Excerpt: Prophesied

Chapter 1

If it hadn’t been for the small lamp toppling over onto his head, Aaron would most likely have slept through the rumbling tearing through his third-floor apartment. In the dark he couldn’t make out exactly what was happening, but from the sounds— and burning smells— it was probably a very costly disaster afoot. One that would require a call to his parents to help refinance the independence he was still trying so desperately to maintain with his liberal arts associates degree and retail job.

The clock read 3:57 am.

He searched the vibrating nightstand in the dark for his cell, and failing that dropped to the side of his bed and began searching the floor. From across the room his clock watched in amusement. From its vantage point it could see the phone sitting just on the other side of the night stand, and had Aaron asked it the clock would have been glad to supply the answer— it was not usually given to making its sentience known, but given the circumstances it wouldn’t matter too terribly. Now was the end of Time, as all clocks knew. A bit of chivalry in a time of futility wouldn’t be too big of a deal.

Well, one couldn’t blame a human for its inability to detect sentience. But a helping hand, insomuch that a clock can lay claim to such a phrase, wouldn’t hurt. And so, a slight blueish dimness coated the floor below the seemingly brighter-than-usual digital clock. And with such, Aaron recognized the shape of his phone bouncing softly along the floor.

He quickly attributed this to his eyes adjusting to the light. The clock wasn’t insulted, only further amused.

With a snap Aaron opened his phone and bathed the room with a flurry of colored lights, and a picture of him giving a very enthusiastic thumbs-up to no one in particular. It was funny at the time.

Around him things continued to shake and quake in the darkness. Books threw themselves like forlorn lovers off their shelves, and even his laptop made a leap from his table but landed in the cushion of the chair below, much to his relief.

He scanned the phone over his bed, letting out a sharp breath when two lights suddenly beamed out from among the folds in the blanket— two very annoyed lights at that. Sasha, for all her cat like charms, was not one to give two craps out anything that didn’t immediately involve her getting skritches behind the ear (only the way Aaron knew how), getting food (only the food Aaron knew to get), or having a clean place to go poo (frankly she didn’t care who that was, but seeing as how Aaron was the one who always did, it earned him another mark in the ‘favorable’ column). She yawned, ambivalent to the goings on around her.

It was only in recognizing Sasha’s lack of response to the shaking and commotion that Aaron realized his own admittedly lackluster appreciation of what could very well be a very terrible disaster. He immediately chalked it up to being woken up so suddenly, so rudely, and with so little sleep. Completely ignoring the feeling that he knew it was bound to happen sooner or later, and it was really just about damned time.

The clock knew better. But it didn’t say as much, since no one asked. Instead it warned: 3:58 am.

He cursed, mostly out of habit— really, there was no reason aside from alerting the world that you’re generally unhappy with the current events at hand— and stood. With wobbly feet he made his way toward the window. Propping one hand on the wall, he used his other to pull the blinds.

He cursed again.

From his vantage point, one he never thought all too inspired before today, he could see down the road toward the edge of town. Normally it wasn’t a very interesting site for an urbanite such as he, but when a fog of bright lights seems to be swarming across the sky, blotting out everything else beyond it, it was enough to make anyone stand and take notice. Which brought about a second point of interest to Aaron in these few short but eventful minutes thus far.

The street below was empty. Considering the chaos around, and despite the rattling of pre-earthquake proofing architecture and a car horn blaring somewhere in the distance, there were no sounds of people taking notice. No screams, no cries to a god, no laughter from those with a lesser grip on reality. It was as if everyone in the city decided to actually sleep on the most eventful night ever.

And so, Aaron deduced that he was very possibly insane. That none of this was real. His clock could contest such an opinion, as all clocks are created with the innate understanding that Time will, of course, cease to be at some point. That was just the way of things. That, in fact, the questions racing through Aaron’s head at this moment were quite sane indeed and, really, if the clock were Aaron he’d probably be screaming and shouting himself by this point. But no matter, it would all be for naught in less than a minute.

3:59 am.

Aaron watched, eyebrows furrowed, at the approaching rim of light. He could see it moving— actually moving— though at a surprising crawl. But, nevertheless, it was moving closer.

It was at this moment that Aaron cursed his bus pass. If he had had his own car, maybe he could think about hoping in it and driving away to some place very far until… well, until whatever this was had blown over. Or if nothing else, drive straight into it and be done with it, because whatever it was it sure seemed fairly all encompassing from his perspective.

Maybe it wasn’t so bad, this light. If he were the kind of guy who subscribed to thoughts of heaven he might think that that could be what was waiting for him on the other side. It could be a utopia of peace, love, and understanding. Or it could very well be a government experiment gone wrong and he’d soon be charred into a nothingness from which there was not return (largely because there was no ‘there’ to return from). Either way.

