The waves came like the steady beat to a drum.

An asteroid hit Topròto one day ago. And from that point of impact, waves of fire, ash, chemicals, radiation, acid rain, rocks, and debris have rippled towards the rest of the civilization.

I knew the gods would not forsaken us like this. There must be a reason. The Sinners, I thought. Yes, the gods must be angry that we have yet to kill the sinners. 

Every month, we have a day to celebrate the gods and we call forth those who have confessed or been seen doing a sin of any sort, and we kill them on the alter as a sacrifice to the gods. This last month, however, the ceremony was interrupted by trouble makers and instead of sacrificing the many sinners, we instead spent the day of celebration chasing the trouble makers. 

So, yes. The gods must be hungry for the blood of the sinners. 

I ran to the Priest House where my fellow priests stood on the steps, their hands raised above their heads, praying to the gods for mercy. Another wave hit the Priest House and it shook with great power. I fell to the ground as acid rain and fire burned my skin. Breathing became hard as the ash in the Priest House was aroused and filled my lungs.

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"The sinners!" I exclaimed, coughing. The other priests looked at me, all with different emotions on their faces. "We must sacrifice the sinners! Then, and only then, will the gods spare us!"

Faces brightened. "Yes, of course," said the Head Priest, a knowing look on his face. "For I just had that revelation in this very same prayer I offered up."

A flood of relief entered me. Of course, if the Head Priest had the same answer as I, then we would be saved. Surely.

All the priests hurried down into the dungeons beneath the Priest House. One hundred and Twenty Three. That is how many sinners we had down there.

Pulling on their chains, unlocking their cell doors, we brought them back up into the hot, dry air that was now our planets atmosphere.

The sinners screamed, asked for forgiveness, cried. But we paid them no head. We told them, they brought this death upon us and they should pay for their sins. They would be sacrificed for the betterment of the world. They would be called heroes. 

They didn't listen but it didn't matter. With their hands chained above their heads, we stacked them one upon the other into a wall, hung from their hands on poles that rose up even above the Priest House. 

The rest of us hurried back into the Priest House, cowering behind the benches, uttering prayers. We could hear the screams of the sinners as wave after wave of death hit. But It wasn't stopped by the sinners. No, we felt it too. But still, I held out hope that in time, the gods would save us. In time. In time. In time...