Hacker Academy

Nightmare

The days pass by quickly. Most teachers just acknowledged the fact that I was in the classroom, and went on to teaching class. Maybe they thought it wouldn't be long before a new 1000 replaced me. This 1000 would be staying here for a long time. 

Every day was the same. Classes, lunch with Unix and Domain, assignments to hack. The assignments the teachers gave were quite easy (if only Unix wasn't whining beside me, I would've finished it sooner.) At night, I would go back to hacking for my clients. It was just me, the dark, and the fan spinning on the ceiling. And the sound of Unix snoring. 

At night, I would lie on the hard bed, arms bent behind my head, just thinking. Did I like it here? Did I make the right decision? I felt a pang of shame for only thinking about myself. It didn't matter if I liked it here or not. This was all for mother and sister. I came to Hacker Academy to improve myself, so I could earn more money. So mother and sister could have a better life. And just like that hours would be wasted away at night, worrying and tossing before feeling too tired to think. 

I yawned and crossed my arms on the cafeteria table. Here I was, at 7 in the morning, dragged out by Unix to eat breakfast. 

She was cramming herself with omelettes and sausages. 

Her big eyes looked at me. "Aren't you going to eat anything?" 

"I don't eat in the morning." Because my family was too poor. "Besides, it's too early to be alive."

Unix laughed, a sharp high-pitched tweet. I winced. "There's nothing as too early to be alive. This is how my mornings usually go."

Groaning, I bury my head in my arms. "Wake me up when you've finished eating." 

Everything is pitch dark. There is only a table and my laptop. A white spotlight hangs above. 

"Please sit," a voice instructs. I jump at the sound but go nonetheless. I hesitantly sit. 

"You have 15 minutes to beat HackerNumber 1. If you fail,"  another spotlight turns on in front of me. "Your family will be killed." 

There, strapped to plastic chairs, are mother and sister. Their mouths are sealed with duct tape, and they look white with terror. Mother's hair is messy and silver, like the same day I left her. Sister doesn't have her teddy bear with her, and she is so skinny I can see the shape of her bones. There are bruises on their knees and faces. My heart shatters. 

"Are you ready, HackerNumber 1?" 

In the further distance, I can see a silhouette. It nods.

"Begin." 

I open my laptop and scan the code. Damn. I scan the whole list, yet everything seems so different, so unknown. I couldn't find a weak spot. I glance over at HackerNumber1. There is no movement. 

I look over the codes again and again. I couldn't find anything. Maybe because there was nothing to find in the first place. With that thought it mind, I look at it one last time. Everything had been hacked. All I had to do was seal it back again to make it seem like there was nothing taken. 

My fingers fly over the keyboard, spilling out lists of codes . I can hear another set of keyboards clicking away, faster than me. I was about to press Enter, 

"HackerNumber 1 has finished."

My mind is dizzy from the sudden spinning, the spotlight shines down on HackerNumber 1, but the face is blurry. Mother and sister are dragged away by the chair, and I can hear their muffled screams and cries. But all I can do is get down on my knees and watch them fall away from my life. 

I wake up, and see Unix with a mouth full of eggs. 

"Good dream?" She asks. 

Too traumatized to answer, I rest my elbows on the table and I put my hands on my head. It was a dream. Mother and sister are at home, safe, and will never be found by Hacker Academy. 

"It's Free Friday today. That means we're going to the arena." 

I look up. "What arena?"

"It's the place where the best hackers compete. It's used for competitions, but also Free Friday classes. That's the only class I like here." 

Nodding, I stand up. "I'm heading back to the dorm. Text me when it's time to go." 

I walk quickly away from Unix, but hear, "I haven't finished my eggs yet." 

Shaking my head, I open the door. 

I don't' care about your eggs when my family was just killed.