“let not the sun go down upon your wrath”
On the outskirts of a city corroded by nature and abandonment was a modest school with a fenced draped with blue hospital sheets. Two guards with red eyes wearing blue coats at the entrance. The main halls and rooms occupied by survivors being treated by Gracesons, with the same red eyes but wearing a white doctor coats and crystal blade sabers at their hips.
A female Graceson with black braided hair, gathering her research and reports, siphoning through all her work and tossing into a silver can. She erased all the figures and notes on board behind the desk, and she made her way to the wall on the right. Diagrams of a male with blackened eyes and archaic features, it was always a haunting image to have on display but it was also a dreadful reminder. Lydia tore it off the wall, balled up, and slammed it into the can. All the work and studies were invaluable unless the information was unheeded.
She didn’t notice her hands were moving on its own accord until her hand almost drop the lit match. The flame swayed side to side and years of work was static, cramped, disposed. She dropped the dazzling fire, the chain reaction eradicated years of futility, it was majestic.
Dr. Claude, ex-partner, and Graceson entered, Lydia snapped out of it, and she speedily stomps out the flames.
“Are you okay,” said Dr. Claude
“Of course I am. I’m perfect,” said Lydia
“Said the mad women who almost burn down the facility.”
“What do you want?”
“You to stop. Leaving your duties like this is a criminal offense.”
“Intelligent decision will look dumb to the ignorant. if the Head Graceson won’t change his open door policy I refuse to be here.”
“Why must you insist at a time like this. How can we be a shining hope, if we turn people away.”
“At times like this, we can’t wear the blindfolds of the heart and good intentions. We are a supposed to be a lab first and shelter second. We are supposed to help people by finding new treatments and medication, maybe a cure to end it. This facility was not intended to be a primary shelter. It won’t last.”
“What about your patient, you going abandon them.”
“I performed my last routine check and transfer them to a proper clinic shelter.” Lydia took off her coat and gave Dr. Claude her saber.
“Transfer… What is more important, people’s lives or being right?”
“They have a better chance out there than here… You may not understand but I know, I am right. bye, Steven.” She kissed his cheek before she walked out Dr. Claude gave back her saber. She exited
Days pass as Lydia traveled. The eerie boondocks buzzing with all kinds of critter noises, she was walking through a light mist and ghastly smells. Lydia gripped the handle of her saber, focusing on identifying an off-putting noise ahead. She figured it was a humming of a motor and relaxed her guard, she stuck her thumb up on the side of the murky road.
Luck doesn’t exist only chance and the chances of that ride being the hellish quarantine squad were low, but she could see them in a humvee carrier, long and uncover truck bed, painted pin-up doll dressed in flames on the right-side doors. The four-man squad, one drove and the rest were sitting in the trunk, they wore red-hot coats armed with flamethrowers doubling as burning club-like weapon.
She put her thumb down but they still stopped for her. Their General who had many badges on his coat shoulder came out the vehicle aiming his crude flamethrowers at her. Lydia put her hands up.
“Don’t you run, or- your eyes red as mine but you don’t have a coat.” He pumped his gun, “Did your former group expelled you as a criminal.” General said
“No I was not banished, I’m former Graceson who left on my own accord.” She replied.
“So you’re no better than a criminal breaking you vow to highfalutin white coats.”
“So are you going to, “quarantine” me?”
“I would but we lost a good man on our last mission, sad really.”
“It not a sin to have women in your ranks.”
“I’m shocked mam, we highly respect your opposite sex especially if there breed like us.”
Lydia eyed the Pin-up doll.
“Now you’re being the disrespectful one.” he laughed,”I could leave you as ash or we can leave together because you’re assisting us on our current mission.”
She nodded her head in agreement.
“Good. There is extra red coat and gear in the back,” he watches her storm off, ” Roooo! Let’s make fire boys.” General said.
The Humvee sped off, almost veered off the road. Hours pass, Lydia uncomfortably compact in the back. She said, “Interesting tidbit. we are technically infected by the virus too but of course, the results are very different and overall, a positive result.” The men solemnly nod and awkward silence remained. Lydia took a breather, took in her surroundings and notice the destitute city view she grew a custom too. Lydia realized she returned back to home. She didn’t recognize the chaos though, the burning fires, dying victims and monstrous infected clashing together in one disturbing nightmare.
The vehicle stopped and the General hopped out of the driver seat with glee in his feet. “Alright they started the fireworks without us, boys. Bring everything down to ashes, nothing survives.” Lydia almost brought her saber but it didn’t feel right. Lydia was like a typical quarantine troop, wearing a bulky red coat, strapped with a tank on her back, and brutal flamethrower in her hands.
Her squad spraying streams of flames mercilessly, no matter how much the people screamed, cried and begged. As they entered the school the squad, except Lydia, carried on in the eradication of the facility. A black-eyed tatter child on fours dashed at Lydia, she pulled the trigger burning the thing but it was close enough to press through the fire and its teeth tore into her right arm.
Lydia became infuriated by the pain, why didn’t they listen to her? She shifted her flamethrower into its club form, flames burst out of her weapon, and she smashed the small infected thing and repeatedly smash it until it was ashes. She continued to smash everything until she was relieved. The destruction itself became her catharsis.
The avarice flames kept eating until there was nothing but black dust. She was intoxicated, she didn’t hear the General and his men cheering her on or didn’t see that she was destroying victims as well the infected. She only remembered the moment when she was in her burning office and noticed Dr. Steven Claude was at her feet, missing limbs and portion of his head. It was evident that infected ate him alive, and she knew without a doubt she was right. She cremated him, the kind doctor she used to be and the entire facility.
Peculiar Parables 