31 Oct Necessity of Evil

“We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell.”
― Oscar Wilde

He comes by many names. The tempter, the deceiver, the serpent, and a host of other not-so-flattering titles. He can look like you and me or no one at all. We are instructed to be sober and vigilant and not to heed his vices. To give in to his seductions is to be ensnared, to damn your own soul. The evil one is an adversary to men and though many do not believe in the personification of such a being and choose to play with fire, they are the foolish ones tempting fate. The Earth and Sheol are his playground, moving with serendipity up and down in the earth as a lion looking for those to whom he can devour. Satan is not divided, but united against all that is good.

Pale nights encrypted with suspense and mystery patronized the simple town folk with dreary hours of mind-numbing boredom. Most would give anything for a change, but those winds never blew in their direction. Stunted like a diseased forest; everything remained dwarfish, miniature, without meaning to their existence and they would be forgotten not long after their last breath, replaced by an exact duplicate to whom such fate will befall.  They were unfortunate prisoners of the greater power.

Appetites were non-existent. The suffering of severe stomach pains compounded with ageusia; food no longer held a delicate appeal. Dreams died with plans, future plans and each resident accepted their mundane and sterile fate.  They had fermented for so long in this capped condition that all volition in appreciation of the truth had been replaced by the obscure, the vague, a dream inside a dream; shut in, locked behind transparent bars of threat.

Surrender, all fight drained like the last drop of water from a canteen, all yielded without a battle. There were no preparations to hold their position. When the very one came who embodied all evil, swimming in the vastness of dark turmoil, he promised he could cradle the town and save it from utter destruction or he was just as content to act out of maliciousness and drown the town, wash it away as if it never existed, never had a rightly place on the earth.

With no man of faith to withstand such a promise from a threatening devil, everyone, in their invisible shackles, appealed to the Commissioner who had lived his life on the backs of others, using men like plow oxen to till his ground, plant his seed and reap his harvest for him. There was never opportunity presented to resist. Everyone submitted to the Commissioner. This brought finality to the ontogeny of all within the sphere of this domain. There was new rule now.

“Can you believe this? More potatoes! And look at the pitiful size of them!” David was not happy with “the feeding.” Minute rations of mundane food intended to satisfy the cravings.

“Don’t fall to pieces over tatters, David. Brittleness does not look good on you,” Randy moaned as he slung his potato bag over his shoulder.

“I am just sick and tired of it. First, we are rationed, then the bags are reduced in size, now the potatoes themselves are smaller. These are not even bite size, they are more like popcorn bites,” David complained.

Randy agreed but added, “You are preaching to the choir here.”

“It’s too much. I can’t keep making bland, tiny potato dishes for my family. I mean, give me a break; no salt, no pepper, not a single spice? We are slowly being starved,” David criticized.

“Well, if you have the answer, I am all ears, but the Commissioner has made the deal with the devil. His pact has obligated the entire village,” reminded Randy.

“Yeah, maybe the devil isn’t the problem. Maybe the commissioner is the culprit we ought to be going after,” David was sounding like an anarchist and in this climate such an unpopular move would not go down well. He continued his harangue by adding even more rhetoric, “and what is beyond the red area? Why are we limited to this small contained area? It can’t be because it is for our own good. Nothing good is happening here. We are dying man. Hear me? Dying!”

Randy had no argument with David, most everyone was suffering in the same manner with the same afflictions and the same shortages. Some people never complained nor caused any sort of stink but David could not be that person.

A commotion outside of the “collecting center” caused David and Randy to take notice. “What in the world is going on out there?” David moved first toward the door leading out into the cueing yard where others had lined up for the weekly potato drop and collection. Randy followed closely behind.

In the center of the area, two locals had presented a large cage on rollers which was draped with a cover. It reminded David of when the days of on-stage magic shows were all the rage. David and Randy knew the two men well. The two men, Frank and Mark, were former trappers who had been banned from trapping ever since the take- over of the village. All food was supplied by the new overseer, which was the devil himself.

“We got one!” Frank rejoiced.

“You bet we got us one!” Mark was just as exuberant.

Frank gave the drapery a yank and it flung away with a whip.

Inside the cage was a menacing creature, fierce, so abominable everyone either gasped aloud or fell coldly silent. It was hairless, with reptilian scales and a snake-like tail, but was forced onto all four limbs, whether by the containment or it possibly carried itself on all fours. The talon like daggers protruding from each of the 4 claws were hooked and digging into the metal floor of the cage. Its eyes were vicious pools of venom and blazing with hate. It growled such a deep, influential tone that those who stood near it felt tingles on the soles of their feet.  With such portentous diabolism the vibrations slithered up the back of their necks.

