Read My Shorts

At the End

At the End

"All hands prepare to abandon ship!"

The young man scanned the starboard side of the immense vessel, desperately seeking a uniformed figure, a member of the crew: nothing. The vessel shuddered, the white bulk of the iceberg it had struck flourescent in the night ahead. Metal screamed in shrill mockery of the endlessly circling gulls, echoing the desperate cries of the humans clinging to its decks.

Icy air nipped at the exposed skin of his face, and he shuddered with trepidation and cold, the bitter stench of fear assailing him from all sides as his fellow passengers ran past him. A man barged into him and he stumbled backwards away from the railings. His movement halted as a bench struck him smartly in the back of the calves and made him sit rather more abruptly than he would've liked.

Gasping for breath, he froze as a hand grabbed his wrist. "Would a strong young man like yourself help an old lady please, I seem to be a little tired tonight."

Manners beaten into him as a child kicked into action, overriding his fear. "Of course, madam, how may I be of assistance? Are you well ma'am, you look a little wan," he added as he caught glimpse of the old lady's face.

"I'm not doing too bad for someone over a hundred years old, but I thank you for your concern. I'm afraid there's nothing you can do about my impending death other than keep me company."

Reality crashed into the frame as the boat groaned deep in its hull, and the young man paled in the moonlight. "I think we may all die tonight madam, and I'm afraid I'm not going to be the stalwart company I should be. If you'll perhaps forgive me?"

As he made to rise, the hand that held his wrist tightened in a band of iron and, surprised, he sank back down to the wooden slats of the bench. "Madam?"

"Forgive an old lady son, but I think you're more than adequate company and besides a gentleman should always grant a dying lady her last wish."

"It may have to be a quick request then madam, we seem to have little time left, and very few lifeboats."

"My request is simply this: I will grant you the gift of time, but you must promise to use it wisely, do as much good as you can and then pass the gift on when the time comes."

"And the catch?"

"You will know the hour of your death, but not the manner of your demise. You will only be able to save one person, but you will know instinctively who that person is when you see them. You will be lucky, but must use that luck to help other people. If you do not, then you will be consumed. Do you accept, young man?"

"What is the nature of this gift madam? In my experience there is always a sharp edge to any gift which promises so much?"

The old lady rolled up her right sleeve. An elegantly penned tattoo sprang like a vine from her wrist and rose up her arm, tendrils of ink flowing sinuously up her arm past her elbow and under her clothing.

"This will become part of you. For every misdeed you commit it will grow larger, but nothing will decrease it. As you can see, mine has grown over many years but not much further than you can see. The man who gave me this, who saved my life, told me it would kill me if it ever reached my heart. If you are a good man you will live a full life."

Several of the deck plates near them shifted and the railing running alongside parted, sending a middle-aged couple into the 'berg littered sea below.

"And if I accept this 'gift', I will survive this?"

The old woman grinned gummily at him. "It depends how many nasty things you can do in a short time perhaps."

"Then I accept." He paused. "May I know your name madam, it seems only right given the circumstances we find ourselves in?"

"You may call me Audrey."

"And I am Michael."

Dark brown eyes looked into his, soft, intelligent, but with a hint of steel, they seemed to look into his soul and he swallowed nervously. "You'll do son, you'll do." Closing her eyes she grasped his hand and concentrated. "He is worthy, I am done."

Blue light encompassed his wrist and he watched in wonder as the tattoo on the woman's arm faded, only to re-bloom as a single tendril wrapped around his wrist.

"So, what now Audrey? Audrey?" The woman's head sank to her chest as the last breath exhaled and her grip on his hand dropped. "Oh." Muttering a brief prayer, Michael stood, then staggered as the ship groaned again.

"We're all going to die!" wailed a woman running past toward one of the few lifeboats.

"Not if I can help it," muttered Michael and followed her as swiftly as he was able. Panic bloomed in his breast and he upped his pace. A teenager stood in his path, immobile with fear and Michael barged him out of the way. As he did so, pain blossomed in stabbing agony in his wrist and he staggered into the railings scrabbling frantically at his clothing, watching helplessly as the vine swelled, a new tendril growing part-way up his forearm.

Breathing heavily, he retraced his steps and grabbed the young man by the shoulders. "Come on lad, we need to get out of here."

As he shoved the boy into the lifeboat, an anxious face appeared from a young cadet. "I'm sorry sir, I'm not sure we can fit you in."

Michael chuckled and grinned at the surprised seaman. "Don't worry lad, I suspect an old lady called Audrey will help me out. Now what do I need to do to launch you?"

~

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us here in the North Tower. We at the World Society for the Protection of Children are pleased to welcome our Founder Michael Chalmers who will join us for today's meeting. Jenny, would you take the meeting notes please?"

"Yes James, it would be my honour, and welcome Michael." The woman looked at the old man who sat next to her at the table and smiled. "I... Oh my God!" She pointed out of the window behind him to where a plane was banking, its course on a collision with the opposite tower. There were screams, shouts, curses and a gentle hand laid on hers.

Blue eyes found hers in the darkest of moments; pale, intelligent, but with a hint of steel, they seemed to look into her soul and she swallowed nervously forgetting for a moment all that was going on outside. "You'll be ok young lady, trust me."

~~~ The End ~~~