The Altruist (excerpt)
There was once a grotesque monster who lived by his lonesome in a cave on the edge of town. He was rarely seen by day, but rumored descriptions of those who caught a glimpse of him at night struck fear into the hearts of the townspeople, terrified did they become of his atrocious appearance and gargantuan size. They had only more reason to fear when they heard shrill screams in the middle of the night, followed by loud rumblings. Oftentimes, they would wake up the next morning to see trees knocked down and street signs destroyed.
It was not long before the policemen started to investigate, camping out in bushes around town to witness the monster in action. Some nights they would merely catch his shadows lurking around the streets. Some nights they would miss him completely. Other nights they would see him tearing down tress and grappling with the air. The chief of police knew something had to be done. The beast could not simply run around town all night destroying city property and causing civilians to feel unsafe in their own homes. But what could he do? Would it be feasible to lock him in a cage? Would it be morally unjust if they killed him?
The chief’s question was answered when one night, a police squadron saw the beast commit a terrible act. He was attacking an innocent girl walking down the street! He knocked her off balance and appeared to be tearing off her clothes and, and-was he doing the unspeakable? Horrified, they shot him multiple times. The wounded monster gave out a loud groan then disappeared into the shadows. The police scurried to aid the girl. Turns out, it was the major’s daughter, the precious beauty of the town! Her lipstick was smeared, her high heels were broken and her skirt was all torn. They quickly took her home and relayed to her father the incident that transpired. Upon questioning, she admitted that she was confused as to what had actually happened. She was just walking home when suddenly the beast appeared out of nowhere and knocked her down. Poor girl the police thought, she must have been so violated and so scarred by the incident she could hardly talk about what had occurred.
Yet, unbeknownst to everyone, the creature was actually a benevolent beast-an altruist-who fought the invisible daemons that attacked the town every night. Every evening he would be on the prowl, battling these creatures undetectable by human visceral senses and keeping the town safe. That one particular night he was only narrowly able to save the major’s daughter by snatching her away from the grips of a daemon about to possess her soul! Unfortunately, devoid of any means of communication with the townspeople, and lacking any evidence even if he did, the beast became a helpless victim to their faulty accusations.
When the chief of police heard about what he believed was the monster’s disgraceful act, he was disgusted and demanded that the town hold a rally to come to a consensus on the beast dilemma once and for all. After the previous night’s events were recounted for the entire town to hear, the incensed crowd easily came to a speedy decision: the monster’s presence could no longer be tolerated; he had to be put to death. Chants of “Kill the beast!” filled the air and the chief quickly formulated a plan to capture him. Understanding that physically attempting to incapacitate the beast might be difficult, the chief requested that the town’s most knowledgeable chemist create an poisonous concoction that would weaken him from within. This poison was then converted into the form of a bullet, so that the chief himself could do the deed.
The next night, the chief stealthy hid behind a tree and waited for the beast to show up. And when he did, the chief shot a single bullet to his stomach. The squadron then dragged him to the town center, where all the civilians were waiting. The creature was incapacitated, but surely, he was still alive! Ahh now was their chance to torture him, to take revenge and inflict upon him the agony he truly deserved for his terrible deed. As the bullet slowly worked its poison from within, the police attacked body from without, first striking him with their leather whips until their own hands were sore and bloodied with the sin of the beast. Then they rubbed a special cream onto him so that he would itch uncontrollably, forcing him to violently scratch the skin off his own body. Oh how the sensation burned! The beast cried and cried as a funnel above his head dripped mercury onto his scalp. All the while the crowd cheered his outcries of pain and threw sticks, rocks, anything they could find. Only one little girl noticed the beast’s sad tearful eyes, eyes that pleaded I’m innocent I’m innocent while the beast himself screamed to death.
After hours of violent struggle, the beast finally collapsed. At the end of the day, everyone cheered the heroic achievements of the police department. Finally, the town could rest in peace!
But after the beast died, the civilians were no longer protected by the daemons that swept the streets and the town was filled with grief.
What a peculiar deception it is to associate repulsiveness with the wicked!
