by Greg Ness
Bruce fell to his knees. The moment overwhelmed him. The love of his life had just lost her mother. His hands banged against the pavement as he let out a savage yell. Lying on the street, he hid his eyes in his sleeves. The chaos of the police, firemen, and paramedics surrounded him but left him alone.
Despite his heroics, he was convinced he had failed. The pressure on his head was unbearable. Tears snuck from his eyes. He was dying on the inside. This was the worst moment of his life.
The officer that pulled him away from the truck offered comfort. “Come on, son. Get up. Let us help you.”
With swollen eyes, Bruce looked up at the officer, who nodded at him and smiled. He offered Bruce his hand. Bruce stared at it long and hard. He didn’t want to take it. He wanted to stay on the ground. Forever. But he had to get up. Bruce lifted himself without taking the officer’s hand. The officer said, “From what I hear, what you did back there was pretty heroic.”
“It wasn’t enough.”
“You can’t blame yourself for what happened.”
Bruce nodded and turned away from the officer. He needed to find Sara. He wiped his eyes and paced back toward the ditch. The burning remnants of the SUV had been put out by the firemen. The smoke rose into the sky, bringing darkness upon all of them. “Sara!” Bruce yelled.
“She’s over there!” a random fireman said, pointing toward an ambulance.
Bruce spotted her. She was being interviewed by an officer. Getting her account of the accident, most likely. Bruce approached her.
Sara spotted Bruce and looked back toward the officer. Her eye makeup was smeared all over her face. She was more relaxed but still shaken up.
Bruce mumbled, “I’m sorry, Sara.”
Sara glared at him. The light in her eyes was gone. Sara couldn’t bear the sight of him. She looked back at the officer.
Bruce’s heart broke. He lost her. He knew it right then. Things would never be the same. They couldn’t be. It was impossible. “I want you to know that I love you. And I’ll always be sorry.”
Sara ignored him. There was nothing he could say to her. Defeated, Bruce walked away.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an overweight man walking away. Further, he had a green hat. Wait a second. That was the truck driver. “You’re letting him get away!” Bruce yelled to no one in particular.
Bruce sprinted down the street after the truck driver. “Turn around, asshole,” he demanded. The truck driver turned around and faced Bruce, who now stood only feet from him. Bruce asked, “Where do you think you’re going?”
“I was looking for you,” he responded.
“No you weren’t.”
The truck driver lowered his head. He was ashamed. “I’m sorry about what happened. My brakes weren’t working. Honest. I’ve been a truck driver for 20 years. I’ve never had my brakes fail like that before. There was nothing I could do. I tried to avoid hitting them.”
Bruce observed the truck driver. He didn’t seem to be lying. Strangely, the cut on his lip and the bruise on his head were gone.
“You still have to talk to the police,” Bruce said.
“Can’t. I’m only here to talk to you. To tell you that I’ll pay you back someday.”
“For what?” Bruce asked.
“For all this. I owe you.”
Bruce laughed in disgust. “There’s nothing you can do to pay me back. You’ve destroyed Sara’s life.”
“Tell her I’m sorry.”
“Tell her yourself.”
“I can’t,” the truck driver said.
“Why not?”
The truck driver looked for an explanation. “She just… it’s not… I’m talking to you now only because of Elpis.”
Bruce’s eyes widened. ELPIS? No one knew about the ELPIS box but he and Stephen. A voice from behind him yelled, “We’ve lost him. He’s dead!”
Bruce turned around and looked into an open ambulance. There was a rather large body on a stretcher being covered. A paramedic removed a green hat from the body. Bruce turned back to where the truck driver had been standing.
He was gone.
Bruce’s heart dropped as he realized what just happened.
He talked to the dead truck driver.
“Well, I should get going, Mr. Ixley,” Bruce said as he finished his portion of the cinnamon roll
“You don’t have to call me Mr. Ixley anymore,” he responded, smiling at Bruce.
“Good to know. Thanks for the cinnamon roll.”
