Now for the next chapter. I don't have much time at home to write, so I give up my lunch period at school to use the computer in one of my classes…which means that chapters may be kinda slow in coming. Sorry in advance. ;)
Once again, this is dedicated in its entirety to my friend, Centress. My savior…and Queen of the One of Toads. :P
xxxxx
The Calling
Chapter 2: Liberation
The first thing Ruhk noticed as he came to was an intense cold. His entire body was trembling and twitching with it, chill bumps on every inch of skin. Rough fabric brushed against his legs and chest. He cracked open his eyes and bright light flooded his vision; he could just barely make out a silhouette outlined above him.
"Where am I?" he croaked, surprised at the hoarseness of his words.
"Shh…it's all right. You're safe now." Banshee's soothing voice reached his ears, calming the faint sense of panic. "You've been out for a while, you know. We were all pretty worried about you."
"How long?" Even that short sentence took an effort to get out.
"Three, maybe four days." The woman sighed. "I'm glad to see you awake. Would you like me to help you to your room? It's much less bright in there."
Ruhk nodded at her question, quelling the rise of many of his own. There will be plenty of time for that later.
As though she could read his thoughts, Banshee said, "Wraith will probably want to talk to you later, but he's attending to a little accident Puca had in the Core." She shook her head. "That girl is so clumsy."
"Core?" Such fun, these one and two word questions.
"It's on the upper level. We'll show you around later, once we've given you an explanation or two." She helped him sit up and wrapped an arm around his thin waist. "Come on, your room is just down the hall."
Ruhk leaned heavily against her as he put weight on shaky legs. "Why am I so weak?"
"Your muscles haven't completely formed yet…just give it a few more days." She gave him an encouraging smile. "Mace did a wonderful job on your reconstruction."
"Who's Puca?" The floor was startlingly cold beneath his bare feet.
"You'll meet her later." Banshee secured an arm across his lower back and took his hand into hers. "Easy does it," she whispered. "This way."
She helped give him balance as she led Ruhk out of the room he had been in – a medical bay of some sort – and out into a long, twisting metal corridor. They walked slowly down the hall, past many doors until they finally stopped before one of them. She reached out and twisted the wheel. The door swung open and she brought him inside.
"Here we are," she said enthusiastically. "Your own private quarters."
"Oh, the rapture," Ruhk muttered, raising an eyebrow. "I'm confused… What is this place? How did I get here?"
The smile faded from Banshee's lips. "Do you not remember what happened after you were in that room, back in your old town?"
He shook his head, closing his eyes against an oncoming headache. All of that had to have been a dream, right? "I'm sorry, but no."
"Well, there will be plenty of time for that later," she said in way of explanation, echoing his earlier thought. "Why don't you lie down?"
As Ruhk nodded, she helped him recline back onto the cot against the far wall. She ran a comforting hand across his forehead. "I'm going to go get some water. Now that we've removed the IV, you're going to have to drink it all yourself." She gave him yet another smile. "Not to worry. You're in good hands here."
He watched with weary eyes as she left the dank room, closing the door behind her. Everything here is made of metal, he noticed. But where is here? What's happened to me? He ran a bony hand across his head…only to be met with bald skin instead of thick black hair. What happened to my hair? Oh, why my hair?
Ruhk glanced down at his body. He was much thinner than he had thought and his skin was almost white, unhealthily so. On instinct, he reached up to tug at the small hoop in his earlobe, only to find it gone. He reached up to touch his face and found all his other piercings were gone as well. The strangest thing of all, though, was what he noticed as the sleeve of his shirt slid down. A round, black plug of some sort – made of metal – was embedded in his arm. He touched it gently, nudging it a bit with his finger, but it didn't budge. What the hell…?
Just as his eyebrows furrowed together the door opened again and Banshee let herself in. She was holding out a cup of water, but Ruhk didn't take it.
"What's this?" he demanded, thrusting out his arm.
