Slump bump. A lifeless head banged against the keyboard, finally coming to rest on the ‘A through G’ half of it. The computer whined loudly in overstimulation. Overlapping streams of red and gray ran down from an ear, cascading over the keys like as if they were steps in a waterfall.

By the time Jared arrived, the kid had been dead for a few hours. The father was a mess and hadn’t known the answers to any of the usual questions. Unfortunately, this too fit the pattern. Three deaths. All kids from the same junior high. All who had died at a computer, blood and brains spilling out their ears. He had never seen anything like it.

Well, there was no point in delaying any further. The cop ran his fingers through his hair before making eye contact with the paramedics that waited at the threshold of the boys room. “Go ahead, there’s nothing to be gained keeping him like this.”

As they cleaned up, Jared remembered a warning a hippie had given him once. “Ones and zeros, man. Ones and zeros can melt your brain.”