The day started just like any other day. I rose before sunup and began my morning ritual. I washed my face, got dressed and then prayed before the Elder God. As always, I knelt for a quiet moment after prayer, hoping for a sign from the deity. All that it left me with was a palpable silence. Dust mites danced around me as a ray of sunlight lit the small shrine.
I sighed and rose.
How long has it been since I last heard their caressing whispers and tantalising promises? How long since I had done what they had asked of me?
My wife and children had been against my newfound faith. The Elder God had made it clear what needed to be done.
I glanced out the window at the farmstead, and the rolling hills beyond it. I shook my head. The view looked the same as it always had… bland and colourless.
“Suppose I should get to it then. Those Choja aren’t gonna milk themselves.”
I dragged myself to the front door and rested my hand on the knob before mustering the courage to face the day and finally left the house. The screen-door clanged shut behind me as I crossed the yard to the large barn where the Choja slept. They greeted me with trills and cackles. Their chitinous segmented bodies undulated in glee. I smiled at their greetings, feeling my sombre mood fade away. If it were not for these gentle beasts, I would have lost my sanity ages ago.
I greeted each one and set about milking them. Once finished, they scuttled out of the barn and headed for the pastures that lay just beyond the first hill. I watched as they crawled over each other in excitement as they went. They were intelligent creatures, requiring no shepherding, and knew to be back in the barn before sunset.
I occupied myself with mindless tasks for the rest of the day, while my thoughts drifted to better days, days filled with laughter and joy. A deep-seated memory pushed through from the recesses of my mind. The night I made my sacrifice to the Elder God.
The stark terror on their faces as I plunged the blade into each chest, slow and deliberate, had been oddly intoxicating. I watched as their bound bodies writhed in agony before falling still. I buried their bodies in a deep unmarked grave just beyond the first hill, as instructed, and did not return.
The memory faded, and I shook the haze from my mind. Twisted shadows crept across the land as the sun set the sky ablaze with red and orange hues.
How long had I drifted for?
A spine-chilling shriek echoed across the landscape. It sounded like one of the Choja, but it couldn’t have been. They should have returned already. I spun about in a panic, raced over to the barn, and flung the doors open.
Empty stalls and a pervasive silence greeted me. Without hesitation, I hurtled across the farmstead, heading towards the shrieking. My heart pounded as I ran at a pace unbefitting of my girth. Each breath seared my lungs and tore my throat raw. My body screamed for rest, but I didn’t stop. Those creatures were my livelihood. Without them, I’d waste away.
I stumbled across the first one. It lay sprawled in a pool of orange blood. Large gashes had torn into its chitinous shell and something had ripped its head off. My stomach lurched at the grotesque scene.
Another shriek pierced the gloom. I tore my gaze from the carnage and ran on. I passed body after body. My heart sank lower with each corpse, and my terror rose. What foul thing was doing this?
I skidded to a halt as I saw the last Choja slaughtered by an unimaginable beast. Its visage terrified me beyond comprehension. I watched rooted to the spot as the beast ripped the plating off, plunged razor-sharp claws into the soft under-flesh of the Choja and tore out its beating heart.
I felt no malice or hunger come from the beast as it finished its grizzly work. All the while, it regarded me with uncanny intelligence. Then stalked away.
I slumped down to the ground. Beads of sweat rolled down my face. Why had it spared me? Anger quickly replaced my fear. I’d never recover from this. It would cost a fortune to replace the livestock. I needed to find where it came from and end its miserable existence. Yes, I liked the sound of that. My anger turned to rage. I might even sell its corpse for a small fortune to the crown. I’d be famous, like one of those hunters.
I climbed back to my feet and followed in the beast’s footprints. The trail winded through the hills, drawing me further and further away from the farm—the last bastion of civilization against the untamed lands. Time seemed to warp around me and I passed through what I can only describe as some sort of barrier.
Alien vegetation populated the surrounding landscape. Great fissures stretched across the land. In the distance, the fissures ended at the lip of a chasm of unimaginable proportions. Ominous mountains towered beyond the gaping chasm. A bleak and unnerving sight.
Still, I pushed forward. Revenge driving every step. I followed the footprints to the chasm’s edge, and there they ended. I gazed out across the infinite abyss that seemed to swallow the entire landscape before me. It was all-encompassing. I trembled in awe. An ancient psyche brushed up against my own and I shrank in its immensity. Then it spoke.
The time for insignificant trifles is over, my devoted servant.
Its voice brought visions of the end days where cities burned, and civilisations crumbled at its godly touch.
I prostrated myself before the abyss.
“I am here to serve.”
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