Peace

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Peace

‘Armageddon Armageddon is here, it’s all here like I said it would be! The proof is here - what did I say a few months ago, but nobody wanted to listen! Nobody! It’s here, it’s right here! It’s going to happen. It’s beginning to happen!’ NOW!

Old Brian often went off into his own world; his odd beliefs who read too much into Nostradamus and the weird prophecies of his written word. So many years over pints of lager and beer coupled with Tarot card readings, (strangers usually made an offer of some kind of payment, a pint or cigarettes) Ouija board and the revelations of the bible. Apparently ‘the end of the world is nigh’ - according to Brian. The small crowd in the pub often got together. Rosie, ‘the loveable gypsy’ as she was affectionately known, Don, (he lost his wife through an autoimmune disease five and a half years ago) and oddball Matt all formed a friendly group in the Crown pub in southern England mostly at weekends. They clearly had a lot in common - after a few drinks.

It was a dark rainy day and things had changed considerably during the global warming of the earth. The clouds in the sky looked ominous; eerie as the grey cumulonimbus clouds that seemed to cover so much of the sky, very slowly over the months apart from an elongated’ V’ shaped and Brian said it had to be insidious as it looked so out of character and was probably miles and miles wide that emitted bright blue sky. How things had changed. Hot countries had got hotter, cold countries had got warmer, extreme weather had got more extreme - especially in the north and west of the UK. More floods, more people falling ill and dying and dehydrating due to the hot heat in the summer; the west, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Cornwall, Wales and parts of West Scotland and Wiltshire with their villages and the burst river banks and the suffering of all that floodwater would bring. It had been going on for a few years but it was clear, this was getting worse. Most people ‘accepted’ the changes over the years and it wasn’t that unusual that a river had burst its banks. People die from dehydration anyway if they don’t drink enough during the hot months. It happens. That’s life; it moves on and we all had to do our bit to try to change it.

Many noticed it, others couldn’t be bothered and went about their daily lives, working, shopping, house duties, cooking, bringing up kids etc. The clock was duly put back during the autumn equinox but even though the evenings were supposed to be darker, the hour going back did not seem to make a difference. Just a small mention during the daily news that the earth had its axis tilted slightly further causing differences in time behaviour all over the world and of course, it was all played down via the news; the internet exaggerating as always and social media in a complete mess - it was hard to know what to believe, so maybe believe nothing and live in ignorant bliss! Tilted axes even more on the slant. Seriously?

Brian said that a rocket was going to be launched into space to explore and explain what was ‘going on’ - whatever that meant. What the fuck. What does all that mean anyway! Good old Brian! He was pretty harmless but to a stranger, he would probably scare the shit out of them with his nonsensical crap and he nearly always dressed in black and with his long dark unkempt hair, not many people took much notice of ‘that drunk’ anyway – apart from his ‘guru’ friends that seemed to hang on to his every word. Brian was not renowned for his looks. He was tall, lanky and scruffily dressed. He always looked as if he needed a shower and never seemed to shave. He hadn’t seen a dentist for years and years of smoking had left yellow-brown teeth plus the two that he’d lost through neglect; a molar and bottom tooth from the lower jaw. He had the charm and his ‘wisdom’ that kept people interested.

Matt was struck off from teaching a couple of years ago and this was all hush-hush, so nobody knows why he was struck off but he remains unemployed apart from the odd handyman job that pays for his beer. He has a beer gut and sometimes his body odour could be smelt and his short brown hair always looked as if it needed a wash or another trim. At five foot six, his clothes were spotless and kept nicely ironed but he did seem to neglect his own personal care. Rosie was eccentric, bless her but some thought that was her way of dealing with a mental breakdown several years ago; her two children disowned her (probably couldn’t cope with her) all very sad but she took to mothering Brian as if he were her child that needed to be looked after and Brain didn’t put up any fuss and she cooked a mean roast anyway, especially those parsnips! Rosie was very short in stature, thin, way too thin but she always dressed well from clothes bought from the charity shops which were either pretty or colourful A-line skirts or dresses that hugged her small figure well. She wore too much makeup - thick black eyeliner, bright red pillar box lipstick that often seeped onto her outward lips and pan stick like it was going out of fashion -but underneath the makeup was an attractive woman who did her personal best to look nice. Don was very tall at six foot two inches was an intellect and never stopped talking about his interest in Astronomy and what’s ‘up there in deep space’ but often went off on a tangent and confused any kind of conversation. Don retired over five years ago, having dipped in and out of various universities with his seminars; sure, he had been well paid and very well-travelled around the world but most of the students were nonplussed and others pretended they knew what he was talking about as so not to look stupid and unintelligent. Don had a typical look of intellect with white, greying hair on either side of his head, that was flyaway and flapped about in the wind. He often used to frown over his thick-rimmed brown glasses, raising his eyebrows in a very condescending way, especially at Brian and his ‘odd’ views.

