Fleeting hourglass sand | Nathchi's writing dump

[Nathchi]

~This is a story I did way back and was originally in my home language swedish. I've decided to "decipher" this story to english as to both train my capabilities in english but also as a way to just write and let out some creativity. I'll also use my own art, thus this thread will also include an "art" tag! This story is at the moments in different parts and I'll put them out when I have the time.~



To this day I can still remember what the old man had told me. Experiences.. regarding the past. About what he had seen, experienced and gone through... things.. which I can not even imagine happening even in the wildest of dreams. What he and his generation have done and how the planet, a floating rock in an infinite space continuum, had changed the life that they once knew throughout the decades. He would often dream about coming back to this world made of metal containing that he spoke very dearly of. About millions upon millions of people walking through this metal world. About water falling from the sky and green plants everywhere.

In his deathbed, covered with a red and orange-colored fabric over his body, he layed there quietly. I boiled some soup made from the catch of the day and when warm and ready I turned around to give it to him. IThe old man did not even bother to take a look towards me and instead, in his shaking hands, looked at a photo. A photo depicting the world from his beloved dreams. People walking in this metal world, hundreds of them, together with trees embedded around the metal world and in the center of the photo where two people standing, a woman and her child holding hands together and smiling. It was a very different world from this one. Pieces of the metal world were now burried in sand and the heat could make anyone pass out if not careful enough. Plants and trees was scarce and animals loved to hide deep underground.

Those times are now in the past and with the old man dead I had no one but myself to take care to. As usual, starting the day to departure out to the world of endless sand and heat, I made myself ready in order to catch the day's meal. In today's list were the meat from sand rats for dinner. The rats are big as cats and carry enough weight to make into a fine dinner. However, they are very fast and likes to burry themselves deep underground, like dangerous places as the burried buildings from the metal world was their favourite hiding spot.
With the photo in my pocket, I have now other goals to achieve, except of course surviving, to tend to in this exhausting world of mine. The old man told stories of other parts of the world and a hope that there were a metal world still intact and blooming with life. He also told of a machine that could change time. He called it a "time machine". If there are truth to his words, this "time machine" should be somewhere in this world and could have the power to change everything. And with that I mean everything.

At the usual time, I embark through the sand filled emptiness with the help of my trusted bike found by the old man whom decided it was better suited to me. He had said that he had found it by a bandit camp that had been raided. It was believed to not work anymore but the old man still took it. As the bike soars through the sand, it creates a big sand cloud behind me. The scorching heat from the sun shows no mercy but the wind helps through the worst. Then, I see my destination. A part from the metal world burried in sand. I park the bike by a larger rock and start to walk towards the building. One have to be mindful of his surroundings or else they will fall through a sink hole or a window from one of the buildings lurking in the sand. As I walk closer I see one sand rat out in the open, it looks around and seems to have made a catch of sorts, a bug resting in its mouth. But when it sees me, it quickly goes back into a larger hole which is, unfortunately, a hole in the building from the metal world. With a small sigh I take the rope from my arm and start to attach it to one of the metal rods and begin to head deep deep underground. The sounds from the rats climbing and squeaking echoes.

...

 

[Nathchi]

I squeeze through the half-open window and entered a leaning and long empty burried building. Nothing major had changed other than sand flowing in through the window and down into the big depths. The building itself was very large and there appeared to be no end. Holding the rope I try to balance on the thick metal girder, jumping down to the closest beam further down. I stop and try to listen after the sand rats climbing inside the large metal space and then continue further down.

As I land on another metal girder the sand crunches beneath my feet and smaller rocks falls down and makes clinking sounds hitting on metal. I take a deep breath and then finally land to an open area. The sand rats squeaks as they run for their lives towards their hiding places in smaller holes on the walls and into the darkness of the hallway. I take out my electric lamp and light the area. The hallway is filled here and there with small sand dunes and electric wires are hanging out from the ceilling. After some hours searching and jumping over obstacles the feeling of exhaustion is starting to catch up to me. The rooms have very bad air ventilation due to being burried in the sand and the sand rats are used to moving in the dark. Thinking back on the light source from the entrence, it is starting to appear more and more appealing to go back up to the surface. "Maybe I should head back?" I think to myself as I go through yet another hallway, this time smaller.

