The Lord of Rot

The horde of beasts would be moving only paces away from him. There was no order to their walking, it rather looked like many trying to satisfy the few. There was a brutish madness going around, and each of the creatures would have their own selfish intent. 

Some in the back of the horde would begin thrashing and eating of each other. Their cannibalism would seem justified in the eyes of a beast. But on the other hand, none of the creatures seemed to be of the same kind.

The ones further in the back looked like all kinds of old age animals, bisons and oxen, elk and even a few rhinos. The intense heat of the earth must have made it possible for the climates to intermingle. But none of these animals were alike to their prior selves.

Their being was a mere reflection of the past animal. Some of them rotted, pieces falling away. But this was not any rot, their actual flesh remained on their bodies. No one could doubt that they were alive. But of the traits that made something live?

They would simply ravage the earth, and with the earth itself being just as apocalyptic as themselves, nothing would happen. 

These beasts would not shriek or wail like the others did. Instead, Konrad would do it. His exhaustion caused him to fall to the ground. He held his hand over his mouth. But even if he didn't his words would be empty.

The thing which terrified him most? 

Those things who walked in front, those beastly creatures of unknown origin? They did not look like the animals, not a single thing could be the same--they were something far different. 

Their mere presence made Konrad lose his breath. 

His mind told him to run. But his instincts told him that if he did so, the horde would have been pointed towards him. 

All these thoughts flowing around, this terror inside him. Konrad had no other choice than to fall asleep. Which he did quickly. Still with the image of the creatures of the night. The deformed creatures roaming together in the night... 

A silent voice whispered to him in a dream:

"The further you rot, the closer to me you are..." 

*** 

Konrad woke from his sleep with a jerk. Looking around him breathless, trying to make out anything in the distance. None of the beasts were here, and the wastelands looked as barren as ever. 

It was a practice of the Doctrine to dedicate their time to worship or practice. Therefore it was not taught how to question or think. He was utterly helpless when it came to rational thinking. 

'If I go there,' he would think, 'then I'll get over there.' 

That would summarise his capability of rational thought. 

Konrad would merely react to the world around him. He would take the doctrines of the Church, his opinion solely based on his emotions. He disliked the idea that the wastelands were barren, therefore he didn't believe it. 

So when Konrad was face in crossroads such as this. Where he can turn in any direction, face any danger, survive with any means possible, he had no idea on the next step. 

This day was much colder than the last few days. It was the weather pattern of the current earth. It was the absolutes of both sides, scorching heat or freezing cold. It varied in patterns, not anything that Konrad attempted to memorise. 

As this was the third day out in the wastelands, he would experience the cold first hand. 

It was strange for Konrad. Even though he felt the cold upon his skin, knowing the same cooling feeling the cold offered before. The stark contrast to the scorching heat. He could not say that it was uncomfortable. He felt the cold, but he didn't at the same time. 

He reacted to it. Then chose to wander into the valley which the beasts had walked through. 

The valley was wide and barren. Like the rest of the surrounding. The only difference was the vast amount of remains by the beasts. It wasn't anything of the flesh or bone from the creatures. Some fallen fur, some remains of sticks and logs brought along by the crowd. 

The ground was also quite wrecked by the creatures. Lots of indents from the larger creatures. Although the size of the creatures, even the larger of the indents were only a an or so inch deep. 

Those parts of the ground where the sediment had been pushed to the side, opening a small hole, Konrad could see something below. It was the same living earth he had spotted in some places before. 

Konrad could make out the same color as before. The way it had thudded and pumped beneath the ground. 

Konrad grew worried of the thing beneath the ground. Instantly crouched and began to scoop the dirt and sand from off the ground, trying to make a hole. 

As soon as he tried to to this, he realised that his left hand began to deform. He started to scratch at it, pushing it away from himself. 

Then Konrad would realise that it was his own hand. 

As soon as he stopped trying to dig, the color faded again, the deformation of his hand was gone too. 

Konrad couldn't understand what had happened. He unbuttoned his shirt and tried to look for traces of the deformation anywhere else. 

Ever since he visited the outside world three days ago he disliked his frail body. If he had been stronger he could have survived better against the strange creatures. 

But now as he saw his body, it looked less frail than before. It must have been the exercise he was doing. Walking all over the place and fighting against these rotting creatures. But could a man really put on muscle this fast? 

Konrad was in the prime of his youth, but due to the restricted movement of the housing, he would never have trained. 

'Did that thing enter my body?' 

He started to look around his body, feeling it with his hands. He felt that it had become sturdier. But only slightly. 

'The exercise is really getting to me...' 

Again his mind floated to the ground. And his hand suddenly deformed in front of him. The tips of the fingers slowly growing this fleshy tone. It looked as though his fingers had been turned inside out. It didn't hurt, only present a bit of pain in the back of his neck which he had already grown used to. 

The thing which surprised him most were the bony protrusions sticking out the tips of his fingers...