Father Isaac could sense the end moving in like a thunderstorm on the horizon. The one hope he had to restore and complete his secret lover’s work was through the man’s daughter, Esther. She had been trained since birth to take Simon’s place and fulfill her purpose. Yet, after one recent confrontation, her faith was shaken to the core; so much so that she had given it all up completely. He could hear it in her voice. Everything he and the girl’s father had worked their entire lives to accomplish, was now nothing more than a fading idea that would never come to fruition.
He wanted to succumb to the gathering anger in his mind, but the old man knew wasting the last of his energy with negative thoughts wouldn’t be productive. He no longer had the drive to keep pushing towards his goals. Without motivation, without a purpose in his life, he didn’t have the strength to live anymore. Esther sacrificed her family’s legacy for something the high ranking official did not quite understand, yet, Simon’s final instructions to him were clear in this matter.
“If something happens to Esther and I’m not around,” the man spoke through Father Isaac’s memory, standing face to face with past versions of one another in the church antechamber. “If she is harmed or if she turns her back on our faith, I need you to do me a favor. If you determine all is lost, take the machine to the address I will provide and dispose of it. No matter what happens, we cannot allow it to fall into the hands of the government or others that will use it for evil. We are tasked with utilizing its energy in order to prevent death from falling upon this world. Others would use it for nefarious purposes. If we fail with our plans, humanity still has a chance – slim as it may be. I will place an envelope in the front cover of the ancient text that sits on your nightstand. Protect it and only open if all else is lost. Burn it if we succeed.”
Isaac simply nodded.
The memory suddenly washed away from view like writing in wet sand being erased by the tickle of a tiny wave.
Having hung up with Esther, ending their conversation several hours prior, Isaac decided now was the time. They had failed; it was the only clarity in the man’s mind. He took a few moments to come to peace with his thoughts and decision. It only made sense that he would use the last of his life-energy fulfilling Simon’s final request.
He sat on the corner of his oversized-bed struggling to get a clear breath through his mouth and nose and into his lungs. The man wheezed and coughed as he dabbed small drops of crimson from the corners of his lips with a finely woven handkerchief. He slid a trembling finger along the envelope’s folded flap until The Order’s wax seal was broken. Isaac unfolded the page and read the handwriting of his deceased best friend, which sent a couple of tears down his face through the many cracks and wrinkles below his eyes.
When he finished reading the address and refolding the page, the elder slowly stood and made his way to the coatrack beside the entryway. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve then placed a dusty fedora on his head and turned to the full-length mirror, catching a glimpse of himself in the process. Forcing a smile through crooked teeth, the man stroked his long beard a couple of times, tightening the truss that brought wiry strips of silver together in the center. He looked at the feeble shell of a man that stared back at him, yet he barely recognized the visage he saw.
Father Isaac coughed then sighed, finally leaving the room. He ordered a much younger man, who was working the night shift at the church, lower in ranks, to help him move the machine from the basement to his car in the alley. Being the middle of the night, nobody was around but the two of them, and they performed their task with ease.
They placed the machine on a rolling cart, navigated it through the church, and loaded it into the vehicle beside the loading dock. The elder told the man not to speak of what they did until he returned, knowing he didn’t plan on coming back.
After he was situated in the driver’s seat and buckled in, Isaac cranked the car and shifted it into Drive. As he pulled away from the church, he watched it shrink in his rearview mirror. It was the last time he would lay eyes on the space, and he wanted to see it one more time.
When it was completely out of sight, the man turned at the light and began making his way towards the address his mentor provided – the address he believed would be his final destination in this world.
The putrid stench of burned hair, charred flesh, and vomit still fumed through the small space. As morbid as it seemed, Des likened the scent to a memory of when her mom once burned a pork roast in the crockpot one summer. She gagged once then swallowed hard, hoping the recollection would vanish from her thoughts. She began breathing in and out of her mouth to avoid the smell, then realized Pearl was doing the same.
Despite the horrifying situation, the red-streaked blonde felt thankful that she and Pearl were still alive, even if terrified, huddled in the corner of what used to be Rachel’s realm. Incohesive, abstract ideas bounced around in her mind as she tried to calm her nerves and somehow make sense of what happened.
From what seemed like randomness, Des’s thoughts settled on a memory of a couple of years earlier. She had just graduated high school and knew she was going to take at least one gap year before starting college – if she even attended college at all. Her mind was set on pursuing music as a career, and she wrote several songs that both of her moms said they loved.
One day, Des finally finished writing a song that she had been working on for weeks. She strummed her guitar and sang it by herself in her room before presenting it to her parents. When she finally shared it, and had finished performing, Max was wiping tears from her eyes while Chloe just sat there with her mouth gaped open. All she could say was, “Holy… shit.” They were both essentially speechless.
It was the one song she knew would be a huge hit if she recorded it. Des swelled with both pride and confidence as she imagined performing her art for a large audience. In her mind, she knew this was her best opportunity, so she planned to reach out to a producer she met through Victoria to work on laying the tracks down.
