Time has been lost to confounding abstractions. Just how long have I been treading orange dirt? The arduous trek may have been mere minutes. Professor Evans genuinely had no way of exacting but he assumed that time was stretching due to the persistent misery in his muscles and mind. He ached unlike any time in his memory. Yet, the momentous scenery began to change. He was nearing a flat surface. And when he finally surmounted the edge, Graham’s mind conjured the thought of a desert mesa. It was the best way to describe it, he thought. The disruption in the monotony was welcomed but jarring. The mesa had a pure flatness about it. It almost appeared systematically cut. Professor Evans then noticed a white object protruding in the center of the mesa. The short dome like structure appeared curious among the orange ground and black pillars. It perplexed him momentarily but Graham cherished the break with a deep breathe. He shuddered with perspiration as the sun continued its onslaught. And now, the hunger pains seemed to subside while he took step toward the white dome. Graham’s pace faltered when he noticed a small trail of vapor rising from the dome. “Steam,” he said under his breath. He continued his approach with more caution. It was a vent. The dome was some form a ventilation, he thought. Upon this realization, the steam began to pour, billowing out into a mist. The ground began to tremble again. A loud thunder within the mesa tore into his ears and shook his body whole. The steam turned to smoke. Its raging flow becoming so powerful as to thrust Graham to the ground. The near obsidian pillars started to crack. Several dropped to rubble around him. The smoke, accompanied by a lively heat, enveloped most of his sight. Little beams of light cut through as momentary lapses of sight. Through the environmental fury he caught sight of something alarming. Thin figures were ascending from the vent. First one, then seemingly dozens. They were short in stature; he estimated between 3-4 feet tall. Beyond that he could not glean much more until their eyes lit; yellow glowing orbs embedded in thin tall heads danced into the dark clouds around them. Some were crawling, some up right but all felt menacing to Graham. His heart was pounding. The ground was quaking. All senses bespoke fear and panic as the creatures drew ever closer. Graham was pushing backward, away from the progressing frightful eyes. His shoes disappearing into dusty puffs of orange and black. He was about to stand to make his escape when something grabbed a tuft of his hair and dragged his head down. He took a deep breath which filled his lungs with the fiery smoke. Graham burst into a fit of cough and his eyes went dark. ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [Abridged – Lyric Version] Time has been lost to confounding abstractions. Just how long have I been treading orange dirt? The arduous trek may have been mere minutes…he assumed that time was stretching due to the persistent misery in his muscles and mind. He ached unlike any time in his memory. And when he finally surmounted the edge, Graham’s mind conjured the thought of a desert mesa. The mesa had a pure flatness about it. It almost appeared systematically cut. Evans then noticed a white object protruding in the center; a short dome like structure (curious among the orange ground and black pillars). It perplexed him momentarily … And now, the hunger pains seemed to subside while he took step toward the white dome. It was a vent. Upon this realization, the steam began to pour, billowing out into a mist. The ground began to tremble again. A loud thunder within the mesa tore into his ears and shook his body whole. The steam turned to smoke, accompanied by a lively heat. Little beams of light cut through as momentary lapses of sight. Through the environmental fury he caught sight of something… thin figures ascending from the vent - seemingly dozens. They were short in stature… Beyond that he could not glean much more until their eyes lit; yellow glowing orbs embedded in thin tall heads danced into the dark clouds around them. His heart was pounding. The ground was quaking. All senses bespoke fear and panic as the creatures drew ever closer. Something grabbed a tuft of his hair and dragged his head down. He took a deep breath which filled his lungs with the fiery smoke. He burst into a fit of cough and his eyes went dark.