Questions & Answers

The man in the gray suit appeared to me again. I was at another motel, sitting on the edge of the pool, my jeans rolled up, my feet in the water. The water was distorting them, making them look bigger than they were and then I saw his reflection in the water.

It did not distort, not like mine. The ripples in the water did not touch his image.

I turned around, looked at him and said, "Hello."

At first I thought he wasn't really there; I thought that perhaps this was an actual dream, but then I remembered that I didn't dream anymore. I didn't dream and I didn't feel lonely and I didn't feel guilty and I didn't have any secrets or desires. I had killed them all with my special bullets.

"Hello," the man in the gray suit said.

"What am I?" I asked.

"You are the Endmaker," he said.

"And what is that?"

"A test," he said. "A system, a weapon, a reset. You will bring about their end and they know it. So far, they have tried to kill you directly and by proxy, tried to get you to commit suicide, and tried to tempt you, but you have killed each one. You are something outside their paradigm. You are something they cannot see. You are a blind spot."

I pulled my legs out of the pool and asked, "Why me?"

"There are some questions without answers," the man said, "and some questions with an infinite amount of answers. Pick one."

"What do I do now?" I asked.

"They have tried various approaches," he said. "They will be smarter. You must keep going. You must face your limits and go beyond them. You must give them mercy and make their end."

Finally, I stood up. "Who are you?" I asked.

"That is another question without answer," he said, "or with an infinite amount. You may choose any you like."

And then he was gone, as if he was never there at all.