Infinite Testament

by Greg Ness

  Elpis, the love of his life, was gone.

  42

  The Final Day-3:33 PM

  X stood in front of the Keres. The machine bursted with a deafening noise. X thought his head might fly right off. The intense blast of sound thrust him to the ground.

  Sara stepped back. The glow emanating from her face disappeared. She furrowed her brow and grew visibly livid. X trembled with fear.

  Sara declared, “Stephen Pandora was not lying. You cannot change things. You’ve made a mistake. You’re going to kill billions of innocent people. And now it’s too late.”

  The machine roared the loudest sound X had ever heard. He held his hands over his ears. The end of the world was minutes away.

  “My old friend wants to say something to you,” Sara said. Despite the enormous noise stemming from the machine, X could still hear. “I’m sorry. But you will never see me again.”

  From behind Sara walked a man. The man, like Sara, was exempt from the blue hue, and retained rich color like he was outside on a sunny day. Also like Sara, he was dead.

  The dead man, Bruce, emerged and faced X.

  “Hi Ronnie,” Bruce said with a cocky grin.

  “Bruce,” Ronnie said in disbelief. The rivalry between them was strong, even in death. Ronnie, for the first time in a long time, was terrified. “What does Sara mean I will never see her again?”

  Bruce pursed his lips. “Shut the fuck up.” Bruce looked at Ronnie’s hands covering his ears. The cast on his left hand made Bruce smile. “Looks like I got your hand pretty good. Next time, it’s gonna be a lot messier for you.”

  Ronnie’s eyes widened. “Sara said…”

  “What Sara says is what she means,” Bruce interrupted. “I’m here to tell you one thing…”

  Bruce looked up at the giant clear cylinder that filled the room. The blue fluid and the fire grew brighter as the dancing spectacle increased in speed. They whizzed together and the Keres roared ever louder, shaking the ground Ronnie stood on.

  Ronnie looked at Bruce in horror. He was usually in control of situations. But now, there was nothing he could do. It was all over.

  Bruce put his eyes directly in front of X’s and stared deep into the darkness. The light in Bruce’s eyes had the clear advantage as he taunted X.

  Bruce finished, “…We’re coming for you. See you soon.”

  Bruce smiled. The Keres ripped open and began its path to destroy every living thing on the planet.

  The sky lit up bright yellow, like the Earth had morphed into the Sun. It was brighter than Stephen’s eyes could handle. He held out his hand to Lisa, who had no idea he lay only yards from her. His hand was as outstretched as it could go. It might’ve come right off. He extended his fingers. He couldn’t get to her. She was so close. But he couldn’t do it. He just could not do it. He continued to scream, “Lisa!”

  She didn’t hear him. Looking at the city, Lisa wished she could be with Stephen. All her life, she searched for the one thing she once had. She would give anything to see him one more time, anything to apologize for that fateful day. She would never know Stephen had forgiven her. And he was only yards away.

  The air grew blazingly hot. Stephen saw Lisa and everything around them turn into a blur. The world stretched into infinity. This was it.

  Everything was gone.

  Everyone on the planet was dead.

  Except, of course, for Moros, who had already left the planet.

  43

  The nurse carried the baby boy in her arms through the hallway. The air of the hospital was typically nauseating and full of sickness. But not today. The baby boy looked up at the nurse. His legs softly kicked through the blue blanket that wrapped him. His tiny fingers gently curled.

  The nurse walked through a sliding door and into the nursery. A litter of babies lay peacefully, most of them sound asleep. One baby girl, however, cried incessantly. Her high pitch whine didn’t seem to bother the others.

  The boy in the nurse’s arms reacted negatively to the crying, shutting his eyes and flailing his arms. “Oh no,” the nurse baby-talked to the boy, “You don’t have to get upset.”

  The nurse placed the boy in his tiny bed, right next to the crying girl. The bed was a cubby with clear walls. It was on an elevated structure that was able to hold babies under the toughest of duress. This boy was initially delighted by the fluffy, cloud-like blankets. The delight lasted only seconds as the girl next to him let out a loud shriek.

