*...be…ep…*
The sun had long since set when they arrived and parked several houses up from the yellow duplex. They stood before the building, one for the first time, the other for the first time in a long time. No light came from any of the windows, yet two cars slept dreamlessly within the lot. Man and Soul would have to sneak in. Over a gate that forever needed a coat of paint, staying within the blind spots of the motion-sensitive sentries, and a blind search in the dark for a rock that held a secret key older than the Man.
*...beeb…*
These phantoms slipped into a darkened kitchen, key in hand, and sat at the dining table for a meal that would never come. The Man tapped and tapped on the table to summon a ghost from his past; the Soul begged and pleaded for caution. From the shadowy hallway came the sound of a gun cocking, followed closely by an order to stop. A switch flipped, light banished darkness, and the Man found two sisters when he expected one. The Cynthia who was, and the Cynthia who is. The one-who-was looked at him as a stranger, the one-who-is knew her brother no matter the age.
*...Beeb beeb…*
Once the truth was accepted, the Man received his beatings. The blow to the jaw hurt far less than the cold steel in her words, for they awoke the dead. Two ghosts hovered behind the Cynthias', but time had worn away their features to nothing. The Father looked at his wayward son, his police badge more vivid than his face. The Mother in her military officer garb turned away from him, as expected.
*Beeb Beeb Beeb*
Thankfully, the dead only speak when spoken to, and the Man did not return to relive the past but to secure a future. The Man warned his blood of the apocalyptic changes that were to come. He urged them to gather among the trusted before the last grain of sand fell. Most importantly, the Man gave Cynthia a gift, one that will alter the course of humanity's Fate. The One-who-was thanked him; the One-who-is chose to forgive but not to forget. They left the home and returned to their car, then the Soul asked an innocent question. Two more Souls appeared in the back seat, but the Man would not look at them. Not then and perhaps never again…
Then, a building-sized red and black USB flash drive manifested in the middle of the road and refused to allow passage until it was fed-
*BEEB! BEEB! BEEB! BEEB!* The phone alarm's persistent digital ring pounded relentlessly against his poor eardrums.
[Oh, Heavenly Dao, your head hurts!] Moaned Ego loudly as Morgan finally jolted to full consciousness. [Could you please wake up and turn the alarm off.]
"I'll turn off the alarm at least." Morgan groaned before slamming a pillow over his head. His words were muffled when he asked, "What alarm number is it? If it's the first, I'm just going back to sleep."
[No clue. Apparently, in this limited state, I can't maintain consciousness when you're asleep. Spirits don't sleep. Instead, we go into a sort of torpor-like state, so I'm also just waking up.] The Spirit complained, showing off their new mastery of English contractions.
The Spirit's change in speech was a surprise tp both of them yesterday, an unexpected gift after absorbing several decades worth of Earthling media. While Morgan found the change to be a positive, Ego was far less incline to agree as they didn't realize that the change would fundamentally alter that part of themselves. While they ultimately accepted the alteration, Ego refused to go anywhere near his memories again. However, that mishap hadn't dampened their thrust for more media, they simply wanted to experience it first hand. As last night more than proved.
On the topic of last night.
"Did you have any weird dreams?" Morgan murmured as he groped blindly for the phone, slamming his fingers on it on the third attempt. "I dreamt of last night, when we visited my sister."
[Nothing.] Sulked the Spirit. [A shame since I don't remember dreaming when I could. There's probably some time before we have to start packing. Tell me about your dream.]
"It played out mostly the same as what happened, except for the last part," Morgan replied as he struggled to shut off the alarm without removing the pillow—a task that was proving hard to pull off even as his thumb wildly manipulated the screen. "Why won't it be quiet?"
*BEEB! BEEB! BEEB! BEEB!*
[You probably have to unlock it first, oh great Scientist.] They snickered. [By the way, it helps if you actually look at the phone.]
