The Rift

Tales Of The Apocalypse: Book II - The Rift

The forest took on a new life of its own under the cold baleful glow of the lurid green moonlight. Shapes and shadows danced crazily in the wind that was blowing. It was very disconcerting to behold. I know it was frightening Andy as she snuggled up close to me and asked me to stay up with her a while longer during what would normally be my bedding down time. I gladly agreed, not looking forward to the nightmare which was waiting in the dark, behind closed eyelids.

We discussed what was happening and I gave her my hypothesis.
The earth had been bombarded with cosmic forces during the event with the sun which had created a rift between dimensions. That shimmering object which was gaining ground on us was the actual rift and the creatures had passed thru it, and were loosed upon our world. She snorted at this revelation, but snuggled closer nonetheless.

While we were discussing the finer points of this theory, we noticed that the frenzied drumbeat of the mad drummer had slowed to a more rhythmic beat that was no less disconcerting. The humming had also grown louder, and was getting louder by the minute.

Then we saw it moving through the trees: The Rift was overtaking us. The humming grew louder until it was so painful we were barely cognizant of our surroundings and were rolling on the ground in pain.

And then it passed, as though someone had turned off the sound system. In a few moments we had recovered enough to sit upright and look about. I could no longer see the Rift as it moved up the mountain. It was as if it had never existed! It seems that it must be visible from one side only. Now if it were not for that horrendous glow from the earthly satellite things would seem almost normal.

Almost.
....
....

We must have fell asleep sometime after that experience, for we awoke and found that the morning of day 9 had come, and with it a sullen strangeness in the air, like the heavy electrical feeling before a thunderstorm.

The drum throbbed its' abhorrent tempo, rising and falling with no sense to it. It seemed as though it was to become a part of our consciousness, a mad heartbeat pounding in our mind. It seemed that the trees undulated to the maniacal beat, but it was really just the wind blowing them about.

Neither of us felt like eating as we were feeling nauseous from the effects of what had happened. We slowly packed up our camp and began our trek up the trail. It took  a while to notice it, but there was an alien strangeness upon the landscape. Nothing seemed the correct color and the trees seemed to be different also.

During a break I consulted the map and found we were almost there, perhaps a couple of hundred yards away. It was getting quite overcast and we decided to make camp at the cache so as not to get caught in the rain that was coming. The prospect of resting up for a bit was a welcome thought, so when we found the cache spot and dug it up, we also setup camp. Wood was sparser here for some reason, but we found enough to keep one fire all night.
....
....

It seems to be our doom to suffer the strangest events. While we were eating our dinner we heard this sound as if something gigantic was being torn and then followed by a stupendous thunder clap and a huge seismic jolt that threw us off our feet. The sky, my god the sky, it was as if it had been ruptured and all was darkened except a mile or so wide Rift that daylight poured through, our daylight, that which we had just been living in! All else was the blackness of night and the night time stars of a clear sky.

That lunatic drummer began to increase in volume as if in celebration of what had just happened and it seemed so much closer to us now. We built up the fire and dragged in more wood, to prepare for the early night. The Rift was closing, and daylight becoming scarce when we finished our preparations’ for the encroaching hours of night.

With the additional items from this cache, we restocked what we had consumed, but there was still too many valuables that we two could not carry unaided. We unpacked all the packs and only repacked what we felt was necessary for the miles ahead and securing the cabin. That meant all ammo, the tools that we carried, water purification, our clothing and as much food as we could carry. We resolved to conduct a portage of sorts, and carry the buckets to a location nearer to the cabin, which lay 10 miles away even yet.

We decided to sacrifice one more day, to eat and drink heartily, and to get some more needed sleep, in spite of the drum. We each had earplugs which we could wear that would diminish the drums intensity, but it would not block it out entirely.

Fearing that which lurked in my sleep, I put it off by giving Andy the first choice to rest. I would keep watch with all my troubled thoughts, kept company by the drum and that horrible green orb that came out each night.

