Chapter Eleven: Shatterpoint

The silence was chilling in the car. Megan looked over at Dexter Knowles. "Your wife?" She asked finally.

"Not coming." Dexter said, gazing out the window.

Megan said nothing for several minutes. "Any particular reason?"

"Mom." Rika warned.

Dexter spoke clearly, as though he'd already resolved it to himself, and was now speaking of something that happened in the distant past. "My wife was part of the generation wiped out by the Flood of Noah's Day. She knew that when Jah said he was going to wipe out wickedness, it wasn't a bluff."

"I thought the people wiped out by God directly weren't given a Returning." Megan commented.

"They weren't, but the rain lasted for a fairly long time before the floodwaters covered the world. Long enough for people to get used to the idea that there was nowhere to run. Long enough to go a little crazy."

(Author's Note: I go into this subject more fully in Chapter Fifteen of 'Now On Earth', but once again: Whether or not people destroyed directly by God, such as during the Flood of Noah's Day or the 10 Plagues of Egypt, will get a Resurrection; is unclear; but the Insight Book, on the topic of 'Destruction' (Volume One, Page 616-617) says: "When speaking of the destruction of the rebels Dathan and Abiram, Moses wrote that they went down "alive into Sheol." (Nu 16:31, 33) Since Sheol in the Bible denotes the common grave of mankind from which there will be a resurrection, it is evident that not all destruction—not even all destruction at the hand of God—is necessarily eternal."

The character of Nomi did not die directly from the Flood, so the question is academic for this story.)

Megan realized. "Your wife didn't die by flood."

"Apparently the 'end of the world' party was enough to trash half the human race on its own." Dexter nodded. "Nomi and I… we bonded over the same problem. Neither of us thought we belonged here, even if we followed direction. We both blamed ourselves for the loved ones that didn't make it." He shook his head. "I lost everyone on A-Day, except for Erica, and that was worse."

Megan winced. "It was." She whispered.

"So when The Final Test got underway, Nomi and I sort of… figured we'd lived long enough." He gestured at Rika. "But it turns out I still have kin. Someone who insisted I live. Can't argue with that… Nomi could."

"Just like that?" Megan wasn't sure she believed that. "What about you?"

"Nomi has heard a million stories about A-Day; she watched the water getting higher when she was younger…" Dexter bowed his head. "Nomi was of the opinion that the Final Test wasn't going to be the end of it. In her opinion, God throws a big rock at the world often enough that it'll never really be over."

"The third, and fourth Testaments don't agree." Biggs finally entered the conversation. "Back in OS, I believe it was called the 'Final' test for a reason."

"I know. But my wife was there when the rain started, and she doesn't want to see it happen twice."

"That was her Trigger. She could picture a vengeful God more than a loving one." Megan thought aloud. "I wonder, sometimes. About the Flood. Didn't God promise that He wouldn't wipe out the world again?"

"The flood was an early move." Biggs commented. "I remember talking about this just after A-Day. Brother Benedict, he told me to think of the Bible like a Chess Game. Satan's opening move was manipulating Eden, and God immediately countered with the Messianic Covenant. Satan brought the human race to the point of ruin in 1600 years. Jehovah only had eight people left to save." Biggs explained, still watching ahead. "It took another… what? Five thousand years until A-Day? It wasn't because Satan had become less malevolent. It was because he knew God was willing to fight back with the 'nuclear option'. Satan had to start over entirely after the Flood. It became a much longer game."

"Not as long as you think." Rika added. "Noah lived for centuries after the Flood. Long enough to be alive when the Tower of Babel happened. They were his grandkids, and suddenly he couldn't speak to them anymore. Noah saw the whole cycle. From a ruined world, to God's counter-move, to another ruining, to another counter-move." She almost laughed bitterly. "Noah's here too, seeing all of this."

Dexter said nothing for a while. "I married a woman from the Pre-Flood world. Megan was raised by a WW2 pilot. Biggs is a Tribulation Survivor; Rika's lived barely more than a century and a half; all of it in Paradise. We're in a unique position to see the whole 'chess game' and how it played out."

"Biggs especially." Megan said lightly. "He was there for God's ultimate counter-move. A full Thousand Years of work was nothing but a set-up for the final gambit. A chess game that has lasted from page two of the Bible, all the way until tomorrow."

