Tangled

This Story was written for the write and win contests, but I never entered it. I don't even remember what the topic was :)

You can't say civilization isn't advancing:

in every war they kill you in a new way.

-- Will Rogers

These woods were thick, even the deer had trouble pressing through the tangled underbrush. I didn’t want to cross that clearing -- even in the dark I was a target. But the thought of trying to navigate the thicket again gave me reason to consider my options.

From where I crouched the sky was open to me; the silhouette of the pines ahead of me, and the wide expanse of sky behind it.

I love the sky; deep, open and honest. Once upon a time mankind had ventured to stick his little toe in the waters of that pond, we’d dreamed of exploring the wide expanses of the universe beyond. Now those dreams lay forgotten and broken. I grimaced, standing slowly. It was time to make a move.

Poop or get off the pot, as Granny used to say to me.

Moving quickly I rushed into the low grasses of the meadow and made a beeline for the other side, which I figure must be about 300 yards or so. I noticed the greenish glow after all of about fifty feet, and realized I’d run through some kind of mine field.

A toxic powder, lying in wait for an idiot like me who decided to choose the easy path. I dropped to my knees and fell on my back. My breath grew shallow my vision swirling with green.
My soul slipped away from me then, up and away to the sky and stars above me. At last I was free to explore the universe above me.

~January 5, 2005