That Hideous Glow

Tales Of The Apocalypse: Book II - The Rift

We spent all of today traversing that tortuous path, and we have still not gotten through that punishing trail. We finally located a dry patch just before dark on which to camp, where we found some brush and other debris with which to construct a fire.

We were both pretty dead on our feet, so there was no conversation over dinner. I offered to take the first watch and tend to the single fire. We had only one as there was not as much wood in this washout as on the forest edge where we had camped before. Andy agreed and was soon off to her bed.

Consulting the map and compass as I sat alone around the fire, I determined we had traveled just over a mile that day!

What a disappointment that was!
I decided not to tell Andy as I didn't want to cause her to lose heart.

I had learned to read map and compass while I was in the Scouts, and practiced it whenever we had gone camping. Got to to keep those skills from getting rusty!
....
....

While we labored on the path that day, we found ourselves backtracking multiple times when our trail would dead-end in a cliffs edge or a pocket of house sized boulders, pools of deep water and flats of stinking mud. It was all there, waiting to trap or mislead us!

There towards the end, I was forced to portage ours and Dad's packs through a particularly bad stretch while Andy provided overwatch. She is a bit of a tomboy, and always played army with the neighborhood boys when we were not much younger. Then it was Call Of Duty and Battlefield on the Xbox. So she took to the role of overwatch with a bit of enthusiasm added.

That was fine with me, as I had my hands full. Dad would take us both out shooting and Andy became a pretty fair shot with the .22lr and the AR-15. The recoil of the shotty was a bit too much for her so she shied away from shooting it, but she knew it's operation.

I have noticed that the humming is getting louder now, like standing next to a hive of angry bees. I have not been able to catch a glimpse of the phenomenon that was engulfing the town, but I think that is where the humming originates. If so, the increase in volume indicates that it may be drawing closer.
....
....

I woke Andy and turned watch over to her, crawling into the tent and that welcoming bed.
My head no sooner hit my jacket pillow than I began to dream once more.

Once again I beheld that city in the dry lake bed. It's cyclopean structures of obsidian black, looming above the streets, teeming with throngs of toad like creatures going every which way. I wandered about, ignored by them, seemingly unseen as a ghostly presence amongst them. I noticed then, that the arrangement of the streets was that of a large circle that was formed by the outer monoliths, with ever smaller circles forming the streets in the inner city until they ended in a central amphitheater. The circles were intersected by alleys that ran straight from the center of the city to the outer monoliths and beyond.

As I wandered the streets, marveling at the grotesque geometry, I heard a chanting , and began to look for the source. Soon I found a huge gathering of the awful creatures in the amphitheater, surrounding a central dais upon which rested a grotesque throne.

There sat a larger than normal toad-thing, clad in a horrible colored clothing of sorts, it's horns shorn to within 8 or so inches of its skull and capped with gold. It croaked a hideous chant;
"ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn"

to which the gathered throng chanted back; "ay Cthulhu, ay Cthulhu, wgah'nagl fhtagn"
They chanted this over and over until some unseen signal flung them into an orgy of horror and violence. They literally tore their human prisoners to shreds, bathing in the gore chanting "ay Cthulhu fhtagn" over and over.

The creature on the throne turned to me and grasped my shoulder, pulling me into the midst of the horror, at which I shrieked and pulled away.

The timid voice of Andy broke into my dreaming and asked "Are you okay?"
I croaked out a "NO!". She then told me it was time to get up and eat before breaking camp and beginning the struggle for the day. What she said next shocked me.

"What does 'ay Cthulhu, wgah'nagl fhtagn' mean? You were saying it over and over in your sleep."

I told her it was just something from a dream that I was having, and wasn't important.
As I headed out of the tent she asked me if I could hear the drums?

Sure as shit, there in the stillness of the ebbing night, barely audible was a throbbing as of some mad drummer, pounding out a maniacal rhythm to which no discernible pattern could be recognized.

I am beginning to be extremely frightened at the events that are occurring. The drums, the beasts, the humming and those nightmarish dreams that seem so real!
....
....

