Sharing The Secret
Pt. 5 To heal or hate.
" You!!!" Matrix snarled. The strangers eyes went wide as he turned on his heel and took off. Matrix raced after the him, his nostrils flaring with rage.
He caught up to him within seconds, tearing into the strangers shoulder and kicking him to the ground. The sprite cried in shocked and tore loose running to the safety of the shadows.
As they ran down an alley way, the stranger jumped over a stack of crates and knocked over several garbage cans before climbing over a chain fence.
Matrix tore through everything, splintering the crates and crushing the cans and fence.
The chase continued through a kitchen, and on to the street.
The stranger turned and took a swing at him. He missed. There was a loud crunch as Matrix broke the sprites arm in three places.
"YOU'RE DEAD!!" Matrix growled. The stranger swung out his legs and knocked Matrix to the ground, then twisted into another alley way and disappeared. "Oh no you don't!!!!!" Matrix roared bounding through the traffic.
"I"ll.......!!" He didn't even have time to scream, when the truck hit him.
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"You win" Andria said, Enzo smiled, it was nice to feel loved again.
When the others had gotten back Dot had been upset.
"And of course nobody will tell me why." Enzo had thought to himself.
He'd sighed and resigned himself to another long lonely evening.
"Hey mate, you wanna play?" Ray had offered.
Enzo had been wary at first, but soon agreed to a game with the surfer.
A while after, Andria had joined them, and they played until Enzo had to go to bed.
"Good night Enzo" Andria and Ray called.
Good night........Um Ray, Andria? " he asked
"What is it, kid?" the surfer said
"Thanks for playing with me" Enzo smiled
"No problem Enzo" Andria smiled back at him as he ran into the diner and up the stairs.
" I wonder where Matrix has gotten to?" she pondered
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"Uhhhggg" Matrix groaned , his consciousness slowly returning to him.
He opened his eyes. "Feet?" He realized that he was lying on the ground, he could feel the concrete under his cheek.
Matrix gathered his strength and began to pick himself up off the road.
"You ok there son?" an old binome asked .
Matrix managed to nod.
"That was quite a show you put on ...I'm afraid your friend got away...."
Matrix glared at him " He isn't my friend...he's a...." Matrix stopped his eyes went wide, "Oh no.. Bob...I left him alone....If I was chasing this guy then the others....."
Matrix turned and charged back across the street, his muscles protesting loudly. "Damn it!!! I swear if anything's happened I'll never forgive myself"
Matrix arrived where he had left Bob. To his relief, he was still there.
"Bob" he asked walking up behind him. Bob stood still, his hands hugging himself as though he where cold. His eyes were wide, but didn't appear to see anything.
Matrix noted with concern that Bob's gaze never left the path that his attacker had fled.
"Bob" Matrix said again gently turning him around, "Bob!"
Bob finally looked at him, his deep brown eyes full of dread stared into Matrix's for a brief moment before rolling back in his head. And he collapsed in his friend's arms.
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Dot was sipping her coffee and looking across from Mouse and Andria.
" I want to thank you Andria, and you to Ray" she turned to where Ray sat at the bar.
"Enzo really enjoyed having someone to play with today"
"No problem lovely lady" Ray said
Dot had to smile at that.
"He still want's to see Bob" Mouse mentioned " And you can't keep them apart forever"
" I...Know.." Dot said feeling suddenly uneasy. "But right now I couldn't even guess, where Bob's at.
The door to the diner opened and Bob walked in ,passing them all and sitting at a table on the far end.
"My guess would be table six" Ray said
Matrix sat down beside Dot , glaring at the surfer for the ill timed joke.
"We got a situation" he whispered "Bob's attackers are here in mainframe. We ran in to one of them. Literally. "
"Didn't you try to catch him?" Mouse asked
"Of course, I almost had him.. but I got hit by a truck" he scowled
Mouse and Dot's eyes widened at the last comment but they, said nothing.
"A Truck!!" Andria stared her brows raising "What were you doing chasing him in the middle of an intersection?"
"Well.......yeah"
Dot eased herself away from the present conversation and went over to sit by Bob.
"Bob" she said taking his hand in hers and entwining their fingers together. "We're here for you, nobodies going to hurt you anymore."
He stared down at their hands,
"Can you promise me that..." He asked desperately " can you promise me that without a doubt.?"
Dot was silent
"No" he said sadly freeing his hands from hers "I guess you can't can you?"
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The Moon shone through the darkened windows of the diner , and fell upon the sleeping forms of the six of them.
They had decided that until the attackers were found it was best to keep together. Dot had notified the principal office and Phong had CPU's scouring the streets.
Where ever the criminals were they wouldn't be getting a good night sleep.
