The arrival of a significant twin leads to the breaking of an addiction and the relighting of a majesty...
Alia and the Boy:Mission to Glory
Book One
Crash Through Split Fragments
written and directed by Dan Sherrill
and Wooden Box Theater
He arrives to her castle, fifteen minutes late.
Looking like Hell. His hair is matted over from the
night before and dropping flakes from his scalp all over
his black t-shirt.
He carries what looks like a blue pen corrected copy
of a story he came up with to revive his writing
relationship with the Empress Alia of the planet Iley.
Ketchup from a hamburger he had at an impromptu lunch
has stained part of three pages, for which he hopes
she will not see. Or maybe it's blood, at this point
his goal is to present it to her as a new start. A new
beginning.
His jeans have been broken in, after three years of
being worn at least once a week. He is unshaven and
his eyebrows are shedding white flakes of dryness to
match the ones from his scalp.
The vehicle he drove to the castle in is way over the
limit for milage, and is littered with half eaten
burgers and fries, and half a dozen kid's meal toys,
mixed with useless weight loss drinks, meant to cover
up a fast food addiction. This is the same young man
who used to rely on her for a lifeline of grace and
knowledge.
Today, though, in a last ditch effort to crawl out of
a blackness that has plagued him for roughly three
years, he drives on fumes due to a lack of money, to
her castle to maybe sell her some CD's of his, and to
present her with a story he thought of one night when
he was wishing he wouldn't wake up ever again.
After he parks his car and walks to the door and
knocks, she answers. She asks him to have a seat. As
he does, she looks upon him, and offers him a glass of
water. He accepts, and drinks half of it in a rush, as
if it's the only clean thing that he has seen since he
has been away from Iley.
Dan Sherrill-I have some CD's in the car if you want
to buy them. Good stuff. Here's the new script. It's
called 'Lightning Struck the Easel of Blueprints.'
He hands it to her, and she thumbs through it, still
not believing that her former friend is sitting
infront of her without a dime to his name, well,
except for the 30 or 40 cents in the ashtray of his
car, but gas stations that sell snack cakes will take
pennys as long as the person buying the sugar snacks
looks desperate enough to feed his addiction to them.
She takes a few glances, and looks interested, until
she sees the ketchup stains.
Empress Alia (ahh-lie-ahh) of Iley-What's this?
Dan-I don't know. Might be ketchup. I ate burgers and
some chicken strips, oh and an order of onion rings. I
had a load of change in my car so I split it between
fast food places, some of the ketchup must have gotten
on a couple of the pages.
Alia-You didn't bother to go to the community college
to edit this either. Where is the disk with the hard
copy on it?
Dan-I think it's in my glovebox, in my car. That's
where I keep my cologne and stuff.
Alia-Stuff?
Dan-More change, an extra five bucks just in case, you
know, I want a cheese dog at the gas station before
work. On tuesdays you can get two for the price of
one, but what sucks is that the hot dogs are sometimes
bigger than the bun, and when I take a bite that's too
big, the top of my mouth where a moustache would be
starts to peel and it kind of looks gross, so I try to
take smaller bites. I also like the kettle cooked
potato chips they have and you can get a bag of
popcorn for two quarters or in my case, 4 dimes and
the rest pennys. The worst is when I give in and get
some of those spicey chips that ruin my stomach.
The next thing he feels is worse than what he has
become. He feels the sharp and bitter sting of the
Empress' hand across his face.
Alia-You're fired.
Dan-What?
Alia-From 'Alia and the Boy' from writing for me,
everything! Leave!
He notices blood coming from his mouth. She hit him
that hard.
Two guards make their way toward where he is sitting,
how could they miss him, the odor he brought in is
unbearable.
Before they finish escorting him out of the castle she
takes a look at the CD's he was trying to sell her. As
it turns out they were the very CD's that his Iley
friends had given him for his birthday last year.
She walks closer, as they make their way to the outside of the castle with Dan.
Alia-You are hereby barred from using the name Aaron
Deschanel, or any of your keys to get back in here. I
am stripping you of your duty of Commander of the
North Iley Starfleet and your duties as my author,
understood?
Dan-I'm sorry.
Alia-No, your not. You say you are, then we help you,
then we find out you are stuffing your face with
popcorn and shit to keep you smiling, but you know the
fuck what? It doesn't work. My people see you. Out at
the movies, laughing, giggling, with a dirty flaking
beard. You screw around with whatever money you get,
you start 'Alia and the Boy' projects only to scrap
them just before delivery to me. Do you think people
don't come back to me and say, 'I just saw Dan
Sherrill, but he was carrying a huge bag of popcorn
and a tall pink lemonade.' Look at you?
She pulls out a mirror from the makeup case in her
pocket. Holds it up to his face, and he looks at it.
Deeply.
Alia-I don't want you in my sight, Dan Sherrill! Or
whoever you've turned into.
Dan-Where will I sleep tonight?
Alia-On the ground if you want, but people who don't
take showers on a regular basis are not welcome to
dirty up my castle.
Dan-Can I at least borrow a newspaper to cover up
with, just in case it's a long night.
She hands him yesterdays paper.
Dan-So that's it. No more 'Alia and the Boy'?
Alia-See that letter, I was going to fire you no
matter if you were early or on time. I know 'Alia and
the Boy' was a big part of your life for a while, but
yes, it and you are no longer welcome here. You can
dig up someone else to call when shit gets out of
control, but to me you are just another person I will
say 'Hi' and 'Goodbye' to.
Dan-What if I get cleaned up? Or what if I kill myself
tonight? Will it matter to you?
Alia-At this point, Dan Sherrill, I'm not sure.
And with that four years of writing is over. The
plays, the write ups in the newspapers, and his money
supply is over. It all boils down to the newspaper he
holds in his hand. Yesterdays paper. Yesterdays news.
Like him. Maybe someone will buy some of the CD's he's
still carrying around in a discount store shopping
bag.
Countess Dashia makes her way home, but as she drives
up to the castle in her new vehicle, she sees what she
thinks is Dan out her window.
Once inside, she finds Alia near the main fireplace.
Alia-I'm burning them.
Countess Dashia-What?
Alia-The files. Everything he wrote for us. Dan. I
fired him. You are to restrain him if he comes back.
Dashia-The reason?
Alia-It was wrong for us to choose him to write our
story. That's all. Did you see him as you were driving
up here?
Dashia-I did.
Alia-If you look close enough in the fire, you can
point out every 'Alia and the Boy' story, script and
flyer he ever did. In about 45 seconds it will be
scattered ash.
Dashia-You think that he has hit 'rock bottom'.
Alia-No.
Dashia-We could help him?
Alia-We have.
Chancellor Eve and Julia H. walk closer to the
fireplace.
Julia H.-I tried the hardest to tell him to snap out
of that shit.
Chancellor Eve-I did, too.
Julia-You can't fool someone like me. I could see
right through him. I wish I could've helped him, but
when something like this comes over you it takes a long
time to snap out of the disease you have contracted.
Alia begins to cry.
Dashia-I know deep down you hate seeing the Wooden Box
Theater projects burning infront of our faces, and
that's fine. Nothing is permenant.
Alia-He just looked so pittiful, sitting there talking
to me about cheese dogs and eating lunch at gas
stations. How the fuck did this happen to someone as
smart and creative as Dan? His friends call me all the
fucking time asking me the same shit, where's 'Dan
Sherrill' and 'why did we see Dan at the grocery store
talking like a fucking stand up comic in a cartoonish
voice about buying junk food at the theatre concession
stand? What makes someone withdraw into darkness that
much? What makes people sit there at age 50 or so and
spend the day at a park bench, when they have all the
family and love in the world right there infront of
them if they would just notice that it's there? I see
this driving home from the lab, these people who have
just sat down on that bench and basically just 'given
up.' I bet you right now that if I tour Dan's
apartment I'm going to find a filthy room, with things
stashed under his bed, half of his belongings missing
due to selling them at the CD store or the video game
strores around and he's going to have all of his four
outfit work wordrobe in the laundry basket in the
closet, and it's going to smell so bad I will have to
wear gloves just to get it all in the washing machine,
and there's going to be sales tickets for movies and
popcorn and candy and hot dogs and hamburgers and
slushes and doughnuts and every other fast food entre
known to fucking man. Everything except what makes him
who he is. I just think so much has happened that the
light at the end of the tunnell is appearing dimmer
and dimmer these days. And did you know he went
through a marraige and a divorce also?
Eve-He is still working, right?
Alia-Barely. It's just a matter of time before the
charade he keeps up at work falls apart, too. You see
one of these days it's going to hit him, because a
really cute girl will start working there, again, and
he will go into the men's room and look in the mirror
and realize that what he's turned into is not too
appealing to a single woman. Look what happened the
last time? And now look at her? She's still beautiful
as ever and it pains him I know to see her return, but
is he in any better shape than he was when she left?
Eve-Is it impossible to fix him up so that he could
try to win her back?
Alia-I'm not sure. She's in a pretty long term
relationship with someone else.
Dashia-It's getting late, where do you think he went,
his car is still parked outside. When I saw him, he
was walking with a newspaper.
Alia-He asked for it to cover himself up with when he
got tired. I felt like a heel giving it to him, but
then I realized that it might be the best thing for
him at this point.
Julia-Are you worried about him?
Alia-I'd be a liar if I said I wished harm on him, but
maybe if it would snap him out of this depression, he
might realize exactly who he is and how important he
is to a lot of people. Maybe burning these scripts is
a good way to wipe the slate clean and to start over.
Eve-I hope so.
There is a place that sells fried chicken a mile south
of the castle, he walks in and about collapses into
one of the booths. The temprature is hot enough as it
is but he feels like he has walked an eternity
already.
Dan-Can I get a two piece chicken dinner with mashed
potatos and brown gravy, and a side of cole slaw?
Gaquara Blythe-That will be $3.50.
He goes through his jeans pocket for his last four
dollars and presents it to her.
Dan-Here you go.
He sits by himself and starts to eat the fried chicken
he has ordered. Since he hasn't shaved in about 8 days
the crumbs form the chicken stick to his face, but for
some reason he doesn't wipe his face, he just keeps
eating, in the back of the restaraunt, so no one can
see him. One of the times he goes to spoon up a chunk
of mashed potatos and gravy, a large drop of the gravy
lands on his green button up shirt. Shit, he thinks,
can't wear that one to work in the morning, should try
one of the other three that I can wear. Oh, wait,
they're filthy dirty, well, I could borrow money to
feed into the laundry machine at home to wash the
clothes over for the 100th time. Shit, I shouldn't
have ordered so much food, well, I was hungry.
A few minutes later he walks, still carrying the
newspapers and CD's, to the music store, and
pratcially begs the girl for money for his CD's. He
gets his three dollars and is off for more of the
same. Stops by the gas station, his favorite, and
picks up some chips, the lethal kind, with lots of
barbeque flavor, and some ranch ones, and some
brownies, the ones you can get for a quarter. He gets
four of those. Walks to the nearest park and sits there. On
the bench. And he eats.
