Armageddon

My Momma often told me of what life used to be like before the end, a foreign world even to her Momma, a world of light and warmth, of comfort and plenty, of ice ceam and birthdays. But she's dead now and I don't even know how old I am, let alone when my birthday is... or what ice cream is.

Life here and now, in this crumbling world of ruin and decay, where the days are dark and the nights pitch, is full of fear and suffering. Horrific monsters and depraved demons have made it their home and we the people, **** and scared, are their prey.

Before, when my Momma was still alive, we survived as part of small nomadic tribe forever fleeing from one place to another feeding on vermin and rotting garbage, all while praying to the old god who had abandoned us, for salvation and thanking him for the gift he had bestowed upon my Momma to be able to sense the Hellspawn and warn us of their approach. Her gift earned her position of tribal priestess. I can still half remember the tales she would tell us from the lost bible of the old God. Tales of a boy, who like me was born to a woman by no man, but by a God, the old God. His son he would send unto us, to forgive us our sins and lead us through temptation, delivering us repentant from Armageddon into salvation eternal. She had told me I too was touched by the old God and though not the old Gods son, I was still divinely special.

Ironically it hadn't been demons or monsters that had killed Momma and wiped out the entire tribe, but other people. Feral men and women turned more beast than human had found us while we sheltered in a ruined subway station that Momma said once transported people quickly beneath the ground. They rampaged through our little camp killing all the men and most of the women before carrying off the surviving women and any children that hadn't fled.

One of those Ferals had got me, her dark eyes glowing savagely and her hot fetid breath on my whimpering face as she had me pinned to the ground when Momma appeared over her, with her gnarled priestesses staff gripped tightly in her hands and she swung with all her might. The staff connected with a brutal thud and snapped as the womans skull exploded and she slumped dead atop me, her life blood drenching my face.

"We must run baby boy. Run and leave everyone behind. Run and find somewhere to hide." She had told me as she dragged me out from under the corpse and up to my feet, hers eyes darting about searching for a way to flee. I was barely up on my feet when she had dragged me away, pulling me towards the edge of the platform. A feral man had appeared in front of us, ramming his big fist into her face and she had spun, inadvertantly flinging me over the edge. I hadn't even screamed, just watch silently as I flew through the cool air into darkness, watched as my Momma fell to the ground and the man fell savagely down upon her. I flew downward and then there was an instant of unbearable pain before nothingness consumed me.

I had awoken some time later, cold and my head throbbing in pain. I could only curl up and whimper, clutching myself as I shivered uncontrollably. After what felt like an eternity of crying for Momma and her not appearing as she always did, I managed to get to my hands and knees, my head swimming dizzily and painfully, I looked up and could see a faint glow coming from back up on the platform.

It took me a while, but I managed to climb back up onto the platform and could just make out the decimated camp and dark mounds of corpses in the glow of the dying embers from the camp fire. All seemed still and silent as I crawled to where my Mommas body lay.

I knelt over her, unable to make out her features in the darkness and felt for her hand as I quietly asked her if she was there. I found her hand, it was cold as I took it in mine as was rewarded to hear her voice.

"Billi? Is that you?" She had asked in a voice weak and barely more than a rasping whisper.

"Yes Momma. It's me. You need to get up. We need to go." I had begged.

"No baby boy. This is the end for me. I go now to our old god and his salvation. But you must go... you have his gift... the same he gave to me... I know you do... you'll feel it in your breast and below your belly.

"But I'm a boy Momma. He only gives you gift to girls, that's what you have always said. You need to get up. Who's going to look after me?"

"I can't baby... I'm dying... already dead save but by his grace... remember... in your breast and... below your belly... you'll know Hellspawn be near..." Momma had told me, her dying words as her hand fell from my own.

I knelt over her for a time, weeping at my loss and not knowing what I should do. Finally the sounds of growls echoed down from above and I knew the stink of blood and **** had finally attracted things I did not want to meet. Pushing myself up I had fled down the dark tunnel, stumbling and weeping all the way until I could go no further and the only sounds were of rats chittering in the darkness.