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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Teens
- Theme: Science Fiction
- Subject: Time: PAST/Present/FUTURE
- Published: 08/15/2010
(Note that the author wrote this story
when she was 16 years old.)
The End of the Rope
If you aren't hearing this there is nothing I can do
I’ve suffered and I’ve survived
I followed
It's been dormant for many years
I’m only trying to save you
But I cannot save you
This is what we deserve
This is something your lord got upon the cross
You are not a victim
And you are not an offender
These are the dying years
When you are suffering
Know that I have betrayed you.
Marylin Manson
The Beast might have been beautiful once. However, this was not the same creature that had arrived on our planet almost seven years ago. This Beast's grey fur is matted and dingy. It's previously feminine nails are broken and ragged. There is a line of red welts around the beasts neck were the metal chain rubs when he is allowed out of the hut he lives in with his master. However, the most disturbing difference, were you to compare the previous breast to this new animal, would be the dullness in his eyes, and his inhuman response to the world around him.
At this moment, The Beast is curled guiltily under the table. He has spilt some water while stealing a sip from The Master's cup, and he knows this will make The Master angry. He curls into a smaller ball when he hears the door bang open. The house seems to shake with every step The Master takes, though it might just be The Beast's imagination. A foreboding growl that could never have been made by The Beast's fragile vocal cords rings through the air, and gives him plenty of warning that The Master has discovered his mess. The Beast closes his eyes, and waits for the inevitable.
His next sensation is of a rough hand grabbing the back of his neck, and dragging him towards the door. The Beast doesn’t bother to struggle, but he doesn't exactly help either. The door opens with a dreadful squeak that will never be fixed and the beast flies through the air. He lands with a dull thud and a sharp pain in his forepaw. "And don't come back this time!" The Master shouts. It is just the same as always.
The Beast slinks away, not at all perturbed. This is the way it had always been, ever since he has been with The Master, which is for as long as he can remember. He did something worthy of punishment, and was thrown out. He comes back a few days later with his metaphorical tail between his legs and is chained outside until the master finds himself in a generous or affectionate mood. This could be hours, but was more often days. It is an abnormal way to live, but it is a comfortable pattern that both master and pet are used to.
The Beast crawls agilely into the forest, looking for berries to eat. He heads towards a stream that he occasionally goes to on the days during which he is homeless, and laps up the water eagerly when he gets there. Once he is satisfied, he looks around, and is surprised to see an aging woman collecting herbs, not even ten feet away. He backs into the shadows, wary of strangers, but steps on a branch while making his hasty retreat, causing the woman to look up.
More startling to the beast than the stranger, is the look of recognition in her eyes, though the more the two stare, the more the memory of her itches at his mind. However, five years of servitude has left him blank to naught but the vaguest dreams of the past, which he tries not to think about. He finds them oddly disturbing, possibly due to their apparent insanity. After all, walking on two legs was something humans like the master did. If the beast tried it... It would be simply wrong.
The woman comes towards him, and for some unknown reason, he stays still despite the tormenting urge to flee. The woman speaks to him, but the beast has forgotten all but what his master repeated long ago. Eventually, the woman notices the look of confusion in the beast's blank eyes and stops talking. "Come with me." She says sternly. This was a command that the beast heard often and so it was understood. He follows without complaint. With the woman leading, they return to the farm that had started his life on this dreaded planet. This triggers more of the dreamlike half-memories, and the beast scratches his head in confusion.
The woman runs the beast a bath and cleans him up, combing his silver gray fur slowly and carefully, having to stop repeatedly to pull out burrs and thorns. After the beast is clean, she gets him a glass of water to drink. The beast curls up on the floor with it and tries desperately to lap up the water as he had at the stream. He finally becomes frustrated, and grudgingly lifts the cup to his mouth.
Afterwards, the woman tries to feed him. First she makes a lovely stew, then a turkey sandwich, and finally she tries to tempt him with some ice cream. But no matter what she tries to entice him with, he turns his face away. Finally she settles on giving him some milk. The beast settles onto the floor in front of the stove, and falls into a light sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Days pass, then weeks. Slowly things begin to change, as they are known to do. Gradually the beast begins to revert back to his original self. However it is a painful and uncomfortably lengthy process. After one month, the beast still has only a fourth of his original memories, and, while he can understand most speech, he still has trouble speaking and communicating thoughts effectively. Not to mention he often reverts back to his animal self, and reacts to memories in a disagreeable way.
