Matrix: A Mind Set Free
Chapter 1: Brand New Day
The day started for Desmond Kingston. He rolled over in his bed, and turned the alarm on his cell phone off.
He got up, and brushed his hair out of his eyes. His hair was dark brown, dark enough to almost be mistaken for black. Yet, being a white, his hair was never truly black.
He walked over to the door, grabbed the towel off the hanger, and made his way to the bathroom.
"Hey, Neo, don't use the wat…" Desmond ended his yell. Every morning, he would usually tell Neo, his roommate not to use the water. Their apartment's plumbing wouldn't let them shower and use any other water at the same time.
However, Neo was gone. He'd been missing for three days already. Usually by now, Neo would come home and go on another one of his hacking runs.
Neo always came back home. Desmond usually had trouble getting him to leave. There was this singles mixer tonight, and Neo had promised he'd go with him.
However, if there was no Neo, then it seems he'd have to go to the next one.
Getting into the shower, Desmond cleaned himself up. Looking your best was essential.
When he got out, after wrapping the towel around his waist, he went to his room and got dressed. Afterwards he opened his laptop and started to check his email.
Usually, he had tons from the women whom he knew. Most of them were interested in him for romance, yet Desmond would only date one at a time.
Unfortunately, there was only one email in his inbox. It was from an address that was just a nonsense string of letters and numbers.
For some strange reason, he was compelled to open it. When he did, the strangest thing happened.
It took up the whole screen, black, with a simple message in green letters. It stated The Matrix has you…
It was the strangest thing he'd ever seen, yet it was only getting started.
Another message came up Answer the door. Desmond was confused as to what the message could mean. Before he could do anything, there was a knock on the door.
Desmond closed his laptop, and got up to answer the door. There, in the hallway, was the three people he'd dubbed "The Three Stooges".
They didn't look anything like Larry, Moe, and Curly. In fact, they only earned the nickname by always arguing, and their heartfelt need to hit each other.
The first one, his friend Carl Whitefield, was rather tall, and had red hair and freckles.
The second one, Gary Howe, was rather short and had sandy blonde hair and always had stubble, which was for some reason, a black color.
The third one, Jason Gray, had his hair dyed every day, and wore a pair of mirror shades similar to what pilots wear. He was roughly as tall as Desmond, and was the first to speak.
"You, me, Carl, and Gary, gig at a bar, though not just any bar, one of those lesbian bars. My sister got us the gig, don't ask how, but it pays handsomely. A hundred bucks an hour, for a three-hour gig. What'd you say?"
Desmond looked at the three guys standing at the front of the door. As much as he could use the money, he still didn't want to turn down the mixer.
In the middle of his thought, his cell buzzed, and made the sound of a gong. He'd received a message.
Bringing it out of his pocket, he once again saw the familiar screen from before Accept the gig, and go with them… it said.
"When is it?" he asked. "Starts at five, and goes until 8. However, if the crowd wants an encore, then they'll pay us for the additional hours."
"I'll see you there" Desmond answered, and then shut the door in their faces.
He noticed Neo's computer, and had a strange thought. Is this what happened to Neo?
He doubted it, and walked back to his room. He'd had a guitar and keytar, and could play both of them very well. He also sang.
The band that he had with the guy's was called Renegade. He also thought that the images he had on his instruments would surely fire up tonight's crowd.
He'd had names for his instruments. The guitar, a Fender Stratocaster custom, was called Sherrie, and had a picture of a red-headed girl on it, wearing a bikini.
His keytar, a Yamaha Altus, had a picture of a blonde in heels, a skirt, and a jacket, underneath which nothing else was on. The Keytar was named Jodie.
The other women would come and go, yet these two were with him 'til the end.
He plugged them in and started to practice. He didn't need the others. Desmond also knew the drill of when to arrive.
Arriving at this bar called Knuckle-touches', he got on stage through the back hall, and joined the other three members in practice.
For an hour they warmed up, ready for when the place opened. To his surprise, quite a few customers came in.
Desmond went up to the mike and started to talk "Hey ladies, we're Renegade, and are you ready to rock!"
There was a very weird response, as a few booed and a few cheered. "Well, let's get it started in here!" Desmond yelled back, and they started their set list.
For the first hour, everything seemed to go great. It wasn't until six, when he noticed her.
Unlike the rest of the customers, this woman didn't seem interested in anything else. She just eyed the band. Not sexually, but with a different sort of interest.
The woman was wearing a black overcoat over a black jumpsuit. She had black hair, and had blue eyes.
She didn't do anything else but stare them down, standing near the bar and refusing every offer from everyone, ranging from another female customer offering sex, to the bartender offering a drink.
For that entire night, she just stood there, staring Desmond down. A jar of tips had been placed on the bar for the band, and while others had put money in it, she did not, yet continued to watch them.
Desmond was used to performing in front of people, and being watched, a big part of being a performer, yet he'd never received the stare that he got from her.
At the end of the three hours, there was no request for a encore. Desmond and his band made their way off the stage, and walked up to the bartender, who proceeded to pay them, and gave them the tip jar to divide amongst themselves.
On their way out, the lady who'd been staring him down tapped his shoulder. Desmond turned around.
"You had better run Desmond, the Agents are on their way." She warned.
From out the window, Desmond could see two men in the familiar black suits walk towards them.
He'd heard how people who got captured by them never came back the same, yet he doubted they could be after him.
"I recommend that you follow me." She then said, right before the Agents broke down the door to the place.
"Is a man named Desmond Kingston in here?" The lead one said. All of the women just looked at the agents, and began to point at Desmond.
He looked around for the rest of his bandmates, who were nowhere to be found.
Cursing his luck for taking a gig at a lesbian bar, he turned around to see the lady in the overcoat start to walk towards the back door.
Desmond ran after her, and the chase began. The two Agents ran towards him, leaping from table to table.
Desmond was out the back door, and shut it behind him. He looked to see the Overcoat lady run forward.
He ran after her. From behind, he heard the sound of the door being busted down.
He turned his head and saw that the Agents were still after him. He noticed the lady in the overcoat started to get into a car, and motioned for him to come in after her.
Desmond happily accepted the ride, and saw them. They were dressed in similar outfits. The driver was wearing a similar black coat. He was an Asian man, had to be roughly in his thirties. The front passenger was the one who caught his attention.
He was black, in his late thirties-early fourties perhaps. He had a shaved head, and wore a green snakeskin overcoat. He had a pair of sunglasses that were jet black, and reflected everything.
"Good to see you Desmond. I've been waiting a long time for this." He said. "My name is Morpheus." He announced.