((381's POV))

"381!  381 wait up!" a voice I knew all too well called out to me.  I groaned, and wondered if I continued walking, if I would be safe.  So I sped up my pace and pretended that I didn't hear my name being called. Sadly, that didn't work.

"Hey!  Hey!  381!  Stop walking!  381!"

I walked slightly faster, trying to break away or find a crowd to morph into.  But she caught up to me.  256 grabbed my arm and spun me around.  Her angry face glared up at me, clearly she was annoyed with me...  as usual.

"I told you to wait up! What are you, deaf?!" 256 growled at me. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you." I lied-something that was forbidden in the New World. 

The citizens didn't even know what a lie was, and if they did lie, it was considered illegal.  As for the punishment, I didn't know what it was for lying because no one ever lied-citizens didn't even know what lying was.  So lying was unthinkable and wrong, back in the New World and the lab anyways.  But in the Old World, I had a feeling I could get by just fine with telling a small and simple lie.

256 huffed, unconvinced. She blew a red strand of hair out of her pouty red face.  She looked out of breath, as if she had to run to catch up to me.

"Anyways...  what do you want?" I asked, trying my best not to laugh at 256's anger.  

256 shrugged and crossed her arms.  "Well, I don't really know.  I just wanted to find you, find a friendly face in this not so friendly place...  Huh, I just rhymed."

I rolled my eyes at 256 and scoffed at her distracted sense.  256 was acting lighter than usual, and I was weirded out.  I didn't know what had gotten into her.  Me?  A friendly face?  Hah, as if.  I guess I was the closest think to a friend for her, I was someone who she could complain to, rant to, bother 24/7.    But still, why was I the first one she sought out in a new place, why me out of the thousands of Viruses to choose from?

"Well, I'm going to o look around, see what the rest of this place looks like so-" I started, trying to get 256 to leave me alone, but I was cut off by her.

"Sure, I'll come with you.  Thanks for asking." 256 smiled at me and grabbed my arm and started dragging me.  

That was not what I was saying...  I would've protested but I knew that 256 was too stubborn to leave me alone.  So I pulled my arm out of her grasp and just followed along side her, observing the view of Old World.

"I can't wait for the end of the week, we'll be finally allowed to leave this dreaded place and go home.  This 'Old World' is stupid, I don't know why anyone would want to stay here." 256 stated, making a grossed out face at the plants and moss that ran up the walls.

I huffed.  I knew 256 would be one to judge right away, and I knew she deffinetly didn't want to stay.  She wanted to become a citizen-it was an obsession of hers.  She longed to become apart of the New World, ever since she could talk.  When she wasn't complaining, all she ever talked about was the New World and how 'perfect' it was.  

"Well," I started, and stared in front of me, not looking at 256, "I might actually want to stay..." I said with an amused smile.

Now I didn't know if I actually wanted to stay or not, it was too soon to tell, but I said might.  In the Old World, I was free to act and think however I wanted to, in the Old World I was free, not trapped in a small lab trying to be fixed for my whole life.  But at the same time, I was a bit cautious and fishy about the Old World, I wasn't adjusted to it yet.  I barely knew anything about it, and I knew so much about the New World.

256 stopped in her tracks and spun on her heels, facing me.  Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open, and she was, for once in her life, speechless.  She opened and closed her mouth trying to figure out what to say to me.  But I guess her words failed her.

"Wh-" she started but then someone ran into me, causing me to fall down.  To keep myself from falling, I grabbed 256 to steady myself.  Sadly, she just fell down to the ground with me.  So much for balance...  

"Hey!  Ow!" She hissed as we both landed.  I got up off the floor and turned around.  

"Hey, why don't you watch where you-" I stopped when I saw the person who bumped into me.  I recognized him, and anger bubbled through me.  

"You!" I shouted at Timberland and poked him with my finger angrily.  Timberland smiled slightly and put his hands up.

"Look, sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you, I was showing a newbie around and well...  I guess I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." Timberland apologized.

I glanced past his shoulder and caught a glimpse at a girl with long black hair and blue eyes.  She looked extremely confused and scared out of her mind.  She held her hands together and her eyes kept scanning the area around her.  Small and timid would be the best words to describe her, along with confused.  If she was a newbie, it must've meant she was a Virus.  But I had never seen her before in my life, and I knew all the Viruses, I grew up with them.  So how come I couldn't figure out who she was?  She looked my way, and I blinked and then turned back to Timberland, still frustrated with him.

"You kidnapped me!" I hissed at him.  256 got up and pushed me out of the way.

"It's you!  You were that man who took us!" she repeated angrily.  I noticed the anger flaring in her eyes, and I had to hold her back from attacking him.  She squirmed, trying to break out of my grasp and attack Timberland.  I grabbed her wrist and tried to keep her from punching the guy in the face.

"381, let me go!" 256 shouted angrily at me.

The small girl from behind Timberland spoke up, glancing at me with an even more confused expression than before.  She bit her lip before speaking.

"Y-you...  Your name is a number?" she asked me.

I froze, confused myself.  If she's a Virus, she would've known that my name would be a number, just like how her name should be a number...  But, if her name isn't a number, that must mean she's not a Virus...  If she's not a Virus, then what is she?  Timberlands face went pale, and he turned to the girl and started making stop signs with his hands.  

"Um...  yeah, it is...  I'm a Virus, all Viruses have numbers for names...  Like how this girl," I nodded towards 256, "is 256.  What's your name?" I asked, curious as to who and what she was.  She wasn't a Virus, and she wasn't an Old Worlder (as I guess I will call the people of the Old World), so what was she?

"My name is Laila," she said with a slight smile, as if hearing her own name made her happy.  

Laila...  yeah, that's deffinetly not a number...  I tried to figure out what Laila was, and while I was distracted, 256 slipped out of my grasp and stormed up to Timberland at full speed, and slapped him straight across the face.  I zoned right back in, and noticed the horror on Laila's face and the anger upon 256's face and I sighed.  Oh 256...  what have you done?

###########################################################################

((Hey ya'll. Guess what I found earlier today! The old version of Glitched-back when it was called Recognition and it had no plot or main character name! I read it and cringed the whole time :). Would you readers want to read the older version in the next chapter? It isn't very long, like three paragraphs long I think...?  Maybe 5? XD

Question #17: Why do you think Timberland was giving Laila stop signals when she asked about 381's name?

Dang it, that question sucks XD

Whelp, until next time readers!  Be_crazy25, OUT!))