The Sinner

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The Sinner Page 14

by K. Trap Jones


  I was not about to close my store off to a line of hungry people.

  We needed to provide them with some level of service

  Regardless of how small it was.

  I viewed the line of people as several days of my survival.

  My partner agreed with me.

  We lowered the level of food offering

  Even further to the point where the amount

  Was barely enough to feed one person for a half a day.

  I had no remorse knowing that just behind my back wall

  Was an abundant supply of food

  That would feed me through the storm.

  The food was mine.

  The crowd was lucky

  That I was not selfish and supplied them with some.

  The next day, Beelzebub noticed

  That a portion of the food had become rotten.

  We both decided to trim the decayed food

  And place them in the bundles to give out.

  I reassured myself that rotten food was better than no food at all.

  The people did not seem to notice.

  I received a surprise visit the following day

  From a few of my suppliers.

  The farmers did not wait in line

  Like the others and barged into the store.

  Due to the frost that was destroying their land;

  They were demanding back the crops that they sold me.

  With the storage area well hidden,

  I told them that all the food we had

  Was going to the people of the city.

  If they required food,

  They would have to wait in line.

  My words enraged them

  As they began threatening to cut off my stock

  For future seasons

  If I did not return their product.

  I replied that I could not

  As it was dispersed amongst the people.

  In a sudden turn of events,

  The people began to fight along side me

  As they did not want the food that they were to receive

  To be given back to the farmers.

  With the farmers outnumbered and

  Being forced from the store,

  It was apparent that I had won the battle.

  As they were pushed,

  They proclaimed that I was hording the food, but

  The people were only concerned

  With their current status in the line

  To believe such nonsense.

  We continued to give out the contaminated food as

  We did not want it to alter the fresh supply.

  The amount of rotten food was more

  Than we had originally thought as

  We uncovered more that was buried deep in storage.

  We increased the amount of food in the bundles

  In order to cleanse the store.

  Outside, the snow enlarged in density.

  A bitter wind howled through the streets.

  The city was completely covered with a white cover

  That was thickening with each coming day.

  With their robes glistening with white crystals,

  The prophets continued their tales and

  I was there to hear every word.

  They spoke of snow as the tears of a demon;

  The frost as its coffin.

  They enlightened me by saying the freezing rain

  Will slay many and alter few.

  Were they talking about people or animals?

  They never answered my questions,

  Which was quite frustrating.

  The line in front of the shop became larger

  With every day that went by.

  I still saw every person as a day of my survival.

  To see several hundred people lining up was a bit depressing.

  I told Beelzebub my worries,

  He suggested that we could close the store and

  Claim the food was depleted.

  He said it was my choice

  And that he would abide by my decision.

  The choice was difficult

  As I was giving food away, albeit some of it was contaminated.

  Was it not my right to preserve my own salvation?

  I had acquired the food in good faith,

  So I should be able to do with it as I see.

  I should not have to suffer for believing in the prophets.

  Everyone had the same opportunity to prepare for the storm;

  Instead they chose to ignore the words.

  I should not have to suffer for the ignorance of others.

  I looked to Beelzebub with a smile and made my choice.

  He was very satisfied to say the least

  As that meant more food for him as well.

  I stood upon a table and acquired attention.

  I announced that we would no longer be able to offer food

  As the supply had run dry.

  My words instantly sent everyone into a panic.

  They desperately laid claim to any food that was present.

  Arguments and fights sporadically

  Showed their ugly faces as the thought of no food

  Entered into the minds of the customers.

  The word spread quickly outside

  Where the line wrapped through the streets.

  People began to shove one another

  In hopes to gain access inside.

  Beelzebub and I started to funnel the people outside

  In hopes that we could rid the store of chaos.

  He grabbed two of his butcher knives.

  The threat of violence led the customers out through the door

  And onto the cold, bitter streets.

  We barricaded the door and breathed a sigh of relief.

  I was not concerned about their safety

  Or how they would weather the storm.

  I was only concerned about my survival through the blizzard and

  My partner shared my fears.

  With no one inside, we opened up our storage

  Simply to look upon it with satisfaction.

  I felt relieved not to give away any more food.

  I saw the pile as my complete salvation.

  The morning after, we did not open.

  It was the first time that I did not

  Welcome customers since starting the store.

  It was quite relaxing

  To not have to set up the visual table.

  I only wanted to hear the words of the prophets.

  The new speech brought about more concerns

  Of the freezing rain that would soon arrive.

  They said the rain would seal doors, crack streets

  And would serve as the first sign of devastation.

  They advised everyone to stay

  Within the safety of their abodes.

  No one except me would listen.

  As I walked away from the prophet,

  I was approached by two men who demanded food.

  I told them that I had no more to give.

  They were in a state of starvation

  With their thin appearance and sunken cheeks.

  I myself was very healthy and

  Was nourished quite nicely each day, but

  My appearance did not seem to help the cause.

  They became violent and began to shove me around

  And accused me of hording food.

  I denied their accusations as they pushed me to the ground.

  Beelzebub came out of the store armed with his knives

  And stood by my side.

  The inclusion of blades halted my attackers’ progress.

  They backed away slowly, then ran the opposite way.

  To calm myself from the recent incident,

  I sat down with a ripe apple and stared at the pile of food.

  My power came from knowing that the men

  Who attacked me would weaken in the days to come;

  That I
would continue to be healthy.

  The next hazy sun brought about the freezing rain.

  It pounded the city and all who dared to be outside.

  From the haven of the shop,

  I could hear the screams of people outside.

  There was no physical warning.

  The sharpened rain droplets appeared at a blistering speed.

  Several people banged on our door in hopes to seek shelter,

  But Beelzebub and I were performing inventory of our food.

  We ignored their request as we were quite busy.

  The screams got louder and distracted

  Me from counting the bananas.

  It was very annoying.

  I opened the front door ever so slightly

  To hear the shouted words of the prophets.

  They were no longer standing at their usual places.

  Instead they sought shelter underneath an overhang.

  Their robes had become tattered from the frozen falling daggers,

  But still they preached in hopes to save lives.

  They spoke of a massive hail storm

  That would destroy buildings and scar the city.

  I began to worry as everything they had foreseen

  Had come true.

  Before I could close the door an arm

  Penetrated from the outside and kept the door ajar.

  Someone was trying to overpower me to gain access.

  I pushed at the door but the inclusion of the arm

  Made it nearly impossible to close it fully.

  I called to Beelzebub who came to my aid.

  He held the door and told me to get a knife.

  Without much thought I grabbed one from a nearby table

  And tried to give it to him.

  He told me that there was no time,

  That I must handle the situation myself

  As our stockpile of food was in jeopardy.

  The pressure was too much for me,

  I stalled in my actions.

  Beelzebub hurried my thoughts

  While the man was pushing open the door.

  I gripped the knife and slashed the blade across the arm.

  The man cried out in pain.

  Beelzebub told me to do it again.

  I slashed one more time as the man withdrew his arm

  Allowing us to close the door.

  I looked at the blood dripping from the knife.

  I knew that it was necessary in order to preserve our salvation,

  But the pain that I caused another human

  Made my heart sink into my stomach and drown itself.

  Beelzebub took the knife and smiled at me in acceptance.

  From that day on, I knew I had to protect the food

  By any means necessary.

  I knew the starvation was making people desperate.

  I vowed that I would strive to never feel that pain.

  I did not want to die by hunger.

  The steps that I accomplished would help me avoid it.

  I awoke to the loud knocking

  On the walls and ceiling.

  The hail had begun to fall.

  It sounded like the city was being

  Bludgeoned to death with heavy stones.

  God pummeled the buildings with great authority.

  The weak human constructions and materials

  Were no match for the sheer power of the almighty.

  The impact of the heavier hail

  Splintered and cracked the wooden structure of the store.

  The grey haze of the outside leaked through the cracks

  And holes that mother nature was creating.

  The dull rays of light spilled into the shop

  With full force and extended across the entire floor.

  We overturned tables and leaned them up against

  The storage walls to provide reinforced protection

  In case the hail storm intensified.

  The newly created holes in the front wall

  Provided me with the opportunity to peer outside.

  I saw many people running to seek shelter

  Through the snow ridden streets.

  The ice on the ground made it almost impossible

  To gain traction as several people lost their balance.

  The large ice chunks exploded upon impact

  With the land and buildings.

