Chapter 10: The One that Fell
I slept a short sleep beneath a small tree that was growing at an odd angle in the center of someone's front yard that night, dreaming a nonsensical dream in which someone was calling my name for help… When I woke, I barely remembered the dream; the shock of being awoken by the entire village seemed to drive the memories of it away. The hustle and bustle of passerby at first greatly annoyed me, but as their waking me would provide answers, my feelings of anger and resentment soon dissipated-- now someone somewhere would be able to give me the details on where I was. I stood, and after a few minutes of staring at screaming children, limping elderly people, and giggling teenagers in awe, I finally chose one of the less intimidating-looking ones, and approached her, "Excuse me, Miss," I began, trying to sound polite, "but could you please tell me where I am?" but to my great surprise, she ignored me, and continued her steady pace southbound without having even acknowledged me-- she was obviously a stuck-up widow or something the likes of. I rolled my eyes-- What a bitch, I thought to myself, turning around to ask another woman where I was; she looked to be around my age, and appeared less prissy than the other, "Excuse me, but…" I drifted off; she ignored me as well, and I became even more annoyed-- was everyone in this village stuck-up and haughty? Why couldn't they simply answer me-- even a definite "no" would be better than silence!
They had ears, didn't they?
Couldn't they pause for ten seconds to give me the information I sought? It wasn't brain-surgery; a simple answer-- two, maybe three syllables.
Well, there was no time to stand around harping on my anger, so I chose to walk on instead; trying to get a good look at them-- the stuck up snobs that they were. The women were eerily beautiful; tall, with perfect creamy-white complexions that seemed to glow; perfect hair, and gowns flowing long and white, while the men seemed simply frightening; taller than human-beings, broad-shouldered, they carried long knives, and a few seemed red with blood-- I could not say that they were handsome, for they also carried a certain air of hostility to anyone who chose to block their path-- even for a mere second. I chose to stay as far away as possible from them. I was utterly exhausted after a few minutes of following them; in order to keep up, I was forced to jog every few seconds, and it left me nearly out of breath. As I continued to follow them, I found that they looked very similar to each-other, and all had heads slightly larger than those which normal human beings possess-- their heads were elongated, so they obviously had larger-than-normal brains-- perhaps this was a missing link from the evolutionary chain-- glimpses into the future of what human beings would eventually look like; perhaps this was a day in the very distant future on earth… I could not be sure. But, are they human…? I wondered, as I stared at the hundreds of people walking around the streets; other than the few gossiping and giggling teenagers, they all seemed so preoccupied-- frightened, even… Scared of some sort of fore coming doom; An apocalypse, I realized; they continued to remain unaffected over my presence. So, I then decided to join a large group, and just listen in on their conversations… I walked beside them, "They say that they are approaching," one was whispering hurriedly to another; her voice was more than slightly panicky.
"But many have said that they are already among us," a small girl in a pale pink get-up retorted, frightened, while the others stared at her skeptically, "That's just silly, dear," another said, although her voice didn't sound as if she believed this-- the others were clearly thinking the exact opposite of her words. My heart began to race, "Excuse me?" I asked, as the group quickened their pace, "Nothing is the same now," one said in a tearful whisper, "They found Xarabell's body in a ravine just yesterday," the others clucked their tongues in sympathy, "And her mother…?" another began, "Nearly went mad-- she tried to kill herself… Would've been successful too if that meddling husband of her hadn't intervened."
"Meddling?" another asked, worry in her tone, "She would've been dead had he not stopped her!"
"Would you want to live if your little girl was dead…? I know I wouldn't," the others nodded their heads in fear, "How old was the little thing?" someone asked.
"Twelve, I believe," she paused; contemplating what the girl had told them earlier, "If only they had never come here," she whispered, her voice trembling with worry.
"So, you believe that they have been among us from the beginning, Zycronea…? That's not like you."
"I don't think any of us knows what to believe anymore, Prosenthia… The girl wasn't the first to die… There have been others; it seems as if--"
"Please, stop!" a tearful woman suddenly interjected, "We won't be doing ourselves any good if we drive ourselves mad--"
There were whispered agreements between them; Where are we going? I suddenly wondered, now finding it useless to ask them out loud, Maybe I'm not meant to be seen here, I thought, as their pace at last slowed. I stared at the group and gasped. The small girl had begun to scream. Everyone's attention was suddenly upon her-- even the men that I had done my best to avoid all the while were staring with wide frightened eyes, "What's the matter?" someone asked; clearly a mother figure, as the girl pointed up towards the sky, and then as her lips opened to form an answer, she collapsed onto the soft ground without any warning.