They lay quietly , on benches, the floor even the counter tops, the silence broken only by the occasional moan from Bob.
Bob twisted on the floor wrapping the blanket tighter around him.
"No" he moaned ......
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Eyes ...cold soulless eyes... glaring at him...no..not at him...through him....as...as though he weren't there.....
" Rough hand's...no not again" Bob shut his eyes and got ready for the pain......................
"Hhu?.......nothing .. but where...no..no!!!!"
Bob turned to see the others beaten and lying on the ground.
NO!!!" Bob cried pumping his legs, .....he wasn't moving. No matter how fast he went, they kept going farther from his grasp.
The ground split open to reveal a fiery abyss.
"Bob!" his friends screamed as they were thrown down and consumed by the flames "WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE US!"
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"NOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!" Bob screeched, flailing his arms and legs.
"Uhhnn..oooffff!!" Matrix gasped as he received a blow to his midsection.
There was shuffling and bumping a loud crash and Mouse's swearing as she flicked the light on.
"What's going on?" she said
Dot sat next to Bob holding him close "Easy, Easy Bob" her voice reassured him "it was only a dream"
"They....they..killed..you...all. of you"
"Who?" Mouse asked
"The ones who....who...raped me ...they ..killed you...I couldn't save you..I"
"Bob stop...stop" Dot said she rubbed his back until his racing heart returned to normal and his breathing calmed.
"They won't hurt us Bob" Dot said before turning the lights off and going back to sleep.
Bob lay silently staring at her as she slept.
"No, they won't.." he quietly got up and sat at one of the booths " I won't let them"
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Enzo woke early and ran downstairs to the diner. He wanted to ask Dot if he could go see Bob today.
Enzo stopped surprised. "Bob's here!" he smiled "Bob !!!!" Enzo yelled rushing over to him.
He slowed when he got closer, Bob looked angry. " Mouse said he acted funny at times"
"Bob?" he asked .
Bob turned tired dull eyes towards him. "Hello, Enzo" he rasped
"Bob, Bob !!! I got a present for you!!!!"
Bob gave him a questioning look, as he took the locket out
"Enzo that....that's solid gold....why....how" Bob was speechless.
"I wanted to get you something..for when you were scared or angry.. I thought it might help.
Bob opened the locket and read the message before putting it around his neck.
"Thank you" he choked out
"I know it wont help much..." Enzo began
"NO....you don't know how much it has .....thank you Enzo.
He gave him a hug, and the little sprite was once again safe in his hero's arms.
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Bob sighed staring down at his breakfast. He felt as though a murky shadow had descended on him, and was darkening his moods and clouding his thoughts.
He had spent last night reflecting on everything that had happened to him.
About his friends , and all they had done for him, about how he had behaved recently......and of course ...them.
He felt the bitterness well up inside him again. "How dare they!!!"" he thought. He glared out the window, "what if they attack someone else....someone like....". He looked at Enzo wolfing down a bowl of cereal, his stomach somersaulted, at the thought of it.
" I have to stop them, I will stop them" his eyes flickered to Matrix's gun. He wondered briefly if he could pull the trigger.
Bob turned his head back to the window. "What am I thinking ?" he gasped, he hated himself for having such thoughts, yet they wouldn't leave him, and he knew why. He wanted revenge, he'd been denying it for to long, he wanted them to pay, to suffer.
"WARNING INCOMING GAME" a voice announced over the city.
Matrix got up, he'd been handling the games since Bob's stay in the hospital.
"Matrix wait up!" Bob called
"Bob are you sure?" Matrix asked
"Yeah I need the exercise" Bob replied
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"Come on let's go!" Matrix shouted racing towards the descending purple cube.
Bob was a few feet behind him when he tripped
"Bob !" Matrix called
Bob ran but was stopped , as the game cube hit the ground and became solid . He was trapped on the outside. Alone.
"Great" he muttered turning to head back to the diner. His breath caught as he spotted the sprite who had run in to them the other day, one of the ones who had assaulted him.
Bob's legs went weak, his first instinct was to run, but he was trapped against the game wall. The only way out was past the sprite.
His mind reeled images of Dot, Enzo, Mouse and the others flashed before him.
Bob held Enzo's locket tightly," No" he said firmly "I'm not going to let that heartless monster hurt anybody else"
He walked up to the sprite, no tremble of fear present. Ready to say all the hurtful hateful words he'd been holding inside him.
The sprite stood staring at the sea, he turned a pained face towards Bob as he approached .
"You...your..." he stammered
"I'm the guy you raped!" Bob spat
The sprite stood there stunned looking at Bob.
