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I burst awake in a mad churning of sheets and blankets. My eyes flew wide and swung around my dark room, searching for the source of that scream…
Wait-
I was the only one here.
So, was it I who screamed?
My hand cautiously traveled to my throat, touching the skin delicately as if that would give me an answer. I received no answer but I felt a fluttering at my skin. Holding my hand in front of myself, I watched with growing worry as I noticed quakes traveling up my wrist and through every finger. I was shaking uncontrollably and covered in a light sweat. I must have had an awful nightmare… I was glad I didn’t remember it.
Running my fingers through my messy hair, I slowly swung my legs over the side of my bed. Glancing around, I focused on my little digital alarm clock among the thick darkness of my room. The red numbers on its face told me the time was currently 3:28 am. Letting out a sigh, I debated whether to just get up or try to sleep more. I didn’t really want to delve into that scary dream again, so I sat at the end of my bed and waited for the shaking to stop and the clamminess to leave my skin.
After a few moments, another light tore through the darkness of my room followed by a quiet dinging. I glanced at my bedside table, gazing at the dim beam of blue coming from my phone. Leaning over to grasp the electronic, I unplugged it from the charger and held it in my view. Squinting my eyes at the harsh light, I saw that I had several text messages. Opening the first, it was from my boss.
Pursing my lips, I quickly read through a lengthy paragraph about my work ethic lately. Basically, he wanted those reports completed sooner rather than later. Well, he would just have to wait a bit more. A hacker had rendered my laptop into trash so it would be a while before I was operational once more. I sent a short reply about needing some time to buy another computer – which was completely true. Hopefully, that would appease him for a while.
After taking care of that, I spared a thought about the strangeness of sending a text to my ‘boss’ at, let’s see… 3:32 am. A small part of me hoped it would wake him up.
Focusing back on the glow of my phone, I saw that I had two messages from an unknown contact. Opening the conversation, I nearly dropped to device as I read... and reread.

u forgot that nightmare already? XD
sent at 3:29am

and seriously blood in the sink was not enough?
sent at 3:30am

“No way…” I mumbled, the grogginess of sleep completely leaving my mind. Sharpening into focus, I felt my heart begin to beat strongly in my chest and hands start shaking anew. Clutching the phone, I stared at the two messages with disbelief.
Who in the world could have known about that weird hallucination?
Who could have known I JUST woke up from a nightmare… and forgot it?!

I couldn’t help but look down and read the new text messages… a feeling of dread crawling into my gut.

DING!
u r slow

DING!
havent figured it out huh?

“W-what-“ I sputtered as my mind reeled. My thoughts were trying to connect the dots but my mind viciously denied the facts that were cropping up. Denial was the only way to preserve logic…

DING!
who am i?

Suddenly, I felt an influx of activity take over my phone. My fingertips, in contact with the thin casing of the device, picked up on the distinct feeling of electrical disruption. I had come to know the feeling very well recently…
The Internet was wrenched open and forced to a website. The blue and white page of “Cleverbot” popped up. Still a step behind what was going on, I mutely watched as a chat started with a supposed ‘bot’ conversation generator. But through the strange connection I had to everything electronic, I could tell the site was being controlled from within… controlled and manipulated by a force I neither saw the end or start of.

Cleverbot: There we go. Traditional. Much better.

After rereading a few times, my overworked mind decided it was high time to get answers though I could barely comprehend what was going on… The first question on my tongue was only because I so strongly denied what I could feel through my fingertips.

User: Who is this?
Cleverbot: Dumb question. You connected me.

I thought about that for a second, slow understanding dawning in my mind. This must be that hacker... but…

User: Connected?
Cleverbot: I’m everywhere now.
…
User: BEN?
Cleverbot: Took you a while.
User: Why? Why don’t you leave me alone…
Cleverbot: I told you __________.
The screen of my phone glitched as I felt a stirring within the digital world. The page flickered for a moment before settling back into place.

Cleverbot: You will never get rid of me.

I typed the next question on my mind without any hesitation.

User: What do you want?
Cleverbot: Entertainment.
Cleverbot: What really scares you? Blood didn’t work as well as I wanted.

I froze up, realizing what I was dealing with.
The feeling of electrical disruption, the sinister burning within the code, the glitchy control over what I thought could only be controlled by myself…. The hacking ‘BEN’ player in the PvP match… What was I fighting? Was this even a person?

User: You made… the vision?
Cleverbot: Of course.
User: How?
Cleverbot: Humans are always easy to manipulate.

My phone screen glitched all over, colors blending into each other before the light went dark. Sitting alone on my bed in pitch darkness, I suddenly felt vulnerable. What once was a haven of solitude and distance from a judging society – now became an old house filled with watching shadows and enclosing walls.