Too busy celebrating the festivities, none of the people met its eyes. All except for one. An outsider who stands in front of it, not wearing a costume at all. She is wearing a peculiar bucket hat and a shirt with a heart that has two long brushstrokes on either side of it. The logo's design gives off the feeling that it shouldn't be on a shirt. Intensity radiates from her dark almond eyes and the camera lens replacing one of them.

Atwixen moves on a slow swivel, making sure to capture every detail of the festivities with the scanner. Her focus is interrupted when a man wearing a black leather outfit appears in the frame. The tightness of his outfit makes her take a step back as she tries to figure out what is going on. He straightens a crooked ring above his head before holding up a wooden board displaying four burlap sacks.

"Happy Halloween!"

Atwixen holds up a firm hand, stopping his advance.

"Not a fan of candy corn."

The man laughs, a gaudy sound that harmonizes with the festive ambiance.

"This isn't candy corn! It's Captain Cael's Rugoas! A soft candy made of barley sugar and vinegar toffee!"

He pushes two sacks aside to reveal a small bowl. Golden brown horns nestle neatly inside, filling the bowl. Seeing that he won't leave her alone, Atwixen reluctantly takes one. As the soft candy melts on her tongue, for a brief moment, a long forgotten light returns to her eyes. In an instant, she closes the gap between them, displaying the wallet app on her phone.

"Do you take Scoria?"

The man expresses his excitement that she changed her mind, but then pauses for a moment.

"Um.....Yes!"

He struggles to retrieve his phone out of the skin hugging leather pants.

"My friend made me download the wallet last week."

Once freeing it, he asks Atwixen what the current exchange rate is. She tells him while he opens a calculator app. After doing the math for a few seconds, he enters the price and lets Atwixen scan the QR code. Following the confirmation chime, he hands her one of the sacks.

"Happy Halloween!"

He bids farewell while being swallowed up by the roaring crowd.

As Atwixen secures the burlap sacks to her skirt, a voice cuts through the chatter.

"Hey, why aren't you dressed up?"

She turns her head and sees a group of children gathered around a bench a short distance ahead. They're dressed as a group of ghosts. Two slightly older boys standing behind the bench, dressed in white with chains around them. Their faces are also caked in white makeup. Another boy in a ghost poncho is sprawled out on the bench and waves at Atwixen. He returns his attention to a bowl of candy corn stew after seeing her look in his direction.

Lastly, standing next to the bench is a kid wearing a classic bedsheet costume. It seems to be staring away from the town square into the empty part of the town. It stands motionless, in a trance from the eerie emptiness. Atwixen approaches the group, reasoning that maybe they've seen something weird if the scanner isn't picking up anything.

"I am"

The left chain ghost's face scrunches in suspicion. He drags his eyes up and down, fully getting a look.

"What are you dressed as?"

"Disappointment"

The one on the right barks a laugh at the statement. He shoves the other one as his laughter shifts from hearty to annoying.

"Just like your mom!"

The ghost on the left lunges at the ghost on the right, and the two break out into a scuffle. Atwixen watches as the other two ghosts ignore the fight. Poncho fishes a piece of apple out of his stew. He shoves it into his mouth, his cheeks flushing with happiness. After savoring the treat, he waves his spoon in a circle, gesturing toward the crowd.

"How come you're not filming the contest?"

"Not interested in it. I'm looking for something else."

Poncho gets up from the bench making his way towards the bedsheet ghost. He lightly taps its head, then crouches down to its ear and whispers something. They both turn around and walk toward Atwixen.

"If you're trying to find something in town, ol Yuki probably knows."

Just as Atwixen inches towards her, Poncho holds out his hand stopping her. He downs the stew before lowering his hand.

"Have to tell her something cool, though."

"What?"

The baffles Atwixen as she watches Poncho makes his way to the contest.

"It's the only way she'll talk."

Atwixen turns her attention to Yuki, who is now sitting in the middle of the bench. It's difficult to tell if what she says is "cool" because the bedsheet obscures her expression. However, when she sees the chain ghost trapping the other in a headlock, she comes up with the perfect story.

"Have you heard of the Pumking?"

Yuki shakes her head. Atwixen crouches in front of her.

"A long time ago, there was a pumpkin-headed man called the Pumking."

"Hey!"

Atwixen looks up to see the chain ghosts. They stop their fight and are leaning forward on the bench.

"Pumking? Wasn't his name Jack?"

She ignores the interruption, but seeing that the opening has caught the boys' attention, she drops her voice into a storyteller's cadence.

