listen

So I went on a Science Fiction website to read a short story under the category Disaster, and I came upon a story that I found really interesting. It's called Listen.

In this short story, disaster strikes humanity and humanity is depleting in number. There are other beings out to hurt humans and humanity is growing desperate to change this. They are beings that spread by wildfire for unknown reasons and they were unstoppable. The narrator, is one of the few survivors to live to tell the tale. He witnesses the tragedy. The helplessness of the government, the death of many, and even more. He describes a mark that was stamped on his gene by an Engineer that changed him; most likely unwillingly. The narrator explains that this mark will finally destroy these beings, called the UnAltered. By the end of the story, the "wide world" is empty, but new. This suggests that these strange marks have eradicated their enemies for good.

I like this story and its plot. I love stories that involve tragedy within human society as edgy as that might sound. It forces humans to work together and stick by each other in a crisis. It develops relations that wouldn't have been possible because when everyone is under a life threatening crisis, there's a heightened need for security and comfort.

However, the story wasn't quite clear enough. It took several rereads for me to digest what was going on in the story. Since it is so short, this is understandable, but the story could have been more direct with its science elements to let the reader know what is exactly happening. There could have been less vivid imagery. I also don't really understand the use of repetition for the word 'listen.' I also wish that the story would explain more on that because I don't know how the word correlates with the story. Probably from lack of understanding but it proves my first point.

I'd recommend reading this short story for yourself!
Link to story: http://dailysciencefiction.com/science-fiction/disaster-apocalypse/edward-ashton/listen