Don't Scream! (5 page)

My breath caught in my throat. I made a choking sound.

Eli saw my mouth drop open. I waved the phone in his face. He knew why.

We couldn't talk in front of Dad. The ride home was silent.

“Happy about your new phone?” Dad asked from behind the wheel.

“Yeah. Happy,” I repeated like a robot.

What was I going to do?

How could I get rid of this girl?

We dropped Eli off at his house. He thanked Dad again for the new game-player. Before he closed the car door, Eli gazed at the phone in my hand. “Text me later, okay, Jack?”

I nodded. “Later,” I said.

I had to get some answers from the girl. I had to find out who she was and why she was haunting me.

I had to stop her somehow. Maybe if I talked with her. Maybe if I could get her to tell me what she wanted …

If I did what she wanted, maybe she would go away so my life could return to normal.

At home, I had to show the phone to Mom. I had to tell her the number so she could put it in her phone.

“He has unlimited minutes,” Dad told her. “So it won't cost a fortune.”

“Glad you finally got it,” Mom said. She handed it back to me.

Luckily, it was past Rachel's bedtime. So I didn't have to share it with her, too.

Mom asked if I wanted some ice cream for dessert. I said I had homework to do, and I hurried up to my room.

I closed the door behind me. I sat down on the edge of my bed.

My heart started to pound again. Was I scared of the voice in my phone?

Of
course
I was!

My hands were sweating. I set the phone down on my lap. “Are you there?” I asked. My voice cracked on the words.

“I'll always be here.” Her voice rose clearly from the new phone.

“Stop saying that,” I snapped. “I … I don't understand what you want.”

“I want you to help me,” she replied.

I stared at the phone. “Well … if you want me to help you, you have to tell me who you are,” I said.

Silence.

Then, after a long pause, her voice came out in a whisper. “I'm … nobody,” she said.

“Sorry,” I replied. “That's not an answer. Try again. Who are you? I'm not going to stop asking until you tell me.”

“I can hurt you,” she said. “Remember?”

“But you want me to help you,” I replied. “So you won't hurt me.”

Silence again.

“Who are you?” I demanded.

“I'm nobody,” she repeated. “Really. I'm not a person, Jack. I … I'm … digital.”

A laugh burst from my throat. “That's crazy,” I said.

“I wish,” she replied. “I'm some kind of freak, Jack. A digital mistake. Someone was experimenting with artificial intelligence. Do you know what that is?”

“Yes,” I said. “Eli explained it to me. It's like a computer brain.”

“Right,” she said. “A brain. That's all I am. A digital brain and a voice.”

“But —” I started to reply, but I didn't know what to say. Was she telling me the truth?

“There must have been an accident,” she continued. “Some kind of electrical glitch. That's how I was born.”

“You mean —?” I was still speechless.

“I have no body, see,” she said. “I'm not a person. I'm just a brain and a voice. I live only in the digital world.”

My head was spinning. “This is a trick, right? Some kind of joke?”

“It's not a trick, Jack,” she said. She suddenly sounded sad, sad and tired. “I'm all alone here.”

I stared at the phone. “Do you have a name?” I asked finally.

Silence. Then: “You can call me Emmy. I've always liked that name.”

“But … you don't have a
real
name?”

“Call me Emmy,” she said. “It's a nice name. Old-fashioned, right? It sounds like a real girl. Which I'm not.”

“I … don't understand,” I told her.

“I'm not alive like you, Jack,” she said. “I don't breathe like you. Digital signals keep me alive. It's all electronics. Electronics gone wrong.”

“Digital signals keep you alive?” I said. I was struggling to understand her.

“I can control electrical impulses,” she said. “That's how I shocked you. I can control electricity. I can use digital signals to hurt you.”

“Emmy, what do you want?” I asked. “Why are you here? What do you want me to do?”

“I know there are others like me,” she replied. “Other digital mistakes. Others who live on electrical impulses. I know they are out there somewhere — and you are going to help me find them.”

“But — how?” I cried. “There's nothing I can do.”

Her voice came out in a low growl, cold and menacing: “You'll do whatever I tell you to do.”

