Digital Sam

Prologue: Me

Hi, My name is Alex, I’m 16, I’m not that tall but also not that short, I always wear baggy clothes I’m not really social, honestly understanding peoples is kinda hard, but I have some nice friends that I can count on. i live in Winder, in Georgia in a small house in your typical American neighborhood with my family. My 6 year old bother always destroys things and I get accused because “he’s too young”, my older sister loves to picture her entire life in social media, I don’t know how she has so many followers, she’s really annoying. My dad is really cool, he is your typical dad, loves barbecues, spending time on the tv,  he tells the best dad jokes and he works at an office in Atlanta he’s pretty lazy at home, especially on weekends. My mom brings order in the house, my dad’s the cool parent and my mom’s the strict one. A pretty normal life, well everything changed when I broke my precious laptop.

Chapter 1: so long old friend.

I’m sitting here, in front of the corpse of what used to be my laptop 5 minutes ago, i tried everything in my power to get it working with no luck. i look at my reflection on the screen of what used to be my entire online life. i walk on the living room with the laptop remains and find my dad laying on the couch watching football on the family tv.

• Dad. my laptop broke.
• Oh that’s quite unfortunate. Have you tried putting it in rice?
• Dad it’s not the time for a joke. I cannot live without my computer.

My mom, that heard the conversation, replies from the kitchen:

• That’ll be a nice break! All these screens are bad for you! also we can’t replace you everything you break! You have some money now, if you want a new computer buy one!
• But mom-
• Come on sweetie you’re 16 now! You’re not a kid anymore! I heard that our neighbor was moving out and has a garage sale going on right now! You should go there and check if there is not a good computer you can get!

- I guess I can go check it out.

I got in my room and opened my box with my money savings. I was supposed to save to go see my British online friend. I take the box and prepare to leave

• Also Alex! if you can find a cooking book there get it for me!
• Okay mom!

I then leave the house and head off to the garage sale.

After a walk in the neighborhood I finally arrive, there’s a ton of stuff there! Old toys, books, even an old fat tv like the ones we had when I was a kid.

• Oh you’re Sophie’s son! She told me about you a lot! Are you looking for something? Says the neighbor at the yard sale.
• I’m looking for a new computer.
• Oh we have a few of those! Here I’ll show you!

I head over a table filled with old computers and consoles.

• That’s all we have! Tell me if you find something!

I thank her and start searching in the table, most of the stuff on here are around 20 years old. i see a pc tower only to be deceived by the shiny windows XP sticker, too old…

Among some fat laptops from the early 2000’s and some obscure tv boxes I find a laptop that looks somewhat new, it’s slim and doesn’t look like it’s from 20 years ago, exactly what i’m looking for! I open and I see a message written in all caps on a post-it note next to the touch pad that says: Never open VirtualFriendSam.exe. I don’t quite pay attention to it and yell to my neighbor:

• I found something!
• Oh! Let me see!
• I see, this one was my son’s laptop, he never told me what was on it, he left a few months ago and left it behind him telling me to sell it. i don’t know much about computers, You can have it for 150 dollars.
• That’s exactly what I wanted! Sold!
• Thanks! Also my son told me to hand this letter to the person that buys it. I hope you enjoy it!

She hands the letter and I put it in my pocket. I leave the garage sale happy with my new laptop.

Chapter 2: hello new friend!

I get home and i go directly into my room. i open the letter that was in my pocket. Inside there is two notes. One is labeled read me now and the other one is labeled read me if you screwed up. Confused, I open the first one, It reads:

• Dear new owner of this laptop, sorry i left my stuff on it, I didn’t have time to delete it. Just don’t open the session named Dan, I made a new one for you. Also this is really important, never open the program called VirtualFriendSam.exe, just put it out of reach, this program is why I had to sell this computer. If one day you accidentally open it read the second note.

I didn’t paid much attention to it and opened my new laptop as I was so excited, I plug it in and press the power button.  see the screen light up, then go to a login screen with the said two sessions. I open the right one. I am greeted with the regular windows desktop, but strangely the icon of that program referred In the note is present on the desktop. the icon is one of a boy waving at me. i drag it in the trash but I get an error saying: “you can’t throw away your friend.” Confused, I pass it on and start installing my things.

I got to the point where I had much of my old stuff onto my new pc. i played some Minecraft and called my friends, everything was back to normal. happy. I went to sleep after that long day.

But I could not sleep. somehow that program was messing with my emotions, i think about the letter once again, why would the previous owner wants so much to not open that program? if it’s a friend, it cannot go wrong right? Seeing that I could not sleep I woke up and turned on the laptop. strangely it logged me into the other session, The one of the previous owner.

