scraph

stand up like it's open mic night

You can't stand up.

North into the thing

And yet... you need to know. You need to make sure it's safe to move on. Sooner or later, someone will realise what you did, and if it turns out your last-ditch desperate idea is nothing more than a needlessly gruelling way of postponing death by a minute or two...

do that thing

You resolve to get up, march over there and give it a damned good kicking. Fuck it, you'll kick its face... one of its faces in, stomp on an corner, crumple an edge; the whole works. See how much it likes that, hey?

...

You legs feel like they're made of sand. More likely they're merely covered in it, but they feel fuzzy and warm and you're not entirely sure where your right one thinks it is.

Also, your head still hurts. Your eyes are sat in a sauna full of spikes and something is trying to fold your skull into a paper plane. Or, shit, a bone plane. Whatever. You're in too much pain to have got that right first time. You're honestly amazed you're still thinking clearly.

...

Okay, that's being incredibly generous.

> Crawl over to the thing.

Honestly, you don't have to stand up. You could just drag yourself over there, keeping your head reasonably level for the time being. That might work.

pour sand over thing

And actually touching it is probably not a good idea. Simply chucking some sand at it should be more than enough to provoke a response.

Shit, this sounds like a plan.

>roll over, roll over

You try to shake your right leg out of the sand.

...

You fall over. That was not part of the plan.

...

Anguished, you roll over and accept defeat.

...

It's like something is trying to claw your eyes out from inside your head. You wonder if you can get your hands anywhere near your face.

Ah. Shit.

Maybe get into a sit before you stand. It's hot and strange and the last thing you want is all the blood rushing to and/or draining from your head all at once 'n getting dizzy off it.

Is there anything else to stare at, 'roundabouts? Maybe some source of shade, or water, or...? Any landmark of any kind, really.

You're not going to last long enough for shade to be in any way relevant. Water likewise. Turns out things have gone the opposite of north...

In light of this, you should probably try to sit up.