The Earthquake

An earthquake passes beneath them, terrifying the boy.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Trembling Ground

The Night Event The Waking Three nights after the encounter with the marchers, the man wakes to a trembling ground. A deep rumbling comes toward them. The boy is terrified. The Passage The earthquake passes beneath them like an underground train. The boy clings to the man, crying. The man says it's gone, it's all right. The Aftermath The boy is shaken. He asks what it was. The man says an earthquake. The boy cannot sleep. The man holds him until dawn.

The Memory

The Scar The Boy's Fear The boy mentions the earthquake days later. He is still scared. The man says it was just the earth shifting. The Man's Reflection The man thinks about the fragility of the world. Everything is uncoupled from its shoring. The earthquake is a reminder of the ongoing collapse. The Moving On They continue. The boy is more watchful. The man coughs more. The world is slowly falling apart.

mid-journey, in the foothills

later