Chapter 3
The Pain of Conscience
The wind stung my face as I flew over the city. It was nearing midday. A plane rumbled by somewhere overhead. I kept above the clouds as not to attract too much attention. I didn't feel like being bothered at the moment. My mind hung heavy with thoughts. All I could see were those staring faces...
I shook my head clear and bolted straight up. I had to get my mind off such things. I had a job to do. I stopped and stood suspended in the air. The world around me was so calm, so serene. I was alone. Alone...but to me alone never felt alone. When I was in the Matrix alone always felt so crowded. I took one last look around me. It was so beautiful. But the sad fact was: none of it was real.
From inside my jacket my phone rang. I pulled it and hit the slide, putting it to my ear.
"Yes?" I asked, wondering what was the matter.
"Just checking in on you Neo, we were all outside fixing the damage from the Sentinel attack." Sparks replied. So they hadn't seen...
"How are things looking there?" he asked.
"Positively beautiful," I replied looking around, "Not much going on around here." I lied. I can't let them know, I thought. They would think less of me...
"Ok, well I'll set you up an exit because we could really use another set of hands," he said, pausing for a moment. I could hear the clicking of his keyboard. "Hmmm.... Ok, I've got you one at 13th and...Neo look out!"
But I had already heard it. In my conversation I had let myself drift too far down. In front of me rose a helicopter but that's not what worried me. It was the agent that was mounted on the Fifty-caliber machine gun in the open bay doors. I could see him pull the trigger.
Within an instant hundreds of rounds flew around me, past me, over me, under me. There was no way I could stay in the air and freeze the shots at the same time. I just wasn't ready for it yet. Instinct set in. I went into a slanted dive toward the tall buildings for cover. The wind tore at my face. But I wasn't going fast enough. The chopper was still behind me. I could feel it gaining on me, closing the already small gap. It was a smaller model designed for speed. I clenched my teeth and tried to speed up. The buildings looked so far away. I hoped I could make it in time.
The gun at the front of the helicopter opened fire. I could feel them leave the chamber. I could see the line of code that made up every bullet, every noise they made caused ripples through the air. And for a moment, I felt like everything slowed almost to a screeching halt.
I reached for the world around me, the power that held this entire program together. I went low, letting a few go over. They passed close enough to me that I could see the circular pattern they made in the air. I went left, and watched as they gracefully parted the air, searching for something to stop them. I went up, letting another volley pass. A new wave of shots came. Left, right, up. Everything was so slow. So calm. This was the power of The One...
Suddenly, pain shot through my mind. A passing shot tore the flesh from my shoulder. My mind clouded and I was ripped violently from my slow, calm world. Pain. All I could feel was a great, throbbing pain. I began to fall. I rolled over and grabbed my wound. The bullet had passed straight through. It felt as if someone had shoved a hot iron through my right arm. My phone flew out of my pocket and toward the pavement, which is where I was headed...
I fell, faster and faster, toward the ground. I was facing up and gaining speed. I saw the helicopter. It hung in the air, watching my decent. I tried to reach out, tried to hold on to something. I couldn't focus. I couldn't change the air around me to support my weight... all I could feel was pain...pain...pain. A building appeared at my side. Windows flew by. I swear I could see faces watching as I passed. I was getting very close to the ground.
I closed my eyes and waited for the end...
A/: Hi all you readers, I'm hoping to spit out a new chapter every day or two. I figured a cliffhanger would do some good. ;) Hope you guys like it. R&R plz. Thx for all the great reviews.
The wind stung my face as I flew over the city. It was nearing midday. A plane rumbled by somewhere overhead. I kept above the clouds as not to attract too much attention. I didn't feel like being bothered at the moment. My mind hung heavy with thoughts. All I could see were those staring faces...
I shook my head clear and bolted straight up. I had to get my mind off such things. I had a job to do. I stopped and stood suspended in the air. The world around me was so calm, so serene. I was alone. Alone...but to me alone never felt alone. When I was in the Matrix alone always felt so crowded. I took one last look around me. It was so beautiful. But the sad fact was: none of it was real.
From inside my jacket my phone rang. I pulled it and hit the slide, putting it to my ear.
"Yes?" I asked, wondering what was the matter.
"Just checking in on you Neo, we were all outside fixing the damage from the Sentinel attack." Sparks replied. So they hadn't seen...
"How are things looking there?" he asked.
"Positively beautiful," I replied looking around, "Not much going on around here." I lied. I can't let them know, I thought. They would think less of me...
"Ok, well I'll set you up an exit because we could really use another set of hands," he said, pausing for a moment. I could hear the clicking of his keyboard. "Hmmm.... Ok, I've got you one at 13th and...Neo look out!"
But I had already heard it. In my conversation I had let myself drift too far down. In front of me rose a helicopter but that's not what worried me. It was the agent that was mounted on the Fifty-caliber machine gun in the open bay doors. I could see him pull the trigger.
Within an instant hundreds of rounds flew around me, past me, over me, under me. There was no way I could stay in the air and freeze the shots at the same time. I just wasn't ready for it yet. Instinct set in. I went into a slanted dive toward the tall buildings for cover. The wind tore at my face. But I wasn't going fast enough. The chopper was still behind me. I could feel it gaining on me, closing the already small gap. It was a smaller model designed for speed. I clenched my teeth and tried to speed up. The buildings looked so far away. I hoped I could make it in time.
The gun at the front of the helicopter opened fire. I could feel them leave the chamber. I could see the line of code that made up every bullet, every noise they made caused ripples through the air. And for a moment, I felt like everything slowed almost to a screeching halt.
I reached for the world around me, the power that held this entire program together. I went low, letting a few go over. They passed close enough to me that I could see the circular pattern they made in the air. I went left, and watched as they gracefully parted the air, searching for something to stop them. I went up, letting another volley pass. A new wave of shots came. Left, right, up. Everything was so slow. So calm. This was the power of The One...
Suddenly, pain shot through my mind. A passing shot tore the flesh from my shoulder. My mind clouded and I was ripped violently from my slow, calm world. Pain. All I could feel was a great, throbbing pain. I began to fall. I rolled over and grabbed my wound. The bullet had passed straight through. It felt as if someone had shoved a hot iron through my right arm. My phone flew out of my pocket and toward the pavement, which is where I was headed...
I fell, faster and faster, toward the ground. I was facing up and gaining speed. I saw the helicopter. It hung in the air, watching my decent. I tried to reach out, tried to hold on to something. I couldn't focus. I couldn't change the air around me to support my weight... all I could feel was pain...pain...pain. A building appeared at my side. Windows flew by. I swear I could see faces watching as I passed. I was getting very close to the ground.
I closed my eyes and waited for the end...
A/: Hi all you readers, I'm hoping to spit out a new chapter every day or two. I figured a cliffhanger would do some good. ;) Hope you guys like it. R&R plz. Thx for all the great reviews.