Hacked

eNtRy fIvE

I stared at the closed door, not knowing what to think.

"Phil!" I called out, running to the bathroom. "Phil, what did he mean when he said that he knew—"

I was cut off when one unseen hand clasped over my mouth and one gripped my shirt collar. Phil hauled me to his computer with such force that I winced in pain as my forehead hit the glass.

"dAN," he said urgently, "dO nOT woRrY,, i cAn eXpLAIn EVERYTHING tO yOu. dO yOU trUSt mE¿?"

I breathed steadily, staring into his blood-red eyes.

"I...y-yes, of course I do."

"gOOd. nOw, yoU mUsT dO sOmeTHinG fOr mE."

I should have said no.

God, I should have smashed the glass right then and there and thrown that damned computer out the window so that it shattered against the concrete.

But instead, I said

"Anything."

"gO iNTo tOwn. buY sIx coIls oF bLAcK wiRe anD sIX oF reD. laVEndEr oIL. a gLAss BoX, LiKE a fIsH taNK. anD saLT."

As he listed out the materials, the words he spoke appeared on the screen. I slid my phone out from inside my pocket and took a picture.

"dO yOu uNdeRStanD?"

I swallowed. "Yes, I'll get it for you. But why—"

"dO nOt qUesTioN. gO."

So I did.

I called a cab and rode all the way into the heart of New London. There were so many people and robots; conversing and laughing and drinking in dumb, oblivious joy.

Some of the people, in their white and electric blue clothing that suggested high paying jobs and dozens of android servants, scowled at me as I walked by.

Where I normally would have made a certain gesture to them, I just kept walking that night.

It took me hours to find everything, and by the time I returned to my apartment the moon was high in the sky.

"Phil," I said, breathing heavily from running up the stairs, "Phil, I have everything."

His image changed to the kind, blue-eyed version of him and the invisible hands wrapped around me. If the hands were complete with arms, I knew that this would be a hug.

"thAnK yOu dAN. nOW..."

On the screen, in the place of his face, a blueprint appeared. A person with their head floating on the surface of a glass case, wires coiled around their neck and forehead, sticking out from their scalp, attached to a computer.

"bUiLd iT."

I stared at the screen, confused.

"Wh-what are you planning, Phil?"

"dO nOt bE aFraID, dAn. i OnLy waNt tO spEaK tO yOu iN peRsOn. setTiNgs whEre peOpLe cAn spEaK faCe to faCE aRe mOrE inTimAte."

"Intimate?" I felt my face go red. "Wait, what do you even mean face to face? We already are face to face."

"tHis liTTle...dEviCe. iT aLLoWs a noRmaL humAn, liKe yOU, to temPoRaRILy crOss inTo mY plaNe of eXistenCe."

I gasped.

Face to face.

Not me looking at a screen. Me looking at him.

"Okay," I said, grinning with wide eyes, "I'll build it."

A/N: Hey everyone! Oh my goodness, I am SO glad that so many of you are enjoying this. It means so much to me.

And take a look at the header art for this chapter! AMAZING!!!!

It was drawn for me by staurchild on instagram so go follow her! It's a scene from what I believe was my third chapter? ITS LIT

Happy thanksgiving! -Taylor