The Truck
By the Gypsy of a Multitude of Colors, MulticoloredGypsy!
If the Matrix was mine, I'd be rich rich rich! But I'm not…you do the math.
Author Memo: But of course, Chord! How can I forget about our dear and beloved hacker Tom? That's impossible! Oh, and for those who are wondering about Neo's future as the One, don't worry. Trust the Gypsy…Also, the plot is now caught up to where it should be. No more confusion, I hope.
Eve blinked through the darkness to find someone's hand on her shoulder, softly nudging her awake. It was Linda, the nurse who was with her almost every time she had been awake. Linda smiled apologetically when she saw Eve's eyes open.
"Hate to wake you, but you got some visitors. Sorry hon."
Eve struggled to pull herself into an upright position with her good arm, her left one wrapped tight against her body in a sling. Linda smiled to herself. Eve was a medical miracle, no doubt about it. No one had ever recovered so nicely from an accident as serious as hers. Besides her memory loss, there was no other permanent damage.
Eve had already been tested a few times for possible brain damage that might show up later on, but the doctors never found anything. Besides her injuries, she was perfectly fine and would be released as soon as she regained her memory or family came to claim her.
"Who's visiting?" Eve asked, glancing at the door for any trace of the visitors.
Linda opened the window curtains, letting in the sunlight. "They're out in the waiting room, but if they remind you of anything at all, tell me or a doctor right away." Eve nodded lightly and turned towards the door. Linda left the room and returned shortly after followed by three men with emotionless features, all wearing an earpiece and the same business like suits. And they wore sunglasses. Weird.
A warning sign flashed in Eve's head as she looked the men over carefully. One man placed his head over a pocket, ready to pull something out if necessary. Eve knew she remembered these men, she knew she had seen them before. Her mind was reaching out to remember them, but it was as if it was being held back. If only it could get a little push in the right direction.
"Do I know you?" She voiced, scratching her arm underneath the sling, which itched like crazy. Two of the men turned to the man in the middle, exchanging unseen glances. "Were we friends or something?" She continued, sensing their discomfort.
Linda looked up at Eve, praying for the girl to remember something, but she stared at the men with unfamiliar eyes. Soon. She thought. Soon she'll have to remember something, anything.
The men's faces loosened up almost unnoticeably, but one of the men removed his hand from his pocket. The one standing in the middle stepped forward and in one swift motion he pulled a chair over to the side of Eve's bed and sat down.
"No, we've never met before. We work for the government on crime investigations." He took a slow, deep breath before continuing, his voice dragging. "We're trying to track down the man responsible for your accident. Any information you can give us will be vital in our search."
Eve nodded, dismissing the un-reasonable worry. 'They worked for the government.' She thought. 'They don't have anything on you.'
The man pulled up a chair and sat down next to Eve's bed. "Can you tell me everything that you remember about the incident."
Eve shrugged, her eyes locked on the man's sunglasses as she let out a deep breath. "Well, there isn't that much I can tell you, seeing that I don't remember…anything." She grinned. "All I can tell you is what I've been told. I was in my car and-"
"Yes, we know all about your accident." One of the other men cut in, his voice equally monotone, if not more, than the first man. "Are you certain that you don't remember anything? Even the slightest trace of memory can be useful."
Eve shook her head lightly. The man sitting beside her nodded to the other two men before rising silently and leaving.
"What's with the silent treatment?" Eve asked Linda, who merely shrugged. The woman seemed un-curious, if not familiar, with the men.
"That's just how they do their business."
Outside the door, Agent Jones glanced back at the room as they walked to the elevator. "Are we just going to leave her?"
"We should have killed her back when we had the chance." Agent Brown cut in.
Agent Smith pressed the button for the elevator. "No, we don't want these humans to suspect anything, dare they even to notice. She's lost her memory, no harm done, we just have to keep a close watch on her incase she remembers anything."
Tom lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to ignore the thunder of pain in his leg induced from walking up the stairs, a task he would never have done, that is, unless the elevator was broken. The night he came back from the hospital after Brandon's death, he wound up right back where he came from with a broken ankle.
It was hard enough fumbling with his crutches, considering the option of scooting up on his behind, and taking days to do it. But at least he wouldn't starve, because he had three bags filled with groceries, as if the crutches weren't enough of a challenge. He made it 2 floors by the time someone passed him and carried his bags to the 5th floor. It was embarrassing, being so weak and incapable. It frustrated him that he always needed someone to help him.
