Deviator

PART THREE

Prolog
2026

It was too quiet. That was the first thing he noticed. The sounds from The City had all died down. Thinking about it now, the phrase: silent as the grave was rather fitting at this moment.

A swift pull in his arms tore him out of his thoughts and forced him to focus on walking again. Trying to walk without being able to see, wasn't all that fun. Even though, he already knew exactly where he was going. He had seen this all too many times. Just from the other side of the massive stone walls that surrounded The City. Protecting the habitants inside.

"Hurry up, you little piece of shit..." The voice whispering in his ear was drenched with fear. Not that he didn't understand it. He knew the danger that lurked in the shadows, and he should be afraid too, but he was numb. Everything felt like it wasn't real. Just a bad dream.

The Protectors, who held him up by his arms, suddenly decided that they didn't want to wait for him to walk faster by himself anymore and dragged him towards the boat. It was a tiny boat with paddles. Bloodstained paddles. He didn't need to see it to know it. For years he had watched silently as The Protectors beat Deviators and offenders with the paddles, when they were panicking too much and wouldn't swim to shore.

He wouldn't be one of them. He wouldn't! When he had been convicted, he had made a promise to himself. He wouldn't beg for his life. He wouldn't try to get away and he wouldn't refuse to leave the boat. He would take his punishment. Afterall, he deserved it. He hadn't abided the Third Obligation. He deserved to be punished. He deserved to be banished. The society couldn't function, if people didn't live by the Obligations. After all, it was for their own protection.

As water washed over his feet, panic began to settle in. He fought it down the best he could. Breathing exercises... Going to a happier place in his mind..., but everything failed him. He couldn't stop the fear. The terror of what to come. Despite his best efforts, he heard himself beg.

"Please. Please don't do this. Please... I can do better. I'm sorry. I'll be better... Please!"

"To late. You should have thought of that before you decided to not live by the Obligations."

Tears streamed down his face as he hung his head in submission. It was a losing battle. He knew that. The Protectors never failed to deliver the punishment. Rumors were that the Protectors didn't possess human emotions. That they were more robots than actual humans. Build to do the job others couldn't.

He had never heard fear on a Protectors voice before... well, before he was the one dragged to the shore. For a moment he wondered if the others who had been banished had noticed the same thing. But since no one survived the banishment, the secret died with the Deviators and the offenders. Died with him...

A sob slipped past his lips, as his head was pushed down against his shoulder, and he felt the needle dig into the large vain on his neck. A deadly does of the vaccine. The ultimate weapon against the creatures that now existed outside the city.

Before he knew it, he was pushed into the boat, and he could feel the slow rocking as they sailed across the river. Cold wind bit his cheeks, and he tried to restrain himself from letting more tears fall. It would only make the cold feel worse against his skin.

"Now, Get out."

The paddle struck him on the side of his head before he had a chance to move. Then another struck him, even harder as he tried to get up. The third time, the paddle struck at the back of his knees and his legs gave in. Instantly knocking him over the side of the boat.

Water filled his lungs as he struggled to stay afloat. But his hands were tied loosely behind his back, so all he could really do, was kick in the water until he could feel some kind of land beneath his feet. Luckily, the shore wasn't that far. Unfortunately, now the true horror began.

When he was on solid ground, he began to wiggle out of his restraints while listening to the sound of the boat paddling away as fast as humanly possible. Leaving him to his destiny. Fear had filled his body, and primal survival instincts kicked in. When he finally got his hands free of the robe, he tore off the hood and tried to get his eyes to focus. Then sun was setting. It was always at sundown when the sentences were carried out. That was when the creatures were most alive.

Holding his breath, he tried to listen. His best chance was to figure out which direction they would come from. But he couldn't hear anything. Some people might have been fooled by that and think they had a chance to get away, but he knew the creatures were lurking in the dark. Waiting for him to run. They were hunters. And he was the pray.

It hadn't taken long for the creatures to figure when and where fresh meat would be sacrificed to them. Now, they were always lurking in the shadows when nighttime came.

There! An almost undetectable sound of a wheezing breath. Before he could make a solid plan, his feet began to move. Running in the opposite direction of the sound.

Faster. And faster. And faster! But no matter how fast he ran, the creatures gained in on him. He could hear their synchronized steps, the hissing, and the growling. It wouldn't take long before they would catch up to him.

An abandoned building appeared in the horizon and a small glimpse of hope ignited within. If he could only reach that building, he might have a chance. Get behind a locked door. Survive until dawn, where the creatures were at their weakest.

But just as the thought had given him hope, he was tossed to the ground and a creature was now towering over him. Blood and saliva dripping from its chin. It almost looked human. A starved, insane and deadly human. But then again, that was precisely what it was. Or had been, at least.

The man knew it was over. He closed his eyes and tried to remember the days where things had been better. When creatures didn't rule the night and when people were free to live without fear of the virus. His only comfort was, that the vaccine in him would kill the creature within the next couple of hours.

With a deep growl it sank its teeth into his flesh and his scream rang out through the night.