You'll go, then I'll go

Descent to Nowhere

Two soldiers stood before the black hole in the heart of the city. Rubble everywhere. The heat and smell of molten iron crept into their nostrils, ripping out the moisture with tiny needles. Dust turned their tongues into leathery snakes. Glasses shielded their eyes from the fallout. They saw the darkness, the wound where they once dwelled. Thousands died when it came down. Hundreds burned like torches. Their charred flesh made it hard to breathe. Others were buried under the bones of a once pulsating city. Many were just dragged down with it. They alone knew what was inside the hole.

I told you it was wrong. They should not have talked to them.

Yeah.
The soldier sighed, cocked his M-70.

Yeah? What’s that? I told you. I knew. You didn’t listen.

Might’ve been friendlies, man. Can’t just start shooting. No Wild West no more.

Except now.

Except now.

Something was glowing from deep within, changing from orange to white, then fading away. Darkness returned. Something moved beneath, in the bowels of the earth. They felt it in their feet. The heat worsened. Wind rose from the hole. Then they heard clicking. Sounded like crickets. But there were no crickets.

Earth to the earthlings. They don’t belong here. Told you so.

All the time.

Never liked you, man. You’re naive. Always believing the shit in the papers.

And you’re an idiot. You believe anything your crazy buddies tell you.

There was silence, then the thing moved again. Bricks fell. In the distance, a woman started to scream. Did it come from the hole? Was it an echo from somewhere else? Or just in their heads? No one could tell.

Still love you, man. Was good serving with you.

Right, man. Love you too. Best idiot in my life.

You’ll go, then I’ll go.

Amen.

Let’s roll.

The first soldier moved forward, then the other. Behind them, more soldiers descended into the hole. Some flashlights flickered. Light meant life. But they moved on, as if the flickering meant nothing, as more people started screaming. The walls echoed their voices, melting human pain with the stones.

You went. I went.

Outside, a young girl watched the soldiers going in. She took her puppet and walked away. That night, she slept by the roadside, watching the stars. Then she closed her eyes and hoped to die before the stars saw her.

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Cover Image Credit: Original photo by Nathan Wright. Manipulated by Ashmore under the Unsplash License.