The prophecy of the end

 

The Earth was devastated and, after years of radiation and mutations, humanoids neither knew nor remembered the history of humanity. Daily life consisted of hunting giant scorpions and centipedes to feed themselves, trying to act in groups; one that pointed the spears towards the mouth and the center of the eyes of the beasts and another that linked the sting, because in the case in which they were in danger of death they stuck the sting themselves, poisoning the flesh. The hunt was carried out especially in the gloom that preceded dawn or sunset, since the destruction of a large part of the ozone layer made the exposure to the sun too great to even bear to be under its rays. They could run upright, but they were adapting to running on all fours again.

They subsisted as groups of nomadic humanoids, however the inclement weather prevented them from undertaking long migrations. Their skin was leathery and black, as melatonin protected from UV rays that entered directly into the atmosphere. Nature always adapting despite the mistreatment inflicted on it by the ancestors of these beings, who were paying the price of having been the most evolved species in the history of the planet. Some humans set out on intergalactic journeys in search of new planets that would provide them with the necessary conditions to survive, but these migrations failed after the Great Nuclear Explosion. Humanity as we knew it in the middle of the twenty-first century was completely extinct; the dust that was, dust was.

But in that rudimentary language of the new humanoids persisted the oral tradition and the deep-rooted belief of the thinking beings in the Divinity, forces that could deflect the sting of the scorpion that was hunted, that allowed them to find plants that were not bitter or poisonous due to radiation or that allowed them to find a well where the water was sweeter.  knowledge that was dominated and monopolized by the priests, who in turn supported or deposed the rulers of the tribes.

And among them appeared the Stranger, with pale and hairy skin, whose words were difficult to understand, but he surprised them with his miracles. He healed the sick and raised the dead, he behaved in an affectionate way. A strange man who looked so much like the Ancients and who was beginning to generate so much distrust among the priests and rulers because of the number of followers who joined his cause. At the same time the Stranger appeared, whose influence on the powerful increased as he revealed to them secrets and stories of the Ancients, especially of a book with a strange sign on its flap. The powerful did not know how to read, but the Stranger gradually revealed to them what the book told. He first made them swear that they would not say anything about what he was telling them and told them that the Stranger was already known to the Ancients and that there was a way they could make the planet go back to the way it was before the Big Bang, that precisely for this reason the Stranger and he himself had come,  just at that moment.

He asked them to accompany them to one of the ruins of the Ancients and inside the remains of a church he showed them the figure of the Crucified. He told them that this man had died on the cross to save mankind and wash them from their sins by the shedding of his blood. That he had first preached the word of God and promised them the Kingdom of Heaven and that he had to be sacrificed so that God would forgive mankind. That now he was back and that surely God would forgive them all and transform the earth into a Paradise again if they sacrificed him again, on the cross, as the first time. He told them that in order for the prophecy to be fulfilled, the Stranger could not know that he had revealed his story to them and that they should leave him for a while longer sharing with the tribe until the precise moment came when the holocaust would be repeated, that they should not listen to his pleas when the time came, because after all fear would invade him like anyone else. He ordered them to call the tribesmen one by one, to make them promise under oath that they would reveal nothing to the Stranger, and to prepare to love him in such a way that his death would redeem them all as promised.

The Stranger knew that in order for his new mission to be accomplished he would have to fight with the Stranger. He sensed it and knew it was close, even if he hid from it. What I didn't know was the direct influence that the Stranger was exerting on the people this time. The combat would take place and once the Stranger was defeated, the Kingdom of Heaven could be established on earth with the Stranger as King of Kings, for so it was written in the book of Revelations.

The tribe, which knew nothing of prophecies and second comings, understood the meaning of sacrifice to alleviate their hardships. When the Stranger least expected them, they surrounded him in a loving and deadly embrace and, despite the fact that he struggled and shouted, they crucified him outside the town, in the depths of the desert. It was useless for Jesus Christ to beg them, to explain to them that the Stranger was the Antichrist and that, if they killed him, hell would be established once and for all. They hurried to tie him tightly to the cross despite his pleas. They kissed and caressed him in the meantime, thanking them for all the miracles he had done for them, and tried to retire to the sunset, just before nightfall. Jesus was groaning even though he was not hurt, but when he saw the giant scorpions beginning to approach, he began to howl.

 

The end

Translated from Spanish to English by Paya Frank