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Apple Of Sodom
DISCLAIMER: DESIRE and THE ENDLESS, created by Neil Gaiman, belong to Vertigo/DC Comics. They have been used without permission, but no profit has been made from this work. WARNING: This story contains violence and rape. If you're under legal age, or would be offended by reading about such things, please do not read this. This story is dedicated to Ginger Kitt--for recommending this story's title, and for encouraging this story.
APPLE OF SODOM By Jon Bartley
A long time ago there was a city called Sodom. In this city there lived an abundance of wicked people who enjoyed being wicked with excessive enormity. There was, however, one man among them who was good and noble, and his name was Hale. At this time, Hale was an impetuous twenty-one, and an inn-keeper. He let out his rooms to those who had no money; he often helped the poor, the sick, and the dying, and he tried to be a good man. Sodom was known for many things. One of the forgotten offerings of the wicked city was its apples. Sodom had the most delicious apples you ever had eaten. Their curse was that they remained ripe for only seven days. At the end of their week-long lives, their insides became atrophied with worms. No-one had ever eaten a rotten one, although many suspected to do so would bring about immediate death. One late night there was a dominant pounding on Hale's inn-door. When he'd aroused himself from bed to answer it, he found a pale-faced figure dressed in black robes on the other side. The figure pulled back the hood of its robe, and said: "Hello. I would like a room."
Under the moonlit sky, Hale couldn't tell if the visitor was man or woman. Before he could entertain the thought anymore, the visitor produced a small pouch filled with gold coins, and handed the entire pouch to him. Whether it was a she or a he, Hale understood it was a very wealthy individual, indeed, and that was good enough for him. Hale showed the visitor inside, and started to prepare a room for her/him. He asked the visitor its name, and it gave him a name he found it exceedingly difficult to pronounce. The visitor observed this, and said, "Desire." Hale nodded, and prepared the room, which was small and untidy, and there were lingering smells of offense within. He did his best with it, and finally presented it to the visitor. Desire seemed pleased. The next day, Desire left the inn and began mingling with the people of Sodom, drinking and laughing, and playing games, as though it were a close and personal friend to each citizen. At the end of the day, it returned to the inn, and asked a favor of Hale:
"I'm told you have the most delicious fruits for miles, your apples, in particular." Hale confirmed. "Then," Desire resumed, "I want you to get me three, three apples, and bring them back to my room. I'll reward you very well." There was an apple cart near his inn. Hale approached it and the cart-keeper, Jupk.
"Give me three apples! Quick!" he said, for he did not want to keep Desire waiting. Jupk looked into his cart, and found he only had two ripe apples left to sell. There was a bucket off to the side, in which sat one extra apple. He squeezed it ever so slightly, and discovered it much too soft, and undeniably rotten on the inside. Still, it had a nice ripe outside, and the damage couldn't have been too terrible. While Hale waited patiently, one of the local girls passed by him, carrying a jug of water for a pair of thirsty men in the distance. She smiled at him sweetly, "You're the inn-keeper." Hale nodded, and returned the smile. "My name is Joi," she continued. "I live with my sister, over *there*. Stop by later tonight. We'd love to entertain you."
Being the type of man to never pass by the invitation of a lovely lady, Hale agreed to her offer. Just then, Jupk handed Hale a wooden bucket with three apples inside. He paid him, and quickly sped back to the inn, where he met Desire in its room. "Set them on the table," commanded Desire. The inn-keeper did so. The pale guest walked by the table in a sultry fashion, and placed a delicate finger on the stem of the rotten apple. Its fingertip glowed brightly, then the light possessed the apple, and faded away. "I *have* heard much about the apples here; I know they only stay ripe for a week. These are ripe, aren't they?" "Oh, yes," said Hale.
"Taste this one for me. Just to be certain." it urged. Hale did not like to see his guests--nor any human being--upset. He took the rotten apple in both hands, and held it. There was a strange warmth coming from it now. Feeling Desire's powerful and hypnotic eyes on him with an strong amount of patience, Hale bit into the apple. It tasted, as all of Sodom's apples do, heavenly. He swallowed, placed the apple on the table, and gestured toward it, confirming to Desire that it was alright to eat. Then he noticed a collection of white, glowing worms dancing with one another on the inside of the apple. Desire sat down on its bed, and began chuckling.
"What's so funny?" Hale wanted to know. "This situation. I enchanted the apple, while you weren't looking." it said, not being able to hold back its amusement. "You witch, what have you done to me?" he shouted.
"Nothing. Nothing at all. You do it to yourselves," said Desire.
Then the pale-faced guest vanished. Hale's insides began to turn. He left the room in a hurry, and went about his business. Later, after all matters had been attended to, he kept his date with Joi and her sister. They ate a large, filling feast, and danced, and afterward drank wine. Hale indulged himself too much, and passed out on the rug. Joi and her sister Jennis pulled Hale out of his clothes, and burned his clothing. Taking turns, both sisters laid down and raped him. After both had satisfied themselves, Joi took a strong, sturdy club and beat Hale over the head with it repeatedly. Once deciding he was dead, they threw his body out into the street.
Both Jennis and Joi became pregnant; Jennis gave birth to a baby boy named Seal, who became a great mercenary and lived for many centuries. Joi gave birth to twin girls: one was born with slick, reptilian skin, and sharp claws and fangs; the other was born with soft, brown skin, and light feathery wings.
The next morning, Hale woke up, and found his clothes missing, and himself in the street, smelling quite foul. Saving himself from embarrassment, he quickly fled back to his inn. On the way, he ran into Joi, who dropped her jug of water, as she saw that he was still very much alive. She hurriedly ran to her brother Thron's store, and said to him: "The inn-keeper is a dead man, yet he still lives. Our sister and I killed him last night. Go and kill him, see for yourself. Then when he still lives, make him leave the city."
Thron did as she ordered; he gathered a mob of men, stormed into Hale's inn, and pulled the inn-keeper out into the daylight streets. They took turns stabbing and mutilating him. Thron disposed of his many pieces in five barrels and set them far apart. The mob watched with open jaws, as the pieces came back together. None were more surprised of this occurrence than Hale himself. Displeased, Thron lit a torch, which he used to engulf the inn-keeper in flames. Once more, he died yet retained his life. The wicked store-owner was angrier than ever. He had decided Hale was not human, and perhaps he was a demon or spirit, although it had no real power when the Sodomites were in large numbers.
He ordered him, "Inhuman, you must either leave Sodom, or become my personal slave, for you have embarrassed me in front of the entire city. I give you this decision."
So Hale decided to leave Sodom. He took with him only the pouch of gold coins Desire had paid him for letting it use a room in his inn. He headed toward the gates of the city, and the only good and noble man to ever live in the wicked city of Sodom left, and set out into the world.
He never returned.
The End