Rat

Stretch

What horrors exist on this planet?

There is a place nearby, and I dread going there. Sometimes I have no choice. It is a black line and it runs to the horizon in both directions. I see no reason why this line exists. Surely the beasts created it. It cannot be natural. It looks to be made of stone, but it is not like any stone I have ever seen before. It is far too flat, almost smooth. Perhaps it was once lava that has cooled. I do not know. I lack the equipment to run a proper analysis.

It is a place of death.

There is a language amongst us lowly creatures that has made me grow quite fond of them. We do not share words, but we do share understanding. Even those vicious brutes that stalk us through the long grass share their wisdom when it comes to places such as this.

The advice is always the same: do not go there.

But we all do. We have to: there is greenery on the other side. There is food. There are others like us, and the only thing that separates us from them is this stretch of black. The pull is uncontrollable. We have to cross. We do cross. And, most of the time, we survive.

Most of the time...

Today, I am reminded of the dangers inherent on this planet. The stretch of black is there, just as always. It is deserted. Across from this black expanse I can see rolling hills of green, with plenty of foliage to hide in and nooks and crannies to explore. A wonderland.

Before me is the dead.

There are two of them, which is unusual. Normally, I would see one corpse at most. Perhaps this a warning put here to remind me that this planet is not safe. There are things out to get creatures such as me.

But why does the example have to be made so vivid? Surely death is enough. They do not need to celebrate it with such gore.

The first creature was similar to myself, but perhaps twice as big: it has a long, furry body with a bushy tail. It has no head. In life, it surely did, but now where there should have been a skull with eyes and a nose and a mouth there is just a bloodied smear and a dark smudge that is like the shadow of the head that once was.

This was the first thing I saw, and it made my heart race.

The second creature was one of those brutes that often hunt me. Fast, nimble, agile. How could one of those end up here? It was lying on the ground, partially flat. Legs lay stretched in all directions, as though it were trying to catch the winds and fly. Its face was a mask of pain. It had died quickly, but not instantly. It had known death.

Still, I crossed onto the black. I tried not to look, but my eyes were drawn to the death. I paused, knowing the danger I was in but not caring. These creatures deserved a moment out of respect. They were not so different to me. I could be in their place.

The ground rumbled. It was soft, at first. Gentle. Then it grew. A roar came with it. It was like thunder, but it was not thunder. It came from the black stretch. I looked up, saw nothing.

Behind me.

I turned, spun on the spot. There it was. Something big, unnatural. It came for me. Too fast. Too fast. I could not run. I would not escape.

Too fast.