Marco we've reached the end of my stress

Doni shrugged. “You can believe what you want, Nick. That doesn’t change the truth of the situation.” Emma turned away, holding back her tears that threatened to pour out at any moment. Doni took notice to Emma’s behavior and immediately rushed to her side. “Don’t tell me that this is a shock to you, Em. I thought that of all people, you would be the one person who could figure me out,” Doni said, his sarcastic tone morphing into one filled with more disappointment than anything.

Emma turned to Doni, taking deep breaths in order to keep her own feelings from bursting out of her all at once. “I can’t say that I’m surprised it’s you. I had a few gut feelings, but I really didn’t want it to be true,” she said, standing in place and staring Doni right in the eyes. “How could you do this to all of us? You destroyed so many lives and families. What could you have possibly gained from all of that?” she questioned, her anger shooting through the roof suddenly.

Doni smiled sadly. “I did it for the entire human race, Em. All everyone cared about was the next technological device. We relied on them so heavily that we became more machine and less human. Bots were taking hundreds of jobs, leaving so many out of work and without pay to feed their families. You didn’t see it but I did. If we keep relying on technology to keep us safe, one day, it’s going to end up being the end of us all. With my virus, I’ve forced people to take charge and fend for themselves since technology is against them and not with them for once in their pathetic lives. You have to understand, Em. If we kept living like we were, we would soon become machines rather than people. In my world, the weak end up dying off or fleeing, leaving only the strongest and smartest of people left. I knew you’d be among those people, Em so I figured I wouldn’t have to worry about you back at home alone. I never dreamed that you would step up and travel through the portals, though. I’m genuinely impressed by your resolve,” he complimented, trying to reach for Emma’s hands.

Emma pulled her hands away, out of his reach. “You’re doing more harm than good. How can you possibly sleep at night knowing that you have been the reason for hundreds of people being killed in horrible ways whether it is by the machines or other people who are trying to get by in your messed up world,” she growled.

“Em…” Doni whispered, sighing. “Em, this doesn’t change the fact that I love you and I want to be with you. In fact, I’m perfectly okay with all of you walking out of here right now unharmed as long as you don’t touch my computers. Em, now that you know the truth, I want to invite you to travel through the portals with me,” he asked, stepping towards her.

She stepped back, giving him the cold shoulder. “I can’t go with you. What you’re doing is completely wrong. You’re the reason my parents left me to care for myself. If it wasn’t for you, my parents could have stayed in the country with me. I might have actually had the chance to surround myself with people that love me. Instead, I’ve been starving myself every night to survive on food rations and dealing with drama between the different people in our group. I’ll never go with you,” she spat, crossing her arms.

Doni stepped back in surprise. “Em, isn’t there anything I could possibly do to make it up to you? I love you so much and I don’t want to lose you,” he said softly, holding out his hand to her once more as if she was a cat that he was allowing to sniff his hand before he pet her.

Emma forced herself to resist his persistent asking. “Can you take back everything and rewind the past?” she asked, tears finally beginning to flow from the corner of her eyes.

Doni looked hurt, wanting so badly to hold her and wipe away those tears that he never meant to cause in the first place. “If I could, I would, but it’s impossible,” he finally said.

“It’s impossible. I would have to agree with that. It’s impossible for me to be with you now that I know the truth,” Emma mumbled, clenching her fists tightly.

“I thought you loved me, Em,” Doni asked, too hurt to preach any more.

“I do love you, Doni. I will always love you, but I can’t be with you,” she said, turning her back to him and walking back to Nicholas and Claire. “We will reset the system once and for all and give the rest of the people still alive in this damn country another chance at rebuilding their lives,” she scoffed, nodding towards Nicholas. “You can either let us do it without a problem or I’ll hold you back. No matter what, we’re going to set things right.”

Doni smirked. “You break my heart. I’m afraid I can’t let you all do that though. I created that virus with my own two hands. I worked on it for months, perfecting it until it was ready.”

Claire and Nicholas made a dash for the main computer, Doni attempting to grab him and pull him down to the ground. Just as he was about to grab Nicholas, Emma dived and tackled Doni to the ground. Nicholas glanced down at Doni, watching him struggle beneath his girlfriend. “I’ll always think of you as a friend. I’m not sure hating you is possible even at this point,” Nicholas muttered, pulling out a computer drive and inserting it into the main computer’s tower.

