The Desolate Guardians

by Matt Dymerski

  ***

  I finished reading the message log with a terrible sinking feeling in my heart. What the hell was this? Some kind of joke? The file's details said it had been made today. In fact, the last few lines had been added as I'd read it. But where was it coming from?

  Where did this file originate?

  This couldn't possibly be real, could it?

  Was there a poor and tortured madman underneath the Earth right now, with the power to destroy everything at his fingertips? I could imagine some sort of ridiculous budget cutback eliminating the department that had overseen him. If the project had been kept secret, would anyone even know what had been defunded?

  Holy crap? I couldn't find the source? all I could do was hope that this was a Christmas joke being played on me for my off-hours browsing habits? or, if it was real? I could only hope that this unknown soul would hold out. And for how long? Indefinitely? Did all our lives hinge on the lonely suffering of one solitary man?

  In my half-dark and very isolated server room, I couldn't help but feel for him. Merry Christmas to you, wherever you are, friend?