  The nurse turned her attention to the crying baby girl. “You don’t have to cry.” The nurse picked her up and held her in her arms. “You’re going to wake the others.” The nurse cradled the girl for several minutes, gracing her against her chest. Once the baby girl was somewhat calmed, the nurse placed her back in her cubby, next to the newly arrived boy. As the nurse removed her hands from the baby girl, she cried again. The nurse whispered, “I have to go now, little Lisa Binsby. You have a neighbor now. Be nice to him. His name is Stephen Pandora. You two get along.”

  As the nurse left, baby Stephen looked to his side to catch a glimpse of the crying maniac. Lisa’s cry pierced the air. Instinctually, she looked at her new neighbor, Stephen.

  And fell silent.

  Lisa fell into Stephen’s deep blue, round eyes. Stephen gazed into her green eyes. He smiled. She smiled. In each other’s eyes, they found comfort. Peace. And above all, a light that seemed to cause their insides to warm. For the rest of the time they spent in the nursery, a time that felt like an eternity, Stephen and Lisa were lost in each other’s eyes.

  Later, the nurse brought Stephen back to his mother. She lay in the hospital bed and held out her arms, anxious to have her baby back in her arms. When the nurse handed her a blanket-wrapped Stephen, the nurse gave her usual, “He’s a special boy” line. But in this case, she didn’t know how right she was.

  Stephen’s mother peered into baby Stephen’s entrancing blue eyes. She marveled at the miracle resting in her arms.

  Stephen’s mother had great hopes for her baby. On this day, hope filled the air of the hospital. Hope he would live a productive, happy life. Hope for a brighter future. Hope for happier times.

  In the air on this day was an unseen, unheard hope that this time… would be different.

  44

  A small, 5 year-old Stephen Pandora sat on the floor in his bedroom, toys sprawled about everywhere. In his left hand was a scary-looking blue alien toy. Its long legs connected to a slick body. In Stephen’s right hand was a soldier.

  Stephen made the alien exclaim, “It is over you dumb jerk!”

  “Oh yeah?” the soldier responded, “I’ll beat you up!”

  The alien swooped and flipped its way in front of the soldier. “Too bad you can’t hurt me!” The soldier gripped a plastic gun in his hand and fired a few shots into the alien. Sure enough, the alien was unharmed. “Haha!” the alien exclaimed. “Now you will suffer for what you have done!”

  Stephen grabbed a Barbie from the rubble of toys and placed her in front of the alien. “No! Not Barbie!” the soldier yelled. The alien held out its hand and blasted Barbie clear across the room as Stephen flung her away.

  The soldier, whose face was frozen with plastic, dramatically faced the alien. “Now you did it, alien.” The soldier soared toward the alien with his foot extended.

  Knock Knock! Stephen dropped his toys and hobbled with his little legs to the door. As he opened it, his mother appeared, towering above him. “Hi, Mommy.”

  Mom held a tissue and dabbed her eyes. Her eye makeup was smeared and she had obviously been crying. Stephen naively smiled at her. “Want to play with me?” She shook her head. “Your father…” Her voice cracked as grief overcame her. “…needs to talk to you.”

  Stephen hopped around, oblivious to his mother’s suffering. “Okay!” He jumped on the bed and bounced. Stephen’s mother disappeared from the doorway and his father appeared in her place. He was an attractive man with short brown hair and a trimmed beard.


  “Hey, buddy,” he said to his son.

  “Hey, Dad!” Stephen threw back his head and pounded his fists on his chest like an angry gorilla. Stephen’s father laughed. “Sit down, kiddo.”

  Stephen plopped on the edge of the bed and his father sat next to him. “I need to talk to you, Stephen. Like two grown ups, okay?”

  Stephen anxiously nodded. “Okay, Dad.”

  Stephen’s father’s eyes grew heavy. Nonetheless, he forced a reassuring smile. “I have to go on a business trip. I’m going to be gone a long time…”

  “When will you be back?” Stephen asked. He could sense something was very wrong.

