Beginning Note/
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A whole peaceful month had gloriously passed since Lute's attack upon the apartment. Yossi's body had healed with no unwanted afteraffects, and for the most part been rather happy and content with her current life. The twins weren't exaggerating when they said that they wouldn't be able to stay in one place for long. The whole-peaceful-month had been a very long one at that, marked by much travel and car-jacking. Though a curious fact came to face when Yossi noticed that they were never more than a few miles from the metro, as they circled it like hawks, jumping from hotel to apartment to motel and one very long night tossing and turning in the back seat of a sports car. It seemed to her that they were loathe to be far from the complex little town. She had yet to ask them of their affinity with the city and it burned to be brought to topic. However, that was a small part of her thoughts compared to the twins announcement on that one night. Morning and evening, afternoon and midnight, her head buzzed with that spec of news. She would sigh and cross her arms, let her head fall back as she thought upon it. The twins would only cast her a glance now and then, then return to whatever had interested them for the moment. Driving the cars, watching the scenery, or simply sitting on the couches or chairs, the sparse furniture of a motel or the homely decorations of an apartment. They had spoken only on rare occassions and that had cost Yossi a lot of nagging.
For now they had taken to a common hotel, a very large step up from the road side cottages that they had just left behind. Perhaps the twins knew that Yossi had missed their first hotel that had housed their computers with it's lush decorations, the place that they had left behind in a hail of bullets and one broken door, however, somehow she doubted they cared. Yossi was pleased nonetheless, though it of course was no match for their first. She let herself fall onto one of two beds in a room that acted as living room, bedroom, and kitchen. Though the kitchen was a simple miny refrigerator. The bathroom was at the back of the room, nothing particularly special. The whole place smelled distinctly of orange and chemicals, but that was preferred to the moldy stench of the place they had left behind. Sitting up abruptly after that very thought, Yossi layed claim to the bathroom, though it was never a fight with the twins, who both sat comfortably seated in the two plush recliners that were aimed at the television.
She melted under the cold spray of water from the shower head for a full hour, retreating from the bathroom with pruned fingertips. During her long, cleansing shower, a single thought was circling in her mind. She wanted to bring up the fact that her birthday was in two days. During her lonely stay in her very own apartment, she treated herself modestly. Extra special food for dinner and maybe some new toy. Last time it was large stuffed lion, the time before that was a new model of computer, who's release date coincided with her special day. She was curious as to their reaction. Would they be helpful for once? How could she possibly convince them to let her get something? More importantly, what did she need? It might be a burden to lug around a stuffed animal from place to place, and there was no way she could keep a computer, but maybe a laptop, though she never liked the contraptions.
A starch white towl was draped over her damp hair, rumpled and messy from when she had rubbed excess water away, and another towl larger towl encircle her body. She watched the twins as they idly watched her as she walked to sit on the bed closest to them. Did she look like she wanted something? Thinking quickly, the normal thing for her to do would be to lay back on a bed and watch the blank television screen. Nobody in the company ever watched t.v. it seemed. Instead she sat on the edge and peered curiously at the twins, who gazed right back, emotionless except for a tiny upward curve to their pale lips. They knew she was about to barrage them with some sort of chatter. Smart programs they were.
"I noticed on our way here there was a mall nearby.." she trailed off, awaiting some reaction, but nobody moved, so she continued uneasily, "and the day after tomorrow is my birthday, so.."
She waited, but they only watched her and her mood slowly turned sour. They could just give a nod or shake of the head like usual, but instead they simply watched her sitting there, soggy and dripping water upon a bed. She was feeling defeated, sighing loudly she layed back, scratching idly at her head with the towl, then pulling a flap over her face. She was dreadfully bored now, there was nothing to look forward for seven years except more lonely hotels. Maybe a horrible bloody attack by a rebel or an agent, and she probably wouldn't see the end of those seven years.
Somewhere in the middle of the day, food had been provided, but the stark smell of chemicals had burned away any remnants of an appetite. Her sullen mood, however, had probably killed it first, so the food was stashed away in the tiny refrigerator, forgotten till the next morning. Yossi ate ravenously at sunrise, surprising the twins into watching her through the whole ordeal. Periodically she would send them a venomous glare. This was the equivilant of her 'special dinner', a day early though it was.
