All Destiny MoON Fiction: A Mix of Old & New Short Stories
Page 15
In the morning Joshua came down to breakfast later than usual. Mary had been up and about the house from an early hour; but as the time drew on she seemed to get a little nervous and now and again threw around an anxious look.
Gerald could not help noticing that none of those at breakfast could get on satisfactorily with their food. It was not altogether that the chops were tough, but that the knives were all so blunt. Being a guest, he, of course, made no sign; but presently saw Joshua draw his thumb across the edge of his knife in an unconscious sort of way. At the action Mary turned pale and almost fainted.
After breakfast they all went out on the lawn. Mary was making up a bouquet, and said to her husband, ‘Get me a few of the tea-roses, dear.’
Joshua pulled down a cluster from the front of the house. The stem bent, but was too tough to break. He put his hand in his pocket to get his knife; but in vain. ‘Lend me your knife, Gerald,’ he said. But Gerald had not got one, so he went into the breakfast room and took one from the table. He came out feeling its edge and grumbling. ‘What on earth has happened to all the knives-the edges seem all ground off?’ Mary turned away hurriedly and entered the house.
Joshua tried to sever the stalk with the blunt knife as country cooks sever the necks of fowl-as schoolboys cut twine. With a little effort he finished the task. The cluster of roses grew thick, so he determined to gather a great bunch.
He could not find a single sharp knife in the sideboard where the cutlery was kept, so he called Mary, and when she came, told her the state of things. She looked so agitated and so miserable that he could not help knowing the truth, and, as if astounded and hurt, asked her:
‘Do you mean to say that you have done it?’
She broke in, ‘Oh, Joshua, I was so afraid.’
He paused, and a set, white look came over his face. ‘Mary!’ said he, ‘is this all the trust you have in me? I would not have believed it.’
‘Oh, Joshua! Joshua!’ she cried entreatingly, ‘forgive me,’ and wept bitterly.
Joshua thought a moment and then said: ‘I see how it is. We shall better end this or we shall all go mad.’
He ran into the drawing-room.
‘Where are you going?’ almost screamed Mary.
Gerald saw what he meant-that he would not be tied to blunt instruments by the force of a superstition, and was not surprised when he saw him come out through the French window, bearing in his hand a large Ghourka knife, which usually lay on the centre table, and which his brother had sent him from Northern India. It was one of those great hunting-knives which worked such havoc, at close quarters with the enemies of the loyal Ghourkas during the mutiny, of great weight but so evenly balanced in the hand as to seem light, and with an edge like a razor. With one of these knives a Ghourka can cut a sheep in two.
When Mary saw him come out of the room with the weapon in his hand she screamed in an agony of fright, and the hysterics of last night were promptly renewed.
Joshua ran toward her, and, seeing her falling, threw down the knife and tried to catch her.
However, he was just a second too late, and the two men cried out in horror simultaneously as they saw her fall upon the naked blade.
When Gerald rushed over he found that in
falling her left hand had struck the blade, which lay partly upwards on the grass. Some of the small veins were cut through, and the blood gushed freely from the wound. As he was tying it up he pointed out to Joshua that the wedding ring was severed by the steel.
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They carried her fainting to the house. When, after a while, she came out, with her arm in a sling, she was peaceful in her mind and happy. She said to her husband:
‘The gipsy was wonderfully near the truth; too near for the real thing ever to occur now, dear.’
Joshua bent over and kissed the wounded hand.
The Merodian Revolution by Sarah Gallah
It is a Friday afternoon in Copperdale, a perfect town where everything seems to be ordinary. It is a serene place, where crystal buildings sprinkle light in iridescent scenes, where there are flowers of such vivacious colour caressed by the warm sun’s glow, a place of no pain or sorrow, a town where happiness is all anybody knows. However, this ‘perfect image’ is deceiving until the day that the townspeople became aware of so.
The school bell rang as the students rushed out like hounds unleashed on a racetrack. One schoolboy slowly walked into the bus with his head drooping and sat beside a middle-aged man.
‘What’s wrong son?’ the man asked.
‘They kicked me out,’ the boy mumbled.
‘Oh, is that so?’ the man said as he handed the boy a cigarette butt.
‘Thank you.’ The boy twisted the cigarette butt and put it aside. He then sat on the floor, twisted his legs to create odd shapes, and then he knelt. The people on the bus stared at the boy in wonder, their eyes focused on the young boy as they spoke amongst themselves. Unexpectedly the boy shrieked, a shriek so high and piercing that the bus turned into chaos. People were screaming.
‘Stop the bus! The boy has gone mad!’ a man screamed.
‘My ears!’ the bus driver shouted as he collapsed. A group of people rushed to the aid of the bus driver as many attended to the boy. In a rocking motion the boy growled.