Upon returning to her room after performing for her mothers, her powers glitched and she was stuck in another reality where she met the mastermind version of her older mom. She was terrified and thought she would never get home. It was the beginning of the multiverse merger, and it was the end of her musical career. She hadn’t picked up a guitar since.
For some reason, the lyrics from her song had moved to the forefront of her mind. She sang them silently to herself as she sat beside the love of her life.
Skin
(Verse 1)
Skin against unwavering skin
A power down deep inside
Not subtle or to play pretend
Tucked my soul away to hide
Playing time against my troubles
Far gone is yesterday
Memories float up like bubbles
Maybe it will make us stay
“They’re in love!” the crowd shouts
As they watch on from afar
In this story I have no doubt
You are the one true star
A delicious recipe of give and take
A moon dance alone
Everything is now at stake
A storm is coming, a cyclone
(Chorus)
The smiles we make, they’re false
The paths we take, our walls
A comet sky-streaking without care
Your eyes they twinkle without compare
This flavor is not for only my tongue
You are the reason I’ve always sung
To share ourselves with another
Truths arise, facts discovered
Working together, lives taking shape
Falling apart, held together with tape
Wherever you are, I’m waiting for you
Wherever I am, you are there too
(Verse 2)
Skin against requited skin
A power down deep inside
Not subtle or playing pretend
Open up my soul to ride
In this moment, the idea of you
More than a face to see
My soul is open in plain view
Step from the shadows towards me
You are standing just over there
And I know you are kind of grey
Like an ocean between us, we will bare
Can you come outside to play
A probable recipe for disaster
A midnight dance in your arms
Everything we’ll never master
We won’t trigger your alarms
(Chorus)
The smiles we make, they’re false
The paths we take, our walls
A comet sky-streaking without care
Your eyes they twinkle without compare
This flavor is not for only my tongue
You are the reason I’ve always sung
To share ourselves with another
Truths arise, facts discovered
Working together, lives taking shape
Falling apart, held together with tape
Wherever you are, I’m waiting for you
Wherever I am, you are there too
(Bridge)
Wishing that
Wishing you
Lay me there
Beside you
A future quest
From the past
Don’t be closed
But don’t be brash
Another time
Another space
A father’s words
A mother’s face
I don’t always like
The skin I’m in
When it stops
It starts again
In my eyes
My future wife
Hopefulness
A well-earned life
(Verse 3)
Skin against lathered skin
A power drawn for all to see
So much for playing pretend
My soul for you to meet
Picking through the shattered glass
Darkness is so cruel
Is love a thing that really lasts
Or is it fleeting too
I’m so scared of all of that
But hopeful it’s full and true
Falling from the world if flat
I’m falling over myself for you
I used to sing to hide the sadness
To bury it beneath a façade
Emerging from the drunken madness
Your existence I can now applaud
(Chorus)
The smiles we make, they’re false
The paths we take, our walls
A comet sky-streaking without care
Your eyes they twinkle without compare
This flavor is not for only my tongue
You are the reason I’ve always sung
To share ourselves with another
Truths arise, facts discovered
Working together, lives taking shape
Falling apart, held together with tape
Wherever you are, I’m waiting for you
Wherever I am, you are there too
(Chorus x2)
(Outro)
Skin against skin
Skin against skin
Skin against skin
Skin
Skin
Skin
As the words faded from her mind, Des shook away the horrifying shock, thoughts returning to the present. It was so dark without the candlelight to brighten the area, she couldn’t even see Pearl who was still pressed against her, with her cheek laying on Des’s shoulder.
“Hey,” the blonde whispered down towards Pearl’s cheek.
“Hi, Miss Dragonfly,” Pearl responded, shifting from where she sat, moving her head upright and off of Des’s shoulder. Her voice sounded a bit hoarse, likely from heaving earlier, yet it had softened. “Is this what it’s like to be with you? Ridiculously, life-changing adventures that are crazy as shit?”
Des was glad to hear Pearl’s voice. Not only because she simply cared about the girl, though that was part of it. But mostly because Pearl sounded hopeful again. She wasn’t sure how the future would look for them if the athlete was terrified to even be around her.
“Well, things can get pretty wild, I guess. Not all the time, but yeah… regularly, for sure.” She’d never really thought about what her life was like compared to others her same age. The biker knew she had a lot of explaining to still do, and at least now she felt that Pearl would be more open to believing her.
“I can do wild,” Pearl reassured, an impish inflection to her words.
Des couldn’t see because of the darkness, but she could sense a smirk on the brunette’s face.
“Wait, a minute, Pearl.” A renewed sense of urgency invigorated Des’s resolve. “We have to get outta here, like now. If Rachel’s death didn’t satisfy Marzanna, she might return, and we don’t need to be here if she does. I think we can just leave the realm the same way we came in. It gets a little tricky since we followed the current here. It won’t be as easy going back.”
“The current?” Pearl wondered.
“Yeah. Think of it like a river that only flows one way. If you try and go against it, it’d be like paddling a kayak upstream.”
