The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Red Rain at Dawning 
by Rie Sheridan Rose 

 One morning in early spring, the day dawned crimson. The sky was blood red and roiling with clouds. People moved to stare up at the changeling sky.

We whispered among ourselves, theorizing about the cause… “The sun is failing!” “The weather god is angry.” “There must be a dust cloud coming from somewhere…is there a fire?”

And then it began to rain.

Instead of normal, clear droplets of water, thick red drops began to fall upon our upturned faces, smelling of blood and decay. Those the drops touched screamed in agony, boils burgeoning upon exposed skin. Everyone darted back into the shelters, and huddled in the corners, listening to the rain pounding on the roofs and praying to the gods.

When the susurration of the rain finally eased, we peeked cautiously outside the huts. The sky was no longer red. The clouds were gone. As was every living thing that had been outside. Every blade of grass; every tree; every animal in their paddocks…everything.

We wandered about the town in a daze, looking for anything that might have survived. There was nothing.

As I say, it was early spring—we had survived the winter in decent shape, but the coffers were depleted. Now, the grains and fruits that had begun to sprout were gone. How would we be able to survive the year? We might be able to replant some of the crops, but there were few reserves. And we had to survive until harvest.

The farmers began to replant before the end of the day. The fields were soggy, the soil red-tinged, but we had no options. Even the children helped sow what little was left of the grain.

By the end of the day, all were exhausted. We stumbled to our beds and slept like the dead.

When we awoke, we were met with another astonishing sight. The grain had sprouted overnight, already standing six inches high. And the stalks were blood-red.

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Fiction © Copyright Rie Sheridan Rose
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from Author Rie Sheridan Rose:

Overheard in Hell:
Dark Poetry

Poems exploring hell and damnation. Tales of sorrow, vengeance, betrayal, and redemption. Ghosts, ghouls, and demons stalk these pages. Don’t read in a lonely house…in a darkened room by a single candle…

…unless you like the touch of an icy finger up your spine.

Available on Amazon!