and pressed F5 for a page refresh. It had been on the same page since she last used the computer. One word defined the welcome logo as the page sprang to life; Vyrus.

"This guy is still at it, huh?" Rita mumbled as her hazel eyes scanned the forum for new content.

[xHolyLightningx]

"It's raining, it's boring the old man is snorin'" Kate chanted loudly like a child as she walked down the grey pavement slabs of rock that made up the sidewalk with her friend Hannah the two be lightly showered by the rain as Kate splashed into all of the puddles they saw like a little girl out in her wellies and raincoat for the first time, suddenly Kate stopped outside of an internet cafe that was mostly empty aside from a few old ladies and some college students who probably couldn't afford their own internet. Hannah turned to her friend with a puzzled look upon her face and as if to answer her unasked, as of yet, question Kate turned around to her and said with a huge smile.

"This is my stop for today." she said in her usual bright and bubbly tone.

"An internet cafe? Why? You have perfectly good internet and laptop back at your apartment." Hannah said in her usual serious tone.

"I know but this place does the best hot chocolate and I'm pretty cold besides it's fine for you since you only live two streets away but my apartment's ages away and this rain's going to get heavier. Figured I'd wait it out in here and surf the web, listen to music, play a few games that kind of thing." Kate reached into her bag to get out a purse and began getting out the fee for the use of the internet and the price of a hot chocolate.

"You know you wouldn't have this type of problem if you just remembered to bring an umbrella with you."

"It was a perfectly beautiful day when I left my apartment!"

"It's been cloudy and dark all day."

"That's a very pessimistic way to look at the world y'know, your gunna get wrinkles before your thirty if you keep that up." a light teasing in Kate's tone this time.

"The only wrinkles I'll get are the ones you'll give me from making me stress so much." The other girl retorted, their conversation was suddenly interrupted when the rain droplets start to fall a little harder and faster. "Ouch, looks like I'm going to have to dash home, bye, I'll text you later!" the girl called out as she started dashing down the street looking over he shoulder as Kate just waved at her in a comic manner.

"See ya later alligator!" she called down the street before turning and hurrying inside and walking over to the counter where a man who looked pretty bored stood. "Hey! I'll just being use a computer for a bit. Oh and can I get a hot chocolate too please?" Kate placed the coins she had previously taken out of her purse onto the counter before hurrying to use a computer in the far corner where she would have some privacy. She looked around to make sure no one was looking and after making sure she was clear typed in what she was looking for and clicking the page she wanted; Vyrus.

Her eyes scanned the page for any new content such as updates and she browsed what had been put on the site by other people who she didn't know, or maybe she did, there was no way of telling. She clicked open another tab before quickly opening up something harmless like YouTube and clicked on the most popular section before clicking on a video about cats or something, she didn't really care, as the man started making his way over with her hot chocolate she full screened the video and pretended like she was watching it or at least vaguely interested as he set down her hot chocolate she offered him a smile before taking a sip and letting the warm liquid, whipped cream and marshmallows flow into her mouth as her expression changed into a more serious one she clicked back over to Vryus, she kept the tab open however, better safe than sorry.

[TheObserver159]

"Oh, come on!" Akise groaned as the water began to rain down from the dreary gray clouds above. He still had three whole boxes of beer to bring back into the bar and had no umbrella in hand. He muttered profanities under his breath as he heaved the heavy crates back into the bar. Nothing was going right today and it was as if God, or whatever higher being was watching him, was making a sick joke with Akise at the butt end of it. Ironically, the last two months of the year, January and February (the months of the Zodiac sign Aquarius), had been easy on him. The cafe did great and finding work was easy. But of course as the end of February rolled around, so did the end of his luck.

"Boss! I've put the beers in the back room!" Akise called out to his employer before hastily retying his server apron back around his waist. The man, busy with another customer, gave a grunted reply. Akise moved on and looked around to see if anyone would need help. It was pretty loud in the bar. T.V screens threw game scores and commentary out into the air while men and woman spat their own commentary back at the screens. He had never really into sports and never understood how one could be so absorbed in watching others play. Then again, he didn't really understand a lot of things. He shook his thoughts away and spotted a table with a hand in the air requesting a server. He grabbed a few menus and moved swiftly through the crowd to take their order.