"When he was just a baby boo, he was mercilessly bullied by his zombie subjects. Despite belonging to the royal family of Hallow Forrest, no one respected him. One day, while weeping under a dead tree, he was visited by an entity made of shadows.The entity claimed to be the Spirit of All Hallows and revealed the source of the citizens' hatred. His father, Jack, had given up his birthright to marry his true love. This act ripped the life from the land, causing the citizens to decay into their current decrepit state."

"Upon learning that his own father was the source of his torment, he forged a pact with the spirit, which turned his soft white skin a sinister shade of orange. He beheaded his father and paraded the headless corpse around town while his royal decree blared. 'All ghouls of Hallow Forest...no, all ghouls of every land! I will reclaim what my father gave up! All of you now belong under my rule. The rule of the Pumking!'"

The boys gasp with enthusiasm at the end of the tale. Yuki, however, shows no reaction whatsoever. She stays still, staring blankly at Atwixen for a long moment, then suddenly hops from the bench and grabs her hand. Yuki starts pulling Atwixen toward the empty part of town. Atwixen tries to dig her heels into the ground to stop her, but she falls. The loud clatter of rubber scraping against cobblestones makes the boys cover their ears. Before she gets the chance to question Yuki's bizarre strength, she hears a voice call out to them.

"Hey! She liked what you told her!"

Poncho walks up to them, his face radiating joy as he embraces a bowl of fresh stew. A chain ghost walks up to him with his hands in his pockets and props himself up against Poncho.

"Funny, it looks like Yuki already knows what Disappointment was going to ask."

Atwixen and Poncho's ears perk up at the statement. Atwixen grabs Yuki's arm, pulling her just enough to turn her around. Seeing this, the other ghost hops on top of the bench. He flexes his meager muscles and points at Atwixen.

"Don't try anything funny with her! We're watching!"

Yuki nods slightly at Atwixen and resumes pulling her along, giving Atwixen enough room to naturally match her pace this time. They walk past several empty houses, journeying deep into the town until their footsteps slowly engulf the music. They come to a sudden halt at a crossroads.

The path in front of them continues down until it reaches the back exit of the town. To the left, the path is shrouded by the thick branches of trees that seem to protect the walkway to a large house. To the right, the path looks exactly like the one they took to get there. Yuki lets go of Atwixen's hand and points to the right path. When Atwixen doesn't move, Yuki points again, this time with more enthusiasm, before taking off in a short jog back to her friends.

Alone, Atwixen checks her phone. The map still shows that the mission's epicenter is in the town square, but her current location is nearing the end of the highlighted circle. She raises her phone to scan the pathway. In red text, an alert instantly flashes on the screen:

Rendering is about to commence!

This is more information than she had seen before. Trusting the little girl, Atwixen runs down the path, hoping to make it in time.

—Lyra Moth

Closing in on destination.

The text fades to reveal a dot grid map, filling the screen. A single red dot darts across the map. In the top right corner, the faint, pulsating edge of a blue circle drifts into view. A girl watches, her eyes fixed on the two-inch screen. Sounds of clicking fill the vehicle as she zooms out. The map recedes, revealing the vast distance between the red dot and the blue destination. She lets out a sigh and shoves the candy bar phone into her skirt pocket. She pulls her mantis themed bucket hat over her eyes and gives in to the minibus's relentless jostling.

The compact vehicle races down a vast, empty highway. There is not another soul nor car in sight. It continues until the warm autumnal sunset gradually becomes populated with rows and rows of towering cornfields.The minibus slows down and makes a series of sharp turns before plunging into the golden-brown sea of cornstalks. Its speed decreases drastically, ensuring that the familiar jostling does not turn into a violent shake. It drives on uninterrupted through the rustling corridor until it emerges onto a narrow back road. There, the minibus slows to a crawl, then stops completely.

"We're here!"

The loud voice jolts the girl upright. She pushes the bucket hat back from her eyes and takes in her surroundings. As she moves toward the exit, a heavy weight falls on her shoulder. It is the towheaded Jitney Man, whose fat hand pins her in place. She can feel its clammy heat through her mesh shirt. He fixes his green eyes on her.

"Be careful out there, girly."

The girl nods briefly, then hops off the vehicle. She watches the minibus execute a swift U-turn and pull away down the road. She watches it recede into the setting sun. A harsh vibration from her skirt pulls her attention away from the sight. She takes out her phone and sees a new alert on the screen.

Hello, Atwixen!

Objective: Kill the glitch!

Reward: 1,335 Scoria.

Atwixen stares into the darkness at the end of the road. She adjusts her hat before venturing into the unknown to complete her objective.

