Descriptive Setting

 Outside it is sleeting. The sky is a rusty orange color, city lights reflect off the low clouds. The cement is slick and streaks from streetlights and passing cars glint off it.

I head into the large white building behind the house. There is fluorescent light streaming from the door. A girl stands in the entrance, half illuminated half shadow, and smiles invitingly as I pass. I smile back.

Inside it is warm; it is the warmth of hundreds of bodies gyrating together like a single organism. The creature breathes and sighs as one. Its motion is fluid and spiraling. Only upon entering the organism do I once again remember it is a crowd of individuals having a good time.

And with the warmth their bodies generate there is also a smell. It is the smell of sweat, of bodies in motion, of girls and boys, of perfumes and colognes. It is not foul. It is natural and oddly comforting. It floats heavily through the air and settles on everything like a blanket and stirs old memories long forgotten to the fogs of time.

The ceiling is high above us. The walls of the building are undecorated metal painted white. Well, I figure it is white. It is hard to tell in the colored lights. The structure has the feeling of a small hangar or warehouse.

The lights are low. The crowd is in the dark. The doorway has the fluorescent light. A stage against the far wall is bathed in red light. Lasers with intricate designs dance on the walls. I wonder if they are secretly spelling out any subliminal messages like, “Drink Coke” or “Vote Republican.” My eyes can only pick out star and triangular shapes, and those only fleetingly.

My ears start to hurt. The music is so loud it transcends the mere auditory sense to become a truly physical experience. Each drum beat races through my body. The guitars saturate my ears and overflow into my mouth. They taste of metal and spice.

Once I can no longer hear I figure it is a good time to step outside for a second and recuperate. I hope that girl is still in the entrance and will smile at me one more time. And we will attempt to talk, though both deaf. I will get her number and we will have many wild adventures together throughout the years…

Who knows, why not?

First Visitor

1-02-070808

Radeon sat in his cabin. It was raining. A small fire burned in the corner giving little heat and no light. Radeon was trying to read something but the lone light bulb kept flickering. Rain leaked through the roof and was dripping on it. It would short out soon, but Radeon was too tired to worry about it. His doorbell rang. He forced himself to his feet and opened his cabin’s crumbling wood door. Beyond was blackness. He blinked. Then the smell of decaying flesh hit him. His stomach turned.

Radeon awoke. The door was open again and light splashed across the wall at his head. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, dazed. He was trembling slightly. Nice dreams seemed the rarity, but waking was often not much better. He had his health, his cabin, tracks of land to wander, and a peace he had never before known. Yet, despite my denial, I remain somber at best. My thoughts are shadowed and my best days edged with tension.

I am alone. Alone… the door shouldn’t be opening like this. Radeon sat up in bed. Maybe a hinge was loose. Radeon threw his legs out of bed and moved to the door. No tracks once again. Mild wind. No horses in sight. Hmmm, they’ve broken free of the hitching post again. No ropes hung from the pole. The top log had come unlashed in the night and the horses had slid the ropes off the free end. Smart horses. He’d better go find them before they were too tangled up in the dense forest.

Radeon closed and opened the door a few times. The latch, though rudimentary, was sufficient. The hinges, greased with animal fat, were fluid. The door was solid. No cracks. Radeon shrugged and left it open as he strolled into the meadow. He spied the horses at the far end of the clearing. One had its long lead caught in the branches and was stuck. The other two looked at Radeon sheepishly. He shrugged at them, then circled around the cabin and took a long drink from the pond. His water garden, a variety of weeds that flourished in fresh water, was doing quite well. He plucked up a fist full and chewed on them as he plopped down under the small awning over the cabin door.

The sun was low yet. Several deer were cautiously eying him from forest edge. The birds were chirping their melodious songs. Radeon let out a sigh and his eye slowly closed. Nature’s songs faded so rhythmically into silence that Radeon didn’t even notice.

Radeon opened his eyes with a start. The light was different; the shadows had crept down onto him. Over an hour had passed. He rose to his feet.

He entered the cabin, closing the door tightly behind him and dropped his tight shorts. As he chose a pair of longer pants and slid them on the door popped open a crack. Radeon rolled his eyes. What on earth was wrong with that darn door?

