Volkermeis

A colossal, tenacious entity is obliterating everything in its path with no thought of stopping and nobody to stop it. Surrounded by the crumbling rubble of the world, a young child tries to escape.

Volkermeis

Clusters of steel crash onto the ground. Windows explode into a swarm of glass shards, deadly fragments cutting into everybody unfortunate enough to stand below them. I look to my left and watch the skyscrapers, the great titans that always watched over our city fall from their throne, the simple but elegant blocks of black and tan and gray dissolve into visual chaos. I snap my head to the right and notice the roads. They suffocate under the heavy rubble, but in a few areas, the dark asphalt struggles to see the surface. The pavement is riddled with crevices and, in many areas, flame. Above me, cars become giant bullets and soar through the air as they carelessly hunt their prey. Below, they fall onto the ground and instantly burst into fire. It feels like the only source of light in the world for a second. I stare down at my chest. My eyebrows rise in disbelief as I see it able to hold itself together with all of its cuts; it tries its hardest to prevent the blood from flowing out of my skin. But it fails. It drips onto the floor, trying to sink my body into a red ocean. I need to look away; this is too terrifying to see. But my eyes refuse to move"my head feels as if Medusa has turned it to stone and I must be punished by watching my own destruction.

With the last of my strength, I lift my arms and grab my skin. I tell myself I think it will stop some of the bleeding, but I don't even know if my hands are anywhere near the gaps; my vision is fleeting too fast. Somehow, it just feels comforting to be holding on to something. But this slips away with my hands, sliding down the mess of fabric and skin until they finally give up and plunge into the blood. The rest of my body begins to follow, as my chest welcomes the ground with an open embrace and I think my chin cuts itself on the rubble, but I can't feel it either way. My sight is shoved upward, and finally, I find the source of the destruction. As another building falls apart and its innards sprawl on top of the ruins, as if enough buildings hadn't been destroyed already, all life seems to be lost. I can no longer hear any screams nor even see anybody else's blood. Actually, with my position, I can't even see my own. But I notice something unusual. Some of the rubble seems to be...floating up somehow? Suddenly, a white blur bursts out and rockets towards the sky, striving to be above the wreckage. A few strange lines shoot out of the sides, and as this magical being returns to the earth they grasp the ground to support the white light. My eyes can just barely make out the shape, but I can faintly feel my mouth forming into a smile. Perhaps this invincible, seraphic being is my savior. Perhaps it is going to save us all from the terrible destruction plaguing us. I see the angel raise one of its limbs. It's finally over now. The limb twists, and something dark flies off of it. It continues this strange process a few more times...some sort of holy dance? One object flies, then another, then another. Then I hear a crash. Somewhere,  a window seems to have been destroyed, then another, then another. It was all a lie. This creature is not going to save anyone. Anything so violent and destructive would never even have just a hint of restraint, the idea that perhaps it will stop for a moment. I let my eyelids drop as my vision becomes engulfed with darkness, as the world around me becomes enveloped in the black rubble of the city. The world is ending.

Once again, I see nothing. I feel some minor pains in my chest, but they do not seem important. How am I still conscious? Am I even conscious? Did I just die? Why can't I hear anything? I try to decipher what could possibly be going on, but a strange sound complicates everything further. Some sort of soft, short sound. It repeats a few times, slightly louder with each new instance. Eventually, after listening closely, I realize what it is"a voice. "Are you feeling okay"? Could someone truly be speaking to me? I quickly open my eyelids searching for the source of the question, but I immediately regret this decision. Suddenly, my eyeballs are scorched by some sort of intense white beam of light, and I immediately shut them again. What is this blinding light? What is that gentle but odd voice? What is all of this? Could this be...heaven? Am I truly dead? Have I died, and now my soul has transcended above the world and entered heaven? If I’m in heaven, then what is about to happen? And why do I feel these strange pains? Is this some sort of entrance to heaven? Am I...about to be judged? Out of curiosity, I must force myself to open my eyes again and sit up. I soon allow myself to adjust to the brightness of the room, and I notice that the rest of it is as white as the strange light. I sit on a white bed, and the walls are completely white. I would say that it is some sort of hospital, but I’ve never actually been inside one, so I wouldn’t know. I don’t like thinking about violence or injuries, so I haven’t seen a lot of pictures of one, either. I still think this is probably heaven or some sort of entrance, because I couldn’t have possibly survived the cuts from all that glass, but there’s no time to think about that now. The voice is here again.

