A World Without Circuits, pt. II

Chapter II

The air tasted dry, like dirt even and had no sort of humidity whatsoever. Every time she took a step forward, crunches from the sandy ground echoed in her ears. It was quiet and windless, which made Code'e worry. Her eyes darted around, taking in her surroundings but she could only gulp as the confusion and panic washed over her senses. Where was she?!

She had ran and ran what seemed like a million times around this eerie wasteland but nothing like life forms or cities were visible for miles. How had she wounded up in a desert was beyond her comprehension. Code'e had tried to analyze the situation, tried to recall any missing links between being in the hands of a colossal, fog-like monster to being stranded in a dry, personal hell. Why was she here? Why?

Wait, where was Lopmon? She looked around frantically, the panic finally swallowing her whole as she did. Without her partner, she was surely going to lose it. "Lopmon, where are you? Stop playing tricks on me!" Code'e screamed from the top of her lungs, pleading silently that he would pop out and surprise her. But after ten minutes or so, she gave up. Her knees hit the ground with a loud thud, dust covering her jeans as she clenched her hands into fists. Suddenly, Code'e's head jerked up to the skies, her voice cracking as she screamed, "God, what do you want from me?! Stop doing this type of shit to me, this is so not fucking cool! You might as well end it now because this is not funny at all!" Her head lowered again, letting herself fall completely on the sand as she curled up under the scorching sun and began to cry silently. She was biting down on her lower lip, increasing the pressure as she tried to muffle the sobs.

How are you enjoying the misery, Code'e?

Her head lifted up, the tears stopping the moment that voice had invaded her ears. She sat up quickly, looking around to see where it had come from but no one else was with her. Code'e then crouched, ready to pounce on whatever was speaking or was toying with her. "Come out, now!" she demanded and a voice's laughter echoed broke the eerie silence so creepily, she jumped startled and fell back on her butt.

Walk for a bit more, Code'e. I am sure you will find it to your liking once you find where you are.

Groaning slightly, Code'e lifted herself up cautiously. Suddenly, her eyes saw Lopmon in the horizon. He looked blurry but she quickly hurried to go to him, waving her arms around happily as she shouted for him. Unfortunately, she had found herself chasing Lopmon now across the hot desert, as if he was running from her. She thought it as peculiar but continued to go after him. Beads of sweat ran down her forehead, damping her bangs and the back of her neck but she ignored it. Code'e only wanted to have her precious Lopmon in her arms once again.

After what seemed like eternity, Lopmon stopped running and waited for her at the top of a hill. Tripping a few times as she climbed the sandy trap, Code'e finally reached him but to her disappointment, it was an illusion. She had been running for nothing and it made her ache deep inside. Code'e was missing her Digimon more than ever, internally hurting to see him again. He was the Jiminy Cricket to her Pinnochio mindset. They needed one another and him not being there drove her insane.

Sighing deeply, Code'e glanced up then gasped in shock. A large, green sign read, "Welcome to Tokyo", in bold letters and getting excited, she ran to the left to see the beautiful, futuristic city she had come to love. Suddenly, like a sharp knife being stabbed on the side of her head, Code'e came to the cruel realization that Tokyo was not the same city she remembered.

In front of her stood the barren ruins of a once envied city, its tall towers now crumbled spires that laid almost submerged in the sands of time and its streets covered in garbage. Code'e ran down the hill, almost falling on her face several times as she rushed to investigate what had happened. She couldn't believe it. It was too much to bare. Tears had been spilling in torrents the whole time she had been dashing through the empty streets, seeking some answers from even the tiniest of places but nothing explained the tragedy she was facing. Nothing.

Sad to see this?

Now furious and enraged, Code'e paused and yelled, "Who the fuck are you?! You keep running your fucking mouth but you don't even show yourself! What happened to Tokyo? Where are the others?!"

Gone, as you can see. Search the streets to find your answers.

Before the voice had stopped speaking, Code'e was already on it, peeking through every store that was not blocked by trash or busting down the doors of houses. She had kept this cycle going for a few hours, frantically seeking some type of answer to the chaos that had conspired in Tokyo. Code'e ran by shattered billboards, dead streetlights, bent lamp poles, broken cars and bicycles. The buildings were cracked and destroyed in millions of ways.

After a bit, Code'e arrived to the Sol dorms... or what was left of it. Half of the dorms were gone, while the other half was either submerged in sand or was a total mess. Still, Code'e ventured in, carefully searching for any clues of what had happened. During the whole investigation, it seemed pretty clear what was going on.

End of the world.

She had seen it in movies, books, comics, whatever. The world would return to a state of nature being the predominant force, while humankind was extinct. Now why was she still alive? Maybe it was a dream, yeah. A dream. She bumped her head and was obviously in a nightmare but things felt too realistic.

Code'e sat down, trying to sniff back the tears that wanted to just pour out. The world was gone, all of Tokyo and its beautiful lights! What about the Digital World? She knew that it was no longer accessible by any means if technology had ceased to exist.

Ceased... to... exist.

Her body had started to shake violently, the tears finally spilling as she cried in agony. No technology, no machines, nothing. It was all gone, something of the past, a relic of a once-proud civilization...