A Reason to Live pt 4
*Disclaimer*
The following (part 4 of the series 'A Reason to Live') contains both mystical/metaphysical and Judeo-Christian Religious aspects. If you are offended by any/all of these subjects, you are strongly encouraged to avoid reading this or any subsequent works with the title 'A Reason to Live' that are written by me. Thank you for your compliance.
A Reason to Live pt. 4
Dawn was breaking over the vast continent. Morning dew, deposited on the sand of the desert, quickly evaporated in the rising heat of the day. The granite plateau, once entirely natural, now was fantastically misshapen. Spires, created under extreme heat and pressure, dominated the once flat plateau. Near the center of the plateau, walls and towers rose into the sky.
The man in black snapped into consciousness. Though no longer human, his body still demanded rest at times. While he rested, his suit, acting on its own, paced the outline of the village. Acting in the interest of self preservation, the suit bleed off power while its host/owner/creator slept.
The man in black returned to the chieftain's longhouse. Though the sun was already beginning its daily climb, most of the Furs in the public section of the longhouse still slept. The power armored figure lost what little patience he had. Shouting out, the man's metallic voice boomed through the small structure, echoing off the walls of the village.
"Look alive, ye mongrels!" Nearly simultaneously every Fur in the village was awake, including the chief. The man in black strode calmly through the madness he had just called. Waving his armored hand, the tanned hide curtain separating the chief's room from the public areas burst into flames. Within seconds, the hide was gone. Again, the fire did not spread, burning only which the man in black targeted. The human called out. "So, wolfie, what do you think?"
The tribal chieftain was sky clad, and yet made no attempt to cover himself. Visible through the wolf's black and grey fur were several long gashes. The chief stepped through the opening and bellowed his reply.
"So, you think you can win the loyalty of my people and me through building some walls and leaving an enemy of my people as, what, I wonder, a prisoner? An informant?"
The man in black's voice suddenly turned harsh. "You are wrong, wolfie; she was a gift, a demonstration of my power, if you will. Now, I have passed your pathetic test, gather the villagers; see what their opinion is on our deal. You do remember the terms, right?"
"Of course demon" the wolf curtly replied. "But the people of this village must decide on a matter as important as this."
"Go then, and make your decision. And pray that it will be one that you and your tribe can bear."
The wolverine's eyes snapped open. Disoriented and groggy, the Fur sat up in the bed. His wife Roxanne lay sleeping peacefully next to him. In the corner of the small adobe structure, leaning against the wall, a jackal was sharpening his claws with a rough chunk of sandstone.
"Bout' time one a you two got up. Would ya care for some breakfast before we set out?"
The wolverine yawned, tossing the covers off of his side of the bed. Fully dressed, save for the combat boots which lay on the floor, the wolverine stretched, and said;
"Mornin' Kyle, what time is it? And how long have you been standing there?"
The jackal, Kyle, answered in a bored and tired sounding voice. "Probably a little after ten, if I had to guess. To answer yer second question, not long. Guess you two didn't hear me step out. So, did ya want somethin' to eat, or not?" The wolverine slid his feet into the combat boots. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he began to lace them up. At the din of the conversation, Roxanne began to stir. The eagle yawned loudly.
"G'mornin' you two. Hey babe," she said to the wolverine. "You sure were thrashing around a lot last night, are you okay?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine Roxie, but thanks." The eagle crawled out of the bed. She swung her feet out off the edge of the bed, and stood up, stepping on one of her boots in the process. "Good to hear, Ray." The jackal spoke again.
"Roxanne, since yer husband isn't answering, would you like to eat breakfast before we leave?"
"Uh me? No. Ray, how about you?" Roxanne had donned her boots, idly preening her feathers.
"Oh sorry, I thought I already said no." The morning wind had begun to die down. Ribbons of sunlight streamed through the small gaps in the door, and the moved slowly across the gravel floor.
"If you two have some last minute things you want to take care of, go ahead. I'll be outside waiting for you." The jackal strode to the door, his cloak swirling around him slightly. He pulled the bar up from the lock position on the door, opened the door and walked into the bright sunlight.
"We should maybe, uh, use the facilities before we leave" said Raymond.
Minutes later, both Furs stepped outside, joining Kyle in the late morning sunlight.
"It appears we are ready then. Ya both have plenty of water, right? 'Cause once we leave here, there won't be much, if any for a miles."
"Yeah, we both have enough water." The small group of Furs began walking south, towards the mountains. While they walked, Raymond and Roxanne began to ask Kyle questions.
Raymond loudly cleared his throat.
"Yes Raymond?" asked the jackal.
"I was wondering, uh, can I ask you a sort of personal question?"
"We've all the time it takes to cross this stretch of desert Raymond, so go ahead and ask yer question. However, just as a warning, if I don't like yer question, I might not answer it."
A startled look appeared on the wolverine's face. The booted and sandaled paw prints gradually filled in as the trio walked ahead, the wind blowing sand into the depressions.
"You haven't lived in that hut all your life, have you? I mean, did you move there or what?"
"To answer your question Raymond, I haven't lived there for all my life. I moved out into the desert when I heard the LORDcalling me. Before that, I lived in a tribal village, where I was born. Is that what ya wanted to know, Raymond, or was there a deeper element to yer question?"
"I guess so. Have you lived there alone?" The trio was moving at a semi-rapid pace, and had traveled about a mile and half in the short time.
