by Matthew Fish
“Goodnight,” Hope says as she yawns and closes her eyes.
Emma stands up and walks to the window. She feels a sick anticipation in the pit of her stomach as she watches the sun go down.
“Take my hand,” Justine says as she reaches for Emma’s.
“I’m a little afraid,” Emma says as she takes Justine’s hand into hers. She can feel her hand trembling. “Thanks…”
“You’ll be okay,” Justine adds.
“It’s time,” Emma says as the last beam of sunlight disappears from view. A burning sensation grows from the pit of her stomach as she feels herself being torn apart. A searing, scorching sensation fills her lungs as she cannot breathe. She feels as though she is choking, as though her lungs can no longer take in any air—everything feels hot. Emma feels her body lifted into the air. With one final surge of unbearable pain she is completely torn apart in black ash. She feels strange, like a pile of leaves on a windy day. Her consciousness grows dim. She can see glowing embers all around her—her last thought is that they are pieces of her. As the last pieces of glowing flesh disappears into the air, so does Emma’s thoughts, existence, and life.
*
Emma finds herself falling in an endless darkness. She attempts to scream but the words are ripped from her mouth and ushered away into the ether as soon as she forms them. Emma attempts to make out anything in the darkness. Her eyes sear in pain from the force of her endless descent. Her lungs constrict tightly and painfully as she attempts to breathe. She is bitter cold, colder than she has been on any given winter day.
Emma spots a strange light off in the distance. A low grumble noise can be heard, barely audible above the sound of the wind ripping all around her. The strange sound grows louder and louder as Emma grows closer to the light.
As she approaches the brilliant glow, she feels herself pulled in and twisted as though the ball of light is slowing her descent. Emma lets out a heavy sigh of relief as her feet softly land upon a strange soft surface. A low hum of electricity fills the air and causes her hair to rise into the air as she steps forward into the brilliant glow.
This all seems very familiar to her—it is just like when she confronted the light that was chasing her in Emma’s nightmares. She reaches the edge of the glowing, swirling sphere and places her hand against it. That same familiar strange feeling overcomes her as she steps in. She takes a few steps forward and is met by a familiar masked face.
The face is frozen, the familiar creepy grin spread across its face.
“Is this where the others go?” Emma asks to the naked, glowing form. She looks strange, Emma had only noticed her face and chest before, but she looks to her arms and notices that she is restrained against some kind of wall with chains by her hands and feet. She is sticking out forward in an odd position because she is being forced to do so. Emma attempts to reach back and pull against the strange blue glowing chains.
“Leave them,” A voice booms in her head, almost causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground.
“Who is this?” Emma asks as she wheels around and sees that the girl remains motionless. She returns to the face, the expression and eyes have not changed at all.
“I have been called many things, Sol, Amaterasu, Ra, Shum… I could spend an eternity listing names given to me. “I believe that you would simply name me Sun. I suppose this name would be accurate,” the voice resounds in Emma’s head. “I did not expect to see you this soon.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m right in front of you,” the voice replies causing Emma to wince in pain. “I take your being here as a sign that you have bartered time with one of the others that you refer to as ‘clones?’
“I gave Alexis tonight,” Emma speaks to the frozen statue. “I gave her some comfort.”
“That was very brave of you,” the voice responds in a softer, more bearable tone. “Given that time is so very short.”
“Can this outcome be…bartered?”
“What can you possibly offer me?”
“I don’t know…” Emma whispers sadly. “I just don’t wish for the world to end—there are still people I care about. I’m just starting to learn how to live. I want to live.”
“There is one way. However, it is your only option.”
“What is it?” Emma asks, grateful to hear that there is something that she can do to stop this from happening after all.
“All three of the ‘clones’ must emerge as the first rays of my light appear on the fated morning. Amongst the three, one of them shall take my place—to be remained forever chained by their own volition."
“And what happens to the other two?”
“They shall burn away to dust,” the voice speaks in a tone that causes Emma’s ears to ring violently. “That shall be the only ‘barter’ to be made. Otherwise I shall consume Gaia and all that live upon it to end my own suffering.”
“I care for them,” Emma whispers. “Is there no other way?”
The voice laughs in a manner that is befitting of its terrible grin. “The three must emerge from the path. There is no other way. Be grateful that I even offer you this tribute, as either way, I will be destroyed. So it matters to me not.”
“What was the point to all of this?”
“The same point you tried to make at the end of a rope. An ending…”
“Why did you let me get close to them, only to take them away?”
“You mistook their purpose,” the voice gently says. “You mistake your own purpose. I can claim no fault for your actions. If it is of any consolation, your being here does ensure me that I chose the right one.”
“You’re cruel,” Emma whispers.
“Millions of years estranged from my love has made me so,” the voice booms in Emma’s head causing her to collapse to her knees. “You would be cruel after a few years.”
“I am sorry,” Emma softly replies as she bows. “I did not understand….may I ask who you loved so deeply that it caused you so much pain?”
“Its name is as many as mine, Luna, Bendis, Tsukuyomi…”
“The moon,” Emma whispers.
“Such a simple name for someone so elegant,” the voice replies in a soft tone. “It is not fitting.”