"Calm down," Banshee said, not put off by his question. "You know what you've heard or read about the Matrix, right? About how you were 'plugged in' to it?"
"Yeah." He looked at her, meeting her green eyes with his own blue ones.
"Well, that was one of the plugs holding you in." She traced its outline on his arm with a long finger. "There are more, all over your body. And one on the back of your neck. You'll get used to it, I'm sure."
Ruhk just sighed and relaxed into the mattress. "It really was true, then? About the entire human race being slaves to machines?"
Banshee nodded, nudging his hand with the container of water. "Drink," she told him softly. "Answers are coming."
He took the water and sipped. It was cool and vaguely metallic. He wondered if everything here had something to do with metal. "It makes sense, you know," he said as he held the cup against his lips, "that we were slaves. So I've been unplugged. Interesting. It's kind of relieving, actually. Liberating."
She smiled at his rush of words. A true menace to society, according to those who knew him from clubs. "You should sleep now." Ruhk put up no protest as she pulled a blanket out of a cabinet in the wall and handed it to him. "Wraith will probably come to talk to you later today. I'm sorry he's been so busy. We're still recuperating from the last blow in this damn war, and there are a good amount of damages that need repairing."
"It's all right." He smiled up at her. "I'm not exactly what you thought, huh? Not a computer geek, right?"
"No," she agreed, "but you're exactly what we're looking for. Close your eyes and get some rest, okay?" She turned to leave, but was stopped by one last question from her newest crewmate.
"Will my hair grow back?"
Banshee laughed. "Yes, Ruhk, your hair will grow back…in its natural color, mind you."
"Black is my natural color," he snapped, glaring up at her. "Why does everyone think I dyed it?"
She grinned. "Probably because a Goth with natural black hair is too abnormal for words. But here…" She reached back and pulled at the square of fabric that was holding up her dirty red hair in a bun. She shook it out and wrapped the small bandanna over his head. "It'll keep you warm. Sleep well, my friend."
xxxxx
Later that day, Ruhk was awakened by a soft knocking at his door. Before he could call out for the person to enter, Wraith came in and closed the door behind him. He looked much the same here as he had before, though his clothes were much rattier, like the ones he had seen on Banshee.
"How are you doing?" Wraith asked, pulling the chair away from the desk and sitting beside him.
"Tired," Ruhk said, yawning. "And confused."
The older man gave him a thin smile. "Banshee tells me that you didn't start panicking when you found your plugs."
"No," he agreed. "It didn't bother me. But what happened? How did I get here?"
Wraith sighed. "You were freed from the Matrix. That dream you've been having, the one where you wake up in a gel-filled pod surrounded by machines…that was real – the real world as it is today."
"My dream really happened?"
A brief nod was the answer. "It's happened to us all, save those born into the real world. Born in Zion."
"Zion…" Ruhk pursed his lips. "I take it that would be a city?"
"A city indeed. The last one left." Wraith grinned, revealing his age through the deep lines around his eyes. "We'll be heading in soon enough. Now…" He stood and slid the chair back toward the desk. "Would you like to see your new home?"
xxxxx
The next few days blurred together. The information that he learned from the crew stuck, and it seemed that now his life finally made sense. All the Internet talk he had heard of the Matrix was true, and he was thrilled. He now had proof that humans really were too intelligent for their own good, and it had caused their downfall…their slavery. Just the thing he wished he could rub in Hippo's face.
"Is this everything you'd though it would be?" Banshee asked him one morning in the mess hall. "This new life you have…is it really any better than what you had before?"
Ruhk regarded her question for a moment before answering. "Well, honestly I don't know. I think, though, that I can be happy here. It's gotta be better than what I had. I mean, do you even know how I lived? It was disgusting."
"So I've seen." She smirked before taking a bite of the white goo in front of her. "The captain told me that he's going to send you through a practice sim today. Are you excited?"
He shrugged. "If it's anything like having those…skills uploaded straight to my brain, then maybe. I like manipulating things. That's pretty much what I have to learn to do, right? Manipulate things?"
