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from "Gravedigger" by Dave Matthews Band

Cyrus Jones 1810 to 1913
Made his great grand children believe you could live to a hundred
and three
A hundred and three is forever when you're just a little kid
So Cyrus Jones lived forever

Gravedigger
When you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow
So that I can feel the rain?
Gravedigger


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I can smell your fear.

It's strong...surprisingly strong. The acrid stench burns inside my
nose. Your kind always come here and invade every aspect of my
life. You bring your earth-rending machines and flatten the forest.
Then, you're not satisfied with the land, you have to hunt me down,
too. You and the female came here with weapons, intending to kill
me. Don't think you're the first. I'm now accustomed to the
ignorant actions of man. I know how to handle you. You look at
me questioningly, panic brightening your eyes. Perhaps you're one
of the few who can hear me.

Your kind are always quite surprised to learn that I am sentient.
I've become more than human...more than you can imagine. One
absorbs much over hundreds of years, and I have learned your
language, among other things. However, my mate and I became so
united over time that we ceased to require spoken words. I was
amazed at first to see some of this between you and the female, but
it's of no consequence now. It didn't help either of you, did it?

I knew that neither of you were any more intelligent than the rest
when you returned to my home. You didn't expect me to stop
harvesting, did you? As long as humans continue to encroach upon
me, I will cut them down. You, however, are a special find. You
must remember watching as the female slaughtered my mate. The
moment froze in my mind. I memorized both of you...your voices,
your natural scents. I even committed the bitter, tangy taste of your
warm blood to memory.

The smell of your fresh wounds excites me, stirs a hunger inside.
I'm anxious to tear into your trembling flesh, but the time is not
quite right. Once I would have felt ashamed, no...horrified, at this
feeling, but now it is a necessity. Some would even call me a
cannibal, but I have ascended. My judgment is fair, and my wrath
is just, far more than you can say for yourself. I have overestimated
your resilience, though. The immobilizing wounds to your legs
were too deep. I resent the fact that your life is spilling out so
quickly, pooling on the dirt. I want every last drop. You owe me
that much, and more.

The pain distorts your pale face. I can almost feel your hot rush of
agony. Exhilarating. You've been silent, though, bearing your
wounds quite bravely. That will not do. The female is nearby, but
how is she going to find you if there are no screams to guide her?
Aha. That got a reaction, although it's not the one I need. Don't
bother trying to attack me. You knew I was going to use you to
lure her here. Your resistance will break, and her blood will
sanctify your broken body before I send you to meet her on the
other side.

There is some life in you, yet! Good. Perhaps you will live long
enough to be useful, after all. The hatred in your eyes is pathetic.
You have no idea what you've taken from me, do you? I once had
one who completed me, as you have...one who gave my existence
meaning. You wretched demon... Now you are just starting to
know a hint of the anguish I've suffered at your expense. Still, you
emit only a low growl. Here, I will help you call out to your
beloved. What shall it be? Your arm? Your face? Shall I claim her
trophy for my own?

I can feel your stomach trembling under my hand. Your fists are
ineffective. I can stop them with a single blow to your head.
There...not so hard that you lose consciousness, but enough to
make you lie still. A fresh cut has opened up over your glazed eye.
I can't let that go to waste. The saltiness of your sweat tinges the
thick, red fluid. I'm ready for you to wake up. A couple of smacks
should suffice. It must be very uncomfortable to have your arms
pinned beneath you that way. Your whimpers are pleasing, but she
will not hear them. Try harder. I can burrow into you as easily as I
travel through the ground. I must wait, though. I don't have the
opportunity to use live bait very often, so this must work the first
time.

I wave my hand across your abdomen, leaving four red trails to
line your ribcage. One is fairly deep, deep enough to pull you out
of silence. Unfortunately, this can't continue. I don't want you to
lose too much blood before I even have the female spotted. What's
that? I think I hear her footsteps finally approaching. Her weapon
clicks. Wait... Can't have you warning her, can I? Your head jerks
back easily. I'm not sure how you manage to look so surprised
with your eyes rolled up to the whites like that.

Just enough time to blend into the tall clump of weeds before...ah,
there she is. She looks very serious; she has the demeanor of a
predator. You should be proud of her, really. She's being very
thorough, very cautious about examining the area around your limp
body. She isn't making this easy, but she'll make a mistake
eventually. I have ample time to wait, and you don't.

