The Great Altruist (52 page)

       
    
Genesis sensed something was wrong. James’s anxiety was palpable. “Tell me. What’s wrong?”

       
    
“I’ve been through hell and back to get to you. I last saw you over three months ago.”

           
“I was in a coma for three months?”

           
“No, I had to travel decades from now on a spaceship to get the cure I just gave you. But all that effort to see you again has come at a terrible price: the people I worked with lied to me about their intentions. Right now, a terrible weapon is about to launch that will kill every person on this planet, leaving only the people on that ship to survive. I had to choose whether to save the world, or spend ten more minutes with you.”

       
    
Genesis finished dressing and grabbed hold of James’s hand. “Then let’s not waste anymore time. We’ll stop them together.”

       
    
James and Genesis ran out of the room and through the maze of corridors in search of the hospital’s exit. Outside the building, they witnessed a terrifying sight. Above them in mid-atmosphere hovered the massive ship James had abandoned only minutes ago. Chaos ensued on the ground as people screamed and ran in every direction.

       
    
“Is that where the weapon is?” Genesis asked.

       
    
“Yes, and I’m worried that my only friend on that thing has failed.”

       
    
“Can we get aboard?”

       
    
James looked down at the teleport device and tried to activate it – it didn't work. He shook his head. “I guess you should have held onto your powers a little longer.”

       
    
She smiled at her husband. “I don’t regret one second of our life together. If I have to die, at least I’m with you.”

       
    
The ship dropped lower to the earth, close enough for James to see people on the bride. Among them, Roger smiled down at him from the bridge. He motioned to the teleporter on James's wrist. Suddenly, he heard a voice come from the device.

       
    
“Archer’s plan was unsuccessful,” Roger said, his voice blaring from a small speaker on the device. “But I’m afraid you chose poorly, Mr. Grant. Your friend, Doctor Archer, made an impressive and lonesome stand against us. Unfortunately, his contribution to our mission has ended. I regret to add that his will not be the only death this night.”

       
    
James took hold of the device and answered back. “I stand by my choice.”

       
    
“Are you sure?” Roger grinned again as Val approached his side. She waved to Genesis and blew a kiss to James. She then disappeared from view, her laugh drowning out on the device.

       
    
Genesis looked up at her husband and gave him a reassuring smile; he didn’t need to defend himself.

       
    
They embraced as the ground beneath them began to shake from the ship’s engines revving up. James looked up at the ship with an expression of fear that Genesis had never seen before.

       
    
Genesis turned to face James. “I love you, James.”

       
    
He smiled, pulled her close, and tenderly kissed her.

       
    
The ship lifted and stationed itself high in the atmosphere. James and Genesis stood holding each other, preparing for the worst, when they saw a flash of blue light all around them. The ship's crew stood gathered in a group – seventy men and women – huddled together in fear of their fate, which they now realized was unavoidable.

       
    
The weapon fired a moment later. All over the planet, human beings were vaporized while all other forms of life watched the massacre. Outside the hospital, the people around James and Genesis Grant gasped at the sight of each other’s death. Bloodcurdling screams from all over the planet cried in unison as nearly seven billion souls breathed for the last time.

       
    
“I’m scared,” Genesis said. Suddenly, she felt the same sensation she hadn’t felt since returning to James. She looked up at her husband in fear as a wash of blue light surrounded them.

       
    
“What’s happening?” he asked.

       
    
“A miracle,” she said.

       
    
As the last humans on Earth dematerialized into thin air, James and Genesis disappeared from in front of the hospital. They were gone, lost in the streams of time.

Part 4

Chapter 1

       
    
John Archer was crouched on his hands and knees on the bridge of the
Apocalypse
just before the weapon was fired. The crew was already gone, sent to their deaths on the surface of the earth. His trusted friend, Roger, stood over him with a gun to his head, while the young woman, Val, looked over him with disapproval.

       
    
“You disappoint me, Doctor,” Roger said. “All this time together and you still don’t trust my motives.”