It is now day 8 and we remain an alarming distance from our goal. It was late afternoon before the pathway and the washout departed company, and we finally made some good time before needing to make camp once again. Andy made dinner while I consulted the map to see how far the next cache was. Cache 4, meant to be reached by day 4, was still 3 miles away up an ever climbing trail.

I now dread going to bed, the nightmares seeming to be lurking just behind closed eyelids. I don't want to frighten Andy, but I fear she is picking up on it also as those drums seem to become louder and meld with the hum that is overtaking us.

The perverted moon has come out from hiding behind its sheltering clouds to bathe us this evening with that hideous glow it has now acquired.

The Malevolent Road

Tales Of The Apocalypse: Book II - The Rift

Curiosity finally got the best of us, well at least me and I went over to examine the beast. Andy would not approach the creature, and sat nursing a bruised shoulder where it had impacted her.

I have taken creative writing in school and I am mostly at a loss for words to describe it. I will attempt to use earthly comparisons to give an accurate description of such an un-earthly beast.

The nightmarish creature on the trail resembles a 6 foot high Toad with the horns of a Texas Longhorn steer, with lower tusks and upper fangs. It's short, crooked arms end in what resemble the talons of a bird of prey. The lower legs are large and powerful, with a large foot and 6 inch or so clawed toes. It has a short, thick tail with a series of ridges running its length, reminiscent of that of an alligator. It's skin looks like an armor plating; smooth and hard. It is a mottled grey color much like the color of fog. A fetid stink permeates the air around it.

A more eldritch horror I cannot imagine. It reminds me of something that could be from the Cthulhu Mythos. Only Lovecraft could describe it better than I could. I wish I had a camera that worked, but my digital camera and cell phone camera are both toast. I have watched many a horror movie and have never beheld such an awful visage!
....
....

I have escorted Andy around it, guiding her so that she would not have to look at this nightmarish creature and suffer it in her dreams forever more. As for myself, I fear that its taint will haunt me forever!
....
....

I wonder, did it come from that shimmering thing on the horizon? Looking out from upon the mountain side, it appears to have grown larger and nearer. It looks to be engulfing our hometown and is moving toward where we struggle up this mountain path.
....
....

This is our first real rest stop since early morning, and I am damn glad for it! The trail has gotten steeper and it looks like we will be climbing another 200 feet in elevation according to our map. Today is day 6 on the path to the cabin. 2 miles ahead is the next cache point according to the markings on the map.

I think we shall camp there for the night as it is getting late and the sun is working its way behind the mountain range behind us.
....
....

Once again we are hearing sounds in the forest that are alien to the norm. Crashings and thuds mark the otherwise stillness. The birdsong's are replaced by the sighing wind and a strange sort of humming at the edge of our hearing, but it seems to be located in the direction from which we are traveling.
....
....

We have reached our cache point and have set up camp in a small glade with a clear field of fire all around us. We will build 3 fires tonight and one of us will remain awake to listen for problems and to keep the fires burning. I worry about this, about one of us being alone while the other sleeps, but there is no way around it. We must have sleep to restore our energy after the grueling hike. We will keep 4 hour watches, and in that manner we will each get some rest.

Fortunately there was an adequate wood supply near our evening camp, so we did not have far to go to retrieve it. Regardless, Andy stood overwatch while I gathered it and piled the wood at camp. I fear that if I were alone, I would curl in a ball and wait to be taken as was Dad.

As the world darkens around us, I wonder about the rest of the planet, about people in faraway places and if they are going thru what we just have.

Far off in the darkness, I hear that awful hooting, followed by the howling. It is far away but it gives me the shivers nonetheless. Dinner was sparse, the only luxury was the main course of freeze-dried Teriyaki Chicken. We had some Gatorade powder to add to our water, which was pretty good. There was more food in the cache, food for 4 persons, but we want to economize our consumption until we get to the cabin. The added food will slow us down what with carrying along dads pack and all but I will not willingly leave it behind. Once we reach the cabin I do not wish to leave until necessary to reach the supplies that dad hid near there.
....
....

