The earthen pot was dry, seemingly its memories of holding water had obliterated years ago. Sun was blazing relentlessly, eager to melt everything lying in its sight of fire. Sand storms dashing on the face of the earth caused the genesis of tens of tornadoes dancing in the open field. Winds clamored, as if screaming about the might of desert. Sand was breathing loudly and the living seemed all dead.
The traveler, wearing a scarf draped around his whole face except his eyes, was sitting inside the broken pot, naked. One of the tornadoes that seemed engaged in a dancing duet with another one, was slowly moving towards the traveler’s refuge. The sand and the dried plants were instantly sucked inside the tornado as it slowly moved towards the pot. The rock lying at some distance was shaking as if in fear when the tornado moved closer to it and before no time it was revolving at the periphery of tornado along with the sand, wildly moving in circles. It was time to make a move. The traveler stood up and removed the scarf from his face with his stinger and jumped from the pot over the ground. His six legs maintained his perfect balance from that height. The next moment the traveler submerged inside the sand. Diving deeper, he penetrated through the layers of the sand beneath the ground. The tornado was a strong one and the top few layers were supposed to get removed by it. The traveler raced inside the earth to safety, but all of a sudden his Pedi palp digging the ground relentlessly, stuck something solid. His eyes beamed with joy.
Fortune was smiling at him. Within days he had found another hide out of the two legged. He doubled his speed to remove the soggy viscous cover from that box. The uneven sounds that had begun to emerge from within the box told him that his presence was felt by the two legged. Those sounds of anxious scrambling from inside were exciting him. The moment the cover was torn by his sharp claws, the solid bars stood naked, with another layer coating the bars from inside. The traveler knew the drill. Every box had an entrance, the viscous membrane, which was no match to the poison he carried inside his stinger. A few stings and the membrane would be destroyed like a piece of paper burning inside flames. The entrance of course was built at the bottom, so that no sand could flow inside while opening or closing it.
In a matter of few moments the traveler was inside the refuge. In a corner stood the two legged, screaming in fear in his alien language. The traveler was salivating at the opportunity of such an easy kill. A little filament was illuminating the whole box that was full of tools and chemicals with a little bed lying in the corner. It seemed like some laboratory.
The traveler’ claws were dangerously moving in the air. He was ready to charge when his cornered prey pressed a button and a red colored light was illuminated over his throat.
‘STOP. PLEASE STOP.’ The two legged shrieked in the traveler’ language.
‘What? You.. How?’ The traveler was rooted to his spot, aghast. It was impossible.
‘Don’t kill me. Please.’ The two legged begged.
‘You. How you are speaking?’ The stunned traveler finally comprehended his thoughts. His rasp eyes staring at the two legged.
‘First promise me you won’t kill me.’
‘What is a promise?’ He whispered in bewilderment. He was talking to a two legged. Impossible.
‘If you promise something, you have to do it.’ The two legged said.
‘How do you promise?’
‘You say that you promise and then the words that you will do it.’ The two legged was shaking in fear.
‘With or without saying ‘promise’, I do what I say. And I am going to kill you.’ The traveler scoffed.
‘But why?’
‘For the last time, how are you speaking?’ The traveler glared at him with those scariest eyes.
The two legged yielded. ‘Its this equipment we have created after years of hard work. We believe our species need to talk.’ The two legged was somehow avoiding collapsing over the ground.
‘But I have never come across a talking two legged before.’
‘Only few important people have this.’
‘You are important?’ The traveler smirked.
‘We are not your food so why are you hunting us. Even you somewhat look like us.’ The two legged shot the question he had been raring to ask for so long.
The traveler was a black scorpion, whose rear side was pitch black with a shiny hard skin. The limbs and the stinger were sturdy enough to effortlessly pierce through the two legged. However, from the middle of the body the skin turned softer, with thin hairs growing all over it. The round face, over the top of a small neck, too was covered in hairs that weren’t dense like in beard and moustache rather soft and scattered all over the face in an unorganized symmetry. His small eyes looked like dark marbles, while on the name of a nose were present two little nostrils. He had a small lips which someone could notice next to those sharp teeth. His Pedi palps looked like hands at the joint with the shoulder but from the biceps it again turned back into that shiny, solid, black scorpion skin. He partially looked like a two legged.
