Chapter 1
Days, Days and Days
Across the field by the tree line, lurked the gray boney beasts. It was hard to believe that they were once human. But he had watched them for years, and he had seen them in all their incarnations. He had seen the gray-skinned boney beasts howl, scream, scratch, crawl and moan in their own private madness. In the end, they either tore each other apart, or they just laid down and died. Once his people had considered it a kindness to end them. But these beasts, even in their madness, knew enough to stay away from him. Or at least stay away from what they thought he was. They understood that he had very little kindness left.
Still, the gray ones had numbers. He had no doubt that some of them could have been people he once knew. But he had not seen any newly turned in a long while. They were the ones to be feared the most. New creatures were always the most dangerous, the most human, and the most alluring. The new ones were also the most difficult to kill. His mind drifted back to someone he used to know. "It's hard to kill the shell of someone you love." he mumbled.
Day One
The man had been watched, by many eyes, for many days. She knew where he would be. She knew when he would be. She believed that she knew what he would be. She almost wondered sometimes who he would be. She no longer wondered about important things. She watched him with her many eyes, and she hoped her wonder would return.
"It's good to meet." He used the traditional informal greeting for strange travelers. "What brings you to the wall this day." But he did not mean the words he said. He did not have to give her the test of words. He knew that she was a creature.
If she had more human left in her, she would have recognized the look of disgust on his face. She said it like she asked a question. "Mercy, they call me Mercy. I don't know why." She paused for a few seconds; then she continued, "Well, we both know that's not true. But I've come a long way to talk to you."
He stood: twelve feet away, across the rock line, and under the canopy of a tree. He replied, "You are a creature. I don't want you or any of your kind here. But if you behave like the others, we won't have a problem." It did not occur to the man that he should care about what it is called.
"I've come a long way to talk to you." She said as she toed the ground with her right foot. Her face twisted to form the pout of a small child.
"Do not cross the rock line or the fence." He lifted the double-barreled weapon he held under his left arm. "Don't come near me, or anyone on this side of the wall ever again." The wall was built from the rubble of older structures. In most places, a person could see over it. By the gate, it was wood and wire.
She raised her gaze abruptly. Their eyes met for an instant. She felt truth in what he had said. She thought, I understand what my sisters call him now. Could he really be that dangerous? How could I not know this? She paused for a moment; then, she found humor in anyone that would dare to threaten her.
"Be smart, stay alive." He said loudly as he turned away.
"I may be wrong." She puzzled over a distant cloud. She smiled to herself knowing that she was never wrong. "Do you know why my sisters call me Mercy? It really has nothing to do with me."
The man walked away.
"I've come a long way to talk to you." She looked at the man. "It is important. None of us has much time left. Neither of us can fix it alone." She inhaled. "You can't do it by yourself. I can't do it by myself."
He stopped walking. This one seems different than the others, somehow? This can't be good. Somebody should really put it out of its misery.
"I'll come back every day until you talk to me. I'll be here. I won't cross the boundary or try to touch you. I'll keep my sisters from bothering you. I'm asking you to please talk to me." She spoke in a raised voice trying to cover the distance. "Could you at least tell me your name?" She thought with heightened anxiety. Could you at least tell me your name? Her chest tightened. Could this be human emotion?
The man walked away. This creature was not the same as the others. Could it be the one? Myths and legends? The great mythical leader of the monsters come to knock on my door? That's not important. How dangerous is it? Do I try to find out, or do I end it? Of course, it's dangerous, they all are. He walked away. He was too tired to be disgusted by the creatures. He had killed too many of them to care.
She had a different name at one time. It was very likely that she didn't remember it. She came to the man in the form of a young slim woman with short dark hair. Almost exactly as she was before she was Mercy.
But, at this moment, she was Mercy. She found the one she was looking for. He was the enemy, the cruelest, the fiercest, the most hated, and possibly the last. He was the one all the sisters coveted. He may be the one who could teach her what she no longer understood. Now, it was time to get to work! She thought.
Day 2
She had been laying in the grass when she saw the man walking the rock line. She rose slowly and brushed the brown grass off her yellow skirt.
He had noticed, but he showed no sign. The creatures normally aren't concerned about things like grass on a dress. Mostly, the creatures aren't concerned about appearances at all. Well, that wasn't true. The newly turned would often use their appearance to attract other victims. Sometimes they would even try to enhance it in bizarre ways. But mainly they were dirty and underdressed.
He walked on, nearing the tree.
