XIII

On the horizon you spot it

A gathering darkness

Like so many swarming buzzing corpse flies

The sun died behind it

Yet the sky before you

Still seems a simple sunset

But there

Bulging

Is that blackness

That badness

Quickly growing

Ravenously consuming

Your nails claw at your cheeks

Ragged strips of flesh fall away

A scream

Ragged

Tears from your throat

Your mind fumbles for reason

Some order

Some cause for all of this

But finds none

The walls scream too

And as the world dies

You glimpse behind the encroaching gloom

Something bright

And new

Elsewhere North

Belabored breath

I can barely breath

Legs peddling

Slow

But steady

Whirring gearbox

Transforming my life

To energy

So we might heat our hearth

For another day

“Our” is maybe generous

Food is provided me

And water too

I share in the heat

But

I cannot stop

They will not let me

Me and all the others

Taking shifts

Endless toil

And look how they lounge

And love

And live in sweet bliss

The guard can see

I am on my last legs

But instead

Of allowing me a respite

I feel a jab

From his long handled pike

“Faster you dog…”

He growls venomously

I begin to cry

Make sure to go check out Ameberley’s After the End poem for today over here! If you liked these then you can read all of the poems in our collections After the End and the hashtag AftertheEnd

Answered

I stood at the edge

Overlooking the bay

Wind whipped me

As it had my love

I had called on the gods

I had begged

Pleaded

And the gods?

They were silent

My only recourse

My only relief

Those stones

And white foam waves below

I had walked from the town

Leaving Lucius to his trading

Wheeling and dealing

Trees so tall

They must scrape the sky

Leaving those vaporous trails behind

All around me they spoke

Wind whispering something quiet

I listened

My toes felt the edge

Tested the balance

The feel of the stone

I followed a path

Beat low by many feet

But I felt drawn beside

I lifted my arms

“What now?

What say you?!”

The silence was deafening

A shout so loud

And resonant it bounded

I ran to it

The distress too clear

I closed my eyes

Leaned forward

I leapt

Arms out

The world turned over

And felt the brush scratch at me

What had happened

I was not falling

I was tumbling

Who?

I held out my arm

Trying to break the fall

We hit a hill

And rolled roughly

We stopped

We opened our eyes

And he said

“Heya…

I’m Michael…

My friends call me Minos”

Not as Expected

Palos would burn my soul for this

No redemption here

I had finally gone too far

I eased the blade

Under larynx

The boy shuddered

Coughed

And fell still

All about me

My fellow soldiers did the same

To the elderly

The women

All these innocents

Blood shed

To draw and end

To any possibility

Of retaliation

The encampment had fallen

Faster than I expected

Faster I think

Than any of us expected

So few men

So few fighters

And now

Lambs to the slaughter

This

This didn’t feel right

Something was wrong

Then the shots rang out

The wind ripped

Tearing us apart

I felt stinging buzzing bees slash and tear

A soft gasp

Was all I managed

The men

Had hidden

In the tree line

Aimed down upon us

Waited until we were fully preoccupied

Busy slaughtering their loved ones

Then opened fire

I tasted copper

These last few thoughts pass through me

I should have told

I should have objected

I should have…

If you enjoyed today’s poem make SURE you go check out Amberley’s After the End poem for today also! It’s right here! The rest of the poems for this collection are in our After the End categories and the tag AftertheEnd!

Minos’ Departure

I stood behind the cabin of Gabriel’s truck

The container he pulled, laden and waiting

The men had already begun transporting goods

A tanker of water

Sacks of vegetables

Wood for tools

And sand for ballast

Those cave dwellers swarmed

Eager bottle-eyes merchants

Dragging broken wheel barrows

Laden with their wares

Iron tools of all sorts

Hoes and picks

Shovels and rakes

Even a few daggers

This was another good haul

Come spring

We would be ready for trade with the farmers

A saw a boy

Dressed the same as all the rest

Except

Something in his weight

The way he carried himself

I sensed something in there

Though I knew not what it was

I mean

I’m still not sure just what I saw

He made a crow’s flight straight at Gabriel

I could see him speaking quickly

Hands out stretched

Pleading

This wouldn’t end well…

Well…

I couldn’t well let him get killed

We needed this trade

I leapt down and trotted over

Just as I saw Gabriel’s face

Roiling with rage

And ready to explode

“Hello young one!”

