Martin's Clump

Martin's Clump juts out into the danger area near Over Wallop.
Earthworks are all around: long barrow, tumulus, tumuli, fort. It's
11a.m. on the longest day of the year and the man climbing the hill is
sweating. His name is Elijah Snape and he has come from the train
station at Palestine carrying a large suitcase.

Elijah reaches the top of the hill and walks out onto the Clump. The
ground is flat and bare with just a few chalky stones and flints. He
puts the suitcase down and looks around. He can see the danger. It
shimmers and sparks in the low-lying areas like static electricity,
forming incredibly realistic mirages that entice the unwary. Once they
are in the danger they are lost. Elijah has come to defuse it. In the
suitcase is his equipment: the costume handed down through generations;
the dividers; the portable sundial; the hourglass; a book; and a small
tool like a blunt, round chisel.

The first step is the cleansing ritual. Elijah takes his clothes off,
folds them carefully, then inserts the tool into his anus. It is made
of steel with a radioactive coating that induces complete emptying of
the bowels. He removes the tool and a turd come out in a soft, creamy
spiral. Next he lies down, stretches his arms above his head, closes
his eyes and runs through the familiar sequence of images that will
cause him to ejaculate. It is vital that he does this solely through
mental effort. No touch must be involved. Arms strain behind his head,
fingers splayed, as he comes. The semen is black. Elijah lets himself
rest for a few minutes, inky seed dried on legs and torso.

The event takes place at exactly midday. With his left hand held out in
front of him he looks at his palm and consults the book. After the
cleansing the familiar ragged markings have vanished, replaced with
subtly pulsing lines of unusual clarity. The downwards fork crossing
the head line and the fish eating the base of the life line tell him
what the outcome will be. Elijah puts on the costume and lies down
again. He locks mouth and anus together with the dividers, metal
cutting into hard upper palate and soft sphincter, pigs-bladder
codpiece clamped to belly, uncomfortable pressure mingling with taste
of iron on tongue. One foot rests on the portable sundial, the other on
the hourglass. Time is controlled. He grips the back of his knees,
pulling legs akimbo. The underside of his thighs are marked with Roman
numerals. The angle must be exactly right. Sun blazes down from the
zenith. The shadow cast by the dividers aligns with his spine. Elijah
feels a rush of energy as the danger flows into him and judders as it
dissipates. Suddern racedown.