Mr. Ixley nodded at him. The scar that ran perpendicularly over his eye was still visible, albeit more healed. It was a permanent reminder for what happened.
Meanwhile, back at the bookstore, Kristen stood in line with a pile of books in her hands. She had found them all and was ready to checkout and meet Bruce outside.
“Hey Kristen!” Sara Ixley emerged from behind her, with her own batch of books.
“Sara! How are you?” Kristen responded
Sara’s face beamed. She looked different than she did in high school. The prom night incident matured her and robbed her of her innocence. Instead of being a sweet girl, she was now a responsible, sometimes all-too-serious woman. Sara and Kristen had a few classes together and became friends. They hadn’t seen one another in a while, but they still held each other in high regard.
Sara asked, “How’s your boyfriend? I hear he’s a real looker.”
Kristen laughed. “I guess. He’s great. We just moved in together actually.”
“When am I going to get to meet him?”
“Anytime! Are you still going out with that cheerleader guy… what’s his name?”
“Nick. Yeah, I’m still going out with him.”
“Why don’t we do a double date soon?”
“That sounds great,” Sara said.
It was Kristen’s turn to checkout. The cashier waved her over. “Well, I gotta get goin, Sara. I’ll give you a call and we’ll set something up.”
Sara smiled.
It was a fake smile. She knew exactly who Kristen’s boyfriend was. Bruce. Sara had no desire to ever see him again. She might’ve had some deep, lodged feelings for him. But they were buried a thousand feet under the ground. There was only one reason she wanted to get together with Kristen and see Bruce:
She had to deliver a message.
24
Many years later, the ILD was discovered. Bruce Dennett had failed to stop Stephen Pandora from revealing his groundbreaking discoveries. It was shortly after that when Nick Castaneda struggled to free himself. He had been flailing helplessly for hours. Being covered with a hood had restricted his airflow and shrouded him in darkness. Finally, the hood over his head came off. Fresh air poured into his nostrils. Forced to his knees, he had no idea where he was. He had been walking to his car when he was overtaken and kidnapped. And now, he found himself here: in a huge, wide-open, steel covered room. It looked like a warehouse of some sort. The air was damp and the whole area smelled of wet metal. The room was dome-shaped and horridly lit. The plain white lights negated most of the color, creating a dull palette and a tiring sight. Nick rose from his knees.
A man in a blue robe approached him. He had flowing, wavy black hair and held some kind of long staff in his hand.
Nick’s voice endlessly echoed, “Do I know you?”
The man smiled and continued to approach him. Nick backed away. He had perfectly good reason to feel the terror growing inside him. “What do you want from me?!”
Nick hectically looked around. There was nowhere to escape. The room was wide open, like a Coliseum of sorts. He couldn’t even see the surrounding walls because they were shrouded in darkness. How did he end up here? He was a simple, law-abiding citizen who had never so much as considered breaking a rule.
The man with the staff revealed his name, “I am X.”
“X?”
Nick looked beyond X and noticed something in the distance that caught his eye: another man in a blue robe who emerged from the darkness shrouding the w
alls.
“Yes. One letter. X. Not Y. Not Z. X. That is my name. Call me anything else… and I will kill you,” X said matter-of-factly. It became clear to Nick this was a disturbed individual.
Nick asked, “What do you want from me?”
X was amused. Quite honestly, X’s giddiness scared Nick. He didn’t want to die. He had a family. A wife. A daughter. They needed him. He couldn’t stand the thought of them going through life without him.
X spoke up, “I have questions. You have answers.”
All around him, blue-robed figures emerged from the darkened walls. Their faces were concealed; they didn’t seem human. They laggardly paced toward him.
X held out his hands and bragged, “These are my faithful twelve disciples.”
The twelve robed figures stopped in their tracks and stood still.
Nick asked again, “What do you want from me?”
“Do you listen? I said, ‘I have questions. You have answers.’”
Nick was distracted by the eerie twelve ‘disciples’. He nervously uttered, “What do you want to know?”
“Sara Ixley. Tell me what you know about her.”
