[ WP ] After a world-wide cataclysm you 're the only human left alive . In your extreme loneliness you 've created an imaginary friend who follows you around and keeps you company . However , the other day they did something which made you think maybe they 're not imaginary after all .

“ Geoffrey, why did you do that? ” I exclaimed. 
 
 “ Whatever do you mean Steven? ” He replied. 
 
 “ You know damn well what ” I said. 
 
 “ That dog was not a threat, and yet you ended its life without a seconds thought ” 
 
 “ Hardly ” He quipped, his face devoid of expression as usual. “ Stop being so melodramatic. Besides, I need it. I told you any animal we come across I require and you also need it for food, if I don ’ t keep you fed you will starve and perish. ” 
 
 “ Look, I get that we need food, but can we not eat dog? Also, you never mentioned what you need them for? ” 
 
 “ You know I can ’ t discuss that Steven, besides it is not important right now, we have more pressing concerns. ” Geoffrey had seemed rather dismissive of any of my questions recently and his constant outburst of violence had begun to disturb me. Come to think of it he had seemed rather odd in general lately, distant, not his normal self. I had met Geoffrey about a year ago, two months after the event. Well when I say meet, I should really say invent. See, Geoffrey was figment of my imagination. Even as I describe this it sounds crazy, but it was the only way to prevent my own sanity slowly corroding. After the event occurred, I realised I was the only one left and the thought of never interacting with another human was enough to send me mad, so I did what any sane person would do and created an imaginary friend. But it seemed that despite my best efforts, I was in fact going mad, because surely these strange outbursts of Geoffrey ’ s were somehow a reflection of my own subconscious. The odd thing was though, that I had no idea was I was doing it, each time Geoffrey killed another animal; he took a small sample of blood and placed it within a small black box. I didn ’ t understand, if I was doing it surely I would know the purpose. Was it merely a sick outburst, was the radiation starting to affect my state of mind? It was all too strange for me, best not to worry too much. 
 
 “ Steven ” Geoffrey said. “ Enough day dreaming, lets press on. If we hurry we can make it before night fall to the relay station ” 
 
 “ Alright ” I agreed, wanting to press him further, but I knew it would be in vain. I would try again once we were settled for the night. 
 
 I gathered the dog ’ s corpse into a bag and slung it over my shoulder, the weight of it causing the nylon rope to dig. Glancing over to Geoffrey I could see him placing his black box back into his satchel. The box seemed to shine, glistening in the setting sun light. It looked to almost to be made of Onyx. He looked up at me staring and quickly stuffed his satchel closed and began walking down the crumbling asphalt. I began walking after him looking towards the horizon, hastening my pace to keep up with him. 
 
 An hour past as we walked in silence, for an imaginary friend he was not particularly talkative. I surveyed the surroundings, taking in the scenes of the decaying structures. It was almost beautiful, nature had begun to take back what was once its own. The buildings had were mostly in ruin and all but the most resilient remained. I cast my mind back to the event, it had all happened so fast and I couldn ’ t help but feel somewhat responsible. It was all too much to bear, but Geoffrey had stated numerous times I should not hold myself accountable and that one day I would understand it was not my fault. 
 
 “ We are almost here ” Geoffrey said. His sudden interruption disturbing my quiet contemplation. 
 
 “ What did you need the relay for again Geoffrey? ” I asked. 
 
 “ You will know soon enough, now let ’ s hurry inside. ” 
 
 We approached the Relay tower. Looking up I could see the large parabolic dish nested on the roof. It was almost sad looking at it, all the information that had once passed through here. We continued our approach reaching the door. Luckily for us it was ajar and had not rusted shut. Geoffrey pushed his way inside into the darkness, something that had never bothered him. I followed inside, fumbling in the dark for a switch of some sort to open the auto shutters to let some of the dying light inside. I heard Geoffrey ahead of me, it sounded as though he was fumbling inside his satchel. It was then the room lit up with a soft blue glow, illuminating Geoffrey ’ s face. He seemed to smile to himself in satisfaction as he stared at the light. 
 
 “ What is that light Geoffrey? ” I asked. 
 
 “ Oh this? It ’ s an old solar powered LED light I found a couple weeks back ” Turning to me as he replied. 
 
