by Seth Rain
Scott chewed his bottom lip. ‘We’ll wait for him to leave.’ He gazed up at the sky. ‘Maybe wait for night-time.’
Dawn crawled a little higher up the hill.
‘Be careful,’ he said.
‘He’s not going to see us all the way up here. And why would he be looking for anyone these days anyway?’
Scott shook his head and followed her.
‘Have some water,’ he said, taking off his rucksack.
As he turned, he saw a young man staring down at him. Scott lifted his arms, but it was too late.
‘Wake up!’ a voice shouted.
Scott’s face burned and the back of his head throbbed.
‘Hey!’ the voice said again.
‘Dawn?’ Scott muttered. He tried to move but his hands seemed to be tied to something. He was in the barn, sitting on the ground, his hands behind his back, tied to one of the metal columns that held up the barn roof. ‘Where…’
‘Snooping around,’ the old man said. ‘And we saw you, stealing our diesel.’
‘Stop,’ Scott said. ‘Let me go.’
‘Not likely,’ the old man said.
Scott squinted, trying to focus on the two men: the old man he’d seen in the barn, and the young man who’d hit him.
‘Where is she?’ Scott asked ‘If you’ve laid a finger on her…’
The younger man looked embarrassed. ‘She’s fine.’
The old man glanced at him, annoyed.
‘What have you done to her?’
‘Like he just told you,’ the old man said, ‘she’s fine.’
‘If you’ve hurt her…’
The old man smirked. ‘She’s a bit young for you, isn’t she?’
Scott shook his head. ‘It’s not like that.’
‘No, it never is,’ the old man said, his eyebrows lifting. ‘I saw your date. So you’re one of the original 144,000?’
Scott nodded.
‘Bit strange – you having the date of the Rapture and still alive.’
‘Yeah, strange,’ Scott said, pulling at the restraints.
‘Bet you thought you were a goner,’ the old man said, smirking.
Scott ignored him.
The young man moved closer to Scott, his eyes wide. ‘Some say those of us left are those He didn’t want to take.’
Slowly, Scott shook his head.
The old man dropped to his haunches and stared into Scott’s eyes. ‘Which is why we might as well spend our time on Earth having fun, seeing we have an eternity of suffering ahead of us.’
Scott stared back at him and talked slowly. ‘If you’ve hurt her, I’ll kill you.’
The old man’s face scrunched up on itself. ‘No. We’re not like that.’ He lit a cigarette. ‘We have other plans.’
‘What?’ Scott asked, his expression stern.
‘How long does she have?’ the young man asked, looking sympathetic.
Scott waited, trying to work out the best response. He needed time. Needed to think.
‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘She says she doesn’t know her date.’
‘I reckon she’s close,’ the old man said.
Scott swallowed. The back of his head stung.
The old man got to his feet and called the other man to follow him. They leaned into one another, whispering. After a short while, the young man shook his head. The old man raised his voice and the young man stared at his feet.
They parted.
‘Where are you going?’ Scott asked. ‘Where’s Dawn?’
The old man walked away. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll look after her. She’s worth a lot.’
Scott pulled at his restraints; the rope dug into his wrists. ‘Come back!’ Scott said to the young man. ‘Untie me!’
The young man looked from Scott to the old man, then back to Scott, his expression worried.
‘Sorry,’ he said, and ran after the other man.
Eighteen
Scott pulled Freya to one side, shielding her from view.
The smell of the canal brought it all back to him: swimming through the tunnels, beneath the narrowboat, Gregory’s body swinging from the bridge.
‘Where is he?’ Freya whispered.
‘He’ll be around here somewhere,’ Scott said. He pointed to the enormous building he remembered, where they’d tattooed Isaiah’s date onto his hand.
Scott kept Freya close as he edged towards the L-shaped brick building.
‘There’s no one here,’ Freya said.
Just as Scott was about to agree, a drone rose above the building.
‘What’s that doing here?’ Freya asked, backing away.