“We got us one; one of the devil’s own!” Mark swung the stick in his hand against the metal cage and the demigod winced and banged against the bars.

“What have you done? Are you trying to get us all killed?!,” The Commissioner cried as he emerged from his upper tier apartment.

“Killed? I haven’t found a beast yet I could not tame. If I can’t tame it, we’ll kill it, cook it and eat it!” Frank’s voice was loud and boisterously confident.

“Are you just trying to bring Satan’s wrath down upon us?” The Commissioner was livid with irritation.

“We have not heard anything from ol’ cloven hooves since he cursed us in this valley. He has abandoned us, out there in the universe cursing other towns and villages. He has forgotten about us. Why do you think we are starving here?” Mark barked, full of animosity.

“He hasn’t left us. He watches all. He sees all,” The Commissioner argued.

“What is it anyway with your loyalty to him? He has done us no favors?” Frank asked.

“He allowed us to live, and in living we should be a little more grateful. I have put my neck on the chopping block for this community and this village exists today because I stood up and took full responsibility for your devout and unwavering commitment and pledge. I am the guarantor for every one of you.” The Commissioner said with a look of worry as if he may at any moment be snatched away and consumed himself.

“I want you to take the creature back where you found it and never bring such danger into our village again! Do you understand me?” The Commissioner was adamant.

“What if we just turn it loose right here?” Mark sounded serious. The Commissioner had to determine if this was a threat or if the two foolhardy men were just going off at the mouth. Mark made an indiscreet movement with his hand toward the lock on the cage. This prudent move proved to be unwise. From the upper tier apartments from where the Commissioner had ascended, a gun shot rang out and Mark went to the ground. Although the wound was superficial, he screamed in pain and crawled beneath the cage for cover, anticipating a second attempt on his life.

“I can make the consequences much more severe if anyone wants to test the rules. We have certain parameters, a set of guidelines in play in order to keep us in line. These are the instructions left by Satan and we are to adhere to them to the very letter! We are to venerate his name.”

No one moved in fear they might become a victim of a sniper’s crosshair. “Don’t just stand there looking at him! Get him to the infirmary before he bleeds to death,” The Commissioner ordered. And Frank, as for you, take the creature back where you found it!”

As far as the villagers knew, Satan had not caught wind of the unfortunate episode that had occurred and thus made no personal appearance upon the village. The Commissioner believed ‘no news was good news.’ Mark was on the road to recovery, sore and bandaged, but had not apologized for what he and Frank had done.

David and Randy were down by the river and had their homemade fishing poles baited and put into the water. They were told the river was sterile of all life but there was no law preventing anyone from trying their hand and getting lucky. This also had a relaxing and therapeutic effect upon anyone who wanted to do nothing at all but close their eyes drift off to the sound of water.

It just so happened on this particular day Frank and Mark stumbled upon the pair as they mindlessly fished.

“Did you dump the demon back into the forest?” David chuckled.

“What do you care? That idiot had me shot,” Mark said, his arm still in a sling.

“Doesn’t something strike you as weird?” Frank mentioned.

“Weird? Weird like how? Like three eyes weird or just strange like living in a village where Satan is your warden?” David answered.

“They shot Mark. Doesn’t that resonate with anyone? We are living in absolute mortal fear!” Frank said.

“I won’t disagree. I am afraid, I really am. I am not patronizing you, yet, fear is healthy. It is there to keep us from putting our hand on a hot stove or trying to swim a river. Fear is not a bad thing,” Randy said.

“I am not afraid and neither is Mark. That is what sets us aside from the rest of you,” Frank said.

“You must have some fear, you took the demon back to the forest,” David confidently assumed.

“Let me ask you, David, Randy, did you see me take the demon back to the forest?” Frank asked.

“Don’t tell me you have done something else crazy?” David probed.

“Crazy no, smart yes! Do you want in on a game changer?” Mark asked.

“Game changer? What are you two planning?” Randy asked.

“You cannot say a word about this. I mean it! Mark threatened.

“Then why tell us and run the risk? Maybe you should not tell us anything?” David answered.

“We need you. We can’t do what must be done with just the two of us, especially now that Mark is working with one arm. Aren’t you sick of potatoes? Aren’t you tired of small portions hardly enough to feed your family? And what happens if we are rationed even more?” Frank asked them to consider.

