She was in a good life.
It was a life where she had made good decisions. She met a man she loved deeply. He loved her in return. In this life she liked to come to the park. She liked to sit on a bench and watch the ducks. As she did so today a light drizzle had begun.
Moments before she came to this place the Sarah of this Verse had been about to go home.
However, Sarah of Glass did not get up to leave. Instead she sat in the rain. She let the rain pour down upon her. It reminded her of the rain of light in the world she had just escaped from.
So much had been lost, Sarah thought. In her heart she knew all was lost. The slaughterers had entered the city and destroyed existences last hope. If she returned she would return to death.
She sat on the bench and thought of her lost friends. In the rain she cried for them. Her tears were lost in the water that fell from the sky.
Eventually she wiped the tears and rain from her face. She stood up. It was time to go home.
Sarah would try to leave the sorrows of all that had occurred on the Sea of Glass in the rain.
When she reached her house she found her husband in this Verse, Jeff, in the kitchen cooking dinner. In this world she and her husband both worked. Because of this they had an arrangement that they each would cook every other day except for on Saturdays. On Saturdays they had takeout. Today was Sunday and Jeff always cooked on Sundays. When Jeff saw Sarah, he smiled. Sarah of Glass fell in love with that smile in an instant. She smiled back as happiness washed over her.
“The rain caught you.” Jeff noted.
“Yes,” she said. She walked up behind Jeff. He was now looking back down at the food he was preparing. Sarah stood behind him and put her arms around him. She kissed the back of his neck and then hugged him. Jeff was a good man and she was lucky to have entered this Verse to be with him.
“It’s good to be home,” she said. From the living room she heard the sounds of her children talking as they watched TV.
Sarah went to the doorway of the living room. She watched her children playing. The joy of this perfect moment was a stark contrast to the horror she had witnessed in the lands of Verse Zero.
Jeff approached her and stood beside her. Together they watched their children. They did so in silence. Sometimes silence between two people is perfect. More can be shared in that silence then can be shared in a million words.
Soon the family was at the dinner table. The children were talking about their upcoming summer camp. Sarah loved hearing about her children’s lives. She wanted so much happiness and success for them. At dinner there was laughter and it was beautiful laughter.
Sarah could not help but reflect on this perfect life. She decided that she would live this existence forever. This would be a good life and a good world to die in.
However, a she stared at her beautiful children a thought kept lingering in the back of her mind. As the great unravelling spread through infinity these two beautiful children would never have existed. They would be ghosts of possibilities that never occurred.
This knowledge saddened Sarah but she knew in her heart that with the burning of Adar hope had been lost.
Years passed. Sarah’s life flew by till finally, one day she was with her daughter at the mall. Her daughter was now twenty-two years old. She would soon be graduating from college with a degree in business communications. Sarah was sitting in the food court of the mall with her daughter and they were discussing what she would do now that she had her degree. Sarah’s daughter wanted to move to another city. This made Sarah sad. She knew she would miss her daughter greatly.
“It’s a great opportunity,” Sarah’s daughter said. “The agency I’m looking at is well known. It could be a great launching pad for me in my career.”
“But there’s lots of opportunity here,” Sarah said. She knew she was being selfish. But she simply wanted her daughter with her always.
“But mom…not opportunities like this one.”
Sarah grimaced. She could not help herself. Her daughter was very headstrong. Sarah knew her daughter got this from her.
Sarah looked around exasperated. She was trying to think of the next way to frame her argument. As her eyes passed over her environment something caught her attention. Her instincts registered what it was but it took a moment for her mind to fully comprehend what she was seeing. She just knew something was wrong. That’s when she realized what it was that she was looking at.
There was a figure in the distance. Sarah’s heart began to beat faster as she stared at him. He was staring back. His eyes were fixed upon Sarah with cold precision. His eyes simmered with rage and malice.
Sarah was staring into the eyes of the Monster. The Monster had found her. He had physically entered this Universe and now he was watching her. He smiled. However, the smile was not in his eyes. Only the cold detachment remained in his gaze.
He began to walk towards the table where Sarah and her daughter were sitting. His gait was slow. She saw that he was carrying something. It was a knife. It was the same blade he had used to cut down Belili. Sarah did not know how he had found her. The randomness of the falling sky of Verse Zero should have made it impossible. But he was the genius that had been sought for generations. His mind could calculate and account for randomness itself. She did not know why he had sought her out. She did not know why he chose to slaughter her in this far away Verse.
The Monster was still some distance away but approaching quickly. Sarah knew that fleeing through this Verse would do no good. She could run from this place. She could go home and pack her things then go. However, he was the greatest genius in all of existence. He would find her wherever she went in this Verse. He would eliminate all obstacles presented to him effortlessly. The first thing he would eliminate was her perfect beautiful family. Sarah knew he would cut into them and kill them for the mere pleasure of it.