Now even further down the building where light is nowhere to be seen, it is even more difficult to assertain as to whether or not it is still day time or not. As to not loose any more time than necessary I put up a trap and wait for my target. One of the rats senses the smell of old meat and then goes into the trap. When trapped it starts to panic and trying to get away but to no avail I make it a quick death and hangs it on the side of the bag. Now with atleast one trophy in hand and dinner for the day it's time head back. As I start to walk a sudden noise catches my attention. Trying to listen again for the sound it then starts again, very suddenly, a sound of knocking on metal. It was not a sand rat for the sound was far too loud to be made from a small creature. The sound echoed and was further down in one of the hallways. With a feeling of uncertainty and fear I decided to continue walking towards the exit from which I came from, but the sound starts again, now even more desperate. Like two human hands banking on a metal door in an attempt to get out from something.

Despite my fear and earlier precaution I start to walk towards the sound. The hallway was big and dark but I was certain that the sound came from one of the divided hallways. Once again the sound errupted but this time louder. Going to the left my electric lamp starts to flicker, loosing battery. I quickly decide hurry up my footsteps and continue on towards the knocking sounds in the dark.

....

 

[Nathchi]

A bit stressed I try to as slowy and carefully as I can with my steps, walk deeper into the dark hallway. After some minutes of walking a small red light could be seen further ahead blinking with few intervals. The blinking red light came from an electric door opener that appeared to be broken and I could enter the room. The walls and floor in the room had once been white but had now gotten dirty from the sand and flow of time. With the small lamp in my hand I looked around the room but it was all in all empty with an exception of a broken chair of metal laying on the floor. A loud sudden and desperate bang on metal appeared once again and it came from further inside the room. The bangings on metal had come from a thick metal door that was tightly shut.

Very curious and frightened, I went closer, slowly, and saw that the door had a very small window that could be opened by sliding a metal plate to the right. Nervous and paranoid I silently looked at it for a moment but the banging had stopped. I took a hold of the metal plate and slide it to the right, looking through the small window. It was dark and quiet. And in that moment, as if someone else had took over my brain, I started to slowly raise my arm with the elextric lamp in my hand, I didn't know if it was by my own curiousity or by a mere foolish act of doing before thinking situation, but with a 'click' the small lamp turned on and revealed another person crouching by the edge of the wall.

The first thing that appeared before my eyes was dried blood on the walls and on the floor inside the room, an individual could also be seen crouching against the edge. Whether it was the individuals own blood or from something else was hard to decifer. And just seconds before I had turned on my lamp, the person in the room suddenly turned its head towards the light. The person had a gasmask on but their eyes were visible through the glass and filled with what appeared to be raw, unfiltered shock. Suddenly, the person sprung up and started to run towards the door. By this sudden act, my body on instinct backed away as the person banged even more desperately on the metal door than ever before. Something didn't feel right. To be locked up in a place like this didn't bode well and yet, in the deepest part of my brain. I couldn't help but feel for the individuals shocked face and desperate knocking. What if the person was hurt? I thought. Why being locked down in a place like this? Now, guilt and worry started to dwell up inside of me and I decided to approached the door and reached after the handle. But before I could touch the handle a sound errupted from behind me. A sharp sound ike the click from a gun.
-"Don't you touch that door." A muffling voice said. It was with certainty that this individual had a mask on just like the one trapped behind the door. With how deep they now where, it was very hard to believe that mere theieves would camp in areas like these, if not, and a big if at that, they weren't a desperate bunch. But I was sure that I would likely meet the same fate as the desperate person being locked up in this dark place. Taking a deep breath I then raised my hands up in the air very slowly.

....