Triplicate #8

Ragnarok

1

"Choose, Gabriel. Choose which one is going to die and which one is going to live."

Here I was, chained fifty feet above Jenna Dimonte and Aphrodite Sambonis, two women that I loved. Jenna was my soul mate; Aphrodite was my very good friend. They both needed me right now, but there was nothing that I could do to help them. I was growing in strength, that much was for sure. In fact, the winches that were reeling in the chains, in effect the instruments of my eventual demise, were stymied. My strength had returned enough to counteract the force of the winches, but I couldn't pull myself free. I was at a standstill with them, and time was running out with Gibson below.

If I didn't break out of my chains, they'd both be killed, that much I know. I couldn't do it, not yet. I needed more time to recover; I needed to stall Gibson for a little while longer. "Why are you doing this, Gibson? Why do you have to kill all of these people? It isn't necessary."

"It is very necessary, Gabriel. There can be no threats to my plans. I can't afford to let anyone outside of my control know of this. If they did, well, the results would not be good. This is the way it has to be."
"There is always a different way, a better way. Murder isn't the answer to anything. It's wrong!"

He laughed at that. "You are one to talk, aren't you?" He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You have a fairly high body count as well, don't you? Let's see. You killed those two thugs my friend here hired to trap you last week in Michigan. That's two. You killed me, so that makes three. In Memphis, the night you broke into the facility, three guards had their necks snapped. That's six, isn't it? Then, back in California, I know of at least four more people you killed in a very gruesome manner. So far, that is a total of ten people that have died at your hand, isn't it? Ten human beings!"

"By I'm fighting for a just cause."

"Your cause is just from your point of view, just as mine is from mine. I didn't chose this way of life, these methods. They chose me. I have to play the hand that I've been dealt, just like you have.

"I don't hate you, Gabriel, I really don't. Sure, you've been a pain in my ass for years and your death will be welcome. If you were to renounce your crusade and come join me, I would be the happiest person in the world. Honest, I would. I wouldn't have to kill Aphrodite and I wouldn't have to kill Jenna. They can join our cause as well.

"Think of it, Gabriel. You and me, side by side, paving the way for humanity. We'd break through all the barriers that have prevented humanity from achieving what is rightfully ours." He was getting very animated. "We've been suppressed for our entire existence. External forces knew the power we can achieve. In a few short years, I will see to it that our potential is realized, that we claim our true place in the scheme of things.

"I only want the best for everyone, Gabriel. I want us-all of humanity-to enjoy the riches that we deserve. We've waited on the sidelines for far too long. There is a game being played, and we've been relegated to water boy. Knowing what I know, seeing what I've seen, I can't sit idly by and wait for something that I know I will never see happen. I know how to make it happen, and by God I WILL make it happen. It is our destiny.

"Join me and my cause, Gabriel. Join me and we can end this senseless slaughter of the innocent. Together, we can bring humanity through this darkness and into a far more brilliant light. Me and you, Gabriel, we can lead the human race into a golden age, an age of power and enlightenment.

"Join me and these two will not have to die."

I was tempted by his offer, but I knew it wasn't genuine. I could sense it about him, I could hear his heart rate increase. I could see it in his face. He had no intention of honoring any such pact between the two of us. I had to buy the time, though, just a few more minutes. A few more minutes and I would be able to break myself out of my bondage and save the two damsels in distress.

"And what will happen if I agree? Will you just let me go, take me at my word?"

"You know, you are right. I could never trust you to keep that promise."

"And I couldn't trust you, either."

"I guess that means no, then? Oh well, it would have been grand. I am destined to greatness all by my lonesome, it would seem." He shook his head in mock sadness. "Well, enough of that idealistic nonsense. Make a choice, Gabriel, so I can get the hell out of Nevada once and for all."

"I won't choose, Gibson, I won't condemn them to death."

"You've already done that, you moron. And stop calling me Gibson. My name is Rakal now. Don't you understand that, you thick-headed imbecile? Make your damn choice or I will make it for you."

I hung there in silence, hoping that he was bluffing. I couldn't be sure how long I could hold out before he did something drastic. I had to play for more time, I needed just a few more minutes. I was almost there. The chains, I was beginning to have luck defeating the pull of the winches. It was micrometers at a time, but it was still progress. The more I was able to pull, the stronger I was getting. It would only be a few minutes. Dammit, Gibson, just a few more minutes.

"Times up, Gabriel. It's time for the Reckoning." He picked up a large surgical knife, one with a blade that was at least seven inches long. "Make your choice now or else I will."