For a while, she notices nothing out of the ordinary, just the same scenery repeating endlessly. Then, a simple speck of light becomes visible in the distance. Atwixen quickens her pace. As she draws near, the world shifts. The fiery orange sky bleeds into a harsh, sterile icy blue. The golden cornstalks warp into towering violet-azure monstrosities flanking the brightly lit road.

At the end of the road, the sky itself is broken. It is a shattered circle that emanates a piercing olo glow. Right in front of it stands a perfectly ordinary scarecrow with a pure white crow perched on its shoulder. Atwixen pulls out her phone and slides down the cover to unveil the camera lens. She opens the scanner app and steadies her hand to frame the strange sight.

After a couple of seconds, the phone displays:

Scan Complete!

Glitch: Corvus Lvl: 1

"Level 1. This should be a breeze."

She switches from the scanner to the app beside it. Quanta's Flash. Its icon resembles a sigil: an asterisk over a psi enclosed in a circle with four ℓ branching from its corners. Clicking on the icon sends a bright flash from the phone that knocks the white crow off the scarecrow.

Atwixen notices that the initial flash didn't kill the crow. She advances to deliver another flash, but the crow lets out a shattering screech. The sound causes a ringing in her skull, stunning her. Atwixen fights to steady herself when a murder of crows erupts from the surrounding cornfields. They swarm around the fallen crow, coalescing into a single, shifting, anomalous blob.

Realizing the situation, Atwixen fires another Quanta's Flash. This time, the flash does little to affect the collective form. She switches back to the scanner app, where a warning flashes on the screen.

Warning!

Glitch has evolved to Level 2.

Proceed with caution.

The blob collapses inward, reforming into an even larger, more distorted crow. It spreads its vast, four-winged body, flapping and sending a concussive gust of wind that forces Atwixen back. She braces herself, holding on to her hat with one hand while fiddling with her phone with the other. She moves past Quanta's Flash to another app beside it. This icon resembles Quanta's Flash, but it is bound by chains. Unlike the previous app, it is nameless.

She selects it, sending out a brighter, sharper flash. This time, it works, and the distorted crow flinches and screams in pain. All four of its blazing red eyes lock onto Atwixen. It takes off toward her with terrifying speed, even toppling the scarecrow in the process.

She tries to perform another attack, but her phone screen shutters. It's frozen, a side effect of using the sigil. Atwixen turns around and sprints toward the distant sunset. She frantically clicks the unresponsive keys until she hears the app selection chime. She spins on her heels, selecting the chained sigil again.

Unfortunately, the crow is ready this time. It banks sharply, spinning clockwise to maneuver around the flash. It seizes on her delayed reaction, accelerating to the point that it resembles a white arrow. Atwixen tries to dodge it, but the crow is too fast. Its sharp beak clips her shoulder, tearing through her mesh shirt and sending a jolt of white-hot pain through her arm.

The force of the impact sends Atwixen tumbling head over heels down the road. She is abruptly stopped by an invisible wall. It is the self-form boundary that seals off the normal world from the rending point. Atwixen struggles to her feet, pressing one hand to her stinging shoulder. She sees blood staining her fair skin as it wells through her fingers.

The crow circles triumphantly in the air. The cornstalks thrash in the wind from its wings, creating a grotesque cheering audience. Atwixen turns around to face the setting sun. As she subtly presses the keys on her phone, she takes in the tranquil sight.

She moves away from the bound icon to the next one. The new sigil is drastically different from the others. Its glyphs shatter everything except the asterisk, which remains intact. Its display of destruction is befitting of its name: Quanta's Wrath.

Atwixen waits. She waits until she can feel the shifts in the wind. When the crow breaks off its celebration to attack her again. The crow soars toward the cracked sky, entering a sharp fall and using its momentum to slingshot itself forward with obliterating speed. Its velocity tears the glowing road, sending rubble into the air. The glowing bits cast shadows on the cornstalks, giving the monstrosities ghastly, grinning faces.

Without wasting a moment, Atwixen spins around. Blood flies as she steadies her shoulder and raises her phone. A flash engulfs the rending point, eclipsing the icy sky. From the searing heat of the light, a colossal hand forms. It flies and seizes the crow before it can get close to Atwixen. The crow tries to unleash its stunning screech, but it comes out as a strangled whimper. The incandescent hand tightens its grip.

There is a final, sickening crunch as the hand squeezes the crow, exploding it into a cloud of pixelated debris. The scattered remains float toward the cracked sky, retreating back to their world. The sky slowly knits itself back together. The harsh blue sky quietly softens, and the monstrous cornstalks shift back into their regular shape. Finally, as the last bit of debris pulls the scarecrow with it, the sky returns to normal.

