05-01-2020, 01:14 AM
The world that stretched itself out before me was like the one I knew intimately, and yet it was as different as day is to night. My hands crawled their way forward through the dry and matted grasses, over the wilted wildflowers, crunching down on the dead insects that littered the surface. Unable to see more than a few inches ahead, I stood slowly and fearfully, my eyes opened wide as they would go. Looking, listening, sniffling, hoping, I awaited some sign of the familiar.
Time slipped into the future, but the moment refused to leave. The wind blowing upon me continued without pause or diminishment. The light of the stars above shone steady and uninterrupted by the passage of unseen clouds stalking through the night. The moon was nowhere to be found.
Step by plodding step, I walked in a straight line through the growing chill that pervaded this new world. My feet crunched against countless miniscule corpses of insects, and I tried not to think of why there were a few spots that felt slippery and soft. When I opened my mouth to call out for help, to cry out in pain, the wind tore through my lungs and silenced my voice. When I closed it again, it felt painfully raw and my tongue tasted the fresh rivulets of blood that ran out of my gums and cheeks.
When I stumbled over the lump, I screamed for only a second before remembering the painful lesson I had received from the still-howling wind. My legs refused to lift me up again, exhausted from what felt like days of walking without end. Instead, my hands scampered across the prone form of this new thing, seeking out clues to explain its existence. Before they finished their work, other parts of my body yelled out in shock at the sensation of hands crawling across them. Slowly, I walked my trembling fingers up the side of this unmoving thing, while feeling them march unsteadily up my back and across my spine.
Time slipped into the future, but the moment refused to leave. The wind blowing upon me continued without pause or diminishment. The light of the stars above shone steady and uninterrupted by the passage of unseen clouds stalking through the night. The moon was nowhere to be found.
Step by plodding step, I walked in a straight line through the growing chill that pervaded this new world. My feet crunched against countless miniscule corpses of insects, and I tried not to think of why there were a few spots that felt slippery and soft. When I opened my mouth to call out for help, to cry out in pain, the wind tore through my lungs and silenced my voice. When I closed it again, it felt painfully raw and my tongue tasted the fresh rivulets of blood that ran out of my gums and cheeks.
When I stumbled over the lump, I screamed for only a second before remembering the painful lesson I had received from the still-howling wind. My legs refused to lift me up again, exhausted from what felt like days of walking without end. Instead, my hands scampered across the prone form of this new thing, seeking out clues to explain its existence. Before they finished their work, other parts of my body yelled out in shock at the sensation of hands crawling across them. Slowly, I walked my trembling fingers up the side of this unmoving thing, while feeling them march unsteadily up my back and across my spine.