Vermin-by Tyler Kapusta

He died that day. The wound which he had sustained had leaked out blood until consciousness and then life were lost. His body had then been eaten by devils. Their black fur had turned to red by the time they had left the mutilated body. The killer had not been one of the devils, nor had it been them all combined. They had only arrived to the body. The killer had left and was still being pursued by the victim’s dog. The dog, which was named Bullet for his speed, had lost the scent of his target and now walked slowly through an open field where grass had been scorched by fire meant to destroy the overgrown land to allow hunting. Bullet may have had great speed, but the killer had countered with its endurance.

Bullet finally found the scent of what may be the killer. Yet it could be more vermin. The dog did not have the intelligence to ponder such a thought and neither would anyone who had only seen a glimpse of what was one of many.

The trail was that of the killer whether Bullet knew it or not. And this killer hoped not to become the victim. He was only a killer, so he would not become a victim. This killer could not be given a name. At least not a definite name. He never had one. Nor could his species provide a name, for there were too many to choose from. But it had one name which was what it was most commonly called, vermin, a name which should have been intended for an actual pest that had killed sheep of people such as the victim. Stray dogs had been the largest cause for the death of sheep. So manysheep had been killed. Only 40 of these were verified as being killed by what was referred to as vermin.

Not many years passed before extinction. An island discovered in 1642. Thousands of one species being killed starting around 1880 and ending in the year 1933, all leading up to the sad year of 1936. More specifically, September 7th. Sightings still are reported, but due to indefinite evidence, failure of survival was declared upon September 7th, 1986, exactly 50 years later.

Every victory, accomplishes a fail.

For every victor, there are at least two failures; the one who failed and the one who obtained ‘victory’.

The vermin who had previously killed a man was, within a week, dead by the actions of another man. The vermin later hung from a rope attached to its hind legs. Surrounding it was a shack with a huge opening in the one side, stretching from the ceiling to a counter. Behind the counter sat a man around 30 years old. His beard had recently been shaved, but his moustache still remained. He was prematurely bald so his moustache was one of the few pieces of hair he had left. Behind him hung four vermin.

Another man around 20 approached the small shack.

“Hello, Daniel,” said the man who sat behind the counter. “Care for a peek at another two wolves? One male, one female.” The man paused and waited for Daniel’s reply.

Daniel studied the two vermin which had not hung there two weeks ago during his last visit. “I’ll take the male hyena.” The female possessed a deep knife wound in her back while the male only had a bullet through its eye.

The salesman paused as though he waited for a different reply. “Oh! The wolf! After my visit to Africa, the term still has somewhat changed in species.” The salesman laughed while Daniel just smiled. “I’ll give you him for 7 pounds with no change in offer. I paid 5 for him and spent a day fixin’ him up.”

“You have yourself a deal,” Daniel said while pulling the money from his pocket.

The vermin’s journey then led it to Great Britain. A woman held it while shouting, “Tiger coat for sale!” A few people came to see the product for sale. The coat lay beside a sign saying Tiger Coat Imported from Van Diemen’s Land.

One of the spectators asked, “How much is it for sale?”

“A fine price of 15 pounds,” replied the woman.

“I’ll take it,” said the spectator.

“No. I offer 16 pounds.”

“18 pounds.”

“19”

The unexpected bidding continued until a lady paid 22 pounds for it.

A trip to England, all the way from Van Diemen’s land, later renamed for Tasman, the true discoverer of the island. The island home to the Tasmanian tiger. Or at least its remains.