Immortal Earth

First chapter.

Immortal Earth



The underground river was its world. A constant torrent that fed through the soil, nourishing its body where it lay.

Over the weeks its pulse had softly quickened, pumping its blood until it matched the river’s own steady tempo. Deformed lower arms waited patiently for their root-like fingers to wither back - there’d be no release until they did.

To feed its dormant state, these long tendrils had gone in search of nourishment, travelling past stones and through sand, all jockeying for the precious minerals that lay dissolved in the earth. Now they were dying and losing their long grip on the world.

Time passed and its awareness grew. Phasing in and out, becoming less dense with each cycle, it slowly broke free of the earth that held it.

The dead husks, that were once its life, broke away as its fingers slowly mingled with the surrounding ground. Its body left its burial chamber, leaving the cast of its imprisonment in the hardened sand.

Bit by bit it travelled upwards like a ghost. Much of its actions were instinctive, its mind thought of very little as it passed meter upon meter of changing deposits.

Awareness expanded as the soil became drier and warmer. It eagerly passed through burrows and chambers, sampling the air as it went.

Finally, it broke the surface and little by little, it entered the world. Sand shifted and flowed around its emerging form as it rose upwards. Ripples formed and grew, large shoulders shed curtains of liquid-sand.

Strangely, it made little effort and seemed aided by the earth itself. In stillness, it listened, as its senses roamed the airways for signs of life.

Time passed like a river around its now still form and wisps of pale steam languidly rose from its hardening flesh. Oily eyes peered unblinking and large, as its dawning mind opened freely to the heavens, reflecting and absorbing the starry night.

Suddenly, and without warning, it came to life, primitive clubfeet pounding hard at the ground. All living creatures that felt its advance instinctively stilled or burrowed deeper into the protective ground.

It disappeared, swallowed up by the endless night.


***


Yet others were hearing the call to rise. Their root-like fingers vibrated and drew nourishment for the journey ahead. Some of them happened across graves, overflowing with rancid meat, and lingered a while. Tapering fingers explored the remains with an unwelcome familiarity of human anatomy. Millions of years of human evolution, quickly catalogued, cross-referenced and put aside for future use. Awakening minds hungrily smiled at the colourful scenes that passed from one, to all, of the welcoming night and the bounty of the dead, both fresh and mouldering.

People, camped out in trailers or tents, were the first to fall, their bodies brutally torn by the new life-force that staked its claim on their very existence. Their nourishing fear helped sweeten the meat. All was good.

The drive for change had begun.