As the twins are now split up, I can't always write from Sarah's perspective. Some of this chapter will be from the narrator's point of view (like Chapter 4); it should be fairly obvious where I switch between the narrator and Sarah. If it's confusing let me know and I will change it in the next chapter.
P.S. Again, there is some French in this chapter – I've translated the important bits; it there's anything that is left without a translation then it doesn't matter. If you want to know what it is anyway then e-mail me or stick it in your review. : )
See 1st chapter for disclaimer.
Chapter 9: Twins Apart, Twins Together
Hannah regained consciousness very slowly. She was in bed. And it wasn't her rickety metal Neb bunk. It felt suspiciously like her own bed from school.
For one glorious moment, she came to the conclusion that everything – Morpheus, the Matrix, the machines – had all been a trippy dream. But there was something wrong. What was it…? Oh yes. Sarah wasn't there.
Suddenly realising that she couldn't sense her twin anywhere near, her eyes flew open and she sat bolt up right. And immediately had to lie down again.
What the hell…
She was in bed, just not her bed. In fact she was lying on top of the covers in a completely strange room that she had never seen before. From the stone walls it looked like a castle, and from the lavish decoration it looked like a hotel. The furniture was large, looked old, and made of very dark wood. There was a wardrobe, a chest of drawers, a dresser with a mirror, and several tapestries hanging on the walls, in rich dark colours that gave the room a medieval ambience. There were 2 doors.
Slowly easing herself off the 4-poster bed, Hannah crept furtively over to one of them. She stopped with her hand on the handle, and listened intently. Hearing nothing on the other side, she cautiously, ever so slowly, pushed it back.
She sighed in relief. It was just an en-suite. It was big for a bathroom, but her eyes were drawn straight to the countertop by the sink, where her red gi from the sparring programme lay neatly folded. She double-took and her hands flew to her body to make sure she was dressed. Thankfully, she was – but in her own clothes. Her own black trousers, her own red cami, her own black netting top. Her favourite outfit, appeared from nowhere.
Weird…where the hell did that come from?
Intrigued, she closed the door and made her way quietly over to the other. Now painfully conscious of the clumping of her boots that she had been previously unaware of, she crouched down next to the door to undo the sets of buckles. While she was kneeling, she heard voices coming from outside the door. She paused, leaving her fingers entangled in the laces, to listen. One of the voices was speaking in French.
OK…so I'm in France…right…
"Non, ce n'était pas nécessaire, mais je suis un peu impatient." It was a man's voice, but the reply sounded like a woman.
"Elle va se réveiller bientôt (she's going to wake up soon)."
Are they talking about me? Oh shit…I'm not supposed to be awake yet!
"Je veux la voire."
Oh smeg they're gonna come in! What am I gonna do? Leaving her boots half-undone, she leapt back onto the bed and lay down as she had been when she awoke, trying to slow her breathing down to the snail's pace of a sleeper.
Her heartbeat raced as she heard a key turn in the door. I was locked in? Quiet footsteps padded into the room and the voices hushed to whispers.
"C'est très émouvant, n'est-ce pas?"
Exciting? How am I exciting? This is so peculiar.
There was a momentary pause where the room fell silent and it sounded to Hannah that her breathing was the only noise in the building. To her relief, the visitors decided to leave her to sleep, closed the door behind them, and continued down the corridor, their footsteps and voices fading slowly.
When she was sure they were gone Hannah sat up, pulled her boots off, and grinned to herself.
They didn't lock the door behind themselves. Idiots.
She jumped down from the bed and walked over to the door. She stopped briefly to listen for any more people, then tentatively pulled it back. Right. Let's find out what the hell's going on.
She crept out into the corridor and looked up and down. It was long and panelled, with oil paintings hanging here and there. At one end was a staircase leading up, at the other, a staircase leading down. Deciding that going down would probably get her closer to an exit, she turned left and started to walk, keeping her ears open for footfall behind her or movement behind the many doors she was passing. She didn't think she was being followed.
She could never have known.
OoOoO
I almost cried out in frustration and kicked the table leg.
"DAMNED COMPUTER! STOP SAYING SHE DOESN'T EXIST!" I could feel tears of nonfulfillment starting to sting my eyes.
"Why don't you take a break, Apollo?" I exhaled heavily and moved aside to let Link sit down. "We will find her. Don't worry." I looked at him blankly, clearly not believing what he was saying.
I went over to Hannah, lying motionless in her chair, pale-faced and disconcertingly cold. I'm coming for you Hannah. I will find you. Just hang on. A tear rolled down my cheek at the feeling that I was sending my thoughts into a brick wall. She wasn't receiving anything.
"Where are you looking, Link?" I asked, unable to tear myself away from the search. When no reply came, I turned. "Link?" He was staring dumb-founded at the screen. "Link what is it?"
"I think I've found her…"
"What!" I jumped up and ran across to the monitors. "Where? Where?"
"Well it looks like…no that can't be right."
"What is it!" I was nearly screaming at him. "Link, tell me!"
"It's saying she's…in the Merovingian's chateaux…"
"The who's what?"
"You don't know who the Merovingian is?"
"No…should I?"
He looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
"I'll let Morpheus explain." He turned back to the screen. "I wonder if it'll let me search within the chateaux…hmm…oh, who's that?"
"Is there someone with her?"
"Looks like two people…actually it looks like…oh shit!"
OoOoO
Hannah got to the bottom of the stairs to find they met another corridor. She halted on the penultimate step and flattened herself as best she could against the wall, trying to peer round the corner at the same time. To her horror she saw someone appear from an open doorway near the end of the corridor. Knowing there was no-one behind her, and silently thanking the powers that be that there wasn't, she turned around to make her way back.
She froze.
At the top of the steps, having appeared out of thin air, were 2 men. They looked like identical twins – if they weren't then there was something unnatural about them. Neither would have surprised her. They were dressed in silver and white from head to foot; even their faces were white. And for some reason, they were wearing black sunglasses. However, nothing about their unusual appearance even touched Hannah – she was petrified on the spot and incapable of thinking or doing anything.
After a pause, they began to move down the stairs towards her, in flawless synchronisation. She tried to back away but found herself completely unable to move. They started to speak, one carrying on the sentence the other had started, the switch so seamless it would sound to a blind man like one person talking.
"Well, well, well-"
"What have we here?"
