Beyond Tomorrow

by Leigh Vernon

  "Father Albert, could you be so kind as to explain to these me the details of what we're about to do?" Sam said finally. He had checked a message on his phone and was eager to get out of there. The old man bowed slightly and took over.

  Sam walked briskly to his office and entered the secret room. He saw Gianna waiting for him with a gift. The gift was tightly bound and a hood was over her head.

  "How many men?" He asked.

  "None," Gianna answered. "I took Father Albert's advice and used soul eaters and the Cracker Jacks. They were more than happy to die for money."

  "Excellent!" Sam exclaimed. "Take off the hood."

  Sarah's eyes took a few minutes to adjust to the sudden brightness. She realized who was standing before her the instant this was done.

  "Oh, hello," Sam greeted. "Remember me?"

  She spat on him, and Gianna hit her across the face. Sam got out his handkerchief and cleaned the spittle off his face.

  "Now, that's a feisty one," he remarked. "Why do I think your boyfriend wouldn't like that we have you here?"

  Sarah was about to say something when he raised his hand to shut her up.

  "No, don't say it. I've watched too many of your movies to know what you are about to say. He's going to come in here, guns blazing… or is it swords now? And he's going to kick all of our asses and get you out of here alive."

  Gianna snickered. Sam laughed.

  "I was actually going to tell you how I'd kick your ass once I get out of these binds," Sarah said to him.

  He laughed even louder and went to sit on the table.

  "That's new," he admitted. "Oh! I've also noticed that in those movies, the antagonist dies because he didn't take action in time. He wants to gloat about how powerful he is and all that nonsense you guys do, so the protagonist has enough time to gather his strength and arrive with an arsenal of weapons. Isn't that right?"

  Sarah didn't answer him.

  "She knows I'm right," he said as he turned to Gianna. "She's watched all the action in those movies too."

  He got up and smacked her across the face. "This isn't a movie; it's reality."

  He hit her again and again. He stopped for a while to catch his breath.

  "You know, beating a woman was never my thing. I really hated those who did that."

  He moved closer to Sarah's face and held it in his hands. "But you, you're not a woman - you're a pain in the ass!"

  He hit her again a few more times before he stopped.

  "Lock her up, I'll have a go again later. I forgot there's a meeting I need to see through."

  While Gianna dragged Sarah to a part of the room and tied her to an iron bar, Sam walked back to the conference room. Father Albert was just completing the ritual process when he came in.

  "...and when that's done, you will realize you're more than unstoppable," the old man finished.

  "I have a question," one of them said as he raised his hand.

  "Please, go ahead and ask," Sam said as he got back to his position.

  "Does this mean we will live forever?" The man asked.

  Sam looked at him directly for a very long while. He stared at him so intently that the man began to feel uncomfortable under his gaze.

  "What's your name?" Sam finally asked.

  "Jonas," he replied.

  "Alright, Jonas, you don't mind my calling you by your name, do you?"

  The man shook his head and Sam continued.

  "How long have you held this public post?" He asked.

  The man looked round to the others before he answered. "Eight years."

  "That's a long time if you ask me," Sam said jokingly.

  "Well, the people trust in me and the decisions I make." The man seemed to be quite sure of himself.

  "Yeah. It would appear so," Sam agreed. "Do you think you'd ever have to leave that position for someone else? Someone better than you are?"

  The man smiled nervously. "I understand that the law makes provision for only two terms in office, but I also have plans to persuade other lawmakers into rewriting the law."

  Sam began to applaud the man slowly until it got very loud. "That's a brilliant concept. So, your aim is to hold on to power for as long as you're alive?"

  "Very well, yes."

  Sam smiled widely at the man. "Then, you shall live longer than you ever imagined." He turned to the others. "You all will live long - as long as the earth itself, and you will watch civilizations rise and fall and times change."

  There was a low buzz of excitement around the table. Only Father Albert remained silent.

  "Now, if you will all follow me, it's time to prepare for the ritual."

  They all trooped out of the room one after the other. Father Albert stayed behind, sorting some things on the table.

  "Why did you do it?" The Governor asked him suddenly.

  The old man jumped back in fear. He hadn’t realized there was someone else with him in the room.

  "Do what?" He asked back, and continued to sort the things before him.

  The Governor moved closer. "You know what I'm talking about. You just made him the most powerful man in the entire city with those actions of yours."

  Father Albert dropped what he was doing and turned to the man. "Yes. I did what I had to do. I gave him the whereabouts of the soul eaters the first time. Then, I told him their secrets and what they did to their victims to make it look like they could take souls and eat them. I gave him details about Justin and the other two girls with him and when they were attacked, I ran and hid myself in a secret room. I also told him to use the Cracker Jacks to find them after they got away from the soul eaters. So, what if I did?"

  The Governor shook his head. "You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into, do you?" He raised his palm and showed him the mark on his palm. "Do you have this?"

  Father Albert studied the mark closely. He had seen something like that before but he couldn't remember where.

