Beep

Chapter Fourteen

I raced down every hallway using every ounce of effort I had in me. Even when the lights went off, even when I had to trudge through the hallway next to the bathroom  because water was starting to pool on the ground, even when the virus was trying its hardest, I gave one hundred and ten percent. The only thing that even remotely threatened my progress, was when Evans's voice sounded through the ship just like ISAC's would. But when he spoke it wasn't the evil version of him, it was the one I used to know... the one I'd fallen in love with. "Andy, what are you doing? Peanut butter, calm down." I covered my ears and started to yell and shout to drown him out. "Woah, I did not see that coming." He remarked.
"Shut up!" I cried.
"Andy please, I love you."
"I-" I almost responded by instinct, but managed to stop myself. I dropped to the floor and started to cry. In that moment, I started to wonder if all this was really worth it. I mean, I'd lost my friends, my boyfriend, my happiness and nearly my life. So why not just give in? Why not spend my last moments believing he actually existed? That he actually loved me? Why run the risk of dying sad and nearly alone? Hell, even if I didn't want to give the virus the satisfaction of my submission to it, I could still die remembering the happy times that were still alive in my memory. Was it better to die in blissful ignorance and denial or bitter desperation? For a second I thought I knew the answer, for a second I stayed in my place on the floor. Then I considered that other possibility, living. Making it to Mars, finding a new Evans, a real one, but most of all defeating the virus. That was really what mattered most now, beating it before it beat me. How could I give it what it wants after all this? That's definitely not something that fits my personality, especially in the last couple weeks. So I burst up onto my feet and looked up, hoping it could see my face. "I HATE YOU!"

I returned to my furious sprint, even more determined than before. I ran until my legs gave out... literally. It was far from funny though, my nose started bleeding after I crashed onto the floor. I didn't even falter though, I just got up and started limping since my legs were too weak to keep running. I quickly realized that I had no idea where I was going. "Oh come on." I thought aloud. I leaned against a wall to catch my breath as I looked around. The bottom level of the ship was a scary, ugly place. All dark grey metal and ominous red, green and blue lights everywhere. The walls were covered in endless rows and rows of switches, knobs and buttons; I wasn't even sure what one of them did. Not to mention that the virus had turned all the lights off (other than the aforementioned ominous red, blue and green ones, since they were all coming from the devices and machines) which just added to the mood. Suddenly, I could hear static all around me. "An... an... meda... ju... go... t." That was definitely a voice struggling to be heard through the static.
"ISAC, is that you?" I asked.
"Ef... le... left! Left! Go left!" That was all I needed to hear.
"Thank you so much, ISAC. I'm going to owe you so many games of checkers when this is over."

Luckily I had gained enough energy during my break to take off running again. Panting and pushing, I made a hard left and was careful not to trip over any wires or machines. The next sound to come through the ship was a loud and high pitched beeping. I'm not sure if it was the pitch or the volume, but something in that sound really got to me. It was ear piercing and seemingly brain piercing too. It made my vision go fuzzy and I lost my sense of direction. I fought as hard as I could, but more than the beeping was starting to get to me. Everything was feeling pretty heavy on my shoulders now. It seemed like after every minefield was another minefield that was two times bigger. I wasn't giving up, I had just been through that argument, but now I had to find a way to pull through against adversity. So I crawled forward, I didn't care anymore. I just had to get there, I just had to get there; that's what I kept telling myself. Finally the beeping stopped and the silence was one of the most relieving things ever. I didn't even have time to question why before I was back on my feet. Amazingly enough, as soon as I stood up I saw the switch right in front of me. Or should I say switches. There were three, all big, all in a row, all silver. Surprisingly, I laughed lightly and then said, "Well ISAC, this one's for real... silver, silver or silver?"
"That... twenty eighth... said... this trip." Even though his words were cut off every so often, I could still hear the bittersweet happiness in his voice.
"It's got to be the middle one right? It's the main switch, how could it not be the middle one?" As much as I was enjoying the return of my normal lighthearted self, I had to pull myself back into seriousness. I approached the switch and placed my hand gently on the top. Then, I took a slow, deep breath. "Thank you, virus. Thank you. Thank you for taking my friends away from me, thank you for making me hate my innocent computer, thank you for ripping my heart to shreds, thank you for making me love a made up man and most of all..." I smirked. "Thank you for letting me kick your ass." I yanked on the switch though it tried to protest. I pulled and pulled and groaned out in agony and at first slowly, then all at once, it came down. I let out a- ha- massive breath of relief as I dropped my sore arms to my sides. I panted a little bit, starved for air. But also, I smiled. I smiled and I couldn't stop smiling. However, I didn't want to celebrate too prematurely, I still had to turn the switch back on. This time it was much easier to move, but didn't have quite the same effect. The first time, as I'd expected, all the red, green and blue lights had gone off and the ship had gone unnaturally silent. This time though, it stayed that way, with the lights off and the silence surrounding me. "Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no." I flipped the switch back and forth and back and forth over and over and over again. With each try, I got more desperate and more hopeless. Eventually, I furiously let go of the switch and pounded my fists against the wall. "I HATE IT! I HATE IT ALL!" I had been screaming so much and so hard that my voice was now hoarse and broken. "Okay, I'm going to try one more time... and you're going to work!" I demanded, pushing it up again. This time, it happened, the ship came to life. I was still doubtful though, and my feelings weren't helped by the fact that a periodic beeping started almost immediately. "I-ISAC?" I asked cautiously. The lack of response killed me. "ISAC? ISAC where are you?" I didn't scream, I didn't punch the wall or even cry, I just sat down calmed and started rocking back and forth. "ISAC? ISAC? ISAC?" I repeated. So I just stayed that way, unable to think, unable to feel. I just sat there, rocking back and forth to the sound of the beep... beep... beep...