The night passed for us as it will for those who are exhausted upon the trail. The conversation that ensued between us after dark consisted of me telling Andy to wake me in four hours, then giving her my windup watch to mark the time. I crawled into the tent and once in my bag, was out like a light. I slept a dream filled sleep full of nameless horrors that grinned out at me from behind monstrous edifices that populated a ruined lakebed, in which the water had receded to mere puddles. There were thousands of the toad-like creatures there with hundreds of human captives, none of whom I recognized but all beseeching for to help with their sad and tired eyes.

Luckily I was awoken from this unfortunate dream by Andy, telling me it was my turn to keep watch. The morning came shortly after, and the need for 3 fires dropped to 1, which in the cold morning air of the mountain felt very nice. I was determined to let Andy sleep a couple more hours but she woke and got up anyway. We had a hot breakfast of freeze-dried scrambled eggs and sausage which was quite good, and several cups each of Dad's cappuccino coffee mix. Damn that stuff was good! We then broke camp and prepared to move. Day 7 was upon us now!
....
....

An hour on the trail and the path ahead appears like some malevolent road; strewn with debris, jumbled with boulders, pools of water and mud, grasping roots and small trees scattered along its visible length, along which we are forced to travel. It is as though it seeks to tax us of our remaining strength and mire us permanently in its mud.

The Shape Upon the Path

Tales Of The Apocalypse: Book II - The Rift
 
Dad is gone.

The thing from the trees took him.
It attacked and then he was gone.
He never even got off a shot.
....
....

I am continuing his Journal; I know that is what he would want.
I am in charge now; I must get us to the cabin. We have got to go forward, there is no turning back as Mom did.
Andy is crying, and I want to join her. But I must be strong and not falter.
For Dad.
And Mom.

Why did she choose to leave us...??
....
....
....

I broke down just like Andy did; now my eyes feel all gritty and puffy, and my nose is full of snot.
....
....

Ok, we are more settled now, ready to move.
I don't like this spot. I see some of Dad's blood on the ground.
I don't want to be around it.

We will carry Dad's pack between us like a litter, as we need the stuff that he carried.

He had the tent, food, water and ammo for the guns. 

I have the shotgun now, Andy has the AK. Her M1 carbine and mag’s are strapped to the pack with my Winchester mdl94 .30-30.
She has never shot the AK so I showed her how to work it like I learned in the video games.

I had to show Dad how to field strip it so we could clean it. 
Thanks’ to the videos I found on the web! 

We found ammo for it at a hardware store on our way out of town. We had to detour for five blocks but we were lucky enough to find 200 rounds for it. We have six mag’s for the AK so we were able to load them all with a box left over.

Dad dropped the shotgun when he was taken, but the AK was strapped to his pack along with the chest rig. It is kind of big on Andy, but that’s ok, she is not complaining and is getting pretty good at changing out the magazines. I have been having her practice with it for the last hour before we leave.

Once she is comfortable with it I will put on the 3 point sling for her and the laser sight. We got them both at the same place we found the ammo and I picked them up while dad was looking for the ammo. We were in a hurry so I never got a chance to show him before we left.
....
....

We had been moving along the trail for a while and it was just before sunrise when we saw it.

A shape upon the path ahead of us.
And then there was that awful hooting followed by that mind-numbing howl. Andy dropped her end of the pack and covered her ears, as did I. Then I saw it moving towards us.

It leaped over me and knocked down Andy. I yelled at her to duck as I spun around and put 2 slugs into the dark form as it began to turn back towards us! It let out an awful roar as it staggered to the impacts of the slugs. My next 3 shells in the shotgun were 00 buckshot and I put one into the form in the darkness. It dropped to the ground and then got back up, moving toward us. Andy finally got into action and the AK roared its deadly tune several times; and then the creature dropped and did not stir again.

We decided not to approach it until daylight, which is coming on fast.

The forest is silent now, with no noises to be heard. Maybe it is just numb ears from the gun blasts, but I can hear Andy whisper just fine. 
....
 
The sun has now risen and we can finally fully behold the horror that lies scant yards from us.

