The Jones family arrived at the McNider Hospital. Running through the halls, they quickly reached Daniel's room. And the three shared a look of horror, seeing Daniel, lifeless, in a hospital bed with doctors working around him. Charity and Benjamin immediately motioned to run to their brother with tears in their eyes, but Sandra grabbed their arms, stopping them.

  “Mommy, let go of me,” Charity said, whimpering.

  Sandra released Benjamin, grabbed Charity’s face with both hands, and looked her in the eye.

  “I know how you’re feeling, sweetie, but you mustn’t interrupt the doctors.”

  “Y—yes, Mommy.”

  Sandra released Charity. “Good girl.”

  A doctor quickly came to them. "Hello, I am Dr. Erdel. I want to talk about his condition if you're ready?"

  "We're ready, so spill it," Charity said.

  Doctor Erdel took a deep breath. "There is no easy way to tell you this. But Mr. Jones sleeps like the dead."

  "What does that mean?" Charity shouted.

  "It means he's in a coma. But he shouldn't be. You need to understand that we ran numerous tests on him. By all metrics, he's healthy, but he won't awaken."

  Charity and Benjamin grew pale white hearing the information. But Sandra took a deep breath, walking to Daniel.

  Sandra sat by his bedside, kissing his forehead. "Nothing to do but wait and pray."

  Charity and Benjamin took seats around Daniel with their mother.

  A day later, the Jones family still sat by Daniel. The silence that covered the room, devoid of his voice, had become ear-aching.

  Benjamin watched his brother, trapped in his deathly sleep, wiping tears from his eyes. "Daniel."

  Three days later, the Jones family still sat by Daniel. The silence that covered the room, devoid of his voice, had now become even more ear-aching.

  Charity watched her brother, trapped in his deathly sleep, teary-eyed and tightly holding his limp hand. "Please."

  Two weeks later, the Jones family still sat by Daniel. Alone and sleep-deprived, they stood vigil over him as morning came. The silence that covered the room, devoid of his voice, had now gathered the intensity of a grand chorus. However, slowly, Daniel regained consciousness, his eyes fluttering open. And in a flash, Sandra, Benjamin, and Charity broke into a loud cry, hugging Daniel.

  "I—I'm glad to see you guys," Daniel groaned. “And all this pain proves I'm still alive."

  "It's settled. You're never leaving the house alone again," Charity said.

  As they heard Charity, the family burst out laughing.

  ***

  Daniel returned to the Jones family home after his incident. The doctors had ordered a strict regimen of rest and medicine happily facilitated by his mother. Daniel had begun eating normally again, allowing her to indulge in the motherly delight of caring for her child. It was a pleasure she hadn’t known for years, with each of her children becoming adults. However, Sandra carried a food tray upstairs to Daniel, seeing him in bed reading through job adverts from the Daily Saturn, still consuming the last tray.

  Sandra walked to Daniel, kissing his cheek. "Found anything?"

  "Nope."

  "Keep at it, sweetie."

  Sandra looked closer at the newspaper, pointing at a comic book company writing contest: Dynamo Comics.

  "Daniel, what about that? The prize money is good, and they promise a job at their company.”

  “I don’t know, Ma.”

  “I also seem to remember how much you loved superheroes and writing. Like that one story you wrote. What was it called again?"

  "The trial of the steel champion?"

  "No, I remember now. The Adventures of Carrot Bradley. The greatest rabbit detective in the world."

  Daniel ripped the advert out of the newspaper, red-faced. "I'll give it a try for you, Ma. Not like I have anything to lose."

  Benjamin entered the room. "Guys, please come downstairs. The lawyer is here."

  ***

  In the living room, the Jones family sat together with their lawyer. They spent the last hour discussing the beneficiaries of Jack’s final will.

  "Now, the last bit of business: Daniel will inherit a small plot of land and a car," the lawyer said.

  "Wow, congratulations, brother," Benjamin exclaimed excitedly.