Bob's eyes glared back at him like daggers."YOU MISERABLE SON OF A BITCH!!!!" His ears rang from the volume of his own voice.
The stranger made no move , he kept watching Bob with his tormented expression, accepting any insults and all blows, the guardian cared to throw at him. And throw them Bob did, the buildings echoed from his blows and curses and the ground began to turn red.
Bob finally fell silent, his throat raw from cursing and his hand and legs bruised from pounding this jerk. His eyes however still retained their look of infuriation. "What gets me most" he panted " is that you don't even have the basic decency to feel sorry."
The stranger turned to him, his face caving in as though it may collapse.
"But you don't know how sorry I am....." he said breaking down.
"What!' Bob snapped.
He sat down and began to tell Bob about his life. " I ran away from home..., my folks.. were mad at me all the time .. I felt like I couldn't do nothing right. I joined a gang .. thought that I was going somewhere ... I thought that I was finally in control of my life..Hmph.....
We'd get stoned ... for days at a time....we did things...horrible things." he looked at Bob
"I was so plastered .... I didn't even know my own name... When I came around and found what I had done...I was devastated.. I realized .... I'd quite possibly ruined another persons life.
I thought about ending it right there and then... but I couldn't .....so I ran.. and kept running.. till I ended up here.. and as fate would have it right to the wrath of the one whose life I ruined."
He hung his head " Kill me , it is your right."
Bob thought for a moment thinking over what the sprite had said
To the sprites shock , Bob put a hand on his shoulder " No.. no it isn't.....no more than what you did to me was your right. I don't know if I can ever forgive you .but now I think I'm starting to understand.
the sprite looked at him "What?"
Bob opened the small locket and read the inscription " You are not alone"
"Thanks Enzo"he thought
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The stranger was taken away in a CPU to await trial, Matrix ran up to Bob as it took off .
"Bob are you alright , he didn't do anything did he?"
Bob in answer to the question smiled at Matrix, then walked away.
Away from his attacker, away from that fateful night and gradually away from his struggle.
He looked back at the stranger. The same one whom he'd condemned to be a heartless monster, one incapable of feelings.
He understood now . This sprite whom he had damned was a person, a feeling and fallible person capable of error and of remorse. This knowledge gave him a sense of calm.
Bob continued towards the diner, his thought of vengeance evaporated, and his anger at life was replaced with a wish to be part of it again.
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Bob sat at the diner, with Matrix he could feel the suspense in the room.
Finally Matrix spat out what was bothering him. "IF HE DID THAT TO ME I"D KILL HIM!!!" he roared.
"No you wouldn't" Bob argued softly
Matrix stomped across the floor.
"Enzo...Don't stay mad, I almost lost myself to my rage"
"I'LL BE MAD IF I WANT TO!!!"
"Your anger will embitter you" Bob said " ..my..anger continued long after the assault. For one excruciating year my life was corrupted by vengeful delusions and the promise of getting even.
Enzo don't make the same mistake ........I lost a year of my life to my hate.
"Bob ..it's..j.just" Matrix tried to retain his composure.
Then Bob hugged him, and for the first time since the web wars Matrix cried freely, letting the pain and anger drift from him.
"Bob "
"hmmm?"
"Thanks"
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Bob stood looking out at the sea in Kits. He helped Enzo up over the railing and watched as the Boy raced to the sand.
Dot walked up next to him taking his hand and squeezing it gently " the others are waiting " she smiled.
"I know ..but I need to say something first....Dot I'm sorry...for...everything"he began
"Bob..it's ok.."
"I know.. it's just..." He paused trying to find the words " Dot when I tried to delete myself...I..I thought that I was finally in control of my life...that I would be able to escape the pain..then....then I thought about you and all the others...I knew something then.....I was dying and I didn't want to.
As bad as my life felt it was a life.
Before I passed out, I thought ..I'll never know what happens ...every bodies life would keep going ....and I wouldn't be there anymore..."
Dot looked in to his eyes " and how do you feel now?"
Bob looked down "Better...It's weird but the healing of my soul began with the sprite who tore it apart. Should I have forgiven him.... I'm not sure, but after hearing his story my mercy won over my vengeance."
Dot raised a brow" But aren't you glad he's in jail"
"...........no" Bob whispered " when they took him away, I didn't feel as though I'd won, I still don't. We all lost...nothing is ever going to make it right" he stared up at the sky " It happened..."
"Bob come on!!" Enzo shouted from the water
"Just you wait" he called back a gleam in his eyes as he ran for the water.
Dot watched from the shore line as he played with the others. The road to recovery would be long and hard for him but....
"Your going to be alright" she smiled "your going to make it!"
He turned to her from the water "I have so far!"
And he laughed.
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END