Recollections From the Massacre of Tupelo (929 hits)
Category: NoneLabels: monster
Rating: 2 on 28 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Stagger Lee (View user info) at 2006-03-09 12:35:42 EST
Part the First: http://www.ubersite.com/m/84896
Part the Second: http://www.ubersite.com/m/84947
Part the Third: http://www.ubersite.com/m/85038
Part the Fourth
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Let me tell you, then, (the monster said) of Tupelo. Tupelo was the greatest of the towns of the old world. This means that by the standards of other great cities I have seen since, it was but a village. It was perhaps twice the size of Avalle, and quite away inland from the town on the bay. It was located on the same mighty river that fed the bay of Avalle. The poor quarters, with their brothels and taverns, docks and warehouses lined this river.
Away from the river, the land rose, and as the elevation increased, so did the standard of living. It was upon the hill that the richest men of the town lived, in ostentatious, unnecessary buildings. Indeed, their ostentation was made all the more pronounced and empty, given how many of Tupelo's inhabitants lived in squalor. Tupelo's wealthy were overly large fish in an increasingly small pond, as their greed and selfish natures slowly stripped the town of its prosperity and standing.
I interrupted the monster for the first time. "Why, this does not make sense," I informed him. Contradicting him directly. In the light that was now streaming through my window, he looked frailer than I had thought him at first. He looked older, somehow, and weary beyond my ability to comprehend. My hatred for him had subsided somewhat, in the light of his more human attributes. Yet it still remained, lurking in the back of my mind. I imagined it was poised to spring at the least provocation. "I am extremely familiar with the history of the old world." I gestured down the hall, towards my library. "There was no town that you speak of, no Tupelo."
The monster smiled. It was a smile with real warmth in it, and it pushed the hatred in my heart even further to the rear. "Perhaps, in this world. But there are other worlds than these. Many times since the events I speak of to you now, I have slept, and awakened in a world I was not familiar with."
I pondered his revelations, even as he said, "If I may proceed?"
I arrived at Tupelo soon after nightfall, with my lungs and muscles burning with a deep-seated ache. Though the sun was absent in the sky, a low cloud cover reflected the lights from the town. Tupelo was indeed celebrating the death of an innocent. People revelled in the streets and taverns. Raucous music and laughter spilled from illuminated doorways. They had taken her life in their superstitious self-righteousness, and now they cavorted, secure in the knowledge that they had performed their holy duty.
I kept to the shadows, and I moved in secret amongst them. I found that they could not sense that I was there, and I experienced no directed hatred towards me. It appeared that they only began to fear me upon sight. And what I sight I was. I had dried blood crusting on my foot as well as on my face and hands. I was pale, ragged, and filthy from my impossible race against time to reach Tupelo.
I observed their faces from alleys, as they made their way around their doomed town. A snatch of music drifted to me over the noise. It sounded as if the singer were stretching his voice to point of straining, and it came across as a blend of full-throated singing and demented ranting.
He screamed:
Well I hung onto Mary's stump
I danced with a soldier's glee
With a rum soaked crook
And a big fat laugh
I spent my last dollar on thee
I saw Bill Bones, I gave him a yell
Kehoe spiked the nog
With a chain link fence
And a scrap iron door
Cookin' up a Filipino Box Spring hog
And then, amongst the heat from the fires and the din from the taverns, amidst revellers and drunkards, I saw her. Alice. She had been hung from a gallows in the very centre of town, Tupelo Square. Her dress was torn. Her feet were bruised and bloody and bare. Her beautiful, clear eyes had been put out with a branding iron. Where I had sensed innocence, trust and compassion I now could not touch or feel anything. They had taken her, and tortured her and snuffed her life out all because I could not control what I was. My heart swelled with rage at myself, and rage at their ignorance.
I strode from the shadows and pushed my way angrily through the merry crowds. As people turned to look at me, the happy, smug mood fell from their minds and was replaced with a fear that I was almost coming to enjoy. With my heart black with rage I mounted the gallows, and stood in front of her body. I extended both arms to display the dried gore upon them, gore that I was now proud of in a twisted way.
