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| “Well of course I trust her,” Mouse said, “after all, she’s not Daemon. What I’m worried about is that Daemon might want to take advantage of the fact that she’s back in Mainframe.” “Wait a minute,” Matrix interrupted. “How do we even know this is Daemon we’re dealing with? For all we know it could be another random virus, just as powerful.” AndrAIa shook her head. “No, I think this is really Daemon we’re dealing with- again. In just a week we’ve found random binomes, completely drained and deleted. Not only that, but more infections are starting to appear, especially toward level 31. I suggest we go down there and check it out.” “Yeah,” Ray agreed. “As a matter of fact, the drained binomes we found had pulsing green veins on what was left of them.” There was a long silence as they sat in the booth in Dot’s Diner, staring at the table. Ray wasn’t sitting at the booth, but leaning up against the counter. AndrAIa and Matrix sat together while Mouse sat across from them. “Well Billy’s supposed to meet us here,” Mouse finally said, “and so is Bob and Dot. Where are those two, anyway?” “One of them is right here,” a voice spoke up, and they turned to see Dot standing there, a grim expression on her face. “I decided to take the rest of my afternoon off and leave it to Phong. Where’s Bob?” “I don’t know,” AndrAIa began, then stopped when she saw two figures walk into the diner, laughing so hard they were nearly falling into each other. “Speak of the devil,” she finished. “Hey Bob!” He looked up at them and grinned, playfully pushing Billy in some private joke. Matrix, Mouse, and Ray were giving him mischievous grins, AndrAIa was impatiently tapping her fingernails against the table, and Dot’s face…well, if looks could kill he would be a burning hole in the ground. They were calming down by the time they reached the table. Bob stayed by Dot, who was now sitting at the bar next to the booth. Billy stood uncertainly by them, but Bob motioned for her to sit down by Mouse. “Hey,” Mouse greeted her first, “long time no see. How’ya been?” Billy smiled politely. “Good. You guys?” The others all nodded. “Yeah, good,” they mumbled. Bob spoke the first full sentence after the silence went past. “Billy was just telling me all the jokes they tell in the Super Computer now,” he said, “that, and the embarrassing things she caught Turbo doing.” “Turbo?” Mouse teasingly elbowed Billy. “hehehe.” “Okay guys,” Dot said in a low voice. She didn’t even have a smile on her face. “We’re here to discuss the latest virus problem going on.” “Yeah,” Bob said, clearing his throat. “Right. Okay Billy, for the last week or two we have been seeing signs of deleted and drained binomes all through Mainframe, mostly centered around level 31. The one definite thing we see on them is the faint rash infection that Daemon spread. We’re thinking this is her again, only not as strong.” Billy frowned. “What do you mean ‘not as strong’?” “The infections aren’t as spread,” AndrAIa put in. Daemon’s old pattern was to leave her virus in them until that completely deteriorates them. Now she’s just simply draining them, leaving a small mark behind…the rash.” “I don’t get it…” “I believe she’s trying to get stronger,” Matrix explained. “Sure she infects the binomes, that’s how she starts and that’s how the rash starts. But she doesn’t stop there, she completely drains them, taking their energy and making it their own. When she’s completely restored she will completely take over a sprite or binome, using them as a permanent host.” “So you’re saying she’s ‘hopping’ from one binome to another as she goes?” Billy asked. Matrix nodded. “Okay, so if you guys say it’s by Level 31 then the obvious solution is start investigating there.” “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking,” Dot said, “I’ve already made plans and gotten things ready for us to go down there.” “Isn’t that where Al’s Wait and Eat is?” Billy asked. “I think I remember that place from when I…” she trailed off, realizing she was referring back to the time Daemon was infecting her. The others got the point and quickly nodded. “Yeah,” Ray said. “When can we get going, Dot?” She shrugged. “Right now if we can. You game, Billy?” Billy nodded. “Game for anything.” She stood up and the others did as well. As she followed them out the door, Bob and Matrix leading them, she couldn’t help but feel a little scared. What if Daemon WAS there? Would she ‘hop’ over to her? What if she was strong enough to keep a permanent host? She would most likely want to take Billy, after all she already knew what it was like and how to control her. It would be like a review for the virus and she didn’t want that to happen. Level 31 was just as dark and dreary as Billy had remembered it. Not much lights, lots of emptied buildings left abandoned. She had always wondered what had happened to the sector to make it the way it was, but kept it to herself. In order to see around, each of them wore helmets with lights and tool belts, just in case they found something interesting. Dot had kept her distance from Billy and stayed glued at Bob’s side. Bob must have noticed something because he asked her if she was okay. She insisted she was okay and took the lead. Matrix and Ray took the rear with Billy, Mouse and AndrAIa in the center. The three women didn’t talk much, but AndrAIa and Mouse were really nice and seemed to welcome Billy a lot more than Dot had. Soon they had come to one of the darker alleys, their flashlights