This Sacred Land

It was cold, and it was dark. Some days I could even forget what the sun was as it remained no more than a silhouette among the clouds. I was still grateful for the days, the nights were much worse. A green cloud of mist would start on the horizon, and slowly creep in. one whiff of that and you wouldn't get to see the next dawn. That wasn’t the worst part, it’s what came with it. The Locolos. I don’t know what better way to describe them than all the stories that elder would tell us of dark shadows, demons and demigods rolled into one. Dark tuffs of fur lined their shoulders and continued down their back. Only to be met with a long scaly tail. The rest of their torso was also covered in the dark purple hue of their scales. Their elbows had long razor like blades protruding out of them. You definitely don’t want to be caught by one of those, they could cut you clean in half in a matter of seconds, talk about yikes. And to top it all off they have the Wonderful hand and feet dexterity of our close ape relatives. Isn’t that just great… Did I say they’re terrifying already? Good, because they are. They come in packs and they’ll either sniff you out or follow your warmth. At first I tried to burn different herbs from our smudges to deter their evil spirits. The heat only brought them closer.

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

They started appearing not too long after the second landers had given up. The second landers wanted us to move our tribe. The Chief said that they didn’t understand the sacredness of the dirt under them and insisted that we stay. This was our home. The second landers retorted saying us first landers were stubborn and illogical. Mother would snicker, after all, she is the one who taught them how to speak. When they first arrived they were no more than babbling apes. The more we refused them and sent them away, the more came back. Their Chief got angrier and angrier until one day he smiled. The chief of their clan said that we would be “lab rats”. I do not know what a “lab” is but his smile as he said it made my stomach do flips. I’ve seen many happy, belly chuckling smiles from dad. The chief second landers smile however… It was wrong. A few moons after that, the green mist came. It fell in from a metal bird in the sky. The longer we stayed in the green mist the more of the Locolos their were. And the less of us. Eventually there was no one.

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

There was that awful noise again.

One’s made it to my hut a few times. It spent hours constantly scratching at the wood. Again and again. I didn’t get any sleep that night. I couldn’t stop thinking that any second now they’d finally break through and that would be it. I’m sure if they used their blades it would only take seconds. I spent the next week doing repairs and thinking about why they didn’t. The only thing I could think of was that they enjoyed the fear. Just the thought made me shudder.

The scratching continued.

Eventually it stopped followed by a loud bang. At the source of the noise was a first sized hole. A glowing yellow eye peering in. The creature shifted, it’s sharp yellow teeth now visible. A low guttural voice seeping out. “I found you”.

I reached for my face cloth as the mist came bellowing in. “No” I thought. “It’s over”. At least the mist would be merciful. I clutched onto my locket, it was a gift from the first second lander we met. I liked it’s shiny golden color and running my fingers around the curved edges of the heart shape. I kept a lock of rabbit fur inside for good luck, but my luck was all run out.

I starred the creature in the eye. I let out a long breath as the mist came swirling in, embracing me.

You win second landers, there is no one left.

This cursed land is yours.

I closed my eyes, and take a deep breath in.