Code: R |ONC 2024|

12

Emily

I start on the second cord, hearing the door thud. I cut through the pixels, hearing more thudding before the barrier starts to creak. I'm hallway through the third when it splinters, and I'm nearly through the fourth when the door flies open, and they pour in.

Yanking the shard through the remainder of the rope, I stumble away and turn my back toward the broken window, feeling the gust of air against me.

"There's nowhere to go, girl. If you jump, you die. If you let the Pixel have you, I'll consider about letting you serve me," the Terabyte offers, but the generosity is anything but kind.

"Never, I'd rather take my chances with the drop!" I yell, turning my attention to Pixel.

"Pixel. . . it's me," I plead, watching how is smile is wicked as he takes a step forward. "You know me, you can't forget."

His eyes are wild. "I'm going to corrupt you, little girl, and it's going to be good," he drawls, eagerness flooding his tone.

My heart stutters, and I can feel my feet rocking on the edge as I hold the glass out in defence.

His eyes waver, and the sight has hope searing me.

"I love you," I call, and he shakes his head, a rough groan coming from him.

"Get her!"

"Pixel, don't listen!"

He charges over, and panic wraps around me. When he's in reach, my mind splits between stabbing him, putting him out of his misery, or letting him take me. His hand grips my arm, and I hear the glass shatter as I drop it, tears welling my eyes as brightness fills the room.

I can't kill the only man I've loved, even if it means saving myself.

His teeth graze the length of my neck, and when I think he's going to bite down and turn me into one of those things, he releases me and cries out in pain, his eyes crumpled shut. He drops me and clutches his head as he hunches over on the floor, and I scan the room, noticing how the Kilobytes are shaking before smoke wriggles from the creases in their faces, and the purple guy's eyes pop like fried bulbs before he drops to the floor along with them. Unmoving.

The bright light is blocking everything from view, but when it dims, I see the woman, but she's different. She doesn't look frail, and there's colour. Her skin is like porcelain, hair with a variety of pixelated shades of green and silver, and she has green markings over the revealed parts of her skin.

The red man is crumpled on the floor, his body charred beyond repair, and he's also unmoving. Relief washes over me, and I drop to my knees and cradle Pixel to me until he stops writhing.

"It's OK, young one. I'm not going to hurt you," she says, inching closer before crouching. "I'm here to help you."

"W-who are you?" I mutter, only to shift my attention to Pixel who stirs.

"M-Motherboard. . . you're back."

She smiles down at him and rests a hand on his leg before returning it. "You did well, my boy, and you, girl for freeing me." Her bright green eyes soften as she scans the both of us. "The Terabyte tricked me; I let him corrupt me and drain me until I was nothing left but a power source to him. Pixel stumbled across me and has been trying to find a way to get the truth out, but that monster had a tight hold on everything."

I feel for her. It must've been terrible to know what's going on around you but feel powerless.

"He's got Virus dispensing every couple of hours, there are people dying and being corrupted as we speak," Pixel urges. "Please, help them."