Glitched

Chapter 10

((Omg, finally got to chapter 10!!! Yay! This is probably my biggest accomplishment... ever. XD))

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Without the internet, my chip couldn't tell me how far away I was from where ever the Viruses were. My chip couldn't even tell me where the Viruses were. It couldn't tell me the time, or how long I had been riding past the border. Never before had I felt so lost, confused, and-and Helpless. Helpless. I wondered if that was a word. I had never heard it or used it before, but it seemed to fit. I quickly gave my own definition to my new word:

To be without help.

Sadly, I couldn't save that to memory, not without my chip. So I just repeated it over and over in my head, hoping that I would remember it.

Helpless: To be without help. Helpless: To be without help. Helpless: To be without help.

Then I realized, I wasn't completely helpless. I had the guard, who was luckily leading me to my destination. Sure, I would've preferred my chip way more-it was much more helpful and useful-but at least I had something to guide me so I wasn't completely lost.

As I followed my guard, farther and farther away from the border, the buildings from the New World became smaller. I noticed something up ahead, a large, bundle of trees that seemed to never end. They were all so close to each other, creating a smudge of brown and green. But it was so far away, and I was reminded how my chip wouldn't work, and I wouldn't be able to calculate the distance from me to the trees. Which caused me to focus on the Loading sign and the spinning symbol, which made the pain in my head even worse.  I rode on until we reached the trees, which took a long while.  I stood in front of the trees, not daring to enter.  I didn't know what was in there, and I didn't know when the trees ended.  There was never a time when I had never not known something like this.  Words and frazes, yes those I didn't know, but in the New World, there were no unknown places, nothing to discover.  I could barely recognize what I was feeling, but I guessed it was Nervousness. 

"Are you sure they went this way?" I asked the guard.

"Yes, their heat signatures lead into the forest."

I thought about it.  Is that what these trees are called?  Forests? 

"What is a... forest?" I asked.

"What you're looking at, Laila, is a forest.  A forest is a large area covered chiefly with trees and undergrowth." The guard explained.

I sighed, wishing I could memorize that.  But without my chip, there was no way to download forest to my memory chip.  So I did what I did for Helpless, and repeated forest and it's definition over and over in my head.

Forest: a large area covered chiefly with trees and undergrowth.  Forest: a large area covered chiefly with trees and undergrowth.  Forest: a large area covered chiefly with trees and undergrowth.  Forest: a large area covered chiefly with trees and undergrowth.

I looked back at the forest, not wanting to enter it.  But with a sigh, I say:

"Alright, lets go in." I murmured. 

The guard walked into the forest, and I did as well.  It was dark, there were so many trees it was hard for any light to come in.   And then I took notice how there were so many trees, my hover machine wouldn't fit through any of them.  It was too big and wide to fit in between the spaces between the trees.  There was no way I'd be able to ride it through the forest.  I would have to leave it here, and walk.

"No, no no no no!" I whined, with a sigh. 

The guard stopped and turned around, looking at me.

"What is the problem?" it asked.

"I have to leave my hover machine here," I said, and turned off my hover machine.  I got off, the soft dirt sinking beneath my feet.  I walked up to the guard, my backpack jiggling with every step I took.  He continued walking and I followed him deeper into the forest. 

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The sky gradually got darker, and the air got cooler.  Even without my chip, I could tell that night was coming.  My feet started to hurt from walking for so long-an unmeasurable amount of time and distance, from stepping on uneven ground, and from climbing the large hill.  I stepped on twigs, rocks, an hard pieces of dirt.  All the roads back in the New World were smooth and even.   I doubted I would be able to walk in the dark of the night, and I would need to find some place to sleep for the night.  I would need my energy to continue trudging through the forest in the morning.  But I figured I could at least make it up the hill.  As I neared the top, my legs started to hurt as well, a burning pain from all the exercise.  I knew I was slowing down, I needed a rest.  My feet hurt, my legs hurt, and my head hurt.  The guard on the other hand, didn't slow down at all.  It was a machine, it had no pain or need for rest.  At that moment, I actually wanted to be the robot.  It had no pain in the head or in the feet, it wasn't tired, it wasn't nervous.  The robot stopped at the to, and looked around.  I walked a bit faster, wanting to see what it was looking at.  When I reached the top, I stared in awe at what I saw.  An old crumbling city, with trees and plants growing out of, on top of, and around it's buildings.  The roads were covered in dirt and plants that I couldn't identify.  There were these machines, things with wheels and windows scattered across the road, covered in moss. I was shocked, there was a whole city inside of a forest.  How on Earth does this happen?  I asked myself.  The sky was getting darker, making it harder to see the city. 

"Can we rest here for the night?" I asked the robot.

"Yes, we can."

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I am on a roll!  Third update in two days!  Whoop whoop!

The picture sucks, I know. I couldn't find any good pictures for Abandoned City In Forest. XP

Question #11: There are many advantages to being a robot, like no pain, no need to eat, sleep, or drink.  You wouldn't get cold, or hot, and you wouldn't be able to feel fear or nervousness.  If you were going on an "expidition" that requires a lot of unknown exploration and long time walking, would you give up all the human traits to be a robot?