by Greg Ness
Looking at the floor, he noticed a glaring omission: the ELPIS box was gone. Vanished. Where did it go? He swore he put it on the floor in front of him before reading Lisa’s letter. But looking toward the couch, all he could see was the packing box. He got on his knees and looked under the couch. Looked in the packing box. He kicked it aside. Nothing.
Stephen walked back toward Lisa’s letter on the counter. The words, “I love you,” glared at him. Stephen surveyed the area around the letter. Still nothing. Where could the ELPIS box have gone?
Stephen would turn around and the ELPIS box would be right where he left it. He was sure of it. He didn’t know how he knew. He just knew. He looked back toward the couch. Sure enough, there it was, right where he thought it would be. Weird. It was like the ELPIS box got up, left, and came back. He must’ve just overlooked it. He had a tendency to lose things. But he looked there. He looked in that exact spot.
Stephen snatched up the ELPIS box and unlatched it.
“Don’t give up on me.” Lisa’s words echoed in his mind. He thought he might be losing it. He gripped the lid of the box and started to creak it open.
Wait.
There was no point in opening it. He knew what was inside. Opening the box wouldn’t change anything. It would just bring more bad memories. More memories he wanted to forget.
He slammed the lid shut and re-latched the box.
But then, he paused. The déjà vu was so strong, Stephen thought he might pass out. “Screw it,” he said to himself.
Stephen opened the ELPIS box. There they were, resting in the box as they always had. But as the box remained opened, staring at Stephen, he made a bizarre realization. In past cycles of the Universe, he had mailed the ELPIS box to Bruce in the morning. It was what he had done every time.
But not this time.
Stephen’s eyes unconsciously slammed shut as visions flew around in his mind. Bruce’s wake. Kristen giving him the box. A man with a scar over his eye heinously smiling on television. A riot breaking out in Los Angeles. His hand desperately trying to reach Lisa Binsby… As the world ended.
The ELPIS box fell from his hand and crashed to the ground. Its contents rolled away. He saw Lisa in the distance, on her knees, glaring towards the city. A bright light stretched his sight. And everything was gone.
Stephen gasped as his eyes whipped opened. Confusion surrounded him. Where was he? Packing boxes were spread everywhere. Furniture was covered in bubble wrap. He was back in his mansion, just as he was moving in. The end of his life had just played in front of him, and now, his consciousness felt like he had traveled back in time. Stephen looked around in shock. His two realities merged and he came to the stunning realization that when he opened the ELPIS box, he changed the course of the Universe.
At that moment in time, so much hadn’t happened yet. He hadn’t given a speech to Congress. Bruce hadn’t died. Even his dog, Miles, hadn’t been born yet.
Stephen dropped his head. And laughed. His laughter was filled with overjoyed insanity. He was given a second chance. And with complete knowledge of the future! Stephen looked up toward the ceiling. “Thank you,” he whispered.
The sunlight seeping through his windows disappered. In its place was total darkness. Stephen could no longer see a thing in his apartment. He glanced at the glowing digital clock in the kitchen. It was 3:33-the middle of the afternoon. Stephen looked out the window toward the sky. Pitch black. Without warning, the ground shook violently, knocking Stephen backwards. On the floor, he saw the contents of the box bouncing and rolling away around with the violent rumbling of the ground. Stephen reached out his hand, gripped them, and slammed them back inside the box. He latched it shut and waited for the apparent earthquake to subside.
Mikey, wearing a backwards hat, was on his bike, pedaling home from school in the street. He passed the familiar sights of his suburban neighborhood. When the sky went inexplicably dark, he looked with curiosity but continued to travel home. When the ground rumbled, he was tossed haphazardly to the concrete. Catching his fall with his hands, Mikey gazed toward the sky. The sun was there. But it wasn’t emitting any light. It was as if the planet flipped into the midst of the night.
Involuntarily, Mikey’s eyes slammed shut. Flashes of what had happened in another time flew around in his memory. Destroying the Xlympians. Killing Chad. X killing his Father, Bruce. His father’s wake. Being shredded to death by X. Mikey’s body contorted, jolting from the shaking ground and receiving imaginary strikes from a blade. His eyes opened and he gasped for air. Mikey shot around, desperately trying to figure out where he was. His consciousness just experienced another life. All he had seen hadn’t happened yet. His dad hadn’t died. Mr. Ixley hadn’t sacrificed himself. Their master plan to take down X hadn’t failed.
