Glitch_bk01_ch02

Chapter two: "[=g3,8d]\&fbb=-q]/hk%fg"

"What do you mean you destroyed the chips?"

The thick accent of the company CEO boomed through the eighty-first floor. An uneasy silence overcame the workers, their hands now hovering over their keyboards waiting for a rebuttal. Braver souls peeked over the walls of their cubicles. They wanted to see the face of the dead man Gutierrez was yelling at.

"I warned yew!" it was Roddy, one of the programmers from the seventy-third floor. "It weren't rrrready!"

"How dare you go behind my back", Gutierrez growled as he grabbed Roddy by the collar and lifted him up. "This will be the end of you. That chip was to change everything!"

"At what cost? It wasn't just a tiny flaw, but a dangerous one", Roddy grumbled back as he shoved the parchment into Gutierrez's broad chest. "Here's my resignation. And I'm takn my research with me! You won't make another one of em abominations ever again!"

Gutierrez released Roddy and took his frustration out on the paper. It wouldn't be as simple as this. No one stole from Armondo Gutierrez.

No one.

That chip was the most advanced piece of technology his company had ever produced. He knew there had to be one somewhere. Even if it was just one, they couldn't all be gone.

"It was the only one, dear", Dexter's mother chimed as she noticed the way her son was starring at his new, weird little do-hickey. "A young man outside the store sold it to me. It was pricey, but I figured it being Christmas and all-"

Mrs. Douglas was cut short as her sixteen year old son leapt across the room and wrapped his arms around her. She smiled and patted his back. Dexter tackled his father next, startling him so bad he dropped the new watch he had gotten from Mrs. Douglas. The two parents watched as their son scrambled through the living room mess towards the stairs. It was odd to see such a big smile on his face and over something so small too.

"Thank you so much!" Dexter cheered as he scrambled up the stairs. "I'm going to go put it in right now!"

Duncan paused in the middle of pretending to catch a pass to roll his eyes. "What a fink"

Mr. Chubbykins, Dexter's cat, yelped as the bedroom door swung open. Dexter bee lined straight for his computer; his hands shook from excitement as he removed the outer casing to the tower. After replacing his old chip with the new one Dexter booted up his computer. He swore the thing already ran better. He clicked on his internet icon, but as his fingers were hovering over his keyboard to type in the destination code Duncan's voice echoed from the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey dweeb!" he shouted. "Mom says you gotta help clean up the mess! Play with your girlfriend later, she aint going anywhere!"

Dexter's fists clenched and shook. All he wanted was to test run the chip. But noooooo.

"Fine!" he called, heading for the door. "But you better not just sit there tearing the paper into tinier bits like last year!"

Mr. Chubbykins watched his owner leave. He stretched his body out, a small mew escaping him. Dexter had left the window open and a soft breeze was coming into the room. The slight breeze blew a butterfly off course and it flew through the open window.

This interested Chubbykins greatly.

With clumsy movements, the obese cat made its way to the computer desk. He batted at the colorful moving thing as it fluttered around the window. He made his way across the keyboard.

Tap. Tap…Tap. Tap-Tap. Tap.

"Mr. Chubbykins!" Dexter's voice startled the cat; it yelped and tumbled off the computer desk, retreating to the hallway. "Aw jeez, what did he do now?"

Dexter closed and locked the door. He sat down at his desk and didn't give a second thought to the jumbled letters scrawled across his screen. It read "[=g3,8d]\&fbb=-q]/hk%fg". Shaking his head Dexter reached up and moved his hand across his keyboard. He hit a single button.

Delete.

But instead of seeing the scrambled text vanish Dexter was shocked to find that one by one all the pixels on his screen were slowly dying. After the screen had gone completely black and nearly all the blood had drained from Dexter's face he heard the fans speeding up. Dexter reached for his keyboard but froze when suddenly his screen revived in a spectacle of light.

It blinded him.

