by Seth Rain
Scott waited for the Watchers to leave Mathew on his own, but they stayed close to him, their eyes scanning the square. Scott looked up at the sky, his chest thumping. If he could get to Mathew before they got to him … but he had Eve to consider. It had been so long since he felt responsible for someone else. He closed his eyes. It was no good. He couldn’t risk being killed. He opened his eyes. Mathew and the Watchers stood near the car, Mathew staring at the fire. He was right there, only metres away. Scott could put an end to it. He let go of the revolver in his pocket and leaned back against the wall, pushing the back of his head into the hard brick. He’d been holding his breath and now gasped, taking in air. His hand shook, and he imagined reaching for it with his other hand. In the square, Mathew and his Watchers still stared at the fire. Two more Watchers joined them and Mathew said something to them. The Watchers ran to the car, jumped in and drove away. There was one Watcher left with Mathew.
With his chest thumping, his throat contracted and his hand shook. Scott emerged from the alleyway with his revolver aimed at Mathew.
The moment he stepped out of the alley, Mathew and the Watcher whirled around and trained their revolvers on Scott.
The fire roared and its heat smothered him.
‘I knew it was you,’ Mathew said. ‘And I knew you wouldn’t be able to leave.’
Scott walked towards him.
‘Do it!’ Mathew said. ‘Go ahead. Let’s see if we get the chance to kill you too. Go on! You can’t can you? You’re a coward!’
Scott’s revolver shook. The more he willed it to be still, the more it trembled.
‘That took some doing,’ Mathew said, pointing to Scott’s missing hand. ‘I never thought for a second you’d go to such lengths.’
‘This is it,’ Scott said. ‘The AI’s finished. We’ve reached the horizon – there’ll be no more dates.’
Keeping his gun aimed at Scott, Mathew closed his eyes and sighed. ‘You still don’t understand, do you?’
‘I understand it all. You’re a murderer.’
‘No!’ Mathew shouted. ‘Why won’t you see the truth?’
‘All those people! Billions of people!’ Scott said. ‘Dead. Because of you.’
‘Saved,’ Mathew said. ‘Because of me! Billions of people saved. Every one of them. Saved, Scott.’
Scott saw something in Mathew’s eyes he’d not seen there before. Pity – for him.
‘Juliet is saved,’ Mathew said, his voice soft.
‘No. She’s dead. Because of you!’
‘She is there because He was ready for her.’
‘You killed her!’
‘I loved her, Scott. More than I loved any other person on this planet.’
‘You don’t know the meaning of the word!’
‘I do. Believe me. I do.’
Scott came closer, his arm tense, no longer shaking but rigid with intent.
‘You can’t do it,’ Mathew said. ‘You don’t believe in it enough. When you believe something, Scott, when you truly believe, you find freedom. It’s a release, a surrender to something bigger, to something infinitely more important.’ Mathew waved a hand towards the fire. ‘All of this is unimportant; it’s nothing compared to Heaven, compared to being with Him.’ Mathew pointed his gun at the sky, then back at Scott.
‘No,’ Scott said. ‘You’re wrong.’
‘How do you know?’ Mathew walked towards Scott. ‘That’s what I don’t understand. How can you be so sure, Scott? How?’
It was a genuine question. Scott felt uneasy. ‘What gives you the right to decide for everyone else? You’re insane.’
‘You’ve said that before. But tell me, please, how can you be so sure? You say you know I’m wrong. Even though for as long as mankind has recorded history, there has always been God. Always. Tell me why, now, after these thousands of years, you know better than everyone who went before.’
‘You had no right to take matters into your own hands. To release those dates.’
‘I sent them all to Heaven, Scott. Can you imagine? All of them in Heaven. Even Freya. Because of me.’
‘Don’t!’
‘I granted them mercy. For every one of them. Every soul.’
‘You’re so sure that they are in Heaven,’ Scott said, ‘yet here you are – alive. Why?’
‘My time will come. He will send for me when He is ready. I am his shepherd, helping His flock find its way to His side.’
‘Let me send you there,’ Scott said. ‘I can do it. Right now.’
Fleetingly, Mathew’s brow creased, and a look of confusion coloured his expression.