Today was his first day of physical therapy, an activity that he believed was created by someone planning to do him in. It was sheer torture, all those leg exercises and trying to do all these stupid things in a large blue room with paintings of flowers and rainbows on the wall, the floor lines with blue mats which Tom had become very well acquainted with.
He didn't want to ever go back to the torture that was physical therapy, but the doctors insisted that he attended every session if he wanted to regain full use of his leg again. Why would it matter? He never danced at any of Choi's clubs, nor was he athletic. Sitting at one's computer doesn't involve much activity of any sort, not including one's fingers, which did not need any therapy.
Eve slowly eased herself down onto the couch, helped by Maureen, a nurse. Her bones were sore, her muscles throbbing painfully. She let out a deep sigh, her body relaxing the instant it touched the pillow. She brushed the sweat from her brow with her good arm, her other still in a sling. Her breathing came in short gasps as she struggled to breathe properly.
Maureen patted Eve's shoulder. "I'll let you rest here for a while." Like I can do otherwise? Eve though sarcastically. It was frustrating for her to be so incapable. Her memory loss wasn't any help either, though from her frustration she could guess she had been strong before the accident.
Eve looked around the room, surveying all the other people in the room. Doctors, patients, families, that man standing all alone in the corner. Eve couldn't tell where he was looking - his sunglasses guarded his eyes from the world. He stood as stiff as a statue, his tall body clothed in dark leather, but when he noticed Eve had been staring at him, he started walking.
Eve quickly turned away, pretending she hadn't been staring at the man. He didn't look very friendly, nor was he someone Eve wanted to be on bad terms with. She found a spot on the wall and pretended to be interested it, pretended she hadn't seen the man at all.
She felt the couch sink down next to her. She knew who it was even before she looked - well, she didn't know who the man was, but she knew he was there. She didn't say anything.
"You're afraid. I don't believe it."
Eve looked at the man, hoping to satisfy him. She saw the outline of his muscles beneath his shirt. She had to come up with an answer so she wouldn't look like a fool.
"What would I be afraid of?"
The man shrugged, reached up with his hand and took of his glasses, revealing deep brown eyes that held Eve's fixation. They looked *familiar*, unlike everything else. Maybe this man was someone from her life before. But was he friend or foe? Judging by looks, he was more of the villain type, but you never really know someone unless you walk around in their shoes. Eve tried a different approach.
"Sorry, do I know you?"
The man smiled. "That depends. Who are you?"
Who are you? Eve raised a brow at the man's rude behavior. "Who am I? I'm not the one acting all mysterious." She kept her voice low. "I'm not the one that knows everything about themselves. Have you ever had amnesia?"
The man shook his head and went to stand up. "Sorry." Eve knew she had been rude, even though the man hadn't exactly been polite. "My name's Eve."
"Eve?" The man said thoughtfully. "How do you know that?"
What was he playing at? It's her name. "The doctors told me." She hung her head, embarrassed that she couldn't remember anything without someone's aid. She should've had a memo pad or something with her or something she could rely on without any problems.
"How can you be so sure the doctors told you the truth?"
For god's sake, what did he want her to say? "You're right. There's no possible way for me to know they're telling the truth. Nobody even knows the truth. Especially not you. I could be William Shakespeare." She proclaimed sarcastically. "I could be Queen Elizabeth. Maybe even the holy Trinity!"
He laughed. What was funny? "I believe you are underestimating me, my dear Eve." He stood and bowed his head. "My name is Morpheus. Do not tell anybody that name. If we're lucky, we'll meet again in the future."
And he was gone.
Well that was weird. How many times to mysterious men wearing leather come up to you and don't tell you any more than your name? Not very often.
But he did tell you something, Eve thought. His eyes. She knew she had seen them before.
He stood before her in the middle of the street, cars whizzing past him on either direction, each missing him by a hair. What was he doing?
"You have to understand, in this place you can do anything. You know none of this is real, so what's holding you back?"
His brown eyes pierced hers.
~*~
That chapter took a lot longer than I had hoped it to. Sorry to keep you all in suspense there. I hope I'll have the next chapter up a little faster.