Evil Ch. 1: Blooming

         “Thief! Murderer! Thief!” A mix of glass and blood rained down upon the pedestrians below from the city bell tower. Three rings were sounded as a warning to the expecting citizens, informing them of the awakened criminal. At last, the citizens realized, evil had awaken. Innocence, beaten and bruised, was slowly transforming into its inner self. The cursed flower was blooming into the image of its twisted planter, and was eagerly dripping its bitter, black nectar.
         Bodies fell soon after their blood. The citizens quickly entered the nearest stores, homes, carriages, and hotels without so much as a shriek. Perhaps an occasional murmur or whisper of panic, but none wanted to show a strong reaction. They all feared that any obvious indication of fear would attract the beast. Evil was in its early stages, and no one could predict how such a creature would behave during such puberty.
         Debris floated carelessly throughout a tiny store just across the street from the tower. Citizens hid silently under a solitary table, behind shelves of merchandise, and each other. A woman sat in the corner of a store not too far from the tower. She gently rocked her crying baby to sooth him. “Hush my child,” she cooed. “You’re safe here, babe. Now hush.”
         “It roams! It roams!” Another woman cried. She anxiously looked repeatedly back and forth from the window to the refugees inside. “Hide yourselves, for the creature roams!” The woman quickly ducked down under the window sill.
         “The beast is finally awake. I should have killed him while I had the chance! I should have… I could have… I would have!” The man hidden away in the corner cried hysterically. He constantly repeated his words. “I should have… I could have… I would have!”
         The mother in the corner grabbed his arm gently. “We didn’t know it would be this soon, darling. Now hush, or must I rock you as well?” she smiled soothingly as her baby drifted into sleep. The woman under the window peeked out to the chaotic world and sighed. The beast was gone… or so she thought.
         The wind hissed all around like a snake. Sometimes the deadly wind would seem to drift off into someone else’s establishment, would be joined by a cacophonous symphony of screams and cries, silence itself suddenly, and then hiss again. Sometimes the hissing and screams were a comfortable distance away, sometimes too close for even one’s sanity remain. Anxiety hung thick in the air.
         “It comes! It comes!” The watchwoman screamed. “Thief! Murderer! It comes!” She ducked down again and sobbed. “Thief! Murderer! It comes!” Wails of women and sobs of men tore through the atmosphere. The hiss grew louder as the cacophony of screams and cries joined in to create a deadly symphony.
         Like a flash of black lightning, the creature crept through the door as that of a wild dog might have. It growled fiercely at the sight of the citizens and stumbled lopsidedly toward them. It stumbled over and broke a jar with its left horn, and crushed a pot with its foot. Blood of its victims mixed with its very own flowed freely out of its mouth for all to see. It licked its wolf-like teeth and created a terrible grumbling noise in its throat. In spite the creature gnashed its teeth, as if eager to write a wrong with these people.
         All were unnaturally silent and still. The beast looked all about the store. It took a step forward. The mother screamed, “It’s in bloom!” The beast leapt out toward the woman and sank its teeth into her neck. She coughed and screamed as much as she could. The creature’s claws dug into her sides and stomach. Deeper and deeper, the claws dug ferociously. Soon the woman could no longer scream but could still breathe. With each deep breathe she took in, blood splattered out. The beast tossed her aside and grabbed hold of her baby, and swung him around in its neck like a rag doll. From that day on, both the baby and mother slept deeply, as well as most that hid away in the little store that night.
 
         Miles away from the chaotic scene, a large stone house rested comfortably against the grassy hillside. Weeds, who first posed as company to the cherry trees, were slowly squeezing the life out of them. How each lively creature of death wove themselves around the trunks and roots! Black clouds reined the sky with nobility and authority, but the weeds ruled the ground with cunning deception. Neglected to be exterminated, the rulers of the earth quietly dominated over all living beings. Visitors repeatedly asked the question, “When will it be too late?”
         Inside the house was nearly as dead and grim as out. Gray, stone walls blocked out any kind of influential rain while carefully incubating the seed of rage. Slowly the seed grew and sprouted. A bud sat for a long time atop the plant and waited patiently for the proper nurturing. Dirty water and foul air made the plant grow strong, and at last the bud was in bloom.
         The proud farmer sat pompously in his chair and nibbled away at his apple. His face contorted into a twisted smile that twisted more and more with each bite. “Does this cursed apple control my destiny,” he thought out loud. “Or do I control its?” he happily bit off more of the sweet flesh surrounding the apple’s core. “Oh how you struck a blow to humanity with your knowledge, you devilish fruit, yet your plan had backfired! Foolish fruit, we have mastered your curse!” He scoffed and devoured the rest of the apple.
         The chamber doors opened with such suddenness that the apple bits nearly flew out of the man’s mouth from surprise. Getting over his shock, the man began to relax and smile. “Ah, Cerberus, what took you so long?” The man stood and embraced the boy, Cerberus. Cerberus smiled and returned the gesture.
         “My apologies, Archimedes,” The boy bowed politely. “The people did exactly as you said they would. None would cooperate with me. Nonetheless, I still got everything.” Cerberus dropped a brown bag onto the ground. “I hope you find all the items to your liking.”
         Archimedes smiled and quickly scooped up the bag. He gently patted the boy on his shoulder, then suddenly frowned. “Cerberus, what is that around your mouth?” Red liquid surrounded the boy’s mouth. Cerberus stepped back and licked his lips.
         “My lunch,” he bluntly stated. Archimedes’ smile returned, and he turned away delighted. “Is that so?” he asked. After a few moments of silence he asked, “Isn’t tomorrow you’re birthday?”
         “Yes.” Cerberus responded emotionlessly.
         “How old will you be?”
         “Thirteen.” The boy swallowed hard.
         “Is that so?” Archimedes strolled toward the door to the right and stroked his beard. He blew out one of the four torches that kept the room lit. “Well dinner is waiting in the pen. You may want to hurry before it runs away again.”