Radeon stopped moving. He wasn’t sure but something had caught his attention. Sound. There was no sound outside. The birds were silent.

As Radeon thought quickly on what that could mean the door opened the rest of the way. There was a shriek, not harsh, but of surprise and then rapid movement. Radeon cursed as he spun around, too slow to see anything.

He dropped his pants and jumped outside. He was sure it was human, probably one of the boys from the distant village. Odd, though. Why would they hide?

Radeon ran to the other side of the cabin and saw tracks near the pond in the soft mud. It was female, judging by the thinness of the track. Radeon caught his breath: she was wearing rubber soled shoes. The treads were deep indicating that they were new. Shoes.

He could hear her crashing away through the forest. Branches swayed where she had passed. He dashed deftly through the forest. He didn’t need to follow her, though. He would cut her off at the trail down off the plateau. There was only one and unless she had advanced technology she would have to descend there. She had shoes though, so he couldn’t rule out the technology possibility. But what of it? He would find her even out of practice as he was. He was sure.

Emerging from the trees at the overgrown trailhead, Radeon stopped. He could hear her still. She was about to make it through the forest and to the grassy edge of the plateau. She was making good time too.

Radeon hunched down and sat on the ground. He bowed his head and took in a deep breath to calm his nerves. His heart was pounding with excitement and also fear. What is she doing here? Why did she come and find me just to run? Just as the idea that she might not be friendly was dawning on him the crashed through the last of the dense underbrush and stopped right in front of him.

She blurted several phrases that Radeon couldn’t understand.

Radeon remained sitting, which took considerable control due to his fear. The was a good height, slender build, and quite toned. She was panting hard but was doing well to keep it hidden. She had long braided brown hair and a smooth face. She had on full clothing of synthetic fibers and several electronic gadgets. Electricity. Radeon’s head spun remembering electricity. He forced the thoughts out, recognizing that she was indeed a direct threat.

“Let me go.” The woman warned. Woman was indeed a better description than . She radiated a strong energy, something stable and subtle that shocked Radeon. It made him tremble.

“I don’t have you,” Radeon said with much effort. She had switched to a local dialect similar to what the prairie tribe spoke. This too shocked him.

“Look, please, just let me pass and we’ll forget this ever happened. I promise I won’t remember this place. I’ll never mention your face and you don’t have to worry, I haven’t seen anything.” Her words took on a pleading note, but her body hadn’t changed its stance. She was tense, muscles rigid, and ready to fight.

Radeon didn’t know what to think. You come to me and now act like a trapped animal? He had not spoken to another person in months. Slowly, remembering the words, he said, “You are free to leave the way you came. I have no intentions of stopping you.” He was lying and his words had a physical affect on her. She actually scowled and raised her fists. Did I say something wrong? Can she sense my fear?

“What is this, a game?” She growled.

“Please, tell me you—you tell me?” Radeon stumbled.

“What?”

“You came to me. You opened my dur, uh…door. I didn’t ask you to come and I won’t force you to stay. First though, I want to know who you are, why you came, and how you found me.”

The woman narrowed her eyes. “What are you trying to pull? I don’t understand.”

“Which didn’t you understand?” Radeon asked sincerely concerned he had spoken incorrectly.

“I know you get nothing from letting me live. What do you get out of hunting me down after I run? Is it some kind of pleasure to you? You killed the others easily enough, why not shut up and get on with it?”

Radeon wasn’t sure he understood everything clearly. His confusion was outweighing his fear. He’d been chased, captured, hunted even, but no one had acted like this around him.

“Explain to me why I would want you dead? But I agree, obviously letting you go may be foolish,” Radeon said. He didn’t want his location known.

“Oh no, I’ll tell you nothing.” She slowly started backing towards the trees. She kept her arms up in a defensive stance.

“Did you say I killed others? Which others? What do you know?”

“You , shut up and let’s end it.”

“What? Who are you?”

“Shut up,” She screamed.

Radeon was totally caught off guard. What is going on? Nothing added up. He couldn’t understand her completely, but it was obvious she was terrified of him. Why? She actually believed he was going to kill her. That doesn’t fit. Why? She found me; she must know enough about me? Why would she think I would kill her?