  "The look on your face tells me you haven't been branded like I have, and you know what that means? You're disposable, just like the rest of us, and you just gave him an edge over the only ones who could have stood in his way."

  Father Albert froze where he was standing.

  "I made a lot of mistakes at the beginning of all this. I made sure he had all the support and influence he needed, because I was also greedy like you. And you and I, we have delivered the city into the hands of a man and we don't know what he's going to do with it. Be ready to pay for your sins when that time comes."

  The Governor walked out after his last words, leaving Father Albert to sink into the chair behind him.

  ---

  Justin woke up to a very loud pounding in his head. He touched his stomach and realized someone had wound a bandage round him. That was strange. He looked round - he was in some sort of motel, only he didn't know where it was. There was a lot of cotton wool and plaster scattered all over the place. Some had blood on them. He checked his body and realized he wasn't bleeding. Whose blood was that, then? He got up to his feet and walked towards what he thought was the bathroom. There was someone in it.

  "You can come in if you want to. I'm done here," he heard a familiar voice say.

  He shut his eyes tightly to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

  "Come on in," the voice said to him again.

  He walked into the bathroom to find one of the Cracker Jacks standing before a mirror.

  "What the...?" He almost screamed.

  The man turned towards him. "It's not too hard to explain if you consider that I've been inside you for weeks now," the man told him.

  "Shay? How's this even possible?" Justin asked. He felt himself and realized he was lighter than before.

  "Anything is possible, my friend, but you see, this? This was made possible by you."

  "How?"

  Shay cleaned the dried blood on his cheek. "You sure got this one good. I was lucky to have found him in time."

  Justin stood with arms akimbo as he con
tinued to clean up the face.

  "Oh, sorry to keep you waiting. You, uh...you want to use the bathroom?"

  He walked out and left Justin there. The look on his face was priceless. Shay laughed as he walked out the tiny room.

  While Justin used the toilet, Shay made sure to clean up the mess in the room. The bullet he had pulled from his host's body lay in an ash tray. He packed it with the rest of the trash and was about to head out when he realized he was still dressed in the Cracker Jack's blood-stained clothes.

  "Damn!" He muttered under his breath and sat down.

  Justin got out later, still shocked to see a thing like this happening.

  "Okay, before you begin to get all worked up and all that, this was your doing," Shay told him.

  "How?"

  "When you were fighting with all your strength, your body became too strong for me to continue to stay in it. You like, literally yanked me out of you. I needed to find somewhere else to get to before it was too late."

  Justin held his head in both hands. "This is messed up," he said.

  "Yeah, it sure is," Shay admitted. "I could have helped you if the body I chose quickly wasn't in so much distress. Besides, he didn't want to leave yet - I had to push him."

  Justin shut his eyes and opened them again.

  "You okay?" Shay asked.

  "Why, yes, I'm okay. I mean, I've been seeing strange things happen for quite a while now - I'm beginning to get used to it. Any other tricks you can do that I don't know about?" He asked.

  Shay shook his head. "No, but you can help me with some tricks yourself."

  "How?"

  Shay grabbed the clothes he had on. "I need to change out of these and someone has to make sure no one comes in here to find all these," he pointed to the trash he had collected.

  Justin stared at him for a while before he sank into the bed he was sitting on. "I need some rest, please!"

  "Sarah needs some saving," Shay answered.

  Justin sat up from the bed quickly. He felt a sharp pain to his midriff, but ignored it.

  "Oh my God! They have Sarah," he blurted out. "We need to save her," he said as he turned to the man beside him.

  "I totally agree with you," he answered. "But first, I need a change of clothes."

  Justin grumbled and got to his feet. "Got any money on you?"

  Shay dug into his pockets and brought out a wad of notes. "Something to eat, too. I'm not sure this guy had time to grab lunch."

  "Wait a minute. How come you have money in there?" Justin asked.

  Shay leaned back into the chair. "They already got paid before coming after you. This guy had his stashed in his pants for some reason I have no idea of. I'm glad he did, though."

  Justin grinned and left the room. He went down into the reception and asked if the motel had food. He thought about it again and asked the clerk not to worry, instead going out quickly and walking down a couple of blocks. They were in downtown, a few streets away from the church. It made sense that Shay had brought him here; the motels downtown collected cash and asked no questions. The clerks were very discreet about things like a wounded man helping another wounded man up the stairs to a room, but there were instances when the police would raid these motels searching for information.

  He looked round and found a store that sold cheap clothing. He walked in and said a greeting to the storekeeper, who grumbled and continued to read the magazine he had in front of him. Justin walked around quickly, picking up clothes and pants as he did so. He stopped near the hoodies section and stared long and hard at a black one. He loves the fact that it had a red rose and a gun in front. He grabbed it and walked back to the counter.

  Without looking up into his face, the man processed his purchase and handed him the change.

  "Keep it," he said to the man, who only grumbled and dumped the change into a drawer.