I froze directly in my tracks; frightened for the fate of the little girl who had fallen, but nonetheless, I could not direct my attention towards her. My heartbeat quickening, I followed the others' intent gaze towards the sky, and watched out of the corner of my eyes as the girl was picked up from the ground, and a woman-- perhaps her mother, began to run away with her, "Take the young!" someone was screaming, and my heart continued to race as I realized that something terrible was about to happen. The skies had quickly darkened, and the sun was rapidly being blocked out by clouds-- all around me, madness ensued as men, women and children ran around aimlessly, frightened and confused by what was going on. Some, however, stopped dead in their tracks-- even the mother and daughter, What's happening? I wondered, and then it began.
A single flash of light-- an approaching storm, obviously-- but I had never seen storm clouds so dark-- so unreal.
"Hurry!" a male voice called out, miraculously being heard over all of the panic, "They're coming. They're coming!"
More screams were heard, and then the panicked people of the village began to run in all directions; those who had stood frozen in their tracks only seconds before were now behaving as if their feet had caught on fire-- babies were screaming in their mother's eyes, and older children were lost in the crowd, screaming for their parents to save them. Names of loved ones were called, but it was all for nothing, "Oh my God," I whispered, realizing what was happening; some were rising from the waters of the rivers, dripping, while others seemed to fall from out of the sky; they were all in their true forms-- there was no need to disguise themselves any longer. I felt my gut tightening as the leader of the group looked upon the panicked people of the village coldly-- almost hungrily, "A feast," it whispered, sending chills up my spine.
There was a second wild flash of light; the small child and her mother-- the girl who had spoken with such intelligence and understanding-- I felt tears in my eyes, though I had never personally known her. They were both now dead-- killed by one of the many shaskas, who knew not to feel any remorse for their vicious crimes.
People were dying all around me, and yet there was absolutely nothing I could do about it; the blood of all the men, women and children soon flowed throughout the streets-- flooding the rivers-- turning them a darker and darker shade of red with each passing second I stood there, looking on. The survivors continued to scream in agony as more shaskas magically appeared; some from the skies, some from the bloody rivers, while others still, simply emerging from the cottages, and joining their companions.
They were among them from the beginning, I realized, as I fell to the floor in fright at the heaps of fresh corpses that were quickly piling up-- blocking the screaming inhabitants of the village, as they continued their attempts to escape. A stench of death hung in the air, and I gagged, They're all dying-- how can this be happening...?
The most horrifying aspect of the slaughtering of the villagers was that they were all being obliterated from the face of this world so quickly-- the shaskas worked quickly… They spared no one. I stood, my stomach heaved violently, and I vomited. I screamed in horror at the sights of a world ending-- all the while wondering if this would be a repeat when the next world ended-- also wondering which one it would be.
The stone around my neck began to burn me again. I wanted to leave, but all the while, I knew I couldn't-- I knew I must stay, and see the end-- whoever had sent me here wanted that.
More screams of terror. More deaths. Before I knew it, only the shaskas remained; their hands red with blood, and their masks of false beauty returned. They smiled, content with their handiwork. The leader who had declared their rampage "a feast" raised a single hand, and the bodies of the dead faded away to nothingness; It is as if they never existed, I realized, There is nothing left behind-- not even a clue, "Quenilecauj," one addressed the leader, "We must be gone before the others arrive," she slowly nodded her beautiful head, and her long amber curls bounced gently, "I am nearly finished, Zsheeka," she smiled wickedly, and waved her hands once again; the waters of the rivers boiled for a few seconds, and then the steam rose in torrents above us, and into the air The small huts shrunk away into the ground, and I knew that even if a search was done, they would never be found; It is as if they never existed, I thought to myself for a second time, as the shaskas too disappeared-- their laughter, however, continued to ring in my ears, as I stood there, minutes later, reliving the horrors of what I had just seen… How long had it been? Ten minutes? Twenty? A whole civilization had been wiped out in less than an hour, and no one would ever know.
With them, the clouds were gone as well, and the skies were cleared; leaving the once thriving world dry and barren.
The blood, however, remained.
It pooled at my feet, staining the ground red; the sole reminder of what had transpired here; minutes later, it disappeared as well, but its reddish tint remained everywhere around me. Dust blew around me, and I cried biter tears, now knowing where I was.
I stood there a few seconds longer, watching in awe as men and women materialized out of thin air. They were crying as well; I was unsure who or what they were, but I knew they were not shaskas.
"Our work is finished here..." a voice whispered in my head. I nodded, wiping the warm tears away, "Take me back," I whispered.
And before I have even had the chance to finish my request, the dead world has faded away into darkness, and I am zooming back through everything-- back to my cave in the desert...
And all the way back, I continued to cry.