Hacked

enTRy TeN

Phil had fallen asleep, which I didn't think was possible, but I remained wide awake.
I pulled away from his shockingly warm embrace and stood up from the metal couch. The red light from the endless sky above caused everything in this eerie, mysterious universe to cast black shadows across the dusty floor.
Before I did anything else, I turned and gazed fondly down at the sleeping virus.
He had switched into his other form. Normally, he would have glitched back by then. But, since he was sleeping he had stayed in that state.
He looked so peaceful, with the smooth face and mouth slightly open. His eyebrows made him look so sad, and since I had pulled away from his arms, he had wrapped them around himself. Like he was shielding himself from something.
I gently swept his fringe to the side of his forehead before turning and walking away.
I soon realized that this entire world was a labyrinth. The piles of metal and other objects became closer together as I went, and I willed myself to not let any sort of claustrophobia to take over.
I reached one particular pile of things. No, pile is an understatement. It was a mountain.
From the area around the bottom of the monstrous heap, I could see something reflecting the red light at the peak.
I took a deep breath and slid my jacket from my shoulders, tossing it to the ground. I undid the straps on my fingerless gloves before putting them back in, tighter the second time. Then, I started to climb.
The task was difficult. I would have to wedge the toes of my boots between the pieces of junk to keep myself from falling.
"Holy..." I hissed as the metal rod I had grabbed onto crumbled beneath my fingers.
Composing myself, I put my hand on a different piece and continued climbing.
Finally, I reached the top.
There, covered in dust, was a picture frame.
I pulled up the bottom of my shirt and used it to wipe away the layer of gray.
A little boy stared back. He was lying in a hospital bed. There were multiple tubes and IVs sticking out of his body. There were bruises and scrapes and bandaids. Tiny, clear tubes sticking from his nose to supply oxygen.
But, he was beaming. Curly red hair, bright green eyes, freckles covering his face that was scrunched in happiness.
I chuckled softly, but my face fell immediately.
Was this Elliot?
Carefully, I unclipped the back of the frame and slid the fading picture from behind the glass.
Suddenly, the glass burst and a large shard cut into my thumb. I winced and watched as the picture shot into the air and floated over my head.
"Phil," I said, slowly standing up so I could turn around, "I didn't mean..."
But just as I stood, the two invisible hands grabbed my ankles. I fell into a sitting position, my mouth open in pain as I was dragged down the pile, metal scraping my arms.
Phil walked ahead. One hand was poised in a sort of flicking position to control the unseen hands. The other was holding the picture in a clenched fist.
When I finally came to a stop at the bottom of the pile, I fell back and lay on the ground with my eyes shut.
"Bloody hell, Phil," I groaned, "why would you do that?"
Phil whipped around at the speed of light, instantly face to face with me. He was back in his normal form and he bared his teeth in fury.
"If I wish to give you information, Daniel, I will give it to you. Stop. Trying."
I swallowed. Once, I would have rolled my eyes or yelled.
"Please forgive me, Phil. I'm sorry."
He stared at me for a bit longer before shutting his eyes and exhaling from his nose.
"If I need you to do something, I will tell you. Is that clear?"
I looked down.
"Yes Phil."