by R J Johnson
She nodded, and he smiled, patting her on the back.
“Then it’s all right. Whatever my fate, I promise you, I’m not afraid. Ever since Helen died, I just can’t seem to care much about death.”
Emily looked at him, surprised by the attitude.
“Why do you say that?”
He shrugged. “Because I figure, the way this universe is set up, it runs on novelty. You, me, Helen, Alex, we’re all novel inventions of the universe. Our experiences are essencially the universe experiencing itself. That leads me to believe that Helen is still somewhere. Call it heaven, hell, the afterlife, whatever it is, I think all of our lives mean something.”
Emily examined Ted for a moment, smiling.
“What?”
“Nothing, it’s just…” Emily sighed, the memories washing over her. “You remind me of Alex.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said smiling. He reached out and squeezed Emily’s hand. “Let’s try another mile and then we’ll turn back. Sound good?”
She nodded, her feet aching and thinking hard about the comfortable couch back at the cabin. “Why not?”
He smiled and turned back to the road ahead, his shoes kicking up small pufts of dust. Emily was about to follow him when she heard a slight cry of help.
She turned, looking for the source of the sound, but there was nothing.
Emily moved to follow Ted when she once again heard a cry for help, and this time, she was able to determine the direction of the sound. She turned and began stumbling through the forest, trying to catch the sound once again.
Ted turned back to see if Emily was still following him when he noticed she had gone off the path.
“Em?” he called out after her. “Where ya goin’ hun?”
She ignored him, still intent on the sound of the cries for help. She picked up speed, running through the forest when she exited into a meadow, a large tree that had died several years ago standing in the middle all by itself.
“Emily!” Ted cried out after her. “Where are you going?”
The echoes of the crying child faded and Emily looked around her, confused. “Where was that coming from?”
Ted caught up to her, touching her shoulder gently, “Emily?”
She came out of her trance, startled to see Ted standing next to her.
“Emily?” he asked, looking at her. “Are you all right? Maybe we should get you home.”
She looked around, as if surprised to see where she was. “I suppose so, yeah…”
They began walking through the meadow heading back to Ted’s home when she spotted something on the side of the hill. Without explaination, she turned and began running toward it, a woman on a mission.
“Emily!” Ted shouted after her. “What are you doing?”
This time, she ignored him, running as fast as she could to the glint of light she had seen. Until she had reached it, she hadn’t quite believed it to be possible. Of all the places in the world, there was a crystal chamber here.
Emily slowed as she approached the chamber door, amazed by its beauty. It looked exactly the same as the one she had entered in Joshua Tree.
She swallowed, thinking of the first time she had seen one of the Patron’s crystal chambers, humbled by the idea that humanity wasn’t alone in the universe. Now, it meant the difference between life and death for her and humanity.
She reached forward, unsure if she should enter it and take the stone within. It could mean the difference between Alex surviving or not.
She reached forward, and touched the cool crystal surface, tears streaming down her face as she did so. She felt the same charge she had felt when touching or using the stones before, and it was so familiar, she couldn’t help but think of Alex and where he was right now.
Ted had caught up to her, his eyes going wide at the crystal door perfectly shaped for a human being.
“Whoa…” Ted exclaimed, looking at the chamber. “What on earth is that?”
“Nothing on Earth like it…” she whispered in response.
“Is this…” Ted started, looking around them in wonder. “Is this…”
“Yes,” she finished for him. “It’s a crystal chamber. It should have one of the twelve stones within which means, we still have a chance to stop Kline!”
She turned to Ted, looking excited. “We have to get back to the house. I have to tell Scott and Christina what we found.”
Ted smiled, somewhat bemused by her enthusiasm, “Lead the way.”
Chapter Fifty-Four
Kline emerged from the portal, still licking his wounds from the last fight with the Old Man. There was no other priority in his mind than to stop Alex McCray.
And the only way to do that was to kill Alex when he was not a threat, and not expecting it. Once that had happened, Kline could return to his present, and begin his plan to reshape humanity in his image.
He stepped off the sidewalk, and into the light Onyx village traffic. A large pickup honked its horn at Kline, but he ignored the sound, instead flicking his fingers at the two-ton pickup.
The truck went flying, crashing into the side of a nearby building, the horn now sounding nonstop as the driver slumped over, hitting the horn.
Kline entered the general store, and looked around, seeing the clerk who had rushed to the window to see what the crash had been about.
“The McCray family. Where do they live?” he demanded to the clerk.
“Phone book’s in the back,” the clerk waved absentmindedly to Kline, pointing to the rear of the store. He continued to peer out the window, as police and an ambulance pulled up, the blue and red lights lighting up the interior of the store.
“Much obliged,” Kline responded, with a smile. He moved to the back, and opened up the telephone book, something he hadn’t seen in ages. He ran his finger through until he found the right page, and entry.
There was only one McCray family in Onyx, and Kline intended to take that number down to zero. He tore the page out of the book and exited the store, ignoring the clerk who watched him, his mouth still agape at the crash.
Chapter Fifty-Five
Emily burst in the door of their cabin in Onyx.