Her voice is soft as she speaks to you, almost hauntingly familiar.
The way she touches you gently makes me ache for my lost one.
Your shivering makes her agitated. I can smell it, sense it. She puts
her weapon away and presses her hands against the deepest gash in
your leg, bathing them in your blood. It makes my mouth water. I
can't help myself any longer, and emerge from the weeds still
striped with their image. A small twig snaps beneath my foot, and
she spins immediately, producing and holding up her weapon.

She aims to my right. Her grip looks unsteady as she slowly turns
with the slippery, wet weapon in her hands. The fierce
determination in her eyes makes me hesitate. I almost expect them
to glow. You have chosen well, but the time has come for you to
give back what you have taken. I rush her, and she falls down
easily. She looks at me with a deep hatred. Wait... She *looks* at
me! She shouldn't be able to see me at all...

I prepare to kill her swiftly, with one blow, but she lifts her
weapon and I see a flash...

A great force shoves me backwards, and I feel a tremendous
pressure in my chest. I stumble into the weeds, but I'm no longer
able to camouflage myself. Something is wrong. She's coming
after me, and I have nowhere to hide. You. You are my last
chance. I hurl myself toward your sweaty, shaking body. I cradle
your head with my left arm as my breath begins to gurgle and burn
like fire. Blood runs freely from a hole in my chest and mingles
with your own. This wasn't supposed to happen...it's supposed to
be *her* blood. I drag your heavy, limp mass in front of mine for
shielding. She's pointing her weapon at us, now, screaming.

I know she loves you. That will keep me safe from her anger. She
steps closer, and I turn your head, stretching your neck to the
breaking point. Funny...a tiny little grunt is all you manage. She
takes the hint and backs off, but she's still pointing the weapon at
me. She impresses me more and more...and I'm forced to wonder
why she's attracted to you. But no matter. It will all be over soon.

I try to draw us both into the ground, but I've grown too weak. The
soil will no longer move for me. You jerk as you suddenly return
to awareness. It startles me for a moment. Your hands slowly reach
up to tug weakly on my arm. How valiant. Futile, but valiant. Pain
explodes around me as your elbow digs into my wound. I can
barely focus enough to keep you in front of me while I tilt over
toward the ground. You'll regret that. I reach around with my right
fist and catch you squarely in the jaw. A wet, snapping sound
accompanies your beautiful cry. The sound bounces off of the
surrounding trees and returns to us several times over.

It seems that my plans must change. I can feel my life draining
away quickly now, and the female is no longer attainable prey.
You'll have to do. I don't want to kill you yet. Only fresh meat is
acceptable. It's difficult to stand up while holding your dead
weight, but I have no other choice. I back away from her slowly as
your sounds of distress grow louder and louder. Her cold stare
bores through me, and she starts to follow us. I stop and hook a
finger in the corner of one of the gashes on your outer thigh. I can
feel your lungs pumping frantically as I slowly pull the wound
wider. Your entire body tenses for a moment. Another scream...this
one lower and weaker than the last. The female's face loses all
color. She looks quite ill, truthfully.

I think she's finally taken the hint to back off. Of course, she will
follow us later. We're leaving a wide, red trail anyone could
follow, even a mere human. I have only one option left. Nearby, in
a small clearing among the most ancient trees, is a sacred place
that has regenerative powers. Water gushes forth from a cleft in a
rock and pools around it. It isn't far from here, but I'll never make
it dragging you backwards. It will be easier to carry you as any
large prey. I kneel down and hunch over, pulling your right arm
over my left shoulder and wrapping my right arm around your
right leg. The weight distribution is a bit awkward, but it will have
to suffice. I stand on shaky legs, knowing that my strength only
needs to last long enough to get to the fountain. It's difficult to hold
onto your slippery arm, but I still seem to be making progress. The
forest around us grows increasingly quiet as we go in farther.
Something unusual has disturbed the animals.

