41. Lands of the Red

Scavengers were not at their best during these days, but the much known fact about them has been that even when they were not good, they are good enough to be evil; it was something which was always present in their blood since they turned. A lot of factors are said to contribute to the origin and the existence of the Scavengers, and the strongest of them have been the wars with their side-effects, the weapons used and the war crimes which had happened more than anywhere else at these wastelands. It was a place of human atrocities and hopelessness; the same had indirectly lead to the practice of black magic and all kinds of sorcery because science had ruined their life with no hope to escape from the pain and terror. There were similar wastelands at many other places, but none like this one which has spread through the lands and survived until now causing fear everywhere – its an achievement no other land could come up with, making this place the one true wasteland, the only area which could claim that title without second thoughts.

The Reds as they were called by many groups of people who stayed outside the city and no longer existed, the rivers of blood that they created through the heart of the wastelands made sure that the name stayed for a long time. Acheron had once come up with a decree to eliminate them all, but they still survived. But the same couldn’t be said about the team which he had sent to finish them off. It was one of the worst situations that a commando operation had to face. Some people still stay that the commandos still survive, in the form of Scavengers, while others say that they had been fully eaten and no part of them remains.

Acheron decided to let them stay then, because they were confined to the wastelands, and he could execute his prisoners by sending them to these lands of the red. The place proved to be good burial grounds as well as the place of execution. The grounds stained by blood were part of the poetry and fictional novels written by the authors of the city for quite a long time. They were the kind of works which brought them instant awards. With not many people left living around the wastelands due to the climate change and the presence of strange creatures, the Scavengers could always be there even with less humans to feed from.

Jack and Noah continued to walk, with eyes following them. The scenery was beautiful even though it was inside that limited space. There were yellow flowers hanging from the top and light reflected from the top provided a special view. The number of eyes following them had only increased in number. They could hide themselves really well, but they were very close to the two friends. They talked to each other using signs.

“And the big journey continues! I have never walked so much in my life! This is now officially my record” exclaimed Jack.

“Are we to continue walking like this? With no real aim and with no idea where we are going?” asked Noah.

“I guess so. It is best option around here as of now, and it should work at some point” replied Jack.

“This doesn’t seem to be good enough to get us to a possible end; seems like a case of eternity” said Noah.

“Even eternity is just a word; it has to end unless that goes as a fairy-tale, those sweet little stories which the kids used to read, but are of no real use in the current world; we are learning it the hard way” said Jack.

“We can continue walking, but even this much of eternity is a little too much; we are not immortals – it has been a long time since our journey to this situation began” added Noah.

“Well, you will see that this is not that long as you think it is, as there is no such thing as we have only a limited amount of land in this area – the land can’t stretch by itself, and we are walking straight” said Jack.

“I will hope for the same. There is nothing else to be done anyway. It is not like we can be Scavengers and do what they do. That would have been more fun and with a better reason” said Noah.

“There is a lot negative in your thoughts right now, you know; it only gets worse. Maybe it is the problem with the your artificial blood group or something” added Jack.

“It is ridiculous. My blood is not artificial; I never used artificial supply there” claimed Noah.

The Scavengers had already reached three quarters of the digging even though they never knew that they were getting close. They had their mind set on only one thing here, and they were all prepared for their most basic need, to feed. They just couldn’t remember when was the last time they managed to feed. But this was the day on which they would come up with a date, and that would be this particular day. Scavengers were not people without spirit, especially when related to things like these. They were more determined than a common man on these days. These were among the worst of times for them too, but they had more hope than the humans themselves.

To be continued…

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40. Our Souls to Take

“This should have a certain secret buried deep somewhere inside. It is kind of twisted and with the smell of adventure” exclaimed Jack.

“Lets go. We shouldn’t stay here just because of some curiosity which has the ability to kill us both” said Noah.

“You sure about not checking this out? At least a part of this one? Don’t you think that we can take something interesting from here” asked Jack.

“There is absolutely no chance; not even with the latest weapons of Acheron. It is too much of a risk, especially at this time. To add to it, you always had a special skill in falling into traps” said Noah.

“Okay then. Maybe on another day when things get at least a million kilometres close to being perfect. That should relieve the pressure up-to an extent and there can be simpler adventures” replied Jack.

But all of a sudden, a hand came out of the well and grabbed Jack. There was so much strength in those hands and it had blood dropping right out of the wounds of the palm. It held firmly, and with a lot of difficulty, they managed to get rid of it. Soon, the rest of the creature also came out of the well. It was a dark creature, with what seemed to be its own shadow hovering over it. Another creature followed it out of the well, and others also followed. A series of dark clouds emerged right on top of their heads. The eyes of the creatures turned red, and blood started coming right out. They began to make some scary noises which caused thunder in the clouds.

“The scavengers; the scavengers of the dark! Those things which were named after that spaceship! They are really here!” yelled Jack.

“Yes, I understand. But what are you doing? This is not the time to stare! Run!” screamed Noah.

“Yes! We are going to die! Run and run fast!” Jack continued yelling.

As they both started running, the creatures followed them. They were not that fast, but running through this type of ground was rather too difficult. They fell down and slided to a cave below, which lead to an unknown water-body.

The creatures stopped on the way and screamed. The greenery was splendid out there, and they climbed on to a rock. It was more like a huge cave with a lot of space inside, as if it was another world out there.

“Now, we are surely not where we should have been. We don’t even know how to get back” said Jack.

“At least that much is clear; well, only that much is there to be known. This place might have stayed a beautiful mystery for so long in a universe of chaos and destruction” said Noah.

“This is a strange place, isn’t it? Especially considering the fact that we are directly below the wastelands which stretch a lot further. This is the kind of place that comes in the dreams – yes, there were such places in mine, more than once.” wondered Jack.

“Yes, and that too underground, and still the air feels so fresh here. There is nothing negative about it” added Noah.

“I see a lot of insects around here, which is strange. They were all supposed to have been mutated and turned into something else. Scientists from our place would really love to explore here” said Jack.

“There seems to be another kind of existence here, different from ours. I am surprised that Acheron hasn’t discovered and claimed this area with all his technology and unlimited amount of resources. This should be like a top priority place for him. Just guess what all he could accomplish with a location like this” said Noah.

“There are limitations even for him; and that is the same reason why we are still alive. He just can’t be the all-powerful dictator that he keeps claiming to be – that should be really painful for someone like him. But he will be here sooner or later, that is for sure; that much is greed for resources which can’t be satisfied. This surely seems like the home which a lot of people had written in the books; the one from the long lost past” added Jack.

Surprisingly, there were singing birds and smaller animals which were supposed to be extinct. The place reminded them of something which existed long before the wars had started. It was the kind of green with peace all around, and there was no cause for fear. The situation of horror had left them. Four eyes stared at them from between a crack in the walls of the place, and as they started walking through the straight path which lead to nowhere, the eyes followed them with a certain amount of enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, at the top, scavengers had no idea where their preys had gone. They had started digging with the bones of their victims, and even as they had no clue, had reached a quarter of the way to the newly discovered world of Jack and Noah. Scavengers were the kind of creatures who desperately wanted more and more preys, but there were none for quite a long time. They were the ones who made a pact, and that too with their own kind and also to the darker versions of evil. They were the true predators of the wastelands, and they were the rulers of their lands. They wanted to remember how awesome it used to be, when they were hunting, and hoped for their days of terror to return in style. They kept digging with the bones of the dead, and soon, they had reached half way to the other world underground.

To be continued…