With a great push, Doni managed to fling Emma off of him, taking off in Nicholas’s direction once more. A bot burst through the door, identifying the intruders and approaching them with a large, metal pipe with a sharp edge. Doni turned to his metallic servant, seeing exactly where he was locking his target onto. “Em! Get out of the way!” he screamed at the top of his lungs, sliding along the floor as he turned around and ran in her direction as quickly as his legs would take him. Emma, still dazed from being flung to the ground so harshly by Doni, was backed into a corner by the bot with no way to escape. She covered her eyes in fear, waiting for the excruciating pain of metal tearing through her body to signify the end of her life. Doni threw himself in front of her at the last moment, the metal rod entering through his back and exiting from his stomach, stopping in time and leaving Emma completely unscarred. Pain spread throughout his entire body, forcing him to collapse on the floor as blood gushed out of his mouth. The bot began to spasm as the antivirus Nicholas had succeeded in downloading finally took effect, a minute too late for Doni.

Claire peered around the corner of the computer to see Emma holding Dane in her arms as she sobbed uncontrollably. He was barely conscious, ready to fade away at any moment. Claire collapsed into the seat next to Nicholas who wrapped his arms around her, comforting her as best as he could manage.

Emma gazed down into Doni’s mismatched eyes, the blue fading into grey while the green became duller. “You shouldn’t have done that,” Emma said, holding him closer to her than ever.

“I guess this is some sort of justice. I’ve been destroyed by my very own creation. Besides, there was no way that I was going to let that bot hurt you,” Doni protested, his voice weak and barely audible.

“You should have,” Emma argued, seeing the pain in his eyes. “Oh, Doni…” she sobbed, leaning down to kiss him one last time. When she pulled away, he managed to force a smile.

“Don’t look so sad, Em. This was the highlight of my day,” he protested.

Emma forced a smile back, tears still flowing uncontrollably from her eyes. She knew what she was referring too. “Getting attacked with a metal rod was the highlight of your day?” she asked, playing along, letting Doni relive the day they first met one last time.

“It’s not so much the getting impaled with a metal rod rather than saving the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen from peril. Does that earn me back some brownie points? Em, will you stay my girlfriend for these last few minutes?” Doni asked.

Emma smiled, wishing inside that they could go back to their first meeting and do it all over again. She wasn’t ready to let go just yet. There were so many things that she had wanted to do and so many fights that she just wished she could take back. “Of course I’ll stay your girlfriend,” Emma answered. “Doni, without you, my life wouldn’t have been the same. I hate how you did all this and ruined all those peoples’ lives, but that doesn’t change my feelings for you. I’ll never forget when we first met, when we first held hands, when we first kissed, and all our other memories together. I…” she choked on her words, unable to continue on in fear of losing him any second. “I don’t know what I’ll do without you,” she whispered, a single tear falling from her face onto his cheek.

         Doni reached up weakly, caressing Emma’s face with his hand. She held it there for him, unable to let go. “Em, you mean everything to me. I wish we had more time together, but I’m afraid this is the last moment we’ll have to share. I’m so glad that you hit me in the head with that door that day those years ago. I want you to remember that no one could ever mean more to me than you ever did. Promise that you won’t forget about me or hate me?”

         “I promise,” Emma said, pulling him into a full embrace.

         “I’ll love you forever, my sweet Emma,” Doni said, his voice fading out and soon completely growing silent. Emma felt his heart slow and completely stop as he grew limp in her arms. She continued to cry, pulling the metal rod out of him and laying him down on the floor, a gaping hole in his stomach. After giving Doni a final kiss on the forehead, Emma stood up and walked back over to Nicholas and Claire who remained at the computers.

         Emma stood for a moment, unsure of how to react. Claire quickly stood up and pulled her into a hug, allowing her to cry on her shoulder for as long as she needed while Nicholas made the final corrections to the antivirus that he had just installed. “I’m going to reset the system completely. Are you guys ready?” Nicholas said, entering in some final coding into the system. The girls nodded as he entered in the last line of coding that he needed. With a click of a mouse, the entire system reset, the bots losing all their powers along with the portals. Dr. Wick’s creation was finally put to rest, giving Doni a bit of his wish in the end.