One day, in midsummer, there comes a knock at the door. The Beast knows by now to stay out of sight, and he curls up under the table. The woman, who he now sometimes remembers was the farmer's wife, answers the knock. The beast peeks out from under the table to watch the interaction. Outside the door stands none other than The Master. The Beast shakes his head slightly. That isn't right. This was not The Master, it was the hunter who had taken him in and made a pet of him. No more, no less. Still... Five years was a long time, and he still has to fight the desire to run out and curl himself around The Mast- the hunter's legs. Instead, he focuses on remembering his past, as he often does when he is worried or fighting the desire to give up on his
'humanity' as the woman called it. He closes his eyes.
It was what they called a dying day... One of the days where the lighting star turned red and cast an orange glow over the world. They were days to celebrate... Days to be thankful for life and intelligence... But unfortunately, he could not join in on the celebrations. It was launch day, and he was due to set off within the hour. It was a routine flight around the galaxy... He would fly out for supplies that could not be found on this planet and check on the news elsewhere, to see whether or not any Galaxy wars were impending. In His ship there was something akin to a shopping list... It would be an easy run, and he would be back within the next two months, as long as the hyper wave remained functional. He smiled at the woman across from him. "Be careful" she whispered. He smiled and replied casually that...
"Wake up"
He looks around, and is disappointed to see himself still under the table. He could almost imagine himself home... But already the memory is slipping away... He crawls out from under the table, and the woman once again reminds him that he can stand. He remains on the floor however, savoring the last of the memories.
The Woman was talking now... "That, I believe, was the hunter who took you in... I sent him away, but I have no doubt that he will be back..."
The Beast nods absentmindedly. The Master - Hunter was nothing if not determined. If he knew where he was and wanted him back... He would succeed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Beast is angry. He has been right about the hunter... The Hunter has persisted despite the old woman's best efforts to dissuade him. It has come to the point where she receives crude and threatening messages in the post on a daily basis, and the few animals left on the farm are dying of a mysterious poison that has somehow gotten into the water. The Beast knows that he can’t be a burden to the woman any longer.
But he never gets his chance to leave willingly. That night, The Hunter, fed up with his scare tactics not working, breaks into the house, and takes back his pet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time begins to pass once more... The Woman, deciding that she can't do anything for The Beast, leaves him to his own devices, and moves on with her life...
Across the forest, The Beast has been outside since he arrived. He had forgotten how cold it is at night, and how miserable a metal collar could make one feel.... He hasn't felt this wretched in many years. He's also hungry.
Finally, The Hunter- Master comes to let him in. He almost whimpers with happiness, though the last shreds of dignity he has left make him hold his tongue. He is led in, and is only mildly surprised to see that the sheet in the corner that he called his bed is still in the same condition that he had left it in. He crawls over (he had learned not to walk on the first day back) and curls up into the sheet, and falls into a light fitful sleep, plagued by dreams of scarlet fish, and weeping children.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Though he is sure time hasn't stopped flowing, it may as well have for The Beast. It was a harsh ritual that he has fallen into, one of contradictions, and hidden agendas. He has to keep talking, lest he forget; yet he knows to never let The Master hear him. He has to keep his sanity, but it is becoming harder everyday to ignore the animal that he was for five years. He has to keep alive, but The Master has decided that violence is a better punishment for delinquency than removal from the house.
It was the end of the rope the day that The Beast didn't wake up from his punishment for six hours, but it has been coming since long before that. It will never be known what drew The Beast into The Master's room, but suffice to say that that is where he is. He is studying The Master, so much more human and innocent while in sleep, and wondering where the hate came from. He sees the knife on the bedside table, and strokes the deep scar on his left arm where he was stabbed with that same knife for waking up The Master, almost fondly, then picks up the knife.
There is a voice in his head that is telling him what he is thinking is wrong. But there is a louder voice, an animal's voice, telling him he has run out of choices. He tries to walk away, but his eyes are drawn to the vein pulsing lightly in The Master's throat... No matter where the Beast went, this shadow of a man would follow. The animal's voice screamed out, and he obeyed without another thought, plunging the knife inward on himself. His last thought as he watched the blood flow was that this planet had ruined him, and that the end could not be more fitting, with the intelligence in him showing the way, and the animal in him goading him on.
Then he closed his eyes for the last time and fell onto the bed beside his master, and the mattress turned red.
Fin.
The End of the Rope(Rachel Cassidy)
(Note that the author wrote this story
when she was 16 years old.)
