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Elder Codex, Psalms of Dexthor: Chaper IV: 12
Life is but a memory
Stored in a human mind
Without it we know nothing,
With it we harm & bind
Save us from our weaknesses,
Our many flaws & fears
Which paint the world around us
With the pain of human tears
To understand & destroy
The innocence in me
Is to pull apart any romance
And true feelings of glee
Tellus spins on its axis
Whether we're here or not
A fact which humanity
Seems now to have forgot
To be 'Champion' of a war
Is Mankind's mortal flaw
Inevitably causing
Fate to break open its maw
Elder Codex, Psalms of Dexthor: Chaper IV: 12
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The Reconquista: Eric of the Apocalypse
It was the longest day of the year and as was always the case, Eric was to be found out cold on his sofa. Little did he know he was at a crossroads in his life and that the decision he was to make would be very crucial to his survival and the survival of the Human race.
Eric found himself dreaming of a beautiful sunny beach. The waves crashing against the sand. The cloudless blue sky illuminating the entire scene and the gleaming bodies of two sunbathers laying face down on their towels. Their bikini bras undone to avoid hideous tan lines.
“Hey ladies need a hand with lotion?” said Eric confidently as he walked up to them.
“What you talking about? There ain’t no ladies here…” one of the attractive females said in a very deep and masculine voice.
“Huh??” he responded puzzled. “Oh no...Another bad dream…Wake up Eric! Wake up!”
Eric jolted upright and gasped as he awoke from the nightmare, sweat was dripping down his forehead. “Great…the air-con is damaged and it’s the hottest night of the year” he mumbled to himself wiping the sweat off his forehead.
Still perspiring he pushed the bed sheets off himself and tried getting up from the bed for a refreshing glass of water. But being too tiered to move he simply sighed and slumped on the bed again. He tried shrugging off his discomfort by closing his eyes and turning to face his girlfriend Erica. Usually her soft breathing did enough to relax him into a deep slumber. Yet, oddly on this occasion he could hear nothing.
“Strange…” he thought, finally feeling his eye lids droop and the land of nod calling.
Suddenly, in a flash his mind clicked into gear as a faint hint of death touched his senses.
In a panic he stumbled for the bedside lamp. It was missing.
“What’s going on?” he whispered, confused.
Laying in the dark, finally fully alert, the smell of putrid flesh began to flood his senses. Still in a state of shock, he tried taking short deep breaths to calm his breathing. Savoring bile and dry blood in his mouth he coughed, spluttered and gagged.
The stagnant air seemed to be closing in on him. His lungs were starting to burn from the lack of clean air. He tried breathing slowly and ignoring the stench. Yet it was impossible, the smell seemed to be growing stronger.
He tried getting up but it was of no use. His body was far too weak.
“Urgh! Erica…where are you?” he said in a half whisper, forcing the words out of his mouth.
As slowly blacked out countless electric pulses began firing randomly around his brain, triggering countless memories of Erica. His ears followed suit by being inundated with the sound of Erica’s soft humming.
The delicate noise progressed and morphed into sounds of muffled voices and the shuffling of feet all of which were emanating from above him. Realizing this, Eric forced himself off the bed and onto the floor.
Ignoring the pain of the fall he crept towards the sounds, moving past what he could feel and smell were mutilated semi-decomposing corpses. Occasionally wretching, he continued to crawl across the mix of rotten body parts.
He stopped abruptly as he reached a spot where the indistinct sounds became a little clearer. He looked up and felt a faint breeze on his face.
“Pure, clean air at last” He thought, sighing in relief.
Never before had he felt relieved to see a hole so small. Quickly even desperately he propped himself up, placed his face as close as he could to the small gap in the ceiling and proceeded to gulped huge amounts of air.
After a few minutes of desperate breathing his body was relaxed enough to focus on answers to his numerous questions. In an attempt at this he decided to stand quietly near the hole trying to listen to the scene of panic outside.
A calm voice rose above the rest. “Men, sound the alarm! The Inkonnu have been spotted!” the voice sounded male and authoritative.
“Shields ready! Steady for the charge!” he heard the voice bark.
Three trumpet blasts sounded in the distance. Eric heard countless columns of men march forward. All of the ranks marching in perfect unison. A final and long trumpet blast sounded and the men charged.
Eric could hear the fluttering of the banners around him become fainter and fainter. In the darkness, the howls of the beasts were becoming louder. It was clear that the gap between the two armies was closing. A heavy crash of metal on metal sounded somewhere in the distance in front of him.
© 2012 H Williams. All rights reserved