The road

 

There are stories about the road. 

Strange facts that, narrated under the light of hidden and obscure references, become even more obscure. And more powerful is their effect in the mind of the listener. 

In the scattered toasted towns of what once was called the Middle West of *** ****** ******, in their dusty bars, that look like empty for the foreigner (this is quite rare), in their houses in ruins, the inhabitants of these counties reveal narrations which they have heard from other lips, lips that spoke according to things they've heard from others. 
























No one has really seen him, never. 

It's an enigmatic personage they call The Outlaw Wizard, The Wizard or simply The Beast. 
No one who narrated these facts could see him face to face. Never. 

They talk about a zone, between Moore and Arias; which in fact would comprehend an immense territory, practically a half of what once was called the State of *******... They talk about a zone where is not recommendable to enter, because the ones who dared to pass by those roads, never returned. 

There are notices about burned and abandoned cars and vans on those roads, with signs of terrible violences that seem to have happened there, large dried bloodstains and multitude of incinerated and scattered objects on the fissured asphalt. Abnormal violences, beyond the human standards of brutality. 

Some chronicles, that fall into the legend -almost-, talk about a sudden and deafening noise, like 1000 jeeps and motorcycles coming, and big clouds of dust that don't let see what's coming with it. 

Apparently the vehicles who dare to be there are assaulted by many... many what? 

Nobody knows how many they are, nobody knows what they are, or where they have their refuges; and nobody wants to know. 
It's guessed that they, whatever they are, live in the most abject bestiality that can be conceived for a human being. Human being..? 

Some stories say that The Wizard was seen in the middle of these criminals, his face was seen by human eyes that are lost forever. 
His face, that was described as pale and horrible beyond any human comprehension; his face was seen, blurred among the dust. 

The same stories talk about rusty motorcycles, and appalling silhouettes under a sun... chains, torchs, dusty leather, an acute smell of gasoline and acetylene... 
... Not even one of these notices talk about corpses or skeletons left there. Some of these references though, talk about a couple of burned fingers, and some kind of -apparently- esoteric, small-wooden amulets. 

The central bureau of the governmental regime promised military presence -promise that never was kept- and still keeps a deep silence about all this, simply recommending not to drive on those roads because of technical difficulties of circulation due to special zonal conditions. 

There are strange stories about. 

The road?