“Are you feeling okay”? I glance to my right to see who it came from, but there is no person there; only some sort of strange machine coated in white plastic next to me. It is a strange fusion of shapes and lights; a small cube with rounded edges and a large camera in the center of each side. The bottom half boasts a large monitor with a jumbled mess of statistics and diagrams. I squint at the display and try to read some of the text, but most of it seems to be some sort of scientific data that I can’t understand. I skim the display, wondering if there could possibly be anything interesting. In a small area to my right, I notice my name: “MORTIMER HART AGE 14”. I suppose that’s understandable; whatever they’re doing to me, they probably need my name for it. I peruse some text below it out of curiosity, but it doesn’t make any sense to me. “SI: 592. VI: 213”. The words obviously don’t mean anything, at least not to me. And yet…they’re larger than anything else on the screen. And they’re right under my name. What could it mean? What two words or phrases can be abbreviated as “SI” and “VI”? And why would they need to know that right as somebody’s about to enter Heaven? “Sickness and Vitality”? No, this isn’t a hospital; I couldn’t possibly be saved after that disaster. And I think I’d know if I had died. “Silk and…violins”? No, that makes no sense. “Sins…and…virtues…”? No…no…please, no. This can’t be. It means something else, right? But if I’m about to be judged, it makes sense right? No, God would know! He doesn’t need a robot to keep track of it, does he…? Why is the number of sins higher than the number of virtues? Was I honestly that horrible of a child to him? I never thought I hurt anyone. What did I do? I…when I was in first grade, I cheated on that math test. That was clearly a sin, but what about the other 591? Sometimes I’ve punched my brother, and that was a sin…but no, he deserved it! He always kept beating me up first! How else was I supposed to stop him? I had to fight back! I yelled at my dad one time when I was six and it was my birthday, but I was really upset! I really wanted him to come to the party and have fun with us, but he just said he was busy like he always does every single year! There was nothing else I could have done! I have not committed 592 sins!

 The anger burns wildly within my body and devours it like a flame in a forest. I lift my fist into the air and smack the screen with it, so hard that a tiny crack breaks out on top of the numbers. “SI: 593”. It’s over. I’m not going to heaven. I’ve already done too many terrible things. I retreat my head and knees into my chest, hugging them tightly. It’s nice to be able to feel them again. But there’s no hope anymore. I know how God punishes people when he’s angry with them. Everyone I remember reading about in the Bible is killed, has their home destroyed, or loses their family and friends. There’s nothing I can do anymore. I’m going to be punished. I notice that the robot is not speaking anymore"if it was even the source of that voice. But as I look at it in confusion, I hear a different sound: a rhythmic tapping, as if someone is walking on a hard floor. I turn to the left, and part of the wall splits into halves, each one sliding away from the other. A human, or an angel, I suppose, comes into the room.

She has dark, smooth hair that ends in curls just below her chin, and her skin is colored similarly to warm coffee. She swings a silver tablet in one of her arms, hurrying into the room as if in danger. “Mr.…Mortimer, is it? Are you awake? Can you talk?” I don’t care if there are other people here. I just want to repent for what I’ve done and let this all end. I nod and wait to be taken. She writes a few notes on the tablet and takes a deep breath, as if she is somehow relieved. “I’m glad to see that you are still able to move. The C23"I mean, my assistant next to you sent me a report saying that you didn’t respond when it tried asking if you were okay”. She pauses. Her smile begins to fade, but she tries to hide it by snapping her head towards a wall. “Please open the window”. I swing my legs off of the bed and stand up to help her, but I hear the voice again, this time with a different phrase. “Of course, Dr. Celosia.” The robotic assistant turns its head toward the wall, and a large window opens, but the outside is completely black. I can’t help but smile just a little bit; for the depression that machine sent me into, it’s pretty cute. I want to ask who designed it, but Dr. Celosia begins talking first. I simply fold my arms together in disappointment as I stare out the window.

