Err0r

Chapter 10: Concern

              The next morning came fast which Pixal had expected. She was in a good mood today. She recalled Borg's care for her one last time before she walked out into the lobby. She took in a breath the air was typical and the lobby was busy as per usual. The workers passed by her quicker than usual. She noticed this almost immediately. It was odd. They also seemed particularly weary towards the other technology that filled the lobby. She felt the urge to ask what was bothering everyone but decided to stay quiet. Afterall it was probably nothing. Borg hadn't come down yet and she noticed he always seemed to be later than he normally was. She guessed he was just busy with work. There was a lot to maintain in this place after all. She felt compelled to help him so she decided she would do some work of his. She was rather productive already which was a surprise. She finished multiple emails and sorted many different files. It was nice to feel so important. Pixal felt she was important when she was doing her job. To her, her role for Borg was much more than just a job or a task. It was her entire life. She wondered what she would possibly do if she wasn't working for him, helping him, assisting him. She noticed she didn't know. Of course she never knew. It was important she kept her role in order to remain helpful.

If she wasn't doing what she was made to do, what else could she do? She decided to get back to her work and not think about the questions that hopefully would never need answering. She sucked in a breath and realized that the lobby had become surprisingly quiet. There were still workers walking back and forth but she found herself fixated on the way they walked. It was almost as if her hearing had been damaged. She tilted her head to one side, their shoes hit the tile but came off quieter than one would expect. Then she noticed that she hadn't heard the clock ticking once. She hadn't noticed while she was working because she preferred the quiet. Now that she noticed one thing she kept noticing more. It was as if the world was on mute and only she saw it. The double doors opened silently and closed the same. She peered up at the clock, it still displayed digital numbers but they weren't moving. She looked at the screen on her arm and registered that the time on the clock was wrong. It hadn't moved since last night. She narrowed her eyes and walked towards it. She gently took it off the wall and decided to fix it.

She set it down at her desk and used the tools that were built into her arm to take it apart. Strangely enough the clock seemed to be working fine. It seemed stuck though so she gave the pieces a good clean before putting them back the way she found them. She placed the back of the clock back on and waited for it to turn on. The numbers flicked to the current time and the ticking started back up. She blinked once and looked up. She strolled over to the wall and put the clock exactly where she had removed it from. The lobby was bustling once more. She figured she must've been tired or something because everything looked exactly like it always did. The tile clicked when people walked on it, the double doors made a swooshing sound when they opened and closed, and the workers noisily chatted with one another. She didn't think much of it. After all, she recognized yesterday that her habit of a nighttime stroll often left her mind to do weird things. Whether she knew if her hypothesis was correct or not was another matter entirely. Although she didn't dwell on whether she was wrong. She cleaned up her desk from fixing the clock and straightened the lobby up. With a sigh of contentment after everything had been picked up and neat once more she waited for something to do. Funnily enough a worker sprinted over to the desk as soon as she mentally mentioned it.

"Excuse me Miss but I need to talk to Cyrus Borg." The worker seemed uncomfortable speaking with her.

"I have not heard from him all morning. I am unsure if he would like visitors." She blinked twice.

The worker's face scrunched up into a scowl. "This is urgent! I'm sure he can see me, if you'd tell me where he is I'm sure I can manage."

"I am not at liberty to give out that information. I would expect that if something was urgent he would already know about it." Pixal stated.