"Yes, it's very much simply learning how to manipulate things." Banshee laughed but was cut off from saying anything more when Mace – a large bulk of a man with a generally good attitude came into the small hall and filled a tin with the goo.
The operator sat beside Banshee, across from Ruhk. He leaned forward, a large grin on his face. "How are ya doin' there, my boy? Sleep well?"
The younger man nodded. "I slept better last night than I have in years."
"Glad to hear it!" He turned toward the woman beside him. "Wraith wants to see you in the cockpit. Something about Zion, I hope."
Banshee smiled kindly at him. "Thanks for relaying the message." She stood and emptied the half-full contents of the tin in a disposal before rising it and leaving the room. Ruhk looked after her as she turned the corner.
"So," Mace cleared his throat, bringing attention back him. "I still wanna know. Pardon any offences, but how did a person like you get here?" He shook his head. "You have the most minimal hacking skills I've ever seen."
Ruhk gave a small grin and looked down at the table, letting his spoon drop into the small container. "I actually don't know. I…I do know that I'm looking for someone, but I don't know enough about her now to do anything more about it."
"Well, start with his name. Who is he?"
"Her," the younger man corrected. He sighed. "All I know is that her name is – or was, I guess – Adele. She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen…although she was only seventeen when I met her. Then she just disappeared."
Mace regarded his carefully. "Do you think this young woman is here? Not just…sunk under your radar? Some people are good at hiding."
"I know…I used to be one of them." Ruhk heaved another sigh.
"What does she look like? Perhaps I may have seen her." The operator shrugged his large shoulders. "I used to help train at the Academy."
"The Academy?" The spoon clanked nosily against the bottom of the tin.
"It's where the younger unplugged go…you know, eighteen or younger." Mace took a sip of water. "I helped get them through the more advanced courses. I'm a bit older than I look." He chuckled at his own jab. "Now, about this girl. What does she look like?"
"Well, she's pretty tall…maybe about my height." He bit his lip, pulling up the image in his mind. "Dark hair, shoulder length when I last saw her. Pale complexion, blue eyes. Ring any bells?"
The older man pursed his lips. "A lot of young woman pass through on different ships, and many, many more through Zion. I'm sorry…I may know who you're talking about, but I don't remember her name." He lowered his eyes, the wrinkles in his forehead smoothing slightly. "She came through about five years ago. Quite an attitude. Good at just about everything."
Ruhk smirked. "Sounds like Adele. I, um…used to have a picture of her. It was in my pocket when I…that night I met Wraith. It's gone, isn't it?"
Mace reached across the table and patted his arm. "If it's any consolation, it never really existed to begin with."
xxxxx
"So…now I just apply what I know, right?" Ruhk looked around the sim he had just been loaded into. It was dark, like the alleys of the city he used to live in. All around tall brick buildings rose into the inky sky. He could just barely see the tops of them.
"Exactly," Wraith's voice said from above. "Now, once you get going I can't help you. You'll be on your own. Got it?"
The young man nodded and ran his hand through his hair, happy to have it back even if it wasn't real. "What do I have to do?"
"Reach the edge of the city. You'll know it when you get there." A muffled cough broke his words. "You're going to be timed. Since this is the easiest level, all you have to do is reach the end without being noticed by the cops that have been programmed randomly throughout the city. Any questions?"
"Yeah, um…" Ruhk took a deep breath. "What happens if they see me?"
"Run, and hope they don't shoot." Wraith turned off the intercom, leaving Ruhk alone in the dank darkness.
"Right," he said to himself. "The edge. Which way do I go?" He glanced around, looking down the various roads. All of them were empty, adding to the eerie silence that could be felt all around. His feet started him going left, so that's what he went with. He took an easy pace. Wraith had told him earlier that even though this was timed, there was no limit. The times were saved for him to try to beat later.
