The Beast
Chug chug chug chug. Chug chug
chug chug. It comes. The terror and the savior. The prophet that drags our good
people into necessary misery. Traveling through and spewing out, the haunting
black smoke.
We fall, we choke but we must hold onto our hope.
Chug chug chug chug. It comes. It is our only means of escape. If we die, we
die. We will not regret the risk we took to save ourselves, our children and
their children. If we avoid The Beast, we face bullets and blades. We face
pain. We face despair. The choice is between a torture that is permanent and a
torture that is extreme, but temporary. Unfortunately, the light at the end of The
Beast’s tunnel is not reliable. Some days it is bright, others it is dull. Some
days there is no light at all.
Chug... Chug...
It comes. It slows. It looks down on us
all, screeching with laughter at our inevitable suffering. Shrouded by its
demonic mist, deep into the night, The Beast takes us away. Hundreds of us,
maybe thousands. Destined for a painful journey, both physical and
psychological. The fumes of The Beast take its toll on the fragile minds of its
riders, bringing out malevolence that barely existed. Through hell we travel,
praying that the ghouls don’t notice us. They wait in the wastelands, preying
on our vulnerability through violence and terror. More sadistic than the ghouls
that wander around our homeland. More psychopathic with less feeling, less care
for the lives of their victims. Engulfed by a numbing of the body, mind and
soul. A numbing caused by the vile soil that covers the solemnly isolated land
that few dare to cross.
Chug... Chug...
Again it slows. Severe tension arises through the wheels of The Beast and the mood
of its passengers. Why are we stopping? Please, No. Screaming can be heard
echoing from further up. The sound of slices and cracks follow the screams. No.
Please, No. The Beast has come to a complete halt. The ghouls have arrived. We
can hear them laugh and yell as they navigate their way down the body of The
Beast, randomly selecting their victims. The darkness inhibits our senses. We
don’t know how close they are. They terrorise us, the helpless passengers of
The Beast. It lasts only a few agonising minutes. Some passengers are dragged
away deep into the dark wasteland, some are killed on the spot. We smother our
children for their protection until the ordeal has ended.
Chug. Chug. Chug. Chug. The Beast leaves again and breaks into another fit of
demonic, ear piercing laughter. It laughs at us and how defenceless we are. It
thrives off our desolation. Its engine runs on melancholy. Why do you laugh at
us? Why force us through this unnecessary hardship? Why, wicked Beast, do you
find pleasure in this gloom? It continues cackling as it speeds through the
darkness, closing in on the end of its path. We are apprehensive as we feel The
Beast slowing again. However, this time we feel that it is the end of the
track, The Beast’s voyage coming to end.
Chug... Chug...
Nobody is left with every piece of them remaining. Some with no pieces at all.
We use what is left of our passion to celebrate our physical survival and mourn
the dead as we reach the end. The Beast releases one last, vicious shriek. This
terrible, torturous creature. Why do we feel sad about leaving it? Such an
entity with no regard for our well being, that takes us to where we need to be,
only because that is where it already has to go. What it comes down to is
simple. It is the lesser of two evils. Despite the agony it puts us through, it
is paradise compared to a lifetime remaining where we once were. We come from
an evil place. A place where ghouls endlessly roam. A place where we have no
protection from their disturbed ideals.
The Beast, the fear inducing, stomach churning Beast, it saves us from
that wretched place. It comforts us. Without it, there is no hope. There is no
chance of survival.
Chug…
The Beast has protected us so far, but our journey continues. Without its
wicked might, we fear there is nothing to save us from the harsh realities that
are yet to come. No lesser of two evils, only one. The most devastating,
haunting evil that we must give everything we have in an attempt to conquer.
The evil of futility.
The evil of worthlessness in our new world where we have nothing more to strive
for, nothing to achieve.
We wonder where The Beast will be the day we must face that evil.
Please come back for us, oh terrible, frightening Beast. Let us hear your
hellish laughter. Let us hear your colossal, rumbling chug.
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