Temper the Rage

Ryan was only ten years old when the Rage appeared. She was helping her little brother, Koda, build a tower with some wooden blocks. Her parents were fighting in the main room again, so she had taken Koda away. Occasionally, her mother resorted to throwing things, and Ryan had once received a bruise from a hair comb projectile that hadn’t gone away for weeks.

Suddenly, the angry yelling turned into shouts and screams. Ryan rushed to peek out the doorway. There was no actual door, just an empty space that led from one room to the next.

And that was the first time she had seen a Rage. It stood on two feet, like a man, but that was where the resemblance ended. Six arms protruded from a cylindrical body. Two tall antennae protruded from the top of the body, a bulb of green light glowing on the tip of each. At first she had thought they were large green eyes, but in truth, the Rage had no eyes. They had no head at all.

The monster went for her father first, moving so fast she could barely track it. It entangled him in three of its arms, and he just-stopped. His whole body went limp, eyes rolling up into his head. When the creature released him, he fell with a sickening thump.

The Rage took Ryan’s mother next. Cold terror gripped Ryan’s heart as she waited for it to come for her. But as quickly as it had come, it left. It never even looked at Ryan or Koda.

Ryan still remembered kneeling beside her parents’ lifeless bodies, so whole and perfect. They looked like they were just sleeping.

***

Koda slapped Ryan on the back and grinned. “Hey, little sis. What’s up?” She scowled at him. Ever since he had outgrown her at his fourteenth birthday, he had taken to calling her ‘little sis’. Still, she wasn’t really angry at him. The scowl was just an expression, a way to let him know she didn’t approve of the epithet. She couldn’t afford to get angry.

“Aren’t you supposed to be watching Kya?” Ryan asked pointedly.

“Sleeping,” Koda said with a dismissive wave.

“What if she wakes up?” Ryan folded her arms.

Koda rolled his eyes. “If you’re so worried, go watch your own baby.”

Ryan smiled. “Okay. Then I suppose you won’t mind standing watch by yourself out here?”

Koda’s expression faltered for just a second, and Ryan’s smiled widened.

Koda forced out a smile in return. “Alright, you win. But I’ve got to say, staring at a sleeping infant is not particularly stimulating.”

Ryan gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Keston will be back soon, and then I’ll come in to relieve you.”

Koda’s smile faltered for a moment, but he immediately plastered it back on. “Right, of course. See you soon then, li’l sis.”

Ryan watched him go, and her own smile faded. Her eyes turned back to the dense forest. What was taking Keston so long? He had gone out hunting, but should have been back hours ago with dinner in tow.

Ryan tried to calm herself. Keston would be safe. The Rage wouldn’t be able to sense him. Keston was the most level-headed person she knew, and he could control his temper even better than she. But there were still other dangers in the forest, wild animals, traps from other survivors…

She pushed the thoughts away. She couldn’t afford to grow upset.

***

Keston moved quietly and cautiously back through the woods. He watched for any signs of danger, careful not to step in any of the large bear traps he saw. The bag over his shoulder bulged, and it was starting to grow heavy.

A faint snap caused Keston to spin instinctively, going into a low crouch. In the same movement, he dropped the bag behind his foot and drew a knife.

The intruder was trying to remain hidden in thick bushes. Likely, whoever it was had been waiting for someone to pass by so that they could jump out and ambush them. Keston had dealt with such attacks on more than one occasion.

“I see you,” Keston said calmly. “Why don’t you step out and we can deal with this in a civilized manner?”

Silence for a moment, and then branches snapping and leaves shaking. A tall, wiry man stepped out, holding a wickedly gleaming blade that was at least twice as long as Keston’s. The man’s eyes looked unfocused, and he bared his teeth in an expression of madness.

“Give me the bag, and this won’t get ugly,” the man hissed.

Keston shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry, good sir, but I can’t do that. My family is counting on me to bring them back dinner tonight.”

The man took a menacing step forward. He was several inches taller than Keston, but probably weighed about twenty pounds less. His shaggy hair and beard were of an undeterminable color beneath dirt and grime.

“Just walk away,” Keston said softly, almost pleading.

The man lunged forward. Keston sighed, twisting to avoid the long blade and slicing down against the man’s arm as it flashed by him. The man screamed in agony, but did not relent. He slashed again and again. Keston dodged calmly, occasionally striking and drawing blood.

Eventually, the crazed man retreated a pace, panting and growling.

“Let me go,” Keston said softly. “Please.” By now, the sun had begun to descend behind the mountain, leaving the forest dim and chill.

The man let out a howl of pure rage. Keston sighed, resigned.

Two green lights appeared as if from nowhere. This madman was loud, smelly, bloodstained, and moving enough to be obvious. But it wasn’t sight, sound, or even the scent of fresh blood that attracted the Rage.

The Rage hunted anger. A mild stab of irritation or a sharp word wouldn’t draw one unless it was already very near. But once anger seeped out of control, Rage would appear like moths drawn to a flame.

