The Internet Mystery - Two young sleuths find virus sender

Stationhill.com

Fiction

Fiction by Emma Haskins

Click, click, click. Lana was getting upset. The web server was down for
the 74th time since 2:30. She counted. Click, click.
"Yes!" shouted Lana as the dial tone sounded and her e-mail screen popped
up. She had a full inbox, as usual Mostly messages from her best bud,
Gabriel. But there were a couple that were from her relatives in New York,
and a few bits of junk mail. As she was reading her messages, something
caught Lana's eye. It read:\
subject: to lana

from: blood_red_rose@coolleters.com
message: dear lana, why don't you befriend me/ you have made a mistake BIG
TIME you will pay for my unhappiness i repeat you have made a big mistake :
(
date sent: 5/11/01
Lana looked at the message for a while. She was puzzled. Who was this
person, and what did they mean she "will pay for their unhappiness"? Lana
stared at the ceiling, thinking. When she looked back down, the computer
screen was blank, all except for a message that read:
Warning! Your computer has preformed an illegal virus activated operation.
"Shoot!" exclaimed Lana, and with that she hit the computer in frustration.
The screen went blank.
"Red Rose," thought Lana, and she rushed to the phone to call Gabriel.
¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ ¶
The next day Lana and Gabriel sat in Lana's room talking over the weird
e-mail message and computer virus that Lana had received the afternoon
before.
"Why would anyone do such a thing?" thought Lana aloud, "I mean they don't
even know me... Right? 'Cus I don't know them!"
"Well I think they know you," said Gabriel
"What?"
"If they said that you rejected their friendship..."
"That means they DO know me!" finished Lana.
"Yes!" said Gabriel, "Now let's go to my house, my computer still works,
and we can see if we can track down this Red Rose person."
So off they went to Gabriel's house. On the way the way they tried to
think off some people that could have sent the e-mail. Unfortunately, they
came up empty handed.
"Let's just forget it," said Lana after they had been on the internet and
done what seemed like a million person searches, and even called the
Coolleters company to see if they could help them. But all they said was
that they couldn't give out personal information to the public.
"No way!" said Gabriel, "You're in danger and I'm doing this for you
because you are my friend. And I don't want anything to happen to you."
"Thanks bud," said Lana, 'but we aren't getting anywhere."
"Let's try the information booth on Bay Street, they might have some
companies that have the words blood red rose in their name," said Gabriel.
"Why would we look there?" asked Lana.
"Sometimes people put their company name in their e-mail address. They
think it's cool, and it just might help us out."
"Cool! Let's go!"
¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ ¶
At the information booth Lana and Gabriel found three companies with the
name red Rose in them. Red Rose Florist Shoppe, Red Rose Blood Donors, and
Red Rose Fish Hatchery. They narrowed them down to one at once, for the Red
Rose Florist Shoppe and Red Rose Fish Hatchery both had their e-mail address
printed on the brochure, and they weren't even from coolleters.com That
left the Red Rose Blood Donors, which didn't have an e-mail printed on their
brochure.
"How do we know that they even have one?' asked Lana.
"Well let's go there now," said Gabriel "it's just down the street and up
Lemming Ave. according to this map, and we can ask if they have an e-mail
when we get there. They might even have some other information that we
might need."
"Okay," said Lana, "if you say so." And off they went.
¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ ¶
Once Lana and Gabriel arrived at the Red Rose Blood Donors they knew they
were at the right place. As soon as they walked inside the man at the desk
said,
"Step right this way please, we will have you down and up before you can
even remember why you came here," and with that a flock of nurses in white
uniforms with a rose on the back came rushing out to greet them.
"No! No! No!" yelled Lana, who was terribly afraid of needles. Then more
calmly she explained, "We aren't here for a blood donation, we just want to
ask a couple questions." The herd of medical assistants filed back into the
room from which they came, and the man at the desk got up and said,
"Hi! My name is Mike! What's your name? It's so nice to see youth
interested in what we do here! Are you to become future blood donors I
hope?"
"Not exactly," said Lana, still a little shaken from her last chat with
this man.
"We want to know your e-mail address," said Gabriel, "and the names of any
youth who might work here on the weekends and use the companies e-mail
account."
"Well," said Mike, "We do have a couple junior workers, but they work after
school during the week as part of their education, and we do not have a
company e-mail address. I am the owner of this company, and I use my e-mail
address."
"Can we have it please?" asked Lana.
"Sure!" said Mike, "Here it is," he said as he scribbled something on a
piece of paper.
"Thanks!" said Lana and Gabriel as they rushed back to Lana's house.
"Wait!" said Gabriel as they walked down the street, he rushed back into
the building. He came back out in a matter of seconds.
"What was that about?" asked Lana
"I had to see if he had any kids that might use his e-mail address. He
does. Two daughters name Emily and Alice, and one son named Mike as well,
but everyone calls him Junior."
"Oh" said Lana looking a little puzzled, "Okay."
¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ ¶
Back at Lana's house, Gabriel opened up the piece of paper that had Mike's
e-mail address on it. When he did he gasped.
"What?" asked Lana, "What's going on?"
"Look," said Gabriel as he handed Lana the slip of paper. As she read it a
small scream escaped her mouth. In neat and fancy writing the paper read:

