The Loneliest Man Alive

The EverKnight Chronicles – Book 1, Season 1
The Loneliest Man Alive

Dark grey storm clouds gathered in the sky and a bleak, steady rain blanketed the land. A young girl walking along the sidewalk paused, and stood by the side of the road, staring up at the industrial smoke that was drifting up into the rainy sky. Her eyes were wide open beneath her long brown hair, shining a brilliant blue that was offset by her snow white skin, as delicate as porcelain, and fit perfectly with her flawless features. A long black overcoat poured over her shoulders, lightly tracing her body down to her ankles, sinched around her thin waist with a black leather belt. She sighed, watching the mist escape her mouth as it was grabbed by the wind, twisting and swirling as it disappeared into the sky. She tilted her umbrella, enjoying the sensation of the heavy raindrops falling on her face. She liked the rain. Ever since she was a little girl, winter had been her favourite time of year, and even now, at twenty, she eagerly awaited its arrival each year. A black car passed in front of her and she stepped out onto the road, her boots splashing lightly in the rainwater screening its surface. Reaching the other side, she continued her slow, absent walk home, lost in thoughtful contemplation.

After a few blocks, the back of her mind registered the thumping of hurried footsteps amongst the rainfall behind her. She turned around to see a man running towards her, staring intently at a flashing red device in his hand, and too late went to move out of the way as he ran straight into her. She stumbled, her umbrella flying out of her grasp. A gentle hand flew out, grasping her upper arm to stop her from falling. She looked up, and found herself staring into a pair of dark brown eyes. “Are you alright? I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going and –“ She smiled up at him. “I’m fine, you just bumped into me is all. No worries.” His large eyes showed a genuine concern for her, and yet he seemed almost… Anxious, as if her were expecting something to jump out of the shadows and tear him apart at any moment. “I am glad that you are alright.” He spoke slowly, and his voice was smooth and soft, with a faint hint of an accent she couldn’t recognise. A moment passed, the only sound that of the rain around them, and then his face broke into an easy smile, and all hint of worry and anxiety flew from his face. He released her, stood up straight, and ran off again, as suddenly as he had come. Her eyes went to follow him, but the rain was impairing her vision, and she saw nothing, the only other person in sight her friend Bec from when she was in school. She waved across the road to her, and leant down to pick up her umbrella, but as she did so she noticed red light flashing in the grass – The device that man had been staring at. Throwing a glance to check if a person had appeared who could be watching, she slipped it into her pocket, collected her umbrella, and continued her walk home.

The house was small – Only slightly bigger than an apartment; A little entryway, one bedroom, a joined lounge/kitchen, and a bathroom, but she preferred it that way. It had been built in a modern format; grey walls and roof, large, open windows, and a low, straight cut stone fence around the properties border. She loved it in its elegant simplicity. The inside of the house, however, was the complete opposite of elegant. Star Wars posters adorned the walls and a precarious looking pile of shoes rested in the corner.  She moved into the lounge room, threw her wet coat over the back of a chair, and walked into the kitchen. It was separated from the lounge via a long bench, upon which sat a lone vase containing a flower which had long since died. She absently hit boil on the kettle and spooned two heaps of hot chocolate mix into a mug. She added boiling water and milk, stirred it, and brought the steaming mug over to the couch. She settled there, slowly drinking and listening to the rain, and pulled out the device that the man had dropped. She turned it over and over, but couldn’t make any sense of what it’s function could be. It resembled a rectangle, made of a smooth grey metal, cool to the touch, and roughly the size of her mobile phone. One side of it was dominated by what appeared to be a screen, and above that the light that was still pulsing red. Finding no way to interact with the object, she set it down next to her drink, and let her mind wander.

Her thoughts flew around her head, jumping from topic to topic until, surprisingly, she found them settling on the man from the sidewalk. He had seemed so… lonely, so sad and out of place, like he had lost everything he had ever cared about. His dark brown hair was messy and dishevelled, and he had been dripping with water, but didn’t seem to care, or even notice. He wore a long black coat that could’ve easily been taken from 1850’s high society, a pair of black suit pants, leather boots, a white shirt and a crimson bow tie, all of which seemed to have seen many years of wear. And then there was his face. He was attractive, sure, but that wasn’t why she remembered him so distinctly. It was his eyes, huge and gentle, that seemed to carry so much sadness and loneliness, but also held a bright spark of intelligence, adventure, and life. He intrigued her, and reminded her of the stories her grandmother used to tell her when she was a child. Stories of the loneliest man alive, a man who had saved the world from impossible threats countless times over, who went on crazy adventures throughout the universe, a man who could even travel through time itself. A man known only as the EverKnight.

