Escape the Desert

         I can hear the war going on in the distance. The roar of war is always something that has haunted me. The findings of dead people on my front porch is regular happening. Their dead screams still plastered on their faces. Their laughter no longer in sight. I hate seeing it, but it is something I am to endure. I have this feeling though. This feeling is telling me that something big is coming, and won't be stilled.
         I come from a long line of fighters. Ones who have fought in every battle of this world. Ones who've also died in every battle of this world. This world has taken my bloodline and slander their names. Spilling the blood of the innocent all over it's face. Drinking the blood to live and stay young. People don't realize that this world needs the blood of the innocent to live, without it the world would crumble in on it's self. The world suffers from a lust, and the people carry it out for it.
         I once was part of it. I used to have a woman that led me astray. She led me into this war that the world has brought on us. I have since been in the background, collecting everything I can. This woman was the love of my life, or at least that is what I thought at the time.
         "Hey there big boy." Anveline said. I was sitting inside a bar, I was half the age I am now. I was living the good life, or what they call the good life. I had known Ann a little while, I mostly saw in this bar. She was a waitress and lived in the back room. She was a tall woman with hair of fire red. Hour glass shaped body, and walk that would make any man fall over. She always wore a dress that showed her goods in a way that only she could. All the men would flock to see her. She was the diamond of this charcoal town.
         "Must you always bother me in this way." I said. She always loved to come and try to rile me up.
         "What are you talking about, hun?" She asked with a smile. "That man the last week was an accident. He wouldn't stop when I told him to."
         "So, you decided to make me stop him. You knew I would kill him."
         A little hurt, she drew back from me. "I don't know what you are talking about."
         "Just like a woman. Here to be a temptress and nothing else."
         After the comment, she didn't like where the conversation was at. She took it in her hands that night to end it. She slapped me, and walked off.
         "I deserved that." I said to the half empty glass in front of me. Which in fact I didn't. I had not realized at that moment what evil doings women had in the world. I still believed as does any young man does, they are there for our pleasure and nothing else. Well, Ann was surely here for someone's pleasure.
         She walked back over a few hours later. I was not in my right mind, a few drinks usually did that to anybody. She pushed me back in my chair and sat in my lap.
         "Why don't stay here tonight. You are in no shape to go anywhere." She said.
         "Just leave me be, woman. I don't need any of your love tonight." I replied.
         "Why do you have to be that way? I am just looking out for you."
         "And getting your fill in the mix."
         "Here, drink this. If you are not going to stay this will help you sober up and then I will let you go home."
         I looked at the glass she had put in front of me. The liquid was green, and smelled of an out-house. I didn't care though, if was going to get her to leave me alone, I would do anything. So I indulged myself in that gunk.
         "Good. You will feel better here in a bit." She said laughingly.
         "What did you do?" It was too late the poison had set in on me. Everything was spinning and blurring worst than it already was. The colors ran together. Her face seem to get bigger and shrink with in the matter of seconds.
         "You will be ok." She said. Her voice sounding really distance and constantly changing pitch. After that I passed out.
         The next morning, I awoke in her quarters. My head was throbbing. She was nowhere to be seen. The bed was a mess, and I lied within the sheets naked. My clothes laid in a chair across the room. I laid there for a moment and got up after the room stopped spinning. I was getting on my pants when she ran in.
         "Help! You have to stop him. He is trying to kill me!" She was hysterically saying.
         "Who is?" All I got out of her was mutters. I raised my hand and slapped her. Immediately she calmed.
         "The bartender, Ted, has gone crazy. He is saying I cheated on him and we were never together. Why would he think something like that?" She asked. Which she was correct, he wasn't the most handsome man on earth. He was about five foot, six inches. Weighed about as much as a hay bail and looked as big as one too. He had acne all over his face, walked bow legged. Unless she led him on, there was no reason for him to think they were together. He may look like an ass, but he did have a brain.
         I continued dressing myself, by putting on my shirt and jacket. I looked at her and told her to sit on her bed and collect herself, I would be right back. She looked at me, she wasn't smiling, but she seemed happy that I was doing something. With that I walked out of her room and straight into the main room. Ted was destroying everything behind the counter.
         "Ted!" I yelled at him. He stopped and looked at me.
         "YOU! YOU TOOK HER!" He yelled at me.
         "Took her. What are you talking about. She has always been mine, no other man has been able to get close to her."  I said.
         "If she has always been yours, then WHY DOES SHE SLEEP IN A BAR AND NOT AT YOUR PLACE."
         "I don't have a place. I am a roamer, I don't stay in one spot for more than a week. I come back here though to see her."
         "LIAR!!" He screamed at a high pitch that hurt my ears. I didn't squirm though, that showed him weakness and showing him weakness would be the wrong thing to do right now.
         "You call me a liar, but are the one lying to your self." I said.
         At this last comment he got agitated with our conversation (that seems to happen a lot) and came at me with a broken bottle. I stood there and stared him down. When he got two steps away from me, he fell on the ground dead. I turned and walked back into Ann's room. She got up and ran to me and wrapped her arms around my neck.
         "So?" She asked.
         "He is dead. He died of a heart attack when he charged at me."
         "What are we to do now? I can't stay here with that thing in the bar and everyone will be here tonight..." Before she could carry on anymore I put my finger on her lips to silence her.
         "We shall leave here. You shall come with me everywhere I go." And that was the day I ruined my life.

