Little Too Late By the Digital Hacker

Little Too Late
By the Digital Hacker: Cyber-Mouse 9000
AKA Shadow@ngel
[email protected]
Rating: Pg 13
Summary: Memories past and withered happiness return in a nightmare or sorrow and tears.

She was gliding on a sea of hard, pitch-black water. She could feel the roar of the motor under her, and the wind running its fingers through her silky strands of hair. Her leather jacket flapping back and forth against her torso. The noise of wildlife was blocked out by her steady breathing.

She had an endless trail of highway ahead of her, calling her to ride for an eternity and never let her go. She slipped off her helmet and her locks of hair gently cascaded down. Where there was once was short hair, was long hair now tied up snugly in a fiery red ponytail to match her ruby eyes. She fluttered her eyelashes against the force of the wind, and slowed to a stop in front of an establishment. She glanced at the gas station to her left. It was the only buildings for miles around.

Might as well stop here. The place didn’t seem to shabby. It had been hours since she had her last rest stop. She was running low on gas anyway, it wouldn’t hurt to stop for even a few minutes.

The girl hopped off her motorcycle and surveyed the building. Her cold eyes wandered as she walked inside the shop, sitting down at one of the tables. The leather covering of the seats comforted her strained back.

She closed her eyes and thought back to her childhood. Her parents left her for dead. They just had to leave her alone, like the irresponsible parents they were. They never helped her with anything, college and high school tuition, school supplies, nothing. She hated them. Both of them left her. Neither were good enough to call them parents. Then, one unmistakable word sifted into her mind.

Digidestined.

She was what people called the digidestined. People talked about them all the time, but to the storytellers, they were only fairy tales and legends.

The red-headed girl thought back harder.

Names began to appear in her subconscious, and memories began to come back.

"No… I’m seventeen now. That was six years ago. Too long ago. It wasn’t real. Just dreams," she told herself, knowing that it was far from the truth.

But she could never forget. Love… She had experienced love long ago as well. But now, she didn’t even know what the word love meant.

When she was 13, she fell in love with a boy. He was everything that she wanted. She had everything that she had even wished for in a man, or boy for that matter. But she shoved him aside for the sake of the group. And that had torn her apart on the inside out.

She fell in love with that boy. (Yamato… I think. Yes. That was his name.) she thought. A waiter walked up to her and asked if he could take her order.

"No. Nothing. I’m okay. I’m just waiting for them to finish filling up the tank. Just resting a bit I guess." She looked up at the boy. He had the eyes. Just like Yamato. The eyes that just sucked you in and never let you go.

The thought nearly brought her to tears and she shrugged off the thought so she wouldn’t cry.

Six years ago, several kids got sucked into the digital world, and two years later, defeated the evil in it, saving the world. One month after, something happened. Everyone moved, one by one, to different parts of Japan. And they never saw each other again. The girl, herself was the last one to leave her home.

The girl looked outside. They were done, and the other girl filling up her tank waved to her. The girl nodded back to the other and walked outside to her motorcycle.

Why did she remember the digidestined now? After all these years?

She had sworn to forget them forever, and she had succeeded. Until now. What had brought her memory of that painful time back?

She didn’t know and she probably never would. But she could only remember Yamato. He was her first love. She never had the guts to tell Yamato she loved him. They were so perfect for each other.

But now that time was gone and it’s too late. The pain from the digital world was too much, and the girl had to get away somehow. She ran away from home, in hopes of leaving behind her inner evils. Running away. She was always running away.

She had only her motorcycle and a few bucks for gas. She rode day and night, resting only when necessary. She was still running from the evil inside of her. but it was okay. Once she started riding on her motorcycle, everything went away. Everything was gone, and all was okay.

The girl thanked the person who filled up the gas tank and gave her a tip. The girl started the motor and rocketed off toward the open road.

Yamato… She sighed.

It was her first… and only love since then.

Suddenly another motorcyclist rushed past her, and pulled ahead. The girl smiled. She considered it a challenge and she pulled forward. (Full throttle) she thought.

A sudden ecstatic feeling pulsed through her veins. It was the thrill of racing a stranger on what was her only salvation from hidden feelings. Racing on motorcycles was her only escape, and now it was her savior.