I called

Arms open

“My name is Lucius!

I am one of this caravan’s many merchants

If you need make a deal

It should be with me

We need not harass Gabriel.”

Gabriel grunted something at me

I could never understand him very well

“What is your name?”

The boy perked up quite a bit

He bowed to Gabriel and walked to me

“My name is Minos

I wish to leave this place and travel!

I have only been Topside-”

I found that odd

It felt as though he meant it

Topside

As a separate land

A proper noun and place-

“For a few weeks

But I can never again

Go down there…

Please

Let me join your caravan.”

I smiled

Thoughts ticking away

Strong back

Thick chest like a barrel

A bit short

But stout

Useful

“I think I could take you under my wing!”

I chimed

“But if that’s the case I need two things

One

Your word that you will stay with me

Work for me

For at least three seasons

And two

You must change your name

I can’t let you get traced back here

Could start quite the conflict

If it came out we were taking able-bodied workers

Away from the communities we traded with.”

Minos nodded eagerly

“So… a new name…”

I pondered but a moment.

“Michael.”

If you enjoyed this, make sure to go read Amberley’s poem for today right here! This one is SO GREAT. If you want to read the rest, check out our collections After the End and the hashtag AfterTheEnd!

The First Push

The crosses lined the mountain ridge

Men nailed in place

With thick wooden stakes

Hands bloodied messes

Ankles near torn in half

Their screams rained down on those below

If one fell silent

One of the Kilkenny’s would come

Pike in hand

And stab the man

So he would once more take up the cry

Their prisoners of war

Were these men

And cruel was this torture

But as I hid in the trees just below

I still felt guilty

For what was about to come

The swift death

The unrelenting efficiency

And the total destruction of their lives

Elder Amelia counseled

No mercy to those who profane

No second chances for those demons

I readied my bow

Michael had done a good job

The arrows were perfect

I drew back

Breath withdrawn

I aligned my aim

Released the breath

And let loose the missile

A gentle whistle

The man dropped

I placed a crooked finger

Between my lips

Letting forth a more piercing whistle

This was the signal

All along the ridge the underbrush moved

Palos watched over our advance

Kilkenny after Kilkenny fell to our blade and bow

He was proud

The ridge was ours almost immediately

Without a cry from their men

We slit the throats of our own

Hung from those beams

To cease their cries

To ease their pain

To warn the enemy

Death was come

Minos Ascends

The sun was never again so bright

Never so effulgent

As the first time

I came up from our depths

The ominous

Ponderous creaking

As the lift was hoisted higher

And higher

I felt my heart beat quicken

What did it look like?

The sky

Clouds

Sun

Only ideas implanted in my head

Sounds that conveyed nothing

But wonder

And possibility

With a bang the lift stopped

The workers outside the cage

Tied down the rope to the wall

The door was opened

Beyond the gathered crowd I saw the illuminance

The otherworldly radiance spilling over their heads

I stepped

Uncertain

But excited

Onto the tunnel’s floor

The crowd embraced us and handed us head bands

Inset with dark glass

Old bottle bottoms

Lined with leather

We placed them over our eyes and were lead

Single file

Out of the mouth

Birthed into a world so vast

As to leave me awestruck

No god could have prepared me

Could have forewarned

Of this vastness

This beauty

I wept

“Minos, over here!”

Cried my father

Broad arms waving

Face aglow with love

A bear of a man

And one who I had not seen

Not held

In several years

We embraced

Warmth and sweat

But gloriously rejoined

He released me

And gestured to the horizon

Amber mountains stretched on

Unending

The sun beat down on me

Warming me more deeply

More completely

Than I’d ever felt before

And I knew then

I would never again

Love those caves

As I now loved this land

Minos had emerged

Minos had died

Minos was reborn

If you enjoyed this poem make sure to check out Amberley’s poem for this day also right here! Also if you want more poems like this check out our collections After the End and the hashtag AfterTheEnd!!!