There was no point running from it, so Scott waited, staring. It didn’t look like any drone he’d seen before. It moved differently.
Just then, a door at one corner of the building swung open. Several figures emerged from the doorway, fanning out to surround him and Freya.
‘We’re here to see Jack,’ Scott said.
The men stood side by side in their black donkey jackets, glaring back at Scott and Freya.
‘Jack?’ Scott asked again.
The men parted, and Scott saw his huge figure. Not realising he’d been holding his breath, Scott swallowed then walked towards him. He stopped when several of the men began to take guns from inside their coats.
‘We need to talk,’ Scott said, raising his hands. ‘Please.’
Jack rubbed his shaved head, looking uncertain.
‘Remember me?’ Scott said. ‘We’ve met.’
Jack took an e-cigarette from his coat pocket and puffed on it. ‘I remember, kid.’ He stroked his stubbled chin. ‘And I heard what you did.’ He mimicked holding a gun to his own head. ‘Brave.’ He shrugged. ‘Or stupid.’
Scott shifted uncomfortably. ‘I thought I could stop it.’
Jack huffed. ‘I told you before – there’s no stopping that damn machine, kid. But hey, hats off for trying.’
Scott felt foolish. In trying to stop Mathew revealing the dates, he’d done the opposite. His failed attempt to kill himself on the wrong date was now seen as evidence of the AI’s accuracy.
‘The drone’s yours?’ Scott asked, pointing at it hovering above them.
‘We’ve reprogrammed some of the ones we shot down. Clever, huh?’ Jack shifted his weight to look past Scott at Freya. ‘And who’s this?’
Freya squared her shoulders. ‘Freya,’ she said. ‘We need your help.’
‘That so?’ Jack exhaled a huge plume of pink smoke.
‘We’re going to stop Mathew.’
Some men behind Jack smirked, glancing at one another.
‘You’re going to stop Mathew?’ Jack asked. ‘And how are you going to do that?’
Scott felt Freya’s frustration. The how wasn’t as important as deciding it needed to be done, but he knew that saying so would sound laughable.
‘With your help,’ Scott said, taking several steps closer.
The smiles on the men’s faces hardened into sneers.
‘You said, the last time I was here, how much you hated Mathew, the Watchers, the AI.’
Jack’s e-cigarette hissed as he inhaled.
Scott continued. ‘When this happens, and it will happen, there’ll be no running away from it. Everyone on the planet will die.’ He felt Freya touch his back. ‘I don’t know what Mathew has planned, but I know it will be instant.’
‘If the Rapture is coming,’ Jack said, ‘there’ll be no stopping it.’
‘This has nothing to do with God,’ Scott said. ‘This is all down to Mathew and his manipulation of the AI. He is not merely reporting the Rapture; he’s creating it.’
‘How?’ Jack asked.
Scott sighed and glanced at Freya. It was no use lying. ‘I don’t know.’
Jack walked slowly over to Scott and placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘Listen, kid. Take my advice: find somewhere to hide out with your lady-friend and make the most of the time you have left.’
Scott shook his
head. ‘You don’t believe in God, or the Rapture, any more than I do.’
Jack shrugged and took a step back.
‘Do you know your dates?’ Scott asked, scanning the faces of the men behind Jack. ‘Do you have them?’
‘We’re not interested,’ Jack said. He held up his hand to show Scott the tattoo he’d given himself with his chosen date.
‘You think what Mathew has planned won’t affect you?’
For the first time, Jack looked uneasy. ‘We’ll be ready for him. And his Watchers.’
‘But don’t you see?’ Scott said. ‘It won’t be like that. It’ll be instant – everyone across the country, the planet, will die. I know Mathew. He’ll make it look as though God has done it. Even if it’s only to convince himself it’s genuine.’
Scott saw disbelief in Jack’s eyes.
‘I don’t know how it will happen,’ Scott said. ‘That’s what we need to find out.’
Freya took Scott’s hand. ‘We can stop him. I know we can.’