Movement In The Trees

 Tales Of The Apocalypse: Book II - The Rift

It is day 4 and we have only reached cache #3. We are seriously behind schedule and need to push on through the daylight. I know the kid's are tired because I am beat. We will travel til noon and then make camp, if we make it that far without falling over.

The sounds in the forest are greatly diminished during the daylight hours, leading me to believe that which follows us is nocturnal in nature. My daughter Andrea, who we call Andy says she saw something on our shadowy back trail, peering out of the gloom under the trees. She let out a scream of terror that made myself and her brother both jump. Monty, my son surprised me with how quickly he recovered and brought his .30-30 to bear on the perceived threat. Andy could not bear to describe what she saw...

Andy is 12 and Monty 14.
I am surprised, pleasantly I might add, at how quickly Monty has stepped up to the plate as this has all unfolded, day by day. Both kids have handled the desertion of their mother with surprising strength. I can only surmise that her mind had been overwhelmed by the sheer stress of her world collapsing, as that is what she has fled back to. I only hope that she made it back home. I do truly miss her.
....
....

We have made camp now, the kids are gathering wood as I put up the tent and build the fire. It is a cold day and a heavy fog is covering this small depression which holds a large glade with a pond adjacent to it. I am sure if it were summer, it would be swarming with mosquito's.

The kids have asked me why I am writing all this down, and I explained to them that it is a family record to be passed down to newer generations, to explain what happened and why. Andy surprised me with her comment about this being the last generation, so why bother. I told her I did not believe that, and she should not either. I must keep a bold and confident demeanor even though I fear she may be right.
....
....

The sounds are getting louder, closer, now that the sun is setting. I have built up the fire and rather than face the fire as is our normal nature, I have turned my back to it and face outward into the gathering gloom of twilight.

I see something, some movement in the trees.
As though it were a lion circling it's prey.

The hooting is louder now, sounding like it is emanating from just outside our circle of light.
My God, that howl!
That terrible howl!
It raises the hair on the back of your neck like an icy wind, like fingernails on a chalkboard!

My shotgun is ready and I am telling the kids to...

Sounds In the Forest

Tales Of The Apocalypse: Book II - The Rift

We have only been gone 2 days and already my wife wants to go back.
Traveling at night, we have only made it 5 miles

It's those sounds.
Sounds in the forest, like something shadowing us...
Following us.

I cannot see anyone, or anything, except that blur at the edge of my vision.
And that hooting in the distance, at the fringe of hearing.

My wife is fine with it during the daylight, but night brings her misgivings.
The thrashing in the underbrush at a distance, the low pitched murmuring that builds until it ends in an unearthly howl.

We are all armed, that includes the kids. Whatever or whomever is  trying to frighten us, has succeeded.

The last howl ended inside our heads, as though listening to a soundtrack of fear through headphones of terror, ringing through our minds with a persistent echo.
....
....
....
....

This is day 3.
Or I should say night 3.

Just before sundown I saw a shape in the trees…
I don't know what it is, I have never seen anything like it before.
The more I try to define what I saw, the more indistinct my recollection is.
Like a mental fog rolling in and cloaking all with a robe of madness.

....
....
 My wife has left; turned around and fled down the trail into the blackness.
The kids are hovering close, calling out for their mother to return, in vain.
I Shepherd them down the trail for we are nearing our destination.

In all, we have climbed 2500 feet in altitude, and my legs can feel it.
We have found an open area in which to camp, full of firewood and with an un-named stream chuckling its way down the hill to a rendezvous with anonymity, as it flows into the river in the valley.

Looking back over the distance you can see the small city where we used to live.
In the distance, a strange sight, like nothing I have ever seen before.
It shimmers like a lake, only turned on its side and it is as high as the surrounding peaks.
I am not sure why, but the sight of it fills me with an unearthly dread, as prey feels the approach of a predator.

....
....

It is dark now, and we are ready to travel.
Our strange companions keeping pace as we walk the pathway in the dark, listening...
To the sounds in the forest.

Slivers of the Moon

 I was lying in bed trying to sleep when this story came to mind. I hope you enjoy.

---<>---

Tales Of The Apocalypse: Book II - The Rift

It has been 24 hours since the surface of the Earth was caressed by the Sun.