“That mean monster has been hurting people really hard, and most of them have gotten some nasty injuries.” I look out the window and see the darkness replaced by light. A view of a city begins to flow over the glass, moving slowly. The whole room must be moving. “I should be honest with you, shouldn’t I? You…almost didn’t come out of there alive. We didn’t think the beast would leave that part of the city until it destroyed everything, but it left a couple of buildings alive: one of the J.D. Invi hospitals, and a large factory. At first we thought that maybe it simply didn’t want to hurt the injured, but we realize now that’s wrong; shortly after leaving the city, it obliterated some hospitals in other towns. It’s killed practically everyone in the city. The only reason we were able to find you was because it spared those two buildings and started charging toward a neighboring city, Crowston. Afterwards, we deemed the area safe to enter, and that’s when we found you and everyone else.” For a moment she just stands there, completely silent. “Anyway, how are your Silinvi and Varinvi levels?” The robot lifted its body off the ground to reveal a pair of wheels and rolled over to Dr. Celosia. I forget that I’m injured and hop off of the bed, walking toward them. Somehow, I can walk just fine again, and I don’t realize that I was hurt so badly. But wait, what did she just say? Sillinvi and Varinvi? Sillinvi…SI. Are these the quantities described on the monitor? “Perfect. You should have completely recovered by now. Oh, did I explain? Sillinvi is a medicine primarily based on silicon that allows the body to produce large quantities of stem cells, which can transform into other cells and essentially heal most parts of the body. Varinvi is a medicine primarily based on the element varinvidium that causes stem cells to transform at a much higher rate so that the healing process finishes faster. If not for them…well, let’s just say that you wouldn’t be talking to me right now. Anyway, you can probably guess who first synthesized those chemicals from their names: Dr. J.D. Invi. He’s made some amazing contributions to…” But I can’t keep listening anymore.

This isn’t heaven? I’m not having my sins and virtues evaluated? Slowly, I begin to feel relieved. I look at the screen and the numbers under the crack again, and I almost want to laugh at how scared I was of them. Almost. Somehow, they still make me feel more than uneasy. I pull my gaze away and look towards the city again. “Yes, if not for…hmmm, what did the ‘D’ stand for again? Haha, with such a kind and helpful man, you’d expect to remember more easily!” We both burst into laughter. We continue to gaze at the city outside. I’m not completely sure where we’re going, but as long as we’re not near that strange monster, I suppose it isn’t so bad. A creature that destructive and careless cannot be stopped…can it? No, something so violent would never be calmed down. That abomination has no understanding of sympathy. “Only a few more minutes until we reach the capital,” Dr. Celosia mentions, glancing at the tablet. “You"and the rest of the patients with us"will be safer there. The city is fortified with some of the best soldiers and weapons of the army. While it may be difficult, I think we can blast that metal demon to smithereens. It may be messy, but it’s not like we have any other options. If that thing wants to destroy us with force, we just have to retaliate with force. We know the beast is some sort of metal, probably robotic being, but we have no idea who could have built it. I know Dr. Invi would never create such a horrible thing. He always…oh, you can already see the capital building!”

She points with her finger, and my eye obeys her, allowing me to notice a tall, sapphire-colored building off in the distance. It seems shorter than the rest of the buildings, but its crystalline walls are still beautiful, a brilliant blue. It does not need to be as tall as the other buildings; its aura of tranquility is all that I need. In fact, now it seems to be a little shorter than it was a few seconds ago. Yes, it doesn’t need to be big and strong; even as that monster rampages somewhere, this symbol of calmness…is gone? Did it just…drop? Dr. Celosia and I both turn to each other in confusion. We stare at each other for a second, and our eyes stretch wider and wider. A horrible chorus of screams grows louder in the distance, as if somebody is calling to us for help in desperation"to no avail. I slowly turn my head back toward the window. I feel an eerie chill crawling on my back, and I know that she feels it too. The monster is here. Suddenly, more buildings fall, each one larger and larger…each one closer to us. “Oh no no no no”. Dr. Celosia caresses her head within her hands to hide her pain, but to no avail"I can see the tears flowing through. I try to run out through the door, I’m not sure where to, but just somewhere other than here. I don’t know if it will even help. But it doesn’t matter.