“What, is this a game?” He asked. “Who sent you?” She backed away a step farther. “Who do you work for? Which…” he had no idea of how to say government or company in this language. He had never needed to before.

It didn’t matter; the woman was speaking frantically in her native language. Radeon took a deep breath to calm himself. He was still terrified, but his curiosity and confusion had taken over.

And he suddenly realized he was sitting in front of an actual woman. He had been alone so long he hadn’t even thought about clothes in his rush. Embarrassed, he look up at her. Right then she kicked him in the head as hard as she could.

There was a crunch, flashes and stars. Radeon fell over on his back and grabbed his nose. Blood flowed through his fingers. He jumped up and turned to the woman. She had distanced her self and was pulling a small weapon from an internal pocket in her clothing.

This was totally unexpected from her. “Are you crazy? What are you doing?” She didn’t even hesitate. Radeon only had time to widen his eyes in surprise before she fired. He took the blast directly to the chest. A searing fire burned into him as he was knocked from his feet. He was gone before he hit the ground.

Intro to Citizen Soldier

1-01-070708

Dead bodies lay all around him. He sat on a twisted spire that snaked up out of a murky blackness. Above him dangled a lone light bulb. It flickered weakly. Radeon stood, the spire shifted under him and several of the bodies rolled towards him. He swallowed his revulsion and reached for the bulb. It swung just out of his reach in some invisible breeze. He didn’t dare jump. The blackness was growing, the bulb dimming. He had to reach it, it was his only chance.

The door opened causing light to spill across the cluttered room. Radeon opened his eyes. The light’s harsh brightness caught him completely by surprise. His eyes narrowed to slits, adjusting as he tried to place where he was. There was no one in the doorway. His mind raced as to possible reasons his door would open as he climbed out of bed and stalked across the floor. His eyes could now make out the landscape through the doorway. There was no wind; neither grass nor tree swayed. There were no obvious footprints in front of the door. One of his horses was grazing, he could see, at the feet of the trees circling the little meadow surrounding his cabin; there was no other movement and no other sounds.

Cautiously Radeon paused inside the doorway before leaning his head out and checking side to side.

Nothing.

Radeon’s right hand found its way to his red hair and tugged at the knots the night’s sleep had left, then stroked his wiry beard. His left fiddled with the door latch. A yawn escaped and he stretched. He had never received unwanted visitors. And he wanted it that way. He did all he could to ensure it. But after so long now, he was beginning to get lonely.

He put on deerskin pants and rough sandals fashioned from tree bark. Finally he wandered out into the bright day. The sun was high. He had over slept. His mind chided him but the fact only encouraged another longer stretch. What did it matter? Radeon had accomplished more than he had planned the day before. He had repaired his roof, filled his water barrels, and adjusted his hitching post (his horses had managed to untie themselves the night before and run off). His garden was weeded. The corn was already chest high. Summer was passing so quickly. Radeon didn’t have much time until he would be harvesting. He had planted enough to feed an entire tribe. It kept him busy and he would dry the corn for meal or trade it with his distant neighbors come fall.

Idly Radeon plucked a small tomato off the vine. It was still a little green but would suffice. He bit into it and paused as he chewed. There were tracks around the vines; Radeon stooped to the ground finding several vines damaged. The rabbits had been by last night. Well, they weren’t rabbits but they were similar enough to be called so.

The tracks led off to the east but one pair led to the south where the forest was densest. Radeon thought he had trapped and eaten all the rabbits that lived in that part. Obviously he presumed too much. Well, he would share his crop with them the rest of this year. Let them reproduce and multiply so that next year he could continue to have young, tender hares for supper.

He took another bite of the tomato as he strolled from the garden. One of his horses looked up at him as he passed. Its tail whipped lazily, almost as if a greeting.

Radeon headed into the forest north of the cabin.

There were no trails leading to his dwelling. Trails, he felt, were not very pleasant to the eye. Radeon liked the undisturbed look of the forest as he sat out in the evenings watching the sun set. So he always took a different way through the forest. Plus the animals responded better without him tearing up the land. At least he thought so.

