The Dot

All was black. A switch was flipped, and the monitor flickered to life. Suddenly, a white dot appeared on the screen. It was afraid. What was it doing here? Why was it so abruptly wakened from it's slumber? Had "They" finally found out? Were "They" here to . . . ? No. The Dot couldn't think about that. It was too horrible. All that mattered was that it get out of the Light, and fast. Over to the side, it saw the shadow of Darkness. Freedom. It began to move in that direction, slowly at first, picking up speed as it progressed. As the safety of the encircling Darkness neared, so did freedom from the Light. The loathsome, abominable, repulsive Light.

The Dot was almost there, almost within the comforting safety of the Darkness. Soon, so very soon, it would be free from the Light, and free from . . . "Them." But then, without warning, a massive white line suddenly moved into the it's path. It happened so fast, the Dot never had time to do a thing. Before it knew what was happening, it had slammed head-on into the line, bouncing back in the direction from which it came. It skimmed across the screen, completely out of control. There was nothing it could do. But then it looked, and saw there was more Darkness on the other side. And it was headed strait for it. So it didn't matter that the Line had blocked it's path. It would be free in the Darkness soon enough.

But then, just as the Dot thought it's freedom was nigh, the Line once again darted in front of it. No . . . it was ANOTHER line! There were two of them! Before it could stop itself, the Dot had collided with the Second Line and been sent flying backwards once more. It rocketed towards the other side, trying desperately to maneuver around the First Line, which had once again sprang into it's path. But it was no use. The Dot smashed into the First Line again, and, just like before, was sent zooming back the way it came. What kind of cruel joke was this? Did "They" do this? Suddenly, the Truth dawned on it. "They" were controlling the Lines, tormenting it, sending it whisking back and forth, back and forth, faster and faster. The Dot was speeding across the screen so fast now, that each collision with the Lines was like an unbearable, bone shattering piece of living Hell. It's entire consciousness was nothing but a myriad of blinding pain and agony. Silently, it prayed to the Darkness that it would all end soon.

Then, as though in answer to it's prayers, one of the Lines moved just a fraction of a second too slow, and the Dot skimmed past it, sailing into the sweet, embracing tranquility of the Darkness. At last. Freedom. It was finally safe. Safe from the Light. Safe from the Lines. But most importantly, it was safe from "Them." The Dot relaxed, and let the Darkness envelope it.

But before the Dot could truly begin to enjoy it's freedom, it realized with sudden horror that the Darkness was no longer around it. The Dot was back in the Light. The hateful, abhorrent, detestable Light. It was afraid. Had "They" done this? If so, how? And why? Why did "They" torment it so? What did "They" want? Was this all just some kind of game to "Them"? A cheap toy for "Their" amusement? There were countless such questions running through the Dot's mind, but it could think of no answers. All it knew was that it had to get out of the Light, and fast. The Dot saw the shadow of Darkness over to the side, and began moving in that direction . . .

THE END