now their only source of light. They could barely see the person in front of them without the aid of the helmets. “Things like this really makes me creeped out,” AndrAIa said, unsnapping her trident. They all heard Matrix unhooking his gun, the weapon slapping into the palm of his hand. Mouse took out her katana and held it out while Dot crept along, gun in hand. Billy had brought her own share of weapons along with her, and now took out her crossbow, attaching it to her wrist. It was small enough to fit, and AndrAIa even smiled. The game sprite had memories of herself as a young sprite, her own crossbow on her arm. Billy smiled back, checking her bag of arrows was properly slung across her back. Finally she relaxed a bit, aiming her helmet light around. “Hey, I was wondering,” Ray said, "do you KNOW if Daemon's inside you? What if she is and you're completely unaware of it and she lets you do your every day stuff?" Billy shook her head. "You know," she answered, before Dot had a chance to open her mouth. For some reason she sensed that woman didn't like her and for that reason, she didn't want her to get her way all the time. Besides, wasn't she the expert on Daemon? "When Daemon's inside you, you know because automatically she takes over your mind and all you can do is helplessly watch yourself do all the horrible deeds she's making you do." "That must be terrible," Bob said from the front. "It is. Especially when you're watching your own hands delete another sprite. It's just not…right." "I'll bet it isn't," Matrix retorted. "Are we getting anywhere?" AndrAIa asked ahead to Bob and Dot. "Nothing yet," Dot called back, "I don't see anyth-" Suddenly there was a horrible strong gust of wind, blowing so hard it nearly blew them off their feet. "Stay together!" Bob yelled, and they immediately huddled up. But that wasn't all until their headlights went out, leaving them all in the dark. "Oh my User," Mouse breathed, holding out her katana. The others held out their weapons as well, waiting. There was a long moment of silence, then a horrible scream split the air and for a moment no one knew who it belonged to. Billy felt a weird sensation going through her mind and she shook her head hard, fearing the worst. "Is everyone okay?" Matrix demanded, his voice carrying over the now dying wind. "Billy?" "Here," she said, thinking about what she had just felt and worried to death. "Bob?" "Right next to you." "Dot?" "Here." "Mouse?" "Present." "Ray?" "Right here." "AndrAIa?" There was a long silence and for a few moments everyone dreaded the worst. "AndrAIa?" Matrix repeated again, his voice now quivering slightly. "Here," she answered, but her voice came from father away. "I think I've found something you guys." She sounded urgent. "I bumped into something when we were all running around." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, then at the same time all their headlights flashed back on. They looked at each other in surprise, all wondering what had just happened, then looked at AndrAIa. She had bumped into something on the ground on her way to gather with the others. AndrAIa trained her light on what she's touched, then jumped back when she saw it was a binome. A completely drained binome. "Oh my User," Mouse repeated, walking over to it. "Daemon must have been here." "Is everyone okay?" Ray asked. "Everyone feeling like themselves right now?" They all nodded, then turned their attention back on the binome. They could just make out the yellowish-green rash on its forehead. "It's Daemon all right," Bob said. He looked at the others. All their worst fears had come true. "This is outrageous, I just don't know what to do," Dot said, pacing her kitchen floor and keeping her voice down low enough so she wouldn't wake Enzo sleeping upstairs. Bob was seated at the table, eating the pie she had just baked out of frustration. "This really is Daemon we're dealing with," she continued, "I was hoping it wasn't, even though deep down we all knew it was. But now what are we going to do? Daemon was THERE, she HOPPED, don't you get it? She can't just leave a host in her natural state, remember?" Bob nodded. "Yes I do, but so far we're all doing okay. None of us are infected, we would've felt it or shown signs by now." "What about Billy? She's practically prone to Daemon right now, I KNOW that Daemon will try to go after her." "Why? Just because she used her before?" "I don't know." Dot sighed heavily and dropped into the chair next to him. "I've got to remember that Daemon really isn't a he or a she, that is only determined by its host, right? So what if it infected you? Or Matrix? Would we call it a he?" Bob frowned at her. "What are you getting at?" "Nothing, I'm just jabbering. But I'm serious when it comes to Billy. I really don't trust her. You never know if Daemon's inside her, using her." "What if she isn't? Do you trust Billy?" Dot hesitated. "See? I think you don't trust Billy just because she used to have Daemon inside her. Somehow you're afraid Daemon was like Billy's true nature. But that's not true because Billy isn't that way." "How do you know?" "I just do. Anyway I've got to get going home and get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow if we want to track Daemon down." He stood up. Dot just nodded. "Be careful, okay?" He leaned down and kissed her. "I always am, aren't I?" AndrAIa scrubbed her face in the sink, then looked up at her reflection in the mirror. Grabbing a towel she rubbed her face dry. She had never been so scared in her life