Beat The Clock.

September 24 - Hand

Mason stood in the doorway, pressing his palm against the hand reader in front of him. Verifying his credentials, the two steel doors moved open, reaveling a large electronics room that had been compared to CompUSA exploding within the secure confines. Mason dragged his hand through his already disheveled brown locks as he clipped his locater and mic over his right ear.

"What's your status?"

A disembodied voice come out loud and clear over the sound system meshed flawlessly withing the walls' framing structure. It felt as if the person was right in the room. "Mason, we're glad you're here to join us on such unexpected meeting."

"I came as soon as I heard," he sighed as he pulled up the complex programs he would need to crack whatever code they had found. "I had to bail out on Bridget for dinner again. She's totally going to dump me know."

"I don't think that will be a problem..."

Mason's fingers acted on impeccable memory, flying across several keyboards he had laying out on his cluttered workstation. He barely listened to the voices overhead now; he was in his "zone".

"I don't think because-"

Just then a tall redhead with a long, ethereal scarf came in the other secured door, her Birkenstalks barely making a noise on the tile. The young woman stop dead when she got a sight of Mason at his desk.

"Mason?

"Bridget?"

"Wow...I had no idea." On impulse, Mason embraced his girlfriend with a rib-cracking hug. Now they wouldn't have to keep secrets anymore. "So you work for The Company, too."

She gave him a slice of her wonderful smile. "Yes, as an Ancient Language Specialist. And you're a Computer Analyst.."

HELLO MASON. HELLO BRIDGET.

Both jumped back to see all of Mason's computer screen go black, then flood with green symbols and code. It was happening so fast even Mason couldn't keep up.

"This is what I was trying to tell you guys about. This system error popped up about an hour ago. When we tried to decode it shut down. It says it won't talk to anyone but you two." A pregnant pause followed. "Do any of you know what's going on?"

"Well," Bridget replied as she pressed her finger to the computer screen. "That's the language I've been decoding for the past six months. But- but its all jumbled with Mason's coding. Almost like...like they've mess together."

Mason pushed his glasses higher atop his nose as he peered closer to the computer screens to see what Bridget was talking about. True enough, her language ad his code were in perfect alignment with each other.

"Impossible..."

NO MASON, NOT IMPOSSIBLE. I AM MERELY A PART OF YOU, AND A PART OF BRIDGET.

Bridget grabbed Mason's hand. It trembled with her fear. "What are you saying?"

YOU CREATED ME. I AM YOUR CHILD.

Suddenly, the code began to swirl as if within a twister. It formed into a cone before the collapse, leaking codes and symbols onto the console of the computers.

Ever so slowly, a hand began to form, reaching out for his parents.