----- Michigan, Spring 3 years later -----
“Virtual
yoga? What’s the point of that?” Chloe expressed skepticism at
her wife, who stood before her in black yoga pants and a tight white
tank top. Gabbi smirked, her snark spewing forth against her will,
“To exercise, Chloe. It’s like the same class we’ve been doing
for the last year, but without all the sweaty, talky people.”
“Yeah,
exactly! The best part of group exercise is the mindless small talk
before and after the class!”
“Well,
it’s still a live class, not recorded! You can just… make small
talk in the chat, I guess,” Gabbi
somewhat expected this from Chloe, the more social one of the couple.
She also knew exactly what would get Chloe to at least try a virtual
class, “not to mention, you don’t have to drive. In fact, we
don’t even have anything to leave the house for today!”
This
was a revelation to Chloe, who deeply resented driving and being in
cars in all forms. Her frown faded from her face, and she nodded
slowly, “Okay, okay. Let’s try it. Just one time. But you better
not be lying about that chat! And don’t forget, we still have a ton
of work to do on the house!”
Gabbi
nodded, acknowledging the fact that their new (or rather, new to
them) house needed some love and care. It was their first house, and
for their generation getting even a dilapidated house was an
accomplishment. A
prize won through sacrifice, grit, luck, and me being stingy as shit,
Gabbi
regretted some of the things she and Chloe put off getting or doing.
No vacations after their honeymoon, no new cars, she even put off
grad school so she could pay her way through once they weren’t
contributing every extra dollar they had to making a down payment.
And
the mortgage insurance, and the lender’s fee,
and the sales tax… God, being a responsible adult sucks. All
the fiscal strain necessitated frequent (cheap) destressing to avoid
crumpling into a formless blob of worry, and yoga with Chloe
certainly helped. Gabbi was glad her wife was willing to exercise
with her, despite it being from home.
The
women cleared out the front room to make space for their movements.
Chloe rolled out their mats while Gabbi joined the video call for the
class. “Here, I’ll get the camera on so everyone can see us. See,
basically like an in-person class!” Gabbi waved at the instructor
on the screen to make sure she could see them. The instructor
responded to Gabbi’s greeting, “Hey gals! Welcome, glad you could
join. Hi Chloe! I love your leggings!” This instructor was so
positive it sometimes stung. But Chloe seemed to respond well,
clearly happy her purple camo leggings got someone’s attention. The
instructor and Chloe made small talk while the rest of the class
joined, and soon enough they were off on a one-hour yoga session.
-----
Fenrir’s Leap, in the Women’s Great Hall, 16
hours ago -----
The
still, cold air permeated the cavern where the women stored and made
their food. Darvin coughed, finding the air increasingly intolerable.
How
the hells do they live like this? My nose has bled every night, it’s
so dry! He
thought, as he tied up his leaf pack. Darvin was on a platform very
high up off the ground, where the women place their massive utensils
and actually prepare their food. He had gotten up here for one
purpose: scavenging. Most males content themselves with the crumbs
and discarded food on the floor, but the real valuable stuff is up
here. Fenrir’s Leap is a common landing point for climbers, a
little jut where the surface seemed to have been broken. Climbing it
was the safest way up, since the surface was the shortest cantilever
distance from the wall below supporting it. Darvin was an experienced
climber, but even he wasn’t doing this totally alone. Nor
would I do this for food. I’m fine with food from outside. But men
pay extra for women’s food. Darvin
was contracted with a scavenger’s caravan, the bulk of which was
currently camped at the base of the large structure. He, along with
three others, climb the structures their caravan master says to
climb, then they loot the place for all they can find. Today was a
good day: packs full of sugar, bits of fruit and grain, even some
meat! To
top things off, no captive males complicating their scavenging.
Sometimes the women leave out
on the counter
boxes full of men they intend to cook and eat.
The mere sight of a food
male, who
tend to be much bigger
than the typical wild
male,
made
Darvin uneasy. They cry for help and struggle to escape, but always
in vain. The prisons they find themselves in are often unbreakable.
We never can help them, much as we may want to.