The End of the Rope
If you aren't hearing this there is nothing I can do
I’ve suffered and I’ve survived
I followed
It's been dormant for many years
I’m only trying to save you
But I cannot save you
This is what we deserve
This is something your lord got upon the cross
You are not a victim
And you are not an offender
These are the dying years
When you are suffering
Know that I have betrayed you.
Marylin Manson
The Beast might have been beautiful once. However, this was not the same creature that had arrived on our planet almost seven years ago. This Beast's grey fur is matted and dingy. It's previously feminine nails are broken and ragged. There is a line of red welts around the beasts neck were the metal chain rubs when he is allowed out of the hut he lives in with his master. However, the most disturbing difference, were you to compare the previous breast to this new animal, would be the dullness in his eyes, and his inhuman response to the world around him.
At this moment, The Beast is curled guiltily under the table. He has spilt some water while stealing a sip from The Master's cup, and he knows this will make The Master angry. He curls into a smaller ball when he hears the door bang open. The house seems to shake with every step The Master takes, though it might just be The Beast's imagination. A foreboding growl that could never have been made by The Beast's fragile vocal cords rings through the air, and gives him plenty of warning that The Master has discovered his mess. The Beast closes his eyes, and waits for the inevitable.
His next sensation is of a rough hand grabbing the back of his neck, and dragging him towards the door. The Beast doesn’t bother to struggle, but he doesn't exactly help either. The door opens with a dreadful squeak that will never be fixed and the beast flies through the air. He lands with a dull thud and a sharp pain in his forepaw. "And don't come back this time!" The Master shouts. It is just the same as always.
The Beast slinks away, not at all perturbed. This is the way it had always been, ever since he has been with The Master, which is for as long as he can remember. He did something worthy of punishment, and was thrown out. He comes back a few days later with his metaphorical tail between his legs and is chained outside until the master finds himself in a generous or affectionate mood. This could be hours, but was more often days. It is an abnormal way to live, but it is a comfortable pattern that both master and pet are used to.
The Beast crawls agilely into the forest, looking for berries to eat. He heads towards a stream that he occasionally goes to on the days during which he is homeless, and laps up the water eagerly when he gets there. Once he is satisfied, he looks around, and is surprised to see an aging woman collecting herbs, not even ten feet away. He backs into the shadows, wary of strangers, but steps on a branch while making his hasty retreat, causing the woman to look up.
More startling to the beast than the stranger, is the look of recognition in her eyes, though the more the two stare, the more the memory of her itches at his mind. However, five years of servitude has left him blank to naught but the vaguest dreams of the past, which he tries not to think about. He finds them oddly disturbing, possibly due to their apparent insanity. After all, walking on two legs was something humans like the master did. If the beast tried it... It would be simply wrong.
The woman comes towards him, and for some unknown reason, he stays still despite the tormenting urge to flee. The woman speaks to him, but the beast has forgotten all but what his master repeated long ago. Eventually, the woman notices the look of confusion in the beast's blank eyes and stops talking. "Come with me." She says sternly. This was a command that the beast heard often and so it was understood. He follows without complaint. With the woman leading, they return to the farm that had started his life on this dreaded planet. This triggers more of the dreamlike half-memories, and the beast scratches his head in confusion.
The woman runs the beast a bath and cleans him up, combing his silver gray fur slowly and carefully, having to stop repeatedly to pull out burrs and thorns. After the beast is clean, she gets him a glass of water to drink. The beast curls up on the floor with it and tries desperately to lap up the water as he had at the stream. He finally becomes frustrated, and grudgingly lifts the cup to his mouth.
Afterwards, the woman tries to feed him. First she makes a lovely stew, then a turkey sandwich, and finally she tries to tempt him with some ice cream. But no matter what she tries to entice him with, he turns his face away. Finally she settles on giving him some milk. The beast settles onto the floor in front of the stove, and falls into a light sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Days pass, then weeks. Slowly things begin to change, as they are known to do. Gradually the beast begins to revert back to his original self. However it is a painful and uncomfortably lengthy process. After one month, the beast still has only a fourth of his original memories, and, while he can understand most speech, he still has trouble speaking and communicating thoughts effectively. Not to mention he often reverts back to his animal self, and reacts to memories in a disagreeable way.