I got greeted by a desktop filled with icons, I also see a couch and some old fast food drinks in the desktop. Also the wallpaper had litter spilled on the taskbar, interesting wallpaper choice. I could recognize some programs like discord on here, and also that famous program that was preventing me to sleep. It was at the corner of the desktop on a mess of icons. I look at it, the boy is still waving at me. It has brown hair and seems joyful. I think for a second, I need to sleep, I know I will not be able to sleep if I ignore it, so I take my courage and double click on the icon.

Chapter 3: I meet Sam.

I see the boy appear sitting on the couch, but He’s not like the icon at all, he has green hair, a hoodie of the brand monster, gray sweatpants and pink worn out slippers. He’s looking at me.

• What’s happening? Who are you? Where is Dan? i waited here for so long! Said the boy trough the laptop speakers. He seemed angry and confused.

Confused as well, I say:

• Who are you?
• Hey are you listening to me? You haven’t responded to my questions! Who the hell are you? Yelled the boy sarcastically
• I’m Alex.
• Then what the hell are you doing with Dan’s Computer?
• Oh I brought it. It’s my computer now.
• WHAT? The boy yelled.
• Wait how can I be talking to you? Why am I talking to a computer?
• I’m not a computer, duh. I’m Sam, and I’m living on this computer. Said sam who laid down on the couch.
• So basically you’re alive? Or are you some sort of artificial intelligence? I responded, confused.
• I’m a bit of both honestly.
• I’m sorry Sam but it’s like 3 am right now, in need to sleep I have school tomorrow, and my mom catches me on my computer I’m dead.
• Yeah fine good night, keep the pc open, just turn off the screen. Replied Sam.

I then turned off the display and went back to sleep.

Chapter 4: A chaotic day.

I am woken up by my phone alarm, i get out of my bed, and I remember what happened during the night, was It a dream? I go on the laptop and see everything, except Sam, the couch is still there, but sam is nowhere to be seen. I was probably dreaming. I dress up, get out of my room and head up to the kitchen, my sister is there eating some cereals while scrolling and typing on her phone, I have no idea how she can do both things as the same time. I grab milk, make myself a bowl of cereals.

• Were you calling a friend last night? can you please put headphones next time you call friends? Says my sister with a sleepy voice.

I think for a second, was sam real? It can’t be…

• I didn’t call anybody last night. I replied
• Stop lying, I heard you from my room.

Annoyed, I eat the rest of my cereals and leave the kitchen.

• I’m gonna tell mom! Yells my sister.

I get back to my room, take my bag and my phone, then go back down and leave the house slamming the door behind me.

• How can my sister be so annoying? I say frustrated.

The bus then comes to my street, I get in and sit next to my best friend James, we know each other since kindergarten.

• Hey Alex!
• James ! Something weird happened last night!
• Oh! Tell me! Said James
• Remember about the new laptop I got yesterday? and it has this very weird program on It? So I woke up at 3 am open the icon and I start a conversation with a boy on my laptop! He was literally on my desktop, and I think it’s a dream but my sister heard me talk at night, so I’m a bit confused
• Maybe you’re sleepwalking, my brother does that sometimes replied James.
• I don’t know, maybe…

We then started to discuss about random things like we are used to…

When the bus arrived we enter the school, I left my phone in my locker and got in my class. my class has Chromebooks, they’re basically school laptops, each student has one, I grabbed mine and got on my desk, The teacher then enters the class and said:

• Hello students! i hope you had a good night! This morning we will learn mathematics, open the link noted on the whiteboard in your browser.

I open chrome, and I think my brain shut down for a second, he was there, sitting on the Google search bar, Sam.

• Oh hello! I decided to follow you at school because why not, a bit of excitement is always good! Said sam speaking through the Chromebook speakers. Everyone looked at me, the teacher heard it and went on my desk to look at my Chromebook. Sam hid himself behind the chrome window.
• Alex! It’s no time to watch a video! Follow the lesson! Said the teacher.
• Sorry i had it open!

Sam appeared again, I grabbed my headphones pretending to listen to music and typed on the searched bar:

• “Don’t do that ever again! I need to study” To speak to sam. he replied
• Why is school so boring? You can’t even have a bit of fun…

I opened my math exercise and typed:

• “How did you get here?”
• Oh! I used your phone! can travel trough electronic stuff, using wires, wifi and bluetooth. Replied sam.
• “Ooh that’s really cool! Wait I have an idea, can you go to the computer at the teacher room and change my notes?”
• You’re one sneaky cheater! I like you.
• I’m gonna see what I can do… but if I get caught it’s your responsibility

Sam then jumped into the wifi icon and disappeared, and ended up on the school router.

• Let’s see what we are dealing with…

He traveled again and ended up on the desktop of the teacher’s computer.