The floor jerks to a halt and my body flies into the air until my face squishes against the door. We have stopped moving, but the monster has not. I pick myself up and try to walk back to the window; I think my leg is broken, but I drag myself along the floor anyway. I see the creature moving towards us, a gigantic white spider-like hunk of metal with eight or nine wickedly crooked legs stuck into it. On the front is a large, blood red piece of glass, as if it is the window of a car. Behind the center of it lies some dark figure; a human driver of a war machine? The cold, dark heart of a ruthless monster? The corrupted processor of some manipulated robot? It doesn’t matter anymore to me. The beast is struck with all kinds of projectiles from the sides; missiles, bullets, lasers, bombs, grenades, anything resembling a weapon finds itself hurling towards this monster in the hopes of just possibly denting or scratching it. But to no avail. The monster charges at us unharmed until its front presses up against the glass and Dr. Celosia hugs me tightly, and I hug her too; it feels slightly strange, but soon it won’t matter. Two of its arms throw themselves into the air and seize the roof of the vehicle, carelessly throwing it behind it into the city. This is truly the end. It raises another arm to its side. I don’t know what this thing is, who created it, or why any of this is happening. The arm lifts up a car. We don’t know. The arm raises into the air. Nobody knows. It extends its other legs to reach a better height. All I know is that I’m truly about to die, and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop the monster. The car looms over us now, and everything around me becomes covered in shadow; I can barely see anything.

The world is ending.

I feel something else around my body. I look to my right and see the monitor, still glowing through the darkness. I faintly see two thin, lavender, mechanical arms extending from the sides, encircling me. I stare at the center of the monitor and once again see the crack. I stand here unable to do anything. I am too confused. From my left, a person I have only just met and have no connection with tries to comfort me for seemingly no reason, and from the right, a machine"an artificial device seemingly incapable of emotion, and one which I damaged in my fit of rage"does its best to soothe us as we meet our doom. They still care? I look back at the monster, into the blurry area behind the visor. I don’t know what’s in there…but it doesn’t matter. It just has to listen, it just has to.

“Why are you doing this!” Dr. Celosia and her assistant flinch in astonishment as I call out to the being. “Please…please tell me why”. Everything is silent; no response comes. I only have one choice. I don’t know if this will work, but it’s worth trying. “I’ll listen to you…” it’s too late to turn back now. “…Dr. Invi”. Again, the silence returns. “At least let me thank you. If not for your work…um…Sillinvi and Varinvi, I…wouldn’t be here right now. Even if you’re going to destroy us, I just want to thank you for helping me live a little longer”. For a couple minutes, nothing happens. Nobody speaks to each other. Nothing moves. Nobody tries any further attacks on anything. Eventually, a piece of metal comes out of the body and gently touches our vehicle, forming a sort of bridge, and the red visor starts to sink into the metal body.

I see a strange figure approaching: a tall man in a tattered brown shirt and short, tan pants. He walks towards us slowly, and I try to see the expression on his face. As he comes closer, Dr. Celosia and the assistant try to flee from him, but I only tighten my grip on them. Eventually, the man raises a shaking arm, and with one of his hands, he wipes the dirt off of the glass. His head is now completely visible: his unkempt hair is a light gray, most of it lost to age. His skin is pale and wrinkled, and his mouth hangs open slightly, quivering. His cheeks are wet from tears, and his eyes are a harsh pink from crying. They are open wide, and he constantly has them fixed on us. His mouth starts to move; it almost turns into a smile. “You…don’t know how long it’s been since anybody has thanked me for that…” he collapses onto the window, trying to prevent his hands from sliding off the glass. He bows his head in shame, and he begins to sob loudly. “I…just wanted somebody…to pay attention to me…after all the w-work I’ve done…done for everybody…nobody cares. I thought if I named the medicines I created after myself, people would know who I am…but nobody ever knows”! I try really, really hard to design t-these machines to help the doctors, and I try to give them these friendly voices and…and e-everything, but no one is ever grateful for them or says thank you to them or to me! The window slowly falls until it rests inside the metal, welcoming him inside. He manages to walk inside, but his legs start to tremble, and he falls onto the bed.

 “I couldn’t take it anymore! I just wanted everyone to pay for all the torture they gave me. I thought I just wanted…to see them all…s-suffer. But I don’t! I don’t want anyone to die! I just…feel like that’s…the only way they’ll n-notice m-m-me”. Dr. Celosia and the assistant rush over to him, each putting an arm around his back in an effort to console him. “I can’t do this anymore! I can’t hurt anyone anymore! Dismantle the abomination I made! Destroy it! Demolish it! Let nobody suffer from it again!” I look behind me at the machine. Behind it, I think I see something strange. What is that object all the way over there? On top of the rubble, there seems to be something shining…a piece of a building, something with the color of sapphire standing amongst the wreckage.