After the breakfast show, the twins left the room, and Yossi was feeling the need to burn the energy. Shortly after they left, she followed, curious and stealthy. They walked, silent and graceful down several halls, heading for the exit. However, to her utter dismay, when they rounded a corner, she found that they had disappeared. She searched only halfheartedly for them, feeling that even if she returned to their trail, she would have to stop after they exited the bulding. Her wanderings eventually led her to a plush chair in the lobby of the hotel. She watched the coming and goings of the guests, immitating the twins utter stillness quite well. She watched them with their cool, indifferent expressions, usually a foot resting on the other knee and their hands either gripping the arm rests or folded in their laps. She was pleased with her rendition. Eyeing each entrant, she would study them like a hawk, or maybe wander what they were doing or where they were going for a short while until the next person came along to grab her attention.
Standing out like wolves amoung sheep, the twins strode easily through the sliding glass doors, their gazes instantly upon Yossi, who's attention was elsewhere. She had been watching a large family buying several rooms, they would be staying far from her and the twins. They were amazingly noisy, and had held her intrigue since they entered the hotel lobby almost ten minutes ago. It was early in the afternoon, she'd left their room on the trail of the twins almost four hours ago, and had occupied her chair for almost half of that time, so she was relieved when the twins slid into her view, their gazes somewhat questioning.
"Hey," she greeted them simply, wondering curiously if they recognized her copy-cat pose.
"Have you enjoyed yourself?" one them asked with a smirk.
Yossi shrugged and stood, realizing again that she was rather short, especially compared to them, standing only chest high, "it's better than the hotel room.."
They began a slow walk back to their room, and Yossi took the chance to talk. They were passing by the group of family members; no one watched the albino twins.
"So where did you guys go?"
"Out," said one of them, slightly ahead who's attention wandered to the large tropical water fall and the koi which swam in the pool they were passing close to.
"Well yeah..," Yossi began, ignoring the vague but obvious answer, "I mean what did you do?" she eyed the twin that answered, hoping he wouldn't attempt to exasperate her out of conversation.
"We were," the twin paused, peering down into the pool and at the koi who migrated to his shadow hungrily, "watching." He didn't seem like he'd elaborate unless Yossi pressed further. She turned to the other twin, who stood watching his brother and the fish below.
"Watching what? The sunrise? The people," she frowned, getting the twin's attention from his brother.
"For agents and rebels, for trouble so we know when we need to move, we thought that was obvious," the twin grinned, mischevious and purely irritating, eliciting an exasperated sigh from Yossi. She shrugged and turned back to watch the waterfall, the simulated mist rose from the tropical plants, which she guessed were rubber, and hid the speaker that played the chirrups and songs of several different types of exotic birds.
"We can go to the mall tomorrow, if that is what you want," the twin watching the koi spoke up after a pause. His hands were in his pockets and for a moment Yossi wondered if there was a coin he was planning on tossing into the pond hidden there. After a while, Yossi realized they probably didn't carry spare change.
"Alright," she said, rather surprised and off guard, but she grinned quickly, "thanks." She went and sat on the damp stone wall, her back to the waterfall and the strong scent of chemicals from the water filling her nose. The twin who hadn't come to watch the fish finally stepped up on the other side of Yossi, his curiousity, Yossi thought, must have gotten the better of him.
---
The white haze of morning seeped upon the eastern horizon, preparing for it's march up the dark night skies. A familiar prickling at the hairs on the back of Yossi's neck stirred her. She knew the origin of this familiar annoyence, she knew it came from two pairs of eyes, as usual hidden behind needless sunglasses. The cool gaze was heavy, she turned onto her other side to return it with a drowsy stare of her own. The twins were each perched in the t.v. chairs, watching her in the darkness. A dim glow revealed only the barest of outline from the heavy curtins. As usual, the bed showed no signs of use, neatly made and never touched except for the impression of her own body from when she layed back on it after taking her shower.
"Alright," she said thickly, agreeing to their silent persistance.
