Glitched

34 - Glitch City

Not a single light penetrated the dingy windows of the cavern. Before everyone had retired to their rooms, the unown had gone around lighting candles to help Pixel and her friends find their way around should they need to. Light flickered in the hallway from the candles that had been left alight, most of Pixel's friends choosing to extinguish the ones in their rooms in favour of sleep. But instead she was lay awake, watching the distorted shadows tremble on the ceiling, cast by her candle's flickering flame that had eaten away at most of the wick, leaving a pool of wax on the stony floor.

She had no idea how much time had passed. It was impossible to tell. No power, no clock, no signal to her head set. The entire cavern felt primal, and served as a constant reminder that very soon they may be breaching the Fracture. She couldn't sleep. She didn't want to sleep. Sleeping would just make things happen faster.

A soft sound made her ears prick up and she turned her head to look at the doorway. The familiar shadow with its pointed ears bounced past just before Vector's white and black form flashed into view, only to vanish again into the shadows. For a moment she wondered if it was actually morning. It wasn't unfeasible that the jungle would block out most of the early morning light, but she brushed the idea aside. The cavern was much too quiet, and she couldn't help worrying the meowstic was trying to put his plan into action alone.

She pushed herself up and crept out of the room, following Vector's trail into the main room. Part of her expected him to not be there so she jumped slightly when she saw him huddled in the corner of the sofa, his blue eyes fixed on her.

She ventured over to the sofa and sat against the arm of the chair opposite him, pulling her feet up beneath her.

"Can't sleep?" she asked.

He shrugged and looked away from her. Silent. As silent as the very room they sat in.

From here she couldn't even hear the soft snores from their sleeping friends. No hum from the computers. If she listened hard enough she could just make out the crackling from the candles on the table beside them. The flames seemed to give Vector's white fur a flickering, pale orange hue.

"I often wonder what would have happened if I hadn't joined Bridge." His voice made Pixel jump and her eyes snapped back up to his face. "If I'd just stayed home. Would any of this have even happened?"

She waited patiently for him to elaborate, but he was silent again, just staring at the candles as he hugged his knees to his chest, both his tails fastened tightly around him. He looked scared. Not that she could blame him.

"You can't keep blaming yourself," she said.

He shrugged again. "I have my reasons, Pixel. Just like I had my reasons for joining them, and it all went horribly wrong."

"It was an accident..."

She looked down at her paws as she toyed with the hem of her scarf. He'd already heard it before and even though she thought it was helping, his stoic expression told her it wasn't. He already knew it was an accident, and accident or not, it didn't change anything.

So she decided to change the subject. Something that wasn't about the Fracture. Something to take both their minds off what was soon to come.

"What did you used to do?" she ventured. "Before you joined Bridge?"

He took in a long breath and leant his head back against the arm of the sofa. "I was a recluse."

She looked up with a start. "What?"

"Like I said. I rarely went outside. I spent all day playing games and messing about with mechanics."

"Why? Because of your allergies?"