“GOLD!” Sükh cried. He dashed forwards but before he could make even his second step the
eagle… morphed. The sand roiled into the shape of an enormous Gobi bear. Standing on it’s hind
legs, it was the ten foot tall embodiment of fear. Falling on it’s front paws it let loose a roar which
shook the mountain. A whirlwind of sand blasted Sükh, sending him to his knees. Ria threw her
arms forwards, trying to protect Alex and herself from the rage of the primordial beast. Through
her blurry vision, she saw Sükh stand up and move towards the beast.
“You’re nothing more than sand!” Sükh screamed at the beast, howling his own onslaught
towards the creature. Eventually his profanity must have affected the creature somehow as it shut
its cavernous mouth.
Swish, swash, dip.
Sükh took a step forwards, before he fell back down, his legs like lead. The beast was nothing
more than a hair’s breadth away from him. Hypnotised –and scared– Sükh lay there, inextricably
drawn to the bear’s eyes. Swish, swash, dip. The enormous globes of bronze stared at him. As he
met the creature’s gaze, it changed.
Sükh was no longer in the desert. He was in the city, in a penthouse at the top of a building,
extravagant skyscrapers surrounding him. Yet as he looked on, it was all eroding away. The glass
shattering away into sand, the great towers decomposing into the consuming silt. His penthouse
was gone, nothing more than a couple of grains in the swirling mass of powder. A twister of the
likes the world had never seen. The vile, poisonous darkness in Sükh could do nothing to protect
him from the unassailable power of nature.
Swish, swash, dip.
Sükh was gone. Ria stood in shock. Both Sükh and the sand abnormality had simply vanished,
dissolving into sand before being blown away. Just as she was about to investigate –her scientist
brain burning with curiosity– Alex stirred. She hauled him across the last few metres into the dark
hole in the mountainside, until even she gave way to exhaustion and dumped him on the ground.
She frowned; the ground seemed to be… shimmering? Looking up, she realized that this was
no mere cave. It was the carved-out inside of the mountain. The shining substance that was on
the ground was on the walls and even the ceilings. It was… gold. Her eyes glowed with wonder.
An armour of gold covered the enclosure while fat globules of the stuff trickled down the walls
like heavenly rain. “Alex,” she whispered, barely able to restrain her amazement at the stunning
spectacle before her. Alex, his eyes still closed, mumbled in confusion, “What’s that sound.” Ria
tilted her head, unable to pick up any sound. “Listen,” he murmured, and then she heard it.
An endless cycle repeated over and over again.
Swish, swash, dip.
