He knows how much that embarrasses me. Mainly because he’s a terrible singer.
Eli and I didn’t take our eyes off the game-player.
Maybe we’ll get lucky, I thought. Maybe she won’t shock us or burn us or blow us up.
By the time Dad pulled into the parking lot, I was dripping with sweat. My stomach felt tight as a fist.
The big blue neon VOLT CITY sign blinked on and off. Two yellow neon lightning bolts glowed against the evening sky. Beneath them, a smaller sign read: OUR LOW PRICES WILL SHOCK YOU!
The whole front of the store was glass. Inside, the store was brighter than daylight. I could see the back wall covered with flickering flat screen TVs.
A big Dalmatian was tied to a pole outside the front entrance. The dog stood alert, gazing into the store. It whimpered and looked sadly at us as we stepped past it.
The electric door slid open. We moved aside as a man in a blue work uniform came out carrying a big computer box in both hands.
Eli and I followed Dad into the store. Dad’s face lit up excitedly. I could see the TV screens reflected in his eyes.
Eli gripped the wrecked game-player between his hands. So far, the girl had been silent. Was she still in there?
I couldn’t relax. I knew she could do something horrible at any minute. My hand still stung from the shock she gave me that afternoon.
Dad stopped at a tall display of cell phones. He picked up a small silver phone and rolled it in his hand. Then he put it back and turned to us.
“Give me the game-player, Eli.” He stretched out his hand. “I’ll take it to the manager.” He motioned to the offices at the far side of the store. “You guys look around till I get back.”
Eli handed the player to Dad. I shut my eyes. Would the girl start shouting now? Or burn Dad’s hand off or shock him?
No.
Dad turned and strode off with it. He was humming a country song from the radio.
Eli and I didn’t move. We watched him until he disappeared into one of the offices.
I realized I was holding my breath the whole time. I let it out in a long whoosh.
“What do you think?” Eli asked in a near whisper.
“Maybe we’re okay,” I said. “Maybe the whole weird thing is over.”
That’s when the wall of TV screens all went black. The store grew darker.
I heard a few people cry out in surprise. Then the store became very quiet.
Eli and I stared at the wall of blank TVs.
“Must be a short circuit,” a store worker behind us murmured. “Maybe a circuit breaker blew.”
But then the TVs blinked back on. Dim at first, then brighter.
I gasped when I saw that the picture didn’t return to normal. Instead, the screens were filled with lips. Like a close-up of a pair of lips. Bright red lips.
“Weird,” the store worker muttered.
“What’s up with the lips?” a woman asked from behind a counter.
An entire wall of lips.
A store worker shouted, “Can you fix that? Travis, can you fix the TVs? What’s going on?”
A few people laughed.
But I had a bad feeling about this. A very bad feeling.
And I was right.
17
The mouth started to move. The tongue licked the top lip. Then it licked the bottom lip.
A whole wall of tongues and red lips on dozens of big screens.
And then the lips moved. And a girl’s voice rang out through the big store.
“Don’t try to leave me here, Jack,” she said. “You can’t ever leave me. You’re my best friend. My best friend FOREVER.”
“Who is Jack?” a store worker demanded angrily. “Is this some kind of joke?”
“Is someone here named Jack?” another worker shouted. “Find Jack! Find him now!”
A wave of panic rolled down my body. I ducked behind a tall cardboard sign and pulled Eli after me.
The girl’s voice rang out from the wall of TVs. “You can’t hide from me, Jack. You can’t leave me here. Give it up. Give it up, Jack.”
I peeked out from behind the sign. Store workers were gazing around.
“Why is this happening?”
“Did someone hack into our system?”
“Jack — are you here in the store?”
Eli and I pressed together, hiding behind the tall sign. My heart pounded. Should I step out and tell them I’m Jack? Should I tell them the truth about the girl on the TV screens?
Would anyone believe me?
Of course not.
Suddenly, music blared through the store. The flickering light changed.
“The picture is back,” someone said.