"No!" I shouted at him. "Neither. I chose neither of them. Kill me, but let them live. Let them both live and just kill me."

"But I am going to kill you anyway, Gabriel. You have to make a choice, no more stalling."

"No, I won't choose."

"Very well. I will chose for you. In fact, I have already made that choice. Whose death would hurt you the most in your last remaining minutes? Hmm? I know who it is and so do you, big guy." He looked down at Jenna and placed his index finger on the back edge of the knife.

"It has always been her, Gabriel. She was the one who was to die. I know Aphrodite means a lot to you as well, but not nearly as much as this woman here. You don't love Aphrodite, but you love Jenna. Before I kill you, I am going to hurt you. I'm going to carve your heart out." He pressed the knife against the skin just below Jenna's neck. She was out of it as well, but she knew what was coming, I could see it in her eyes. She was terrified. They started to gloss over, tears forming and running out of the corners. I tried to fight the winches, but I wasn't there left.

He bent over, his face close to hers. He began whispering something into her ear and her eyes widened. She looked up at me with those terrified eyes and all I could do was watch. He finished saying what he had to and lifted away, turned back towards me.

"Gabriel," he began, "here comes your Reckoning Day." He looked at her and pressed the knife into her skin. I saw a trickle of bright red blood start to stream out.

"God damn you, Gibson, don't do this!" I screamed at you.

"God has nothing to do with this, Gabriel. You know that as much as I."

"Don't do this. I swear to God I'll kill you if you do this."

"It doesn't matter what you think, Gabriel. But now, as always, what you think has been totally wrong from the start."

What did that mean? I would almost immediately find out. Somehow, Jenna had managed to free her hands. I smiled. She had a chance. One hand went immediately to the back of Gibson's head, grabbing a handful of his hair. I heard him scream in pain. She started pulling his head back, and he took a few steps to compensate. The knife left his hand and fell to the ground.

She was strong, that was sure. She looked at me and flashed me a murderous, almost horrifying grin. She sat up, never relinquishing the grip of Gibson's head. It was amazing to watch, Jenna was manhandling Gibson before my eyes. Maybe she didn't need my saving after all.

My strength was just a few precious moments from returning enough for me to break out of my chains. Jenna was giving me the time I needed, bless her gorgeous heart. I would be able to assist her in just seconds.

You know in dreams, when things go to slow motion while you are running for a door or a bomb or something like that? Most of the time, you never end up reaching your desired destination; it's always a step or two beyond your grasp. Well, it's strange when it happens in real life.

I've heard it described when someone is going through an accident of some kind, when their car is about to be t-boned, their whole family is in the car, when things look absolutely darkest. They also say that a person's life can flash before their eyes as well.

Now I don't know anything about that last part, but about the slow motion, yeah, that's how I remember living through what happened next. In fact, it's the only way that I can remember it.

Jenna was sitting up on the table, a handful of hair firmly in her clenched fist, her eyes staring at mine, full or rage and anger. I watched her blink, her eyelids slowly coming together and then opening up again. This time, though, her eyes were no longer fixed on me, but they were planted firmly on Gibson. They had changed, too, softened a bit. I knew then that something what horribly wrong.

I saw the corners of her mouth twitch, then start to curl upwards into a sick, sadistic smile. They parted slowly, her tongue moistened her lips. She looked as if she was about to rip his neck open and drink his blood. Her mouth opened, and then it happened.

She kissed him.

The clenched fist of hair relaxed as her arms embraced him, pulling him close. The kiss continued, deep and passionate. After what seemed like an eternity, their lips parted and she took a deep breath.

I didn't know what to think or what to say. I was shocked, flabbergasted, appalled. Again, I had been betrayed, and they both knew it. I could feel the piercing dagger shove its way into my chest, into my heart. I could feel the blade turn as it destroyed everything good that I had left in me.

In those prolonged seconds that followed, when they were looking into each others eyes, confirming the love that they had for each other, something happened inside of me. I expected to feel sadness, but I didn't. I thought that my heart would be broken, but it wasn't.

It was destroyed, and with its destruction came a freedom that I hadn't had before. I imagined that this is what serial killers must think like. I didn't feel said, I felt rage, I felt hate.

Jenna, not taking her eyes off of Gibson, bent over and felt around for the knife. She found it, smiled, and picked it up. She looked at me and then looked at Aphrodite. She was still fogged out, she didn't see it coming.