The clouds are darker in grey and full of rain, V-shaped, ominous and dark and have been like this for a few weeks. Rosie, Bryan, Don and Matt stay close and through social media, they gather more momentum and attracted more interest, more enquiries, and more questions that were answered with non-scientific explanations that seemed to reach out to many people but not always genuine people; there were various comments and trolls making obscene comments and it was obvious that not many people gave a damn. At the same time, some people were worried about what was happening around them and made a conscious effort with the things that might have been causing global warming, such as friendly aerosols, plastic carrier bags and adhered more to the recycling, or those that game a damn.

Something was going on but as usual, no one was getting any answers but there was an unease all around the West and Home Counties; it was almost as if some communities were waiting for a bulletin to be announced and that the shit would hit the fan.

According to the ‘experts’ and ‘scientists’, the axis of the earth had tilted and was a little out of sync which 23.5 degrees was originally (and for many years). Even though the clocks had been put back, the mornings remained the same the evenings seemed as light as they ever did and as tension grew, it emerged that several meteorites had landed in the Sonoran desert over several weeks that were being ‘investigated’. Sure, as hell and as usual, it was being all being played down but to people like Don, this would be of immense interest if indeed any part of this shit was even true.

It was announced in the corner of page ten of one daily paper that the U.S. China and Russia were going to investigate and a think tank had been put in place by the United Nations with branches in Birmingham, UK and two states in America, Arizona – not far from the Sonoran desert and the other in Illinois and that more satellites were likely to be launched that went deeper into space to explore. Russia only got a small insignificant mention, so it can’t be that serious other than in the minds of millions of civilians. Anyone who was following the news carefully, reading the small print in the papers would have a slight understanding as to what was going to happen as regards to the ‘climate change’, the meteor showers, the build-up of odd-looking clouds that never seemed to go away and what the United Nations was planning and what the think tank had discussed. It was going to be a massive project that many were oblivious to but many more countries were beginning to get involved in a hugely expensive project together to ascertain exactly what was going on and why. Yes, of course, it did not monopolise the news, it would have caused panic and anarchy and remained a ‘mention to anyone who was tuning in and listening.

Brian, Rosie and Don made it their business to talk to anyone who visited the Crown and put their opinions across and listen to other opinions and it was clear that everyone who was in that public house just wanted a quiet drink and not be interrupted by the fools in the corner; Matt just looked on, just happy to be in a crowd, albeit a bit weird. They were all worried though - frightened of the unknown, not knowing what was going on and making two add two together that equalled five.

Word did spread though from various visitors of the crown pub and soon, there was a small crowd who tried to gather as much information as possible as interest grew from the odds and sods of information that had already been infiltrated by various members of the town community. They had every right to worry. The countries that had joined together in this ‘project’ were usually so competitive – or even at war with each other - now they were joined together - but with what? What the fuck did it all mean?
The skies drew somewhat darker and now blacker and the ‘V’ shape that was in the sky almost closed together to make a thinner V but the sunrise and sunset had altered significantly in time and the investigations via satellite were to be launched. But not many people seemed to know about it.

It was a normal working day; the sky was dark due to the clouds - but no rain and there was a crowd of about thirty gathering in the town, all looking up to the skies as if they had the world on their shoulders; not knowing what was happening, but to the townspeople, they were just a group of unknowns protesting against global warming. What the hell. Just ignore them, bunch of nutters.

Bob the barman, the owner of the Crown, was quite happy that the same crowd sat at the same table for the same amount of time. As long as they were supping his wine and beer and an old-fashioned Babycham ‘for the lady’ it kept his business afloat, no matter what they talked about. The Ouija was completely banned of course and Bob was horrified to see what was going on in his pub in the quiet, darkish little corner they huddled into and while the glass was in motion, Bob picked it up, along with the scrawled letters and numbers and duly put the glass in the dishwasher, the letters and numbers in the log burner with a gentle bollicking not to do that under his roof again and not wanting to lose his ‘famous four’ customers.

The radio stations seemed to be playing tracks from David Bowie's ‘Starman’ or REM ‘End of the world as we know it’ as if they had some meaning or the DJ’s knew something that other members of the public didn’t or they were just mocking what people were saying. Maybe Don noticed more because of the conversations just of late. Last night was pretty meaningless and Brian made it quite clear his birth sign was significant and had meaning. ‘I was born a Cancerian with Pisces rising, the moon in Aquarius which all makes sense, given that Cancer would be associated with the oceans and the ebb and flow of the tides controlled by the moon -which equally controls my sensitivity as well as the aquarian mind of a genius! It is also the cusp of the Age of Aquarius and almost out of the Piscean Age. Peace on Earth!’ Don, would patiently listen and somehow linked the Astrology to his interest in Astronomy ‘and somehow my birth sign of Gemini is clear to all!' (Don didn’t know his birth sign and would humour Brian with a random guess) and he took Brian out into the dark, dimly lit street with only a little light pollution and pointed to the constellation of the twins of Gemini and as they both looked closer, there seemed to be a dozen or so dull lights that looked close together; not stars, nor moons and too slow for meteorites. Rosie and Matt followed but couldn’t see what they could see and it was possible that too much alcohol had been consumed by now and nothing else was said about it.

