Crush Story
Matthew Ryan Fischer
In that brief moment while it happened, but before Amos actually
began to panic, his passing thought was that it seemed a little like stepping
in soft snow. There was even a little bit of the same crunching sound that
happened as snow crushed. His foot pressed against the earth and it sank,
almost exactly like it would have if the ground had been fresh snow. It was
like there was no resistance at first. As his step continued the ground finally
compacted enough so as to create the necessary buildup of resistance and
compression to stop his foot from sinking any further. It was weird. He hadn’t
expected this to happen. He had allowed for the chance that something would be
different, but he hadn’t thought of this.
No one ever said that World Hopping was safe or easy. Each world
had its own kinks and peculiarities. Each dimension was just a little bit
different and the rules were never quite the same. Amos of course knew all of
this. A Hopper was very well versed in the dangers of his trade. There were
safety measures in place and exact protocols to be followed to ensure that what
a Hopper was leaping into wasn’t an instant deathtrap. The software allowed for
a large range of flexibility in the numbers between safe and death trap.
Amos always stood still for a moment when he first arrived. It was
more instinct than training. It was as if his body always knew something was
off and needed a moment to properly adjust and get its bearings. But not this
time. This time in, Amos instantly took a step forward. He wasn’t sure why. He
didn’t have time to think about it. The ground sank beneath his weight and his
mind was instantly off to other thoughts.
His not standing still in order to readjust was out of the
ordinary. His sinking into ground was out of the ordinary and extremely
troubling. He knew which took precedence.
It wasn’t bad. Not yet anyway.
Amos looked back at his tracks. It didn’t take a lot to notice the
problem. His path was well marked. His progression was documented and plain to
see. The steps were getting closer and closer as he was slowing down. The foot
impressions were getting deeper and deeper. The first step was maybe a
centimeter. The next might have been two-thirds of an inch. But their depth was
growing. Quickly. Amos realized this was going to be a big problem.
His body had told him to move. Somehow he knew he had to move. He
couldn’t stand still. He was heavy. He was dense. Or maybe the gravity was off.
He didn’t have time to properly contemplate all the possible differences. The
rules were different just enough and the world wasn’t going to be able to
handle him walking around for very long.
Hopping was never instantaneous. There was a proper process to the
equipment – steps to be followed in a long arduous order. There wasn’t one
switch to be flipped. There were dozens. And they had to be done in the right order.
There were coordinates to be set and cross-dimensional regulations to be
determined. There were safety measures and tests to be run. There were many
many steps. And they were all important. Important to the mechanical process
and to ensuring his survival upon arrival on the next world.
Amos didn’t have time for safety measures and regulations. Each
step was deeper than the previous. His shoulders felt heavy. His spine was
compressing. He was sure he would be shorter if he could make it off this
planet alive. His head hurt and he wondered if his skull was pressing down on
his brain.
It was not a good situation and it was getting worse far too
quickly.
Amos skipped as many steps and he could. He flipped switches and
pressed buttons with less and less attention to detail. His concern was not in
doing a good job.
The steps were deeper and deeper. Amos was reduced to a slow
trudge. Lifting his legs became harder and harder. His body was becoming dead
weight. His entire foot up to his ankle was now below the surface. He was
beginning to panic. He was tired and wanted to collapse. He wanted to stand
still and just sink. His bones hurt and felt brittle. He thought he would snap
if he wasn’t careful. He was afraid it was almost the end.
Amos had no other choice. He skipped every step and pressed the
button. He didn’t know what to expect. He could be hopping into an instant
death. But the unknown was the only chance he had. The known was going to crush
him very very soon.
He pressed the button.
And in an instant he was gone.
The tracks he left in his wake were the only evidence he had been
there at all.
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