Rot
England doubled over, unable to hold his lunch down. The smell alone was enough to make one vomit, much less the sight of it. Bodies. Everywhere. The dead overflowed the streets, their rotting corpses smelling from all over Europe.
England's eyes watered. How could this have happened to him? What had he done to bring the wrath of God down on himself so heavily? It was spreading, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Soon it would be in London, and then even greater numbers would perish. He wrapped his arms around himself, sinking against a wall, the weight of the epidemic sitting on his shoulders.
The rats skittered away from him, then slowly approached him again, sniffing at him. He looked at the disgusting little rodents, hatred burning in his chest. These stupid rats! It was there fault! England raised his foot and brought it down on the nearest rat's head. CRUNCH! As the one disappeared though, five more replaced it.
"Fucking rodents!" England screamed. The only images running throughout his head were the casualties of the the pandemic.
He sunk to the ground, the tears finally spilling over. He sobbed to himself quietly as the Black Death overtook his house.
xxx
The Black Death, also known as the Bubonic Plague, devastated nearly half of Europe's overall population. It appeared first in Sicily in 1347, brought to Europe by traders from the Black Sea. It first arrived in England in 1348, and by 1349 had devastated London. The Plague disappeared as mysteriously as it came later that year.