ANOTHER POST-APOCALYPTIC LULLABY:
The Sweet, Morning Song of Thermo-Nuclear Dawn:
The world turned, inexplicably, towards the light, as the ruins of all past civilization settled silently within their crumbling foundations. The toxic clouds moved listlessly, as those few living things which yet survived upon this barren, irradiated land scurried quickly and unseen, within the many gently wavering shadows.
She paused briefly, gathering her thoughts, as she descended towards the light; as the sticky and unpleasant coolness of her damp, sub-terranian dwelling was thoroughly destroyed by the early drenching heat which would relentlessly consume any who dared venture forward unprotected, to meet the malignant, radioactive blazing of this withering new day.
She carefully examined the many miles of cracked and blistering earth, which spanned eternally into the immeasurable distance before her, searching for any imaginable sign, which she desired might serve to indicate, to one manner or the other, whether her feeble-minded companion, whom she had sent in search of some uncertain rescue, would ever again return.
Perhaps she had sent him to his death, upon the nameless plains and forsaken wastes, where he would writhe in agony, until his pitiable remains had all but evaporated, leaving hardly a blemish, save perhaps a few hard, sun-bleached or half-buried bones, upon the trackless surface of this harsh and unforgiving, coarse and barren world.
She reflected now upon the events which had transpired upon the day he left, recollecting that against her better judgement, she had begrudgingly agreed she would remain, along with his still sleeping child, with which she had been so lovingly entrusted, upon the slim off-chance of his eventual, victorious return; yet knowing, as she did, that her first inclination had almost imediately been to bleed the helpless creature, to cut out its shriveled innards, and to feast upon its young and suculent flesh. However, given unto its tender age, unto its current and overwhelming innocence, or perhaps even unto its bleak uncertainty within this bitter, hapless world, she had almost pitied it, and desired somewhat that it might live; therefore, it so happened that she kept the child, and it was temporarily spared the utter ravishment of her own insatiable appetites.
As she now remembered, it had been her sudden, uncontrolable desire to both fend and care for it, that it might one day be grown up, healthy, fit and strong. Therefore, as she gazed upon the new shining of that glistening thermo-nuclear dawn, she recalled the circumstances of that ill-fated day, upon which she had pledged herself to a fumbling bundle of witless sustenance with a steadfast and unwavering resolve, until some far-flung future time, whereupon she could see her quest fulfilled; or at least, even then, as she did secretly admit, within her knowing heart, until such time as these selfless inclinations slowly waned, as they had done upon the dawning of this day, when she had approached the sleeping child, and her own insatiable appetites had once again returned.
The world turned, inexplicably, towards the light, as the ruins of all past civilization settled silently within their crumbling foundations. The toxic clouds moved listlessly, as those few living things which yet survived upon this barren, irradiated land scurried quickly and unseen, within the many gently wavering shadows.
She paused briefly, gathering her thoughts, as she descended towards the light; as the sticky and unpleasant coolness of her damp, sub-terranian dwelling was thoroughly destroyed by the early drenching heat which would relentlessly consume any who dared venture forward unprotected, to meet the malignant, radioactive blazing of this withering new day.
She carefully examined the many miles of cracked and blistering earth, which spanned eternally into the immeasurable distance before her, searching for any imaginable sign, which she desired might serve to indicate, to one manner or the other, whether her feeble-minded companion, whom she had sent in search of some uncertain rescue, would ever again return.
Perhaps she had sent him to his death, upon the nameless plains and forsaken wastes, where he would writhe in agony, until his pitiable remains had all but evaporated, leaving hardly a blemish, save perhaps a few hard, sun-bleached or half-buried bones, upon the trackless surface of this harsh and unforgiving, coarse and barren world.
She reflected now upon the events which had transpired upon the day he left, recollecting that against her better judgement, she had begrudgingly agreed she would remain, along with his still sleeping child, with which she had been so lovingly entrusted, upon the slim off-chance of his eventual, victorious return; yet knowing, as she did, that her first inclination had almost imediately been to bleed the helpless creature, to cut out its shriveled innards, and to feast upon its young and suculent flesh. However, given unto its tender age, unto its current and overwhelming innocence, or perhaps even unto its bleak uncertainty within this bitter, hapless world, she had almost pitied it, and desired somewhat that it might live; therefore, it so happened that she kept the child, and it was temporarily spared the utter ravishment of her own insatiable appetites.
As she now remembered, it had been her sudden, uncontrolable desire to both fend and care for it, that it might one day be grown up, healthy, fit and strong. Therefore, as she gazed upon the new shining of that glistening thermo-nuclear dawn, she recalled the circumstances of that ill-fated day, upon which she had pledged herself to a fumbling bundle of witless sustenance with a steadfast and unwavering resolve, until some far-flung future time, whereupon she could see her quest fulfilled; or at least, even then, as she did secretly admit, within her knowing heart, until such time as these selfless inclinations slowly waned, as they had done upon the dawning of this day, when she had approached the sleeping child, and her own insatiable appetites had once again returned.
posted by Valhenstrogg | Monday, June 06, 2005
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