The End

by Justin Chiang

  Iris not only started moving again but the screen on the dashboard was showing that they were damn near there already. Maybe another two hours of driving tops. Cochran grinned ear to ear. Iris was blasting The Clashes version of Brand new Cadillac through her speakers as they headed to Abbey Downs.

  . . .

  As Anna rounded the corner she had to blink several times to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating. Before her she saw people ahead—actual people. They appeared to have a motorcycle of their own and were staring in her direction. One of them was pointing but it didn’t look like they were pointing at her. No they were pointing above her—behind her.

  The larger of the two headed towards their motorcycle then returned with a thick baseball bat. He was shouting to the smaller figure now, gesturing towards the trees. The smaller figure, a woman, wasn’t moving though. She was saying something to the man and now she was pointing at her—pointing at Anna.

  Anna whipped her head around for just a moment and nearly fell off the bike when she saw what was behind her. It was dirty and sporadic like a scene from a silent movie. The wind was whipping things around violently but there was no sound. The sky was a pale green and dead center, coming right at her, contorted a dark swarm of childlike bodies. She corrected her position and revved up the motorcycle as hard as it would go, headed towards the two figures that she now felt responsible for endangering—for leading the swarm right to them.

  Nexus

  “Once they all believed in dragons,

  when the world was fresh and young.

  We were woven into legends,

  tales were told and songs were sung.

  We were treated with obeisance,

  we were honored, we were feared.

  Then one day they stopped believing,

  on that day we disappeared.”

  – Jack Prelutsky

  Patrick joined Soleil at the edge of the forest. He still gripped the baseball bat in his hand but felt silly for doing so. The bat would be no match for the swarm that was headed towards them. There wasn’t much else to do—even retreat seemed foolish with what little fuel was left in their bike and the apparent rapidity in which the swarm was traveling towards them.

  “Patrick, what do we do?” Soleil asked. The swarm still made no sound but the approaching wind was roaring now. His brow furrowed the same way it usually did before he answered a question he didn’t know the answer to. He’d done it many times before with the members of his congregation. It was no easy task to pretend to know just what God’s will was—to answer those difficult questions. This time before he could even respond the woman on the other bike reached them.

  Seemingly in one fluid motion, Anna was on her feet running towards them and her bike was skidding across the highway. It was all she could do to yell, “Get down!” as she slammed bodily into them, knocking them all to the ground.

  Above them a massive sinuous figure swiftly approached the swarm and appeared to chomp on several of the dark things it was made up of. Ichor rained from the sky like drops of darkness as it tore into the swarm again and again with tooth and claw.

  “We’ll be more useful on the ground!” Evan shouted through the screams of the swarming winds. Belanna wrenched her head away from the fray and dove towards the trees. Leo, Finn, and Evan wasted no time dismounting the dragon as she shot back towards the swarm of darklings. Luckily, Belanna had dropped them right at the edge of the forest by several others. Two women and a tall bearded man who was holding a Louisville Slugger stared at each of them in turn with a mixture of awe and unbridled fear.

  Soleil began to swoon as the three men, soaked head to toe in dark fluid, approached. Patrick leapt to catch Soleil but—no—it was something else, she was in a trance like state but still standing. The other woman was glowing, or rather her shirt was, and now several of the dark things were landing on the road behind the three men. All at once the darklings made to attack, the three men abruptly turned to face them just as the small dark creatures were crushed beneath what looked like a silver Prius with a camera on its roof, “Danger! Danger! Danger! Danger!” poured from the cars windows and seemingly all around them from various objects in pockets or on the ground.

  The earth beneath their feet shook again just as it had the first time the dragon had landed to drop off the three men. The swarm was regrouping in the sky and darklings were landing all around them now. Evan ran towards Soleil, “Is she okay?” he shouted, “What’s wrong with her?” Patrick noticed something glowing around the man’s neck; it appeared to be a ring on a chain. What’s wrong with her? He thought What’s right with any of this madness?

  The woman from the other bike withdrew a ring from within her shirt and he saw that it, not the shirt, was glowing too. As she neared the man and Soleil all three of them began glowing brighter still, only Soleil’s light appeared to be emanating from her very skin. The darklings halted their forward progress, a few gnashing their teeth, their distorted jaws extending and rescinding like pincers. The brightness grew too great—and then all was darkness.

  Cochran stared but saw nothing. It was very disorienting. At first he thought it was only outside, that the swarm had finally descended completely onto the small group that had formed here. Here where Abbey Downs was supposed to be. But when he attempted to look at his own hand he still saw nothing. All was black—all was darkness—all was silent.

  Am I dead? He thought for a moment; then just as quick as it had come on the darkness dispersed. It was comforting to be able to see again but what appeared before him now was just as disorienting as the darkness had been. It appeared that out of the very forest grew a large intricate gate and beyond it was a town that quite frankly was not there before.

