Tevun-Krus #50

Eco-Wars - @ChristopherArmstron8

"Eco-Wars" originally appeared in Tevun-Krus #40: GreenPunk

Note from OutrageousOllo, who selected this story: This up-and-coming TK regular deserves some recognition if you ask me. Good? Good.

Eco-Wars

by ChristopherArmstron8

Daniel Hearst was on the hunt. He had been contacted by one of the few remaining guardians of the earth, that poachers were pillaging the African Savannah. Technology had advanced so far that they no longer needed old rifles and for the most part they hunted with condensed air powered rifles. It was not the most technologically savvy tool, yet it was quiet and made little noise. They could wreak havoc on whole populations without the beasts ever knowing whom it was that ended their lives.

He on the other hand used an older hunting rifle, from the times when warfare and hunting for sport as much as sustenance still ruled the world. Many of the game wardens like him used these tools, much to the dismay of the citizens of the world. Not that they had much say in the matter, as they had chosen to force him and the others down here as punishment for various crimes.

Unfortunately, that meant that he and the others were forced to use whatever equipment they could scavenge from the abandoned cities of the world. Poachers on the other hand, used their connections with various people in the cities to get whatever they needed. Their technology was far superior to his, and it was only a matter of time before he died because they would trap him, somehow. Until then he would make do with his small ham radio and pair of horses as means of communication and transportation. Cars were not something he was allowed to use, mostly because he could not afford the repurposed cars that ran because of incomprehensible physics. Along with that the remaining cars here on the surface of earth used gasoline, which as a defender of the earth he could not use as it would be against his very principles.

Poachers on the other hand did not care about these rules, and had they not been poaching he would have still chased them down if nothing other than to put a stop to their polluting. The only difference would have been that he would have taken his time catching them, rather than now as he kept his horse's moving at a fast yet safe speed. Tracking them was easy and his only rush was because he had already come across a herd of Zebra's who had been killed and their hides along with other unmentionables taken. Why anyone would do this he boiled down to simple greed. No one needed to kill animals on land anymore. Goats, pigs, chickens, and fish were raised easily in the floating cities.

The cry of a wounded elephant brought him back to the present as he stopped his mount. Placing one hand securely on the stock of his rifle in its holster, he slowly examined his surroundings. Vegetation came to perhaps knee height and what sparse trees there, were easily ten meters high. Somewhere trumpeting was sounding, from a distressed elephant or more accurately a herd of elephants. Nothing other than poachers would ever elicit the elephants to sound as frightened as their frantic calls were.

Swearing at the greed of men, he jumped off the horse and pulling out his rifle he took off through the brush. Having lived here the last decade he had grown used to moving quietly through the undergrowth and even at his quickened pace he made little noise as he drew near the spot of the herd. His pace only slowed as he saw the herd and the men laughing as they took shots and threw rocks at the great animals.

Among the herd he picked out two young calves who would have been born just a few moons back. They had not even been weaned off their mothers milk yet and from the looks of it were trying to understand where she had gone. She of course had gone nowhere, instead she was faking charges at the hunters. Her shoulder was bleeding from multiple shots that the poachers had inflicted on her.

Rage building up in his chest from the brutal barbaric treatment of the elephants, he clasped his rifle with both hands and sighted in on the poachers. He could see five of them from their positions close together laughing at the misfortune they were causing the elephants. None of them seemed the slightest concerned at the elephants feints. No they seemed right at home in this mad mess.

Before they could kill one of the elephants he acted. Sighting in on one of the bastards, he took a deep breath and tapped squeezed the trigger. The shot that rang out was deafening and outcompeted the elephants as it drew the attention of all parties. Whatever the poachers had been about to do they never got to, as the elephants scared by this new noise went into a stampede. Safely from the sidelines he watched as the remaining poachers were trampled and gored to death. Their cries of panic were short as the large feet brought death quickly. Grim as it was they had brought the fate upon themselves.

Once the elephants were gone he moved into the group of broken bodies. Salvaging what little that was not beyond repair, he made a sign out of some wood and planting it among the fallen read it out loud.

Woe to those who trespass on this sacred land with evil in their heart. Making has no claim on this sanctuary and those who attempt to disagree shall suffer as these souls did. Any who see this know that I am the law. The law is the law and I envy none whom break it.

Daniel Hearst