Annihilation - Book Three

Chapter 37

Tomas stares at the creature that takes his original form; the unicorn stands before us and nibbles at the bread in Verando's hand. The lycan rolls his eyes and hands it over like one might to a begging dog. 

 "So all those nights where I talked to ya like ya were a beast, ya could have talked back?" 

Fergus flips up his lip in response, obviously amused and impressed with his own ability to play the role of an innocent, simple creature. 

Verando pushes the beast's muzzle out of his lap. "I told you, unicorns are assholes. It's well known that they do nothing for anyone but themselves; they're the epitome of neutral."

I clapped my hands to get everyone's focus back on me. My head was pounding, and I was done with the bickering. My body still ached; on the brink, I just wanted answers so we could get on with it.  "Fergus, I need you to tell us what you were talking about with Alpha," I remind him. "It seemed important?" 

Trying not to sound too frustrated, it seems at every turn, something points at Verando and me, saying we are the only ones capable of stopping this. It'd be nice to have some answers; only they were hidden inside of this beast who would rather not indulge my curiosity.

Fergus ponders this momentarily and finally turns his head to watch me. " Do you not know your history?" he questions.

I rub my temples with my fingertips, resting my elbows on the table. Must we always circle back to my lack of attention to detail regarding my upbringing? "I know my history. Not the countries, per se. Certainly not the lycans, there was a hell of a lot going on, and I'd hardly learned my damned pledges before I was shipped off." 

"Well, that's yer problem there. Ya should read a book now and again." 

"Fergus." I groan. The beast would drive a man to drink; perhaps there was some I know why they're extinct; no one could reproduce with such a creature, nor could more than one exist at a time. The universe couldn't handle it. "I'm begging you. We don't have time to learn all that you know, nor would it even be possible. If there is something that you can say to help us, now would be that time because, as you can see, we thoroughly got our asses kicked. Unless you want the world to descend into chaos, we are the best you've got to save it. "

The unicorn thinks about this as he circles the table, bothering me with exactly how unbothered the stallion was. While he plodded along, he proceeded with nosing everyone for their remaining pieces of lunch, and I festered in disbelief at the awkward shuffling as he wedged his body in between the chairs and clammers around with his massive size in such a small space. Finally, he snorts and comes to a stop beside me, with a swish of his heavy tail. 

 "Ya will never know all that I know, fer a unicorn lives as long as there is life on this earth. Born and born again, a continuous cycle, you are correct in that we don't have much time." Fergus immits a mist from his horn that forms on the table. The mist takes on a life of its own, bounding animals through the forest, and from those animals comes man chasing them with spears. As the world swirls, time ascends, and at their crest is the unicorn.

 All at once, the faded shape of a unicorn as it drops to its knees, dies, and another is born; the cycle plays on repeat in quick succession as the shapes of man look more and more familiar. They begin to fracture and spread; some seem to wield magic while others craft with tools, and some even become beggars.

 The point of the cycle becomes very clear, no matter what, the unicorn never interferes. 

"It's a lonely life as the spirit of this planet, watching those that ya love perish or dwindle away." The mist takes a darker turn, and flashes of red color the unicorns as they die in various ways. Some are shot or hunted, some jump off cliffs to their death for they can no longer take the loneliness, and some just fade away into dust.