A Glitch In the Code

Chapter 5

Eric ran and ran, running as fast as he could, his feet almost pounding on the concrete sidewalk as he ran, then turned to cross the street, panic driving him to not look both ways as he heard it. A loud honk as he turned, eyes wide before a car slammed into his side, sending him up and to the street pavement. Tires squealed in halt, voices yelled, but Eric didn't hear a thing. He was silent, he was still, and his eyes were shut.

"Mama!" A boy yelled, "Mama, Fresh is being weird again!"

"Error, you know Fresh can't help it sometimes..." A woman said softly to the young boy.

"But he's doing it again!! He keeps asking me to play his games when I don't wanna!" The boy protested. The woman sighed with a soft smile as she picked up the little boy.

"What am I going to do with you?" She said as she walked to the boy's room, the walls decorated with posters of space and constellations. "How about... you and I do something together? And we can ask Fresh if he wants to join. Okay?" The boy smiled. It was the best idea.

"Okay, Mama!"

"Fresh, God, leave me alone!" The boy, older now, shouted. There was a second boy with him, grinning as if he'd done nothing wrong. The other knew, though... he knew he was doing something he wasn't supposed to. He was supposed to leave him alone, but he wasn't!! He was breaking the rule!

"Error, brah! Isn't Disneyland fun?" Fresh asked with that same annoying smile. The boy just rolled his eyes and looked away, focusing on one of the dropper rides that he really wanted to go on. The Haunted Mansion.

After the ride, the family had just been leaving when the boy, Error, realized he'd left something important inside, so he ran back in to get it. He picked up the important item he'd left and was about to head back when he felt a cold hand on his shoulder as a man smiled at him.

"Ah, there you are, Eric!"

"I'm not your son!"

"They really did corrupt you... didn't they?"

Beep. . .

Beep. . .

Beep. . .

Eric woke slowly, making a small noise as a voice yelled out, "He's awake!" He expected to see his face... the man's face... but instead, he was greeted by a woman's face... a woman he recognized. His eyes widened -- tears pooling in them -- as he whimpered out, "m-mama?" The woman cried and nodded as she gently hugged the boy. He was able to see two other people in the room, along with a nurse and doctor. Fresh... and a boy he knew. He wore a long red scarf, with a bit of a glitch over one of his eyes as he looked at Eric -- no... Error with worry. Concern. Error held onto the woman -- his mother -- and cried. Scared, confused, hurt, and remembering everything as he whimpered out, "i-i don't wanna go, i don't wanna go with him again...!"

"Shh, shh, baby, it's okay... it's okay... I've got you... I got you..." His mother soothed, gently rubbing his back as she held onto him. Fresh and the other -- Geno -- walked closer, offering their comfort as well to Error. He was scared, and they knew it. While CQ talked to the doctor, the siblings talked to get Error's mind off the man. They talked about anything. Books, habits, hobbies... anything except the man, or topics that had the man in it. However, their good moment did not last forever as there was a banging on the door. "GIVE ME MY SON!" The man yelled, making Error glitch and panic terribly. He yelled things he didn't remember yelling, barely heard things he wouldn't remember hearing... before he was put under sedation.

When he came to, he was told that the man was arrested for kidnapping and abuse. Error was okay with that... he was relieved by that. He wouldn't be seeing him anymore... and that made him relieved. "When do I get to leave...?" He asked CQ after the news.

"Not for a while, honey... you got hit bad... but I'll be here every day, okay?" She smiled softly, gently rubbing Error's head. He nodded and leaned into his mother's touch. He couldn't believe how much he'd forgotten... months... years of memory... he was just happy he had it again...

He got visitors while he was hospitalized. Heart, Ink, Fresh, Geno, CQ, Asy... they all visited him. He still didn't talk about the man and what he'd done, but some day, he knew he'd have to. He'd have to tell them what he remembered the man doing. But for now, he just kept it deep down. Buried in his subconscious...

When Error was finally released from the hospital, he was still scared... still shaky. He stood close to CQ the whole time on the way out... he managed to get a small nap in on the way home -- to his real home -- but woke up too quickly from a nightmare. Not everything would be normal again... he knew that. He grew closer to Heart as time went by. They became friends, and hung out a lot through the hospital visits. They even made plans to hang out at school, once they realized they went to the same one. He was accompanying Error and CQ, as Error was a bit calmer around Heart and CQ. It was originally going to be Geno and CQ, but Geno had a sudden appointment, which Asy took him to, so it was Heart instead. "Bad dream?" He said softly when Error had woken up.

"Y-yeah... same one..." He mumbled with a small frown as he rubbed at his eyes, yawning as he did. He was exhausted... he could never get enough sleep, though. Not as much as he'd like... or want. Nightmares constantly plagued his dreams most of the time when he slept. It annoyed him to no end, but something as bad as what happened to him would do it... Error sighed and rested his head back onto Heart's shoulder as Heart gently rubbed Error's arm. "Just a few more minutes." He assured with a smile, "And then you'll be back." From what Error had learned, Fresh had met Heart through his friend, Club. He then met Heart, the two became acquaintances, and they started chatting online. He heard about Error's story and what happened to him, and Heart agreed to help look for Error. Error didn't mind, he was just glad he was looked for... He yawned again, curling up a bit into a ball as he closed his eyes. He heard Heart chuckle as he drifted back to sleep once more.

When he woke up, he was in a room -- a bedroom. A familiar bedroom with galaxy wallpaper. "Oh..." He said softly, "...I'm in my room..." He sat up a bit, rubbing his eyes again as he got out of bed and went downstairs. He found CQ in the kitchen, humming and cooking something on the stove. He merely watched her until he sat at the table silently, watching his mother cook and hum with a soft smile. She was happy... he didn't want to ruin his mother's perfect happiness. Heart soon came in with a bag of what looked to be potatoes as he looked at Error and smiled. "Hey, Glitchy." He greeted as Error grinned and snorted. Heart was quick to find out that Glitchy was Error's screen name. It made so much sense that HEART'S was Cupid. CQ turned and smiled at Error when she realized her son was with them. "Oh! Good morning, sweetheart... how did you sleep?"

"Well." He answered softly with a small smile, "No nightmares." Heart and CQ smiled at that.

...maybe everything would be okay now...