Solstice

CHAPTER 1: BLOOD MOON

Mud and thick blood covered every inch of the pavement as I dragged my fatigued body into the town square. Tiny beads of sweat trickled down my forehead and the hot thick air of the summer solstice was unbearable to breathe in. I was suffocating, and my mind was unable to concentrate as I was slowly losing consciousness. I had already made peace with death, and I knew that he would come to claim me very soon, yet I continued to tread. The town square was empty, not a soul in sight. I wondered if anyone had heard my bellowing, but nobody dared to risk their life to save mine. I was alone in my suffering.

It was then that I spotted him through the streaked blood that covered my long black eyelashes. He was just as I imagined, beautiful yet lethal, like a poison that slowly spread through your body without notice. The sharp hollows in his cheeks and the black pupils that covered his snake-like eyes terrified yet intrigued me. In the blistering heat, he looked like a mirage, but I knew that he was real. I greeted death with a smile, and reached out a hand as I collapsed on the scorching pavement. From a distance he reached out for me as well, and I felt his long smooth fingers take hold of my calloused burnt ones gently. He was now standing above me shielding my cowering body from the flesh eating planet. My eyes slowly closed and the darkness that surrounded him enveloped me into a deep abyss.

*December 21st, 2872*
The piercing sound of my screams, sent feverish chills throughout my whole body. The thin coarse blankets that covered every inch of my warm skin were now drenched in sweat. The rapid pace of my heartbeat began to subside. Through swollen eyes, I glanced around, and realized that I was alone. I was glad of that. I had been waking up with night terrors for the past few weeks. Each day, I dreamt of the same thing. This time, I felt its malignant presence breathing down my neck.

The sun cast a warm glow through a slight crack in the cave walls. It shone faintly on the unbleached cotton material that clung onto my shoulders. The intrusive thoughts that clouded my mind craved to tear down the cloth and have the sun drown me in its pernicious fury. Thick hot air began to fill my lungs with each breath. Each day I felt darkness weighing down on my chest, suffocating me. After every nightmare, a tenebrious wall began to form in my mind bordering between sanity and delusion. Today was the day of the ceremony. A day of celebration among our people. To me, it was a day of grief and uncertainty. To me, it was a celebration to welcome death.

"The sun nearly destroyed Earth hundreds of years ago. Our world was weakened and afflicted by the four horsemen demons. Pollution, war, famine, and death. These apocalyptic beings emerged from hell and snatched our kind's souls like trophies. Pollution cleverly disguised herself as mother nature and progressively destroyed the ozone layer to ground zero. Thus, many of us perished in the scorching heat, and others became the playthings of the devil's other hellhounds. Famine was ruthless, he poisoned crops and infected animals, causing hunger, malnutrition, and mass genocide. War was devastation, her rage and strength wreaked havoc and contaminated our minds with violence. Brother turned on brother, sister on sister, mother on child, and we perverted our thoughts and lost our human strength. We surrendered and we died. Even as myths and legends, stories of Death gave us goosebumps as children. As his siblings performed his bidding, Death came to collect his dues. My father told me that meeting death's cold glare was like staring at a vast sea of emptiness and darkness, forcing you to face your greatest nightmares and deepest fears. The air stopped when life ended on our planet. Screams ceased when the wind no longer whispered the names of the dead. Apocalypse survivors were our forefathers. We founded the Akai tribe to reclaim what they took. Every winter solstice, our families prepare our males for hunting season. Women gather crops and winterize dwellings. Winter solstice is the only time we may gather food and supplies for the year. We survived, not persevered. Our predecessors battled for a new beginning. We survived their memories and the billions of lives lost to evil that spread like wildfire on our world. So, hunters, raise your glasses and drink the tea of blood moon for your protection against our blazing enemy—hunting season commences tonight!