A Corpse From The Sky

A putrid scent suddenly assaulted my nose as I neared the colossal thing. It was the scent of rot, like something had been dead here for a long time. Finally, it all became clear. The dark mound I had been looking at was no mound, but the corpse of a grand beast. I stared at its scaly dark skin and the torn membranes that I had thought was cloth. I noticed it had a long, spiny tail that went out behind one of the decrepit houses. Each of my steps slowed as I approached the fallen beast, unsure of what this thing could be. Soon, I was close enough to see its long neck that was wrapped away from me as it was curled up on its side. The beast's triangular head came into view, its sharp and rigid features displaying the mighty thing it once was. Suddenly, the animal that had been so foreign to me had become completely recognizable, and it struck fear through my body. I was staring at the rotting corpse of a great dragon.

Its scales were as black as obsidian, yet had a slight shade of deep purple that morphed around its surfaces as I walked beside it. Its wings were petrified in the air, the hole filled membranes that once caught wind now fluttered hopelessly in the dry breeze. The back of its neck was covered in sharp spines, cautioning me of its danger even after its death. I approached its angular head, which was nearly as tall as me, spines protruding out of it as well. I could not get a good view of its eyes, the sharp spines slicking back over them, covering the sunken sockets.

I was entranced by the creature, so much so that I had not notice the grotesque, slopping sound that was coming from just beyond the dragon's head. The sound was constant like TV static, but this sounded much more wet. I walked around the beast's large head only to be greeted with something from a nightmare. The dragon's entire chest was completely gutted open, exposing the yellowish ribs once covered by its dark flesh. The internals of the beast were nearly gone, leaving the rib cage with no organs to hold. Much of the meat that was left was piled throughout the ashy ground, its reddish gray color glistening, even in the dark light. The source of that vile sound was now before me, as I watched three people, two laying close to the ground just outside the corpse, and one deep inside the corpse near the spine, picking at the remnants of this dragon's innards. All their clothes were dark and torn, as it they were wearing an amalgamation of different clothes all stitched together, the fabric covering the entirety of their bodies. They were on all fours, clawing at the meat before them. I took a step back, nearly vomiting at the disgusting sight. I took a big gulp to try and keep it in, the sound of my exhaling loud enough that one of the people just ahead turned to the side.

"Father, it seemeth we have a guest." A gentle, very young and feminine voice spoke.

The man next to her turned his head slightly and groaned, his voice coarse, and his tone deep and guttural. The man continued to rummage through the fleshy pile, its sounds assaulting my ears. The owner of the feminine voice turned to look at me while still on all fours. Her stature looked to be smaller than the other two. Her face was covered by the long hood of her clothes, but peeking out just from under, I could see her red stained chin and lips, the color magnificently contrasting against her graying skin. I stared at her for a bit before she spoke once again.

"I'm sorry miss. This is for us alone. Scurry along now, wouldst thee?" She said coldly and calmly.

"Um... I'm alright, wasn't planning on it." I said nervously.

"Hmm, thy dialect is of here not. I take it thee comest from a region far from here?" She said as calm as ever.

"Yeah, that's right." I entertained her theory, though she was somewhat correct.

"I see. Anywise, thou seemest to hunger not, but when the time cometh, don't try crawling here." The girl said before putting her head back toward the giant corpse, the two others completely unfazed by our conversation.

"Actually, I..." I raised my voice, but could not finish what I wanted to say.

There was a long pause then the girl turned once again and sighed. "I guess I could take time from my meal. Well then, what is it thee seekest to know?" She said finishing my thought for me as if she has been through this before. Her tone was mature, yet her voice was that of a child.

Despite having so many questions about this world that had been formulating in my head, I froze up. I could not think of a single thing to ask with the grotesque scene before me. With the little words I could muster, all I could ask was a very simple question.

"What is this?" I asked quivering.

The girl grin from under her hood. "The world is cruel isn't it? A being once capable of devouring the sky, now mere fodder for the likes of us below. Fascinating how that works. Hunger is truly a special thing." She said softly.

Her vague and cryptic words flew over me, the shock from this gore ahead still tainting my eyes. I looked around the small village, trying to take my eyes of the dried blood a snaking entrails. It was then that I had realized something off. There were a couple dozen small houses, yet these three were the only ones in sight.

"Hey... Is your family the only other ones here?" I asked.

"Why yes, the rest of them have already departed as angels." The girl briefly got on only her knees and raised her frail hands to the sky just barely above her head. She was still hunched over and the top half of her face was still unseen through the hood. "Don't worry friends. I shall join thee soon." She said in a breathy manner. I looked up to see nothing but the black sky. Perhaps her friends were already in this world's version of an afterlife. She turned her face back slowly to the dragon meat and continued gorging herself.

I stood there motionless, in fear of what was to come. It was indescribable how disgusted I felt watching them eat, my stomach churning with ever smack of their lips. The odor of decay did not help one bit either. I wanted to leave, so I pivoted my foot and took a step away, before one more question had popped into my mind. I just barely turned myself to ask the question.

"One more thing. What happened to the world?" I asked.

The small girl paused from her meal, still clutching a chunk of graying flesh in her hand, the dark red juice from it seeping into her sleeve.

"Hast thou heard the tales of the old world not?" She asked.

I stayed silent, to which she took as my answer. "Just how far detached art thou from this place? Thou hast never heard the stories?" She asked rhetorically. "Well... I was not born of the era when the sky was said once to be blue, and nor were my parents and their parents before. Still, every tale of that bygone age has always mentioned the greed of man and gods, and the destruction that cometh after." 

"Gods?" I questioned.

She giggled. "Personally, I find it silly, the idea of these gods. Those beings who were said to control the very natures of this world, even blessing those who worshiped them with miracles, yet everything is out of balance and I have yet to witness such a caster of these supposed miracles. Where have they gone? Perhaps they never even existed is what I like to believe." She rambled on passionately. 

The girl clicked her tongue, then once again she turned her face back towards the flesh beneath her and continued eating her fill, as if I was never here. I thought for a moment about all the cryptic things she had told me. Despite its severe lack of clarity, I at least got a basis for a better understanding of what has happened to this world. I could not bring myself to ask more questions, as the girl seemed annoyed that I interrupted her meal. Instead, I continued to stand their, watching them in silence, stuffing their mouths with the reddish blobs, their appearance and mannerism more akin to that of stray dogs or starving pigs. It was truly a pitiful sight.