Chương 71: KEEP LIVING

Monan sat on top of the city center skyscraper. He had broken up here, made a mess, and maybe incapacitated a person or two. But he was settled, and there was nothing that was going to take him off this roof without throwing him from the building. Not that anyone was going to try. He was there to see a show after all. A show that only a few knew was going to happen. He watched the city move. Everything felt so still when one was this high off the ground. The world below was so distant.

All the people were faceless caricatures of what people should be. He felt like he could pick one of them up and place them where he wanted them. He could place them in a place where they'd live, or he could put them somewhere to die. He could shape the world however he wanted if he felt like it. This time… he didn't feel like it. He leaned back in his lawn chair and took a sip of a beer. T'balt eventually opened the door to the building, seeing him looking over the side to the fifty-story drop.

Monan could feel his eyes burning into the back of his skull. But he was feeling lazy, didn't want to engage that kind of buzzkilling mood. Though he could count on T'balt to say something to be a buzzkill anyway.

"Why did you want me to meet you here?"

"For your reward."

"Reward?" Monan blew a bunch of confetti into the air, letting them float aimlessly around. Some of them were blown by the wind into the streets below, streets that felt like they destroyed just hours ago.

"Congratulations…" he said lazily.

"You just passed Redeemer school."

"I don't care about a prize. The only thing I want is for you to keep your end of the deal. Leave me and the church alone. For good."

"Don't be such a sad sport… I did it to everyone. You all need a good villain to kick you into shape." T'balt stepped forward.

"Wait, what do you mean, everyone?"

"What, did you think it was just us? Wow, you do have a high opinion of yourself, huh?"

"You're telling me there are more Redeemers out there."

"Including us, there are 5," He said, holding up the corresponding fingers.

"Out of all of them, you took the longest to pass. Probably because you lost your noggin somewhere along the way."

"Tsk... So I'm the only one who doesn't remember how they became a Redeemer. No one has any idea what happened to me?"

"Beats me. I'm tens of thousands of years old now, and that one's new to me." Monan leaned over the side of the building again, almost as if he were threatening to jump.

"So there are five of us. If that's true, if any of us dies, then all of us reset."

"I wouldn't worry. They're a bit better at surviving than you are. I made sure of it. Theoretically, they should be the best in the world at it, having killed the god responsible for it all. Well, one of them might cause a few early resets, though."

"Why the one?"

"Well, they've got some idiotic idea that they should be using this power to save the world. Whatever that means at this point. Save it from what exactly? Even if you do, it just resets again. It's a waste of time. But it shouldn't be too long each iteration before they get their reality checks."

"How long?"

"How should I know? It's not me killing them. Not anymore, at least. Sometimes it's a year. Sometimes it's three. Who knows? I'm just here to enjoy the ride." He smiled.

"Monan. I'm done with this whole charade. So even whatever I do after you're gone may not matter because they're out there too… I spent my last fifty-some lives not trusting you. How do I know you're even telling the truth about them?"

"Because I lost. Lying is just a strategic move in the game. If we're not playing, there's no reason to lie. There's nothing you can do to me or for me that I haven't already done myself… but if you must… there's a place they'll call the looter's paradise, somewhere around here. You can try there and see if I'm lying."

"You can't give me any more than that?"

"Pfft… I'm a sore loser. Figure it out. Besides, I wouldn't be getting involved with them. I'd just focus on that perfect ending." He checked his watch and looked to the sky. That's when they saw it, the holy comet. It bled with holy light as it came crashing towards them. It was the size of the moon. And it got bigger and bigger and bigger until the shadow overtook them all. Monan pointed at it.

"The source of our demise." T'balt couldn't believe his eyes. Something that big hit the Earth. If that was the case, how was the entire city not obliterated? But then it broke into a thousand smaller pieces. All the pieces shot out in all directions, looking to go all sides of the Earth. Several landed in their city, with particular, small pieces of debris rocketing into the ground just below them. Monan stood in front of him, hands in the air like he was praising something.

A shower of comets with white, smoky tails overtook the sky behind him.

"Welcome back to Zero Day." As the earth shook, Monan stood on the ledge and jumped. T'balt woke back up in his room. There was nothing on his phone. No text from Monan. Nothing changed. It was silent.

"So I guess that's it then." He was still at a loss. Was he really just supposed to forget it all and move on? He found that somewhat impossible. Other Redeemers. The world ended. That strange comet. At the very least, he supposed he should ride this one out and see if Monan was telling the truth. At 12: 05 am, he called Chosa. She was at a bar with her friends.

