Awakening, Pt. 1 of 10. by Nightwalker50, literature
Literature
Awakening, Pt. 1 of 10.
Somewhere in the empty outlands . . .
A large dust devil blew rapidly across a dry field, stealing topsoil with each relentless spiral, before moving into the open pasture and disappearing from sight over a distant hill with its priceless treasure. Ernest Cranway, the owner of the area of parched Earth, slowly shook his head in disgust as the uncanny thief scattered his precious soil all about where he did not want it. Soon afterward, it diminished - perhaps to do its random dirty work somewhere else, and he turned his old truck onto an adjacent field where his son and other farmhand were waiting for him to return a
Awakening, Pt. 2 of 10. by Nightwalker50, literature
Literature
Awakening, Pt. 2 of 10.
Ernest started the tractor and emptied its heavy load into the truck before they resumed the difficult monotonous job. Both of them had their individual styles to make it less boring as they refilled the bucket behind them. Micheal would often see how much he could lift at once or throw into it in various ways, while Terrence examined the stones one at a time for the second or two he held them, looking for fossils or pondering their origin. Most of the rock was heavy, high-density pseudo-quartzite with broken jagged edges - material that used to be fine thick mud in a different age long-gone, where swampy forests grew in. Impr
Awakening, Pt. 3 of 10. by Nightwalker50, literature
Literature
Awakening, Pt. 3 of 10.
Ernest carefully drove the truck with more ease back across the creek and out of the cozy valley. He and Terrence speculated on how the planted crops would grow in the coming summer and about the many variables that affected them and their very lives. It was a common dialogue between both of them and much of the locals because the conditions were so dynamic in comparison to the area economy. With their strength spent for the day, each went eagerly to their pleasant country homes to rest aching muscles and enhance a new similar curiosity.
What was certain of farm life or any other of hard work or drudgery was that i
Awakening, Pt. 4 of 10. by Nightwalker50, literature
Literature
Awakening, Pt. 4 of 10.
When Jane reached Terrence's location, he watched her get out of the pick-up truck, put a few small tools in the repair box attached to the side of the farmhand tractor, and walk closer to him. She appeared to be doing some kind of work outside too, by the way she was dressed: blue jeans that were patched and faded, old boots, a cap, and a plain light windbreaker. According to size, she was tall and kept strong by an active lifestyle, like some kind of prairie amazon. Although her body had a fine attractive structure, resisting time well, her face was more ordinary, with a small nose, large wide mouth that enhanced her every sm
Awakening, Pt. 5 of 10. by Nightwalker50, literature
Literature
Awakening, Pt. 5 of 10.
Terrence had resumed enlarging his piles of rock when he heard two vehicles honk their horns at each other. After standing straight again, he saw Ernest and Micheal returning with the truck and Jane parking her vehicle briefly beside it. Then, he knew obeying her request would not be necessary. When one person told someone else to do something later and both subsequently did it themselves afterward without each other's knowledge, a temper tantrum of considerable magnitude flared somewhere on the place. Fortunately, that would not happen this time, but occasional poor communication was not the only cause for frustration there.
Awakening, Pt. 6 of 10. by Nightwalker50, literature
Literature
Awakening, Pt. 6 of 10.
A three year drought caused by a combination of an active Sun and a warmer than normal Earth baked the high plains region in summer and freeze-dried it in winter. Most of the many corporation-owned farms about were put out of production almost entirely the last two of those oppressive years, but only their favorable location beside low Lake Mannigan, plus their best cooperation to maximize efficiency with care, kept them in business. Prices for the needed crops were very good to say the least. A century ago, Ernest's family looked a severe drought in the eye on and above the land; he intended to carry on the tradition without b
Awakening, Pt. 7 of 10. by Nightwalker50, literature
Literature
Awakening, Pt. 7 of 10.
All of the three concerned farm workers confronting the impending wrath of the frightening storm recognized how well it had to be respected when they were finally racing toward their homes for cover, like scared rabbits from a prairie fire. The front of it was an almost black surrealistic shelf cloud that surged toward them, rising higher above the western horizon and steadily devouring the entire countryside in a thick, deep-gray wall of violence. It seemed as if they were being drawn into the mouth of some huge ferocious monster, to be swallowed by a deluge of unknown proportion and duration.
"I'll never understan
Awakening, Pt. 8 of 10. by Nightwalker50, literature
Literature
Awakening, Pt. 8 of 10.
It was dark outside and quiet when Terrence opened his eyes again. The small wagon wheel clock on the paneled wall showed a half hour before midnight, and he stretched before switching on the radio on top of the large television to attempt to catch some news. However, it was still emitting much static, with only more disgusting noises he never heard of before. After turning it off, he stepped outside to see the most likely reason why.
The immense billowy thunderheads that stormed over the whole area hours earlier were spread across the eastern third of the beautiful starry sky and constantly flickering with lightni
Awakening, Pt. 9 of 10. by Nightwalker50, literature
Literature
Awakening, Pt. 9 of 10.
Three days instead of just one were required to fully assess the extent of the storm's destruction on the entire area of the farm, and only by the late afternoon of the fourth were they ready to work in the field again. They spent the time clearing the debris from the farmyard, repairing the house more, and restoring washed out dirt and gravel roads. The bigger jobs would be left for later, mostly structural damage. Surprisingly, their place did not take the worst beating. The weather had since been moist and seasonable, and if any crops needed to be replaced or cultivated, it would importantly show now, after a tense waiting
Awakening, Pt. 10 of 10. by Nightwalker50, literature
Literature
Awakening, Pt. 10 of 10.
They spent much of the following day driving about the countryside checking the fields and range monitors and the growth of wild weeds. It was only then when Terrence could really notice the pronounced change in color of the landscape, from brown to various hues of green. The lighter form of the color was caused by the native short grass, and scattered trees and patches of dwarf shrubs, and creeping juniper accounted for the richer dark hue. In the distance, the empty rolling terrain appeared to be like a wrinkled splotched blanket connected to the patchwork of the cultivated fields at one side; they could see that for the firs