I had never experienced an earthquake before in my entire life.
That was the one thought that ran through my confused mind. As the earth shook, I desperately tried to secure the most important items in my room. Like my LCD TV and consoles. However, through the constant nausea inducing vibrations, the foundation of my room cracked apart, and the roof sagged inwards.
"Oh damn!"
My heart was beating at a furious pace as I realised that staying in here was not a good idea. Since residential buildings in Soweto weren't really built to withstand earthquakes, the foundations were crumbling and my room would fall soon. Fighting against shifting gravity, I made my way to the door which stood ajar and hanging from a solitary hinge. The doorframe was dangerously bent, sagging under the weight of the crumbling roof.
I belatedly remembered how I had learnt in primary school that during an earthquake, one should find shelter under a sturdy table. Too late for that now.
I grabbed a pair of sneakers close to the door and, with a desperate lunge, dived outside just as the roof fully collapsed. The sound of falling bricks and fizzing electronics filled my ears as I slowly backed away from the ruins of my prized possessions. My games. My beautiful great games. Something blew up within the rubble and the smell of acrid smoke filled the vicinity.
"I have to get away from here." I muttered, gritting my teeth resolutely. The houses around me were coming down and I wouldn't be safe in this area.
I continued in a half crawl half jog, making my way out of the yard, only to be greeted by a more desperate scene.
The air was filled with the screams of terrified people. Others tried to run to safety while others crouched down with their heads between their knees, just screaming. These shrieks mingled with the sounds of falling debris and blaring car alarms to create a chaotic cacophony of sound.
As I watched a woman running across the road, her arms flailing in the air, her mouth open in a scream that was lost to the multitude of noise, a vehicle suddenly appeared from the fog behind her and slammed into her body, before crashing into the other cars that were piling up on the streets.
I didn't want to see the outcome, so I looked away and started moving again. I didn't know where I was going, my mind was a jumbled mess of irrational thoughts. The streets were already congested with busted vehicles and the stench of petrol mixed with the aura of intense terror in the atmosphere.
Before I could even think of what to do next, a car situated in a pile up, approximately 6 metres away from me, had caught fire and decided to explode at that moment. The incredibly loud booming noise reverberated in the air and I witnessed the people close to the carnage get thrown like ragdolls in different directions. The fierce heat scorched the vicinity and even took my breath away for a minute. I could feel the bile rising in my throat at the carnage.
The domino effect was nearly instantaneous as the cars surrounding the wreckage caught on fire and started going off like fireworks on New Year's Day. The resounding blasts of explosions caused the atmosphere to vibrate with heat.
Turning back, I ran the opposite direction and tried to make my way through the throng of screaming people. The wildly undulating earth made for precarious footing but I forced myself through the throng of bodies and, thanks to my skinny frame, managed to escape the vicinity as the resounding explosions continued behind me.
The terror on the faces of the humans cramped around me was real. I hated crowds but at that very moment, I was afraid too. I felt my body itching under the numb throb of my adrenaline pumping heart. My mind desperately tried to grasp at some semblance of sense in this sea of confusion.
I turned onto a sidewalk, moving away from the congested crowd of people. Space opened up as there were hardly any people running through this path. It was situated between two double storey houses though so I had to move quickly.
I shot forward, my legs having gotten used to the violent swaying of the earth. I made it to the exit of the path and proceeded to run straight down the middle of the road. I didn't know where I was going yet. I just wanted to get away from here. Away from the scared humans so I could grab a moment to gather my thoughts. People were still wildly running around and the streets were starting to fill with various still bodies. Many of them missing limbs or crushed and torn beyond recognition.
Suddenly, the ground before me cracked open and I had to skid to a stop. While I thought of changing my escape route, I was frozen still by what occured next.
The ground seemed to bulge where the crack had appeared on the road. It gradually swelled like a balloon. Before I could make head or tails of the situation, a crimson glowing rock emerged from below the ground. It violently cracked the tar as it gradually rose and I watched in shock as it forced it's way into the open air.
A mountain was literally erupting from beneath the ground.
This was something that failed to make sense to me. It seemed as if the natural laws of physics weren't holding true right now. Reality was tearing apart. Realising I would be upturned with the now deconstructing street, I changed my direction and ran to the right. I glanced behind me and saw the mountain now towering and blocking my view.
The tremors were somewhat less violent so I made good headway. I had a destination in mind. Especially after witnessing the scene before, I knew where I needed to go.
A few moments later, using the falling houses as landmarks, I dodged the cracks opening up the earth in various places and ran towards an open sports field. I saw a group of people standing there as well. At a quick count, there was about 10 of them. Seemed like I wasn't the only one who thought that open space was the best choice right now. Less debris falling on me.
When I made it to the field I finally slowed down and tried to catch my breath. The earth continued to tilt beneath my feet and I turned to look back at the houses behind me. Once again, I stood frozen as I tried to make sense of what I was seeing.
Mountains were growing out of the ground in various places. Literally growing to beyond skyscraper height. They all had various glowing peaks. The highest one, which was dotted with a red peak, reached the clouds in it's grand stature. However it wasn't just the mountains.
