Race for Extinction

Race to Extinction

By

Edward Hamilton

    It was a weird situation. I was completely naked in a glass cube, but the glass was white and very sturdy. I had been trying to find a door of some kind for the past hour. I had no luck. I gave up and sat waiting.

    The wall to the cube disappeared, exposing a long stone block tunnel leading straight into darkness. I stepped out of the smooth cube onto the dirt floor. It smelled like a rainforest, except their was a faint smell of cheeseburgers. The same cheeseburgers I remember my father grilling on the old charcoal grill every summer. I looked around and it was nothing but dirt floors and stone walls and ceiling.

    I heard a snort come from my left, then a deep growl. An African man stepped from the cubed wall and stood twenty feet to my right. The snort sounded again. It came from the cube wall between us. We both stared at the wall. My body tensed. I heard a loud sound, much like someone dropping A heavy piece of firewood. THUNK!! THUNK!! A rhinoceros ambled out of the cube wall. It moved slow. It saw nothing that worried it so it just sniffed at the ground. I took a quick step, about to take another.

    "Nireti!" The tribesman whispered forcefully. I looked at him and shrugged. He held out his hands as if motioning to wait.

    I saw a rabbit and mouse shoot out of the cube wall. They ran past the rhino into the tunnel. The rhino was uninterested. A prolonged roar came from the cube wall. The rhino turned his head. It's ears stood straight up. A massive grizzly lumbered out of the cube wall. It weighed in the twelve hundred pound area. It growled as it reared on its hind legs. The rhino seemed unimpressed. The African monster snorted, lowered his huge grey head and threw dirt behind him with his hoof. He was twice as heavy as the bear and heavily armored. His nose was topped by a three foot long horn. Neither the bear or rhino knew what to think of the other. They stared at each other. The bears head low, exposing teeth. The hair on his back standing up. The rhino keeping the furry creature in front of him, lining him up with his deadly horn. There was quiet, no movement, both beasts just waited, until a beautiful toucan flew between them. It broke their trance. The bear leaped forward both claws coming down. The rhino shook the earth as it charged forward.

    I saw the African take off down the hallway. I had no idea what was going on so I decided to follow. The bushman took long strides. He started pulling farther and farther away, until he disappeared into the darkness ahead. It sounded like a war behind me as i got near the end of the hall. I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. I felt along the wall. The wall ended, meaning it turned left. I saw a light. It came from a right turn ahead. I ran forward and made a sharp right and in five feet was offered left or right. The tribesman was jogging down the left. I chose right. Hopefully, I could find a shortcut. It was twenty feet until I was offered a right. I never broke stride as I rounded the corner.

    I made the corner and saw a pit. I had to fall on my side, sliding like a baseball player, to prevent fully going in the pit. I slid across the soft dirt and came to a stop with both legs hanging over the edge. The rabbit, scared for its life, was pressed against the right wall. It's eyes gave me a dull witted gaze. The mouse was near the left wall, moving back and forth, sniffing the edge. I started climbing out of the pit. The rabbit saw me coming out and bolted for the door. I snatched his hind leg and tossed him over my shoulder into the black abyss.

    I got back to my feet and couldn't see the other side of the pit. It just blended darkness with darkness. Frustrated, I kicked dirt at the mouse. It tumbled into the pit too.

    Suddenly, it dawned on me. It's a maze. But why a mouse, rabbit, toucan, rhino, bear and two people? I felt the floor rumbling, soon I heard the growling and snorting of the rhino and bear fighting. I peeked around the corner. The rhinos horn was broke off. The bear had a horrible gouge in its side. He mounted the rhino, clawing and biting, as the rhino stumbled from wall to wall. It tried to knock the furry killing machine to the ground. They were headed the same path as the African. I had to backtrack. If I didn't miss something, some secret shortcut, I might lose this race through the maze.

    I made a right, then left. I was halfway back to the starting room, when I saw the broken horn on the floor. I picked it up. It would work for a short, thrusting sword or a club. I was not a fighter. I didn't have the training or the will but something about this race made it seem important. I kept searching the walls. I was hoping to find a door I had missed in the starting excitement, but it was all solid stone.