A rapid, high pitched beeping tore her suddenly from sleep. After a moment, her mind recognised the source – the device on the table next to her, now flashing faster than ever, illuminating the room in a violent red light. She looked into the kitchen, to the digital clock on her microwave – 2:28 AM. The moon shone brightly outside the window. She reached over and picked up the device. The screen lit up at her touch, revealing… a map. A street map, to be precise. Her street. A red marker was situated almost directly outside her house, and a sudden realization washed over her – it was a tracking device. That’s why he had been so pre-occupied, but what had he been tracking? Swallowing her fear, she crept up to the front door, looked out and saw… nothing. She glanced down at the device in her hand. The marker hadn’t moved. Against her better judgement, she silently opened the door and slipped out into the night.

Moving closer to the site of the marker, the map zoomed in, further and further, until she could even make out her front fence, behind which she was currently hiding. According to the map, the marker was directly in front of her, in the middle of the road. She raised her head and peeked over. Nothing. A mixed feeling of both relief and disappointment ran through her. She stood up and went to move back inside when the device let off a long, single beep, and fell silent, the light switching off. It was dark, and after a moment the air was filled with a tremendous tearing noise, followed by a bone piercing howl. She slipped back behind the fence, and lifted her head over, witnessing one of the strangest moments of her life. It was as if a tear had opened in the very fabric of reality, a great crack that absorbed all light from the area. From it came another great howl, and then – an arm. Furred and black, it reached out and set a clawed hand on the ground. Next came a talon that she figured was a leg. Something was climbing out of the tear. She wanted to run, to get as far away as possible, but her legs were like stone, paralysed with fear. She couldn’t seem to take her eyes off it, and watched helplessly until it was fully emerged.

In front of her stood one of the strangest – and most terrifying – creatures that she had ever seen. It had the body of a huge black lion, with six spider-like legs that tapered down to long talons in place of feet. At the front of its body rose a furred torso, vaguely humanoid but with four great arms, two of which were carrying a deadly looking axe, its wicked head glinting in the moonlight. But by far the most horrible feature of the beast was its head. It extended back, curving down to its back like a tail. Four small, angular black eyes sat upon it, and its gaping mouth displayed rows upon rows of sharp teeth, dripping with black saliva. It stood there, surveying its surroundings, adorned in black armour that pulsed with otherworldly energy. And then it moved. It was unnaturally graceful for its size, each spiked leg making no mark or sound on the ground. And then it turned, and all four eyes affixed onto her.

The eyes burned with a primal rage as it raised the axe above its back and charged at her. She cowered behind the wall, and waited for the end to come.

A door that wasn’t there flew open and the man from the sidewalk ran out, holding a gloved hand up in a ‘stop’ gesture as he moved in between her and the creature. “Varoken! How many times do I have to tell your kind? THIS PLANET IS NOT YOURS!” The creature, the Varoken, stopped in front of him, assessing its new target. It lowered its head down until it was face to face with the man, and growled, steam flowing from its open mouth. It returned its head to its original position, and howled, adjusting the axe grip in its hands. “Well, if that’s how you want to play it…” the man lifted his hand again, and as the Varoken swung the axe the tear opened back up, getting wider and wider until it swallowed the beast up again, axe and all. The man turned around to her. “Now, Miss, I do believe that you have something that belongs to me.” But she didn’t respond, and he ran forward to catch her unconscious body as the ground rushed up to meet it.

The morning sun seemed to be brighter than it had any right to be as its golden light streamed through the window and filled the room with an amber glow. She opened her eyes slowly, raising a slender arm to shield them from the bright light. A semi-formed thought crossed her mind, something about sunlight in the winter. Getting up, she could easily have believed the events from the night before to be some strange dream. But she was still wearing the same clothing, and deep down inside, she knew it was real. Just as she knew she had to find that man.