         “Well done. I’m impressed.” The deep voice of a man echoed as the sound of clapping entered the room. When they all looked, they were face to face with a clean shaven man dressed in a suit. “I would expect nothing less from you, Nicholas,” the man continued, stepping closer and closer to them.

         “Nicholas, who is that man?” Claire asked curiously, not sure if she should feel safe or threatened by his arrival.

         “That’s my uncle,” Nicholas said with a sigh. “What are you doing here Christopher? You went missing years ago,” he scoffed, obviously unhappy with the arrival of his relative.

         “Don’t be like that,” Christopher said, rolling his eyes as he said it. “You see, I was here assisting Dr. Wick’s team with improving the original program. We were all imprisoned though when that Donovan character took over and installed the virus after succeeding in getting past our security systems. This building echoes more than you would think. I heard voices after our cells had all been unlocked and opened so I grabbed one of the nice suits that they left laying around and came to meet whoever saved us. I didn’t expect it to be you, Nicholas. But, it would have been much more pleasant if you had been able to get here sooner rather than taking the amount of time that you did,” Christopher explained, reaching Nicholas and laying a hand on his shoulder.

         The rest of the scientists and technological workers of Dr. Wick’s old group soon burst through the same door that Christopher had, congratulating Nicholas and giving him praise for what he had accomplished. After the excitement died down, it was announced that Christopher was originally meant to be fired for thievery, but they could never find anyone skilled enough to take his place in the company. “Nicholas, you simply must join our team. We have a lot of ideas that should be put into action right away,” the scientists persisted.

         “Why does it matter if you have Nicholas on your team or not?” Claire asked confused over what was really happening. “Is he really that important?” she continued to ask.

         The scientists chuckled. “He’s very important to us, young lady. You see, if we had the grandson of Dr. Wick himself on our team, our efficiency rate would double. The entire Wick family has always had a knack for technology advancement. It’s already evident that at such a young age, Nicholas already has the Wick blood flowing through him strong and proud,” they explained.

         “Grandson?” Claire asked, turning to Nicholas. “That doesn’t make any sense. Your last name is White, not Wick,” Claire argued, her head spinning as she tried to make sense of what was going on.

         “They’re telling the truth, Claire. My father didn’t want anything to do with the Wick family after they became so rich and powerful. With money and power comes enemies and many of them so he changed his last name and moved us away from Emerson city so we wouldn’t be caught in the cross fire. I’m technically Nicholas Wick, but I really do just prefer White. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. To be honest, even I forget sometimes,” Nicholas explained.

         “What do you say Nicholas? At least join our team for a few months, and then you can pursue whatever other interests you would like. Does that sound like a deal?” the scientists asked, giving no indication that they would be giving up anytime soon. Nicholas sighed.

         “I’ll only do it for a few months,” he muttered, feeling forced into their group. He shrugged it off, realizing why his father had been so eager to change his name and move away from the rest of the Wick family. “Claire, I’ll meet you back in Coalsprings in about three months, okay? Then we can have that date that you promised me back in the school,” Nicholas said, trying his best to lighten the situation up.

         “We’ll make sure a train takes your lady friends back home since the reset of the system undoubtedly stopped the portal system from working completely,” the scientists said, eager to get back to work after years of being locked away with nothing to do but think and dream.

         Nicholas ran up to Claire, picked her up, and spun her in circles as he gave her the biggest bear hug he could manage. “I can’t wait until we see each other again,” he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek and squeezing her one last time.

         The majority of the scientists ushered Nicholas out immediately, taking him to one of the other rooms to prepare him for his three month long stay. Claire turned to Emma who was staring intently at the unmoving body of Donovan Ringler. “Do you want to come back to Coalsprings with me, Emma? I’m sure we could have a proper burial for him there if you want,” Claire said, trying her best to be helpful even though she knew she couldn’t cure a broken heart and a broken spirit.

         Emma sniffled. “That would be nice, Claire. Please, let’s do that,” she said, wrapping her arms around Claire and sobbing into her shoulder some more.

         A single scientist was left behind and cleared his throat rather loudly. “So, we’re taking you both to Coalsprings?” he asked.

         Claire took a deep breath. “We’re taking him too,” she said, pointing to Doni. “We would like him transported in a nice coffin, too. Nothing of bad quality,” she demanded.

