Story [Issue 33] Decay - Part 1

[S.C.Y.T.H.E 1,072]

Part One:

 

The boy opened his eyes. Wind whipped across his face. The stormy sky billowed around him, and a massive spire of rock stabbed the heavens. He appeared to be on top of a hill. Three hundred yards away was a grove of cedar trees, lurking in the malevolent darkness of the hill’s shadow. Forbiddingly, a group of vultures whirled in the wind. He tried to remember how he had gotten there. His memory was a dead end-- totally blank. What had happened before this? A distinct feeling of terror filled his mind ever since he had awoken. He could very dimly remember a dream, something to do with caves of ice and an underwater, sunless sea. Obviously it was just a dream.

 

He stood up. His muscles were extremely stiff, as if he had been in a twelve hour car ride. At least I can remember cars… he thought. He realized that his hand was clenched around a wrinkled piece of paper. The boy unfurled it. It was slightly torn, but the words were clear.

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair. 

It was familiar, from some poem he had read… once. It didn't hold any special meaning. He knew that his name wasn't Ozymandias… that would be too weird. But what is my name? He asked. His memory provided him with exactly nothing.

 

He had to figure out where he was. His surroundings were bleak and empty of life, besides the vultures. There was dying grass on the sloping ground. The single spire of rock looked natural. A rolling hills and cedar forest expanded around him. A black strip seemed to touch one of the hills, and an old wooden windmill stood atop the same hill. It looked to be about half a mile away. It was the only sign of civilization, so he decided he should head over towards it.

 

After half a minute of walking, he entered the forest. The smell of dead animals filled his nostrils. A few feet away, he made out the shape of a month dead cow. He avoided several spiderwebs, and trudged onward. A barbed wire fence almost tripped him, but he jumped over. Fifteen minutes later, he made it to the black strip, which was in fact a road.

 

The windmill clearly did not function. Beside is was the ruin of a wooden building, maybe a house or a barn. It was half burned and looked like no one had lived in it for more than a decade. But the road had fresh tire tracks in the gravel. There was some litter on the side of the road. There was also a sign, which read US HWY: 192. So apparently he was in the United States. But there was something very odd; The speed limit was 15 miles an hour. That was a ridiculously slow speed, he thought. Maybe aliens kidnapped me, he thought, only an eighth serious. He looked for crop circles, but saw nothing. Hopefully a car would come. He could hitch hike is way… somewhere. It was getting dark, and the boy realized he was starving. He knew he would be waiting quite a while, so he investigated the ruins of the windmill and building.

 

The building had four walls. Half of the roof had collapsed, and the boards making up the walls were crooked and out of place. The door had fallen from its hinges. Gingerly, the boy stepped over fallen shingles inside the building. It was less destroyed on the inside, half burnt picture frames on the ground. Inside the frames were faded photographs, some in black and white. Mostly there were pictures of people. But there was also a picture of the windmill. To his surprise there was a picture of an artillery piece... in front of what must be the building before it was burned.

 

Why would there be people with an Artillery cannon living here so long ago? It made no sense. He found a cabinet, half of which was burned and lying upside down on the ground. Inside of it were three dozen cans, containing jelly and peaches. There were also bags of very, very old flower. Suddenly, the boy got an idea. He checked the expiration date of the flower. It was July 23rd, 1994. The boy thought that the current date was mid 2010s, so this expiration date was not surprising for a very old, destroyed house. He opened up a can of jelly, and tasted it. It seemed edible, but it was definitely not fresh. It was better than nothing, so he picked up five cans, putting a few in his pockets. 

 

Suddenly, he heard the rumbling of an engine outside the building. He ran out, and saw a jeep with several men in the back hurtling at a breakneck pace down the road. He waved his hands and shouted. The men turned, but the jeep did not turn. To the boys complete surprise, they lifted rifles and pointed them at him. They fired! The gunshots pierced the air, and instinctively the boy ducked. The gunshots continued, and he ran for cover inside the house. The jeep had stopped. He peered through a broken window pane, and saw what looked like an RPG being lifted, and aimed at the house. Pure terror. He wanted to bolt somewhere. This situation felt all too familiar. The RPG was fired. The grenade flew through the air, and missed its target. It hit the windmill. With a deafening bang, the base of the rickety windmill exploded. The windmill slowly toppled, and landed directly on top of the jeep with a sickening crunch.