"Do you walk your perimeter every day?"
He looked at her with a puzzled expression, "Your kind usually don't ask questions they have the answers to."
"This is true." she uttered while watching the grass wave with the wind. "I think you walk your perimeter every day, many days, most days. I also think," she stretched the words, "we should call a truce."
"We have a truce." He felt the need to explain it to the new creature, "We have borders. no one crosses, and no one gets hurt."
"This is not true." She watched the leaves rattle in the tree. "You come and go as you please; meanwhile, we don't cross the little white line you made out of rocks." The creature knew she lied.
The man took a step. A dry branch snapped under his foot. He knew the creature lied. This creature; it doesn't make much sense. It doesn't act like a newly turned one? And it speaks too well to be in the madness. But I don't think I'll do anything until it gets dangerous.
"I'm sorry, that was rude, insulting your rocks and everything." She turned to face the man. "I believe that I have forgotten how to talk to humans. To speak to people. I propose an expanded truce. A truce whose details we can talk about at a later date. I also propose a show of good faith by each party, today."
"You have nothing I want." he responded, not wanting to admit he was curious.
"With proper incentive, I can make it where you will never have to have any contact with any other sister. I'll be the last and only sister you will ever see." She paused and pointed to the sky. "A bird." The distant empty look returned to her eyes. Her head pivoted as she seemed to follow the path of a bird long gone.
He waited until the creature blinked. "You want to give me less of what I have, and more of what I don't want?"
She smiled an easy smile, a smile without happy. "What an odd way of phrasing things. I don't understand it, but I like it. Yes, I do. I like it. Could you please explain it to me? The meaning, not the phrasing."
"You've said that your kind stays across the line. So, I have that already. If I have it, you can't give me it. How can you make it better? Are you going to take it away or give me less? Less does not make it better." He leaned against the tree. "And, until you showed up, I didn't talk to any of you; truthfully, I haven't found any of you worth talking to for a very long time."
She replied, "You have heard my offer, peace for conversation. All I ask is that you consider it. I will be here every day for the next 30 days. If one day you stop and tell me your name, I will know we will be able to discuss an extended truce."
"What makes my name so important?"
"Do you know the name we call you?"
"No. No, I don't."
"No peace, no truce, no happy ending can be forged between us for our two peoples under that name." She smiled and turned to the sky. "They call me Mercy. Did we tell you that?" She slowly lifted her right hand and pointed at nothing. "I think, we are called Mercy?"
He walked away. Is this what it's like for them right before the end? Is this how they get before the 'mad death'? It can't be. She looks too new.
Day 3
The other creatures acted like she was a prophet or a queen. He watched her through the glass. He had seen her by accident, it was too early to walk. The others were all around her. Some were on their knees. Some just tried to touch her. They all seem to listen to her. No one spoke. Not even Mercy. They were just across the border. There was no sound. White stones on the ground and silence. They spoke in a way that only creatures could.
Her red and gold dress shimmered in the wind. Her sleeves arched downward as she moved through the beasts. Her hair would dance in every updraft forming a halo. She reminded him of a dancer that he had once seen on top of an ancient music box. She truly seemed like she could be a myth.
Later that day, he walked by the creature called Mercy. It stood swaying in the wind and staring into the distance. Does it know I'm here?
Day 4
Ozone. I smell rain. The man thought as he examined the darkening clouds above. He stopped by the border, close to the tree. The creature called Mercy was less than 6-foot away. I don't think it knows I'm here?
"Creature?" he said. "Hey creature, it's going to rain." He waited a short time. "Alright. get wet." When the creatures are young, they will scurry and hide from the rain. Sometimes the older ones will gather together and form piles, but mostly the old ones just act like they don't notice or care.
"Please call me Mercy. I prefer to be called Mercy." She smiled the smile he did not trust. "I don't think I like staying in the rain. I said I would be here, and that is what I will do until the 30 days has passed. No, I don't think we like staying in the rain."
"Well, creature called Mercy, if you want me to consider your offer; then, don't stand in the rain. Find some place warm and dry – and be there." He waited for the creature to respond, full of lust, desire and sexual innuendo. It was what they normally do. But she did not. He walked on, then paused for a moment. "Doing stupid things will not gain you any consideration or favor."
"Human male, I accept your alterations to our pre-bargaining." She looked to the ground and took the stance of a small child who had been caught being bad. "I present you with a small token of knowledge in return. Remember, I did not offer the typical response to 'Find some place warm and dry – and be there.'"