  Iris began moving towards the gate, as did the rest of the group, including what appeared to be a dragon slowly morphing into humanoid form (hot blonde humanoid form he noticed) as it went. Yep I’m dead. Just beyond the gate stood another slender blonde woman gesturing for them to join her, and this is Abbey Downs. Cochran stared up at the sky all around them, the dark things that looked like little fucked up children were gone. In fact the blue sky was bright with warm sunlight. Iris was no longer shouting warnings of Danger at him either. He sat back and enjoyed the heavenly ride.

  8

  Abbey Downs is quiet and clean and hidden once more from the darklings as they’ve come to be known. From a God’s eye view we watch now as those Tessa’s beacon was able to reach follow her to the house on top of the hill. Evan, now within the boundaries of his home town, is beginning to remember.

  He grasps the ring around his neck as they pass the spot where the library burned down. There are butterflies in his stomach when he recalls walking through the green gardens in the center of town with his mother as a child. The very gardens where his mother spoke to him about catalysis for the first time. Yes he’s beginning to remember everything again and with those memories also comes his resolve.

  The dragon girl, supported mostly by Leo, is limping slowly along when the autonomous car pulls up beside them. She gets inside with Leo with the help from a nerdy looking kid who up to this point hasn’t emerged from the vehicle. Patrick, carrying Soleil, walks briskly to the car and gets in as well. The rest continue walking in silence, even Finn, still dripping viscous fluids here and there, has failed to come up with something to say.

  Anna is following just behind the group. Unlike Evan, she doesn’t remember Abbey Downs. She also can’t peel her eyes off of the ring around his neck. The one that seemed to ignite some strange power within the one around her own neck. The one her Dad left her.

  We leave them now as they walk and ride in silence to reflect on the recent attack. Not exactly what they were expecting when they finally got to the mysterious Abbey Downs. There isn’t much to see there for now so we’ll travel ahead of them a bit to the house on the hill or rather the cavernous space beneath the house on the hill. It is there that the gentleman (and dragon) with green hair, Ozmo, is fra
ntically poring over something. It’s very bright in the normally dim cave. The large crystalline wall is glowing—its enchanted surface changing, flashing, and then changing again—something it hasn’t done in a very long time.

  Beyond the boundaries of Abbey Downs other things are changing as well. The world is no longer balanced and magic has begun infusing everything in its reach—and its reach is boundless. More and more inanimate objects have grown sentient. Nature has overlapped the previously industrialized terrains of cities and suburbs. Weather patterns all across the globe reflect all of the seasons at once, axial tilt no longer their primary driver. Science and magic have become one and the many creatures of the world have become stranger still.

  The darklings are gathering, regrouping, silently waiting for their next opportunity to strike. At the center of each is a small human child, weak and frightened, surrounded by darkness; unable to escape their control. They too grow stronger when they’re near one another and Abbey Downs won’t stay hidden forever. There are others out there but they’re still so far away and reality’s equilibrium is growing more upset with every passing moment.

  Before we return to the group from our divergence, let’s absorb what Tessa has been explaining to them within the house on top of the hill. They’re all inside now. Soleil has come to and is resting against Evan. He saw something in her during the attack he believes to be important—something worth watching over—protecting. Ozmo has joined them from below. Finn, Leo and Belanna sit together. They’re cleaner now and their wounds have been dressed. Patrick and Anna sit alone. Even Iris is there via satellite communication with Cochran’s smartphone. When Tessa speaks they all listen raptly.

  She speaks about the beginning—of Gods and balance. She explains magic, catalysis, and how its effect has grown substantially in the days preceding. She shows them the crystal shard and its abilities to further emphasize the existence of magic. Her explanation clicks instantly with Cochran as it aligns perfectly with his observations but he remains silent. They all remain silent absorbing the information they all so desperately sought since the vast majority of the world’s population vanished mere days ago. Some of what she’s told them is fact, some is speculation but in time all will be clear again.

  "So. Magic,” Cochran began after a moment of silence, “Acts like a universal API so to speak.” He received a few blank stares. “You know an application programming interface?”

  “It’s what two pieces of unrelated software use to communicate with each other,” Evan chimed in.

  “Exactly,” Cochran pointed at Evan, "Take Iris for example. It's got AI, it's powered by the sun, it has all sorts of sensors and beacons and transmitters and receivers and now with magic it's like it's alive. So, magic, is the interface—the catalyst—and all the crazy shit that’s been going on is the result.”

  “Catalysis,” Tessa nodded.

  “And we can control it?" Anna asked.

  “We could always control it. People like us anyway,” Tessa began, “But even more so now.”

  “Ever since we were kids,” Evan nodded, “But when I left Abbey Down’s it was like it was filtered—watered down.”

  “Our kind created Abbey Down’s to protect the balance of the world from us. And yes, that filter is one of its protective powers.”

  “So where did everyone go then?” Patrick asked solemnly, “Did we cause this?”

  “No,” Tessa paused for several moments, “I don’t know.” She contemplated whether or not to even mention the prophesied events but in the end decided they should hear the whole story, true or not. “There was a prophecy that our kind followed pretty closely—until it didn’t happen.”