“I apologize,” Emma says as she nods. “I knew nothing of your pain. I will do what I have to do.”
“Do what you feel you must,” the voice replies. “It is of no consequence to me.”
“Can I return now?” Emma asks. “Thank you for giving me a choice.”
“I already grow weary of your presence,” the voice resounds in Emma’s ears.
Without warning she is dropped back into the darkness. Emma looks down as she is shot like a bullet from a gun, she can see the Earth beneath her. She speeds towards it. In a strange freefall, Emma looks back up to the dim light that called itself the sun—it seems close to the earth. Perhaps it is not the entirety of the sun itself that is descending upon Earth, but its spirit. Emma is horrified by what has to be done. As she reaches the Earth’s atmosphere she begins to burn once more. Her body is overwhelmed with pain, but as quickly as it begins she turns to nothing.
Day 6
Chapter 7: Shock and Denial
Emma gasps for air as she finds herself on the floor next to the window that faces the lake. The sun is full and warms her cold body. She finds that her regular clothes have been replaced with one of the bright white dresses that the clones of her wear. Emma coughs a few times and regains her bearings. She is back in Justine’s apartment. It is just like the others had described, however, there is one glaring difference—she remembers.
The sound of crying gets Emma to her feet as she rushes to the couch. Hope is lying curled up in a ball, Emma figures that she must have just materialized as well. “It’s alright Hope…”
“I feel sick,” Hope whispers. “I always feel sick when it happens.”
“I know the feeling,” Emma says as Hope places a hand upon Emma’s thin white dress.
“It�
�happened to you too?” Hope asks as she sits up. “Why?”
“It’s okay Hope,” Emma says as she places her arms around the small girl. “I know it is scary, but you don’t disappear, you just go somewhere else, but you don’t remember it.”
“You remember?”
“I do,” Emma says sadly as she looks to the little girl. She cannot separate her feelings that this is just an ordinary little girl from that of just being a clone, or a vessel. To Emma, even if she is just a version of her younger self, this is a person—she has feelings, she has her own personality.
“You’re back,” Justine says as she emerges from her bedroom and rushes over to Emma and Hope. “You’re both back.”
“I know how to stop it,” Emma whispers to Justine.
Justine looks to Emma and nods. “How do we do it?”
“I can’t talk about it…here,” Emma says as she looks to Hope. “We have to head back to my house now.”
“I’m ready,” Justine says as she gets to her feet.
*
As Emma pulls the car into the rock driveway, she is greeted by Alexis who is standing outside of the door.
“Is that…” Justine says as she shields her eyes from the sun. “Elizabeth or…is that the other one, Alexis?”
“That would be Alexis,” Emma says as she nods.
“She doesn’t look as scary as I thought,” Hope says from the backseat.
“She’s just like us,” Emma says as she exits the car.
“Emma,” Alexis says as she nods. “Thank you again for giving me that night—I hope that it wasn’t too terrible for you.”
“I remember…” Emma whispers as she passes Alexis and heads into the house. “I remember everything.”
“I don’t want to go in,” Hope says as she hesitates by the door.
“I know it is scary in here,” Justine says as she looks to the broken floor that leads down to the basement. “But you can be brave for me right?”
“We need you to be here,” Emma says as she smiles comfortingly at Hope, although she feels bad for doing so—like leading a lamb to slaughter.
“Okay,” Hope says as she hangs her head down and pouts. She reluctantly steps into the house as though she is walking on eggshells. As the door shuts behind her she looks around the house nervously as though expecting some kind of monster.
“What are you afraid of Hope?” Justine asks.
“I don’t know,” Hope replies as she stares down at the floor. “I don’t remember.”
“It’s just the creepy old house,” Emma says, quickly changing the subject. She would prefer that Hope never come to realize why she fears the house.
“I’m afraid of this place too, with all the spider webs and the floor all wrecked up,” Alexis adds as she places a hand on Hope’s shoulder and gives her a little shake. “There’s no shame in being afraid.”
“We need to talk to Elizabeth,” Emma says as she heads towards the spiral staircase. “Can you be a really big girl Hope, and wait downstairs by yourself?”
“I can stay,” Justine says.
“We need you,” Emma adds. “We will only be a few minutes.”
Hope nods reluctantly as she sits with her back to the cracked red wall. “Hurry up okay?”
“Of course,” Emma says as she gestures for Justine and Alexis to follow her.
The three ascend the stairs and arrive at the shut attic room door. Emma knocks softly. “Elizabeth…”
Elizabeth opens the door and allows the group to enter.
“It’s almost time, isn’t it?” Elizabeth asks as she coughs.
“It is,” Emma says as she reaches for Elizabeth’s hand. She looks thin and sickly. Her eyes have dark shadows beneath them and her lips are red and torn. “I know how to stop the end of the world…but, it comes with a price.”
“What is it?” Elizabeth asks as she rest back against the bed.
“The three versions of me have to go out just as the sun is rising on the last day—once they are out in the sunlight they will be met by a girl who has been chained to the sun for millions of years. One of the three must take her place.”
