Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Sunset, Part 2

The grassy ground was cool and firm beneath Garret's bare feet. He sighed in relief as he reached the grass, then  found a tree to recline beneath. As he moved to the shade, the change in temperature was immediate. No longer was the sun beating down on him. He hadn't felt a summer like this - it had to be summer, right? - for years now, not since he....since he....

Garret scratched his head and furrowed his brow. Since he what? He couldn't recall.

He sat in silence for a while more, trying to remember. His memory was hazy...he remembered a bar....there was  laughter, and a TV dimly playing in the background. That was it. Nothing else. He slammed the ground in frustration.

To his surprise, a clump of grass dislodged itself, wilted beneath his fist. The ground beneath was cooler than the surface, and he laid his hand to rest there.

Crash!


A branch of the tree behind Garret fell, noisily tearing down leaves as it went along its earthbound route. It landed with a dull thump right beside Garret. Shit. That was close. He peered up, to make sure no other branches were in danger of falling, and caught a glimpse of the sun. The light seared his eyes, and he whirled his head away, blinking away the multicolored lights which obscured his vision.

The sun. It seemed....larger?

Garret chanced another look, furtive, quick, and confirmed his suspicions. The sun was roughly twice the size in the sky that it should have been. Was that why everything was so hot?

Somewhere, in the distance, another branch fell from its perch. Garret rose; it wasn't safe to stay here for long. Not unless safe included possible concussions. A concussion would be bad, with nobody around to treat him.

I'll play it safe. He decided. I need to find some water, and some food. Probably just berries and roots for now. I'll try to find other people once I've got the basics covered.


Around him, in the unshaded area, some of the grass had browned. Garret was sure that it hadn't been brown when he'd sat down. The grass was dry, brittle, and dead.

No comments:

Post a Comment