ATROPOS

Prologue

They called it the Ice Plague.

No one was certain where it came from, only that it came swiftly.  Its devastating course followed no discernible pattern, striking out old and young, men and women, parents, siblings, and friends alike.  Some were spared, but they could never figure out why.  Most were not so lucky.

It always started with a reddening of the cheeks; a deep pink flush that remained the only symptom for twenty-four hours.  Then came a whitening of the lips, and a waxy texture to the skin.  This lasted up to ten hours before the convulsive shivering started.  The affected's hands began to shake, so much so as to render everyday tasks like writing and picking up small objects impossible.  At thirty-six hours, the affected's skin was freezing, cold as ice, and their fine motor skills were nearly gone.  Movement was slow and belabored, and their frigid breath met the  comparatively warmer air in clouds of steam.

At thirty-eight hours, paralysis had completely set in.  The affected was incapable of any motion save for light, shallow breathing.  Their skin was pale and hard as marble, with the exception of their cheeks, which still glowed with a rosy hue.  An ice-like substance began to creep across their flesh.  Soon, they were completely encased, frozen like statues.  None survived past the fortieth hour of the Plague.

Earth became a macabre museum of statues.  The dead quickly began to outnumber the living.  People were getting desperate, and so, they put a plan into action; a plan more daring than anything humanity had tried before.

They moved a population of the surviving humans to Earth's parallel, Atropos.  From the wasteland, they built a city, which they named Atropolis.  Their mission was to start again, devoid of the Plague, and to survive.  Their mission failed, for among them were carriers; people who carried the Plague but were not themselves affected by it.  The Ice Plague spread just as it had on earth, wiping them out.  Many more times, people from Earth traveled to Atropos, and always met the same downfall.

And once more, Earth is buried in the Plague.  It is the year 2784, and a final round is being sent to Atropos in hopes of salvaging humanity.  It is with solemn eyes that Earth's leaders watch their fellow survivors depart Earth forever, and with solemn eyes that those leaving Earth look back on the mortuary it has become.