"Had a wife, once, a beautiful wolf. She decided not to follow me when I left to follow God. I still miss her, on some days." Roxanne then asked a question.
'Wait a minute Kyle, you barely look 20 years old, how can you have already been married?" Kyle stopped in his tracks.
"Look, ahead of us there, coming over the dune." He pointed off towards a dune far to the south.
"I see them. What exactly are they?" asked Roxanne.
"What are you two seeing?!" demanded Raymond.
Far distant, a horde of shambling figures were moving towards them. Wearing only tattered and sun bleached rags, the group was not prepared for the desert heat and sun. However, the horde marched on, oblivious to the surrounding environment. As they slowly neared, it became apparent that the figures were not human or Fur, at least, not anymore. Hair and fur, bleached bone white by the sun, stood out against their skin. Hardened and darkened into leather by the harsh sun, remained only in patches on their bodies. Desiccated organs and gleaming bones were exposed where the flesh was gone.
"Walkers, Raymond. Get yer gun and make sure it's loaded. It's odd though, I've never seen them in numbers like this, usually only one and rarely two. Roxanne, do you have a weapon?"
"Yeah I've got a gun too, Kyle. It's only a .32 caliber though, will that be enough?" Roxanne stuck her hand into her pocket and pulled out a small human built pistol.
"Yes, that should do fine, as long as you hit them in the head." Raymond had reached into his backpack and pulled out his pistol, as well as a handful of bullets. Raymond looked worried briefly then a serene look settled on his face.
"Wait, headshots, are we fighting zombies?" asked Raymond. The horde was moving closer, the collective moaning carried across the wind to the Fur's ears.
"Yes Raymond; zombies that stumbled into the desert years ago and never wandered out, now can we please prepare for battle?" Raymond quieted quickly, like he was scolded. Kyle pulled his cloak up and off his body, tossing it in the sand, he said a quick prayer under his breath. A curved, bladed weapon appeared in his right hand. The two other Furs, deciding not to question it, checked their guns to make sure they were cocked and that the safeties were off. Screaming unintelligibly, Kyle charged forward, the blade in his hand flashing in the pre-noon sunlight. Sighing, the other two Furs moved forward as well, holding their fire until they were closer.
Kyle had reached the walkers, and he was only a blur, twisting and moving as his blade danced through the zombies' bodies. Raymond moved forward, firing his pistol three times in quick succession. Three of the shambling corpses near the front of the mob fell to the sand and stopped moving. Roxanne opened fire on the horde, her bullets making clear holes through the heads of the undead. Zombies and body parts fell to the sand as Kyle and his blade whirled through the unthinking masses. The combined roar of the gunfire drowned out all sound. To the living combatants, time seemed to flow at an insane pace.
Just as suddenly as the battle had begun, it was over. Raymond and Roxanne walked over the corpse strewn battlefield, pausing now and then to discharge a round into the head of any still 'living' zombies. Kyle stood calmly on the gore coated sand.
"No one got bit, right?" The jackal was absently flicking bits of viscera off of his fur.
"I'm okay" said Roxanne while reloading her .32. Raymond grabbed Kyle's discarded cloak off the desert floor.
"Yeah I'm clear too. I think this is yours." He tossed the cloak into the air towards the jackal. Kyle deftly caught the cloak. Slipping it over his head, he began to walk south.
"Sun's still high in the sky, got plenty more time to walk today. You two ready?" Raymond and Roxanne had both returned their weapons to their proper places. Raymond began to follow the jackal. Roxanne lingered behind at the battleground. Noticing Roxanne wasn't walking with him, Raymond turned around.
"You okay baby?" Roxanne hesitated, staring at the remains at the ground.
"Yeah, Ray, I'm fine. But are we going to bury these-these bodies?" Kyle, who had not stopped and now was a few paces ahead, called over his shoulder.
"Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead." Roxanne started looking forward, then looked back, just briefly. She started walking south, quickly catching up with the other two.
Deep in the mountains, an unknown, compelling force was driving animals into a frenzy. The tribals had chosen to accept the offer of the mysterious man in black. As soon as the decision was reached, the sound of falling rocks reverberated into the village. The tribals rushed outside as one, eager to see what new miracle the strange man had brought them. Lying broken and mangled on top of the rubble were the bodies of mountain goats and big horn sheep. Something had scared the animals, and they had in their panic fled, running off the mountain edges, striking the sides of the mountain and causing rocks to cascade down. Rejoicing in this new found bounty, some of the tribals ran to the main structure, to retrieve knives and scrapers, while others began to work at removing the rocky rubble which covered the raw feast.
The wolf chieftain was among the last to see the animals. When he saw the thousands of pounds of usable meat, the words the man in black had spoken to him were brought to the front of his mind. He turned around and began to walk back into the longhouse, intent on finding the man in black. The wolf walked through the entrance to the hut, and collided into the man in black. The man in black grabbed the wolf under the muzzle, lifting him into the air.
"So, I assume you have some news for me, wolfie." The wolf's feet kicked in the air as he struggled to free himself. His fingers were desperately clawing at the human's armored grip.
The man in black tightened his grip, nearly crushing the Fur's jaw.
"I won't ask you again, mongrel. Now, do you have something to tell me?" The man dropped the Fur, gravity pulling the figure down. The wolf landed on his knees and began rubbing his sore jaw. Finally, he spoke.
"We-we agreed to your terms. But you promised us weapons and females too, not just food." The man in black laughed.
"One thing at a time, wolfie."
To be continued...