“I found it!” she screamed into the empty living room. “Guys! You guys! I found the chamber!”
Her friends were nowhere to be found however, and she went upstairs to the bedroom they had been sharing and began pounding on the door. “You guys, get dressed, I found the chamber!”
A red-faced Scott opened up the bedroom door, looking frazzled, a t-shirt halfway pulled on.
“What’s goin on?” he asked, looking less than thrilled at Emily’s appearance. “You couldn’t have waited another five minutes?”
“Like you were gonna last five minutes,” Christina called out. She pulled the sheets up over her body and waved her friend in. “What’s up?”
“You guys,” Emily entered the room, out of breath, with a slightly crazed look in her eye. “I found the crystal chamber.”
Christina sat up, “You serious?”
“As a heart attack,” she answered. “The last stone. The one Alex uses to heal you,” she nodded to Scott. “I’m pretty sure we just found it.”
“We?” Scott asked, looking confused.
Ted poked his head into the room, adding to Scott’s embarrassement. “Me.”
“Jesus Em,” Scott leapt back to stand in front of Christina to try and protect her modesty (of which she had none). “You couldn’t warn us.”
“Save it,” Emily said. “Get dressed. We need to go get the stone before Kline does.”
“What if we’re supposed to leave it alone?” Christina asked. “What if Alex is supposed to find it?”
Emily shook her head. “Not possible.”
Scott nodded, “It’s true. Apparently he found it while panning for gold in the stream. It wasn’t in a chamber. So wherever it came from, it had already been retrieved from the chamber.”
“Then what are we wa
iting for?” Christina asked, jumping out of bed. Ted turned red and turned around while Christina put on her pants and a Ramones t-shirt.
Emily grinned, and turned to leave the house when a sharp pain stabbed at her abdomen. She cried out in pain.
Scott, Christina and Ted reacted quickly, stepping forward to catch Emily before she fell to the ground.
She was hurting, bad. It felt as if something really bad had happened.
“The baby…” Emily gasped out in pain. “We have to protect the baby.”
Ted looked over at Scott and Christina. “You said that stone heals people?”
Scott nodded already seeing where Ted was going. “Get her to a hospital, we’ll go get the stone. Either we will be able to stop whatever’s happening, or the doctors will.”
Ted pulled Emily up gently, cradling the small brunette in his arms. He jogged down the stairs and took her outside, placing her gently in the car’s passenger seat.
Scott caught up to Ted, “Where’s the chamber?”
Ted finished strapping Emily into the seat, “Up past the meadow. Go past the dead tree and to the right of the hillside, just behind a series of bushes, you’ll see it.”
“I know the tree…” Scott said, slowly. “Get Emily to the hospital. Don’t stop for anything.”
Ted nodded and ran around the front of the car, jumping into the truck, starting it up. “Don’t worry. She’s in good hands. As soon as you get the stone…”
“We’ll meet you at the hospital,” Christina agreed. She looked over at Scott. “Know where we’re going?”
“Unfortunately,” Scott muttered. Ted put the truck in reverse and with a small wave, exited the driveway, and he tore down the street, leaving tire tracks in his wake.
“Let’s go, she’s counting on us,” Christina said.
Chapter Fifty-Six
The Old Man stumbled out of the Portal, clutching at his side. The wound was still flowing freely, and he couldn’t seem to get the healing stone to help. He decided to ignore the wound for now. Kline had come back to Onyx when he was still a child. He was going to try and terminate him before he ever had the chance to fight back against the billionaire.
He only hoped he had made it in time. Based on the fact he was still here, Kline hadn’t managed to find him yet.
He stumbled through the brush and trees, pushing through them until he found himself at the edge of the highway. A huge red suburban rushed past him, the engine roaring loudly. Alex spotted his father and Emily, slumped over in the passenger seat and he felt the panic rising up in his throat. What had happened to her?
Kline stepped out in front of the machine and held out a hand.
Immediately, the suburban came to a halt, the front end smashed as if his father had run into an invisible brick wall.
“Emily!” the Old Man shouted. He extended his hand, hoping to heal the occupants of the vehicle before Death had its chance to steal them away.
Kline saw him coming and began peppering the roadway with granite spears, trying to stop the Old Man before he had a chance to fire back at Kline.
The Old Man didn’t seem to care about Kline at the moment. All his energy was focused on Emily and making sure she was all right. For his part, Kline continued his assault on the trio, trying to end their lives as quickly as possible.
But Alex wasn’t having it. He threw up a barrier of electrical energy, preventing Kline from approaching any closer. Kline hissed, and decided to return to his original mission.
The billionaire stepped back and looked up to the sky. He shot up like a rocket, a loud shockwave booming through the valley.
The Old Man was conflicted. He needed to make sure they were safe, and still prevent Kline from killing his younger self. He glanced around quickly, making a decision.
He closed his eyes, and in a flash the Suburban along with its occupants were back at Ted’s house.
The Old Man heard the sound of his younger self and Scott playing out in the backyard, preparing for their expedition out into the forest to find their fortune.