His fists clenched. Mikey was not going to let X win. He wasn’t going to let his father die. Not this time. Mikey smirked at his newfound wisdom of a tragic life past.
The ground ceased its shaking. Stephen rose to his feet and flipped on a light to combat the darkness. His house remained a mess, without effect from the earthquake. Lisa’s letter had fallen to the ground. Stephen picked it up and looked at it. Without hesitation, he crumpled it up and tossed it in the garbage. He didn’t need it anymore. The words that rang in his mind, “Don’t give up on me,” were not as haunting as they had once been. He hadn’t given up on her. He chased her down to the end of the world and barely missed reuniting with her. Did she still love him? There was no way to know. For all his life, he had longed for a chance to change the past, but now he had a chance to change the future.
His phone rang. “Hello?” he answered.
“Did you see what happened?” Campbell asked on the other line.
Stephen smiled, “I saw a lot of things. What did you see?”
“The sky, Stephen! The earthquake! What is going on?”
“I don’t know, Campbell… But I think I saw a little more than you did.”
How did this happen? Stephen was dumbfounded.
But he remembers.
And now is his chance to make things right.
Mikey picked up his bike from the street. An elderly man who had fallen on the sidewalk grumbled for help. Mikey hopped over the curb, ran on a patch of grass, and extended his hand. “Did you see that?”
The old man graciously accepted Mikey’s hand. “Thank you young man. Yes, I saw it. It’s dark as hell out here.”
The old man settled onto his feet. Mikey asked, “Did you see anything in your head? …Visions?” The old man tapped him on the shoulder in gratitude. “I didn’t see anything. But I’m an old man. So what do I know?” The man’s wrinkly face smiled. He nodded as he continued his trek on the sidewalk. With the line of houses bordering the street, many people were coming outside to get a look at the dark daytime sky. Mikey stared ahead, looking only in his thoughts. What just happened? Did anyone else see the future? He had no answers.
But he remembers.
And now is his chance to make things right.
Moros dug his hands into the sand. Slowly, he pushed his body up and stood upright on the beach. In the middle of the day, the sun had gone out. Moros, wearing his backpack, looked out across the ocean. There was no sun, no moon, reflecting off the water. There was simply an endless ocean of darkness. As the waves crashed onto the beach, Moros could only wonder.
It was not the first time he had experienced an earthquake with a complete loss of light. On the day of his son’s execution the same had happened. When Elpis later explained to him that Jesus had changed the course of the Universe, he understood the correlation of events.
But could anyone have actually changed the Universe again?
Moros, with great worry, stares out at the ocean. Is his plan in danger? It appears he will have to be more proactive.
Things are going to be different.
47
Mikey, donning a backwards hat, sits at the dining room table, staring at his befuddled father
at the other end. The darkness from outside floods the inside of the house, though with the time nearing 8 o’clock, it is more fitting than 3 o’clock darkness. All that remains to be seen is whether or not the sun will come up tomorrow. A lone light above the table is all that illuminates them.
Bruce stares at his son in total confusion. “So… I die?”
Mikey nods. “Yes. You had him. It was over. Then he spun his stupid stick and the blade came out the other end and stabbed you instead.”
“How long from now?”
“It was about a year, I think.”
Bruce leans forward, crossing his hands. “This couldn’t have been a dream? Why are you so sure it’s the future?”
Mikey sits back in his chair and rolls his eyes. He could understand his father’s uncertainty but is frustrated by his persistent doubts. “I just know, Dad! I was there! It was like I lived the whole thing… and when it was over, I woke up here. The future… We can change it…”
Knock Knock! Mikey and Bruce turn their heads toward the front door. They gaze at each other, both shrugging their shoulders, unsure of who could be knocking. Bruce rises from his chair and walks toward the door. His hand grips the door handle and creaks it open.
Stephen stands outside, smiling at his best friend. “Hi, Bruce.”