"Is nagging me first thing in the morning going to be a common thing from now on? Because I'm more than willing to wait till the afternoon before we talk to each other."
[Why are you so cranky in the morning? I thought old people always got up before the sun.]
"Old people are still cranky when they wake up; it's just that we're already hyped up on caffeine by the time everyone else wakes up." He shot back. "Also, plenty of younger folk in the military wake up far earlier than civilians. Especially when-"
*BEEP! BEEP!*
"-One second; I need to avoid throwing the phone against the wall." With enormous effort, the Professor pushed the pillow onto the empty side of the bed before stuffing the screaming phone underneath.
Morgan sat up, yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His bedroom was a hazy mess of grays and blues. As he wiped away the sand man's gift, the Scientist wondered which of the dozens of alarms managed to wake him. Aware that his younger body lacked discipline, he set the earliest alarm to 6 am and the rest to ring in 15-minute intervals afterward. Ego insisted he name them all, which only delayed sleep that much more. If Morgan had to guess, this was the 7:15 am alarm titled 'Get up, you lazy prick'.
When the last of the sandman's gifts was grounded away, he checked how far he was off the mark. The title read, 'Last 15 minutes on Earth'.
*BEEP! BEEP!*
Neither one said a single word or reacted as they stared at the alarm's name in utter disbelief. The blaring noise faded into the background as blood rushed to his ears.
Morgan dismissed the alarm and fully unlocked the phone. Swiping down the notification window, they saw the same message repeated over and over again: 'Missed alarm'. Ice crept up his spine as his gaze shifted to the digital clock in the top right. It ticked from 8:45 to 8:46 am.
Ah... They fucked up real bad his time.
Morgan scrambled to escape his well-padded prison, yet the bed refused to let its inmate go without a fight. One of the blanket corners snared a foot, sending him crashing face-first onto the black wood floor.
[How could we possibly sleep through 20+ alarms?!] Demanded the Spirit as the once world-renowned Scientist crawled on all fours towards the bedroom door.
"It probably-" He said in between grunts as he attempted to free himself. "-didn't help-" This last tug separated jailer from the prisoner. "-that I had a long day yesterday." Morgan ripped open the door and nearly dove into the hallway. "A day that was even longer thanks to a certain pain-in-the-head Spirit begging me to download hundreds of anime, audiobooks, movies, and TV shows until 4 am."
[I-uh. I see your point.] They chuckled nervously before changing course. [Alright, what needs to be done before we can leave?]
"Pack everything inside the car, change clothes, and Momo has to be prepped for transport." Taking the steps two at a time, he raced down the metal spiral staircase and landed in the living room.
[Oh, so pretty much everything then?] Sobbed Ego miserably.
Once in the living room, he bolted for the front door, only stopping to grab the nearby car keys, to which the jade Dimensional Ring was added for safekeeping.
Anyone looking out their window or walking down the suburban street would have been treated to a distressing sight. Bursting from the home of a senior citizen was a barefoot and shirtless man making a beeline for the homeowner's SUV. The street looked empty of any onlookers but porch cameras had become standard security by this point in time. Likely, the scene was caught from multiple angles, and anybody could have sent it to the police if they were having a slow day. Thankfully, a half-naked potential carjacker was unlikely to capture anyone's attention on this day. On any other day, the Professor might've gone viral.
Morgan first retrieved the case containing the Artifact as it was the linchpin in this fiasco, but he faltered on what should be taken next.
He ran around to the already-opened trunk and took stock of what he had bought the night before. Several sets of work clothes, all-terrain camping gear, outdoor cooking gear, water purifier tablets, several months' worth of MREs, custom first aid kit, hygiene and hair supplies, climbing gear, winter gear, diving gear, bowie knife, whetstone, protection, box of duct tape, shovel, solar generator, toolbox, chemistry kit, organic chemistry kit, folding table-chair combo, large crate of notebooks, pens, a telescope, binoculars, microscope, a parachute, inflatable raft, and everything bought for Momo.