‘Nice try. But I have to.’ The traveler whispered in a vicious voice while stepping a couple of steps back, ready to plunge at him.
‘HOLD ON. HOLD ON. Just for a moment.’
‘What?’ The traveler shot in frustration. ‘Preys are not supposed to convince their killers to not to kill them. You are making it so difficult.’
‘Just tell me why? Consider this my last wish.’
‘Now what the hell is a last wish?’
‘A wish after it is fulfilled someone can die in peace.’
The disgruntled traveler thought for a moment before exhaling in surrender. ‘You are dying today. But I will fulfil your last wish.’ He whispered.
‘It’s a story as old as time. It is said that there was a time when you two legged ruled this planet. You were much bigger and smarter than us which made you arrogant. In your quest to power you abused everything that came in your way. You killed your fellow species. You made them slaves. You ate them. You killed the trees. You killed the rivers. Your misdeeds continued for far too long and then the nature retaliated. Somehow,’ the traveler paused for a moment, seemingly a little confused before he continued. ‘Mysteriously, your species started shrinking in size. Your smartness too began diminishing. While our species evolved. Power changed hands. You were no more the rulers. But your sins had turned the sun too hot by then. All the species over the surface started dying and the only species that survived were the ones who can find a way inside the earth. Even we had to learn to dig deeper to survive. Although most of you died, killed by the nature, some of you learnt to survive beneath the surface. The story says, you are the most vicious species who carry the power to kill this planet. So to save this planet, all of you must die.’
There was a silence inside the box. The box was created from an artificial organic membrane double coated from inside and outside over a structure made of bones. The filament hanging in one of the corners flickered over the head of the two legged as the forced entrance of the traveler inside the box had damaged the complex electrical circuitry passing through the membrane.
‘That’s it. You are killing us because of some story.’ A visibly stunned two legged finally managed to speak up.
‘We believe in this story.’
‘Well your belief in some figment of imagination is the reason you are killing us. This is insane.’ The two legged was exasperated by the absurdity of the whole logic. His race was at the brink of extinction because the most powerful species on the planet was hunting them based on their belief in some stupid story.
‘Legends are created when history turns too old to be remembered. So in legends we believe. I fulfilled your last wish. Now die in peace.’ The black scorpion spoke apathetically. Then he waved his stinger dangerously in the air while inching closer to pounce upon his prey. The two legged gasped in fear.
‘This is crazy.’ He screamed but the scorpion was in no mood to delay his job anymore. Before dying the two legged had come to realize the bitter truth the hardest way, there wasn’t a truce possible with the scorpions.
The spiteful eyes of the scorpion glowered at the two legged, six of his limbs moved in artistic rhythm, and his Pedi palps reached for his neck as the two legged closed his eyes in surrender. The end was close.
All of a sudden the box began shaking and before any one of them could blink, the box along with the ground above was gulped by a gigantic tornado. Everything happened so quickly that one moment ago they were standing facing each other and the next moment both of them were tumbling inside the box like some lifeless statues along with the other objects inside the box. The box wildly circled inside the tornado at a blinding speed. The wind screamed creating a deafening noise as the tornado toyed with the box, twisting and twirling it up and down. The membrane coating the box from inside was thankfully soft enough to cushion the bodies of the two legged and the scorpion that were getting smashed dangerously against the walls. The broken entrance wasn’t big enough for any of them to let them slip outside. However, a lot of sand had made an entry inside the box, blinding their vision. Tornado was carrying a lot of heavy stones that continued to hit the box from outside creating thunderous noises, each time creating a bigger crack in the box. Both the helpless creatures stuck inside the box had fell unconscious and yet their bodies continued to flip flop inside the box that was ready to give up any time before that tornado now.