"The Game is almost over." Biggs shivered. "It's really happening, isn't it? It's finally going to be over; once and for all."

~~/*\~~

It was now fully dark outside. Hugh and Kasumi had spent almost an hour watching the door like terrified children; before they finally got to work. "Do you think he's right?" Kasumi couldn't help but ask in a whisper. "We broke the rules by listening to him. Is that it? Is it all over for us?"

Hugh shook his head. "During the War, I got tagged by anti-aircraft once. My Navigator told me we'd never make it back to a runway in Allied hands. But we went for it anyway. That's how it is. No soldier worth his salt ever sat down and died when it seemed like a lost battle."

And then you ditched in the Channel and died, while your Navigator bailed out and lived. Hugh thought to himself. But your wife doesn't need to hear that. Aloud, he got busy. "We gotta recharge the plane. The batteries were either trashed or looted, along with the rest of the house. But the outside of the house is mostly untouched, including the solar tiles on the roof. We can charge the plane from the house."

"The spare plane batteries were trashed. What about the house cell?" Kasumi asked. "Can we use that?"

"For the plane? Probably not, but we can run a charging cable from the house cell to the plane battery." Hugh got to work. "There's nothing more we can do until the batteries charge. At night, that'll take a while. We can leave in the morning."

"Maybe we should just go now." Kasumi mused. "Half the planet must still be on the move. We meet up with a convoy of people making a pilgrimage, wouldn't we be safer on the ground?" She tried to do the math in her head. "We find someone with wheels, maybe we'd even make it there faster than waiting for the plane to charge."

"Unless the convoy we meet isn't safe." Hugh thought aloud.

Silence.

"I hate this!" Kasumi declared. "A thousand years of everyone treating each other like family, and suddenly it's open season again."

"The world was never full of murderers and thieves, Kas." Hugh said tiredly. "Just enough of them. Just enough of them that nobody could ever feel safe. If one in a thousand people have fallen from the mark; that's enough to let the fear back in. And fear does more damage than anything else."

"Yes, it does. We're proof of that. Megan's probably safe in Sanctuary by now." Kasumi yawned.

~~/*\~~

There was a little charge left in the car. They drove until they had to swap out the battery. Then they drove again. Megan took the opportunity to switch seats with Rika, and sit next to Dexter. "We should talk."

"Okay." Dexter said. Nothing more than that.

Silence.

"I was kinda hoping you'd go first." Megan admitted.

He was silent for a moment before he spoke. "Back in OS, my family fought like cats and dogs. When they came back in the Returning, they didn't get back together. The crowning achievement of Paradise was that they didn't have to see each other again."

Megan snorted.

"My grandparents?" Dexter pressed. "They stayed together. But they hated each other's guts. They considered it a successful marriage that they didn't break up, though they delighted in ways to make each other miserable. When they came back; they did get back together. Took them two centuries to find a way to be nice about being married; but they never even thought about not being married again." He shook his head. "I never understood how love could go to hate, and somehow go back to love again."

"I guess people change." Megan said quietly. "How do you stop changing when you finally get it right?"

Dexter actually laughed. "I don't know, but if you ever figure it out for sure, would you let me know?"

Silence.

"I pulled a knife on you, Dex. How can I make that right with you?" Megan said quietly. "How is it possible we can live forever with each other? Even if we're here, how can we all just live with each other after what we're losing today? I'm betting I'm not the only one in Sanctuary that had a 'near-miss'."

"We've done it before." Dexter offered. "Paradise is full of people that killed each other on ancient battlefields; and now live in peace. We've got people who hated each other, and now are brothers. That's the power of God. He unmakes everything Men do to each other."

"I guess so." Megan sighed. "And having been through this, I feel like I got to the other side of that. I just don't know if I got there too late. I admit, I've handled my problems with our past by deliberately not thinking about it for five hundred years."

"Salvation is choice. Something I had trouble with in OS, was recognizing that deciding to do nothing is a choice too." Dexter admitted. "And if it wasn't for Rika, I'd probably still be in my house now, pretending that staying there wasn't 'taking a side'."

"If it wasn't for Rika and Biggs, I think I would be too." Megan said, just as quiet. "And, amazingly, if it wasn't for you, there'd be no Rika in the world."

"If it wasn't for you, she wouldn't have come back for me." Dexter offered. "You taught her what being a family meant."