The snares he had set were still bare. Radeon moved on to his right and after several minutes leisurely walk he came to the beginning of the eastern batch of snares. Two plump birds caught! Well, that was quite nice for a days work. They were big. If the snares here had done so well he decided he had better make a complete circle of the plateau checking the rest of the snares. With luck he may have more.

Sure enough, after checking all his traps, he had four birds hanging from his hand and one fat squirrel. He would have meat for many days without worrying. That called for the weekend off. Off to do what, he wondered?

The sun was now much higher. It was getting to midday. While out, he might as well take a look off the edge. He strolled through the trees and came to a grassy strip that sloped downward. Walking to the edge of the grass he stopped at the top of a massive cliff, the west rim of the plateau on which he lived. It afforded quite a view. Prairie grasslands stretched away from him as far as the eye could see. To the north, mountains ran along, and over, the horizon; their beautiful peaks hidden by a bank of clouds.

All was peaceful.

Radeon sighed. Time was passing so swiftly. It was summer. Before finding the plateau, he had had a brief stay with the tribe of Indians that inhabited the valleys tucked in those mountains. And before that Radeon tried not allow his mind to venture. There was much pain and confusion. Suddenly he found himself in the black, on the spire again. He could smell the rotting corpses around him.

Radeon released his grip on the strands holding his birds. His hand had tensed with his thoughts. He calmed his breathing and marveled at how quickly he had become nervous. I can’t run forever, he thought. Indeed he wondered if he could even run at all anymore. But that can be a topic for a darker day. Let me pretend happiness yet another day. What was the purpose?

But he was sure within the end of summer one of his neighbors would be stopping by with provisions to trade and stories to share. They always came during the harvest. Radeon smiled. Last fall he had just finished dredging the pond behind the cabin. He had told Kuy’huy and Poi’huy of his giant garden and how quickly the plants had grown in the lands virgin soil. Sure enough the boys showed up one moon later with several horses. Radeon had bartered them out of a horse for all the vegetables they could carry, the likes of which they had never seen. A smile crossed his face remembering the trouble they had gotten into when Chief Ckon found out. This time they would not send boys to trade with him nor allow him to barter for a horse. Horses are far too valuable to the Indians since the raids and wars started among the tribes.

Quickly Radeon turned his back to the prairie below and let all his thoughts fall behind. He hiked the half-mile back to his cabin and turned his full attention to cleaning his catch and storing it.

Ah summer and its warm lazy days, Radeon thought with mixed emotion. Perhaps he should try and build something while he had a day or so of free time?

Writing

It was dark in the room. A dull gray light filtered in through the half-closed blinds. The sun had long set and the night was just taking hold. The bed at the base of the window lay in disarray. Papers and a pile of hard drives sat on the edge. Covers and pillow bunched at the head. The light from the computer monitors, two of them side by side, cast hard shadows. They complimented the dull gray light from the window. In the corner, tucked next to the desk was the crib. Full of junk, and an old foam pad, it was long forgotten and had not been used in the last year.

The shape of a young many swayed in the monitor light, lurching as it were, over the keyboard. He was typing.

Five minutes were up. He suddenly leaned back and stopped.

Demon

February 2008

One day I was at home. Dark clouds rolled in and blocked out the sun. In the sudden gloom I turned on a light, but nothing happened. No light came on. I grabbed a flashlight and headed into the black basement to find the circuit breaker. At the bottom of the stairs I hesitated. Something felt wrong. I stepped into the basement hall and the door to the kitchen at the top of the stairs immediately slammed shut. Alarmed, I stepped back onto the stairs and fumbled with the flashlight. My arm brushed against something soft and cold. Something was there on the stairs with me. I was suddenly thrown against the wall. Then whatever it was got a hold of my neck, suffocating me. I brought my flashlight up; the light fell across a very large humanoid creature. It was blacker than the dark basement. It had no eyes and only a slit of a mouth. It was eight feet tall.

I fought free. Somehow I found a sharp object and was able to overpower the creature and chop it into small pieces. The pieces bled, turned into black ooze, and drained through cracks in the cement floor. Shaken, I left the house. No other buildings were visible as I ran through the fields. Our house was alone on the Highland Moore. I eventually arrived at the next building. I was winded. An hour or more had past. This building was a gray, dank, stone house. It was very old but had been converted into a restaurant many years ago.