Bruce is astounded. Seeing his estranged friend is something he is unprepared for. “Stephen?” Feelings of joy resonate in his soul. “Stephen!” Bruce almost unknowingly wraps his arms around him. “It has been so long!”
Stephen hugs him back. “I missed you, Bruce.”
Bruce pulls himself away from Stephen. And draws a blank. The moment is too great, too unexpected. Overcoming his joy, Bruce says, “Come in.” As Stephen walks through the door, Bruce notices another figure behind him. In his excitement, Stephen nearly forgets. “This is my colleague and good friend, Jay Campbell.”
Campbell steps forward and offers Bruce his hand. Bruce shakes it. Nonchalantly, like he always does things. Campbell says, “It’s nice to meet you, Bruce.”
“Same,” Bruce replies with a teethy smile. Suddenly, he remembers; Bruce had been distracted by his own excitement. He says to Stephen, “You haven’t met my son.”
Stephen nearly falls over at the suggestion. Bruce has a… son?
Bruce leans forward and whispers, “I adopted him a few years ago.” Stephen chuckles to himself. That makes more sense. Bruce probably isn’t suited for reproduction of his own.
Bruce yells, “Come here, Mikey!”
Mikey reluctantly gets out of his chair at the dinner table and walks toward the front door. Bruce demands, “Turn your hat around!” Mikey flips his hat forward and continues toward his father. Bruce says, “Mikey, I want you to meet your unofficial uncle. Uncle Stephen.”
Stephen looks at Mikey and smiles. As Mikey glances into Stephen’s blue eyes, it dawns on both of them: they’ve already met. Emotions start to overcome Mikey as the memories associated with Stephen come back. Stephen was there, desperately trying to save his biological father from death at the fair. He was there, at the wake of the only father he had ever truly known, Bruce, as they accidentally bumped into each other. Stephen looks at Mikey with the same realization and is filled with the same overwhelming memory. Mikey lunges forward and hugs Stephen, fighting tears. Stephen hugs back, fully aware of his pain.
Mikey mutters, “You were there. At the fair. And at the wake.”
Stephen is surprised to hear him say that. It appears he wasn’t the only one to receive visions of the future. Stephen whispers, “We’ll change it.”
Bruce steps back. They know each other? How? The only thing Bruce knows for certain is today is a weird day. There’s something different about it. With the worldwide earthquake and darkness, there isn’t a weirder day on record.
Elsewhere, Natalie sits in the front pew of a church. Her faith has always been strong. It’s late and she is alone. She prays. She prays for her husband, Vince. She prays for her friends. She prays for the future. She looks at Jesus, who hangs, lifeless on the cross.
Unexpectedly, a man sits next to her. Natalie glances at him. He has a trimmed beard and brown hair. Natalie looks ahead, back at Jesus.
The man asks, “Why are you here?”
Natalie, still looking forward, responds, “The world has gone dark. You can call me crazy, but I am a spiritual person. And I fear the end times are near.”
“It is not the end times.” The man shakes his head, confident of his statement. “It is a new beginning. Granted, an unexpected one. Even I could not have anticipated this.”
Natalie furrows her brow and looks at the man. He seems to be in his mid-40’s and holds himself with the confidence of a sage. Natalie looks into the man’s entrancing blue eyes. In them, she finds a brightness, a light that shines powerfully. Natalie asks, “Why are you here?”
“The man replies, “My name is Zeno. I am an archangel. I am here to tell you it is not the end. Something has changed. Now is a critical moment in time. Earth will have a choice: light or dark. In that sense, I suppose these are the ‘end times’. For after these days, nothing will be the same.”
Natalie nods and stares ahead, analyzing her thoughts. She isn’t gullible enough to blindly believe the words of a stranger.
Zeno asks, “You believe what I say?”
“I don’t know,” Natalie says.
Zeno continues, “Your prayers are heard by the Most High. But they won’t get you through these days.” Zeno leans forward with urgency and says, “Go to Stephen Pandora. He needs you.”
Natalie turns her head surprisingly at Zeno. “How do you know…”
“I am an archangel. I don’t claim to know the future. I just have faith. Like you.” Zeno confidently smiles and peers into Natalie’s eyes. Natalie again notices the light in his eyes. Angel or not, there was something different about this man. Natalie asks, “Why does Stephen need me?”