“Let’s pretend I am not listening and you say what is on your mind.” David gave Frank the go ahead to let him know what they were devising.

“Here is the way I see it. Ol’ Beelzebub is out of here. He is off possessing a nun or writing another symphony. He doesn’t even know we exist anymore. It is only his demons which he has scattered throughout the forest keeping us prisoner. Now, Mark and I have been deep into the forest and there are not as many of these demon dogs as you might think. We have captured 4 and have trained them,” Frank said, then was interrupted by Randy.

“Trained them? You mean you are training demons out in the forest?”

“Yes, that is exactly what I am saying. Now, our village is 500 people strong counting women and children, so that doesn’t leave a massive amount of male resistance. I don’t know the numbers exactly but the men probably outnumber the women by only a few. The Commissioner has his small team of armed assailants as demonstrated by the show of force against Mark. If The Commissioner and his men are taken out of the equation, we won’t have to battle an internal force to escape. We can make our way north which we have found to be the most passible and less frequently guarded,” Frank shared.

“Where do you propose to lead everyone to?” asked David.

“If we make it to the edge of the northern forest, we should be able to follow the river until we come into civilization. I cannot imagine the devil has every village and town under his control,” Mark said.

“How tame are your demons?” Randy asked.

“They are like watch dogs. We have already seen them to be loyal and that is what we need,” Randy answered.

“Do you have plans to train more?” David sounded curious about the whole thing.

Four more should be enough for us to attempt an escape,” Mark said.

“How many do you estimate are out there? Randy asked.

“Twenty to twenty-five.”

The four men entered an agreement to where they would work together to achieve their freedom from this town, to get out of this valley and to free themselves from the devils’ chains. Most of their activities and preparations happened in the night and in the early hours of the morning. The demon creatures first had to be tamed enough to use them to their advantage. Knowing the town was very submissive to the devil, almost in a hypnotic way, they decided they would not try to save the entire town but would focus only on their families. The less of us in the initial escape the less likely w will be found out.

Frank practiced magic from a book called Fight fire with fire. This was a book handed down to him from his grandmother many years ago. He hadn’t even opened it until very recently. Now seemed like the appropriate time to use whatever magic they could.

Charmed flames flickered upon four eager faces. A yellow glow like a funeral pyre burned hot in their eyes as Frank recited for the book of magic. He had said this was how he and Mark were able to tame the demons. It only took a couple of nights before the men had 8 demons under their control. They would use these now loyal creatures by riding them with their families to get as far away as possible.

If the truth be known, no one knew much of anything about the devil. Most saw him only once and the encounter did leave an impression. The devil had displayed petulantly horrid manners before bringing the calamity of imprisonment upon the village. From the time of becoming captives, the villagers had become more sensitive to darker things, magnifying the worst of human characteristics rather than making themselves better. Most villagers had become voluble, more unpleasant, indulging in disrespectful gossip mingled with impertinence, to a degree never seen before. This caused mistrust, suspicion, and the fellowship they once enjoyed turned to individualism.

One often wonders what does the devil know? Is he as the wisdom of the ages? What is the devil permitted to see? Can he universally see or do the eyes of his followers serve as this all-seeing eye? The only reference the four men had on the history of the devil was a Bible story they remembered in the Book of Job. The devil was encouraged by God, permitted by the Almighty to have the power to inflict Job with the most horrific diseases, plagues and loss any human could endure, but oddly enough God would not permit the devil to strip Job of life. The four men, David, Randy, Mark and Frank hoped in their case of treason the devil would have less powers as well.

Once their plan had been enacted the four men would be acting in dark space with no promise, no protection. They and their families would be at terrible risk so everything had to happen without a hitch.

On the day of the escape, doubt had been set aside. It started early in the morning when the 4 wives of the men called on The Commissioner and he granted them an audience. He was always eager to see pretty young women. Up in his three-story office the women explained to him this was an urgent matter and private, and requested he send his security guard out of the room. They did not want the rest of the town to catch wind of what they were going to share with him. He reluctantly agreed. He was narcissistic enough to not fear any woman, not even four of them. They had concocted an outrageous story of how they wanted a special area within the village to hang wet clothing because their homes were too small and crowded. It sounded ludicrous to the Commissioner but he thought of all women as ludicrous.