Thousands of calories are eaten in a matter of minutes
for the quick high. Oh, wait, the laundry still isn't
being washed. Shit. Then I will have to call into work
tomorrow since I won't have anything to wear, and my
face looks messy since I ran out of money to shave and
I haven't showered in so many days that if you used a
comb to comb through my hair, it would most definitly
leak dry itchy flakes onto either the comb, the air,
or onto my clothes. Whichever happens first.
I know what happens first, he thinks, I see an
ambulance pulling up to the park. I am tied to a bed
and put to sleep, in order for the doctors to weed
some of the stuff out of my system and some vitamins
and minerals into my fractured skeleton.
Her phone rings.
Dr. Hastings-Alia, are you there?
Alia-Yes?
Dr. Hastings-Dan Sherrill was just checked into our
hospital. Your Iley Memorial couldn't take him, they
don't have the same medicine we do for curing
temporary black outs like we do. Can you come down
here?
Alia-I suppose.
Dr. Hastings-He doesn't look like himself. I barely
recognized him when they unloaded him from the
ambulance. A woman called the hospital when she
noticed a young man in his mid twenties completely
blacked out on a park bench. There were bags of potato
chips, I think, next to him. I went into the room and
observed the proceedure of them getting him into his
bed. Unfortunatly, cases like this require 24 hour observation.
Alia-Is Jocelyn Colby still there at the hospital,
that's really who he should be seeing. She's been his
doctor for a while now.
Dr. Hastings-She does work here, but since he has been
put on a 'Danger Watch' due to the sugar content in
his system and the stuff that an overdose like that
could conjure up, we fear that people might just snap.
It's probably worse than being on something like
suicide watch. I will be carefully checking up on him
about every few minutes just to make sure he isn't
going off the deep end.
Alia-I fired him today. Burned the files of his
beloved story, and I told him he was not welcome in my
home again.
Dr. Hastings-Are you surprised that someone would find
him in this sort of shape?
Alia-Honestly, no. You can only turn around and help
someone so much and when they keep backsliding you run
out of things to do. I could say, what the hell will
it take for you to snap out of whatever it is that
you've gotten yourself into until I'm blue in the
face, but he has to realize that he is 25 years old
and stop this nonsense about getting 'older' and
slacking off at work and not visiting his friends for
years, and hanging out with the wrong crowd and all of
this stuff and realize that there is a passionate,
romantic, and creative person inside that hollow
skeleton of his. That's what I want. We can start a
new 'Alia and the Boy' project in a second but I don't
want one that's been tainted by someone bad's
influence. I don't want one that's been written
inbetween trips to picks up cheeseburgers, or trips to
some 24 hour greasy spoon. I bet if you look inside
his body, you'll find more sugar and more junk food to
kill fourteen people. Why, doctor? Why? What is so
depressing about life? You know what I think? Turn on
the damned radio, read the newspaper, watch news
television. People get so wrapped up in politics and
the battles between democrats and republicans, not to
mention the doomsday shit out there trying to convince
everyone that the world is going to end every decade,
mix that with the fact that only a handful of churches
out there are actually there to help people, and mix
that with the chemicals found in sugary candy, name
brand cola, the movie concession stands, and gas
station food, and buying that newspaper and listenting
to that talk radio every fucking day, it would drive
anyone to drink a bottle of booze if they kept it up
long enough.
Dr. Hastings-What's wrong with Dan Sherrill? Why do I
have him in my hospital? When he should be watching
wrestling and working out and writing for you on Iley?
Alia-I don't know. Once you do something once and you
see that you can get away with it, it sounds
attractive as hell, right? Why after the first time
you shoplift something, you go back for more once you
found out that you can do it and get away with it. As
far as when did the train slip off the track for Dan.
Maybe it was derailed a long time ago and no one
realized it. I don't know. But what I do know is that
he's curable. I just hope that my plan is permenant,
and fool proof. To cure him, to really once and for
all excersize this out of my friend he needs to be
reminded of who the hell he is. People need to be able
to recognize him. I don't want there to be an end to
'Alia and the Boy,' as I'm sure he doesn't either.
It's sad if I think of not seeing 'Wooen Box Theater'
on a flyer again or a shirt or whatever.
Dr. Hastings-Let me examine him physically first then,
then I will call Nurse Colby and see what she wants to
do from there. We do have something called group
therapy here, but I think he'd be better suited to
speak one on one with someone he knows and already
trusts.
Alia-Thank you, my dear.
Just outside his room as nightfalls, he realizes that
the door is locked so he can't get out. The phone
doesn't work and neither does the television. No
newspaper. No junk food. No radio. The shower works
though and a CD player with about 50 CD's sitting in a
case marked 'Dan Sherrill.' Roughly 20 songs on each.
He opens the endtable drawer to find a personal CD
player and headphones. But if they had me on suicide
watch, he thinks, I could use the cord from the
headphones to choke myself to fucking death, what the
hell is the point?
Just then his brain forces him to put on the first
disc. It paints pictures infront of him as he closes
his eyes and remembers. The point of their delivery to
his room. Someone must have brought them for him to
listen to in the short time he was out cold from the
sedation.
A presence is felt midway through disc #3.
Jesus of Nazareth-Sound good?
Dan-I remember things now. Better. The feelings are
isolated. Captured here in this music. I can pinpoint
exactly what I was doing and who I was giving 'the
eye' to at the time I heard this song.
Jesus-I did this for you. I compiled each one
strategically so that you could regain your thoughts
and the rest of your central nervous system while
youare here. Alia told me everything. She has
destroyed everything 'Alia and the Boy' related and
you are going to start over from scratch with the
story, Wooden Box Theater, your friendships and your
body. You are fine. Nurse Colby came in and checked
your brainwaves and your constant distressful thoughts
and she concluded that you are fine. You're free to be
released into my care when you have completed the 50
hours of thought redesignation that is to be unlocked
in these CD's. I need you to spend 2 hours every day
for the next 2 weeks under the spell of your own
thought process.
She walks in.
Nurse Colby-He has found the CD's I assume. Dan,
listen to me, we are all conscerned for your safety.
If we lose you, you lose us, and one of the things you
live for is your writing, we just happen to be your
characters, the ones you use to populate your neat
stories. Alia was mad, and for good reason, you scared
her. She does not recognize you when you show up at
her doorstep tattered and torn, you know. What's
wrong, my dear.
Dan-I don't know. Something just came over me. It
persisted and I let it. I started reading the paper I
guess, I listened to a lot of talk radio, I listened
to a lot of medical warnings that were false and
fucked up, I heard on all these stations what the
number 1 and 2 and 3 and four leading causes of death
are among men then I would read news magazines and
more death in their pages, and I guess I got partially
scared and partially freaked out. I let myself go. I
said to myself all these men die of cancer or heart
attacks or prostate cancer or any of it that I was
next. I would turn on talk radio for hours and just
lay in bed filthy dirty then go to work that way and
try to gain attention and screw my work relationships
into the ground by pulling the class clown stunt that
might win you laughs but not real friends, its the
oldest trick in the book, and you know what I could
probably go on doing that but I would be cheating my
real friends out of me and that I'm nice and easy to
get along with.
Jesus-What do you think when you look in the mirror.
Do you feel better than you did yesterday in the
castle?
Dan-The first nurse said that I was being tubefed
minerals and vitamins to wake my hollow body back up
from a sugar crash. They said an addiction to sugar is
worse than cigarettes.
Lina Harrera-Nurse, a woman was just brought in, we
need you...she's shaking bad!
A woman is brought into the wing of the hospital
completely wired on sugar. Only her chart says she's
one of the ones who vomits her snack up through her
mouth when she's done eating. The cause of her episode
is just a simple date she was on. She ate her dinner,
but afterward went to her car and grabbed 5 snack
cakes, and a large bag of some kind of spicy chips
and sat there in the car and ate, while her date sat
there and waited. Suddenly her blood began to sour and
she went into shock when she put her fingers in her
mouth like so many times before, trying to vomit back
up the freshly digested food out of her mouth and into
the toilet in the women's room. She would've been
fine, except for the fact that she got caught. He
found her, and she freaked out. Like someone had just
shown her her own reflection and it broke the mirror
she was looking into.
Jesus-Dan, come let's follow the doctor into the room
with this woman, you need to see this.
They walk together as the woman is being poked with
several needles, as the nurses must send the blood
samples off to be examined for blood sugar levels, or
shock the body from any number of combinations of the
things she was feeding her frail body.
Once they have her calmed down, after having to use
the straps that are on some of the beds, she is placed
in what the doctors on the floor refer to as the
healing room. She struggles to break free from the
medics as they transport her there. She will spend one
night there and in the morning will be checked up on.
The walls will be padded as if to forcefully
exterminate the center of the virus she has contracted
in her brain.
Nurse Colby-Did you ever make yourself vomit, Dan?
Dan-No. Hey what was that?
The woman has broken free and holds a stolen silver
butter knife in her hand as if to point it at as a
weapon.
Karly Jordan-Don't come any closer.
Jesus-Karly,Just put the knife down.
Karly-Tell them, Jesus, I'm not a bad person, don't
make me go in there!
She starts to choke sob.
Karly(shouting)-Don't do this to me!
She collapses on the floor of the medical wing, in
tears.
Jesus picks up the knife and places it back on the
cafeteria tray, and sits on the floor with the woman
and put his arm around her, as she cries on his
shoulder.
Jesus-Just talk to me sometimes. You'll be fine. Both
you and my friend over there could use a little rest
and a little withdrawl from the things that haunt both
of you. Dan this is Karly.
Dan-Hi Karly.
Jesus places a tiny kiss on the woman's cheek.
Karly-Hi Dan. You're friend here is really great.
Surprising everyone in the hallway, Karly collapses
again. She won't move either, and doesn't respond to a
pulse. Jesus starts to cry. Then looks over at Dan as
if to say, 'you could be next.'
Dan-I could be. I know what you were thinking. I hope
Karly joins you in Heaven.
The doctors immediatly collect the lifeless body and
notify ministers and family of her sudden leaving of
this life.
Jesus-I just hope you have seen something here
tonight.
Dan-I'm ready to change.
Jesus-Can you handle listening to some great music and
calling on old friends who wont stab you in the back
at every turn?
Dan-I don't want revist the park bench that they found
me on. When I put on the headphones you gave me and I
closed my eyes, I could really see myself happy.
Little bits of happiness. It was all so perfect and
the cost, free. It's free to go for walks alone and
look up at the stars and talk to you, or to ask the
cutest girl at the bookstore out for coffee. I'd
rather do that than try to walk around another corner
to try to hide from her since I'd just been eating
fried chicken for $6.00 a serving and I used to leave
with a stomach ache and having to go to the bathrooom
as soon as I got back from lunch with such stomach and
abdomainal pains that I thought sometimes I would have
to topple over in pain just from one of my eating
bindges alone. But I got onto a dangerous routine and
I stuck with it. Eating for me became an addiction.