  The shattering of the ice bombs glistened

  Against the grey glow of the city.

  The noise of the blasts shook the very foundation

  Of my spine and forced uncontrollable twitches in my muscles.

  I surveyed further down the street and

  Witnessed bundles of cloth submerged in the snow.

  At first I thought that someone lost their cloaks,

  But as the wind shifted the material,

  I was able to view the lifeless body of a woman.

  Her skin was blue in appearance

  With an expression of fear frozen upon her face.

  The vision did not startle me as

  I knew that death would reveal itself within the storm eventually.

  I looked down the other end of the street and saw more bodies

  Being buried in the snow.

  A man forcefully started beating on the front door

  While I looked to him through a hole in the wall.

  When he received no response,

  He ran across the street to another store

  When a large piece of hail struck him in his back.

  The power of the hail forced him face down into the snow.

  He was slowly moving and

  Managed to raise himself with his arms.

  As he struggled to get to his knees,

  Another piece of ice smashed into the back of his head

  And silenced his movements.

  The boulder of ice exploded on impact with his skull

  Robbing him of his life.

  The bright red blood flowed into the street

  Crystallizing in the freezing environment.

  The cold wind that crept through the hole gave me chills, so

  I walked into the food storage and sliced up some bread.

  During our meals, as Beelzebub and I sat with food,

  It was not uncommon for us to be serenaded

  With the chilling sounds of screams from the outside world.

  We tried to have at least one big meal each day

  In order to keep our strength up.

  To my surprise, I was even gaining weight

  Which was welcomed as the excess fat provided me with warmth.

  On one particular day when the weather was so horrid,

  I could not even see the street from my hole,

  I heard a knock on the door.

  Through the random shifts in the wind,

  I was able to catch a glimpse of a dull red robe of a prophet.

  He was standing outside the store

  And was simply knocking on the door.

  I called to Beelzebub and showed him the visitor.

  I struggled with the dilemma of whether to allow him entry.

  Beelzebub said it was my choice and that

  He would once again agree with my decision.

  I thought about how the prophets were the ones

  Who warned me of the blizzard;

  How their words prepared me for my survival.

  On the other hand,

  It was one more mouth to feed;

  One more stomach to satisfy.

  I wanted Beelzebub to assist me in my decision,

  He offered me nothing as usual.

  I opted to remain silent,

  Denying entrance to the prophet.

  From past experience, I knew that my denial of entry

  To anyone would ultimately lead to their death.

  The survival rate on the street had decreased dramatically.

  I looked through the hole and did not see the red robe anymo
re,

  I knew that my dilemma had subsided.

  Beelzebub, for some reason,

  Forced me to make all of the tough decisions.

  He only offered me a smile after the choice was made.

  The latest choice proved to be the hardest so far,

  I believed that I made the right decision

  Since our food pile was slowly diminishing.

  Moments after, I imagined the prophet

  Pummeled by the hail as he froze to death.

  I desperately looked out the hole to see if my vision was correct.

  Beelzebub must have seen my desperation.

  He wanted to ease my worry so

  He summoned me for a meal.

  My hunger took precedence over my concern for the prophet.

  It prompted me to sit down at the table with a plate of food.

  After I was full from my meal

  I discarded the excess that I could not eat

  Within a wooden crate that we used for waste.

  The crate began to smell so horribly

  With the mixture of food

  That we decided to empty it outside.

  The front door was sealed shut from the ice,

  But I managed to jar it loose.

  The air was so cold outside

  That my fingers immediately turned numb upon contact.

  I tilted the crate

  Allowing the waste to spill out onto the ground.

  The warmth of the food released steam

  Upon blending with the snowy terrain.

  I could not cleanse the crate completely

  As the weather was too unbearable

  For me to stay out long enough.

  I slammed the door closed

  Trying desperately to remove my chill,

  But was drawn to the hole in wall

  As I heard a loud commotion outside.

  I peered through the hole and saw several people

  Rummaging through the food waste.

  Their skin was a pale blue and hardened from the frost.

  Icicles hung from their mouths and noses

  In an eerie fashion that presented a monstrous persona.

  As if the cold had consumed their bodies

  Making them slaves to the blizzard.

  They were uncontrollable in their mannerisms

 

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