While they were making their pitch, their husbands had moved their 8 demons from the shadows of the forest near the village. They had loaded these now tamed creature with supplies for the escape and gathered their children. Each man had at least one child, only David had two children, a boy and a little girl. Once securely mounted atop the creatures, Frank prepared the next phase of the plan. In the center of town was a small shack which served as the housing for lawn equipment and other various tools. Frank had no business around the shed because he was not the assigned gardener. With no one directly looking at him he smashed the lock with one blow from a hammer he was carrying and swiftly entered in. He hoped no one had seen his break-in. Inside he doused whatever accelerants he could get his hands on upon the walls. He lit a match and walked out.

He had made it a good distance away when the smoke began to roll from under the door of the shed. Someone yelled “Fire!” The village sprung into action. Even up in his office The Commissioner heard the chaos below.
“Ladies, if you will just sit here for a moment. I must see what is happening,” the Commissioner said. When he left the room, the women began searching his office for weapons. It had been rumored there was a small arsenal kept somewhere in his office. This was their lucky day. In two of his desk drawers, they located three different handguns along with extra ammunition. Their work was done. They made their way from his office down the steps, passing no one, for the building had been vacated and everyone was in the village center fighting the flames of their torched garden shed.

Some people were overcome with emotion and were wailing indescribably grievous, undulating groans. It seemed the entire village had erupted into turmoil. There were some retrieving water hoses from nearby buildings and others, less helpful, lamenting, faces turned toward the ground. By the time the fire was under control the four men and their families were in the heart of the forest and putting distance between themselves and the town. No one in town had clued on yet. The escape was going as planned.

Beneath the canopy of the forest, they rode their creatures as swiftly as they could on a marked trail which Frank and Mark had predetermined. The forest appeared to be changing, waking, and the markers which had been set out as indicators of the route were disappearing before the escapees arrived to them. They veered toward the river for the river ran through the forest until it came out into empty lands.

Back in the village the Commissioner and his triumvirate of ‘yes men’ had evaluated the arson and calmed the tumultuous scene. This is when it dawned on The Commissioner, something was not right. He sent one of his men up into his office and when they returned The Commissioner was informed the women were gone and his office had been ransacked.

“Hunt, them, kill them!” was the order The Commissioner gave. The Commissioner’s face was red hot with anger. If even possible, it blazed even hotter when he was informed the women had removed his handguns from the drawer. He practically snapped.

The families rode their creatures to the river and followed its course as closely as they could through dense and untraded bush. Howls were heard in the distance. It was obvious, the untamed demons were on their trail. The families were in the uncharted extremes, dire chimera as if becoming lost in this navigational maze. Overhead the sounds of black carrion circled. Their caws sounded hunger and pinpointed their position for the pursuers. If caught, the families would be purged from all existence and the furnace would be their end. Under scrutiny, with microscopic confirmation from the keen eyes of the birds of prey who measured the nature of every living thing, the hunters were closing in.

There was no time to take precision care, or to plan the next move. The families had to stay moving. Howls and growls and the sounds of breaking branches were surmounting in every direction. They could hear The Commissioner was meretriciously abusing his megaphone, calling out their names, making promises to not hurt them if they would only stop and turn themselves in.

The forest crawled with shadows, unbeknownst if friend or foe, but the families being swept from the brink of sensibilities treated every unknown thing as an enemy combatant. The forest was beguiling and ever changing. Enemies seemingly as innumerous as the stars were closing in with hell to pay.

“They are gaining on us!” Randy alerted.

“We are going to run out of real estate,” Mark said as he struggled with his bad arm.

Like brazen hammers smashing through the forest, swinging abysmal rods of blasphemous, merciless destruction, The Commissioner was indeed closing in. The trees filled with ghostly figures which appeared to be a black death dripping with sinister connotations.

“We can’t stay in the forest. We have to cross the river,” David advised. Behind them was pitch dark, ahead was lightning and thunder and to their left, a formidable river. Their strongest emotion was fear. The fear of being no more, of having done all of this in vain only to lose their families to the evil one. Blurred outlines and no direction, disintegrating with time as the forest was attempting to claim them for its own.

The families clustered together on the river bank, prisoners of their own emotions. The probability of escape seemed futile. Monomania broke their resoluteness. The wives sang an antiphoner to their children, an old church hymn for comfort.

“Pass me not Oh gentle Savior,

Hear my humble cry,

While others thou art calling,

Do not pass me by.”

Surmounted by palsy, the hymnal, so graciously sung, snapped the men from their premature defeat. They put the discord and doubt out of their minds and knowing dread would soon return, the men sent their wives and children on the backs of the demons into the water. Every option had been expended; crossing seemed to be the last resort. The river sang to them with illusions of tranquility which brought them comfort. The men found defensive positions, Mark was the only one without a weapon but he refused to cross, with the women opting to stay and fight until the end. They could not say they had any assurance as they waited for the battle to come. Trembling as their taut minds sensed the danger near, they steadied themselves and held their position.

