A New Virus

Big Trouble

Annalise took in several shaky breathes, she was nervous, she was nervous as hell. The contract in her hands was crumpled in her hands and it got worse when Annalise saw a car pull up. A young woman stepped out of the car, glancing around the empty parking lot to make sure that it was indeed empty. Annalise inhaled deeply, willing her heart to calm.

"Are you from Glitchers?" The woman asked, walking over to Annalise.

"Yes." Annalise stated, proud that her voice was steady and even.

"Let's get this contract singed and over with." The woman held out her hand, a brow raising in question when she was given the wrinkled pages. There was an awkward pause before Annalise let out a soft yelp and pulled a pen out of her pocket.

"You're new, aren't you?" The woman sighed, taking the pen and using her thigh to hold the pages flat as she signed.

"I..."

"I hope they're just letting you take care of the meetings. Newbies need to start at the bottom or they'll get themselves killed." The woman stated, returning the papers and pen. "You're young and pretty, don't do anything to fuck that up." She gave Annalise a pat on the shoulder before walking away. Annalise bit her tongue, annoyed that even this complete stranger thought that she couldn't handle herself. If only they knew who she truly was but Annalise knew that speaking right now would not be the best for her or her family.

"I just need to get this done and everything will be okay." Annalise whispered to herself as the car drove away. "They will never know." Annalise added before glitching away.

"Yes mother, I'll call you tomorrow. Love you." Annalise opened her eyes and found herself looking at an older man through a computer screen. He was casually walking around his bedroom with a cell phone pressed to his ear. The man, who Annalise knew was named Patrick, sighed after moving the phone away and flipping it shut. Annalise dropped the pages and watched as they slowly became pixels and floated away, traveling to her laptop through the internet. "Time for some dinner." Patrick chuckled to himself and stepped out of the room.

"I can do this..." Annalise said to herself before slowly crawling out of the computer. She was very thankful that the woman who hired her didn't want a show, she didn't want a recording, she just wanted this man gone. Annalise wanted so badly to know the story behind it, but the woman refused to tell, saying that it was a personal, family matter. It didn't prevent Annalise from doing a little research and learning that Patrick was the woman's father and he was filthy rich. Annalise assumed that she just wanted the money but she knew with how this world was, there was a chance that it was something completely different.

"Tell me that you love me, yeah!" Annalise stopped and let out a groan. She did not want to kill someone with that song playing. Bing had a habit of scream-singing that song whenever Google would say something mean to him and the last thing Annalise needed in her head was Bing being silly. Annalise rubbed her hands and did a light clap, orange pixels left her palms and flew into the other room.

"The hell?" Patrick huffed when the radio stopped playing. "I just bought this thing." Annalise peeked her head into the kitchen and saw the Patrick had his back to her, messing with the radio.

This was it. This was the perfect opportunity. All she had to do was go in there and stab him in the head. It would be swift. It would be painless. It would be boring.

"Who's there!?" Annalise's entire body froze when a creak from the floorboard happened after she shifted her weight.

"Shit." She cursed before dropping to the ground, a bullet flying above her head.

"Why are you in my home!?" Patrick demanded. Annalise stared at the man. She can do this. She can do this. She is strong. She is smart. Just one plunge of the knife or even a fire of his gun would end this.

Why was she frozen? Why couldn't she move? She wasn't scared. She wanted this. She needed this. Why was her heart beating so damn fast?

"Say something!" Patrick's hand trembled. Annalise blinked a few times. He was scared. He was the scared one. She's the one with bright orange eyes. With pixels coming out of her hands. She was the monster.

"You fucked up, Patrick." Annalise said softly, getting back up to her feet. She let out a loud laugh before lunging forward. A knife appeared in her hand and she slashed it down. Annalise stumbled when Patrick jumped away, she was not expecting him to dodge. She yelped when she got a harsh kick to the side, sending her to the ground.

"You fucked up." Patrick stated, finger beginning to pull the trigger. Annalise curled up and heard the gun go off. She was waiting for pain or death or something. She opened her eyes back up and saw that Anti was holding Patrick's arm up, a blade sticking out of his chest and a hole in the ceiling. Annalise watched as Anti released the man, the now corpse plopping down. Anti held his hands out and green pixels left his palms. They moved around the body, slowly engulfing it and when they moved away, the body and blood were gone. Anti crossed his arms and glared down at Annalise.

"Uh...hi, dad. How-How are you doing?" Annalise weakly chuckled. She flinched a little when she saw that Anti's body was glitching. He was mad. He was really mad. "Are you angry?" She asked anyway.

"I am disappointed, Annalise." Anti stated. Annalise felt an urge to cry. She would rather have him just be angry with her. "Get up and go to the house. Right. Now." The firmness in Anti's voice was terrifying. "Your father is waiting for you, I suggest not making him do so any longer. I'll be at the house soon."

"I'm sorry." Annalise said softly as she stood.

"You're also grounded, for a month." Anti added.

"Yes, dad." Annalise hugged herself before glitching away.