I woke up early the next morning. I didn't sleep much at all. Every time I started to fall asleep, I heard Emmy's voice echoing in my mind.

It was only in my mind. But it was loud and clear. And frightening.

You'll do whatever I tell you to do
.

What was she planning? Did she plan to turn me into some kind of slave?

Eli and I had talked a lot about artificial intelligence. It was one of his favorite subjects.

He said that computer brains were becoming smarter than human brains. Eli said that scientists could put these brilliant brains into robots. And the robots would be smart enough to take over the world.

And there was no way humans could control them.

Was Emmy one of these super-brains? Were there really others like her? If not, did I stand a chance of ever getting rid of her?

You can see how thoughts like these can keep a guy awake.

When my alarm went off, I jumped out of bed. I pulled on the first clothes I could find — a wrinkled T-shirt and faded jeans I'd worn for at least a week.

I didn't care how I looked. I wanted to get to school early so I could talk this all over with Eli.

If any human brain could go up against Emmy's digital brain, it was Eli's.

“Jack, you're sure in a hurry this morning,” Mom said, watching me gulp down my Wheaties.

“Yeah. Kinda,” I replied. I wiped milk off my chin with one hand. Then I strapped on my backpack, grabbed the cell phone, and ran out the front door.

It was a warm morning. The sun was just rising over the trees. On the front lawn, two robins were having a noisy tug-of-war over a worm.

I waited at the curb for the school bus to arrive. I was one of the first kids to be picked up every morning. Luckily, Mick and Darryl always got a ride to school with Mick's dad. They were only on the bus in the afternoon.

I held the phone tightly and stared down at it. “Emmy, are you there?” I asked in a whisper.

No answer.

I tried texting Eli. I told him we needed to talk. Emergency.

But he didn't text me back.

The yellow school bus came rattling around the corner. I climbed on and said “good morning” to Charlene.

She grunted back at me. She didn't like to talk in the morning. Her eyes were hidden behind dark glasses. She had a tall cardboard cup of coffee balancing on the dashboard.

I took a seat in the back row. I studied the phone. “Emmy?”

Silence.

I knew she was still inside the phone. No way she would just vanish. Was she asleep? Computers went to sleep. Did that mean she could sleep, too?

It was too weird to think about.

I tried texting Eli again. But, no reply.

At school, I found him at his locker. I ran up to him breathlessly. “Why didn't you answer my texts?” I demanded.

He tossed a book onto his locker floor. “What texts? I didn't get any texts,” he said. “Do you think that phone really works?”

“I don't know.” I shook the phone. “It's getting weirder and weirder,” I said.

The bell rang. Right above our heads. I nearly dropped the phone.

Eli slammed the locker door shut. “We're going to be late.”

“I don't care,” I said. “I've got a real problem here. The girl in the phone. She says she's not a real girl. She says she's some kind of digital accident.”

Eli's eyebrows rose up nearly to his hair. “Interesting,” he said. He started toward Miss Rush's classroom.

I pulled him back. “Interesting?” I cried. “Is that all you can say?
Interesting?
”

“Let's talk about it at lunch,” he said. He pointed.

Miss Rush stood at the classroom door with her arms crossed in front of her. She was tapping one brown shoe on the floor. She didn't like it when kids wandered in late.

“Okay. Lunch,” I said. “But this is too weird, Eli. I'm never getting rid of this girl. I know it.”

The phone buzzed in my hand. What did that mean? I shoved it into my jeans pocket.

Miss Rush smiled at us as we walked into the room. “What were you two boys talking about?” she asked.

“Science,” I said.

A few minutes later, Miss Rush was going over our Science work sheets with us. I struggled to concentrate. I leaned over my desk and ran over my answers with a yellow highlighter.

We were only on the second question when
Emmy's voice floated up from the phone in my pocket.

“Jack, I'm getting a signal.”

“SHHHH,” I whispered. “People can hear you.”

“That's not important,” she replied, but she lowered her voice. “I'm getting a signal. From the computer lab. I think someone like me is in there.”

“SHHHHH. Please —” I begged. I tried to bury the phone deeper in my jeans pocket.