  His father sighed as his eyes darted around, looking for easy answers. “I’ll be gone for a long time. A very long time. I’m going to come see you again if I can.” He peered at Stephen, whose face was contorting with pain. Tears were throbbing his eyes and they began to make their way to his soft cheeks.

  The sight broke his father’s heart. He knelt in front of his son to get closer to him. His blue eyes looked into his son’s. He put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t cry, Stephen.”

  Stephen pushed himself off the bed and wrapped his arms around his father. His teary eyes smeared against his father’s shirt. “Please don’t leave. I love you, Dad. I’ll be good, I promise.”

  His father squeezed him closely. “I love you too, son.” He pulled back his head and looked into Stephen’s eyes. “You’re a special boy, Stephen. No matter what, always remember that I love you. Love is all you will ever need. When you find someone to love, love her forever.

  “And when life gets tough, remember this: All paths lead nowhere. Follow the path with heart.”

  Stephen nodded and wiped his eyes. His father leaned in and hugged him.

  Then his father left him.

  Abandoned.

  45

  Stephen stormed through the hallways of the research lab at the university. He approached one of the white-coat lab workers. “Chris, have you seen Moros?” Chris shook his head. “Sorry, Stephen.”

  Stephen took off, nearly sprinting toward Moros’s office. When he reached the door, he whipped it open. But to Stephen’s surprise, it was empty. His files, his phone, even that stupid blue backpack he lugged with him everywhere were gone. All of Moros’s stuff-everything- was gone. All that remained was a bare desk that could’ve belonged to anyone who wanted it. “What?” Stephen muttered in disbelief. He walked into the minuscule room and opened all of the drawers in his desk. Nothing, nothing, nothing. There was no trace of Moros.

  Stephen pulled out his cell phone and dialed Moros’s number. He put the phone to his ear and waited. A recording: “The number you have dialed is no longer in service.” Stephen ended the call and shook his head, enormously flustered.

  Stephen left the room and stood in the hallway, looking for answers. From anybody. Friends and strangers roamed the hallway. Some looked and smiled, others ignored him altogether. Luckily, none of them had tuned in to the news, or they’d all want to talk to him. None of them would know where Moros was. Most of them didn’t even know who he was. Moros tended to keep to himself.

  Stephen ran down the hallway and climbed a flight of stairs until he arrived at the office of the head of the department.

  Stephen barged into her office out of breath. Alice, a hard-nosed professional woman, hung up the phone as he stormed in. Her office was a comfortable place, where supposed great minds could think. “What are you doing, Stephen?”

  Stephen was hunched over, with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. “Did Moros quit? Where is he?”

  Alice never particularly liked Stephen and was especially annoyed today. “I don’t know. I don’t care. Mr. Moros hasn’t quit. He hasn’t been fired. Why don’t you try calling him? Just get out of my office, Stephen.”

  Stephen could have said something in defense. But he didn’t. Alice wasn’t worth his time. Hands on his hips, he left her office.

  Stephen Pandora lay in bed. The shades were shut but light managed to peek through. He was dizzy in his sleepy stupor. The phone sitting on the nightstand next to his bed rang obnoxiously. “Uuhh,” he mumbled. He picked up the receiver of the phone and slammed it back on its base. The phone sat silently. And rang again. “Damnit.”

  Stephen picked up the receiver and brought it to his ear. “What?”

  “Stephen Pandora?” an unknown voice asked.

  “Yeah. Who is this?”

  “I’m a reporter. Do you have a minute?”

  “What’s this about?”

  “Your discovery.”

  Stephen’s body shot out of bed. “What do you mean?” Without waiting for an answer, Stephen slammed the phone back into the base. He darted into his closet, picked out an outfit, and slipped it on. Stephen hustled through the hallways of his small house and grabbed his car keys off the counter. He opened the door to the garage and slammed the garage door button. As the garage door pulled itself upwards, Stephen saw a slew of television news vans parked on his street.

  What was going on?

  As he walked to his car sitting on the driveway, he noticed hoards of people with cameras and microphone booms standing on his lawn facing his front door. They simultaneously rushed toward him.