Well, shit. The Scientist had royally screwed up. Eris promised him that he would be sent to a world different than the one humanity would be taken to. A planet she promised would give him both privacy and a somewhat safe space to perform his research. However, he neglected to ask what kind of environment awaited them. The Dimensional Ring she sent had been a lifesaver as the space within the ring was massive, allowing him to prepare for every environment he could imagine.
However, according to the instructions in her note, items being stored in bulk needed a large clearance of space around them. There was no time to unpack everything from the car.
[You bought all this in the few hours I was gone?] Said Ego in impressed horror.
[This isn't my first expedition; I can be very time-efficient when motivated.] Projected Morgan, switching modes of communication as he was not anxious to add schizophrenic to the possible video title. [Forget that. I have a hypothetical question.]
[Hit me.]
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
[If we sit in the car while being teleported, will it take the whole thing like it did with my chair?]
[Uh… Maybe? Listin Morgan, I'm unsure how teleportation would react to a whole car. Last time, it took us and your chair, but not the holding tank I was in or the desk between us. We might arrive with the car intact or just the car seat, or it could reject the vehicle entirely and only take you. At best, it's a dice roll.]
Damn it, a risk like that needed to be a last resort. Morgan fidgeted with his hair as he spent precious time debating. Should he just take the food and shelter in hopes that wherever Eris sent them would be hospitable?
No, definitely not. Perhaps he could expect such soft treatment if his Patron were any other mythological figure. Sadly, reality wasn't so kind, and any location chosen by that divinity should be subject to suspicion.
Beads of sweat that had nothing to do with the weather or his mad dash outside began to form on his back and brow as every new idea was formed and then scrapped for containing a fatal flaw. The seconds ticked by, and with every second gone, there would be less time to implement a plan. The situation was galling to him. The Professor was given a literal pocket space with storage comparable to a shipping container. Yet he wouldn't even use it to its full potential.
[OH!] Ego gasped suddenly, and if they had hands, they would raise them and wave them high in the air to get the Professor's attention. [Oh! Take the whole car! So long as you picture the car as your target, then everything inside should be stored as well—just like how the cake was stored with the serving tray and cover!]
The obvious bitch-slapping him upside the head stung a bit, but there could be no growth without pain.
Morgan slammed the door and trunk shut before taking a few steps from the treasure trove on wheels.
"Good job, Ego. I knew I kept you around for a reason." He thanked before slipping the jade ring on and pointing the hand at the car. He spoke the storage command word that was written on the. "Intrare."
Like a soap bubble popping out of existence, the SUV and everything inside disappeared from sight.
*Pop* Nature abhorred a vacuum, and air was more than willing to flood the empty space.
"What the Hell?!" Screamed a shrill voice from behind.
"Oops." Whispered the Professor as he turned to face the newcomer. It was the McAllister boy from next door. The last time he saw the kid, he was a grade-schooler on a tricycle. Now in his teenage years, he stared at the space where the car was in slack-jaw amazement. Morgan struggled to recall his name. "Hello… I want to say, Rusty? I'm sure what you saw just now may seem impossible, so I- Wait. Why am I explaining anything right now? It's not like you telling anyone what you saw will have any consequences for me, even if they believe you."
Morgan ended the conversation by running back into the house while shouting at the youth, "The world you know ends today, stay close to family!"
Back inside, he checked the time.
[Nine minutes left!] Panicked Ego as Morgan tore the Artifact from the case. [The instructions for the Realm Piercer are simple. All you need to do is stab it into the ground outside and have your hand placed on it by 9 am. The Enchantments on it will take care of everything else. How fast can you get dressed?]
Morgan misjudged his new strength when hurling the Artifact across the living room. It overshot the coach and embedded itself into the drywall between his computer station and a custom glass terrarium as large as a fridge. Within the little slice of New Caledonia were dozens of native plants, a running waterfall, and a small fleshy tail poked out from under a leaf.