"Yes, I had noticed the lack of badly proposed sexual aspirations on your part."
She interrupted, "That is good. I do, at times, enjoy the way you phrase things – words." She lifted her head, "If it does not rain, I may see you tomorrow, Human Male. Human Male, I accept your alterations to our pre-bargaining." Could you at least tell me your name?
Mercy was less than 6-foot away. I don't think it knows I'm here.
Day 5
"Good morning, Creature Mercy."
"Good morning, Human Male."
Day 6
"Good morning, Creature Mercy."
"Good morning, Human Male."
Day 7
"Good morning, Creature Mercy."
"Good morning, Human Male."
Day 8
The creature was less than 16-foot away. I think it knows I'm here.
"Good morning, Human Male."
"Good morning, Creature Mercy."
Creature Mercy offered, "I think I'll call you Human, if you call me Mercy."
Human Male replied, "The correct pairing would be human to creature. The name Mercy would have to be paired with a name."
"I reject your proposal to be called human in exchange for calling me creature. I do not believe I like being called creature."
"If you like, I will call you Mercy until you leave this place. No need for proposals or exchanges." He walked away.
Mercy Goddess Queen of the Creatures wondered why he would offer such a thing without an exchange. Was this the thing that she remembered as kindness? How very human?
Day 9
"Good morning, Mercy." He had seen her watching him.
"Good morning, Man without a Name." She smiled a gentle smile. "Thank you for the name." Could you at least tell me your name?
He said, "You're welcome, Mercy." as he walked away. Strange, she almost seemed human.
Day 10
Until I showed up, he didn't talk to any of us, and he hadn't found any of us worth talking to for a very long time, does this mean I'm worth talking to? "Did I say that out loud?" The man wasn't there. "Man Without a Name, where are you? Are you here?"
It seemed sad, and a little funny, "You're not looking where I am. Follow the sound of my voice. Turn around."
She forgot what she was thinking in the thought. She had even lost the eyes of her sisters.
"Maybe, none of us have much time left." he said as a great sadness came on him. His mind drifted back to a lifetime full of loss and death.
"That's what I've been saying." she replied, "I need to be worth the talk..." Her voice faded. She had a crooked smile as she waved her fingers at the man, "Oh, there you are." She nodded awkwardly, "You can tell me my story? Yesterday, maybe. It is very hot on this cool winter morning. Have I told you that I have a great desire to be with you? Oh no. I did not mean for you to hear those words. I will not speak to him again."
"I can't help you. Your brain is not working right. Go away, when you are well, you can come back. If you stay here like you are, I will have to kill you." Man Without a Name didn't expect to see her again. This is what it's like for them right before the end. This is how they get before the 'mad death'. It must be.
For the creatures there was only one choice. When the madness came, they changed into the gray bony beast. They became trapped in their own madness and waited for death. Some of them laid down and died. Others committed some kind of bizarre and horrific suicide. The worst of them feasted on whatever they could find.
Day 11
The day was different, somehow? Man Without a Name could hear the gray beasts; this was normal. They were full of 'sounds', eerie haunting sounds. A cold wind rose from the north; the rattle of the wind hid the creature's noises, but this was only for a little while. Where are they? Normally, they just mull around aimlessly - out there. He peered over the rock wall. His eyes scanned across the field to the tree line.
There was no Mercy to be found.
Day 12
Spring will come soon; winter has been warm. There it is, behind the trees. Are the creatures hiding? Man Without a Name walked.
There was no Mercy to be found.
Day 13
The same as the day before.
Day 14
The same as the day before.
Day 15
The same as the day before.
Day 16
The same as the day before.
Day 17
The same as the days before. Man Without a Name walked. There was no Mercy to be found.
Day 18
She had a different name once; she didn't remember it. Today, she came to Man Without a Name in the form of a young slim woman. Almost exactly as she was before she was Mercy. Her honey-colored eyes almost glowed in the sunlight. Her charcoal hair bounced with the wind. Her bright Royal Blue dress danced as she floated through the brown grass. Her red lips, a reminder of a time long passed.
But, at this moment, she is Mercy. She found the man without a name. He was once feared and desired, not to be approached. Now, he had to be the one who would teach her what she no longer understood. "Good morning, Man Without a Name, I hope you are doing well."
"Good morning, Mercy." He resisted the urge to reach out, to check, to see if she was really well. "Are you well?" No creature had ever returned from the madness. What made this one different?