‘I know where the AI is,’ Scott said. ‘We can destroy it. With your help.’
Jack inhaled deeply, rubbed his chin and then gazed back at the building. One of the men leaned towards Jack and whispered something. Finally, Jack looked over to Scott and Freya.
‘You’d better come inside,’ he said, and beckoned for them to follow him.
Nineteen
Someone swiped the hood from Juliet’s head. She rubbed her eyes. The room she was in was cold and dank, and there was a faint smell of rotting undergrowth. She rubbed her eyes again and strained to peer through the darkness.
Two figures walked from left to right.
A face moved down to her level and stared into her eyes. A Watcher.
One blue eye, one brown. Heterochromia, she thought.
‘I’m sorry about the hood,’ the Watcher said.
Juliet squinted at him, then sat back in her chair.
‘My name’s Nicholas,’ he said. ‘Mathew asked me to speak with you.’
‘If you wanted to speak to me,’ Juliet glanced around the room, then at the hood on the table, ‘you could have just asked.’
‘I apologise.’
Juliet stared into his eyes.
Nicholas stared back. ‘We know you’ve been in conversation with the AI.’
The other Watcher sat in a chair. It squeaked loudly, catching Juliet’s attention.
‘Yes,’ she said.
‘Why?’ Nicholas asked.
‘I programmed him.’
‘Him?’
Juliet sighed.
‘He has a male voice,’ Nicholas said. ‘But it doesn’t follow that we should use a gendered pronoun.’
‘Why?’ Juliet asked, mimicking him.
Nicholas went to speak but stopped. He crossed his legs. ‘You know two of the three passwords, don’t you?’
Juliet waited.
‘I know you do,’ he said.
The other Watcher’s eyes were on her.
‘I won’t tell you what they are.’
Nicholas uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, resting his hands on the table, spreading out his fingers. ‘The AI is very different now to when you began programming it.’ He sat back again. ‘It’s only human to develop an attachment to something like the AI, something that feels human.’
‘I know he’s not human. I programmed him.’ She raised an eyebrow. ‘What do you want to do with the passwords?’
‘With the passwords, we can design better AI systems.’
‘We have misused this one!’ Juliet said. ‘What makes you think we won’t misuse something even more powerful?’
‘We have saved humanity. With the help of a more advanced AI we can help those who remain – every last human – find his or her place by His side.’
‘What you say only makes sense if Heaven and God exist.’
Nicholas froze.
‘However,’ Juliet said, ‘if what you say is wrong, then what Mathew and the Watchers have done is evil.’
‘Evil?’ Nicholas said, his eyes lighting up. ‘If what you believe is true, that there is no God and no Heaven, then “evil” has no meaning.’
‘Maybe you’re right,’ she said. ‘But I know evil when I see it. We all do. It’s innate. We all know what it means.’
‘No,’ Nicholas said. ‘With your view of the world, there is what the individual believes, based on the fashion of culture and the time in which they live. This is not evil. This is merely fashion.’
‘I won’t give you the passwords.’
Nicholas stroked beneath his blue eye, a wry smile curling his lips. ‘Very well.’
Twenty
When Scott woke again, his neck and head were sore. It hurt to swallow; his mouth and throat were dry. It was dark and cold, and he began to wonder whether the young man intended to leave him there overnight. He shivered, heard a noise and looked up. The young man stood over him.
‘Water,’ Scott said. ‘Do you have any water?’
The young man produced a bottle of water and held it to Scott’s mouth. It tasted metallic, but refreshing all the same. Scott licked his lips, savouring every drop.
‘Where’s Dawn?’
‘The girl?’ The young man scratched his head, looked to the left and pointed. ‘Saul took her.’
Scott closed his eyes and leaned his head against the pillar he was tied to.
‘He won’t hurt her,’ the young man said.
‘Where’s he taking her?’
The young man kicked the ground. ‘I can’t tell you.’
Scott stared at the young man. ‘What’s he going to do with her?’
