-The Smoking Gun-

The room was pitch black. The foul stench of burned plastic as hanging in the air and would probably not leave for a few weeks. In the chair in front of a desk was a boy, no older than 17. He sat gazing, open-eyed towards the ceiling. His laptop lay open in front of him, but it looked more like a picture from a horror film because of the tangled mass of wire and metal that was settled in a heap where a keyboard use to lay. The monitor was black as death. It would never hum to life ever again and would be sent to the dump days later. The only sound in the room was the slight sound of breathing and the only movement was the slight rising and falling of the boy's chest cavity. As a car pulled into the driveway, the high beams briefly illuminated the room, revealing countless cans scattered across the floor. One can was slowly leaking the remains of its contents. It crawled across the floor as if trying to find a way out. Then slowly, ever so slowly, it was absorbed by the carpet on which it stood.

Phase 4 - Deletion

Those three words drilled into my brain, forever scaring a painful memory I may never forget. The first time in two years that I have been blocked. And this first break in my career came with astonishing whip-lash. I sat in my chair petrified as I the realization that I was completely and wholly screwed came over me. My mind was completely empty. There was nothing to think and nothing I could do. Nothing. The word repeated itself just like the numbers on the screen. The shell of a body my soul resided lost grip of the last can of mountain dew. It fell with a clatter, spilling the lime liquid across the carpet. My brain was going numb and I could feel tears in my eyes. Was this what failure felt like? Was this the feeling everyone talks about? Was this the feeling that shows were built on and dreams destroyed?
Slowly I lowered my eyes to the mangled keyboard. I could see sparks begin to fly from the internal darkness, briefly illuminating the black room and casting shadows across my face. It felt like the darkness was part of me and I was part of it. There was nothing for me in this world anymore. My parents didn't care about me and I had no friends. I was nothing to anyone. I was nothing. Nothing.
My screen suddenly changed to a brilliant blue that made my eyes squint. I leaned closer and was able to despair one large line that continued to scroll across the screen:
Thank you for allowing us to access all data in your hard drive. In order to ensure you do not further release any information you may have gathered from your early attempt, We are sorry to inform you that you must be terminated.
All I could think was, "What are they talking about?"
Please accept our greatest apologies. Thank you.
My eyes seemed to be on fire as an enormous flash erupted from the screen. Colors and patterns I couldn't discern were embedded into my retinas. I thought I cried out loud, but there was nothing to hear. I tried to look away, but my muscles were tense and frozen by an unseen force. I couldn't do anything, and soon felt pain inhabit my body. It spread from my toes upward. First my toes, then my lower leg, my thigh... And as the pain left my toes and my legs I couldn't feel them anymore. It was like my nerves were all turned off like light switches one after another. Now the pain was in my arms. My chest hurt the worst. I could almost feel my organs crying for oxygen as the pain traveled through my heart. Now my jaw felt like a thousand different dull, rusty knives were being jammed deep into my mouth through my cheeks. I was almost glad when the pain reached my eyes. They were ever in pain. When it left the top of my head, my eyes shut down. I lost my sight to the world and fell unconscious, never to see the real world with those eyes ever again.