I bellowed at the crowd, "Citizens of Tupelo! Hear me now!"
A hush fell over the people currently in the square. However, the revelry in the taverns and streets continued unabated. I continued, "You have committed a grave crime against innocence, and I will administer justice upon you. Every man, woman and child amongst you will pay for the death of this girl, whose only crime was to trust a thing like me. Her naivety was greeted with death. Your ignorance will also reap destruction."
Their eyes upon me burned with hatred. They would have hated me regardless, but was their hatred exacerbated by the fact that the object of their hate dared to pass judgement on them? I cannot be sure, but I believe it was. The pressure I could feel in my skull nearly made me cry out in pain, and if I had thought the air above Avalle was disturbing after my crime there. I was mistaken. The air above and within Tupelo fairly crackled with some kind of sick energy, ripe, anticipatory and ominous.
I did not allow anyone to reply. I leapt from the gallows and landed on the cobbles in directly in front of a middle-aged man, clutching a tankard and staring at me wild-eyed. I crouched as I landed, and then came up from the ground and tore his throat out in one precise, measured swipe of my hand. I was learning to do terrible things, and learning to do them well.
He fell backwards, and his from his dying body a jet of steaming hot blood seared into the night sky. I watched in sick fascination as some of the spray stuck to a lantern above his head.
A man with one lazy eye and the rough clothing of a dockworker was the first to attempt a strike towards me. He came from behind, brandishing his tankard, which he sought to strike me down with. However, my senses had never been so alert. I both felt his intent and heard his steps. I could almost feel the swing as he brought his tankard toward the back of by head.
I spun and caught his arm by the wrist. I twisted savagely. His wrist broke with an audible crack, and he dropped his tankard and fell to his knees. I dealt him a fierce blow across the face, breaking his neck far too easily. He keeled over and died on his knees, slumped over in the street.
It was after his death that most of the crowd abandoned the idea of attempting to contest with me. Many among them broke and ran. Many of them ran back towards their homes like fools. I would deal with them later.
A few men remained in the square. One of them appeared to be some sort of guard; the others had the look of men who ran with dockside gangs. I realised, briefly, that I was still surprising myself with the knowledge that I did not know I possessed. They began to form a loose circle about me. The guard was armed with a broadsword, perhaps two feet in length. The other men were armed with a variety of clubs, knives and chains.
The guard eyed me with an expression and a feeling that was curiously devoid of hate and fear. Instead, he possessed a measure of calm and appraisal; a man who is taking stock of a difficult job that will nevertheless be his to do. The various gang members eyed me with a combination of vicious rage and distaste.
It was a gang member to my left who made the first move. He moved in fast and hard, and I could sense his intent and hear his movements so far away that it was far too easy to intercept him. He swung a chain towards my head, and I ducked and seized his chain in my fist. I pulled him close to me and struck him forcefully in the stomach. He doubled over, gasping for air.
As soon as that had occurred, the remaining members of this ragged group rushed me. I turned and met the first head on; he was armed with a knife. I caught his wrist and snapped it. As his knife fell towards the cobblestones I snatched it from the air and buried it in the eye of a second man wielding a chain.
The guard watched the fracas. So far, he was not willing to commit to the fray. He kept his head while the others flailed wretchedly at me, and failed to deal any damage. Indeed, they seemed incapable of even getting close.
I planted my stolen knife in the neck of one of the gang members, and lost it. He fell away, and the knife caught upon his collarbone and slipped from my grasp. It was at this point that the guard moved. He had balance and grace of sorts; he glided in and thrust his sword at my midsection. Only the fact that I could sense his intent saved me, and even then, I only managed to turn away. I could not avoid the thrust completely; the edge of the sword laid a cut across my side. It was the first real physical pain I could remember, and it burned, but not as much as the hate I received from their stares.
