Chapter 2:
The semi came pulling into the parking lot directly across from where he was parked….
Right next to his beloved fallen Knight. A warrior to say the least.
KITT's frame shook with rage. He was not about to let Michael's death be for nothing. They came here to stop a criminal act. Michael's life was taken to prove the fact.
Clouds began to roll in. Low growling thunder could be heard…..
And then…it poured.
'How fitting for a moment like this.' KITT thought sadly to himself as a virtual tear rolled down.
Suddenly, the sound of a bloody murder scream cut through the air like a knife. KITT began to tremble again, for he knew who made that scream.
It was Bonnie, followed closely by Devon and a medical team. Bonnie reached Michael first and collapsed to the slightly muddy ground. She was shaking and crying badly.
"OH MY GOD!" She sobbed. "MICHAEL!" She wrapped her arms around his still body. Not caring if she got blood on her clothes.
Devon came up beside her at that moment, hugging her. Tears streaming down his face as well and turning into soft sobs. KITT watched as the medical team tried to pull Bonnie off of the man, but she wouldn't let go. Devon finally managed to get a hold of her trembling frame and held her as the medical team assessed the situation. One good look at Michael, and it was clear on the man's face that Michael was dead.
And there was no bringing him back.
Bonnie screamed again. Devon was struggling holding her back.
They loaded Michael into the back of their vehicle and shut the doors.
KITT began to cry at the scene. Who couldn't help it with all of the helplessness he was seeing.
It was really over. All of it.
No more Michael. No more long drives to help clear his mind. No more chess matches. No more of their favorite game, "guess the name of that song" while on their way to a mission. No more bailing him out of tough situations. No more helping him win at poker. No more crazy ideas of how to solve a problem. Nothing.
No more. It was over.
KITT shuddered. It couldn't be over…not now…
It's not supposed to be this way. He is supposed to be here, by his side or in his driver's seat, telling him how good of a job they did and how proud he was of him on their mission. Then when they get home, Devon will talk to Michael in his office, the familiar grumble under Michael's breath will happen, before he reappears back in the garage saying, "Alright buddy, Devon has another one for us. Let's go!"
Maybe this is all just a dream….
Yes! That's it! It's just a dream. Everything is perfectly normal. He just needs to wake up, that's all.
'But…it isn't a dream. Michael…gone..'
Without thinking, KITT turned on his powerful engine, and slowly backed away from where his beloved comrade just laid, and gunned his engine out of the parking lot at full speed. He heard Bonnie and Devon call after him, but he didn't give a shit anymore.
"This isn't happening…..this isn't happening…" KITT panicked as he drove through the late afternoon LA traffic.
"None of this is real….nothing is real…Michael….He's alive…yeah, yeah! He's alive. He'll be waiting for me at the mansion. He's not dead." KITT was turning mental before his very own virtual eyes.
But this is what comforted him right now. His babbling.
He knew he would have to face the realization by some point, but he figured if he ran, then he wouldn't have to deal with all the shit of finding a replacement and such.
"They'll never replace you Michael. Not with any fucking candidate! Good or bad! No one will replace you!" He was so busy in his own little demented world, that he never saw the family crossing the sidewalk…
KITT stomped on his breaks, but there wasn't enough time.
The smallest child, a little girl, only about 2 years of age, collided chest first into KITT's prow. Her parents screamed as did her siblings. KITT froze.
"No…no…I-I couldn't have just…" He trailed off as the realization kicked in.
Not only had he lost a very important piece of himself, but he had also taken another's life.
"WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?!" KITT screamed into the dusk sky. Not caring at all if he just revealed himself to strangers. What could be worse? Being put into an impound lot for eternity? Being on the run for the rest of his computer life? Having to stay in hiding all the time?
'No. There isn't anything worse' KITT thought coldly to himself.
Police sirens could be heard in the distance. He quickly pulled away from the poor scene of the family clutching their dead daughter in their arms, and resumed his endless journey. While he was driving he recalled what Michael had said on their first mission together when he first experienced the cop's wrath.
"Why do I feel like I won't see the last of those guys?" KITT found himself caught into a mad laughing fit for no reason.
He wasn't the same anymore. He changed dramatically. He was a new AI now. On the run for something he couldn't have controlled.
Or did he?
Oh well, it doesn't matter anymore. Nothing could catch him now. He was on his own….
For good.
KITT continued to race down the highway like a bullet, all the while laughing evilly into the sky.
No turning back now.