At the End of Time
The dusk air swirled with droplets of water cast into the atmosphere from the waterfall that rushed below the edges of the rocks. In the distance, the haze of the setting sun reflected against the white churn of the angry flow as it washed away into the distance.
Eli stood tall, overshadowing the hooded figure beside him. Their backs were turned to the ancient trees clustered around the rocky outcrops atop the falls. Pale smoke curled from Eli's lips as he slowly exhaled, moisture creeping into the edges of his thick dark jacket as the evening breeze ruffled his hair.
The hooded boy beside Eli remained silent, staring out into the distance as if his attention were far away, focused on the unseen happenings of the world as darkness crept closer.
"So it's come to this, huh?" Eli reached the cigarette up to his lips, pulling in slowly.
"Well, what did you picture immortality to be?" the hooded boy let out a low chuckle as he reached into the pocket of his hoodie, withdrawing a pack of cigarettes.
"They haven't made those in over a hundred years now," Eli casually glanced at the cigarette pack in the boy's hand as he dodged the question skillfully.
"So that means I can't have them?" the boy grinned from beneath his hood, his eyes filled with dour amusement at Eli's stern expression.
"No," Eli stared off into the dusk, running a free hand through his thick brown hair as he watched the sun setting slowly, "I think I forgot who I was talking to for a second…"
"You're not who you once were," the boy mused, a quick wave of the lit cigarette to illustrate his point, "You've changed, Eli."
"A hundred and twenty years would do that to you," Eli countered, exhaling more smoke as he pulled the cigarette from his lips, "If you were human."
"I'm the closest thing left to a human at this point," the boy dragged his cigarette calmly before continuing, "If we don't count you. Being immortal means you're no longer human. Humans are gone, consigned to the pages of a history that's no longer being written or recorded."
"They're all gone…" Eli sighed, his expression growing clouded "Everyone I've ever known. Everyone I ever loved. My love, my children, my friends, they're all dust in the wind now."
"But you got to see the whole thing through to the end," the boy laughed as he sat down on the rocks, assuming a cross-legged position, "Who else can say that they had the privilege of seeing my whole plan unfold?"
"You can," Eli grumbled, flicking the spent cigarette butt away as he motioned to the boy, "Give me one of those."
"But I created the plan," the boy handed Eli the pack with unconcealed reluctance, "Only take one…"
Eli snapped a cigarette from the pack in a smooth motion and lit it before returning the pack to the boy's outstretched hand, "You're a wicked little fuck, you know that?"
The boy bowed mockingly, flourishing the lit cigarette for effect, "Why, thank you, Eli. I hadn't realized that I was such a thing."
"So this was salvation, huh?" Eli sighed, exhaling a cloud of smoke that evaporated into the night air.
"You've had the chance to be more than you ever could have imagined," the boy replied.
"Maybe so," Eli said, "But now I'm alone, paying the ultimate price for immortality."
"It's like I said," the boy grimaced in disgust as he dragged the cigarette, "You've changed. The devil didn't come talk to you too, did he?"
"It wasn't the devil. Finding purpose will do that to you," Eli retorted, "You should try it."
"Oh," the boy sneered, "I had plenty of purpose. That never was the issue."
"So what was then?"
"There never was an issue," the boy replied in an icy tone, "I am who am."
"You never cease to frustrate the living fuck out of me," grumbled Eli, "Here I am, alone, except for you."
"Yup!" the boy responded, his tone becoming cheery, "You're stuck!"
"The mark of Cain…" Eli pondered, touching his chest, "A mark that means no man can kill me."
"Correction," the boy waived his cigarette overhead again, "No man, or woman, can kill you."
"But you could?"
"Well, of course!" the boy laughed again, "But what would be the fun in that?"
"There would certainly be a sense of irony in it," Eli spoke distantly.
"Irony would have been if I had left you in your miserable existence," the boy pondered, "Do you ever wonder what would've become of you?"
"I've had the thought pass through my mind over the years," Eli muttered, "Nothing good would've come of it, I suppose."
"You were a meth addict who robbed, cheated, and stole to support his habit."
"I was a lot more than that before I became an addict," Eli shot back, "Was that all part of your plan too?"
"Ah yes," the boy leaned back and turned to face Eli, "Your life as a low time drug dealer and criminal."
"I was only doing what I could do with what had been given to me in life," Eli's arms instinctively crossed as he defended himself against the boy's verbal attack.
