The GOD Box (2 page)

This always immediately brought to mind the striking contrast of their past life – where walls were smooth, dry, and white in the labs and classrooms – and Jonathan wanted to return to the small room below. Claustrophobia was even worse with this cramped comparison. Medication and all, he was still hyperventilating. What was this now, coming up through this hallway? The… fifth time? Not to mention all the times they went up and down while it was being built. Gabe made a small growl. Gabe knew Jonathan hated small dark spaces, but come off it, this wasn’t unexpected.

“
Stop it”, Gabe told Jonathan repeatedly.
Stop it
. Even in good hiking shoes, his feet already hurt and Gabe was already wheezy. And, he certainly was not without his own reasons for frustration and discomfort at the moment.

This old man was
recalling his
own
research and felt overly hostile about its present absence. He was
trying
to calm himself, though he was raging inside, but his only other words would have been curse words or shouting, so he just stayed with “stop it”. Jonathan was no better than a fussy toddler. And, the fact that Jonathan was holding contempt against Gabe for what happened last time was starting to irk him. It was a gut reaction that… well… made a few other things seem futile in desperation for existence. Yes, it was going to cause problems, but nothing more extreme than what they already had caused.

Jonathan expected perfection from himself and got distracted by the imperfections of others, so thoroughly that you’d think he actually expected them to be perfect as well, until he talked about them like they were a unit of apes when they were almost out of earshot. Gabe was probably often put in the same category
when he wasn’t there to hear.
His memories were reeling and he was going over all the reasons Jonathan was guilty of mistakes as well
–
the unprepared Adams and Eves, the unfinished remedy.
Granted… he would have gotten them finished and probably in the time limit if emergency hadn’t struck.

This realization
provoked Gabe to hatred and he was so tempted to turn around to fight – or wedge Jonathan in a crevasse and leave him there. Jonathan was quite a bit bigger than him, and it wouldn’t work, but he sure wanted to try. Another prodding on his back.
Stop it
. Not knowing what time it was, or what year it was, Gabe was extremely apprehensive. Socially and economically clueless, and this part was
his
work. “Stop it! Jonathan!” … The situation made them both feel rather… naked. Whoever said vulnerability is the first step to creation was an idiot.

In about five minutes they would enter the threshold of a wide and wet cave to meet people who weren’t in existence the last time Gabe and Jonathan were alive. They would have to make friends with them, then, convince them they were from the chronological past, but the technological future.
Next, they would make all their mental notes about the civilization, and, following the pattern since this started, would most likely begin the world over again.

It wasn’t quite like amnesia… but, it was like playing a football game where you came in at the end just to watch the team lose and then go into the locker room and come out years later and being able to pl
ay the game with different teammates, different shaped ball and different rules as fifty and sixty-seven year old men. Every time, as silly as it was, you hoped to win, but you didn’t. And the game was completely changed every time except that people still played it and it was on the same field. Then again, Gabe didn’t know much, nor care much about football.

Panting now on an uphill climb,
Gabe was trying to find things to look forward to as he slid and sometimes pinched his way through the darkness.
Maybe this time
… that was a hopeful thought and far too positive for the cynic he was. Jonathan was still pushing at him. Gabe ranted curse words under his breath.
What a child!
Gabe first turned a corner and saw the tiny hint of firelight. Already he knew a few things about the people he was about to meet. They were still in the age of early civilization… and they were unprepared.

Jonathan was now seeing the light
, too, and pressed more firmly on Gabe’s back. Gabe looked back, “stop it”. Jonathan didn’t say anything and he didn’t stop. Gabe went slower on purpose. That ticked Jonathan off. Finally, they stepped into air that was a little less dense.
What a relief.
There were two silhouettes.
Only two?
Maybe they wouldn’t die, then.

No one said a word to
each other.

Keeping eyes locked on the two strangers, t
hey stretched long and hard as if having a brand new body were the hardest kind of work. All the while, two young strangers waited for them looking wary, puzzled, and vaguely surprised. A plaque behind Gabe on the right side of the cave opening reflected the firelight. What it said was this:

Welcome to the birth site. This plaque is in commemoration of a special project designed to help humanity start anew, re-experience the natural man, and follow a better pattern of living than our predecessors. To activate, p
lease type this code in the keypad to the left: 337465. Please wait.

Not very informative, Gabe
would admit, and not even entirely honest. More information than that might have been too much, though. Jonathan had eagerly tried to persuade the committee to let him write it, but when he tried, it sounded like a lab write up, with words normal people wouldn’t understand, let alone a new society of people.  One of the women on their team suggested to just have a big red button with a sign that said DO NOT PUSH next to it.

Two
live old men were the exhibition of ‘the birth site’. Admittedly, that was the strangest thing imaginable, and, admittedly, Gabe didn’t care. That was the way it was, and they can stuff it.

Gabe finished stretching, feeling dry and heavy.
A slouch and suspicious grimace returned. There was no escaping his doubtful look and the weight of the stress by the way his neck stuck out like a starving bird searching for food scraps. Sure, he was supposed to be the friendly one. He just didn’t particularly feel like it at the moment.

Looking
up and down the pair methodically and with relentless scrutiny, Gabe was trying to make some sense of the time period they were in. Looking at the lack of preparation, of water containers, of weapons, of lighting… this was bound to be… different. It was too dark to see the details of their clothing, but it looked like the woman had a cotton shirt and the man was shirtless. They were young, too, the youngest group yet to find them. Though young, they seemed firm in their gaze, but hesitant about the matter at hand – understandably. With a loud huff Gabe said a disappointed, “hello”. He hated this cave, and he hated Jonathan, and he hated these two children.