[confidence]

Mackenzie Light
Get me what I want, everything I don't got; get me what I want, 'cause I'm a big shot

"Don't worry," she purred, "everything will be okay." And when she said it so soothingly, how could anyone not believe her? Mackenzie smirked as she held out her palm, brows slightly raised - a challenge. The woman across the make up counter chewed her lip anxiously, a disgusting habit Mackenzie honestly couldn't stand, as she debated the decision she was about to make, but she was going to make it anyway. No one could ever say no to Mackenzie Light. Okay, a few have, but with the streak she had going on right now? She had complete faith in her abilities. It was her, she knew it. She knew it because of the itch behind her eyes, similar to that sensation when you were so close to tears (not that Mackenzie would know), the same sensation she felt now. As predictable as a movie made for weepy hopeless women, the women handed over the Chanel lipstick over. "Thanks, sweetie," Mackenzie said brightly, "you're a doll." She closed her fingers over the tube, dropped it into her over sized purse daintily, wiggled her fingers in goodbye, and proceeded to walk out of the department store.

All in a day's work, she mused. She hadn't expected it to be so... well, so easy. Though it had been this effortless for months now. Who knew, getting her wish to become everyone's command wasn't so hard as it seemed. All you needed was that sensation, what she called 'the tickle.' That tickle came with its questions, of course, and there had to be answers somewhere. But Mackenzie didn't care. Hey, everything was going perfectly for her. She hadn't paid a single dime for her luxurious tastes since the tickle first appeared, how many people could say that? It was unnerving, though, how easy life had become. She was bored. What do you do when the world handed everything you wanted to you? The challenge was gone. Mackenzie began to roam about her city, passing boutique after boutique, cafe after cafe, home after home. It was the same, everyday. She got what she wanted. Ah, well. Who could complain? She walked home at a leisurely speed, knowing walking was the only exercise her body received. As soon as she began to show a need for healthier living, she would put more effort into working out, but for now, Mackenzie knew she was gorgeous (or liked to think she was, anyway), and she wasn't interested in losing a few pounds to make that tiny difference.

"I'm home!" she said to the comfort of her completely empty apartment. It wasn't the best around, but she was too lazy to move out. Mackenzie had worked her ass off to get into this mediocre apartment, and the satisfaction that came with holding its keys in her hand was too sweet to let go of, even if a more extravagant house could be easily obtained. Thanks to you, tickle, she thought a little bitterly. It was selfish, to want the tickle but to want the challenge as well. There were people who wanted the tickle as well, she was sure. There were people who would deem her foolish and self-centered and ungrateful. But hey, it was her tickle - step off. Mackenzie dropped the keys on her round dining table and sank into her couch. Ah, home sweet home. There was nothing better. It was her day off, and she had nothing to do. Should she find a date? Well, she wasn't in the mood to feign interest in anybody but herself. Maybe she should... Well, all she wanted to do was to be mindless for an hour. So, hello computer.

Mackenzie had never been one for social networks, and she was proud to say she had never used one. But she did enjoy to research. Okay, she was a little bit of a nerd. But if a girl could be beautiful, and intelligent, well wasn't that perfection? She wanted to be a gorgeous and clever young woman. Thus, the researching. She had paid for the use of several databases, elite (and therefore, private) academic search engines, and the like. "The whole world is in my computer," she liked to brag. Or at least, she would like to brag, if anyone had asked her. But it seemed to be popular opinion that she was beautiful, and cunning, and perhaps a little bit of a heartless bitch - not the curious intellectual she wanted to be. And that was fine with her, better to be underestimated and surprise her peers, it would only put her in a better light.

But still. Sometimes, she wanted people to know.

No matter. The amount of time she spent on pondering this 'tickle' had led her to a new topic: this strange ability she had. The strange abilities of others. And thus, she began her search. It took hours, though. She found novels, TV shows, projects that never resulted in anything substantial, etc... By the time she stumbled onto the strange word 'Vyrus,' she had already given up, going on for the sake of having something to do. But after this one, she would stop. One last try.

[JackTheCrow]

Rowan looked to the sky as the rain began to patter down, slowly at first but he could tell it would get heavier before long. With a curious, almost fascinated slowness he held out his hand and closed his eyes, savouring the feel of each droplet, a hundred tiny, cold shocks on his bare hand and face. Even after five years, he still savoured occasions like this; out in the cold and wet without the need to fear, to run home and get as dry and warm as possible before some form of sickness or other overtook him. It was an inconvenience to be sure, his jacket would take forever to dry, but he couldn't really be annoyed about it; he couldn't stop the rain, and he couldn't head home just yet, so why waste energy on being negative, when he could simply enjoy?

