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FOLLOW THE NOSFERATU
* CHAPTER 1 * - Rainfall
* 10 * - The Aftermath
NOS / MATRIX / FENCE / CRYSTAL:
Startled by hearing JAYMAN's voice instead of FALL's, CRYSTAL's eyes narrow.
Damn, my misgivings were right indeed... Agents? Sentinels?
"We have a problem." JAYMAN announces.
You're not the only one, CRYSTAL wants to answer, but his serious tone tells her to forget
the remark.
"What is it?" CRYSTAL stops at the chain-link fence and sighs, looking at ANDY.
NOS / CORE / JAYMAN:
Finding CRYSTAL and ANDROMEDA in the Matrix, as they stand beside the chain-link fence behind
the old apartment building, Captain JAYMAN suddenly notices his stained fingers on the keyboard.
Blood stains...
Staring at his upturned palm, he answers CRYSTAL bluntly.
"Fall's dead..."
Quickly, JAYMAN returns his focus to the raining iridescent symbols.
"Return to the third floor exit. I'm aborting the mission."
With his blood-stained fingertips, JAYMAN hits the switch to cut the line.
NOS / MATRIX / FENCE / CRYSTAL:
Trying to grasp JAYMAN's words, shocked, CRYSTAL widens her eyes with horror, drops her jaw, and
clings to the chain-link fence in order not to faint. Without noticing, she drops her phone. Finding it impossible to
believe what she just heard, she stares at the ground, and utters, "No..."
NOS / MATRIX / FENCE / ANDROMEDA:
While CRYSTAL speaks on the phone, ANDY looks at her, and fiddles with her sleeve, under which she holds
her gun concealed. Every few seconds, ANDY glanced sideways, making sure no one is trying to sneak up on them. Then
CRYSTAL drops the phone and clanges to the fence as if it is her only link to life. What the hell?
ANDY picks up the phone and holds it to her ear while gripping CRYSTAL's hand.
"Hold on, Fall, I'll call you back," ANDY says, aiming her words at the operator on the other side of the line,
and she closes the line. Now, with both hands free, she has time to figure out what's wrong with CRYSTAL.
"Crys? Crystal? What's wrong?" ANDY asks her, one hand holding her arm, the other holding her palm,
like her superior here was nothing but a frightened child.
NOS / MATRIX / FENCE / CRYSTAL:
Suddenly, seeing everything blurred, CRYSTAL closes her eyes for a moment, tightening her grip on the
chain-link fence.
No, this can't be true... Not again... Why doesn't the pain stop at last...?
Hearing ANDY's voice as if it comes from the distance, CRYSTAL feels like drowning. Inhaling deeply,
she leans on the fence. ANDY's hands supporting her, CRYSTAL feels her worry, which surprises her after ANDY's recent,
strange behaviour.
After a long minute of dizziness, CRYSTAL's vision clears, as the first shock slowly passes by. She
looks at ANDY, blinking.
"Fall... Fall is dead..." CRYSTAL utters, her voice is filled with pain, disbelief, fear, and desperation.
"The captain is aborting the mission."
NOS / MATRIX / FENCE / ANDROMEDA:
"Fall... Fall is dead..." CRYSTAL says, her voice lacking its usual essence.
ANDY's grip on CRYSTAL's hand and shoulder weakens at once. ANDY looks at CRYSTAL with suspicion,
as if trying to figure out where the funny part of the joke fits in. ANDY recoils and turns her head away from CRYSTAL,
her eyes searching for something else to fix on, but failing to find such a thing.
What happened?
The question is on the tip of her tongue, but she remains silent.
And what will you do now? ANDY asks herself next, and answers by picking up the phone
and dialing the CORE. As she does this, ANDY leans her back on the fence and motions to CRYSTAL to do the same.
ANDY tightens her free hand around one of her guns, but keeps her face blank and calm, shutting out any thought
of what she just heard.
NOS / CORE / JAYMAN & VERITAS:
Cutting the line to quickly take care of VERITAS, Captain JAYMAN checks the code once more to
confirm there are no hostile forces. Satisfied, he leaps out of the chair and dashes around the suspension chairs to the
young soldier, kneeling and sobbing on the blood-spotted floor.
VERITAS sobs softly, "I killed her... I killed her..."
As JAYMAN helps her to her feet, he tries to reassure her, "There was nothing else you could've done...
She was going to kill Andy... You saved Andy's life."
With bloodshot eyes, VERITAS looks up sharply at him, "That's a lie! I didn't have to kill her! I could've
stopped her without killing her!"
JAYMAN shakes his head, "You don't know that," and meets her sharp gaze. "Fall was strong... and fast...
Killing her may have been the only way to stop her from killing Andy."
VERITAS opens her mouth to disagree, "But--"
But JAYMAN stops her. "You saved Andy's life... and maybe even Crys' life... I have no doubt of that...
And when we tell Andy and Crys what happened, I'm sure they won't have any doubt either..." JAYMAN supports VERITAS
as she regains her steady footing, and asks her, "Will you be okay in your quarters?"