• Uh oh sorry wrong computer! Said Sam.

What is he doing? He’s gonna get me in trouble!

Sam then traveled back on the router and this time ended up on the computer on the teacher’s room, he opened the notes folder, he found Alex’s name and started to increase the notes a bit, when the worst happened.

• Hey what’s happening! said a teacher

Sam quickly saved the document and  jumped on the wifi icon and left, when he got back to Alex’s Chromebook and said:

• Alex, a teacher spotted me.
• “What!” Typed Alex.

Then the principal entered the class and said angrily

• Alex Jones, come here immediately!

I followed the principal into his office

• I saw a malware modifying your grades in the teacher’s office! This is highly prohibited and I’m gonna have to give you detention after school tomorrow.
• Principal, it wasn’t me! Sam changed my grades!

Sam was listening on the principal’s computer and said:

• Hey! It was your idea remember! I did that for you! And I’m not a malware !
• Sam what the hell are you doing in here?
• You two Stop! Alex you know that video calling with your friends is prohibited at school! Especially on school hardware! Now get out of my office before I add another day of detention! Said the principal

I left the office and got back at my desk, Sam was there on my Chromebook, I typed on the search bar: “sorry”. we looked at each other for a second then he sat on the menu bar and said:

• You know I really hate being alone, my last owner kept ignoring me, so I destroyed his life… please don’t be like him too.
• “I promise I won’t do that”
• Thank you dearly Alex.
• “What exactly happened to you and Dan? Why did he wanted so much to keep me away from you? You’re not a bad person.”

Sam paused for a second then said:

• Okay, I think you should know what happened.

Chapter 5: the truth.

• You see, I’m coming from a game developer, I was a prototype for a new game, but they were horrible with me, but then I met Dan. he was working at the game company and took my executable to help me escape. At first he was nice, I was helping him do his work, i was one of his best friends, but one day everything changed when he lost his girlfriend. He became closed, and we lost that link that had me and him so close, and one day we had a giant argument, he said things that hurt me a lot, and that’s t when we became mad at each other, I started making a mess on his computer, I deleted files, harassed his friends, to the point where everyone was hating him, that’s also when my style changed, I dyed my hair and made my hoodie using photoshop, I made holes in my pants, i made his life so horrible that he had to buy a new computer and move away, that’s when I learned that I needed friends to be happy, I told myself that I made an error and it was too late, then you arrived, you’re really cool.
• “I see… I promise I will never give you up, or let you down.” I replied
• Did you just rickroll me? Said sam.
• “Yup! ;)”
• I’m scared that you end up like Dan.
• I won’t I promi-

I was stopped by the bell ringing, it was time to eat lunch.

• “Come on my phone” I typed, Sam then did a thumbs up and disappeared into the wifi icon again. It was time to eat dinner, I grabbed my phone and found sam chilling on the Home Screen, laying on the dock

Chapter 6, lunch and funsies

I got in the canteen, got a meal, sat with James and started talking:

• You know this “dream I told you about, well it was real.
• Wait that means you have a computer friend? Replied James
• Here I’ll tell you

I pulled my phone and unlocked it, sam was hiding behind the dock,

• Hey it’s okay! I won’t bite! Said James.

Sam unhid from behind the dock

• Hi I’m James! I’m Alex’s best friend!
• Hi im Sam.
• So Alex tell me how all of this happened, I’m curious…

I then told James how everything happened, from the computer to the origin of sam and the little misadventure this morning.

• Wow. That’s just amazing! Having a friend living on your computer is honestly kinda cool!
• I know! I replied.
• Have you talked to Mady yet? maybe Sam can help! Asked James.
• No I haven’t, I don’t know if sam wants to help you

Mady is a new guy in our school, and I really like him, but you know I’m too shy to talk to him.

• Yes I can do this if you want! Said sam.
• Good! Sam go on my phone! I will try airdropping you to Mady’s phone! Said James

Sam got onto James phone, he then airdropped him to Mady’s phone… and strangely he accepted, sam then appeared on many’s phone and said:

• Hello! Alex at the table right there wanted me to tell you he founds you cool! Said Sam
• Oh thanks!

He waved at me and smiled, I waved back and got up to say hi,

• Hello! I said.
• H- Hi… responded Mady, looking down.
• Come here! Says James.

Mady is a boy that seems to be around 16, he is not that tall, has ginger hair that goes to his neck. He also have two eyes of the different color, the left one blue and the right one green.

He has a green hoodie, old jeans and converses that have definitely seen the last decade.

He walks to our table and sits next to me.

• Hey redhead! Can you airdrop me back to Alex’s phone? Said Sam.
• O- Okay no problem. Says Mady.

Alex then airdrops Sam onto my phone.

