Dopecentury X --- Thuh Kross ing (I)
This short fiction is part of Dopecentury, an experimental project where I attempt to channel the aural aesthetics of Dopesmoker into written text. (Dopesmoker is the legendary stoner-doom metal masterpiece by the band Sleep, of which it is said: “the monotony rarely becomes tedious.”) My plan is to listen to the single hour-long track of Dopesmoker while writing each of these “Dopecentury” entries. And repeat that 100 times. See the Dopecentury project page for more details.
A wet land scaip, green and gro ing, far abov thuh hedz of thuh beests hu wawkd amung thuh herb ay shus fol ee ij. But thuh green groth end id at thee feeld ov rok and mud. Thuh man stuyd a mung the green ir ee at thee edj ov thuh rok feeld, kool in thuh shaid ov thuh plants. Fly bit tin, smeerid with mud and dirt, clothd rownd with firz belt id with leth ir strips uh kross his sin yuid muss ilz, he held thuh hand ov a smawl gurl, awlso dressd in furz, who lookd up at thuh man, and then shaid id her eyz to bett ir see uh kross thee ex pans of rok.
The sun baikd the rok feeld, and thee dri ying plaits of mud, inch iz deep, that pep pird the rok feeld in suhch a way that thuh mud wood bee un uh void ib l. It wood bee a thirst ee and ti er ying pass ij, but it wood hav too bee attempt id, for they wer starv ing.
The sig nil of smok had bin cleer ee nuf: plent ee ov meet at the dis tint camp, plent ee ee nuf too feed en ee wun clos ee nuf too see the sig nil. But thuh camp was neer ly as dis tint as it cood bee frum thuh man and gurl. It ree kwi erd a lawng march thru daen jir us ter rain. But thuh man had not eet in in dayz. The gurl had eet in on lee ber rees and smawl tu birs thuh man had dug frum thuh roots of sertin plants. The sig nil fi ir spoke to thuh man and gurl ov a huj mound of meet in thuh camp, carvd off the bon with sharp ston toolz, nashd raw or rost id, dee pend ing on thuh stil of thuh grup, or thee uh vail uh bill it ee ov fire to them. It did not mat tir, the man new the gurl need id meet. He need id meet. So thay wood kross the baik ing plain of rok.
Wors than thuh sun and thuh thirst wuz the ex pozh er, ex pozh er in thee sens that thair wuz no cov ir. Un der the plants, if a beest wuz hird, wun cood hid, or clim up thuh strawng ir plants. Owt on thuh rok, a beest could cum char jing frum any sid. There wuz no owt run ing the beests that uzed speed to hunt. The man felt thai wood be lit l mor than eezy prai. But thai wer starv ing. Thai had to tri it.
Thuh rok feeld wuz cleer at thuh mom ent at leest. But hu new how many eyz watchd that ex pans. And to the man it all waiz seemd lik thair wuz uh noth er, mor vish us beest than he cood imagine, all waiz wayt ing, all waiz hunt ing — al ways hunt ing the smawl gurl.
Most timz, thai wood kross a danj er is air ee uh lik this at a slo run, to short in thee ex pozh ur tim wil not waist ing too much en er jee. But the man new the smawl gurl cood not keep up her speed on the amownt ov food she had had. So it was to be a sted ee wawk. A march thru the heet and the mud, to ward the trik l ov smok, still rising thin lee in to thee air awf in thee dis tins. That waiv er ing lin ov smok wood be thair gid.
Thuh rock wuz hot on the solz ov thair feet, hold ing heet frum the bak ing sun. Thuh man felt ee meed ee it ly vuhln er uh bl. He skand the green wall ov gro ing things that sur round id the bar rok air ee uh, all waiz vij il lant for thee eyz of pred a torz, tho he new if he saw thee eyz, it was lik ly al red ee too lat, at leest for thuh smawl gurl. Thair was no pro tek shun he cood off er in this bar in plas.
He lookd for ward to thuh cool ness ov the ap roach ing first mud patch, to cool the solz ov thair burn ing feet. Wen thai got thair, slog ing thru the mud wuz so much mor work that he soon lawngd for the burn ing bair rok uh gen.