 “ You didn ’ t think to tell me you had a light source? Would have been good to know! ” I said, growing impatient with Geoffrey ’ s continued desire to keep me in the dark, both figuratively and literally. 
 
 “ There are many things you don ’ t know about me Steven. But don ’ t burden your mind with such worries, all will be revealed shortly ”. He turned away and began walking towards the stairs. 
 
 “ Hey where are you going? Shouldn ’ t we set up our rucksacks before nightfall? ” He did not turn around, simply shouting back as he continued up the stairs disappearing through the corridor. 
 
 “ We won ’ t be needing them, leave them down there and follow me ” He called. I was growing more impatient by the minute and was determined to get some answers, so I started after him and began to climb the stairs. 
 
 I could hear his foot falls echoing down the stairs from above. The steady stomping of his boots on the corrugated steel, vibrating down. The rhythm was interrupted by the sound of a metal door being pushed open. It squealed as its long since oiled hinges grind together. I continued to climb the stairs. A cool draft now blowing through the open door above. I reached the top and stepped outside onto the platform that housed the Relay dish. I spotted Geoffrey ahead, he appeared to be at the control panel of the dish. I had no clue as to why he was up here, the station clearly had no power and was in a state of disrepair, but this seemed not to bother Geoffrey as he fumbled through his satchel pulling an assortment of wires out and placing them down. 
 
 “ What are you doing up here and why are you being so dismissive of me? I thought you were supposed to be my friend, but instead you keep flying off the handle and now you won ’ t barely say a word to me? ” Geoffrey didn ’ t answer and continued to shuffle through his bag. “ Answer me Geoffrey ” I yelled. 
 
 “ Steven! I am growing rather tired of your attitude. I have told you several times already today, that I will explain. Please allow me to finish what I am doing and then we will talk ” Geoffrey said, still not diverting his attention from his task. I stood confused and irritated but waited silently for him to finish. It was then that I saw him remove the black box again, it was shining under the blue LED glow. Geoffrey sat the box down on top of the control panel and appeared to press the top in.When he did this the control panel came to life. All the lights flickered on and the dish began to turn. “ Wha.. how.. I don ’ t understand, how did you do that? I asked in shock. Geoffrey didn ’ t seem to acknowledge my question. He seemed entirely fixated on the box, not diverting his attention for a second. I didn ’ t know what to do, how could I be doing this? Geoffrey was just a reflection of my subconscious was he not? But I didn ’ t know what any of this was so how could I accomplish such a thing and what the hell was that box? Had I gone completely insane from the guilt, perhaps this was all just a dream? 
 Geoffrey turned to me, as if almost sensing my utter despair. “ Remember when I told you not to feel guilty Steven? When I told you it wasn ’ t your fault? ” Geoffrey was looking at me know right in my eyes as is peering into my core. “ You now, the event? ” He continued. “ All those lives seemingly lost? ” I shuddered at the memory of all those who seemingly disappeared. “ Well, I wasn ’ t lying. It wasn ’ t your fault at all, it was ours. You see, when you got close to figuring it out and you thought you found a code hidden in the math, well you were right. It was a message. It was a message from us. You progressed faster than we had anticipated and felt you all deserved a reward. So, we decided to help you transcend. ” 
 
 Transcend? What did he mean by this? I didn ’ t understand any of what he was saying. It was all too much and I felt as though my world was caving in around me. “ Steven, don ’ t despair. It is okay, you have nothing to fear. We felt you deserved to be the last one to go. You got to enjoy the peace and quiet of this beautiful place, your little slice of paradise. After all, you are the one who found the message ”. I tried to think of something to say, but no words came, only despair. The look in Geoffrey ’ s eyes revealed nothing, I couldn ’ t tell if I should run and never look back. 
 
 “ I can tell that you are scared Steven. Let me explain further and perhaps that will alleviate some of your woes. ” Geoffrey turn back to the panel for a moment and plugged on of the cords into the black box. This sent a vibration throughout the structure and a blue beam of light shot from the centre of the dish. I went to scream but Geoffrey turned back to me and began to speak again. “ The thing is Steven, I am not your friend. I am not anything I could ever explain to you know. I do not wish to seem harsh but you lack the required intelligence to even comprehend what we are. It will be much easier if I just show you ”. Geoffrey began walking towards me, I stood frozen in fear. 

