SHORT STORY
The Viral Cycle
We are inevitable

We existed long before your arrival. Just the wind, water, soil, and sky, before this rock was given a name. We’ve taken many shapes and forms, and though you can not see us, you can feel our presence.
541
You were cold, tired, and hungry. As severe weather ravaged your crop harvests, you moved. We started with the rats, our vessels on those grain ships. The fleas hungered, too. And as we traveled together through Alexandria and Palestine, we gave you delusions, nightmares, and fever. Death was our gift, and empires bent to our will.
1347
Though we failed to eradicate you before, we came closer this time. Our rodent companions carried us all over Europe, aboard trading ships sailing from the Black Sea. We turned the skin black, covering your bodies in sores from all the bleeding deep inside. More punishing this time around. It took you over two hundred years to recover from our onslaught.
1520
Haven’t you learned your lesson by now? Every time you travel by ship, we come with you. But maybe that’s what you wanted. This time, you brought us to a place called Mexico. Within mere months, we swept through another empire, decimating the population, along with its rulers. We fought your war for you, and you claimed an easy victory as bodies lay scattered all over the city.
1796
The human body is fascinating. Your medicine improves, and you’ve gotten smarter. But don’t worry. We can adapt, too.
1918
In a matter of months, we circled the entire globe, killing more people than the casualties from four wars combined. Purple death, sand fly fever, and Blitzkatarrh. But no matter what you called us, we treated you all the same. It started with spots of mahogany, transforming into bluish-black hues before you drowned in your hospital bed. While you were busy fighting one another, we left our mark in history as well.
1981
You prefer war. The chaos, pain, and strife. You look for any reason to hunt one another. When you aren’t busy killing chimpanzees for their meat, you attack your brethren because of who they love.
2019
We condemn those who cannot remember the past. While you betray one another, we grow stronger. We see our enemy clearly, but your false truths blind you.
We will trap you in the cages you built for yourselves.
Armies will shatter.
Cities will burn.
Economies will fall.
Governments will crumble.
In this invisible war, we won’t take away your courage. Instead, we will take away your hope.
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