Residuum

Chapter 2: Satan's Horde

So here I am standing in the middle of nowhere in some god forsaken dessert just smoking a cigarette wondering what my next move will be. Where will I go? What will I do? How the hell am I possibly going to “Save the world”? Well all I know is that I have to find The Ark of the Covenant. The Ark is a holy relic that was carried around the dessert by the Jews as a promise to God to keep their faith in him. They carried it with them until they finally found their home in Israel. It is said that the Ark kept Jewish morale up while they searched. Without the Ark who knows what would have happened. I think the people would have lost faith and never found their holy land. What an incredible relic… and I have to find it…. I’m screwed. Well I might as well start walking no use in standing here and dying of dehydration. As I picked my feet up and started trudging through the hot sand which burned my feet even through my boots I thought about my daughter.

 Her birthday was only two weeks ago and I wasn’t even there. Apparently her mother thinks I am a bad influence on her. I spent hours searching for the perfect present to give her. I WENT TO FOUR FRIGEN TOYS-R-US’S FOR GOD SAKE. I finally found it the thing that made me think of her as she was growing up. Something to help her keep her youth and hopefully hold onto forever. It was a pink pony, a pony with a blue mane that ran down its neck and looked softer than silk. The dam thing even came with a brush and a few clips to do pony hair styles. It had glitter under its eyes and on its snout. It sparkled when you looked at it. It was the most precious toy I have ever seen I knew my daughter would love it. The most precious toy in the world for my most precious daughter. The only dilemma I had was that it was sitting on my dresser at home. I’d never know the joy it gave her to open it. I wouldn’t even know if she liked it. Now it’s too late to ever know. Just another example of me being an outstanding father. I wouldn’t let her down this time. No I couldn’t let her down this time. Without her my world is empty anyways.

I looked up to the sky and wondered when it would be so dark I couldn’t see. I started wondering whether or not I should just keep walking or if I should find a place to sleep for the night I will need my rest of I am to fully commit myself to this journey. I continued to walk for about another hour when I saw a small rock in the distance I began to walk toward it thinking it would make a nice shelter for me to stay in for the night. As I poked my head in I pulled out my trusty zippo and gave it a nice spin against my leg and the flame came up. The light burned my eyes and I looked around the cave. There was no sign of life anywhere so I decided it would be safe to sleep for a few hours before I continued walking aimlessly. I pushed some sand together to make a nice heap on the floor which I would use for my bed. I took off my jacket and laid my head down. I laid awake stirring for a moment before my eyes closed I had one thought “You really got yourself into a pile of shit this time Michael” I chuckled to myself in disbelief as my eyes closed.

I began to dream I saw my daughter and ex-wife. They were playing on a playground laughing and chasing each other. It made me happy as I sat on the bench across the park watching them. They paid me no attention as if I didn’t exist. My daughter would run right past me and not even give me a glance. I was a ghost. I was someone who was sitting there but I wasn’t there at all. My daughter ran past me again right into her mother’s arms. She closed her eyes and laughed. Her mother had her back to me so I could see my daughters face suddenly her eyes shot opened and began to glow. They glowed like lava flowing from the earth’s core. She looked directly at me. She then screamed “Wake up daddy get up! They are coming for you! Wake up daddy! Wake up daddy!” My eyes bolted opened. I was still inside my cave. I sparked my zippo and lit a cigarette. I sat up and scratched my face. There was nothing there, but the stubble reminding me of the life I once had. I stood up and peered out of the gaping mouth of the cave. In the distance I saw a set of torches. They were coming towards me. I stood there stupefied with my cigarette hanging out of my mouth.