Err0r

Chapter 12: Anguish

    Pixal paused where she was and looked down at him. She was confused why he had told her to stop but she didn't argue. The city seemed to go silent all of a sudden. She waited for him to say something, anything to interrupt the tension. He didn't and she felt more uncomfortable than she had before they started the walk.

"I need to ask you something, Pixal. This is important." Borg finally stated.

His tone wasn't anything similar to what it had been when he had spoken an hour or two ago.

"Of course. What is it you wanted to ask?" She tried to hide her emotions by hiding behind her mask of monotone once again.

"You were spying on me earlier. Were you not?"

"I might have gone through the security cameras, including the one in your office."

"I know. I also know what you saw."

Much to her disappointment Borg did not explain what exactly it was that she saw. Instead he seemed to pause almost as if thinking about something. His face turned grim and emotionless as he spoke next.

"Those blueprints are very important. I would ask for your safety to remove them from your memory files."

Pixal was taken aback. Is that why he asked her out here tonight? She wondered why it was away from the tower but she didn't really think that far into it.

"My safety?" She questioned.

Borg fiddled with his hands. "Yes, well there are some things that are private..." he trailed off trying to figure out how to explain something to her.

If Borg could say these things she wanted to know why. She was so used to listening to him and doing what he told her that this time it was his turn to listen to her. She wasn't going to let him mention her safety and not tell her what he meant by that. She wasn't going to ignore the fact that they were in the middle of the city at night and this is when he chose to tell her this.

"Private from me? You have been acting so peculiar lately and I would like to know why. This is not just another project, you are hiding something."

She said it in her same monotone but this time it sounded different. She was actually speaking against him. She had never done such a thing before or even asked about things that he didn't tell her. Even Borg seemed shocked by her response. He stuttered for a minute trying to think of what else to say.

"Pixal. This isn't up for discussion. I- I can't explain it right now but it's important you listen." He hissed.

Pixal noticed his voice raising significantly from what it had been. Almost as if he was trying to keep his voice down but not quite.

"No, this time you will listen to me. You have never acted this way before. Recently you have been so jumpy and uneasy. I am worried about you-"

"Pixal stop!" His voice grew louder but it wasn't angry, not yet anyway.

She ignored him "-I am concerned for your wellbeing. I am not just your assistant, I... care about you. As your daughter I have noticed something is off. This is not normal. Something is wrong, something that you will not tell me. You can tell me, you can tell me anything." She stiffened realizing what she'd said.

"I can't tell you! Right now I can't, your job isn't to worry about me, your job is to do what you're told and stop meddling in my business! I am not your father, you are NOT my daughter, I am your creator and you will do what I tell you to!" Borg yelled, the anger inside him finally bursting out.

Pixal stepped back. Her breathing became shallow. Her lip began to quiver but she tried to cover it with her hand. Borg seemed to regret his words as soon as he said it but he didn't mention it even if he did. She held a lump in her throat as she walked as fast as she could back to Borg Industries. A tear trickled down her face as she wheeled him back into the building. She left him in front of his contraption that was by the desk in the same place he had left it. She hugged her arms to her chest and quickly walked almost running to her room. She refused to look at him. She could almost feel Borg staring at her as she walked away. She didn't make it to the bed before she fell onto her knees on the floor. She broke out a sob and let her tears fall down her face. This terribly intense feeling was one she had never experienced before. Despite all her other odd moments in this room nothing like this had ever happened. She remembered being terrified, feeling pain and even overwhelmed but this wasn't like those times. She tried to wipe the tears on her face away but they kept falling. She let out a few more sobs so heavy that her chest heaved up and down with each heavy intake of breath. It hurt. His words hurt. They hurt so bad it felt like knives jabbing at her.