K.D. Kemp - Instant Message
Be Right Back
by K.D. KempIt was a dark and stormy night…
Just kidding! I mean, it was dark and there were storm clouds outside my bedroom window. Distant thunder threatened to ruin everyone’s Halloween, but I didn’t mind. First off, I like this kind of weather. When the wind starts whistling through the trees and the air smells like campfire. Plus, I’ve always kind of been a homebody, so I don’t really mind staying in. And then, of course, there’s the other thing.
Halloween is a dark day for my family, and not in a fun and spooky way. I’m not allowed to go trick or treating. There might be razors in the candy! I can’t bob for apples at the local harvest fair. Choking hazard! And even though I’m 15, my parents refuse to let me get my learner’s permit. They’re super protective of me, some might say a little overprotective, but I guess it makes sense when you think about what they went through before I was born. I’m talking about the accident. Twenty years ago, my sister was killed on Halloween night.
“We should’ve gone trick or treating,” my best friend Tod complained as he followed me up the stairs to my bedroom.
“You know I can’t,” I explained. “Besides, I promise this is cooler. Check it out!”
I led him to the desk by my window. On top of it sat a beige behemoth of a computer – a giant tower PC, a wired keyboard and mouse with an old school trackball, and a huge CRT monitor which was glowing with a screensaver of multicolor 3D pipes arranging themselves in a mesmerizing labyrinth.
I found the computer while helping my dad clean out the attic a few days ago. He said it was the old family PC in the 90s. Aside from about an inch of dust, it looked like it was in pretty good shape, so I hauled it down to my room and set it up. It had tons of cool programs and games from the days my sister would have used it. There were even some files with her homework still saved. It’s weird how technology can outlive you.
“You were right, Ethan,” Tod admitted. “This is way cooler than candy!”
Tod’s a certified computer geek and a retro fan like me. Everyone’s all about Snapchat and TikTok, but we like it old school which is why we’re sitting in my bedroom at 6:00 PM on Halloween trying to hook this thing up to the internet.
Tod took a seat at my desk and jiggled the mouse to wake up the computer. He angled the back of the tower towards himself so he could see its wires and plugs.
“Okay, good news is it’s got a built-in ethernet port, so we should be able get it online pretty easily,” he explained.
“Sweet!” I sat on the edge of my bed next to my black lump of a cat and watched Tod go to work plugging things into the back of the computer and typing away on the keyboard. Rain began to patter against the window and I shivered.
“I think I’ve got it!” Tod exclaimed. He hit a few more keys and a piercing noise filled the room. It sounded like someone dialing an old landline phone followed by a bunch of static and beeping.
I pressed my hands over my ears. “Argh, what is that?!”
“Dude, relax! It’s just the sound of dial up.”
Embarrassed, I lowered my hands. “I uh… I knew that.”
“Welcome,” a robotic voice proclaimed. “You’ve got mail!”
“We’re in!”
I leaned over Tod’s shoulder to look at the America Online browser. Different channels like Travel, Games, and Shopping beckoned us to click. I pointed to the top toolbar.
“Try clicking where it says People,” I suggested.
“Here man, it’s your computer. I’ll let you drive. No pun intended.”
“Ha ha,” I rolled my eyes. “That’s so funny I forgot to laugh.”
Tod stood and reached into his pocket to pull out a handful of candy corn and shove it into his mouth, grinning wildly as he chewed. I gave him a playful push then took a seat at the desk and clicked on the People icon showing a group of friends.
“Oh sick,” Tod said, pointing over my shoulder at the screen. “It’s got chat rooms! Let’s check one out.”
I clicked around until I landed on one for alternative music. “How about this one?”
“Sounds good to me!”
In addition to all things retro, Tod and I are huge fans of Seattle’s grunge scene. I could call it a quiet rebellion against my parents’ suffocating rules, but that wouldn’t be completely true considering my dad used to work for the record label that signed Nirvana. I suspect there was a time when they weren’t totally oppressive, I’ve just never had a chance to see it.
