I run. I run fast. I run hard. I run with everything I’ve got. 45 minutes to find a replacement – a criminal who has committed a worse atrocity than I. Was what I’ve done even an atrocity? I killed a killer, I ended a man who could have killed thousands if given enough time, all with a smile on his face. I killed one man so that hundreds would be saved. There are stories about him saying that a he was good now and ‘wanted redemption’ – bullshit. A person like that never changes. Never. Guards look at me. My body aches from running – fuck I don’t have time for this.

“Hey Gan! Want to-”

“Oi Fel! I need to know something. Who is the worst person we have in prison right now. Take me to them now. Under orders of the captain.” My eyes start burning – I wipe my face – my glove is drenched. Fel stares at me with confusion written on his face – fuck, I don’t have time for this!

“Now!”

Fel thinks for a moment –

“Fuck, I don’t have time for this Fel! NOW!”

“Okay okay, the worse person I could think of is a man in prison for the serial killing of hundreds – Fa Fumerunner.”

“No, not him – the next worst person hurry!”

“Erm, I dunno… we have someone in for manslaughter.”

“What did they do?”

“Gimme a sec-”

“I don’t have a second, I need to know now!”

“Fuck Gan, chill out!” I grab Fel’s shoulders roughly “Okay Gan, please stop – you are hurting me!”

“Just tell me Fel!” I scream

“He… he – he was working the fields. Tripped and fell on a stone and cut his hands up real bad. He bandaged them up quickly and kept working despite knowing that it could cause issues because if he took the time off, he probably would have gotten fired. He was apparently quite sick and struggled to even make it to work, so when he was there, he worked extra hard. He worked and worked, and eventually some blood dripped on the ground. Unfortunately for him, a vine seed was hidden away there and erupted out the ground. It tore up the ground and knocked one of the giant cows over, which crushed another farmer to death – the death was instant and he turned himself in. The dead farmers blood and body made the grass grow thirty or so meters tall, luckily there was no weed nearby. The cow stood up and started eating the grass. No flesh remains, only a few broken bone fragments.”

All of that story and… “is that it?!”

Fel looks at me and cocks his head to the side “What do you mean ‘is that it?’ – we don’t live in the plane of potential or purity. We don’t breed killers, we breed cattle. I don’t fight wars, we fight weeds. If people want violence, they go elsewhere – fuck, killing someone here is a death sentence for the killer because of the blood! What do you want from me?!”

“I… want a killer… worse than me.”

“What did you do?”

I look at Fel, one of my many friends here. I like guy, he is strong, independent, a bit of a doofus but fun to be around. He can take a joke and is fantastic as puns, as much as it makes me want to kill him at times.

“I killed Fa Fumerunner with his own dagger.”

Fel is silent for a moment “Fuck Fa, I think you did great. He was a blight to me and every other Fael native. You did this world a service. Everyone here is worse than you if that’s all you did!”

“Fel, you don’t understand – a kill is a kill and with a dreg weapon apparently makes it worse. I have… half an hour or so before I need to return and if I don’t have someone with me, I have to go on death rows march in Fa’s place.”

“You WHAT?! There aint no way – by Fael that is stupid! Why?”

“Because… because if I don’t…” everyone will be killed. Humanity will be wiped out. There is no stopping that creature. That being. That... thing “…well, those are my orders.”

“Bullshit orders. I won’t let them!” I can see Fel beginning to tear up. He is a fool. A lovable fool. It seems I have no choice, I am not about to send a man who was just trying to do a job well to death rows march.

“Hey Fel, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, anything bud.”

“Can… can we get a drink. I have a bit more time. For the last bit of it, id like to have just one last drink.”

“They… they wont collar you up, will they?”

“I don’t think so, but who’s to say.”

We silently walk to the canteen. Liquor is quite available here. I get a rich, dark stout and Fel does the same. We drink it together in silence. Once I finish, we hug. He cries. I cry. I leave. I return to the door.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“You are late! Thank god you are back just in time Gan – do you have someone? This is different to normal, we don’t have a cart ready for you but I do have backpack filled with supplies and a letter for the other side, wherever you end up.” I am handed the backpack. It is heavy. “now go!”

I walk into the door unceremoniously. The silhouette of a figure sitting in a large chair to the long black roads side greets me with a nod. There are no features outside of a warm burning line across the shadows face. The line curves – a smile.

“Welcome back, Gan. Great to see you – I was hoping you’d come back. Now pick up that knife and lets begin.”

I look down and there it is, glistening in the purple light, the cursed blade that led me here – Savra. Why did I even think of that name? Why was it on my tongue?

“No.”

“No? You aren’t going to pick up the knife? Are you going to do the death rows march?”

“Yes.”

“Really not giving me much to work with here, are we? Well, I suppose that is fine. Hope you enjoyed that drink by the way – Fel is quite a nice lad it would seem. Shame you had to come here.”

Bastard.

“Please, I am not born from parents like you, yet I know my parents well. I am not discarded or somehow unable to interact with them, unlike you.”

I’ll kill you.

