You walk along the narrow bank against the course of the stream, through clumps of reeds, disturbing small winged and snouted creatures. They flap and scurry, drop into the water. A wild place. In all the history of the world has any other trod this path?
The wildflowers suddenly fall away and a great hole looms. Clumps of earth lie all about, the ground burst upwards. What is this? A thin fountain spurts from within, trickling into the stream, the source of the oil.
You step cautiously up to the edge and peer over. The earth pit is criss-crossed with broken pipes, and liquids drop away and down, splaying, vanishing, into a deep void.
And there - in the endless dark - stars!
Under your feet. The gulf seems to pull you forward and you panic, wrench back, away, struggling in space. The bank hits you hard and you almost roll into the stream.
You lie braced, looking at the water, reeds and grass. Your heart beats.
On your hands and knees you crawl to the edge. There the pipes, the gulf. And the deep void. A few arm lengths away. And stars. So many, so fine, spread among the broken edges of the earth. You gaze down on the scene in silence.
As your eyes return to the base of the hole, you see how the mixture splashing and spraying from the pipes seems to strike a surface, an energy, some kind of field, before passing through and away. Down...
The pipes lead back into the earth at different levels, some narrower, some wider. The largest opening of all is thick - and dry - a tunnel, and lit from within.
A thought. Oh, what a thought! Would the pipes hold you? And the field - if you fell?
Attempt to climb down to the tunnel Blog One Blog Two Blog Three
Skirt the hole and continue along the stream Blog One
Retreat to the bridge Blog One Blog Two
Return to the oak Blog One Blog Two
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6 comments:
Here's the challenge.
As an explorer, read, choose and enjoy. Start here. As a blogger, continue the adventure at your blog. Write a scene with a choice for the reader to make. Link each option to a destination post if that post is already written. If you write a scene based on a choice at another post, comment at that post so the blogger can add a link to you.
If a scene exists, but you feel another is possible, write it. If we have multiple scenes for one option, all the better. Feel free to create alternative takes on the world.
Be bold!
If you've still no idea what's going on, read this.
I'm being bold, climbing down the tunnel here.
It's linked.
A wonderful addition.
I tried to climb down the tunnel here:
http://theworldofdamnation.blogspot.com/2011/04/stars-lightning-metal.html
@Porky - The "Blog Two" link on "down to the tunnel" is not working for me. I don't know if it is an html error or a Blogger snafu. I did find my way to the page using the comment link, but you might want to look into that.
Thanks for that. Almost certainly human error, and if so, all mine. Looks like I worked a little too quickly. I'm quite excited - this makes six of us and there's so much to explore now, so many routes to ponder.
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