         “I’m afraid that his body is our responsibility as of now,” the scientist argued.

         Claire narrowed her eyes. “I’m sure that Nicholas himself would appreciate it if you allowed us to give Doni a proper burial back in my home town. So, we can either do this the simpler way, or you could make me walk all around this building until I find Nicholas. If we don’t get to leave with Doni, we’re leaving with Nicholas. You can forget about your three month term of working with him,” Claire threatened, determined to help Emma get the closure she deserved.

         The scientist glared back at her and got out his phone. “Fine, we’ll get the boy a nice coffin and we’ll take him back to Coalsprings with you. Anymore requests?” he asked sarcastically.

         A devious grin spread across Claire’s face. “Actually, there is something you can do. You should put it on your list of things to do. I have three other friends that were using the portal system to get from place to place. Their names are Violet, Ulrich, and Dane. I imagine they’re out in the country somewhere. I would appreciate if you would retrieve them and fill them in on what’s going on,” Claire demanded, beginning to feel too powerful for her own good.

         The scientist gave them a quick nod and left the room to make preparations. Emma squeezed Claire tighter than ever before. “Thank you so much, Claire,” she said, grateful to have met her even in the strangest of circumstances.

         After a three day long train ride, Claire and Emma were back in Coalsprings along with the Kings siblings and Dane. They conducted a small funeral for Doni, telling the people who lived in town that he died saving the person he cared for about the most in the world, being sure to leave out the part about his other identity as the Snake. Claire wrote to Nicholas, reverting back to their pen pal ways until his three month term ended.



Dear Nick,

         I hope you’re enjoying your work with the scientists in Emerson. We had a nice funeral for Doni. Many people from town cried even though they didn’t know him personally. I figured it would be best to leave out the part about his role as the Snake, though. Emma is nice to have around for company when Violet has Dane kidnapped which is practically all the time anyway. Did I mention that they moved out of the airport and to Coalsprings with us?  Emma has been acting rather strange lately. She seems to randomly disappear at the randomness of times. She’ll go missing for a few days and then return home as if nothing happened. I’m a little worried, but I don’t want to bombard her with questions. I can hear her crying in the middle of the night over Doni. She wakes up screaming all the time because she’s reliving his death over and over again. It’s horrible.

         I realize that you’re probably much too busy to send me a letter back. I’ll just appreciate it if you read this and think about me while you’re away. You wouldn’t believe how much I miss you. Oh, by the way, I heard some families were slowly coming back to the country now that they heard the Snake threat is finally gone. I have yet to hear anything from any of our families, though. It’s only been three weeks and I already miss spending time with our entire group when we traveled together through the portals. I sometimes wish that we could go back to those days. I actually have started to wonder if there was some truth to what Doni was saying. He may have seemed crazy at the time, but the harsh conditions only helped us grow closer and stronger as a whole. As for those dreams that I kept having when we were travelling, I think they were trying to tell me that our entire journey was a chess table. In the end, someone has to be stopped. The white royalty and the black royalty cannot just live in peace with each other, I suppose. Good luck with the rest of your studies. Don’t worry yourself too much if you can’t return a letter to me because of your schedule. I love you and miss you, Nick.



-Claire



Claire waited an entire week before she received anything back. When she checked the mail, instead of an envelope in the mail slot, a package was awaiting her instead. Eagerly, she took it home and opened it to find both a disposable camera and a letter written on a napkin at the bottom of the box.



Dear Claire,



It’s nice to hear from you every once in awhile. These scientists don’t give me much to work with so I’m sneaking this small message in on this napkin I saved from lunch yesterday. I have enclosed a disposable camera for you. Be sure to take pictures of everything and send them back to me as soon as possible. You wouldn’t believe how much I miss all of you. I love you, Claire. I’ll see you in three months.



-Nick

         

I still expect that flying Rhino that you promised me for Christmas. You probably won't even get around to reading this until afterwards, though. GET ON IT MAN! Anyway, thank you for reading, Marco~ Feel free to leave your commentary with me on Skype. I'll need the constructive criticism for when I edit this. I did skip some little parts that happened in the middle so I could finish on time so I apologize. You can read them later, though. R.I.P Doni</3 I still feel so bad about killing him.