Through the Virtual Glass (Panic & VampWiz08)

[Panic]

The smell of overpriced coffee was pungent in the small bistro where the people were lost to the real world and the air was stale. Still, customers would pour in and out of the small door, the little brass bell above it announcing their comings and goings, as they bought themselves another fix for their pricy addiction of water downed coffee. A young waitress weaved her way in and out amongst the pushed out chairs and tables, her hands filled with coffee pots, her pockets full of sugar and creamer, as she offered people refills and took up checks.

Her wavy ash blonde hair that had been pulled up in a high ponytail was becoming elegantly disheveled as she worked, but her bright smile never faltered-she had too much to look forward to today. “Another coffee sir?” she asked a rather large man who barley fit in the small seat. His eyes were staring in front of him, small precise and erratic movements gave away that he wasn’t really seeing the small bistro but rather whatever he had pulled up in front of him as he was plugged in. His hand twitched lightly as he scrolled through pages of whatever had caught his interest in the virtual world, invisible to the young girl. He mumbled something under his breath and pushed his cup towards her which she filled and before wishing him a pleasant morning.

It was difficult for her to watch everyone who surrounded themselves with the non-stop simulation of the virtual world while she was stuck in the grimy and grey city of the real world. She wasn’t allowed to log in during work, and even then, she could barely afford then a few hours a month with her paycheck. Sometimes she was able to log in at a friend’s house but she wasn’t able much more than that. She had trouble holding onto jobs for long because of her lack of technological ability and so she could never afford the down payment of an unlimited network. That was going to change today though. She had found someone that would pay for her plan for a smaller down payment as long as she would owe him a little bit of interest. Her older brother had warned her about the loan shark, and warned her not to get involved, but she knew she could earn the money; there was just so many ways to earn fast cash in the virtual world. She was sure she wouldn’t have to deal with him for long.

It had been almost a decade since the first glasses were introduced that connected you straight to the web, allowing you to scroll through online just as you would on a computer with a special mouse. That started the whole technology race and soon implants were made that connected people through special optic surgery. Everyone had the surgery almost immediately, and with finger implants to use as a controller, screens and images could appear only in your line of sight. Multitasking took on a whole new meaning.

“Hey you!” called a hoarse voice from behind her. She turned around quickly to see a greasy looking man waving his empty cup. “Hello? Are you gonna’ fill it girl or am I going to have to ask again?” he said in his scratchy voice abused by smoking for years.

“It’s Elliot asshole…” she mumbled under her breath, giving a terse glance at her name tag. “Elliot Wheeler” was typed in clean bold black letters on the laminated piece of plastic underneath the coffee shop’s name.

“What was that?” he asked condescendingly, clearly offended at her comment.

“I said enjoy your coffee sir,” she said cheerfully as she forced a smile at the man before quickly walking towards another customer. She took a deep breath and regained her composure. Today was too important to worry about rude people. Elliot was going to be connected soon, and she would get to see everything that most everyone else did without having to count minutes.

Elliot worked for the remainder of her shift, collecting her tips, mentally calculating them as they came in and when she hit her final one she almost jumped with joy. She made her way to the back of the shop, hanging up her green apron on a hanger before making her way to a small black machine connected to the wall. Paper money had all but been done away with, so she had to move her tips from special slips over to her account. The process was a little tedious but with each beep as a slip went through, Elliot didn’t mind the chore. When it was all said and done she gazed dreamily at the 5,498 coins in her account, the fake yellow glow of the machine reflecting in her grey-green almond shaped eyes. She would have just enough for the down payment and this month’s rent.

Wrapping her long burgundy scarf around her neck over her black pea coat, Elliot set off into the brisk air of the city. The sky was its same dirty grey color, the sun barely able to peak through. The grimy skyscrapers blended in with the monotonous sky, the only color coming from the people that rushed about, too absorbed in themselves to even glance at one another. Elliot joined the rush as she headed to a more shady part of the city. The crowds thinned down until she was one of the few people on the street, even the taxis and cars thinned out, avoiding the shifty area.

The woman pulled her coat against as a freezing wind whipped through her, tinting her pale skin a light pink. She glanced down at the small slip of paper in her gloved hand where an address written in neat scrawl was as she checked to make sure she was at the right place. An older, weather-beaten building was in front of her, bars littering the windows where neon lights shone from. The bass from music blasted loudly from the building. Crumpling up the slip she shoved in back into her pocket and made her way inside.

The building was mostly filled with large men, the air reeking like a mini-bar that had been spilt out along the sticky floors. She crinkled her nose up where a sprinkle of freckles were as she looked around the dingy bar. Elliot made her way up to the bar where a bald man was wringing out a glass with a rag that was far from its original white state. “Excuse me, I’m looking for J.D.” she asked the bartender who just raised his eyebrow at her before nodding his head at the back of the bar where two men sat in a booth. “Thanks,” she said awkwardly before turning around.

She licked her lips nervously before making her way to the booth. Her hands fidgeted in her pockets as she approached the table. “J.D.?” she asked. “I’m here to talk to you, about my, uhm, my account,” she said. The man just smiled at her, one of his teeth capped in silver, others chipped. His hair was slicked back and he just leaned back in the booth, his suit straining against his figure.

“Certainly. Take a seat and let’s chat, shall we?” he said in a sickly sweet voice. She did as he said, slipping into the fake leathered boot, the springs groaning underneath from the additional weight despite her lithe build. “So, you found the money did you? Now, your friend J.D. likes to take care of his friends. You are a friend of J.D. right?” he asked referring to himself in the third person.

