Episode 27. Apple of My Eye

Sinewy snaking columns of smoke rise from the desolation. Buildings that once stood tall now bend and sag like old beggars. A green glow permeates the air like a disease. Where there was once joy and laughter, nothing remains but pain and sorrow. But alas, look. The dark outlines of three figures emerge from the horizon like undulating specters of the underworld. You stop eating the sandy scraps you foraged just the night before and put a hand to your brow. Squinting, you see the figures clearly now. Three riders with chiseled jaws and wide-brimmed hats saunter and sway down the gravel road. Hovels of decrepit beings emerge from their lairs and follow from a distance. As the riders come closer, you stare upward towards the green orb in the sky. The lead rider tosses something to you then yanks the brim of his hat downward before moving past. As you catch the object, you feel its slippery surface and stare in disbelief. A delicacy from another time and place. An apple. The smell of the horde in front of you pulls you from your reveries. The mass of onlookers with their sunken eyes and blistered faces stare at the fruit. Something like an electric shock courses through you and causes you to stand. Removing the hood from your head, you brandish a weapon from beneath your garments. The steel gleams in the green sun’s glow. As the mob springs forward, your yellowed teeth bite into the crisp flesh of the fruit. Eyes closed and blade raised, you whisper, “Not today” as your blade begins slicing.