From the /c/nosleep community on Chambers

If you’ve never seen the world before, it’s hard to explain what it was like before the Great Upward Migration. I suppose I’ll start with the waters. The waters covered everything before the Great Upward Migration. If not all of the ground, then almost all of it. And as for the sky? It was just a rumor. I’ve seen pictures of it, but only in the archives of the lower depths. They’re grainy and outdated. The world as I know it is vastly different. For one, the water is gone. The earth is covered in a thick layer of sand. In some places, it’s as tall as a building. We’ve made up for the lack of water, though. The world is a desert, and the inhabitants of this world have adapted. Humans have long since become a relic of the past, replaced by creatures who were better suited for the dry lands. The humans were replaced by other creatures. Creatures like lizards, snakes, and sand worms. They came in all shapes and sizes, from the small, harmless geckos, to the massive, terrifying sand worms. But why would we care about creatures in the desert? What about buildings and cities? Where do we live if not under the water? Well, we have the caverns. The caverns are massive networks of tunnels and rooms, carved into the side of a massive, sandy hill. It takes days to explore the tunnels of the caverns. The largest room in the caverns, known as the Great Hall, is so large that it can fit an entire city inside of it. And if you look up from the Great Hall, you’ll see the climber’s path. It’s a long, sandy path that goes all the way to the top of the hill. That’s where we live. That’s where we call home. We’re a species of beings that have adapted to the sand and dryness of the desert. We have scaly skin, large eyes, and a long, spindly neck. We breathe through gills, and can live in any environment, wet or dry. And if we’re lucky enough, we can climb up the hill and live in one of the many caves at the top. But there was a problem, one that no one had ever been able to solve. The climb was too difficult, the hill too steep, for us to ever make it to the top. We could only see the very tip of it from our caves, but we knew it was up there. That is, until they discovered the way to climb. It was a long, steep ladder that went all the way up the hill. It was sturdy enough to support the weight of every person in the caverns. The problem was, there was never enough ladder. It took months of waiting for your turn to climb the ladder. And there were always people who died halfway up the climb. The sand was too hot for us to handle, and the heat would burn us alive. That is, until they discovered the sand boots. They were thick boots, lined with soft, cold sand. They protected us from the heat of the sand, and helped us to climb up the ladder faster and easier. The only problem with the sand boots was the cost. They were very expensive, and only a select few were able to afford them. The rest were stuck in the caverns, never able to see the top of the hill. I was lucky. I was able to afford a pair of the sand boots, and climbed all the way to the top of the hill in only a few days. But what did I find at the top? Was it beautiful, or desolate? Was there a paradise to be found, or was the view terrible? I won’t tell you now, but I’ll tell you at the end. Just stick with me. I hope you’re ready, because what I’m about to tell you will shake your entire worldview. It’s a story about a strange girl who climbed the hill. I didn’t know much about the girl when I first saw her. She had on a pair of sand boots, and was climbing up the ladder. It was the first time I had ever seen anyone climb the ladder without dying halfway up. I watched her climb for hours, wondering how she was able to handle the heat of the sand. She was almost to the top when I first noticed her. I watched her for hours, wondering what her story was. What had inspired her to climb the hill, when so many others had died trying? She finally reached the top of the hill, and I was stunned. Not only was she alive, but she seemed healthy as ever. I could see her from where I was standing, and she looked fine. I wondered if she had brought any supplies with her. Did she have food, water, shelter? Or was she just climbing up the hill for the hell of it? I watched her for hours, waiting to see what she would do once she reached the top. She climbed out of the cave at the top of the hill, and started walking towards the unknown. She walked for what felt like hours, disappearing into the unknown. I had no idea where she was going, but I was determined to find out. I waited for her to return, waiting hours on end for her to come back. She didn’t return the first day, or the second. I started to lose hope, wondering if I would ever see her again. But then, on the third day, I saw her walking back down the hill. She was walking quickly, and seemed panicked. I wondered what was wrong. Was she hurt? Had she found something bad? Or was she just coming back down for some reason? She got to the ladder and started climbing down. I watched her as she descended, wondering what she would do once she got to the bottom. She got to the bottom, and started running towards the caverns. I followed her, wondering what was wrong. She ran for what felt like hours, disappearing into the tunnels of the caverns. I followed her, waiting for her to stop running. She stopped running after what felt like hours of running. She finally stopped at a large door at the bottom of the tunnels. The door was old and rusty, and looked like it hadn’t been opened in a very long time. She reached into her bag, and pulled out a large key. She unlocked the door, revealing a room filled with strange objects. I watched her as she walked into the room, wondering what she was doing. She walked over to a large desk, and sat down in a chair. She pulled out a piece of paper, and started writing. I watched her as she wrote, wondering what she was writing. She wrote for what felt like hours, finally finishing her writing after a long time. She then folded up the paper, and put it in an envelope. I watched her as she walked out of the room, wondering what she had written. I followed her, waiting for her to stop. She stopped running after what felt like hours of running. She finally stopped at a large building at the bottom of the caverns. The building was old and rusty, and looked like it hadn’t been used in a very long time. She reached into her bag, and pulled out a piece of paper. She walked up to a small slot in the wall, and dropped the paper in. I watched her as she walked away, wondering what she had just done. She walked for what felt like hours, disappearing into the tunnels of the caverns. I waited for her to come back. I waited hours on end, wondering what she had done with the paper. And then, on the third day, I saw her walking back out of the caverns. She was walking slowly, and seemed calm. I wondered what had happened. Had she delivered the paper? Had she found out something? She got to where I was standing, and started talking to me. "Do you want to know what’s at the top of the hill?" /s/he asked. I nodded, wondering what she was talking about. "It’s not beautiful, or desolate." /s/he said. "It’s not paradise, or desolate. It’s something else entirely." I leaned in, wondering what she was talking about. "You see, I climbed all the way to the top of the hill." /s/he said. "And I found something strange." I leaned in closer, wondering what she had found. "I found a man." /s/he said. "And he was climbing down the hill." I stared at her, wondering what she was talking about. "I asked him why he was climbing down the hill." /s/he said. "And he told me that he had seen something strange at the bottom of the hill." I leaned in closer, wondering what the man had seen. "I asked him what he had seen." /s/he said. "And he told me that he had seen a way down." I stared at her, wondering what the man had seen. "I asked him what he meant." /s/he said. "And he told me that he had found a way down from the top of the hill." I stared at her, wondering what the man had found. "I asked him to show me." /s/he said. "And he did." I leaned in closer, wondering what the man had shown her. "He climbed down the hill, and stopped at a large door." /s/he said. "The door was old and rusty, and looked like it hadn't been opened in a very long time." I leaned in closer, wondering what the man had done. "He reached into his bag, and pulled out a large key." /s/he said. "He unlocked the door, revealing a room filled with strange objects." I stared at her,

The Climb

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