She dances with the grace of swaying flowers in the wind. She sings of life, of love, of happiness. Her green tunic flows with her every movement, flowing with her loose pants tied at her thin waist. Her glowing olive hands seem to sway to a tune all their own, as her bare feet lightly twirl around the soft, fertile ground.

Her disciples gyrate around her. Each singing her own hymn, each blessing the leaves, the ground, the air. Each protecting, each rejuvenating life and Nature with the flick of her wrist. Each with pure white, brown, and tanned skin painted with the symbols of growth, health, and of Spring's regenerating effects.

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The two travelling partners returned to the forest. Dusk was beginning to settle in as the sun slowly made its way below the World. The forest seemed to burn crimson as they entered. The vibrant greens slowly degenerated into muddy browns. The sun descended further and the browns cooled into navy blues. Eventually, finally, they cooled into a clean black.

Sleep almost seemed inevitable for Johnny were it not for the Puck's prodding, goading him further into the forest. According to the nymph they were 'almost there', but they had been 'almost there' since they left the city.

When he was little he used to go on walks in the woods at the back of his home but never any mile long hikes. He had enjoyed it; to some extent, it let him get his head together. But after a while it all became the same paths, same hills, same fallen autumn leaves. After a while he found better ways to spend his time. He would watch TV, play video games, get on the internet. He had forgotten about nature.

It was only when he began to hear the melodies, echoing from the forest's center, that he began to feel the urge to continue. Beckoned by the songs of the Flower Child and her disciples, he hastened his pace along the path. Jumping over fallen logs, nearly tripping over roots, he practically ran toward the glittering lights only meters away.

The hymns almost seemed tangible. He could almost see the notes float through the air. They washed over Johnny rejuvenating him. He could smell the sweet nectar in which the Flower Child bathed. His vision seemed to clear as he entered the Flower Child's domain.

It was here he saw her dancing gracefully.

'She is the Flower Child,' Puck said smiling lovingly at the glowing goddess.

They found themselves sitting on the cool evening grass, yet again sipping tea. This time, however, Johnny decided to give to the tea a shot. The Flower Child had promised that its soothing Chinese herbs would reinvigorate his restless body. She had promised that the incense that surrounded them would revitalize their minds. She had promised that given time, enlightment would come, that they would fully understand their quest. So they sat. And her disciples began the ceremony.

Sipping his chai, Puck watched with delight as the Flower Child, his mistress, began the ceremony. His eyes glittered with a hope Johnny had never seen. Of course it was all too much for the boy still, he had been thrust into a world he had yet to truly understand. He had been asked to retrieve coins, which seemed, to the Collector, to be the most important artifacts ever to grace the face of the planet. Coins that could be lost forever. Yet at the same time, as the voluptuous women sang their hymns of creation, healing, and goodness, he thought that maybe it couldn't be all that bad.

As Johnny finished his tea, a wide-eyed, crimson-haired disciple sat gracefully next to the boy. Her grey eyes were as deep as the ocean. They reflected both moon and stars. They seemed to pierce his soul. To the boy they were the most beautiful set of eyes he had ever seen in his tiny, insignificant life. He could look into them for an eternity.

In a childlike voice the girl asked if he could read his future.

Johnny's mouth was agape. He caught his jaw, it snapped back to reach his upper lip with a click. The girl only giggled, running her soft, white fingers through her red hair. She disarmed him with the starlight in her eye. Pursing her lips, she grabbed the boy's left hand, bringing it close to her chest.

Tracing the lines and creases of his palm with her porcelain finger, she continued to purse her pale pinkish lips. Slowly they curled into a wide, pure smile. All Johnny could do was blush. She brooded over his pinky. She giggled again, before pulling her hair back from her eyes. Then, finally, she brooded over thumb.

Leaning over the girl whispered into his ear. With that she left him with only the smell of incense in the cool night breeze. And her childlike giggling.

There was an explosion as the ceremony came to its climax. Puck gasped, he had always enjoyed his mistress' ceremonies. A voice echoed deep through the forest as the Flower Child raised her arms epically. Johnny's eyes widened as the glittering fireworks settled at his feet.. Brilliant, beautiful, like the stars in the night sky.

'The World is in disarray,' the Flower Child boomed, the once beautiful girl had become a wise old women. 'Selfishness and fear rule the day. After nearly three centuries, humanity has finally realized its immortality.'

There was a burst of light. Johnny saw thousands of bodies charging down a hill, bayonets shining, cannons blazing. A lone wizard stood back behind his soldiers, chanting as he let loose a swarm of locusts. Suddenly, a soldier clad in red found a bayonet piercing his stomach, but instead of dying he simply pulled it out. Johnny cringed as blood spilled from the soldier's torso. Day fell into night, the sun rose, the battle raged for months. The war would last an eternity.

Another burst of light and children crying. Welts, boils, and bile mingled in a solitary hut. Yet the inflicted family never died. The welts continued, the virus spread. Yet death never came to the ill. They found themselves in a constant state of pain, never dying, never living. Mother, brother, sister, and father were forced out of shanty after shanty before silently suffering out in the wilderness.

'Order must be restored,' the Flower Child's voice echoed off the trees. 'Arrogance rules the day. No longer do humans pay for their actions, no longer do their lives have meaning. They use their immortality to continue their feuds, their greed, their anger. They put themselves above Nature,' the highest priestess of all explained.

The image faded. They were above a forest, thousands of trees fell with slash of thousands of axes. The image faded. They were above a plain. Deer, bison and bear found themselves at musket point. The image faded. A raucous party. Fires blazing. Forever eating, forever consuming. It was never enough for them.

'They declare themselves the most powerful beings in the World!' There was another burst of light as Johnny and Puck saw a farmer charging his own bull. Puck cringed as the farmer was impaled up the black bull's crimson horns. 'Yet they cannot comprehend how to use their abilities for good.'

'Immortality is death, order is destruction.' The image faded. Two lone figures strolled the desolate, yellow grey plains. One clad in Seville-Rowe suit and bowler hat. The other clad in a black leather trench coat. 'Everybody is paying for the arrogance of Death and Elton Fate.'

Puck shook his head in disgrace. How could he have ever let his brother fall like this. How could he have let things get this bad. He could have stopped the suffering the Flower Child was showing them, yet he... didn't.

There was silence.

'Only the Grey can restore the balance. Only he can bring Death and Disorder back into our world,' the disciples chanted again and again.

'Find Death!' the Flower Child boomed. 'She dwells in the City. Living in limbo.'

'Only the Grey can restore the balance. Only he can bring Death and Disorder back into our world,' the disciples chanted again and again.

'Find Disorder!' the raven haired goddess ordered. 'He, too, dwells in the City, surrounding himself with gamblers and cutthroats.'

'Only the Grey can restore the balance. Only he can bring Death and Disorder back into our world,' the disciples chanted again and again. Johnny's heart pounded. Sweat dripped off his back, seeping onto his soft, cotton t-shirt. His mouth became dry. His eyes widened.

There was a final burst of light.

Darkness returned to the forest.

Resting on the soft, wet grass, Johnny attempted to sleep whilst trying to process all he had seen, yet he found he was drawing a blank. All he could focus on was the girl's prophecy, her childlike voice whispering in his ear. Closing his eyes, he had visions of his brother, dunes, and death.

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Grey's Matter Archive

SupremeEarthworm

30.09.04 Front Page

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