Jenna plunged the knife into Aphrodite's chest, into her heart. It was as if I was seeing what I had felt only seconds earlier. Aphrodite's body recoiled as the knife penetrated her. Her eyes grew wide, her mouth wide open. She didn't say a word, not a single scream. Good for her, deny them that satisfaction.

Jenna lifted the knife out of her chest, accompanied by a spray of blood. She drove it back inside Aphrodite with all of her strength. Aphrodite's hands clenched to fists and her eyes closed. In my head, I heard something strange. I began to hear a rumbling of sorts, almost like a wave crashing against the shore.

Over and over Jenna buried the knife into Aphrodite. The rumbling continued to grow in intensity, finally beginning to cause me a certain amount of pain. Jenna was panting now, like a dog who had just got done ripping a rabbit to shreds. I closed my eyes, I couldn't bear to look any longer. When I did, I saw myself.

It's as strange as anything that I had ever felt. I say myself hanging from the winches about Gibson, Jenna and Aphrodite. I could see everyone except the mysterious man. It was as if I were looking through Aphrodite's eyes. I could see Jenna panting, continuing her assault, the knife going in and out, the blood splattering against her, against Gibson. I saw the smile Gibson had, it was a smile of victory. Then I saw myself again.

Then it was as if I rushed at myself with tremendous speed. There is no other way to describe it. What it was, I couldn't possibly know. I saw through its eyes, through Aphrodite's eyes. It was as if her soul had been released and was flying towards me. And it hit me.

My body seized from the impact. I felt nothing, but I knew there was pain. I could sense it in my head, in every single cell in my body. The vision I saw turned pure white, blinding me with its brilliance. I screamed out of reflex. Then I felt Aphrodite's presence inside of me. She spoke to me.

"Avenge me," she said to me in a perfectly calm voice. "I love you, Gabriel." I was flooded with emotions, all of them concerning Aphrodite and myself, everything about our relationship from the past. She was a friend of mine, a great friend. I knew she loved me, and I could feel that love now. I loved her too, but never as strong as she loved me. A wave of sadness at the gulf between our emotions for each other smacked me in the face but disappated instantly.

And then I knew why she had loved me. It was a dream she had in high school. It was more than a dream, it was a calling into service. Service to what, she never really found out. In that dream, a dream I felt in a nanosecond, a dream that became my own, she was called to a room, a room made entirely from gold. In the golden room was pure light, pure energy, pure essence, pure love, pure power. She was surrounded by it and she embraced it.

Voices came to her head as she was embraced by the light. "You are next," it said to her, "you have become one." Then, in the dream, an image of me flashed in her head. "He is," the voice said. Then, she had a vision placed before her, a vision of her death. It was Jenna murdering her. It was replaced by me, chained up above her. "He is," the voice said.

I felt how she felt when she woke up. The dream was enough to frighten anyone, but she smiled and held her pillow tightly. She was filled with hope, with understanding. Understanding of a greater power, a greater plan. The vision of me in her head filled her with a sense of protection, of strength, of love. "He is," she said when she woke up.

She knew something about me then, and she felt connected to me, joined. I always had a feeling about her, when I first met her. I felt as if I knew her, like we were best of friends, like we knew everything about each other. She loved me for that, and I loved her for that.

It wasn't a lustful love, but a fulfilling love that only friends can have for each other. I felt every single ounce of that love right now. I also felt the peace that Aphrodite had at the time of her death, a death she knew was coming and had fully prepared for.

Now I know that she had a power of her own. When she told me back last October about the impending doom, I felt she wasn't completely honest about what was happening to her. Now, to understand that she had seen everything, that she knew how she was going to die and didn't tell me a single word about it, I can't imagine how hard it was. I didn't want to know.

She was at peace, and I was extremely thankful for that. She had accepted her fate and understood its importance. She knew that there was a scheme to things, a plan that was in the process of unraveling.

I felt her love, I felt her soul. I smiled to myself. Then, it started to fade. Then it just disappeared. What was left was a feeling of peace balanced by furious rage. Above everything else, though, was understanding that this is how it was supposed to be, and Aphrodite had played her part admirably. She would be rewarded.

Then I opened my eyes. With all of my strength, I pulled at the chains, trying to touch my hands to my toes. With little to no effort at all, the chains broke free from the winches and I started my decent to the platform.

I didn't hear anything as I destroyed the four winches. I'm sure it made a terribly loud crash, though, because the three remaining humans alive on the platform looked up with utter dismay on their faces. From fifty feet above them was falling Gabriel McGuire, with four hundred-foot lengths of chain, on attached to each of his wrists and ankles. I was coming for blood, for combat, to avenge Aphrodite.

It didn't matter at all who was down there. I had no more allies, they were all dead or hidden away. It was me against the three of them.

In mid air, I twisted myself so I would strike Gibson in the back with my feet. He couldn't react fast enough and I planted both of them on his chest. He yelled out in pain as he fell back off the platform. I was able to land on my feet.

Jenna was closest to me. She raised her hand, the one with the knife in it. She was meaning to stab me with it. The knife was dripping with Aphrodite's blood.

Mind you, things were still moving in slow motion. The knife was high above her head when I managed to grab her head and push her towards her lover. So shocked by the force that I threw her, she let go of the knife, throwing it against the wall.

I felt the mysterious man getting ready to move. I turned to him just as he was throwing a punch. It connected with my jaw, but I didn't feel any pain. I rolled with it, falling close to the edge of the platform. I righted myself on the edge. Using the chain still attached to my wrist, I whipped it around his waist and pulled him towards me. I shoulder-blocked him in the stomach sending him flying off the platform towards the ground below.

That's when things finally started to speed back up to normal again.

The three of them were on the ground, the bottom of the chamber. I heard footsteps behind me, closing in on me. I remembered the Sweeps. Turning quickly, using the chains like a whip, I cracked them across the arms, knocking their weapons out of their hands. I whipped the chain around the neck of one, yanking violently enough to break his neck. The other one made it to the platform.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gibson starting to get up. His eyes were ablaze with rage. "Kill that son of a bitch!" he screamed at the Sweep. The Sweep was on the platform, preparing to take me on in hand-to-hand combat. He was good, too, a black belt. I was good, too.

In a furious exchange of punches, kicks and blocks, nothing had been settled. He gave little ground to me and the chains attached to my wrists hampered my movements. Still, he never landed a solid blow.

In my left hand, I started to ball up the chain around my fist. I kept him occupied with my right hand, throwing some token offensive punches, just enough to keep him busy. I waited for my opportunity to strike the death blow. I wouldn't have to wait long.

He began to execute a round kick. He pivoted to the left, swinging his left leg around to gain momentum. I saw it coming a mile away and blocked it. I hit him with all my strength with the balled up chain in my left hand, cracking his helmet clean off his head. What it did to his face wasn't too clean.

He staggered backwards, scratching at his throat. He couldn't breathe; the blow had crushed his larynx. He fell backwards off the platform to his eventual death.

Gibson was helping Jenna up, who was a bit dazed from her fall. He pushed her towards the ladder. "Get up to the first level," he screamed at her. "Activate the destruct sequence."

She ran towards the ladder. I threw the chain at her, tripping her up.

The mysterious man came out of nowhere and cracked me in the back. I fell to one knee and he cracked me again. I kicked him in the upper thigh. That send him backwards to the ground.

I looked back at Gibson. He was almost at the ladder himself. I got up and ran towards the edge, leaping in the air and tackling him. He got a leg free and kicked me in the face. "Die, damn you! Just die!"

He got free and started up the ladder. I heard footsteps behind me. The mysterious man was right on top of me. I tripped him with a quick sweep of the legs and started back after Gibson. I jumped for the ladder, grabbing a rung above him. I ripped it off the ladder, hoping to take the whole thing down. I only brought the rung with me as I landed with a thud on the ground.

The mysterious man was walking towards me, trying to distract me as Jenna made her way to the ladder. I whipped the chain in front of her, causing sparks as it collided with the steel ladder. She recoiled at first, then continued.

I picked up a rock off the ground and threw it at her. It hit her in the hip, eliciting a scream of pain and dropping her to the ground. Gibson was almost to the top of that ladder. I looked for a rock, but couldn't find one. I formed something small, round and solid to throw at him. It hit him in the shoulder, knocking him against the wall and down the ladder. He fell into Jenna when he hit the ground.

The mysterious man grabbed my by my shirt and picked me up. He was extremely strong. He knew he had to act quickly and tossed me against the wall before I had a chance to do anything. I landed in a pile of pain and chains. He ran at me and kicked me in the side. "Go, Rakal. Get out of here, I'll keep him busy."

"No, you have to come with us," Gibson said. "I need you in this."

"If he survives, Rakal, all is lost." There was a pause by everyone involved, including me. Gibson made his decision.

"Thank you, my friend. I will never forget you or this."

"Succeed, Rakal, that is all I ask." Aw, how touching. I reached out and touched the mysterious man in the stomach and tried to get at the two of them.