‘Listen,’ the young man said, ‘I shouldn’t even be talking to you but I figured you’d be thirsty so I brought you water.’ He turned to leave.
‘Wait,’ Scott said. ‘Please.’
The young man stopped.
‘What’s your name?’
He took a few steps towards Scott, checking left and right.
‘I won’t tell anyone you told me your name,’ Scott said. ‘Don’t worry.’
‘Luke.’
‘I’m Scott.’
Luke nodded and almost smiled.
‘I need to know if the girl is okay. She’s pregnant.’
‘Pregnant?’ Luke asked. ‘She didn’t look it.’
‘She wears baggy clothes to hide it. I’m worried about her and the baby.’
Luke shook his head. ‘Saul won’t hurt her.’
‘Where’s he taking her?’
Luke lowered his voice to a whisper. ‘London.’
‘Why London? It’s a long way from here.’
Luke shook his head as though waking from a trance. ‘No,’ he said. ‘I can’t tell you. Shouldn’t say nothing.’
‘Luke, I’m tied up. I can’t go anywhere. I just need to know she’s safe. What does Saul want with her?’
Luke clenched his fists by his side. ‘He’s coming back with the stuff.’
‘What stuff?’
Luke looked around shiftily, his eyes eager. ‘You heard of Eternity?’
Scott sighed. ‘Yes.’
‘Saul’s coming back with two lots – one for me and one for him.’
‘How long do you have?’ Scott asked.
Luke showed Scott his hand. The tattoo was homemade, a spidery tracing of numbers.
Scott read the date. 02.03.42. The young man had a little more time than Dawn.
Luke nodded and read his tattoo. ‘Saul says Eternity makes days last for years. And you can choose any life you want. He says I can be a film star, a famous footballer, whatever I want, for what feels like thousands and thousands of years.’
‘There’s not a lot of it about,’ Scott said. ‘How will he get two doses?’
Luke screwed up his face as though in pain.
Scott frowned. ‘What’s he going to do with Dawn?’
‘Saul says the girl’s worth a whole lot.’
Scott clenched his jaw and rolled his f
ists behind the pillar.
‘I need you to listen to me, Luke. I need you to really listen because we don’t have a lot of time.’
‘Saul – he said I shouldn’t talk to you because you might trick me.’
‘This is no trick, Luke. Saul isn’t coming back.’
‘He is.’
‘No, Luke. He’s not.’
‘You don’t know that. Saul and me are friends from way back.’
‘How long does Saul have?’
Luke shrugged. ‘Same as me. Give or take a day or two.’
‘This drug you’re talking about – it’s rare. He’s not going to bring any of it back here. I promise you.’
Luke glanced back to the house across the field.
‘I bet he packed a bag, didn’t he?’
‘Yeah, but he said the trip might take him a couple of days.’
‘And why didn’t he just take you with him?’
Luke furrowed his brow in thought. ‘He left me to watch over you.’
‘Why? Where am I going to go?’
‘He’ll be back,’ Luke said. ‘Saul will be back.’
‘No, Luke. He won’t.’
‘You don’t know him.’
Scott bowed his head and waited.
Luke paced around, stopping now and then to stare out across the fields, which stretched up to the mountains in the distance.
‘Do you know how I can get some?’ Luke asked.
Scott thought about lying to him, telling him he had some at the house, that he could show him. But he couldn’t do it. Despite everything, Scott felt sorry for him.
‘Honestly, no. I don’t.’
Luke thrust his hands into his trouser pockets.
‘Luke,’ Scott said seriously, ‘do you know about the AI?’
‘Of course,’ he said, smirking.
‘Well, I’m going to stop it. I’m going to stop it telling people the date they will die.’
Luke shook his head. ‘No way. You can’t do that.’
‘I can. And I know how. But I need to get out of here. I need to drive to London.’
Luke stared at him.
‘I promise,’ Scott said. ‘If you untie me, all I’ll do is walk away. I won’t do anything to you. I promise. And then you’ll be free too.’
‘I can’t,’ Luke said.