  “What prophecy? Like an end of the world kind of thing?” Evan asked.

  “Yes. Well sort of,” Tessa screwed up her face. She went on to explain the series of events, dates, and times that were documented in the library and how each came to pass over the years. All until the last of them. The extinction of the human race at the hands of dark angels - October 1999.

  “I would hardly classify those little buggers flying about out there as angels,” said Finn.

  “Actually,” Soleil began, “I’d say that’s pretty accurate. Every time we saw them I thought of demons. Dark Angels. It’s like that black smoke is their wings.” Several of them nodded in agreement.

  “So the prophecy got the year wrong… big deal, I’d say that’s a pretty accurate description of what happened,” said Anna.

  “You’re not wrong but you have to understand. That was almost fifteen years ago, Anna. After years—no, generations—of belief and devotion and training and lives lost protecting the secrets of Abbey Downs; when October 1999 came and went and nothing happened. Nothing at all. Our people were devastated. There was a mass exodus. People gave up the teachings and left Abbey Downs.” She quickly glanced at Evan then looked away just as fast.

  “So maybe it was us after all,” said Patrick, “Our kind anyway.” Everyone turned to face him. “As a man of faith, I’ve preached for many years, and believed it too, that the devil lays in waiting. Waiting for us to lose our faith. Waiting for that moment of weakness in each and every one of us. That’s when he strikes. It starts with a seed of doubt and then...”

  “Before the world didn’t end there was already more than one translation of the prophecy,” said Tessa, “In fact, Evan, your Dad’s theory was by far the best. Come to think of it, it was the best.”

  The mere mention of his father made Evans eyes sting. He didn’t remember him and that fact always destroyed him a little inside, it also reminded him of his mom. He was glad she wasn’t here to see the world like this though. She was always such a positive influence in his life, always looking at the bright side, appreciating nature and life; every waking moment was a blessing, “What theory?”

  “There were many ideas surrounding the origin of the list. A lot of our kind just sort of accepted that things happened. You know, magic and all. His theory was a little more scientific and a lot of folks didn’t agree with it. He always stood up for it though.”

  “And he died for it,” Evan said quietly.

  “Go on,” Patrick said after a moment passed.

  “Well you see, one of the translations spoke about a great battle that happened years after the end of the world events in 1999. It said that we—our kind anyway—lost to the dark angels. It also said that the purpose of the prophecy was to prepare the future of our kind so that we wouldn’t lose again. That all fits.”

  “But then who wrote the prophecy?” Evan asked.

  “Exactly. Your father’s theory was that it involved time travel. He thought that Samael—his namesake; seeing that the battle was lost—used his remaining power to travel back to the beginning of our kind in order to better prepare a world where defeat was no longer inevitable. But in doing so, the future was changed just enough so that the events that that world’s Samael experienced in 1999 would never come to pass.”

  She turned to Patrick, “I believe it’s because of the prophecy that our kind believed for so long. The power of Abbey Down’s continued for years even after people left because of that faith. Fourteen years to be exact.”

  “I think I can shed some light on that.” Ozmo emerged from the background having remained silent up to this point. He went on to explain some of the things he’d seen in the caverns earlier that day. As the years passed and their kind grew farther and farther apart, the balance finally shifted enough that the darkness found its opportunity, its seed of doubt.

  When Tessa’s mother passed away, Tessa had sent a letter to Evan’s mom letting her know of her passing—inadvertently drawing the darkness straight to her—but it was already too late. The balance had shifted and the first victim of the darkness would be Evan’s mom. He didn’t elaborate but what Ozmo saw in the caverns showed a cloud of black smoke dropping her to her death.

  It showed the darkness feeding on the world, growing stronger in the days that followed. Feedin
g on the anger and hatred and bigotry until it grew so large that it was capable in a single instant to devour everyone. And as the world’s human population was consumed, their kind was spared. Knowing their kind could not just be absorbed—the darkness inhabited the remaining children of the world—to create a means to finish it once and for all.

  The group followed Ozmo to the caverns and saw the prophecies for themselves. What had changed was the crystalline wall, powered again by the close proximity of their kind. Tessa showed the group her shard of crystal again explaining how it had gone dark when everyone left Abbey Downs years before. Now both the wall and the crystal shard were showing flashes of worlds and lives that had come to pass—and in the end it showed only darkness.

  Cochran was examining some of the other walls and the glowing writing that appeared now and again. He chuckled. “What’s it say?” asked Anna.

  “It said everything not saved will be lost,” said Cochran.

  “I don’t see the humor,” said Anna.

  “Well if my memory serves—that’s the Nintendo quit screen message—and see this here?”

  “You mean the glyphs?”

  “Yep.”

  “You can translate that too?” asked Anna.

  “Well I mean not in some fancy archeological way or anything but check it out. What do you see?”

  “I see…. Fish,” said Finn.