  "Y—yeah, thanks." Daniel cracked his neck. "I—it's more than I deserve."

  Later, as Daniel was returning to his bedroom, Charity met him in the hallway.

  "Little brother, wait."

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  Daniel jogged over to Charity. "Yes, what is it?"

  "I have something for you."

  "What?"

  Charity reached into her purse and pulled out a small object in her hand. "This." As Daniel fixed his eyes upon it, his breathing stopped for a few seconds. The object's beauty was otherworldly. It was a triangular gemstone, red as blood, that appeared to be made of the purest ruby.

  "W—what is that thing, sis?"

  "I really don't know."

  "What? Isn't it yours?"

  "No, it's Daddy's."

  "E—excuse me." Daniel swallowed hard.

  "He gave it to me near at the...end." Charity breathed in sharply. "All he said about it was that it was a family heirloom."

  "W—why are you giving it to me now?"

  "He said that I could only give it to you when I thought you were responsible enough to care for it." Charity handed the object to her brother with a smile. "And with the lawyer and everything else going on, I think you've earned it."

  Daniel brought the object close to his face, looking at it deeply.

  "But you're forbidden from selling it." Charity fired a glare at her brother.

  "Obviously, I'm not going to sell it," Daniel shouted.

  "Just making sure." Charity tittered and kissed Daniel on the cheek.

  ***

  Daniel lay in bed, staring intensely at the object. However, the young man noticed glimmers of light falling from it. And rapidly, they became a blaze that engulfed the room in white light. But it quickly dissipated, revealing, to his shock, a distant land of strange otherworldly architecture. The buildings floated in midair, taking various shapes as a white glow fell from the heavens. Some of the structures were rectangular, some were triangular, and some still were circular. Quickly, sensory overload returned, stronger than before, and the world around Daniel became a fuzzy mess. Daniel lost all direction, staggering backward towards the edge of a steep fall. Still, just as he was about to drop, Jack caught his hand.

  "Pop," Daniel shouted.

  "Hello, son."

  Jack spent the next several minutes explaining his seeming return from the dead. In truth, the being that stood before Daniel wasn’t the real Jack Jones but an exact duplicate. Sensing his death was near, Jack used the device he called the brainatron. He copied his brainwaves and created the construct.

  Later, Daniel and Jack sat together on a bench before a giant statue, quiet as a grave.

  "S—son, I—"

  "What are you?" Daniel scanned his father from top to bottom. "What are you really?"

  "Son, there are a lot of things I should have told you and your siblings a long time ago. But to get started, I'm an off-worlder."

  "What?" Daniel screamed.

  "I'm an alien life form from a long-dead world who only resembled humans like your mother."

  Daniel gave Jack a side-eye. "There were times I thought you were too nice to be human."

  Silence.

  Jack took a deep breath. "Son, I realize you must be angry with me right now."

  "What would give you that idea? All I want to do now is sit here quietly, enjoying the view of—" Daniel looked at the statue, seemingly an armored figure bowing his head in reverence, with immense confusion. "What the hell is this thing?"

  "Well, you remember how I mentioned forces before?”

  Daniel nodded.

  “Here they are. My side of the family, the knights of the Land of Solis. When someone came of age, they would endure an electric shock, unlocking their latent abilities. So they could carry on our tradition."

  Daniel gave Jack another confused look.

  "Our tradition was to be guardians of peace and justice for the universe. And the statue honors one of our greatest champions, the courageous knight."

  "That's interesting, Pop, Jack.” Daniel pulled forcibly on his father’s clothes. “Is Jack Jones your real name?"

  "Since I was born."

  Quickly, Daniel rose from his seat. "Can you swear you're telling me the truth?"

  "On Mother's grave."

  "You know, I think this is the first time you mentioned her or anyone from your side of the family," Daniel snapped.