Sarah looked to her beautiful grown up daughter. She had named her after her mother. “I’m gonna miss you, Pamela,” Sarah said.
Her daughter smiled. “I’ll visit all the time, mom,” she replied. “Don’t worry.”
Sarah’s daughter had no idea what Sarah meant. Sarah had to leave. She had to leave this Verse because the Monster would slaughter her and her daughter right here if she didn’t.
It could have been such a nice life, Sarah thought. It would have been nice to see her daughter become a success and her son graduate. It could have been such a beautiful world. She would miss her children very much. Sarah would miss this life she could have had.
Sarah knew she needed to leave now. She knew the Monster would have to follow. In doing so he would leave this Verse and he would leave this family alone.
However, she could not leave back to the Sea of Glass. The lands there were scorched and she would find only death. She had to use the trick that Catalina taught them. She had to jump from this Verse to another different Verse. She had to use this place to launch her into another point of the Multiverse further from the Sea of Glass. She could only hope that she would go to another Verse where the Monster could not find her.
Sarah looked to her daughter Pamela.
“Goodbye,” Sarah said. “I love you.”
Her daughter gave her a quizzical look. She did not understand why her mother was saying goodbye.
Sarah looked at her daughter one last time. She stepped backwards in her mind. She fell backwards into another Verse.
***
Sarah heard a bell ringing.
“Sarah…Sarah…ticket nine,” a voice said.
After a moment Sarah understood what that meant. Sarah was a waitress. A customer’s order was ready.
Sarah worked at a small diner. Her life was difficult. Bills were tough to pay. She was working three jobs and going to school. She hoped to finish college as quickly as possible. Sometimes in life it didn’t matter if you were smart. Sometimes the piece of paper that was a degree mattered most when it came to obtaining the things that you wanted.
>
In this life Sarah of Glass worked hard. It was a good life, she told herself. Her apartment was small. Her only connection to her mother was phone calls. Sarah had moved away for school. It seemed like a good decision at the time but often she missed her family.
A year passed and Sarah continued working at her studies. She kept working hard. She worked her fingers to the bone in this exhausting life. However, she did not mind the exhaustion at times. Even the struggle was a good thing rather than the non-movement of death.
One night at the diner where she worked Allan came in for dinner. Sarah knew him well. He was a regular customer and a nice guy. He went to the table he always sat at. He was looking at the menu as Sarah approached.
“Why do you always look at that menu?” Sarah asked. “You always get the same thing.”
Allan smiled.
“Don’t you ever wonder what if?” he asked. “Maybe one day I’ll make a different choice.”
“You never do,” Sarah replied.
“What can I say? I am who I am.”
They both laughed and Sarah replied, “So the usual?”
“Absolutely,” Allan responded.
Allan worked as a truck driver for a local vending machine company. Last Christmas he had left Sarah a fifty-dollar tip. For a waitress working three jobs and going to school that was a great kindness.
As she finished filling out his order she barely registered the bell ring as the door to the diner opened. When she looked at who had entered her heart broke.
She knew the man who had just entered perfectly. The Monster smiled as he stepped into the diner. How long had it taken him to find her here? Sarah wondered.
Sarah looked down at Allan who was still seated at the table with the menu in his hand.
She leaned down and kissed his cheek. He looked up at her with surprise.
Sarah smiled at him.
She then fell back.
***
Sarah stepped into a Verse where she was a politician. Years ago, she had become a city council woman. She then became a congress woman in the House of Representatives.
Now she was running for the Senate. Her chances on winning the election were very good. The polls all favored her. Sarah Guzman had a great reputation as a leader and a hard worker who always fought hard for her constituents.
Tonight, she was to make a speech at a teacher’s union conference. There had been a large turnout. Sarah was very popular with the teacher’s union. The importance of education was one of her key platforms. Sarah fought for more funding for schools and for enhanced curriculums. She fought for better teacher pay.
She often talked about her parents in her speeches. They had worked hard to make sure when the time came that Sarah’s college was taken care of. Advancement through education was a basic right of all people Sarah would often say.
As Sarah took the stage to make her speech she was greeted by enthusiastic applause. Sarah waved to the crowed. She stepped to the podium and began to speak into the microphone.
Her speech was displayed on a teleprompter before her, but in truth she did not need the teleprompter. She had the speech memorized. Her speech captivated the audience. She talked of the values and ideals that made the country great. Sarah talked of how teachers were a reflection of those values and ideas. Sarah told the teachers they were an important force in driving society forward.
“What we do now lays the groundwork for future generations,” Sarah said. “Education is the key. It is our greatest hope for a better tomorrow. I believe this deeply. It is important that we give the children of this country solid foundations so they can work hard to accomplish the things we cannot.”