They were going up the ladder, and I followed. Gibson was in the lead, followed closely by Jenna. I made up as much ground as I could. I was in reach of Jenna's ankle. I grabbed it.

She turned around. Something had happened to her, her skin had changed to a strange shape of gray. Her eyes had gone black. "Oh my God," I said. I was frozen in place, staring at whatever Jenna had become. What the hell had happened to her.

Gibson noticed and turned to help his love. He saw the surprised look on my face and laughed. "She's been upgraded," he said with a sneer. "Go ahead, show him Jenna." She smiled that sick smile and kicked me in the face. I went tumbling backwards down the ladder.

"We must leave, my sweet. You will communicate to the Others that we have succeeded in destroying Gabriel McGuire." That was it. I remembered that when they were in communication with whoever it was, they said that a person must be used as a communicator. Jenna was that person, it seems. Whatever the process was to make her that, it would seem that she had been altered. I wondered if it was part of the aliens that was showing in here. Eventually, I was sure, I would find out.

The mysterious man was waiting for me at the bottom of the ladder. He picked me up again and threw me against another wall. I was getting tired of that happening. "They're going to kill you," I said to him. "They're going to blow this place up and kill you."

"Wrong," he said with a straight face. "They are going to kill you. My fate is of no consequence. When they succeed, I will be remembered as a martyr and you a demon."

"Yeah, whatever." I exploded towards him, knocking him down. I used all of my strength to jump at the ladder, grabbing it about fifteen feet off the ground. I started to climb up the backside of it. Gibson and Jenna had already made it to the next level, but if I hurried, I could stop them.

I was close to the top, ready to swing around, ready to confront Gibson. When I did swing, the mysterious man was there to push me backwards. I tried to grab the ladder, but couldn't. I was freefalling towards the floor.

I threw the chains towards the ladder. Thankfully, one caught and I swung across the bottom of the chamber as if I were on a vine. I swung back up onto the ladder, right in front of the mysterious man.

We exchanged punches, each of us trying to knock the other off the ladder and back to the floor. I glanced up at Gibson and Jenna, they were making their way to the top level now. I knew I couldn't catch them in time to stop them from activating the explosives. I knew that they had to be on a time of some kind, so they could make their escape.

I nailed the mysterious man with a backhand punch and he fell off the side of the ladder. I started my ascent again.

When I got up to the second level, though, the lights cut out and were replaced by red lights. An alarm started to ring throughout the facility. "Three minutes to self destruction. No further audio warnings will be given." Great, three minutes. At least I could keep an accurate count in my head.

I continued to the next ladder up. I saw Gibson and Jenna get through the access door and shut it behind themselves. I heard the metallic crunch of the locks falling in place. I looked back at the mysterious man. He was making his way towards me.

A few seconds later, I was at the door. They had already activated the elevator. I could tell from a plasma display screen on the wall. I tried to open the door, but I couldn't. I tried to override the electronic lock, but I couldn't. In my head, I knew I had just about two minutes left. I heard the footsteps of the mysterious man come up behind me.

I turned quickly, prepared to deflect an attack. He was just standing there, though. "You can't get out, now, Gabriel. You are stuck in here with me."

"That's crazy, there has to be a way out of here."

"When that door's lock is in place, it can be opened one way. I will not reveal it, either."

I shook my head. "That's unacceptable."

"It's reality."

"How could you die for that man?"

"He made me what I am today. If you knew the truth, if you could grasp his significance, you would understand my sacrifice. The project must go on, it must be carried through fruition."

"I'm not going to die in here, not today." He grabbed me by the shoulder and twisted me around. His fist connected with my face.

"I will not allow you to leave here. You will die in here." He got quiet and looked at the door. "We will die together."

"You're mad."

"No, I'm a believer." He grabbed me by the shoulders again and three me off the platform. I controlled my fall as much as I could, landing all the way at the bottom on my feet. It hurt, but not enough to stop me. I started back up the ladder. He started down after me.

We met on the second level. We started to brawl. There was a minute left. I knew I wasn't going to get out of there, not before the explosions started. At the first chance, I took off into the outer ring, where the rooms were. He chased me.

I was looking for shelter of any kind. The cell that I was held in, that was the place that I wanted to get to. It seemed like it would be as safe a place in this facility as any. I kept running until I saw the door. It was closed.

I tried to open it, but I couldn't. I was rushing to much to try anything fancy. To be honest, I was getting a little bit nervous about the situation. The mysterious man tackled me, throwing me away from the cell door. Looks like I wasn’t going to get in there. There were forty-five seconds left.

