The strange phenomenon was slowly permeating the village, as the days passed more and more people fell victim. Doctors and scientists were baffled, there was not one positive response to any type of treatment, either medicinal or psychological, even hypnosis was tried, and failed.
No one had any answers.
Mothers no longer comforted their babies. Husbands no longer kissed their wives goodbye before they left for work. Lovers no longer strolled hand in hand through the park, or canoodled in shop doorways.
The village was becoming an emotional wasteland.
* * * * * *
The entity knew nothing of divorce rates, or broken homes, or shattered families. It was a being driven by instinct, by hunger. It was a predator, a hunter.
It came in the night, silent, invisible, intangible.
It seeped under doors or through air vents, and fed on the sleeping forms.
It stole their kisses and devoured them. It absorbed their cuddles and embraces. It drank their touches and caresses. It glutted itself on their love, their tenderness, and their joy, then moved on to the next house leaving behind the sleeping husks.
And it gained strength, and grew.
By the time it had reached the nearby town it had grown strong enough to divide, and a few days later again, then again...
When it left the town behind, the entity had grown over a thousandfold, and it was ravenous.
Gathering speed, and ferocity, it hurtled across the open countryside towards the nearest city.
And the feast.
The first of many.
©2012 Stephen. J. Green.
Hmm. A calamity of emotion, of time and space, or really just a disease? Seems like one of the Rider plagues.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of the Rider plagues, John. This was another of those times where I worked on a concept, but didn't give much detail about the entitiy, and so left room for the reader to fill in some of the blanks.
DeleteOh everyone become devoid of emotion, how sad, how empty their lives would be. How fat the creature would become.
ReplyDeleteThis was chilling in a way, that the unseen can be, where it creeps through the night, and no one knows it's been until it's gone.
In a way I suppose this is another apocalyptic story, the whole of the World's love and good feelings would eventually all be consumed by this being.
DeleteI assume at some point it goes into politics...
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that the people remain functional, just empty. That's way more chilling than just killing them.
Haha! Yeah, I think it's already in politics Peter, if our government is anything to go by. Maybe that's where it originated from?
DeleteI think we're at this point now aren't we? very nicely done, I enjoyed this immensely.
ReplyDeleteMarc Nash
Hi Marc, I enjoy writing these low word count stories, and it's nice to be appreciated too, thank you. :-)
DeleteGreat title. The subdividing creatures going to starve eventually, but I don't think we'll last without happiness until it dies.
ReplyDeleteYes, it probably would starve eventually, or maybe just start to un-subdivide as the food source dwindles, I hadn't really thought that far into the story. Jeez, I might have to write a part two now. :-)
DeleteI've ready many stories where something feeds on fear, chaos, anger, but never love. To steal that is so much worse.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right Danni, it would be much better to have our negative emotions stolen, rather than the nice ones, wouldn't it?
DeleteI always thought emotions were a renewable resource — sounds like it took love and hate, altruism and greed, in equal measure. Although it might choke when it hits a pack of emo kids!
ReplyDeleteOr maybe this is how Vulcan got started?
Hahahaha!!! Oh Larry, I just love this comment. :-)
Delete"Although it might choke when it hits a pack of emo kids!"
DeleteHaha!
Interesting idea, as always. A part of me wants to know the part of the story where we fight back, if we defeat it by overloading it with dark emotions, or overload it with bright emotions, or make it understand the emotions it consumes and destroy it by making it consume its own guilt... or whether we ultimately fail, but give it one hell of a fight on the way down...
ReplyDeleteOoh, or a world set after it is defeated, with ghettos of the emotionless, hidden away from those that survived (or ghettos of the survivors, if there were so few). I imagine there are nefarious uses the governments would find for an individual without emotions. The perfect soldier? I shudder to think...
A great concept, Steve. Certainly got me thinking... ;D
Thanks John. To fight back, first the enemy would have to be identified, I'm not sure just how likely that would be given the nature of the entity, it is more like something made from pure thought (or something like that, LOL) But you've got my head spinning a little with your thoughts here John. :-)
DeleteThat's a killer love virus! And I swear it has struck me a few times.
ReplyDeleteGreat concept, brilliantly done.
Thank you Craig. :-)
DeleteI laugh along with you at Larry's comment about the emo kids too.
Thought provoking piece, and surely there's no shortage of real world forms for this mysterious entity.
ReplyDeleteThanks Richard. I'm not sure that anything else would be capable of growing and multiplying though. :-)
DeleteYour writing is just getting better and better. Brilliant idea, and neat take on the phrase.
ReplyDeleteIcy, thank you so much for your very kind words, some stories come together better than others, and comments like this are a real confidence boost. :-)
DeleteNice one, and I love the wordplay with the title.
ReplyDeleteNow I have Peter & Gordon stuck in my head singing, "I don't care what they say, I won't stay in a world without love."
Thanks Tim. :-)
DeleteHey, I remember that song from when I was about 10 years old.
And things could be worse, you could have that Black Eyed Peas rap number "Where is the love" ringing in your ears all day. :)