i awoke from the darkness into a barren red land, the yellow brown skies like butterscotch

each step like a leap of pure joy in the lesser gravity of this foreign landscape

red clouds erupt from each bounding step and form dust devils into the emptiness

it is freeing, this lack of tether and alien world so desolate and alone

a hint of movement catches the corner of my eye and i try and focus on it

again, tantalizingly teasing my gaze a scurry given away by the trail of dried blood drifting

a small trickle of worry travels down my spine and i search for shelter in which to hide

a copse of stones in the distance looks suitable and i hop and run with need

hoping my self hidden i watch the vermillion plains for signs of life

after a long moment i feel foolish as nothing but the hazy remains of my movement float in the thin air

i finally step out of my hasty shelter and watch violet streaks in the muddy flaxen sky

too late do i notice the ground before me begin to quake slightly

i leap upwards as a void of black and what seems like craggy teeth opens where i had stood

fear grips my heart as a tentacle like appendage races up and wraps itself around my leg pulling me down

in panic i pound my fists against the mass writhing around my leg to no avail

and i’m pulled struggling into the open maw of some subterranean horror

i fall into darkness as the gaping wound in the red soil begins to take me