Entering I found myself in a pleasant little Burger King. It was lunch time and quite crowded. I got a burger and sat with some friends. Dark clouds formed again outside. I was a little worried, but figured it was just a stormy day. For some reason I went down into the basement of the restaurant which was old, cobwebby, and obviously unimproved from a century ago. It grew dark again. The power was still on at least. One corner of the basement, in a back room, was still completely dark. I eyed the room warily. The blackness gathered form and suddenly the creature leapt out at me. We battled and I screamed for help. One of my friends jumped down the stairs. We managed to subdue the creature again and chop it into bits. We were both wounded and chopping it up was extremely difficult. This time I gathered up the creature before it could ooze away and threw it into the furnace. It made a terrific howling noise and smelled awful.

I thanked my friend. I told him to stay here and enjoy his lunch. I needed to leave. He of course wanted to know what had just attacked us. I was putting the pieces together but didn’t want to say anything to upset him.

I trekked further north through the empty and windy land to the house of my uncle. It had been in our family for at least ten generations and was once the clan headquarters. I needed help, for I was afraid this was not the last attack. I was afraid I had yet again failed to kill the creature. For how can you kill something that is already dead? It was a Demon that had come for me. I’m not sure how, but it had come from Hell and somehow taken physical form. Foul and decrepit as it was, it was extremely powerful and bent on killing me for some reason. Or so I figured since both of its attacks had centered on me. If I was correct, it would come a third time and I would need a better weapon. I also needed some rest.

From the house of my uncle I took the family sword. It was a large but surprisingly light sword that was as old as our clan and rumored to have been handed to our ancestor by one of the very archangels guarding heaven. I hoped the rumor was true.

The sun was setting as I hiked towards home. A sudden rushing sound scared me. I dove onto the ground and rolled as a large green dragon slashed through the air where I had been. It rose into the cloudy sky and vanished. I slowly got to my feet and unsheathed the sword from the scabbard on my back. I could hear the creature circling in the wispy clouds not far above me.

The sun was sinking behind the distant hills. I needed shelter. Burger King was not far away and my closest bet. I ran. The clouds thickened over the distant building. It knew I headed there.

For some reason the Demon stayed out of sight. I made it to Burger King without any other attacks. It was the dinner rush. My friends were still there, now having dinner. The sun had set and its faint red glow was being blocked out by the sinking clouds that were engulfing the restaurant. By the time I had explained to the costumers the danger we were all in it was completely black outside. Nothing could be seen out of the many large glass windows. I stepped to one cautiously. The Demon’s green head pushed out of the blackness and into the glass, cracking it. I jumped back, heart racing. Its wings thumped against the wall. It was not too large, its body probably only eight feet long. It was still humanoid. Only it had given itself large wings and a sinuous tail. I gathered all the costumers into the center of the building. We were as far from the windows as we could get. The windows wouldn’t stop the Demon. It was only toying with us.

Screams from the basement stopped my thoughts. I kicked open the basement door. No lights were on. I flipped the switch and revealed two children at the base of the stairs staring at the green shadow that had formed between us. The shadow lunged at them. Sword first, I plunged down on it. The winged Demon solidified. One child died. My sword was able to slice right through the Demon like paper. The fight was terrible. I was bleeding and ended with broken ribs and nose but was able to slice the Demon into submission. As it thrashed in pieces on the ground I sliced it up even more. I knew that that was what you do with Demons. But this time I did something different afterwards that I hoped would truly banish the Demon. I can’t remember what though. I returned upstairs to the terrified people feeling relatively confident I had won.

Primary colors: Black Green Gray

Safety Blue

La la la la
Drink Safety Blue
La di da da
They won’t come for you.
And you need not fear
For you
La la la la
You drink Safety Blue
La di da da
And they won’t come for you!

What a stupid song. The lyrics are juvenile. The melody is sickeningly alluring. But then, it was supposed to be. It does catch on. It gets stuck in your head and refuses to leave. When I awake in the dark of night that song often fights its way into my head. I shout, sing, beat it out. But it never leaves for long. La la la la…

Whoever created it thought they had made something snappy. They were right. Every man, woman and child in the colony knows Safety Blue by heart. While shopping, people hum it. I even caught my dad bellowing it in the shower the other day. It is everywhere! They taught it to us first thing in preschool. They drill us with it in high school. That’s not enough; they saturate our life with it through TV and music. Every station plays the darn song at some point during each program. La di da da…
Our culture is a Safety Blue culture!

