“What if I never come back?” I swallowed the bile beginning to attack the back of my throat and clutched at my stomach. I closed my eyes. I couldn’t look at Eloinee. Those perfectly golden eyes made me feel sick with guilt.

“You were born for this Jeremiah, you’re the only one who can take us.”

I shook my head trying not to throw up. I grabbed Eloinee’s arm and steadied myself.

“I’m not a hero, Eloinee, I’m just a nobody inventor who got lucky.”

“How can that be true?” She sat me down in front of the stone stargate, “You captured the hearts of the entire nation, you’re going to save us all.”

My stomach gurgled and I tasted the first acidy traces of sick. I put my head in my hands and rubbed my temples hard.

“This is a mistake. I wasn’t even meant to be studying torsion physics, Eloinee. I can’t do this. I can’t go. It’s all a big mistake. I was just looking for free energy for godsake.”

Eloinee slapped at my face so hard my hands slipped off my knees and I clasped my throbbing hand.

“What the hell was that for?”

She pressed her lips tight and slumped into a chair next to me sighing.

“Jeremiah, it doesn’t matter what you want to do. This isn’t a choice. You may not have meant to discover the stargates, but you did. So get a grip. This is bigger than you. Don’t you get it?” She leant forward, and took my reddened hand in hers, bringing it to her lips, “This is about hope. It’s always been about hope.”

She kissed my hands and leant in to plant a tender peck on my cheek.

“You aren’t just my hope Jeremiah, you are the hope of a nation. Our world is dying, and you are going to be our saviour. I believe in you more than I have ever believed in anything. You were never a ‘nobody’ to me. But now… Now, you are a ‘somebody’ to everyone. You have to be our hope Jeremiah, you just have to.”

Tears spilled onto her pink cheeks. My heart ached looking into her furrowed eyes. If I couldn’t go for the nation, I had to go for Eloinee.

I just nodded. I couldn’t speak. If I spoke, I would lose the strength she had given me.

I stood up, pulling her up and into my arms. I couldn’t say goodbye. So I touched my forehead to hers and breathed in the scent of her sweet skin. I took a last look into her golden eyes, I would never forget them, they were my hope.
I left her alone in the room and walked to the stone stargate. She was right. I could save us all. I touched my hand to the gate, and stepped into the unknown…