"The Men on Top of the Gray Hills"

"The Men on Top of the Grey Hills"
By Brian Paul Dunlop


I


I remembered it all started after the prohibition of the pompinlini fruit. I don't know why they got rid of it, and made it illegal.

I remember fondly of days past sitting around campfires with my friends, seeing great tales of our past adventures; project right in front of our very eyes as they inter-twined together, making a mixed adventure of epic detail.

Why, those were the best days of my life, but I guess everything changes, one time or another.

But now, everything is different, so different that I must take up arms to defend myself and all those I hold dear to my heart.

There is a terrible giant that reeks havoc upon this land. He had laid waste to my home village, killing many, many people - even my own parents and both of my beloved brothers.

This beast must die for what it did to me. And now, I can not sleep, I can not eat, I can't anything else before I confront this wretched ogre, and make it feel the pain I felt upon returning home after a brisk walk through the forrest to find my town in ruins; my people, my entire family, all wiped out and slaughtered.

What did we ever do to deserve such a fate? What? Why did they have to die? It's evil! EVIL!

So now, I journey; past the high manors of the segregated youth, past the markets and business distristricks, and even past the forbidden land beyond the Grey Hills that houses our interim ruler, and other government officials and workers.

Now I; the last remaining survivor of my destroyed village, am seeking out this demon, and will lay waste to this terrible, evil monster, once and for all.

I can kill it. I have its weakness, right here, in my pocket.

II


I journed on; past the green hills of moss and tigerlilies, into the mist of the high mountain fog, past the Canyon of No Tomorrow, and into the light; where I came upon a vast, sandy desert.

And I walked for miles, and miles and miles; aloft to a barren wasteland, lost of hope and understanding, and odd resemblance to the country, I once held high and true to my beating heart.
And then in the distance, I saw the beast, but I didn't see it as the horrible monster, I once imagined it as - it was laying on its stomach, crawling weakly and cursing out to the sky as if it felt betrayed.

"MONSTER!" I screamed as I jetted towards the beast, as it started to cry and crawl anxiously to a lost cause.

"Now, it is time for you die! Now, it is time for you to feel my suffering! And the suffering of my entire village!"

I ran up to the giant's huge vulnerable neck and pulled out my syringe filled of a purple liquid called "Semon Asen," which is harmless to my people, but deadly to giants.

"Stop!" the demon booms before I went to strike the needle down on its coraid ortery.

"Please don't kill me. You are lost. Please. Before you kill me, please let me convert you. You are lost, misguided and desperately need my help. I assume you are the last of your people - I'll die happily in knowing that I died converting a musguided Arzameic to the right path."

I drew back my needle. "You are the one who is on the wrong path; you murder - no, you genocide an entire people. How am I the lost one? I lived in a happy, forfilling life before you and our dead dictator, Fenino Azpet was extinguished like the evil sorcerer, he was; he lead many a people down a lost, barren existence of sin, and lack of communication and natural Arzameic sexuality. There was a reason why we killed him like we did and we wanted to the whole sphere to see it."

"But you don't get it. He was the prophet, the leader, the messiah, what he said goed, and I had a beautiful, lavish life, even as a hideous giant, and he loved me - loved me like your people never did, and you people never loved me because you are all lost sinner who needed to be exterminated. But that's alright now, if I can show you the error of your people and let you go off; back into our land - than I will let you kill me and I would die, peacefully with no struggle."

"I don't get it," I said as I capped the syringe and put it back in my pocket. "Are you asking me to kill you?"

"YES!" cried the giant. "This desert! This sun! All it does is give me pain! Why Azmuhuk? I was always a good giant. I always did what you asked and what you wanted. Why do you let me fall and let this evil Arzameic live? Why Azmuhuk? Why?"

"Silence evil ogre!" I boomed. "Azmuhuk is not here. He left right when your leaders and followers started to kill the innocents. In your philosophy, how have the babies been evil? How have our women been evil - the very women who conceal their physical beauity and sexual urges just to satisfy our most holy Azmuhuk."

"Please Azmuhuk, show this lost soul the light. Please Azmuhuk, show this evil infidel, the brightness and warmth of your true holiness" prayed the dying giant.

"You know what?" I asked in revelation. "I'm not going to kill you."

"What do you mean you're not going to kill me? I was foretold of these very events and our very same conversation in a dream; you spiked my neck with purple poison then I was sent to the Promiseland of Peacefule Giants; living in a happy, equal society."

"A Promiseland for Peaceful Giants?" I asked, before laughing hysterically.

"What's so funny? Why do you laugh?"

"Who told you this lie?"

"Fenino Azpet and this isn't a lie. It is in print, he speaks of these prophecies, himself."

"Yes, in books he wrote, himself," I interjected.

"Yes, books written by the prophet."

"Prophet?" I asked, starting to laugh, again. "This prophet of yours is a false prophet, brought to this world by Befoir of the Underworld, and that is where he went to and that is where you will go to, also."

"Please Azmuhuk, this soul is truly blinded, lead him to the light, where it is good. Please Azmuhuk, rapture me and send him to Before; in the land of the trapped infidels," prayed the giant as it spat and gasped for air under the drying heat of the noon sun.

"You see, on your last few hours of life, Azmuhuk will show you how wrong, you and your false philosophies and prophets really are. Now I will leave you, and let you die - you sick, evil, devil of a giant."

I then turned and started to walk in the direction of Asmeicba; a more liberated nation.

"Wait! Please kill me! Take me away from this pain! Please!"

And these were the last words I could coherently hear as I walked westward in a lost, unforgiving desert under the tremedous heat of an oppressive orange sun.