I don't give it a second thought. All that matters is reaching that
fountain, where I and my mate baptized ourselves in life eternal, or
nearly so... I should have known that humans would find some way
to corrupt even that. Tears sting my eyes as I reflect on our long
lives together. Why did *you* have to come along? What is it
about you and the female that gave you the ability, or even the
right, to decide that we could not defend our home from human
encroachment? At least when you die, the female will not be
cursed to live another thousand years or more alone, aching and
longing for what used to be. Her suffering will be graciously short-
lived. I bear it only because I know that my mate would want
revenge on humans to balance the teetering scales of life. I am duty
bound, and I give every day that I suffer without my mate as some
small payment for the love I received. I don't really expect you to
understand, human. How could you? How could anyone?

Ahead is the dense wall of arboreal sentries that stand on three
sides of the fountain. I feel my legs shake again as we draw closer,
but it isn't due to weakness. The ground is moving. My senses are
piqued. I stop and sniff at the air. It's hard to discern anything over
the pungent odor of your sweat and blood, but there is something
else. It smells like smoke. No, not regular smoke, but the kind that
chokes me whenever I approach one of the hideous gray wounds
you humans have cut through the forest. Humans! In the sacred
place! I begin to run toward the end of the wall of trees, my body
temporarily fueled by panic. My heart sinks as I round the corner.

One lumbering, metal beast belches smoke as it leaves, but many,
many more hulks litter the ground, motionless and menacing. Most
of the ancient trees are gone now, trees that were unimaginably old
when *I* came here. I still see one, lying on the ground like a
piece of unwanted debris. A knot settles deep in my stomach as I
walk around one of the large, yellow beasts. There, where eternal
life once sprang from a rock, is a field of mud with odd tracks criss
crossing it. A few sticks with bright orange flags mark the place
where my only hope once was, where my true life *really* began. I
fall to my knees, letting your body slip onto the ground behind me,
forgotten for the moment. It's so overwhelming, I don't know what
to think or do. The pain, the pressure in my chest seems to grow
immeasurably. I rise slowly to my feet and walk through the mud
to the sacred spot. This feels like a dream, and I allow hot tears to
fall, knowing that I'll never wake up from this one.

I kneel gingerly where the rocks once were. I press my hands into
the mud, hoping to feel even a hint of the power that was here.
There is nothing left, as I expected. I sob as my heart rips in half.
The tears and blood mingle with tiny puddles in the mud, remnants
of a promise not kept. When I stand up again, I feel hollow, with
only one thought in my mind...You must die. Someone must atone
for this. I turn around to find you trying to crawl away. I almost
laugh. Crawl away to *where*? Your trail in the mud is not very
long. It betrays your weakness.

So, how shall I kill you? I'll have to make this quick. My own body
has become difficult to control, and my mind grows increasingly
foggy. There, detached from one of the monsters, sits a large
shovel-like digging tool. It's weight is equivalent to a small
boulder. That should do nicely. I grunt as I lift the heavy object
before me. I trudge unsteadily towards you. The intense awe in
your eyes amuses me. I stop only two steps away, and garner the
rest of my strength to heft the object over my head. Finally, in
some small way, I can make my life complete. I quickly focus on
that hairy, bloody head of yours. I don't want to miss. I start to
throw the object down, but something hurls me backwards. That
white-hot pain has returned, and I find myself lying on my back in
the mud. The digging tool falls to my right, splattering more mud
on us both.

I can hear my breath rattle and gurgle through the wounds in my
chest. The metal beasts and the few remaining trees seem to
encircle me with a macabre, spinning dance. The pain and pressure
only seem to grow, and I can hear my heartbeat in my ears. I have
to admit that I'm frightened. Are you frightened, human? Do you
feel your life ebbing away as I do? Clarity returns for an instance
as I become aware of the female's presence. She's standing over me
now, watching me die without pity. She puts her weapon away and
hurries to your side. I can see the concern on her face as she begins
tending to your wounds. If you only knew how good you have it,
how much I envy you...

Ah. My time has come. Strength is slipping away quickly now. I
stare up at the blue sky, searching for signs of my mate in the ever-
changing formations. Darkness creeps into the edges of my vision,
and I feel my heart slow down. I blink once, and when I open my
eyes, I see the familiar face hovering above me, rendered in pure
white. My heart flutters, then stops. The blue of the sky gives way
to black. I hear my last breath leak out of my lungs, and the white
form dissolves to nothing.

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The End

The X-Files and related entities belong to Chris Carter, 1013 Productions, and Fox. I write only for the profit of feedback, not money.