Hacked

enTrY TWenTy

I reached the apartment in minutes.
It felt so...claustrophobic. So off.
I had killed my father in that building.
No, no. Phil had killed my father, dammit. It wasn't my fault. None of it was my fault.
But...but at the same time, all of it was my fault. I found Phil. I fixed him. I kissed him, I loved him. He was the first one I had ever fallen for...how was I so stupid?
"No," I whispered as I ran up the stairs and down the hall, "snap out of it, Daniel. You're fine."
I reached the door of my old apartment. Still blood covering the carpet, still yellow caution tape hanging from the door frame.
I stepped inside, ignoring the white outline of a body that I could see through the open door of my bedroom.
I went into the bathroom and found that everything was where it had been. The screen was cracked on the old computer, but my wires and tank of water and oil...all there.
I did everything I had to do, remembering each and every step.
Finally, I fell into darkness.
I awoke in beneath the red light. Phil's world.
"Alright." I took off my jacket and threw it to the ground, clenching and then unclenching my fists.
I began to walk. No particular direction, of course. Although, I was walking quite fast. I had to find the truth, some sort of evidence that would make me understand Phil's creation.
And how to bring about his destruction.
I weaved through the mountains of scrap metal and trash, the only sound that of my feet against the dust and my heavy breathing. Soon, I started to run. I ran, frantically looking for something, anything.
And then I saw it.
A white door in the center of an empty space.
A memory; that had to be it. A good one, in a sea of bad.
I gathered myself a bit and then opened the door, going inside.
Instantly, the world was bright and fresh. It was a hospital room, the same one from my first time in that world.
But this time, there was a boy there.
I could tell that I was invisible to him, so I didn't make a sound.
He was hooked up to IVs and tubes and everything imaginable. His skin was so pale and he had only small tufts of hair, but his bright eyes told me that this was the boy from the photograph.
Elliot.
"Mr. Phil..." he sputtered out the name. His voice was so helpless and small. He was only a child.
I had to keep myself from crying.
The screen on the wall glowed blue and a familiar figure stood inside.
Phil, but not the one I had to ignorantly fallen for. The kind, beautiful Phil. With the sparkling eyes and perfect face. The one I wish I had known better.
The one that, I now know, had tried to save me.
"heLLo ElliOT. wHaT dO yOu nEEd¿"
"Mr. Phil..." he wheezed. "Am I going to get better?"
Phil blinked, and the screen shuddered. I watched as Elliot leaned into something that wasn't there. Phil's embrace.
"tHerE thEre, eLLioT. yOu aRE goInG to bE juSt FinE."
"Like C-Cat?" He coughed, his tear-filled eyes squinting shut in pain. "She got better, Mr. Phil."
Phil's eyes changed. Full of knowing sadness.
"yeS...sHe dID, eLlioT. ANd sO wilL yOU."
And before it could continue, everything froze.
I watched as the wall at the other end of the room cracked and split, revealing another door. This one was slightly darker.
Of course, too invested to give up, I went through.
Desks, microscopes, machines. A research room.
Two men were standing, yelling at a screen that showed Phil.
One men had insanely unkempt brown hair and green eyes that were practically glowing. Henry Liguori, no doubt.
The other man was my father.
"yoU prOgRammED me TO sAVe LiVes, dOctOR!¡" Phil said calmly. Pixelated tears fell down his cheeks. "wHy wONt yOu aLLoW mE tO?"
"Because, dammit," PJ's father said, "the public is already scared of you, Phil! We can't have your incredible technology, all of our work, burst in our face!"
"Phil, we've tried everything we can with Elliot," my father said in anmuch more calm tons, "can't you see that there's nothing left?"
"nO. iF I loAD thE reMaiNInG spaCe On mY sOftWarE, i cAn SAVE HIM."
"That would burn out your drive," Henry hissed, "you wouldn't be able to function."
"hE iS thE moSt impoRtAnT thInG in My LiFe-"
"You are a machine! You have no life! You are mine, and you are not your own creation! We created you, and we will not let you destroy yourself!"
Suddenly, a door at the other end of the rooom opened. A nurse entered, tears streaming down her face.
"Doctors...it's Elliot."
Phil blinked. "doEs hE nEEd asSistAnCe?"
The nurse swallowed.
"He's...he's dead."
Right before the scene froze, I saw Phil's face flash. Razor teeth, frowning in a ravenous grimace trough tears of red.
As the next door appeared, I knew what I was about to see next.

A/N: AWESOME HEADER ART CREDIT TO not_that_bad_art ON INSTAGRAM