He had a hold of me around the waste and was driving me towards the center of the chamber. He wanted to get me on that bottom level as the explosions ripped through this place, burying me alive. He pushed me over the side, still holding on. We both fell to the bottom.

He got up first, primarily because he landed on me. I hat cushioning other people's falls. "This is it, Gabriel. A fight to the death."

I stood up as well and put up my dukes. There was only forty seconds left until this place was going to explode. I took a swing at him, but he dodged it expertly. My heart wasn't in it anymore. I was thinking of a way that I could survive the upcoming personal apocalypse. He took a swing at me, but I let it hit me. There was no use fighting anymore. He could hit me all he wanted to, it wouldn't matter. The place was going to fall on our heads in seconds.

He got the point, too, and put his hands at his sides. We stood there looking at each other. I shrugged my shoulders. "Thirty seconds left," I said nonchalantly. He looked up at the ceiling. That's where the explosion was going to come from. Thank you, mysterious man, for giving me a chance.

"Is it true?" he asked me, almost like a child.

"Is what true?"

"What Louis said, about you being from the future and all that?" I could hear his voice starting to shake. He was scared, he was having second thoughts. I don't blame him.

"It's true," I said. His face seemed to brighten.

"Wow, that's pretty cool." This was strange. Here we were, two grown men about to die. His character changed right before my eyes. His tough, no-nonsense exterior seemed to crack and fall away, leaving behind a scared child.

"What happened to you?" I asked him. "How did this happen?"

"Gibson and I were from the first batch, the first experiments. They changed us when we were seven." Maybe that explained it. "You know, I was always into science fiction when I was a kid. I couldn't get enough of it." Fifteen seconds left. "Now look at me, I'm living through it, I'm living through a sci-fi novel." He smiled.

"You could have helped me escape."

"No, I couldn't. I owe him everything."

"Even your life?"

"Apparently so." I let out a sigh. I offered him my hand, and he took it. I don’t know why I did it, but I think it was because I looked at him as if he were me. He was on his own quest, his own crusade. He was obeying a master as well. He was a pawn in all of this, just like I was. We were more alike than I cared to admit.

"Watch this." I held out my hand and formed a steel pickax. His eyes went wide with amazement.

"That's cool."

"Yeah, it is."

"Why did you come back, though?"

"Because whatever your friend did, he ended up destroying the planet." His expression changed. That scared him.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Why else would I be doing this? I didn't want to. I was forced into it."

"I didn't know," his voice trailed off.

"You couldn't have." I used the pickax to cut the chains from my wrists and ankles. Five seconds left.

"Five seconds," I said calmly. I dove under the platform, under Aphrodite's body. Hopefully, the platform would give me some protection from the debris.

He didn't say anything at all. He just closed his eyes and waited for the fiery embrace of death to take him. I was not that accepting of my position.

In my head I counted down. The explosions, though, didn’t start when my count reached zero. I had three seconds of agonizing torture to withstand before the first blast.

True to my guess, the first blast came from directly above. The sound was deafening and the shockwave itself knocked me over. I saw the mysterious man get thrown into the wall with enough force to shatter every bone in his bone. He groaned and fell, not dead but getting close to it.

The debris began to rain down almost instantly, the platform was taking a hell of a beating. Thankfully, it held up. Around me, though, I saw pieces of rock ranging from the size of golf balls to boulders come tumbling down. I watched as a medium-sized bolder, about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle crush the mysterious man's skull, splattering his brains everywhere. He wouldn't be surviving that one.

I was sad to see him die. I felt sorry for him.

The debris started to slow and finally stopped. What a crappy job of placing explosions, I though to myself. This place was still mostly intact. Gibson couldn't be trusted to do anything right!

The dust started to settle after the artificial-and inept-cave in. It sure did a number on the mysterious man, though. I thought that maybe I had lucked out, but that wasn't the case.

It felt like an earthquake, but I knew it wasn't. A series of explosions were ripping through the elevator shaft and that big long access tunnel. They were coming closer and closer, demolishing everything in their path. This chamber was next.

The explosions hit the first level. It sounded and felt like I was at ground zero of an atomic bomb. Actually, I doubted that felt like anything at all. It was bad, though. Thankfully, I had defenses against loud noises and such, my eardrums weren't exactly blown up. Rock and steel flew all around the chamber, knocking everything over that it could, piling up where it couldn't. A series of explosions on the second level began ripping through the outer ring. Room after room were destroyed almost instantly. I guess I should be thankful that I hadn't gotten into that cell. I might have signed my own death certificate.