A few kids turned around to look at me. Miss Rush raised her head from the Science work sheet on her desk.

“Didn't you hear me last night?” Emmy demanded. “Don't you remember that I need your help? Don't you remember that you are going to do everything I ask you to do?”

“Not now,” I whispered. “Please. Later —”

“I need you to go to the computer lab,” she said. “The signal is coming from a laptop. I need you to steal it.”

“Huh? Steal?” I gasped. “No way. No way I'll steal a laptop. Forget about it.”

“Yes, you will. You will learn to obey. I can hurt you, Jack,” she said. “Would you like me to burn this leg? I can burn all the skin off this leg if you don't obey me. Want to see?”

“Please —” I struggled to pull the phone from my pocket, but it was stuck.

My heart was thudding in my chest. Sweat poured down my back.

“Stand up,” she said.

“Huh? I'm in class,” I replied in a whisper. “Can't you wait?”

“Do what I tell you,” she said. “Stand up. Now. Throw your hands above your head. And scream. Scream your head off.”

“No. Please. I … I can't,” I stammered.

I gasped as I felt a sudden hot spot on my leg. A flash of heat from the phone.

“Ssscream,” Emmy hissed. “Do it now, Jack. Show me that you can obey. Stand up and scream your head off. NOW!”

Another burst of heat made me leap to my feet.

I took a deep breath. I saw the startled look on Miss Rush's face.

“Will you obey?” Emmy demanded. “Will you steal the laptop?”

“No,” I said. “Never. I won't steal.”

An explosion of heat sent pain shooting up and down my leg.

I raised my hands above my head. And I opened my mouth in a high, shrill scream.

Some kids cried out in surprise. Others started to laugh.

I glimpsed Eli in the second row. His eyebrows were flying high above his glasses again.

“Jack?” Miss Rush stepped away from her desk and started down the aisle toward me.

I felt my face burning. I knew I was blushing. I dropped back into my seat.

Kids were talking and laughing. Everyone stared at me.

“What happened?” Miss Rush asked, studying me. “What was
that
about?”

Of course, I couldn't tell her the truth.

I swallowed hard. Then I said: “A bee.”

The teacher squinted at me. “A bee?”

“It stung me,” I said.

Kids laughed. Someone made a buzzing sound. That made the kids laugh harder.

Miss Rush frowned. “It must have been a very big bee to make you jump up and scream like that.”

I nodded. “Yes. Very big.”

She patted my shoulder. “Are you allergic to bee stings, Jack? Do you need to see the nurse?”

“I … don't think so,” I replied.

“Then let's get back to the Science work sheet,” she said. She turned and headed for her desk.

Some kids were still staring at me. My leg burned a little. I tugged the phone out of my pocket and placed it on the desk where it couldn't hurt me.

“That was good, Jack.” Emmy's whisper floated up from the phone.

“Please — leave me alone,” I begged.

Too loud. Kids turned around.

“What did you say, Jack?” Miss Rush called from the front of the room.

“I … was talking to the bee,” I said. “Sorry.”

“Let's all get serious now,” she said. “Let's take a look at section three on the work sheet.”

I spread the sheet on my desk. I struggled to focus on it. I tried to shut Emmy and the phone out of my mind.

“Okay, Jack.”

I shuddered as Emmy's voice rose up from the phone. “Will you steal the laptop for me?”

“No.” I leaned over my desk and whispered into the phone. “No way,” I said. “Don't ask again. I'd like to help you, but I won't steal.”

I heard her sigh. “You're making this hard. I have to teach you to obey. Quick — stand on your head. Do it. Stand on your head.”

After school, I scrunched down in the back corner of the school bus and tried to hide from Mick and Darryl. But they climbed onto the bus with big grins on their faces and made their way right to me.

Mick pulled the backpack from my hands and tossed it across the bus. Then he leaned over me. He brought his big red face so close to mine, I could smell the chewing gum on his breath.

“Are you going to stand on your head again, Jacko?” he said.

“Come on, Jacko. Do it again,” Darryl said. “Come out in the aisle. Let's see you do it again.”