The trees and plants ,too, seemed to be alive. They shook and fanned themselves, growing larger. The trunks of various trees thickened and the roots unfurled violently as they pushed the trees up higher and higher still.
I could not believe my vision. I closed my eyes tightly and counted to five, noting that the earthquake was finally dying down, before I opened them to look more clearly at the madness.
The various usually small and delicate plants now stood at knee height. They also, like the mountain peaks, seemed to glow with an ethereal light. The grass beneath my feet grew lush and thick and I amazedly watched the blades crawl higher.
The earth finally gave it's last shrug, as if proclaiming it didn't know what had occured either, before falling still again. My body still felt the effects of the violent swaying and I ended up falling flat on my behind due to my imbalanced senses and my utter surprise.
The world has changed.
In the space of approximately half an hour, the land had literally transformed itself. Nature at large had undergone a strange evolution.
Where once stood multiple residential buildings, were now gigantic trees and equally enlarged shrubs and bushes, swaying in the night breeze. The leaves that fell to the ground were the size of a newborn infant.
The scenery was further enhanced by the ethereal glow, different in color, but emanating from everything before me. The grass had a dim green glow, while the plants portrayed their hues in their entirety against the backdrop of a strangely bright night.
Terra formation.
A spark of realisation shot through my brain as I remembered a term I'd heard spoken in an FPS game, Guns of War. In the game, an alien species called Locusts changes the Earth to make it more inhabitable for them in the hopes of driving humanity to extinction so Locusts would rule the land. That process, through which they spill toxins into the atmosphere that gradually transformed the environment, was called terra formation.
Earth had terra formed.
I felt my heart jumping wildly again at the thought. Not out of joy. This was the cold grip of confusion.
What could've brought this about? The change in nature and this...buzzing feeling in the air. What does it mean?
Indeed, the air resonated with a silent feeling of excitement. As if it was stifling a laughter, the atmosphere trembled with a strange essence. I could feel my body rubbing against it. I didn't know how else to explain it. If pressed to describe it, I would say it felt as if an energy in the atmosphere had gained structure and presence. As if I could actually hold it with my hands.
With my heart threatening to jump out of my chest and collapse, I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. I raised my head and scanned my fantastical surroundings.
My eyes met the group of people behind me, all standing in open-mouthed shock, staring at the sight before them. They looked how I felt, and for that moment, the realistic nature of their expressions eased my anxiety, even if it was only a little.
At least the humans were still acting pretty human. That being said, their confusion was expected. Pretty soon, questions would arise. People would want to find the reason behind this event. Now, if there's one thing I hate the most, it is confused people who will immediately latch onto the smartest string of words without any critical thinking. That being said...
I stood up and instantly began moving. I didn't want to get caught up in talking with them over things I was yet to figure out myself. It would be a waste of valuable time right now.
"Hey... wait." a voice called behind me.
Darn it.
I turned around and noticed the vacant gaze of a frail looking young lady. She started moving towards me slowly. The floral dress she wore dragged across the glowing plants, causing a rush of small glowing particles around her.
"Can we...are you just... gonna go?" she stuttered.
Waste of time.
"Yeah. I just don't feel like standing out here and staring at this isn't going to do much to help me understand what is happening. You guys have fun." I explained and turned around, walking away. I was keeping a nonchalant tone but I could feel my own fear bubbling inside me.
"Wait...hey. Wait." she called out.
Not a chance.
I continued moving towards my evolved part of town, leaving the shocked group behind. I knew my own place didn't exist anymore, and judging by the current scenic route, a lot of buildings probably didn't exist anymore.
Looking around as I walked the once familiar streets, I finally calmed down and started analysing the situation.
It seems Africa had experienced a reality altering earthquake. The land had transformed, and people had died. Already, this sounded like the opening narrative of a survival game.
I also noticed that while all the lights were off, it wasn't really dark. The moon seemed to shine with an unreal intensity, bathing everything around me in its ivory glow. Adding to that the new and improved glowing luminosity of nature, it was easy to traverse the evolved terrain. Since the lights were off though, I took it there was no electricity. Then I thought of my phone and desperate tapped my pockets.
I found it in the right pocket of my jeans and checked it. The screen was scratched but not cracked. I breathed a sigh of relief and tried to unlock it. However, no matter how much I pressed the power button, it didn't display anything. I knew it wasn't damaged. It had been operational just minutes before the earthquake. Which meant...
"Nooooo no no no no." I muttered in dismay. It seemed the electrical grid was down. Added to that, technology might also not be operational. My first clue was the cars polluting the streets. None of their lights or alarms were operating. No streetlights or robots either and no sound of anything electronic in the air.
"Shit. This is getting more troublesome, isn't it." I groaned and continued walking. My plan was to go and find my younger brother. I had decided on that while running from the earlier group of gawkers. Their shock made me think of what my brother's face would look like right now. Since I couldn't call him or anyone close to him, I had to physically search for him.
Anele was the youngest of my two brothers from my mother's second marriage. Well, I think it was her second. Anyway, the boy was currently 15 and had our mother's joyful face. He was a positive young lad who always welcomed my sight with open arms and a wide smile. Right now, my priority was to make sure he was safe.
"I hope you're okay, little bro." I prayed as I trekked through the night.