A
pile of bundled leaves containing the day’s
loot
sat just before the edge, as Tam, another climber, affixed the leaves
to a strand of rope. This was an ingenious innovation of the
caravanners. One man climbs up with a pulley on a stick attached to
his back. The pulley has on it a long rope joined at the ends. Once
the man is on top, he affixes the stick to the surface and another
man at the bottom pulls the rope so he can move the bundles, hooked
to the rope at the surface, down to their waiting pack insects.
Climbing
with that thing on your back is awful. So heavy. And too easy to get
tangled. The
skill needed to not only climb up, but scavenge and package
efficiently, meant Darvin and his comrades were very
well paid.
Darvin
finished the last pack of goods and sent it down the pulley, cutting
a small rune in the side of it to signal that the men were done and
were coming back. He and his climbers huddled together. “Okay, time
to pick the carrier” Darvin said to the men. Getting the
contraption up was hard, but back down? Even harder. The thing was
expensive, so they couldn’t just let it fall. One man had to do it,
the rest could just rappel down the rope beforehand. Darvin pulled
out a pair of dice carved from pebbles. As usual, they go in pairs,
“Tyr, you and me first. Evens or odds?”
Tyr
looked solemnly at Darvin, “Odds,” he said quietly. Darvin shook
the dice and threw it on the ground, the men crouching to see where
they landed. One
die at 2, one die at 3. “Okay,
you’re good. Get going, we’ve been up here too long.” While no
one was really in charge, Darvin was their de
facto leader,
even though all the men but Tam were older than him. Darvin turned to
the fourth man at the surface, Hyun, and motioned for him to choose.
“Evens,” came the reply, more confident than Tyr’s. Darvin
shook and threw the dice again. One
die at 1. One die at 5. Darvin
nodded, “Lucky. Get out of here. We’ll see you at the bottom.”
Hyun grunted as he stood back up and attached a hook to the rope,
disappearing over the edge. Darvin turned for the last time to Tam,
“Alright, evens or odds?”
Tam
stared back at Darvin, silent. That’s
bad. Usually, he can’t shut up.
Darvin tired to get something out of him, “Hey, what’s up? You’ve
been distant this whole climb. You not feeling up to it?”
Tam
responded, “No, boss. I can do it. It’s just… should we really
be doing this? Stealing from women, I mean. It feels wrong.” Darvin
was taken aback a little. Not only had they stolen from these women
before, Tam was rambunctious, willing to do whatever was necessary to
get the job done, and typically he did so with a wide, somewhat
psychotic grin. Darvin did not expect regret from him.
“Well,
the women won’t notice this stuff being gone. Besides, life doesn’t
seem all that hard for them. I’m sure they can manage to lose a few
crumbs.”
Tam
pondered this a bit, then his face dropped a little, “I mean, I’m
not worried about that. It’s just they’re so much… more than
us. More powerful, more complex, more important. The world needs them
so much more than it needs us. I feel like we’re trifling with
things we don’t really understand. Y’know, it’s like that karma
thing Balak is always talking about.”
Darvin
grimaced, not wanting to debate religion with the man in this
particular place, “Well, maybe we’re insignificant compared to
them. But we still have to look out for ourselves. And there are
hungry men and boys who will need
this
food. Maybe that’s some good karma from all this?” Tam nodded,
not totally satisfied but at least calmer. Darvin pressed, “So, you
ready now? Evens or odds?”
“Odds.”
Darvin,
for the third and last time, shook and threw the dice. The two men
looked down: One
die at 1. Other die at 1. Tam
sighed heavy. Darvin’s sympathy welled up inside him, “You don’t
have to. I’ve carried that piece of shit before, I can do it
today.”