Sarah in this Verse did not have children. She found out years ago that she was not able to have them. When Sarah wrote this speech she thought of her children in a Verse far away where her daughter had received a communications degree. In this Verse she was fighting for her children who lived in that distant Verse. This platform was a platform for them.
“Educators are the key to a better future. You are the hope for a better tomorrow,” Sarah said.
The crowd erupted in cheers. At the back of the auditorium a figure appeared at the door. He leaned against the open doorway. He too clapped with the crowd.
From across the room Sarah stared into the cold eyes of the Monster.
She began to go off script.
“There will always be obstacles. There will always be difficulties. There will be times when it seems like we cannot succeed.”
Sarah felt tears forming in her eyes. “There will be times when it seems like the obstacles are too great and we should give up on our goals. But I believe. I believe in the possibilities of the future. I always believe in the hope of better days ahead. I believe that in the rain, in the storms, the clouds will eventually break, and as we work together we can all be rewarded by living in a brighter tomorrow. We do this…for our children…for our families…for those we love.”
The audience cheered.
Sarah stared at them one last time.
She then fell back.
***
Sarah lived countless lives. She loved them. But she knew the specter of the Monster was following her at all times. He always found her. He found her in every Verse she went to. In every life she lived the Monster always appeared.
She did not know why he chose to pursue her like this. He had already destroyed the great city on the Sea of Glass.
As she jumped from Verse to Verse moving from life to life she realized that she had done this once before. Several lifetimes ago she had danced through the Multiverse in a similar manner. However, that time she had been pursued by love. She had been pursued by Patrick. She still was. She knew somehow the Monster was the mind of Patrick. Now again she was pursued through the Multiverse by him. However, now this dance was a dance of death. It was a dance of fear and terror. In a distant past she had been pursued through the Multiverse by the man she loved. Now she was pursued by the murderer of all that she had loved.
Sarah fled as fast and as far as she could. However, the Monster continued to follow her as she jumped across the Multiverse.
As time passed and as her lives passed Sarah began growing weary. She knew it was only a matter of time before he caught her and extinguished who she was.
What was time to the eternal, she sometimes found herself wondering in her various lives. She was like the Monster. They could live a million lives in a million different Verses. Time was not a barrier for them. However, before she stopped moving she wanted to find one Verse where she was truly free one last time. She wanted to find one Verse where no monsters chased her.
As she moved from Verse to Verse she began to understand that no matter where she went he would always be there. He would always track her down.
Over time as she leapt from life to life she thought about ending herself in one of the perfect ones. She thought about ending this evil chain of her jumping from Verse to Verse.
But she found that she could not take her own life. She thought of Patrick. She thought of his life lost in the ashes. She remembered that look in his eyes as he died. His memory was important. Someone needed to carry the memory of him. So, she pushed on for him.
She grew tired. She grew tired of being chased. She had no idea eternity could make a traveler of it so weary.
The Monster was becoming more adept at tracking her. His blood nose instincts began to find her faster and faster. First it took years. Then he found her in months. To Sarah’s horror the time she was safe in a new Verse grew shorter and shorter.
She would not give up though. She would flee till the end.
As she stood overlooking the ocean one day in a life where she was a physician she turned and saw a figure approaching her along the shore. It was him. She looked over the beautiful sea one more time. It reminded her of standing on the shores of her Sea of Glass.
Sarah fell back.
***
Sarah opened her eyes.
She blinked a few times. There was a bright light directly above her. She was not sure where she was initially. Then she remembered. She was Sarah Whitman. Today was her annual dentist appointment. She was currently sitting in a chair in an exam room.
Beside her the dental tech smiled.
“It’s gonna be ok, Mrs. Whitman,” she said. “We’ll have you out in no time.”
Sarah smiled back at the dental tech. She liked her. She had grown to know her well over the years. Her name was Alexis.
“I know,” Sarah said. “I’m not scared.”
There was a knock at the door.
“That must be the dentist,” Alexis said.
Sarah looked at the light above her. She thought of the errands she had to run after this.
She heard the door open. An instant later she heard a gurgling sound.
Sarah looked to the door.
She saw the Monster had entered the room. He still had with him his blade. Sarah saw Alexis’ bloody body fall to the floor.
To Sarah’s horror she realized the Monster had found her within seconds of her entering this Verse.
The Monster looked down at Alexis’ body. He smiled at the corpse. He then stepped towards Sarah.
There was nowhere for Sarah to go. She could not escape this room. Not physically.
The Monster stood above her and smiled. He lifted the blade.
Sarah fell back.
***
Sarah fell back into a new Verse and then randomly leapt into another one as quickly as she could. She began doing this repeatedly. She started jumping instantly from Verse to Verse. She was in each new Verse mere seconds now.
She would out race him this way, she told herself. She jumped in and out of Verses so fast that even she had no idea what course she was taking as she moved through the Multiverse.
Prisons of Stolen Dreams Page 30