  Stephen gazed at them in bewilderment. “Why are you all here?”

  A woman with a microphone blurted, “We want to speak with the man who discovered the supposed ILD.”

  Stephen blankly stared at them. How did they all know? There had to be at least a dozen camera crews gawking at him. He made a promise to Bruce. A promise to remain silent. But how could he do that now? There was no way. Not with the reporters already on the loose. Stephen licked his lips and took a deep breath. “Umm… well…”

  Stephen rushed down the hall and opened the door of his office. Next to his desk was Vince’s, where he diligently typed away on his computer and filled the room with the sound of keyboard buttons. “Where’s Moros?” Vince ceased his typing and the room fell silent. He observed Stephen, who seemed to be panting; he was a bit hysterical. “What’s wrong, Stephen?”

  “I woke up this morning and every god damn news station in the world was on my lawn!”

  “Every one in the world?” Vince asked, confused.

  “No, Vince! It’s sarcasm! Stop taking everything so literally!”

  Vince ignored Stephen’s outburst. “So what did they want?”

  “What do you think they wanted? They asked me about the ILD!”

  Vince stood up as his chair rocketed away behind him. His eyes grew wide with worry. “How did they know?”

  “I have no idea. That’s why I’m trying to find Moros. He’s the only one who would have opened his mouth.”

  Vince took off his glasses and set them on his desk. He took a deep breath of concern. This wasn’t good. “What did you tell them?”

  Stephen became defensive. “What was I supposed to say? They had me cornered.”

  Vince rubbed his hand over his eyes, trying to ease the tension building in his head. “We agreed to never talk about it, Stephen.”

  “What was I supposed to say?!”

  “I don’t know. But you’re going to handle this. Don’t bring me into it.”

  A feeling of dread fell over Stephen. Moros had gone against their pact of silence and now Stephen was going to have to pay the price. He would forever be the face of the ILD.

  Vince picked up the phone and dialed. “I have to tell Natalie,” he said. Stephen glared at Vince.

  As Vince held the ringing receiver to his ear, he couldn’t help but be reminded of Stephen’s plight in the church so many years ago. He came in, covered in blood, with seemingly nothing left in his life, and begged him and Natalie for help. Since that day, Vince had always worried for him. The phone continued to ring in his ear.

  Stephen said, “If you see Moros, tell him…

  …I’m going to kill him.”

  Their suffering is eternal. The forsaken fal
l.

  But the sun still shines. So they wait.

  For the one who will save them from their prison.

  46

  Stephen Pandora stood in his new mansion amidst the mess sprawled around him. There was an endless barrage of boxes and bubble-wrapped furniture piled into his living room. It had been just over a year since the world was introduced to the ILD. In that span of time, Stephen had published books, given countless speeches, and amassed a significant excess of money. He recently bought his own personal plane to help with his travels. And now, he purchased a monstrous home to call his own. The only person still a part of his life was Campbell, who stuck around to help him teach the world about the ILD. Stephen was rich, famous, and one of the most respected scientific minds on the planet.

  And he was miserable. Alone.

  Abandoned.

  “Don’t give up on me.” Lisa’s words rang eternally in his mind. Stephen made a promise. And broke it.

  With Lisa’s letter in hand, Stephen strolled around the room. He wasn’t walking anywhere in particular. He was just pacing as memories flowed into his mind. The words lifted off the page and right back into his consciousness, like he was reading it for the first time:

  “I know things happened between us that we didn’t plan but I still don’t like thinking about losing you. Sometimes I think you may be better off with someone who won’t hurt you like I did, and someone who is better suited for you, which makes me feel like this move to L.A. is a good thing. Other times I question that. I think in the end though, it’s best for us to move on. I guess we will see when the time comes. I love you. I’m sorry.”

  Stephen placed Lisa’s letter on the counter and stared at it. Suddenly, he was stricken with déjà vu. He had the strongest inclination he had been here before. These thoughts weren’t new. These sights-the box on the floor, his wrapped couch-he’d seen them in this exact configuration before.