Hacked

eNTrY tWo

The building I lived in was once a stable, decent looking apartment building, considering the fact that it was so far from the center of town.

But it had gone bankrupt, and it was abandoned.

Only me and the occasional insect or rodent lived there.

I dragged the wagon and computer up the grimy concrete stairs, shoving past a couple making out in front of the door and a man passed out on the ground to go inside.

Because it was summer, it was extremely muggy inside the building due to lack of air conditioning. I still hadn't managed to put together a vent system, but I would get to it.

Up the staircases I went until I got to the seventh floor.

Pj would always tell me how stupid it was that I picked a room on a higher floor when I could choose any one of the first floor rooms, but I ignored him.

Finally I reached my apartment. The door was covered in wires and tiny glowing lights. In the place of a doorknob, there was a small black square.

I placed my index finger on the square. There was a clicking sound as the door unlocked. I pulled the wagon inside, shutting the door behind me.

As far as I was concerned, the apartment had everything that I needed, aside from running water. If I ever had to take a shower, I'd walk to Pj's flat or Chris's trailer.

My bedroom was small, but the shattered window always cast beams of light onto the black bedspread and springy mattress, making everything seem a bit happier. I had a few stuffed animals and baubles, even some of my old robots, scattered on the bedroom shelves to make it homey.

There was a small kitchen area that housed a fridge, microwave, and cabinet.

Next to that room was the lounge. This was the room where the original furnishings hadn't been taking out, so the couch was decorated in color coordinated pillows and there was even an air freshener plugged into my wall outlet. Everything smelled like Winter Candy Apple and Cinnamon Delight; the two best air freshener scents, in my opinion, because it made everything always smell of Christmas.

But at that moment I had no interest in any of those rooms.

I crossed the living area to the final door; the old bathroom.

The sink, toilet, and other fixtures had been torn out. Unusable.

In there place, I had a wraparound desk and a single chair.

The desk was a mess, but that was how I liked it.

Computers, wires, and half finished robots littered the surface, along with binders full of designs and research for machines.

I pushed a stack of papers out of the way to make room for my new computer.

Swearing because I had forgotten how heavy it was, I hoisted the gigantic piece of technology onto the surface of the table.

Muttering to myself, I tore off my boots and jacket. After tossing them into the corner, I ruffled my hair and crouched down, pulling a large box from beneath the desk.

Inside I had years of parts that I had found in pleasant condition, and my tools.

I removed a pane of glass, only showing a single tiny crack, a coil of wire, and various instruments of repair.

Then, sitting down on the chair, I set to work.

I hate to say that I became obsessed. That particular phrase has such a negative connotation.

But that's the truth of what happened.

I don't know why that computer was different than any of the other ones I had worked on before; it just was.

Five days I worked on that piece of junk. Five whole days without sleep, without seeing sunlight.

Until finally, on the sixth night, it was fixed.

I sat back in my chair and admired my work.

It looked incredible, somehow making all of my other work look mediocre.

I grinned and let out a laugh. "Time to see if you work."

I reached out to press the on button.

Something beat my to it.

The screen flared to life, showing static and code and glitching symbols; a psychedelic rainbow of color and shape.

I fell out of my chair and shouted, feeling my pulse quicken.

A face appeared on the screen.

It was human, but not.

I stared at the computer from where I had fallen to on the carpet.

The face on the screen blinked at me with its strange eyes and grinned.

His teeth were like knives.

I could feel phantom hands stroking my hair, pulling gently at my shirt collar and sleeves. Almost...lovingly.

"What..." I started after swallowing. This...this wasn't normal. This was too advanced to be like the usual AI. This thing was sentient.

My heartbeat was echoing in my ears and I could feel sweat dripping down my neck. "What is it?"

"tHAnk yOu foR fiXing mE, dAN."

A/N: OOOOO, so spooky. Hope you're enjoying the pic so far! If you ever draw any fan art for Maddox on the AU, let me know if you'd like me to use it as a chapter header and I'd be glad to 😋

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