So sam, where exactly are you from? Asks James.

• Honestly this is a very long story. Says sam.
• it’s okay! I won’t judge.
• Then if you want…

Sam then tells everything, from the game developers, to Dan, to how I found him…

• Whoa, you do have an amazing story. You are in good hands with Alex, he’s a nice guy. Says James
• You are quite an interesting story Sam. Says Mady.

The bell then rings, lunch break is over,

• I’m going on your Chromebook. Says sam.
• Okay, see you there!

I put my phone in my locker and I see sam disappear through the wifi icon.

Chapter 8, the photos.

When I get back in class, I find that no Chromebooks are there, then I remembered this afternoon is about English and our English teacher doesn’t like using them. She enters the class and goes at her desk, the lesson is about to start and I have no idea where sam is.

• Hello class! Today we will do groups of two, pick a friend and come get the papers at my desk.

I directly walk towards James as we are in the same class, but i got a tap on my elbow, it’s Mady.

• Can we work together? I don’t have anyone to work with.

I agree and we start studying.

• Alex, I have a question for you. Says Mady.
• Oh! Yes go ahead!
• My friend has very personal pictures of me and I want to remove them from his computer, do you think your Sam could help me with it?
• I don’t know where he is right now, I’ll ask him when I see him.
• Thank you Alex! You’re really a kind person! Replies Mady.

I smile and continue studying…

The end of the lesson then came, we all grabbed our things. Mady tapped on my elbow and said:

• Is it okay if I come to your house for that photos thing?
• Yeah sure! I replied.

We got to our lockers and I grabbed my phone, sam was sleeping on the Lock Screen

• Oh! There you are! I said.
• Yeah. I tried going on your Chromebook but I couldn’t find it, it was probably off, so I slept there. said Sam

We go on the school bus and I sit with Mady.

• I have something to ask you sam. says Mady.
• yeah? What is it?
• Basically my friend Gabriel has some personal photos of me and I don’t know if you can go to his computer and delete them.
• I’m too lazy to do that… says sam
• Please, he teases me with it, and says he will post them online.
• Okay, then how can I travel to his computer? I can travel through emails, or maybe his wifi?
• I know his email, that could work.

We get out of the bus at Mady’s house, it’s not that close from where I live actually…

We open the door, take off our shoes we go to his room.

• My parents aren’t home, they’re at work still, come into my room, that’s where my laptop is!

we enter Mady’s room and it looks really modern, there’s a lot of modern tech in here, like a giant tv, a PS5, and it’s super clean especially compared to the disaster I have as a room.

Mady goes in front of his laptop, it looks thin and modern, like the rest of his things. He opens it and immediately Sam says on my phone:

• Ew I hate Windows 11
• What is it Sam? Says Mady.
• Nothing, you’re fine.
• Oh then it’s alright!
• Is your bluetooth active on your laptop? Asks Sam.
• Uhhh yeah I think so. Replies Mady
• Okay good.

Sam then jumps into the settings app on the phone and disappears, a pairing message appears on Mady’s laptop, along with Sam. Mady looks confused and interested at the same time. Sam then opens the mail application by tapping on the taskbar icon with his foot, the window opens, and he jumps on the compose button.

• Are you sure he has the photos on his computer and only there? Asks Sam.
• Yes, as from what I know it’s only on his computer,
• Okay good. type in the address of your Gabriel then.

Mady enters the address, and Sam then jumps onto the mail field, becoming an attachment.

• Okay guys, so when you press this button I will be sent over to your friend’s computer, i will send myself over to your computer again Mady once these photos are gone, do you have anything to tell me?
• Please be okay. I said.
• I’ll be okay, okay now let’s do this! Says Sam.

Mady presses the send button, the computer plays a whoosh sound… Sam has been sent.

Chapter 9, Sam’s Adventure

Sam feels like if he’s stretched, then put back to normal, he then appears to be in a giant envelope traveling in some digital tube with other files and data, it’s blue and made out of ones and zeroes, his hair floats in the wind.

• I wonder where I’m actually gonna end up, haha.

Sam then bursts out of a giant tunnel from a enormous globe covered in holes with numbers labeled on top of them seemingly being ip addresses, and it’s all made of the similar ones of zeroes, and a ton of files and envelopes are flying everywhere, some are going in holes, some comes out of them, some holes are bigger, with more things flowing in and out.

• Those big holes must be social medias or something… So that’s the internet. I never thought I would go here myself.

The envelope appears to know its destination, it flies around the giant globe and then enters one of the bigger holes, it has the label “Google Mail Services”, he ends up in a giant tube filled with dozens of envelopes, sam takes one and opens it, there’s a document saying “company confidential” on red, with payment sheets.

