"Run, run as fast as you can. Promise me you won't ever look back."
The whispers, I can hear them everywhere. I can't shut them off, not yet. I have to find the one. The one who holds all the answers, all the solutions. The one whose whispers are louder than others. The key holder.
Their voices are slowly driving me insane, to the edge of a cliff which falls into a river of crazy. Yet, I hold on to my fragile rope, listening harder for every tear. I could easily let go, nobody would notice. The world would go back to the way it was, without the treasure. Sure, future civilizations would lose the chance to learn about the past, but being able to see possible futures tells me they would get along just fine, allowing history to repeat itself. Never moving past the year 2046. They would just be reset, never realizing what happened, except for a few distant memories which they would shrug off as deja vu. I want to see them progress, I want to see MY future. To realize what J will become, to finally achieve my mission's end. I know where he will be, the key holder. But what will he look like? Will he be disguised as a young dazzling figure, or will he hide in the shape of a mere rodent? He doesn't understand what is to become of him, what he is destined for.
I hold the lock firmly in my palm. I press it hard, enough for it to be embedded in me. I relax, I can sense him nearby. J's voice, it's getting louder. Louder still! I look up, and I get a shocking headache. Right in front of me. It's him. His charm is wearing off, I can see right through his spell. He decided to hide in plain sight, in his true form! The blunder head was right there the entire time! I pull him aside. "J, J listen to me. We need to get out of here." "Whatever could you mean by that L?" I can hear it in his voice, he knows he's been found. "Just follow me." "I guess you finally found me, didn't you Lock?" "Don't ever use my real name among these mortals! You need to come with me, we need to unlock their future." "The future holds nothing but chaos and destruction." "J, I have seen the possible futures. There is only 1 scenario in which you unlock the next realm, and it ends as nothing but daisies and rainbows for these creatures." "For them, yes. But what about us, L? What will we become?" I pause. "J, you know that I can't see my future. You know that I can't see yours. You have to trust me."
We walk in silence for the rest of the trip. "We're here.", I said in a firm voice. "L, I'm still no-" "Quiet, J. Do you trust me or not?" He goes silent. I can hear him thinking…. *I trust L with my life… but do I trust myself?* "J, stop it. Just stop. I trust you. I know what you think will happen, I know you're afraid. Just stop. I'm here if anything goes wrong." "... ok, let's do this." I put the lock on the podium. We had gone to a cove, one with sparkling diamonds and beautiful blue rocks surrounded by vines that seemed to hold them strongly. In the middle was a single tree stump, the podium. J inserted the key. The moment had come, I could feel time whirling past me, finally moving forward to it's rightful place! We stopped. "L, L are you alright?" "J, I'm fine. Are you ready?" "Not at all, but it doesn't seem like I have a choice." We stepped outside, holding firmly onto the other's hand. I was ready to leap at anything that might hurt us. The first thing I saw was the sun. It was beautiful, absolutely magnificent. Stunning me in it's brightness. I looked around me, taking in all the beauty! We were here, the future. The humans had finally found the right form of energy, and pollution was eliminated. All evil was gone. Earth was restored.
J and I walked into another universe that day, and we never looked back.