They say that the world will end with a bang, a loud noise that will tear apart the fabric of the great nations sitting across the globe. They say that the world will shake and spew magma down upon us all. They got it wrong. It does not start this way at all. The world, as it began to end, started silently. A small tear opened from deep down below, near the very center of the world and worked a long shambling path upwards until it pushed up and outwards, feeling the coolness of the winter air from high above.
The fissure itself appeared long and jagged, it appeared as a line almost as if three people had walked side by side by side together down a stretch of earth about 15 meters long. The snow dripped and fell into the crevasse as the sides of the new ravine and the new teutonic plate settled down into their new places. The fissure exposed only a long and dark pitch black nothingness that extended as far down to the core of the Earth as it was possible. Only a modest, and insignificant pin-prick of intensely bright yellow shone deep down near the core of the world. It was as if the world was admidst some growing pains and needed to somehow expand and stretch and grow the long steam of its spine starting down from the bottom and cracking it lengthwise up until the surface of the neck, which was seen as the exposed portion of the earth. The outermost part of the shell of the turtle’s back as it slowly shambles and making its way across the long highway of the Milky Way of the universe and galaxy.
A long, stunning, gorgeous, alluring plume of ghastly, gaseous smoke raised up out of the fissure. The sky above was a black canvas light only by tiny pinprick light of stars flickering in and out from high above. Evergreen trees, freshly dusted with a sprinkling with snow swayed lightly as a breeze shifted through the air. Freshly fallen snow also blanketed the ground, giving the dazzling light show a reflection, the perfect backdrop to shimmer across.
The lights danced across the sky as it mixed in with the oxygen and hydrogen and nitrogen that lived in the lower atmosphere of the world. Beautiful hues of magenta, emerald, cobalt blue, gold and silvers swirled and tapped across the sky, inching their way out from the fissure. At first only a small flow of magenta fluttered into the air, shyly moving from the ground and mixing slowly with the air until the air pushed it higher and farther from view. Then the fissure pushed out a stream of cobalt blue that got pushed out, almost as if it were a geyser, blasting the deep blue color directly into the winds stream heat that the air contained. Finally, like the whelping from a litter of kittens, a small but wide gush of emerald green hovered and slowly swayed from side to side as it zig-zagged its way to slowly join the other colors. As the three primary colors joined in oceans of swirling and circling, they clashed and collided together to create and form other amazing hues of violets, purples, silvers and golds.
The small, steady blurry cloud moved their way higher and higher into the air and split into ice-like diamonds that bounced gently across the top of the clouds before falling back down to the ground and melting back into the ground it was once safely tucked under. From start to finish, this process took all of a slow but steady fisfteen minutes and forty-seven seconds. And once it was done, the whole dance started again, as if the Earth sighed and was softly letting out a long, small whisper of prayer to the dark sky, the stars, and the planets that sat so far away from it.
It was late in the night, the sun having set many an hour ago. A small steading shhishing sound emitted from the fissure, barely audible, giving the already freezing evening a more dark and horrific feel to it. Nothing else was above ground or out along the ice. To do so would only mean certain death by either predators or the cold. No one noticed the dazzling smoke and light show as it began the nightly dance of painted color across the night sky.
This dance went on for hours and hours, and the moon passed high over the darkened sky, being the only witness to this new ecological phenomena. Soon, it grew tired as the lights shifted in and out of intricate patterns flowing in the sky. The morning light began to descend upon the northern sky for a small and brief appearance. While the light cast shadows among the trees, it barely affected the light show. In fact, it enhanced and caused the gasses and colors to appear even brighter. A white polar bear galloped across the ice, in search of holes that might provide it with sustenance for the day and those that followed it. It caught smell of the fissure and cautiously crept closely to the edge to see what beast might be inside. As it stepped closer and closer to the edge, the hair sitting on the back of the polar bear stood on edge and a low growl began to carve a path through the winding windpipes of inside of the bear from the belly to the mouth. It was not the sound of fear, or hatred, but a curious snort and throaty sound of warning and hesitancy. The moment it escaped the mouth of the bear, through long incisors and sharp fangs, the bear spun on the left and right haunches and galloped off in the opposite direction. It silently vowed never to return close to this edge and hoped that the cry of warning would have reached via echo location to hir companions and steer them away from this area. Something was amiss and the critters who lived next to or near this area would do well to keep away from the crack.