‘Flavius, come save me now! Now!’ the boy growled as people pulled his arms back, trying to control his movement, in hopes of calming him down. The boy shrieked once more, and this shriek was all he needed for the termination of everyone. People were running not knowing where they were running to, people were jumping, screaming out of the pain the shriek caused them.
‘The bus driver can’t breathe! Help!’ a little girl cried. Nobody could attend to the little girl’s concern due to their temporary madness the boy has caused them. The bus collided into a forest of trees. The dead passengers and ruin were overcome with great silence and stillness.
It was a year ago when this boy entered high school. He was aware of his misfit. He was not of the cheerleaders, the football players, the ‘smart ones’, the AP classes; he did not belong in the complex rungs of the high school social ladder. During the final class of the day, math class, he heard a noise from behind him. He turned around.
‘Pss! Take this!’ a fellow classmate handed him a note. The note is then read:
Dear Markus,
Meet me after school in the basement of the school by the water fountain. I want to get to know you.
Your new friend,
- Luke
Markus’ face brightened as he smiled.
‘Markus, do you mind sharing this note with the rest of the class?’ the teacher asked as he grabbed the note from Markus’ hand.
‘Oh Markus has a friend!’ the teacher said sarcastically. The class giggled. Markus did not care however, he had a new friend indeed, and that was enough to make joy conquer this boy’s embarrassment. When class finished, Markus, in utter delight ran down to the basement to meet Luke. He found Luke awaiting him at the water fountain.
‘Markus! Over here!’ Luke yelled. Markus walked over to Luke in suspicion. Luke hugged Markus.
‘Do you want to meet my friends?’ Luke asked. In disbelief that Luke actually wanted to befriend Markus, Markus agreed.
Markus then walked with Luke across the street into an abandoned warehouse. There, Markus saw a large group of people. They all stood and clapped as Luke and Markus entered the warehouse. The group of boys surrounded Markus and hugged him.
‘Welcome Markus!’ they all said at once. As welcoming as this was, Markus found their kindness peculiar. Everyone sat down and formed a circle.
‘Markus, you may begin. Talk about yourself.’
‘Well, my name is Markus. I…’ Markus was cut off with sudden gasping. A fellow member of this group screamed. Markus was so extremely confused, that words could not pass
his lips. Luke explained.
‘We are Merodians, therefore we must assign you a Merodian name.’
‘Cool, what’s a Merodian?’
‘It’s kind of complicated. Don’t worry, you’ll fit in,’ Luke said as he suspiciously grinned.
‘Oh, ok.’ Markus had no idea reason to not accept this invitation. He smiled. Finally he belonged somewhere.
Markus was at utmost joy while he walked home.
‘Good afternoon Mr Brockets!’ he said as he waved to the meat shop owner, who was sweeping the ground in front of his shop. He continued to skip gaily down the road. The sun was setting on the horizon. Markus stood still to gaze at this beautiful sight. He knew it was a day too good to be true. He then saw another familiar face down the road.
‘Mrs Collins! Do you need help carrying your groceries?’ Markus yelled down the street as he ran towards her. He flashed a large smile as he gasped for air.
‘My oh my, you seem as if you just won the lottery. Sure, I wouldn’t mind if you helped me.’
Markus helped the old lady and ran home. His mother opened the door.
‘Mother! I missed you today!’ Markus hugged his mother. Incredible happiness twinkled in her eyes seeing her son so happy.
Markus’ next week was very systematic. Every day after school, he would meet with this group he called a ‘club’. It was until one day that everything seemed to change. Like usual, this day he had attended the group meeting. After the meeting he walked home, opened the door to find his mother sitting down rocking on her rocking chair, awaiting him. She stood up to greet her son.
‘Mother leave me alone!’ Markus said as he ran upstairs. His mother, worried, followed him upstairs, finding his room closed. She heard an odd sound and put her ear to the door. She heard unusual squealing.
‘Ugh! Blood! More blood, I said!’ Markus said as he squealed out of pain. Horrified, she froze. A tear ran down her cheek, her voice became shaky.
‘Markus! Open the door Markus!’ she sobbed.
‘No, mother. I must finish my piece of work.’ He said quietly, in a twisted voice. The mother’s palms went to her eyes, covering them as she cried heavily. She banged on the door hysterically.
‘Markus!’ She sobbed, until the only scent remaining that she could smell was that of her own tears. She heard more squealing. She panicked in terror of what her son was doing. The door then slightly opened. She ran inside to her son. Markus’ hands and clothes were covered in his blood. His mother wept as she hugged Markus.
‘What happened?’ She wept excessively. Markus did not speak. Full of so many feelings, the mother looked at the blood. She took out a towel to wipe the blood off. As she did so she noticed that her son had engraved a picture into his hand. It was an image that she never saw before that immediately triggered her suspicion.