More debris, more rock, more steel were raining down all around me. Thankfully, the platform was still holding, but it wouldn't hold for long.

Explosion after explosion ripped through the walls of the cavern, throwing rock everywhere. I was beginning to be pelted, seems I wasn't too safe after all. At first, they were just small pieces and didn't have a great impact. That changed, though, and I felt the larger piece hit me with much more velocity. I was trapped, though, I had no place to go. The platform, even though the supports had buckled, it was still keeping me relatively safe.

Lower and lower the explosions came. The cavern was fogged with dust, I could hardly see my hand in front of my face. The explosions were only feet about my position, now, destroying the walls around me.

I heard a crack and the platform collapsed, dumping rocks all over my legs, crushing them. The rocks slowly started to pile on top of me. The explosions has stopped, though, but the damage had been done. Thankfully, the platform didn’t fall flat on me. I would have died for sure. It just cracked into pieces, giving way to the tons of rock pressing down on it.

I got a glimpse up at the chamber as the debris was settling around me. I could have sworn that I saw the night sky, but that was impossible. For that to happen, over one thousand feet of rock would have to be blown away. Maybe Gibson was more thorough than I gave him credit for. For a few times, I got a glimpse of twinkling stars in the sky. It didn't make sense, but that was okay with me.

Thankfully, I was still conscious and not in too much pain when the debris stopped settling. All I could see was rock. I could feel the dust in the air starting to collect itself on my face. I tried shaking it off, but I wasn't able to move that much.

Not once did I think I was going to die, though. There has to be a way out of this, I kept telling myself. It can't end this way, not here, not now, and certainly not because of Louis Gibson, or Rakal, or whatever.

A few loud cracks filled the air. I could sense the rocks beginning to move again. There was also a rumbling below me. When the next series of explosions hit, this time below me, I wasn't prepared or protected against them. The explosions picked up everything around me in a fireball and threw it into the air, me included. I could feel my clothes burn away, I could smell my hair and my flesh as well. This was it, I was going to die.

My trip through the explosion's fireball was much like a pinball game or bumper car ride. I hit everything and everything hit me. I closed my eyes, to protect them against the flames. I think it worked. I stayed at limp as I could, just in case that would help me. I doubted it would make a different.

I saw the exploded remains of the various levels of the facility as my eyelids burned away. I was still being propelled upwards at an extraordinary rate. I saw rock seemingly vaporize in the strange greenish fireball I was in. This wasn't right, this wasn't normal at all. Then again, I was probably injured beyond all chance of survival and was hallucinating. All around me, rock was vanishing, the facility was vanishing. I didn't understand it, not at all.

I don't remember ever stopping, coming to rest. I remember, though, feeling the heat of the explosion cease to be. I remember freefalling, or at least having the sensation of freefalling. I remember hitting very hard things on my way down. I kept falling and falling and falling and falling…

And then I was gone.

2

Hello, my name is Gabriel McGuire, and you have just been told the story of my life. As you can probably guess, I am dead. I wasn't sure until I remembered everything that happened to me. Now, though, I don't think that there is much doubt at all.

Where am I? At the beginning, I told you that I was in a dark, dark place. That doesn't give this place justice at all. I can't think of the words that have the capability to describe what it is like here. There is nothing here, nothing at all. It'd devoid of light, it's devoid of dimensions, it's devoid of temperature, of sound, of everything. It's darker than the darkest night. I have no idea how it can be, except to think that it is heaven-or hell-or at least whatever comes next.

I'm not standing on anything, nothing at all. I can't feel my legs, my arms, my body. It's as if I exist only as thought, only as energy. Maybe I am dead-like I presume that I am-and this is my soul. I'm here because I failed horribly. I'm here, in this vast nothingness, because I wasn't able to save any of my friends. I can go through a list, and I will.

First was Frank Whitaker. I didn't know him well, not as well as the other victims I condemned, but he was still a friend. He was a special agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and he was a family man. He had a wife, her name was Helen. I met her once at a Fourth of July picnic he had in Washington DC about three years back, the summer that I got infected with Triplicate. She was a lovely lady, deeply religious-as was Frank-and loved her husband a great deal.

I'd almost forgotten about her, the loss that she must be feeling now, losing her husband like this, for my crusade, not any cause of his own. I almost forgot about their twins as well.

The twins were Gwenyth and Geoffrey. They were born not more than two minutes apart. It surprised everyone when it happened, too. They were born five years ago. Frank missed their birth because he was helping me.

A wife now had no husband and two children lost their father because of me.

