Young Tim
1896 - Five Miles Outside of Silt
Young Tim is between being busy with the animals and being busy with the crops, so in between in fact he is napping when the explosion happens. To say he jumped out of his skin would imply a much greater use of kinetic energy than he is capable of. Instead, he stands up, scratches his head and his balls, and climbs out of the hay he's been roosting in. He emerges from his nest in such a way that he seems to exist in contrast to the chaos the farm has become. As the other farmhands try to calm the livestock and each other, Young Tim eases towards the general direction of the explosion.
Had Young Tim been a more observant person he might have noticed the stillness in the forest, the way the trees have gradually become more bare as he presses forward, how the birds, bugs, and critters are silent, that is if they even continue to exist. To others, the silence would have resonated as clearly as a church bell on a Sunday morning, to Young Tim the lack of ambient noise is little more than a dull feeling in the pit of his stomach, something he chalks up to Ma's cooking.
Young Tim is familiar enough with this part of the forest. He had, on occasion, sneaked down into the shade of the old oaks and maples when the barn ceased to be a suitable spot for napping. He suspects a still has blown up and that some shiner is hopping mad right now, assuming they aren't dead of course. He chuckles at the thought as he makes his way along the game trails.
He keeps on walking through the woods, not knowing exactly where he's going and not particularly caring, he isn't even aware of his movements, he's simply following his feet. His feet eventually lead him to the top of a ravine. The earth below is scorched for miles in every direction. From where he stands the forest nearest to Silt resembles a cigarette burn in a tablecloth. Something in the middle is smoking, the air smells foul, a little like stagnant water, a little like rotten eggs, and a little more like death.
Despite the smell, the scorched earth, and the lack of life for miles around, Young Tim presses onward. He slides down the embankment and follows the creek toward Silt, making his way into the valley. He heads towards what he figures used to be the coal mine, each step is slower and more difficult than the last. The only thing more labored than his movement is his breathing. He considers turning around and heading back, but the ravine looks awfully steep, and Young Tim has suddenly become awfully tired. He finds a bear-sized mound of ash that looks like a pile of goose down, the largest he's ever seen. He trudges over to lie down; collapsing into the pile, it’s not quite as soft as he expected but it’s soft enough for him.
As Young Tim drifts off to sleep for the final time, he becomes aware of a burning sensation in his lungs and a pounding in his temples that gets slower as his vision blurs. He would have had to fight to stay awake but that's never been a fight Young Tim had any desire to win.
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