“Help…us.”
The words were mangled but unmistakable. And just like that, it was yanked back and vanished into the server room.
My mind went blank. It was the only thing I could do to avoid thinking about what I’d heard. Those things were dead. There was nothing to save. Nothing. The only thing to do was run and never look back. What could I hope to do?
“Fuck me,” I muttered before darting straight for the server room in the greatest act of idiocy I’ve ever committed.
Peeking inside, I saw the layout had been left relatively the same. Rows upon rows of servers ran down the room, storing more bytes or data than there were stars in the sky. Though I imagine there was only one strip of code left on them. A thick layer of tangled cables covered the ground, and a canopy hung over the sight. The only lights there were came from the buttons on the serves themselves, but thankfully it appeared normal enough. The mess of wires was alarming, but at least there were no bodies. Well, almost none.
Leaning against the nearest server was the figure I’d seen outside. His lower half was submerged in the nest of cables, and he seemed to be sinking deeper every second. If it wasn’t for his chest’s steady rise and fall, I would’ve assumed he was dead. I scurried over to his side, stepping onto the sea of wires, and grabbed his arm. When I tried to pull him out, however, his flesh came loose in my hands I fell back. I tried again, but every time the meat peeled away.
“Stop.” He muttered before I could tear him to pieces.
“I’m sorry. I just…how do I do this?”
“Can’t.” His breath sounded like sheering iron. “Not…any…more.”
“Well, I can’t help if I can’t move you!” I’ll admit I shouldn’t have sounded so angry. I’d reached my limit back at the elevator and had no patience for more bullshit.
The man’s head jittered in what I think was a shake. “Not…move…free.”
A moment of silence passed, his words hanging in the air.
“Oh.” I stammered out. “I-I…no. I don’t think I can…I mean…is that even possible anymore?” I said that, thinking back to the headless server men marching around outside.
“Remove…master…outlets….” His words were getting weaker, and blood started trickling down his throat. “Back….of….room.”
I glanced down the isles, seeing them stretch on and out of sight. “I don’t think I…yeah…sure thing, buddy.”
He seemed to relax at that. His body went limp, flattening against the server as more wires crawled into his skin. “Thank…you.”
He pulled his mechanized arm over and laid it in front of me. “Take…it…for…trouble.”
“Really? I mean, I can-“ I looked at the tattered flesh connecting the saw to his arm. “Isn’t it gonna hurt?”
“Take…it!”
“Right. Stupid question.”
Removing the saw didn’t take much effort, but that didn’t mean it was pleasant. I tried slowly peeling it off, only to hit a snag. Apparently, there were wires growing inside him, running from god knows where, through his arm, and down into the saw. To tear those, I had to dig inside with my finger, moving aside veins, muscles, and some squishy bits I try not to think about. It couldn’t have been pleasant for him, but the man didn’t make a sound the entire time.
Eventually, the saw came off with a wet snap. Sparks rained down from the stump, and blood spewed from the saw. The blade wasn’t metal, and if I were to guess, I’d say it was bone. Get it? If that was intentional, then that virus had a real sick sense of humor. Despite the obvious, it seemed to be just an ordinary saw with an on and off button and everything. The only thing I could never figure out was what power it ran on, but it wasn’t the weirdest thing I’d seen that day.
I gripped the weapon tight, ignoring the pulse I felt through the plastic, and stood up.
“Careful…something…bad…waiting.” The man said.
“Kinda figured that’s what the saw was for.” I laughed. He didn’t. “Sorry. Not just for that, but…everything.”
I’m not sure he heard me. Either way, I wouldn’t have helped.
“Go.” He muttered as a piece of what I think was his tongue slipped out of his mouth, and I didn’t argue. Stepping through metal shrubbery, I marched on down the server room with a freshly bloody saw in hand.
I’ll admit, I expected more from that place. Not that there wasn’t anything terrible down there, but it’s just that they weren’t as dangerous as before. To show what I mean, let me tell you about the first horror I saw down there, minus my friend at the beginning.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw it. Just down one of the aisles was a humanoid figure looking more or less like what I expected. Its body was brutalized like my friend from before, but the modifications were more, let’s say, specific. The only wires connected to it came from the head, specifically, its mouth. To give you an idea, imagine a gas mask, only that snout thing at the end is a pillar of wiring. That long bundle extended up to join the mess covering the ceiling. It almost looked like it was supposed to be breathing the electricity. In its otherwise empty sockets were tiny computer monitors that only came alive when it went to work.