Nick’s face dropped. Sara Ixley? He dated her for two years in college. But that was ages ago. He was kidnapped and dragged to this forsaken place to be asked about Sara Ixley?
Bruce followed Kristen through the restaurant. They were meeting Kristen’s friend and her boyfriend for a double date. Bruce wasn’t exactly thrilled, but he went along with it anyway. The restaurant they found themselves in wasn’t necessarily a fancy place so he didn’t bother to dress up. A t-shirt and shorts did it justice. There were waiters and a good food selection but at its core, it was just another chain restaurant.
Bruce and Kristen traveled past occupied tables. Bruce observed the faces as he passed, eager to see who he’d be meeting.
“There they are!” Kristian exclaimed. She waved at her friend.
Her friend waved back.
Bruce stopped in horror. The waving girl, sitting in a booth with her boyfriend, was Sara Ixley.
He stared in disbelief. Sara Ixley. Her blonde hair flowed just as he remembered. She was no less beautiful than she had been when he saw her early on prom night. The last time he saw her was at the football game sophomore year, two years ago. She was a cheerleader. And she had been into one of her fellow cheerleaders. Bruce remembered how much that tiny kiss hurt him. It was then he swore he would let go of Sara.
But he never did.
“Come on, Bruce,” Kristen instructed.
Bruce reluctantly joined them. As he approached the booth, his eyes met Sara’s. Sara watched as Bruce sat in the booth next to Kristen. Sara’s heart broke. She knew it would be difficult… no, excruciating… to see Bruce again, but she had no choice. Secretly, she had longed to talk to him and tell him how sorry she was for cutting him out of her life. She was young. And foolish. Back then, Bruce’s selfless heroism on prom night wasn’t enough for her.
Bruce sat in the booth. Almost instantly, he noticed Sara’s hand: the E.M. ring he gave her was still on her finger. The sight bewildered him. Why hadn’t she taken it off? Did she still have feelings for him? Bruce stared at her and she stared back. There was no hiding it: it was supremely awkward.
“This is Sara Ixley,” Kristen said, “and this is her boyfriend, Nick…”
“Castaneda,” Nick interrupted.
Bruce looked at Nick and recognized him: he was the cheerleader who kissed Sara on the sideline. He was the all-American type, cleanly dressed, wearing a polo and donning a buzz cut.
“Hi Nick, I’m Bruce.”
Kristen whispered, “Aren’t you going to introduce yourself to Sara?”
“Yeah…” Bruce looked at Sara. “…I’m Bruce.”
Sara stumbled, “Nice to meet you.”
Nick spoke up, “So how do you two know each other?”
Bruce turned his head and spat, “We don’t.”
Kristen furrowed her brow. “What are you talking about? He’s asking about me and Sara…”
Bruce nervously laughed. “Y..Yeah.”
“Dork.” Kristen continued, “We met each other in philosophy class. I was struggling and Sara tutored me. We’ve been friends ever since.”
Blah. Blah. Blah. Bruce didn’t care. He stared at the girl he loved. But which girl was it? This was the worst predicament a heart could find itself in. His old flame that died out much too young against his new steady girlfriend.
“Excuse me,” Bruce blurted out, “I need to use the bathroom. I’ll be back.” He shifted out of the booth.
“That’s a good idea,” Sara said. “I’m going to go too.”
Bruce was surprised to hear that. He stopped midway through getting out of his seat and looked at Sara with bewildered anticipation. She was up to something. She flashed a smile at him-this was her chance.
They both exited the table. Kristen and Nick stared at each other as their significant others disappeared from view. “Well, it’s nice to finally meet you Nick…”
Bruce and Sara made sure they were out of sight. Not only from Kristen and Nick, but from all the patrons of the restaurant. They found a niche of a hallway leading to the bathroom that provided them enough privacy. They stared into each other’s eyes. Bruce shook his head, unable to fathom who was standing right in front of him.
“How are you?” Bruce asked.
“I have to be honest with you, Bruce. I knew you were going out with Kristen. I have to tell you something.”
Bruce interrupted, “Why are you still wearing it?”