Megan was tearing up again. "I don't ever want to attach another moment of anger or grief to my memories of Erica. I loved her so much."

"She was the best of either of us. I just wish I hadn't brought out the worst in her." He gave her a crooked smile. "And Rika wouldn't be here without Erica, either."

Megan held out a hand. "Hi, I'm Rika's mother."

He returned the handshake. "Pleased to meet you. I'm her grandfather."

And despite herself, Megan felt better, like she'd just shed some weight she hadn't noticed she was carrying. Jehovah God, she prayed. Is this how it works? We're all being tested by something? Something new, or something old; and the ones that can make the leap will be granted Sanctuary? If I had gone in the right direction and left Rika's safety to you entirely, would this… this burden I was carrying be enough to keep me out? Or would it have made no difference; since the test is one of straight up obedience? After a thousand years of living in your world, I've seen things 'just work' over and over, in ways that are so surprising as to be nothing but miraculous. Are You really arranging the whole human race to face a personal choice? There are thousands of millions of us; but if anyone could do it, it's You.

Thank you that my family is with me; and I'm sorry I waited, even a little bit, no matter what the reason was. I know You said You had stepped back to let this play out; but it is my prayer that You see us safely to Sanctuary.

Megan glanced around the Auto again and felt a subtle shiver. I had feared that my history with Dexter might somehow bring my family crashing down. I thank you that you don't work that way...

"Dad, what is it? You've been looking in the rearview mirror every thirty seconds." Rika yawned from the front seat, suddenly jarring Megan from her prayers.

"Hard to tell in the dark, but I think there's someone following us." Biggs said in a low voice. "And I think it's the same car that gave me a ride to catch up to you guys."

"Probably heading for Sanctuary, same as we are." Dexter said from the backseat. "It's not like anyone else in the world is just 'going on with their lives'. Not today."

"That's what I'm worried about." Biggs commented. "Because I'm fairly sure they paused when we stopped to swap out our battery; keeping the relative distance from us."

"Could be they're just nervous." Megan said forgivingly. "There's a chance for violence again. Even if we're going the same direction; I'm sure some people are keeping away from others entirely; in the name of playing it safe."

~~/*\~~

Kasumi woke up from a light doze and reached over before her eyes were open. He wasn't there. Then memory caught up and came upright quickly. "Hugh?"

"Out here." He called from the next room.

She came out to join him, trying to straighten out her tunic. It had been some time since she'd slept in her clothes. Hugh was in the living room, and it looked like he was tinkering with the radio off the plane. "What are you doing?"

"The database being offline means the infrastructure is shut down." Hugh explained. "But it occured to me that if the solar panels in the house stored enough energy to run a charging cable to the plane, then that might also be enough juice to run the radio, even if it wasn't hooked up to the plane's electrics. The house still has a receiver; even if the Database is offline."

Kasumi nodded. "Okay. But who could you reach?"

"I was hoping to find out if Megan made it safely into Sanctuary after all." Hugh sighed, as he spun the dials a bit.

Kasumi's head tilted. "Do you hear that?"

Hugh leaned closer to the radio. "I don't hear anything."

"No, not from the radio." Kasumi was heading to the window, looking outside.

~~/*\~~

Outside the house, there was a small crowd gathering around the plane. They all seemed to be dressed the same way. Not like a uniform; just the same sort of style. In fact, they all had the same look about them. And Hugh realized suddenly, who they were.

Sure enough, Zann came into view from behind the plane. "Strip it down!" He called to the rest of the group. "Given the situation, we need to make use of everything that can be-"

"Zann!" One of his people got his attention, seeing Hugh and Kasumi. "The house is occupied."

Zann looked, and saw Hugh and Kasumi. "Oh. You." He said, and he wasn't happy to see either of them. "Of all the people to run into, why did it have to be you?"

"You know these two?" One of his group asked him, looking Hugh and Kasumi over again. "Are they your friends?" He said it as though he didn't believe it.

"They aren't friends." Zann said, and though he was facing the man who had spoken, it was clear he was making a speech to the rest of the group. "This man and his brother complained about me to the authorities. They came out and called me a racist. They, two people killed in war, met me exactly once, and declared my Gold Letter was in error. It was a counsel that cost me my position as Elder."

Kasumi stepped back as the entire group seemed to look at them with real venom. There was anger and frustration growing in the world again. A kind of suspicion that was growing into a need to blame someone as the world faced its ultimate test.

