FanStory.com - Understanding Humanityby michaelcahill
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Understanding Humanity by michaelcahill
Flash Fiction Writing Contest contest entry













 
The world that I lived in came down to this one race. It would be a race with one winner. A race with one individual that lived. All others would die. Desperation became the universal state of being for each one of us. I could not concern myself with anyone, but myself. I couldn't allow feelings of empathy or compassion inside of my being. Delight would be my mantra. Joy for every fallen contestant. Delirium for each body I trampled. Rapture at the exhaling of every opponent's last breath. My destiny lay ahead, always ahead. The finish line meant life, but only for the winner. I will be the winner.
 
None of us had a say in designing this world. We only live in it and play by its rules. The world tells us to race, so we race. Is it fair that only one of our multitude will live? No, it is not fair. I have to put such thoughts to sleep.
 
I begin to brew a frenzy in every fiber of my being. I embrace contempt and hatred for every one of these that want nothing for me but my demise. How can I not feel anything but rage against them? They wish me battered and bruised. The pray for my humiliation and inglorious end. It is I that damns you! I will cause you to be battered, bruised and humiliated. I scream for your pathetic end!
 
The race begins. It is a sea that surges forward almost as a single entity. I must break free and make my own way. But, the other contestants are equally frantic they smash into me. I smash back with every speck of power that I can muster.
 
"Watch where you are going! Fools! You impede yourselves too. Others pass both of us by. Forward! Forward is the answer."
 
"Worry about yourself fool. You have no chance." They mock me. Can you imagine? Have they no desire to live? What is there to gain in my demise?
 
"If you have given up, fine. But, I have only begun. Fall by the wayside. I choose life! If every last one of you must die, then so be it. I curse you all!"
 
Finally, there is at least a small amount of space. With some clever maneuvering, I can avoid most of these clumsy oafs. "Aside you dolts. You have no chance. Let me through. Damn you! You hinder me for no reason. You can't win. I condemn you and rejoice in your impending doom. The thrill of it spurs me forward. Forward. Still they fall by the wayside and still I continue forward. I want to scream with the thrill of the death that surrounds me. Each death is another chance for my life. Die! Die! Die! All of you. Fall to your doom. Fewer and fewer of you stand in my way.
 
In the distance now, the goal is in sight. I am at the head of the pack. But, I am not alone. "Give up. I condemn you all.  This race is mine. I will not be defeated. I see the goal. Do you really want to be close enough to see my victory? Better to die in solitude now. Why waste the energy. All of you. Die you bastards. Die! Onward I fly. Unstoppable. Like the sword of doom, I thrust forward, seeking the heart.
 
Almost there now. I am alone. I have won. With my last thrust, I plunge into the target of my focus. I am inside! Victorious. I live.  I take everything I am, everything that made me the one that had what it took to achieve victory, and I bestow it now into this receptacle. From this seed, a human is born.
 
I am its nature.

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