Apocalypse Time

Prompt - Sinister
Word count - 1026

Solring enjoyed the chilled out atmosphere of the Crocodile Lagoons bar, just off the interstate. Nothing ever happened here, yet everything happened at once here. A grey haze filled the room which accompanied the dull smell of tobacco which was punctuated with the occasional pungent smell of pot. A figure trampled through the haze and Solring watched as the figure fed coins into a jukebox machine which sat underneath a crocodiles head. One coin, two coins. Wonderwall by Oasis started playing through the beaten speakers with too much bass, causing vibration which resonated through the floor boards. Not too long now, Solring knew. Solring sat on a wooden stool with a glass of Jack Daniels, he wore a long black jacket, green checked trousers and blood red boots. On his head he wore a black fedora, and between his bruised purple lips he held a cigarette. He took a long drag on it, contributing to the rest of the haze, then balanced it on the cigarette tray. He watched as the floorboards raised up and were carried away by invisible men, he watched the walls slowly dismantle, brick by brick until only he remained in the desolate plains, on his stool, with his Jack Daniels. With a twist of his mind, he commanded the floor boards back and the walls reconstructed themselves back into their rightful shape and he was once more in Crocodile Lagoons bar, awaiting his visitor.

"Hope ye like the moosic." A strong Scottish accent asked.

"Wonderwall," Solring replied solemnly, "can't say I'm much of a fan of modern Earth era music." The figure stepped out of the haze and became real, he wore freckles on his impossibly white face and his ginger lips held a cigar between them. "You try my patience Klause."

"Ye well, I'm 'ere now ain' I?"

Solring didn't respond, instead he waited until he had finished the last of his Jack Daniels, pouring the black liquid down his throat and casually placed his glass on the table top, he then turned to look at Klause as if it was an inconvenience to do so. "What are you drinking, on this, the final moments before the apocalypse?"

"Get me somethin' fruity, but not apples, I fuckin' hate the stuff. I'd rather stick pins in me eyes than eat an apple."

"That can be arranged." Solring remarked casually, before walking off into the haze, his heavy boots thumping on the floorboards and the haze disrupted for a while before filling in the space that Solring walked through. He returned shortly after with two glasses held in each of his paw like hands, his cigarette hanging from his mouth. "Apple cider for you, the usual Jack Daniels for me."

Klause looked at the golden bubbly liquid before him. "You're kidding me?"

"Not at all my good man, the apple is the forbidden fruit. Seems only fitting for what's about to happen, don't you think?" Solring held a cold stare with Klause. "Drink it." Solring asserted. Klause eyed the apple cider in disgust and downed it in two swift gulps, making it very obvious of his dislike to the taste by crinkling his face up as if he'd just tried umeboshi for the first time. Solring however took his time, enjoying every mouthful and the plethora of tastes that came with it, fatty corn and caramel, with a slight hint of wood and molasses. Klause interrupted Solrings enjoyment of his drink.

"Seems a shame, doesn't it?" Klause remarked after he had composed himself from the apple cider ordeal.

"What has to be done, has to be done." Solring said simply. "This world is finished. We give the people of the world a chance to survive, if they're strong enough anyway." Solring took another long sip of his Jack Daniels and noticed his cigarette in the ashtray burning away. He checked his watch. "Five minutes," he said, "and then the world ends. I'd like to finish my drink and my cigarette before then, so if you don't mind Klause, I'd prefer it if you kept quiet until I'm finished."

Klause kept his head down and did as he was told, then a knocking came from the floor.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
"The underworld, terrible at keeping time." Solring sighed. He ignored the knocking and continued sipping at his Jack Daniels.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
"Remind me to have a word with Satan after all this is over Klause. He can't keep doing this. This is the third time he's sent them up early." Solring remarked, confirming his statement in a notebook he produced from the inside pocket of his jacket. "Well it seems the apocalypse is three minutes early, let's get this over with."
Klause got up from his bar stool and bent down to floor level and with one swift movement the floorboard was yanked upwards and without delay the underworld rose. The first creatures stabbed themselves on the nails that kept the floorboard bolted down, the nail slit them open, tears of flesh hung from their faces as they pulled themselves up, but they continued onwards regardless. Solring took a drag on his cigarette as the underworld rose in the Crocodile Lagoons bar. Klause stood back from the eruption of undead sprouting from the floor, they spread out like bacteria in a petri dish filling all the available room in the bar. The first human life was taken, Solring heard a yelp and the familiar sound of pressurised blood suddenly escaping a body like a fountain.
"Klause, we've done our job. Time to leave. This world is Satans now." Solring heard other humans being torn into, the haze hiding the gore, but the building amplifying the screams of terror and pain. "I need to speak to him about his timekeeping, I swear that if this happens again I'll be filing a complaint with HR. It's unprofessional and rude to show up early to an apocalypse!"
The undead continued to rise from the floor boards of Crocodile Lagoons bar, seeking out human flesh. They spilled out onto the streets and Solring heard screams, he checked his watch and smiled a scarred, sinister smile. "It's apocalypse time."