“Back to normal,” another voice agreed.
“What was that about?” a woman demanded.
I stumbled over Eli’s shoe as I moved away from the sign. I stared at the wall of TVs. The screens were all showing a music concert now. A rock band with flashing laser lights.
I let out a long sigh. The red mouth had vanished. Customers and store workers turned away from the TVs.
“Weird,” Eli muttered. He blinked his eyes several times. “Did that really happen?”
Before I could answer, my dad appeared. He handed a silver-gray box to Eli. “Here you go,” he said. “The manager gave you a new game-player.”
“Hey … thanks.” Eli took the box and studied it.
Dad had been in the manager’s office. He missed the mouth on the TV screens and the girl telling me not to leave her.
“The manager couldn’t believe what happened to the old one,” Dad told Eli. “He’s going to call the company that made it.”
“What did you do with the old game-player?” I asked.
“Tossed it in the trash,” Dad said.
Eli and I exchanged glances.
“Good,” I muttered.
I raised my eyes to the wall of TVs. All back to normal.
The game-player was in the trash. And maybe … just maybe, the girl was in the trash with it.
A guy can hope — right?
She was scary and evil. And I suddenly felt so much happier thinking maybe I’d gotten rid of her for good.
Eli and I went to the DVD shelves and checked out the new movies. At the back, I saw Dad moving down the wall of TVs. He was talking to a saleswoman and checking the red and blue price tags.
A few minutes later, he came striding back to us. “Did you buy one?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I have to come back next week,” he said. “I was wrong. The sale doesn’t start till then.”
Eli had the game-player box tucked under his arm.
“Guess you’ll want to get home and try your new player,” Dad said.
Dad had no idea how eager we were to get away from that store.
Eli nodded. “Yeah. Thanks for exchanging it, Mr. Harmon.”
I started walking quickly to the exit. I kept glancing back at the wall of flat screens.
I still thought maybe the red lips would come back on all the TVs. And the girl would start calling: “Don’t leave, Jack. You can’t leave without me. I’m warning you. Don’t leave the store.”
But no. The rock band continued to blast away on all the TVs. The white laser lights flashed.
We made it to the glass doors. I could see our car in the brightly lit parking lot.
The doors slid open. And someone grabbed my shoulder.
I spun around. “Dad? What’s the problem?”
“Jack, we forgot something,” he said. He tugged me back into the store.
Eli squinted at me. “What’s up?”
I shrugged.
“Why didn’t you remind me?” Dad asked. “A cell phone? Remember? Mom and I want to buy you a cell phone?”
“Uh … that’s okay,” I said. I could see our car through the glass door. I just wanted to be in it, driving away from this place. “I really don’t need a phone,” I said.
Dad squinted hard at me.
“You’re joking, right? You’ve been asking us for a phone for months.”
“Well …” Think fast, Jack. Think fast.
Dad gave me a push toward the phone display. “Come on. Check them out,” he said. “Mom and I want you to have a phone. So we can always reach you.”
“But … but …”
“What if that girl comes on your new phone?” Eli whispered.
Of course I was already thinking that. But I whispered, “No way. How could she? She’s gone. She’s in the trash.”
Eli and I began pawing through the phones on the glass display case.
“Something simple,” Dad said. “You don’t need a smartphone with Internet and all that. You just need a phone for calling and texting.”
It took a while. But we found a cool-looking phone that Dad said was okay.
It takes a long time to buy a phone. Dad had to deal with a calling contract and all that stuff. And the sales clerk had to activate it so it would work.
Finally, we walked out of the store. I squeezed the phone tightly in my hand. It felt cool and sleek.
“Go ahead. Try it,” Dad said. “Call your mom. Tell her you got a phone of your own.”
I stopped at the car. “Okay,” I said. I dialed our home number and pressed SEND.
I raised the phone to my ear.
And heard the girl’s voice:
“Hi, Jack. Don’t be worried. I’m still here.”
18
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.”
19
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 wa
s 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.”