they come out in the night with their carts and hatchets

a large diesel truck rolls down the street behind them with it’s lights off

they pull the bodies of the dead and dying out of the alleys

hack them into pieces and fill their carts

i saw them tossing dismembered limbs into the back of the rolling rumbling beast

no one believes me

why would they

i know how it sounds

i saw it with my own two eyes as i staggered in from a nights debauchery

they laughed at me and said i was drunk

i didn’t deny it

but i know what i saw

so i crept out again and waited and watched

it was late

or early

i don’t know

they came silently down the street pushing their carts

the wicked edge of their hatchets glinting off the streetlights

the low rumble of the gargantuan truck purring like a jungle cat behind them

they wear hoods and long black coats

no words were uttered

just an occasional grunt as they swing their weapons down on the bodies

i followed from the shadows

watched as they broke down doors and dragged corpses and bodies from darkened homes

some fought and struggled weakly against the iron grip

to no avail

with efficiency they chopped and hacked

i was sickened

disgusted

the sheer brutality too much to bear

i called the police and reported the heinous actions occuring all around me

they said they would send a patrol to investigate

i hid in bush

hands shaking

bile rising

at an unseen signal the men stopped their dastardly deeds

moved en masse to dispose of the ghastly collection into the back of the creeping vehicle

and dispersed from the scene

moments later a patrol car came slowly down the street

cherries spinning and spotlight searching

i rushed from my perch and explained the scene they just barely missed

pointed to the houses with kicked in doors

they drew weapons and entered the silent abodes

i waited with bated breath

they returned and made a sweep of the entire block

knocking on doors

waking the few that remained

they informed me it appeared the houses had been abandoned

i may have stumbled on squatters

possibly looters

no i shook my head

they had hatchets and carts and collected the dead not the valuables

you were mistaken sir

i was insistent

as were they that i was wrong

they’d keep an eye out but it is late and they firmly suggested i needed to go home and get some sleep

i began pointing and yelling

causing a scene

pointing out pools of congealing blood on the asphalt

they told me to calm myself or they would have to take me in

you’re in on it

that’s why they left so abruptly

you’re part of it

a conspiracy i seethed

i saw their hands slide to their sides

heard the snap of the buttons on holsters

go home sir

don’t make this worse on you than it has to be they repeated

i knew where this was headed

i shook my head

forced a calm veneer onto my face

you’re right officers

absolutely correct

i’m tired

long day at work

not enough sleep the night before

i’ll go

i apologize

and i returned home

i told no one else about the men in the night

of the carts

of the hatchets

of the slowly rolling beast of a vehicle following

eager to consume the hacked off limbs and torsos of the dead and dying

but now i sit at my window every night

pumped full of caffeine and whatever stimulants i can buy

watching out the window

through the blinds

listening for the sounds of a diesel engine

the creaking wheels of carts on the sidewalk

the swish of long jackets

and silhouettes of hooded men and hatchets

it’s been days since i slept

there have been no reported stories of missing people on the news

how deep does this run

my mind feverish on secret plots and devils in hoods

of gigantic trucks that consume the bodies of the damned

one day they will come for me

to empty my block

i’ll be ready for them

let them come