“…hey…” was the response, one after the other. Jonathan
participated by a raised eyebrow and a frown. That was as good a greeting as ever for him.

Jonathan did the same
observations, but more quickly, less thoroughly, and then was looking to Gabe for some kind of out so that they could go and discuss what happened last time. Gabe saw this and already knew why they needed to discuss, now that Jonathan was feeling up to it. His memories were vivid of the previous time, unfortunately. Last time they were killed so quickly… they didn’t have time to organize... This made the anticipation of what they were up against more difficult to deal with.
Hmmph
. Gabe considered whether or not to discuss for a moment… and then, mostly out of spite, soldiered on in his observations.

These kids were the age of his college students. Twenties or so. To Jonathan they just looked like snot-nosed kids who probably had little to no reading skills
, considering the pattern of de-evolution they’ve been seeing each time. Gabe always told Jonathan that he was a terrible judge of character, and terrible at reading people in general. Gabe knew that Jonathan was okay being a social imbecile because that wasn’t why he was here, and it wasn’t why he was famous, and it wasn’t why he was rich – blah, blah, blah.

But
, thought Gabe, it was why he was lonely. Not that he could talk. Gabe was the mind reader and the, albeit, forced, friend. Ironically, when people tried to form personal relationships with Gabe he closed off the harder they tried. Jonathan at least had a soul that a few people had managed to touch if you can get past the frown, the drugs and the blunt, insulting, impatience.

“My name is Gabe.” He said placidly again and shook their
cold, soggy hands. This visibly irritated Jonathan, to have ignored his silent plea for discussion first. This was not the smartest thing to do from the get-go, but, Gabe didn’t care at the moment. He was sure Jonathan deserved it for something. They would just have to talk privately later. Gabe considered it was Jonathan’s fault for not wanting to talk earlier, even if he was insufferably claustrophobic. Jonathan introduced himself also, because he had decided that everyone should know who he is. The two strangers didn’t seem to want to give names just yet.

How
could Gabe get them to trust them, without them realizing he was trying so obviously that they mistrusted him? Such a dilemma; he hadn’t practiced these skills in years, maybe in centuries for all he knew.

The two looked at each other,
and the woman said to the man,

“Is this what
you expected? ‘cause… uh… this isn’t what I expected.” She said, humorously, but lacking the expected expression.

“Yeah… the word project didn’t really sound like, two old men, to me. But,
you know… words…” The man shrugged and looked back at the two old men quizzically and with a slight frown.

He reached
out his hand and again shook their hands, “My name’s Dane.”

The woman then introduced herself
, following suit. Her name was May. Then, she turn to Dane again, “Yeah, I was thinking like a library…”

“Or maybe some tried and true instruction manual…”

They considered their thoughts for a moment, then they stared back at Gabe and Jonathan, with fixed and almost fierce expressions, seemingly trying to figure them out.

Was this awkward? Yes, it was awkward.
Gabe thought.

Gabe conside
red the next problem, which was what to do when they are willing to learn, and not just unknowingly become lab experiments. This had only happened once before and whatever trust they gained was lost when Gabe panicked and pulled out his gun. That was what happened the previous time, and let’s just say it didn’t go too well.

It
looked like he was trying to touch the ground with his chin, the way his head hung forward with his neck out. Hands on hips, he looked over to Jonathan who appeared stale and unapproachable, full of angry thoughts and assumptions. Yet, he was waiting like a good boy for Gabe to say anything a bit more conscientious than he could muster – a habit they had both come to accept with however much angst on Jonathan’s part
.
Words just weren’t his strong suit, or, rather, using them coherently.

What
Gabe was really hoping for was that the two strangers would ask
them
questions instead. He gave Jonathan a warning look to give them a bit longer to do so. They took the silence as permission and the man asked,

“
So… Who are you?” He was standing with feet shoulder width apart and one hand in his pocket and the other hanging stiffly to his side, attempting a look of ease. He was around six feet… maybe a little taller. Gabe used to be about six feet tall standing straight, but not only did he hardly stand perfectly straight, but had now shrunk some. The man’s shoulders were not very broad, but he looked like the type of person Gabe never associated with… he seemed to match the posters of rock climbers, toned and very lean. There was no acting in his sovereign demeanor, but surely it was not his common character. Posture was good and steady, yet that stance for him seemed far too uncomfortable and rigid.

In considering his question,
the old men knew it wasn’t so much of a
who
are you question but a
what
are you. Gabe let Jonathan take the reins on this one so that he could lie a little, and he did so curtly,

“We are scientists who lived hundreds of years ago, survived the destruction of billions of people, and discovered a way to come back to life to view the continued progression of the world and hopefully help the human race be more successful.”

Gabe gave him a sideways glance but ignored trying to give a more honest answer. The real answer was simple enough, but… you know… totally and undeniably crazy at the same time.
Whatever
. Craziness was definitely what the look their new acquaintances passed between them, now, said. They pointed between each other as if to decide who would ask the questions first.

“I’d rather not first assume you
’re crazy” May began, “but you need to answer a few questions. Come back to life? As in you’ve died before? And… multiple times?”

Jonathan and Gabe looked at each other, then both started talking at once.
Figuring out who to listen to was awkward. Neither wanted to stop… so, Gabe explained to Dane, and Jonathan “explained” to May. But what Gabe knew, and what May was about to find out was that explanations from Jonathan were sort of useless.