I clicked Go chat and the screen flooded with a stream of conversations.
“What the heck is A/S/L?” I asked.
“Huh?”
“This person, they wrote A/S/L.”
“I dunno, let me google it.” Tod pulled out his phone and started typing quickly. “A/S/L stands for age, sex, location. It was common in chat rooms to quickly find out more about who you’re talking to. You should totally reply!”
“Alright, here goes nothing I guess…” I typed a response and hit enter.
Guest52: 15, boy, SeattleAlmost instantly a private message popped up.
xohdannyboyx: Hey Seattle! Same here except 15/f. Where do u go to school?
Guest52: Nathan Hale
xohdannyboyx: No way, me too! R u going to Ashley’s party 2nite?I had no clue who or what she was talking about.
Guest52: Nah, just chilling at home with Tod messing around on my old computer.
xohdannyboyx: Cool cool im just waitin for my bf to come pick me up. Whats ur name?
Guest52: Ethan, what’s yours?
xohdannyboyx: Danny! nice 2 meet u Ethan & Tod :-)“That’s weird,” I said.
“What is?” Tod asked.
“Danny was my sister’s name.”
“Danny’s a pretty common nickname for Danielle, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I guess…” I tried to think of all the Danielles I knew in our grade. None went by Danny.
Something didn’t feel right. I chewed on the inside of my cheek and tried to think of a question.
Guest52: So, what’s your favorite alt band?
xohdannyboyx: Ugh I know it sounds cliché but I gotta go w/ Nirvana of course! Not just cuz they’re great but cuz my dad works for Sub Pop!
Guest52: That’s super weird. My dad used to work for Sub Pop too. What your dad’s name?
xohdannyboyx: Gordon! He actually took me to Kurt’s memorial but I was a little 2 young to rlly remember it.No. Freaking. Way.
I turned to Tod with a flash of anger in my eyes. “Real funny Tod.”
“What do you mean?” he asked innocently.
“You set this up,” I accused. “What is this, some kind of AI chat?”
“Dude, I swear I didn’t. I didn’t even know you had this computer until you told me about it a few hours ago!”
“Then someone else is messing with me pretending to be my sister.”
“Or…”
“Or what?!”
“Or… maybe it really is your sister.”
“How is that possible, Tod? My sister is DEAD!”
“I dunno, but she’s talking like she’s not from this time, Ethan. Kurt Cobain died in 1994. If she’s 15, how could she have been at his memorial?”
“This doesn’t make any sense.”
“Maybe it’s something with the computer, or the connection… I’ve read about this kind of stuff happening before. Wires get crossed and weird things happen.”
“Yeah, in the Twilight Zone maybe,” I snapped. “Okay, let’s abandon all logic for a second and entertain the insane possibility that somehow this is my sister. If she’s 15, then it’s 2005 for her, which means she’s going to die. Tonight.” It felt like someone poured ice down the back of my shirt.
“Holy crap,” Tod whispered.
I stood up and started pacing around my room, running damp hands through my hair. There is no way this is real.
Tod put a hand on my shoulder to stop me, and I slumped back down into the computer chair.
“There’s just no way.”
“Okay,” he said. “Obviously this happened for a reason, Ethan. Maybe this is your chance to save her. You can convince her not to go to the party!”
“How in the hell am I supposed to do that?” I cried. “I’m going to sound insane!”
“You have to try.”
“Okay,” I sighed. With shaking hands, I typed a response.
Guest52: Danny, I know this is going to sound crazy. My dad is also named Gordon. My mom’s name is Ruth. I was born in 2010 and I’m 15 years old. I had a sister named Danny, but 5 years before I was born, she was killed in a car accident. On Halloween night.
xohdannyboyx: LMAO
Guest52: Lmao??
xohdannyboyx: Great story “Ethan” very spooky. Who r u really?
Guest52: I’m telling you the truth!I turned to Tod. “We have to convince her!”