Atwixen glances at her phone. The screen is black; not even the lights behind the keypad are on. She begins to walk toward the nearly set sun. Her slow pace is a testament to the battle's toll. Some time passes before she returns to where the minibus emerged. A welcome vibration rattles her hand. She lifts her phone to read the message on the screen.

Objective complete!

Adding Scoria to your wallet!

She quickly dismisses the message and moves toward an app whose icon resembles a car, selecting it. Within moments, the familiar minibus emerges from the sun's glare. The door hisses open as Atwixen makes her way to it. The Jitney Man's face did little to hide his concern about Atwixen's state. Before he could say anything, Atwixen gives him a thumbs-up. The Jitney Man throws his head back, laughing as he reaches for a first aid kit.

"Not bad, girly! Come on lets get you home!"

He hands her the kit, waiting until she slumps down in her seat before pulling away. Atwixen starts to clean her wound, but another vibration buzzes against her leg.

New job!

A strange anomaly is growing in Pak Falls.

It seems the Rendering Point will occur around October 31.

The reward is 4,000 Scoria.

[Accept?]

Without a second thought, Atwixen clicks "yes." After bandaging her arm, she pulls her bucket hat over her eyes and succumbs to the minibus's relentless jostling.

"This costume needs a redesign!"

Syd takes a deep breath. She swells her chest, exhales sharply, and yanks the zipper up as fast as she can. It finally clears the hurdle.

“There!”

Two single-board computers that nestle on the chest of the costume spring off, crashing into a collection of books in front of her. Syd shrugs, grabbing the vivid purple wig that has miraculously survived the chaos. She throws it on, tucking away her brunette hair, and completes her transformation into Nerissa, Courtesan of the Uranet and host of Nerissa's Caustic Cinema.

She checks her smartwatch: 1:15 PM. Today’s shoot was supposed to begin at 1.

“Not like Jules to be running late, Guess I’ll do some research.”

She pulls out her phone and opens an old issue of her favorite zine, Dreadistary. The zine focuses on monster sightings in a certain town in the Pacific Northwest, but Syd isn’t interested in those. The real meat for her is the horror movie reviews that fill the rest of the zine. They are a goldmine for finding new movies for the show. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a new issue in over a year.

Syd’s eyes widen as she spots the golden phrase she is looking for:public domain.

“Wait! Bloodfalls Massacre is in the public domain!?”

She grabs the nearest notebook, her pen dances across the page as she jots down the information. The director’s daughter has convinced her dad to put the film in the public domain, sticking it to the production company that has weaseled the rights to Bloodfalls Massacre 2–5 from him. They have even rebooted the franchise, starting with a loose remake of 2, modifying the characters enough to be unshackled by his vision. Syd shakes her head, a smirk playing on her lips.

“Jules and Lou are going to love this!”

The door swings open, startling Syd. She looks up to see Jules standing in the doorway, a stack of papers in hand. Jules has waist-length, damaged black hair that frames her ivory skin, and her loose white vest and shorts reveal faint blue veins that match her piercing eyes. Syd wears a warm smile as she greets her.

“Hey, Jules.”

Jules drops the stack of papers in front of Syd.

“Views are dropping massively. We can barely afford food for the next month.”

She flops onto the floor behind Syd, her body curling into an ‘n’ shape. Syd flips through the stack of papers, her initial skepticism fading as she sees the numbers. The viewership data, spanning from the first episode’s launch in October last year to July 2025, shows a gut-wrenching decline. Thankfully, their reliance on public domain horror movies has stretched their food budget as far as it can go. Jules arches her back dramatically, letting out a scream of agony.

“Enough of this public domain schlock! We need horror with a bite! Something to help punch up our jokes! Anything fulfilling!”

Syd turns to look at her friend, her heart breaks at the sight of Jules’ despair. 

“If we can barely afford food, we can’t afford the rights to any film we please.”

“We could provide clout instead of money.”

 The moment the word clout leaves her lips, Jules seems to regret it. The shine in her eyes vanishes, replaced by a hollow look. Syd returns to the stack of papers, hoping to find something—anything—that can help. Her eyes land on a proposal from Degrade, a newly formed TV station that is shaking up the industry. Skimming through the offer, she sees that they want the license for the show, with some on-brand integrations, in exchange for a massive upfront payment and fewer censored edits.

“You thinking of taking the Degrade offer?”

Jules covers her eyes with her hair before loudly voicing her disapproval.

