Read Online Infinite Testament by Greg Ness - Free Book Online

explosion that made the last
sound seem like a horn toot. He couldn’t hear much anymore. He
thought he might have been deaf, but there was no way to tell. Stephen
thought the whole planet might crumble into pieces. The sky lit up bright
yellow, like the Earth had morphed into the Sun. It was brighter than his
eyes could handle. He held out his hand to Lisa, who had no idea that he
lay only yards from her. His hand was as outstretched as it could
go. It might’ve come right off. He extended his fingers. He
couldn’t get to her. She was so close. But he couldn’t do
it. He just could not do it. He continued to scream,
“Lisa!”
    She didn’t hear him. Looking at the city, Lisa wished
she could be with Stephen. All her life, she searched for the one thing
she once had. She would give anything to see him one more time, anything
to apologize for that fateful day. She would never know Stephen had
forgiven her. And he was only yards away.
    The air grew blazingly hot. Stephen saw Lisa and
everything around him turn into a blur. The world stretched into
infinity. This was it.
    Everything was gone.
    Everyone on the planet was dead.
    Everyone except Moros…

8
    Stephen Pandora died. A man named X killed not only
him, but the rest of the world. It was not the first time this had
happened and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
    Stephen Pandora’s path was tragic. It was
inevitable. The painful truth was that what happened during Stephen’s
life sealed the untimely end of the world.
    Stephen Pandora was born again. What seemed
instantaneous for him, like waking up from a long sleep, actually took
octillions of years. He didn’t exist as the Universe “crunched” on
itself. He didn’t exist as the Universe restarted with “The Big
Bang”. He didn’t exist as Earth was formed. But he did exist when
he was born. Although everything had to happen again, it happened in an
instant for him because he simply didn’t exist until his birth.
    Stephen was raised in St. Joseph, Michigan. There, he
would meet someone who would change his life forever.
    “Bruce!”
    Bruce stopped. It was pitch black outside and close
to three in the morning. Bruce and Stephen were fourteen years old:
freshmen in high school. Their facial features were less defined than
their future selves; they were directly between childhood and adulthood.
Bruce appeared older than his age. He had a strongly defined jawbone and
deep masculine eyes. He was the prototypical man-boy: athletic and muscular.
Stephen, on the other hand, looked younger than fourteen. He was clumsy,
flimsy, and still growing into himself. His eyes had a youthful,
illuminating innocence beneath them.
    The two were covered in black: black shirt, black pants and
black shoes. It allowed them to blend in; they didn’t want to be
seen. They were in a forest and the only light provided to them was
generously given by the full moon shining above. They were undercover on
a mission. It was actually Bruce’s mission but Stephen was there to
help. Bruce turned and put his finger to his lip. “Ssshhhh.”
    Stephen tried his best to be quiet. Every step he
took created a small crunch, no matter how small. This was a forest,
after all, and it was littered with twigs, branches, and who knew what
else. In every direction, all he could see were trees. No one was
around anyway, so what did he have to be quiet for? But Bruce
insisted. Bruce moved his hand in a forceful downward movement,
nonverbally demanding silence. Somehow, Bruce was able to move through
the forest without making a peep. Stephen wondered if he was somehow
hovering, and not actually walking. Bruce was the most physically able
person Stephen knew, so it was no surprise he was able to move in such complete
silence.
    The duo continued the trek. Their reason was simple:
Bruce heard from a friend at school about a cult that performed bizarre rituals
in this forest every time there was a full moon. Bruce had traversed the
forest days before