West Texas by Al Sarrantonio

Author:Al Sarrantonio [Sarrantonio, Al]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery & Crime
Publisher: Crossroad Press

Chapter Thirteen

There was no more screaming. He knew the blessing of blindness for what it was.

For now, even the Sun had come to worship him, to show fear at his presence.

Oh, there had been fear in the beginning. Thoughts of The Woman had assaulted him. He imagined she had risen from her bed, faceless, and come at him with red-hot pokers, one in each hand, just out of the fireplace, driving them deep into his eyes—seeking, perhaps, to burn herself into his brain. Those were his first thoughts. To see the world suddenly black, it was natural that he had first thought of curse instead of homage. Blind. How would he do his work, fight the day and kick the bones of those who had turned to dried mud, if he could not see? His battle with the Sun had been lost, and despair had filled him. He had dropped to the ground, and the Sun had burned into his skin, making it like the surface of the Sun itself, seeking to turn him to dried mud, seeking to strike him down to mortality.

He had cried, thinking the battle over, that the Sun had defeated him.

Weeping, he had slept.

Blind and burned, he had awakened in the night, feeling the coolness of the desert around him, sensing the absence of the hated enemy the Sun—and then true despair had filled him. He could not even see the night! True blackness, blackness in his head robbing him of the blackness of his night—this he could not stand.

He had cried, crawling on his belly like a dog to the edge of the mountain, and made the decision to give in to the Sun and throw himself to the rocks below.

But then he made a glorious discovery. Standing there, at the edge of the world, poised for destruction, he found that—glory of glories—at the corner of his eyes, he could see. There, at the edge of his eyes, he saw—stars!

Stars haloed his eyes, grew more distinct, then ringed his eyes gloriously until they faded with coming day.

And then—most wonderful discovery of all—the Sun had come—and he had defeated it!

For there he stood on the edge of the world, facing the east, and when the Sun rose it did not burn into his eyes, but hid itself from his sight! Even more glorious—when he looked straight at it, the Sun became, in each of his eyes, a black sun!

The Sun belonged to him!

He had screamed in triumph, and then, looking down, away from the dark of the Sun, angling his eyes to the side away from the black circles where he could see, he spied an Indian brave waiting for death below!

Glory of glories! What a wonderful offering! How he had relished the fear and awe in the Indian's eyes, watching the young brave around the permanent black suns in the center of his eyes, a reflection of himself, because he had become the Black Sun itself!

Oh, how the young Indian had died, so slowly, to his homage, the rending of flesh, parts to return to dried mud, to dust.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.