The Forsaken Land

“This land once belonged to them, those foul creatures birthed from Gaia. Humanity they were called. Vicious monsters full of greed, and violence. They wasted Gaia’s precious resources, and polluted her lands without remorse. This is why we were born, little ones. We were born from Gaia’s need to rid herself of those parasites. Perfect beings with divine purpose.” The voice of the speaker was deep and resolute. He spoke in such a way that those in attendance had no doubt in his words. His knowledge was absolute and true.

The speech concluded with a chorus of applause from tiny hands, soon joined by older firmer palms. The children surrounding the speaker loved this tale, regardless of how many times they heard it. It was regarded as cherished history, especially when it was coming from the mouth of Iahmesu. He was from the most distinguished family in the new territories. Just to stand in his presence was considered an honor or so the children’s parents repeated to them again and again. The same so-called adults who flocked to his side once his story for the small ones ended. He towered over the majority of them, so in a way they were like children to him as well. They too needed to be guided and protected, such was his duty and burden.

Eventually he excused himself from the handshakes and praise. Waiting for him in the lounge across from the speaking area was a lavishly dressed woman. Her lavender colored gown was ruffled from breast to ankle. Both her neck and earlobes were adorned with complementing white jewelry. The grandeur of her attire made his own neatly buttoned collared shirt and twill pants feel casual in comparison. The same could be said of her otherworldly silver hair, compared to his own lackluster black. She had adapted to human fashion far better than he. Outwardly the two seemed to be complete opposites. The male was tall and perfectly pale in such a way that he resembled a marble sculpture. The woman was petite and colored like coffee. She sat cross-legged with her eyes fixated on him as he approached. Neither spoke for a moment, as they allowed the crowd to exit first.

“Why do you tell them that boring story? Why continue this façade? You make it seem as though some righteous flood cleansed the humans from the earth. It was a genocide, and half of those here drooling at your words were there to witness it. And it’s not like they’re entirely extinct.” She questioned with noticeable irritation.

“Well, that is our responsibility isn’t it Guari? We can ensure those children grow up in a world without humans.”

“Is that what you truly desire though? You can’t hide your feelings from me, Mesu. We’re partners.”

“Then let’s get to work, partner.”

The dazzling gleam of the city lights faded behind them as the helicopter raced away from the haven. Iahmesu found himself reflecting on how it was one of the few major cities still standing after the human cleansing. His kind now inhabited the land, without much thought for their presence’s affect on the land: it would bear no fruit, waterways would soon dry up and no natural creature dared roam there. Gaia had abandoned all places where her children were no longer welcome. His kind ignorantly infested human homes thinking them spoils of war, or some preservation of a lost culture. That last part was partially true, as they were creatures born from humans. Monsters of nightmare and myth once thought to only exist in imagination. Human culture was in a way their own. They had always lived alongside them, though quietly in the shadows.

These thoughts of the past drifted away as they approached their destination. The abandoned suburb was ripe with wild vegetation, often a clear sign of humans in hiding. It was only in the final approach that he noticed Guari had been speaking. He glanced in her direction for the first time the entire journey. She was still dressed in her frilly gown, and thick-heeled shoes; impractical as always. She could tell he wasn’t listening, but continued out of spite he suspected.

“Are you listening Mesu?” She knew he wasn’t.

“I assume it was something about shopping when we return.” He retorted.

Espresso shaded cheeks inflated to form a pout, which enticed a genuine chuckle from the male. He knew her as well as she knew him. It was why he trusted her as partner even if she wore impractical clothing on assignment and droned on about human fashion trends. Before either could continue the banter a shimmer in the wreckage below caught their attention.

“Did you see that, Gauri?”

“Momma saw something shiny! Think it’s a human?” She prattled with glee.

“Only one way to know.”

“Pilot find a clearing and take us down.” She instructed their aviator, while unfastening her seatbelt.

“I’ll meet you on the surface.” Iahmesu stated, already free of the vehicle’s bindings. He leapt from the vehicle still some thirty feet in the air. Whatever words of objection his partner yelled were drowned out by the air rushing against his ears. Feet hit pavement with a callous thump, but no pain. Dull brown eyes scanned in the direction of the shimmer. Long ruined houses, filled the cul-de-sac. None were fit to house humans, lest they fancied exposed roofs that allowed the elements inside, or walls that risked collapse if one so much as touched them. None seemed to house the shimmer either. Shouting from the rear interrupted his investigation.

“You’re always like this when it comes to humans!” An angry Guari chastised.

“Apologies.” He offered this halfheartedly, as his eyes returned to his visual search.

“Yeah, yeah! Whatever! Let’s go!” she shouted before taking off in the direction he’d been looking.

