• The White Ones

    “Are you sure? Can it handle it all by itself?”
    “Yes I believe it is possible, we should just let it alone. It is our best know-nothing.”
    “If you believe that it can then it will.”

    Beyond the black wall shadows moved, I could see the white ones moving. The white ones are always busy, like the small round nippers that invade my food. I moved away from the wall and went toward the field. I listened for the soft creatures that bounded through the treed areas; I wondered how I would catch them. I had little to work with, and the tool the white ones had given me was becoming steadily duller. It no longer had the ability to sever the soft creatures flesh or could it even cut the small saplings down. I looked at the tool and then at the stuff around me, what could I use? The tip of the tool was like stone, but smooth and sharp. As I looked about the ground overturning branches and leaves and things, I noticed a new creature coming out of the ground, it was small round and long, it had soft pink flesh with rings. I picked it up and it wriggled out of my hand and dropped back to the ground. I watched it as it disappeared into the black earth and I wondered where it had gone. I dug into the earth with my hand and scraped the earth away in search of my wiggly friend but it was gone. I took a look above me and saw only the clear ceiling that separated me from the sky. I pressed on until a shattering sound stopped me. The pounding sound came from far away and it wasn’t like the other sounds that I have heard before, it was not a sound of the flyers. I listened harder, until I could distinguish the sound. It was the sound of the White ones. The White ones were testing me again. The pumper inside me pumped harder it’s pumping filled my ears. I scanned the area and wondered what their test was now. I readied my tool and anticipated the worst. I listened for something and heard only the sound of rustling leaves about me. Another unknown sound filled the area the flyers were shrieking and flew away. Something was approaching but I heard nothing. The world itself seemed to hold its breath maybe even the White Ones too. I giant beast approached me it had teeth like mine but sharp and meant for tearing flesh. It had claws like the biggest flyers, but the yellow eyes were the most frightening. It made a sound deep in its throat and moved toward me. I backed away and took a fighting position. It lunged forward and I stuck out my tool to meet it. The beast caught on my tool, it wailed and roared and clawed at me marring my face. Warm red liquid streamed from its wound and flowed over my hand. I pulled my tool from its flesh and it ran from me. I followed it from a distance. It ran from the sheltered forest and into the place where the sky met the earth. I watched as it went but went no further then the shelter of the white ones. I wondered for a moment if all things went to where the sky touched the earth when they never came back. A moment later a white one approached me. The other white ones called it Tom. It placed a small stone bowl down on the ground and backed away. It was an offering from the White ones for winning the challenge. But it was food so I couldn’t ignore it. The food was a sweet mixture of flesh and plant but even more delicious. When I had eaten every scrap of food in the bowl I placed it where I had gotten it and backed away. “Thank you white ones.” I said to the black wall.