The Masked Man
1st October 2008, 09:16 AM
I saw in the distance, smoke rising from the horizon. I walked down the road, bristles stabbing into my feet, blood trailing behind them, tears falling down to the ground with cataclysmic explosions. I continued walking until I passed a man hanging on a pole, nailed to the posts, screaming to the heavens. I passed him and looked at his sores, two crows swooped down and pecked out both of his eyes.
"What is your name, friend?"
"They call me Scarecrow." he howled in misery.
"Why? You are a person, not straw!"
"They put me here to ward away the crows," he sobbed. " The Crows pecked away my innards, flying away to feed them to their next generation. They only left my vocal cords and nerves so that I might cry out in pain."
"What's that smoke there, Scarecrow?"
"That's the Furnace! Evil place!"
"What happens there?"
"Death! You smell that?!?!? The stink of evil rising from below! Satan's demons! A flash of light, a burst of heat and no more!"
Scarecrow's face clouded with agony as he cried out yet again. Crows flew in from the sky and gathered around his stomach, ripping intestines from his torso, with ravenous hunger.
I fled from Scarecrow leaving behind his screams of agony, finding solace in the shadows of the woods. A beautiful humming filled the air around me as I looked, in search of the source. The humming came nearer and nearer until it bore down on me. I fell to my knees, the humming turned from beautiful to deadly in a matter of moments, from a dream to a nightmare, the world spun beneath me as I grasped for clarity but it backed away in fear of the present event. Suddenly, it stopped. I stood and before me stood a peasant woman.
"Who are you, woman?"
"I am Gaea, mother of the Earth."
"You are Gaea?"
"This is what the of man has left me! A ravaged old carcass, a disheveled shell of what once was! Man conquered the earth, building rigs, drilling me for my black treasures, and polluting the airs! You see before you the award of man. A Dead Earth."
"But surely-"
"You too participated in my demise! All are guilty! All! Even you, traveler! Whilst you walk on foot, you have soiled me! Be gone from this place, my tranquil home! Be gone from my dominion, for here I AM QUEEN!"
Gaea's face turned red with anger and I fled from her, just like Scarecrow. In this land there was only fear and paranoia. Until I came to the Gates.
The Gates stood, blacker than night itself, with no one to guard it. People walked through, guided by the Crows, hypnotized by their lies of riches within the buildings. The people hugged their children as they were separated. I ran to a child.
"Child! Do you not know what awaits for you in that building?"
"Yes. Riches beyond my wildest dreams!" The boys eyes were so innocent, they shone like the stars.
"No, boy, Death! Death is the only inhabitant in there! He dances in the flickering flames of the fire that burns day and night! He spreads his wings and soars over the Earth in that smoke above us, spreading disease and chaos throughout the land! Turn back!"
"Nay, Deceiver!"
"What?"
"You are the Deceiver! Sent to trick us of our riches within the buildings!"
"Never!"
"Be gone! I have no further conversation with you!"
The boy turned from me. I ran to the Gates again. They closed before me! This was it! No one would save me! I was here, with the rest of them, like a sheep led to the slaughterhouse! I rattled the Gates and the next thing I knew the doors to the buildings opened and people were taken in.
"NO! STOP! NO!" I screamed.
Crows led them in, and there was silence. A groaning was heard from within, and then a light came from underneath the great Door. No screams were heard within.
I saw Crows going into a doorway. I followed and there in the building was a room, where you could see the inside of the Furnace Room. I saw within. I saw the Boy, with whom I had spoken with. He stood in front of the crowd, eagerly awaiting the opening of the Door. The Crows went to the doors and they groaned open. A burst of light came, and my eyes flew to the Boy. His eyes found me in the room, and we held our gaze for what seemed like an eternity. Then he burst into flames,his face contorted with rage as from within the room there came a roar, like the sound of a thousand lions cries. The other people burned along with the boy. They ran around, as if dancing. In the center, in a swirling mass of fire, stood Death, looking out over the dancers, smiling his grin of death. He sat above the dancers like a King over the people. They finally fell away to ashes and the fire faded, and another group was ushered in. I burst from the room, knowing that whatever I was going to do was going to be futile! The Gates stood open once again. I ran from the Furnace Buildings and into the wilderness again. I ran by Gaea and up the path, and when I past Scarecrow, he no longer spoke or cried out in agony. His head pointed towards heaven, his mouth open as if about to cry out. But nothing came. Only the silence of death.
