It had been a few weeks since the Nebuchadnezzar had left Zion. Mary was impatiently awaiting the return of the hovercraft, because she couldn’t wait to hold her Mouse again. When the hovercraft departed a month ago, she hadn’t had a good feeling about it. She suspected that the mission to rescue the One would not be easy. At the same time, she knew Mouse could help Morpheus with the search, and so she hadn’t stood in his way.
Finally, the day came when news spread through Zion that Morpheus had saved the One, and that the Nebuchadnezzar was heading for the gates of the last human city. Like hundreds of others, she rushed to welcome the crew. Many people had also brought gifts for the celebration. When Neo stepped off the hovercraft alongside Trinity, the sound of jubilant cheers echoed through Zion. Could this man really save humanity and stop the approaching war?
But Marx did not cheer—she anxiously scanned the crowd for Mouse. Just a few seconds after Morpheus, Tank came out with him. They were carrying out a stretcher, with someone lying on it. The fear was indescribable. Marx quickly pushed her way through the crowd as Morpheus and Tank brought out more bodies. And then she saw it. Mouse’s lifeless body. This couldn’t be true…
“No!” she screamed, throwing herself toward him. Tears streamed down her pale face—more than just a few, but entire waterfalls.
She clutched Mouse’s body tightly, as if trying to wake him. She couldn’t breathe, choking on her own breath, oblivious to everything around her. She heard nothing and no one. Only a dull roaring in her ears, drowning out her senses. Tears fell onto Mouse’s body, cold as ice. Almost as if she were embracing a stone.
“Come on, damn it, wake up!” Marx sobbed between words. “Wake up!”
“I’m so sorry, Marx. Mouse was a hero until the very end,” Morpheus knelt beside her. But she didn’t notice him. She didn’t even look at him. And even though it was Morpheus who had persuaded Mouse that he could help save Neo, she felt no hatred or bitterness toward him. She knew Mouse had to leave with the Nebuchadnezzar. Still, she had prayed every day for Mouse and the others to return alive.
And now he was gone. Forever…
Marx clutched Mouse’s hand tightly as memories of their shared moments rushed through her mind. Their first meeting, the time he brought her the first meal after her extraction, the first time he made her laugh. Now it was all gone. Like the illusions he so often philosophized about.
It was so hard to catch her breath. Almost as if Marx had to learn how to breathe all over again. She trembled, fighting the urge to vomit.
“Please… Please! How could you leave me here?!”
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