         From that day on, it was nothing but horror after horror. With her by my side, I had no peace. But, I enjoyed it. It was a thrill. It felt as though I was completing something in my life. One chapter after another, I lived my life with her. Every town, city, or province we visited, someone had to die. Be it man or woman. Soon enough we were making a name for our selves. Not  a name that you would be proud of, unless you were a bandit. The dark angels is what they called us. Every town had heard something of us before we got to it. Then the best thing happened, though to some it would be horrid.
         We were traveling into a town called Vincenot. It was a small one, and the people were quite nice. They were nice until they threatened. We walked into town and everyone smiled and waved, apparently they had not heard anything of us yet. We walked straight to the bar that day, I can remember it clear as day. Everyone was so happy that two strangers have come into town. We walked into the bar and sat down. A waitress came to us and asked what we would like.
         "Water please." I said.
         "A bottle of gin." Ann said.
         "Be right back." The waitress said.
         "Water? When did you start drinking so much water?" Ann asked me.
         "When I realized booze wouldn't sustain my life any more. It is not something that will support you in the desert, either. And that is where we are headed." I answered.
         "The desert. Hmph. Figured you for more of an ocean man. But I guess you really don't know a man until you have ki..." She saw the waitress and stopped the sentence.
         "Here's your water and your gin. Will you need anything else?" She asked.
         "No, that will be for now. If we need anything we will call you."
         With a wisp of her hair as she turned a wink towards me, she was gone. I never gave a second glance, as a matter of fact, I never gave her a first. We don't need blood spilled here.
         "So, what is your plan in the desert?" Ann asked. She always was wondering what was on my mind, what I was planning. Sometimes I told her, mostly I told her to shut up and mind her damn business. Today I told her.
         "I am going to live there. It doesn't matter if you come or not." I said.
         "You getting to old to travel?"
         "No. I want to settle and be away from everybody. The desert is where no one dares to live."
         "Except you. You know what, you are a crazy ass-hole. But that is why I love you."
         "And you're a bitch."
         "We make a good couple."
         "Whatever."
         I finished my water and called the waitress back over for more and asked about a room for Ann and I. She replied by saying there is a room up stairs that we could use. I thanked her, and waited for my water. I finished the rest of my water in silence.
         I got up and paid for everything, and headed up to the room. Ann didn't join me until she was good and drunk. Stumbling into the room and almost knocking everything off of the counters. I didn't move when she came in. I was lying on the bed, facing away from the door. She didn't bother me, she lied down and went straight to bed. After a few more hours of thinking, I fell asleep.
         The next day, it was cloudy and dark. No light came from the sun. We both got up and headed down stairs. We were heading straight into chaos. For what we saw down stairs is something only a demon could dream up. There was dead bodies lying all over the place. Blood covered all of the walls, floors, and part of the ceiling. No one was moving. A scream arose from Ann's lips, and quickly I silenced her with my hand. I looked at her and shook my head. Something else was heard after her scream. It came from behind the counter. I pointed toward the door and yelled at her to run.
         As she took off towards the door a human like creature jumped out from the counter. It had a human body and features, but it's eyes were glowing bright yellow. It had claws, that were covered in blood and wore no clothes. It took off after Ann. I drew out my pistol I had been carrying with since the beginning of my and Ann's journeys, and put a bullet in it's leg. And again I yelled at her to run. I walked over to it and put a bullet in it's head. It looked up at me as I was pulling the trigger and grinned at me. It's face exploded, and the body went limp.
         I followed Ann out the door. The city was in chaos just as much as the bar was. Bodies lying everywhere, people and those beasts. Blood covered everything and everybody. There were buildings burning everywhere, cries could be heard from all directions. The creatures started towards us.
         "We have to get out of here." Ann said ecstatically.
         "I know, but there is no way out. We have to fight our way out."
         With that she drew out her pistol and pointed it at one of the creatures, blowing it's head to nothing. And ran off down the street towards the desert, I ran after. Half-way down the street hundreds of them seem to have popped up out of nowhere and blocking our path. I was almost out of ammo, so was Ann. All the ammo either of us had was what we had in our guns. We charged them none the less.
         "Stay close to me, Ann!" I yelled to her. I don't believe she heard me though. If she did she would have probably lived. We ran straight into the group of creatures, bearing our teeth. She killed a few before they over ran her and pinned her. They started biting at her as soon as they hit the ground.
         "HELP ME! HELP ME!" She screamed.
         I tried to help her, but in reality I couldn't do anything, because they were on me like they were on her. I held them off for a while, but she couldn't hold them off, she didn't have the strength.
         "LUCIFEL, SAVE ME." She screamed. She yelled it one more time and fell silent.
         "NO, YOU SONS OF THE SERPENT, LET ME GO." I yelled at the creatures. But no one gave, and all of a sudden I felt a hard hit on my head and everything blackened.

         I awoke sometime later, no idea how long later. My body in pain, mainly my head and chest. Wondering how bad the damage had been, I put my fingers on my head. No blood, But there was a nice bruise. I looked down on my chest, my shirt had been torn off of me and they left something burned into my skin. It was a mark for the world to see. It was the mark of the fallen. A circle with two stretched out pyramids making an X, point north, south, east, and west. I looked around me and saw desert, I was sitting on a porch of a beaten down house. I got up and went in.
         That is where I have stayed since. I dug a well behind it and eat whatever animals come out this way. The wars still go on, between man, temptation, and beast. I can not stop it, didn't ever plan on it. I just wish I could take back my part in it. And take back knowing that woman. God rest her soul, may her soul find another suitable host. As for me, I am here sitting and watching as the world crumbles around it's self, and listen to the dead's silent scream.