  Justin crossed the street quickly and headed back to the motel, making sure that he wasn't seen or followed. As soon as he got to the reception, he dropped a few notes for the hotel clerk, who grabbed them quickly and went back to being busy with other things. Justin smiled as he went up the stairs.

  "Took you long enough," Shay greeted him as he walked in. He grabbed the clothes and shoes Justin stretched towards him and ran into the bathroom to change.

  When he came out, Justin flashed him a smile.

  "What are you smiling at?" Shay asked.

  "I always pictured you as a person, but I didn't ever see you as a white guy."

  "Why?" Shay asked, grabbing the hamburger Justin had brought up.

  "One, you talk so much when you're not supposed to - you remind me of my friend Garey. He always said his mouth would land him in trouble someday, but he never stops talking."

  "And the second reason?" Shay asked between bites.

  "I always thought you were black."

  Shay didn't say anything else for the remainder of the time he ate the hamburger and washed it down with a can of soda. When he was done, he got up and paced for a little while.

  "We need to get Sarah back," Justin said to him.

  "Getting her back isn't a major problem, it's the fact that Sam is about to begin the rituals."

  Justin rose to his feet. "I thought Father Albert said we had till Independence Day?"

  Shay looked at him funny. "Father Albert sold you out."

  Justin sighed and sat back down. "Okay. What do we do now?"

  Shay leaned forward. "First, we need to be sure we know where he's going to perform the rituals. My guess is a very old mansion with enough security to make sure that no one disturbs them."

  "And do you know where that could be?" Justin asked.

  Shay could see he was impatient to get Sarah back, which was understandable. He would be willing to do anything for anyone who was as special to him as she was to Justin. The only difference between them was that he could never go back to where his own ‘Sarah’ was, unless he wanted her dead.

  "I wouldn't say I know," he answered. "But I think there's a way to find out."

  "Okay?" Justin gave him a long hard look.

  Shay leaned back. He was thinking very hard. If they were going to pull this off, they also needed help from somewhere else.

  "Is there anyone you trust not to betray us again?" He asked Justin.

  "I doubt that," Justin answered. He brought both hands to his head and shook his hair. "Most of the people I know here are either dead, or afraid of what might happen to them if they get involved in this. It's hard enough as it is."

  Shay nodded. "We still need to find one or two people though. I don't think the two of us can go barging in there like we own the place."

  "And why is that?" Justin asked.

  "Well, we're outnumbered, that's for sure; we don't have the necessary firepower for all the men that would be stationed outside the house, waiting for us. And you're still recovering. It's a suicide mission."

  Justin laughed at what he had said and sat on the bed. "How long do you think we have before the Seventh wakes up and starts destroying everything in his path? How long?"

  Shay didn't answer. He turned to the other side of the room where sunlight filtered in through a window pane. For a moment, he missed the feeling of waking up to a morning sun when he was alive. He missed the fresh air and the call of nature. Above all, he missed his own body.

  "You're quiet," Justin said, cutting in through his daydream.

  "I'm sorry. I'm trying to think," he answered.

  "While you're trying to think, he's planning to destroy the world. So, you'd better gather your thoughts and wits about you very quickly and came up with a plan!"

  Shay gave him a mean stare. He wanted to snap back at him too, and tell him how he had held on for years because he didn't want to give away the location of the ship which they had let the enemy find so easily. How he had been tortured for days, each time passing out from so much pain. How he had lost the love of his life because he didn't want anyone to find her and trace he
r back to him. Where had Justin been in those times?

  "We need to be patient," he said, instead. "Whether you like it or not, we're going to need all the help we can get. "

  Justin said nothing in return. He walked to the door and looked back.

  "If you won't help me, I might as well do it myself," he said over his shoulder before stepping out of the room.

  Shay cursed silently under his breath; the boy was going to get himself killed if he didn't hurry after him. He knew they needed to tread with caution. There was no telling what Sam had in store for anyone who tried to stop him. The way he was looking at it, he would be prepared for any eventuality. Why was Justin unable to understand any of that?

  He shifted in his chair. The boy's enthusiasm reminded him of himself when he was young and naïve; ye had thought he could achieve anything without any hiccups as well. Just like Justin, he had also ignored warnings when he was told not to take the path he had chosen, but he had been more cautious and not half as reckless as Justin was right now. There were no other explanations for it - Justin was another version of himself. Strong-willed, hardheaded and overzealous.

  On the other hand, the boy was right. They couldn't just sit around doing nothing - they had to take steps. Even though he was unsure of what steps to take, it was interesting to see the young man jumping into action. It was something he would have done as well, and although he might not want to accept it, Justin really did need help. His own options were exhausted as well. Most of his allies in the city had either been killed or run away to somewhere they couldn't be found. Most of them except one…and he didn't like having to go to this particular one.

  He sighed and got to his feet. If they were going to do this, they might as well do it right. It was no longer about a faction of the human race - everyone was in danger now. As it was, they needed no enemies; the only one they should be enemies with was the monster Sam was about to unleash on the world. It wouldn't hurt to ask for help from even the lowliest of sources.