The Shadow Virus stumbled into the living room, shivering and shaking, shedding ruined red pixels. He tore off his mask and fell to his knees, breathing raggedly. Every cell in his body screamed with pain. His sanity was a forgotten dream. He buried his hideous face in his glitching hands, letting out a moan.

“What happened this time?” came a familiar voice. The Shadow Virus lifted his head, and saw her standing above him. Eva. In this hour of darkness she glowed like a beacon. A pair of soft blue pixels floated from her fingertips as she kneeled down beside him, brushing his sweat-soaked hair out of his eyes.

The Shadow Virus tried to speak, but the virus was still choking his mind. He could only shudder and pixelate, in danger of losing himself again. He could feel the scalding energy in his veins, whipping him into a frenzy of rage. Panic roared through his chest. He had to leave, or the virus would attack Eva. He forced himself onto his feet, staggering to the door, as the infection closed in on his pounding heart with a demonic shriek of triumph…

Then, he felt a warm hand on his wrist. Blue pixels danced up his arm, trickling like liquid light into his chest. He sighed, and a sense of peace overtook him. The virus was retreating.

“You should sit down,” Eva said. Her hand lingered on his a bit longer than necessary. 

She helped him to a chair, and he collapsed gratefully into its solid support. “Now, tell me what you did.” Eva folded her arms like a scolding mother. “And don’t lie about the details this time.”

The Shadow Virus winced. His mind swam with guilt, as the memory of what the virus had forced him to do that night filtered back into his consciousness. His every muscle ached and burned, and his vision wavered.

“I attacked the business district,” he muttered. “Smashed up some electronics. An office building went up in flames.”

Eva gasped, and he hurriedly exclaimed, “It’s the middle of the night! There wasn’t anybody in there!” This was likely a lie, but he did not dwell on sharpening the memory. He did not want to know.

Eva visibly relaxed, and he cringed, continuing. “Then I was in a residential area,” he sighed. “I just walked down the street, pixelating, destroying apartments. People were... screaming, and running. Someone took manual control of their car and tried to mow me down, and I…” He frowned. “I don’t even know what happened. The virus reacted, and the car just… disintegrated in front of me.” He held up his hand, frowning, as little lines of red code rushed across his fingers.

Eva grimaced. “We need to find a way to stop this,” she said.

“The incidents are getting more frequent,” he said, smiling weakly. “I don’t think I’m going to last much longer.”

“No,” Eva shook her head. “There’s got to be an… antivirus, or something. Something we can use to fix you.” Her eyes shone with concern, and the Shadow Virus had to glance away. She would never really understand, as much as she tried to support him. 

“You’re going to be fine,” Eva insisted, kneeling down beside him and staring intently into his eyes, determined to make him believe her. A stray line of red pixels skittered from the Shadow Virus’s palm and twined around her wrist. She glanced down, surprised, then blasted the ruined pixels away in a flash of blue. The Shadow Virus flinched, muttering hurried apologies, until Eva took his hand, dissolving all words from his mind. “Do you hear me? You’re going to be fine. We’ll find a way to help you.”

When Eva looked at him like that, it was like she could see past his mask, past even the mess of ruined pixels that distorted his face. She could see the person he used to be, the naive and optimistic boy with a passion for technology and a bright future ahead of him. 

She looked like she actually cared about him, an incredibly rare thing.

“Listen, I really appreciate everything you’ve done to help me,” the Shadow Virus said. He smiled softly. A pixel popped out of his hair, and he murmured, “Even if there’s no way to get rid of the virus, it’s just... nice to have a friend again.”

But as he said it, he realized the term ‘friend’ didn’t sit well in his mind.