The sugar was the high. Worse than cocaine I think and
I've never even tried it. Worse than drinking, I'm
sure. When all of my days turned into the same day
repeating over and over and fucking over again. My old
good life started slipping away by leaps and bounds.
Can food control your life? Can current events, and
news and newspapers and shit on talk radio take over
your life? I think so. Do I really have to listen when
they say 4 out of ten men will die of this or that or
prostate cancer or some kind of heart attack? Does a
constant barrage of that shit make you want to live
another day, knowing that 'science' or 'recent
studies' know how the hell I'm going to die! I'd like
to be the one in control of that. I never used to be
like this. I never watched the news, I guess. After
you do, I swear it scares the shit out of you. To the
point where I'm sure people wake up, live, die, screw,
breathe and function on a diet of republicans vs.
democrats and shit about laws and taxes and being a
tax payer and what you should eat and what will murder
you and family histories of diseases and whatever the
fuck else people try to do to make you feel like just
going and sitting on a damned park bench wanting to
die and wanting and wanting to stare down and your
stomach which is twice its normal size and sit there
with a beard and try to flicker off ants from stealing
your gas station purchased lunch! Is that whats wrong
with me, my Lord? Did it attempt to eat my guts alive
and then feed them back to me for supper because I
keep repeating the same day over and over again. How
do I get out of this vicious and neverending cycle of
terror I call my life. How do I do that? How do I walk
tall with the name Aaron Deschanel again in Alia's
company and as one of the commanders of the North Iley
Starfleet again, like I love?
Jesus-Faith. Take a shower. Let the water replenish
you. Wash away the dust from your old self and take
over from where you left off. Maybe it's a good thing
that this all happened today. You probably have some
friends at Alia's castle waiting to say hello and
'how's it going.' You seem to forget, my friend, that
you do not have it in you to turn heel. Too many
people care too deeply for you to just let you die
someplace like a park bench. Can you sit down at a
computer and type and edit and print a publish a new
start to 'Alia and the Boy' that's what Alia wants
more than anything else. We can call whoever you want
back, Iley or not and it can be like old times, just
know that you will be monitored for a time after this
begins, and you must listen to your CD's. Don't buy
the newspaper, don't watch the news, no more talk
radio, no more sweets or burgers or pop, which is not
impossible. The combination is disasterous though.
Talk to me though. No matter what the time of the day
is. I'll take you back to Iley so you can talk to
Alia, one on one. Don't worry about there only being a
few characters in this first new 'Alia and the Boy'
affair, if it gets the point across then it's fine to have
it only involve a few people, just don't be surprised
if a few unexpected people show up during this affair.
Dan-Thank you for dying on the cross for me and taking
the time to come here to settle me down. Sometimes,
you are all people have to turn to.
Jesus-Just wish that some people's intentions were
more to the point and honest. Yeah, and your sister
says 'Hello.'
She arrives at the hospital with flowers. Joining her
is Magenta Carlisle and La'Clara Warring. Things are
going to change, she keeps saying to herself as they
walk toward Dan's room, where both he and Jesus are.
Alia-Can we come in?
Dan-Sure.
The sight of him in his hospital outfit makes her
break dowm completely.
Alia(Crying)-Don't do this to me again.
Dan-I'm sorry.
Alia-I know you're sorry, my dear, but you cannot just
throw away such a headstrong and creative life like
yours. You could be anything you want. Anything you
want. The television has been taken out of the castle
and all newspapers have had their subbscriptions
suspended, and I threw out all radios in my possession
with an AM talk radio dial on them.
Dan-Why would you do that if you don't want me around
you?
Alia-I did say that, but I realized that the person I
didn't want around me was the one who had to be carted
to this damned hospital because he tried to bindge eat and
started roaring to people about politics every day. I
don't want that. If you come back and write for me,
and release 'Alia and the Boy' without interference
and distraction I will allow it to be published again,
but I want it to rage about in such a way that people
look up to you and respect you for writing these
stories. I don't want ninety unreleased novels just
waiting to come out and you run around and tell people
'Oh, yeah, I'm writing a book,' and they wait and wait
and wait. There's no reason you can't do karaoke
again, and shed the 'OD on butter on your popcorn'
image you seem to have perfected the last couple of
years.
Magenta Carlisle-You're cute, Dan.
Dan-Thanks.
Magenta-Someone came up to me and told me that you
liked me. Why didn't you?
Dan-I'm not ready, yet. Everyone probably knows about
my little marraige that wasn't really a marraige, and
yeah, well, I'm going to leave this hospital as soon
as I get checked out and I'm going to do some
cardio-vascular workouts and drink water and go
running and go to the library and write more of the
story that will mark my return as an author, then
yeah, I could walk up to a pretty girl and say 'I'm in
a great point in my life' and be ready to hold her
hand and walk by the water of a beach with her, then
when the sun sets we could slow dance right by the
water, with our shoes off and just stand there in each
others arms and enjoy it. That would be perfect,
Magenta. You are beautiful. I hate to have you see me
here and the aftermath of what I did to myself, I hate
to have any of you see this. Why? Because it's ugly.
And I can't believe that I just sat there and ate and
ate and layed around my room and wasted eight years of
my life since high school on one terrible thing after
another. I wish I could go back and redo a lot of
things, but have I learned something, yes, of course I
have, but it's like where do you draw the line between
learning something and destrying yourself to the point
where you can't even be with the one you want to
because at the time that you developed feelings for
her, I mean real feelings, you let her slip away from
you and now, when I see her it's different than when I
first set eyes on her.
Alia-The one who's kind of in a permenant situation at
the moment. I heard. Well, remember Kaesa. I
understand for you to not want to get too close to
anyone, but yes, that was a mistake on your part for
now blasting through the rumor mill and marching right
up to her and telling her how you felt. I think, and
this is just me, but if you had aligned yourself with
a few people I can think of and really played your
cards right, you and that woman would be together. I
know instead you let her fall into someone else's arms
and you went on to a journey of your own with someone
who pretty much screwed you over, but hey, things
change, people change, maybe she'll need you when you
least expect it. One thing you shouldn't do is rule it
out. Slip out of character once or twice. If you know
what I mean. She must like you, or she wouldn't talk
to you, remember that. Not many people know that she
does, but somehow I can see the way you two look at
each other. I didn't want to say anything when I heard
that in your time away form Iley you got married, but
the woman you probably should've worked your way into
a relationship with was right infront of you for
months. But, yeah, I understand, you got the living
daylights beat out of your self worth and your self
esteem selling books until your brain could be seen
making blood puddles on the floor, but has anyone
where you work now done anything remotely like that?
I don't think so, at least from what I hear.
Magenta-Everyone likes him, don't worry.
La'Clara Warring-Who cares what people think. It
sounds like you spend a lot of time caring what this
person or that person thinks of you. Why? It's a waste
of stress. I'm sure you could walk around worrying
that if you walk up to that woman then this person or
that person is going to say 'Holy shit' I just saw
Daniel talking to her. That sucks.
Magenta-Not only that, you end up waiting for forever
to finally work up enough courage to talk to her that
she's already having kids and buying houses with
someone else. Sound familiar?
In the time that the three of them were talking to
Dan, Jesus walks to the nurses station and gotten the
papers to check Dan out of the hospital and made a
mysterious call. Wait, it looks like he's dialing
another number.
Jesus-It would mean a lot to the situation if we left
and you came and got him.
He walks back to the room.
Jesus-I have arranged for a ride to the castle for
you, my friend. Alia, you and your friends will have
to give me a lift back to the castle, if you know what
I mean.
He gives Alia an assuring look when she asks him on
the way out who he has asked to come and get Dan.
After they leave, he quietly changes into the outfit
he was wearing when they brought him to the hospital.
Coreen Knight'la-I'm here to pick up Dan Sherrill. My
name is Coreen.
Nurse Colby-He's right in there. Room 207B. His
friends just left for Alia's castle on Iley.
She knocks softly on the door.
Coreen-Can I come in?
Dan-You? Why are you here?
Coreen-To give you a ride home.
Tears fall from his eyes.
Dan(Crying)-Did Jesus ask you to do this for me?
Coreen-Yeah.
Dan(Crying)
Coreen-It's okay.
She holds him dearly in her arms for the next five
minutes while he cries.
He looks into her eyes for the first time since she
walked through the door.
Dan-It's not alright. I let the most beautiful woman
in the world slip away without even trying to make
something out of these feelings I have for you.
He stops himself.
Dan-Nevermind. I promised everyone that I would not
let anything like this happen again.
Coreen-Don't hesitate.
Dan-What do you mean?
Coreen-Why did you hesitate when you let slip that
you've had feelings for me for quiet a while now? I
mean I sort of knew, but the thing of it is that
sometimes when we are crying we let things slip that
we wouldn't tell anyone. Did I just hear you confess
your true feelings for me?
Dan-Yeah.
Coreen-Why was that so hard a year ago?
Dan-Because a year ago. I wasn't ready.
Coreen-How do you know when you are? Do you think
you're ready now?
Dan-How can you ask me that? And even Magenta is
dating someone, so what's left.
Coreen-More fish in the sea. I didn't know about any
of this bindge eating and not showering and gloominess
of yours. It sounds unnatural for you to be talking to
me about it. I've never seen that side of you. Maybe
it was the best thing for me to see you like this. I
want to see you through your transformation from
transient to sweetheart again. I heard from someone
(smile) that twice now you have cleaned yourself up
and gone to C'ila to dance. I couldn't believe what I
heard.
Dan-I grew up there. It feels like home.
Coreen-Why can't you go every week. Use that as your
'upper' and work out, and do your laundry before you
leave so you come back to a clean apartment. Rather
than off white socks and smelly work outfits. I might
not be single, but I am your friend. Magenta might not
be single, either, and I know for a fact that Le'Clara
is not single, so that's three people for you to be
dear friends to.
Once again she holds him in her arms, shedding several
tears of her own onto his shoulder.
Dan-Why are you crying?
Coreen-I never knew how you felt about me until this
moment. I could've healed you with my love. I could've
done more to help you. You are so sweet to me all the
time and I feel bad that I didn't step in and solve
your dilema myself a long time ago, but I didn't know.
Then when I heard that you got cleaned up a couple of
times and you were a hit on the dancefloor and then
got married and divorced so soon my heart went out to
you and I wished that I could've talked to you, but
how would that look? Like I wanted to help you, I
should trash the rumor mill myself, your fear of
people linking us together prematurely unfortunatly
lead to us not being together at all. Are you going to
let the next one slip away while you persist in
worrying about what people will say?
Dan-What would you have said to me if I had come up to
you one night and told you all by myself, with no help
and holding nothing back that I was interested in
getting to know you and going for coffee with you, and
I was 'clean' and smelled nice, and had a date planned
out including a flower when I met up with you, and my
hand to hold the entire time, maybe forever.
Coreen-We can't go back in time, my dear.
