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)

Point of No Return

Meker walked out on the little islet, sat down and looked at the river flow by. It had been a hard day. Too hard. The sound of the stream took the problems a bit further away, made tomorrow less real.

Something moved under the water. It was too big to be a fish, too big even to be human. He took a step away from the river bank.

It came closer, moving into the shallow water in front of him. It had a purple glow and swam almost like a human, only better. A face came up, staring at him with big, sparkling eyes. She was beautiful. Soft, mild, looking at him with curiosity. Another one came swimming behind her. Yet another came up on the other side.

She made a purring sound, a sound of pleasure and joy. She looked happy, friendly. They were all around him, looking at him, studying him. He felt small, they were more than double his size.

-Hello, he tried. They looked intelligent enough to speak, but he doubted they would know his language, or any other human language.

Her mouth moved back towards something that resembled a smile. Her eyes deflected, just for a moment, then she stared at him again. She held her hand out, slim and gentle. He hesitated, felt like an intruder.

He took her hand. She pulled him out, into the water. He felt unsafe. Intrigued. The others came closer, smiling, laughing, playing. They took his clothes off. He didn’t object.

They played in the water, passing him around between them, kissing him, using him. It felt strangely good. Something inside him told him it was wrong, they weren’t human, but their touch felt divine, like they had come from a higher place, deeper than nature, above, beyond

They pulled him under water. He panicked, fought to break loose, to get up. He got his head above the surface, gasped for air. They laughed, touched him, kissed him all over.

He was under water again, once again he panicked. The stream was getting stronger, or they were swimming faster. He got weaker. He hardly breathed any more, even when he had the chance.

He was lying on sandy ground in darkness, not knowing where he was. He remembered pleasure and pain, lust and fear. It all felt like a dream, but there he was, wet and naked.

He sat up. Where was he?

-Hello? His voice echoed between walls he could not see, a roof high above… (more)

The Dead Man

-You’re late.

-Sorry, Jake. He put up a fight.

-A fight? He was supposed to be drugged.

-He was. I think he was, but he was fucking impossible to kill. We had to strangle him for ages.

-Well, get him in there and let’s get going… Wait… That’s not.. That not him, you morons!

-What do you mean it’s not him? It has to be! He was the only one there!

Ted and Jeremy dropped the body on the ground.

-I know his fucking face! That’s not Byron, I tell you.

-Now what the hell do we do? Ted scratched his head.

-Well, we still have a body to get rid of. Jeremy pulled the dead body’s leg..

-Aaaaaahhhh…

-What was that?

-He made a sound. Jake poked him with his shovel.

-Aaammmmmaaaaahhh…

-He’s alive, goddamnit! Can’t you stupid fuckers do anything right? You were supposed to do one little simple thing, bring him here dead, and you come with the wrong guy, and he’s fucking alive! How stupid can you be?

-He’s not fucking alive, asshole, and you better be careful who you… Ted took a threatening step closer.

Jake slapped him in the face with the shovel. Ted fell on the ground, stayed there with his face in the grass.

Jeremy grabbed the shovel, pulled it. Swung Jake off his feet. He fell on top of him, punched him in the face.

-You fucking lunatic! Take that! And that!

Jake’s eyes widened, looking over Jeremy’s shoulder. Jeremy turned his head. Weight came down on him.

-Oooooooooaaaaaahhhhh…

The dead man sunk his teeth into the back of his head… (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)

A Reason to Exist

We’re freaks living in a meaningless world! There’s nowhere to go, you fools! Monster shouted. -There is no more to find, no more to see!

-There has to be! We neeeeeeed it to be! There has to be something more than this, something that makes sense!

Nose sat there, chewing on the grass he ate yesterday. He had heard this conversation many times before, it was getting old. After a while he said: -I think it does make sense, really. The grass, the rocks. I think it’s all pretty meaningful.

-We need something to give the grass meaning! If not, there’s no meaning at all!

-Exactly! Monster said, frustrated. -There is none. Cope with it.

Nose kept chewing… (more)