The Little Killer

Graham Elder

January 15, 2021 – 4 min read

I was born of a freak mutation and evolved quickly to become a great terror. I am Anoroc Suriv, and this is my tale of global domination. How one became many and infiltrated all points of the compass rose, sending the world into a death frenzy with fear lurking around every corner. Huddled together behind walls of every kind, people trembled at my passing as they waited for rescue that might never come.

My story begins in a small town, like any other small town. My first taste of blood was animal. The type of animal is inconsequential. What’s important is that it put me on a greater path where my true potential could be realized. And then came a human, which was infinitely more challenging and consequently more satisfying. To kill a human was the equivalent of fulfilling a prime directive. To kill all humans would be the completion of my purpose and the ultimate evolution of natural selection.

I did this not out of spite or greed, but out of the necessity of primal instincts. I had no motive and nothing to gain. I did not harbor any ill towards those that I hurt or killed. I simply did what I was designed to do, like a good serial killer. You cannot hate me, for all of this was beyond my control.

In the beginning, I was underestimated. Little and unremarkable, I was compared to every other minor threat that came before me and deemed of no concern. But, with time, I grew stronger and recruited many followers who spread my message across borders and across oceans, into homes, and into work and play-spaces. 

Know that I do not always kill. A vanquished foe left alive is a far more useful ally who is able to join me in my cause. Better yet if they do not carry my mark and can travel unrecognized, slipping behind enemy lines. Unsuspecting traitors bringing suffering and death to their loved ones.

The weapons thrown at me initially worked well on my ancestors, but not so on me. I evolved new and original tactics to overcome your defenses. If you bar your doors, I will come in through your windows. If you shut your windows, I will come down your chimneys. Block your chimneys, and I will rat my way through the cracks in your walls. You can’t stay inside forever, and when you come out, I will find you. You can wear armor that might stave off a blow here, or a blow there. Eventually, though, you will have to remove your armor, and I will be waiting.

To your species’ credit, some of your strategies worked well. Beating me down, but not out. Never out. I studied you carefully and discovered weaknesses that I could exploit. I rallied back with a new and better army at my side sending you cowering back into your little castles, donning your armor once more. 

For years, I owned every aspect of your lives and you knelt before me, like peasants before their king. Every thought of everything you did began and ended with my image firmly implanted in your minds. My power was complete, and you were slaves to my new dynasty.

At least those were my beliefs. Lurking in the shadows and toiling in basements, you fought back. As you underestimated me, I underestimated you, and that was my undoing. A weapon was launched that destroyed my entire army, leaving the remainder of mankind unscathed. Well, physically unscathed. 

I am Anoroc Suriv and I am three years old now. I have been vanquished. But as I look into the mirror, I see that my kind are as old as humanity itself, and we are not going anywhere.