Hesitantly, VERITAS nods.
"Good," JAYMAN offers a soft smile, "Let me bring back Crys and Andy... and whenever you're ready,
we can talk."
With a slight sob, VERITAS nods once more.
As VERITAS makes her way down the corridor, JAYMAN turns and winces at the still-shocking sight of
FALL's torn and twisted body. In the next moment, he strides to his nearby quarters, grabs one of his folded gray blankets,
and striding back to FALL, he shakes the blanket open. Flapping it to its full length, he bends to drape it over FALL's legs
and chest. And before covering her childlike face, he lowers himself on one knee, and with his trembling fingers, closes her
lifeless brown eyes for the last time.
As JAYMAN pulls the blanket over her, all of the intense emotions of the day -- all of his pains and fear,
his duties and responsibilities, his loneliness and losses -- all of it returns and washes over him like an unstoppable flood...
And in the harsh emptiness of the Nosferatu, JAYMAN finally and faintly weeps.
NOS / MATRIX / FENCE / CRYSTAL:
Taking a deep breath , CRYSTAL thinks of FALL one more time.
She wasn't the kindest person in the world, but she didn't deserve death at such a young age...
What happened?
Getting over the sudden shock and pain, pulling herself together, trying to regain her firm manner,
CRYSTAL turns to ANDY to tell her what to do next... But she realizes that ANDY's behavior has returned to her recent
annoying one... As ANDY leans on the fence, she motions CRYSTAL to do the same and begins to make a call
to the Nos, with such a calm expression like everything was okay, that CRYSTAL's anger rises again.
With flashing eyes, she grabs the phone out of ANDY's hand, and looks daggers at her.
"Damn you!" CRYSTAL yells at her. "How can you be so insensitive? Don't you think that Jay has
enough troubles even without your call now? Will you bother him with something that isn't necessary at all?
Or is it about your childish games again... playing superior..."
In her right hand, her tense grab strengthens on the laptop, almost breaking its
plastic surface.
"You think I haven't noticed, huh?" CRYSTAL's eyes fix on ANDY. "I know you aren't satisfied with
your position... But I'll tell you something." She leans closer to her, looking right into the lieutenant's eyes.
"A real soldier never acts the way you do... These foolish games you play could endanger any mission...
And the lives of your crewmates..."
After a short tense silence, she pulls back, still furious, and glances at the building.
CRYSTAL turns her look back at ANDY, her voice getting somewhat calmer. "I don't care if you have no
emotions... No one expects you to mourn Fall or anyone else..." CRYSTAL snaps at ANDY, "But at least pay
attention to the others who have some human feelings, and don't make their situations even more difficult..."
Then CRYSTAL firmly announces, "And now, as I'm still your superior, like it or not, you will do what I tell
you... What the captain ordered us to do... We're going back to the exit on the third floor. The mission is aborted."
NOS / MATRIX / FENCE / ANDROMEDA:
ANDY looks at CRYSTAL with her blank expression, her left eyebrow rising a little as evidence to
her growing anger. Crystal stands there, shouting and assuming, and worst of all, she accuses me of
caring more about my rank than about my crewmates!
ANDY exhaled sharply. At least I know better than to break like a sobbing child in public,
attracting attention, endangering myself and my crew!
Despite the rage rising in her, ANDY does nothing but waits for CRYSTAL to finish.
When she does, ANDY steps away from the fence, and slowly walks towards CRYSTAL.
"You..." ANDY says, "You think you got it all figured out, but you don't."
"Don't answer me, Crystal," ANDY spits the name as if it's bitter in her mouth. "We don't have
time for mourning or bickering right now. I was about to call Jay to make sure he was ready to make the call.
It's procedure. Now are you going to follow it, or should I?"
And with that, ANDY turns her head toward the way they came. But, as much as she wants to just
leave CRYSTAL here, ANDY doesn't move. Her features are still calm, but her eyes and tightly shut jaw give more
evidence to how angry she has become.
But now is not the time for this. I hope we didn't attract any attention with this... behavior.
NOS / CORE / JAYMAN:
Buzz! As JAYMAN weeps, the familiar headset buzz of a Matrix call pulls him up from the drowning
depths of sorrow.
Buzz! Wiping his tears away, he rises and rushes in sudden concern to the operator chair.
Shit! Did I miss something? Why is Crys calling?
Buzz! JAYMAN hits the receiving switch, scans for CRYSTAL and ANDROMEDA, and swiftly locates them
in the Matrix, still standing beside the chain-link fence instead of returning to the old apartment building.
"Captain here!" he utters. "What's wrong?"
But there is no direct answer. Instead, he catches CRYSTAL's furious voice.
CRYSTAL: "...your childish games again... playing superior..."
What the shit? Are they arguing?
Shock hits JAYMAN as each word, each phrase, each sentence, filters from the cellphone into his
headset. In the six years he's known CRYSTAL, he can't remember the last time he saw her so wild, so furious...
ANDY: "Don't answer me, Crystal..."
And in the four years he's known ANDY, he can't remember the last time he saw her so disobedient, so
disrespectful...
