Earthman Jack vs. The Ghost Planet (55 page)

Jack pushed himself up.

Jack got to his feet.

And Jack gazed at what was to be certain death with a
courage he had never known he had until that very moment.

“I destroyed your planet, I’ve killed everything you’ve ever
cared about, and now, I’m going to kill you,” rumbled Zarrod.

Jack looked at Zarrod, and for some strange reason, his mind
flashed back to his first fight ever… the one in the school cafeteria with J.C.
Rowdey, the bully he had suddenly punched to the surprise of everyone,
including himself.

And Jack just couldn’t help it.  He had to laugh.

Zarrod hesitated a moment, taken aback by Jack’s reaction. 
The Deathlord’s eyes grew wide with indignation, anger and fury welling up
inside him.

“You… dare… laugh at me?” the Deathlord growled.

“Sorry, dude,” said Jack as a strange feeling of peace came
upon him.  “I just realized that there’s a point where bullies stop being
scary.”

“You say you’re no longer afraid?”

“Oh, no, I’m afraid,” said Jack.  “Just not of you.”

“Is that so?” the Deathlord growled.

Zarrod reached out his hand, and Jack felt the sharp pain of
razor-like hooks digging into him all over his skin.  Jack writhed and gritted
his teeth as he felt himself lifted into the air, trying desperately not to
scream.

Zarrod brought Jack, hovering helplessly in the air, to him 
The two of them stood in the middle of the open arena, face to face, eye to
eye.

Jack felt Zarrod pull at his soul, pain shooting through
every fiber of his being, but he kept his gaze on Zarrod, and bit down so hard
to keep from screaming it felt like he might break his teeth.

Zarrod looked at Jack with a hint of amusement in his
horrible red eyes.  “I am Zarrod, the Deathlord Supreme - culler of worlds,
master of darkness, and bane to all that is living.  No force can harm me, no
weapon can strike me, no army can defeat me.  I am the Omega, and the universe
trembles at my fury.  Who are you not to fear me?”

Jack’s body trembled as pain shot through every nerve like a
fire ravaging unchecked through a defenseless forest.  He could feel the cold
hand of despair tighten around his gut and gnaw like a rabid animal.  Flashes
of light shot off in sparks in the periphery of his vision, and it was almost
as if he could feel the frigid embrace of darkness begin to wrap itself around
his very soul.

Then, in the far reaches of his mind, for some reason, he
remembered an afternoon sitting in a classroom with a man he thought he hated. 
He remembered the talk they’d had, and the strange sense of pride he had felt
when he had suddenly earned that man’s respect.

He remembered the courage that man had shown, fighting a foe
he knew he could not defeat.

He remembered the trust that man had placed in him, even
though he wasn’t sure he deserved it.

But most of all, he remembered how much he
hated
to
lose.

With every ounce of strength he could muster, he clenched
his teeth, grabbed the detonator on his belt, raised it right in front of the
Deathlord's face, and said...

“I'm...
Jack!
”

And with that, he pushed the trigger.

The explosion erupted, smoke and fire racing up the face of Great
Seal.  Shrapnel and debris shot forth, and Jack could feel them whizzing by,
though if they had any impact on Zarrod, he did not show it.

There was the sound of a massive CRACK and the Great Seal
broke in half, giving into its wounds and crumbling to the ground in a cloud of
dust and smoke.  Behind it was nothing but a brilliant white light.

Jack gazed at the light as the Deathlord stood before him,
not moving, not taking his venomous gaze off Jack for one instant.  Jack heard Zarrod
laughing.

“Foolish boy,” the Deathlord growled.  “You did exactly what
I had wanted.”

Deep in the light, Jack could see blue sparks start to dance
around, and lightning start to cascade, swirling into a maelstrom in the shape
of one great, all-seeing eye.

“Trust me,” said Jack.  “I don’t think you wanted this…”

Zarrod turned, shifting his attention from Jack to the opening
behind him.  Whether the Deathlord was frightened, confused, angry, or just
plain indifferent, he couldn't tell.  All Jack did know was that in his final
moments, he had succeeded.

Just as Jack was about to succumb to the darkness of the
Deathlord's culling, an ear-shattering
BOOM
exploded from the opening.