Mr. Mike Galloway:
email blood_red_rose@coolleters.com

"Ohmygosh," said Lana, the words came so quickly that they sounded like
one. Gabriel couldn't understand what Lana had said but somehow he knew.
"I know," he replied.
"Mike was such a nice man though,' said Lana, almost in tears, "I just
don't understand why he would blackmail me like this, kill my computer, and
do whatever else he has up his sleeve."
"That is why I asked if he had any kids. They might have sent it you know.
Have you ever meant any of them before?"
"No,"
"Well, it's been a long day and my legs are about to fall off, I'm going
home, see you Sunday Lana."
"Bye"
As Gabriel left Lana's house and started walking towards his own down the
street he wondered. What were they doing all this for? It was just a
little hat mail. All of the beautiful girls in school got it from other
not-so-beautiful girls. Why was Lana so worried?
"I have to help her though," said Gabriel aloud, "even if she is paranoid
for the rest of her life because of this, I have to help her because..."
Gabriel paused, he had been talking to nobody, but that wasn't why he
stopped, it was because he didn't know the right word to finish his
sentence, "I have to help her because... I love her."
¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ ¶
The next day Lana and Gabriel spent the entire morning at Gabriel's house
e-mailing Mike and his kids, and trying to see if they would reply.
"If even one of them does, it might give us some information on who killed
your computer." said Gabriel. They continued to surf the web until around
tree o'clock.
"I want to go home" said Lana. Gabriel agreed that was the best thing for
her to do and so she went home, and Gabriel continued to surf. He was about
to go down for dinner when: BING BONG You have mail!
"Yes!" shouted Gabriel, the letter was from Mike's son, Junior. It read:
subject: to Gabriel
from: blood_red_rose@coolleters.com
message: hey, what are you doing snooping around in my life? this is
between me and my girl, and some ninny goat like you boy ain't gonna get in
my way : (
date sent: 5/14/01
Gabriel was about to go to Lana's house to tell her the news when his
mother called him to dinner. He decided that he would tell Lana in the
morning.
¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ ¶
That night Gabriel received phone call from one of his friends, Bud.
That's what Gabriel called him. That's what he wanted Gabriel to call him,
and ever since they met he had called him Bud. And come to think of it
Gabriel didn't know his real name.
"Hey man!" said Bud
"Hey Bud!" said Gabriel
"Yo, know that girl, what's her name, Lana?"
"Lana?"
"Yeah, where does she live?'
"Why don't you just call her and ask her that?"
"Well I don't know her that well and I...I...I want to go out with her."
"Ha ha ha ha ha! She's not gonna go with you!"
"And why not?'
"She won't go out with me, and we have been friends since 1 AD., so she
ain't gonna go with some dude she don't know!"
"Shut up!"
"Sorry man"
"Just tell me where she lives! NOW!"
"Okay okay! Cool it man, she lives at 3216 Canopy Avenue."
"Yo that's right where you hang right?"
"If you're asking where I live, yes."
"Cool! Thanks man, you're the best!"
"Sure!"
Just then a horrible thought came to Gabriel.
"Yo Bud, you have an e-mail address?"
"Sure! Don't everyone these days? Well it's blood_red_rose@coolleters.com
and don't send me no junk okay? I share it with two really annoying sisters
and tow parents, so watch your language okay?"
"Yeah okay, Bye"
"Bye man!"
That night Gabriel went to bed with a sore head and an upset stomach. He
just knew that something was going to happen to Lana.
¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ ¶
It was nine o'clock in the morning. Gabriel looked out his window and up
the street. There were no lights on at Lana's house. Just then one turned
