Colours, swirls, planets and constellations zipped by John as he jumped from place to place, reality to reality. Past to present, then nothing. Silence. Blackness. Then footsteps.

'Get up John, the shunting assaults your mind but yours is strong, as is mine. Get up, we have things to talk about.'

John heaved himself up onto all fours. He trialled opening his eyes, half expecting to throw up, but it didn't happen. John still looked down at the black floor. 'Is this my soul again? Who are you?' He coughed, pushed himself up.

'Yes,' came the reply, 'And I'm you of course, or you are me or we are us. To be honest I'm not too sure, but what I do know is that you do not want to align with the Dark One. That would be a mistake.'

John rested against the black wall. 'Oh is that right,' he said, 'and siding with you is the right choice is it?' John pulled his t-shirt up and wiped his face with it. 'Tell me how this is happening. How are there so many of Semila and I?'

'The others call me Jitter John because I jump from reality to reality.' He took a deep breath and paced around. 'When I ran from the demon, I hid. We both did, Sem and I hid and ran, the demons were closing in, burning the photos.'

John interrupted. 'Yes, I know that. I had a letter from another version of me. He died. Why haven't you all?'

Jitter John laughed. 'Because John, we all chose different paths. Each photo you take gives different paths, different outcomes. Like I said the demons were closing in, so I got an operation. Others must have chosen different paths.'

John cocked his head. 'What type of operation?'

'The worst kind,' Jitter John answered. 'The kind you get in times of sheer desperation. I got a memory chip implanted to work alongside my optic nerves. This chip has every photo in the world of my time. It also allowed me to store pictures through sight alone, but it went wrong John. This is the only place I can stay still, otherwise I Blink from place to place in Nanoseconds. Sem was lost, she couldn't keep up. And so I've been on my own for the last twelve years. In that time I have been to countless places, countless worlds, but they are getting less John. They are getting less because of you.'

John shook his head yet again. 'Right, let me get this straight. You Blink, shunt, whatever you call it just through thinking? But you can't control it right?'

Jitter John nodded. 'Yes, that's correct.'

'And now worlds are getting less and less because of me?' John asked.

Jitter John shook his head. 'Not worlds John, just realities. When you decided not to run things changed, some realities ceased to exist. It seems you made the right choice. I was able to concentrate enough, due to the shrinking realities, to find you and bring you here. I had to get you from the Dark John, he is more dangerous than the demon you now face.'

John snorted. 'Serious? More dangerous than a demon as big as a house, a demon that cannot die?'

Jitter John nodded. 'Yes, he is more dangerous. He wants to challenge the Heavenly Prince. He has been tracking the other Johns throughout their realities, and when he finds them, he kills them and soaks up their power. Did you know Belial used the souls that Blake killed to empower him?'

John shook his head.

'Well,' said Jitter John as he put his back to the wall and slid down to sit on the floor. 'Every day's a school day. He used them John, somewhere deep within Belial, there is a piece of Charlie screaming to be released. But you are the strongest this time, you didn't run, and that means so much. Dark John is the same, he's soaking up the knowledge and power. Each one of us chooses a different path, and hence different knowledge is gained. Dark John is using this to beat Belial but at what cost? No!' Jitter John phased out a little. 'The Dark One cannot win; he must not win!' Jitter John took a deep breath, then started again.

'the Blink is more than you know John, it's a portal through time, it's an instrument of death and life. It is a gateway to the two ruling this world, maintaining the balance, and if the Dark One gets enough of us, he will be unstoppable.'

'Fuck off, you're kidding right?' John almost laughed as he spoke.

'No,' Jitter John said, 'The Dark us killed Sem, he took her power to attack the demon, but it wasn't enough. More power was needed, it drove him insane, the need for power. Dark John thinks if he can rule then he can bring them all back, but he's wrong. The key is the first--Abigail Brown. We have been waiting for you to have the courage and honour to face your demons. You are the one John, you are the first to do it.' Jitter John pointed. 'You didn't run; the realities are becoming less. Win or lose, this is the end game John, and Dark John does not wish it so. The side wall flickered and John could see Sem running through the dust and fire.

Jitter John pointed to the wall. 'Right now you're--our--friends are helping us. They are going for the first and we need to stop both Dark John and the demon if we are to prevail.'