I could bear no more, so I stood and ran once again to the head of the path, where it ended. I collapsed on the ground, crying from the horrors I had witnessed. Tears fell and would not stop. My tears silently fell on the ground. I looked heavenwards, but all I saw was the black smog. I looked back at the Furnace, knowing that in this land, there was no hope, and the only ultimate truth was that the smoke would always rise.
"What is your name, friend?"
"They call me Scarecrow." he howled in misery.
"Why? You are a person, not straw!"
"They put me here to ward away the crows," he sobbed. " The Crows pecked away my innards, flying away to feed them to their next generation. They only left my vocal cords and nerves so that I might cry out in pain."
"What's that smoke there, Scarecrow?"
"That's the Furnace! Evil place!"
"What happens there?"
"Death! You smell that?!?!? The stink of evil rising from below! Satan's demons! A flash of light, a burst of heat and no more!"
Scarecrow's face clouded with agony as he cried out yet again. Crows flew in from the sky and gathered around his stomach, ripping intestines from his torso, with ravenous hunger.
I fled from Scarecrow leaving behind his screams of agony, finding solace in the shadows of the woods. A beautiful humming filled the air around me as I looked, in search of the source. The humming came nearer and nearer until it bore down on me. I fell to my knees, the humming turned from beautiful to deadly in a matter of moments, from a dream to a nightmare, the world spun beneath me as I grasped for clarity but it backed away in fear of the present event. Suddenly, it stopped. I stood and before me stood a peasant woman.
"Who are you, woman?"
"I am Gaea, mother of the Earth."
"You are Gaea?"
"This is what the of man has left me! A ravaged old carcass, a disheveled shell of what once was! Man conquered the earth, building rigs, drilling me for my black treasures, and polluting the airs! You see before you the award of man. A Dead Earth."
"But surely-"
"You too participated in my demise! All are guilty! All! Even you, traveler! Whilst you walk on foot, you have soiled me! Be gone from this place, my tranquil home! Be gone from my dominion, for here I AM QUEEN!"
Gaea's face turned red with anger and I fled from her, just like Scarecrow. In this land there was only fear and paranoia. Until I came to the Gates.
The Gates stood, blacker than night itself, with no one to guard it. People walked through, guided by the Crows, hypnotized by their lies of riches within the buildings. The people hugged their children as they were separated. I ran to a child.
"Child! Do you not know what awaits for you in that building?"
"Yes. Riches beyond my wildest dreams!" The boys eyes were so innocent, they shone like the stars.
"No, boy, Death! Death is the only inhabitant in there! He dances in the flickering flames of the fire that burns day and night! He spreads his wings and soars over the Earth in that smoke above us, spreading disease and chaos throughout the land! Turn back!"
"Nay, Deceiver!"
"What?"
"You are the Deceiver! Sent to trick us of our riches within the buildings!"
"Never!"
"Be gone! I have no further conversation with you!"
The boy turned from me. I ran to the Gates again. They closed before me! This was it! No one would save me! I was here, with the rest of them, like a sheep led to the slaughterhouse! I rattled the Gates and the next thing I knew the doors to the buildings opened and people were taken in.
"NO! STOP! NO!" I screamed.
Crows led them in, and there was silence. A groaning was heard from within, and then a light came from underneath the great Door. No screams were heard within.
I saw Crows going into a doorway. I followed and there in the building was a room, where you could see the inside of the Furnace Room. I saw within. I saw the Boy, with whom I had spoken with. He stood in front of the crowd, eagerly awaiting the opening of the Door. The Crows went to the doors and they groaned open. A burst of light came, and my eyes flew to the Boy. His eyes found me in the room, and we held our gaze for what seemed like an eternity. Then he burst into flames,his face contorted with rage as from within the room there came a roar, like the sound of a thousand lions cries. The other people burned along with the boy. They ran around, as if dancing. In the center, in a swirling mass of fire, stood Death, looking out over the dancers, smiling his grin of death. He sat above the dancers like a King over the people. They finally fell away to ashes and the fire faded, and another group was ushered in. I burst from the room, knowing that whatever I was going to do was going to be futile! The Gates stood open once again. I ran from the Furnace Buildings and into the wilderness again. I ran by Gaea and up the path, and when I past Scarecrow, he no longer spoke or cried out in agony. His head pointed towards heaven, his mouth open as if about to cry out. But nothing came. Only the silence of death.
I could bear no more, so I stood and ran once again to the head of the path, where it ended. I collapsed on the ground, crying from the horrors I had witnessed. Tears fell and would not stop. My tears silently fell on the ground. I looked heavenwards, but all I saw was the black smog. I looked back at the Furnace, knowing that in this land, there was no hope, and the only ultimate truth was that the smoke would always rise.