“No,
no. I got it, boss. Trust me.” Tam motioned for Darvin to leave,
which he did promptly. As he descended down to the floor, his mind
turned back to home, Crosstree City. The city of men resided under
the deck of the women’s hall and had stood there for years. The
previous inhabitants of the hall were inattentive, and neglectful of
their property. That was how a place the size of Crosstree City could
form. But the two new women, evidently the new owners, were an
unknown quantity. No
known schedule, but we do know they clean more often. Bad news for
me. The
women were gone right now, out somewhere else after they had their
evening meal, but Darvin
nevertheless
couldn’t
wait to get away from the hall and under the deck, where it was safe,
at least for the moment. His feet hit the floor, and he gave the rope
three strong tugs to signal for Tam to start climbing down. He went
to confer with the caravan master, a task he had been dreading the
entire day. Darvin approached the short
man at the center of a line of bugs used as pack carriers and gave a
respectful bow, “Master Greeves. We’re bringing the line down and
will be ready to move out soon.” His honorifics were given not out
of genuine respect, but instead because the caravan leader was a
megalomaniacal narcissist who insisted on being given the respect a
noble male “deserves.”
Master
Greeves responded dispassionately, “Not the best haul you’ve ever
had. I may have to cut your team’s pay again if the market’s slow
on our return.” Darvin resisted the urge to stab the arrogant
bastard, and instead tried to argue his case, “Master, with all due
respect, we cannot control what the women leave out. In fact, we got
most everything from the top of the wall. Our speed and efficiency is
top notch, master.” Darvin wasn’t lying, his crew were the best
climbers anyone could ask for. The man just chuckled, “Top notch,
maybe. Most expensive? Definitely.” As he spoke, Darvin heard a
commotion behind him. Turning, he saw men all staring at the wall,
and what they were looking at caused Darvin’s stomach to drop. Tam!
He lost his balance! Tam
was halfway down the wall, but the spikes he was using to climb were
only loosely in the wall. One wrong movement and he falls.
Unfortunately for Tam, the next move was a poor one. He leapt, trying
to shove the spike in his left hand a little upward to get a leverage
point, but the stick on his back swung out. The centrifugal force was
too much, and Tam couldn’t get a hold on the wall. He fell,
screaming as he did, and slammed right into the floor. The stick
shattered, along with the pulley. Tam was buried under the debris,
his body shredded and punctured with splinters.
Darvin
couldn’t speak. His shock overtook him and he feel to his knees.
Not
him! Why him!? Tam
was a true comrade of Darvin’s: loyal, smart, brave when he needed
to be. To lose any man was hard, but this would hurt Darvin for
years. For the Master’s part, he showed a rare look of sorrow,
“Damn. That was expensive gear. Shame about your man, too.” The
short
man motioned to the other men, “Boys! Take the rope. Leave the
rest. We’re moving out!” Tyr and Hyun came over, helping Darvin
to his feet, as they began their march back to the door for the deck.
Back home.
---
Some time later ---
The
tiny male caravan approached the massive portal to the outside with
trepidation. This corner of the women’s hall was always the most
dangerous. Bugs frequently infiltrated here, and often became
antagonized by the males’ presence. Worse, men lived here…
dangerous men. Robbers, lunatics, even cannibals were rumored to
reside in this section,
hidden from the frequent steps of the women above.
The guards of the caravan all drew their weapons, glancing around at
their surroundings for the slightest movements –
WHACK.
Darvin
heard a cracking and whooshing of some object being thrown near him.
He looked to his left to see the man next to him had a spear lodged
in his chest. He gurgled up blood and fell forward, dead. “RAID!
Defensive positions!” a guard cried out behind Darvin. Darvin was a
climber, not a fighter, so he did the only sensible thing: run wildly
in a random direction. His confidence was already shaken from the
loss of Tam and now he could lose his
life,
too. Fuck
this job. Fuck this job. Fuck this job. It
was all Darvin could think as he spotted Tyr and Hyun running away
from the main group, dodging a scrawny, deranged male holding a club.
Darvin ran toward them as Tyr threw a rock in the man’s face,
breaking his neck. “Wait for me!” Darvin shouted at the climbers.