    I jogged back to the hallway T. The right took me to the pit. The left was the way. The smell of cheeseburgers were stronger. I ran down the left corridor until I neared another intersection. I slowed to a sneaking walk. I peeked around the right corner. There were spots of blood on the dirt and smears of blood on the walls. The hall in front of me had no tracks leading into it. I dared a look around the left corner. A wooden pole lay against the wall. It appeared to be eight feet long. The toucan danced up and down the pole. A game unto himself. The bird worried me. He was the only one that could fly over obstacles. I waited for the playful bird to turn it's back to me. As soon as it did, I took quick steps forward. The soft earth giving no sound as I moved across it. I brought the heavy horn down like a club. It struck the bird sending it squeaking and fluttering to the earth. It laid silent after a couple more swings of the mighty club.

    I trotted down the hallway past the dead bird. Three down and three to go I thought. The burger smell was not stronger or weaker than before, so I was happy I didn't lose ground. Intersection after Intersection, I passed. Trying to hurry. Trying to find the smell.

I stopped in my tracks after a left turn. The huge rhino lay on the ground. It's hard armor streaked with crimson claw marks. The bear lay underneath it. A large pool of blood puddled around the two monsters. I heard it straining to breathe. I could smell the cheeseburgers wafting from down the hall past them. I slid past the jungle beasts. My back pressed hard against the rock wall of the hallway, saying a silent prayer that neither were faking.

    Once past the dead creatures, I broke into a run. Time was against me I could feel it. Turn after turn after turn, it all looked the same. Then I ran into the African. We stopped, face to face. We both looked to our left. Twenty feet away was an illuminated door. White light seemed to pour out into the dank halls that we had been travelling. The smell of cheeseburgers very strong.

    "Oya mi ore!!" The man shouted and started dancing toward the door. He was going to win. What would happen to me? What about second place?

    "Not today." I slammed the point of the horn into his back. As soon as he fell, I didn't look back, I sprinted through the finish.

    I passed through the door into a massive room. It was made of the white glass. It was completely empty. No smells, sounds..nothing.

    "Hello?" I yelled.

    "Greetings" a voice answered from, it seemed like, everywhere.

    "Where are you? Who are you?" I asked

    "I'm..around. I'm an alien life form. Your mind can't comprehend me yet. Just think.of me as a voice." It explained.

    "I won. Right? What did I win?" I was filled with excitement.

    "You won?" The voice sounded amazed.

    "Yes. I figured out the maze first and I'm the last man standing." I explained.

    "How can you consider yourself a winner? Do you feel good about 'winning'?" The voice asked. The words echoed in my head a moment. What if this was never about winning a race?

    "I relied on my instincts." I returned. I felt guilt building up in my gut.

    "And your instincts were to destroy?" It prodded.

    "I did what needed to be done to.." I shouted at the ceiling.

    "To..what?" It's monotone voice rang.

    "Survive. I did it to survive." I sounded stern but wasn't so sure in my heart.

    "So to survive, you eliminate?" It questioned again.

    "I never eliminated. I..I..sacraficed for the betterment of mankind." It was the best answer I could come up with in the moment.

    "That is exactly", it stressed the word 'exactly', "what you did. You destroyed a fleeing rabbit, killed a harmless mouse, annihilated a beautiful bird and murdered a man." It paused a moment. "All the while, a rhino and grizzly were destroying each other, showing you what violence begets. Do you know what the tribesman said to you before you stabbed him in the back?" Anger was building in its voice.

    "No." My voice quivered.

    " He said 'Hurry. My friend." It said solemnly.

    "Im only human. What do you want from me?" I was now pleading with the voice. My hands outstretched and palms up. I fell to my knees.

    "I want you to learn. Learn not to destroy. Can you do that?" It was back to its calm monotone voice.

    I wanted to say 'Yes. I swear.', but I couldn't.. "No." I mumbled, crying on my knees.

    "We know you can't." It responded.

    I've l lived in this aquarium for awhile now. I find food every morning and evening. Fresh water. The habitat is kept around 65 degrees. There are no other people, no women, not even pets for me to talk to. You would think this is hell for me, but I can't think of any reason I deserve anything more.