One day, in midsummer, there comes a knock at the door. The Beast knows by now to stay out of sight, and he curls up under the table. The woman, who he now sometimes remembers was the farmer's wife, answers the knock. The beast peeks out from under the table to watch the interaction. Outside the door stands none other than The Master. The Beast shakes his head slightly. That isn't right. This was not The Master, it was the hunter who had taken him in and made a pet of him. No more, no less. Still... Five years was a long time, and he still has to fight the desire to run out and curl himself around The Mast- the hunter's legs. Instead, he focuses on remembering his past, as he often does when he is worried or fighting the desire to give up on his
'humanity' as the woman called it. He closes his eyes.
It was what they called a dying day... One of the days where the lighting star turned red and cast an orange glow over the world. They were days to celebrate... Days to be thankful for life and intelligence... But unfortunately, he could not join in on the celebrations. It was launch day, and he was due to set off within the hour. It was a routine flight around the galaxy... He would fly out for supplies that could not be found on this planet and check on the news elsewhere, to see whether or not any Galaxy wars were impending. In His ship there was something akin to a shopping list... It would be an easy run, and he would be back within the next two months, as long as the hyper wave remained functional. He smiled at the woman across from him. "Be careful" she whispered. He smiled and replied casually that...
"Wake up"
He looks around, and is disappointed to see himself still under the table. He could almost imagine himself home... But already the memory is slipping away... He crawls out from under the table, and the woman once again reminds him that he can stand. He remains on the floor however, savoring the last of the memories.
The Woman was talking now... "That, I believe, was the hunter who took you in... I sent him away, but I have no doubt that he will be back..."
The Beast nods absentmindedly. The Master - Hunter was nothing if not determined. If he knew where he was and wanted him back... He would succeed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Beast is angry. He has been right about the hunter... The Hunter has persisted despite the old woman's best efforts to dissuade him. It has come to the point where she receives crude and threatening messages in the post on a daily basis, and the few animals left on the farm are dying of a mysterious poison that has somehow gotten into the water. The Beast knows that he can’t be a burden to the woman any longer.
But he never gets his chance to leave willingly. That night, The Hunter, fed up with his scare tactics not working, breaks into the house, and takes back his pet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time begins to pass once more... The Woman, deciding that she can't do anything for The Beast, leaves him to his own devices, and moves on with her life...
Across the forest, The Beast has been outside since he arrived. He had forgotten how cold it is at night, and how miserable a metal collar could make one feel.... He hasn't felt this wretched in many years. He's also hungry.
Finally, The Hunter- Master comes to let him in. He almost whimpers with happiness, though the last shreds of dignity he has left make him hold his tongue. He is led in, and is only mildly surprised to see that the sheet in the corner that he called his bed is still in the same condition that he had left it in. He crawls over (he had learned not to walk on the first day back) and curls up into the sheet, and falls into a light fitful sleep, plagued by dreams of scarlet fish, and weeping children.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Though he is sure time hasn't stopped flowing, it may as well have for The Beast. It was a harsh ritual that he has fallen into, one of contradictions, and hidden agendas. He has to keep talking, lest he forget; yet he knows to never let The Master hear him. He has to keep his sanity, but it is becoming harder everyday to ignore the animal that he was for five years. He has to keep alive, but The Master has decided that violence is a better punishment for delinquency than removal from the house.
It was the end of the rope the day that The Beast didn't wake up from his punishment for six hours, but it has been coming since long before that. It will never be known what drew The Beast into The Master's room, but suffice to say that that is where he is. He is studying The Master, so much more human and innocent while in sleep, and wondering where the hate came from. He sees the knife on the bedside table, and strokes the deep scar on his left arm where he was stabbed with that same knife for waking up The Master, almost fondly, then picks up the knife.
There is a voice in his head that is telling him what he is thinking is wrong. But there is a louder voice, an animal's voice, telling him he has run out of choices. He tries to walk away, but his eyes are drawn to the vein pulsing lightly in The Master's throat... No matter where the Beast went, this shadow of a man would follow. The animal's voice screamed out, and he obeyed without another thought, plunging the knife inward on himself. His last thought as he watched the blood flow was that this planet had ruined him, and that the end could not be more fitting, with the intelligence in him showing the way, and the animal in him goading him on.
Then he closed his eyes for the last time and fell onto the bed beside his master, and the mattress turned red.
Fin.
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JD
11/04/2018We can all reach the end of our rope, given the circumstances. This is a highly intriguing and superbly crafted tale that takes the reader on an expected journey into the unknown and yet to be discovered. Thanks for sharing it with us, Rachel! : )
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