The Search

The rain was pouring. It was a downpour from the dark clouds that hid the starry night sky and overwhelmed the full, bright moon. It was quiet, very quiet in Ryan's apartment. The only sounds were that of the raindrops pounding on the half-opened window, the occasional low rumble of thunder, and fingers furiously typing on a keyboard. Ryan sat here every night in front of his computer for hours, sometimes more. He was searching, but for what he didn't know. He had lost almost everything to this tireless search for answers to his questions. Friends, family, they had all left him, or had he unintentionally left them? That didn't matter now. All that mattered was his search.

Ryan knew something was wrong. If only he could find out what. He had tried everything, therapy, religion, even love, but they all seemed equally empty, almost synthetic. Morpheus, Trinity, Neo, the matrix. These words were so familiar, they almost seemed like a part of him, yet he had no idea what they meant. Those words were obscure landmarks on his journey to enlightenment.

Ryan leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes, he was tired. He looked around his small, cluttered, dimly lit apartment and sighed. Suddenly his computer screen went black. Ryan leaned forward in his chair. What happened? Had the power gone out? No, the lights were still on. He tapped a few keys on the keyboard and gave the monitor a smack, but that didn't help. He let out another sigh and closed his eyes. He didn't need this. When he opened his eyes again he noticed something unusual. The screen was still black, but typed on the upper left corner of the screen in a small green font was the word "run."

"What the…?" Ryan said out loud. He was about to give his computer another smack when a woman's scream broke the silence of the apartment building. The scream had come from the hallway and sounded like his landlady, Mrs. Wells. But there was something strange about her voice. It sounded distorted, almost like it was changing. There was a brief moment of still silence and then Ryan heard footsteps. They were loud, forceful and coming closer to his door. Ryan froze, he didn't know what to do. The footsteps got closer and closer and then stopped. He took his eyes off of his door and looked back at the computer monitor. The entire screen was covered in that one word, "run." Suddenly Ryan's door burst open. In the doorway stood a man, he was tall, had dark hair and wore a suit and sunglasses. He looked at Ryan, reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a large semi-automatic handgun. The man's movements were calculating, controlled, almost robotic. He aimed the gun at Ryan and fired. Ryan dove to the floor, narrowly dodging the shot. The bullet hit the computer screen and the monitor exploded sending sparks flying. Now all that he could think of was that one word, "run." He got up off the floor and started running towards the window, it was his only hope. The man fired several more shots but missed. Ryan was moving fast, faster than he had ever moved before, yet it seemed like everything was happening in slow motion. Everything was a blur except for the window right in front of him. He dove forward, through the window, and into the pitch-black darkness of the stormy night.

He was falling. Ryan could feel the cold air rushing past him and the raindrops soaking his weightless body. His heart was pounding as he anticipated the impact on the cold hard cement, this was the end. Then all of a sudden it stopped. He wasn't falling anymore. Ryan opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a dumpster. Garbage bags and cardboard boxes had broken his fall. He hopped out of the dumpster and started running towards the street. He didn't have time to ponder the fact that he had never seen a dumpster in that spot before. He had to get out of there.

Ryan leaned up against a building to catch his breath. He was out of shape and had been running for three blocks. What was going on? Who was that man in his apartment? What had he gotten himself into? Ryan was cold, soaking wet, and completely alone. He didn't know what to do. He looked around, there weren't any cars on the street, no people on the sidewalks, nothing. Suddenly a sound got his attention. It was a telephone ringing. It was coming from a phone booth just a few feet away. Ryan looked around again, there was no one around. He walked up to the booth and stepped inside. He looked at the phone, it was still ringing. He slowly reached towards it and picked it up. "H-hello?" Ryan said nervously. There was a short pause and then a female voice began speaking.

"Get into the taxi and tell the driver to take you to the hospital. When you get there go down into the parking garage." The line abruptly went dead.

"Wait!" Ryan called out, but whoever that was had hung up. He hung up the phone and stepped back out into the rain. "What was she talking about?" Ryan whispered to himself. Some movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He looked and coming down the street was a taxi. A chill went down his spine. What should he do? The taxi was getting closer, he had to make a decision. Ryan stepped up to the curb and flagged down the cab. It stopped and he got in.

The cab was warm and dry. A feeling of relief came over him. Somehow he knew this is what he needed to do. "Where are ya goin?" the driver asked in a loud, gruff voice.

"Oh, uh, take me to the hospital," Ryan replied. As the taxi began to move Ryan turned around and glanced out the back window. He couldn't believe what he saw. Scattered about the street were police officers and several men who looked almost identical to the man who had broken into his apartment. Some of them even had their weapons drawn. Fortunately it didn't look like they had spotted him. Ryan laid down across the seat to stay out of sight.

The cab driver glanced up at his rear view mirror with a rather bewildered expression. "You ok back there?" the driver asked.

"Uh, I'm not feeling too good," Ryan replied.

"Well then I guess your going to the right place," the driver said.

"Here we are," the cab driver called out over his shoulder. Ryan peeked out the window. Sure enough, there was the hospital. He paid the driver, got out of the taxi, and quickly made his way to the parking garage. When he got there he was surprised to see that there weren't any cars, not anything. Ryan started to walk around, his footsteps echoed throughout the large, empty complex. Just when he was about to give up his search he noticed a black car parked in a dark corner of the garage. He started walking towards it. Ryan didn't know what was going to happen, but had a feeling that whoever was in that car had the answers he had been searching for.

When he got near the car the driver's side window opened slightly. "Get in," a voice form inside the car said. One of the back doors opened and Ryan cautiously got in. "Close the door," the same voice said. He closed the door behind him.

There were three people in the car. They all wore sunglasses and unusual clothes. Behind the wheel was a black woman dressed in red alligator skin. Seated next to her was a black man who was bald and wore a long leather coat. He seemed to be someone of authority. Next to Ryan was a woman dressed in leather. She was pale and had short dark hair. "Who are you?" Ryan asked. No one responded. The woman behind the wheel put the key into the ignition, started the car, and began to drive. The woman next to Ryan reached behind her and pulled out a pistol. She pressed it against Ryan's head. He could feel the cold steel of the weapon's barrel against his temple and thought that this was it.

"Don't worry," the woman said. "I don't want to hurt you, but until you're one of us, you're one of them." Her voice was familiar. It was the same one from the phone booth.

"What's going on?" Ryan asked, trying to hide the fear in his voice.

"Are you sure about this one Trinity?" the woman behind the wheel asked.

"An agent fired half a clip at him and hit nothing but air, I'm sure." The woman with the gun turned her attention to Ryan again. "All we are offering you is the truth Ryan. The decision is yours. You can accept what we are offering or we can stop the car and you an continue with your life."

Ryan thought about what she had just said. The life he had now was nothing. He may be alive but he hadn't actually lived for along time. There was nothing for him. "Don't stop the car," Ryan replied.

"Then I just have a few questions for you," the woman said. "Have you ever had a dream where had a medical procedure or were interrogated by the police?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Ryan replied, a little confused.

"Then I just have one more question, are you red or blue?"