Chapter One: School Zone

My name is Connor Richards, I live in New Riverin, a sector that encompasses what was formerly; Griffith, Leeton and Narrandera and everything in between. I live in the year 2110 and this is the log of the work of the group known as the Gate Jumpers.

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Normality is not a word I often use to describe my life away from school and home. I am part of a group that protects the internet and the world’s network of computers from harm. Altogether there are eight of us. Myself, Amy, Noah, Jessica, Richard, Allie, Tiger and Cyber Mother, the first six of us are the only ones among us who may access the Gateway and go into the net itself; Tiger and Cyber Mother handle the programs that allow us to remain within the internet. All of us are vital to protect the one thing that connects everything in the world. Our world is majorly computer run now: Our cars, our homes, our businesses, everything has some connection to the Network. I have known some of my allies for a long time and some for a short time, but all of them I know. Our protection of the web and the Network was easy till that day after school when half the world went haywire.

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“You know we’re late right?” Allie posed the question to the rest of us.

“Yeah and if Dad knows I was on the net all night I’m a goner” replied Richard (Know to the called R by the rest of us because of the old style of his name)

“Ouch so I’ll take it you won’t be online tomorrow?” Asked Noah.

“Nah, the Exams start and *shivers* I have to start studying again” R sighed.

“I wish you wouldn’t write like that” Allie replied.

“Like what?”

“Putting *shivers* in the middle of the sentence” she replied again.

“Well no more chatting from me. Ciao guys” Jessica left that chat room and soon everyone followed.

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As usual we met up outside school with barely ten seconds to spare before the bell went (Well it was less of a bell and more of a chime).

“That was close” Allie sighed.

“Yeah. Too much so” I replied. A second bell rang and warned us to proceed to class; if the third bell rang before we were inside the classroom it meant instant detention. Harsh, very much so. Detention may have been an improvement over Maths on this particular day. I plonked down beside Noah and Allie and withdrew my School Issue Notebook; A computer that resembled a notepad with a glowing screen and had a small screenwriting pen on it, typing wasn’t allowed in most classes as it allowed people the ability to simply copy what the person in front of them had written at lightning pace, having to use a screenwriter pen meant that the time of the entry was recorded as to ensure it matched up with the time the teacher put it up on the projector board.

“Welcome students” articulated our Maths teacher Mr Aldogon, before he began to type at laptop that projected everything onto the board. Allie slipped a note to me. As far as school was concerned there was no paper except for the library; she handed me a slip of paper from a notebook as a group of fractions appeared on the board. It said ‘Boring’ I stifled a laugh and replied with ‘I no’ she took the paper and scribbled something else, ‘Do u have a date 4 the social?’ I sighed and wrote back ‘No, u?’ she scrawled a final message out and returned to catching up with the fractions ‘No, wanna go together? Ttyl’ I almost fell out of my seat. She wanted to go with me? What the hell? Talk to you later, why later, why not now. A beep began and I realised I was way behind with my work. A note popped up on my Notebook.

You have one detention today at lunch

I cursed at the note under my breath and returned to working. The lights blinked and the power went out. That in itself was unusual enough, the city ran on its own solar, wind and hydro-electric energy and each building had its own separate power supply to prevent blackouts as well as a second power core that would activate if the first failed. I turned my head up expecting the lights to click on again-they didn't. This could only mean one thing, I slipped my hand into my pocket and withdrew my phone and sent a single text to Tiger.

Wat’s going on?

His reply chilled me.

Cty wide blackout

Was it even possible for those words to be used in a single sentence?

Is it a virus?

I sent the message and the reply was in my inbox before I could even scroll down the screen.

Red Alert! Tenth Grade Virus

I almost collapsed out of my chair.

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I got the text the same time as Connor.

Red Alert! Tenth Grade Virus

My name is Amy Redhawk. I am fifteen like Connor, Jessica, Allie, Noah and Richard. I look normal enough, long black hair, green eyes, athletic looking, I normally wear jeans and a t-shirt that shows off my midriff-Nothing unusual. I am a swimmer and I win awards, but like only a few other people in the world I am a Gate Jumper. I knew that if Tiger sent off a red alert the problem was extreme, a tenth grade virus was something incredibly powerful and dangerous. It could only be the work of Lucian Shadowheart, who ran the insidious Shadowheart Corporation, a group that made computers, computer programs, hardware, software-if it was computerised they made it. Unknown to most was the fact that Shadowheart was also a cyber-terrorist who used viruses to collapse his rivals and fuel the power of his company. In the past month Shadowheart had tried to take out half the software companies in the world. He had caused six major destructions of data and had even taken out the email of everyone who used a rival company as their homepage. The problem was that no one had any evidence to prove this. The Gate Jumpers stopped his viruses bu lately he had moved too fast for even us to stop him.

Return to HQ ASAP!

Tiger texted again.

Can do coming now

I replied.

U might B going with jst Al nd Cnnor. OK

The others must be delayed, that meant I was needed even more.

OK, coming now.

I slipped outside of class and ran out the front entrance, in the commotion I might have been missed, if I hadn’t been wearing the blue jumper that only I had. That was when my greatest enemy’s son grabbed my shoulder.

“Amy come and help us settle ‘em down” it was Lucas Shadowheart, the boy I had had a crush on for six and a half years. He was so...so...so perfect. He had perfect white teeth and skin free of any and all blemishes. His hair was white as snow and his eyes grey as storm clouds. Tall, handsome and perfect.

“I can’t. Sorry Lucas” I began to move again when he grabbed my hand. What was he up to? I spun and banged heads with him. “OW!!” I fell back into muddy earth; of course I would fall there.

“Call me later, kay” he spun and began to herd people like cows. I stood up and found a piece of paper in my hand. It had a number scrawled on it as well as a note. ‘Meet me after school at 1 of the cafes nearby, call me and tell me which one’

“Why now?” I sighed and ran off. My phone rang and I read Tiger’s message with growing fear.

Virus progressing, 2 ntwrks dvourd

“Damn!” I muttered.