#

Semila ran through the dust, demons close on her trail, the sting of her tears still hot on her cheeks.

'I'm a guardian angel, John's guardian. I should not be leaving him alone. Dammit!' she shouted as she ran through the ruined streets.

'Father,' she began, 'If you can hear me, please help protect John. Amen.' It was the shortest prayer she had ever spoken, but it was the most heartfelt she'd ever delivered.

She sheathed her sword and ploughed on as fast as she could. The sounds of fighting diminished as she darted this way and that. Rogue demons hunted the streets as she ran. It was hard to ignore the screams of the dying, the screams of children pleading as they were pounced upon and devoured.

'It doesn't matter,' she said as she ran. 'I will get the first picture and we'll go back, finish it before it begins. It doesn't matter.' But it did matter, Semila knew she would never be the same again. The screams and suffering of so many people would never leave her mind. It left a scar on her soul, she knew that for a fact.

As she rounded a corner she skidded to a halt. An old man in a small red car sat staring at the traffic lights flickering from red to green to amber to green again. The car was still running, all around him cars were smashed to pieces, huge claw and teeth marks ripped car bodies to bits. Some were even on their roofs.

'Excuse me miss,' he said as he beckoned her over to him. 'I'm in a frightful mess with all this. It's the lights you see, they just won't stay on long enough for me to get going and don't even get me going with my eyesight. Old age you see.'

Sem trotted over to him. She half expected it to be John, but the old man wasn't him. 'You shouldn't be here old man,' she said as she observed all the carnage around him. 'It's not safe.'

The old man pushed his glasses up against his nose. 'Nonsense and poppycock,' he blustered. 'It's a free country, I'll do as I please. Now young miss, what the blazes is up with the lights?'

An idea came to the angel and she smiled. 'Do you know where York station is?'

'Why of course I do, worked there for years. Why do you ask?'

'I need to go there, it's pretty important that I get there fast. Can you help?' She looked him in the eyes.

'No good batting your eyelids at me missy! I gave up on those shenanigans years ago, and anyway I'm married.'

Sem looked away a little embarrassed. 'But,' he said, 'Of course I'll give you a lift, I'm still a gentleman, even though I am an old git. But I can' let you get in until I prove who I am. Right, where's my driving licence?' He delved into the glove compartment, fumbling with the lock, then through a grand stack of papers peeling from the gap.

As he did so a huge slobbering demon rounded the corner, saw Sem, and grinned, showing a human hand still stuck between its teeth. It sprinted forward, the muscles in its arms and legs propelled with the speed of a train. Each bound ripped and shook the ground as it closed in on its prey.

'Just a second! I'm sure it's here somewhere,' the old man shouted from his car.

In a flash God's Justice was in Sem's hands. She walked out onto the road and scored a line across the road with her sword, eyes fixed on the speeding demon. 'Cross the line you ugly fucker, I dare ya.'

The demon roared and bounded faster, then leaped. Sem swung with all her might, the sword hummed as it bit into the demon's flesh. The blow cut it into two steaming sections, covered Sem in black putrid blood. Both parts landed on the road and rolled to a stop, then turned to dust, swirling up into the sky.

'Got it!' the old man shouted as he stuck his hand out of the window. 'James Mason. That's me in the picture. So you can phone your mom or dad now and tell them who you're with.'

Sem smiled and slipped into the driver's seat. 'Okay granddad, I'll do that. Now to York Station...and don't spare the horses.'

The old man looked at the girl covered in what looked like black tar. He rummaged about in the glove compartment and passed her some tissues.

'It's a car missy, not a horse and carriage, and put your seatbelt on for God's sake.' He put the car into first gear, navigated around the carnage, and made his way to the station.

#

'How do we stop them?' John asked.

Jitter John shrugged. 'Get the first picture I guess, stop it all before this ever happens. You are the first John; no other John would harm you. If they do then they too are harmed, if you were clever you might put yourself in harm's way with the demon. Dark John will have to help you and one may kill the other. That will leave one to deal with. That's just a suggestion though.'

John didn't have time to think as he was Blinked back to the fight.

The demon's sword came down fast towards his head.

© Steve Ford and Joy Cronjé 2018