“And what happens to the other two?” Justine asks, growing very concerned at where this conversation is headed.
“They disappear into dust,” Emma says sadly. “I didn’t want Hope to know—it just…”
“You can’t send Hope out there,” Justine protests. “She’s just a little girl.”
“She’s not real,” Alexis says. “You have to look at her like she is one of us.”
“I…I just can’t,” Justine says as she shakes her head. “We can’t do this.”
“If we don’t do this,” Emma says as she lowers her head. “Then we all die. Everyone, everywhere…I met with the one that is coming, and she does not care for our fate either way. She is allowing herself to fall to the Earth in a final act to end her suffering.
“Well it has to be one of us two then,” Elizabeth says as she looks to Alexis.
“I’ll do it,” Alexis says without hesitation.
“No,” Elizabeth softly whispers. “You’ve all done your part to be brave—you’ve all accomplished things. Let me do my part. Let me take on this burden.”
“You are not any less than we are,” Alexis says as she places her hand upon Elizabeth’s. “I am sorry if I made you feel inferior in any way. You don’t have to prove anything.”
“I want this,” Elizabeth says as she withdraws her hand from Alexis’s. “I have felt unimportant for days. I need this. Let me show that I can accomplish something that means anything.”
“If you are sure,” Alexis says.
“I am completely,” Elizabeth says as she nods.
“I am sorry that any of you have to go,” Emma adds as she wipes away a tear from her eye. “I have grown so close to all of you that I wish there could be any other way. I would take any of your places if I could.”
“You’ll live on,” Alexis says as she shakes her head. “You’ll live on for the rest of us—just be happy. You have friends now, you have a relationship—as long as you haven’t screwed that up, but I think he’ll still come around if you let him back in. You have a purpose. We have a purpose too now. It may suck, I mean really suck…but like I said before, it’s our fate. I mean, it would get annoying after a while, all these versions of you hanging around.”
“I would never tire of your company,” Emma says as she attempts to hold back tears.
“Come on,” Alexis says as she smiles and playfully punches Emma in the shoulder. “I’m trying to make you feel better here. Don’t let some of my final attempts at levity go to waste.”
“How are we going to tell Hope?” Justine says as she shakes her head.
“We can’t,” Elizabeth says as she lets out a heavy sigh. “We’ll just walk out with her—and when the time comes I’ll take over, and Alexis and Hope will disappear.”
“That seems so mean…and unfair for her,” Justine says as she looks away from the group. “She’s just a little girl and she’s not going to understand at all.”
“That’s the point,” Alexis says with a matter of fact tone. “Would you rather her be scared? Once we leave the room that will be the last that we speak of any of this. I would rather her die happy and oblivious to what is to come.”
“I understand…” Justine whispers as she continues to look away. “I know it is her or the end of the world, I just hate it.”
“The sun would have drawn me in anyway,” Alexis says. “I have a feeling that makes me want to be there—like a magnet that draws me in. It is what we are meant for.”
*
As evening approaches, Justine plays with Hope is Emma’s room. Elizabeth is upstairs sleeping—she seems to be growing weaker the closer it gets to nighttime. Emma and Alexis are in their mother’s room.
Emma picks up a picture of her mother and looks at it sadly, “Are you still angry?”
“I’m better now,” Alexis says as she
looks to the picture and nods. “That night that you gave me—it allowed me a lot of time to think about things. I realized that there was no point in being angry, not anymore.”
“I’m glad that you reached that point,” Emma says as she places the picture back down and looks sadly to Alexis. “You know if I could, I would take your place.”
“I would want do the same for you if our situations were reversed,” Alexis says as she nods. “In a way, I’m going home…I guess. We were never meant to be permanent things. I realized that is how life is for everyone—only I know when my end will come. I’m grateful for the time I had.”
“I wish things could have turned out differently,” Emma says as she begins to feel deeply upset. She tried to barter for a better deal, but the sun would offer nothing else. “I wish we had more time to talk, I hate that we had animosity between us.”
“I’m just full of bad memories…I would have been a terrible companion,” Alexis says as she shakes her head. “It’s best that I go.”
“I hope I can be as brave as you two are, someday.”
“Be brave,” Alexis says as she places her hand against Emma’s shoulder. “In life, whenever the opportunity comes—be brave.”
“I will,” Emma whispers. “I promise.”
A knock on the door interrupts their sad moment. Emma rushes out of the room and heads down the stairs, followed by Alexis. She opens the door; there is no hesitation as there is nothing further to fear. After all, the worst lies ahead in that tunnel.
“I’m here for the end of the world party,” Ethan says in a slight drawl. The smell of alcohol is heavy on his breath as he stumbles in with a few boxes of pizza in one hand and a giant box of canned beer in the other.
“Ethan…?” Emma says, surprised that he has decided to show up. “The world isn’t ending…”
“I would have been here earlier,” Ethan says as he sets down the beer on a stable part on the hallway floor. He looks down into the basement. ‘Forgot about all that mess… anyway would have been here earlier, but my tools were stolen a few days ago—I filed a police report and they found my sledgehammer buried in the hood of a cop car that someone abandoned along the side of a road out in the country…know anything about that?”