Lost Hope

Look! Over there! Niklas pointed towards a factory building. -We have to get going!

There was something on the roof. A waving flag,

They walked on, as fast as their tired legs could take them. Georg knew he was a burden, he knew Niklas would be better off without him, but he said nothing. Niklas wouldn’t leave him, That he was sure of.

Rocks, bricks and rubbish everywhere. They stepped over what they could, walked around what they could not. The smell of toxic smoke lay over what once had been a city. A screaming scavenger. An explosion in a distance.

-Hurry up! We’re almost there!

-Wait! I… I can’t…

Niklas stopped, looked at his friend. The last months had been hell for everyone. The first days they had seen it on the news. Attacks all around the globe.

Sometimes he thought the lucky ones where the ones dead.

Soon the news had stopped. The gunshots and the screams had come closer. Then everything went wrong. Niklas missed his parents, but he knew Georg had taken the loss of his little sister a lot harder.

Something moved on top of a building.

-Fuck! Georg said, looking around. -They’re here!

-Run!!!

They ran towards the factory. The monster came out from the piles of broken concrete, out from the ruins, of the flames. They moved fast, wiggling unnaturally like some kind of scorpions. Some walked on two legs. Other crawled on the ground

Georg fell. Niklas stopped, pulled him up on his feet. A monster jumped down on the path in front of them. Another came crawling up from behind… (more)

A Cold Shower

She went down to the water, took a deep breath of fresh air. Felt the sunlight on her naked body. Warm, healthy. She felt good.

The pond was cold, a nice contrast to the hot air. Clean mountain water running down the valley, towards the forest further down.

She sat down in the shallow water, laid back. Let it cover her body, her head. Came up fresher, new, like she always did, like a new person coming up in another world.

The little waterfall was all she heard, and was in that moment all there was. She was happy. Back in the village people had their problems, their lives, but they didn’t concern her now. She was here, naked, beautiful and all alone.

She went over to the little waterfall. Touched it, felt its power, the strength of the falling water. Turned around, let it fall on her back. Let her hair underneath, her face. The water became her, and she became the water.

She felt someone watching her. Pulled her head out, opened her eyes. There was no one there. Her paranoia made her laugh. No one ever came up here, it was her secret place, her little hideout, the place where she could always be alone.

She put her face under again. The same strange feeling. She pulled her head out, opened her eyes.

A monster was staring at her. Several monsters, hanging over the edge of the hill.

She screamed.

They were gone, as if they were never there.

She looked around. Nothing. No sign, no trace.

It must have been my imagination. Maybe I should get back.

She waded over to the shore where her clothes was. She didn’t feel safe any more, she felt threatened, watched. She heard something in the bushes. Froze.

A man came out, stepped on her clothes… (more)

After the Thunderstorm

-There are no one living in the cities any more. We all left, fled into the wilderness up here, hid in our deep caves. Our city is now a ghost town, empty, dead. Waiting for the next time he’ll come around.

That day was today. The rain had stopped, the thunder was far away. They knew the One of Two Trunks would come looking for them, looking to harvest their bodies, just like it had done for the first time so many years ago.

-We were unaware, unready. The storm was fierce, vicious. Lightning and thunder breaking at once, just over our heads. When it calmed down, people walked out, to continue their shores. The clouds were moving, the sky could be seen between them.

Father silenced. Painful memories tormented his mind. That’s when it had arrived. A god, there to destroy them.

-He came down on the city with terrible force. His trunks were everywhere, killing everyone in their way. Made us run, made us flee. Only a few survived, a few who managed to escape into the wilderness.

-Now it is back, Father said to his son.

The clouds spread again, like it always did after a thunderstorm. Between them a figure took shape, bigger than the mountains, big as the sky. It moved like the clouds, seemingly slowly from a distance.

-Father, I’m scared!

-So am I, little one, but we’re safe up here. The caves are deep and long, and there are many exits in many places. If it comes too close, we’ll hide, but I’ve never seen it come up into the mountains.

They stood in silence. The monster hovered over the abandoned city, searching, waiting. It turned its head towards them. Pil could have sworn their eyes met. He could ha sworn it knew who he was… (more)

Moment of Glory

Yeah yeah yeah, baby!

The crowd went wild. The lights, the drugs, the music pumping though the masses. The concert was the best they ever did. The press was there. TV. This would be their great breakthrough.

Jaime Jetpack’s blurry vision made the whole place vibrate. The walls came back and forth, the crowd made strange multidimensional waves. He hardly ever remembered his concerts, but this was ridiculous.

Some chick was taking her shirt off, exposing her tits. He liked that. Tits were good, hopefully she’d look him up later.

The music stopped. Cheers, wild screams and applause. Jaime stood quiet, absorbing the moment, and working a bit on staying on his feet while the hall was swaying in a delightful way.

-Thank you! Thank you, you’re a great audience, he said after a while. -This one one is for the girl with the white shirt in her hand… (more)

Dirt Valley

“They were once human beings, now lying around as stinking piles, feeding on the flies attracted by their stench. They do not move, they do not speak, just lie around in stinking suffering.”

The words of the old man lingered in Drove’s mind as he looked into the valley. He could already smell the stench, and a welcome committee of flies was swarming around his head.

His horse pranced and neighed. This was not good place to be.

He forced his horse forward.

They walked in between the tall canyon walls. Soon he saw them, lying on the ground. Men who had tried to find better land. He was different. He was not afraid.

He rode down rocky slopes, through a river so dirty he had never seen the like. The smell stayed on his horse’s legs, tearing his nose. The animal suffered as well. He felt dizzy, sick to his stomach. He heard the piles around him moan in agony and self disgust. Their suffering dug into his back with the evening sun.

His horse stepped in something. Drove looked down. A pile of dirt looked up on him with tortured, pleading eyes… (more)

Strike of Luck

By the bank Palit got his flute out. He blew a long, monotone sound. Then they waited.

Nothing happened.

-Maybe we’re in the wrong place? Nista glanced over at Palit staring out on the lake.

-Look!

The water moved. Something came up, emerged through the surface.

A hippo creature, big as a whale. It moved in to the shore and waited.

Palit leaped out on the big beast’s back. -Come on, jump!

Nista hesitated. It didn’t look safe. The animal sunk down, moved away from the shore.

-Jump!

She jumped, landed on its back. Slipped, fell into the water. Palit pulled her up.

The journey was long. The creature walked on the bottom where it could, swam where it had to. The water got deeper, the rocks on the sides taller.

-Where are we going? Nista said.

-I have no idea. The old man only told me I had to blow the flute. The rest would be up to fate.

They moved out into open water…. (more)