© Ron |
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She had been
travelling for a long time, the man could see that much. The life had run out
of her, and even by the warm glow of firelight she seemed to flicker and fade
like a shadow. The woman glanced up, her wild, animalistic eyes catching the
light. She sat, huddled, a thick blanket pulled up across her frame. Still she
did not speak. The only sound was the hissing and spitting of the fire,
releasing sparks into the infinite night. The
man cocked his head slightly, surveying her. She may have been beautiful, in the past. A striking
beauty. Coming in out of the cold she had seemed majestic and defiant, striding
despite her exhaustion. Now, she had collapsed, deflated and shrunk back into
her shell of terror. Her skin seemed pulled taught across her bones, and though
she must have been in her middle years it was as if death were a moment away.
He narrowed his pale blue eyes, and unfolded his limbs to reach out to
her. He too had suffered. Once
dark-haired and handsome, with midnight blue eyes that flashed with passion and
malice, he had been reduced to a mere waif. Pale, bleached limbs, hair the
colour of cold ash, and eyes misted as if with cataracts. His strong build had
been grotesquely deformed into something else, something with arms like legs
and a thin, narrow chest. At least he wasn’t dead. Yes, he grinned, at least he
wasn’t dead! The same couldn’t be said for the others. Their bones lay
frozen , suspended in the thick grey mud. First, there had been psychosis.
Driven mad, they were, by the hellish land. Slowly they died, unwanted by their
Creators, suffering the terrible fate of Forget. They were outside the sphere of consciousness,
and no longer needed. So they were Forgotten, and in time simply - died. He
grinned broader. Not him, though. He was still here. He still had his wits
about him. It was him, after all, who
had brought his little band of followers out here, it was he who had had the
will to defy. He may have all but forgotten who he was (his name had disappeared
long ago) but he was alive! He had done it – he had defied his Creators
The woman would end up
the same way. Unable to leave, she would surely die here. Already he could see
she was forgetting herself, lapsing into semi-consciousness and jerking back
awake. He touched her shoulder and she pulled away, eyes widening. Temporarily,
she was fully awake. She remembered what she was here for. Slowly, out came her
cargo. The reason she was here, condemned to certain death or else madness. He deftly
scurried round, eyes large and smile wider. He plucked it from her hands, and
she stiffened, fighting the urge to take it back. But no, this was its fate.
This was why it was here. He gently removed the swathes of cloth, and laughed:
a short, abrupt laugh that echoed into the night. It almost sounded… sane. He
swung his head round to face her. He nodded., A silent decision was made, a
decision that echoed louder across the plain than any other sound that night.
(c) Ron.... makes me laugh :)
ReplyDeleteHaha I couldn't find his surname...
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