The car ride back to the castle is silent. It seems as
if they both have discovered something about each
other in the conversation, and in their tears. Her
shoulder is still damp from where his head was resting
while he cried.
Once they reach the driveway of the castle, she looks
at him and stops the car.
Coreen-What are you thinking about?
Dan-The same thing you are.
Coreen-That I'm happy.
Dan-That's what I want for you.
In a surprise move, she turns the car back on and
backs slowly out of the driveway.
Dan-Where are we going?
Coreen-I don't know.
Dan-What's wrong?
Coreen-You have feelings for me. I can't return them.
It's simple. I just have to accept that.
Dan-Me too.
Coreen-You are incredibly sweet to me, but I'd be
throwing everything away to be with you.
Dan-Don't then.
Coreen-Will you be alright if we just stay friends.
Dan-Sure. But remember that I'm always here for you.
Coreen-That's nice to know.
She pulls out her cell phone, and makes the call.
Alia-When will you be home then?
Coreen-Soon.
Alia-Don't forget it's his birthday and frenids are
coming over later.
Coreen-Just let us spend some time together.
Alia-That's fine.
Coreen-Can we put this in the book?
Alia-If it's okay with Dan, then it's okay with me.
She hangs up.
Dan-So, where are we going?
Coreen-I still haven't decided yet.
The next sound heard is a mid 1970's station wagon
smashing into her car. Both Coreen and Dan have blood
exiting their bodies from the broken glass of the
windshield. He apprears lifeless. The driver of the
car, still carrying his bottle of booze gets out of
the car to check on the victims.
Dax-You guys dead?
Coreen-I'm okay. My friend, wait. Dan!
His heart is beating slower.
Dax-Holy shit. He's dying.
Coreen-Where are you going? Aren't you going to help
us?
Dax-I got better things to do, at least you can't call
my insurance. Plus I stole that car.
Coreen-He's going to die, you son of a bitch!
Dax-Fuck you.
He runs, fast, completely out of sight. Which leaves
Coreen, who barely survived the accident to check on
Dan herself.
Alia answers her phone once more it's an hour later.
They should've been back by now.
Coreen-Dan is dying infront of me. Someone hit us with
their car and ran off. I'm pinned inside the car with
him. His heart is beating slowly. He will probably
die.
Alia-I'll send someone. Where are you?
Coreen-We just took a drive, I don't know I was going
to take him to C'ila for coffee or something for his
birthday, so we could talk. As soon as I hung up with
you we got hit.
Alia-You're inbetween North Iley and C'ila. Damn.
That's the worst place to be stranded.
Coreen-Why?
Alia-Trust me, it's better that you stay in the car
and don't try to leave.
She signals to those listening to the conversation to
head out with bullett proof vests on, to rescue their
friends.
Alia-Keep giving him mouth to mouth and pressing on
his heart to keep it beating.
Coreen-Will you call my boyfriend?
Alia-I will. If he calls though, I might send him.
Coreen-Wait, don't. This is time I want to spend with
Dan by himself. My boyfriend doesn't need to know
where I am, or that I almost got killed.
Alia-How bad are you hurt?
Coreen-My hair is almost red from blood and there's a
cut on my forehead, like one of the wrestlers do when
they cut themselves. When we got hit my windshield
broke into about a thousand pieces.
She hangs up after saying goodbye to preserve the
battery of her cell phone, but with night approaching,
she wonders what Alia meant about the border of C'ila
and North Iley. What moves with the shadows at night.
Coreen-Please stay with me, Dan. I would be crushed
dead if anything happened to you, my dear. These
feelings you have for me will go to waste if you die.
The friends waiting for us at your birthday party will
be saddened to learn it will be a funeral they will be
attending instead of your 26th birthday. If I live and
you die I will never forgive myself. I will go back to
my normal life, and you will go to Heaven with God.
She turns to the growing number of people walking into
the castle.
Alia-Listen, Coreen and Dan were hit by another
driver. I've sent out a team to rescue them. They are
unfortunatly between the border of North Iley and
C'ila. Don't ask why they crashed there, but the
important thing is that he is close to dying in her
arms if my men don't arrive on time.
An unknown woman walks to the front of the group.
JoaBeth-I'm going. Now. He will not die.
She storms out of the castle and onto a shiny
motorcycle and speeds off into the night to save Dan
Sherrill.
On her way to the border, a thousand things have began
flooding her thoughts. Like why she showed up at his
birthday party in the first place.
Upon further talks with some in the crowd, it is
revealed that she is full blooded C'ila. And shares a
past with Dan. One that apparently sent her out to
rescue him without even being asked to.
Coreen leans over and kisses Dan on his lips, with her
eyes closed. He responds for the first time since the
accident. She cries letting her tears fall on him.
Dan-Where am I?
Coreen-In my arms, where you will stay.
Dan-You look beautiful.
Coreen-Thank you. Even near death you think I am
beautiful. Just think of what Heaven will look like
when you get there later today.
Only a few miles separate JoaBeth from the accident. She is still
in deep thought about her relationship or lack thereof
with Dan. Why the hell would people make shit up to
get us to be apart. Why aren't we together now, she
thinks.
What was wrong with me then? Couldn't she see that he
cherished her enough to want to spend his life with
her. Or was it because he was worried for her. Gossip
sucks. When it haunts you over a few mistakes. So
everyone told Dan that she was bad, stay away from
her, she's drinking and doing drugs. But, she thinks
to herself, he didn't believe it and fought for me.
She found out about this from a few people that
weren't in on her excommunication.
When she found out, she threw things. She just thought
he was worried about her and being protective of her
for no reason. What she must have felt to know that
the man who wanted to marry her several years ago, was
acting on false information.
The motorcycle skids up close to the two cars who are
still positioned in the same place they were after the
accident.
Dan-Someone's here.
Coreen-Help us!
JoaBeth-I will.
She is able to pry open the door of the car and
releases Dan from the seatbelt, and the glass that has
covered him from the windshield. Coreen is then able
to free herself as well.
Dax left the keys in the station wagon when he drove
off and the three of them are seen inside his car with
it in reverse, trying to separate it from Coreen's
car.
So far everything was going smoothly but, he didn't get a
look at who was underneath the motorcycle helmet. He
is in the backseat of the station wagon, as JoaBeth
drives with Coreen in the passanger seat. Very little
is said.
JoaBeth-Happy Birthday, Dan.
Dan-Thank you, but I wish I knew who you were.
JoaBeth-I still wear the earings sometimes, my dear.
She removes her helmet.
When they find themselves at a red light, she leans
back and french kisses him. He suddenly feels better,
and his heart begins beating at a normal rate.
Strength comes back to his hands.
Dan-How did you do that?
JoaBeth-You gave me your love first all those years
ago, now I'm giving it back to you, with my kiss and
with my lips and with my tongue playing with yours.
All you needed was a kiss from a pretty girl. And I
volunteered. Your memory of me. That I remember your
attempt to battle the things people said about me.
Coreen-Did he ever ask you to marry him.
JoaBeth-There wasn't time. Something happened to me
and I had to leave C'ila.
Coreen-Didn't anyone come clean and say that they were
telling him stuff about you as soon as they found out
he liked you?
JoaBeth-No. I would've married him instantly if I had
known, just to piss everyone off.
Coreen-He did get married.
Feeling much better, he lays down in the backseat to
rest until they reach North Iley.
JoaBeth-I heard, are they still together?
Coreen-No.
JoaBeth-Divorced?
Coreen-Yes.
JoaBeth-Her loss.
Coreen-Exactly.
JoaBeth-Someone started telling him that I was high
all the time and didn't even know my own name and was
drinking myself into puking. That sucks. I knew Dan
wouldn't believe it and he didn't. I respect him
enough to rescue you two from this accident.
The team arrives at the scene to find JoaBeth's note
to drive the motorcycle back to the castle and that
they are alright. However night has fallen and they
all notice the moon. Blood red. No one has attacked
them, yet. But a strange feeling comes over them.
Jordan Keldora-The moon isn't supposed to be that
color.
Marco-No it's not.
Jordan-Sure it isn't just a harvest moon?
Marco-In July?
Jordan-What if this is the day?
Marco-Jesus would've said something back at the
castle. He was still there when we left to get Dan and
Coreen. Right? He would've made an announcement that
the world was about to end. Right?
He answers the castle phone.
Jesus-Yes?
Marco-Is there something you're not telling us?
Jesus-What do you mean?
Marco-Look outside.
He walks to a window. Then drops the phone down in
horror.
Marco-Jesus?
He runs to where Alia is standing inpatiently waiting
for JoaBeth to return with her friends. He doesn't
realize that his hands are bleeding from the cross
wounds 2,000 years ago.
Alia-Oh dear, you're bleeding. Somebody get some paper
towels.
Jesus-I don't know what's happening to me.
She reaches into his jeans to retrieve his comlink and
sends a signal to Leannah, Heaven. A signal of
distress. Little does she know that communication has
been cut off.
The motorcycle pulls up to the castle along with the
rest of the team sent to rescue Dan and Coreen.
Marco-JoaBeth should be here with the others in a few
minutes we just passed them on the way here. Did you
see the moon, it's blood red. That means only one
thing.
Patricia Pottery-The end of the world? Jesus didn't
authorize it, though. His cross wounds are opening
back up. No one can figure it out. He's laying down in
pain right now.
The station wagon pulls up close to the castle as well
as the three of them race inside now noticing the moon
themselves.
JoaBeth-What is going on?
Patricia-You don't want to know and we can't get
through to anyone in Heaven to explain this.
Alia stands by the main window and notices a
completely black sky, aside from the moon, which
appears a terrifying red.
Alia-Jesus?
Jesus-Yes?
Alia-Where are the seven seals?
Jesus-In a few places. They are suppsed to be opened
only if the world is going to end.
Alia-The moon doesn't get any redder my dear.
Jesus-Any luck contacting my dad?
Alia-We can't get through.
Jesus-I can't get back without him to authorize it.
Alia-We'll take care of you. Can you think of anyone
that would try to hurt him? Did he cross paths with
someone and now they are out for fatal revenge.
Coreen, come here?
Coreen-Yes?
Alia-You said the driver was drunk off whatever was in
the booze bottle he was carrying. Drunk or not, if you
see the moon is red you automatically think it's the
end of the world, right?
Coreen-I would think that alcohol wouldn't take that
much control over you to start you hallucinating.
Alia-Did you see it?
Coreen-I guess I was more worried about Dan bleeding
in my arms to be studying the color of the moon.
Alia-Thank you for that. I think the driver saw it and
freaked out.
Coreen-It did seem to get dark awfully fast. We were
hit head on. If you are right he saw it and swerved
into our lane and hit us. Hard.
As he limps into the bathroom to wash himself free of
the blood he shed form the accident he notices the
water from the sink turns red as it flows from the
faucet. Seeing this he races to check on Jesus.
Dan-Alia, the sink, it's water is red.
Alia-Jesus, listen to me what would ever happen if
someone got their hands on the seven seals and just
started breaking them in order, like they are spelled
out in the Bible?