For an instant, time seemed to stand still, activity from the
opening ceased, and all was quiet.

Then, with the might of a star going supernova, the energy
the Great Seal had been protecting mere moments before shot forth with the
strength of a thousand furies, crashing through Zarrod, and funneling directly
into Jack.

Both Jack and Zarrod screamed as the energy from the opening
coursed through both of their bodies.  It was almost as if Jack could feel the
very atoms that made up his being dance, as they threatened to rip apart and
never come back together.

As more and more of the energy channeled into him, he was
bombarded with flashes of images - people, places, things – an avalanche of
information, as though they were being etched onto the very fiber of his being.

It was just like the feeling he had experienced in the temple
leading to the Earthship, only a billion times stronger.  More images danced
before his eyes, all of them strange, familiar, and fantastic.  It was as
though the entire universe was laid out before him, and he was only able to
perceive a tiny glimmer of its majesty and wonder.

But there was a darkness there, too.  It was small but
noticeable.  It writhed, drenched in fear, and pain, and sorrow - scared of
what was happening to it.  It was seeing what Jack was seeing, but unable to
understand the overwhelming light that was at the center of the message that
was being shared.

It was a message of hope, of peace, of wonder... of life
itself.

It was a message looking for a home, a place to take root
and grow and flourish.  Instantly, Jack knew he could be that home.  But the
darkness wrapped itself around the message, like a scared snake coiling around
its enemy, and Jack realized that if he were to let in the light, he’d be
forced to let in the darkness, as well.

Jack considered himself to be many things, but he never
considered himself to be a very good student.  However, this was one lesson he
was willing to learn - no matter what the cost.

He opened his mind and invited the message in.

Jack awoke, floating.  Light was all around him.  It was
bright, but it did not hurt his eyes.  It was warm but comfortable.  It was as
though he were lying on a cloud, drifting in a still, clear lake on the most
beautiful day he could ever have possibly imagined.

Then came the voice.

“Hello, Jack.”

Jack turned.  Before him stood a man.  He was tall, and
slender, with wavy light-brown hair that was just starting to grey at the temples. 
He had kind hazel eyes, a warm smile, and a glimmer of familiarity that Jack
couldn’t quite place.

“Am I dead?” Jack asked.

“No,” replied the man.

“Then where am I?”

“Same place you were before.”

“This doesn't look like the same place.”

“Well, I guess it depends on how you’re looking at it.”

“Are you sure I'm not dead?”

The man laughed.  “Quite.  Don’t you trust me?”

“I guess.  Who are you?”

The man’s smile turned slightly sad.

“Someone who wants to help,” he answered.

“Well, you could start by being a bit more clear with your
answers,” said Jack.  “I'm not big on reading between the lines.”

The man chuckled.  “Fair enough.  But I'm afraid there’s
only so much I’m allowed to tell you.”

“Okay,” said Jack, more than a little bit confused.  “Are
you allowed to tell me what the heck just happened?”

“You freed the quantum energy that was behind the Great
Seal, and you opened your mind to it.”

“All that stuff I saw,” said Jack, “that was the knowledge
the seal was protecting?”

“Yes.  And now you’re its vessel.”

“Wicked,” said Jack.  “Does that make me the smartest guy in
the universe or something?”

“Not exactly,” the man chuckled.  “With your current level
of development, if you had access to all that information at once, it’s very
likely you’d go insane.”

“That’s… not cool,” said Jack.

“Try to understand something, Jack… all knowledge exists in
the universe.  Everything anyone could ever think or discover is already out
there.  It just has to be found by a mind that’s open to it.  The Great Seals
were designed to harness some of that knowledge, which in effect hides it even
from minds open to discovering it.  You were at ground zero when this knowledge
was unleashed from its prison.  And somehow, without any training whatsoever,
you opened your mind to its entirety.  Where it might take some a lifetime to
discover even a fraction of what was contained in there, some part of you will
know where to look for all of it.  So its not that you can’t access the
knowledge, it’s just that you’ll have to figure out what you want to access,
and do so when the time is right.”

“Is that why you’re here?” asked Jack.  “To teach me how to
access it?”