Sara was perplexed. Bruce grabbed her hand and brought it to her eyes. “The ring.”
Sara was at a loss for words. She looked at the ring. E.M. Bruce had given it to her when she was a junior in high school.
Bruce persisted, “You still have feelings for me?” He stared into her eyes, which were glowing with sentiment. He continued, “Because you should know… I never stopped loving you.”
The feelings that had been buried thousands of feet under her came roaring back to the surface. Sara raised her hand to Bruce’s face and caressed him. He took her hand in his. They gazed deep into each other’s eyes.
Sara whispered, “I never stopped either.” Their noses rubbed against each other. It had been so long. Too long. There was a void in both their hearts. And now the only thing that could fill that void was standing right in front of them. Their lips inched together, until finally, after years of waiting, they met. Bruce kissed Sara as if it was the last kiss he would give. He closed his eyes and cherished the feel of her soft lips against his. They separated and stared longingly into each other’s eyes. Unfortunately, there was a truth they both knew:
They couldn’t be together.
At least not yet.
Sara smiled. She pulled Bruce close to her and hugged him. She squeezed, never wanting to let go.
Then, she remembered. She had a message. She needed to tell him. “Bruce,” she whispered, “I have to tell you something.”
Bruce pulled his head back so he could see her face.
Sara continued, “The girl who gave you this ring… don’t trust her.”
Bruce was stunned. “What?”
“Do you know what that means?”
Bruce stared at her with confused eyes.
Sara continued, “You can’t listen to her. Whatever she tells you to do, don’t.”
Bruce perplexedly asked, “Where did you come up with this?”
“Someone told me I needed to tell you that. If I didn’t tell you by the end of the month… Just… I was supposed to tell you.”
“Who? Who made you do this?”
“I don’t know. I’m sorry Bruce, I… I can’t say anything else.”
Bruce stared at her in disbelief. Their emotional reunion had been cut strangely short. He grabbed her hands and held them up to his chest. “You can trust me.”
“I know. I know I can… Just… forget it. Please. My only jo
b is done now.”
Bruce was baffled. He lowered his head in disappointment. He raised her hands to his lips and kissed them. Then, he noticed something was wrong.
“What is that?”
Bruce pulled down the sleeves covering Sara’s wrists and exposed her scars. The sight shattered him. “You tried to kill yourself?” he asked as delicately as he could.
Sara dropped her head. She was ashamed, embarrassed. She looked at Bruce, imagining how he was judging her. Instead, she noticed tears creeping from his eyes.
“I’m so sorry,” Bruce struggled to say. “I had no idea... I let you down. I wasn’t there for you. I’m sorry.”
Sara smiled, relieved and touched that he didn’t judge her. Tears of her own began to crawl their way out her eyes. “Bruce… It’s not your fault...” Bruce smiled at her through his teary blurred vision. Sara continued, “We better get back before they start to get worried.”
Bruce whispered, “I want to see you again.”
“You will.” Sara said. “We’ll figure something out.” She noticed his eyes. They were red and wet. “You better dry your eyes. They’re going to wonder what happened.”
Bruce laughed. “I’ll just tell them I got soap in my eyes. They’ll believe it.”
They smiled at each other one last time before they had to pretend they were strangers. It was time to face Kristen and Nick.
“I dated Sara Ixley a long time ago. What do you want to know about her?” Nick asked.
X looked at Nick with a deathly intensity. He wasn’t kidding around. He wanted answers.
“As you might know, Sara killed herself many years ago. But… I started to get the feeling she wasn’t the one who pulled the trigger. I want to know what you know about that.”
Nick stared at some of the twelve disciples who surrounded him. They were daunting. He didn’t feel safe and was starting to seriously question the sanity of what was going on. “Sara killed herself. She tried once before and failed. Why is it so hard to believe she would try again?”
X was displeased.
Nick asked, “Were you related to her or something?”
X didn’t bother answering his question. “You know nothing?”
Nick shook his head. “We went out for two years. I didn’t talk to her after that.”