"Very." He answered, striping naked as he took the stairs at the same hazardous pace as before.
He dived into his bedroom, only to exit less than a minute later wearing olive-green cargo pants, a dusty pair of Timberlands, and a black T-shirt under the lab coat. A pair of rounded sunglasses with side shields hung from the shirt collar.
[Really? You're taking the coat?] Asked Ego as they entered the living room. [You don't think it makes you stick out in a crowd?]
"What self-respecting scientist does research without a lab coat?" Morgan answered on autopilot as he approached Momo's tank. "Now stop complaining and say hello to our third member, the Princess Monochrome Morgan."
All the excitement from running up and down the stairs, slamming doors, and screaming must have woken the little nocturnal creature. A second after pulling open the glass double doors, a blur of black and white leaped onto his right forearm.
The Professor brought his sleepy child to eye level for the Spirit to examine. Mono is what is known as an adult axanthic lily white morph Crested Gecko. A mouth full of fancy words to say, she had vivid black-and-white pattern scales that are normally not found outside the pet trade.
Years ago, on the return trip from Morgan's very last expedition, he encountered Momo outside the Boston airport. Two women were caught attempting to smuggle live reptile eggs through security. At least, this is what the soon-to-be Professor assumed to be the case when he witnessed both women running like bats out of hell out of the airport entrance, luggage still in hand. The woman clutching the larger of the two bags stopped and began tossing its contents into a nearby bush. Disposing of the evidence became a second priority when several officers busted through the doors, sending the smugglers running once more. Once the cops were out of sight, Morgan inspected the tossed contraband and discovered six Tupperware containers, each containing two intact eggs.
Being a responsible privet citizen, who had probably been recorded on camera poking around the bush, Morgan flagged down an officer. The officer thanked him for helping the department in securing all 11 smuggled eggs.
[She's incredible.] Marveled Ego.
[She is.] He projected since speaking aloud might spook the poor girl even further. [Apparently, she's also very expensive.]
[How much?]
[Let me put it to you this way. When I took her to an Expo five years ago, the lowest offer I got was $22,000.]
[That… That's a lot of money.] Whispered Ego. [But currency is meaningless in the grand scheme of things, so I'm glad you kept her instead of- What are you doing?]"
[Hmm?] Asked the Professor as he adjusted his shirt.
[D-don't 'Hmm?' me.] The Spirit attempted to chide the ridiculous Human, but their obvious amusement ruined the effect. [You just stuck a reptile under your shirt; don't pretend that's a normal thing to do.]
[Well, I can't keep her in the tank; the damn thing weighs a ton.] Morgan tried to pull the Realm Piercer from the wall, but it was stuck deep in a wooden beam. He yanked it free with both arms and drywall dust exploded outwards to cover his laptop. The gecko stirred nervously from under his shirt. He scratched her back through the fabric to calm the adorable beast. [Momo will be fine; I trained her to stay put and behave when we're out and about.]
[Let's hope so.] Said Ego earnestly as they left through the kitchen
The Scientist's backyard was an empty shell of its former self. Looking at the space now, all one would see is an empty rectangular patch of well-kept grass. In the 30+ years since he had moved in, the yard had only been so neat in the last five. Morgan's sensibilities disliked the ordered rows of flowers and shrubbery many in the neighborhood strove to maintain. It all felt so artificial, so he allowed his space to grow wild and free. Barring only the genuinely hazardous pests from moving in, the space became a sanctuary for all local wildlife. Hummingbirds, butterflies, snakes, moles, and everything in between called the dense foliage home in those days. A stone path hugging the fence walls was the only visible sign of human touch.
That maintenance eventually became too much for the elderly owner as keeping the natural chaos from spilling over to his neighbors was difficult. One sad spring night, the Scientist captured all the inhabitants he could for relocation. The following day, he cleared the land.