Hugh put himself between them and his wife subtly. "We merely informed your brother that you were showing prejudice in favor of a nationalistic group that didn't exist anymore, even after centuries. Whom he shared that with, and what the Elders and Overseers did with that information went on without our knowledge." He gestured at his wife. "And Kasumi didn't even know that much. So if there is a problem here, it's not with her."

"Why would there be a problem?" Zann asked silkily, but his eyes were still hard.

Hugh looked around the rest of the group. "These are your friends? The ones you wanted to keep away from 'foreigners' back two hundred years ago?" His head tilted. "What brings you all out here? I would have thought you'd stay in your 'Promised Land' for the duration. We are some distance from Israel."

"That was the plan." Zann admitted. "But when the Database went down, some of the brothers I had pledged to protect and lead were out of our homeland. I was asked to bring them home."

"If you plan to take my plane to get this whole group to Israel, I'm afraid they won't all fit. And even if they could, it'll still be a while before the batteries are recharged."

"Is that why you're here?" Zann guessed. "My brother reported that your magical Tower to the sky was going to fall; and the residents were being evacuated to Sanctuary. You should have made it there by now."

"We came back because…" Kasumi stammered, trying not to say 'got tricked by a demon'. "We got reports about family being in danger, and had to come back for them." She shook her head, suddenly realizing. "Wait. You said you were 'asked' to bring your people back to Israel."

Zann's face went harder. "What of it?"

Kasumi and Hugh traded a glance. "Zann?" Hugh said finally. "Did… Did you see an Angel? Did one tell you to..." Neither of them knew how to phrase it.

Zann stared hard at them, and they knew the answer immediately. But he said nothing for a long moment. "You saw one? Because you know that we were told not to expect that kind of help."

Hugh took a breath. "Yes. But we fell for it anyway. It wasn't the person we thought it was, and it told us to-"

Zann's face twisted. "There, you see?" He declared to his people. "The casual arrogance of these people becomes apparent again. So certain they were that Angelics have special interest in them; that they're 'too important' to follow the commandments."

Hugh and Kasumi twitched. He was saying all the same things their false Angel had told them.

"Check the plane." Zann said seriously. "See if there's anything in there we can use."

"You can't do that." Hugh stopped him. "The plane is mine, and I need it to get my family back to Sanctuary."

"You were at Sanctuary. You left." Zann said cuttingly. "If you're not going to follow basic instructions to save your own lives, why should my people risk themselves to save you? I've heard stories about A-Day. People who left the group to try and talk relatives into coming along."

"I thought love was the identifying mark of a Righteous Man."

"I thought disobedience and rebellion were the defining marks of a Goat." Zann wasn't even paying attention to them anymore, having written them off. "Take everything you need. And if they try to stop you, use force. These people aren't going to make it. God won't shed any tears for them." He didn't even look back. "Move with purpose! We have transport waiting!"

He's got a ride and we don't. Hugh thought distantly. How does that work?

~~/*\~~

"He's still back there." Megan said, trying to be subtle about looking over her shoulder at the vehicle behind them. "The Database back up yet?"

"No." Rika reported, checking her Device. "Which means whoever's back there, he did the same thing dad did. He built manual controls into a vehicle."

"Which means he was ready for this day just like we were." Biggs put in from the driver's seat. "So why is he following us?"

"I still say he's just going to Sanctuary. We are too, so it makes sense we're going in the same direction."

"No." Biggs said. "He's the one that gave me a ride to catch up with you; I'm positive of it now." He gestured at the rearview mirror with his eyes. "He was waiting for us to get moving again before he followed."

"Did he want us mobile, or did he want us all together?" Dexter asked.

Biggs wasn't sure when the conversation changed from 'maybe' to a 'certainty' that they were in some kind of danger, but his whole family was in the car; so his only priority was to protect them. "There's a fork in the road coming up." He said seriously. "Without the Auto, I can steer like we're going left, and then cut across to the other side. It'll mean going offroad, but we can handle that. If he follows us offroad, there'll be no hiding his intention."

"Do it." Megan agreed. "Everyone hold on."

Biggs steered to the left side of the road as it split; getting ready to take them offroad…

And the car chasing them sped up violently, apparently ready for the move.

"Hold On!" Biggs shouted, spinning the wheel to try and get clear.