She sat up, yawning and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, her feat still didn't touch the floor. She made her slow way to the bathroom, a morning routine of shower, teeth, and hair. No morning pruning for the day, only the usual. Walking out, she saw that the twins hadn't moved, though their attention was slowly returned as she opened the bathroom door, letting the yellow light out into the darkness of the room. The curtins glow had somewhat strengthened, casting a white outline on one side, while the bathrooms light made the rest of their bodies appear bland. Lighting effects upon the twins never ceased to amuse Yossi.
"The mall isn't open this early, I don't think.." Yossi stated after a yawn while stretching by grabbing her elbows above her head and arching her back. She could see her shadow in the glass of the twins sunglasses. She'd given up long ago requesting that they remove them when they were useless, and she certainly wasn't brave enough to try and surprise one and snatch them away. They were always alert to her presence, that task was marked impossible a while back.
"We thought a walk down to the waterfall would be nice," one of them stood, answering her, with his brother right behind him.
Yossi considered for a moment and shrugged her agreement, pleased enough to start for the door. One of the twins was already outside and the other waited for her pass him, closing the door without bothering to lock. They had nothing of interest packed away that Yossi knew of. The walk to the koi pond was down some large stairs, a theme of marble that made the whole place very bright and expensive looking. Marble and tropical scenery that was pleasant on the eyes, Yossi was certain that if the twins found a particarly bright area they would blend perfectly. There weren't many people awake and alive at this time of the morning, they passed only room service and maids and a few guests that looked dressed for important business. They were only swift ghosts at the corner of Yossi's tired eyes. She'd been wakened at this time of morning before, but she still didn't enjoy it. The twins seemed incapable of exhaustion, they were boundless in their energy. That was something Yossi envied far more than she'd ever admit.
Little more than an hour was spent with idle and useless talk, only elicited by Yossi. She spoke only on the topics of her other birthdays, things that she'd done for herself. It sounded to be the right subject, but oh so strained. The twins just weren't right for small talk, and she gave up after an hour. After standing alone in line for a large cone of ice cream, she returned to the odd pair and offered if either would want a lick. She grinned, she was right that they'd decline, but it was simply polite. The sun was well above the horizon as they all headed for the car they'd been driving for the past week and headed for the promised mall. A short drive and they entered a sparsely populated parking lot, taking an easy space near the entrance. It seemed only the elderly were up and walking through the halls along with workers opening their stores. Yossi had never felt so invisible, it was an odd feeling that made her stomach flutter with butterflies.
Still too early for any crowd, which Yossi clearly believed was planned, they strolled easily and in silence, broken only by the patter of their feet, the quiet conversations of the sparse mall-goers and the fountain still ahead of them. There wasn't anything specially eye-catching yet, but Yossi was persistant. She would enjoy this day, she decided with determination. But before any of that, she would need to check into the bathroom. These were located in a serparate hall, meant for privacy and easy acess to a couple other shops backdoors for maintence. Like most public bathrooms, a lingering damp stench plagued the clean, shiny tiles. Handsoap oozed onto the vanity, adding a pungent cherry blossom taste to the air. No one was occupying the stalls, so as she walked to the back of the room, the only sound was her shuffling movement and the tinkling music of the mall, meant to make the large halls feel more comforting and friendly. After all was done, Yossi slid the latch back and met the face of someone painfully familiar.
Lute stood there, patiantly awaiting Yossi to exit the stall. The automatic flush of the toilet startled Yossi, a small yelp was drowned out by the loud flush and gurgle of the water.
"Did you kill..?" Yossi's eyes were impossibly wide as she stared, slightly dazed, up at the rebel, who shook her head silently.
"Not yet, but you are going to bring them to me, so that I can.." A crooked grin twisted her face, she didn't seem as friendly as Yossi had thought she was. Lute steered her out of the ladies bathroom and down the hall to the fireexit, away from the twins and other mall-goers. Yossi peered back over her shoulder and up at Lute, who pushed the door open easily from behind her small frame. Lute wasn't very tall herself, which made Yossi feel her short height even more. The metal stairs clanged loudly as they climbed upwards towards a dark door, which led into the bright sunlight of the clear day. Yossi squinted as she was led outwards into the middle of the rooftop. Several black birds were frightened into flight as Lute and Yossi stood there in the warm light of the sun, which was growing more and more uncomfortable.