Jesus-Something like this.
Alia-Who is doing this then?
He closes his eyes and tried to contact his Father.
Jesus-Dad? Answer me.
From a hallway in an unmarked storage facility The
Father senses a faint communication from his beloved
Son. He is handcuffed to the railing of a staircase.
Unable to move or use any of his powers. He appears to
be 57 years old.
The Father-Son. It got to me.
Jesus-What?
The Father-Depression.
Jesus-Why are my hands bleeding? And where are the
seven seals?
The Father-Some of them are broken?
Jesus-By who?
The Father-Me.
Jesus-Why?
The Father-I turned off my powers. I smashed
everything. My hand is cut open and bleeding. I
handcuffed myself to a flight of stairs to die. No one
is exempt from depression.
Jesus-Don't do anything to harm yourself. Please. Just
authorize me to bring the Ileys here and we'll help
you.
The Father-I can't do that.
Jesus-Why?
The Father-I just can't.
The comlink goes dead. Silent.
Pathri'Jen-Good, they have no way to get here.
The Father-What do you want from me?
Pathri'Jen-Your position. Ruler of the Galaxy.
The Father-You won't get it out of me.
Pathri'Jen-Why now, I've figured out a way to set your
humans into mass hysteria thinking the world is
ending.
Jesus, your Son, believed you when you said you were
locked up here by your own will. There's no one to
save you now.
As he says that a call is placed to Alia's castle from
an unlikely source.
L-I was tapping into your conversation since The
Father didn't do his daily head count. Can I talk to
Jesus?
Alia-Jesus?
Jesus-Yes?
Alia-L is on the phone. Something's not right here.
He takes the phone carefully trying not to get blood
on it from his hands.
Jesus-Where is my Dad?
L-I'm close to getting the exact location.
Jesus-He told me he turned off his powers because he
was depressed. He wouldn't even authorize me to bring
the Ileys to Heaven.
L-Trust me, you don't want to be anywhere near here.
Jesus-Don't lie to me.
L-I'm not. A group of airships is completely
surrounding the place. Capital City.
Jesus-Are there markings on the ships to trace back to
a planet or civilization?
L-Hold on while I try to pinpoint an identification
code of some sort with my tracking device.
Jesus turns to Alia and gives her and the others a
discouraging look.
Alia-Is he onto something?
Jesus-My Father is in trouble, I'll explain in a few
minutes. How many of your North Ileys can be called at
a moments notice?
L-Jesus?
Jesus-Yes, I'm here.
L-The markings on the ships do not match anything in
our files. I checked your and mine both. I have no
idea where this enemy is from. Are you okay?
Jesus-My hands are bleeding. I actially feel a little
light headed. The chain of events singnaling the end
of the world are happening before everyone on Earth's
eyes. I can't explain it.
L-Your Dad is being held prisioner. I found him in an
abandoned construction site. He's been hurt bad by
whatever had been plotting this attack. Don't bring
too many people here. Seven or eight at the most. Tell
Alia not to call the rest of the starfleet. Make sure
they know what they're doing.
The phone abruptly goes dead.
Jesus-L?
Alia-You look puzzled.
Jesus-Dad told me he was cuffed to a staircase. I
don't know of a construction site in Capital City or
anywhere else in Heaven with...wait a second, trace
the call.
She presses several buttons on the phone and a readout
confirmed his suspicion.
Alia-That wasn't L who called you.
Jesus-Then who? Call L then, in Hell.
She dials the number.
L-Hello?
Alia-L, don't lie to me this is important.
L-Alright, what is it?
Alia-Did you just call here and report an invasion of
Heaven to Jesus?
L-No. Did someone call and use my voice?
Alia-We might need your help.
Coreen-I will help you.
Dan-And I feel better. I found some bottled water
upstars and filled the kitchen sink with it to clean
up the blood off my body from the accident.
Dashia-I'll go with you guys to Heaven to figure this
out.
Eve-Count me in.
Alia-We have a team. There a couple of guys I need to
call to just to make it even. If we find him and
everything goes as planned we'll party on C'ila.
She makes the announcement to Dan's birthday party
guests and readies her shuttle with her crew.
Thinking ahead L sends a couple of the inhabitants of
Hell to fly slowly over Heaven under strict cloaking
to get a closer view of where they might find The
Father.
Aboard Alia's large shuttle, Dan finds his way to a
closet with a change of clothes and readies the shower
for a much needed few minutes to think about the last
couple of days, and how somehow he has found his way
back into the right way to be living his life.
He thinks to himself that in the span of one novel he
has gone from a transient ready to give everything he
loved or owned away for the joy of overeating and
trying to destroy himself from the inside out, and the
worst of all, giving up hope. So what happens, he
thinks, when the temptation to overeat or to just lay
idle for hours and hours or to go to the movies and
down buttery popcorn and sweets and all the sugar in
the soda they have comes over him? What then? How many
trips where he says, 'This is the last time I'm going
to do this,' will have to happen before it sinks in?
The water feels good. Somewhere inbetween hot and
cold. He hears someone open the door to the shower
room and set something on the sink. When the door
shuts again, he peers out from the shower to notice a
new outfit and a birthday card.
Once the conditioner is washed out of his overly dry
hair he turns off the water and takes his first steps
as a clean person. Walks over to the sink and dries
off his hands to open the card.
Daniel,
Happy Birthday.
I Hope the shirt and jeans fit.
You are special to me, too.
JoaBeth
It doesn't hit him head on until he has shaved the
last part of his beard off into the sink with the
razor that was in the top drawer. Why would she buy me
something for my birthday. She must have found it on
C'ila and brought it with her. That's how she knew to
rescue me from the accident, but who called her?
God, I wanted to be with her. She's the most beautiful
woman in the world, well except for Coreen. Why
couldn't JoaBeth just stay on C'ila longer. We could
move the Iley base and everything there to be near
her. Or am I too late again. I mean she did come and
save me and...
A knock is heard on the shower room door.
Coreen-Your talking to yourself.
He opens the door slightly.
Dan-I was thinking to myself. Not outloud.
Coreen-She must have been everything to you. Would you
have felt so deeply for her if those people had not
made up all that stuff about her? I mean if you have
just come into town and visited her for the hell of
it, would you have fallen for her? Or was it a good
hting that those couple of people got off by making
shit up to tell you to discourage you from spending
your life with the right person?
Dan-Wait a second.
He shuts the door long enough to put on his new outfit
and to brush his teeth.
Coreen-You look a hundred times better than you did
earlier at the hospital.
Dan-It means a lot to hear you say that. You of all
people. My family left C'ila to move to Iley you know.
Big mistake. We were real happy on C'ila.
Coreen-Wait here.
She walks slowly to the main control room aboard the
ship.
JoaBeth-Did he get my present?
Coreen-We still have to find The Father. There is a
two passenger shuttle aboard this one that you and Dan
can use. Spend a few hours on C'ila. Just walk around
and enjoy yourselves. Have ice cream or something.
She hands her a $50 bill.
JoaBeth-Thank you. Maybe I can dispell some of the
stuff he heard about me.
Coreen-Alia already knows. But Dan doesn't. He should
be dressed. Here are the keys to the shuttle. Leave
quickly so we won't miss you. We should arrive in
Heaven in about 4 hours, so don't be too long.
JoaBeth-I'll find him right now.
She walks back toward the shower room as he finishes
brushing his hair. She looks so beautiful. 'What do I
even say,' he thinks. This is 2003, not 1996. So much
has happened since then. Since he spent any 'real'
time on C'ila. Before meeting Alia or the Ileys. Since
then he has endured a wretched marraige and several
horrid jobs and nearly ending his life several times,
and now he can see her out of the corner of his eye,
walking toward him. 'Has she come to stay,' he hopes.
Has she come to rescue him from all the witches he
keeps meeting, just looking to suck dry the love in
his fragile heart.
JoaBeth-We're going to C'ila, so hurry up.
Dan-Who's going?
JoaBeth-You and me.
Dan-Thanks for the outfit.
JoaBeth-It looks nice on you.
Dan-You look beautiful no matter what time of the day
it ever is. Why are you and I going to C'ila?
JoaBeth-For your birthday. We only have a few hours
until we have to come back, by that time everyone will
be ready to land on Heaven to find out what happened
to The Father.
Once they are in their seatbelts and the engine of the
small shuttle is started he suddenly is at a loss for
words. For the next 10 minutes all he can do is thank
his lucky stars that he has been granted with this
time to be with her. He is also trying to remember
that as of a few minutes ago, nothing matters tonight
except keeping the smile on her face.
JoaBeth-What are you thinking?
Dan-That I love you. Everything about you. From your
hair to your eyes to your lips to the way your outfits
make you look like an angel.
JoaBeth-One thing about C'ila is that we are a tighly
knit group of people. Everyone spends quality time
keeping track of each other. I'm glad you are a part
of the group. Words have been exchanged among us that
you have not been yourself.
Dan-Is anyone worried.
JoaBeth-Everyone who knows.
Dan-What can I do?
JoaBeth-We'll fix that today. C'ila is a small planet.
Everyone knows everyone. Things are not easily hidden.
Sheah knows.
Dan-Why?
JoaBeth-Small planet.
Dan-Wait, your steering the shuttle close to her
office. The door claims she's an attourney now.
JoaBeth-Small planet, but everyone kind of stays
working close to home. You remember that much, don't
you?
Dan-I saw her a couple of years ago. She's the one who
told me not to believe anything I heard about you.
They exit the shuttle.
Sheah-Alia just called me. They're close to Heaven.
Dan-How do you know Alia?
Sheah-Nevermind.
Dan-No, how do you know her? I didn't know she had any
dealings on C'ila.
JoaBeth-She doesn't. We hired her to look after you.
We feared your safety on Iley. She had been watching
you ever since you and your family left C'ila. And
when it got bad, she stepped in and saved you.
Dan-That explains a lot, I think.
Sheah takes them into her small lab inside her office
building. Once inside she shuts and locks the door and
turns on the light.
Sheah-The Father is deep inside a cloaked shuttle,
hidden underneath a portion of developed land inside
Heaven. I mean inside the actual planet. You see, the
reason you can't see Heaven or Hell is because they
are hidden from human eyes by way of a sophisticated
cloaking device that was invented for that very
reason. If people could see Heaven or Hell with their
naked eyes it wouldn't be too atractive to go there,
right? So the people who die either go to one planet
or the other, right, but the visibility of the two
planets was kept secret for a lof of years. In my
research I have discovered that The Father had
explored the actual inside of the planet. Cities were
built there and hundreds of laboratories were
constructed. He is in one of them. Being held captive.
The distress light he is able to send to me has been
going off all morning, I can't answer it though.
JoaBeth-Why?
Sheah-If I do, whoever is holding him may be able to
trace where te signal was sent to and I would be
destroyed instantly. If something is as powerful as
this I would not want to meet it in a dark alley, let
alone my office. I employ a lot of people here to put
their lives in jeopardy over this. You understand,
right?