"So do you think it was all you could do when Paul died in your arms?" the boy raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
"It was my fault that he died," Eli's voice grew soft, "I could've prevented that."
"You couldn't have stopped your brothers from dying any more than you could've stopped your father from leaving or your mother from killing herself!" the boy laughed with inhuman mirth.
"So then tell me!" shouted Eli, growing angry, "What would've happened to me!"
"You would never have met Eve," the boy paused, relishing in Eli's agony, "You never would've become the great prophet. You never would've been the father of four children, all of whom played influential roles in my plan. You never would've become immortal."
"You still haven't told me what would've happened to me," growled Eli, "Speak up, boy."
"Disrespectful little shit, aren't you?" the boy grimaced, "Very well. You would've died, alone, starving, and strung out. An infection would have done you in from your lifestyle."
"What about the others?" Eli's tone softened, "What would've happened to them?"
"Funny you should ask," the boy smiled in the night air as he stared at the stars above, "Eve would have been murdered, Zee would have gotten clean eventually, and Screw would have met the same end he met."
"What happened to Screw anyway?" Eli motioned to the boy, "Give me another."
"Fine…" the boy sighed, throwing Eli the pack of cigarettes again, "Greedy bastard, aren't you?"
"You're one to talk," Eli snorted as he lit a fresh cigarette, returning them to the boy.
"Anyway," the boy spoke as he pulled out a cigarette for himself, "Screw met the end destined for any apex predator."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean he died the way he lived," the boy exhaled, turning away to watch the water flowing in the darkness.
"He was always a crazy one," Eli affirmed, "Somehow that doesn't surprise me."
"The best part?" the boy started, "It wasn't even my doing!"
"Who did it then?"
"The question is," the boy replied, "What did it."
"Fine," groaned Eli, clenching the cigarette in his teeth, "What did it?"
"God did it," the boy spoke in a solemn tone.
"But you're god," Eli puzzled, "At least as far as I'm aware."
"I was god," the boy interjected, "I passed the mantel on to the new god. The god of human creation is now in charge."
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
"It's nothing to worry yourself over," the boy sighed, pointing upwards "There's hope for them out there in the stars, far away from me. That's all that matters at this point."
"I have a question." Eli spoke, "Does hell still exist in this world, or did it vanish with the last human?"
"Why," the boy smirked, "Planning on taking a trip back there with me again?"
"No," Eli sighed, "I'm just curious if anyone I know still exists, even in that form."
"In a sense, it's still there," the boy pondered, "It will always exist in a sense. In the same way, the past will always exist."
"Vague", Eli replied.
"Hey, it would make more sense if you were me," the boy smiled, "So there's no point in trying to explain it further. Besides, you're immortal, it's another one of those things that will be none of your concern."
"I don't want to continue on alone like this," Eli's voice was suddenly filled with a feeling of deep sorrow as he felt the night breeze blow across his cheek, "I've lost all that I've gained."
"So what do you want then?"
There was a long silence after the boy's question. Eli slowly dragged the remains of the cigarette, feeling the smoke blown away in the moving air as he exhaled before choosing his words carefully.
"Release me from immortality. Let me die."
The boy stood up, smoking for a moment before replying, almost as if he were weighing his response, "So you want to be freed, that way you can join the others?"
Eli nodded in reply without a word as he stared out into the night sky, "I don't want to live alone like this anymore. I've lived enough."
"Well, to be fair," the boy spoke again, arching an eyebrow, "I never said you couldn't die by your own hand."
Eli stared at the burning remnants of his cigarette as thoughts passed through his mind in random succession.
"I think I'll be going now," the boy turned away from the edge of the waterfall, walking towards the surrounding forests as he called back, "Take care, Eli. It was nice knowing you."
Eli stood in silence, listening to the rush of water near his feet as he waited for the boy to leave. Once he was confident the boy was nowhere to be seen, he glanced over the edge of the falls at the dark waters below. With a deliberate motion, he flicked his cigarette butt away into the gloom.
One foot firmly planted on the rocks, Eli pushed himself off across the void of the falls. He felt the rush of empty space, falling towards the rocks below. The darkness embraced his body, taking his soul away from the treacherous grasp of the world and delivering it to the place where those he had lost awaited him.
With Eli's release from the world, life stood still. There was no longer anyone left to count the passage of minutes or hours. Humanity had at last fully vanished from existence on this planet.
In the distance, at the end of time, the solitary waterfall continued to run its course, methodically flowing through the damp night air.