The desert was so large, and I was sure that I was running for days with Nyarlathotep behind me, though the sun never set and eventually I lost sight of him completely. I was too afraid to let my guard down, though, Nyarlathotep had punched me hard enough to send me crashing through the surface of the moon and to that desert. I ran until I saw the vision of another dark man before me and when I noticed him, I was sure that Nyarlathotep had outsmarted me and I struggled to slow my speed and change direction. I must have looked like a cartoon with my exaggerated movements.
“You ok?” I heard from the black man who didn’t sound like Nyarlathotep.
“Who are you?” I asked with frustration. “You work for Nyarlathotep? Tell him I wasn’t making fun of him!”
“I am not, Nyarlathotep. I am Geb.”
The man had a band of gold around his forehead and there was a snake on the band above his eyes. His hair was a puffy, black afro that was as dark as his skin that was exposed at his torso and legs. He wore a simple wrap of white cloth around his waist and he had the look that I associate with ancient Egypt, but much darker skin than I thought Egyptians to have.
“What kind of name is Geb? What do you want from me?” I had stopped at a distance from the man and was almost panicked.
“I don’t need anything from you,” Geb said and he lifted both his dark, bare arms flexing muscles that were big and obvious. “I am an Earth God. I saw you running, I was curious why. Things like you don’t hang out in this stony desert of the Gods.”
“An Earth God?” I asked. “Why are you here, in a desert of the Dreamlands?”
“This is where we go to get away from the annoying Earthlings who ruin our planet and hound us with prayers. Don’t get me wrong, we all do what we can and we never retreat for long, but if you were in our position, you would need a break every now and then.”
“Who is we?” I asked. I hadn’t seen anyone other than Geb and Nyarlathotep since I crashed there.
“The Earth Gods,” he said, dropping his arms with exasperation at my lack of interest in his perfectly sculpted body and his ebony muscles. “I just needed to know what you were up to, make sure you’re not causing any trouble here in the Stoney Desert. So what brings you here, human?”
“Nyarlathotep! I told you, he hit me from the moon and he’s chasing me!”
“Whoa, whoa,” Geb said defensively, “there is no need to be rude. Nyarlathotep is chasing you?” He looked around us at the sea of orange-yellow sand and rocks. “You ok man?”
I was becoming very annoyed but I didn’t want to upset Geb like I had Nyarlathotep, so I took a deep breath and apologized.
“This entire place is weird to me, Mr. Geb, and I haven’t been here a long time. I was being chased and that’s why I am here. Can you help me if Nyarlathotep catches up? Or can you tell me how to get back to Earth, you’re an Earth God right?”
Geb smiled warmly.
“We hate Nyarlathotep, he’s just a human who masquerades here like an Other God, like he is more than us. But he isn’t. No offense, but even in these strange lands, humans bow to us. So, I appreciate your respect and honesty, and I will help you. I will take you to Danu and Ala, if they don’t mind, you can ride with us when we return to Earth.”
I was so grateful that I fell to my knees and I thanked him profusely.
“Save your gratitude,” Geb said gravely. “I am much nicer than Danu and Ala, and if they don’t care to help you, then you’ll end up back here wandering the desert, and running from Nyarlathotep.”
I nodded and followed Geb deeper into the desert. The sand that I was used to walking over became stone of the same color and I could see a large mountain in the distance that we approached.
“I don’t have all my magic here in the Dreamlands,” Geb explained, “so we have to walk it, but you know by now that the body is not the same here as it is on Earth.”
“Why does this place exist?” I asked. “Why have I never heard of it?”
“Simple,” Geb replied, “this place was not make for the likes of you. Ala and I only come here because we can and it seems to piss some people off. The Dreamlands were not made by black people or for their Gods, but us black Earth Gods come here to dare them to stop us. Danu and Gaia come here often as well and they laugh because this place is horrible but the things here think it’s some exclusive club.”
I didn’t know that there were black Gods and the fact that they faced discrimination almost made me laugh, but I didn’t want to risk disrespect so I just nodded with surprise raising my eyebrows.
We talked for the entire trip across the hard desert floor on foot and toward the mountain that was the same color as the sand and rocky ground, and they lent themselves to the cool color palette of tan and light blue against the sky. The mountain was large and the closer we approached it, the more I had to angle my head up to see it’s tip that was obscured by clouds overhead.
“Ala and Danu are eager to see you,” Geb said. “They sense us approaching. You only get one chance with them, human. Do not waste it.”
I swallowed a lump in my throat. These Gods of Earth could get me back home and I didn’t want to mess that up. I was suddenly very nervous.
PRL Serials 