       
    
Archer coughed up a small amount of blood that resulted from a beating by the guards earlier. “I should have known when you asked me to turn traitor.”

       
    
Roger laughed. “As I told you before, there are more important things than lines on a map. We are restoring the world back into balance. One hundred loyal individuals who will rebuild a new civilization without the petty annoyances of this bankrupted culture.”

       
    
Archer struggled through the pain to muster a laugh of derision at Roger. “I used to believe that pure evil doesn't exist. I die knowing that whatever good is left won’t exist either.”

       
    
“How poetic!” Val said, her tone of voice filled with ridicule. “The only thing that will die with you and all those people is short-sightedness.”

       
    
Archer turned from them and caught a glimpse out the bridge window. On the ground below stood a crowd of people gathered in fear and panic. Although knowing he was seconds from death, Archer smiled, knowing he had done all he could to give James one final moment with his wife.

       
    
“Any final words before you join the rest of humanity?” Roger demanded.

       
    
Archer turned to face Roger and Val and said nothing. He only smiled.

       
    
Roger looked down at the ground and caught sight of the extinction. “What a waste!” he said. He turned to address Archer but he was already dead, killed in cold blood by Val.

       
    
She turned to face Roger, wiped Archer’s blood off her face, and said: “Let’s get on with it.”

       
    
The death of every human being standing on the ground when the
Apocalypse
fired its weapon marked the end of an entire society, but James and Genesis were nowhere to be found. Deep in a thick, humid jungle, a naked man and woman suddenly appeared and held each other for comfort as they tried to figure out where they were.

       
    
“What just happened?” James said, looking around for any other signs of life.

       
    
“I’m not sure,” his wife replied.

       
    
“I thought you said you lost your powers.”

       
    
“I should have. That’s what the scientist told me.” She looked around their location for any signs of civilization. She couldn’t help laughing as James crouched sheepishly in a vain attempt to cover his nakedness. For her, it felt good to be outdoors again and not have to worry about being modest.

       
    
“I can’t believe we made it out of there,” James said.
We’re in the middle of nowhere
, he thought.
“
I need to rest
.
” He sat down on the stump of a tree and put his head against the trunk.

       
    
“I had no idea I could still do that,” she said.

       
    
He smiled at her while beckoning her to come close. “I know you didn’t. Remember our deal the night we got married?”

       
    
She nodded as she sat on his lap and rested her head against his shoulder. “Of course. No secrets.”

       
    
“Right. So let’s try to figure out what happened: the man who made you said you would be restored to normal when you came back, right?”

       
    
She nodded.

       
    
“But I’m sure getting poisoned wasn’t his idea. After all, he made you to be genetically perfect.”

           
“Poisoned?” she said aghast.

           
“Yes, the doctor said they found a strange chemical in your blood. Whatever it was, it was supposed to kill you. Instead, it gave you cancer, which gave me a chance to save you.”

           
She thought back to the last thing she saw in her kitchen as she prepared dinner. Then she remembered the pinch on her shoulder just before her mind went blank. She looked at her shoulder but couldn’t find the puncture wound. It had healed as though it never happened.
She then recalled what her creator had told her about her first trip and how it was triggered by her fear. She now realized why she was able to travel back in time: it was fear, an emotion she had never felt in all her time with James.
“My creator said my first jump was triggered by anger and fear. Maybe that’s how we ended up here?”

       
    
“Yes, but it doesn’t explain how you suddenly got your powers back.”

       
    
She stood up and started pacing as she thought. “There can only be two possibilities: the man lied and only restored my
height
to normal, or he kept his word and something else changed my genes later.”

       
    
“The cure!”

       
    
Her eyes widened as she put the puzzle together in her mind. “The cure,” she repeated.

       
    
“Right! The injection I gave you killed the cancer but maybe it also
undid
some of whatever your creator did.
”

       
    
“Does that mean I’m going to shrink again?”

       
    
“I don’t know. Maybe the cure just balanced out his mistake and you’ll be yourself
and
have your powers.” He pulled her close and held her close. “Should be pretty cool, right?”