The men sighed a breath of relief as their leader approached,
unharmed. Hyun spoke, “Boss, look. Caravan’s overrun. What do we
do?” Darvin looked around at the carnage to see all the guards and
caravanners being cut, dismembered, or bludgeoned to death. He even
saw Master Greeves take a club straight to the crotch, followed by a
male slitting his throat behind him. Serves
you right, bastard. Darvin
stopped himself from gloating, focusing on getting out alive. “The
door to the outside is blocked. Let’s try that door,” he pointed
to the brown panels to the right of the main door. He was pretty sure
they didn’t lead anywhere, but at least the raiders weren’t there
for now. Or
maybe they live there. Or something worse does. Fuck it, risk that
needs to be taken. Darvin
didn’t wait for a response as he ran off in the direction of the
door. Three male raiders gave chase, screaming incoherently. The
climbers were faster and slid under the door. The men lay prone,
waiting. The raiders for some reason stopped. Darvin could see their
feet in place as they seemed to be conversing with one another. No,
arguing. One of them is angry. The other two are scared. Suddenly,
two pairs of feet turned and left, and the third followed suit after
a slight delay. The climbers got up, content they were safe from the
men, but all were suspicious of their unwillingness to pursue them
behind the door. “Darvin, are we safe? Why’d they stop chasing
us?” Tyr asked, his breath heavy. Darvin pondered, then suggested,
“Probably because they’re scared of whatever lives in here. We
should be careful. Anyone happen to take supplies when the chaos
started?” The two men shook their heads. Darvin sighed, “Yeah,
too much happened too quickly. Well, let’s look around. We’ll
find a defensible spot, get supplies, camp out here for the night.
Then back home. Sound good?” To both of the other men this did not
sound good, but they had no other choice but to agree, so they
pressed on into the darkness.
The
land behind the door was alien to the three men. They were used to
being in dark areas, as they all lived under a deck, but the darkness
here was more oppressive. The only light was that which came under
the door and a little through some slits running up the height of the
megalith.
Hyun
whistled, “Sheesh. Could ambush us anywhere in here.”
Darvin
scanned the structures inside to look for good places to cower. Above
them were what apparently were clothes, hung on big triangles from a
pipe at the very top, miles above. Closer to the males were the caves
and platforms women tended to wear on their feet.
Now
Tyr spoke, “Footwear for the women. I’ve seen some rich men wear
something similar. What do they call those… schuze? Something like
that.”
Hyun
chuckled, “Shoes.
A
lot of shoes. This many would cost one of us a year’s worth of
wages.”
“I
wouldn’t want any even if I could afford them. Need the callouses
for climbin’”
“Yeah,
well I don’t think women need to care about that. What’s big
enough for them to climb, anyway?”
Darvin
motioned for the men to be silent, then pointed at one of the pairs
of footwear. He looked back at the men, and said, low, “Saw
something over there. In the big blue shoe. Just inside one of the
holes. Might be some loot in there.”
Tyr
turned to one of the other pairs, closer to the three, “Well what
about the black ones over here? I think I see a campsite!” Darvin
looked to where he was referring and saw the remnants of a male
campsite.
He dropped his head in contemplation, “Okay. Daylight’s almost
out. Let’s go up. See what’s there.”
The
three men easily scaled the reasonably short platform and surveyed
the abandoned campsite. A small fire pit, some broken tents, and a
few bags of food were all that remained.
“Hmm,
looks pretty fresh,” Hyun remarked, “you sure these campers won’t
return?”
Darvin
shook his head, “No, look. Blood over at the edge of the site.
These men aren’t coming back.”
Tyr
grimaced, “Okay, what if whoever killed them comes back for more?”
“We’ll
take watch. There’s three tents. Fix up two and I’ll use the
third to make a rope. We can scale off the shoe if we need to
escape.”
The
other two men accepted the plan, mostly out of exhaustion. They set
to work, and as the daylight went out, they had a semi-functional
camp established. The men took a meal, eating the leftover bits of
food presumably scavenged by the previous inhabitants. As they ate,
they tried to console each other, and process the day’s events.
“Tam
was a good lad. Gonna miss that lunatic,” Tyr started with the
memorializing. Hyun joined in, “Aye. He had that kind of spunk that
comes with his age. Wasn’t a jaded asshole like any of us.”