The buildings loomed up in black monoliths around him. The darkness was all-encompassing, and Ruhk could see nothing more than three feet in front of him. Tension was thick, and if he didn't know better, he'd say that the simulation was real. That was one thing he'd never really get used to.
xxx
Wraith watched the monitor in the Core as his new charge wound his way through the labyrinth city. He was doing all right so far. No trouble yet. Then…there!
A program shuddered and came to life, bearing the form of a cop. It blinked twice and tightened its fingers around the gun that had formed in its hand, taking a step forward as the surroundings changed slightly to accommodate the new diversion in power.
From what the captain was watching, Ruhk had yet to notice the approaching threat. All for the better, I guess, he thought. Good to see how he reacts under pressure. He smirked, watching the fuzzy picture before him from the Construct's current form.
xxx
The streets were still silent, nothing to be heard except Ruhk's feet slapping the wet pavement. A streetlamp to his right sputtered and extinguished. He startled and spun around, his hand instantly flexing around the metal gun he didn't even realize he had.
Ruhk took a deep breath and turned back to the direction he was going in. It's just nerves, he told himself. As he continued on his way, he failed to catch the movement close behind.
xxx
"How's he doing?" Mace asked, coming to stand quietly behind his superior.
"Look for yourself." Wraith gestured to the screen. "He hasn't noticed any danger. We're probably going to have to teach him to trust his instincts more. See his heart rate? He knows something is there, he just isn't trusting that judgment."
Mace whistled quietly through his teeth. "That's how we lost our last two, isn't it? Not trusting their instincts?"
The blonde nodded slowly. "He'll learn."
"He has to."
The two watched in silence as the cop reprogrammed itself as an agent. That's what happened with this program if the person inside didn't eliminate the threat quickly enough. It only got worse.
xxx
Okay, I definitely heard something, Ruhk thought, his eyes going wide as he stared forward. He switched off the safety catch and raised the gun, turning to look behind.
There! Movement to the left. Then again on the right. His finger tightened convulsively on the trigger, but he restrained himself from firing. And then he saw them. Two agents.
"Damn."
He turned and ran, his heart pounding in his ears. Damn, damn, damn!
Then a loud bang echoed though the alley and Ruhk felt a sharp pain between his shoulder blades before his world faded to white.
xxx
Mace went over to pull the plug from Ruhk's head. "Almost," he said quietly as the younger man opened his eyes.
Ruhk sat up and saw Wraith still standing by the monitors. "That was pretty bad, huh?"
"No, not bad." The captain chuckled. "You need to trust your instincts, Ruhk! If you feel that something is wrong, then there's probably something wrong. Listen to what your body tells you."
Mace went back to glance at the memory saved on the Construct's screen. "From how your signals were reading when you were inside, you were nervous. Am I right?"
The youngest man nodded, looking between the operator and Wraith.
"Well," Mace continued, "the first time through any sim is nerve-wracking, and it will be much worse when you plug into the matrix. I've watched enough people while they were inside your age, younger, older – to know that any nervousness is good. It teaches you respect for the enemy. Once you get used to it is when you'll be in the most danger. Always listen to your gut, man! Not tuning in to those instincts will cost you your life."
Ruhk's eyes widened and he quickly looked away. He had never thought the kind old man he had eaten breakfast with would ever have such a complete change in attitude. He stored this new bit of information in the back of his mind to be sure not to cross this guy on a bad day.
The captain and operator sent their newest charge through the same simulation at least ten more times before Wraith finally sent him off to lie down. As the young man stumbled wearily down the ladder, Mace whispered, "Isn't that Banshee's bandanna?"
xxxxx
Ruhk was just dozing off when there was a timid knock at his door. He cracked his eyes and gave the okay for the person outside to come in.
Puca opened the red metal barricade and poked her head inside. She was young, just barely fifteen it seemed, with choppy dirty blonde hair and dull brown eyes. A sweet girl, but clumsy as a person her age could be.
