Chapter 26

One agonizing week passed by. Conor couldn't stop thinking about the end that was soon to come. He contemplated telling NASA the truth but deep down he knew Alyssa was right. Keeping it a secret would be the best.

Had his mind be working properly, he would have surely tried to seek out a solution. Unfortunately, his brain had surpassed the thinking capacity and he was blank. Even doing everyday tasks were hard for him, let alone thinking about a solution in under a week.

It already had been eight days since Conor had left his home after the mission. He was pretty sure the telephone was full of voicemails from work and the whole house had probably been raided already by people looking for him.

He slowly crawled out of the tent and stared into the horizon where the Sun was setting. Conor had expected Alyssa to call on the satellite phone she had given a few days earlier but there was no sign of her.

Somewhat disappointed and happy at the same time, he went inside, zipped up the entrance and curled up on the floor to get some rest.

All of a sudden, Conor was sitting on dirt. Ahead of him lay a large field that extended beyond the horizon. Mountains were rising up into the crimson sky and were turning into dust behind him.

He could sense movement around and felt someone getting closer. Out of the blue, a hooded figure showed up beside him.

'This is your answer- the end…' the figure whispered. The whisper echoed loudly all over the place and hurt Conor's ears. A sudden whoosh sounded, it got very bright and his body jolted.

He was suddenly on top of a very high cliff. He looked around a little and saw Alyssa beside him, holding his hand. She looked at him, nodded curtly and started to countdown from three. Conor was very confused before he realized where he was- and realized what Alyssa was about to do.

In an effort to escape, he pulled at his arm violently but to no avail. The countdown ended and Alyssa jumped, together with Conor falling with her.

They fell and fell. Conor felt as if it will never end. He could hear a ringing sound, whatever that meant.

Conor woke up with a jolt. The sat-phone was ringing. He gathered himself and sat up while trying to reach for the phone.

'Hello?' Conor picked up the call. 'Alyssa? Is that you?' he continued.

'Hey, hello. Where are you?' Alyssa's voice came in from the other end.

'Yeah, I'm at the woods near to the Falls.' Conor answered.

'Come to me. I'm waiting for you.' Alyssa said and hung up. Conor was in surprise.

Gathering himself back together, he slowly came out of the tent, leaving behind all his belongings and set for the Old Falls.

The great and majestic Niagara Falls that used to attract tourists now barely attracts anyone. It had somehow dried up completely and barely any water flow there anymore even though there are a few mini lakes and ponds at the lakes below.

When Conor reached the Falls, it was absolutely empty- except that he could see one person standing right at the edge. Conor knew that was Alyssa so he went to her, walking over the uneven bed of the dried river.

'Hello, Conor.' Alyssa said once he reached her. 'It's good to see you.' she said. Conor nodded gently.

'Come on, let's go.' Alyssa led Conor even closer to the edge. Conor peered over the cliff. It was a long way down. He tried not to think about what he was about to do as he knew it was for the best.

'Take this.' she said while handing him a case. She had another one for herself in her other hand. Conor opened it and looked inside- it contained a syringe filled with a cloudy liquid.

'Inject it into your upper arm when I give the signal.' Alyssa continued.

'But what is this thing?' Conor asked with a bewildered face.

'It's a non-USP solution of potassium chloride. Made to give you a cardiac arrest that will one hundred per cent ensure you will die.' Alyssa explained. 'Once you inject it, you will have around one minute. We will jab ourselves and wait by the cliff. When you feel the lurch in your heart, you go down.' she continued.

Conor nodded curtly and walked up the cliff. Alyssa came to him shortly after and they stood facing their back towards the cliffside.

'I read in the diary of my ancestor; it wrote that Conor was a great man… and he would sacrifice anything for the good.' Alyssa said. Conor choked up a bit.

'We can go see them now.' Conor said and smiled. He nodded to signal that he was ready.

'Okay, 1…2…3!' Alyssa counted. As soon as she said three, Conor's right hand that was holding the syringe went surging towards his upper left arm. He felt the sting of the needle pierce his skin and felt the rush of the liquid gushing into his body.

And he waited with his eyes closed. He threw the needle away and stood in silence. 'Anytime now…anytime' he kept thinking that over and over again. Slowly, he could feel his heartbeat fasten.

The minute that Alyssa had told him about felt like hours. He could see his entire life flashing by. How he had failed the PhD thesis evaluations, how he got attacked by the animal in the unknown realm, how he managed to get out of the place, how he was nearly killed by the two unknown men, etc.

As time passed, Conor felt things inside his body. Then the lurch finally happened, as if someone was squeezing his heart with all their might. Conor fell to his knees. Slowly, he inched towards the cliff using his arm until he lost his balance; and fell.

He could see Alyssa at the top. He felt weightless. His heart was in agony. The cliff went farther and farther away. His heart gave one final lurch; then it was all darkness. Never-ending darkness.

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Three whole months went by. Authorities had given up finding Conor and Alyssa after they found an email that was schedule sent by Alyssa stating that they have gone off the grid. It did not say they had taken their lives so a search operation was not started.

Even if an operation started, they would have never found the bodies. Of course, people at NASA suspected that something had happened in the realm, so they sent a few more scientists in there who were never heard from ever again. NASA promptly shut down the investigation and carried on with the plan Conor had created.

Back at Old Niagara, right below the cliff could be seen a pair of skulls. There, Conor and Alyssa lay in peace, gone from the planet destined for destruction, the only thing left is their bones and memories of them.