“Please! I’ll never sell out to those crypto dorks.”

“It is a good offer, though.”

“You’ll regret the money when they have you dress up in tighter outfits for NFT photo-shoots.”

Syd’s nose wrinkles, and she recoils as if she’d just smelled something foul. The sight of her disgust sends Jules into a fit of laughter. She pulls more of her hair over her eyes before continuing.

“I kinda was considering it. Caustic Cinema got us control of the Stygian, the life we have in Brimstone. Didn’t want to toss away the money. But I know we’d both hate it too much.”

“Lou might enjoy it."

“That soulless puppy.”

Jules retreats into a fetal position and cutting the conversation short.

Syd adjusts her outfit, trying to make her breasts more comfortable. The movement reminds her that they are supposed to be filming now.

“No filming today?”

“Too depressed,”

Jules flips over to face Syd. A single blue eye peers out from behind her hair, searching for hope in Syd’s next words.

“Unless you found a more recent film?”

Syd hands Jules her notebook.

“Bloodfalls Massacre! That’s in the public domain?!”

Jules hops up to double-check the notes.

“Only the first one,”

“80s, in color, dumb teenagers, predatory adults, a decent amount of kills. Is that the one with an abundance of nudity?”

The franchise plays in Syd’s head as she tries to figure out which one Jules is thinking of. These types of cheesy movies are more her field of expertise than the social horror Jules prefers. After a moment, it clicks.

“That’s Bloodfalls Massacre 4: Valley Fest.”

“So not much to edit around. Not the bite I’m looking for, but…”

Jules trails off, her eyes scanning the notes Syd has written from the Dreadistary article. A small smile creeps onto her face.

“This revelation is prime for material!”

Syd feels a wave of relief. For a moment, she has managed to ease Jules’ worries. Jules pops up from reading, her energy renewed.

“Wait, do we have a copy of Bloodfalls Massacre?”

“Pretty sure I do. Give me a sec to clean up, then I’ll check,”

Syd bends down to gather the scattered papers. As she tries to tidy the mess, her eyes catch some scribbles on the back of the stack. She recognizes Lou’s messy handwriting.

“Did you look at the back of this? Lou left a note.”

We found a bunch of old PC towers. They’re in the building behind the theater. Maybe something you and Syd can salvage for the show?

Jules turns her attention back to the notebook, pulling a pen from her hair and starting to write. Syd gathers the last few scattered books and packs them up neatly. She hops up from the desk, curious about what movies they might find in the PCs. As she leaves, she notices Jules hasn’t budged.

“You’re not coming?”

Jules looks up at her, confusion etched on her face.

“You think the old execs who bummed around here really kept film backups? All you’ll probably find is weird fetish shit!”

“Wouldn’t hurt to check it out,”

Jules shakes her head, returning to her writing. Realizing Jules isn’t going to join her, Syd decides to kill two birds with one stone. She grabs the set of keys from her desk and tosses them at Jules. The jingling of the keys alerts Jules, and she catches them without fail.

“Fine, I’ll go check if there’s something salvageable while you check if I own Bloodfalls Massacre,”

Jules sways her head in approval, finally moving from the floor. They split up, Jules heads through the front of the theater while Syd goes out through one of the old doors marked “Exit.” Deep down, Syd knows Jules is probably right, but the thought of finding undiscovered movies is too irresistible to ignore.

The afternoon sun assaults Syd as soon as she steps outside. Blinking through the brightness, she sees the building is not far from the theater. She quickly jogs over, hoping to avoid the sweat that is already pooling in her suit—another con of the costume: it can't handle the summer heat.

The stench of stale plastic hangs heavy in the air, almost choking Syd as she opens the building door. Inside, sickly yellow PC towers lie scattered across the floor, their tangled wires and dusty casings creating a chilling atmosphere that makes Syd feel uneasy. She hesitates for a moment, feeling the sweat slide down her back, before stepping inside.

Closing the door to keep the heat out, Syd is left in total darkness. She mutters in dissatisfaction as she fumbles along the wall, searching for the light switch. When she finally flips it, only a few bulbs flicker to life, their dim glow barely illuminating the room. Syd’s face goes blank as she watches the bulbs struggle to stay on.

“They couldn’t fix the lights in the building?”

She walks along the makeshift path that has already been cleared, gently kicking aside PCs to give herself more room. The sheer number of them is impressive—stacks of towers form small mounds, their dislodged panels spilling out old wires like entrails. It feels less like a storage room and more like a decrepit technology graveyard.

“This is definitely more than just studio execs’ PCs,”

Syd ducks under a pile that had tipped over and joined with an adjacent stack to form a makeshift arch.

