ZERO (Complete)

Chapter Thirteen

"That would be great," Cheryl said. "Thank you. Please have a seat around the fire. Get warm."

Everyone got up and helped themselves to a handful of delicious blueberries. It was totally unexpected and an indescribably satisfying way to end the evening.

"What's your name?" Cheryl asked.

"My name is Emily," a young fresh-faced girl said. She was very pregnant, which immediately drew sympathy from everyone. Several people rushed over to assist her.

"You poor thing, you must be in so much pain," Lynn said. "Please, come sit by the fire and get warm."

Everyone began to mingle and introduce themselves. They all gathered around the fire and exchanged stories and plans with one another. Not surprisingly, the new group had reached an agreement amongst themselves to run and hide for as long as possible, but since they didn't have Mr. Camouflage in their group, they weren't even aware who their enemy was.

"You said soldiers killed some of your people?" Mr. Camouflage asked.

"Yes, all those who remained on the bus are now dead," Emily stated.

"You saw it happen?"

"Some of us were fortunate enough to get away, but we were still close enough to see it."

"What did the soldiers look like?" Mr. Camouflage asked.

"They were covered from head-to-toe in black combat gear. Several of them came into the woods looking for us. The slowest members of our group..." Emily paused, unable to finish. She started to cry and the rest of her group consoled her. A heartfelt silence fell over the large group as everyone was reminded of the weight of the situation.

Mr. Camouflage filled the others in on what he had told his Dark Circle cohorts and then informed them of their plan to take down The Shadow. Understandably, the news came as a bit of a shock to the newbies and many of them had questions.

"You mentioned you were part of The Shadow," Emily said. "How did you get involved?"

"It was right when the war was coming to an end, I was recruited by some fellow Shadow members," he began. "As a hacker, I look for vulnerabilities in software and databases, and exploit them. It's sort of a hobby of mine. Back then there was a rogue group on the Dark Web calling themselves The Shadow. They appeared on forums and in some covert chatrooms only accessible to those capable of bypassing the extensive security protocols.

"I gained access through a flaw in their security and posed as one of their members. I had been posing under the alias Raven Storm for months, gathering information.

"Little did I know, they knew I was an imposter the entire time and were leading me down a path. I thought I was making progress, but I later learned they were just trapdoors waiting for me to fall down. They actually designed these flaws as a recruiting mechanism. If you're capable enough to access these highly restricted areas, then you have proven yourself to be a worthy candidate for their team. After my presence became exposed, they offered me a job. I accepted even though I had never met any of them and wasn't really sure what they did. All of our identities remained anonymous and I was given the name Mr. Camouflage.

"I received small assignments and payment once those tasks were complete. Slowly over time, I gained their trust and would take on bigger assignments with higher security clearance. As it turned out, we were creating a new system of government that was completely digital. We controlled every aspect of society including the money, the justice system, policy, defense, you name it. It was all coming from us.

"You could say that I was complicit in building a tyrannical system, but I was never given the full picture. I was instructed to work on one part, but remained ignorant of the full scope of what I was working on or what impact it would have on society.

"Later I learned more about some of the strict laws governing the citizens and how many people's rights were being violated. I wanted to speak out about it, but I didn't build relationships with these other Shadow members. It wasn't like we all hung out on the weekends or met in private clubs to discuss our plans. So I didn't really know who I could trust."

"So what did you do?" someone asked.

"I figured I was anonymous so anything I did couldn't be traced back to me. I mean, I guess I was a little naïve to think that, but I wanted to set a plan in motion that would ultimately disrupt their agenda, or at least make things a little harder for them."

"You sabotaged them?"

"I tried. I was on the inside so I thought I could really do some damage. I released a virus that I thought was nearly impossible to defend against. It was designed to chew through their code and destroy them from within."

"What happened?"

"The virus was quarantined in a matter of seconds and the code was restored. I claimed it wasn't me and continued to work as usual, but they knew what I was up to. The next day, I took an automated taxi across town and the car started driving recklessly. It was as if it had a mind of its own, or it had been hacked. It began to accelerate and swerve erratically. I was being knocked around in the backseat."

"That must have been traumatizing for you."

"Eventually, the car slammed into a pole, nearly splitting in two, and I was knocked unconscious. I was lucky to be alive. When I came to, I couldn't feel my legs. I had sustained a severe spinal injury that rendered me paralyzed. I also suffered third-degree burns over most of my body, had several broken bones, and fractured my skull. I knew my wounds and broken bones would heal, but I lost the use of my legs and was told I would never walk again."

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Emily said.

Several others comforted Mr. Camouflage.

"As I lay in the hospital recovering, I hadn't logged into my computer in weeks. When I finally had access to a computer, none of my passwords worked, not just for my Shadow accounts, but for all my accounts. It was as if any digital footprint of my identity had been completely erased from history. I didn't exist."

"That's so terrifying," Lauren said.

"As you all know, we live in such a digital world I couldn't really do anything. I had no money and no social currency whatsoever."

"Didn't you have family or friends you could call or stay with?" Lauren asked.

"Sadly, no. The life of a hacker doesn't really lend itself to being all that social. Anyone who I could call on as my friend only existed in the digital world."

"So what did you do?"

"I stayed at the hospital where they continued to rehabilitate me and feed me, give me a place to stay. One day when I went out, I was abruptly taken against my will and put in a van just as you have all experienced. When I awoke, I found myself in the back of a bus being lead to a slaughterhouse."

"You have us now," Cheryl said. "We're your friends."

"Yeah," Lauren chimed in. "We look after each other."