Dan-We do.
Someone knocks on the lab door.
Sheah-Who is it?
Thew'Ja-The reservations made by Coreen call for Danny
and Joabeth to find their way to the dining room of
Cartha'de'Sie. It's beautiful. They just built it.
Dan-Yeah, it looks like there's been a lot of
construction around here.
Thew'Ja-A lot has changed since 1990 my friend.
Sheah-Come back when your done eating, we need Dan's
opinion on the construction site.
JoaBeth-We'll see you then.
He is puzzled about it until they are seated at their
table in the beautiful new restaraunt. 'What
construction site' he thinks to himself.
She sips slowly from a small glass of wine that the
waiter brought to her. Dan barely does that, looking
way too cautious about his alcohol intake.
JoaBeth-You wanted to marry me?
Dan-In 1996.
In four seconds she gets up from her seat and walks
away from him, mad. Realizing that she is leaving the
situation, he follows her.
JoaBeth-Don't even follow me! Apparently the shower
you took on the shuttle and the gifts I bought you and
the fact that I saved your life, twice, doesn't mean
anything to you. We have the same C'ila blood in us.
She takes a steak knife from one of the tables and
cuts her index finger enough for their to be a little
bit of blood. Then she grabs Dan's hand and does the
same to his finger.
JoaBeth-See, we have the same blood. We're from the
same planet. Right? Why did you have to leave? We are
your 'real' friends. Nobody on C'ila ever lied to you.
None of the women on this planet wouldn't dragged you
through the gutter like what's her name did. Yeah, you
got married on Earth, my dear, but look how the hell
it turned out? Jorda said he did see you here, and you
looked like a million bucks and you danced with nearly
every girl, so what happened? Why didn't you look me
up? You snuck into C'ila?
They make their way back to their seats.
Dan-One of my friends on Kaesa had been reporting to
me that this was the coolest place to hang out. So
yes, I did get cleaned up enough to sneak up here one
night, well two or three nights, and enjoy myself. I
didn't know you wanted to see me or I would've come
over and tried to get you to come with me.
JoaBeth-Did you see the construction going on in the
backyard of this place?
Dan-No I didn't.
JoaBeth-That's because it's under a cloaking device.
Similar to Heaven.
Dan-What's underneath it.
JoaBeth-The Iley base. One of your Kaesa friends
bought te land specifically to house it on C'ila to
make you happy when you snuck out in the middle of the
night to dance. Apparently she got ahold of the money
to hire the crew to come and build it. Alia knows,
that's it. Tere's a button underneath the deck of the
place that revealed the nearly built Iley base. It is
being built for Alia and the others to secretly leave
Iley and assume new lives. Iley and the hurt and bad
memories is going to be destroyed. What's the used of
continuously revisting old wounds? To open them back
up again? To keep on writing believing that it's 1998
and your being hunted down by some people who didn't
like you talking to some guys girlfriend, or is it
better for you to live on a planet where the people
adore you and would jump into action if they find out
anything bad is happening to you.
Dan-Where did the money for the base and the materials
come from?
JoaBeth-Remember when your other set of parents who
live here started their own business, well it was very
successful for them. So much so that they put some
money aside for you. They believe you to be partly
their kid, too. They used the money to combine it with
Kirsta's money and there you have it. Now you can live
here and be yourself.
Their oders are placed on the table, but before their
take their first bites, the waitress turns around
after walking away and walks back to the table.
Ninah Ossand-Wait a second?
Dan-Yes?
Ninah-Your Danny Sherrill?
Dan-Yes.
Ninah-Don't you remember me? Wait a second your having
dinner with JoaBeth? I know you, Danny Sherrill I went
to school with you.
She turns around and walks over to another table.
Caterina Deer'lija-I haven't seen him in ages.
The woman along with several friends walk over to
where Dan and JoaBeth are sitting, and pull up chairs
next to them.
Caterina-Hi Danny.
Dan-Caterina?
Caterina-Nice to see you. These are my friends.
Jozette-Wait a second, didn't I dance with you last
week here at the club?
His face turns slightly red.
Caterina-Did you know you were dancing with Danny
Sherrill. He's actually from here. Me and JoaBeth grew
up with him.
Dan-Um, hi. Thanks for dancing. You looked nice.
Jozette-So are you his girlfriend?
JoaBeth-His friend for now.
Jozette-Are you coming next saturday?
Dan-Yes. I'll be there.
Jozette-Then so will I.
The women make their way back to their table as Dan
and his date attempt to finish their dinner in time to
return to Alia's ship.
Unfotunatly Ninah has returned with a slice of cake
for Dan's birthday with a single candle on it.
Ninah-I remember that today is your birthday. I miss
you, Danny. When you don't come to visit. I bet you
didn't find happiness on Iley when you moved back
there for high school.
Dan-Not as much as I had here. Real friends. I think
my life would've been a cakewalk if our family had
stayed here. But, I hear this club that they built
does really well. It's an excuse to get dressed up and
shed my work appearence and start over here.
Ninah-Sing there. I hear you have a good voice. Your
Kaesa friends know a couple of my friends. Things get
shared, you know. I don't let on that I know you the
way I do, but the key to your health issue is to sing
here. Make a name for yourself where it counts. Don't
sing infront of a bunch of towny drunks, do it infront
of the audiences here. It sounds like your starting to
on your saturday trips up here, well keep it up. I
heard some things about you one night from some people
from Kaesa who showed up here, drunk, they were
talking about you. I just couldn't assume that I knew
you to them, since they're from another planet, and
you know you're probably not the only Dan Sherrill who
spends half his day on Kaesa in the same field you are
in. Anyway, someone said you came to work looking like
some homeless man with flaky dry hair and scruffly
looking beards and that you looked like you were
lifting the floormats of your car looking for change
to buy snacks with. I couldn't believe it when I heard
it. They didn't say it in a mean way, but a
heartbreaking way. I didn't know if it was you they
were talking about, because I haven't seen you in
years. Is it true?
Dan-Yes. All of it. Yeah, I sneak up here on the
weekends, but there was a time when that couldn't have
been possible. I'm getting better, though. I have a
problem with eating, and staying clean. I left Kaesa
and progressively got worse every fucking year, since
I felt it necessary to seek out ways to destroy myself
instead of coming here to visit my friends and the
people that will walk across places like this to
recognize me and to see how I'm doing? Earlier in this
book I was in a hospital on suicide watch.
Ninah begins to cry.
Ninah-Why? We have always been here. Nothing changes
aorund this place, only that our friend leaves us with
his family one day, then you come back and people lie
to you about JoaBeth, then you leave again and I hear
this now about you? How are we supposed to help you if
you don't tell us what's wrong with you?
Dan-I don't know.
Ninah-Well, stand up so I can give you a hug.
Both Dan and Ninah are in tears, as JoaBeth looks on.
Caterina and Jozette make their way back to Dan's
table and assure him that anything he needs or needs
to talk about is okay by them.
Jozette-You're a great dancer, make that your hobby.
I'll always dance with you at least.
Dan-Thank you.
Jozette-We'll see you saturday, right?
Dan-Saturday night.
JoaBeth-We have to get back to Sheah.
20 Minutes later they arrive back at Sheah's office,
she can tell that Dan has been crying.
Sheah-It's hard for you, isn't it. Both of you.
JoaBeth-I don't know. I didn't know your motivation
behind coming out of blue to see me back then, I
didn't know that you really did like me. Even so, I
didn't know what made you like me so much, now that
I've heard from you, Sheah, and a couple of our classmates about the real reason you kept seeing me
then I think I feel cheated out a real love with you.
But then again this is 2003, remember.
Dan-I know.
JoaBeth-Did seeing those girls at the club just now
make you feel better about yourself and your heart.
Dan-I don't know. I think over time. I think I need to
start over.
Sheah-I know a few things now.
Dan-Like what?
Sheah-JoaBeth, Can you wait for us outside?
JoaBeth-Sure.
She walks slowly out of the lab and returns to the
front seat of the Iley shuttle.
Sheah-Here you go. Buy yourself some outfits and a CD
or two.
Handed to Dan is an envelope.
Dan-Can I open it.
Sheah-No, but I'll tell you since it's only you and I
here that there is a C'ila cheque for $8,000. Happy
Birthday, my friend. Remember that you have my number,
so that when you meet back up with Alia and the rest
of the Ileys, you can keep in touch, no matter what
hour it ever is.
Dan-Thank you.
Alia walks closer to where Jesus is resting. The
bleeding seems to be controlled for the time being and
his vital signs seem normal. While Dan and JoaBeth
were meeting with Sheah, He had time to take a shower
of his own to shave his growing beard into the sink,
remembering that in order to sneak back and forth
between Heaven and Earth he can't look like the bought
and sold description of His appearance of a man with a
beard and shoulder length brown hair.
Alia-Someone is trying to reach us, the light on the
comlink keeps going off.
Dashia-Should we answer it or assume that it's another
trick like the call from L?
Alia-Answer it. It looks like the orgin of the call is
from the Planet Orla.
Greagory Lorelie'Je-Empress Alia, Earth is ready to
self destruct.
Alia-Yeah, someones's breaking the seals, we are on
our way to find The Father.
Greagory-Why would you have to find him?
Alia-We obtained information and Jesus was freaking
out and bleeding from his cross wounds earlier, so we
left the castle and are orbiting Heaven waiting for
Danny and his hopefully soon-to-be girlfriend to get
back from the Planet C'ila where our new base is being
constructed. What's happening on Earth.
Greagory-The fish are dying. Floating up the shore,
dead. Nobody's sure if it's healthy to eat them, but
it's real bad. Do you see the blood red moon on Iley?
Alia-We did. That's why we left.
Greagory-Well, that isn't the half of it. There's
looting in the streets and people are acting like
caged animals. Store windows are being smashed and
shit is being stolen at a record pace. You are better
off in orbit. It's almost like a chain reaction, once
the moon turned people kind of wrote it off, but one
it came over the news that the dead fish were turning
up, people went crazy.
Alia-We think someone is holding The Father captive.
Our friend on C'ila called and told me that his
distress complink has been transmitting to her office
all morning.
The shuttle returns and JoaBeth and Dan make their way
to check on Jesus, who appears now to be dreaming.
Dan-I'm going to check the water, just in case.
JoaBeth-I'll let the others know we are here.
Walking into the shower room of the ship, he turns on
the sink. The water seems fine, for a few seconds.
Then it doesn't. Blood. He hurries to turn it off, but
for some reason, the dial comes off in his hand. Blood
continues to pour out of the fawcet.
Dan(Screaming)-Alia!
She races with Coreen to the shower room.
Alia-Who is doing this? Coreen, take him out of here.
There's blood covering his hands, as she tries to find
a clean towel to clean him off.
Coreen-Come on you'll be better to not see this.
Alia remains, and uses her comlink to bring Dashia
near her and to call General Dawayne and his wife
Susan to their location, and to bring Patrick and
Gelfa of Iley to their aid, for what she calls 'one
Hell of a task.'