“Probably editors’ and VFX workstations!”

Her mounting excitement gets the better of her when she slips on a loose wire and crashes into a pile of PCs. A wet, congealed substance clings to her arm, and she recoils, whipping the grime off with a grimace. She double-clicks the crown of her watch to activate its flashlight mode, the dim light illuminating a few feet in front of her. It isn’t much, but it will save her from another grime attack.

The path opens up into a more spacious area where the piles of PCs are smaller and scattered. Syd pauses, realizing she doesn’t know what to look for. Obviously, the ones with wires sticking out are no good, but any of the others could be viable. She walks past a small makeshift circle of four PCs surrounding a tower in the center, deliberately ignoring it—until the light reflects something that makes her eyes sparkle.

It isn’t as yellowed as the surrounding PCs, but that isn’t what catches her attention. It is the fading stickers from the popular 80s horror series Pumpkin Patch that make her feel like she’s found a winner. She leaps toward it, kicking over two of the surrounding PCs to make room for her prize. Syd grabs the tower, only to have it slip out of her hands, leaving a slimy residue on her palms. She retches, trying her best not to add to the sickly shroud that already surrounds her. Shaking it off, she takes a deep breath and picks up the PC again. This time, the cooling touch of metal and plastic eases her discomfort. 

It isn’t long before she notices a blue light focused on her watch. Its deep hue completely washes over the dim white light, snaking up her arm and stopping to focus on the single-board computer on her hip. Syd’s blood runs cold as she frantically searches for the source of the light. Her heart races until she spots it near the back exit of the room, almost hidden behind a completely destroyed PC. 

It is different from the others—or what you’d expect a PC to look like. The classic rectangular silhouette is nowhere to be seen. Instead, it is cylindrical, more compact, standing like an ominous shrine of the future amidst the decaying past. The blue light intensifies, illuminating not only Syd but the entire room. A single thought runs through her mind as she shields her eyes from the intense glow:

Why is this one still plugged in?

Opening her eyes, Syd sees that the blue light has stopped. Not only that, but the room is now fully lit as the struggling bulbs have finally started to work. She gets a better look at the strange PC. It no longer has the ominous aura it has before. Instead, it looks like a prop from a science fiction movie, its chrome case warmed by a faint red light that makes it seem almost harmless in the corner of the room.

Syd hesitates for a moment. The strange PC looks like a better treasure trove than the one in her hand, but the memory of the blue light sends shivers down her spine. She decides to leave it alone. Turning quickly, she prepares to leave the storage room. She walks a little more carelessly now that she can see further ahead, but an uneasy feeling begins to swell inside her.

Not only does she feel like she is missing something, but there is an irritating pain in her right hand—a warm, burning sensation that seems to engulf it. She puts down the PC to check for any cuts where grime might seep in, but there are none. As she rubs her hand, she glances at the mess in front of her and the entrance. It is only when she sees the wired entrails of the PCs scattered everywhere that it dawns on her.

Syd turns around and looks back at the chrome PC nestled alone in the corner.

“Wasn’t it behind a broken tower?”

Immediately, something grabs her left hand. She turns to see a hand made of wires, its cold, metallic grip tightening around her wrist. She stares in bewilderment as a force pushes the maze of PCs against the entrance, barricading it. The tremendous force causes one of the three lights to go out. Shards from the towers fly toward the hand, coiling together to complete its humanoid form. Discarded side panels mold together, forming a trench coat around the figure. 

Syd tries to free herself from the figure’s grasp, but the wires are entangled with her watch. The figure flicks its finger, signaling a PC to hurl itself directly at her. The impact knocks the wind out of her, sending her flying free of the humanoid’s grip. She lands a few feet away as the PC continues its trajectory, crashing into the wall with a loud thud. The impact knocks out the second light, leaving only part of the storage room lit. 

Numerous white and red composite ports rush into the figure’s empty sockets, forming eyes—eyes that stare directly at Syd as she writhes in pain. She struggles to catch her breath, panic flooding her body as the dim light makes it harder to see the figure. 

The figure walks slowly toward her, each clatter of its footsteps instilling fear. It holds out its hands, signaling shards of RAM to cobble together into a serrated knife. A harsh voice, lost in digital noise, escapes from the figure:

“We were supposed to rule Hollywood together.”

Syd freezes, her mind racing to make sense of the words. Then, with a surge of adrenaline, she bolts for the back exit next to the strange PC. She only gets a few steps in before wires trip her, sending her crashing to the ground face-first. Stars obscure her vision until the sight of the figure’s mangled face causes them to scatter. 