It was his laptop slamming onto his foot that brought him back to reality— a seeming last second revenge from the abuse it had suffered in its own lifetime.

Seeing this gave the clock an idea of its own. In just a few moments Time would end. It seemed, from where the clock was sitting, that everything else was making sure to go out with a bang by throwing themselves dramatically to the floor. It looked interesting. Fun, almost. And so it resolved itself to jump. It’d have to wait for a jolt in the right direction, but judging by the movement around it the clock wouldn’t have to wait long for that.
Carefully, Aaron made his way back to his bed and crawled on top. Sasha cocked her head, watching him with vague interest. If she knew what was going on, she showed no signs of it. Aaron sighed, resigning himself to his fate. He stayed on his knees, sitting atop the blankets, the room around him rattling just a bit more fiercely bit with less drama. He could see the light outside casting his shadow on the wall. That would mean it were closing in on him quicker than he’d thought.

He glanced over at the clock, which watched him back as it began to grow a bit brighter for dramatic effect. For a moment Aaron could swear the thing smiled at him. Before he could meditate on the idea, there was a sudden heart-stopping jolt which sent Aaron flying one way, dragging his blanket and Sasha along, and sending his clock the other and toward the rest. Sasha and the clock collided mid-air, causing the clock to first lament in a plan gone wrong, then elate in unexpected turn in events leading to new experiences. If there was one thing the clock thought about itself, it was that it was an adventurer at heart.

Sasha thought it a stupid piece of plastic hitting her in the face.

Midflight, Aaron was sure he felt a strange sensation take over him. He thought he saw a bright flash. He was certain he felt a hand grip his arm (not to mention the claws clasping the other). He was almost sure there was a flash of green fabric past his face. He was positive he heard a womans voice, bordering on annoyed, say “Now is not your time.”

And a moment later, he could have sworn he was just in his bedroom. Instead he was sprawled out somewhere in the mountains. And it was cold. He stood and surveyed his new surroundings. It was very cold. He shifted his stance so that his bare feet were now atop the blanket rather than the sharp rocks.

He was standing on a very steep path, at the corner of a bend. Trees surrounded him in all directions, but a bit of light peered in from the moon above. Just enough for Aaron to see somewhat.

Goosebumps began to speckle his skin. His skin which, he suddenly realized in a burst of embarrassment, was very exposed and naked save for a pair of— thankfully still fresh and clean— boxers. Fortunately, with no one around modesty wasn’t much of an issue, but freezing to death was.

“Where the hell are we?” A small irritated and mostly female voice groaned. There was the theory that no one was around.

Aaron grabbed for the blanket in a desperate attempt to not put off anyone who might be around. “H-hello?” he sputtered as he quickly wrapped himself.

There was a squeal, the sounds of cloth ripping, followed by a whump and rustling of bushes nearby. Aaron darted his eyes around in the dark, searching for the source of any of these noises.

From the bushes nearby he looked on in fear as two small lights revealed themselves. Watching him. They started high in the bush, then hopped down lower and approached. The lights shined brighter, bluer. Aaron watched on and stood petrified as the little lights moved toward him. They came within a foot of him and stopped, and blinked.

“So I’m just going to let that one go.” Sasha said in a small tinny voice, as if she were speaking through a small speaker. Aaron coughed.

15 MINUTES EARLIER

It was no surprise to Alex that Jonothan, ever the solipsist he was, showed no emotion when the Woman In Green alerted the two of them that they were now at the end of time. Or rather, All Time as it were. Boy never cared much for anything, really.

"And you're telling us," Alex motioned between Jonothan and himself, "for what?"

She shimmered in silence for a moment, her lack of presence and all encompassing aura making Alex's insides twist-- making it feel as if he were dropping and rising at the same time.

"It is Time’s end." she seemed to speak, "But not yours."

The frost and gloom that had been creeping across the world was now fast approaching, starting to close in over the buildings, cars and people who were busy not realizing it was the end of time. The Woman's green eyes seemed to plead with the duo, beckoning them to accept the mystery and take the next step. What they didn’t know was that she had another appointment she was going to be forced to take less such luxuries with because of the time they’ve spent deciding.

Alex glanced over at Jonothan. He seemed to be mulling this over in his mind, for once appearing something other than bored and saturnine. After a moment Jonothan looked back at Alex and shrugged.

"Neat."

Taking that for an answer, the Woman In Green took the duo by the hands and transported them to a deserted mountain trail. One that would lead them to their destination. And if all went accordingly, it would guide them to their destiny.