31 July 2012
3. Light
Part 1 The door was locked, and I was too scared to search the neighboring cabins. The Taken could be anywhere now.
Further up the hill, I saw my savior. The street light. I knew I had to make it there; my only chance of survival. Between me and security was the damp, slippery road of hell. The darkness, so omnipresent I could smell it in the air.
I checked my flashlight. It wouldn't last me more than a couple of minutes. My shoulders sloped. I knew I was out of options, and my time was running out quick. Sunrise was hours away, and I had to keep moving. I had to save her.
The exhaustion from the climb and the previous days had left me both physical and physiological drained. My head throbbed, my eyes watered and my knuckles; pale white from spasmodically hanging on to my flashlight, which wasn't just a comforting factor in my dark present - it was the only thing keeping me alive.
I couldn't stand here anymore. I had to make a run for it. My mind was too hazed for me to think rationally. A stream of blood was still gushing from the side of my head, and I felt like my legs were going to fail me at any second. So I ran.
The damp ground turned into concrete as I sprinted over a parking lot, leading to a small trail up to the street light. My eyes - completely focused on my savior. Everything else blurred out. The pain - almost gone. My mind - only set on survival.
Before I knew it, I was basking in the yellow light. The beams slithered around my features, bathing me with its energetic and reassuring comfort. It was like coming up for fresh air. Like the darkness had clogged up my lungs. I was safe. My temporary sanctuary spoke to me. The light changing my perspective of life.
I turned off my flashlight. The light was so intense it blinded me. My eyes seemed unable to adjust.
The dreamy, euphoric state I was in abruptly came to a halt. I had to leave my safe zone, my knight in shining armor - my transient home.
I stepped back out from the circle of life and continued into the darkness and turned my flashlight back on.
Safety had become a luxury.
The Taken Fear The Light • Opuss № I