Chapter One

A Foot in the Grave

So this is how it ends. I'm going to die and this wasn't how I'd expected to go out. If anyone had asked me even a year ago how I thought I was going to go out, I would've told them that I'd live to the ripe old age of three hundred or that I would never die due to the coming technological singularity. But I guess fate had decided that it had other ideas for me. Here I am, barely twenty-five years old and I'm about to die. I can't do anything to avoid this, not that I'd actually escape from this decision, this situation.

I glance over to the only humanoid in the room, the man who had pulled me into the adventure of a lifetime and the path that led to this one moment. I couldn't actually call him a human since he was a member of an ancient race that came before humanity. To him, humanity resembles his people, since they had come first.

He stood off to my left, staring at me with one of the saddest looks I've ever seen on his face. I could almost see tears welling up in his green eyes as he frowned at me. I knew that he didn't want to see me die. To be honest, I didn't want to see me die, either. Regardless of anyone's wants, I needed to die if I wanted to save humanity. This was my one chance to be a hero and save the day.

"I have two requests," I stated, looking at the alien who held the weapon pointed to me.

"What are your requests?" the alien asked, sounding curious.

"Request one," I stated as I turned my head to face my friend without moving my feet, "I want you to tell every friend you'll meet after this about me. I want you to keep me alive in your mind and in your memory, regardless of how painful it is. If you don't, then I'll be truly dead."

"Olmstead," he said, sadness and fear entering his voice as he used my last name, "you don't have to do this! There's got to be another way. I refuse to acknowledge this option."

"I don't see you coming up with any other ideas," I told him with a frown, shaking my head at him, "we both know that there are no other options."

"And your second request?" the alien asked, grabbing my attention as I turned my upper body to look at it calmly.

"I want my death to be quick and painless," I stated as I closed my eyes, preparing myself to feel the searing heat of a blast of energy pierce my body.

I was going to die. There were no options open to me other than to sacrifice myself. This was how my story was going to end. And I wouldn't want to change it for anything. I could feel a smile form on my lips as I felt free. The burdens I carried that felt like a solid metric ton disappeared as I realized that I was feeling quite peaceful. I was at peace with my life and with my death. I was ready.

It was during those long seconds that my mind reminded me of the path that led me here. The adventures I had with my friend, the people we've helped, the disasters we've averted. And in the long moments, I started to remember. In those long moments, I knew how I wanted my story be told and if there's anyone I knew who would do it and me justice, it would be my friend.

Because it all started with him on a cold October day, almost five years ago. And it will end with him, almost five years later from my perspective.