“Send her a screenshot”
“A screenshot?”
“Yeah, of the newspaper,” Tod said. “Of her accident.”
I opened Internet Explorer and pulled up Google to search for the Seattle newspaper archive. With a few clicks I had the November 1, 2005 issue. The front page showed a grisly photo of a totaled car with a smaller black and white school photo of Danny. I didn’t need to look at the screen to remember the words.
15 year old Danielle (Danny) Hart was killed this weekend as the passenger in a drunk driving accident. Her boyfriend, 18 year old Robbie Westin, was unharmed and arrested at the scene with a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit. Witnesses say he was speeding and attempting to race while wearing a “Ghostface” mask from the Scream film trilogy when he lost control of the car and slammed into a telephone pole. He is currently being held without bail. A memorial vigil will be held in the Nathan Hale High School auditorium on Friday, November 4th. Danny is survived by her parents Gordon and Ruth Hart.I captured a screenshot and attached it to the chat.
Guest52: Please, read this!
xohdannyboyx: That’s hella cool, but obviously fake.
Guest52: It’s not, I swear! How could I fake this??
xohdannyboyx: Idk you probably used Photoshop or something.
Guest52: Danny, listen. You are going to DIE tonight. You have to believe me! PLEASE! Ask me anything, I promise I’m telling you the truth.
xohdannyboyx: I gotta go, my bf’s gonna be here any minute.“What else can I do?” I cried.
“Maybe she can send you something,” Tod suggested. “Like have her hide something under the floorboards that nobody would find for 20 years.”
“I’ve got it!” I shouted.
Guest52: Wait, please! I need you to draw something on your computer tower. Grab a sharpie and draw something. Don’t tell me what it is.
xohdannyboyx: Lol why?
Guest52: Just do it, please! I have a hunch.
xohdannyboyx: This is nuts. My parents are gonna kill me if I mess up the computer.
Guest52: Please!
xohdannyboyx: ugh fine! brbI sat back and waited.
A few moments later a black mark appeared on the side of the computer tower, towards the back where Tod had plugged in the ethernet cable. It was unclear at first, like my eyes couldn’t focus on it, but suddenly it took shape and I realized what she had drawn. I typed as fast as I could.
Guest52: You drew a cat. You drew Smokey!
xohdannyboyx: How could you possibly know that? We just adopted him a couple weeks ago…I turned my chair towards my bed, where Tod was sitting next to my 21 year old cat, Smokey.
Guest52: I just saw it appear! A black cat with three white rings around his tail! He’s sitting here with me right now. He’s a lot older.
xohdannyboyx: This isn’t funny.
Guest52: I’m not trying to be funny Danny, I’m trying to save your life!
xohdannyboyx: Show me.“How do I show her?” I cried. “There's no webcam!”
Tod dug into his pocket, pulling out more candy corn and a USB adapter.
“I have an attachment for my phone,” he replied. “We can take a picture of Smokey and save it to a thumb drive. I can get it onto the computer using that.”
I leapt from the chair and pulled my phone out of my pocket. "You're a genius!"
“Hey Smokes, hey old man,” I coaxed, scratching gently behind his ears.
Smokey opened his eyes slowly and yawned. His black fur blended in with my bedsheets, except for the three white rings. I snapped a few photos then asked Tod to take one of me sitting on the bed with Smokey in my lap.
“This is the one,” Tod said. “She’ll have to believe you!”
“Can you get it on the computer?”
“I think so, gimme a minute.”
Tod sat at the desk and fumbled with my phone and some more wires. I anxiously pet Smokey, who seemed completely unfazed by the urgency of the situation.
“Okay, all set.” Tod stood to trade places with me. “You should be able to add it to the chat now.”
I pulled our chat back up to see that in the ten minutes it had taken us, I missed a few messages.
xohdannyboyx: I thought so… good story though!
xohdannyboyx: G2G, Robbie’s here!
xohdannyboyx: Happy Halloween & thx for the scare!“Got to go,” Tod explained.