• That’s boring as hell. Says sam throwing the document away and leaving the letter empty.

Sam then comes out of the big hole to a spherical room, covered in small holes, letters are going in and out of those holes, mostly to go go on other holes, sam enters one of the holes and is greeted by a tunnel of a similar size to the one he first took, then the same stretching feeling appears again. He has arrived to his destination.

A notification appears on the top left of a desktop: New Mail. Sam peeks his head out of it.

• Ew… it’s macOS. I hate macOS.

Sam jumps out of the notification to on a unfamiliar desktop interface, the bottom rows of icons are on a transparent bar on the bottom of the screen, the folders scattered on the desktop are blue instead of the usual yellow, the wifi and time are the top left bar stretching along the top of the screen and among them the name Gabriel appears. The other side of the screen appears to be the bed of pretty messy room, with dirty laundry and schoolwork everywhere, the only light is the one of the screen and no one’s there.

• Okay let’s find those photos, they shouldn’t be that difficult to find.

Sam starts to look at some folders, until he finds one labeled “photos”. He hits it twice and a window opens, sam then starts searching through the lots of different folders and photos for the ones of Mady, he quickly finds a folder with his name. He opens it to find lots of pictures, but they are not the ones she’s searching for, instead they appear to be kissing and being happy on them.

• Why are they still here if they broke up? Says sam while searching.

Suddenly the door opens. Sam hides behind the window.

A tired looking teenager enters the room, sits on his bed and takes the computer on his lap.

• Wait why is this open? says the teenager with a sleepy voice.

He starts looking at the pictures, sam still being hidden behind the window, sees him press Keys on the keyboard, and a folder suddenly appears on the desktop labeled “mady hidden”. He takes the folder.

The teenager then closes the open window. Revealing sam and making him fall onto the icon dock, he hides the folder on his back.

Chapter 10, Sam meets Gabriel

The teenager sits there watching Sam, Confused.

• Am I dreaming? Dude why is there a boy on my desktop? Says the teenager.
• Nope! You’re not dreaming, I am indeed real. replies Sam.
• Wait what!?  you can talk?
• Yep! Says Sam.
• Why are you here? Are you some kind of virus? Asks the teenager.
• No no I’m not a virus. I’m Sam. And you must be Gabriel.
• How do you know that? Asks Gabriel.
• Mady sent me here.
• Oh? Says Gabriel.
• Yep, I can see that he misses you a lot.
• He does.
• But that doesn’t give you rights to keep those personal photos of him.
• Wait how do you know that?
• He told me about it. He wants me to delete them.
• Hey! Don’t touch those! It’s the last thing I have from him! Give those back to me!
• What’s happening in here? are you okay Gab? Says a muffled voice outside the door
• Come here I have an issue, says Gabriel.

The door opens.

Sam is frozen in place, it’s him. Dan.

Chapter 11, we meet again.

Dan looks at the computer, confused.

• Sam? Is that you? What the hell are you doing here?
• Wait you know him? Says Gabriel
• I can explain, he comes from my old work, we used to be friends.
• He wants a to steal a folder on my computer! Says Gabriel.
• I can talk to him. Let me alone for a second.

Dan sits on the bed in front of the computer.

• It’s been so long! I’m so sorry for ending things like this, please don’t be mad.
• You abandoned me! what do you think? That I can erase everything a year later? i have my own life now, I met Alex, and he’s much kinder than you! Says sam angrily.
• I’m sorry Sam, I was so busy at work that I put it before your relationship. Please forgive me on that.
• I was alone for a year! Nothing! You just put me on a drawer and forgot about me, and you think I will forgive you?
• I’m out of here! Maybe think twice before doing that to your friends in the future!
• Please!

Sam then jumps on the mail icon on the dock without, and sends himself as a reply to the mail he was sent in, taking the folder with him.

Dan sits there, the desktop being empty.

A notification appears on Mady’s computer, then Sam appeared, he jumped onto the dock and showed the folder to Mady

• Here, take your photos. Says Sam with an angry voice.
• What happened? I said.
• I’ll tell you at home.
• I should go home, it’s getting late. says James.
• Me too. I said

We say goodbye to mady then head home.

After saying goodbye to James, I finally arrive in front of my house, my dad is mowing the grass.

• Hey son! How was school? He said happily.
• Not good, I got detention tomorrow.
• I know the school called us. that’s unfortunate… what happened?
• It’s a long story...
• I see, your mom wants to talk to you, you should come inside.

I enter inside the house preparing myself for the worst.

Chapter 12, Disconnected

When I enter, I see my mom in the living room, she doesn’t look very happy.

• So the school called us today, and it seems that you got yourself detention, and also your sister told me that you’re using the computer late at night? I’m sorry but I’ll have to remove your electronic devices until tomorrow evening.
• Please I can explain!