A horrible smile appears on its wire-filled face. Grime pools between the haphazardly placed USB ports, forming teeth that it wipes away in excitement. It rips one of the single-board computers from Syd’s costume and gently slides it into its chest. The figure quivers as its frame seems to bulk up from the action.

"But then you ran to the first director who looked in your direction."

The figure begins to slide the knife up Syd’s costume, the sound of fabric tearing echoing through the storage room. Syd tries to fight back, but she is helpless, pinned down by the figure. Her left arm is outstretched, held in place by the wires entangled with her watch, while her legs are bound together, preventing her from kicking. She frantically looks around for something to use as a weapon, but her blood runs cold when she sees her right hand. It has become a wild jumble of pixels, the burning pain now subsides.

“Not a…”

A sharp nick cuts off her words as the blade slices her chest. The figure uses extra force when the knife reaches Syd’s chest, the dullness of the RAM blade struggling to cut through the extra padding. Blood flows from the shallow cut as Syd begins to lose hope. Scenes from her life flash before her: meeting Jules when they are nine, Jules begging her to star in a middle school film, her mom and Jules comforting her as she watches her favorite movie at sixteen. Tears well up in her eyes as she thinks this might be the end.

The faint sound of banging stops Syd’s tears instantly. She concentrates on the noise, trying to pinpoint its source. With each bang, it grows louder and louder until she realizes it is coming from the entrance of the building.

It must be Jules and Lou!

The thought gives Syd a glimmer of hope. Now, all she has to do is survive long enough for backup to arrive. But when she sees the knife pointed directly at her chest, she knows she has no chance.

Unless…

She looks at her right hand again, staring hard to find something that resembles her finger. When she spots it, she concentrates on trying to move it. The figure reels back the knife as Syd desperately wills her finger to twitch. Suddenly, she sees it move. She lets out a gasp as the figure prepares to stab her.

“In the end, you’re not cut out for the business,”

It drives the knife down, but Syd grabs its hand just before the blade can plunge into her chest. The figure is taken aback by her strength and struggles to complete its action. Using all her might, Syd pushes the knife further and further away. Her breath becomes ragged as the banging grows louder and louder.

Just a bit more…

That is all she can think about as she holds the figure back. Visibly enraged, the figure roars as wires protrude from its chest. The shrill squeal shatters Syd’s eardrums, but she continues to hold it back. The wires rip off the last of the single-board computers, dragging them back to the humanoid. Its eyes roll back as it quivers, bulking up again with newfound strength. The figure overwhelms Syd, but by then, it is too late.

A thunderous boom shakes the entire storage room, extinguishing the last of the light. PCs rain down, freed from the barricade they have formed. The clattering noise pulls the figure’s attention away from Syd. In the midst of the chaos, drenched in sunlight, a figure enters the storage room.

The humanoid leaps away from Syd, ready to fight whoever has interrupted its killing. Clutching the fragments of her costume, Syd’s hope is replaced by confusion. The silhouette is much larger than Jules and wields what appears to be a massive hammer. Syd knows nothing like that exists in Brimstone.

“Man, that’s one nasty virus,”

A gruff voice bellows from the silhouette who is revealed to be a woman. As the woman steps into the light, her appearance becomes clear. She is incredibly muscular, looking like a hero straight out of a comic book. Her piercing deep blue eyes and shining blonde hair give her an almost otherworldly presence. She lowers her hammer, revealing that it is almost as large as she is. The woman notices Syd and flashes a bright white smile.

“Don’t worry! I’ll kill it in a heartbeat!”

The words are lost on Syd against the ringing in her ears, but the woman’s thumbs-up reassures her that help has indeed arrived. Stunned by the size of the hammer, the figure signals for more broken RAM to raise its knife to match. In an instant, it lunges at the woman, attempting to slice off her head. Effortlessly, the woman spins the hammer and blocks the attack. Her warm smile turns to a playful grin as the figure’s eyes bulge in confusion.

“You’re pretty strong for an anomaly,”

The figure jumps back, crouching like an animal backed into a corner. Wires rip through its trench coat, searching for any PCs that are still intact. It hurls five of them at the woman, waiting a beat before charging at her. The woman spins the hammer, shattering each of the PCs as they approach. 

After the beat, the figure absorbs the shattered PCs, growing larger in mass. It prepares its knife, now in the shape of a machete, to attack the woman. Unexpectedly, the woman lunges at the figure, swinging the hammer down and completely destroying not only the machete but the figure’s arm as well. A horrible shriek comes from the figure as it slowly backs away from the woman.