Shielding his eyes Dexter tried to scramble away, but he quickly found that his body was paralyzed. The light reached out and grabbed him; Dexter watched his skin break away like pixels while an unseen force pulled him towards his computer. He tried to scream but by the time he opened mouth there was nothing to say.

He had vanished completely.

Dexter Douglas reformed inside a dark place. He began walking as pixels reattached to his body, completing his digital form. There were dull trails of light on the floor. Where was he?

"Hello?" he heard his voice echo into the nothingness.

"Hello?" something echoed in the distance.

"Hello?" Dexter tried again, hoping he wasn't responding to an echo.

At first there was no response. Dexter felt his chest constricting when he began to realize that he was indeed alone. He was alone and had no idea what was going on. But then there was a sound building around him Dexter couldn't place. It resembled static. He heard something that sounded like a scrambled voice and headed towards it. The trails of light on the floor seemed to respond as he trekked forwards. Were they trying to lead him somewhere?

'Hopefully to someone,' Dexter thought.

The darkness seemed endless. Walking didn't seem to get him anywhere so Dexter resorted to running. But, no matter how hard he ran it seemed like he stayed in place; the only sign of progress were the zigzagging blue lights beneath his feet. Of course that could have been an optical illusion too. Just as Dexter was feeling short of breath he came to a sudden stop.

Thwack!

Bouncing off the solid object Dexter found that once he hit the ground his first instinct was to grab his throbbing face. He watched through his spindly fingers as a light travelled from him and formed a door on the wall.

Dexter felt a thrilling chill run up his spine. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he should be concerned, but as he inched towards the door Dexter felt a surreal type of warmth. It was like bunnies and sugar and everything pleasant wrapped into one big burrito.

This was something new. Something good.

"H-Hello?" Dexter's weak voice squeaked as his hand hovered over the door; the light brightened the closer he was. "Is anyone in there?"

He rested his hand on the cold surface and to his dismay the light faded away. Just as Dexter was about to pull away, the light returned and built into a steady pulse. As the pace peaked Dexter heard a gasp from the other side of the door.

Dexter pressed his ear to the door, surprised to find the sound of subtle breathing. It was somewhat comforting to know that whatever lie on the other side of this obstruction was at least alive. As strange as it was Dexter felt content listening to the gentle breathes that faintly made their way through the door. Then something startled him; a voice echoed all around. It sounded timid, like a lost child.

"Hello?"

The light spread from Dexter's palm and began taking over the darkness. He backed away from the door and the strange blue light engulfed the floors, walls and ceiling. However, as quickly as it illuminated it faded away.

"Wait!" Dexter cried as he reached forward, feeling the smooth surface with his hand as he searched for something to pull on. "Hello? Are you still there?"

"Please let me out", came the voices meek reply; whoever it was they sounded lonely. "It's dark and spooky in here"

"I…I don't know how I would do that…" Dexter admitted as he examined the wall; every time he touched it the lights would start up again, but nothing would open. "How do I get you out?"

"I don't like the dark…I don't like the dark…I don't like the dark…" the voice grew in urgency. "Dexter do something!"

A wave knocked Dexter off his feet, sending him spinning along the floor. It took a minute to catch his breath before lifting himself off the floor. Looking up he adjusted his glasses and watched the lights pulse every time another wave emanated outward. Dexter knew he had to stop this. The world around them was trembling.

Dexter rose and reached his hand out towards the wall. He feared the world around him would collapse. This had to stop now. He pressed himself against the wall and pushed with all his might.

"Hold on!" Dexter continued to push against the door with urgency; he had to close his eyes as the light only grew the longer he stayed pressed against it. "Stop freaking out and-"

Everything stopped.

The lights conquered the darkness with blinding force. Dexter tried shielding his eyes, but it seemed to wrap itself around him. He stumbled back and fell, but never hit the ground. Everything happened at once; the information came relentlessly, his body stretching like taffy as it was pulled downward. Again Dexter tried to scream, but no sound was heard.

Dexter Douglas was gone.

Original story on ffnet [link]
ch01[link]