I don't own the Matrix or any of its characters, but man if I did.... :-p
Theo plopped down on her bed and sighed. Three weeks. Never had such a short amount of time seemed like such an eternity. Had it really been that long since she'd been unplugged? She glanced over at the tally marks on the alloy wall. Yep. Three weeks today. She picked up a piece of old concrete and scratched another mark into the wall. Why she persisted in doing so she didn't know. There was no way to even tell what day it was anymore. But it was something to do. She'd just finished helping Trinity weld the helm of the ship back in place. She'd tried help Switch and Apoc reconfigure the construct, but she was still such an amateur at the programming that she just observed for awhile then slipped away back to her quarters. She rested her head against the cold wall and closed her eyes. For the millionth time she thought about how frightened she was when she first came out of the matrix. To think that she'd never said her first word, used her eyes or took a single step until three weeks ago. It was interesting to think about. It was just like being born all over again. And yet her first life hadn't even existed. All of her memories, all of her experiences, all useless, All terribly non-existent...
She thought over these things as if they'd never entered her mind before. Just then, she heard a knock at her door. "Come in," she said. She heard the latch on the door come undone, and then it swung open. It was Tank. He was the "operator" of the all the programs aboard the ship. He held two cups in his hands. He smiled warmly. She smiled back. "Hey, you," she said as she stood. "I haven't seen you today." She then smiled ironically since she was still getting used to the fact that no one knew when "today" started or ended, only that it really didn't matter at all. "Well, I knew that you were busy with Trinity earlier.... didn't want to bother you," he said. "Apoc said that you would be here." He walked toward her and handed her a cup. She patted the space next to her and they sat down. She eyed the liquid in the cup with distaste. Tank chuckled. "Not a fan of homemade liquor, huh?" He asked. Theo said, "not this particular brand."
"Well, it keeps you runnin'.'"
"Touche"
They toasted cups and Theo took a forced swig of the awful stuff. "So how are you doing?" Asked Tank. Theo half smiled. She loved that everyone aboard the Nebucanezzer had shown so much concern for her since she first showed up. "Doing better," she answered. "Not as many nightmares." Tank nodded. Some of the things that she'd told Tank were somewhat frightening, but he knew that it was normal for the brain to play pretty bad tricks upon entering the real world. It wasn't something that he fully understood since he was born outside of the matrix, but he was still able to relate pretty well. Tank had been the least occupied and most friendly out of everyone aboard, which made it easier for Theo to talk to him than anyone else. "I had one last night," she said. "I was sitting on my front lawn...what used to be my front lawn. It was so beautiful. I never realized how beautiful it was..." she paused and sighed. "This huge hole opened up in that beautiful blue sky. It was horrible looking. Everything all around me just got sucked inside of the hole. My house, the trees, the ground under me, even the sky itself. And it was just me. And black all around. I was just floating there. In dark space. No where to go or anything..." She wondered if it was safe to shed a tear in front of him. He lower lip trembled. "Man, Tank, it's so much to take in...in just a few minutes, my whole life just disappeared. All my family, all my friends, everything that meant the world to me just disappeared. Even the world itself. Just gone."
"I know," said Tank. " It wasn't exactly the same for me, but I know what you're talking about." Theo nodded faintly. A tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped away, but two more only followed. "I just wish I could see them again," she said. "I wish that...a part of me still wishes...that I were still there. At least I'd still have something to live for, you know?" She tried to smile, but her attempt was pitiful. "Hey," whispered Tank. He wrapped an arm around Theo's shoulder and drew her closer to him. "We may not be blood, but we're all family here," he said. Theo nodded. "You guys have been great to me," said Theo. "I'm sorry if I suggested otherwise."
"No, it's okay," said Tank. "I know what you meant." There was a brief pause as if he didn't know what to say next, but Theo was fine with the silence, and simply being embraced. After awhile, Tank spoke again. "Things look bad now, but they won't always be this way. Things are going to be different now that Neo is around."
"I know," said Theo. "That's something I have to look forward to."
"See? That's better," said Tank smiling, eliciting a grin from the red-eyed girl. Theo recalled something that she'd heard when she was younger."Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
"What?"
"Hebrews 11:1. It's in the bible."
Tank nodded. "I like that," he said. "You should write it down somewhere."
"I think I will."
Tank smiled and kissed Theo on the top of her head. Theo almost blushed, but was thankful that her skin was dark enough not to tell. "Thanks," she said sheepishly. "Thank you," he said. "You're a breath of fresh air around this rusty old place." Theo chuckled. Tank sat up and slapped his hands against his thighs. "Well, I should be going," he said. "Switch and Apoc probably need my help by now." He gathered the two cups. "You wanna come?" Theo shook her head. "Maybe later...I think I want to rest up for a bit." Tank nodded. "Sure," he said. I'll see you later then, girl." He exited the room and shut the door behind him. Theo lay on her back and stared at the ceiling, carefully cataloging in her memory what had just happened. They would be among the few memories that she had so far. She smiled and covered her face, almost laughing. Then she picked up her piece of concrete again and, right below the tally marks, she began to carve the bible verse. She finally had something to occupy her time with. The verse was beginning to come alive again to her. I have faith, she thought, that everything is going to be just fine. That night, she slept soundly for the first time in weeks, and dreamt of being embraced so that she knew that someone really cared.