CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
Horseface knew how to control his breathing. He'd had a lot of practice. It amazed him that he'd survived the early days, just after The Fall. He hadn't known what he was doing back then. He certainly wouldn't have thought about his breathing giving his position away. He'd nearly died a lot, of course. So many times he'd been jumped, his flesh torn into. He still had the scars, though he couldn't really remember which one came from which incident anymore. They'd all blurre into one.
Horseface didn't get jumped anymore. He always struck first now.
He held his mutilating device close to his chest. It was some kind of tool, for prying things over? He didn't know. All he knew was that it kept him alive.
Horseface lunged out of his hiding place as soon as he saw the shadow, the very moment her perceived it. Perhaps even earlier. He went right for the face, assuming this thing had a face. Most did. There was a struggling. He jabbed the prying tool right into the hood covering his victim/would be attacker's face. He swung it, bringing it down against the head. Again and again. Still the other stuggled, trying to grab at Horseface. The hood was dropped now. Could it be? A human? Horseface didn't have time to think. He rammed his prying device right into its mouth, then tore the whole side of its face off with it. The human finally went down. Horseface finished him off with one final blow to the head.
There was so much blood. So much flesh in his prying tool. Horseface would have felt bad once, but he was numb to it now. This was life after The Fall. It was kill or be killed, literally. If Horseface hadn't utterly destroyed this apparent human, the human would have killed him. He had no choice. That was how it worked. Not enough resources for everyone. You kill or you die. Horseface didn't like it, but he didn't want to die.
A human though. How unusual. It had been over a year since Horseface had last killed one of those. The progenitors. The first sentient life on Earth. They had created Horseface's kind with their genetic experiments. Horseface wondered how much human DNA there was in him. The man he just killed could have been a distant relative, he mused. But most humans saw Horseface and his kind as a lower form of life. A servant class. They had tried to kill Horseface's people. And then there had been the Uprising. And the humans had not been ready, and so many had died. Then they built weapons, which killed even more, then the spider-people had built even greater weapons and killed most of the humans. Then the Bird Wars...then The Fall.
So few humans remained and Horseface had just killed one of them. He wondered if he should tell somebody. He didn't suppose anyone was keeping count anymore. He checked the human's body, for some reason. He usually just took their boots, but most attackers didn't have anything valuable on them.
Yet this human was clutching something. Horse pried it out of his hand. He did not use his prying device for this, because that would not have felt right. It was a keycard. And there was a number one it. Very strange. Even stranger was that Horseface knew it was from the abandoned labratory in the insutrial estate across the river. They used to build human devices there, Horseface knew. Not weapons, but quaint human devices. Robotics, he thought they were called. Mechanical devices, designed for service. If only the humans had stuck to that and not created the The Mutants...
Horseface kept the keycard for some reason. He heard the alarm go off outside. Killing time had ended for the week. Horseface had another seven days. There was no reward for what he'd just done but that.
Horseface went home and lay on his chair watching a tape. It was one of the human comedy shows, Seinfeld it was called. Horseface liked it. The humans had been amusing, before they'd tried to kill themselves and all other life. Horseface hope he didn't fall asleep on his chair this time. It was unlikely. He always felt awake after killing someone. He doubted he'd sleep all night.
It was only much later that he noticed the note attached to the human's keycard. A tiny scrap of paper. A post-it note, the humans would have called it. Horseface had learned through tapes how to read the human language. It read "WAKE ME UP."
Horseface shouldn't get involved in some human drama. It was not for him. But...he had nothing to do for a whole week. His girlfriend had been murdered four months ago, so he couldn't go and lay with her. He still missed her sometimes. She had been part cat person, part dog person. He was into that. But she had not been strong enoug, clearly.
Horseface hadn't talk to another living person since then, other than when shopping. And he mostly grunted then.
All this thinking had made Horseface tired, despite the high from killing. He tried not to think too much anymore. He hated feeling anything close to emotion. He sighed and went to bed.
The next day he decided to walk by the old human labratory. Just to take a look at it. He wans't going to go inside. There would no dobut be balloon-addicts in there. They wouldn't be dangerous (not for another six days anyway) but they were annoying. Yet Horseface found himself drawn to the building. He found himself heading inside. He had to kick the door in, but that was easy enough. Nobody was around to notice. He thought he saw some balloon-addicts in the shadows as he walked inside, but they didn't bother him. Maybe they were dead. He found the door the keycard would open. It was so easy to find. He sighed. He knew he was giong to open it. He slid the keycard into the lock...