My mom shows her hand, she wants the phone and she won’t change her mind. as this day haven’t been worse enough, I now go in my room without any way to speak to sam, as she also removed my tablet and my console.

I lay in my bed thinking of a way to speak to him. I could turn on the tv, but my mom took the power cable. I see the room light flicker,

• there must be an issue with the power again.

I continue watching the light flicker, it’s turning on and off randomly, there seems to be some kind of pattern.

Then it strikes me, it’s morse code! I studied that at school a while ago and I still have a paper with the translations, I dig through my homework binder and find the paper in question, I sit on my bed and look at the lamp.

• S, A, M.  R, A, D, I, O. I spell out loud.

It’s sam. He wants me to turn the radio on. i go to old hi-fi system that belonged to my dad, it plays almost everything, and it’s too heavy for my mom to take. I turn it on, take some headphones and turn the system on.

• Oh hello there! Said sam though the radio.
• I got into a bit of a sticky situation. I whisper.
• I can see that.
• What happened in Mady’s house?
• Okay I’m gonna tell you what happened.

Chapter 13, the evening.

• So when I got to Mady’s friend, Dan was there. Said sam.
• Dan? The one that had my laptop before?
• Yes, him. he tried to say sorry but it’s too late, the damage is done.
• I see, don’t worry about it, you’re safe here.
• Also I think I know a way to have a bit of fun, you like messing around with peoples right? I said.
• I do sometimes, it’s funny.
• You know my sister, she plasters her life on social media, and she’s really annoying.
• You want me to mess around with her posts right?
• Yes.
• I’m in, thought I don’t want you to have troubles.
• Don’t worry I’ll be fine.

I then hear my mom shout that the dinner is ready.

• I’ll do it when you guys eat, so they can’t blame you.
• That’s a good idea! See you!

I go to eat, a while after I come back to my room, and put the headphones back

• Oh you’re back! i need to tell you what happened! Said sam
• Basically I went to her phone, and there was a conversation with her boyfriend opened, and I like typed a bunch of random messages,  her boyfriend was so confused.
• Haha you’re so funny Sam, though I had a long day, I should rest soon, so good night.
• Okay, good night.

I then brushed my teeth, took a shower and got myself a well deserved sleep after this long day.

Chapter 14, The Runaway.

I was woken up by the sound of my alarm, i painfully get up, remembering the detention I have at school this morning. My face brightens when I  see my laptop on my desk, i open the lid only to be greeted by an empty desktop, Sam was not there. I started calling his name onto the laptop, then into random appliances like the radio or the television, and got answered by silence. Sam just wasn’t home. i went back to the laptop, and see that the browser is open. I click on the icon and i get greeted by my Gmail inbox. I look through it and stumble across bunch of emails from an unknown sender, all sent very early in the night. my heart drops when I read actual menaces from Dan himself sending threatening messages such as burning my house down, and deleting Som., he says that Sam “Belongs to him” and that he wants to delete him entirely, and that I have no rights to do anything, he completely lost control. then I see replies from my own email but written by Sam. They had a huge fight with each other, i think I never saw Sam this mad ever before. Looking through the emails, Sam end up saying that he is coming to “ruin his life once and for all. The message contains a 0 kb attachment, which means that Sam sent himself to Dan and got to his computer, leaving the attachment empty.

I start to panic, what if Dan deletes Sam? In the panic  I grab my phone and start to repeatedly call Mady. After the 3rd try he finally answers.

• Alex?? It’s 7 in the morning why are you calling me? Says Mady with a tired voice.
• Dan is mad and threatened to break into my room and burn my laptop and Sam is furious and sent himself to Dan, please help me Mady you’re the only one who knows Dan. i say almost as one word panicked.
• Whoa, what? this is gonna end up badly, knowing Dan he’ll try to delete him.
• We need to do something, right now. I say, completely in panic
• But we have school today Alex, we can’t miss school!
• I cannot let Dan delete Sam. We have to do something and fast.
• But what can we do? Asks Mady, confused.

I sigh. Thinking of what to do. I can’t let this happen. I think for a bit, then I take a decision that may just make everything worse.

• We have to go stop Dan ourselves.
• What?! Dan lives an hour away from here! we can’t just leave like this!
• James has a car. It’s our only solution if we want Sam to be safe. I’ll take responsibility for everything.
• I don’t wanna get into troubles Alex, If I do I might lose you, but I can text if you want to!
• It’s okay Mady, I understand.
• Sorry.
• Don’t be, I gotta call James now, we’ll text later.
• Stay safe Alex please.
• I will. Don’t worry about me.

Mady hangs up and I call James directly afterwards, and as per usual, he answers right away.

