“Come on, man, you can’t say that it’s all unconnected!”

Steven blinked twice and looked at the man in the next seat. For the first time he realised that the man was actually talking to him, not ranting to somebody over an unseen Bluetooth connection.

“Um…” He didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t really listened to the man, although. Had registered a few references to warm climate change and earthquakes.

“I’m telling you, man!” Wide-eyed, the odd fellow started off on another monologue, while Steven gazed out of the window hoping desparately for some kind of diversion.

“Hey look,” he said hopefully. “That cloud looks a lot like a wolf, doesn’t it?”

The monologue continued as if he hadn’t said anything. Steven zoned it out, and watched the wolf-cloud as it drifted towards the sun. Stray rays of sunlight made it look like it was breathing fire. As it drew closer to the sun, the cloud split at the front as if the jaws were opening.

“Wait a minute,” he said, cupping his hands against the glass for a better view. “That… That’s not a cloud!”

The gigantic wolf opened its jaws wide and swallowed the sun in one great gulp. The train began to shake and rattle as the sky went dark and a horrific noise filled the air. Through the window, Steven could just about see trees beginning to topple, and the hills in the distance seemed to shrink away into blackness.

“Like I said, man,” the wide-eyed prophet in the next seat told him, “it’s Ragnarok.”

@ Kari Fay 2017

This story was inspired by the three words Unconnected, Train and Diversion.