‘Markus, take a shower son.’ She said as she choked on a tear. He walked away, drooping his head. His mother searched the room to find his journal open on his desk. She saw a paper pasted into the journal:
Fellow Merodian,
There will be a mandatory meeting tomorrow after school. Master Flavius will be awaiting all members. He has a very important announcement. Be ready to greet our Master Flavius with a gift.
-The Merodian Revolution
‘Markus has joined…a cult,’ she whispered beneath her breath. A shiver of fear ran up her spine.
‘My poor, poor, Markus.’ She had a feeling of being unable to help him. She was overcome by a feeling of pity. It was like somebody had stabbed her heart, and tore it away to pieces. Her only son, destined to doom. She did not know what to do. Markus came out of the shower.
‘Markus, we need to speak,’ the mother said, her face: hurt and expressionless.
‘Mother…’ he touches her face. Cold. ‘I am so sorry.’ It was as if he had melted her heart away. She wanted to anything she could to help him.
‘Markus, maybe it’s not a great idea to go to school tomorrow. You know, maybe we can spend some quality time together. Just me and you.’ She looked at his face. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes and words fell out of his mouth.
‘No mother! I must go to school! Must!’ he said, while he rocked back and forth.
‘Markus, no school tomorrow. Good night.’ She left the room, closing the lights and door.
His mother woke up and entered his room to find his desk full of twisted papers. Everything in the room was twisted, splayed out in coiled patterns, his covers on his bed and even his clothes. She also found a note on his desk:
Dear mother,
I love you dearly and I am sorry for causing you any pain, but you are holding me back on my missions. I have decided to run away. I’ll be back to visit you.
Your son,
-Markus
His mother panicked. Her heart was struck by pain. She called the school. He was reported absent. She was unable to call the police. She knew she had to, but she believed that maybe this was all just a dream, or a practical joke, although she saw the note before her.
Markus had stayed at the warehouse all day and waited until the meeting would begin. After waiting for hours, Markus saw Luke. Luke carried many bottles of water and kool-aid powder.
‘Oh, you brought the club some drinks?’ Markus asked.
‘Uh…yes I did.’ Luke answered. More members came and within the time of half an hour, everyone was present. They sat in the form of an odd shape.
‘Everyone stand! Master Flavius is entering the room.’ Everyone stood in the presence of Master Flavius. For the first time, Markus heard Master Flavius speak.
‘Hello servant Merodians.’
‘Hail to you, our Master!’ everyone responded as they kneeled down.
‘It is now the time.’
‘The time for what?’ Markus whispered to Luke.
‘Well, we must die today so that we can meet with the real Flavius. The Flavius you see now is only the human incarnation,’ Luke answered.
Slowly, one by one, everyone drank the poisoned beverages. After drinking the beverage, each person fell to ground screaming, slowly dying. Luke handed Markus a drink.
‘I can’t.’ Markus hesitated. A look of horror was in his eyes.
‘What do you mean you can’t? You’re a Merodian. Drink this!’ Luke ordered.
‘I can’t kill myself. My mother would be heartbroken.’
‘Then you aren’t a Merodian anymore. Go back to your mother to whom you love. You’re kicked out.’
He was in shock and visibly shuddered as he thought of the terrible incident. He was no longer a Merodian, and this fact bothered him more than anything. He no longer belonged and he yearned for this feeling once again. He decided to go back to his mother, for she was the reason he no longer belonged. He walked to school, where he saw all his fellow classmates rush out of school. He entered the bus, drooping his head and he sat beside a man, whom he recognized. It was an ex-Merodian. This man handed Markus a cigarette butt.
‘Old habits die hard,’ the man said.
‘Thank you,’ Markus said.
Markus twisted it around his finger and performed odd leg rituals. People stared at him in wonder and talked amongst themselves. The pain in his heart spilled over into his voice. He shrieked, trying to ease the pain. Maybe Master Flavius could help him, he thought.
‘Flavius, come save me now! Now!’ he growled. The bus turned into chaos and collided into a forest of trees. The dead passengers and ruin were overcome with great silence and stillness.
His mother, still panicking and in search for Markus, decided to look in the warehouse. She opens the warehouse door to find a large group of people dead on the floor. Fear overcame her, her heart racing rapidly.
‘Markus!’ she screamed. Was one of the dead her son? She hyperventilated as she looked through every single person. A rush of relief swept over her when she did not find her son. She walked outside; she was going to go home. The weather was murky and gloomy. While walking, she saw a bus dri
ving out of control, swerving and colliding into a forest.
‘Oh my, what a horrible day. I can’t imagine anything worse happening.’ She said to herself. She took a rest when she was home and prayed:
O Lord, please send me a sign. Where is my son, whom I love ever so much? Lord I need not any pain or sorrow now. Send me a guardian angel to protect me, so that I may have a sleep free from all trouble.