The Young Woman from inside the armoured truck pulled me to my feet. In a flurry of words, she explained our situation, how she had found me on the banks of the river overcome with exhaustion and dragged me to safety.

Inwardly I grinned.

Leaning on her shoulder for support, I rose and submitted to her plan to flee, for I needed time to recover my strength. While she concentrated on steadying me, I found it hard to hide my elation at the changes that had taken place in the landscape. The heavens had filled with swirling spectres and behemoths sailed through the clouds. I marvelled at the pervasive growth of vines that had made a sprawling network through the guts of the city. London had been transformed from an asphalt jungle into an organic one. The very air itself and taken on a new life – hot, moist and thick with pollen.

Stepping inside an abandoned office and journeying to the top floor, the Young Woman and I rested for a while. From this vantage, we could see much of what remained of the metropolis. We studied the skyscrapers to the south of the river and discovered the cause of the deep gashes in their sides. Immense arachnids clambered between them, gibbering to one another in a tongue I could not yet understand. Beneath them, armed men were hurrying along the riverbanks. Somehow they were finding ways to attack. Enraged, the titans bellowed their response. From their singular eyes white rays sliced through the air, opening molten fissures in the pavements. I saw dozens of men fall. The merciless spiders continued to swing their heads savagely, turning office blocks and roads into smoking rubble.

Shaken, the Young Woman asked that we stay hidden a while longer. I agreed and it was not long until she was fast asleep. While she dozed, I watched the glow of my Beloved bathe the world in a pleasing pearly light. Casting shadows across the matted rug of creepers, they seemed to twist and writhe as if possessed. I traced these organic lines with my eye and spied their source. A gaping pit stood under the Moon, swallowing both the tendrils and moonlight. I made a note of its location.

The Young Woman grunted and tossed in her sleep. Her dreams were troubled and I sensed a physical change. Something was growing inside her. She had conceived. A miracle of this sort was only possible thanks to the power of my Beloved. With Her by my side, I knew that all was possible.

When the Young Woman awoke, her intention to flee the city had not altered. I decided to bide my time for a suitable opportunity and so allowed her to lead us back out into the warm night. While we trekked, the Young Woman impressed upon me that the river was our last salvation. She explained how, for days, perhaps weeks, she and others had gathered what survivors they could and prepared a small boat for a final exodus. She had been a leader among them, a former nurse who knew plenty about the care of the sick and wounded. They would not leave without her she claimed and there would be space for me as well.

Masking my thoughts, I reflected that if the Young Woman found these survivors, my timeline would seal shut. Her survival would mean that the thing growing inside her would also die. The Moon too would vanish and I would likely die soon after. I could not permit this.

Feeling my strength slowly return as we marched, I sensed fatigue begin to take hold of her as the rapid pregnancy ran its course. I seized my chance and offered her my shoulder, quietly altering our course. She was too absorbed in maintaining her footing and confused by her physical condition to notice. Moreover, the baby in her stomach had started to protest. She had to stop and sit. I helped her find a comfortable position against a withered tree. As she leant against its trunk, golden leaves floated into her lap.

Quickly and quietly, she gave birth to a boy. He was unlike any other creature I had seen that night. He did not cry nor make a sound. His eyes were bright silver and gold with pale skin like that of an albino. Staring at the contours of his body, I saw the future of this child, the beginning of a radiant species. Both a beacon of hope and tyranny. Such possibilities. Yet in all of them, my path was barred.

The Young Woman was the image of dignity and compassion as she held the celestial child. The dagger felt my hesitation and twitched inside my pocket.

“Focus the mind, my friend. Do not shrink back - spill the innocent blood of this boy and see thine voyage to its end. Thou must debase oneself, feel the peerless anguish of this murder and delve into filth before ascending.”

I had come too far. This was my night. No one could take that from me. I cut her throat and for the first and last time the boy cried. I ended him swiftly and inside his small body, I found the final piece of that black fruit. Above me, the sweet voice of my Beloved whispered encouragement.

“God humane, reach now and taste. Consume this flesh and lifeblood.”

I glutted myself one last time. The cost was high but I promise you, child, this was a mercy. A mercy that I refused to let you damn yourself with sin, to let you suffer a mortal life.

I felt the earth shake and for the final time, I dropped to the ground. Blissfully and with ease, like a baby falling into the arms of its mother, I slept.