 

The boy was stunned. What should he do? He cowered in the house for ten seconds, but decided to risk going outside to see what happened. The windmill had collapsed across the jeep. The jeep was on its side, and badly damaged. There was no movement from within. He was filled with a macabre curiosity, and he approached the jeep. There were some quiet gasps. Blood gurgled. He could only see two people in the wreckage, with twisted limbs and bloody gashes. They wouldn't make it. One of them noticed the boy, and lifted a pistol. Lightning-fast, the boy snatched it, and ran back twenty feet. He didn’t go close the the jeep again. But after he went back inside the ruined house, he saw two figures clambering out of the jeep. They limped forward into the cedars and disappeared.

 

Twenty minutes later, the sound of helicopter blades broke the silence. It was now almost totally dark, and the sun had vanished behind the hills long ago. Suddenly, the boy heard a creaking noise. Shuffling footsteps filled the small house. The boy hid behind the sideways cabinet in the corner of the room. A quiet voice said, 

“I know that you are inside. No point in hiding. Come out! I am not your enemy. I was sent here to help you.” The boy heard these words. He thought about not coming out of his hiding spot, but the man sounded pretty sure of himself. He stood up, and demanded,

“Who are you! Where am I?”

“Who am I? I am just a doctor. Where you are I do not know.” The man answered. 

“What do you mean you don’t know?” The boy demanded, infuriated.

“You don’t even know where you are. But, you can get lost behind enemy lines. This is the case with me. Anyway, I was told to tell you-- you should get on that helicopter.”

The boy now had a clearer look at the man. He was in a camouflage army uniform. He had a helmet on, masking his face. 

“So I should get on that helicopter?”

“Yes, they are on our side. Now go, or they will pass you! Run!” The doctor said with extreme urgency. The boy left the destroyed building. A helicopter glided a hundred feet in the air, a searchlight scanning. He waved, and shouted. Sure enough, the search light pointed at him, and the helicopter drifted closer.

 

The boy turned around, expecting to see the mysterious army doctor. No one stood near. I am sure he left the burned building, the boy thought. There was no where the man could have gone save the forest, which was a hundred feet away. The boy would have noticed. 

A long ladder was lowered. The boy had no choice but to ascend the ladder. The helicopter was only thirty feet in the air. The noise and wind was deafening, but had firmly grasped the ladder and climbed.  But, twenty feet in the air, two men burst out from the forest. The pilot of the helicopter noticed this, and went higher in altitude. But, the armed men launched another RPG directly at the helicopter. This time they did not miss. The helicopter burst into flames. The blades twisted and turned with a terrible screeching noise. The helicopter began to plummet, the ladder tangling in the helicopter blades. The rope was now caught, pulling the boy towards gnashing black limbs. He had no choice but to let go.

 

The boy plummeted towards the ground. Time slowed, and his fall was stretched out for an unnatural space of time. The ground seemed to fly into his body, and then all was darkness.

 

To be continued....

 

'I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,

Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown

And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,

The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.

And on the pedestal these words appear:

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

Nothing beside remains: round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,

The lone and level sands stretch far away.'

 

Edited July 30, 2017 by Hexed

[deadtoyou 2,502]

Another edge-of-your-seat story. I love it! Can't wait for part 2! ^_^

[liverpoolaum 811]

nice eager to see next part

[Yisroel.Rabin 16,224]

Nice work bud :)

[jazz20 1,181]

Nice  ^_^

[ShyamNishanthMK 189]

Ooo!

[Firenze_PRO 80]

Another cliffhanger 0.o awesome story so far! :D

[Jboymark53 508]

Another cliffhanger 0.o awesome story so far! :D

Took the words right out of my mouth!

[Scope2U 0]

this is like horror begining but it isnt scary when is part 2 coming out?