A metal man was inside.
TO BE CONTINUED
Horseface didn't get jumped anymore. He always struck first now.
He held his mutilating device close to his chest. It was some kind of tool, for prying things over? He didn't know. All he knew was that it kept him alive.
Horseface lunged out of his hiding place as soon as he saw the shadow, the very moment her perceived it. Perhaps even earlier. He went right for the face, assuming this thing had a face. Most did. There was a struggling. He jabbed the prying tool right into the hood covering his victim/would be attacker's face. He swung it, bringing it down against the head. Again and again. Still the other stuggled, trying to grab at Horseface. The hood was dropped now. Could it be? A human? Horseface didn't have time to think. He rammed his prying device right into its mouth, then tore the whole side of its face off with it. The human finally went down. Horseface finished him off with one final blow to the head.
There was so much blood. So much flesh in his prying tool. Horseface would have felt bad once, but he was numb to it now. This was life after The Fall. It was kill or be killed, literally. If Horseface hadn't utterly destroyed this apparent human, the human would have killed him. He had no choice. That was how it worked. Not enough resources for everyone. You kill or you die. Horseface didn't like it, but he didn't want to die.
A human though. How unusual. It had been over a year since Horseface had last killed one of those. The progenitors. The first sentient life on Earth. They had created Horseface's kind with their genetic experiments. Horseface wondered how much human DNA there was in him. The man he just killed could have been a distant relative, he mused. But most humans saw Horseface and his kind as a lower form of life. A servant class. They had tried to kill Horseface's people. And then there had been the Uprising. And the humans had not been ready, and so many had died. Then they built weapons, which killed even more, then the spider-people had built even greater weapons and killed most of the humans. Then the Bird Wars...then The Fall.
So few humans remained and Horseface had just killed one of them. He wondered if he should tell somebody. He didn't suppose anyone was keeping count anymore. He checked the human's body, for some reason. He usually just took their boots, but most attackers didn't have anything valuable on them.
Yet this human was clutching something. Horse pried it out of his hand. He did not use his prying device for this, because that would not have felt right. It was a keycard. And there was a number one it. Very strange. Even stranger was that Horseface knew it was from the abandoned labratory in the insutrial estate across the river. They used to build human devices there, Horseface knew. Not weapons, but quaint human devices. Robotics, he thought they were called. Mechanical devices, designed for service. If only the humans had stuck to that and not created the The Mutants...
Horseface kept the keycard for some reason. He heard the alarm go off outside. Killing time had ended for the week. Horseface had another seven days. There was no reward for what he'd just done but that.
Horseface went home and lay on his chair watching a tape. It was one of the human comedy shows, Seinfeld it was called. Horseface liked it. The humans had been amusing, before they'd tried to kill themselves and all other life. Horseface hope he didn't fall asleep on his chair this time. It was unlikely. He always felt awake after killing someone. He doubted he'd sleep all night.
It was only much later that he noticed the note attached to the human's keycard. A tiny scrap of paper. A post-it note, the humans would have called it. Horseface had learned through tapes how to read the human language. It read "WAKE ME UP."
Horseface shouldn't get involved in some human drama. It was not for him. But...he had nothing to do for a whole week. His girlfriend had been murdered four months ago, so he couldn't go and lay with her. He still missed her sometimes. She had been part cat person, part dog person. He was into that. But she had not been strong enoug, clearly.
Horseface hadn't talk to another living person since then, other than when shopping. And he mostly grunted then.
All this thinking had made Horseface tired, despite the high from killing. He tried not to think too much anymore. He hated feeling anything close to emotion. He sighed and went to bed.
The next day he decided to walk by the old human labratory. Just to take a look at it. He wans't going to go inside. There would no dobut be balloon-addicts in there. They wouldn't be dangerous (not for another six days anyway) but they were annoying. Yet Horseface found himself drawn to the building. He found himself heading inside. He had to kick the door in, but that was easy enough. Nobody was around to notice. He thought he saw some balloon-addicts in the shadows as he walked inside, but they didn't bother him. Maybe they were dead. He found the door the keycard would open. It was so easy to find. He sighed. He knew he was giong to open it. He slid the keycard into the lock...
A metal man was inside.
TO BE CONTINUED
Last edited: