Man vs. Moth Part 3: Midnight Assassin

The war between man and moth continues on daily, like the battles between small countries. It is a constant fight for supremacy and there can be only one winner. Normally these wars are fought valiantly on the battlefield with honour from both competitors. Furthermore, both man and moth follow the known rules of engagement laid down by the nations of the world. The political ramifications alone due to straying from the rules of engagement could cause worldwide turmoil and economic recession like never seen before. It is imperative that these battles do not stray from the rules or they'll turn barbaric. It would be like the battles seen in old Europe, a field full of dead warriors and no survivors on either side. It would be a
shame to see such carnage.

Throughout history and the many wars that have been fought, there have been extreme measures to help one side win, or to prevent further casualties. The attack on Pearl Harbour and Hiroshima come to mind as good examples of this. Sometimes these extreme measures work, and sometimes they don't. They definitely do not follow the rules of engagement, but on occasion they are a needed tactic. So now we come again to the war between man and moth, and once again a new installment of my epic saga. This time the rules changed... This... Is my story...

It was dark, not only by the blackness of night, but because the clouds were thick with rain. The air was hot, 34c and very humid outside. Much to my chagrin, it was not much better inside our barracks. It made for an uncomfortable evening. This however was war, and war is not to be comfortable. The thought crosses my mind that this is what it must have been like in Nam, only multitudes worse. After all, the jungle is a much more dangerous place than a living barracks. I chuckled at the fact that the barracks had a measly cooling device for the relaxing chamber and how poorly it worked. Even sadder is that my sleep chamber is much hotter than the rest of the barracks and I was suddenly curious as how well I'd sleep this night.

I walked over and stood in the doorway hoping that the torrential downpour would send cool ripples of air over my pale body. All I had on were a pair of gotch and my shorts, and nothing else but a grin. My roommates call me the "shirtless wonder". It’s a good name really. Show's that I'm not afraid to show off my magnificent man body. I'm proud of the keg belly I've developed over the years. Not too many men are proud like I am to show off their bodies. "Its a good thing to be a man" I think to myself... Realizing that there is no cool air to be had outside I turn back and lay down on the love seat. "If it’s hotter than hell in here, I might as well be laying down on something,” I think to myself.

The pitter-patter of the rain on the roof is almost intoxicating. So much so that I close my eyes in the hopes of a rendezvous with the elusive sandman. Its funny, the sandman is. I don't know why they call him a man, for he is not a he at all. It’s an it. Completely non-gendered it still has an appeal that one cannot resist. Needless to say, the sandman beaconed me to join in on the nighttime adventures, and I gladly obliged. As I was nearing the inevitable meeting the telecommunications device loudly cried to be answered. Startled at first not knowing what was going on I darted up. Upon realizing it’s just the telecommunications device crying, I make haste to answer its call to me. "Hello?" I ask. "Hi, its me!" happily retorts the damsel from the previous story. We chit chat about the weeks goings on, nothing too intense. I mean how deep of a conversation can one have when its nearing midnight? We happily exchange vocularities for a while when I realize that I'm really thirsty. Armed with nothing more than the telecommunications device I make way to the food-dispensing chamber in the hopes of finding something to quench my intense thirst. Little did I know my next actions could prove fatal... I move into the food-dispensing chamber with haste not taking into consideration that there, in the middle of that very chamber, was a large light fixture. One takes for grated such luxuries as light, and little thought was put into my going in for a drink. I should have known what was about to happen next...

I open the food-cooling unit and then suddenly I hear a low-pitched hum. "Dear lord" I think to myself. "We have a situation,” I whispered to the damsel through the telecommunications device. She replies with a cool "what?" "There's one here, I can hear it..." "What’s there?" she coos softly as if she was there with me. "There’s a moth here." I say. I calmly look up and all around, yet I still cannot see it. "Hmmm.... Bastards sent an assassin and he's a damned good one too,” I say softly as to not cause the damsel undo stress. After all, I am a man, a trained warrior, who built the Eiffel tower with brawn, and her a simple damsel who should never concern her self with the matters of war. That damned hum won't go away. I know he's near, but I have failed to accomplish a visual. Just then the hum gets extremely close and hits me in the right shoulder. "I'm hit!!" I cry and drop the telecommunications device. I spin around to see where the smug little bastard went, but again I no visual confirmation of this moth assassin. All of a sudden the hum gets close again and again am dive bombed, this time in the chest. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah" I cry as I'm hit once more. I saw the little bastard only for a split second then lost him again. "Damnit" I yell in complete frustration. I spin around not knowing what’s going on, and why I cannot confirm his presence visually. I'm starting to loose my warrior like composure and this new emotion called fear is starting to take hold. I'm not used to this emotion, and I'm not enjoying it. It seems completely foreign to me and I'm not sure what to make of it yet...

No longer holding the telecommunications device, I could only imagine the worry the damsel's feeling as she is listening to my cries of anguish. I look up towards the light with the hope of catching a glimpse so I can mount my assault on his furry little body. My attempt was in vein as when I looked up I was blinded by the brightness. The assassin saw my blunder and mounted his final attack. As I stood there momentarily blinded, that distinctive hum came right at me. "No... NO.... NOOO" I yelled as I heard it. Wham! He dive bombs into my forehead knocking me back. Now I'm struck with complete and utter fear. I'm so panicked that I drop to the floor and grab the telecommunications device. "I can't do it! I'm scared!!!" I cry to the damsel, who is now concerned for my distress. An odd reversal I know, but sometimes things just don't make sense. Panic stricken I jump up and run out of the food dispensing chamber yelling "You may have one this time moth, but I'm gunna get you back! YOU HEAR ME?!?!". On my way out I turn off the light, getting rid of his advantage over me. "I have to go!" I say panic stricken to the damsel on my telecommunications device and hang up abruptly. I make haste to my sleep chamber, enter, and sealed the hatch shut so that the assassin cannot reach me... In complete darkness I look up as if to look at God. A single tear runs down my left cheek. I'm not used to this salty discharge so I'm rightfully concerned about this new feeling of fear that’s taken me over. I whisper a quick prayer. "Lord, thank you for sparing me this day. I pray next time you make me fast and accurate in my assault on the furry bastards."

After my quick prayer I lie down on the sleep device and close my eyes. I let out one last whimper of fear before I come to a realization... The realization that perhaps I'm not just a warrior who fights moths. Perhaps I'm much much more than that... Could I be? No, I couldn't... Am I the one born to finally rid the world of the moth? Could I have been chosen by God to rid the world of this vile beast? I must have been! It’s obvious now! Why else would God have spared me this eve? In the still quiet of the dark sleep chamber I hear something that nobody else can hear. "Let not the blood of man be spilt by moth for thyne is the chosen one." No longer am I feared. No longer am I panicked. For I now know why I am here. I now know who I really am. I am a warrior... I AM.... The chosen one...