Its middle finger had been replaced with something resembling a USB port, you see, and every so often would insert that into one of the servers. The screens would then come alive with lines of code and then go blank when it removed the port. My guess was that it was checking the code somehow. Point is, you see what I mean, right? It was disturbing but not harmful. I’m not even sure how it could have been. On the other hand, I didn’t have to think too hard when it came to his friends.
After passing by a few more code checkers, each too preoccupied to notice me, I can cross a peculiar cluster of Dieline victims. I hid behind one of the servers at the sight of them but gave myself enough wiggle room to see what they were doing. Each of them had no lower half and were instead propped up by a giant column of cabling. They didn’t do much more either, as the cables did swing them around like finger puppets. Their eyes were replaced with camera-like lenses that glanced over the servers. On each of their fingers rested some type of appliance similar to the janitor, which they did not hesitate to use.
One out of the pack took an interest in a server near the opposite end of the aisle as I. Its eyes seemed to narrow before it raised its hands and began cutting into machinery like mad. I thought the others would try and do something to stop it, but they lazily scanned over other sections of tech. Wires flew out in every direction, and when there was a big enough hole, I assume, the creature tore a hunk of flesh from somewhere inside. It was withered and smoking like an overcooked steak, and the creature casually tossed it to the ground. Then, it turned its attention inward.
It dragged an Exacto knife finger from its neck to its gullet and peeled back to the skin. Inside I saw what looked like normal human organs infested with, get this, wires. The creature ripped inside and yanked out what I think was its spleen which it inserted into the server. Wires stretched out to greet the organ and wove them through it with the creature’s aid. Before long, a new organ rested within the server, and the demon moved on without even bothering to sew itself up.
I could see a few more of those things starting to dig into the machines, but I didn’t stick around long enough to see them. Besides, I didn’t want those things to run out and start needing spare parts.
The further I plunged into the room, the less human those things started getting. I’m still not sure if that was a good thing or bad. At first, it was just drones with arms replaced by various pieces of machinery. One even had a saw that it used to hack away at the servers. Others had what I think were blow torches. A handful had multiple metal limbs sprouting from the same socket, like spider legs dancing across the servers. I’m not sure any of them saw me. They must’ve been too focused on their work.
I couldn’t say the same for the one at the end. I heard it long before I saw it. Through all the saws and torches, there was a rhythmic chopping noise. It was always in the distance and steadily got louder the deeper I dove. In the distance, I could see the seemingly endless rows of servers breaking with the noise coming from whatever was beyond. I slowed as I approached it and snuck into the very last row. Just around the corner was a large open space flooded with the same thicket of cables as everywhere else, with one major difference. The wires weren’t chaotic anymore, and they all flowed towards a spot on the back wall. I couldn’t see what they led to, but I could hazard a guess. The only problem was there were more than just wires out there.
Hanging above the area was the worst metal monstrosity I’d yet seen. It was undoubtedly the biggest, dwarfing even those server-faced brutes. The body resembled a mechanical hand sprouting from the ceiling cables. It had a very crude design, though. Most of the arm was made of several mismatched parts ripped from other machines and lashed together with steel wires. Worst of all, there appeared to be some squishy bits added in too. Muscle sinew wove throughout it, and organs worked in conjunction with machinery. I swear I even saw a couple hearts sprinkled throughout, all beating in unison.
At the end of the arm were claw-like limbs that I think looked like fingers. In the “palm,” I guess you’d call it, sprouted an armless torso. The body was much smoother than the others. Its skin was smooth and practically glowed in the sever light. And when I say it was smooth, I don’t mean that in a good way. Its head was like a mannequin’s, all of its features flattened except for its mouth. Well, I say mouth, but it was more like rows of teeth growing out of what I think were lips.
The arm, person…thing hovered over the wire work, head swiveling as if searching for something. It stopped over a random part of the thicket and reached inside with mechanical limbs surrounding it. From the wires, they pulled out another shriveled body bristling with cords. The arms began to unfold into a series of gadgets and buzzing tools like the world’s worst Swiss Army knives. Blades of all sorts descended on the body, carving it to pieces and making more than a few additions. It chopped off the arms, fed wiring into the stumps, and fused saws onto the ends. Piece by piece, the body’s purpose became clear, and when the engineer pulled back, a new drone stood ready to work. It glanced down the aisles and stumbled off between them, passing by my hiding spot without a second thought.
