Atop the Hill

The goblins were still coming up and over the ledge at the same rate as before. It was clear that the men were running dry on ammo, and we were going to have to retreat.

I got in the driver's seat of a flatbed truck and put it in reverse. Maneuvering it over to the edge, I slammed on the horn to get their attention. The women, children, and elderly were the first to be packed away on the back of the truck. Then the men who were still firing their guns at the impending horde. Adam was the last to come out.

Quickly hopping in the passenger's seat, Adam yelled, "Drive!"

I stepped on the gas full throttle swerving around the abandoned vehicles littering the streets.

The kids were crying and screaming in the back.

Adam shook his head and started cursing, "God fucking dammit!"

I asked, "What happened?"

"They killed him. They threw spear straight through his—!"

His words caught in his throat.

I kept my eyes on the road and drove in silence.

I wanted to get us to a mountain that I use to hike up as a kid. I desperately needed to get a good vantage point on the surrounding area, and that was where I would find it.

***

Maybe thirty minutes later, I manage to navigate our party out to the foot of the mountain. Only then did Adam start asking questions.

"What the hell are we doing out here, man?!"

"There is an open field at the top that gives a clear view of the surrounding area for miles. We need to haul our asses up there and see what's going on."

Adam gave a confused look and stammered, "W-Why?"

I looked at him and declare, "I think I know what's going on, what with the ravine, but I need to make sure."

"What do you mean?"

I ignored his question and asked, "do you have binoculars?"

"Y-Yes."

"Give them to me."

I held out my hand for him to give them to me. He in turn pulled them out of his coat pocket and hand them to me.

I looked at him and said, "You and I are going up that hill."

"O-Okay."

Opening the door, I stepped out of the truck.

"Tell your men to drive the truck somewhere safe. Preferably an open field away from mountains where nothing is likely to fall on them. Then once you've done that, come find me up the hill."

Adam had a dumbfounded expression at hearing my orders.

"I-I don't get it—"

"It doesn't matter. You'll soon find out. Just do it."

With an awkward nod, he replied, "O-Okay. Will do."

I nodded back and turned to run the trail up the mountain. As I did so, Adam stepped out of the car and ordered his men to drive out into the cornfield without him.

Looking back forward, I began sprinting up the path as fast I could, without stopping for even a second.

If what I thought I was about to see was what I did end up seeing, then there was a high chance that a massive earthquake was about to happen.

Vaulting over fallen evergreen pines blocking the path, I eventually arrived at the top and wasted no time pulling out the binoculars.

"One there, there, there, there, there… It's as I thought."

The earth had been cracked apart like a shattered ball of glass. Wherever I looked, there were segmented interconnected ravines that stretched off and over the horizon.

From out of these ravines monsters and beasts, both big and small, floated up and onto to the surface. Dragons, wiverns, and massive birds cluttered the skies in even greater numbers than before. Megalithic golems stomped around on the surface, crushing buildings under their massive, chiseled stone feet. Little battles broke out between monsters of different breeds, wherever you looked.

I know I should've felt terrified from seeing all of this, and yet I felt nothing…

Except for guilt.

"H-Hey, what's going on, man! Why are we doing all of this!"

Adam arrived, walking up beside me.

I handed him the binoculars and said, "See for yourself."

Grabbing them out of my hands, he began looking back at the neighborhood we had to ditch.

"What the hell?"

Exhaling a deep breath, I mentioned, "It's not just relegated to that area either. You can see it in every direction you look, well off and into the distance."

He pivots around like a camera on a swivel.

"You're right."

He dropped the binoculars to his side and sat on a tree stump.

I sat on the ground beside him and asked, "Do you remember the thing the System said right before the ravine opened up?"

He looked back at me and replied, "World Shatter initialized, or something or other."

I closed my eyes shut and said, "I thought It said something like that."

"So, it's safe to assume this is World Shatter then?"

"I'd say so."

Adam chuckled and did a mock story narrator voice, saying, "I witnessed the earth crack open its mouth and breathe new life."

I picked up a stone, tossed it down the mountainside.

"What do you think will happen when they stop floating out of those ravines?" I questioned him.

Adam tilted his back head while thinking.

"I don't really know. How would I know?"

I clicked my tongue and retorted, "I don't know either, but I'd reason to guess this World Shatter thing might just stop as far as the shattering part goes. And, if that happens… Well, I'm sure you can figure out the rest."

"I see."

We sat in silence for the next few minutes, collecting our thoughts.

Adam ran a finger through the dirt and asked, "How devastating do you think it'll be then?"

I shook my head responded, "I have no idea. It's videogame bullshit, after all. It could magically close itself together as gracefully as a falling feather for all I know."

"Or?" he questioned.

"Or it could be apocalyptically devastating."

He looked down to the ground and rested a hand atop his head.

"Shit, that's scary to think about."

I looked over and patted him on the back, saying, "Whatever happens, it's safest for us if we get off this mountain."

"Right."