It is sickening! I can’t even stand the taste of Safety Blue. I don’t think anyone can. My parents screw up their faces every morning when they drink it. My little sisters mix theirs with orange juice. I don’t care what they say about it, they’re lying.

I’ve been studying 21st century advertising and marketing techniques in one of my classes. Interesting stuff. They used to create songs back then to sell products. They called them ‘jingles.’ Some big company would pay an advertising firm to come up with a snappy jingle to sell their new product. The jingle would then be released on radio, in TV commercials, or before movies. It too would stick in peoples’ heads and they would go out and buy whatever the jingle promoted. Just like that, they’d go out and buy it! They got so good at jingles that Government started passing laws against them.

Well, I think someone did his homework as the new colony was getting started. That someone was R.G. Hughlilly. He revived the dreaded jingle. And it works still. Every last person in the colony drinks his product religiously. No exceptions! I’ve been checking. And every one of them is convinced if they stop ‘they’ will come for them. Not a bad way to keep your customers loyal and coming back, now is it? Drill into them that if they stop buying the stuff, they will die. ‘They’ are coming to get you. He has imprisoned us all.

I know I am still young, but I’ve never seen ‘they’ come for anyone or show any form of aggression in my life. The Bearfalo don’t even fight amongst themselves. They are content to graze night and day on the soft grasses that surround the colony. Often they graze inside the colony on our plants as well. No one truly fears them any more.

--p2--

But they did once. And R.G. Hughlilly knew that well. My research brought me to the very beginnings of our colony. The first party to land on the planet was killed. The second party landed to recover them. They reported large furry creatures with powerful front limbs attacking their ship, the bearfalo. The creatures move on either four legs or upright on two. They had small horns and blunt claws. They reminded the second party of a cross between buffalo and bear.

The third landing party set up a fortress-like stockade and got a firm foothold on the planet. Dad said the stockade finally collapsed right before my birth. It used to surround the town building and Mayor’s office. I found pictures of it. The bearfalo were kept out as the settlers arrived. Twice they broke through. They crashed in doors and pulled people out of their beds. Eight people died the first time and five the second. Many were wounded before the animals were stopped. In that period ten more settlers were killed, but always outside the stockade.

And R.G. Hughlilly stepped up with his new elixir. He cited the work of fellow scientists stating that the bearfalo’s aggression might result from human pheromones. It was a ridiculous theory and the colony laughed him to scorn. But Hughlilly was relentless. He started his advertising and wrote his jingle. He even moved his factory outside the stockade to show that Safety Blue really did work. And ever so slowly he won the people over. Convinced, they started buying Safety Blue daily and telling their children stories of the once terrible bearfalo.

That is how it used to be. Dad told me those stories too when I was very young. But no one cares anymore. My little sisters have never heard about the aggressive bearfalo other than what is alluded to by the jingle.

Hughlilly was lucky and knew how to play off of a coincidence. He, or more correctly his son since R.G. passed away several years ago, is by far the richest person in the colony.

And so it was that I decided to stop drinking Safety Blue. Through this paper I hoped to reveal the corrupt power that R.G. Hughlilly has wielded over our naive colony.

One week has passed. At first nothing happened. My parents caught on after two days and told me I was foolishly endangering the entire family. We had a fight. Dad kicked me out. I’ve been living with my Fiancée since. She was worried but supportive. She is sleeping in a different room, as is proper, though with the door locked just in case. Just in case what? In case they come? It made me chuckle. I hoped she wouldn’t keep it up for long.

It was the third day when the first incident occurred. I say incident, but it was really nothing. That darn song has just made us all paranoid.

I was walking home from the school along the Easthill trail as a herd of bearfalo sauntered across. I walked around the herd, showing them the due respect they deserve. They are very large and impressive. While observing the herd I bumped into one of the stragglers. I gasped and stepped back. The bearfalo continued several steps as if it didn’t notice, then stood up and watched me as I walked away. It dropped back down and followed me for almost a minute. At one point it was right next to me and sniffed my hand. I patted its side. It then rejoined the herd.
I smiled and tried to imagine the beast as aggressive.