Grime falls from the figure’s face as fear begins to grip it. It looks around, desperate for something to use, but there are no PCs left. Trembling, it believes it is out of options—until its eyes land on Syd, frozen in awe. She has been holding her torn costume together with her left hand, her smartwatch now fully exposed. 

The figure grimaces at the thought of using her watch as a last resort. It is a treat to savor after killing Syd, but it is the only way to ensure its survival. It sends most of the newly absorbed wires to its legs, its mass tripling as it prepares to pounce on Syd in one fell swoop. 

Unfortunately for it, the woman sees what it is about to do.

“Oh no, you don’t!”

The woman twists the handle of her hammer, causing the head to glow with a fierce light. She charges at full speed, twisting her body for the final attack. With a mighty swing, she brings the hammer down on the figure, crushing it completely. The impact shakes the ground, drowning out the figure’s shriek.

The woman smiles with satisfaction as she slings the hammer over her shoulder. She glances around the storage room, her eyes lighting up when she notices the chrome PC, untouched by the chaos. She turns to Syd.

“Look, you—”

She starts, then gasps. She hasn’t gotten a good look at Syd before, but now she does. Shaking her head, she approaches Syd, who is still sitting on the floor, clutching her torn costume.

“Wait, are you Nerissa from Caustic Cinema?!”

The woman asks trying hold back her excitement. Syd’s eyes widen in shock.

“Y. Yes,”

The woman’s eyes light up even more.

“I’m a huge fan! Can I get an autograph?”

Still stunned by the fact that her savior is also a fan, Syd breathes a sigh of relief. At least there is a way to repay her.

“Do you have a pen?”

The woman scrambles around, pulling a notebook and pen from her back pocket. Syd reaches for the pen but freezes halfway. Her right hand is back to normal. She stares at it in confusion, slowly turning it to make sure it is really healed. She realizes she’s been staring too long when the woman gives her a questioning look. Syd smiles sheepishly before grabbing the pen to sign the notebook.

Thanks for saving me. From Nerissa.

She pauses, realizing she doesn’t know who to make it out to. Then she remembers hearing the word “virus” over the ringing earlier.

“Should I make it out to Virus Buster?”

The woman’s eyes light up even more.

“YES!”

Syd finishes the autograph, and the woman holds the notebook as if it is a golden treasure. Then, as if remembering something, the woman leans closer to Syd’s ear and whispers,

“Hey, I know it’s the backdrop of the show, but you really shouldn’t mess with Uranet servers. Nothing but trouble.”

The revelation hits Syd like a tidal wave, leaving her speechless. The woman leaves the storage room, still admiring the autograph. She did a little jump, unable to contain her excitement.

“Best job ever!”

The roar of a motorcycle fades into the distance as a desperate scream echoes through the storage room.

“Syd!”

Jules bursts into the room, her face pale with worry. Right behind her is Lou, who stops in confusion as the sound of the motorcycle disappears.

“What the hell is Stars and Stripe doing here?”

“Shut up, Lou! And help me with Syd!”

She circles Syd, checking her for injuries. The sight of the blood and the marks from the wires drains what little color Jules has left. What worries her most is how unresponsive Syd is. She hasn’t even noticed Jules, despite her frantic circling. Jules tries to see what Syd is staring at, but there is nothing unusual among the scattered computer parts. 

Suddenly, Syd grabs Jules, causing her to jump. Syd’s grip is uncharacteristically strong, and Jules can see her skin beginning to bruise. The warm, familiar look in Syd’s eyes is gone, replaced by a distant, calculating gaze. Jules worries that Syd has been traumatized by what happened, but it is the opposite. Syd’s mind is racing, trying to process the discovery and the concerns Jules has expressed earlier. 

A mad smile spreads across Syd’s face as she reaches a conclusion. Jules’ unease grows until she hears a stunned gasp from Lou.

“Holy!”

Jules looks at him, confused, until she follows his gaze back to Syd. Her eyes widen as she realizes why Lou has gasped. Syd has used both hands to hold Jules in place, leaving nothing to hold her costume together. Her supple breasts are exposed, their warm vanilla hue glowing in the dim light of the storage room. Even the slightest movements - like Jules turning - cause them to bounce gently. Totally distracting Lou.

Jules' face turns red with a mixture of embarrassment and anger. She can't believe he is more focused on gawking than checking if Syd is okay. Just as she is about to yell at him, Syd pulls her closer and locks eyes with her. The warmth Jules remembers from Syd's eyes and smile is back, easing her worries.

“I know how to save the show!”