“Oh. Are you into kayaking too? Didn’t take you for much of an outdoorsy kinda gal. I mean, you clearly enjoy riding your bike, which is frackin’ sexy as hell. But I never pictured you as someone who camped or kayaked.”
“Hey, now. I’m good at outdoorsy stuff. My moms used to take me camping all the time.”
“Maybe when we get out of here, and everything calms down, you can take me. Sounds like a blast.” It was obvious Pearl was trying to focus on the future, using positive thoughts to distract herself from all of the new, mind-blowing things she’d experienced in a short span of time.
“It’s a date,” Des confirmed. She immediately chastised herself in her mind. “I mean, maybe ‘date’ is too strong of a word?” She shrugged in embarrassment.
Pearl giggled. “What would an official date with Destiny Caulfield-Price look like? Hmmm. Maybe a romantic country-side motorcycle ride? Or maybe you can take me camping. Either way, I’m looking forward to it, Silly Lady.”
Des was glad it was dark so Pearl couldn’t see the pink that must’ve been appearing on her warm cheeks. She still wasn’t comfortable with the idea that someone, besides her parents, cared a lot about her. Though, as much as she loved the thought of sharing romantic moments with the girl, they still weren’t out of the weeds yet; they needed to focus on their current predicament.
Des stood to her feet and pulled her girlfriend up beside her, bodies against the back wall, side by side. Feeling her way along the wall with one hand, and holding Pearl’s with her other, Des made her way to the little table where the extinguished candle resided. She nearly tipped it over when she bumped into it but caught the table before it fell. The blonde reached out and felt the soft candle wax where the wick began. Upon brushing the wick with her finger, a quick lightening-like flash ripped through the chamber, causing Des to stumble backwards. Pearl caught her and helped her to a more controlled stand.
“What the fuck?!” The taller girl flinched.
Suddenly, the flame lit and light was restored to the realm.
“The flame is back!” Pearl exclaimed. “Does that mean Rachel is alive?”
“I…” Des touched her palm to her forehead and turned to face Pearl. “I…”
As the room seemed to distort and warp with elongated silly-putty-like stretching, Des limped her way to Rachel’s chair and flopped down. She couldn’t stop everything from bending and spinning out of control.
“Des! Are you okay!?” Pearl called out, quickly moving to Des’s side. But her voice sounded dull in the background.
The biker noticed color bleeding from her view, mixing together in a greyscale landscape. Though panic was beginning to well up inside, she couldn’t react to her girlfriend’s questions, as motor skills seemed to be failing.
…
…
“Des!!”
…
…
A sharp tone pierced through her head, an overwhelming brightness filling her perception.
With the last drip of energy remaining in her body, Des whispered the only word she could muster…
“Pearl…”
“Damn, damn, damn,” Death spoke to herself, disappointment souring her words. She had just returned to her realm, hoping her recent dealings with the new Watcher would be the answer to her problem. “I figured if I destroyed the one who caused this mess it would be fixed.” She slammed her balled fist against a boulder to her side, causing a booming echo to bounce throughout the large chamber, eventually returning to mostly silence. “But nothing’s changed; they’re all still here. Back to the drawing board, I guess.”
She sighed.
Pacing back and forth on a ledge a couple of stories higher than the ground where the wandering souls were waiting to move on, the woman looked down deep in thought. From her vantage point, she could see the gaps being filled in as more souls continued to join after their bodies died in the realm of the living. Scanning the area, she squinted as she searched the newest arrivals, seeking the one she’d just destroyed. Rachel was nowhere in sight, and she knew that wasn’t something to concern herself with, as the previous Watcher she replaced didn’t make it there either.
There had never been an issue quite like this before, and every second the situation grew worse. She stopped wondering just how it had happened years prior, focusing most of her efforts on finding a solution. At least she could check that approach off her list and seek a new answer.
Suddenly an idea sparked in her mind. “Maybe the source of the problem wasn’t the Watcher after all. Maybe it was the one who started this whole thing. Yes,” she chuckled. “That’s it!”
Marzanna recalled as many disasters as she could. Each one sent hundreds of souls to her realm. It wasn’t until after a storm destroyed a bayside town in North America, immediately sending several hundred souls to her, that things began to unravel. Those souls were still down below somewhere aimlessly wandering around. The power that originally existed as a balance between good and evil, had made its way to a high school student in that bayside town. That girl somehow joined two potential timelines together because of the strength of her love for another. It was her that truly caused things to go awry.
“Looks like I need to pay Destiny’s mom a visit,” Marzanna chuckled again. She knew desperation was beginning to take hold of her thoughts, and she was prepared to do what was necessary to ensure souls could move on; even if she had to leave a trail of death in her wake. Nothing was going to deny her from restoring the transition process.
“Max Caulfield,” she whispered aloud, remembering the name after mentally sifting through all that had once held the one power. “I think we need to meet.”
Not wasting any time, Marzanna plotted her course and was swiftly on her way back to the realm of the living.
