One-Shot Collection - Keanu Reeves.

- 𝙉𝙚𝙤 𝘼𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 -

   

  "This better be the place" I sigh to myself.

     I stand outside of a eerie two story apartment building. It's the bad side of town, most of the building abandoned and now housing parties of homeless people. You may be asking, "What are you doing in the bad side of town in the pouring rain at 11 pm?". I'm looking for Neo. The Neo. I've spent months tracking him, going around in circles looking for him. It was nearly impossible trying to track him down, but he fortunately left his IP address open to anyone who knows a thing or two about computer hacking.

     I pull my soaking hoodie farther over my head, trying to save any dry hair I have left. I walk up the steps, walking into the run-down apartment building. The door inside the lobby is wide open, letting anyone in. I walk through the lobby, trying to locate the stairs. What if he doesn't want to help me? What if he thinks I'm a joke?. I find the stairs, climbing them. I'm led through a dingy hallway, the once white walls now stained yellow with nicotine and age. My eyes wander past the doors, looking for a number 3 apartment. I reach the end of the hall, my wet converse slapping against the concrete. I stop at the apartment, gathering my nerves. This is it. This man will decided if i make it or not. I take a deep breath, pulling my hoodie down to reveal my wet, slick hair. Strands of my hair stick to my neck, my fingers prying them away from my skin. I ball up a fist, knocking on the wood door. The copper 3 stares back at me as moments pass. I can hear a small crash behind the door, a male voice swearing under his breath.

     The door swings open, revealing a tall man. He's dressed in black jeans and a navy t-shirt. His black hair is pushed back, eyes tired. He scans me up and down, examining me. "What do you need?" he says in a stern tone. My eyes wander past his shoulder, quickly looking at his apartment. Computers are scattered across the small apartment, a bed in the far corner. You'd think a notorious computer hacker would live a bit more lavishly. I look back at him, his expression getting more stern by the second. "I need your help" I says, straightening my jacket. He laughs a little, showing his straight white teeth. "Listen, I think you have the wrong place, and unless your offering money I can't help you" he begins to shut the door, my hopes slowly dying. "It's about the matrix" I say sternly, stopping the door with my hand. The stays still for a moment, the man behind it pondering. The door slowly opens back up, letting my hand drop to my side. Neo looks at me with a different look in his eyes, brows furrowed and thinking. "What do you know" he replies, fully swinging the door open. "Enough that you probably need my help just as much as I need yours" I say, crossing my arms.

      He signals for me to come in, closing the door behind me. I get a full view of the apartment, noticing soda cans and lying around. A small kitchen corners the apartment, low lighting casting across the apartment. My attention draws to the multiple computers in the middle of the apartment. Wires tangle everywhere, almost too much to be a hazard. I walk up the computers, running my fingers around the multiple keyboards. I turn around, looking at him. "Who are you?" he says in defense, putting his hands across his chest. "Want my real name or fake name?" I say with a laugh. He rolls his eyes in response. "You may know me as Vore, my work gets around" I say, turning my attention back to the computers. I dust off the top of one of the computers, dust collecting on my hand. "You're Vore?" he asks, a fan girl tone in his voice. "Yeah, that's my name, don't wear it out" he makes a sigh noise, rubbing his temples. "Why do you need my help?" "Because" I say, turning to him and walking close to him. He shifts, uncomfortable. His brown eyes search mine, looking for something. "You are the closest person I've come across that is close to cracking the matrix...other then me" I add.

     I can see a feeling rise in his eyes. He must think I'm crazy. He aggressively sighs, shaking his head. "This is crazy, I don't even know you" he says, unrelenting. I turn away, slumping my shoulders. I walk over to his computers, sitting at the desk chair. Sticky notes are stuck to some of the screens, messing writing across them. Some of the notes contain names, large amounts of money written beside them. People must owe him a lot of fucking money. He probably illegality hacks for money. I look at the note that's stuck against the main screen. A long number code is messily printed, almost filling half of the yellow piece of paper. "What are you doing?" he asks, walking over to where I sit. I lean in, grabbing the sticky note. "This code, where did you get it?" I mutter, turning to him. He looks at me confused "Why do you care?". His eyes follow me as I pick up a pen off the desk, writing on the sticky note. I write a series of numbers from memory, quickly jotting them down. I put down the pen, looking at the numbers I just added to the code. My eyes meet his, our minds thinking the same thing. He leans over me, unlocking his computer and hitting a series of keys on the keyboard.

     A blank black screen is pulled up, a neon green key finder blinking back at me. I type in the sentence of the long numbers, finally hitting enter. My heart races in my chest, anxiety washing over me. The numbers disappear, returning to a blank black screen. I take my hands away from the keyboard, searching for my sudden error. "What did you do?" he asks, crouching beside me. The keys start to press themselves, a neon green sentence starring back at us two. Our eyes watch the sentence type itself out, filling the screen. The keyboard stops, the screen looking back at us.

    

      "You have cracked the Matrix. Welcome."

"Neo..." I whisper. My heart drops in my stomach, my lips parting slightly in awe. I turn my head to look Neo. His eyes are searching, eyebrows furrowed. He shifts his searching gaze to me, looking into my eyes. His chest is breathing heavily. "Vore" he responds.

     "I think we just got in"

     "I think so too"