Monday, February 07, 2011

Fissures




The Earth was whispering loudly during the night.

It wasn’t animals moving. Not the crunch of feet or the scurry of rodents in the pine needles. Ulrich never appreciated how many unseen things move in the forest at night, but this sound was very different than those. As he curled in his survival bag and begged for sleep, his ear pressed into the ground. It wasn’t much, that imperfect contact, but it gave him a thin, direct line through soil and clay and rock formations, through never seen veins of minerals to the faraway boil of magma below.

The sounds were restless, making him restless. The cold made it worse. Bitter cold despite the Alaskan summer. It sounded random, but it was not. As he peeled back the layers in his mind, he caught a complexity deep within. Some kind of process was underway. A pulsing rumble flowed from the east. A snapping chattered in the west. The ground right underneath him was mostly silent. But once in a while, it shrieked. Like tears rending open under impossible pressure.

He sifted through the bottom of his pack for some breakfast after the long darkness. A branch snapped behind him.

Ulrich whirled, fearing another bear, even a cub. He couldn’t spare to lose any more of his ravaged supplies.

Instead, he saw a man who looked oddly similar to himself. A certain newness clung to his clothes despite the terrible onslaught of the wilderness.

He didn’t look like the bush pilot who left him to begin this journey. That man was worn and tested. Assembled piece by beaten piece. This man standing under the hemlocks still seem soft and vulnerable. But his eyes rippled a chill through Ulrich. Without any reason to think it, Ulrich heard the rumbles in the east when he stared in the man’s right eye. The left eye reminded him of the snapping in the west. In the middle, the blankness of the man’s face did not seem natural. At any moment, Ulrich expected hear the shriek.


(Another selection from Earthtide, my novel in progress.)

10 comments:

Shadow said...

this reminds me of stephen king... superb, keep going!

the walking man said...

It pulls quite well Jason. I particularly liked the sensations presented as i read of Ulrich trying to sleep but hearing the noises of the earth.

Tabitha Bird said...

Wow. sounds like a great book Jason. Keep up that writing :) Love it.

SzélsőFa said...

i'm glad to peek into ulrich's story again.
but wow. that man is creepy.

Lee said...

Jason - You write so well. Glad you are continuing with your dream. Love the "imperfect contact" and other lines!!!

Anonymous said...

Shadow, that's a comparison I certainly appreciate! In fact, I'm happy to be compared with any well published author. :)

Walking Man, thanks! In this project, I'm really trying to embrace the plot/page-turner notion, yet keep my own voice.

Tabitha, I'm trying! :)

Szelosfa, yep. Something is up with him. ;)

Lee, I truly do appreciate your encouragement! Do you have a blog? Something not on Blogger?

Lee said...

Me? No no blog. Why do you ask Jason?

Anonymous said...

Because I'd like to visit, if you did.

Lee said...

Awww - ty ~.

Geraldine said...

This just flows....I am looking forward to reading more.Well done Jason!

my new blog with blogger:

www.myreallifereviews.com

Hugs to you and Aine