You probably think I was horrified at that point, but no. I was horrified back in the office. I was terrified in the elevator. Now, I was just numb. You could’ve shot my mother right in front of me, and I wouldn’t even shrug. However, that didn’t change the fact that that thing was standing between the master outlet and me. I couldn’t get close while that thing was out there. At least not yet. As gruesome as its work was, I figured it must have taken a lot of focus. It would be a decent enough distraction. If I just waited, maybe it’d pull out another body from the wires and give me an opening.
The claw hovered over the thicket for maybe a minute before reaching in and pulling out another body. I wondered how many were buried under the cables but didn’t let it distract me. The engineer was not only busy but also off to the side and facing one of the walls. There wouldn’t be a better opportunity. I stayed low but quickly scurried across the wires. Being so exposed wreaked havoc on what little of my nerves remained. I swear I could already feel that thing’s claws stabbing into me with every step. The whole time, I couldn’t stop looking at the engineer as it worked away. By some miracle, I managed to make it to the wall without getting spotted, but there was one more problem.
The socket was buried under a solid foot of wiring. I tried slipping my hands through, but they were too fat to even get close. Fuck, I even tried yanking the cords out myself, but there were too many wires, ad I didn’t have the time. The engineer could have finished at any second. There was only one option, and it was terrible.
I’d have to be fast. The second I turned on the saw, that thing would know I was there. I only hoped I could cut the right wires before it noticed me. Keeping one eye on the engineer, I held the saw right over the tangle and turned it on. The saw let out a terrible screech as it spun to life, and I didn’t waste a second, plunging the blade down. Sparks leaped into the air, and wires sprung up like frightened serpents, but my progress was undeniable. The saw cleaved through them like butter and not a moment too soon.
The engineer spun around almost instantly. Even without eyes, I knew it was looking at me. Its jaws split apart, and out came a vicious shriek that stabbed into my ears. The sound wasn’t as bad as the alarm upstairs, but there was an intelligence behind that ferocity that was plenty horrifying on its own. The engineer splayed its arms out, each unfurling its many blades, and then charged straight for me.
I’d be dead right now if the saw had been any worse. Just as the engineer started to charge, I felt it cut through a thick bundle of wiring. The servers in sight began to flicker as I did that, and a slow, diminishing hum filled the entire room. The engineer stopped dead in its tracks and then wrenched itself back. All of its arms twitched uncontrollably, and the whole apparatus shook. Its many organs squirmed in pain, and sparks spewed from its mouth, silencing its screams. It was fucking beautiful.
I smiled, but what joy I got from seeing that thing suffer was short-lived. I waited for that thing to finally run out of power and drop dead. How could it do anything else with the outlet disconnected? But that moment never came. Sure, it looked hurt, but it also wasn’t dying. Even the servers behind it, sputtering as they were, never quite died. Seeing all that brought me to a gut-wrenching realization.
Outlets, he’d told me, as in more than one. It made sense too. What server room only had one outlet? That’d be kinda silly, right? “Shit.”
The engineer swung back around to face me. It was clear it was having a hard time controlling its twisted body, but it wasn’t enough to put it down. It lurched forward, then back, arms retracted around its torso and then shooting out, all before it finally lunged at me.
So that was the bad news. The good news was having one less outlet for all those servers couldn’t have been healthy. That thing was definitely slower than before, which gave me just enough time to jump out of the way. All the wires cushioned my landing as the creature’s glitching arms stabbed into the walls. Plaster and wood exploded in every direction as I scurried back onto my feet.
I didn’t have a plan as I rushed away. I would have told you I just wanted to escape if you’d asked me. Fuck that thing, and whatever cursed computer virus made it. I did my part. What else could I have possibly done? But I ended up answering my own question.
The servers caught my eyes just as I ran past them, and I stopped. Looking back, I could see the engineer was still as sporadic and wolf as usual. It was panicking. Hell, it probably didn’t even know it’d hit a wall. It was focused solely on killing me like a bull and his matador.
“Damnit,” I muttered as the plan came into shape. “Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it! Hey, you…you hey!!”
The creature focused on me as I stepped in front of one of the servers.
