Glitch #ONC

Chapter Fourteen

The pain sent Luke tumbling to the floor. Daylight blinded him.

It was midnight, I was only gone but a few moments.

Struggling to his knees he steadied himself against the arm of the chair. He looked out of the window and gasped. Queenie wasn't in the paddock. Forgetting everything else he ran from the house and began calling her name wildly. Checking all the other fields and the barn for any sign of her. 

He almost ripped the back door off the hinges on his way in. "Mel!" He ran to the bottom of the stairs and yelled again. "Mel, Queenie's gone, do you have any idea what's happening?" Not getting any response he leapt the stairs two at a time. 

A fine glitter of dust caught in the air as he barged into the bedroom. Sweat dripped from every pore. His voice becoming more hoarse with every panicked call that went unanswered. A piece of paper floated off the bed and landed at his feet. 

"No." He snatched it from the ground. 

'Dear Luke, 

Writing this letter was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but I had no choice. We have been through a lot in the past few years I just want to thank you for sticking by me when you could have walked away. 

I have taken this decision with a heavy heart, it was not easy but it had to be done. I cannot go back to living, I have said my goodbyes to my family and the choice I made all those years ago cannot be undone. I do not wish to remain in this simulation on my own and any replication of you would not be the same. 

I do not blame you for being curious, it is clear to me now that you are a light that shines too brightly for the simulation. No matter what you do, you will struggle to make this world work and I cannot bear the thought of you suffering like that for me. 

By the time you read this, I will have done what is needed to be done. I love you, and it is because of that I set you free. Go and make a difference.

Shine bright my love.

Melody.'

Luke's eyes stung as he folded the paper in half. He dropped to his knees and wailed. His phone started ringing, his watery vision barely able to see the caller's name. He threw it. Relishing the sound it made as the glass broke.

"Too little too late, Alex," he screamed. His yelling became maniacal laughter. It forced tears from his eyes and made it hard for him to draw breath. He embraced the madness, the darkness enveloped his mind.

***

His eyes opened. The tubes connecting him to the machines had been disconnected and lay across his body. He twirled them between his fingers as he waited for his brain to catch up to where he was. 

"About time." Richard's voice was cold. Dark circles framed his eyes. He pulled Luke from the bed by his gown and tossed him into a wheelchair. With his face millimetres from Luke's, he chided, "You want to know what you have done?" He didn't wait for an answer, he ran around the back of the chair and pushed.

Luke struggled in the chair, the speed they were going making it difficult. Rooms and doors sped past them as they turned through corridor after corridor. His stomach dropped as he spotted the elevator. He doubled his efforts to escape.

Richard laughed and grabbed Luke's hair to pull him back in the chair. "I don't think so."

The doors opened, inside two large men in dark uniforms stepped aside to make room. Luke recognised their masks, they were guardians. Keepers of the peace. His heart hammered in his chest as his vision blurred at the edges. Sweat slicked his palms making it hard to grip the arms of the chair.