Big Things

Prompt: Write a STORY or POEM about something that has flourished because of the attention lavished upon it. It can be a person, a plant, an animal ...... whatever you choose.
Words: 921

I stood on the crest of a hill looking down. Beside me was my faithful companion Mario the Mutt, his tongue dangling stupidly from the side of his mouth. I supposed what that was down there was a town, but I can never be sure anymore, not really. The vegetation sprouting here and there and everywhere was nothing new. It lay in thick masses over piles of rubble. It snaked up the sides of stone structures that were poked so full of holes its a wonder they even stood anymore. Maybe those hateful weeds stuck it together, or maybe even the damn gravity was screwed too.

It was not always like this. Then everyone started dying. Nobody seemed to know why, and then soon enough nobody was left around to figure it out. It was some virus that took them; seemed it took the smartest of them first, too. They must've put something in the water too - because ain't nothing been right since. There were rumors of government conspiracies, but there's always rumors of that kind of thing when there's nothing else to take the blame.

I felt a shift in the air and the wind picked up, blowing my hair over my face. The tatters of my flannel shirt whipped around wildly like some kind of phantom fingers. A deafening 'CAW!' was heard that shook leaves from trees and nearly scared the piss out of me. It always nearly scares the piss out of me. Some things the mind just don't adjust to I guess. The road behind me was quickly being consumed by a massive shadow.

CAW!

I threw myself to the ground as the edge of the shadow reached my feet. The temperature dropped as the sun was blotted out. I looked up to watch the damned crow flying over my head. I supposed it was pretty far up there in the sky. It looked like an airplane, but let me tell you. To see it up close, it's a lot bigger than any Boeing 747.

Well they say fortune favors the brave, and I say there's not a very thick line between being brave and being dumb. But it got me and Mario this far anyway. Seems all that's left now is us dumb ones; the ones dumb enough to survive. The ones dumb enough to want to live in this god-forsaken place. I don't see as many dumb folk as I used to; and I never saw many anyway. Truth be told, I probably wouldn't see Mount Fuji if it was twenty feet in front of me because of all these damn weeds.

People died and left behind too much damn space to fill. Mother Nature started picking up the slack, and she still ain't stopped. And it's not like I can run down to Wal-Mart to buy a bag of Weed-B-Gone Max either. No sir. I'd need a nuke to cut through a couple layers of this crap. And I haven't seen a Wal-Mart since the beard on my face reached my neck. Now it's reaching down to mingle with my belly button hairs.

Mario and me walked down to that town to check it out. Sometimes I find nice stuff there. There's no better prize than salvaging a bottle of wine that something didn't manage to break. I'd probably break stuff too if I was ten times bigger than I am now. Most everything evolved into something real big, real quick. It's the way of the wild. If it has a place to flourish, you can damn well count on it flourishing.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch....ch-ch... The sound of a rattle stopped me dead in my tracks. I didn't have no love for snakes even when they were just a couple feet long. It was bad news if one was around here somewhere. I ain't entirely dumb though. Lighting a torch I righted myself for battle, eyes scanning the deserted city. One thing I learned, and don't ask me the logic behind it or nothing in this world, the bigger something gets the more afraid of fire it becomes. This rattler seemed pretty determined to be an exception to that rule though. The gigantic monster came right for me and my little flaming stick, which now seemed pretty small and silly in my hand. The gaping venomous maw advanced on us; its sharpened teeth were as big as my arm and eager to crack through bone. Now, I don't know if snakes really have heads. They're mostly just mouths attached to a hose. But if this one had a head I smacked it right, dodging quickly to the left to get out of dodge. Mario barked. The massive snake turned its maw toward my snarling pup and gave him a hungry stare. The distraction was just right. I plunged my knife deep into its skin. It backed off. Slithered away. Found some hole as massive as the grand canyon where it could lick its wounds. For now. Me and Mario had won this round. I'd give him a high five if he had hands. He'd have to settle for a pat on the head.

I can tell you this:

If I were bigger I'd steal the moon from the sky and put it on my head like a crown, build my throne from a mountain, and be the King of the World; king of the Food Chain. But I'm the rotting scum at the very bottom of that chain...

and my prospects don't look too good from down here.