Darvin
wanted to commiserate, but his guilt began to overwhelm him, “I
should have taken that pulley. It’s too heavy, too cumbersome. I
should’ve just volunteered. Then he’d still be alive.” Darvin
chomped hard on his ration, burning with anger at himself. Hyun tried
to console his younger leader, “Darvin, you don’t know that. And
he understood the risks. Climbers fall, that’s a fact of the job.
He’s carried that blasted machine before, just this time it took
him down.”
Tyr
nodded, “Lad, this was your first death, right? At least, first man
to die on your watch?”
Darvin
nodded. Tyr clicked his tongue, “Yeah, that’s always hardest.
This won’t make you feel better, but know that it does get easier.
I couldn’t climb for weeks after my first, it was just too painful.
Hyun’s right. We’re climbers. Sometimes we fall. You won’t
accept this for a long time. That’s fine. Just remember the man.”
Tyr
rarely talked for more than one sentence at a time, so Darvin was a
bit taken aback. But the words did help him. “Alright then, let’s
remember. Share a favorite memory of Tam. Hyun, you first?”
Hyun
smiled, “Has to be the first job he and I went on. Climbing up the
deck, to the very top. Kid had never climbed so high in his life. I
went up to him just before to make sure he was ready, and he seemed
terrified! Cried at me, told me he wanted to go home. I told him if
he made it up, I’d get him a month’s supply of dried apple. So we
climb, and it’s a hard one. Wind everywhere, flies all around us, I
lost sight of the boy and just pressed on, trying my best to survive.
I just barely make it to the top and what do I see? That little shit,
with that sly grin of his! Told me he got there an hour ago! Kid was
playing me the whole time!”
Tyr
and Darvin laughed as Hyun drank from a water pouch left on the
ground. Tyr put his food down and readied his story, “Do you lads
remember that winter three years ago? One of the worst in living
memory, famine, freezing, all that damn snow? Well, when Tam, Hyun,
and I were on an extended outing past the Grey River, so many men had
died from the cold that I got assigned by the caravan master to watch
over some of the goods. The alcohol, specifically. You lads know me,
I love some good wine, but duty is duty, and I watched over those
barrels like a dragonfly. I’m on watch one night, when I hear an
odd noise from one of the barrels. I head over, and see nothing. Then
I hear another noise, to my left. I go over there, still nothing. I
draw my club, and hear another noise, this time right behind me and I
swing around and there’s Tam, holding a shiv. Now I think he’s
gone mad and is gonna stab me, so I knock him on his ass. Then he
squeals, shouting how I’m ruining his plans. I ask him, ‘what
plans?’ then I noticed my feet were wet. There was wine leaking out
half the barrels! The little man had poked holes in each to sample
the wine inside, and was gonna steal the best tasting one as a
‘service fee’ for climbing!”
Darvin
and Hyun fell over laughing, while Tyr looked in amusement, “It was
not funny then. Nearly got
skinned alive by the caravan master for that!”
Hyun
sat back up, his laughing subsiding, “Alright, Darvin. What’s
your story?”
Darvin
went silent and lowered his head. After a moment, he began,
“We
were climbing a tree. The big one in the women’s territory. Some
scout had gone missing looking for sap deposits weeks prior and Tam
and I were sent to find out what happened to him. The climb was
awful. It rained halfway up, so we had to camp out in a little
clearing overnight. It was there he told me about his childhood, all
the horrible things he survived, and how his climbing abilities
helped get him out of trouble. Told me how safe he felt when high
above everyone, away from their bullshit and their pain and their
misery. He started to cry. You knew him, he never
cried.
And when we got up in the morning, it was back to chipper, sarcastic
Tam. Like nothing ever happened. But ever since then, he had a kind
of look in his eyes whenever we talked. A look of understanding. I
saw the vulnerable young boy he was trying to put to rest, and the
strong, brave man he was creating in his place.”
The
two men did not laugh, but instead lowered their heads in solemn
remembrance. Hyun broke the silence, “Let’s drink. To Tam. To the
best damn climber in the city!” He poured the water from the pouch
into the cupped hands of Darvin and Tyr, then they all drank to Tam’s
memory. As the water passed his lips, Darvin felt the exhaustion of
the day claim him, and he quickly retired to the tent. Hyun followed
suit, and Tyr ended up passing out by the campfire, as they finally
rested.