I ducked away as he brought his sword up from the thrust and aimed a cut at my throat. It swiped through the air above my head. I took hold of his ankles and swept him from his feet. He landed on his back, and I heard the air rush from his lungs upon impact. I wrested his sword from him and impaled his heart.
I turned towards the last surviving members of Tupelo's impromptu militia. They looked at me, and I stared them down. They broke and ran. I matched pace with them with ease, and scythed them down. The cobblestones of Tupelo Square were slick with blood, and littered with the bodies of Alice's persecutors.
With the guard's sword in my hand, I strode into the nearest tavern. As I entered, my pale skin and the fresh blood on my person reflected the light spilling from the lanterns. I did not hesitate. I cut down the man nearest the door, and his friends turned towards me. I felt the fear; the fear of small animals caught beneath the hunter's snare. I was their predator, and they my prey.
Panic erupted in the room. Panic that quickly turned into brawling. I had no fear of them. I could easily detect their intent before they made their move. Man and woman alike fell beneath my blade in a never-ending tide. The floor ran red with their spent lives, and bodies were laid in piles all around me.
I carved the last man's chest with my blade and headed up the stairs. There were two rooms above the tavern. I extended my perception, and discovered that one room was empty and one room was occupied by two people. Both people were terrified, yet there were some subtle differences in the manner that their terror touched and affected me.
I did not pause to wonder, however. I tried the door handle, and found it locked. I stepped back and kicked the door above the lock. It gave easily.
What I saw on the other side gave me pause. I instinctively knew what I was seeing; yet in the context of the celebrations, and their subsequent interruption by my actions, the scene appeared bizarre. There was a man of perhaps forty, and a young girl of perhaps 20, and the man was vigorously attempting to rape her. He had not yet succeeded, for she was resisting with equal vigour.
I stepped up behind him and struck him across the back of the head with the hilt of my sword. He fell onto her, and she screamed as she beheld me. I was now covered in the blood of my victims. I walked over to the window, and broke it with my blade, collecting a shard of glass. I walked back to where the man lay, semi-conscious. I picked him up by the scruff of the neck, then I planted a hand in his chest and pinned him against the wall.
I cut him with the glass, once, down his cheek. He regained full use of his faculties, and screamed. I stared into his eyes, and found only greed, hypocrisy, evil and shame.
I stabbed the point of the glass into his throat. My elbow jarred as the point slammed into the wall behind him. His eyes, which so disgusted me, bulged. I have never forgotten the look in his eyes at that point. They looked empty and useless. I felt no regret at taking his life, and I never have since. Blood bubbled up over his lips and ran down his chin onto my fingers. The glass cut into my fingers, causing me to start with pain.
I looked at his would-be victim. She returned my gaze with terror. There was no gratitude to be had from her. She looked at me in much the same way Alice had: as if I were evil. As if I were depraved. I was far gone down my road, this I knew, but I was driven by a sense of moral outrage. Or so I thought. Perhaps I was more driven by my own hatred for people who would judge me than any sense of injustice on behalf of Alice.
I gestured curtly at the door. "Go," I told her.
She stared at me, mutely. She did not need to speak. She was brimming with fear and distaste, but no gratitude. She was exactly the same as the rest of these cattle who had condemned Alice. She ran for the door.
She left the room. I intended to let her go. I truly did. But even as she exited, I could feel her hate. It reigned within my mind. I could not ignore it. I swept my sword up from the floor and followed her.
The girl heard me coming. She turned, and her stride faltered. She observed her doom within my gaze, and stumbled and fell headlong down the stairs. I pursued her down the stairs remorselessly and drove my blade through her heart. She gave a sigh as her life expired, and her eyes met mine for the final time. Then something happened that I not experienced up until then. As she died, I felt her go. It was a sickening, plunging sensation. I felt her dive into a dizzying blackness, and to this day, I do not know if she would have taken me with her had I not broken eye contact.
I took all the lanterns from the ceilings and set fire to the charnel house I created. Then I left the tavern.
