The Lost Chronicles Of Pangea: Apocalypse

A Monster And The Silence

David watched slowly as he garage door lifted, he did not even let it raise it self up completely before he rushed out of his garage pushing his old bicycle furiously as if he was scared someone would stop him. When he was outside a simple swipe downward had the garage door closing itself once again. Motion sensors that powerful seemed like a novelty on earth. He shook his head and put his mind to the task at hand. He had the assault rifle and the battle blade hanging behind his shoulders, one of the modified handgun was hanging from his left hip along with one of the scary looking dagger he saw in his bag.

He had an extra ammunition case for the Yizart and a bottle of Mana water safely hidden in his bag. There were two packets of crackers there too. There was not much those could do in satisfying him should he get hungry, but he was working on a tight budget so everything had to be taken in moderation. His neighborhood was actually a twelve block estate, with five houses on every block. It could be considered a gated community, and they lived right at the extreme end of the estate. From his doorstep, it would take him fifteen minutes of driving to get to the commercial area, which was actually his aim. But with a bicycle and the fact that there were abandoned cars, trucks, and rubbles lining the street, it might take him longer than expected.

David moved on while keeping his eyes peeled for any danger, his injuries were a lot better than yesterday, but that does not change the fact that he was missing a toe. He could adapt, but not this quick. Not to mention the stump hurt and was still prone to bleeding. It might have been better if he could bandage or cauterize the wound, but for some reason it had stopped bleeding all by it’s self, and only needed to be bandaged and cleaned to keep it from being infected. The whole neighborhood was eerily quiet, the only sound that accompanied David as he wheeled the bicycle down the street was the wail of the wind as it swept through the island. The wind carried with it the smell of the sea, and a promise of impending doom and a spot in a lot that’s soon to be a watery grave. David shivered a bit, there was no danger in sight so far, but he could not help but be restless. Something was not right(besides the obvious fact that this was the apocalypse), the whole environment had David’s nerves stretched taut as he looked every which way with an intensely pounding heart.

And then all of a sudden even the wind became silent, the air was scorched with the heat of an early morning sun, and even the now missing sea breeze was not enough to rid David of his sweat drenched clothes. And then he heard the scrapes, like the sound of metal grating across the concrete floor. The deep breathing, and the sinister growling. David was on the main street that led out of his gated and fenced neighborhood. To his left, was a chain link fence, and beyond that and immensely tall patch of grass that was swaying in the absent wind. To his right silent and desolate were houses of people he would now consider former neighbors. One of the house was spilt down the middle, almost as if someone or something decided to lean on the two floor building but it couldn’t handle the weight.

The gaping hole in the middle of the house was haunting enough, but the still swaying and rustling grass carried a terror within it that chilled David to his very bones. David added more force to the pedals beneath his feet wanting nothing more than to get the hell out of this place. But before he could move more than five steps, a huge beast flew out of the grass and straight for him. It crashed into the chain link fence as its momentum was brought to a screeching halt.

The chain link fence was deformed very badly from the crash and was currently entangled with the monster, but it was strong enough to have prevented David from dying instantly. Unfortunately the attack of the beast had caught David off guard, and he was thrown of his bicycle due to fright. He hastily scrambled back up scraping his palms on the tarred road from the friction and intensity of his retreat. The beast was almost eight feet tall and its leap should have well taken it over the six foot fence. But it seemed to have stumbled and was now entangled within the condemned fence. The beast was struggling, snarling and clawing with all its might to be free of its shackles so that David could become breakfast. David has never seen such single minded determination and blood lust, the fact that it was directed at him made the situation a whole other level of terrifying.