The forest fell deadly silent. Nothing stirred. An intense expectancy rose in their hearts as they sensed the invisible presence close at hand; lingering, looming, waiting.

“What are they waiting on?” David cursed.

The Commissioner’s voice called out to the men addressing their emotions. “You don’t want anything bad to happen to your families, do you? Surely not! Come on out and we can talk about this. We mean you no harm. You are a part of us. We can forgive and forget this ever happened. Rejoin us!”

The four men said not a word as they crouched in a heavy wooded area.

“My birds overhead see you. I see you through their eyes. You cannot hide from us forever. We are not going back without you,” The Commissioners voice seemed passive yet the men read something unusual in his tone; could it be he feared as much as they did?

“Your courage will fail you and you will not be able to call on me for mercy then. I am offering you the olive branch of peace. Won’t you take it?” The Commissioner was trying to flank their position. If he had their backs to the river they would have nowhere to run and drowning was as preferrable a way to dispose of them as any other method. Dismay and consternation caused them to pause.

“Do we fight? Do we swim?” Randy asked.

Surveying the grotesquery around them, they saw more limitations than opportunities. Looking at the river their families had crossed, for the time being they were safe on the other side. Their families continued on as they had been instructed into the next forest which they prayed was their salvation.

Wild, untamed demons were heard flinging themselves through the overhead branches. The men had sent all of the tamed demons with the families for protection, now they wished they would have kept a couple back to aid them in this siege.

“Can you see them?” Mark asked.

“No, but better than that, look,” David whispered pointing through the shrubberies.

The Commissioner had foolishly exposed himself. He was standing straight ahead, looking about like a child lost in the woods. David took careful aim. This shot had to be on target. The Commissioner was just in the range of the accuracy of the handgun.

“Take the shot, David, take it,” Randy encouraged him.

David took the shot. The explosion of the gun deafened the men as muted confusion erupted like shattered glass. The upheaval was such, David could not be sure if he mastered his target or not. For an entire 60 seconds pandemonium ensued, but the longer it raged the fainter it became as if in retreat.

Darkness fell with a maligned cunningness which sank all hope of the men. He who had been concealed stepped from the unseen to the seen, from the invisible into the visible. It was Satan, manifested before them.

“You will have to do better than this,” his demonic tones sounded like discord spilling from his throat.  “I was slightly entertained but you scarcely impressed me. You will be returned to the village. You will converse with those whom you have betrayed and I shall continue to keep you, my pets, in this condition, for it is my good pleasure to bind you to what you loathe.”

“But why? Why not just let us go, to be free? Are you mocking us?” Frank asked.

“Free? No one is ever free. No one ever truly has free will. You are dictated to or you do not exist. Mocking you? You are the mockery!” the devil answered.

“Then let us die.” David rashly blurted out, still rebelling against the repulsive being standing before him.

“I could let you die, but that is not the purpose I have for you. We are at the very rim of space. This is called the outer spaces, not outer space. It is here I have been afforded my projects, my games, my toys. You do not seem to understand you are in league with me. All you have is mine, for I have given it. I am your necessity.”

The four men stood defeated, eyes cast downward, deflated, and beaten.

“In your wildest flights of imagination, you cannot begin to comprehend the scope of my work. Your tiny minds could never grasp the vast arcane of true existence. Do not be appalled or believe I am obscene, for I keep you as my own,” Satan doted like a proud father.

Time passed and structure was restored. The men’s families were returned to the village unharmed to carry on with their daily duties as before. The Commissioner was still mending from the gunshot wound, but showed no ill regard towards the men for escaping, nor for David who had pulled the trigger. The village understood more since the great episode, of the integral part they played as a village and as individuals under Satan’s care. Satan made many promises, which all knew he would never fulfill because he seldom spoke truth. There were promises of space travel through the infinite cosmos, knowledge given which would provide answers to the mysteries which lay beyond. The great magnitude of his lies was far too enormous to weigh, yet the ever-changing timbre of his voice beckoned them, tugging valiantly at their heart strings. The words seemed to bend to their liking and approval. The imploring emphatic sincerity seemed like a surging fatal plea.

David and Randy smiled at one another. David spoke up as he tossed the potato bag over his shoulder and moved to the next cart. “How about this? Onion bags!”