The Binary

The Package is Received

The sound of the wet soles of a pair of sneakers hit the ground in rapid succession as the black blurred image of a girl came running down the street at full speed, a laptop clutched tightly in her arms as she tried to escape the quickly pursuing canines behind her. Their metallic paws sending flecks of puddled water flying behind them.

The girl skidded to a halt and quickly hung a right-hand turn into an alley way climbing up onto a fire escape ladder, one of the metal canines snapping it's jaws and catching the back of the girl's cloak in it's razor teeth. She gasped as she felt her grip loosen on the wet bars still not letting the laptop slip for a moment. The canine crouched to get ready to lunge at her once more when a hand reached out and grabbed her own, pulling her up onto the fire escape and into the nearby open window.

"Dijit!" The girl exclaimed as she pulled her hood off of her head exposing peach colored hair that laid wispy in her face, "You absolute madman! I told you to stay home!" She said only half angry with him as she punched his chest. "You could have been seen and then if they caught you? You'd be decommissioned and recycled!"

Dijit chuckled as he pulled her into an unwelcome hug, "and let you turn into A.N.T. Food? I don't think so." He smirked and let her go, "It's good to see you again, Pitch." He softly tucked a strand of their behind her ear, "I was worried I would not."

Pitch rolled her eyes at him, "Well I did you, dork, now let's get this laptop to someone who knows what to do with it." She kissed his cheek as she shook herself off and headed through the long-abandoned apartment and into the hall, finding the stairs and climbing them with Dijit in toe.

"How have the girls been?" She asked him softly as she took his hand into her own, pulling him so that he could walk on the stairs with her, her head resting gently against his arm. Water rolling off the side of her face, and landing softly on her shoulders. She was shaking just slightly as the cold of the water made its way through her clothes and the adrenaline faded from her system.

"Chaotic, like always." Dijit responded with a frown and a nod. "They're getting better. Though, I think if I wasn't there it would fall apart." He nodded and sighed again, "But still, they're trying." His eyes lingered on the water that ran off Pitch's face and down her cheeks and he had to work to tear his eyes away from her.

"It helps, having you around. I'm glad you came to us," Pitch told him, "You're really warm right now, it's like laying in the sunshine." She nuzzled her face further into his arm, "I could lay in it all day." She looked up at him with wide brown eyes, "You know that, right?" She smiled softly at him as they reached the door to one of the rooms on the very highest level.

Dijit fumbled to open the door as he separated his body away from Pitch's, "Yeah- Yeah I know." He opened the door exposing a living room. Several baskets of clothes littered the exposed space. An eclectic collection of chairs sat around a table that had four different legs, none of which matching the top. The end tables for the beaten-up couch were over turned boxes, and the couch itself had so many stains that it bordered on looking patchwork.

"Hey you rabid little beasts where are you!" Pitch hollered into the house and soon footsteps could be heard in bunched hurrying down the stairs, so many they blended into one another until it sounded like a rush of water coming toward them at break neck speed.

"Pitch!" The fastest of the group a skinny fifteen-year-old with black hair exclaimed as she threw herself into the soaking wet woman's arms, wrapping her own tightly around her. "You're okay, you're back and you're okay, and you're back and you're okay, and you're ba-"

"Yes, I'm back and I'm okay," Pitch said as she put the girl down on her own two feet, "You look like you've been getting healthier Audio." She said ruffling the girl's hair, "Where's Amp, and Audience?" She asked looking past Audio.

Two more girls came down, one much younger only about six or so, the other about twelve. "Pitch!" The six year old shouted and hugged Pitch now, wrapping small little arms around Pitch's waist and burying her sandy brown hair covered head into her thigh.

"Hello Amp." Pitch then held her arm out for the older girl, pulling her into a reluctant hug. "My girls." She smiled holding them. "Alright, one of you go and get Bass. I need to see her about some—" Pitch tapped the laptop under her arm, "Some technical stuff."

"I will!" Amp said as she hurried off, nearly tripping over her feet as she disappeared around the corner, and back up the stairs. Her little footsteps fading off as she went higher.

Pitch made her way to the makeshift table and sat down, putting the laptop down on it. As an older more put together girl wearing a white faux fur coat and with thick black fishnets came and sat beside her. "Alright, lets see what you've got here." She said pulling the laptop away from Pitch and clicking over the buttons on the laptop.

An olive green screen with a single solitary password box blinked back at them. "Is it going to be hard, Bass?" Pitch asked as she leaned in closer. Bass held a hand up to Pitch as she began to type away at the password box. "Bass-" Pitch began to ask again.

"I'm working-" She said waving Pitch off, "Give me a minute. Go talk to Dijit or something, I'm sure he's stupid tired of talking to the little kids." She shoved the younger girl away from her. Pitch standing up and walking over to the couch where Dijit was seated.

She laid herself down rested her head in his lap, "You should be a real person." She said poking his nose gently, "Then you could be my boyfriend." She smirked, "and that would be fun." Dijit glanced down at her for a moment as she continued to touch his face. "How are your drivers working? Everything up to date in the old noggin? No viruses? No malware?" She asked.

Dijit shook his head no at her as he rested his chin on his hand, leaning on the arm of the couch, and turning his body just slightly away from Pitch. "No, everything is up to date and running smoothly, I'm fine." He said with a sigh. His face turned into a frown.

Pitch opened her mouth to say something about it when Bass snapped. "It's open." She waved them over. Both Pitch and Dijit standing up and coming over to look at the now opened screen of the lap top. A pale blue webpage laid before them, with some kind of text entry box and another box that displayed messages currently only having one that prominently displayed in neat text.

'[Client]: Welcome. '