But it was strong, and it’s incessant struggle was paying off as it was even uprooting the metal poles that supported the previous pristine looking fence. It was dragging the whole thing behind itself as it crawled and pawed its way towards David who was already frozen in shock at the sight of the monster in front of him. David could not tell what this monster once was before it evolved into such a hideous state, but whatever it was, it was not that now. The beast was a mass of red pulsating flesh, with some sort of bone armors covering some important places in its body. In fact It looked like the bones in its body was actually too big, that it actually grew out of its skin and now serves as a natural defense for it. It had four rib bones on each side of its body, and between those rib cages were fleshy openings that David could only describe as gills, or a really big nose. With every breath the monster took, those opening as it side would exhale a breath of fog, and open up enough for David to see into its body.

It had four legs like a dog, but it also had an extremely long tail, that by the look off seemed really strong and flexible. The head of the beast was shaped like that of a cow’s, there were no horns, but much like its ribs the skull had grown out of the head with a split in the middle that accommodated a third eye. Every teeth in its widely snarling jaws were incisors, those things were made for tearing and they gleamed with saliva that was a little to thick it could almost be considered syrup.

David still kept moving back, moving closer and closer to the destroyed house behind him. And as he moved backward, the beast still moved forward inching ever slowly and gaining ground with a determined glare. When David had moved back enough that he encountered the sidewalk, and the few pieces of debris from the damaged house, the feel of the cold metal behind him served as a reminder that he was actually armed.

He hurriedly pulled his rifle out as he pulled the trigger, there was a resounding click as the expected rain of bullets didn’t come out. David was perplexed for a few seconds before he hurriedly thumbed the safety off and squeezed the trigger. Due to fear and the fact that the gun was bucking erratically, David’s shot went wild and were completely off target. His aim was so bad that he actually shot the space between his legs. That close call forced him to take a deep breath as he tried to recall every gun lesson he ever had with his father.

“It’s easy to panic, it’s easy to miss. But it’s also easy to be calm, it’s also easy to be precise. All that matters are what choices you make. Your state of mind is determined by your state of heart. Your mind does not control your feelings, it only controls your body, but your hearts controls your mind. You can choose to be scared, or you can choose to be brave. But whenever you have your filthy hands on any of my guns, and you point it at someone or something then you damn well better be prepared to pull that trigger or you would be a piss poor excuse of a man and a complete shame to my name and reputation. So David Johnson Iye, pull the f*****g trigger and don’t think, just shoot.”

And shoot he did, the subsequent spit the gun made was so mind boggling accurate that when the beast stopped moving completely David was even more shocked and afraid than when it was alive. David loved his father, and he knew his father loved him and his siblings more than anything else in this world. David had grown up with a mother that was around but could never really connect with her children, so she chose to do things her way and was incredibly bossy.

His father on the other hand was a man of harsh words and an equally harsh belt. But he knew his children, loved them, gave them what they needed and was able to connect to all three of them in a manner that was unique with each of them individually. He knew what words to use to get them moving, what tone and what characteristics to display. It also helped that the price for failure was a session of brutal beatings that would leave a person’s body aching for days, but that was just a luxury the two boys enjoyed. His father never laid his hands on his sister.

Pain was a good motivation and both Davids were no stranger to their father’s harsh method of discipline. So when David saw that every bullet he shot out had accurately bored a hole through the third eye of beast he couldn’t help but think his fathers teachings actually came in handy. Previously when he first fired the gun and missed terribly, one of the bullets had actually bounced of the skull of the beast creating a small shower of sparks. David knew how tough that skull was, but the two finger wide space between its brows that had a third eye was a vulnerable place, and David had put a significant amount of bullets through that hole. So much bullets that he could see the gleaming metal of the last bullets jutting out of the eye socket.

“Damn!”

David felt his blood run cold at the sound of someone whistling in awe behind him. He quickly scrambled to his feet and turned with his gun raised up and pointing in the direction the voice came from.

“Hey, hey, hey, watch were you’re pointing that thing. I’m human, I’m human!!”

And the person talking was human indeed, an incredibly dirty human though. David was a little taken aback because even with coat of dirt and oil all over his face, the man standing opposite him was someone he was actually familiar with. In both worlds; Ahmed was a Muslim who ran a convenience store at the front of his house. The house which mind you was actually in shambles.