Matt is so deep and kept himself to himself. He seemed a friendly enough man but any conversations with him were kept light. Only he knew why he was struck off; people had their suspicions and made up their own minds but there was nothing known other than idle gossip. Matt took everything in, even if he looked bored and after every conversation, he would look to the internet for clues and even looked into the birth sign that made little sense to him. The constellations were interesting and as he trawled around, he found a small piece on what Don and Brian were talking about and the speculation around it and of course, it had to be UFOs! Fucking twaddle on here, waste of time.

Rosy often thought back to when she had to turn to prostitution to keep the bills paid and her two sons fed. Two different fathers, one of colour, the other a white Caucasian who did not want to know and the boys suffered throughout their school years with their differences and the pain of not knowing who their fathers were. It bought years of misery and turbulence and Rosy just couldn’t cope, although she loved her boys with all her heart, she had never mentioned their names after her breakdown. It was if they were never born. People often wondered if there was more to Rosy’s and Brian’s relationship other than an odd Sunday dinner as he would touch her knee or thigh, or so he thought, secretly. She used to prostitute herself after all.

The giant ‘V’ in the sky was almost closed but it had been reported that in different places in the world had similar cloud patterns but again, this took up insignificant space in the papers, on the news but you could read anything on social media and most of it sounded ridiculous, even if they were seriously written. ‘Three new satellites have been launched into deeper space and another power station with five people on board and Matt wondered how true this was but he was due to put a coat of paint on a long fence this morning for the miserable Mrs Grumpy that lived down the road and couldn’t be bothered with reading and was keeping his fingers crossed it didn’t rain, otherwise, they’d be no spare money for a jar or two tonight. He just had to remember to call her by her real name of Mrs Humphries. Yes, Mrs Humphries, no Mrs Humphries, three pissing bags full Mrs Moany Grumpy who had more dosh then anyone could throw a fucking stick at and could easily pay him more.

Fence finished and it started to drizzle and a strange kind of smell seemed to emanate from the rainwater like cabbage on the turn, it was vile and the more it rained, the more it stank and thinking it was perhaps his imagination, he was almost glad when other people that were walking in the street, covering their noses, some heaving. Strange times filtered through his thoughts but so many people were just accepting it as natural change and got on with their lives while there were a few now that were challenging the changes in their way, notably worried about what was behind all what was happening.

The following days, on the front of the daily paper, were the words: Is this really Armageddon? Just like bloody Brian and his outpourings but this rainfall with the nauseating smell happened far and wide to other countries – even in countries that had little rainfall and it was only a matter of hours where people were falling ill, in the underprivileged countries where the rain fell and it was said that it was obvious the rainfall caused it.

The get together at the pub and Rosy was almost in tears saying she couldn’t meet some payments and the TV had to go although she had enough money for her Babysham, Don just looked intrigued but at the same time worried badly knowing that the formation of clouds, the odd lights, the stinking recent rainfall was abnormal and Brain bought his tarot cards along which suggested that everyone should be aware of their surroundings and changes with the culminating cards of the Devil and Wheel of Fortune but the so-called prediction was utter shit and obvious to most.

Bob was watching the TV with interest and as it was just the little group left in the pub called each over to watch the bulletin. There were sights of the satellites and fuzzy images of other lights and it looked as if one light was aiming fire at another light and from the grainy images they could just make out a huge bright display of bright lights followed by a mushroom shape and as the group laughed and ordered ‘one for the road’ with a Babycham for the lady. Brain frowned wondering what was really going on in space at this moment and the war of light and fire that seemed to be raging within the stars, moons and nearby planets; the images on the television becoming clearer and nearer and they thought they were hearing the bigger nuclear blasts elsewhere in deeper space. They laughed, Brian nervously thinking it was a film and kept watching, ordering ‘just one more’ - even though it was after hours and Bob, by now, had turned some of the lights off, noticing some kind of light display outside to which they all decided to step out of the pub to watch the ‘fireworks’ that seemed to go on for ages.

The smaller the meteorites hit various places all over the world; the newsreaders tried to deliver some kind of bulletins not really knowing what to say but thankfully, the loss of signal put them out of their misery and as the massive of meteorites hit the west of Africa and another plunged into the Pacific ocean, between them they tipped the axis of the earth slightly further and as Brian, Rosy, Matt and Don began to walk home, Brian was belching, then farting and Rosy laughing, (and there was pan stick smeared all over his neck) the display of shooting stars was momentarily amazing and a spectacular sight and all the other space debris hit the earth and into the oceans and all at once, winter become summer, rain was falling, the sky was brightly lit up- almost blinding and nobody stood a chance of survival from the supermassive tsunamis that were about to hit every single continent.

Peace on earth.

Copyright Linda Lawrence November 2019