It was dark in the night when consciousness finally returned to the scorpion. His heavy head could barely command his eyelids to open up. His stinger was broken from the middle and a couple of his legs could barely move. Where is the two legged?
He looked around but his gaze couldn’t see beyond the infinite sand smeared around him glistening in the moon light. The box broken into half was lying at some distance with no traces of anyone else. A few tornadoes were moving at a safe distance from him. Where is the two legged?
He tried to crawl but the pain was too steep to continue. The excruciating pain forced him to give up. He waited for a few moments to let the wave of pain travelling through his body pass. To no avail. Where is the two legged?
Suddenly, some whispers drew his attention. He looked around and this time he felt he saw some shadows in the dark. His eyes tried harder but the next moment there wasn’t anyone. Maybe his tired mind was tricking him.
The peace surrounding him seemed lasting and the wind was uncharacteristically calm. The travelling scorpion closed his eyes to find some comfort. Next moment some distant screams destroyed the peace. The scorpion anxiously looked in the direction of the sounds. Many two legged were charging at him, bellowing aggressively. The scorpion worked through his blurred vision to get the clear sight of the aggressors and to his surprise the group was being led by the same two legged whom he would have killed by now had the tornado not intervened.
The two legged were galloping with weapons in their hands. The familiar one was holding a long spear dangerously raised in the air and a large gun hanging to his back. Clearly he wanted to end things with a single strike. The Scorpion closed his eyes in despair, waiting for a certain death. By the sound he knew, the death was just a few steps away.
Out of nowhere thundered a vociferous sound startling the desert. Scorpion opened his eyes and to his surprise the whispering shadows from the dark were indeed real and they had begun firing at the aggressing two legged. The charging two legged were taken by surprise and within moments many of them were lying dead.
Who are these rescuers? The injured scorpion wondered. He thought he knew the answer and yet he couldn’t believe it.
The charging two legged had evolved from the initial surprise and were retaliating ferociously. The shadows were falling too each moment getting lesser in numbers. The lasers were flying indiscriminately and the battle was closing to its end. Soon there were only three creatures left alive, the scorpion, the person whom the scorpion had met before and one shadow in the dark. The shadow and the two legged spoke something in a language alien to the scorpion. The next moment the two legged dropped his gun and picked up the spear. The shadow emerged from the dark and the scorpion couldn’t believe at the sight of his rescuer. Another two legged. Much darker than the one who was trying to kill him but he was a two legged. The scorpion lied aghast in the field trying hard to comprehend the impossible.
Why would a two legged try to save me?
The dark two legged too was holding a spear. And then began the duel. They aggressively charged at each other slamming the spears against one another. The black one tried to jab the white one but with a lightening motion the white one dodged to his left and holding his spear from the middle he followed up his defense with a swing of spear which struck the black one on his head. A stream of blood emerged out of his forehead. He took a couple of steps back getting ready for another charge. The scorpion was rooting for the black one for the obvious reason but even he couldn’t help but notice the immense hatred in the eyes of both of them for each other. He had never seen such hatred even in the eyes of his own species for the two legged. The black two legged charged again. This time he swung his spear wildly and the white one could barely block his strike. The black one continued to charge aggressively striking violently while the white one could only manage to defend while continuously stepping back. One of the strikes was so hard that it broke the spear of the white one.
The scorpion smirked as did the black one, already reveling in a certain victory. But the white one startling both of them drew a laser gun of the size of his palm hiding inside his jacket and before the black one could understand, he shot him in his head. The black one died instantly. The white one walked to his dead body and spat over it before angrily kicking his lifeless face that was still spewing blood. The battle was over and the desert had again returned to peace. The white two legged turned to the scorpion and slowly switched on the device wound around his neck and the light above his throat illuminated again.
‘Any last wish?’ He sneered.
‘You cheated.’ The scorpion was trying to grapple the reality.
‘Living was more important.’ The two legged said unapologetically.