"Are you going to take me out of the Matrix?" Yossi quickly found the courage to ask the silent rebel another of her important questions that had been burning inside her mind for quite some time.
Lute had set her gaze upon the fire exit door and didn't stir when Yossi spoke up. She was as intent as hawk watching a burrow full of rabbits who seemed starved. Yossi was standing in front of the rebel, her breathing coming and going faster than she realized. Panic was roiling in her stomach, sweat was dripping down her spine, but she didn't realize these things till the silence was drawn out, and then quickly smashed when the door on the rooftop burst open.
The familiar click of the hammer of a gun startled Yossi as it was pulled back right at the girls ear. The pale figures of the twins were frozen in the doorway, but they didn't phase into their ghostly forms as Yossi was expecting. That was because this time the gun wasn't pointed at them. Yossi's eyes quickly flitted to the side, where the dark barrel of the gun was silently poised at her temple. It didn't look friendly, she had never been this close to gun, and now she was thankful that the twins favored their blades. She flinched and her breathing halted all together.
"If you phase, I will kill her," was the sharp command of the rebel. The twins seemed to glare, but they were too far away for Yossi to really see the expressions upon their faces. Another gun was drawn, and this time promptly pointed at one of the twins over Yossi's other shoulder. A sickening fear flooded into her stomach as she watched their forms, standing clearly out from the dark shadows of the stairwell behind them. The heavy door was propped open by one of their boots. Yossi was certain it wouldn't affect them too much if she was killed, couldn't they find another hacker? There were only a couple in her elitest league, but she was sure they could find them. Emotion drained from her face, but her eyes were dark and shiney.
The hammer was cocked on the second gun, it fired with an explosion that rattled Yossi's teeth. Her eyes widened in fear and surprise, and when she felt coherent again, she was indeed confused. One of the twins was sporting a new color, something entirely out of place. Crimson red was staining his arm. He didn't phase to dodge the bullet. Yossi's stomach clenched into a painful knot, the invincible programs could bleed.
Yossi suddenly reached up and grabbed the rebel's arm. Lute had been amazed that she had finally wounded one, she didn't know exactly what to think when the gun that had shot the twin was wrenched from her gasp. Her eyes widened when the girl twisted around and pulled the trigger, exploding a bullet straight into her chest, and quickly several more afterwards.
Running back to the stair well, Yossi left the rebel on the ground, but carried the gun with her. The white forms of the twins were standing in the doorway, both unharmed. Yossi's run was halted halfway. There wasn't any blood anymore. Both were standing there patiently waiting for her to walk down the stairs. One of them was grinning, the twin who had been shot in the arm. Yossi began tentatively walking towards them, her eyes scanning for any sign of the blood that had once stained the immaculate white sleeve of the trench coat. Her expression must have relayed her confusion, the other twin was smirking as well. She quickly grew irritated at their magic trick.
"What happened to the blood," Yossi frowned, still awkwardly holding the gun at her side.
They were silent for a moment, Yossi figured they were enjoying her obvious confusion, "it is time to get off the roof," one of them answered, then turned and walked down the stairwell, the other, who was still holding the door open for Yossi, motioned her through, still sporting an enigmatic grin. With a huff, the girl walked through and didn't object when the twin relinquished her of the gun, appearing a little lost and forelorn and still oh so confused. Although it did make sense that a computerized program wouldn't bleed like the rest of the humans. This alone brought on a hail of other questions, which she pushed to the side in hopes of forgetting about it. She knew by now that her inquires were rarely rewarded with an answer. From the beginning, she eventually learned to stop asking.
As usual, she could feel the weight of the twin's gaze upon the back of her head as she descended the stairs. She didn't know what to think so far. She'd killed the rebel, one of the good guys. She fought the Agents and ran from the others, neither good nor bad. She was in the class of the Twins, still a mystery that evaded her knowledge. The stairwell echoed with the patters of their footsteps, punctuated by the metallic clang of the door opening, revealing a perfectly normal world. The fight between good and something else had went unnoticed, leaving the mall unchanged. She stepped to the side and watched the last ghostly twin emerge, peering at them expectantly. Only one looked down at her, the other's gaze seemed to be searching for some sign of more rebels or agents, yet so far found nothing threatening.
"Should we leave?" Yossi's voice came with a sigh.
