That Which Rots (Part 6)

“I consider it useless and tedious to represent what exists, because nothing that exists satisfies me. Nature is ugly, and I prefer the monsters of my fancy to what is positively trivial.”

-Charles Bauldelaire

I turned in horror at the tent as I watched The Rot transform, I could see something rising from the tent, pulling it apart as it emerged, like a butterfly from a chrysalis. I froze in place as it moved, every feature, every detail, the massive beast was so impossible, so broken, that all my body was screaming to do was run.

The Rot had become a large, bulky creature, with a look of pure malice and hatred in its eyes as it looked towards me.

It was like a pile of rotten, moldy flesh, draped onto a large skeleton like a robe, with eight large spider legs jutting out from under it, two large, inhuman arms reached in front of the creatures body, each adorned with long, sharp claws that scratched on the floor, and its neck was long and thin, connecting to a bare deers skull. It had long, thick antlers, with two lit candles melted onto the ends of each of them, and it had red flames that lapped back and forth in its eye sockets. Sharp, jagged teeth filled the mouth of the skull, making it look almost unnatural, and huge swarms of bugs and flies swarmed around the beast, forming a thin cloud around The Rot.

Slowly the Rot reared its head back, its skinless face basking in the sun, before it snapped down to look at me, roaring loudly. The sound was loud and harrowing, and echoed throughout the park, Loud and shrill, pounding into my skull and filled with a seething hatred. In an instant, the park was engulfed in flames that lapped from every surface as the thing entered a mindless rage, charging towards me with its arms outstretched. In a panic I sprinted, almost tripping as the things long, sharp claws barely grazed me. I expected taunting, I expected insults, but as I ran, I heard no enraged voice, and I realized that this was no longer the monster that had chased me throughout the park, no, this was a beast of unbridled rage and anger, completely uncontrolled. I felt my heart pounding as the creature shrieked and groaned, each loud, unnatural shriek echoing through my ears. Finally, I saw the gate in the distance, the sign that marked it now warped and distorted. Suddenly, I tripped, rolling my ankle as I did. Desperately, I got up, shrieking in pain as The Rot slashed me, its long claws tearing deep into my back.

As I stumbled forwards, I finally got a good look at the sign, warped and twisted. Where there had once been a small, cartoon version of Randy the Bear, with a small bit of text that read “SEE YOU NEXT TIME” was now rusted and dulled, the image of the bear now marked with dark, thick marks that formed sockets and a deep frown, with a set of white teeth in its empty mouth, an angered look on its face, the text next to the drawing was now meaty and dripping, peeling towards the bottom of the sign, now reading “YOU CAN’T WIN”.

as I leaped towards the exit, I heard The Rot shrieking behind me, desperately banging at the gate that it was now too big to fit through. I sighed in relief as I stared at the creature, scratching and pounding on the gate like a desperate dog, and slowly, I felt myself start to laugh, only to be cut off as The Rot’s clawed hand suddenly shot out of the gate, trying to slash me once more. I closed my eyes, only to hear it shriek in pain, and as I opened my eyes, I saw that the parts of the attack that would have cut through my skin had been reduced to thick, black sludge.

Calmly, I walked away. The game was finally over. I had won.

But then the storm came, a massive swarm of bugs and dust that charged forth and made the grassy field I was walking through almost look like a desert. As the swarm desperately attacked me, only to be reduced to the same black sludge, I heard the Rots voice, broken and shattered, like a thousand voices each shrieking the same thing. I saw faces emerge from the storm, hands and arms, each rotten and falling apart as they reached for me, the Rot ranting the entire time, yelling loudly enough to make my head spin.

“YOU THINK YOU’VE WON, JONAH?!” it cried out,

“YOU THINK YOU’VE ESCAPED ME?!

YOU, WEAK, PATHETIC, HUMAN, DON’T EVEN FULLY GRASP WHAT I AM, WHAT I COULD BE, AND YET YOU THINK YOU CAN ESCAPE ME? YOU THINK YOU CAN COMPREHEND THE BEAST OF WHICH YOU FACE, JONAH?! BECAUSE I AM NOT DEATH, I AM NOT LIFE, I AM WHAT COMES AFTER. I AM THE MOLD AND MAGGOTS THAT FILL YOUR BODY FOR MILLENIA, AND I AM THE DUST AND COAL THAT IT BECOMES. I HAVE LIVED SINCE THE FIRST CELL, SINCE THE FIRST ORGANISM, AND YET YOU THINK YOU CAN BEAT ME?! YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE COURAGE, THE AUDACITY, TO TRY AND BEAT ME?! I AM A GOD TO YOU, A DEVIL, A DEMON OF WHICH YOU CAN’T COMPREHEND, I AM THE DIM GLOW OF HOPE THAT GETS SNUFFED OUT AS YOU WALK TOWARDS THE GATES OF HELL, AND I AM THE BEAST THAT MARKS THE END OF ALL THINGS, I AM DESTRUCTION, I AM THAT WHICH ROTS, I AM ALL THAT DECAYS AND IS LEFT FORGOTTEN BY THE SANDS OF TIME AND SPACE,

YOU ARE NOTHING TO ME JONAH, YOU, A SMALL INSIGNIFICANT SPECK OF A RACE TOO FOOLISH TO ACCEPT THAT ONE DAY, JUST LIKE ALL ELSE, YOU WILL FADE INTO OBSCURITY.

I AM INEVITABLE, JONAH,

AND SOMEDAY, WE WILL MEET AGAIN,

AND I WILL NOT BE SO KIND AS TO LET YOUR TRAPPED SOUL REACH FOR HEAVEN.”

I watched as the faces contorted and bent, malice and hatred seeping in their eyes.

I wasn’t afraid, I wasn’t frightened, no, I was tired, sick of the mockery, and as I looked at the faces, I saw no demon, I saw no god, I only saw a being desperate to win a game of its own rules, like a child who just lost a card game.

“We made a deal.” I said

“A game for a wish,

I played a game, now hold up your end of the bargain.”

I watched as the faces distorted, transforming into skulls of different animals as they shrieked.

“NO.”

“We made a deal. An agreement”

“NO!”

“I WISH-”

“NO!”

“I wish for my sister back.”

“HOW PATHETIC.”

“I WISH FOR MY SISTER BACK.”

and then I stopped. I heard a sound emanating from the storm that shook me to my very core.

The Rot was laughing.

I watched as the faces smiled and shook, the sound sounding more like a cheerful cough than a laugh before it spoke.

“This game doesn’t matter, Jonah.

It doesn’t matter that you’ve won this round, do you want to know why?

because in the end another fool will come to play the game. Another will come to light the candles, only for their soul to be the only light I snuff out.

So have your wish Jonah,

have your desire.

but I know this;

At any time we will meet again.

someday you will die. Someday you will be torn apart, or you will die alone, and I’ll be here, waiting for you,

and the hell you’ll endure when we meet, will be much worse than any hell you can imagine.

so go ahead, enjoy bending the laws of nature, just this once,

because soon, just like all else,

you will be consumed by my maw.”

Slowly, the storm reduced to black sludge, and then to nothing, and slowly, I started my walk home. As I retraced my steps back to the old house on the other side of town, I saw her, the sister that was taken away from me so long ago, her face blooming with a smile as she ran towards me, and as I hugged her, I promised to never let her out of my sight again.