The
dreamless sleep Darvin was enjoying was interrupted by strong hands
thrusting him up. “Wha—” SMACK.
A
slap across the face fully woke Darvin up, forcing him to realize he
was no longer on the black shoe. Instead, he was near the blue shoe,
tied up, surrounded by men. Fuck.
Where’s Hyun and Tyr? Darvin
looked around, but wished he hadn’t. His two comrades were there,
also tied up, but they were stuck to the shoe itself, mouths gagged.
The males surrounding them wore some kind of paint on their faces,
covering their cheeks. Some men had little runes on their foreheads
and chests, as well. There were around twenty, all armed. Darvin had
no clue who these men were or why his friends were tied up there, but
he did not intend to deduce that while tied up. He felt a little
slack in the rope, and once the man standing watch over him got
distracted, he would get out and run. Please,
someone, make a scene. Luckily,
Hyun seemed to meet Darvin’s request, as his gag fell out and he
began shouting, “FUCKING FREAKS! Let us go!” The men moved over
to Hyun to reapply the gag, giving Darvin the opportunity to pull on
the slacked part of the rope. The knot holding his hands together
came loose, and he slipped out. He sprinted as the male nearest him
shouted. Darvin decided the best course of action was to do what he
did best: climb. He scaled up the underside of the shoe and scrambled
to the front. The men threw sticks and rocks at him, but he deftly
dodged them as he continued his ascent. Soon, he was over on the top
of the shoe and he ran into one of the holes, scaling back down along
the inner walls. He stopped to catch his breath, and take in the
surroundings, when suddenly he noticed there were more men in here!
The men, garbed in white, all glared at him, and began to approach,
when one male in the center of the shoe stood and shouted, “WAIT”
The men stopped their charge, and the one who made them began to walk
up to Darvin. He was old, with grey streaks in his hair and bushy
beard. He had a large scar on his neck but wore none of the face
paint the other males did. He got face to face with Darvin, and
spoke, “Who are you, child? Why have you come all this way?”
Darvin
didn’t want to respond, but knew he better cooperate or he was
dead, “My friends and I were attacked outside. We’re just trying
to get home. You people took us. Why are you
keeping
my friends?”
The
old man just stared back, “But why did you go to the campsite? Was
it yours?”
Darvin’s
fear turned to anger, “No, but it seemed
a safe place.
Please, just untie them and let us leave.”
“So,
you were… drawn to the campsite? You saw it and felt a pull there?”
Darvin
was about ready to fight, “Please, old man. We just want to—”
“And
then, when we found you and brought you to our temple, your first
instinct is to climb inside? Not run away toward the light? Yes, She
willed this.”
“W-what?”
“Child,
you
did
precisely what She wanted. She wants you.
That’s
why you are here.”
The
climber stammered in confusion, “W-who? A woman? What are you
talking about?”
The
old man smiled, “It’s alright. We rarely understand her presence
at first. But you’ll learn. In time. Now your friends, they just
followed you. They do not feel her presence. She doesn’t want them
here. So they will go.”
“Wait.
You’ll just allow them to leave?”
The
white-cloaked man sighed, “Oh, child. What I mean is, they must
go.”
Darvin
swung at the old man. Despite his age, he gracefully dodged the
strike and kicked back at Darvin, sweeping the ankle Darvin placed
most of his weight on, knocking him to the ground. The man spoke
again, “All men who are drawn here are blessed. But as men, they
are sinners. We must cleanse ourselves of our sinfulness to be
accepted here. Your companions will take your sin from you.” He
smiled, as if he were a father consoling his sick son.
Darvin
protested, “NO! They’re my friends! Please, don’t –”
THUD…
THUD… THUD… THUD …
The
old man looked at the others, silently commanding them. They all ran
to the front of the shoe. He looked back at Darvin, “She
approaches. No men are permitted to be in contact with her. Come with
me. I will show you how close you may get.”