on. The light was coming from Lana's bedroom. Gabriel watched as Lana's
shadow moved around the room, went down the hall flicking the lights on as
she went along. She went down the stairs and into the kitchen. Watching
Lana's do this reminded Gabriel of watching Madeline on TV when he was
little. He laughed. Gabriel guess that Lana was eating breakfast, for
after he got dressed she still hadn't move from the head of the kitchen
table. Gabriel went outside and sat beneath the oak tree in his yard to
watch Lana. The Mission Impossible theme song was playing inside his head.
He laughed again. Then he saw a package sitting on Lana's front porch. It
was Sunday though, and mail didn't come on Sunday, and Lana's family got
their mail at the post office. It was way to early to receive a package
from the shipping company. The package on the step must have been put there
last night.
"Bud, e-mail, Lana, everything is starting to click!" said Gabriel to
himself. As he went inside he decided to pay a visit to Lana after lunch and
tell her everything.
¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ ¶
At exactly 12:45 P.M. Gabriel went over to Lana's house and knocked on the
door, something he didn't usually do. For him to knock on Lana's door was
like his dad to knock on the door and wait until someone answered when he
came home from work. But Gabriel knocked anyway. Lana's mother answered
the door.
"I suppose you're here to see Lana." she said "She isn't feeling very well,
but we took her to the doctor's, and she isn't catchy or anything, so come
right in."
Gabriel walked in and went up to Lana's room as her mother had instructed.
"Lana! You look terrible!" he exclaimed when he saw her. Her face was all
puffy and flushed, her eyes swollen and watery, and her neck, arms, legs,
even ears were covered in what looked like chicken pocks or little bug
bites.
"What happened?" Gabriel asked.
"I had an allergic reaction to talc." said Lana in a scratchy voice that
made Gabriel's through hurt just to listen to.
"Talc? Isn't that baby powder? Why was that in your house? Your parents
know that you are allergic to it, so how did it touch you?
"There was a package for me on the veranda this morning. I opened it up
and inside was a small teddy bear and a letter. I read the letter first, I
still have it, on my desk." Gabriel picked up the letter on Lana's desk. It
read:
Dear Lana.
I love you so much. Why don't you love me? We met in 8th grade, on your
class trip to the Boston Museum of Science. Remember? I was the kid that
you gave some of your lunch money to so he could buy a postcard at the gift
shoppe. I asked you out before you left, but you said no. You are my only
love. I love you, and I wish I didn't have to force our love to start, life
is so nice when it catches you by surprise. I 'am sorry I have to do this,
but I have power and you don't and you better do as I say, or your life
could be a lot worse.
Michael Galloway Jr.
"Then I picked up the teddy bear, to go show it and the letter to my mom,
and up came a big puff of talcum powder. It got all over me." said Lana, "I
only wish I knew who this creepy kid was."
"Your wish is my command!" said Gabriel, "Your creepy kid is the
blood_red_rose@coolleters.com, the Bud Galloway from the 10th grade, and
the Michael Galloway, son of the blood donor guy. Impressed, are we not?"
"Very!" said Lana, "Thanks for helping me out Gabriel, you're the best, and
only the best deserves my love, not that creepy Mike kid."
"So let me get this straight, you want me, to go with you?"
"Yup!" said Lana, and with that Lana and Gabriel celebrated Gabriel's case
closed, the creepy kid taken care of, an the first day of a very happy life
together, with a kiss, a nice friendly, kiss.
¶ ¶ ¶ ¶ ¶

Emma Haskins, age 13, contact: princess_emma87@hotmail.com
Copyright 2001 Emma Haskins.
Reviews and comments requested
Posted 03/07/2001