Opening his eyes, he looked around him, calmly taking in the scene around him. The graveyard was empty, particularly in this weather, dark and chilly, leaves idly dancing in the unpredictable wind. A momentary frown crossed his brow. I'm spending entirely too much time in graveyards these days. But, with even the soldiers having some form of respect for the dead, it was one of the few locations he could be relatively sure of not being interrupted by them, making it an ideal place for some of the less 'moral' activities his work sometimes required. Besides that, it was packed with an abundance of headstones, gnarly trees, low fences and small stone crypts, which, for Rowan, meant an abundance of places to hide should the situation call for it; in a place like this, he could lose pursuers in minutes and stay lost for as long as he desired.

At last he saw a silhouette approach, hunching its shoulders against the weather, walking with a slow trudge. A dark graveyard at the beginning of what could well turn into a full-blown storm; not one of the most comforting places to be. But he had insisted. This had almost become a place of comfort for him over time, and there was no way he was taking a personal delivery anywhere else.

As the shadow slowly drew closer, it resolved into the shape of a man, his muttering voice flickering uncertainly across the distance, stolen away by the wind one minute and clear as a bell the next. "Bloody kid, making me come to a bloody graveyard, with this bloody weather, be lucky if I get home before I'm completely soaked... Bloody, bloody, bloody..."

He seems rather unhappy, Rowan surmised with a grin. When the man was close he rose from his squatting position, enjoying the short noise of surprise as the man suddenly saw him, and relishing even more the feel of his physical strength as he leapt gracefully down from the low fence he'd been perched on.

"Do you have it?" He asked.

The man continued grumbling, but reached into his pocket and pulled out a small plastic object. "Here take it. We're square after this, right?"

Rowan reached out and took the flash drive. It had taken a long time, and calling in some not-inconsequential favours, but this would make it all worth it. "Yeah, we're dandy," he replied, waving the man away and turning to his own home, quickly lost among the shadows and rain.

He got home and draped his jacket over a chair, sitting down at the table and opening his laptop, waiting impatiently for it to boot up. When it was finally done, he plugged in the drive and opened its contents, seeing first of all that one word in large, block letters, the word that his father spoke in his dying moments and he had been hunting for all this time.

VYRUS.

[KuiKarasu]

It's raining again. Jie Sun couldn't really bring herself to be upset about it. She liked the rain, she liked how it beat against the glass of the windows like tiny drums, and most of all she liked how it made the world smell fresh as though renewed. It was getting late in the day and nearing the dinner hour for most restaurants. This was usually the time when the fishermen she called family would start packing up today's catch to bring to said eateries. Feeling the seams of the over-sized shirt in her hands, she lamented quietly that today's laundry would have to be dried in the bathtub... again. With eyes hidden behind the black cloth, she was blind to the world as she had been the last five years, and yet couldn't bring herself to care. She could hear, she could smell, she could taste and touch. As she hooked the clothes along the thick, braided string, she smiled contentedly. This kind of life isn't so bad.

Happy being near the sea, she attributed it to the tales her mother used to tell her. Tall tales about oceans and ancient mountains. Of warriors who could fly and emperor's who could command heaven. She'd always been one to lose herself to fairy tales.

"Sun! Where are ya?"

And there she went, losing herself in her own thoughts.

"I'm in the bathroom! I'll be right out!" Even after all this time, her native tongue was still present in her English. Though no longer mangling her words, the accent was undeniable. Quickly tying up the last two shirts, she felt for the small, woven basket and placed it on her hip, crab-walking out of the narrow doorway and into the equally narrow hallway. "Did you need something, Ewan?"

Ewan, the kindly sailor who took her in with his wife when she pleaded to them for food. They'd fed her and given her a warm bed and in return she did little household chores that his wife was too ill to do. When she had passed, she decided to stay and take on her role, managing the household and allowing Ewan to simply fish and rest.

"We're just 'bout ready to drive the stock to the markets, I know ya might say 'no', but I still thought I'd ask. Would'ya want ta come with me inta the city?" Without fail, he asked her, and every time she would deny. What made her change her mind this time she didn't know. The steel city was a far cry from her traditional roots, and Jie Sun had always kept her distance. "Yes. I'll come with you." So despite the knotted feeling in her gut, she smiled towards where she thought him to be.