--p3--

The second incident happened the next day. I was out running with my fiancée on the other side of the colony. A large herd was grazing on the side of the hill above us. My fiancée touched my elbow and I stopped running. Above us the herd was silent. None were grazing now. They just watched us. My fiancée’s look reminded me that it was not us, it was me. She shuddered and ran back to the colony without waiting. The bearfalo in the back stood up. The whole herd faced me and seemed to be waiting for something. Their large eyes bored into my soul. None of them blinked. I tell you it was eerie, but I was thickheaded. I ruled it off as coincidence.

The following day I got unlucky. At lunch I was on my way to school. A group of elementary students was walking the same direction, out to their building. There was a very small heard just off the trail grazing. One of the kids threw a girl’s computer at the herd. It hit the side of a bearfalo and fell to the ground. The darn animal didn’t even look up. Being closest, I walked over to pick it up for the girl. The bearfalo turned and looked at me, its eyes wide and black. I picked up the little computer just as one of the males pushed past the grazing females and stood erect ten feet from me. It was massive. The thing let out growl that set my knees shaking. When I didn’t move, it immediately bellowed in a manner I interpreted as hostile, its mouth opened wide. I never knew they could open their mouths that wide. I never knew they had several large, sharp teeth amongst their molars either.

Needless to say the kids burst out crying and the teachers started singing that cursed jingle to calm them.

Yesterday I grew paranoid. Every time I went out there was bearfalo sitting alone watching me. No matter where I went. Mere coincidence, but it was always there. The previous days accident had done more than enough to make me fear “them” coming for me. I opted not to leave my fiancée’s apartment the rest of the day. Once she got home she yelled at me. I tried to take it stoically but fear I failed. She ended up in tears and locked herself in the other room. I sat awake in her bed most the night stewing angrily on the many coincidences of the week. She woke once and sobbed herself back to sleep. I longed to hold her but knew she wouldn’t let me until I started drinking Safety Blue again.

Then the noises began. They were quiet and indistinct. There was no pattern; they came sporadically once or twice an hour. I didn’t need to go to the window and look down on the street to feed my curiosity. I knew. And I feared that I might not just be paranoid anymore. ‘They’ were sniffing around.
I slept little if at all.

By sunrise I had resolved to leave my fiancée for a bit. Just in case there might actually be any credence to the whole Safety Blue issue, you know. I sprinted through the streets as the sun peaked over the hills. One solitary bearfalo followed me through the colony, far in the distance. I didn’t know where to go. I didn’t want to harm anyone. I needed to be somewhere alone and safe.

That’s what brought me here to the colony detention building, one of the sturdiest buildings on the planet. My employee password and palm print were all I needed to get in. The building is entirely automated. No one is stationed here when there are no prisoners. There haven’t been prisoners for more than a year.

I stopped on the way and bought some Safety Blue. I’ve drunk four now and think I’m going to vomit. It hasn’t done any good. As soon as it was dark they attacked the building. I couldn’t believe what the surveillance cameras showed me. They are strong. Much stronger than any of us thought. And they are smart. Within an hour these grazing animals had broken into the building. They ripped through the security gates. They are coming for me.

--p4--

I’ve locked myself in the last containment cell. The door is solid steel. The power has gone out. I write in darkness. They are against the door. Their howling is terrifying. Their claws, their claws...

They are coming for me. I don’t think there is anything I can now do. If I don’t survive this, whoever finds this letter please give it to my family. Oh my fiancée, please, tell her I’m sorry. I’m oh so very sorry. Why didn’t I listen? Why didn’t I believe? Tell her I love her so much.

And tell my friends, all of them, in fact tell the whole colony: Its true, drink Safety Blue and they won’t come for you!

Night Travelling

by Trevor Parker

Amazement; a feeling that fills me as the horizon passes.

Red rock cliffs alone solemnly salute the setting sun.

Mountain and hill rising majestically from desert floor;

They circle round me as earthy ripples of God’s splendor.

The hills are clear, the hills are pure,

Ornamented with only the simplest brush.

