The Lord of Rot

To his misfortune, Konrad was being attacked by a creature of unknown origin. But to his fortune, it was something small. 

Konrad remarked how it looked uncannily it looked to the old earth's hare. It had long legs, protruding on each side. It had its eyes on the sides of the skull, much alike prey. But its ferocious teeth made it unlike any prey. 

The color was viscous and bloodied, this reddish pink, fleshy nuance. It seemed as though the animal had been flipped inside out, and this was the result. 

It had other qualities which were much different than the old earth's animals. Like the bulbs of fleshy growth protruding from its body, the terrifying bony segments which stuck out of the corners and the ends of the extremities. 

It would gather tension in its legs, then slowly launching towards Konrad. The little legs of the creature would seem to shatter in the moment, bearing to much force. 

Konrad would twist to the side, quickly dodging the ferocious beast. It moved far too fast, and eventually it would be back on the ground. 

The flesh of the creature would begin to move, regurgitate beneath the surface of the skin. Then the legs of the hare would resume working, and yet again the creature would launch at him. 

Konrad would dodge each time, not knowing what to do with the creature. He felt pity for the thing. If it had been any other size, he would not have scoffed it off. But due to the size of it, he could not feel intimidated. 

Increasingly the bodily function of the hare became difficult to digest. It would move both in the world, but also inside its own body. Segments would change with each launch, and the bony protrusions would lengthen, and shorten. 

It baffled Konrad how the creature was living. 

Konrad would not have felt empathy for a stronger creature, but even he, as weak as he was, would feel pity for this hare. 

He rummaged through the pouch, pulling out the dull knife. Holding the blade without much experience, he closed his grip around it and attempted to hold it straight, the blade pointed towards the skies. 

He would take a few steps backwards, trying to make the hare launch towards him again. 

The hare would easily take the bait. Building up tension then launching towards him again. 

In his mind, Konrad thought of waiting until the creature had flown past him, and then striking down with the dull blade into the back of the creature whilst its legs still were unable to move. Hoping the sheer force of the metallic blade would kill it.

As he thought of this, the flying creature would be caught in his hand. 

His body had subconsciously launched itself towards the hopping creature. He held it tight with the grip of his hand. 

The surprising weight of the creature vexed him. It seemed as heavy as twenty rabbits, but the size of the thing could not explain it--almost as though it was made of metal.

The hare-like creature would begin to rapidly move, attempting to remove itself. In reaction to this, Konrad would attempt to stab the creature with his knife. 

Either the blade was too dull to inflict damage, or there was something wrong with the creature. 

The beast would then attempt to gnaw at his hand. Foaming at the mouth it would move faster and faster, kicking its little legs in the air, making strange noises. 

Konrad would grow worried of the creature, what would he do with it if the blade couldn't kill it? Konrad wished to put the creature out of his misery, he desired it. 

'Why won't this blade work!'

Then blood splat on his hand. He felt his fingers touching together in the bloodied mass. 

'Ugh!' 

The blood on his hand confused him. The lack of it on his blade confused him further. His hand seemed to be throbbing and the back of his neck seemed to ache. 

The creature with the crushed neck seemed to wilt like a flower, slowly degrading, becoming something of a mass. 

It ran like liquid through his fingers. Slowly the beast would become unrecognisable. It would begin to deform, rotting right before his eyes. 

The aching pain in his back would grow through his spine, his eyes would be fixated on the creature. Its deformed body would slowly sink into his hand, as though being pulled into it. 

Whether it was through small pores, or the entirety being absorbed, the mutated carnage would flow into him. The disgusting mass would become a part of him. 

His left hand, the one which had grabbed the beast would continue to throb, and slowly it would begin to deform in the very same way. 

The creature of deformed nature was now gone. Not a single trace of its terrible existence was left. 

The pain radiating through his body slowly becoming irrelevant. 

It was the first time Konrad had ever killed something. Even though the creature was not something human, the feeling of blood on his hands would make many tremble. But he did not feel anything in particular. 

The same pinkish fleshy tone enraptured his hand, and slowly it became heavier, almost falling to the ground. 

He resisted the weight pushing back. Beneath the surface of the hand it began to throb in the same motion, as though something inside was alive. 

He pushed on the hand, naively trying to remove the mass by shaking it. 

His forehead began to sweat, and he began to worry. Muttering a few incoherent sentences he doubted his survival.

He disliked the fleshy tone of his hand, and desperately tried removing it. In a last ditch effort he closed his eyes, hoping that it would be gone. 

He opened his eyes, and his hand looked terribly... normal. There was nothing wrong with it. The weight remained, but there was nothing special about his hand. 

***

Konrad both felt relieved and incredibly deceived by the Church Lords, those who told him of the deity, and that it would curse those whom ventured into the wastelands. This relief did not last long, for night was upon him.

If he was not wrong in his assumption, he could see a bit clearer as of now. May it have been the bits of outlines in the distance becoming clearer in the night, or him suddenly seeing better, he did not know. 

Konrad worried that he would be malnourished as of now. It was the second day he had been outside of the housing, and the weight of the situation began to dawn on him. 

Behind him, there were miles of wasteland. The heat would peak in the middle of the day, being normal only a few hours later and before. In front of him, there was nothing. 

He knew that behind him the housing still remained. He could have gone back and begged to be let in. But if the Church Lords had seen his state of being, they might even have had him killed. 

That's not to mention the time he fell on the ground and lost his sense of direction. 

There were no landmarks to point him in the right direction, so Konrad became incredibly lost. 

The silhouettes he saw not long ago had gotten quite close as of now. He followed them rather unconsciously, fixating on the moving things. 

His hunger was slowly starting again. His thirst could be quenched by the one-days left supply of water.

Konrad did not know how to survive in the wastelands. He had no ideas on how to make fires, not that they were taught such skills in the facilities. He had a brief clue on how to distribute walking paces, not walking too much in the scorching hours. 

But when it came to hunger and thirst? 

He was no better than a cradled baby. 

And worse, the silhouettes which Konrad believed to be small creatures in the distance, had gotten terribly close. And their size only grew larger, and larger...