‘You don’t want to die, do you?’ Scott asked.
Still Mathew didn’t speak.
‘You don’t, do you?’ Scott said again. ‘After everything you’ve said and done, after all the people you’ve killed, you’re scared to die yourself.’
Mathew shook his head. He smiled. ‘No, Scott. I’m not scared. I look forward to it.’
‘You’re lying! I see it in your eyes,’ Scott said. ‘You don’t want to die.’
‘You and me,’ Mathew said, wiping his lips with the back of his hand. ‘It’s not our time.’
‘I was ready to do it.’ Scott took a step closer. ‘You watched me hold a gun to my head and pull the trigger. But you – you don’t want to die because you’re scared.’
Mathew cleared this throat. ‘You knew as well as I did, it was not your time.’
‘But I was ready to sacrifice myself to prove you wrong, to help the world see what you were doing.’
‘In time,’ Mathew said, ‘you will see. You will be by His side and you will see.’
‘You’re wrong. There’s nothing but this. It’s all we have.’
Mathew shook his head. ‘No, Scott. I know that’s what you think. But you’re wrong.’ He glanced back to the fire. ‘Why did you set fire to it?’ he asked. ‘The AI had done everything it needed to do. There was no need to destroy it now.’
‘It means we are free.’
Mathew laughed. ‘Free?’
‘Now there is no AI, there are no dates. We are free.’
‘That baby you rescued,’ Mathew said. ‘You think it will give people hope. That it will be the first of many children brought into a new world. That you will begin again.’
Scott held the revolver more tightly.
‘Do it!’ Mathew shouted.
Scott stretched out his arm and the revolver.
‘I appreciate the name her mother gave her,’ Mathew said. ‘Very appropriate, don’t you think? Eve?’
‘Leave her out of this.’
Mathew’s expression altered to one of anger. ‘She’s mine! Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do with my own child!’
Scott couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t speak.
Mathew’s face was red with anger.
Scott swallowed. ‘What are you talking about?’
But he knew. It suddenly all made sense.
Mathew stared at the fire.
‘Eve is your child?’ Scott asked.
Mathew nodded.
It wasn’t possible.
‘But Dawn was a child,’ Scott said. ‘How could you?’
Frowning, Mathew wiped his forehead. He opened his mouth, searching for the words, then closed it again. Instead of speaking, he took several steps towards Scott, relaxing his arm, his gun lowering so it pointed at the ground.
‘I don’t understand,’ Scott said. ‘Why would you want to bring new life into the world when you’re so intent on ending everyone else’s life?’
Mathew hesitated.
Scott felt nauseous. ‘You really are insane.’
‘It’s not insane to want to father a child. And it’s not insane to want a beautiful woman to be her mother.’
‘She wasn’t a woman! She was a child!’
Scott remembered Dawn walking towards Hassness House the evening she had arrived, months before. ‘You’re lying,’ he said.
Mathew peered int
o Scott’s eyes. ‘You know I’m not.’
‘But why?’ Scott asked. ‘It makes no sense.’
‘Believe me,’ Mathew said, ‘I found it difficult to understand myself. But I wanted her. And I wanted—’
‘Stop!’ Scott shouted, his hand tightening around the gun.
‘Shoot!’ Mathew barked. ‘Shoot! I wanted her the way I wanted all of them.’
Scott worked it all out, in that instant. All the women with Freya, this was what Mathew was doing. ‘All those young women you were keeping in the room with Freya… She said they kept disappearing, then coming back. She didn’t know where, but they were all upset afterwards… That was you?’
‘Something special is happening. Here. Because of me. Because of the AI.’
Scott shook his head. He wanted to see Eve, to look into her eyes, to know for sure.
Mathew’s expression was stern. ‘It’s my duty, Scott, to ensure that every human finds their place in Heaven. And I will not rest until it’s done. This horizon you speak of is the beginning of the end. There are now under ten thousand people left in the world. And all of them – every one of them – is here, on this small island. We have worked from the outer edges of the globe, towards the epicentre of it all, to here. And now, it will be upon this island, Britain, where the last of humanity will finally ascend.’
‘You can’t know there aren’t other survivors around the world.’
‘I do know that. I took every last name from the AI. And each one of them has been accounted for.’ Mathew reached into his coat and took out a black book. ‘In here is what remains of humanity. I have nineteen Watchers who are helping to ensure that everyone on this list finds their rightful place by His side. We will find and help every one of them.’ Mathew looked at his revolver. ‘Scott, you must see this is the right thing to do. You must see it.’
‘You’re wrong.’
The fire crackled.
‘So what happens now?’ Mathew asked, raising his gun again and pointing it at Scott. ‘We shoot each other? Take our chances?’
‘Is that what you want?’ Scott asked.
‘I want to help you,’ Mathew said. ‘I want to help you and everyone else.’
Scott held his gun out in front of him, his eyes on the revolver pointed back at him.
‘You won’t do it,’ Mathew said. ‘I know. I’ve seen this. It was the last thing the AI gave to me.’
Scott was only a metre away from Mathew. ‘What?’
‘You and me, Scott, we’re tied together. Forever. That’s something the AI has shown me. Like now. I know you will do as I ask.’
‘What you ask?’
Mathew wiped his top lip with his free hand. ‘I didn’t understand what the AI was showing me at the time. But I see it now. Eve is in danger, and you must go to her. If there’s time.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘She’s in danger, Scott.’
‘You’re lying.’
‘There’s a group of survivors. In Birmingham.’
How did Mathew know about them?
‘You know, don’t you?’ Mathew asked, his eyes opening wider. ‘You know about this group? They’re deluded – like you. They want to begin again.’
Scott said nothing.
‘There is a man with them. He was a Watcher. But now he is with them. His name is Samuel. He knows who Eve is and he wants to kill her.’
‘Samuel? You’re lying,’ Scott said again, recalling the name.
‘You know I’m not.’ Mathew’s expression became sympathetic. ‘You have no choice, Scott. I see what happens. You will lower your gun, turn around and go to Birmingham to find Eve.’
‘Why does Samuel want to kill her?’
Mathew hesitated then said, ‘Because of what she is.’
Scott couldn’t keep up. His mind raced, his heart thudding. ‘What she is?’
Mathew smiled, pride colouring his expression. ‘She is a New Human.’
‘A what?’
‘She is the future, Scott.’
‘You’re not making any sense.’
A car turned the corner. Watchers.
‘There’s no time to lose, Scott. Go to Birmingham and save her.’
Scott’s hand shook even more. He gritted his teeth, the muscles along his back and across his shoulders tightening with rage.
‘If you shoot me,’ Mathew said, ‘I will shoot you, and Samuel will kill Eve. There will be time for you and me to finish this – later. We’re not done here. You know that as well as I do.’
Scott glanced behind him. ‘This isn’t over,’ he said. ‘Without the AI, you’re in the dark. You don’t know anyone’s dates. Humanity will survive. Will begin again.’
‘No. It’s nearly over,’ Mathew said. ‘Our time on this Earth, in this hell, is nearly over. We have earned a way back to Heaven and I will ensure every last soul finds their way back home.’
The car skidded to a stop next to Mathew.
Scott and Mathew lowered their guns at the same time.
Scott retreated into the alleyway and then ran.
Fifty-Seven
George held Eve in his arms. Her eyes opened and closed sleepily.
‘Give her to me,’ a woman said, pointing a revolver at him.
‘Move real slow,’ another woman said. ‘Give her to us.’ Her voice was more sympathetic, even pleading.
George held on to Eve more tightly. ‘I can’t do that,’ he said. ‘How did you find me?’
The two women, their revolvers still pointed at him, glanced at one another.
The younger of the two women lowered her revolver a little. ‘There aren’t many people who drive through Birmingham these days. In fact, there are none.’
‘What are you doing with her?’ the dark-haired woman asked.
‘What do you mean? I’m looking out for her until her … until Scott returns.’
‘Scott?’ the other woman asked. ‘Who’s that?’
‘He’s her … he’s her guardian.’
‘Where is he?’
‘In London. Destroying the AI.’
The dark-haired woman lowered her gun. ‘What?’
George relaxed. ‘I have no idea. Believe me, I asked him the same thing.’ He stepped away from the wall.
The dark-haired woman pushed her gun into her coat pocket. ‘A man, alone, with a baby? With a girl? It looks suspicious. We know what young female children are worth.’
George’s face curled up on itself. ‘Jesus, no. What are you saying?’
For a moment, the women looked embarrassed. ‘I’m sorry, but you have to understand the things we’ve seen.’
‘Female children?’ George asked.
‘There are far fewer women now. They’ve become a rare commodity.’
‘Commodity?’
‘It hasn’t taken long, since the Rapture, for things to return to a state of the strongest being the most dominant.’
‘You mean men?’
‘Well, yes.’
I’d never hurt her,’ George said, wincing at having to say so. ‘She’s only a baby. I’m looking after her.’
The women came closer. The dark-haired woman stroked Eve’s arm.
Eve watched, her eyes moving from the woman’s hand to her eyes and back again.
‘What do you want?’ George asked.
‘We want you to come with us, join our group,’ the dark-haired woman said.
‘Are you the people Scott said were in Birmingham, broadcasting on the radio?’
The younger woman nodded. ‘Yes. Will you come with us?’
George nodded faintly.
‘This way,’ the younger woman said.
They led George past the hotel to a parked van. The younger woman opened the door and encouraged George to enter. He peered inside then, holding Eve tightly, got in.
‘Hello,’ said the man in the driver’s seat.
George stared at him, holding Eve more tightly.
‘My name’s Samuel,�
�� the man said, offering his hand.
George still stared at the tall, thin man, unsure.
‘Samuel’s with us,’ the younger woman said, stepping up into the passenger side of the van.
‘She’s beautiful,’ Samuel said, smiling at Eve.
‘Where are we going?’ George asked, his eyes on the man in the driving seat.
‘Somewhere safe,’ the younger woman said.
George looked through the window at the hotel. The dark-haired woman got in beside him and slid the van door shut. ‘Let’s go,’ she said, tapping the driver on the shoulder.
Fifty-Eight
Scott woke, his body shivering. The fire had gone out. Outside the sun had risen. His copy of A Christmas Carol was on the floor, fanned out. He took more firewood, pushed it into the hearth and used paper to start the fire again. It took longer than the night before, but finally the fire was healthy enough for him to add more firewood and leave alone.
He stood and looked around the room in daylight. It was old-fashioned but grand. Upstairs, there was every chance he’d find dead bodies. He had never got used to it, but he had discovered a way of searching for bodies that made it manageable. He told himself over and over that it was nothing out of the ordinary, that the dead were absent, that they had no feelings or thought for him being there.
The stairs creaked beneath his foot. He told himself to walk up the stairs as though it was the normal thing to do, that what he was about to do was necessary. When he reached the wide landing he paused to listen. It was silent. He opened the first door he came to. He knew what he’d find but it was still a shock. It always was. Two elderly people, a man and a woman, lying arm in arm on the bed, a thin cotton sheet covering them. He closed the door without a sound.
Behind the next door was an elderly man, alone, naked, lying on top of the sheets, a framed photograph held to his chest.
The third and fourth rooms were empty. The fifth held a young man and woman with a newborn baby between them. Each of them was still, their bodies naked, their skin pale and translucent. Scott closed the door quickly. A hand to his mouth, he rested his forehead against the door. He thought about going back downstairs and coming back again later. But he needed to know how many bodies there were to burn. He opened the next door. On the bed was a woman with two children: a boy aged around eleven and a girl, no more than six or seven. The three of them wore pyjamas. Scott stumbled towards a wooden stool at the end of the bed. He sat before he fell. He couldn’t take his eyes off the girl. Her pyjamas were pink, decorated with blue cartoon elephants. She held a soft pink elephant. Scott couldn’t move. He wanted to go back in time, change everything that had happened, stop this from happening. This was not how things should have been. In the image of a mother holding her children was the absence of everything Mathew spoke about. There was no Heaven. There was no Second Coming. There was only this, in front of him: death. He stood and left the room, closing the door behind him, knowing full well this would be the last room he’d come back to. The girl would be the last body he burned.