[Morgan?] Prodded Ego gently. [I'm sorry, but we only have three minutes left.]
"Yeah." The Professor grunted in agreement. The past banished, he stabbed the Realm Piercer into the center of the lawn before slipping on the shades. This wasn't his first rodeo, and there was no way he'd miss the transition due to blinding light.
[What was that back there? You walked to the middle of the yard and just stood there.]
"I just wanted to have a moment with the ghost of my backyard."
[With the empty backyard?] There was no accusation in their tone, only polite curiosity. [But not with the home you've lived in for years?]
"I had more fun out here than in there." He shrugged before changing the subject. [Is there anything important that we need but didn't pack?]
[No, we should be good. Assuming all of the necessary supplies were already in the car, that is. I created a mental checklist last night while we were downloading every-] Ego cut themselves off and, with all the psychotic fervor of a teenager realizing their phone was not in their pocket, screamed, [The flash drive! It's still attached to your laptop!]
"Shit." Morgan secured a hand over Momo before running back into the house.
A part of the Earthling's mind felt incensed at the idea of risking all life in the world just to retrieve something so frivolous. However, wisdom was the force that guided this seemingly insane decision. Entertainment was not the only content stored in the drive. Last night, the Professor realized that thanks to the information transfer between Vajrayana and Earth, he could use humanity's recorded history and mythology to his advantage. So, he added hundreds of documents, textbooks, and documentaries to the download queue.
The laptop sat on the living room desk with the comically thin 100-terabyte stick drive sticking out the side. Ripping the drive free before cramming it in a coat pocket, the laptop let out an angry ping at the improper removal. The noise fooled Morgan into looking at the digital time display.
His heart sank as the clock ticked 9 am.
[We still have the rest of the minute.] Declared Ego firmly, the idea of losing hope never entered their mind. [Morgan, there's still time. Run!]
Morgan ran. He's run from criminals aiming to kill, from hungry tigers that saw him before he saw them, from mother nature's wrath manifested as a freak avalanche. He ran faster, harder, and more desperately than ever before.
He was four—no, three strides away from the Artifact. Acid building up in his out-of-shape legs burned with every step. He ran.
Two strides away, Ego screamed encouragements at him, but Morgan could not hear them. He Ran.
One stride, a single step, was all that separated despair from hope. The sudden physical strain dangerously churned his empty stomach. Still, He Ran!
It's within reach. His hand reached out, the space between the dodecahedron and the Man closed fast.
Disaster struck when it most often did, at the worst possible moment. The left ankle twisted as it made contact with the grass, still slick with the morning dew. Pain lanced up his nervous system, a message to the brain to remove all weight off the injured foot. Stumble, the body begged, fall, or just stop. Anything to avoid causing more damage.
However, his body had made a tragic mistake; the brain never called the shots. Morgan did. He hardly flinched, using the ankle bent awkwardly to one side like the sole of his foot.
Agony radiated from the injury, but there was no more time. No more room for pain or pointless doubts. Failure simply could not be allowed.
He made contact, and the crystal gem felt… cold.
*BUZZ!*
The moment his left middle finger brushed the crystal's surface, an unknown force dragged the rest of his hand forward and held him tight. The right hand soon followed suit, forcing him to hold the clear stone like a basketball about to be passed. The air around Morgan vibrated furiously, the intensity made his teeth chatter. Something bright appeared directly over them, casting everything in a pale golden light.
Unfortunately, it would become one of the Earthling's greatest regrets to have missed what came next. For he was forced to close his mismatched eyes to the mind-shattering display above. A Princess she may be, Momo was still an animal with good sense. When the world became a chaotic calamity of shaking and blinding light, her instinct was to get the hell away. What else could she do but climb up his shirt and leap to the safety of her adoptive parent's face?
A Human he may be, Morgan was still an animal with good sense. When something unexpectedly flew directly to his face, what else could he do, but blink?