She moved well in heels. No foliage nor debris impeded her path. He’d almost forgotten how swift of a creature she was. If not for fear of breaking her darling shoes he suspected she would have been on the ground before him. Whatever prey there was here she was sure to find it first. Iahmesu sprinted in pursuit. Much too often he’d arrived on the scene to find the humans already disposed of.

He darted by remnants of the cleansing: wrecked vehicles, long decayed human remains, and even the traces of some of his own deceased ilk. Every so often a bone would crack underneath his finely cobbled shoes, though he gave no concern if it was human or other. Guari moved ahead of him with precision, which meant she was tracking something. Before long he knew what. Exposed footprints in the vegetation zig-zagged a trail from the open area of the ruined suburb to a pathway along one of the houses. The tracks lead to a ruined shed behind the home. Before its destruction it probably housed human tools. Too small for any large number of humans to be hiding. An impatient Guari stood outside the building.

“Tracks end here, and no humans.” She growled.

“Did you bother to actually investigate the inside of the shed?”

“And ruin my outfit?”

A deep audible sigh pushed beyond his lips and he got to task. A light push wobbled a barely hinged door inward. He paused lest the movement of the door cause the entire shoddy structure to collapse. After deeming the building safe enough, he entered. Outdated human lawncare devices littered the dirty ground and dusty shelves. Near everything was covered in some layer of grime. He could almost understand why Guari refused to enter.

“See anything interesting?” She questioned.

“Just filthy remnants of an outdated society. The process would be multitudes easier with a sharper pair of eyes.”

A bang and a scream interrupted their conversation. He scrambled outside to find his partner dashing behind the shed, a trail of her blood following behind.

“They stained my dress!” She roared from behind the shed. She cared more about the garment than her injury which meant she’d be okay. “Bastard’s in the house, second floor, terrible shot!”

Another blast erupted and proved her latter statement true. The bullet whizzed by him, hitting the shed’s door and knocking it fully off its hinges. His highly tuned ears were already aware of the model of weaponry used against him; bolt action, single shot, magazine of five at most, two shots wasted. The odds were in his favor. He took off with his inhuman speed towards the house. A third shot soared through the air, but the lack of marksmanship was clear. Two shots left.

Mesu’s large frame crashed against the backdoor, allowing him entry to the house. He noticed this building faired much better than the shed. It was abandoned, but mostly intact. He was met in the kitchen by a human male. His face was far too mucked for Mesu to determine his age. Humans that survived after the cleansing always had that filth to them. The man held a makeshift weapon of wood and nails in his hand, and was quick to swing the creation at his enemy. Mesu met the base of the weapon with his right forearm. It landed with a lame thud against his inhuman physique. He moved inward, his unrestrained hand soon clutching the human’s neck. The weak creature slammed its crude weapon desperately against Mesu’s unbothered frame, until finally the lack of oxygen made it cease.

A blood soaked, and bloodthirsty Guari entered the scene shortly after. She largely ignored Iahmesu’s conflict with the human in favor of making a beeline for the stairs. He knew her only concern was the human with the rifle. Blood for blood, she was simple minded that way.

He tossed the limp human carcass aside. The now familiar roar of the rifle sounded again, but this time the screams of the human followed it. A woman by the pitch of it. The screams continued as he made his way upstairs. She was having fun with this human. When he arrived upstairs the pathetic creature was lying near dead on the windowsill. Crimson liquid leaked from Guari’s claws, and spilled from the human’s abdomen.

“Stop playing with your prey.” He remarked coldly.

“Did you see how much of a mess it’s made. It has to suffer.”

“Die you monsters!” A third voice interrupted.

Whatever reply he held was replaced with action. Without thought his body leapt in front of his partner’s. The boom of the rifle’s final shot ripped through the room, as the bullet pierced its unintended target.

“Mesu?” Guari’s voice was wrought with concern.

“Monster?” The typical calm of his voice was interchanged with pure rage. “Was it not your kind who polluted the water, soil, and skies? Who led billions of your own to starvation and death? You were given all of the planet’s splendor and you wasted it! Your kind was doomed long before the cleansing!” His grand speech halted when he realized it was all for naught. The human had already succumbed to the wounds it received from Guari. That final shot was its final act of rebellion in a changing world.

Guari stepped ahead of him, and knelt to the human corpse. Her hand plucked something from it and she held the item up excitedly.

“Look Mesu, I found the shiny.” She said this with a childlike simplicity. In her hand was a silver locket. It was simple and shaped like a heart. He held no interest in human relics, but he could tell Guari adored it. “This was totally worth getting shot over.” She cried happily. The searing pain in his should would have disagreed, but he voiced no such complaint.

The helicopter ride back to the city was somber as always. While Guari droned on about her new accessory he watched the vitality of the land retreat into the distance. They would return to their humanless city where no rain fell, no trees grew, and no creature of the earth dared roam.