Calibration 74: Chapter Seventy
Calibration 74 is a serial novel experiment, posted raw and unedited as it is written. It is recommended you start at the beginning.
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Chapter Seventy
Once upon a time there was a village in a valley. It had been there for decades, borne of a mad rush for gold. What day it became a village is up for debate. At first, it was a camp. Then a building or two. A house. A church. A saloon.
Blacksmiths as saviors, fixing thrown shoes. Gunpowder and dynamite for blasting.
In the hills high above, a stream named Pride ran cool and crisp, as it overflowed with nuggets of honey.
But the men from below, they ate it all up. And once full, they couldn’t stop eating. Their bellies fat, their pocketbooks more so, the camp had turned into a village. The church became a brothel. The saloon added roulette. And the sinners all danced in the street.
Dreams transformed to desire. Desire transformed to Greed, who then married Lust and the two gave birth to a fat little baby named Gluttony.
But up in the mountains, Wrath filled with Envy, and filled up the river with Pride.
Pride washed over the banks and flooded the valley.
The ghosts are still there. The buildings are too.
You can find them if you know where to dive.
