Third to re-enter earth was Famine. The skinny black man
had nothing human in his eyes. Cold they were and hard. He lifted his scales
and suddenly there was light. Lured by the light, his black stallion
followed from the book. Famine calmed the horse and spoke to it gently. He
led it to the doors.
Kimberlyn ducked behind a pillar when he heard the doors
open. Yelling at himself for being chicken for doors that opened out of themselves. Shortly after however he was glad he had had that reflex.
Seated on a black stallion, Famine rode out. Well, that is, it could only be Famine
seeing
Painfully Kimberlyn searched his memory for what number Famine had. He
couldn't even remember if he had ever read the story about the apocalypse.
He could only do one thing all things considered.
Kimberlyn sighed and entered the gloomy asylum.
Famine
looked around the empty streets. People had barricaded the doors and
windows. They thought they were safe. An amused smile played around the lips
of the pale man. He always admired the naivety of the humans. Did they
really think they could escape winged demons and an army of skeletons or
what else his partners had already tried?
While Famine walked through the streets he could feel he was being watched.
But when he looked around he saw no-one. One time a mad dog ran toward him
growling, only to fall dead on the ground the next. Famine left the dog and
walked on. A trap suddenly formed in his head to lure the humans out of
their houses. Not only something to lure. Also something to judge. He was
here to judge after all.
Famine put a mirage-spell on himself. Anyone know watching would see a rich
stranger going mad and throwing around all his money. The truly greedy would
not be able to resist it. Famine watched. At first there was no reaction,
but then slowly he could hear whispering and foot steps. Out came an old
man. Eager he grabbed a hold of one of the bills and watched it.
Satisfied by the bill the man started to leave. Famine however approached
him and asked:
"Sir, why did you take the money? We're all going to die."
"Never say that my boy, " the old man answered, "This might
be my last chance to be rich and I'm grabbing it."
Famine smiled sadly. It had been his last chance. Famine wiped his hand over
the bill and it reverted to the piece of litter it had been. The look on the
man's face was priceless. Stunned and incomprehensive.
"You failed." Famine said and touched the man on his forehead,
"It looks like you're still poor and now you'll be hungry too."
Famine left the old man to think of his actions and walked further.
Mechanically he looked around and soon found another sinner. A young girl,
barely dressed, revealing her profession. In times of need they always came
out to die first. Famine called the girl over. She came, willingly. She
might have seen weirder faces than his.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"What does it look like I'm doing! I'm earning money."
"Go home, you don't need money anymore." The girl, suddenly afraid
ran off.
Famine blew her a kiss. Something gentler than the hunger the old man would
get. She still deserved to die for her sin though. Redemption didn't take
away the guilt of a life of crime. Not in this new reign anyway.
Whistling, Famine continued his walking, waving his scales in his right
hand. When he saw a beggar laying on the ground, his hand open for some
money, Famine shrugged.
"The last will be the first." he shrugged, quoting from the
biblebook Lucas, and broke the man's neck with a single move of his arms.
Shrunken and twisted in a strange way Famine left the man and started to
roam around more strategically. He also didn't corner single men and women
anymore, no now he took on families, neighbourhoods and whole skyscrapers.
Wherever he passed he left behind him a path of despair, poverty and
anxiety. A knowing that food would get scarce and that honest people would
soon find themselves on the other side of the fine line between alive and
death. There was no more room for charity, just bitter survival...
Kimberlyn
pondered which way he should go. The inside of the asylum was a maze of
staircases, hallways and rooms. Kimberlyn was lost and he was desperately
trying to find a way out. Carefully he went from room to room, hoping he'd
find an exit sign, or even the book. Anything to tell him where he was. His
wish was granted.
The next room before him suddenly lit up with a pale light. Kimberlyn froze.
Silently he crept too the door and looked through the keyhole.
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