Sunny Day

The sounds of hundreds of merchants shout constantly at the street market. A stream of customers push each other forward in a constant drive through. Passing hanging meat covered in flies to dried vegetables not even worth the time to look at. Life is changing here and no one knows for sure what is going on.

The old manuscripts speak of a time where we will not survive. There will be no escape from the destruction and the old prophets foresaw this coming. These secret texts hidden are locked away in their final monument of their existence. It is amazing how long this structure has lasted. It spans high into the heavens, but everything that once made it beautiful has been destroyed. No one knows its purpose and our scholars argue why our ancestors built these colossal buildings.
The days are growing hotter and Sol has become angry. The lands are becoming like deserts and food is getting scarce. The animals are acting strange, sitting all the time as if they have already given up life for the slaughter.

Xenon bumps passed an old maid wearing leather skin. Her face is caked in mud and she hasn't eaten for ages. She grabs at Xenon's wrist, those wiry fingers twisted around his dark tinted arm like a hungry insect. She speaks of the end times, the great fire to come.

Xenon isn't a skeptic but he isn't certain what will happen. He doesn't believe the world will come to an end. Instead, Xenon carries on what he does every day. He keeps himself busy with farming his land. He maintains one of the last outposts for fresh meat. He makes a handsome profit at the market, but today he is shopping for grains to keep his livestock fat and ready to serve.

His clothes are old and boring. He wears a tattered cotton tunic and brown leather chaps which allow him to ride the beasts to keep his cattle moving. It is a hard job that requires much of his time. His skin is dark, nearly black. Sol shows no mercy man kind during the hot season. Like others, he wears a large hat that covers his head and shoulders, shadowing his upper torso to the best of its ability.

Blisters are normal for any who stay out in the direct light of Sol. Mankind can not withstand the heat and radiation of the angry fury of the sun. Some have gone to great lengths to protect themselves from the heat. Most just try to stay inside and live out meaningless lives where no one knows they exist.

Xenon snaps his arm away from the wretch and looks at her with concern. He shakes his head and without looking, he bumps into a stout man in front of him.

"Watch it, Darkling!" The brawny man yells from over his shoulder. His eyes are dark and his
skin darker from under the Chinese styled hay hat.

Xenon bows and apologizes immediately. This isn't the time to be starting trouble. The merchant market is a dangerous place and a fight could turn into a riot. Everyone's on edge with the growing zealots of the new order. The Apocalypto, as the locals have labeled them.

The brawny-one grunts and continues through the stream of people with ease and Xenon feels takes a sigh of relief and shakes his head, astonished by the very size of the man. How he loathes the merchant market, too many people too many worthless items for sale.

Suddenly the sky becomes bright and everything turns white. Screams of panic ensue and someone points to the red star that consumes their world in a crimson heaven. More screaming is heard as the market turns from a place of business to a field of mindless animals. The gods are angry at the people, The Apocalypto shout out their confessions, falling on their knees and begging forgiveness while cursing at the rest of the street.

Xenon is instantly hit from behind and falls over. The unfamiliar feeling of being trampled on by frantic people leaves him feeling helpless. He yells loudly but no one hears him, his voice flooded over like a whisper. He turns his head and looks to the old maid who is now praying to the gods with her wiry fingers raised in the sky.

Her praying doesn't last long as she too gets trampled over by a herd of merchants. A table is thrown and overturns on her, crushing her feeble body. Her last dying breath was one of bitterness and discontent, cursing the world she once grew up in.

Xenon's head is kicked and he holds to it while screaming. He tries to get up but each attempt is met with another maniac stepping on his back. A bloody body falls beside him, its head is crushed in and it stares at Xenon. The child is unmoving and grey matter leaks from its skull.

Someone tumbles over the bloody pulp and then another. The effect dominoes and half the crowd begins to stagger about. Xenon's chance to get up, he doesn't hesitate and leaps to his feet. He follows the crowd out of the city, he hasn't any other choice. Bodies of people surround him and hug against his body. He can't escape, even if he wanted.