The Caravan Readies

Michael pulled the chain

Above the crowd the air horn signaled

The gathered fell silent

I stepped up to the pulpit

“As your new Caravan Commander”

I led in, all smiles

“Your Prolocutor

Your Supervisor

I vow this will be

Unlike our times with Gabriel

And that awful stint with Zeke

Both a prosperous time

And the beginning

Of something beautiful.”

There was a general rumbling of agreement

Keeping a respectful silence during my speech

“Our first order of business

Is to head north

We’re getting the hell out of this desert

We’ll return, you can be sure of that

But for now we need to head north

Set up routes with those tree huggers

On the coast

Open trade with them

Why?

You may ask

Well besides the fact

That I said so

Those goods

Will fetch high trade value

All the way south

With the Spelunkers

Wood

Water

Hides

All very rare

All very valuable

To those folks

What will we bring?

Valuable minerals!

We have a surplus as is

Iron

Coal

And silver

On each trip

We’ll be able to keep almost half of what we trade

Because of how valuable what we trade is

Compared to how common what they’re giving us is

And hell

This will allow us to more readily trade

With those moonshiners and farmers to our east!”

The crowd was getting rowdy

Excitable

Like putty in my hands

“Tonight we’ll feast

In the morning

We head north!”

They erupted into cheers

Then the chanting began

“Lucius!

Lucius!

Lucius!”

My people…

If you enjoyed this make sure to go read Amberley’s poem for today right here! And if you want to read the rest of the poems check out our collections After the End or the hashtag AfterTheEnd

Preparations are Made

“The bastards’ll flay their prisoners

Then make ’em eat the flesh!”

Michael chittered

Hands working nervously

Over an arrow he was fitting

“Have you seen this

Or even had someone else

Who saw it directly?”

I smirked

Waxing my bow’s string

The bee’s wax coating nicely

“I killed three all on my own

Without any kind of fight.”

Yes the moment I started this

The moment I damned us

To the ministrations

Of those psychotic fanatics

“Well

Not as such I suppose…”

Michael lowered his head

“But you hear the screams

From atop the mountains

Whatever they’re doing

It’s hellish for sure.”

He nodded at this

To punctuate his point

I shrug and set my bow down

“You’ve a point I guess”

Those screams

Gods old and new

Whatever they’re doing

I hoped to never find out

I picked a bit of dried venison

From my tooth

Sighed and stood up

“Let me know

When the arrows are ready

I’m itching for some Kilkenny blood”

I walked from the cabin

Leaving Michael to his delicate

And precise work

Outside I saw a few riders

Astride their steeds

Noble visage of order

Appointed by our gods

Palos and Mineer

Twins of fire and ice

Their hide capes died in reds

Their bows, white and stark

I know as long as our gods watch

We shall not fail

If you enjoyed this make sure to read Amberley’s poem for today! read it here! Everyone is converging in her stories, so if you need to catch up make sure to read everything in our collections After the End~

I Died

At the base of that tree

Blood pooling neath my feet

Face splattered with his life

I died

When I cradled his body

All shattered and torn

Barely a cohesive thing

I died

As I cried out to the gods

To every last one of them

And heard silence in return

I died

When I returned to my village

Water left behind, forgotten

Its absence, not my love’s, noticed

I died

As the elders counseled me

Rose’s arm upon my shoulder

“These things happen for a reason”

I died

As I pled for them begged

To get his body returned it to me

“No burial for water bearers”

I died

While I lie here in bed

Knowing tomorrow will be the same

Will continue on without his light

I die

As I think how every day

Every moment will be without him

His absence an indelible mark

I die

As I close my eyes

Tears still streaming

Impossible to halt

I die

I wish…

If you liked this poem and want more from this world, make sure to read Amberley’s poem for today right here! Pay close attention to the words. Something hides there. Also check out our collections After the End and the hashtag AfterTheEnd