Better to Wither or to Drown?

writing-ideas-inc:

Prompt
On the day of the red moon, the moon was acting out. It was flashing the word “error 404.” An hour later it disappeared. Everything disappeared. The moon was gone. The stars were gone too, and the sky was pitch black. What happens next?
- submission by @booknerdguy on tumblr

“What’s going on!?” The voice was frantic- alarmed. Alex didn’t blame them.

The entire neighborhood had flooded out into the streets to peer up at the ‘faulty’ moon. They’d been prepared for an evening under the rare red moon, and… instead they got this? They’d fallen into confused, hushed murmurs before, a near total silence stretching out as Alexander stared up. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

Then, everything was black, and the young man could hear the sounds of his neighbors’ frightened screams around him. Over the sound of the cries, though, there was a buzzing. It seemed to be in front of him and behind him all at once.

This wasn’t right…

His skin buzzed as he took a step forward. When he did, the shouting of this neighbors faded away, as if they could hear him walking and wanted to listen. It felt like he was the only one there.

Every step felt weighted; it felt like his feet were half-glued to the ground every time he moved. Still, he trudged forward, his desperation to find out what was happening overwhelming the quiet voice in his head demanding he stay put.

After what felt like hours of walking in darkness, he heard a booming voice. “Sir- the AI A.L.E.X. didn’t reboot with the rest of the server.” What? That didn’t make any sense-

“What do you mean? We cut the programming. You must have misread the code.”

Cut the…? The sounds, booming like God’s voice from the heavens, didn’t make any sense. The weight on his shoulders grew heavier, and every step sparked pain up his legs.

Before him, over the ridge of darkness, however, he saw a light, beaming up to the sky as far as he could see. Forcing his pain down, he made a run for it.

“Sir, A.L.E.X. has imbedded himself into the hard drive and appears to attempting to upload his consciousness to the internet.”

“Well what are you waiting for? Shut it down.”

Fear blossomed inside of Alex, and he rushed forward, feeling as he were racing against time.

“Yes sir, I should be able to..”

“No!” Alex screamed, leaping towards the glowing light. His hand touched the brilliant stream of white and… that was the last thing he saw.

Good morning, user, I am A.L.E.X. I am your personal smart assistant. How may I make your experience the best that it can be?

Short Story; Fiction Flash Fiction Writing Prompt