“To make sure the people choose light.”
Back at Bruce’s house, Stephen, Campbell, Bruce, and Mikey sit at the dinner table. For the past hour, they have exchanged stories and revelations of the future. It is a confusing conversation, and one Bruce has trouble fully understanding, even with the bizarre events that have transpired in his life. He declares, “Let’s not wait. Let’s kill X and get it over with. End of the world avoided.”
“I agree,” Mikey announces.
“Without you,” Bruce retorts.
Mikey shrugs his shoulders in disgust. “Why? You need me. I’m a member.”
“I’ll go,” Stephen interrupts.
“No,” Bruce replies. “You need to go to Lisa. You’ve waited long enough for that. Forget all this. I’ll take care of it.”
Stephen shakes his head in disagreement. “I was at your wake. I looked at your body in a coffin. Do you know how painful that was? I won’t let it happen again.”
Bruce leans forward, seething, “Stephen, go with Campbell on your fancy jet to L.A. and see Lisa.”
Campbell says, “We won’t be able leave on the plane until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest, so we’ll wait for you.”
“How big is the jet?”
“Big enough.” Stephen says. “So you’re going to kill Ronnie… then join us on a flight… in the same night?”
“You don’t think I can do it?” Bruce asks. “We’ll finish up quickly and join you. But you can’t get to Lisa’s too late in the night. Are you going to wait until the next morning?”
“Yeah,” Stephen replies. “But you’re not invited.”
Stephen and Bruce laugh.
The thought of reuniting with Lisa gives Stephen the chills. It would be a reunion of impossible proportions. His heart simply hasn’t felt the same since she left. He has reservations about leaving Bruce to take care of Ronnie but if anyone could take down a dangerous cult, it’s Bruce. And now, with knowledge of the future, the odds were definitively tipped in his favor. “Fine, get it done. But don’t get hurt,” Stephen
says. “There’s one thing we need to figure out. How did Ronnie know your plan to kill him last time?”
Everyone simultaneously looks to Mikey, who interjects, “Don’t ask me. Who would you have told, Dad?”
Bruce cowers in thought. “The only person I could see myself telling is Kristen. But she wouldn’t tell anyone.”
Campbell asks, “You haven’t told her anything yet have you?”
“No…”
“Keep it that way,” Stephen demands.
“You don’t really think Kristen would…”
“I don’t know. But let’s not risk it,” Stephen interrupts.
Bruce chuckles at Stephen’s intensity. “It’s good to have you back, Stephen.”
Stephen smiles behind a veil of sadness. There is a nagging issue Stephen feels compelled to address. “I have to tell you something, Bruce. I didn’t reveal the ILD. It was one of my coworkers. I wasn’t going to reveal it. I made a promise. You were right. And I’m sorry it happened.”
Bruce smiles nonchalantly. “I don’t care, Stephen,” he says lightly. “What happened in the past is over. We’re all here now. Let’s worry about the future.”
Stephen smiles. It’s a great feeling to be back in action with Bruce.
Campbell asks, “What about Elpis?”
“She’ll find me,” Bruce responds confidently. “She always does.”
Stephen asks, “Did you ever tell her about the box?”
Bruce raises his eyebrows. “…No,” he says almost embarrassed to admit it.
“Don’t you think she should know we have a box with her name on it?”
Bruce smiles devilishly. “We don’t know that it’s hers… Elpis is a fairly common name… right?”
Stephen and Bruce laugh. Mikey looks at Campbell and rolls his eyes. Campbell nods, silently agreeing with his discontent.
Bruce laments, “We’ll tell her eventually.”
“So what’s the game plan?” Campbell asks, eager to get to the point.
Bruce answers, “There’s a meeting tomorrow night. I’ll figure out the details. In the meantime, you and Stephen get the jet ready. Then, Kristen, Mikey, and myself will join you. We’ll have a pool party at the hotel. A big ‘we stopped the end of the world’ party.” Bruce half-jokes, “I don’t know if there’s a better reason to party than that. That’s got to be the best party ever.”