Endless March

The human swam furiously towards land and light. He no longer felt safe in the waters. Not with the stalking presence of the enemy. As he closed in on the shore, he thrust his head out of the water gasping for air. Relieved and disoriented in equal measure, he paddled his way across to the land. The human fell to his knees as soon as he felt solid ground under his feet. Breathless and bleary eyed, he panted hysterically. A few cycles of breaths later, he began to regain his composure. Standing up, he looked back at the seas and wondered if he had escaped the danger. A chill shot up his spine. The human started running. 

He cursed himself for entertaining such a delusion. Not even the briefest of moments could be sacrificed if he hoped to outrun his attacker. 

He ran straight into the jungle. The atmosphere engulfed him as he made his way deeper into the heart of the wild. Wind rustled the green leaves of the tall trees on either side of him. The chirping of the birds, the buzzing insects, the hissing of snakes and waterfalls. He took it all in. The multitude of all the sights, smells, and sounds awakened him. His survival instincts were on fire. He felt territorial, wanting nothing more than to stake a claim in this violent paradise. The jungle tugged at his inner spirit. It claimed it was home. But it wasn't strong enough to keep him there. Dangerous predators lurked all around him but the one on his trail was far deadlier than in anything in the jungle. He kept running.

Without a destination in mind, letting chance guide him, he stormed ahead, leaving the wild in his wake. After a while, he came upon a large settlement. Rows of huts stood bunched up together surrounded by a makeshift grid. The uniformity in style and execution was pleasing to the eye. The straw roofs almost lulled him into a false sense of security. He wondered if it would be safer to hide inside one of the huts but dismissed the thought almost instantly. Running was the only course of action, he reasoned. As he tried to steel his resolve, doubts began to creep in. What would happen when he could no longer run?

The settlement stretched for a long distance. As he ran past it, he saw every kind of tool imaginable. There were dusty stone tablets that recorded laws and transactions. Astrolabes and timepieces. Mallets and melting pots. There was also every kind of weapon. From blood stained swords to large mechanical monstrosities that hurled projectiles, any form of death could be chosen. Perhaps he could fight back, he thought. Blast a cannonball as a warning shot. At the very least he could set ablaze the whole area, putting a line of fire between him and the one that chased him. Planning the death of his foe was a welcome distraction. He briefly forgot about the blinding pain in his knees. It was a brief moment of being in control and it was something he desperately needed. He was fully aware that this digression had slowed him down, but it was worth it. For he found his second wind.

In a sudden burst of fury, he ran forward without pause. He ran past green farmlands and blood-soaked battlefields. Past pristine white palaces and grey stone statues of historical figures that towered over everything. He ran through bright parliamentary buildings and through dull giant factories. He slipped on rain battered streets, and he left footprints in the snow. The cold weather turned warm. Flowers bloomed and wilted. Life evolved and went extinct around him. Day turned to night, weeks turned to months, and years turned to centuries. But he would not stop. Or rather, he could not stop. 

Eventually, the human’s body and mind started to collapse. The end was near. Fear took hold of him. In a moment of desperation, he cried out to the one chasing him. He pleaded despite knowing the cold and unforgiving nature of his foe. It was a hopeless cause. There would be no bargaining. It was time to trade control for clarity.

He decided to let go.  

He slowed down to a jog, and soon after he was walking. He looked at the world around him. So much had changed and yet everything was remarkably the same. The artificial structures that had risen and fallen had now receded back into the earth again where they mingled with bones of every creature that had once breathed on the planet. Thunder rolled in the sky. A few raindrops fell on the human's face. He looked up and saw the clouds gathering together to cast a shadow over him. The darkness was comforting. He closed his weary eyes and strolled ahead.

He inhaled deeply, letting the air fill his lungs and exhaled gently expelling all the pain. He felt another lifetime pass in the space of that one breath. And then he began to hear it. Percussive rhythms played on drums echoed all around him. They were getting progressively louder. Triumphant horn sections joined in accompanying the drums. A tune of defiance was marching its way through the air. The human began to bob his head to the music. His shoulders swayed, and he tapped his feet like a metronome to the beat. He was no longer moving forward but he wasn’t standing still either. It didn’t occur to him that such a state existed. 

Inside, a tumultuous storm of emotions pulled and pushed him in every direction.

A mild euphoria filled his entire being. But there was also a longing for a past he had never lived but still somehow seemed within reach. The guilt would have been overwhelming were he not tired from running away for so long. And finally, there was a yearning for the end of everything. He reflected on the conflicting nature of his thoughts and accepted them. If only he could turn around and go back to the oceans with all that he had learnt so he could do it all over again, but better.

He stopped. 

The arrow struck him almost instantly. The human dropped down to the ground lifeless. 

Time, however, marched on.