Purity
Cracks . Cracks, as far as the eye could see, lay across the wasteland that once festered life; that was
a long time ago, only the wisest of men could remember those days. The cracks themselves each had
a story, one of death and torment caused when the Great Channelling erected a horror that could
never be undone. They ran deep and wide; large enough for a small baby to fall into, a careless
mistake it would never forget nor have a chance to remember, as the snap of the neck from the fall
would be too quick.
The sun glared down as always, watching the shadowy figures dance across the ground. It had
witnessed a lot of pain on this planet, and also taken its fair share of lives from dehydration. It was
the thing that preserved life but also brought death, a double edged sword that balanced humanities
very existence. It knew this, and enjoyed the praise the simple, uncivilized humans brought upon it
whilst also being pleasured by the last curse of a pathetic creature who was too stupid to find a way
out of the endless desert.
No plants grew here, it was completely bare, save a few interesting mountainous regions and weeds
that rebelliously clung to the nostrils of existence. The only thing that lived here, save that, was the
Giganctus, giant rats. They harboured underground, and had done so ever since the Great
Channelling that cursed them onto this crimson land. At the red glow of sunset, they would burrow
out and prowl the desert, devouring not only plants and animals, but each other too. They lived in
fear and desperation, and brought it on others too. Many small pieces of bone lay across the span of
the desert, never full skeletons though, as the rats ate most of them. A survivalist would know that
many skeletons were a good sign of approaching a quiet Oasis, where life could be sustained for a
couple of years. How large was the Great Desert? No human knew, but the Sun did.
The Desert....was Earth.
Humanity had stripped Earth to its bare minimum, and now, it lay in ruins. There were a few small
settlements remaining, but many of these had dissipated in recent years. Ambition had lead to
jealousy, jealousy to war, war...to death. In the last 10 years, the Sun had seen nobody make it to
the deep areas of the desert, where even the rats feared to tread. Ancient secrets lay waiting, some
better left undiscovered. Statistically, it was almost completely impossible for a human to make it.
That all changed...
A Man. One with fire in his eyes and the will of a demigod, rose out of the darkness of a burrow he
had snatched after decapitating its former rodent lodgers the night before, and placed a dusted hat
on his head. He looked worn, presumably in his early thirties. It was evident he had not shaved for
months, as a great beard swallowed many of his facial features. He had light blue eyes, filled with
compassion; something most humans had forgotten. He wore a loose jacket and tattered jeans with
animal claws embedded into them. The dirty brown of his clothes almost camouflaged him into the
Desert. He had a finger missing on his left hand; the wound had healed over leaving a fraction of
what had been there a couple of years ago. As the man lurched out of the cave, it became evident
to the Sun that he was clinging onto something in his right hand.
Something...or someone?
It was in fact, a small child; A weak, miserable and dying one who had lost the joy of innocence a
long time ago. The pink frock made it evident it was a small girl. She looked just as tattered as the
By DDM295
Purity
man, but had a large rag covering her right shoulder. Blood stains lay across the edge of it. The Sun
suddenly understood.
Ah! So that is why they travel here!
As they climbed out fully, it became obvious how frail they were. They looked like they had been
living off Rat for a couple of weeks, which lacked the nutrition needed for a child. The tattered man
had a metal water canister strapped to his waist that emitted a slight slopping noise as the he
walked. The Sun knew it didn’t contain water though. Water may be crucial, but urine is far more
important to carry, as it can repel the Rats if you cover your scent with it. The Man also had a gun in
a holster, which looked older than time itself. If that thing fired properly, it would surely be a
miracle.
The Child and Man never spoke, in the 8 hours they travelled that day. The Man gripped her tighter
than the noose of love; never wanting to let go. They never made eye-contact, why was quite
apparent when considering the Child’s eyes. They were a bulging red that seemed to communicate
pure evil when glanced upon. The Man obviously could not bring himself to look, even his strength
knew what those eyes meant, that time may be running out and all hope lost.
This will be interesting.
After a hard day of solid walking, the Sun began to sink and the Moon began to climb, two brothers
duelling in fate. As the Sun sunk it instructed its brother to tell of what happens to the Man and Girl
over the course of the night. The Moon agreed, and took a watch from the sky, a lone sentinel
surrounded by white sparkles of childish joy that felt so close to touch, yet too far to feel. It was time
to find a burrow for the night. The Man would do this by carefully peering in each one to check the
inhabitants were trapped in their lucid dreams. The first one was a bad call, and a rat lunged out at
him. This Rat was quite small, about 3 and a half feet long; the Man had no trouble slicing its head
clean off with his blade as it jumped for his throbbing throat. It clumped on the ground nearby and
its blood began to ooze out onto the hot ground. Besides that, the burrow seemed empty besides a
few baby ones, so the Man climbed in carefully and broke their necks. He then skinned them, in
front of the girl, who seemed not to care anymore than he did, and made a fire with a few loose
twigs to try and get some light into the cesspit that would be their home for the night. He also
covered the entrance with the scent of urine, so to keep the rodents at bay long enough to have a
good taste of the meat. They were weak babies, and cooked relatively quickly. The Man brought the
headless rat in as well, to add more food to this feast. Once the animals had been gorged upon, the
Man sat with the child in his arms, still avoiding eye contact. A great silence was held as the fire died
out quietly, the man seemed not to even notice or care. At last, the girl spoke; she had a rough
voice, and sounded dreadfully ill.
“How long do we have...father?”
The Man did not respond.
“How long do we have....father?”
He seemed to be deep in thought. At last he whispered to her:
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Purity
“I’m not your father anymore.”
He finally brought himself to look into her eyes. He could see the pain she was experiencing, the only
thing keeping her alive was her solid willpower. Even that seemed to be faltering now though.
Looking into her eyes gave a feeling of sheer cold, which seemed to freeze the burrow as death crept
up the man’s shoulders. After another tranquil period of silence, the Girl spoke.
“You know....it wasn’t your fault, you tried to stop Mother-“
“Listen.” The Man seemed to blurt out without thinking. He quickly fiddled with his hat and found a
trail of thought.
“....Your Mother is dead, she’s in the past. Let’s not talk about her anymore, okay? I never want to
hear you speak on the matter again. I tried to stop it, but...”
He seemed to be crying inside, but the Girl was now doing the crying for both of them. He grabbed
her by the good shoulder and turned her towards him. He then spoke with true conviction and
honesty.
“I won’t let them turn you...I promise.”
They both fell asleep in the next 10 minutes. The Man dreamed of horrible nightmares, where he
was plunging his knife into his now deceased wife, screaming in agony. The girl had no dreams, just
emptiness.
By DDM295