[007] The Omen of Faith
Long years passed by. The eternity of collective suffering. Over time, the collective became less aware of its existence, while the weak links linking its cells gradually vanished away.
The world became weirdly still - at least on the surface. The only sure thing was that uneasy stillness in the air. But not for long. It took decades for the poisoned, scarred Earth to take a deep breath and start recovering, which seemed like an impossible thing to do at that time. But it was nature’s way of slowly reclaiming what belonged to it, not the other way around. At first, wildlife was scarce and startled, but with the cruelest animal vanished off the surface, it slowly but firmly recovered. Although the fauna and flora still looked a bit differently in those devastated regions. Dreary plains and spooky forests wheezed death. It took unimaginable amounts of time to undo the damage. Over three hundred dark winters passed imperceptibly …
The furious climate cycles were still rolling across the globe, causing the living hell on the surface of Earth.
But things looked a bit differently below the surface.
[ … ]
Tai was slowly making his way through the thick grass way above his head, periodically stopping for a few minutes and listening. After what seemed like an eternity, his body posture would go back to normal, and he would continue his journey. The sun was already in the zenith, but it looked like a gloomy egg yolk through the thick sheets of clouds. Virtually unbearable, as the air was hot and very humid almost all the time. But that was the low price to pay for living in the delta. At least those living here had access to the flourishing fauna and flora. There was a constant water supply, which meant the ability not only to survive, fighting every day but settling in and prospering as well. Tai suddenly froze again and kept still for a few moments. Finally, he gave in and scratched the skin where the curvy amulet hanging around his neck was touching it. A matte surface had three stacked shapes on it, which resembled the waves. He was one of the Water Keepers.
Up in the mountains - the air was much more bearable, and you could avoid most of the problems the “deltians” were having. Constant invasions of wandering hordes, wiping everything in their path, were plagues during this time.
You had less of such things in the mountains, especially near the old cities that fell. Initially, there were some hiding spots, where mountain people lived throughout the dark days, as they were called. The ones who followed after them seemed quite strange to the “deltians” - spending a lot of time in the dungeons with very scarce resources took its toll.
Tai now was going through the part of the scanty forest, trying to avoid the invisible perimeter. He continuously checked the device on his left hand for the changes in the glowing. If it became bright - he’s been exposed and needs to get out as fast as possible. He knew this territory like the back of his hand, and he knew that he was still not in the “zone of death,” which was to avoid at any cost. Even in heavily contaminated areas, the fauna and flora did quite ok, which weren’t ok for them. But there were specific sectors which were eerily empty. That resulted from not a single nuclear accident but continuous poisoning throughout the years once the feedback loops of control systems failed, and there was no one to fix it.
One needed to be cautious about such places - something might be lurking in the dark shadows, waiting for the new victim to appear in the sweet spot for them. Usually, it didn’t take long. At least that’s what the legends were telling, Tai remembered.
The small bird glided near Tai’s head, almost touching it, bringing him back to this reality. He thought that he heard something unusual, but wasn’t sure what. After a couple of minutes of being as still as he could in the grass, he realized that something is off about these birds he heard all this time. He didn’t recognize at least a few of them, which was very odd. Suddenly, he realized that he needs to get out of this place as quickly as possible. He remembered the stories being told about some tribes using the sounds from way past to capture birds and animals, which couldn’t tell the difference. Tai thought it was just an ungrounded legend, as one could hardly believe its feasibility.
He heard many stories about the mountain tribes, and the last thing he wished for was being caught by any of them. It wasn’t only that they were some kind strange - he heard about the rites in these tiny passages. Some said that these rituals went all the way back to the old dark ages of the fallen cities—rumors about some ancestor machines, which were obeyed by sacrificing other people. He heard quite a lot about the blood rivers, just didn’t manage to see it by itself.
He realized that he was getting dizzier and dizzier all of this time, and it was becoming harder to breathe. His lungs felt full of sand, and he gasped heavily for the air while slumping on his knees. Everything was blurry and getting darker. The last thing he thought he remembered was that the glowing on his hand became more steady. And he thought he heard some metallic rattle behind him …
Link to the recording: https://soundcloud.com/palanga_street_radio/decaying-foundations-007-the