Procedure? They aren't even in the building yet!
"Goddammit!" he shouts at their coded images. "I can hear you! Answer the damn phone!"
JAYMAN moves to call ANDY on her cellphone, but stops himself. While the dark clouds, the hazy rain,
and the alleyway shadows provided CRYSTAL and ANDY with ample cover, the cellphone ring could attract the unwanted
attention of plugged pedestrians, and do more harm than good.
He decides to wait a little longer. But how long?
"Goddammit!"
NOS / MATRIX / ALLEY / CRYSTAL:
"I guess there's a problem with your hearing," CRYSTAL sneers, throwing her calmer but still furious look at
ANDY.
How does Andy, a lieutenant, come to snap at me, her superior, in this way?
CRYSTAL repeats slowly but sharply, "I said... the captain aborted the mission."
Then CRYSTAL emphasizes her words, "He clearly ordered us to go back... and he wasn't taking 'no' for
an answer... Is it so difficult for you to grasp? If Jay told us to go back, he's surely keeping things under control. There's no
reason to doubt his words." She is definitely upset.
Damn, we don't have time for this...
"It's 'nice' that you have so much trust in our captain..." CRYSTAL adds then shrugs. "Anyway, I
don't care what you do... I'm going to obey the order..." She turns to the old building.
"I advise you to do the same..." CRYSTAL notes and heads back towards the narrow passage from which
they came.
NOS / MATRIX / ALLEY / ANDROMEDA:
Blood pulsing in her veins, her hand growing white from the intensity of grasping her gun, ANDY tightens
her teeth together and says nothing.
Clearly, there's a misunderstanding here. She seems to think I know everything that she does
without telling me. Never mind now.
ANDY turns and follows CRYSTAL back the way they came, her steps stiff with unleashed rage.
NOS / MATRIX / ALLEY / CRYSTAL:
Still annoyed by her quarrel with ANDY, CRYSTAL quickens her steps toward the passage,
her left hand on her black laptop, and her right hand still holding the cellphone she grabbed from ANDY's
hand minutes ago. She can hear ANDY's footsteps behind her.
Damn, maybe I was too harsh to her... CRYSTAL wonders with a desperate sigh.
I haven't yelled at anyone with so much anger since God knows when...
CRYSTAL is about to put her cellphone back into her coat pocket, when her eyes meet its lighted
neon-green display. Oh my God... Eyes widening with shock, she swallows. The line is open...
The Nos is connected to them... Jayman is on the other end of the call... Damn...
CRYSTAL takes a deep breath, pulling her thoughts together, and holds the little communication
device to her ear.
"Nos?" she utters, trying to sound calm.
Jay might have heard the whole conversation between me and Andy... the hell...
I wish it wasn't true...
"Crystal here. We're going back to the third-floor exit."
She wishes JAYMAN would acknowledge this strange call in silence. God, please...
CRYSTAL closes her eyes for a moment, biting her lower lip, praying for him to close the line.
She hears her own breathing in the dead silence... The line is still live... But there's no answer from him...
Though he's still in the other end of the line...
CRYSTAL sighs, both relieved and uncomfortable.
Hey, this is what I wanted after all... No answer from him... But this isn't that silence...
not the expected one... He should have acknowledged my words in silence and closed the line... But he didn't do that...
rather stayed online... waiting... but for what?
CRYSTAL holds the line for another moment, then closes it herself.
Sighing, she continues her way toward the passage.
NOS / CORE / JAYMAN:
His dark tired eyes focussed on the flickering bright-green images, Captain JAYMAN anxiously waits for
CRYSTAL and ANDROMEDA a little longer.
Through his headset, he hears CRYSTAL sneer at ANDY, "Anyway, I don't care what you do...
I'm going to obey the order... I advise you to do the same..."
"Finally!" JAYMAN hisses under his breath, as he sees them return in the rain, to the
partially-boarded window.
But unexpectedly, he hears CRYSTAL's voice, "Nos? Crystal here. We're going back to the third-floor
exit."
Caught by surprise like a fly in a spider's web, JAYMAN sits in sudden silence, not knowing whether to
acknowledge her... or... It doesn't matter. A few moments later, CRYSTAL closes the line. And a few minutes after that,
they reenter the old apartment building.
Why did I freeze? What just happened?
JAYMAN monitors the first floor, the stairs, and the third floor, as CRYSTAL and ANDY return to the
apartment in silence.
Andy almost died... Crys almost died... Fall almost killed them... And now, Fall is dead...
Because Veritas saved them...
JAYMAN transmits the signal to ring the old black phone.
Buzz! The buzz in his headset mirrors the ring of the black phone.
Buzz! Like in their rescue missions, ANDY lets everyone go first before she exits.
Buzz! CRYSTAL picks up the receiver.
How should I tell them? What should I tell them?
Quietly, JAYMAN leaves his chair and prepares to unplug CRYSTAL. He glances down at FALL's
blanket-covered body. He whispers, "She... She just wanted to go home."
And he presses the on-screen "EXIT" button.
END CHAPTER
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