She wiggled in her dress like it suddenly became two sizes too small. Could it be really possible? A real 'human' connection with a human? "I am currently stable. I see no problem maintaining that stability." She paused, and tried to smile, "I am quite well, thank you for asking."
Silence.
"I don't believe you came here for a truce." He lifted the gun, and in a harmless gesture pointed it at her. "You want something else. That's it, really, you're after something? Will you tell me, what you really want? I know you are trying to find some way to fulfill your desires. But this is about more than just sex? You have a greater desire? What do you lust after?"
She jumped back, "Did you always have that!" She pointed at the gun. She went on, "My apologies, I knew you had it. I don't see how it could have surprised me." Her voice grew soft and distant, "How could I have been surprised? I knew it was there? I knew it was there?"
"Just tell me, what do you want? Say it, I know you're after something."
"I've come a long way to talk." She looked at Man Without a Name. "It is important. None of us has much time left. Neither of us can fix it alone. You can't do it by yourself. I can't do it by myself."
She exhaled. "The peoples are dying, everyone. I've searched all over, the only answers left are between us. Two strangers. Two stories. Together, a way to save something?"
"Creature Mercy, what reason do I have to save anyone, or any creature? My people are gone. I will never see any of them again. And you? Look at what is left to your kind? They are all old and gray. Who would I want to save? Answer that question. Your kind gave me a name for a reason." The Man Without a Name walked away; a small part of him almost hoped she had an answer. He thought, nothing to gain, and even less to lose. He didn't even care what they called him.
She spoke in a raised voice trying to cover the distance. "You will tell me your name?" She thought. Could you at least tell me your name?
Day 19
"A friend." she spoke. "This is the answer."
Man Without a Name approached her, but he didn't stop.
She went on, "A friend, not anything else. A friend with quirks and flaws. And everything else!" The voices in her head pleaded with him to stop.
He didn't stop.
"So, you don't die alone." she spoke louder, "So, we don't die alone. I don't want to be the last one – alone, friendless." Her world filled with joy as the man paused and looked back at her.
"Tomorrow." he said. Selfishness was one thing that always rang true about the creatures. Still, she had spoken in first person. What could that mean? Maybe this creature had answers.
I will know your name. A beginning.
Day 20
He leaned against the tree; it was newly encircled by stones. A new Half Moon wall encircled the tree, and a gated door allowed passage through the wall.
"Good morning, Man Without a Name."
"Mercy," he paused, "if I asked, would you tell me the name your kind – people – call me?"
She cocked her head to the side, "Yes, I believe I would. Not today, tomorrow maybe. Yes, I would – after today."
"Samuel." he replied. He wondered what this creature would say.
Is that his name? Did he tell me his name? Samuel. She looked for the man, Samuel. Where is he? Gone. Did you tell me your name? Yes, now, to find a way, to save something of this world.
Day 21
Mercy said, "Samuel, you were called 'No-Mercy'. I hope you will allow this to pass without an explanation."
Samuel said, "You were called Mercy; because you were not me. The opposite of me."
"Yes." She rubbed her toe on the ground, and shyly pointed to the altered rock line.
"A place to tell your story, in the shade, and sitting down." He offered.
She replied, "Kindness?" Her kind had no memory of ever being offered such a thing.
Day 22
Most of the creatures had moved away from the border. The crying and moaning which had been nearly constant for the last few years ended. The dark sad silvery eyes which had followed him for years were becoming distant and fading from view. This was the power of Mercy. The soul being who had control over the beast and creatures.
She had heard stories of a man. A tall, beautiful man. A man no one could have or even come close to. He was hated and loved. Mostly, he was feared. After all, the Sisters of Mercy could and would forgive him. Just to be with him.
Yes, she had old, faded memories of the wonderous demon. He had walked out of one of the old places. A hospital, maybe? He walked the places of Mercy, full of sorrow and anger! He did things the Sisters of Mercy could not, would not, repeat. She had a weak distant memory of his pain. It was important; she had to know. She had to remember it all. It was her secret. Her secret to keep.
The creatures' memories of the man were ancient and incomplete. All of the Sisters of Mercy knew him by one phrase. It was what he said when they asked for mercy. He said, "No mercy.". She had the stories of the man called "No Mercy", now she needed more. Mercy needed the story of the man called Samuel. Mainly, she needed Samuel to know the story of Mercy. Mercy needed Samuel to know her. Samuel will know me, he must. He has to need me; it's the only hope!