The Shattered Earth

Nirvana Jonas (Birds of a Feather)

Nirvana always dreamed of flying and she would imagine while mucking out stalls that the swallows were her spirit animals and that when they came careening out of the eaves under the roof, tumbling after whatever unfortunate insect had caught their attention, that her spirit soared with them. It was easy to leave her body and get lost in the aerial acrobatics of her avian distractions. Before long she was done with the stables and it was time to move to the aviary, her favorite part.  As she walked toward the brick pathway she saw Sandy unloading the birdfeed and other foodstuffs. Hey Jones! He waved as she approached and she sighed. Please just call me Nirvana. She braced herself for the invariable argument and he immediately launched into how he wouldn't give them that much credit to call such a pretty girl after the name of a band that was not on a par with her beauty. Flattering as it was it still irked her. It was her god damn name dammit she said in her head. I would rather call you Jonas! he said and ended with the signature comment, Who names their kid Nirvana Jonas Jones anyway? As he shuffled off to do more random chores she held back an urge to yell out, My mom, dumb ass!!!

Stepping through the second door she felt the tropical settings of a rain forest and felt all the tension begin to leave. The air was pure delight as she filled her lungs till she thought she'd burst. The mist, although artificial, felt like the goddess was blowing her a million kisses. She could tell the birds sensed her ill ease by their irregular cries that normally were like a rhythmic song celebrating her return. Determined to make their incarceration in this prison, (albeit a comfortable prison), as tolerable and even enjoyable as possible she begins singing. Not like in a Disney movie she muses to herself smirking, but like the chanting of the tribes-people she homed with ten years ago when her parents took her to the rain forest to study the great Macaws. It seemed to be working for a moment as the birds happily made their usual chipper sounding welcome. Then as soon as everything seemed like it was going to be back to normal things started to... Shift? The air seemed to get thick and she wondered if the environmental controls were acting up. Then the birds started to fly at her? No, they were flying around her. And not just the tropical ones that were supposed to be here in this part of the aviary but she swore she just saw a Peregrine falcon. When did we get a Peregrine? Then a tornado of swallows and other master aerialists! Sandy was yelling something and she suddenly knew this wasn't just her having another one of her almost out of body day dreams but real! But how? How can this be real and she turned to look at Sandy, his bright red hair seeming to be on fire as her ears felt like they were exploding. Sandy had a horrific look of sheer terror as he reached out to her seeming like he was rooted to the spot and she looked down and it seemed as if his feet were gone and he and the ground had become one. Was that why he looked so scared, he's becoming a tree? She knew when she thought this that it wasn't possible so why was she thinking it and then she noticed why he was horrified. His hand that he held out to her was crumbling. Starting with his extremities he began to glisten as his limbs began to shift and turn into perfect round iridescent grains of sand or crystal that couldn't hold together. Like a sand castle that was too dry, too far away from the water and drying out and... dissolving. But the weirdest part was as every single one of these perfect shiny little balls hit anything they made a loud sound. Like the shattering of a thousand mirrors! He began to crumble before her very eyes, his face a contortion of fear, pain and horror. She started toward him shaken that it had taken her so long to gather her nerve, but at that moment saw where her feet had been her legs were merged with ground and the finger tips that were there seconds ago were slipping off like sand. Suddenly she felt a pain throw her back, then a claw around her waist arching her, but she didn't fall. As her body crumbled away she hovered there contorted and convulsing. As the shattering continued she saw flashes of color as what seemed like the birds dive bombed her. Why can't I fall? Why are they attacking me she vaguely wondered through the haze of pain and shock and then all was black and she was gone.

Within three days most of the world disappeared and never came back. Nothing but piles of dust remained. Sometimes maybe a hand or foot or in really rare cases part of a head would be found resting there in the ash. Not one single ball or crystal or whatever it was that all the people turned into was ever found. The Shattering, as it came to be known, wiped out nearly ninety percent of the world's population. No warning, no threat, nothing, but death. Well not just death. There were survivors... if you can call them that. A few of the oldest, those pushing a hundred and still somewhat spry, didn't change at all. Everyone else changed. Some changed a lot but seemed sane inside but others that changed least were the worst.

When Nirvana woke up she was half buried in the sand of the aviary and was dizzy and puking for a few hours. When she could stand she got the shock of her life and saw that her feet were curved and clawed like a bird. Bird? She thought... She made her way to the lavatory and reaching out a shaking hand to open the door saw feathers all along her arms and claws at the end of her hands. Nothing looked like her's, nothing looked like her. Then she noticed her clothes were gone and looking down saw feathers EVERYWHERE. She fainted. When she woke up it was dark and the light switches weren't working. Great she thought, I can't see to tell if what I saw was real... and then slowly she began to feel her arms, her hands, the feathers, then her finger tips, their rough scaliness. She shivered and for the first time felt and heard a fluttering behind her. She started to spin around but was so fast she threw herself down and was flung sprawling across the ground. What in heaven's name was that? She tried to get up quickly and that was when she heard and felt it for sure. She nearly hit the roof as her wings swung up then down suddenly! Why hadn't I noticed them before she thought but wasn't gonna beat herself up too much since there was a lot going on at the moment. Now I really must know! Balancing herself, slowly she reached up her hands, mindful of her sharp claws, inching closer to her face. Not sure where to feel since she didn't know yet what was there. She hadn't tried to speak but had no real cause to, yet. She wondered if she should try that first, but then she felt it. The beak. Right there. Right fucking there. What the fuck.