“I pulled the plug, right? And I’ll do it again! I promise! I rip out every socket I can find! Leave this place looking like an Amish wonderland!” I was fully convinced I was insane at this point. Regardless, it seemed to be working. The creature jittered a bit more and then lunged at me once again. I hoped to the side but underestimated the jump. The creature’s blades caught my upper arm and dragged a cut from my elbow to shoulder. While the adrenaline helped dull the pain, and it wasn’t that major of a wound, it still stung like all hell. A small price to pay for what came after.
The rest of the creature’s arms stabbed clean through the server I’d stood in front of. An absolute geyser of sparks exploded all over the place as the machine was ripped to fucking pieces. Iron chunks flew everywhere as the engineer blindly stabbed at it. A few of its arms even tore clean through the server behind that one. The momentum of it was so great that it also caused that server to fall backward and strike the one behind it. It was an absolute mess.
A whole choir of screams in the distance joined the engineer’s. One of its arms fell limp, and a few of its hearts peeled out of the wiring, falling to the ground in burned-up wrecks. Smoke started to billow out of the creature, along with more sparks. I assume that thing’s AC units were shutting down. It was already a struggle to keep the servers from overheating before they were corrupted. I can’t imagine how much processing power it must have taken after. With how many servers I’d turned off from the outlet and all the ones I’d just destroyed, I’m surprised things didn’t turn out worse.
The engineer continued to sputter before all the flesh inside it ignited. Flames erupted from every inch of it and quickly covered the monstrosity. From there, the fire spread to the wirework above and only grew from there. Turns out, all those sparks were a bit of a fire hazard, go figure, and the walls had been set ablaze. It too was taking to the wire work, destroying more and more of the servers. It wasn’t what I had in mind, but it got the job done.
While the engineer writhed in pain, flames engulfing it, I fucking booked it back the way I came. Screams were starting to fill the air, and I could see some of the workers lying in twitching heaps down the aisles. Some were still alive enough to struggle, but the flames spread fast despite their efforts. One by one, their motionless bodies were consumed by fire, with the lucky few only earning the honor of dying at their stations. Good fucking riddance.
I burst out of that room like a bat from hell, not daring to look back. Down the hall, I could see one of the server men leaning against the wall. The server in its chest sagged from its perch and came crashing to the ground. I’ll admit I got a smile from seeing that, even if that thing had once been a person. Just down the hall, I could see the stairwell waiting for me and bolted for it without hesitation. I rushed open to the next floor, ignored the horrors burning up in the lobby, and at long last came bursting through the front doors. I didn’t leave quite yet, though. As that building went up in smoke, I stuck around to watch the whole thing fucking burn.
I stayed like that until the fire crews came and wrestled me away from the building. They tried their best, but there wasn’t much they could save. The interior was burnt to a crisp, they said. If anyone was still in there, they’d be ashes. In the end, they had to identify the dead by process of deduction. From there, they were able to piece together a body county. Turns out, all those empty desks I’d seen weren’t because people had clocked out. With all the hours they worked, the virus had plenty of time to snatch them up and carry them down to the servers. I’m not sure why I was spared, though. Maybe all those anti-viral programs I ran did something to protect me. Who knows. The only thing I’m certain of is that, minus myself, the only survivor was Jim.
Being the only survivors, blame naturally fell to me. People tried to say I’d done something to the mainframe which had caused the fire. Too bad for them, though, the ground floor had collapsed, and the server rooms, along with any evidence, had been crushed flat. Whatever they managed to dig up would be too broken to recognize.
Official story became an electrical fire broke out in the mainframe, and I was more than happy to let them believe that. Can you imagine what they’d do to me if I told the truth? I didn’t return to work, though. The company offered me an office upstate, but I couldn’t take it. The idea of sitting at a desk for the rest of my life didn’t seem appealing anymore. I’m not sure what Dieline was, but I’m confident there’s more of it out there, and I’m not gonna sit around waiting for it to stuff me with metal.
I’m not sure what I’m gonna do now. There’s this old soup kitchen downtown. I’m sure they could use an extra pair of hands. Somewhere far away from any computers and doing something actually important, that sounds nice.
Which leads me to why I’m writing this now. I might be out of harm’s way, but Dieline is still out there. I have no idea where it might appear next or who it’ll hurt. Maybe it’s one of you reading this right now. In that case, this is my due diligence. After that, it’s on you. Don’t try and fix it. All you can do is burn it out, literally.