It was only after she had packed herself into his truck, squished into the tight space of the seat that she began to regret her decision. Black hair pulled back into a loose ponytail that she was sure had since grown, she blankly waited for their first stop, all the while listening to Ewan's jovial chatter about the weather affecting the amount of fish caught.

"We're here! English pub, Lion Harte, famous fer their fish 'n chips. Good thing we do business with 'em, aye?"

Nodding, though she cracked open the window, quickly shutting it once more at the rush of noise that followed. She'd known that it would be loud, but she'd underestimated just how loud. The rush of noise appeared again as Ewan opened his door and she quickly followed suit. Now immersed in the cacophony of automobiles and rain on multitudes of umbrellas, she found it was just a little easier to bear. "Can ya help me carry these to the door? Business been good ta them, so they doubled the order." With one hand on the truck, she hesitantly agreed. Sometimes she wondered if maybe he forgot that she was 'blind'.

Allowing the man to stack two long, flat boxes in her hands, she slowly followed after his voice, as muted as it seemed surrounded by such confusing sounds. Two heavy knocks resounded on what sounded like a thick metal door, yet Ewan still had not broken for a breath.

"-this pub's got quite a riv'lry wit the bar 'cross the way. They might have good alcohol, but they got nothing on the Harte's grub!"

So there's another bar here? Now that she thought about it, the way the sound seemed to funnel in told her that they were in an alley of sorts, at least one wide enough for the truck to get here, but it was probably a delivery bay. That meant this rival store was directly across. Jie Sun jokingly chuckled, "Tough decision between a drink or food."

[Our Lady Muffin]

Austin let out a slow exhale through his nose as his eyes slid over the last page of the encyclopedia. Somewhere off in the distance, the grey whirr of sleeping computers was accompanied by a young girl’s voice rang out as she asked her Mum to: “Please, please, just one more Blues Clues show?”

To any other passerby, it may have looked like the young man had simply skimmed through the last hundred or so pages, glancing at pictures with mild interest and not really reading the words. Nothing could have been further from the truth, however.

The rain outside hadn’t let up - well - that was to be expected considering the dark abyss of swirling clouds hanging low above their heads but, regardless, the journey home would be miserable. His home was very far from the library and Austin had opted to take the twenty minute walk instead of hopping on a car; it was a decision he was seriously regretting now.

Getting up, he spent a moment to raise his arms up above his head and stretching until his back cracked in a deliciously satisfying manner. With a content huff, Austin swiped up the thick, hardcover book and tucked it under his arm as he started towards the dusty rows of encyclopedia just behind the computer lab. Crouching down, Austin stifled a sneeze as the dust - a fine mix of dead flakes of skin, carpet lint and dirt - irritated his nasal passages. He scrunched his nose slightly, trying to chase away the itchy feeling. Working quickly, he slipped the book back in between it’s companions on the shelf. Pushing with one finger, he nudged the book in until a soft thud notified him of the book’s open end hitting the wall.

Austin straightened up and rubbed his nose a bit even though he was fully aware of the damage he was causing. At least the itch was gone though. Reaching up, he flipped the hood of his sweater up before turning on his heel and started towards on the exit. On his way, he past by the computer lab and glanced briefly at the screens which were so worn from age that the screen looked scratchy and blurry. The man in the trench coat from earlier was still there, but he supposed that was a given, since it hadn’t really been longer than a few minutes since Austin had noticed his arrival.

Initially, nothing had caught his interest. Whatever the man was looking at, it had been plain with barely visible ant-like words that made up large paragraphs of text. Austin had been about to look away when something caught it’s eye. It was bigger than the others and seemed to demand the eye of the viewer.

Vyrus

His step had faltered as curiosity suddenly gripped him like a vice. Vyrus? What on earth was that? But, not wanting to be caught nosing in other people’s business, Austin hunkered into his sweater and continued on his way to the exit, though he was hesitant. Even though he had read countless books and magazines that was filled to the brim with tidbits of information about the world, he had never come across a word like that before. And that much he was sure. His mind worked like a scarily efficient file cabinet with every bit of information organized in alphabetical order. Sometimes it was a little overwhelming, but he knew exactly what he knew and what he didn’t. Unfortunately, ‘Vyrus’ didn’t appear anywhere inside the ‘V’ files.