A lone prop-jet plane sped across the sky. The sun begun a slow descent for the evening and the evening winds kicked up, spinning and pushing the light show into new heights. The pilot gaped in amazement at the show happening outside his cockpit window. He looked at the star charts and flight paths wrapped in plastic and sitting on the seat next to him. Confinement spread across his face as he realized that it was too low and the wrong time of the year for the aurora borealis to appear so strongly. “What the hell,” he said,” This should not be happening in Washington State. Now here is one for the record and trivia books. Makes me wish that I had brought my camera along with me for the ride. Betty and the kids would have loved to have seen this. Darn them for not wanting to come out here on this run. Oh well, I guess it is their loss.” The pilot circled his plane three times just so he could maximize the time to watch the live-action paint show that God had decided to provide him with on this very special night. Once his curiosity and spiritual desires were satisfied, he sped off to finish his delivery run.
Word of the new light show slowly spread through word of mouth and the once abandoned wilderness near the backside of Mount Rainier became a popular autumn destination spot. People slowly trekked their way into the area via snowshoes, snowmobiles, and skis. They brought coffee and hot chocolate and the dogs and the children, as hardly anyone this low in the hemisphere had ever been fortuitous to bear witness to something as awesome as the aurora borealis. Children ran around making circles in the snow as they attempted to mimic the patterns made by the dancing colors wavering and moving high overhead. Couples held hands in one another as they felt the power of the world draw them closer together in the bonds of emotional caring. Everyone reveled in the amazement of mother nature. They were so captivated and enthralled that no one noticed the absence of sound from birds or beasts. They did not see or recognize the unsteadiness and the nervous behavior from the pets they brought with them. Dogs would stammer and step from left to right and mummer nervously in the snow. Some tugged at the lead the master placed around them, trying desperately to grab the attention of the person nearest to them, hoping they could get the two-legged to move away from the unnatural event.
Only two visitors came to the center of the newest heavenly show. Two park rangers huddled against one another in the sub-zero freezing temperatures. “This has been going on for the past two days now,” the smaller of the two rangers said, her voice trembling as she brought her fingers up to her face to breathe warm, moist air across them to keep the stealthy frigid air away from them. Soon more and more people came and that is when the Federal Park Rangers took notice.
It was late in the morning, on the third day that the fissure erupted forth from the deep below and started sending gasses up and out from the center of the world, when the familiar olive green trucks and Jeeps speed through the pavement only to bounce off into the mud and ice and snow on logging road number four hundred and sixty four for the next two hours. Jillian pushed a stray strand of hair out of her face as the crappy suspension and traction bobbed her body back and forth. Static called out from the truck’s walkie talkie, alerting her to the fact that she was now in radio silence territory. Nothing would be able to be reported back to headquarters if they had found anything. All she and her boss, Steven, knew was that a whole lot of people decided that Humble Campsite was a great winter destination spot, an location that had never drawn in many people in the thirty years the location had become a part of the forest service campsite string. Her bosses and the State Transportation, who feared that the logging road would send civilians unused to the harsh road conditions out in the back country, would soon find themselves trapped or worse, decided to send them over to “check things out.”
The temperature rose a few degrees, but the sun still refused to make an appearance for the day. Steve, who was sitting in the Jeep, leading the two of them to their destination, flashed his lights at Jillian. She sighed and hoped that the signal meant one thing. That they were close to their destination site where they could begin their day and figure out what was going on. The thick and dense trees opened up and the breathtaking sight caused Jillian to gasp and blink twice. Before her was a magnificent sight of colors and patterns. The sky seemed to be alive with the most vivid light show ever seen. “Damn, no wonder they are all so attracted to this location. That is so totally amazing. It is almost unreal. I have never seen anything like this before. I hope Steve is getting an eyeful of this.”
Soon after the Jeep pulled off the side of the road and powered down. Jillian pulled up beside the Jeep as far as she could off the logging road as she could. Now that the lights were dimmed they could experience the silent dance hovering over their heads.
Steve scratched his head and looked at Jillian. “I do not know what to make of it,” he said, shaking his head. “This is unreal. So unnatural. I have never seen this this far South. “Jillian, when did they say this started going on?”
“A pilot first reported it a few days ago, sir,” she said looking around. “They gather out there, and apparently the lights go on for some distance. What do you think is causing it?”
“Well, whatever it is… it is a bit unnerving. I have a bad feeling about this. Come on, lets grab the gear and set out. The sooner we can figure out what is going on, the better we will be able to tell Washington D.C. and figure out how to contain this. Word is getting out, and I am sure, more and more people will make the long-ass journey up here to see this. I will bet that this place is going to be a circus soon.”
Jillian nodded and slung the backpack over her shoulders. She hoped that they would figure out how to deal with this so that people could experience the phenomena safely.