"Did I bother you? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have bothered you. I'll just leave now; it was terribly rude of me to bother you." Her words were rushed, and her high-pitched voice made it even harder to understand what she was saying. From the few conversations he'd had with her, he found that she had the tendency to repeat words…and apologize for everything.
As she was about to leave again, Ruhk called out to her. "No, it's okay. Come in."
Puca raised her brows and her eyes went wide, showing just how innocent she was. "You were sleeping. Really, I'll just go and let you get back to sleep."
"No, if you want something, just ask." She reminded him so much of his sister. Janie had died when they were just eight years old. Murdered.
"I um…I just wanted to talk." She paused, and from the look on her face she was probably about to break out another apology.
"Come in, honey, really. I don't mind talking." Ruhk could have slapped his hand over his mouth. Had he just called her 'honey'?
Puca shuffled inside and pushed the door closed. She pursed her lips as Ruhk sat up and made room for her to sit beside him. If she wished, of course. But she trusted him. There was just something about him that was calming to her. Something comfortable. She plopped down on the hard mattress and slumped forward.
Ruhk studied her, again reminded of his sister. She seemed so…worn.Only fifteen and already prepared to die. "Are you okay?"
Her brown eyes looked up at him, unsure of what to say. "I…" she trailed off, averting her gaze. "I don't know. How old are you?"
He cleared his throat, not expecting such a…normal question. "Twenty five. Why do you ask?"
Puca shrugged. "You look familiar. I grew up in the city you were living in. Maybe I just saw you sometime."
"I have been living there for five years, so it's a possibility." He gave her as nice a smile as he could manage.
"Five years?" She shook her head. "Then I never saw you there. I was unplugged seven years ago." She was silent for a moment before speaking again. "I heard you talking to Mace this morning, about that girl. Would she be twenty five also?"
"Twenty three, actually." A slight blush rose in his cheeks. "I was held back a year or two in high school."
"I never went to school," Puca whispered. "Count yourself lucky. But anyway, I think I may know who you're talking about. I don't remember her name, but she was coming into the Academy just as I was leaving. She was pretty quiet. I had the same dinner time as she did, and she always sat alone. I'd recognize her if I saw her."
"But she's so much older than you… How could you have been leaving when she was entering?" Ruhk's eyebrows narrowed. Somehow he knew that he was not going to like this child's story.
"I was freed young. Eight years old, I think. Your friend was freed in the normal age bracket. Seventeen…eighteen, maybe." She refused to meet his eyes. "But Wraith wanted me because I was small enough to crawl through the ducts and stuff on his ship at the time. The Griffin, though," she gestured around her. "She's pretty new."
"So you've been with Wraith for a while, then?"
"And Banshee. I was there when he asked her to be his second. They're my family. So it's kinda like you're my brother, huh?" She cocked one of her large eyebrows playfully, showing once again just how youthful she was.
Ruhk was silent, thinking about what she had said. He was hit with a sudden pang of nostalgia, wishing to be eight years old again with his sister in the park, crawling all over the rusty jungle gym behind their family's apartment.
"Puca…" He looked at her, watched as she fidgeted with the edge of the blanket. "Do you fight?"
She shrugged her thin shoulders again. "When I have to. But this crew is mostly out for reconnaissance. None of us do much fighting. Before she was unplugged, Banshee was a big advocate for nonviolence." She giggled softly. "She still doesn't like to fire a gun."
"Reconnaissance? So you all just gather information?"
Puca nodded. "It's dangerous, though. The machines kill to keep us quiet. I've seen so many people come and go on this ship…seen them die." She gave him a ghost of a smile. "You never really get used to it, no matter what anyone says."
Ruhk shook his head, blown away by this young girl. How can she see such hell every day and keep going? He put an arm across her shoulders and grinned down at her. "I think you and I are going to be pretty good friends."
"I'm glad." She raised her wide eyes to meet his. "Can I call you my brother?"
"Only if I can claim you as my sister."