“Kill me? Please, you are too much of a coward to even pick up the weapon at your feet. Go and run away like you normally do.”

I grab Savra and throw it at the silhouette with all my might – Savra does not leave my grip. FUCK FUCK FUCK! I can’t let go – by all the planes… no!

“Now that is much better. No longer a coward, I like that. Come closer to me, let me look at you.”

My vision bobs up and down as I mindlessly walk forward. Away from the door.

“Excellent! Now you are truly on Langnet’s road. Welcome.”

The smile is warm. Kind. Relaxed.

“Now normally I curse all who come here, and take a little time to figure out what the curse is. I would first let them wander around in circles to see if the deafening silence gets to them, then ill make them do something like kill their horse by making them believe its injured. That way, their only companion is killed by their hands and ill see what that does. Depending on their reactions, I can get a sense of what’s important. I don’t touch the cart though. That is their ball and chain – although without a horse it creates a bit of a predicament. I will say, Fa was quite an interesting character. I do miss him already.”

The smile does not move or waiver. The voice gouges through my own thoughts. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Well, you are in quite a different boat. One kill is nothing, lets be honest. That is no terrible crime – no, your crime is one that is quite different, although bad in its own way. Thus, I will give you a chance to choose what your curse is.”

“A chance to choose?”

“Yes! So I’ll make it quick. Choose between being cursed with; Super strength, super speed or being able to see the future.”

…huh?

“Ill give you some time. Just call out when you have decided!”

The silhouette vanishes. Curses? Those all sound useful… wait, lets see. Super strength probably means that ill accidentally kill and destroy a lot of stuff – if I can’t control it, Ill be a menace. Super speed says nothing about my body being able to keep up. The sheer speed of what I do might tear my body apart – and if it relates to something like my heart beat, my heart will explode. Seeing the future… that does have its drawbacks – seeing thing you don’t want and all that, but there are no physical downsides. I can do my best to ignore futures, by Gan’la, it might even be quite useful.

“I have made my decision – cursed to see the future.”

The silhouette returns, the warm smile still on its face.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” The warm smile becomes… sinister. Twisted. It does not change shape but there is an intent behind it that makes me shiver. My head rolls of my shoulders. My body collapses on the ground. The pain is extreme yet dull. My head is grabbed and turned to see… Fa. A long, twisted smile on his face. I scream. I touch my neck – I am fine. I spin around, nothing. Will this happen? No, this is the future of what’s going to happen on this road? Fa will kill me?! Pain ripples through my body – I can taste stone – a stalagmite has pierced through my head, body and is poking out my stomach. Darkness surrounds my vision. Blood drips from my chest. I gasp. I breathe normally. I am fine. I jump out the way. Nothing falls. I hear my voice “I… I miss Fa Fumerunner – the love of my life.” I feel heartbroken at his death. I have the most soul wrenching desire to be with him – NO! NO NO NO! I would rather die. I would rather jump off the road. I would rather kill myself – I feel nothing for him again. I collapse to the ground, screaming.

“My dear Gan, I believe you misunderstood my intentions though. Your line of reasoning is sound, but I have no desire to kill you. My curses never kill, they torture. They torment – Fa was given quite a bad one but you… you have chosen the worst. You can see the future. Every future. At any time. Now or later, you wont know. Will it pass or not? Well there is a chance that future occurs, but also a chance it does not.”

“W… why?! What did I do?”

“You stole from me. You took the most delicious soul and body from my grasp. You stopped my plans from coming from fruition. You became something no other has – someone I hate.”

“I’m so sorry! Please… have mercy” I explode in a ball of blood a tissue, the pain is excruciating. My body is fine, only to be covered in boils. It is so itchy, I scratch my body to the bone – my body is fine. I see Fa bowing his head and apologizing for all he has done – I see him as a great leader who all come to respect for helping shape the world for the better. The world is peaceful now. The weeds in the plane of pastures work along side the farmers. The planes work together to get the most out of each other. There is no war or violence. Monsters and humans dance and sing together. I am standing on Langnet’s road – the cruel smile millimeters from my face.

“Mercy? I was created to destroy humanity as punishment for destroying the very fabric of nature by creating this road. I have the one thing that humanity has over anything else – vengeance. I hate all humans, but you are number one on my list now.”

It… wanted me to return, to come here of my own free will. To walk away from the door so the curse could hold. Please… have mercy…

“Let me tell you something, Gan. Fa Fumerunner's curse was especially brutal. He was cursed to be good. Completely and utterly good. The very core of who he was is good. He truly would have done everything in his power for redemption – for the good of all, yet not a soul would ever have believed him. He was so close to breaking down completely but alas, you killed him, letting him think in his last moments that at least he did good for one person. At least he helped you recover from what he did. You gave him the redemption he desired, and I hate you will every fiber of my being for that. Welcome to suffering. Welcome to despair.”

Visions… so many… so real – I cannot hear. I cannot feel. I cannot think. I run. Run down the road. Run with everything I have. My throat hurts. My ears hurt. My body hurts.

“Welcome to the march.”