They are unafraid to reach up and touch the heavens that,

In the fading light,

Hang low and seemingly bow down to meet the earth.

The noble blue sky fades to gray,

An inevitable progression to black.

The sun casts the last of its warm glow over the western rim of creation;

A warm orange reminder that the sun will return in the not so distant future.

The red cliffs and hills grasp at the light as it slowly slides away.

The fires of the sun, dwindling reluctantly,

Are finally extinguished in mere temporal defeat of night.

Through Cities we pass, past towns we speed.

Green fields lay in peace,

Slowly vanishing into the dark.

Trees rest from the day’s breezes.

And as the eye passes from their silent boughs

The first glint of light awakes in the night sky.

With a shrug of a twinkle,

The star dawns its nightly vigil.

One to wish upon, then two! Three becomes four!

With glimmering spurts they appear in groves.

They add hope in the colorless void that so recently was filled with blue.

Strange hulks of shapes linger just out of our little lights range.

Dense fog flits in through the hills.

Night sounds creep past us as we continue on our way.

With pillow against the window,

I doze until dawn.

Butterflies

by Trevor Parker

I’m hiking along the ridge trail that leads up from Twin Peaks to Black Peak. Twin Peaks are a double peak, shaped like a camel’s humps, that sit on the first foot hills overlooking Salt Lake City. Black Peak is three and a half miles further up this ridge that leads to the main spine of the Wasatch mountains.

Once past Twin Peaks, the sounds of the city quickly fade. The wind roars over the mountains. Nature becomes much more abundant: there are falcons, eagles, slow horny toads, fast spotted lizards, and many insects. It is spring and flowers are in bloom. The hillsides are covered with big yellow blossoms and dark blue flowers. The grass is green. Higher up there is still deep snow clasping to the peaks contrasting with the spring life around me. It is all very beautiful.

A shadow by my foot brings me to a stop. I look down and see that the shadow is actually a very large and very hairy caterpillar scurrying across the trail. It stops suddenly, sensing me. It is unsure of how to continue. I crouch down and stare at it. It is large and fat. It has long spiky black hair tipped with tan. There are a few red markings around its squat head. Two large black eyes, taking up all of the bug’s face, regard me. Then with enough time already lost, the caterpillar rushes around my foot with amazing speed and heads into the rocks and grass to the side of the trail. I follow it, bending over close to the ground and watching its progress.

And it hits me. This fat caterpillar has been eating well, and is in search of another healthy plant to consume. I look over and see a tall flower whose leaves are shredded and eaten. Its beauty already draining from the peddles as the plant’s life ebbs. This little caterpillar and so many like it live off of destroying the beauty around us. This ugly little caterpillar eats the things that make the mountain beautiful. If left unchecked, the caterpillars can bring destruction to whole forests and mountainsides. Luckily I came across it. I will not leave it unchecked.

I stand. Movement catches my eye. I am distracted from my current train of thought as a large yellow and black butterfly bobs in the wind in front of me. It is very large, as big as the palm of my hand. The yellow is vibrant and lays in stripes of varying shape and size on the black wings. It creates an intriguing pattern so articulate and breathe taking, it makes me wonder how nature consistently creates these types of things, and never repeats a pattern. The black of the wings is also captivating. As the butterfly dances through the breeze, the black shifts and sparkles subtly. It is iridescent. I have seen these tiger butterflies countless times and never noticed this before.

The butterfly swoops down onto the devastated flower to my side; respite from the struggle with the wind. I think this butterfly is really beautiful. It adds to the feeling of spring that surrounds me. In fact, as wonderful as the mountains are right now, wouldn’t it be more incredible if these majestic butterflies were everywhere? Swarms of them swirling in the air. They would drink a little from the flowers, but otherwise leave the mountain unharmed. It would be magic.

The butterfly lifts off the flower and flutters on along the ridge. I follow it with my eyes and thank it for visiting me, and then I turn and continue on my hike. But I suddenly remember the caterpillar, and my previous train of thought.

I turn back, and locating the caterpillar, squish it with the heel of my boot. Good riddance to bad rubbish. One less caterpillar to destroy the beauty that surrounds me. I then continue on up the mountain trail hoping to see just one more butterfly…