“Fuck, the gods don’t know?” This finally broke Decius, who had held it all together in military fashion so well up to this point. “Well that’s just great. We’re screwed, man. We’re all screwed!”
“Well, maybe.” Said the god “I’m not like the highest-up god there is. Plus, I was kinda away from the mountain of the gods when the sound happened doing…ceremonial…sacraments. So I’m not the best informed.”
“So then why don’t you ask the gods that are actually doing their jobs?” said Decius in exasperation and or panic.
“Uhh… you’re really not going to like this.”
***
“So that’s why I think the other gods may have abandoned this world or possibly this whole reality,” I said to Epictetus, who was stroking his beard thoughtfully but aggressively as Decius in the background seemed to be cursing everything and trying to fight a boulder or possibly the ground.
“But you had no idea of the events of the last lunar cycle leading up to The Trumpet?” (as the loud sound I heard had apparently come to be known). “Surely you were not conducting ceremonial rights for twenty days straight?” Decius asked.
“No, I wasn’t.” (It was actually four. My record is only seven, so no.) “And it’s strange. Why wasn’t someone talking about it? Why wasn’t there some kind of announcement or something?”
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
“Well, perhaps the gods did not understand what the warning signs meant. I know you must have vast learning and wisdom beyond mortals. But many mortal soothsayers and wisemen were in confusion about the events, and few, as far as I am aware, were fully correct in their interpretations. But I think that is a story for another time. Right now, we have more urgent matters, I think.”
Crap! Right! What I came to tell them! “Right! Crap! What I came to tell you!” I said. “You can’t stay here. If you stay and try to fight off this wave, another, larger one is coming right behind it. Your only chance is to make for a bridge near here…”
“The Final Bridge?”
“What? Yes? Maybe! I think it’s the only major bridge not consumed by the darkness. It’s like, that way I think.” I said, pointing.
“Yes. That is the Final Bridge. Supposedly, it is the last bridge that all humankind will cross before the afterlife. Or so goes the prophecy.” Not a prophecy I had heard of. As a god who went to god school, I had heard of a fair few, even if I wasn't really that good of a student. It was a weirdly nice bridge for this area. As far as I knew we were pretty far from any major cities. “It’s more of a local legend.” Clarified Epictetus glancing over my shoulder. “A very recent local legend.”
“Sure. Okay, The Final Bridge. The point is you can’t fight these guys. You have to get on the move as soon as I hit the ground if you are going to make it.”
“I’m sorry, when?” Said Epictetus returning his gaze to me.
“I just mean it looked like in order to have a chance, I needed to tell you guys as soon as I hit the ground so you could get on the move.”
“Interesting. Well, it seems like it’s a bit too late for that.”
“Hmmmm…” I said, rubbing my own chin. “You may be right.” Just then, I heard a kind of gurgling growl behind me.
V0.2.1 11/10/23