“No.  I’m here to deliver a message.”

“What kind of message?”

“A message of hope.”

“There you go,” said Jack, “being all cryptic again.”

“Well, get used to it kiddo, because before all this is over,
you’re going to run into a lot of stuff that won’t make any sense.”

“How do you know?”

“I'd tell you, but then I’d just have to be all cryptic
again.”

Jack nodded.  “Okay, fine.  Can you at least tell me what
your message is, straight up?”

“Okay,” said the man.  “The message is:  You can save
Earth.  Is that straight up enough?”

Jack’s heart skipped a beat.

“What?” he asked.

“You can save Earth, and every other planet the Deathlords
have destroyed.”

“But... how is that possible?” Jack asked.  “They blew up
Earth!”

“Anything is possible," said the man.  “If you find the
final creation of the Ancients.”

“The final creation?  You mean that thing Anna's looking
for!” exclaimed Jack.  “The Ancient weapon?  It really exists?”

“It does,” said the man.  “And now, you know how to find it.”

“I do?” asked Jack.  “Was it one of the things that just got
downloaded to my brain?  How do I access it?  What is the weapon?  How does it
save Earth?”

Jack stopped talking when he realized the man was grinning
at him strangely.

“Let me guess,” said Jack.  “You’re not allowed to tell me.”

“No, no...” said the man.  “It’s just... well, it’s just that
I see a lot of potential in you.”

For the first time, Jack tried to clear his mind of
confusion and really look at the man standing before him.  Deep in his gut,
Jack felt like he somehow knew this man, like in the back of his mind, he could
remember someone saying the exact same thing to him, long ago.

“Who are you?” asked Jack again.  “Are you an Ancient?”

The man shook his head.  “No, unfortunately, I'm not.”

“Then who?  Please, tell me.”

For a moment, it looked like the man was going to answer,
then suddenly, a piercing
SHRIEK
cut through the air.  The light around
them began to dull, as streaks of darkness soaked its way in and swirled around
with the light.

The man looked around, startled.

“No,” he said.  “We’re supposed to have more time!”

“What is it?” asked Jack, as he began to feel a cold wind
swirl around him.  “What's happening?”

The man turned to him, looking at Jack intently, a sudden
urgency in his voice.  “Jack, you need to listen to me very carefully…”

Jack could feel himself slowly start to be pulled away from
the man.  He struggled, trying to stay with him, but the more he tried, the
more he seemed to slip backwards.

“What’s going on?” yelled Jack over the increasing wind that
was swirling around him.  “Help me!”  he  screamed.

“Jack - your ship–” yelled the man.  Jack tried to focus on
what he was saying, but the wind was screeching in his ears so loudly he could
barely make out the words.  “…the key to <
whoosh
> final creation…
You must <
whoooooooosh
> Shadow Zone… There, you'll <
whoosh
whooooosh
> but be
careful!  <
Whoosh
> not what it seems! You must first <
whoosh
>
travel back in <
whoosh
whooooooooosh
> the Void Lords…”

“I can’t hear you!” cried Jack.  He could feel himself
slipping away faster and faster.

“Only way <
whoosh
> to save Earth and <
whoooooosh
>…”
screamed the man.

“But how!” yelled Jack.  “Where do I start!?!?”

“Go to <
whoosh
> Khoruhar...”

Jack was barely able to make out the last word.  As the
darkness and the light around him mixed together and the wind engulfed him, he
took one last look at the man as he began to fade away in the distance.

“I love you... son...” the man cried.

Jack’s eyes grew wide.  What was nagging him in the back of
his memory quickly flooded to the forefront.  He had indeed met that man
before, when he was very young.  How could he have not seen it?

Dad!

“NO!” Jack cried.  “Come back!  Come BACK!”

He reached out toward the fading image of his father just as
a brilliant blue lightning bolt shot out from where he had been, streaking
through Jack’s body.  Suddenly, Jack was in pain and his muscles twisted and
writhed from the fury of the electricity that was shooting through him.

The lightning stopped, and Jack fell to the floor.  His
chest burned, and his eyes were blinded by tears. 
Had it been a dream?
he wondered. 
Was any of it real?