"If you want, I'm sure we'll be fine here for the time being," the twin that had been scanning for something answered her. Yossi shrugged in responce, and proceeded to walk through the hall of bathrooms and back to the shops. Her dogged determination she had started out with was waning. Who could honestly, at her age, feel the same before and after killing someone, let alone someone that you believed was going to save you? Their strolling through the mall was punctuated about every five minutes, when Yossi would stop looking at the toe of her shoes, to the two twins on either side of her with a confused and strange expression which mostly went unnoticed by both. She sighed more often and wavered in her posture. At times she seemed able to pretend to be normal, at others it appeared as if she would break in two.
Finally came the food court, which Yossi was led to unknowingly. Only the smell of the various foods woke her from her then state of semi-conscienceness. Her eyes were big, dark and watery when she noticed she was standing in the line of an Asian buffet. She glanced questioningly up at the twins, still standing on opposite sides of her. Both seemed to be peering straight ahead into an alternate dimention.
Yossi wasn't particularly sure if she could stomach any type of food at the moment. Her mind kept returning to the several large holes she had blown into the chest and abdomen of Lute. The blood that coated the cement behind her, the puddle that she landed in was even more vivid now than it had been then. Her imagination was running wild. What if she had aimed a little higher and had blown Lute's hand to tiny meaty pieces?
"You dwell too often on the past, Yossi."
The voice startled her out of her reverie. She jumped, sucking in a lungfull of air.
"How would you know? You do that..stuff..so readily and relentlessly.." Yossi said with a voice thick and almost paniced. She had thought back to the twins masacre of Dice and his comrades, thinking nothing of what the twin had just stated.
"Death will quickly lose it's luster for you, we promise," it was the twin on the opposite side that talked this time, his words quickly brought Yossi's gaze to the side of his face that she could see. Her own expression was pure astonishment. He believed she would kill again? They were the fighters, not she. Her hair whipped back and forth as she fervently shook her head in disagreement.
"You're wrong.." she said forcefully, covering her face with her hands so she wouldn't have to shake her head anymore.
The line had disappeared and they were ready to take their orders when Yossi forced herself to face the world again. A groan was working it's way through her throat, so one of the twins ordered her food for her and she was led to an empty table by a white hand at her back. In a pleasant state of apathy, she numbly ate her rice and beef and broccli while the twins watched with what she believed was mild amusement.
By the time she dropped the chop sticks she was feeling a little better.
"Why do you think i'll have to kill another person?" her eyes were studying a few pieces of rice that had been pushed from her plate onto the cool plastic of the dark blue table they were sitting around.
"Techniquely, you won't have to unless we aren't around," one of them said with a smirk, "we aren't your guardians, we won't be constantly by your side for the next several years."
There was that word again. "Years". It was ominous and looming in Yossi's mind and momentarily distracted her. Besides that, she had faced several agents by herself, though she was certain she'd be dead if the twins hadn't had emaculate timing. She couldn't fool herself like that. And it wasn't exactly 'facing several agents'; she had ran like hell. Perhaps they were thinking of giving her a gun? She didn't want to question it out loud. Instead, she sighed and pushed the fallen rice around with a chop stick.
"Let's leave, i'm tired now..," Yossi rose and disposed of her trash and followed the twins all the way to a new car they must have just decided to jack. This was a felon she had gotten used to a while ago. Murder was still fresh on her list. Through the whole silent ride, she never noticed that they were en route to a new hotel, not better nor worse than the last. Her mind was pleasantly empty and she only blinked in surprise at the new building, though her interest quickly faded. She, in a rather puppy-like way, followed at the heels of the twins all the way to the top floor, to the more expensive rooms.
Upon stepping inside, she could only produce a small grin of thanks. The decorations seemed to have been arranged by a professional, very much like their first hotel. The twins didn't watch her as normal as she walked about till she found the bed, in which she quickly fell atop it. This bed wasn't like the others, stiff and over-used, smelling of bleach. The pillows were plush and promised a comfortable nights rest. She rolled over onto her stomach and tossed the decortive pillows away till she found the two softest, in which she quickly nestled her head between them. She heard one of the twins closing the curtins, but she was too tired to thank him, and sleep quickly took her into his arms.
End Note/