Survivor's Guilt.

[Wolflord 1,488]

Well, it's been a long enough time since I've posted anything new, and I've had this story for a while. Also, the ending is a little weak and I was wondering if I could get some constructive criticism. Anyways, without further ado I present to you:

Survivor's Guilt

There was a time when my people were the lords of the land. We roamed our territory, keeping watch and overseeing everything. We moved in groups, never staying in one place. That is how we preferred it. That was the way things were for generations. Then on one sad day, our whole way of life was forever changed. They came without warning, as we crested a hill they were upon us. Dressed in the skins of our own people they moved like lightning, too fast for us to comprehend. We had never seen death the way they brought it. Using strange objects we had never seen before they attacked us in groups of 10. Isolating one of us, wearing him down over time, until he finally collapsed. When one of our numbers was finished, they descended upon him like vultures, tearing everything away. When they finally left, only their bones remained.

From then on, our days as Lords were over. We moved quickly, too quickly. Many of our number collapsed from exhaustion, too weak to go any further. We discovered too late that was exactly what they wanted. Slowly the months turned to years and our numbers diminished. I watched friends, family members and mates die at the hands of these terrible monsters. They returned again and again, their greed enormous, their appetite insaitable. Through blizzards and bitter cold they always returned, unstoppable. This type of massacre was unknown to us, and we were afraid. At long last, our great leader himself fell to these beasts, and the mantle of leadership passed on to me, the responsibility of our people.

Alas, I was all that remained, Lord of a land of death, leader of nothing. For days they chased me ever onwards, until at long last, exhausted and cold I stumbled into a cave hoping to hide from these bringers of death. I waited, too scared to move. I waited, but they never returned. I waited until my body froze and I could no longer move, easy prey. Yet still they never returned. I know not how long I waited, for I wait still. Here I sit, this cave as my prison, the ice as my tomb. Here I sit, alone, awaiting the hunters to return and finish the job they started. The last of a dead people, my guilt vaster than the lands we once roamed, my sorrow heavier than the mountain which weighs down upon me. These hunters took everything from me, but not even they can assauge the pain that I feel. One day I will be free, but I will not seek revenge, for that is not the way of my people. I will not bring myself to their level, I will continue our traditions until death.

[Mathias 426]

I like it. I want to know more about these hunters and the civilization they had destroyed. Perhaps he'll survive, so that he can save another culture from the same fate! Please continue, I'm panting in anticipation!