Their pursuer slammed into them, catching their back wheels hard, spinning both vehicles off the road, mangling both machines. Inside their own vehicle, the four of them bounced around; someone was shouting; everything was chaotic as everything seemed to be trying to go in different directions all at once. There was a horrible screech of rending metal and Megan felt her arm explode into pain. She had been closest to the point of impact.

And then everything came to a sudden halt. The world was quiet again.

Megan couldn't think. Couldn't move. Everything hurt; and what was worse was the shock. She hadn't been through anything violent or scary since she was a little girl. She wanted to shout for her daughter, but she couldn't speak, couldn't catch her breath. Everything was painful.

~~/*\~~

"Mayday, mayday. Is anyone receiving me?"

Kasumi listened to her husband call into the radio, with nobody answering; and she bowed her head. Jehovah God, we were fools. She prayed desperately. We were promised that You would get all Your faithful ones to safety. Please forgive the momentary arrogance. After a Thousand Years of being her mom, we forgot that Megan's salvation in the face of danger was Your responsibility, even more than our own. I hope it's not too presumptuous that we ask Your rescue again. We'll do whatever it takes to follow Your commands, and I'm sorry that we took a wrong turn along the way. No excuses; we were wrong. If we can ask Your forgiveness, and Your help; just one last time, in this final day of trial...

At that moment, Hugh got an answer; the radio crackling to life. "Hugh? Is that you? I thought you were there already!"

Kasumi let out a shout of relief. "Isobel!"

Hugh quickly gripped the microphone tighter. "Izzy, I'm real glad to hear your voice; we're in some peril here."

~~/*\~~

Rika! Where's Rika?!

Megan was still seeing five of everything, letting out gasps of pain. Her arm was burning, but she couldn't tell if it was broken or just badly bruised. Dexter was pulling her out of the vehicle. She knew it'd never move again. Neither would the other one, which had flipped over, upside down across the road.

On foot again. She thought bleakly. We'll never make it in time. Because of me.

"Where is all that smoke coming from?" Dexter coughed. "There's no combustible fuel in these things, is there?"

"No." Megan croaked, casting about. The smoke was thick, and ignoring the breeze completely. It wasn't even coming from the wreck. Megan tried to figure it out. She could hear a hissing sound. Not like fire, more like an aerosol. She staggered towards her husband, leaning on Dexter. Her foot hit something and she looked down. It was a canister. Homemade, and it smelled of chemicals. Someone built a smoke bomb?

Biggs was on the other side of the vehicle, helping Rika stand up. A dark shape emerged from the smoke; and attacked them. Megan only caught a glimpse of his face; not recognizing their attacker. But the man planted a boot into Biggs' back, and shoved him to the ground, snatching Rika from behind.

Biggs scrambled back to his feet, but their attacker already had Rika held tight. A little punch-drunk from the wreck, Rika couldn't shake him off in time; and he held her across the neck with one arm, using her as a shield. "Hello, Biggs."

"Seth Grovin." Biggs breathed. It was the same man from before, but he'd been disguised; and Biggs hadn't really been looking, too concerned for Megan. It had been a thousand years since he'd seen the man, and time had changed all of their appearances somewhat. But the adrenaline pushed his now-perfect memory to supply the name.

"You remember." Their attacker seemed pleased. "I was almost hoping I'd get to explain it to you, but this is just as good." He was close enough to Rika, hiding behind her form, that he almost spoke into her hair. "You see, your father and I met briefly, back in OS." He looked at Biggs. "Funny, isn't it? How much a matter of seconds can change your life. Or end it."

Megan wanted to hurl herself at him, but her arm was killing her, and her leg wasn't much better. Dexter Knowles was the only thing keeping her upright.

Biggs was still trying to comprehend this turn of events. "I don't understand. It's been more than a century since the last Resurrection." He coughed, willing the smoke to clear a bit; let his vision of the 'battlefield' clear. "If you were carrying this kind of rage, how are you still…"

"Why haven't I Aged Out?" Seth nodded. "I was so happy when I got here. A Paradise. It was more than I could have dared to dream for… And I waited, so patiently for my brother to come back. And then I find out from the Conventions that the Returning has ended. And I'm confused. Because you made it, and I came back; and surely my baby brother wasn't any worse than you, right?"