  Hastily, Jack rose from his seat. "She was Angelica Jones, the loving knight. Look, son, I know you're frustrated with me, and you have every right to be—"

  "Frustrated? Pop, I'm beyond frustrated." Daniel kicked over the bench, crying as he looked at Jack. "Why didn't you tell us?"

  Jack held his chest. "I always said I would, but something always got in the way. Your brother had law school to worry about. Charity got pregnant, and well, you—"

  "Went to jail?"

  Jack paused, seeing the distress across his son’s face, but continued with a heavy breath. "There was always something that kept me from sitting you down and explaining.”

  “Pop, my head hurts so much. I don’t know who or what I am anymore.”

  “You’re my son.” Jack put a hand on Daniel’s shoulder with a weak smile.

  “But what does that even mean anymore?”

  “It’s cruel putting you through this.” Jack breathed in sharply, pulling Daniel closer. “But as selfish as it is, I need your help. Please do what I should have and explain all this to your brother and sister. When you're ready, of course."

  "Why can't you do it?"

  Jack’s features hardened as an answer. And seeing him, Daniel realized what it meant.

  "Forget it. I am not going."

  "Son, the device—"

  "Don't son me. I am not going back without you," Daniel interrupted.

  "Boy, listen, my time ran out, but you still have plenty. So you have to use it.” Jack grabbed Daniel, shaking him vigorously. “However, let me ask one more favor. Will you promise to live a very long and good life?"

  Daniel cried with snot dripping from his nose. But he still nodded, hugging Jack. "I love you, Pop. Please forgive me."

  Jack hugged him back. "I love you too, Daniel. And, of course, I do."

  The world around them broke apart as the apocalypse came for the duplicate planet. Buildings collapsed as the ground split open. And a blinding white light washed across the land, consuming it all into dust. Still, even as the world ended, Daniel and Jack didn’t stop hugging.

  In a flash, Daniel sat on his bed, holding the object in his hand as he cried a sea of tears. And Charity and Benjamin entered the room, seeing him miserable.

  "Are you okay?" Benjamin asked.

  "I just miss him."

  Quickly, Charity and Benjamin rushed over to Daniel, hugging him.

  ***

  In the dead of night, Daniel lay in bed, unable to sleep. He stared at the ceiling with bloodshot eyes. His mind endlessly replayed the conversation he had with Jack. His father had forgiven him, but in many ways, this was just as much a blessing as a curse. He could have at least devoted his life to making amends. But now, without a job and uncertain of his humanity, it was like he was in a vast desert without a compass.

  Daniel jumped out of bed, reached under it, and grabbed the brainatron. "Pop. Pop. You can't be gone for good. I need you."

  Daniel stared at the object, waiting for the light to return, but got no response.

  "Please, I don't know how to live a good life."

  Again, Daniel stared at the object, waiting for a response. But as nothing happened, he threw it on his bed with a scream. And he hurried out of his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

  Later, Daniel stood in front of a comic book store. He looked at it with bags around his eyes and released a deep sigh as he walked away.

  "It's as if the years took something. I don't even know what it is, but life feels emptier without it."

  Quickly, an ambulance drove past Daniel to a house up ahead, and from morbid curiosity, he followed, leading him to a crime scene. Among the dozens, he looked at the incident behind police tape as green flames danced across a house. However, Daniel noticed a young boy crying, watching the authorities pull away two bodies under tarps.

  As Daniel saw the boy miserable, he hurried away from the crime scene, staggering into an alleyway and collapsing. This tragedy was beyond him. Still, as his frustration reached its zenith, Daniel punched the brick wall behind him. However, his fist went through it with immense ease and no pain.

  “What the hell?”

  Upon seeing what he did, Daniel’s mind cycled through numerous emotions in seconds. But slowly, his chaotic swarm of thoughts began to settle. At last, he had found a compass to lead him out of the desert. The tragedy wasn’t beyond him. He alone had the power to carry burdens no other mortal could. He alone could change the world. And like Atlas, he alone would carry these immeasurable hardships.