“Mallam Ahmed?” David asked with trepidation. He might look like Ahmed, but David almost got eaten by a trio of cute looking cats. He would rather not jump into conclusions until he was sure the other party was human and not a monster who would chew off his second big toe. He was keeping his fingers crossed here.

“Ahh!!, your name is David right? Thank the stars you are okay, the universe watches over it’s chosen, and its obvious you are one of them. Praise be to the stars.”

David scrunched his brow in confusion before things became a little clear to him. Ahmed was speaking without the heavy accent associated with northerners in Nigeria. Most Northerners were Muslims and actually quite business savvy. But that was on earth. On Pangea, Ahmed is also a northerner who migrated from the dry plains of the northern desert and he used to live in one of the outlying cities close to the city of the sun. He was still a religious person, but his religion was different on Pangea. Islam believe in a singular God, but the house of the Sun and stars worshipped the universe as a whole singular entity, whose plans and machinations were beyond the scope and comprehensions of normal mortal men.

The house of stars tended to breed rather fanatical believers, who were always ready to throw a punch to defend their religion even when the situation does not call for it. The Ahmed of earth was a million times more different than the one from Pangea. Earths Ahmed was actually nicer, while the one on Pangea tended to get drunk on Saturdays, and then tour the streets of the neighborhood Naked screaming at the top of his lungs about how full of sin every other person but him was. Then he would burst into a song about how the universe was going to punish the filth and wipe them of the face of Pangea forever and ever. But Pangea’s Ahmed also had a good heart and was loved by every kid in the neighborhood. When he’s not being a crazy rambling drunk.

David was brought up in a Christian home on earth, On Pangea his family were actually atheists, not willing to believe in anything but the money in their pockets, the strength of their bodies, and more often than not, the guns in their hands. David’s family worshiped power in the many different forms in which it could be achieved. They never needed to pray to the stars to make their wishes a reality, they just fought for it with their own strength. Even the skinny and weak David of Pangea understood this and lived according to that philosophy. Religion was a part of his identity David was not to keen to face right now, so he rather not be around a man who talks about religion like it’s the very air he breathes.

“Mr. Ahmed, its good to see you alive. What happened to your house?”

“Thank you for your concern David. Its very touching to see such care for your fellow man shown by the benevolence of such a young boy.”

Okay…what?, benevolence?, care. This was just common courtesy, since when had that made him benevolent. Ahmed was talking way much crap than usual which made David wonder what happened to him, or if he was just drunk again.

“My Ahmed what happened to you and your house….. Its in ruins.” David asked while still keeping a healthy distance from Ahmed. Pointing a gun at him seemed rude, so David had his gun pointing to the floor, but he was still ready to make a move.

“well my house….my house was….my house is. Oh…. I remember now. There was this huge lizard, very big and tall, yes it was. Then wide and scaly with many, many, many teeth. My shop, my shop was ransacked by some Kids, your brother was among them too. They hit me on my head, so I passed put. And then, and then I think I died.”

David felt his blood run cold at the words of Ahmed. It was at that moment David noticed the left side of Ahmed’s face. It was scaled and yellow. His left eye was reptilian with a sickly looking green color. The left side of his body was drenched with blood and his left leg was deformed almost as if it was chewed on. His flesh was hanging off his deformed bones in strips and pieces, and he had a sudden manic look in his eyes.

“I died, Young David do you know what that’s like? Do you?”

As he spoke he moved closer, and with every step he took David moved backward. He was silent as he kept his eyes on the approaching man, or whatever was left of him in the first place. David was not sure if Ahmed really died or he was just delusional from too much booze or an evolution that went completely side ways. The only thing David could be sure off was that in his current state, Ahmed was incredibly dangerous.

Ahmed stretched out his blood soaked scaled left arm towards David. His finger nails had grown so long they would probably be called claws now. He looked really pitiful, in a horror movie kind of way because it looked like he was reaching for something, or searching for someone that he would never find. His only normal looking eye was bloodshot and sometimes unfocused, but it was completely on David’s face and followed his every movement.