Biggs wanted to close his eyes against the realization, but he didn't dare blink for what was happening to his daughter.

'B-But I thought… I thought we'd made peace with…" Biggs floundered.

"You think I'm crazy enough to make any kind of move against you with bonafide wings looking over my shoulder every second?" Seth spat out. "You were untouchable. Like Grant was untouchable. Like everyone was untouchable." He shook his head. "No. I let it lie. I told myself the way to heal was to do the right thing, and let it go." He grinned savagely, drawing a knife. "Then I hear that the people here have shown their colors at last, and torched a colony of Undecided. And it suddenly, for the first time in a century, it hits me: Maybe there is an alternative!"

"Seth, you know it's not the same thing. People have changed since-"

"No, they haven't. What's going on proves that. People haven't changed, and neither has God. He's still ready to smite." Seth grinned. "You know what has changed? For the first time in a thousand years, you're not protected anymore. Not by Grant, not by wings, not by anyone." He shook his head, crazy with some inner fire. "Why couldn't you just finish him off, tough guy?"

Biggs said nothing to that.

Seth shifted his grip a little higher, and took a fistful of Rika's hair. "Tell her, Biggs. Tell your daughter. Tell her who her father is."

Biggs didn't want to, but the man was holding a weapon, and had his daughter in his grip. "I… I was breaking into a house. It was between my first and second stretch in prison." His eyes locked on Rika, seeing his daughter full of fear for the first time in her life. "I spent months trying to find work; but with a record you didn't have a chance. There were just too many people looking. So one day I get a call from Grant; and he says he has a job for me." He started telling more of the story than he needed to, partly to try and justify himself to his daughter; mostly to play for time until he could find a solution. It was less than an hour ago I was afraid of time running out, now I'm praying that we can keep frozen for another ten seconds… "I was desperate."

"You were desperate?!" Seth scorned.

"The house was huge, full of shiny things." Biggs hurried on. "It was clear they had money, and nobody was supposed to be there." His eyes flicked left and right. "I broke in; and while I was there, I found…" He squeezed his eyes shut. "I had just broken into a house with two people in it."

"You didn't even threaten us first." Seth spat at him. "You saw us come in, and you swung to kill."

"I did that." Biggs confessed immediately. "I grabbed the nearest thing I could find, and I reacted. You first, then your brother. When you were both down; I grabbed whatever bit of wealth I could, and I ran."

Rika almost forgot the knife for a moment, trying to put the thought of her father together with this depiction of such a violent man. It wasn't that they'd kept her father's past a secret. Everyone born to paradise had heard tales of the Old System. But such violence was nearly a millennium behind everyone, and it was more like hearing scary campfire stories than anything else.

"It was not my first violent crime. So they locked me up for a whole lot longer." Biggs said carefully. "It wasn't until weeks later, after I was back Inside, that I found out Grant had given me that house address specifically. Grovin Senior was refusing to be involved in some bad business with Mister Grant, and he'd made sure that I, as his head enforcer, would take out both his sons." He spread his hands wide to Seth. "I wasn't told that you'd be home!"

"Yeah, you know why you weren't told?" Seth countered. "It's because he didn't have to. Grant knew you'd kill whoever you found there. It was just your nature. Your first reaction was to attack. Your first thought was to be violent. And don't pretend it was quick and clean: You hit my brother with that fireplace poker five times. I was dead by the first. And you made it through A-Day." Seth growled. He pulled Rika a little closer, speaking right in her ear. "And that was just the start of it. Took me a while to find the Prison Record, given that it was centuries later; but your old man was the most feared enforcer in Stone Prison. He put over a dozen men in hospital beds. Permanently. One or two didn't make it that far."

What voice is he hearing in his head right now? Megan wondered wildly, trying to edge her way around. For the second time that day, the old survival instincts were coming back. Not the first dangerous guy you've had to face off with. You're not ten years old anymore. She pushed that thought away. She'd come right to that line once already.

"Except you didn't take us both out." Seth hissed. "It wasn't until I came back that I found out my brother survived, kept in hospice care; breathing through a tube in his neck; begging dad to pull the plug… But he held on. Long enough that A-Day claimed him." He spoke in Rika's ear again. "When he was inside, my old man tried to have him killed. Of course he did. This was the man who tried to kill both his boys." He gave Biggs a dark smirk. "You succeeded, in my case."

