[ WP ] A grave digger meets a body snatcher . Describe their exchange and conflict .

We are simple people. 
 We have one job and we do it well. We dig the graves that need to be dug. We travel to where we need to be and we stay as long as is necessary. 
 We do our job. And then we move on. 
 
 The Elders teach us as we travel. It has to be this way. We can ’ t stay where we ’ re not needed and that doesn ’ t give us much time to put down roots, let alone worry about things such as formal schooling or developing relationships. The Elders say it is our duty and who we are; that we must learn from our past to be prepared for the future. And so those who most clearly remember the past are the ones who teach. 
 
 For years they have warned us of the “ other kind ”. For years we have heard the stories. Stories that promised one day “ they ” would return. 
 
 It had been years since any of their kind had been spotted in our lands though. And most of us truthfully thought the stories were just that… stories. Things to keep the younger generation in line and from asking too many questions or acting out. The best way to create a culture of absolute obedience? Scare the living-daylights out of those young enough to not know any better. 
 
 They were good stories no doubt. 
 But none of us really thought there was much truth behind any of it. 
 
 Until tonight. 
 
 I had gone on a water run. Alone. 
 
 Yes, I was supposed to have a companion. 
 Yes, I was in direct opposition to one of the 5 Golden Tenants we memorized as kids and repeated each morning -- “ Never Go Alone ”. 
 And that ’ s how I found myself -- alone in a small clearing in the woods when a hollowness… an emptiness… a loneliness I can ’ t begin to describe suddenly enveloped me. 
 
 It took all of my strength to not fall to my knees in despair and end my very existence in that moment. As if every problem and every horror and every heartache of the entire human race had been placed inside my being. It was hell in a way I never imagined possible. And just when I did n't think I could take another moment... when I could n't possibly sink any lower... that ’ s when I heard it ’ s voice. 
 
 And realized everything I had been feeling up till then was pure joy in comparison to the hopelessness that voice now instilled in me. 
 
 “ It ’ s been a long time, boy…'' it hissed, `` a very, very, very long time. Your people have grown comfortable. Your people have grown lazy. Your people have grown ssssssssssoft... We are watching. It wo n't be tonight. It wo n't be tomorrow. But make no mistake, boy, the age of the grave diggers is coming to a close. Ssssssssoon. Now run and tell your father and tell your clan… the body snatchers have returned. ” 
 
 