like she was earlier that night. Right now, no one really knew what had happened, whether Daemon had attacked or host-hopped. The image of that drained binome kept flashing through her mind, giving her shivers. This definitely was Daemon they were dealing with. She had always hoped it wasn't that way, but now she knew for sure. "Are you okay?" A voice spoke up, and through the reflection she could see Matrix standing in the doorway. "I-I'm fine," she said, turning the sink back on to wash her hands. "You don't look it. I think this whole Daemon thing really has you shook up." "And why shouldn't it?" She dried her hands on the towel. "Aren't you? Daemon could be in any one of us now if she had host-hopped ealier tonight." "But she's not," he said gently. "Billy said that you know if you're taken over by the virus, and you certainly aren't showing signs of it. Neither am I, or the others." "I don't know about Billy anymore," AndrAIa sighed, leaving the bathroom and heading for their room. "something attacked us that night, the drained binome is proof of it. If Daemon hopped, I have a good idea on who its new host is." "You think Billy-?" She sighed again. "I don't know. I think I'm tired, I need to get some sleep. You're right. This whole night really has me shaken up. I'm starting to sound like Dot." Matrix nodded. "She doesn't really trust Billy. But I do, at this moment I do. I think she's the truthworthy type." "And what if she's Daemon?" He didn't answer right away. "Then we'll have to get rid of her." Billy stood in her kitchen, trying to fix herself a hot chocolate energy drink. She had had a long day and was ready to go to sleep. That, or watch TV. Making her way across the main family room, she sat down on the couch and sat there for awhile in the silence, stirring her cup and thinking in the dark. Daemon had host-hopped, she knew for certain. There was no other life form in the alley except for them, and that drained binome clearly showed that it had left it. But who had it hopped to? None of the others acted weird that night, just a little freaked out at what they had just experienced. But no one seemed unusual or strange. So what were they going to do now? She was brought out of her thoughts by the ringing of the vidwindow beside her. Sighing, she set down her cup and pressed the answer button. The window popped up and Stacy's face appeared, sending a light out into the apartment room, illuminating the surroundings. "Hey, honey," Stacy greeted her, "how you holdin' out?" "I'm okay," Billy replied, "good to hear from you. How's it going in the Super Computer?" "Well enough. Turbo has been really cranky lately, ya know? I suggested he call you, but he won't. I mean, just for a plain check-up call, and he doesn't want to. You know what this means, right?" Billy shook her head, smiling. "Stacy, that's really nice of you, but I'm not in the mood for that. Something really strange happened earlier tonight." Stacy's smile disappeared. "What? What happened?" "I think we had a run-in with Daemon, me and the group. Daemon has host-hopped, but we don't know who she took over. I know it's not me because I'd know if she did. Besides, I have a device planted inside to prevent her from being able to." "So what's the problem?" "I don't know anymore. If she hopped to maybe Dot, Bob, Matrix, or Ray, then I won't be able to trust them." "That sucks. Not even able to trust your own friends." "Stacy, this is serious." "I know it is, I'm sorry. So what are you going to do about all this?" "I don't know. Billy frowned thoughtfully and was about to say something when the vidwindow rung again. "Sorry Stace, got someone on the other line." Stacy grinned mischievously. "Maybe it's the Boss." "Hold on." Billy reached forward and pressed the button again, and a new vidwindow popped up. Instead of Turbo's face she had expected, all she got was static. She frowned, trying to peer through the white and black fuz. "Hello?" "H-hello Billy," the voice came through sketchy and almost hard to interpret. It sounded almost mechanic. "Turbo?" "It's me…Daemon." Billy's eyes widened as she stared at the vidwindow. She was so surprised she didn't know how to react. Why would Daemon be contacting her? After what seemed like ages of the constant crackle, Daemon actually chuckled. “Surprised?” “What do you want, Daemon?” Billy demanded, her voice finally returning. “You know what I want.” It was true, Billy knew. All those years that Daemon was inside her, using her, she knew what the virus wanted…needed. Power, conquest, destruction, control. She shook her head firmly. “You can’t have it.” “Oh really?” She could almost hear the super-virus smiling. “I was there, tonight.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Did you see me?” Long pause. “Can you see me?” She swallowed hard, trying to figure out what to do, calculating her options and risks. She had to contact Bob somehow next door, tell him what was happening. Daemon knew where she was. “I can see you,” the voice added, confirming Billy’s worst fears. The guardian leapt to her feet and glanced at the giant glass wall on the far side of the apartment. Through it she looked out onto the lights of Mainframe, fourteen floors above the ground. For a minute she just stood there, frozen, too scared to yell for help. Would Daemon try anything if she screamed? Daemon’s voice slowly started chuckling through the vidwindow and cut off, leaving Billy alone in the dark. TO BE CONTINUED… |
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