"Grant ran Stone Prison." Biggs said quietly. "He protected me from the guys your father hired."

"And by doing so, he owned you." Seth nodded. "You were his for your entire sentence; and you killed or beat everyone he told you to. You've been protected by criminals; and then protected by angels." A dangerous light came onto his eyes. "Today, for the first time; the first time in a thousand years, you're not protected by anyone."

"Seth, I know what you're thinking. I've been there. It was an hour ago for me, in fact." Megan tried desperately. "You have to know that even if you succeed…"

"The Final Test is all about Paradise, right? The right people being there?" Seth nodded. "Maybe I won't be one of them. And maybe God will even bring you all back One Day After; but I spent more than a century honestly telling myself it was the righteous thing to forgive... and it just isn't."

Biggs heard the magic words. "Bring 'you all' back? Not me?"

Seth gave him an ugly look. "Well I'm here, and they're all…. Not. Because of you. So I figure the only way to make it right; and I mean really right, is if you went through the same thing." He pulled Rika a little closer. "I spent months putting your timeline together, Biggs. Imagine my amazement to learn that after centuries of wandering around the world like a homeless bum that nobody wants to stick around; you suddenly have a family."

Biggs felt a chill as the idea hit him in full. He wasn't the target. His family was.

"You can't let that happen."

Seth was still talking, gloating in his moment of victory. "I went to your house; but you were already gone. I should have expected; a Survivor in the family? You were ready for this."

"Exactly!" Megan shouted, being held back by Dexter. "He survived the Last Test! It's not like it was back in OS; and you know that!"

Seth's eyes stayed on Biggs. "I tore your house apart looking for a clue as to where you'd gone. I figured you'd gone for Sanctuary. I couldn't believe my luck when I saw you in the street, sticking out your thumb for a ride."

"Grovin, look at me!" Megan kept going. "I know you've got that little voice in your head telling you to do this, but you have to fight it! You wouldn't be here if you didn't know the right thing!"

Biggs barely heard it. He hadn't heard a word since learning his daughter was in danger.

"Your wife and daughter are your whole world."

I have to save her. Biggs thought. I've already taken such a risk with my own life, going after these two women. I can't let him hurt them. I can't let anyone hurt them.

"He made his choice." The thought drilled into him.

Biggs found his eyes roving over Seth in the long forgotten way. His eyes. His wrist. His throat. All the weak spots. Grovin had position, but he didn't know how to use it. Biggs could disarm him and break that wrist easily, if Grovin's eyes would just go elsewhere for a split second...

"It's like he forgot who you are."

Biggs felt his muscles bunching. This man knew him only as a killer. And he was right. Biggs had been the terror of Stone Prison, once. Maybe if he'd made sure they remembered what he was capable of; this fool wouldn't be coming for his daughter now.

"Love can't save her." The thought hit him, ever so reasonable.

Biggs felt his fists bunch. A thousand years of utopia, and it came down to who was holding the knife. It came down to who was the better killer. And that's me.

"Kill him."

And Biggs suddenly twitched like he'd been given a jolt. "Wait." He said softly. "This isn't right."

That little voice in his head was silent suddenly.

"This isn't right!" Biggs said louder. "People don't do this anymore. People haven't done this in a thousand years." He took half a step back, then an equal step closer. "Seth, listen to me! We've had a thousand years without violence. If it's happening now, it's because it's been accounted for. We know rage is back in the world; we've seen it. We know destruction of property and open defiance are back again; but I haven't heard of anyone being killed; and neither have you. I don't know if the rules are different on being able to do it now; but if nobody's gone that far; then what does that mean for you?"

"If the rules haven't changed enough to let it go as far as murder; then they'll stop him." Dexter said; sparing a glance at Megan. Maybe they would have stopped you. Just like Erica. He could have said it, but he didn't; and Megan was grateful for it.

Seth didn't move. Didn't say anything.

"If the rules haven't changed enough, then you'll be stopped; and we'll all be fine. All of us." Rika grit out.

"To say nothing of the fact that we're all on the clock right now." Dexter added. "So, how long do you wanna hold the stalemate?" He gestured at the two wrecked vehicles. "Because I don't think we have that kind of time."

And everyone hovered at that point, suspended on the point of doing something; not sure if their next action would be their last.