Maybe it was just some silly name those twelve year old tweens made up to sound cool. But ‘Vyrus’ was a strange choice. Was it just an awful typo for ‘virus’, instead? Somehow, Austin knew that it wasn’t quite as simple as that. As he repeated the word in his head, something deep inside him stirred. It was a feeling he hadn’t felt since the day after he recovered from that week of flu (he had been sure it was going to kill him) and picked up a textbook. It had felt like the very core of his being had been rattled, like something had reared it’s head and started to pay attention.

As Austin strode out of the library and into the rain, he ducked his head down and told himself that he would track down that website when he got home. For the moment though, he tried to ignore the icy shards of water hitting his back as he shoved his fists into the pockets of his sweater and hurried home; his ratty old Converse sneakers kicking up light splashes of water as he stalked along the concrete sidewalk.

[Whyntir]

Glancing down at the clock, he noted that he had spent nearly an hour on the newest update to the forum, placing the finishing touches of the time-consuming product. Thirty questions with numerous answers, though only about six of the inquiries really mattered, the padding would draw attention away from it's true purpose. With the whispers of a mysterious "Vyrus" anonymously posted on popular websites with varying, intriguing stories tagged along with it had made it an interesting topic to a decent amount of internet surfers. This would open up some interest, hopefully lead him somewhere. The website was probably being monitored, hence why he only ever accessed it from public computers before wiping the history and computer memory completely clean.

Double checking every little thing, he didn't want to find he made a mistake that would ruin his hopeful plans, being so engrossed in his work he barely registered the sound of the distant library door closing, and even then shrugged it off as irrelevance. Satisfied with the overall appearance and the end results, the mouse glided over the pad, hovering the small pixelated arrow over the fateful link.

Click

The data streamed through the network, formulating and rebuilding itself the way he intended. Intricate pathways glowed and pulsed with uncontrollable power. Blood pounded in his ears as he checked his android, as the page loaded, another process happening on the phone at the same time. The green bar inched across the touch screen, taking its time despite the anxiety of the owner who was very tempted to actually start talking to the machinery as if any amount of threatening or pleading would move it any faster.

"Finally," he murmured as the hand-held gave off small ding, the green bar turning blue before the screen changed. IP Address Finder Downloaded.

'Excellent,' Mathieu thought, a smile tugging at soft lips, 'With this, I should be able to find them.'

The "Personality Quiz" was now completed, but before he left he wanted to see what sort of reception it would get in the guest forum. Every time all six of the specific Vyrus questions would be answered, the IP of the computer would be sent to his phone over a heavily encrypted line made by his father that no one of late was able to break. After a few handful of posts, an alarm vibrated in his pocket, followed by a rapid memory wipe and system restore of the machine as he stood and left, not once looking back. Finishing that quiz took longer than he thought it would. Stepping out of the old library, the bumbershoot springing up once more, he melded into the forest of umbrellas, disappearing in anonymity.

Stepping out of the busy city centre and wandering out to the high-class suburbs, it wasn't long until he was alone, the crowds fading away when he stepped onto quieter streets. No children were laughing as they ran outside in play, the weather caging them up in warm homes and leaving the sidewalk in an eerie silence. From where he was, he could see the distant treeline that led to the woods where the facility had been hidden away from society. Where horrors reminiscent of Auschwitz were performed on living humans. Despite his warm clothing, the brunette shuddered, feeling as though the temperature had dipped to sub-zero. Had he done the right thing? His intentions were morally good, wishing to help those suffering people, but in the process he had single-handed-ly given birth to such a dreary reality. One man could change the world; he would never doubt that belief again.

Reaching onto the ledge to pull down the front door key, he sighed a small cloud, heavy with despairing thoughts. Could he forgive himself? Did he even have the right? The others were out there somewhere, maybe living perfectly innominate lives with little fear; as long as they didn't blow their cover, they had nothing to worry about. What if he was the thing that ruined it all? He was drawing them out after all . . .

The large, empty house greeted him in the usual silence, the door slamming shut. Quickly checking his cellphone as he loosened the navy scarf and discarded the coat onto a rack; he had nothing yet. Doubts crossed his mind, misgivings about what he was doing, what he has done. "Please let this be the right thing," he sighed, tossing the devise on the counter as he prepared himself a late lunch.