Darvin
reluctantly got up and followed the old man to the front. There, he
saw the others climbing up ropes to little structures attached to the
holes on the top of the shoe. Observation
platforms? Darvin
would have been curious were his mind not occupied with saving his
friends. But a woman being this close means he must
hide.
As the old man began a slow climb up the rope, Darvin went to another
and scrambled up in mere seconds, his fury and fear combining to
maximize his performance. The old man eventually got up onto the same
platform, and grinned at Darvin, “She has given you a gift,
stranger. Are you a professional climber?”
Darvin
didn’t want to make small talk at a time like this, “Let my
friends go. If she sees them, she’ll find all of us!”
The
man responded with a strange cheeriness, “She won’t see them. She
never saw any of the others. Do not despair, child. It is a great
honor to be in their place.”
Darvin
could not carry out his plan of throwing the man off the side of the
platform because his fear overtook him as the door opened. The woman
who opened it destroyed all confidence Darvin had left. He had seen
women before, this woman in particular, but at this distance? This
angle? She was so… much. The entire field of view out of the hole
was filled by her, her strange purple and grey garb would have seemed
comedic were it not also terrifying. Darvin’s fear increased as the
brown-haired woman
bent down and plucked up the shoes they were in. “Hold the rail,
climber” Darvin did as the man instructed and was glad he did so as
they all were swung mercilessly to the floor by her. Her massive feet
gingerly slithered into the shoe, the toes wiggling in place made a
searing noise as they scraped against the spongy floor. The atrocious
smell hit Darvin’s nose hard. Sweat, humid and overwhelming. The
others didn’t seem affected at all, some even seemed… pleased by
its presence. Fucking
weirdo creeps. Maniacs and perverts.
Once she
put on the other shoe,
she began walking outdoors with the other woman. Darvin expected to
be rocked back and forth but found that the platform seemed
stationary. The man must have noticed his surprise, “The supports
these platforms are on can compensate for her movements. It allows
for better worship.”
Darvin
let himself calm down, if only a little, “You tainted the water.
That campsite was a trap. You lure people and get them crushed by
this woman. Why? Why are you so cruel?”
The
man looked hurt by the words, “Would you rather they have been
chopped to bits by a crazed raider? Child, I am not cruel. She is not
cruel, either. Those men, and the men before them, aren’t
sacrificed for no reason. Men must absolve. That is our purpose. To
be killed by her, that is a wonderous thing. At least here, their
deaths have meaning.”
Darvin’s
retort was prevented by a sound. Screaming.
Pain. They’re being crushed. He
looked panicked, “Will it be slow? Please, tell me,” his sanity
was melting at the prospect of hearing his comrades suffer. The old
man’s eyes dropped, “Sin is ever-present in our lives. The
absolution must be slow. But their pain will turn to joy soon
enough.”
Darvin
stayed at the man’s side, the screaming of Tyr and Hyun breaking
him down bit by bit. After nearly ten minutes, the screams
intensified with a sickening crunch. The old man nodded, “It is
nearly done. They will have died, in fresh air, next to a divine
being, knowing they were the bargain for your salvation. It will be a
good death. You’ll understand, in time.”
Darvin
just hugged the rail. He couldn’t stand what was happening, he
closed his eyes, praying he was dreaming, praying to anyone or
anything to help his friends. Please,
someone. Is there a god, or a spirit, that can take them away, end
their suffering? Please! Suddenly,
the shoe lifted in a different direction and the woman scraped the
sole on the edge of the stone platform she and the other woman were
walking on. The screams stopped with a slimy cracking sound. Tyr and
Hyun were dead. W-what?
Did she… hear? Did she hear my prayer?? His
heart, so burdened with sorrow, clouded his judgment. He was so angry
with her for having killed them, but a part of him wondered if she
really could listen, and that part started to grow within. Darvin
looked up at the man, “I-I… they’re dead.”
“Yes.
But now you can live as you were meant to. As a servant of your
protector. Your Goddess. I will show you. You may call me Azrael.”
Moments
ago, the climber would have leapt from the platform to the toes of
the woman to die quick and painless, but now he found himself stuck
in place, the strange charm of the man taking hold of his emotions.
“My name is Darvin.”