“Do you know what it’s like to have no control over your own destiny, to fight for supremacy with a reptile all for the chance to control your own body. Do you know what is like to be at the mercy of children you watched grow up, children you played with and joked with, only for you to watch them take your life amidst merry cheers.”

He was crying now, both eyes let out blood red tears as the deranged look in his eyes got deeper. His voice was distorted and he was breathing so hard it was like he had ran a thousand meter race. His steps became hurried and faster as he got closer to David. David shifted his angle so that his side was faced to the destroyed fence and almost four feet tall grass, that spoke of unknown dangers should anybody be stupid enough to step on it.

David felt sad, things like this was not that rare on earth. It happened all the time especially in African countries. Many different and unique situations would drive a person you know and trust into being the very instrument of your own destruction. Sometimes when bad situations roll in, Humans show their great capacity for good and their ability to always go beyond and above for their fellow man. But that only happens thirty percent of the time. As for the other seventy, humans let out the monsters and inherent animosity and evil that is always hidden within their hearts. They become a horrible example of all things good and become harbingers of destruction ten times worse than the situation that prompted the change.

Ahmed was unfortunately a victim of the dark side of humanity. A side that has festered and grew continuously with each passing generation and with every little conflict that becomes a part of a person’s life. Humans were great creators and innovators, but their capacity to create, would never hold a candle to their ability to destroy. It was who they are, it was who he was. And David knew it was something in his nature that would never change no matter how much he buried it.

But David did not want to be the kind of person to cause this kind of tragedy. As a boy growing up on earth, and in a country as unpredictable as Nigeria he had been exposed to way too many cases of someone being evil, selfish and greedy all to the detriment of the innocent. On Pangea he grew in a home that was predominantly ran by military guidelines and lived in a time where conflicts between the twelve city states happened every five to ten years but in the end the David of Pangea still grew up in a rather sheltered environment.

He was remorseful, but at the same time he was rather indifferent, bad s**t happened to innocent people everyday, and he cared enough to feel sorry about it. But if he could not do something about such a situation then he would move on and let it be some other poor blokes problem. But Ahmed was someone David grew up knowing, every holiday when he was younger Ahmed would always go out of his way to give out sweets and candies to every kid in the estate. It was also why everybody in the estate were rather accommodating of his drunk episodes and fanatical beliefs. They knew how much of a good man he was. With all of his flaws and his dark side, Ahmed was the prime example of a good person. Besides he had a rather complicated life.

As Ahmed drew closer David was able to see that the right side of his face was rapidly growing scales just like his left. He watched in abject fascination and terror as the scales traveled from one half of his face to the other taking over his skin and changing it’s properties. His iris elongated and had a distinct reptilian shape as its blackness began to fade away to green.

“Please Mr. Ahmed. Stop.” David knew there was only one outcome for this encounter, but he could not help but hope that kind but crazy religious man he grew up knowing was still in there somewhere. That somehow within that broken mind the man who used to live for his beliefs and for the smile on the face of every child he came across was still alive. David needed him to stop, because if he didn’t he would force them both down a road that there would be no return from.

“Please stop.”

“Heearrrchhhh!!”.

Ahmed could no longer make any coherent speech, he was growling and drooling like a rabid animal. He was gone, and David knew it. For some reason ever since he woke up with memories of two lifetimes this was the first time that it pretty much dawned on him that he had gone through a great change. The world itself had changed too, there was no longer any light within the world, everything just seemed dark. David took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. The ensuing bang seemed to suck in very sound and whatever hope that seemed left in the world. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of a body impacting the concrete floor and sobs of a heartbroken man. The silence itself seemed to mourn, the wind came back again with the hint of the sea within its embrace. They all seemed to know and agree that the world would never be the same again. And then the silence was chased away by the roar of a monster in rage. It was coming, and it was angry.