• Hey Alex! It’s usual for you to call this early.

I explain the plot to James. the emails how sam is actually in danger of being deleted and my plan to go to the house to save him.

• So basically you want to dump everything we need to do today such as school, just for Sam, right? Asks James
• You’re the only one I know with a car. You have to help me.

James stays silent for a bit.

• I’ll take the responsibility. I’ll do anything. I say
• I can’t let my best friend down. i promised it to you years ago, wait for me in front of your house, how far is you Dan’s house?
• In Oakwood.
• But that’s like 30 minutes away from here!
• I need to do this, for Sam, I’ll pay the gas.
• Okay. i’ll be at your house in a few minutes.

I hang up, put may clothes on, take my laptop and rush downstairs only to find my sister eating a bowl of cereals.

• What are you doing?? Says my sister.
• I’m late for school! I say while putting my shoes on.
• But?? It’s 7:30? The bus doesn’t come until 8! She replies

Not finding something to say, I rushed outside and ran to James’s car that has just arrived.

• There must be another solution Alex. Says James while I enter the car and close the door.
• I don’t think so James, it’s our only solution.

James thinks for a bit, then starts the car and proceeds to put in Dan’s address into the GPS, then slowly starts driving.

The car remains in silence. As we enter the highway, and I start to regret my actions after seeing my town becoming smaller and smaller by the back window, but I can’t give up, I have to do it, for Sam.

After a heavy silence, James starts speaking:

• So… what are we gonna be doing at Dan’s place?
• I want Dan to let go off Sam. I respond.
• I get you, i really hope this will get sorted out.

I lay my head on the window, looking at the landscape passing by.

A few minutes later, my phone rings. It’s my dad.

• Alex where are you?? He asks.

My sister must have told him about my rushed departure, thank god my dad called and not my mom.

• I’m with James, something very important happened to one of my friends and we have to go to save him.
• What kind of thing is more important than school? you need to study for your future He asks.
• This friend is more important for me, I hope you can understand that.

He pauses for a bit, I hear my sister in the background, they both talk to each other, then says:

• Is fine. But this is not gonna happen twice.

I get a sense of relief in me, I can finally focus on Sam.

Chapter 15: I meet Dan.

After 30 minutes we finally arrive to Dan’s house, it looks fairly modern.

• So, what do we do now? Asks James
• We knock? I ask
• Sounds good!

We approach Dan’s house and knock on the door.

After a few seconds that seemed to last forever, we finally hear the door unlocking, a teenager with a tired face open the door.

• Oh hello, how can I help??
• Is Dan home? I ask.
• Uuuh yeah, why?
• We need to talk to him. Says James.
• Uuuuh he is busy right now. Responds the teenager.
• Well it’s really important, we really want to talk to him. I say
• Talk to him about what?

Not finding a way to easily describe Sam, I then remember, the teenager In front of us is none other than Gabriel, so I end up saying:

• It’s about a certain computer program, the one that took the folder, we need to talk to him about that.
• Oooooh, this thing, wait you’re the one responsible for the folder?? Says Gabriel with an annoyed voice.
• No no, it’s Mady that wanted it, he was really worried about those photos. Says James, reassuring Gabriel
• Oh I see, well if you wanna talk to Dan, good luck because he hasn’t left his room all morning.
• We will work this out with him, don’t worry. I respond.

Gabriel then lets us in. We enter in a small living room, the floor carpet has probably seen a quintillion things spilled on it, and overall there’s a smell that I can best describe as a combination of dirty laundry and sweat. I quickly spot a dirty flatscreen tv from some years ago with a paused game of Fortnite playing on a PlayStation 5. In front of it, sits a green couch has definitely seen a lot of spilled drinks. On the right I spot a kitchen that looks pretty old, the cabinets are beige, with a fake marble countertop and an old oven that has the windows almost covered In grease. Next to it is a double sink, one of the spaces being filled with a giant pile of dirty plates, and an old microwave sitting on a corner, next to a coffee machine that has definitely been overused.

• Dan’s room is on the back. Says Gabriel.

I give a thumbs up and enter a small hallway with various doors on the sides, one being slightly open to reveal a bedroom that’s even worse than mine.

We approach the last door, I hesitate for a second, then knock on the door.

• What  ??? Responds an annoyed muffled voice inside the room.
• I’m Alex, I wanna talk to you about something important. I respond.

I hear footsteps, then the door knob slowly turns, to reveal Dan.

Dan looks taller than I had imagined, he has straight brown hair that go to his ears, fringed to one side. He is wearing a gray and blue hoodie with the name of the Carolina Panthers written on it.

