Night Walk

[MalReynolds]

The nightly walk. The moisture clinging to my skin like I was the last hope. It was all something I had done before, something that felt right. Felt natural in what I considered an unnatural world. What was happening to me? What was happening to my body? It didn’t feel like my body anymore.

The wind kissed my skin softly, licking the sweat and coming back for more. It was refreshing. Nothing had kissed me like that in such a long time. People could see it in my eyes that I wasn’t the person I used to be.

As I walked down the street, the familiar neighborhood street, the music pounded in my ears from the portable device. I couldn’t bother myself to listen or keep beat with the music or even try and focus on the lyrics. I was past trying to find the beauty in guitars and drums, in whiny vocals. I wasn’t above it, do not get that idea, I was past it. There was no time for it anymore.

Time, something that used to seem so abundant now seemed so precious. A kid once told me during my first treatment that every second we’re given alive is a gift. Take every moment for what it is and take nothing for granted.

I walked past the street lights that lined the road that would eventually lead to my house, if I chose to divert from my current path. Home… Something refreshing. I could finally sit, I could finally rest if only I chose that road. If only I chose to stop walking. If I could give up, I could be at peace.

But I was never a quitter.

So as I walk past the lights, they shut off, one by one. For now, that road is closed to me. Eventually, my legs begin to burn and I don’t know how far behind me that safe haven is, because every light I pass cuts off, making the shadow behind me longer and longer. I have nothing ahead of me but more gravel, more houses.

I feel the first shot race past my head. I knew this moment was coming. I could have turned, entered the safety of my home and been done with it, but instead, I chose this… The man behind me, the man carefully reloading his gun could put me at peace, but it would hurt. It would hurt more than anything I would ever care to feel. He’d shot me before, but I’d always manage to pull myself back from the brink. This time, he was aiming to kill and I knew it. If I stood in the street, I could let it happen.

I could be at rest. He wanted to put me at rest. An anomaly that had been stalking me for so long, it no longer seemed malicious, rather, it seemed merciful.

My headphones were still in, but I was counting the seconds until the second shot. It wouldn’t be long now. My legs hung heavy at the end of my torso. I didn’t know if I wanted to move. All I had to do was stand still.

No.

He fired the second shot, but I was already running. The lights were shutting off faster now. I could run up to one of the houses, try to get in, try to find safety, but every house would deny me. That’s how the hunter had gotten me before. I didn’t need to turn around to know he was fast on my heels.

Blink off, blink off, blink, blink, blink.

I doubled back into the darkness, juking past the hunter. He reached out for me – I could feel his cold hands on my arm, but I pulled away. His hands had been almost slimy, so cold. His face… I had seen it before. Bald, shining, with a toothy grin, and a broken elephant gun that he carried dutifully by his side.

I felt another shot rip past as I stumbled through the darkness. He had chased me so many places before, but now I was home. I was on my street. I knew my way around in the dark. I could hide from him, I could get away, but he would just keep chasing me.

I ran down into the cave darkness of a driveway and crouched in the bushes. I counted my breaths and looked towards the light. I could see the shape of the hunter moving closer to me. He was shining against the lights that hadn’t shut off. His gun was pressed against his shoulder, but he couldn’t see me like I could see him.

He could smell me, though. My scent, my dying smell was leading him in the right direction. I grabbed a branch, purposefully making noise to draw him, and I pulled it back. His steps were careful, deliberate. He, however, fired blindly into the driveway, kicking up dirt next to my feet.

It was only a matter of waiting now.

He walked past and I let go of the branch. It slammed against his face, knocking the gun from his hands and throwing him to the ground. I grabbed the branch again, this time breaking it off near the base, and drove it into his shape on the ground. Once, again. My face was covered with sweat and blood as I plunged the makeshift spear into his chest again and again.

He started crying.

No. Not crying.

Laughing.

Finally, his body stopped moving. I picked up the gun and moved away from the husk of the hunter lying on the driveway.

I shuddered to myself as the lights came back on.

He was defeated for now.

As I headed to my house, I couldn’t help but feel that the hunter would be back.

[whiteflame]

Good read.

[Ice wolf]

Very nice.