Sing To Die

“Do you hear the choirs yet?”

            Joseph said this coldly, since the world was coming to an end. The presidents and prime ministers and governments had long ago called the stage play of the world to a close. It was only in the months afterward that the actions of the few caused turmoil for the many. Anarchy had set in when the governments disbanded. Then the terrorists found the nuclear launch codes to missiles in India, but couldn’t figure out how to launch the missiles from their silos, so they ended up opening the silo hatches and detonating the warheads. The whole Indian subcontinent was in flames and death. The once strong Ganges River was now choked with ash and soot. Luckily, only a few of the warheads had detonated; bands of civilians armed with guns stopped the rest of the terrorists from unfurling their plot.

            But everything else in the world was still going to hell in a hand basket. The economies of the countries went with their governments. Riots persisted at the houses of the once-leaders, but the rioters were ignored and then shot by armed guards. Pleas to the once-leaders of the world were all ignored across the world; the leaders did not want to deal with what was going to happen next. It was because they knew.

            What Christians would call the ‘anti-Christ’ had finally come to the world just before the leaders had stepped down from their thrones. He claimed to be of royalty, but he would not say from what family of from what country. Small groups of people trusted him and then larger and larger still groups of people trusted him. The American people chose him as their president, despite outcry from some of the Christians. The cries from the mystics and psychics to the people to ask them not to vote for this man, those cries were ignored. So, those who knew started to go into hiding. And that was when the leaders started to go into hiding.

            The ‘anti-Christ’ called himself Lucifer from the time of his inauguration onward. Anyone who openly shouted at him, telling him to go back to Hell, he smiled and pointed to them, shooting a lightning bolt from his finger, killing the person. He called to the nations when their leaders fled, saying:

            “People of Earth…you know who I am. I am Lucifer, the greatest of all the kings! I own the skies, the water, the food, the land, and the most important thing, you. You all are under my command and you will jump when I say jump. If you do not comply with my wishes, I will have to personally bring my army of demons to wherever you live and dismember you. If you are a man with a family, I will find your wife and your daughters, rape them, and then make you kill them…”

            He would go on and on about methods of torture. Indeed, no one disagreed with him. They valued their lives too much. So, in secret, they prayed. Seemingly, for whatever reason, Lucifer allowed them to pray. They didn’t know why, so they thought that he was scared of it. They ended up organizing a day where the world would pray simultaneously. They thought it would kill Lucifer, and then they could bring their world back into their own hands. But Lucifer laughed in their faces; it was because prayer didn’t work. He went to publicly announce:

            “Your gods are nothing but figments of your imagination. Belief in gods is mental masturbation, if you ask me. In your holy books, that thing called the Bible, in specific, that book tells of me…that I am the antagonist towards your god, Yahweh. I can tell you that I know not of some god named Yahweh. I know not of any god like that. I laughed at you when you wrote that I did know of that god…stupid monkeys. But you did get my name right…oh, yes, my name was correct. The only reason is because I am the most feared thing in all of creation! I am the beginning and I am the f*****g end, do you hear that?! You little f*****g baboons?! I am your master!”

            We listened to the words of a psychopath. Endlessly, we listened to his radio and television broadcasts. It was as if his reign would not end; he was immortal, anyway…

            But hope came. It was delivered in the form of a small boy who went by no name and said he was a Knight of Andromeda. He carried with him a dagger that bore an inscription saying: ‘If We Are the Light, Kill Us Now.’ A woman asked what it meant, but she was greeted with no response. Only a few people in the world were able to see this little boy before he rushed into the White House with his dagger and slayed Lucifer. Then the boy disappeared. He was gone as soon as he was there. It was as if he were a ghost. And the knowledge of what his dagger said quickly traveled around.

            “I know all that we’ve been through…” Joseph said to Ivana.

            “You don’t need to say anything.” She replied. “We’re sitting on a hilltop overlooking the whole of Los Angeles and we’re watching it burn. It’s kind of pretty, in a way. Although I buy into the whole philosophy of death becomes creation, I don’t think something like that will happen with this world. We’ve had our time here. I mean, listen to the choirs. They aren’t angels�"they’re the people that are still alive, the ones that are watching this city burn. We’re some of those people. And shouldn’t we be singing with them?”

            “Why should we?” He mumbled.

            “Because this is the end of the world, and I don’t think singing one last song before we all choke to death is that bad of an idea. Joseph…this place was meant to be done with at some point. Both of us know that. And yes, of course, having the world that you know become a pit of dust is really hard to deal with…but it’s happening. Nothing can change that fact. And I know that you still think of that little boy who saved the world from tyranny, and I know you want to know what his dagger’s inscription meant…well, this is what I think it means: nobody wants to be the hero all of the time. In fact, being the hero may have the greatest burden. It’s all because he has to kill the evil to let the good persist. And how could he deal with the knowing that he has killed to preserve only his cause? How does murder of darkness make him any better than the darkness itself? That was why he left as soon as he killed. Lucifer may not have been the greatest evil there ever was, because he was killed by a child…but that child couldn’t bear to be our leader. To know that lives are in his hand is too much of a burden, too heavy a crown to bear.”

            He nodded in agreement, despite there being anything to truly agree to.

            “Now, sing with me and the choir.”

            The choir stopped for a moment to start another song. The crackling flames of the city served as their ambience. But then they started to sing an old hymn…one that Ivana thought, when sung in a certain fashion, made a statement, one that isn’t quite identifiable as hopeful or just human. But she sung, and Joseph sung to. Their vocal cords singing:

 

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,

the emblem of suffering and shame;

and I love that old cross where the dearest and best

for a world of lost sinners was slain.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,

till my trophies at last I lay down;

I will cling to the old rugged cross,

and exchange it some day for a crown.

 

Ivana let a single tear roll down her face and said, “Singing for death…as we all sing to die.”

Reviews

[misha]

This is really good, you have alot of talent to share. Keep up the great work!

[Tony Williams]

That's amazing

[Coyote Poetry]

You had me from the first line. I had to read a second time.
“Because this is the end of the world, and I don’t think singing one last song before we all choke to death is that bad of an idea. "
I like the description and reason for this outstanding story. A very good ending to a excellent story.
Coyote