In moments, the howling man was encircled in thick, sinuous arms, holding him as if in an embrace. Then, as his body slumped to the ground, the green lights vanished into the darkening night.

Keston shook his head. The man should know better by now, after having survived so long. But then, starvation could do odd things to a mind. Perhaps he had been too far gone to understand what he was risking.

Keston retrieved his burden and trudged home.

***

Ryan let out of sigh of relief when she saw Keston in the distance. She ran to him, for a moment throwing caution to the wind. He smiled wearily when he saw her, giving her a half-embrace, the other arm carrying a stuffed bag.

“What kept you?” Ryan demanded.

He looked sad. “Another ambush. Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

Ryan pursed her lips. “Sometimes I think that the people are more of a danger than the Rage,” she muttered. “At least we control if the Rage attack us or not.”

One corner of his lips quirked up in a smile. “Wise words, my dear. Wise words.”

***

Koda watched Kya sleep, her tiny hands balled into fists beside her head. He smiled. He liked to complain, but he didn’t mind watching his niece. She was so peaceful and innocent. Besides, he knew there was good reason for someone to keep an eye on her. If she woke up, she had to be tended to immediately, before she could grow too upset. Her cries had never drawn a Rage before, but it was better not to take chances.

Her knelt beside the cradle, leaning his chin against the hand-crafted railing. He had helped Keston make it three years ago for Addi. His heart wrenched at the thought. Addi had been stillborn. It was a true mark of Ryan and Keston’s strength that they had not drawn any Rage during that time of grief.

He stared at Kya’s chubby little face. Perhaps the reason the Rage did not come for babies was that they did not truly feel anger. They were too pure, too perfect, for such a destructive emotion. Not that anger was unnatural, but unbridled, it was deadly, with or without the Rage.

Ryan held Kya’s chubby hand as they meandered through the woods. Kya insisted that the flowers away from the shack were ‘prettier’. The four year old certainly had a mind of her own.

They had just reached the stream when Ryan sensed something nearby. She halted, and Kya looked up at her face in confusion.

“Mommy?”

But Ryan was looking ahead, across the stream and into the trees.

It was a Rage. It wasn’t feasting, just wandering. It was not the first time she had seen a Rage alone in these woods, and the Rage never seemed to sense Ryan’s presence. Still, her grip tightened on Kya’s hand.

Ryan remembered distinctly those early years after the Rage first arrived. People had tried to kill them, only to find their weapons useless. Nothing pierced the black flesh, no matter the material or the force behind it. The attacks didn’t even enrage the beasts. Unless the person firing the weapon was angry, the Rage wouldn’t notice it had been assaulted.

Finally, everyone had given up on fighting back. The only way to survive was to avoid losing your temper.

“What’s that?” Kya whispered. She sounded frightened, but also fascinated.

“That’s one of those mean things me and daddy told you about,” Ryan said, whispering although she knew it wasn’t necessary.

Kya’s mouth gaped open. “It looks weird.” She actually giggled. Ryan stared in awe at her child, who seemed so unafraid in the face of danger.

“Can I see it?” Kya asked, tugging Ryan’s hand.

“Yep. You can see it from right here.” Ryan wasn’t about to get any closer than necessary.

Kya gave her a pleading look, her eyes growing to double their normal size. Ryan knew that many children would throw a fit, but Kya had been raised very differently. She had never seen anger. Any tendencies towards tantrums had been quelled very early, but the child had found her own ways to get what she wanted.

They were more effective, unfortunately.

Ryan sighed, slowly leading her daughter closer. They stepped up the edge of the stream, and Kya stared at the Rage. It was standing perfectly still now, not even quivering. As far as Ryan could tell, that meant it was sleeping.

Kya giggled. Before Ryan could react, the child had pulled free of her hand and started splashing across the stream. Ryan gasped, stumbling after her daughter. She slipped on a wet rock and went sprawling, barely catching herself before falling in face first.

She looked up as Kya reached the creature and poked one of its wiry arms.

The creature twitched. Ryan stumbled to her feet and hurried forward. Kya just giggled and poked the thing again. This time, it convulsed.

“Look, mommy!” she exclaimed. “It’s all wiggly!” She poked another arm. Then again. Ryan reached her and pulled her back.

By now, the Rage was vibrating. It grew more and more violent, and Ryan quickly scooped up Kya and backed away.

The Rage exploded. A mass of black flesh, torn muscle, and purple blood sprayed out, splattering the humans in an odorous, filthy slime. Ryan would have been disgusted if she weren’t so shocked.

It was…dead. Not just dead, completely obliterated.

Kya’s eyes were wide as saucers.

And Ryan started laughing. After all these years, they should have seen it. The monsters fed on anger alone, leaving the bodies of the victims to rot. No physical substance sustained them, and no physical weapon could harm them.

But something about Kya’s innocence and joy had destroyed the creature on mere contact.

“Sorry, mommy,” Kya whispered. “I didn’t mean to.”

Ryan hugged her daughter tightly, swinging her in a circle. “You did nothing wrong,” she laughed. “Nothing at all.”