the ultimatum ↬ elliot alderson ✔

<myth0l0gy12.cpl>

I spend too much time talking to Mr Robot. But I'm alone. There's something that keeps scratching that part of my brain again but I can't figure it out.

I talk to him more than what I usually do, but it doesn't matter. No one notices if I'm talking to myself or not. 

I've been following Leon's advice of sticking to a routine to make sure I don't go crazy. But I might as well be. I'd start by waking up in my cell, then going to the cafeteria with Leon for breakfast. Then I go to the courtyard before having lunch again. Then I have dinner, then back to my cell. It's a lifeless, bland routine. 

This perfect maze I've created- this sense of normality- has gotten me close to returning to my sane state, but that's only in my head. I know I'm only lying to myself. 

I've begun to confuse events, which is why I tell Mr Robot everything now. He keeps records for me, kind of like a backup, so I don't forget. 

But I've also begun to remember. 

---

I hear a knock on my bedroom door, grunting under my breath before I open it. Darlene, stands in front of me with a wide grin. Her hair is tied up in two loose pigtails, a symbol of her innocence.

"Elliot! Guess who came to visit!" she squeals, but it only makes me wince from her loudness. I look behind her, my eyes setting on the blonde girl with shiny brown eyes. Her hair is in pigtails too. 

"I'm Dawn," the girl says with a shy smile. She reaches for my hand, and I shake her hand softly. Her cheeks are flushed and I'm sure mine are, too. 

The scene changes and I'm suddenly back in my apartment. Darlene's been back in town for a day. She said she wants to show me someone. 

I open the door of my apartment, seeing Darlene and Dawn, who I hadn't seen since I left New Jersey. A wave of relief hit me, like weight was lifted off my shoulders. 

"Hey!" she says before hugging me. She smells of coconut, like she did when she was a little girl. She breaks away from the hug when she realises my body has stiffened. "I'm sorry, I forgot you don't like being touched," she says sheepishly. 

She remembers the day my father died, but how could she forget? 

I give Dawn a smile before letting her and Darlene inside the apartment. Darlene immediately drops herself on my couch, her feet landing on my coffee table. 

"It's been so long since you guys saw each other, huh?" Darlene says, removing her heart-shaped sunglasses off her face. Dawn's eyes are focused on me, even when she talks. 

"Yeah. It has been," she says with a smile. Why is she here?

Darlene laughs. "I know, you're thinking 'why is she here?'. Well, Elliot, she's here because I know she can help us." 

"Help us?" I ask, puzzled. 

"You probably don't know, but I've been working with Darlene for a few months now at a grey hat hacking company."

My eyes widen at that. Dawn is a hacker? 

"Well, we can discuss this later. I have to run to get some stuff off someone but I'll be back soon. I guess you guys have catching up to do anyway," Darlene says, walking straight for the door. She turns around to gaze at me for a second, mouthing 'I know you like her' before stepping out of my flat. 

My cheeks flush because she's right. 

"So, Darlene told me you have a plan," Dawn says, but her tone is so familiar it seems like I never stopped talking to her for years.