Once they arrive, through transport, they are seen
carrying scientific equipment to examine the blood
that has staind the shower room sink and floor.
Patrick of Iley-At least your transporter works. I've
seen the same things. Before you called I recieved a
piece of Earth footage to clairify this distress.
Alia-We should be in Heaven in about 5 minutes. I can
about imagine what it looks like now.
Emperor Gelfa of Iley-Do you think it's just time for
that to happen, I've seen movies and things stating
that when the world will end, things like this will
happen.
Alia-This movies are made by people who don't have a
clue about what will happen when the world ends. Men
and women unfortunatly live in fear of the end of
mankind.
He walks up closer to the conversation.
Jesus-They're not supposed to. I came to Earth,
remember. To make sure no one lived in fear of the end
of the world. Maybe that phrase should've been amended
to the 'End of the Universe.' The end of the world,
taken literally, would mean to the average football
waitching, submarine sandwich eater might mean the end
of Earth as a planet, but the funny thing is that
doing a stunt like that would require my Dad to press
a button and to just send a laser beam to Earth and
cause it to exploxe like in one of your science
fiction movies. You know, where they just destroy a
planet with a cannon, or something. People seem to
think that's what's going to happen. It's
heartbreaking.
Patrick-You're right.
Jesus-There are some beatiful parts of Earth. Why
would we try to end that? There's a few bad apples
that go door to door talking about these things that
are suppsed to happen and if they do, then it means
it's the end of the world? If I read the Bible right,
it does say pretty explicitly that no one will know
the end of the world is coming. All you have to do is
read Revelation to know that much. I mean come on, do
people really think we have a date posted on a sticky
note on Dad's refridgerator with a time or date that
we're supposed to say, okay fellas pack it up and find
out who to rapture and kill all the fish, and make
blood come of my hands. It doesn't work that way.
Susan of Iley-But the holes are on your hands, so you
were bleeding a few hours ago from your cross wounds.
And Dan yelled at Alia to walk to the shower room to
look at a bloody sink and floor. Who's blood was that?
Jesus-Whoever has Dad is thinking with an 8th grade
mind. Whoever it is probably thinks that they can send
a signal to Earth to people that planet houses that
this is the 'End of the world.' People are so
programmed by the things they see in movies or hear at
church about the end times. Alia, tell me when the
'End Times' are suppsed to start? I'm Jesus, remember.
No ones informed me of any 'End Times.' When are they?
Alia-Come here then.
She leads him in to examine the sink. However when
they walk back into the shower room, the blood has
vanished.
Alia-What's happening.
Jesus-What do you believe?
She slaps him hard across the face.
Alia-I'm not lying!
Jesus-I didn't say you were and that didn't feel too
good.
Alia-Coreen!
She walks closer with Dan.
Coreen-Yes?
Alia-Did you clean up Dan's hands from the blood that
he had on them?
Coreen-What blood? He just got here with JoaBeth.
Alia-What in Hell is going on here!
JoaBeth-We just placed the shuttle. We're fine. I also
just walked past Jesus when you called, he looks fine.
Alia-Then who are you?
The Jesus she had just slapped falls to the floor,
lifeless.
Alia-This isn't right? Wait, look.
JoaBeth finds a comlink, in the pocket of the man who
has just collapsed.
Meanwhile the 'real' Jesus wakes from his dream.
Jesus-Alia!
They all race to his side.
Alia-Yes?
Jesus-Did you get it? The comlink? I know where Dad
is.
Alia-Are you sure you are really Jesus?
Jesus-Yes. It's something I learned in Heaven. I can
send an image of myself from a dream and I can
actually materialize myself into a situation to
investigate. Cool, huh? In my dream I saw my Father,
he gave me the comlink to communicate with him, since
we are so close to Heaven.
Dawayne-We'll be there in a couple of minutes, yet.
Alia-I'm sorry for cracking you across the face, but
was it you or the other person that I hit?
Jesus-An illusion.
He turns the comlink switch to the 'on' position and
waits. The light flashes shortly after.
Jesus-Dad?
The Father-Son. You got the comlink.
Jesus-We're on our way.
The Father-Did you tell them about the 'blood in the
sink' side effect of you and I attempting to
communicate with each other this way. And about the
other you, that can be controlled while you dream.
Jesus-I think I've mastered lucid dreaming. Are you
hurt?
The Father-I've been moved. Pathri'Jen and her friend,
Zisha are behind this. Ask Alia about them. They broke
into my office and caught me offguard. I'm not sure I
remember the rest. I assumed that since they were from
Iley that they were generally nice people. I assume
too much. I sent you that first message in code. You
know, the one about me opening the seals. I didn't do
that. I didn't lie to you, I was just hoping you could
figure out that I was sending a distress signal.
Jesus-I didn't think you handcuffed yourself out of
depression, I knew you had someone holding death
infront of your eyes, so we packed up and we're ready
to land right now.
The Father-I don't know what they want, yet, though.
Jesus-Probably what everyone else wants when they try
to 'figure Heaven out,' the secrets. What lies inside
Heaven. What do they think we are hiding? Aliens?
The Father-Probably. Listen she did break a couple of
seals so things might be a little tricky on Earth
right now.
Jesus-We heard.
The Father-I'm in the 'Base Control #26' part of
Centre Heaven. They're walking back, I must go. I know
morse code, remember, so if I spell a series of words
with it, can someone in your team understand it.
He turns to Alia and the rest of the Ileys.
Jesus-We'll be fine.
A quiet comes over the team as they exit Alia's
shuttle. The lights have been turned off. In Heaven.
All of them.
Jesus-I was afraid of that.
Alia-Is that another seal that's been broken?
Jesus-No. It just makes things a little more tricky.
Quietly at first the team walks closely together, with
Dan and JoaBeth walking hand in hand, in pitch
darkeness. Promising each other to not separate.
Dan-No matter what, don't let go of my hand.
Coreen-Well, how do we know where we're going? Jesus?
Can you tell where you are?
Jesus-Slightly, only slightly. We have to reach Centre
Heaven though, and soon.
They keep walking.
She can see their path from her radar screen on C'ila.
Deciding to risk everything, she places the call.
Sheah-Dan?
He answers a mysterious cell phone that must have been
inserted into his jeans pocket by her friend who
enetered the lab when he was there.
Dan-Yes?
Sheah-I just bought this cell phone for you a few
minutes before you and JoaBeth got here earlier.
You're close to where you guys need to be, remember I
can trace you from here.
Dan-Are we headed to our death?
Sheah-The complete opposite. I'll stand by you, my
dear friend. Small planet, remember. Anyone with the
same blood as us will be found and rescued if need be.
Dan-Thank you.
Sheah-Give the phone to Jesus.
He hands it to Jesus, and looks surprised when He
recognizes who it is.
Why isn't everyone panicking.
A door is found. And opened.
Jesus-This is the right door, isn't it, Sheah?
Sheah-Yes, but be very quiet. Light a candle.
He reaches into his pocket and to everyone's surprise,
reaveals a group of about 100 standing quietly over a
birthday cake.
Someone taps Dan on the shoulder.
The Father-Happy Birthday.
Dan-What about the seals being broken and the world
ending?
The Father-If one of my children is lost, it's like
the world ending. Over and over again. I could kill
all the fish in the sea and explode the Earth when I
hear about the unfortunate side effects of depressive
behavior. There is too much beauty on Earth to be
depressed.
Dan-What about the signs of the end of the world?
The Father-Man made. People clutching at straws to
escape Earth. I can help someone if they ask me?
People don't, they'd rather pay some human being who
walks around an office claiming to be a counselor, and
they sit there in a chair and spend $40 to vent to
someone when it's free to talk to me. Or they get
caught up in going to church and having their money
taken away to help build the next church building, and
then they still go home depressed since it's now
common to have a cover charge at church, by calling it
the offering plate. Then you go and they harp about
the 'End of the World,' has anyone ever been here? I
mean besides the Ileys, has anyone from Earth ever
been here long enough to be able to write down the
time and date and year of the end of the world?
Dan-You're right.
Noah-So you see, water can be colored red. The moon
can be colored red. A few fish can die, and Earth can
go into utter pannic because these people are so
programmed to believe that it signals some war in the
galaxy with spaceships and laser cannons and nonsense.
That's not what the book of Revelation was compliled
for. We just wanted to illustrate that for you and
your friends.
The Father-So what are you upset about? You got
divorced? You deserved better anyway. Enough singing
and dancing at the club near the new Iley base will
bring back the person that those people on C'ila miss
and wish had never left.
JoaBeth looks over at him, as several tears fall from
her eyes.
The Father-There's a woman over there who apparently
has grown to love you. There's another one there you
can't have, well since she is dating someone already,
and Alia whom you can talk to. And me.
Coreen walks closer to JoaBeth.
Coreen-Don't cry.
JoaBeth-I wish I could've known.
Coreen-I understand.
JoaBeth-How?
Coreen-I just do.
The crowd froms a circle around the large birthday
cake and begins singing to Dan. For a happy birthday.
He openly cries, but is met with a hug from JoaBeth.
Feeling her arms around him, he closes his eyes and
holds her dearly.
While his eyes are shut, the lights are turned back
on. The fish return to the water, and as Alia
notices first, the moon returns to white, and Earth
returns to it's natural state. News teams report to
their supervisors that the strange signs of the 'End
Times' have halted proving yet another false alarm has
occured.
She is still holding him in her arms, though.
JoaBeth-I don't want to lose you and apparently no one
in Heaven wants you written out of the Book of Life,
but rather into the next 'Alia and the Boy.'
Dan-I have something for you.
JoaBeth-You do?
Dan-Now that they've turned the lights back on and
everything's been restored I have been thinking the
last few minutes that I need to say something to you.
I mean it feels great to come back to C'ila on the
weekends to dance and see friends again, but this time
I have spent with you is priceless.
JoaBeth-I figured that much.
Dan-This isn't 1996, true. If you had let me finish at
dinner I was going to ask you to marry me.
JoaBeth-But you're recently divorced?
Dan-It's out of my life. I'm starting over. It's my
birthday wish.
Jesus-Here, have some cake, Dan. I'm sorry, I didn't
mean to walk in on your conversation.
Dan-It's okay. What would you like, JoaBeth?
He turns around to find her gone.
Dan-I'll be right back.
Jesus-Good luck.
He finds her halfway down the hall of what is revealed, once the lights turned on, as the Father main library.
There she sits, crying, with her head down on one of
the desks.
He waits a few minutes, then pulls up a chair next to
her and kisses her cheek then takes her hand in his.
No one says a word, for several minutes.
JoaBeth-What do I say?
Dan-It slipped out of my mouth. You saved my life. The
dinner we shared and the flight back and forth from
the Alia's shuttle to C'ila. Everything just kind of
fell into place as being the perfect situation for us
to finally be in, I guess seeing everyone in the room
and having it be my birthday party and the cake and
candles and everything else just brought back memories
of what I wanted all along for us.