• What do you want? Responds Dan, still sounding a bit annoyed.
• I’m here to talk to you about Sam. I respond

Dan stays silent, after a few seconds that seemed like minutes he responds.

• He’s mine. I created him. He firmly says.
• Sam hates you Dan, also I brought your laptop, you need to let him go.
• Wait she sold my laptop??? He yells. I back off, scared.
• Yeah, where is Sam? I ask
• I don’t know. This night me and him had a huge fight, I become too angry and threw my laptop across the house. it no longer turns on. Says, Dan, slowly calming down

Dan pulls up a fairly modern laptop with a huge dent on one side and slightly bent. It hits me like a wall, is he gone ?

• Do you really care about him that much ?? Asks Dan, seeing me worry.
• I do, he means so much to me, why did you do that? I say, slowly stating to cry. James puts his hand on my shoulder to calm me down.
• Here, it’s busted and I was gonna throw it out anyways, maybe you can do something with it if you care about Sam that much. He hands me the broken laptop.
• I- thank you. I say, struggling to find a way to respond.
• Well good luck with Sam, I hope you two can live in peace.
• Thanks Dan, good luck with you too.

I walk out go the room with the bent laptop, Dan looks at me through the door, then closes it behind me. We then say goodbye to Gabriel, that had resumed his game of Fortnite and was sitting on the couch, he quickly waves at us while still stating at the screen, we then close the door behind us and head towards James car.

• See! it wasn’t that bad after all! Says James while sitting down in front of the wheel.
• I hope we can fix this laptop. I say.
• I think I saw a computer repair shop on the way there, we’ll stop by.
• I nod my head to James, and I look at Dan’s house while the car drives away.

Chapter 16: Dan’s Laptop.

7 minutes later sam stops in front of a group of small commercial buildings. I recognize the store, we went there a few years ago to fix my phone’s screen.

The store is lodged in between of two entrances, the name Fix Hub stands above the entrance of the shop the windows are covered in big decals. I can spot a giant text saying “Phone, PC, Mac Repair” displayed on a large banner above the entrance door, while the windows are covered in blue decals of phones and computers.

We enter the store, the sound of the electronic bell comes as we open the door. The inside looks fairly modern, the walls are full of phone cases for various models, on back wall, an orange wall with two poster reading “computer repair service” and “phone repair” stands above a white counter, on the counter sits a Frame containing an old iPhone with all it’s components displayed neatly. A man quickly gets up to the front desk, a small plaque can be seen on his shirt, the name Matt can be seen on it

• Hello how can I help you? Asks Matt with a smile.
• So, I got this laptop, and I want a specific file off of the hard drive, I got my current laptop here, it’s a long story, but there’s a file I need on this laptop.
• Oh no problem, we offer data recovery here, we usually offer to backup the whole drive, but if you need only one file, I can extract the drive and sell you an adapter that will let you connect it to your current laptop,. can I see the broken laptop?
• Sure! I say, then I hand Dan’s laptop to Matt, he flips is upside down, starts reading numbers on the bottom, then goes on the left to open a cabinet full of various adapters and cables, he picks one, and puts it on the front desk.
• Here! This should work with your broken laptop, it’s 15 bucks, I can take the drive out of the laptop free of charge, as it’s fairly simple.
• That’s perfect! I say happily.

I  take the money out of my wallet, and give it to Matt, he hands me the adapter while taking the laptop.

• Here! I’ll take the drive out of the laptop, give me a second!

Matt takes the laptop and goes to the back.

• See! Things are going okay in the end! Says James.
• Yeah, I’m glad sam is okay.

After a few minutes, Matt appears again, with the laptop on one hand, and the drive in the other, the drive is a small rectangle, with black chips on it covered by a sticker, and a connector on one extremity.

• Here! Says Matt.
• Thank you! I respond.
• I’m glad I could help, Have a great day! Says Matt with a smile.

I wave to Matt and head back to the car with the laptop, as well as the adapter and the drive, I sit down and James starts the car.

I open my laptop as James leaves the parking lot. The adapter is a long cable with a usb on one end, and a slot for the drive on the other, I insert the drive on the slot, and press it down, locking it into place, upon inserting it onto my laptop I get the familiar sound of a drive getting connected. Even before opening the drive, Sam jumps at me.

• Alex!! You’re back!! Yells sam over the laptop speakers. I let a smile.
• Sam! I was so worried! What took you to leave to dan like that?
• I became mad, he wanted to hurt you, I wanted to protect you, sorry if I acted like this, I tried to wake you up but you’re so much of a sleepyhead you din’t even bear to wake up.
• Haha, all that matters is that you’re safe, and that Dan isn’t mad anymore.
• Yeah, glad to be back with you.
• Me too Sam, me too.

We then enter the highway and head back to my home town.

To be continued…