Empty Cities
Enoch stared at the night sky— at the numerous arrays of stars that lit up the world with the tiniest of lights, and he wondered if he could touch them. If his hands extended as far as they could, would he reach the stars? Would they twinkle as they do in the sky? What would they feel like in his palms?
He felt like a rat, squeaking and struggling in dark caverns, dreaming of things far beyond his reach.
“What are you staring at, Enoch?” A young, feminine voice asked him. It was his assistant, Maria.
The stars whispered secrets to him. He didn't even realize when his gaze magnetically drifted towards them.
He tore his eyes away from the tapestry above to rest on the empty city below. He felt much calmer than when he had arrived. Chest heaving from exertion and his mind racing with fears or politics and thoughts of what his king might be thinking of him.
It had taken him three days and three nights to reach here. Three days of thinking without end.
“You should go back inside, Maria. Get some rest.” He tried to get his voice to sound gentle and soothing, but it did not work.
She quietly nodded and got away from him in quiet, practiced motions.
Nothing had prepared him for how these barren lands actually were. No trees, no animals, just stark silence. From the rumors in the inner cities, he had expected to see rampant crime around every street corner. Cries of people demanding money or help. Con artists tricking people with duplicitous wares. What he instead found was a shell with all the structures intact, but no life.
Where were the people?
He pulled out the missive the empire had given him. ‘The outer city of Nemura is planning a rebellion. Crush it.’ The message itself is short and concise. A mark of the Hennesian God Emperor, Enchirydon. There were no further instructions, none delivered to him at least. So where were these people planning the rebellion?
He stepped closer to one of the houses closest to him. A large building made of brick and mortar. It looked the same as any other house in the Empire. And that was precisely the problem. There were no signs of conflict. No damage to the house. In fact there was a potted plant sitting at the edge of the window sill. Ready to fall, but not quite. It looked as though it was watered in the past week.
Where were the violent revolutionaries setting torches to their own houses he'd heard so much about on the way here?
The curtains were drawn, so there was no way to peek inside. He would have to go inside and look, just in case there was someone in there. Though he already knew the answer deep within his gut.
Yet the image of someone shrouded in dark waiting for him wouldn't leave his mind. Their hand gripping a knife. A short knife. Ready to stab him in the small of his back. He shivered.
Walking up to the rather simple looking door, he placed his hands on the door knob. It felt cool to the touch. Twisting it open, he threw open the door and peered inside to see a room veiled in darkness.
The first thing he registered was some sort of pungent smell wafting from the inside. It sickened him. Images of corpses lying on the living room floor crossed his mind, but he shook it off.
It has to be something else.
He held his breath and tried to center himself. He did not have enough information. Regaining clarity, he looked inside once more. Vague figures of common household items struck out to him. These were normal people living their lives their same as him. A table surrounded by chairs in the living room, and a rather basic staircase. For a moment he could believe this was all normal. A single family that wasn't home in a city full of them. But that lie shattered once he turned on the lights.
Food only touched by rot decorated the table. A small ball, most likely made of pig fat and skin, rested in the right-most corner of the room. This house was clearly well lived in, and based on the food it doesn't seem like they were planning any sudden trips on the day they disappeared.
Enoch rushed out of the house, forgetting to close the door behind him as he opened every door in the city to the same horrifying silence.
Am I the only one left here?
Enoch tried to find a rational explanation for what he had just seen. He could barely breathe from the exertion of running around so much. Houses that were filled to the brim with memorabilia, that had every sign of life except for people.
I need fresh air.
He paced back and forth just outside the entrance of the last house he entered.His mind reached for fragments of information that refused to form a coherent picture. People vanishing out of nowhere. A sudden missive that sent him out to the outer reaches of the empire's influence. How did these two things connect?
Did the emperor get to them before he did? No. That did not make sense. There were no signs of anything. No struggle. No rebellion, nothing.
Enoch shook his head. If there was even one person around, he could have gained some information, but as it was there was nothing for him to do here. He had to report back. He had to go-
If he returned with nothing, what would the emperor do to him?
His mind immediately fell to silence.
It churned like a machine that finally awoke. He knew what happened to people who reported back without diligence but there was something else-
A story.
A memory floated to the forefront of his mind. A story. One his grandmother had told him about empty cities.
The Dragon at the end of time has maws that flicker in and out of time. Child, know when darkness envelops the sky and despair burrows into your heart, his gaze is upon you and His maw is not much farther.
Every time the maw opens, a symphony of agony plays. Hope long since relegated to memory, everyone screams to let their voices taint the air. To live past this single day.
When he had asked how she had known about this then, she simply smiled and told him it was a secret.
He looked up instinctively.
The sky was dark.
The maw had opened once more.
I'm sorry Maria.