Rhyolite by Lucy Bleach – Lost Rocks (19)

As the route gains altitude, the integrity of the road’s surface diminishes; cracks reveal substrate, edges soften into the landscape and the village dissolves into a relaxed form of agriculture, then a feral fusion of native plants and weeds. The ascent becomes so acute that the Ape struggles to maintain its speed and, suddenly spent, spontaneously gives up, making a sound similar to a baby releasing a slow-motion raspberry from its wet lips.