“Look. The bee sting made me a little crazy,” I said. “I was in pain, you know? So give me a break.”

For some reason, that made them laugh really hard.

“We want to hear you scream again,” Mick said. He snapped his finger against my nose.

“OW.” I flinched and jerked my head back.

“You can do better than that,” Mick said.

“Go ahead,” Darryl echoed. “Scream like a girl. Just like you did in class.”

I crossed my arms in front of me. “No way,” I said.

Mick snapped his finger over my nose again. “Come on, Jacko. We all want to hear you scream again. That was awesome.”

“Awesome,” Darryl repeated.

“I'm going to call Charlene, and she'll throw you off this bus,” I said.

That made them laugh even harder.

“She can't,” Darryl said. “She'll lose her job.”

Mick leaned over me. “Punch Me and Pinch Me got into a canoe,” he said. “Punch Me jumped into the river. Who was left in the boat?”

I rolled my eyes. “Pinch Me,” I said.

“Okay.” Mick tightened his thumb and finger over my shoulder and gave me a pinch that brought tears to my eyes. But I didn't scream.

“Try again,” Darryl said. He glanced to the front to make sure Charlene wasn't watching.

“Punch Me and Pinch Me got into a canoe,” Mick said. “Pinch Me jumped out. Who was left in the canoe?”

“No one,” I said. “The canoe sank.”

Mick balled his hand into a fist and gave my shoulder a punch — so hard, it changed my shirt size.

I gasped, but I didn't scream.

“Try again,” Darryl told him.

“Punch Me and Pinch Me got into a canoe —” Mick started.

“Please!” I cried. “I've had a bad day. What can I do to make you two go pick on someone else?”

Mick grabbed my wrist. “You wearing the cool digital watch? We can make a trade. You give me the watch …”

“And what will
you
do?” I asked.

“I'll wear it,” Mick said.

“That's a trade?” I cried. “I give you the watch, and you wear it?”

He nodded. Darryl laughed.

“No trade,” I said. “I told you guys, my grandfather gave me this watch. It's really special to me.”

“Special to me, too,” Mick said, rubbing his finger over the glass.

“No trade,” I repeated.

Mick raised his big fist. “Punch Me and Punch Me got into a canoe,” he said. “Which one of them jumped out?”

I clenched my arm muscles, getting ready for the punch.

But Charlene came to my rescue. “Mick? Darryl? Your stop!” she shouted. “Or do you want me to drive around the block so you can punch Jack some more?”

Charlene is a riot.

Mick swung his fist and gave me a tap that sent me sprawling halfway down the aisle. “See you tomorrow,” he said.

“Not if I see you first,” I muttered.

“Did you know my family and I are moving away?” Mick asked.

“Huh? Really?”

“Guess you're broken up about that,” Mick said. “Guess you'll miss me.”

I didn't reply.

He stared hard at me. “Maybe you'll give me that watch as a going-away present.”

“I … don't think so,” I said.

He turned and the two of them shambled off the bus. Behind the wheel, Charlene shook her head.

I slumped back in the seat and struggled to catch my breath. But before I could calm myself, I heard the whispery voice from the cell phone rising up from my pocket.

“Hi, Jack.”

“Leave me alone,” I snapped. “You made me look like a jerk in class this morning.”

“That was just a test,” she said. “That was to show you who is boss.”

I didn't reply. I pictured myself standing on my head while everyone laughed at me, including the teacher.

“That was a simple test, Jack,” Emmy said. “But tomorrow it's time to prove what a good friend you are.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” I demanded.

“Tomorrow you're going to sneak into the computer lab and steal that laptop,” she said.

I took a deep breath. “No way,” I said. “Tomorrow I'm not taking you to school. Tomorrow I'm going to leave you in my room.”

“Better not,” she whispered. “I can hurt your sister. I can hurt the babysitter. I can do very bad things if you leave me behind.”

Those words sent a chill down my back.

“And if I do it?” I said. “If I steal the laptop from school, will you go away and not come back?”

“If you find me a digital friend,” Emmy replied, “I'll go away. I'll leave you alone. I promise.”

“Okay,” I said. “I'll steal the laptop.”