The sun sank low over the tree line. The sounds of the day faded gradually, replaced by the chirrups of crickets, the ribbits of toads and frogs and the calls of various nocturnal predators, awoken by the coming of dusk. Wet, sucking sounds permeated the swamp land, the signs that larger predators crept through the pervading blackness. A heavy splash shattered the silence, perhaps a 'gator searching for some hapless prey. The silence quickly returned with a vengeance ill fitting of a void of sounds. A deep gurgling bubbled up through the swamp water, the 'gator it seemed had passed below. As the sun finally closed its great yellow eye the night sky burst with sounds, fireflies whirled and danced their way through the mangrove, dodging creepers and vines with an agility no pilot could achieve. And yet, amongst this bounty, this enviable eruption of wet, clinging life, a sense of the alien arrived.

On the north shore of a stretch of water a set of deep, waterlogged footprints shone out. Their direction made clearer as the moon took the suns throne and glared down onto the wetland. The footprints, for they could be called nothing else, led into the water itself, disappearing into the softer silt before becoming untraceable with the slight current casting more silt over them. But below the water the trail continued, signs of old rotten tree roots crushed by incredible weight, drowned trees pushed aside by something powerful made the lost footprints moot. The 'gator returned, drawn it would seem by a scent unknown to its old leathered snout. It swam along the silt bed, its eyes gleaming with the few traces of moonlight that got through the murk. Its saurian glances failed to register the dark, large object that lay half buried in mud as it drifted overhead. The shape stirred, it raised a heavy head and watched the strange long creature pass by. Its "eyes" glowed softly as it studied the flow of the creature, following the curve of its tail, the winding of its movement. As the 'gator vanished into the dark, coffee-black gloom the shape sat up. Its eyes now slightly brighter as it pulled itself onto its feet. The transition from prone to standing took little effort, enormous arms and legs pushed themselves free of the mud, whose clinging was stronger than that of a stubborn admirer. As it stood it glanced around the murky water that encapsulated it and began walking again. Within a few strides it emerged through the surface. Its huge head shimmering wet, long metallic rivulets ran over its head. Clearly wire.

It stood rigid as it rose out of the waters. The excess dripping and cascading off its bulk which now shone black and wet. Twisting at its waist it looked around itself, taking care not to turn its head. The wires could now be seen clearly, razor edged and attached to its shoulders from its head. A twisted and cruel parody of hair. The movements might appear cumbersome and slow, but with each it measured its intent and moved on. It sniffed through a narrow slit where a nose would have been and grumbled as it caught a scent. Surprisingly for its ungainly size the shape moved almost silently. The deer froze, scanning the darkness with sight, smell and sound. Assured it was still safe it lowered its head to graze on fresh shoots. The foliage it sought had evolved to grow mostly in darkness allowing it to avoid most predations. The deer munched slowly, its ears still swivelling as it ate. The mouthful it held never reached its stomachs.

The blow had been sudden, overpowering and unavoidable. The shape stepped into the clearing, lifting the deer to its head. A wet sucking sound began as the deers unconcious body hung from its face, the shape drained what it could. Laying its prey down gently and striding off.

Several hours later it reached the crest of a hill that rose out of the swampland. Looking ahead its eyes glowed brighter as it saw unfamiliar lights in the distance. It turned back to the swamps and continued in the direction it had chosen for the night. As dawn approached it sank into a scum coated, stagnant pool. Its eyes faded or closed and it slept.

Strange yet familiar images flashed as it dreamt. It remembered its birthday, the day it realised it was it. It remembered how it had "awoke" in the buried chamber, how it had rocked and fallen from a table, though it had no reference point with which to name the surface, and how for the next two moons it tried to stand. It dreamt of the first time it climbed out of the chamber and growled as its eyes saw light for the first time. How the moon blinded it then led it away from its subterranean "womb". It remembered the night when it first saw another creature. A beetle crawled over its leg, though again it had no names for its various parts, and how it had lain a hand on the beetle feeling the crack and ooze as it was squashed. It remembered the confusion as the beetle stopped moving. Its dream ended with the memory of how one night it lay studying itself, seeing its black, naked, leathery sexless body and learning how it could influence the environment surrounding it. And how this self teaching brought it the ability to feed itself, after being attacked by a bear. It stirred in the pool as the memory of "pain" flared through it. Then settled as in the memory and dream it crushed the bears neck and fed from it, the first taste of blood awakening something deep inside. The sun rose, scolding the waters surface as the shape lay sleeping. It had recently learned that certain light, sunlight, hurt if it touched it. So it knew to take care, avoiding the bright light and arising in the soft light. By dusk it again rose, disappearing into the brush, led on by a mindless decision to walk in one direction.

[ This Message was edited by: Shine on 2001-09-19 17:52 ]

((Very nice post :smile: good work ))

((Yeah what Valek said, Very nice :smile:

The shape stood gazing across the creek. The moonlit water was still, glass like. No wind wrinkled its surface, from time to time pond skaters would skif across, ripples radiating gently and weakly from their leg movements. It watched the weak light coming from the windows of the shack by the waters edge, sounds it had never heard followed the light. Glancing around it made sure it was unseen before it stepped slowly and purposefully into the cold creek. The sudden snap of cold water didnt alarm it as it strode further across. By the halfway point it walked waist deep. Faint ripples following it as its pace remained patient. It finally reached the other shore and two steps more and it stood outside the window. The sounds had gotten louder as it came closer, but there were now new sounds braying sounds that staccatoed outwards. The shape grew more confident as its curiousity intensified, peering through the window it saw creatures that looked strangely familiar, watching for several minutes it then looked again at itself. Making a loose connection it felt a sudden elation. These creatures looked something like it. Its face creased as it "smiled" at the revelation. Moving closer it watched the creatures' faces crease and open, more braying coming from the hole they formed. There were three of the creatures and although they all stood smaller than it, it realised one was smaller still and less proportionate. It kept watching as the two larger creatures finally beckoned the smaller to sit with them, a fire burned in front of them. It watched with a sudden and strange longing as the two larger ones embraced and comforted the smaller. It heard new sounds again, soft repeating sounds that made all three creatures smile. It couldnt hold its newfound joy as it watched. It pressed its face against the invisible, cold barrier that seperated it from the family and mumbled loudly, its voice rumbling and bellowed.

The trio inside the shack spun at the strange sound. One of the larger ones and the smaller one screamed and disappeared into another room, the larger one left was shouting at both them and the shape. Suddenly afraid the shape stepped back, the creature raised a long, thin black cylinder and fired what looked like fire at the window the shape stood behind. Glass shattered and the shape ran panic stricken into the bayou. Gunshots filled the air as it ran, quickly disappearing into the night.

Hours passed, the shape walked now. Sure at least that it was safe. Realisation struck it hard. Yes it resembled the creatures in the shack but they hated it. The new revelation dimmed its eyes as it began to wail, began to howl its torment into the cold swamp.

The shack now alive with light stood like a vanguard across the creek, the largest creature, a man, stood peering out through the now boarded window. Somewhere out there in the damp, moss encrusted, decadent swamp a long low wail could be heard. A wail made stronger by the sorrow and pain its source felt.

[ This Message was edited by: Shine on 2001-09-19 21:20 ]

((Once again,a great post :smile: ))

((Once again awesome post, damn we got another excellent writter here :smile:

nice post....what sort of char are you...? soz im rea the nosey, get up your nose lasombra...lol i was just wondering thats all :lol:

((topping cus i read it and i loved it

((whoa, superb man, totally awesome!))

((Yeah really sweet writting