Author: Prophet Monkey
Category: Max
Rating: TEEN
Disclaimer: The characters of Roswell belong to The WB, Melinda Metz, and UPN.
Summary: “There's rules. You give life, you gotta take it from somewhere else.” What if you had the power to save someone you loved, but the price was possibly more than you could risk?
Author’s note: This fic is based on an aspect from the now-deceased HBO drama, Carnivàle. However, if you’ve never seen the show, you'll still be able to follow the story. No infringement is intended.
Round 8
Best Short Story
<center>The Earth Stopped Cold at Dawn</center>
A single shot. The expulsion of powder and forged metal, propelled on a direct course of destruction. Heedless of anything in its way, it tears through the most primal obstructions – Earth, Water, Fire. Flesh. Ripping, clawing its way underneath to where a fragile heart beats.
I watched it all happen. I was there. And I made a choice that changed my future, and the future of those closest to me, forever. Was it an easy decision to make? Yes. And no. Is it ever easy, knowing the consequences of your actions? Are you better off left in the dark, never knowing if, in that one instant that you tempted Fate, you set things on a crash course to Chaos?
It could be something as simple as finding a missing wallet on an abandoned street corner. Would you turn it in? Or keep it for yourself? Are our paths already pre-determined, or are they created by our own Wills and Motivations? Some would call Ignorance a luxury, others a bane. In truth, I think it’s a little of both.
I’ve always been…different. Gifted. I have capabilities that are beyond the understanding of almost everyone on Earth. We all do – Isabel, Michael and myself. But mine’s the only one with repercussions.
I stared as the bullet hurtled toward her, heard the sickening thud as it buried itself deep within tender flesh and bone. Smelled the metallic scent of blood that filled the air as she lay on the floor, dying without ever knowing why. Eyes dazed; lips parted.
The Earth stopped cold at dawn. Time was suspended during that split-second, a decision hung in the Balance. I had the power to save someone’s life, to save Liz’s life. But at what consequence?
There are rules to everything. Work and Play. Love and Hate. Life and Death. Not everything’s black and white, but sometimes the gray is just as clear. A tenuous Balance exists in this world; the order of the universe tethered by the shaky rules that bind us all.
You can’t give life without taking it from something else.
It could be an acre of wheat, a pond filled with fish. It could be the young girl sitting behind me, flushed with life and purpose. A mother of two. An old man who’s lived a long and happy existence. A drifter.
Who deserves to die, so that someone else can live? Could you choose? It’s the rule I live by, and one I’ve never contemplated breaking. Until now. Until the moment I saw Liz Parker dying by the hand of Fate and Destiny. And I knew I had the means to change it.
In that moment of frozen time, my eyes sweep the room in desperation and determination. Could I do it? Throw caution to the wind in order to protect the one person who secretly means so much to me…thereby damning another innocent soul?
The echoes of screams fill my ears as everything suddenly rushes back into place. A small blonde, pale and shaking, bumps into me as she heads for the figure sprawled indelicately on the cold, tile floor. It’s the first inclination I have that I’ve even moved from my seat.
My eyes trail after her, a single name whispering in my mind. Maria DeLuca. Could I? Would I? My heart beats a rapid tattoo in my chest, and I know the answer. Sweat pours down my back, my fingers twitch. I have the Power inside of me, but I also carry the Responsibility. Glory and Consequence.
My eyes snap toward a pair of tourists, staring in fascinated horror at the scene before them. The man meets my gaze, and I swallow as the possibility fills my mind. Could I? Would I?
“Max? What are you gonna do?” Michael’s voice whispers harshly in my ear, and I turn to see him watching me in shock. He doesn’t think I could do it. Neither do I. Still, I break away from him and start toward Liz’s crumpled body.
Maria turns to me, lips moving, but I can’t make out the words. All I can think about are the rules. Someone here is going to die. There’s nothing I can do about it, because I have to save her. I have to. Is it Fate? Chaos? My own stubborn Willpower? I don’t stop to ponder the why’s or how’s, simply bend over her and look into those glazed eyes.
For a moment, I fear she knows exactly what’s going through my mind. I could swear her lips part, ragged breathing utters, “D-Don’t…it’s not worth it.” But it’s simply a trick of the light. Guilt for what I’m about to do.
Having the power to save lives doesn’t mean you should use it. By no means am I God, but today I had the chance to play Him. And in the end, it wasn’t the decision that kept me up at night. It was the consequence.
To give life, you have to take it from somewhere else. Could be a bird, humming outside of your bedroom window. A dog barking inside of a fence just beyond your home. Or it could be your best friend. A loved one.
Life and Death. Joy and Sorrow. Glory and Consequence. A price must be paid, a sacrifice must be given. Someone must die in order for her to live. And I must choose. These hands that poured life back into a weak young body must now take it away from something else.
Every face I see haunts me. Could they be the one? Would anyone notice? Could I live with myself afterward? Could I? Would I? Is the price of one life worth more than another’s?
In one moment of reckless behavior, I’ve damned myself. And saved an innocent life. Whether it is the work of Fate, Chaos, or my own stubborn Will, a choice has been made. A consequence has been rendered. My path was chosen the moment I stepped inside the Crashdown Café that warm summer day. Blood is on my hands and refuses to come clean. A sacrifice demands to be given. And I must be the one to choose.