I stalked from house to house, from tavern to tavern, from room to room, and I dispatched Tupelo's residents without mercy or restraint. Men, women and children alike all fell beneath my blade. When I was done with each building I fired it. By morning, Tupelo was a dead, burned husk, and I felt as empty as the town.
The monster sat in silence, staring across the table. His eyes were not focused on me, but at some distant scene, untold years away.
It was many minutes before I dared prompt him, "Where did you go after that?"
He looked at me properly, then, and I sensed his contempt for me. My hatred for him resurged from the corners of my mind.
"I buried Alice," he said. "And then I wandered. And the years passed, and I became more bitter, older and wearier, til I am the husk of a thing you see sitting before you. There is no more to my tale."
"But..." I reined back a note of pleading in my voice. "But the sights you must have seen...the places you must have visited...please...share your life with me..."
"I have shared as much as I came here to share," he replied. His tone brooked no argument. "I thank you for your time."
He rose from my table and exited into my hall. I sat stunned for a moment. Then I rose from the table, spilling my notebook and pen to the ground. I chased him into the hall. I overcame my disgust by sheer effort of will and seized his arm. He turned, and nearly did violence upon me. I could see him visibly restrain himself.
Then, in my gloomy hallway, mostly untouched by the sun, we had our final conversation.
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The by-now-familiar song note: Extract from 'Filipino Box Spring Hog', by the incomparable Tom Waits.
User Reviews
Submitted by darko (user info) at 2006-06-21 02:15:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I don't like you, but Orgasmatron does.
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2006-05-09 16:37:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Reviewed in last chapter...
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2006-04-23 16:34:10 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
i love that dave still managed to sign his review, drunk or not.
still good.
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-03-31 11:05:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Nellypaal (user info) at 2006-03-17 08:06:10 (#)
Ranking: 2
A great series, excellently written.
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You are notoriously hard to please, so I thank you.
Submitted by Nellypaal (user info) at 2006-03-17 08:06:10 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
A great series, excellently written.
Submitted by Crystle (user info) at 2006-03-15 16:10:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Davros (user info) at 2006-03-12 01:52:40 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Ok I am a retard.
-Dave
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-03-11 13:30:41 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Davros (user info) at 2006-03-11 13:17:09 (#)
Ranking: 2
"She looked at me in much the same way Alice had: as if I were evil."
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This line seemed wrong, unless I am getting the wrong end of the stick.
I thought that Alice was his friend/confident etc.
I am drunk so you could just ignore me.
Still a great tale.
-Dave
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After he killed Alice's father, she recoiled from him and hated him.
Submitted by Davros (user info) at 2006-03-11 13:17:09 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
"She looked at me in much the same way Alice had: as if I were evil."
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This line seemed wrong, unless I am getting the wrong end of the stick.
I thought that Alice was his friend/confident etc.
I am drunk so you could just ignore me.
Still a great tale.
-Dave
Submitted by Bubba2341 (user info) at 2006-03-11 01:48:09 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Fucking awesome...
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2006-03-11 00:48:37 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Not only is that mother big, but he packs a .45!
Submitted by SilvrWolf (user info) at 2006-03-10 08:59:21 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
It took some time to get started. I can't quite put my finger on what it was; something in the first few paragraphs maybe. But it quickly rolled on into the mountain of awesome that is this series.
Submitted by DonovanMD (user info) at 2006-03-09 22:20:44 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
This is excellent. I've been away from Uber for a while and havent seen anything of yours yet, but this is solid. I'll have to read the whole series.
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-03-09 21:38:55 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Circe (user info) at 2006-03-09 20:12:05 (#)
Ranking: 2
You used "fell beneath my blade" twice.... it's a nice line and all, but it's jarring to see something repeated, and reminds me that I'm reading a story.
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Damn. I had that phrase in my head the whole time. I didn't realise. I've got a nice, smarmy excuse for it now that I've noticed: it's the same person telling a story. In conversation, we use of lot of similar and repeated phrases. Oh yeah. That excuse was awesome. Seriously, though, one day I should write a fucking second draft of something.
