Infected

End Of The Line

The room is eeriely quiet as you and others check yourselves for injuries. You're trying to explain some of what happened to the newbies, when the silence is interrupted. Void and Stephanie burst through the doors, eager to see if their plan worked.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Matt exclaims. He runs over and embraces his pregnant wife.

"Are you guys okay?" Void asks.

"I think so," you say. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay," Void says. "I'm part of the computer, so it's hard to get exhausted."

"No offense, but are you sure that they're really gone?" Sean asks.

"Yeah, it just seemed... Kinda too simple," Mark says.

"Simple? Would you like to try manually coding twelve computers at the same time?" Void says. "Because that's pretty much what I was doing."

"It's harder than it seems!" Steph puts in.

"Okay, fair enough," Mark says.

"But how do you know they're gone for good?" Nate asks. "Aren't they going to come back?"

"Think of it this way," Void explains. "Imagine that someone is inside of you, and they're manipulating then completely ripping out your DNA."

"Whoa," Amy winces.

"The code is basically our DNA," Void says. "Without it, we're nothing. That's why it took me so long."

"I think I understand," you say.

Void nods."I'm glad. I can't guarantee that they won't come back. The fandoms seem to be keeping them alive so chances are they may come backeventually. But it will be a while."

"We'll have to do what we can then," Felix says

With another nod, Void gives a sad smile. "Good. And with that, I'll say goodbye."

"What do you mean?!" You, Amy, and Steph all ask at the same time.

Void looks bewildered. "You said you wanted all the viruses gone. That includes me. I just wanted to say my goodbyes before then."

"But, you helped us," Dan argues. "You shouldn't have to go too."

"I agree." You're surprised, as it is Sean who speaks. "You're like the anti-Anti."

"You're an antivirus!" Mark says.

"Stay, Void," you say. "You can protect the computer if the others are resurrected."

"Really? After everything that's happened?" Void says happiness clearly shining on her face.

"On one condition," Mark says. "You need to get us out of here."

"I can do that," Void smiles.

You're not sure how she does it, but she does. Within minutes, you're back in the house you started in. Mark's.

Wait, Mark's?

You open your eyes. You're laying on the couch in the living room with a blanket draped over your legs. Looking around, you see Felix at the other end of the couch, and Dan on the love seat. Sunlight streams through the window.

As if on cue, Felix and Dan wake up from their snooze. They look around wildly before their eyes settle on you. Sean bursts into the room from the kitchen and Mark runs in from the hallway. Nate and Matt emerge as well, obviously looking for your group.

"That wasn't a dream, right?" Mark asks quickly.

"It couldn't have been," Sean says.

"Otherwise we all had the same dream," you add.

Much to your surprise, the rest of the group meets up with you within only a few moments. And there is no one missing. Everyone is there. You all try to catch up and make sense of it all.

"Ok, wait a second," you say. "If we were in Matt's computer, how did we end up at Mark's house?"

There is a thinking silence.

"Maybe because this is where we started?" Nate guesses.

"I didn't know where we were in the first place," Signe says. "It was so confusing."

"Oh, I know!" Matt exclaims. "I brought my laptop with me, just in case."

"That would do it," Mark says.

"That's so weird," Amy says.

"The whole thing is weird," Cristina puts in.

"I agree," Sean says. "And we've been through it before."

"Let's hope we don't have to do it again," you say. "I've been kidnapped enough for one life."

"Yeah, and saving the world is hard!" Felix exclaims.

You all laugh, and it feels good. You're eager to get back to the way things were before. But you know, on some level, no one is going to forget these adventures. And if Void is protecting your computers, then you have nothing to worry about.

You hope.






                              THE END