JoaBeth-Us?
Dan-Hey, I know that this whole thing has been an
illustration from Jesus and His Dad to me to get me
back on track and writing and being myself again, but
you seemed to be there every step of the way. I guess I
just figured that eventually we would have to talk
about that. I'm sorry if I slipped and proposed to you
like I had wanted to back then, back when people were
calling you a drug addict, maybe I should've forgotten
about you, but remember, small planet. Everyone knows
and cares about everyone else and I care about you. A
hell of a lot. But if you want to take one of The
Father's shuttles back to C'ila and not have me look
you up or date you or marry you then fine. I can live
with that. I lived with it since 1996, remember?
JoaBeth-But the words never came out of your mouth
then.
Dan-I couldn't say them. Because I was falling for you for the wrong reasons. Because of some shit I heard about you. Because I cared about you.
JoaBeth-Do you care about me, now?
Dan-What do you think?
Becoming frusterated he gets up from the chair and
walks away from her and back to the room with his
friends. Trying to hide his tears from them.
One person cannot be fooled and leaves to find her.
About three minutes of fake smiles and trying to hide
everything, he breaks down. Surprisingly the first
person to put her arms around him is Coreen.
Coreen-I have to go in a few minutes. The shuttle will
be here to take me back to Earth, but don't cry,
sweety, it's your birthday party. Let JoaBeth go.
Don't get involved with anyone right away. That's your
best bet. She'll find you.
Dan-Yeah, but everyone tells me that.
Coreen-Well, it's true. Maybe you'll find her during
the next, 'Alia and the Boy.'
Out of complete view the rifle belonging to Pathri'Jen
is still digging into The Father's back.
Pathri'Jen-There, now they don't suspect anything.
Let's go.
The Father-Where?
Pathri'Jen-Centre Heaven.
The Father-What do you want from me?
Pathri'Jen-There's a price on your head. Millions of
dollars. I'm here to capture you and to collect it for
myself.
The Father-You can't just come here and capture me.
Pathri'Jen-I've held you hostage for the past couple
of hours though. No one in the birthday party saw it.
As she finishes her thought, Noah sits amazed infront
of his monitor. The one that is able to focus directly
on the room where the party had taken place. What he
sees startles him.
Noah-Eve?
She answers him. The Woman Eve, completely preserved
from her days in the Garden with her husband Joseph
walks toward the monitor.
Woman Eve-There's a woman holding a rifle at The
Father. I see another woman also.
Noah-Do you think they'd still be here in Heaven,
whoever they are.
Woman Eve-The only ones authorized enough to be here
are Ileys and now the C'ila people.
Noah-A former Iley let them in?
Woman Eve-What if they are Iley.
She picks up her comlink and dials His number.
Jesus-Yes?
Woman Eve-Find your Father.
Jesus-Why?
Woman Eve-He's taken human form briefly, right?
Jesus-Yeah, but he will change back soon.
Woman Eve-He's too vulnerable. Someone has captured
him.
Jesus-That's impossible, wait a second. I don't
remember hearing that we were going to be throwing a
party for Dan in Heaven. I was surprised when the
lights were dimmed but I thought, hey cool idea to
surprise Dan. Then I realized that I didn't know
half of the people in there.
Noah-We need to find The Father and we need to do it
now! I'll call some of our friends also. Make sure
Brittany is okay and that no harm comes to her.
Jesus-I will.
Dan has decided to ask Coreen for a ride back to
C'ila to meet with Sheah about his new home.
Coreen-Are you sure you want to ride with me again?
Dan-You look beautiful.
Coreen-It must have been hard to see me and JoaBeth in
the same room. A lot of emotions must have flooded
your heart at that moment.
Dan-I'll find someone.
He finds her as she has borded one of the shuttles
from Heaven to C'ila.
Rayik Norda-Hey, wait!
She sees who it is and lowers the window of the
shuttle to talk to him.
JoaBeth-I have to go.
Rayik-You look beautiful.
JoaBeth-Do you know Dan?
Rayik-No. I heard there was a party so I went to see
who it was for, but when I got there I saw your
beautiful face, and sensual body, so I had to see what
it was I would have to say to you to be able to see
you again once you go back to C'ila. Are you dating
the guy from the party?
JoaBeth-No. I'm single. For the moment. So you're from
Heaven? Can I take you with me?
Rayik-Only for short periods of time, I become
transparent and you won't be able to see me after
about four hours. However, it is enough time for us to
slow dance and cuddle up with a romantic movie. If you
want?
JoaBeth-I have to get home soon. Will you be here much
later?
Rayik-I'll be here forever, I'm in the 'book of Life.'
Once they arrive at the new Iley base on C'ila, Coreen
agrees to stay with Dan until Sheah arrives.
Coreen-Do you want to get a drink at the club next
door.
Dan-If I'm with someone I trust, and I only have to
walk back home, I can have something lite.
Coreen-Let's go then.
Dan-Wait a second, I thought you had to get back to
your boyfriend?
Coreen-I do. Right now, though, I want to spend the
time I have with you.
Dan-This place looks like it has...
She walks toward them.
Sheah-14 bedrooms. Hello, you two. Are you having a
date?
He thinks she's going to hesitate, but she doesn't.
Coreen-Yes, we are. I'm buying him a drink.
Sheah-Way to take charge.
Coreen-He has to be more assertive. Is there a weight
room in this place?
Sheah-In the basement. Also laundry facilities, a
complete computer system and fire alarm and about
every other security measure we could hide without
anyone suspecting that royalty lives here.
Coreen-Will the alarm go off if I kiss him?
Sheah-It shouldn't.
So she does, which surprises him. More so because just
a couple of days ago, he was counting his change to
buy snack cakes and potato chips and eating popcorn
and soda at the movies, completely shut out of his
beloved self. Now, though he finds himself in her
arms, clean, and having just found himself breathing
in the scent of her perfume. And smiling. But she
still has to go home. But, hey, there's a danceclub
next door, he thinks.
Coreen-I don't want to let go, but I unfortunatly have
to. I'm sorry.
Dan-Don't apologize, your lips feel too soft
pressed up next to mine for you to have to say your
sorry. If you do, I won't accept it, since it feels so
perfect to me right now. Thanks for the rescue.
Coreen-Take care of yourself, my dear.
With that Dan and Sheah follow Coreen outside to
her shuttle. She blows him a kiss from the window,
which surprises him and Sheah.
Sheah-You're lucky to have friends like her.
Inside a film exmanining room, Noah has collected Alia
and the Ileys that came to Heaven assuming it was the
end of the world and then a birthday party and now are
finding out that there is a real threat to The Father
and His home.
Alia-Pathri'Jen is behind it. She's a Nelari.
Noah-How would she get past the guards?
Alia-She's incredibly evil. Can you trace her?
Noah-I'll try.
Jesus-Don't try! Just find Dad! I'm going to check on
Brittany.
Noah-Just carry your comlink.
Jesus-These damned people who think the world's going
to end just because they saw how some other human
being wrote it. No humans live here. News flash!
Only My Father knows. I don't even know.
Noah-You don't?
Jesus-I don't need to know. I trust his judgement.
Like this women whos busted in here should do. Like
these 'End Times' worshipers should do. What ever
happened to 'No man should know the day of the Lord's
return.' I know I have to make an appearence that day,
but do I sit up at night in bed and try to predict
when My Father is going to call me and say 'Son, it's
time to go back to Earth and carry out my plans.' I'd
drive myself crazy waiting for it, if I had any idea
when the call would be coming. And I don't care. I'm
sure I could go to Earth and read a bunch of man
written books about the End of the World, but why? So
I can live in fear like they do? I don't have it in me
to cheat destiny and to open Christmas presents way
early instead of waiting until they give them to me to
unwrap.
Alia-How to you unprogram people?
Jesus-I guess you can't. What church doesn't preach
the 'End of the World' in about every other sermon?
Well, define 'End of the World' for me? Suddenly one
day everyone on Earth wakes up and people fall out of
the sky and stars zig zag around and horses appear out
of nowhere? So define 'World' for me? Earth? So
according to them, only Earth will be destroyed and
not the rest of the galaxy? I don't get it.
Noah-Here's the location of Your Father. Centre
Heaven.
Alia-I thought that's where we were headed to start
with. So this wasn't just a drill, it was for real.
Noah-We didn't know. Usually people don't try to rob
us of our Leader.
She startles him with the next sentence out of her
mouth.
Sheah-I don't dislike you anymore.
Dan-What changed your mind?
Sheah-How you are. How you acted today around someone
like JoaBeth and them Coreen.
Dan-I had a long couple of days. I'm really tired.
Sheah-Talk to me, then. I thought you were going to go
for a drink with her?
Dan-I think it's best that she go home and be with
her actual boyfreind.
Sheah-Then you can go with me, my friend. The Ileys
that are moving in might seem differen't to you, since
most of them have already converted from Xaiya
membership to Iley and now to C'ila, like you. How
does it feel to be 'home' again.
Dan-Differen't I still feel that if our family had
stayed here in the first place, my life would've been
a lot easier. I would've tried hard to mend our broken
friendship and carried on.
Sheah-Would you be writing though?
Daniel-I'm writing now. It's hard to tell. I'd
probably still be skateboarding though. I wouldn't
have tested the waters of married life like I did,
sadly. Am I doomed from getting married again? No. I'd
do it again tomorrow if I could. If I found the right
girl this time. It's a long semester ahead of me. To
write and realease more of these books.
Sheah-I have something else to give you.
She gives him an envelope. In it he finds his proper
nametag. 'Commander Aaron Deaschanel of Iley.'
Sheah-There's a man uptown that can change it to C'ila
when you're ready, I mean it's still up to you guys if
you want to come live here or not. It isn't 1990,
remember so you might only recognize a few select
people, but my advice to you is to meet and greet as
many people here as you can. Don't make it a journey
into nostalgia for your previous life here, but carve
out some new adventures in this house and this planet.
Dan-Are we going next door for something to drink.
Sheah-If you'll dance with me.
Dan-I will, but for the first few minutes it might
seem strange since we haven't actually been on
speaking terms for a long time.
Sheah-You're the writer, though. So write.
Dan-What do you want me to write about?
Sheah-About your progress. Just look up. Not sideways.
Keep your spirit healthy. I don't know, get out and
run. Start lifting weights again. Tell a pretty girl
that you want to have coffee with her. You see, you
get to. It's your right. Nobody can tell you that you
aren't able to compliment a beautiful gal at the
clothing store that just opened on Kaesa when she asks
you if she can help you with anything. That's how
people meet. You don't just end up together. When you
go, ask to try something on and then see if she
aproves of it when you come out of the dressing room.
Make her smile. That's the key to life, you know.
Women aren't all bad. You found a bad one and married
her, but not all women lie and cheat you out of
happiness like that one did. Just don't let it hinder
you from offering to carry some pretty girl's books to
college class for her.
The End.