“Of course, you’re doing me a favor after all,” she said naively.

“That’s right sweetheart. Now, I have your system in the back, and Mark here will go grab it, won’t yah. But I need to see the money first. You’ve got it right?” he asked as he leaned across the table toward her, his breath smelling of cigarettes and cheap scotch. Elliot pulled out her card and slipped it across the table to him earning a smile. “Okay then, you know the rules. You’ve got three weeks to get me the other 5k or we’re going to run into issues. Is that going to be problem?” he asked menacingly.

“Not at all. I’ll get you your money by then,” Elliot said knowing that she was getting the better end of the deal by only having to pay $10,000 for the system instead of the standard $15,000. The large man covered in tattoos, Mark, had returned quickly with a small box just large enough to hold a card and handed it to J.D.

“Now don’t fuck me Elliot. You might think you can hide, but I will find you. I want my money. Three weeks,” he said harshly as he handed over the box to the woman.

“Of course. Thanks,” she said quietly before quickly exiting the booth, box in hand. She made her exit smoothly, a new bounce in her step. She was finally going to get to log in. Hurrying home, Elliot’s stomach was in knots as she rushed her new virtual account in hands unaware of the power it held.

[VampWiz08]

Virtual worlds had finally taken over, and the world had changed. They were hard to get, these virtual worlds, and you had to have “money” in order to get them. Morgan couldn't seem to understand, but she knew that that was what she wanted. She would give her own life just to step foot in a place much different from the one that she live in. Her favorite coffee shop was filled with people, and the girl working was seemingly having a hard time keeping up with the demands. At least she had a job, though, as Morgan was struggling to make ends meet and keeping up with the demands of her family life. Her mother was dying, and had kid siblings to take care of. It was hard because she couldn't find a job, but somehow still managed to have money come in just so they could eat. The only reason she was in that particular coffee shop was because her siblings weren't home, her mother had finally been transferred to a hospital, and whatever money she had she was spending on herself. She felt she deserved that, after all, seeing as she never had time for herself anymore.

Morgan shook her head as one particularly rude man was being obnoxious towards the girl so graciously pouring him his coffee. Not wanting to stay any longer in the same room with the man, she paid for her coffee and left the shop. She slowly wandered around the city, wondering what every persons life was like that she passed. That was something she did often, wander and think about other people's lives. She assumed that everyone's life was better than hers, that they had money, and were able to take care of themselves and the ones around them. She couldn't possibly imagine anyone else having her life, and the stresses that come with it.

Eventually, she made her way back home. She stood at her own front door for a few moments, surely gathering stares as people walked by. Morgan opened the door and was greeted by silence. It was a peaceful silence since she never got any sort of it anymore.

She closed the door behind her and walked into the living room and sat on the couch. The laptop that was sitting on the coffee table she opened and stared at the screen for a while. Eventually, she typed in an address and began searching for a job. She couldn't do this anymore, she really couldn't. There had to be something out there, no matter if she wanted to do it or not, to help make money to support her family.

As she was searching, her phone rang in her pocket, and she looked at the name. She couldn't help but smile.

“Hey, you,” Morgan said to the person on the other side of the phone. “I've missed you.”

“I know,” said the deep, raspy voice of the man on the other line. “How's everything?”

“Could be better. I can't find a job, as usual, and mom's gotten transferred to God knows where. They didn't tell me. But that's just more things I can't afford because it's obvious that there's going to be hospital bills falling out of my ass.”

“I know, babe, I know.”

“Kyle, I don't know what to do anymore.” She paused for a moment, her voice shaky as her eyes began to swell with tears. “I really don't. I don't have time to see you, I don't have time to do things for myself. I'm stuck, and I don't have any sort of way out. The only reason why I'm able to talk right now is because Emma, Tyler, and Lisa are all away and hanging out with friends. That's why it's so quiet. I'm afraid, though, Kyle. I'm afraid that someone's going to find out about my situation and take them from me. Even though I can't afford to feed them all the time, I can't live my life without them.”

“I know, Morgan, I know. And I've tried to help, but you won't take anything from me.”

“Damn right, I won't,” she said a bit more coldly than she meant to. “I don't need anyone's charity. I just have to figure this shit out for myself.”

“Alright, then, well, I'll... talk to you soon, okay? Bye.” Then he hung up before she could even respond.

Morgan groaned to herself and hung up her end of the line. The only person that was actually there for her, that actually cared about her, she just pissed off, and who knows when he'll talk to her again. She screamed quietly to herself and threw her phone across the room.

She sat for a few more moments, basking in the silence though she was upset. She tried to search for a few more jobs, but with no prevail. So she decided to take this opportunity to wander once again around the city in hopes that something good will happen to her.

She found herself walking into a smoky bar, surprised to see the coffee girl there, talking to someone she probably shouldn't be talking she. She shrugged it off and decided that she probably shouldn't give two craps about this stranger. Morgan walked up to the bar and sighed, showed them her fake id and ordered a drink there was no way in hell she was going to be able to pay for. Her hands wrapped around the glass and took a long swig before setting it back down. And before she could even realize what was happening and control it, she burst into tears at the bar, gathering plenty of stares. She barely knew that the coffee girl had left with some strange box in her hand because all of her emotions just began to pour out of her.

She groaned and walked out of the bar, not even finishing her drink, or paying for it, and found a darkened alley, just so she could sit and cry to herself. Besides, she had no reason to worry about her siblings. They were still going to be gone for a few more days. So, she just sat in the alley and cried herself to sleep.