Sir

SIR

'Sir'. That was what we called him, what we had to call him, because he
would not answer to anything else. I had to look after him on Saturdays
and Tuesday nights and it caused me an incredible amount of trouble. On
the Saturday, in the summer, I took him to the beach, stuck him on the
rocks and went swimming by myself. He would not move a muscle, not even
to frown, and if you have ever seen someone trying to frown without
moving a muscle you will know that it is a hilarious sight
indeed.

A crowd would gather at his feet, looking up to the rock that he sat
on, hoping to catch a glimpse of the frown. Sir watched them silently,
never saying a word, plotting only in his mind. He had been plotting
for three years now and his plan was coming to fruition, a great big
plan the size of a coconut, but I did not know this at the time.

When I finished swimming I would make my way through the crowd, raise
my arms up to the child and lift him down. He would then insist on
holding my hand while we walked home from the beach. I was only two
years older than he was, but that summer I was eleven and he was nine
and the age difference was such that I was mature enough to mind him
for his parents.

I thought that this would be the routine until he was old enough to
look after himself, but I was wrong. That summer came to be known as
'The Summer of Doom'. It was the summer that Sir decided to enact his
plan, the plan of the year, the plan of the decade, the plan of the
millennium, the plan the size of the coconut, and it ruined everything.
Sparse, arid, burnt, and hell, became the four most used words all over
the world, and it was all because of a nine-year-old kid.

I should have realised earlier about Sir. There had been many clues but
I had never taken any notice of them. I put it down to horrible little
kid syndrome, but now, when I think of all the dead people I wish I had
done something about it. Perhaps I should have made him swim with me
when I knew very well he couldn't swim. But now I recall that I was not
like that then. I was just an innocent child, and it is only these hard
times that have changed me. If I knew then what I know now I still
would not have been able to do it.

It was a nice hot day when the plan happened. It was a Saturday and I
was just going to pick Sir up. As I walked down the road to his home
Sir was, very unusually, running towards me. His parents never let him
out on his own, so I was worried that something was wrong.
'Quick', he whispered. 'Quick'.
And, as I began to panic, he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards his
home. He led me through his front door and into his basement. Sir
skipped to the other end of the room and pressed a big red button. At
the same time a thick steal door slammed shut over the basement
entrance. He then pressed another button and he turned to smile at me.
It was then that Sir told me his hideous plan. I had always
underestimated the kid, especially as he eventually managed to destroy
most of the world using only a chemistry set.

'I'm going to get rid of them all', he said sweetly. 'I've got devices
all over the world to burn everything above the surface, except for a
few areas'.
'Huh?' I enquired.
'Everyone will be killed except a few and I will be their
leader'.
'Huh?'
'I will destroy those that remain if they do not obey me'.
'In my naivety I told Sir to stop playing this silly game, and that we
were missing the sun on the beach'.
'Our beach is safe', said Sir. 'We can still play there'.

It was a couple of hours before Sir let me out of the basement. He took
my hand and led me upstairs, and the heat hit me, as did the blackness
and the desolation.
'It is the same practically everywhere, all over the world', Sir
said.
'How did you manage it?' I was in shock. 'You've never been
abroad'.
Sir smiled happily. Everyone had underestimated the brilliance of Sir's
mind, and the madness of it.

That was ten years ago now. There are small patches of life around the
world, people who worship Sir, knowing that if they do not they will
all be killed. Life is horrendous, even for me, who has a few luxuries,
such as a comfy bed and a beach to relax on. And I still can not work
out how he did it, how he managed to undertake such a plan.

It is Saturday today and I am at the beach. Sir is sitting on his rock,
but now there is no crowd. He is watching me swimming. He has never
swum but has talked to me about trying it for some time. I motion to
him to join me in the water. Slowly he makes his way down to the sea's
edge, and he wades out to me in all his clothes. If I were to do it,
the time would be now. I could release everyone from him by one simple
act, but I could not. Sir reaches for my hand.
'You are my best friend', he says and I am stunned.
'Well?' he asks, waiting for me to return the compliment.
'I'm your only friend, as you are mine', I say, and I realise that this
is true. This mad man is the only friend that I have. I have to free
them, I have to free myself, after all, it is the only realistic option
I have. I slowly push his head under the water and I hate myself for
doing it.

Sir has been dead for two days now but I did not free the people as I
thought. After his death I ransacked his room and I found the diary.
There is a machine, which has to have a password entered into it
monthly, whether locally or by remote access. I do not know the
password, only Sir did. Without it the rest of the remaining
settlements will be destroyed. I have two weeks now, two weeks to
prepare the world for the worst. Two weeks to get into hiding and
figure out how to disarm Sir's fiery tools of destruction. And I know
that we will win, because some life has to survive. It always does.
Does it not?