The streets were filled with children and adults enjoying the rare hint of summer that had managed to pierce through the clouds, a spark of life in a cold heart. Her search began right outside her house. There was no trace that anything had happened there. She examined the wall where the door had appeared. It was seamless, just a plain brick wall, about eight foot high, that served as her neighbours fence. There was no way that anybody could have been hiding inside it, or gone through it. Slightly discouraged she walked aimlessly through the city, looking for any sign of the strange man in the long coat. Eventually, she found herself standing at the very spot where she had first ran into him. “Anna, hey” She turned around to the source of the voice. “Ah, hey Bec.” “Jeez, Annabel, no need to be so disappointed. Expecting someone else?”
“What? Umm… No. Just distracted is all. And how many times have I told you? Don’t call me Annabel. It’s such an old person’s name.”
“But it’s so pretty, like Annabel Lee.”
“This is hardly a kingdom by the sea, Bec.”
“Perhaps. So, what are you doing out here, anyway? You’ve never been one to enjoy the sunshine. Is this about the guy from yesterday? You know, the one in the fancy getup?”
“What, you’re trying to set me up with some random from the sidewalk?”
“Well, you leave the house once a week and I don’t think you’ve ever so much as whispered the word ‘love’. Hell, Anna, have you even been kissed?”
“People are weird, Bec. And besides, why waste my life seeking the company of other people when I can be out having an adventure?”
Bec sighed. “You and your adventures… Anyway, I’ve gotta run, Annabel. See you round.”
“See you, Bec.”
A quick hug, and she was gone.

Annabel walked home, and upon arriving found her neighbours daughter sitting on her front fence. “Miss Anna! Hi!” The seven year old beamed up at her. “Hello Katie. How are you today?”
“Good! I found a flower!” The young girl picked up from beside her a beautiful rose, unlike anything Anna had ever seen before. The petals were large and black, with a brilliant gold gilding the edges and coating the stem. “That’s beautiful, Katie. Where did you find it?” The small girl smiled. “Your boyfriend”
“I’m sorry, my what?”
“A funny man in a long coat asked me to look after it for you! He said he was your boyfriend.”
Anna blinked, and fought to repel the confusion that marred her thought. “Here you go!” said Katie, holding up the flower for her. Anna reached out and grasped it around its delicate stem, feeling the coolness of the gold seep through her body. “Thank you, Katie. You should better hurry on home now, your mother should be looking for you.”
“Okay! Goodbye Miss Anna!”
Anna waved as Katie ran off, and walked to her door, finding upon it a piece of paper, folded and taped under the doorbell. She pulled it off and walked inside, turning to close the door as she unfolded it.

                   The stars are brighter close up. Want to come see?

She frowned at the note, and turned to go into the lounge, when she finally found the door.

It was completely identical to every other door in her house. She only noticed it because it had never been there before. She walked up to it, and immediately realized she had no thought as to what she’d do when she finally found it. Eventually, she simply raised her fist, and knocked.

The door swung open inwardly. The low hum of electronics emanated from within, and a pale blue light shone through. She stood there, looking in to a metal corridor with vents along the ground, pipes along the walls, and blue lights running along the roof. Finally, she thought. An adventure. Just like she’d always wished for. all she had to do was step.
It was cold. She felt lighter than usual, each step took her slightly farther, raised her slightly higher. A sense of disorientation flooded her brain, and slight nausea set into her stomach. “Where am I?” she whispered. After about ten metres she found herself at another door, but this one was made of grey metal, outlined with more blue lights. A green panel was affixed to the wall beside it, glowing faintly. Unable to come up with a better idea, she reached out and placed her hand on it. Strange symbols arranged themselves on it and the door slid open from the middle with a release of steam. The room in front of her was circular, with a glass-like pillar in the centre, filled with a blood red mist that illuminated the room. Around the pillar was a kind of central console. Left and right of the doorway she’d just left were two more doors, and opposite her was… Space. The entire walls on the other half of the room were made of glass, outside of which was the Earth, and the entire sky of stars around it. She was in outer space. “Oh my god. Oh my god…”
“Do you like her?”
She turned around rapidly, seeing the man from the sidewalk leaning against the wall. “She’s my ship. Her name is Veela.”
“It’s true then. You’re the EverKnight, aren’t you?”
He smiled. “Among other things. It’s been a long time since I’ve been called that though.”
“My grandmother met you. Once. It was the proudest day of her life. But that was only thirty years ago – That’s not too long.”
“If your grandmother did in fact know me, then she would have known that I can travel through time. So just because I happened to be here thirty years ago, for me it’s been… Longer.” His face flashed dark, then returned to its previous smile. She smiled back. “So, uh… If you don’t mind me asking, how are we here? I was on Earth a moment ago.”
“Inter-dimensional wormhole. Conveniently allows me access to anywhere nearby without having to actually land.” Anna blinked. He sighed. “Basically – When you stepped through that door, you stepped through… a portal. And now… Now you’re here.”
“Right…” He looked as if he was about to start talking again, but she quickly raised a hand to stop him. “I’ve got it.” He looked her up and down. “So, Miss Annabel Rose, why are you here?” She looked down, and raised her, hand, still holding the black flower. She had no idea why, no thought to the reason of it. It was simply an act. The EverKnight smiled. “Well then, Annabel Rose, how would you like to see the stars?”