‘But you cheated.’ The scorpion was failing to come in terms with the reality.
‘Why do you care so much?’
‘Why wouldn’t I? He was fighting for me.’ The scorpion said.
‘What?’ The two legged was taken by surprise for a moment and then he burst into laughter which continued for a long time.
‘Clearly you are not that smart of a species,’ finally he spoke, wiping the tears off his eyes that had formed due to excessive laughing. ‘That man was trying to kill me, not trying to save you. You are just an injured scorpion whom he could have killed easily anytime. It was just a trap.’
The scorpion was visibly confused. ‘Why were you fighting?’
‘You ask too many questions for a dying scorpion. But you were patient with me in the morning so I guess I can wait to kill you.
‘These blacks are no humans. They are savages who will get our whole species extinct. For our species to stand any chance of survival, they have to die.’ Lines of immense hate appeared over his face confusing the scorpion even more.
The two legged was so engrossed in the conversation that he could barely notice the waves of sand travelling over the ground.
‘But you are the one who cheated.’
‘Survival instinct you know.’ The two legged winked at the scorpion who was breathing heavily.
‘So if I understood it correctly, you hate your own kind even in this hour of crisis because the color of their skin is darker than yours.’
The two legged was forced to think for a moment before he nodded thoughtfully.
‘Well its times up now.’ The two legged held the spear and walked forward.
‘I don’t think so.’
‘What do you mean?’ He suspiciously looked at the scorpion.
‘You shouldn’t have come to the surface and made so much noise,’ the scorpion wickedly smiled. He looked at the waves of the sand travelling over the surface from every direction towards them.
And the next moment, tens of scorpions, snakes, and lizards emerged out of the ground surrounding the injured scorpion and the two legged. The snakes were black and dusky in colour, hissing furiously at the two legged. The lizards were drooling at the sight of their dinner. The reptiles stood at the same height as the two legged only much larger in size. Each one of them was capable of swallowing the two legged within moments.
The scorpions who looked exactly like the traveller were the clear in charge of that situation looked at the two legged spitefully.
The spear was dropped from the hand of the two legged immediately as his body trembled in fear.
‘Wait. I wasn’t going to kill you.’
The scorpions were taken by surprise. ‘He speaks our language.’ One of them said.
‘Yes, its that instrument around his neck.’ The injured scorpion said.
‘Please let me live.’ The two legged fell on his knees, begging for his life.
‘You are a curse to this planet. A cancer. The last one of you needs to be found out and killed.’
The two legged looked around and tears streamed out of his eyes imagining a brutal death.
‘But first let me complete the story. I always skipped that part because it never made sense to me. But tonight it does.’
The two legged looked at the injured scorpion who was penetrating through his eyes right into his soul. His heart skipped many beats.
‘The two legged started shrinking because of the enormous hate they carried in their hearts. Hate for other species. Hate for the nature. Hate for each other,’ the scorpion took a dramatic pause to emphasize over what he had revealed that night. ‘And while the humans were busy hating, other surviving species began uniting. And then all of them united against the two legged to save this planet. Even the nature united with us.’ A momentary calm prevailed when the scorpion stopped speaking.
‘Kill him.’ He whispered.
The snakes and the lizards wriggled over the sand while the two legged gasped in horror. He sat paralyzed to even move a limb. The last thing he did was close his eyes. In less than a moment he was finished by the snakes and the lizards who swallowed whatever bits of flesh they could tear from his body.
The scorpions kept on standing at the back, supervising the whole kill.
An elderly scorpion covered in white hairs walked to the injured scorpion and stood beside him watching the snakes and the lizards feasting over the two legged’ flesh. Without taking off his eyes from them he said, ‘You told our story to a two legged.’
‘Well he made me to promise.’
‘What is a promise?’ The elder scorpion looked at him in confusion.
‘Another way of the two legged to tell lies.’ The scorpion winked at the elderly who was startled by that never before seen face expression. The night had grown darker and restless. The tornadoes were approaching them and it was time to go beneath the ground.