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Submitted by AshK (user info) at 2006-03-09 18:29:41 (#)
Ranking: 2
I was waiting for this to appear on the front page.
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Good to hear, thanks.
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Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2006-03-09 17:21:49 (#)
Ranking: 2
cool.
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Cheers.
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Submitted by Coyote (user info) at 2006-03-09 17:20:30 (#)
Ranking: 2
You know you've conquered Uber when you can post something this (relatively) long and not get a flurry of -2's for it...
Great read.
Have you read John Brunner's "Compleat Traveller in Black"? Similar mood-- very different narrator of course, but a terrific set of stories.
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Coming from someone who's writing I enjoy so much, that's fantastic, thanks. Never really read any Brunner. I might check it out later. I've got a massive stack of books to get through at the moment.
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Submitted by ghola (user info) at 2006-03-09 15:46:00 (#)
Ranking: 2
your writing reminds me of someone elses. i can't put my finger on it, but i'll get back to you.
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Alright.
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Submitted by Susie_Derkins (user info) at 2006-03-09 14:17:53 (#)
Ranking: 2
Great read
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Thank you.
Come on, you can't blame me for replying to reviewers if I do six at a time.
Submitted by Circe (user info) at 2006-03-09 20:12:05 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
You used "fell beneath my blade" twice.... it's a nice line and all, but it's jarring to see something repeated, and reminds me that I'm reading a story.
Submitted by AshK (user info) at 2006-03-09 18:29:41 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I was waiting for this to appear on the front page.
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2006-03-09 17:21:49 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
cool.
Submitted by Coyote (user info) at 2006-03-09 17:20:30 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
You know you've conquered Uber when you can post something this (relatively) long and not get a flurry of -2's for it...
Great read.
Have you read John Brunner's "Compleat Traveller in Black"? Similar mood-- very different narrator of course, but a terrific set of stories.
Submitted by ghola (user info) at 2006-03-09 15:46:00 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
your writing reminds me of someone elses. i can't put my finger on it, but i'll get back to you.
Submitted by Susie_Derkins (user info) at 2006-03-09 14:17:53 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Great read
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-03-09 13:26:24 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by MyNameIsTim (user info) at 2006-03-09 13:19:55 (#)
Ranking: 2
absolutely awesome. i hope that's not the end.
i want to know more about where the monster came from, and more bout where he's going.
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There's one more part to this particular series. Then I'm gonna try something else.
Given the response to the tales of this monster, I might be able to bring him back for future series. Until then, one more post to close this out.
Submitted by MyNameIsTim (user info) at 2006-03-09 13:19:55 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
absolutely awesome. i hope that's not the end.
i want to know more about where the monster came from, and more bout where he's going.
Submitted by simple_catalyst (user info) at 2006-03-09 13:02:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
keepin on keepin on...
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-03-09 12:58:53 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by MyTeeOne (user info) at 2006-03-09 12:55:35 (#)
Ranking: 2
That is good shit. Great detail, love the description, the mood, the characters, everything. It's also refreshing to see somthing "not crap" on Uber.
Have you ever read the Dark Tower series by Stephen King? A few lines in here reminded me of that.
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Indeed. One of my favourite series. "There are other worlds than these" in the post above is a direct quote from Dark Tower.
Submitted by MyTeeOne (user info) at 2006-03-09 12:55:35 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
That is good shit. Great detail, love the description, the mood, the characters, everything. It's also refreshing to see somthing "not crap" on Uber.
Have you ever read the Dark Tower series by Stephen King? A few lines in here reminded me of that.
Submitted by redskieslookfake (user info) at 2006-03-09 12:51:28 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
A touch clunky at the start perhaps - but soon settled down. The language reminds me of some of the classics, which is an interesting and refreshing change from other writings.
Submitted by MyTeeOne (user info) at 2006-03-09 12:40:14 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Sweeeeet. I've been waiting for this. OK, off to read it.
Submitted by scourge (user info) at 2006-03-09 12:40:00 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
auto Waits +2
Now I'll finish reading. I caught that on HVs post by the way.