Guest52: Wait!!!I typed frantically, attaching the image.
Guest52: Look at this, this is me and Smokey!The only reply was an automated message:
xohdannyboyx: ~* Im AwAy Im NoT gOnNa CrAcK *~“She’s gone! She just logged off!” I cried.
“I’m so sorry, man” Tod said, slumping down onto the bed.
“I have to try and get her back. I have to stop her!”
“You did everything you could.”
“It wasn’t enough,” I said. “I failed.”
Lightning flashed outside the window and thunder shook the pane, making us jump. Even Smokey was startled out of his sleep.
Tod glanced at his watch. “I’m so sorry man, I gotta go. I told my moms I would be home by 8:00 to help hand out candy.”
“It’s cool, don’t worry about it.” I said, swiping at some tears that threatened to start falling.
“You sure you don’t want me to see if I can stay?”
“No, it’s fine.” I didn’t want him to see me cry. “Thanks for everything. Truly.”
“Text me tomorrow?”
“Yeah, for sure, I will. Have a good night.”
I spent the rest of the night at the computer, refreshing the screen and staring at the unchanging message.
Guest52: Are you there?
xohdannyboyx: ~* Im AwAy Im NoT gOnNa CrAcK *~
Guest52: Please come back
xohdannyboyx: ~* Im AwAy Im NoT gOnNa CrAcK *~
Guest52: Come back...
xohdannyboyx: ~* Im AwAy Im NoT gOnNa CrAcK *~Sometime around midnight I fell into a fitful sleep, tossing and turning so much that even Smokey didn’t want to stick around.
Sunlight filtered through my window the next morning, daring me to wake up. I protested by shoving my pillow over my head which drowned out the light but not the noise coming from a honking car.
Reluctantly I got up and trudged over to the window. A baby blue convertible was parked in the driveway and a red headed woman I didn’t recognize was sitting behind the wheel.
“Come on loser, we’re burning daylight!” she shouted up to me.
“Who the heck is that?” I said to myself, rubbing sleep out of my eyes.
“Ethan,” mom knocked and entered my room. “Aren’t you ready to go driving? You’ve got to get your hours in if you want to get your license.”
“My license?”
“Hurry up bud, your sister’s waiting.”
“My sister?”
All at once my mind flooded with pictures of memories I’d never seen. Danny running alongside me and dad as I learned how to ride a bike. Her and mom waving in the rear-view mirror of a moving truck when she moved into her first home across town. Holiday dinners with tables set for four instead of three.
I raced down the stairs, pulling my shoes on as I went, and ran into the front yard.
There she was, looking larger than life and walking up the driveway to meet me. My sister!
“You’re here!” I said incredulously.
“Thanks to you,” she replied. “I’ve been waiting quite a while for this day.”
“It showed you logged off,” I cried. “I thought you didn’t get my message!”
She pulled out her phone and turned it to show me the screen. Her wallpaper was the photo Tod had taken of me sitting on the edge of my bed holding Smokey. A photo taken last night that my sister had saved for the last 20 years.
She pulled me into a tight hug. “What you said spooked me enough that when Robbie showed up to take me to the party smelling like alcohol and wearing that ridiculous Ghostface costume, I told him to go kick rocks. I went back online and saw the photo of you and Smokey, but by that time you were gone.”
“I thought it was too late,” I said. “I thought I missed my chance!”
“What’s gotten into you Ethan?” mom asked as she and dad came out into the yard to join us. “You’re acting like you haven’t seen your sister in years!”
I pulled myself away from Danny and stared into her face. She winked at me. Our shared secret.
“He’s just excited to learn how to drive, right bud?”
“Right!” I grinned.
“Ready to hit the road, little bro?”
“Absolutely!”
She got into the passenger seat of her convertible, and I slid into the driver’s seat, adjusting the mirrors.
“You two be careful now,” dad said.
“We always are!” Danny shouted as I pulled out of the driveway and onto the road.
