BURLINGTON

Darkness

Madison Hawley

            It was a quiet and calm night. The trees slowly rocked in the gentle breeze. The street was slick with light rain. As I walked down the street, the lamps and neon lights burned into my brain. I stumbled down the sidewalk not knowing where my feet were taking me.

            Suddenly, the wind picked up; it howled against my ears. The lights around me began to flicker, and the rain started coming down harder. I picked up my pace. First a brisk walk, but as my surrounding became more intense, I began to quicken my steps until I was bolting through the night. My heart felt as if it were about to explode out of my chest, urging my feet to move quicker. I couldn’t see what was following me. I could only feel it. Its hot wet breath was against my neck; the hairs on my body stood up. A low growl was all around me.

            I sprinted for my life. The wind was blowing me side to side. Tree branches were crashing down in the nearby park. The lights were gaining in brightness to a grand crescendo. My eyes burned at the sight. I was in the center of pure chaos.

            The lights burst. The wind stopped immediately. The last of the rain came down in a single sheet of cold. It felt as though a shock wave had hit me. The stars and moon were snuffed out of existence. I fell to the ground, my eyes shut tight. The growl of the beast became louder. I struggled against my will to pry my eyes open. As I did, I was astonished. A lonely lamp post still glowed in the otherwise complete darkness. For a moment the growl went away, but my surroundings had changed. The familiar brick walls of the city were now smooth chalky gray, void of any color. The grass was dead, the trees all fallen and decomposing.

            I looked at the light above. It seemed to be my protector. Its glow was faint, but all I had. I sheltered my back against its base, breathing deeply to catch my breath. I stayed this way for a very long time. The light was my only sanctuary as I waited for dawn. The growl returned, quiet at first, but gaining in strength.

            As the hours passed, I began to realize morning may never come. The light above me began to fade. It became smaller and smaller, only as the growl became louder. The growl seemed to snuff out the light. It was gone in a final blink of the eye. I was plunged into complete and total darkness.

            The growl overcame everything around me. It filled my ears. My eyes tried to adjust to the darkness, but I was blind in the inky blackness. I smelled the breath first. A horrid stench of death and decay. It burned my nose and took over my senses.

I felt my chest first. Wet blood dripped down my torso. Whatever had cut me had been so sharp I only felt its aftermath. I screamed out in pain. My voice seemed to get lost in the air around me. I tried to run, but a feeling of daggers sinking into my calf made my struggle futile. I was trapped as the monster closed in.

The growl became a terrible roar, bursting my eardrums. Sharp, stinging pain covered my body. I was being torn apart. My lungs filled with blood. I croaked as my body gave out. I never saw my attacker. I could feel the morning breeze start before I could feel nothing. I never saw the light again.