"Hello?' Chosa answered in her sweetest voice.

"Hey, Chosa."

"T'balt? Something the matter?"

"Listen. I need a huge favor." At 12: 30 am, he pulled his car up to Acelin's house and knocked on the door.

"Who the hell are you?" The boy's dad opened the door, barely peeking over the chain lock. At 2am was when he arrived at Acron. He was almost nervous, his heart fluttering.

"You okay, mister?" Acelin asked.

"Yeah… just got to make a good first impression, you know." The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. He knocked on the side door, and after a moment, she answered.

"Can I help you?"

"Hi." He smiled.

"Sorry to bother you, but I'm a little lost, and I've got no place to go tonight. It wouldn't be a problem if it were just me, but this boy is lost, too." Ellie looked at Acelin, eyes lighting up. At 10 am, he had Ellie give Arthur and his wife a call.

"Arthur. There's something I need to talk to you and Martha about here at the church. It needs to be right away… Thanks. Sorry, I know it's short notice, but there's someone who knows you who says he needs to see you... Martha, too." She hung up the phone.

"You better not be full of it. I'll call the cops in a heartbeat if this is some joke." T'balt put up his hands in peace. When the old couple arrived, he told them all about the earthquake. Of course, no one believed him, so he waited until 11: 30 am to drop the news. Then it happened at noon. All the people filed in, and Arthur spoke to the masses.

"This is the man who foresaw all this coming. He predicted this because he has had a vision of the future. It sounds far-fetched, but I heard it with my own ears. And he has promised to guide us through this terrible time." T'balt took the pulpit.

"My name is T'balt Ferrier. I am not a prophet. What you all are seeing outside is something the world has never seen before. But everything, at some point, had never been seen before. What I can tell you is that no matter how frightening life outside may be, nothing is impossible to overcome. Even when it's dark. Even when you feel like you know nothing about what's happening around you, keep your head high, and someone will be there to reach out a hand. We stick together, and we overcome.

Keep faith in yourselves and in those around you. Do that, and I'll save you all." At 4 pm that day, the bus arrived holding the crew of wrestlers. Cannon was obsessively explaining something to the abbot when T'balt arrived.

"I didn't know what miracles were before this stranger called me late last night. He called my phone, and he told me about the end. Then he told me that I had to come here first thing. I didn't believe at first, of course, but…" Then he noticed the young man walk in and recognized him immediately. T'balt presented his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Cannon." Days later, they found a little girl in a home underneath an overpass. T'balt reached his hand into the vents. She was nervous at first, but sensing the warmth in his hand, she took it.

"Here, Acelin… I want you to look after her for a while. This is Genya."

"Big brother!" She cheesed, holding T'balt's hand.

"Are you serious?" Acelin said. At that point, T'balt had saved everyone he knew how to save, and he was just waiting to see if Monan would show at some point. But despite the search parties, there was no mention of him or even the big band of thugs and bandits. Then Cannon came home one day with a group of new recruits. One looked like Vikram Kapps, his former assassin. T'balt rolled his eyes when he saw him, but he didn't sense any outward malice. But just in case.

"If you try anything weird, you'll be dealing with that." The Fury screamed in his face, and Vikram firmly understood, bowing his head in compliance. The next thing he knew, three months had passed, and everything had remained the same. The church built its community outward into the neighborhood nearby. They had a system to get power running to the houses. They had hunted all nearby demons, built walls around the community, and had brought in people from all over the city. They were protected, and they were safe.

With all the loot they could need. Monan still hadn't shown, and T'balt looked out over the balcony, almost waiting for him. When he realized he wasn't coming, he sat back down in the pulpit of the church. He looked at the statue. The angel Michael having slain the devil. Everything was perfect. As perfect as he knew how to make it. Everyone was happy, and none of his friends were dead. So he wondered what he was still doing here. One day, it might reset again without him realizing why.

This world was his favorite iteration, but it still suffered because of Zero Day. No matter how comfortable he was able to make it, everyone would have been better off if that comet never hit and the earthquake had never happened. He couldn't help but think of all the things people like Ellie missed out on. Acelin was never going to finish school. Cannon's celebrity was riding on top of the world, and it was all stripped away.

Genya missed out on the opportunity to get adopted by a real family and live in a lootless world. If there was a way to save it all with his power and he didn't do anything, then he would be just like Monan. The cycle was never going to end. He couldn't just blindly wait, trying to live a normal life, waiting to go as crazy as he was.