And then, out of nowhere, from the night sky, came a sudden burst of light. It was a radiant beam of light so powerful that it was almost a physical object pressing on them, pushing against them. Biggs squeezed his eyes shut, but it did nothing, the light so powerful it seemed to seep into his eyeballs directly.

There was a sound, like a discordant note playing loudly enough that Biggs felt it vibrate his insides. We're being struck down! The thought flashed through him. It's an Angel hitting us!

And then Biggs fell, face first to the ground. It was like the air had turned into a giant hand that simply shoved him against the road, keeping him there. He tried to push up, but there was nothing to push against; and he simply couldn't move.

And then it all stopped instantly. The light vanished, so did the sound. The force that kept Biggs plastered flat vanished, and Biggs suddenly felt himself floating off the ground. The change from darkness to all-encompassing light, to darkness again left Biggs blind and mute; and he just… floated upwards. I am dead. He thought in wonder. Surely that's what this is…

There was a metallic sound like a steel trap had swung open, and Biggs had a half-second flash of what looked like an immense bird, wings extended. His vision cleared just enough for him to realize it wasn't a creature. It was an aircraft, the like of which Biggs had never seen before; hovering overhead like it was about to swoop down on them…

The metallic sound came back, as the 'steel trap' swung shut again, and then there was movement, as the craft flew away, with Biggs inside it. Little by little, his vision cleared and he realized he wasn't alone. The rest of the family was with him, all rubbing their eyes, trying to get their breath back; groaning in disbelief. Everyone except Seth Grovin. They were all piled messily on top of each other, packed in tightly.

"What happened?" Dexter groaned to Megan.

The room they were in was something like a cargo bay the size of a corridor, too cramped for all of them to walk around; but there was a row of folded seats with harnesses along one wall. Places for six people, including the pilot. There was no cargo stored, no windows. Nothing more than the places for people to hang on.

There was another hatch that swung open, revealing the cockpit, with room for only one pilot, pressed in tighter than an OS fighter jet. And from the cockpit came their host. "Looks like I got here just in time."

"Grant?!" Biggs couldn't believe it.

Megan pulled herself upright by the harnesses, one hand on the wall, the other clinging to her daughter. She looked overwhelmed, and impressed. "How did you do it?" She asked in disbelief.

"Well, the needed resources were all there." Grant offered. "I had a century to learn how to fly a plane without relying on an Auto."

"My father taught you." Megan nodded. "He was one of the few flight instructors who never checked out on Auto-Nav aircraft."

Grant nodded. "The printers were able to churn out anything you could imagine, assuming I understood the engineering enough to build a plane that would fly with an anti-grav."

"Nick told us he was checking your math." Megan nodded.

Grant nodded. "The light show was powerful enough to stop a stampede in its tracks, and there was already just such a high-intensity light detailed in the blueprints of a Submarine called the Nemo, for work lighting up the bottom of the ocean."

"Framed and hung on the wall by Kasumi long ago." Biggs added.

"And since the plane can fly by repelling gravity, it stood to reason that I could use a similar trick to hold you down, or float you up through the hatch." Grant finished. "If you can control gravity enough to fly something the size of the Chariot, lifting you guys was fairly easy, once I understood how the machines worked. It's not like you had safety features to stop people using the devices irresponsibly."

"That conversation at the Expo about how 'hackable' our tech was. Nick thought you were designing weapons." Rika coughed, standing up. "We thought you were getting ready for the end of the Millennium for a whole other reason."

"I wasn't sure how you'd react if I told you my real thinking." Grant admitted. "I played 'devil's advocate' for just a minute at my first 'Family Dinner' with you guys, and you all thought I was a thousand years out of date." He shrugged. "I've learned to play my cards very close. As long as I know what needs doing, it'll get done." He sent a glance to Dexter Knowles. "Most of the time, anyway."

"But how did you know we needed rescuing?" Rika asked her former student, just slightly awed by his foresight.

Grant presented his notebook. "I've spent a hundred years finding your 'breaking points'. I intercepted a radio call from Hugh and Kasumi to Biggs. I knew Megan wasn't on her way to Sanctuary yet." He tapped his notebook. "And I knew there was only one thing that could make her do that. Dexter's house wasn't the first place I looked; and when I arrived, you weren't there anymore. It took some searching to find you, but the wreck was hard to miss." Grant returned to the cockpit. "Strap in. We've still got another stop to make on the way."