He looked around, his eyes searching the sky for Kline. Where was the man?
The young versions of Alex and Scott’s voices faded away as they left the backyard and headed into the National Forest.
The Old Man turned his attention back to his father and Emily in the front seat.
Ted, who was bleeding from a cut on his forehead, turned and looked at the Old Man. Confused, his eyes sharpened when he realized who he was looking at.
“Alex…?” Ted whispered quietly.
The Old Man felt his throat catch. As badly as he wanted this, he had no time for a reunion. Kline could be descending on his younger self any second. But despite all that, the memory of his father falling off the mesa in Joshua Tree was too strong, and he needed to say goodbye.
Instead, he rushed forward and hugged his father tight, not saying a word.
“Emily’s hurt bub,” Ted said, sounding all choked up. “She needs help.”
Alex turned to Emily and waved a hand, helping her heal. That’s when he felt the presence of a second human being inside her.
“She’s… pregnant?” Alex turned to his father in wonder, his eyes going bright with the possibility.
Ted nodded. “Congratulations.”
The Old Man swallowed, as he felt the anger now welling back up in his stomach. Kline had not just nearly killed Emily, but also his unborn son.
He clutched the time stone in his hand, ready to send Emily away somewhere safe when it told him what the best possible path was for the future.
It was only a moment, but that’s all he had needed. The stones knew what needed to happen. Even if that conflicted with what Alex wanted. The stones needed to put the universe back into place and make it make sense again. And that couldn’t happen with Kline still out there and his father knowing what he knows about the stone.
Alex turned to his father, a sad expression on his face.
“I’m sorry dad. I really am.”
Ted cocked his head, until he suddenly understood what Alex was saying.
“You need to wipe my memories…” Ted responded quietly.
The Old Man nodded. “I’m afraid so,” he whispered.
“Don’t be sorry.” Ted said, standing up, with a smile on his face. “It was a pleasure to see what my son has grown into and the kind of man he is. I’m proud of you kid.”
The Old Man smiled once again and swallowed, knowing this would be difficult.
“It won’t hurt, I promise,” the Old Man said. “I’m going to wipe out any memory of myself, Emily, Scott and Christina here. You won’t know anything is wrong either.”
He turned to the suburban, using the reality stone to reform it into a brand new car. “And you get a new car out of the deal… so…”
Ted chuckled, and nodded. “I’d prefer to have my son.”
“You will,” Alex whispered. “You’ll be a great father to him. And he’ll become the very best version of himself because of you.”
Ted’s face welled up and he stepped forward, grabbing his son in a hug. “Thanks kid.” He stepped back and presented himself. “Just do it already, and go get that bastard.”
The Old Man sighed, nodding slightly. He snapped his fingers and Ted closed his eyes, frozen in place.
He turned back to Emily who was beginning to stir, the healing stone having helped her and the baby recover perfectly. She turned, and looked up, her eyes opening wide.
She moved back, slapping at the Old Man.
“You!” she cursed at him. She began throwing punches at the Old Man, trying to hit him. “You took Alex away from me!”
“He’s close,” the Old Man replied, Alex slipping back into character. He found he needed to around Emily.
Especially around her.
“We don’t have much time.” The Old Man stood and began moving quickly into the forest. He glanced back at her. “We have to stop Kline from killing young Alex right now.”
<
br /> “He’s here?” Emily’s face dropped, but was quickly replaced with one of determination. “I know where he’s heading.”
“So do I,” the Old Man replied. “I need you to go catch up with Scott and Christina, show them where the chamber is. Get that stone out and back to me as soon as you can.”
Emily scrambled out of the car and turned, heading for the national forest land, but stopped when she didn’t see the Old Man was following her. “You aren’t coming?”
“I’ll be right behind you.” The Old man said, holding his side painfully.
She looked at him, the doubt evident on her face. He waved at her to keep moving.
“Don’t worry about me, I’m here to give you cover so we can both stop Kline.” The Old Man said, sounding determined. “This is how is ends.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?” she asked, looking pointedly at his wound.
“I’m fine,” the Old Man said, dismissing her concerns. “Please. Go now! There isn’t much time left.”
Emily took one last look at the Old Man before running as fast as her pregnant belly allowed her to move. The Old Man watched her go, hoping against hope that that wouldn’t be the last time he ever saw her.
But then again, the Old Man reminded himself, we don’t get to choose the last time we see someone we love.
He turned and looked up at the sky, and saw a bright flash where Kline was rocketing through the air, heading for the forest where the younger Alex and Scott were setting up their gold panning operation.
“Once more unto the breach dear friends….” the Old Man whispered to himself. He gathered up his robes and flew up into the air, the sonic boom again sounding through the valley.
Whatever happened next would decide the fate of billions.
The Old Man only hoped he was up to the challenge.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
The war was all but over now in New York. Kline had not shown up to save his zombified minions from the full force of the US government attack force.
The zombies were all fighting to the death. Attempts to negotiate with Kline’s followers were met with bullets. The ones who refused to surrender simply committed suicide, the pain of not following orders too great to handle.