"5 of us," he mumbled to himself. Then all his family visited him there. Cannon, Acelin, Genya, Arthur, Martha, and Ellie. They all smiled at him, wondering when he was going to stop moping and come join everyone for dinner. They were waiting for him. T'balt smiled back, but it faded.

"Listen, you guys…" Arthur watched him pack a few supplies and put them in the trunk of his car.

"I guess I understand why you feel the need to leave, but… what's this place called again?"

"The looters' paradise." He looked at the others, and many of the believers looked at him with sad departing eyes.

"I'm sorry I'm taking off so suddenly. But there's a whole world out there that needs help. If I stick here, then… I'll just get stuck again. I don't know if there's a greater meaning to all this. But I know I'll never find it if I stay in one spot."

"That's perfectly fine. You've done plenty," Arthur said.

"Over all my years of teaching the gospel, I've learned that only one thing is truly meaningless. Stillness. We need change to be alive as much as we need food or water."

"As long as I'm alive, I can change things for the better... I heard there's someone out there trying to save the world. Another Redeemer."

"Then you know that's where you have to go… I'll keep things steady here." Everyone nodded in their understanding. But it was Acelin who moved first.

"Well, I'm coming too. You're not gonna just leave me here with all these… people."

"Acelin, I don't know exactly where I'll end up or how far I'll have to travel. I don't even know if I'll be able to find it in this life. It wouldn't be a comfortable thing."

"Like I care. Can't be worse than where I lived before." He put himself in the passenger seat of the car, not taking no for an answer. Then Cannon grabbed his big duffel bag, tossing it in the trunk.

"Right. And you can't go anywhere without your bodyguard." T'balt raised an eyebrow.

"What about your boys? You really gonna leave them?"

"They're safe here. Besides, they encouraged me to go. Something about my calling… We had one last pose off and a big meal last night. I'll miss em, but Cannon Valkyr can't be a hero to the kids if he skips out on an opportunity to save the world." He took the driver's seat, not giving T'balt much of a choice either. Though he doubted he would mind the company. He sighed reluctantly, accepting. He looked back at the others.

Ellie looked almost uncomfortable, tapping her foot, trading glances between Arthur and the rest of the church.

"I'm coming too." Genya ran up to them. But she was cut off by the arms of Martha, who scooped her right up into her old arms.

"You're a bit young for a great journey like that. I think it would be better to stick here with us, where you can stay nice and warm every night, and I can make you all the sweets you want." Genya was caught between smiling and pouting. T'balt smiled at her, nestling her hair.

"Don't worry. We'll see each other again, I'm sure, Genya."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Maybe then I'll bring you with me." Ellie was caught in deep thought.

"If it's calling to you as well, I understand," Arthur told her.

"I can't… I've spent so much time at this church. I can't just leave it. Not…" She got clammy and nervous remembering the last time she traveled cross-country with someone she hadn't known for very long.

"Everyone will still need my help and... I've devoted so much time here..."

"I'm sure we can handle it," Arthur said.

"When the lord presents you with his vision, who are you to say no… I think it's time you went and discovered the woman you were meant to be." T'balt stepped up to her.

"You don't have to… but I'd miss you." He smiled. Ellie looked back at it all through the back seat of T'balt's car. The church grew further and further in the distance as all the believers waved them away. She took a deep breath inwardly, saying siyonara to it all.

"Glad you decided to come," T'balt said, next to her in the back.

"Yeah, well, you had better not try anything weird or get me killed for this."

"Whoa. The sudden hostility."

"It's alright. She's just acting that way cuz she likes you."

"Acelin…" Both T'balt and Ellie said simultaneously, blushing.

"What? That's how it was at school. Not that I would know." Acelin flipped on a pair of sunglasses he found in the glove compartment and waved his arm out the window.

"The kid is right, you know." Cannon stopped at a stop sign, turning his blinkers on. A surprisingly safe driver.

"Nothing like the end to bring people closer together, eh… I've seen you two. Live and let live. I say. Why not share a first kiss and get it over with, Mom and Dad?" T'balt thought a moment.

"Well, it technically wouldn't be our first…"

"What do you mean, not the first?" Ellie's face flushed red. And T'balt laughed, looking out upon the horizon, as they set off for journeys beyond. And somewhere out there, Ann Patrick bowed her head and prayed for his success.