The scenery zooming past her, going so fast that everything begins to blur. And suddenly everything begins to get choppy. Like in slow motion, and you know you’ve just experienced something… of heaven. So everything disappears until there’s nothing but him…and you.

The girl looks at the person beside her. She smiled at the boy who was racing with her. And the boy turned his head and looked back at her.

She could see his eyes through his helmet. And suddenly time froze as she realized that she knew those eyes.

Her own eyes widened in shock as she realized who it was.

(Yamato…?) she thought. The boy smiled, unaware. Then when he noticed the girl’s eyes and remembered the girl.

(I know her… It’s…. no it can’t be her! It… it is her…) he thought.

Time was so slow, and they stared into each others eyes. They rode side by side. Their eyes not on the road, but on each other.

Hours seemed to pass before a blearing noise filled the air. The girl whipped her head forward and saw the truck headed straight for her bike. She didn’t even have time to scream.

The boy swerved just in time to get out of the way.

The girl smashed into the truck.

The boy came to a dangerous stop at the other side of the road. Yamato ripped off his helmet and ran over to the girl’s limp body.

The trucker finally managed to stop the truck. But it was too late. The girl was already hurt. Yamato knelt down beside the girl. Even the trucker could hear the thousand skipping beats of his broken heart. Yamato cradled the girl in his arms.

"You gotta help her!! You gotta get the phone! Call 911! SOMEONE! Please… help her…" he said, his voice cracking. He could feel her warm blood rushing down his hands through his leather gloves. The seventeen year old boy didn’t care. He just hugged her close as the trucker hovered over him, a moment before rushing back to the gas station to call 911.

Yamato held her close. Hanging tightly to her body, so that her soul wouldn’t leave. Holding her so tight. He held her until the sun went down, and until he heard the sirens of an ambulance that came too late. He held her until he felt the last beats of her fading heart.

"I love you, Sora," he whispered silently.

Sometime that night, on the local news…

"Today, a young girl identified as Sora Tokenouchi died in intensive care. With a tragic past, anyone can see why God chose to take her away from this world. With her father dead when she was six, her mother had to support the family. But as time passed, even that coudn’t support the two. This left her mother with two full time jobs. By the time she turned fourteen, her mother died of cancer. Since then Sora Tokenouchi has been reported missing by neighbors. Investigators say she left the house after her mother’s death and never came back. According to the records, she was hit by a trucker, shipping roses to an flower shop. Doctors say she never had a chance and weren’t able to save her. Her last words were, " I love him." The nurses and doctors were baffled and still aren’t able to find the meaning of her dying words. Witnesses say that before she was hit she was riding with a local boy. Yamato Ishida. Reports say she died when she was only seventeen years old."

"Tai? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Sandy, I’m fine. Why?"

"You’re crying."

"Yeah. I’m fine. I just got something in my eye. This is Reporter Tai Kamiya for JND News. Thank you and Goodnight "

"EVERYTHING YOU WANT"
By the group, Vertical Horizon

Somewhere there's speaking
It's already coming in
Oh and it's rising at the back of your mind
You never could get it
Unless you were fed it
Now you're here and you don't know why

But under skinned knees and the skid marks
Past the places where you used to learn
You howl and listen
Listen and wait for the
Echoes of angels who won't return

Chorus
He's everything you want
He's everything you need
He's everything inside of you
That you wish you could be
He says all the right things
At exactly the right time
But he means nothing to you
And you don't know why

You're waiting for someone
To put you together
You're waiting for someone to push you away
There's always another wound to discover
There's always something more you wish he'd say

But you'll just tight
And watch it unwind
It's only what you're asking for
And you'll be just fine
With all of your time
It's only what you're waiting for

Out of the island
Into the highway
Past the places where you might have turned
You never did notice
But you still hide away
The anger of angels who won't return

I am everything you want
I am everything you need
I am everything inside of you
That you wish you could be
I say all the right things
At exactly the right time
But I mean nothing to you and I don't know why
And I don't know why...
Why..?
...I don't know

In case you people are confused, Sora said that her parents left her to fend for herself. Technically, it’s true because they died. And Tai became a reporter when he grew up. So yeah. Anyway, the song under the story went perfectly with it. So I just posted it. Tell me what you think! Mail me at [email protected] . I gave it to Amber to review it and she said it was okay. I guess I'll take her word for it, because she knows what she's doing.