Frank, though, was a good man. He was very smart, educated at the University of Maryland in criminal law. He was almost finished with his doctorate in criminal psychology. He knew how the criminals thought, it was almost like he had a gift. I wasted that gift.

He joined the FBI because he believed in doing right, in protecting the good from the bad, protecting the Constitution. He was good at his job, extremely dedicated, very passionate. It took months to convince him I was telling the truth, and even when he came over to my side, he never really truly believed. He put up a good front, but I knew the truth. I think he thought that I was some spy of some kind, something like that. I don't know, though.

I don't know how he died, only that Gibson said that he did. That was good enough for me, though. Gibson was a cold, cold man. Maybe he was evil, I wasn't sure. He was my adversary, though, and everyone knows that's what satan, the word, means. Gibson was my Satan, but I guess I was his as well.

I can only hope that Frank died quickly and with as little pain as possible. He was a good man, and he didn't deserve to suffer. I hope to God that he didn't.

I remember one time, Frank and I were staking out a warehouse together. It was the dead of night, a cold rain was falling. It was the only time that we ever had the chance for a regular conversation. We talked about life, we talked about love, we talked about honor, we talked about duty.

I remember he asked me, "Gabriel, if you are who you say you are, then how can you possibly care enough about us to even try and make a difference? Your planet sounds pretty wonderful. Humanity seems to have survived and flourished."

He was right. I never thought about my mission like that, I always took the mission for what it was, and that was the mission. I didn't have a vested interest in the outcome, because if I failed, humanity would survive. If I succeeded, maybe I was dooming humanity for a far worse fate. We did make it eight thousand years after the expulsion. I still ask myself why I care. I still wonder why I continue knowing what I know. The only thing that I could answer with then was the same way I answer that question now. I do it because it's right, I do it because someone has to. Frank liked that answer, and he agreed with me.

We might not have been the best of friends, but we had that conversation.

Because of me, an entire family was wiped off the planet. Aphrodite and her two brothers, Apollo and Aries, they were the last of the Sambonis'. Their family had a long history, both in Greece and then in Detroit. They had their fingers in everything that happened in Greektown. It was only natural to fall into the family business, the organized crime racket, but still, Apollo was a good man and a good friend. I didn't blame him for his betrayal of me, he was caught in something so much bigger than himself that he couldn't help getting swallowed whole. In high school, he helped me out of enough scrapes that I owed him much. I think that I was able to repay him. But then his died because of me.

I could rationalize this one, though. He did, without my knowledge, work for Gibson. It was his choice to bid for those contracts. He was in the game before I was. He always knew the risks involved, and chances are, when things finally went down and Anderson Research, hell, all of Anderson Industries, when they were attacked, he knew that he was probably on the firing line. It came with the job.

Little comfort knowing that, though, because I was the one who brought these events. If I hadn't intervened, they might not have been killed. Apollo and Aries would be alive and still in business.

Maybe not, though. I couldn't tell, but since I was accepting blame for everything else, I might as well throw their deaths on my bed.

Aries never liked me, I knew that much. I didn't really like him, either. I didn't want him dead. I had the chance to kill him, I could have taken his life if I had wanted to. I didn't, though. That alone puts his blood on my hands.

Then there is Michelle. She was my conscious, she was my guiding light. She always kept me focused, she was always looking out for me. With her, I didn't have to worry about thinking up strategies, choosing which weapons to form, or when to leave a listener here or there. She did all that. I wouldn't have survived the infection without her, either.

She might not have been flesh and blood, she might have been just a computer program. Maybe to any casual observer. She was much more than that to me. She was a part of me. When I lost her, I lost part of me as well.

If she had still been with me, I wouldn't have ended up here, I'll tell you that.

And then there was Aphrodite. I don’t want to get into that right now, though. Everything between the two of us is still too sudden. I knew she had feelings for me, and I had feelings for her as well. I felt the bond we had. I just had no idea. Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll run into her here somewhere and we can get to the bottom of this.

Those were my friends. There was another, Frank Griffin. Thankfully, it wasn't me that killed him. It was just his time to go, that's all. He was a good man, and he helped me out so much when I was first out there on my own. Without his help, most of what I did wouldn't have been done. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have met Alana. He is dead, though, just like the rest of them.

Hopefully, Alana will be able to avoid Gibson and his goons. She doesn't deserve that fate, none of these people did.

I did, though.

I’m dead now, I'm sure of it. I deserve to be dead, too. I failed everyone and everything. It would seem that I have a large price to pay.