"Deliverance" by Shelba

Category: FTF fill-in. (Is Oilean a category?) A response to The Why Incision's "Gray Talking Heads" thread.

Archive. Yes to Ephemeral, Gossamer. Thanks to Enigmatic Dr for including it on her site. Don't know who else wants it, but feel free. Please keep my name and email attached.

Thanks to Carol for looking it over and telling me to cut it loose.
Thank you to the generous, talented cinvidiosa who has given
my fic a lovely home.

This is. . . odd. I had to get it outta my head. I blame those WI
folks. Hope you enjoy.

Let me know what you think.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The not-being was all we knew for ten thousand passes of
this world around the sun. The bone crushing cold lingered
through many of the world's cycles, but after an age, the cold
became less fearsome, yet still we lay, quiescent and deprived
of nourishment; trapped in the cool, silent dark.

Hunger was a thing unto itself. Calcium existed in only trace
amounts in the silica rich soil and was in an unusable form,
regardless of our need. Thin bands of a rare form of Iron
kept us trapped in a prison of crumbling sheets of stone,
desicated clay, and fine sand, so searching elsewhere was
not possible.

The few bipedal creatures who entered the cave had proven
to be too erratic to use as transportation; they were only a
temporary respite from hunger. Perhaps their minds were
too primitive, their culture too pugilistic. Other bipeds were
better suited; at times we could hear their minds, but they
didn't respond when we tried to lure them inside.

We could smell them. Their protein, calcium and iron
tantalized Us, but there was no way to reach the creatures
and eventually their voices faded away.

Some of our colony perished when ice first closed over the cave
opening; unable to hold on until the truncated warm seasons
brought small animals into the cave to provide nourishment.
Eventually, retreating ice sheets dropped boulders to cover
the entrance and even the small animals no longer were available.

Hunger ruled Our existence for centuries. Our hybernation
deepened, until finally the Food broke through the clay
firmament and fell among us. The lure of a calcium-rich
frame, the tang of iron, the rich musk of protein, roused Us
from Our long sleep. We awakened; all thought of escaping
our prison abandoned in our ravening quest for sustenance.

We surged up into the body of the Food. For the first time
in ten thousand years we feasted on sweet protein and bitter
iron. Above, we could sense more food which scittered away,
their minds transmitting terror, but then they returned, bringing
more food.

We would never be hungry again.

We would be free to reach for the stars.

Fin

Thanks for reading!