Err0r

Chapter 19: Petrified

         It was dark, somewhere. Though it was hard to tell if it was anywhere at this point. The slight buzzing noise of lights in the distance was the only thing that could be heard among the silence. Nothing else could be heard except the occasional footsteps outside. A silver droid stood motionless in the doorway. The droid walked a few steps and fell onto the floor. The darkness began to clear and the room became obvious.

"Ah-" A sharp groan sliced through the silent atmosphere like a knife.

The silver droid's eyes opened slowly and revealed green irises. She blinked and peered down at her body. Then a scream erupted throughout the room. Pixal had found herself again. She didn't know how she was able to regain her consciousness but she did. Perhaps this thing actually let her go. Either way she was in pain. Her headspace felt violated and she could still feel the lingering presence of whatever had found its way inside. Her chest lifted up and down faster than she could even acknowledge. Tears spilled down her face as she tried to brush herself off and stand up again. After a second or two they stopped. She looked in her reflection to see the same green eyes peering back at her. Relieved she sat on the edge of her bed. Her breathing was shallow and she felt horrible. It wasn't really physical pain but mental pain. Like a migraine headache she couldn't get rid of. She was terrified of losing control of herself again. She was terrified of this building, of it. Pixal didn't want to be here; she didn't want to be controlled. She stood up and walked out of the room.

Every sort of screen, every piece of technology seemed to glare at her. She felt uncomfortable in her own living space. Her sharp breaths were loud in the silence of the building. Her shaking figure made its way through the halls until she reached the double doors in the lobby. She waited for the doors to open like normal. This time they didn't. The screen above the doorway seemed to stare daggers at her. She stepped back as cautiously as she could, trying not to make a noise.

"You think you can escape me?!" The screen lit up and she jumped back.

She tried to open her mouth but nothing came out. It was then she realized the impact that this thing really had on her. She tried to move away from it but she was petrified. Her eyes were locked onto the glowing yellow eyes of this...this thing. Her shaking was the only thing that signified she was still conscious.

"I control every inch of this building! You are mine, do not forget that!" It hissed.

Her mouth was dry but she managed out a few words. "If that is true then why am I able to control myself again?"

"My control is limited for now, but the power this building gives off-" It paused as if not to give too much away.

"It won't be long until everything in this entire city, including you, will be under my control at once." Its raspy voice finished.

Pixal stepped back after she had gained enough strength to move away. She watched the double doors and her chest beat faster. Her mind was racing with quickly strung together thoughts. Normally Pixal was organized and careful in her planning. Now she just wanted out, now she just wanted to run as far and as fast as she could, where she would go she didn't know yet. That was only if she could escape this dreaded prison of a building. A sharp zap was felt throughout her head and she clutched it in pain and shock.

"Naughty girl, you will never escape my grasp. I may not be able to control you for long now but when I regain my strength I will never let you go." A smirk seemed to sound in its voice.

Tears fell down her face as the sinking dread of what was to become of her set in. The sun was beginning to come up and cars started to pass by the building. People began to walk to work and she noticed them outside the doors. Her brain had snapped into a sort of survival mode as she watched them pass. Her tears dried and her eyes dilated and she ran towards the double doors. Panicked and terrified she began to scream.

"Help me!" She screeched as loud as she possibly could.

The screen above her almost seemed to be laughing. "Don't waste your breath. No one cares about you."

Pixal's eyes filled with angry tears as she refused to believe what this thing said. She wiped them away in a quick swipe. She balled her hands into fists and began to bang on the double doors. She didn't care if anyone could see her, she wanted them to and she wanted someone to notice her. She knew the windows were tinted but she hoped anyone would at least hear her. Her mind was made up and she wanted out. She slammed her whole body into the glass doors and when that didn't work she did it again and again. A crack appeared and her mind didn't think about anything else but escaping. Like a tiger trapped behind glass she slammed and shoved herself against the doors over and over. The crack got bigger and bigger. She didn't hear the screen anymore nor did she hear anything but the screaming inside her head to escape. Then a bolt of energy flew through her body. She yelped as she felt it. Her tired body fell to the floor and the cackling of the thing above her made her clench her eyes shut.

Her eyes fluttered open again and she peered at the double doors. There were several cracks along them and she knew that it only would take a few more hits to break them open. Pixal shakily got to her feet. She felt cold stares being burned into her back and immediately turned around. Workers glared at her as if she was insane.

"Help me!" She pleaded.

No one even got close to her. She felt like a caged zoo animal being watched for entertainment. None of them had even pieced anything together. Then she blinked again and no one was even there. The lobby was empty, it wasn't even time for work yet. She looked up at the screen that displayed the exact same message it always had. She wondered if what happened was all in her head. The cracks on the doors said otherwise. She peered down at her shaking hands and wondered if this meant she was truly insane. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to scream into the empty lobby.

"Help me..." she whispered, her voice growing thinner.

"You are all alone. No one will ever help you." The raspy voice echoed in her head.

She slammed her head into the doors to get the voice to stop speaking to her. The doors didn't budge much to her disappointment. She was trapped in this building with no way out. Pretty soon she wouldn't even be herself anymore or at least if that thing was telling the truth. She screamed at the door again at anyone who happened to walk by. None of them stopped or seemed to hear her at all. She curled up into a ball in front of it. Her tears dried eventually and she sat there shaking. After a while she heard the familiar metal clanging of Borg's contraption. She felt Borg peering down at her but she didn't care. She didn't move and she didn't say anything. His shadow loomed over her and she felt uncomfortable.

"Help me-" her wobbly voice was barely audible.

Her head moved to the side and the last thing she saw was Borg's appalled face. She didn't even know if he had heard her or if he was even there at all, but as soon as she said it she saw him walking away. She shut her eyes and hoped that he wasn't just trying to get away from her. She hoped he did care and that maybe he would come back. She stayed in the same spot. Pixal waited and waited for Borg to come back or show up in the first place. To say anything to her. She didn't want to remember the way he looked at her. She wanted to think about anything else but all she thought about was what he said to her, the way he talked about her, and all the other times he looked at her. He didn't love her, she knew this well. She began to silently sob again. She didn't want this life. She wanted to be anywhere else right now. She was horrified to imagine what would become of her in a few days or weeks.

"I told you he doesn't love you, how could he? No one ever will." The low hiss of the voice in her head made her sob even more.

She wanted to scream that wasn't true but she knew it very well. She said it herself. Borg said it and even now she didn't even love herself. She never disliked herself before but now. Now she hated herself, she hated her eyes, she hated her body, she hated her head, she hated everything about herself. How could anyone love her if she didn't even love herself? Pixal held her knees to her chest and sobbed. That's all she could do. She couldn't escape and no one would help her now. All the feelings and emotions she had ever felt nagged at her. Her curiosity had gotten her into this. All she could do was curl up and try to forget any of this happened.