How It Ends
MG Allan
People assumed that because Eddie was married to Seth, Seth must tell him the plans for the Otherworlds series. They were wrong. Seth had never shared his plans for the series with anyone. Not his agent, not his editor, not his mother, and not his husband. He had said in the press on more than one occasion that he knew exactly how the adventures of his fictional character Milo would end. Still, he felt it was important to guard that information like a highly classified secret.
At first, this had upset Eddie. It made him wonder if perhaps Seth didn’t really trust him, that he thought Eddie might get on social media and blast the ending of the series to the world. However, over time, Eddie came to accept that this was just part of Seth’s process as a writer. Like the book jacket signed by Terry Pratchett that Seth had framed over his desk, or that he started writing at exactly 6:13 in the morning, or that he always played the soundtrack to Titanic during his sessions at the computer. Writers were quirky, and it was largely Seth’s quirks that had made Eddie fall in love with him.
So Eddie found out what was happening with Milo and his quest to repair the rip in the fabric of reality that caused multiple dimensions to bleed into one another only when each subsequent book was released, just like the rest of the world. Eddie had become such a fan of the books that he was tempted to ask for a sneak peek sometimes, but refrained. It would be like taking down the framed book jacket and running it through the shredder.
Now that the Otherworlds series was near the end (Seth had finished the final book two months ago, and it was due out in the fall of next year), the media and the public alike were in a frenzy. Desperate to know how the series would wrap up and the ultimate fate of plucky young hero Milo Faulkes. Eddie was dying to know as well.
Dying.
***
The first sign that anything was wrong hardly seemed like anything to worry about. Eddie began to feel fatigued, lethargic, and drained. When Seth would comment on this, Eddie shrugged it off and said, “I’m tired, that’s all.” However, no amount of rest seemed to alleviate the fatigue. He could spend all day in bed watching classic films with Bette Davis, and he would feel as if he’d run a marathon. Then came the constipation, coupled with a loss of appetite. Eddie started to lose weight, which at first seemed a blessing as he’d been carrying an extra thirty pounds around for too long.
Seth, who was normally quite distracted when in the middle of writing a book, noticed these things and expressed his concern, urging Eddie to see their doctor. Eddie promised he would, but then kept putting it off. He had grown up with a hypochondriac aunt who went to the doctor for every little thing, imagined or otherwise. Eddie didn’t want to be that way.
What finally convinced him to make an appointment with Dr. Reed was the blood in his stool.
***
Colon cancer. Seemed insane. Eddie was only thirty-five, not even of the age when they recommend your first colonoscopy. Didn’t feel real. Of course, Dr. Reed assured him that many cancer patients made full recoveries after treatment. He made sure to tell Eddie that when he referred him to a specialist.
The first step was surgery to determine how bad the cancer was. What stage, and if it had spread to any other organs? Eddie’s online research had told him stage four was the worst, and that the cancer was hardwired to spread and could infect your liver, lungs, spine, brain, even your bones themselves. Seth told him to stop looking for worst-case scenarios.
***
When Eddie came to in the recovery room after the surgery, he felt groggy and disoriented. The first thing he saw was Seth sitting right next to his bed, holding his hand.
“Hey, cream-puff,” Eddie slurred, recognizing he’d never called Seth that before in his life. The anesthesia must still have him slightly high.
Seth leaned over the bed and planted a soft kiss on Eddie’s forehead. “Welcome back, sleepy head.”
Eddie glanced around the room, empty except for the two of them. “Has the doctor been here yet with the results?”
At first, Seth didn’t say anything, but he blinked rapidly. “Before they get here, I want to tell you something.”
“Let me guess, you love me?”
“Always, but I have something else I want to share with you.”
Eddie felt almost as if the room were a ship at sea, pitching and rolling slightly. He squeezed Seth’s hand. “Tell me.”
“Milo is going to die.”
Eddie frowned, feeling a bit of mental whiplash from this abrupt turn in the conversation. “What?”
“Milo is going to die,” Seth repeated, and a single tear streaked down his cheek. “He’s going to realize the only way to permanently close the rift and restore balance to all the dimensions is to sacrifice himself. He throws himself into the rift with the amulet the sorcerer gave him in the last book.”
In Eddie’s altered state, it took him a moment to realize Seth was telling him how the Otherworlds series was going to end. The last book, which was due out in six months. Six short months.
Eddie’s vision blurred with his own tears. He squeezed his husband’s hand tighter. “So that’s how it ends, huh? Well, that’s going to piss off some people.”
Seth started to speak, but his voice cracked, and he just nodded and then kissed Eddie’s hand.
“It’s a good ending,” Eddie assured him. “Satisfying and worth the wait.”
“As you said, it’s going to really upset some of the readers.”
“You can’t please everyone. For some, they would probably be perfectly happy if the story never came to a conclusion but went on and on forever. That’s just not how the world works. Every story has to end, and not all endings are happily-ever-afters.”
“But some stories end way too soon,” Seth said.
“Can’t argue with that.”
The two sat in silence after that, and Eddie found the presence of his husband a comfort. Seth had given him a gift, something that most people didn’t have.
Eddie knew how it was going to end.
MG Allan spent nearly two decades publishing horror and suspense under another name before shifting his focus to work of a more personal and queer nature. You can find him on Substack (https://substack.com/@mgallan) and BlueSky (https://bsky.app/profile/mg-allan.bsky.social)
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