Walking Earth

Far above the Earth satellites still continued to orbit. A silent figure seemed to stand among the stars looking down at the small planet.The North American continent lay seemingly sleeping far below. A wide lake had formed in the middle, fed by a huge river that stretched from the former Hudson Bay, to the Gulf of Mexico. The river, along with the huge lake, split the continent in two from ocean to ocean.The state of Alabama, which had lain directly in its path, was divided in two by the river where it made its way to the Gulf and into the ocean beyond.The smaller eastern section of the continent had already begun to drift. Although it was imperceptible, the two land masses were inching away from one another, and ultimately would be separated by a new ocean, and become separate, though smaller continents.The once magnificent country of America was no more, and now would begin the battle for dominion over what remained of her lands and people. The outcome was not guaranteed, the figure knew. Choice could only be given if there were no guarantee, for to do otherwise there would be no choice. The figure had done what it was able to do. The rest was up to mankind.The eastern end of the former United States was also drifting away from the northern section of Canada. The massive earthquake that had been triggered by missile strikes in the states of Iowa, Illinois and Missouri, had also severed the state of Michigan, and turned it into a virtual island.Parts of Indiana had succumbed to the water too, and the states of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama, had been split in two, along with the upper western edge of the state of Florida.Toward what had been the north, the St. Lawrence River had widened, pushing the land masses further apart. The Thousand Islands bridge spans had toppled, and slipped into the cold waters. The other bridges that had once spanned the mighty river had succumbed as well as the river basin had split and pulled apart.The new continent had also severed her ties from Nova Scotia, as she had been pulled south and slightly east, to begin her journey. Only the province of New Brunswick and a small portion of Quebec remained with the continent. The rest of Canada was severed from them by the wide and deep river, more like a huge lake in places, which surged from ocean to ocean.Most of the North American continent was now in a sub-tropical climate as well.The poles had been displaced by the huge force of the multiple nuclear blasts. The old polar caps were melting, and it would be thousands of years before they would once again re-form in their new locations.The run-off from the melting ice would eventually reach the oceans, and even more land mass would be sacrificed to the waves before the polar caps would be re-formed.There were only thirteen full states left on the small continent. The two former provinces of Canada, one of which was only a small fragment, and parts of five former states, the largest being Florida.People grouped together on all the remaining lands and lines began to be drawn. The waters were the new boundaries and great battles were in the works, or already occurring, between the opposing groups to establish dominion over the remaining lands of the world. The spiritual battle raged, unseen by most, while on the Earth the human battles began.The figure standing in the heavens held watch, and awaited the outcome that only time could deliver...