When it started to get hot in the safe room, we retreated to the underground room where it was much cooler.
Years ago I buried a series of PVC pipe 6 feet deep, connected in such a way as to maximize the volume of air that would move through it, to take advantage of convection cooling in the summer, and to heat the warmer air in the winter as it was drawn into the house. It helped keep this area cool during the event. The temperature is still in the 70's in here, but it is much cooler than outside I suspect.

I have re-hooked up the outside antenna to the radio, trying in vain to pick up some news but I am only getting static.
....
....
My wife has insisted that I go check things out, to see what is happening outside. I wish I had put in the CCTV security system now. It would be much safer. It might have fried in any case.

Opening the hatch in the floor has flooded our shelter with stifling hot air. I closed it after me and staggered to the reinforced door of the safe room. It is even hotter outside, though it is night. I hope that it will radiate off into space soon, but with the cloud cover it may take some time.

The night air has an awful taint, a cacophony of odors; it reeks of smoke and rot.
It stinks of death.

There are bodies everywhere, each adding to the charnel odor.
They appear to be burned, as though they had been under a giant magnifying glass, or left in a tanning booth overnight.

Dead birds litter the streets where they fell in their flight to safety.
....
....
Fred is dead. I found his body in his front yard.
He bought a bayonet for his AK when he got it.
I laughed at him and wanted to know if he was going to lead a bayonet charge.

It looks like he put it to good use after he ran out of cartridges.
There is a pile of bodies surrounding him with what appear to be stab wounds. He killed the one who killed him, the bayonet sticking into the chest of a hulking brute of a man, the brute's hands wrapped around Fred's throat.

Well fought Fred...
Goodbye my friend.
We offered him space inside with us, but he declined
I don’t know why… ?

I relieved him of the AK and magazines in case we find some ammo for it later.
Fred would have wanted it that way.
....
....
It is so quiet, with only the wind moving the trees and bushes.
A stifling hot breeze as in a convection oven.
It is an overcast night , threatening rain.
Perhaps it will cool things down and slow the putrefying of the corpses
....
....
There is no reason to stay here, and now every reason to leave.
This could have been prevented. The damage could have been minimized.
If we would have only studied the Carrington Event, and realized it's warnings.
But politics got in the way of reason again, and this is what it has wrought.
....
....
It is raining now, cooling the earth, but it is becoming oppressingly humid.
It feels...   almost tropical.
....
....
We are going to leave here soon, going to the Forest Service cabin.
 I had cached many years supply of food, vegetable seeds, and other gear near there in preparation of possible need. My wife laughed at me, but I did it anyway.
There is even a PVC Hoop-House kit for a greenhouse or shelter, along with many rolls of plastic for years of use.

There are food and water caches along the way, so our packs do not have to be so heavy as to slow us down.
It is over 50 miles away, but we should be able to make it in at least 5 days time.

Maybe.

I am loading us up with extra water anyway because of the heat.
It will go all too fast as it is.

We will travel by the forest trail, using the cover of night to remain unobserved by anyone else who might have survived.
....
....
The rain has stopped, the clouds are breaking up...
The moon, its changed; it’s a horrible green, a frightening sight at best.

We are leaving now, our pathway lit by eerie slivers of light.
Slivers of the Moon.

Publishing The Cache

I have decided to look into publishing the first 15 chapters as Volume One. I am exploring pricing and plan on including a prologue, as well as many small and large edits from the original online version.

I will be using Lulu at first, and maybe someone will notice it and "volunteer" to publish it for a wider audience.

Many of you have expressed a desire to purchase a printed copy, so my question to you my dear readers, is how many would like a print copy versus an e-book?

I will sell the print copies through my paypal account and will announce on this site when they are available. The price will be in large part dictated by the demand. I may even offer signed copies. The e-book version may be an Acrobat document, Kindle or whatever format seems best or most popular.

I have added a Poll to accumulate your choices, so please choose your format if you want to receive either of these.

Thanks for your continued interest in "The Cache" (pronounced "cash")