Fear

The ground is cool and dank beneath me, but the heat of that incessant hum still swirls in my eardrums like a pesky mosquito that eludes me in the darkness. I brace myself…waiting in a moment that feels like eternity. The nausea within me grows and I feel dizzy as I rest my head against the hard stones of the building behind me. I try to pace my breathing with his…he who sits beside me, but his breath is every bit as shallow as mine. Neither of us is immune, it is simply a matter of time.

Eventually it comes, blasting us like the blitz of a headstrong storm rolling in off the ocean. Within moments, the heavens close their doors and the sky darkens, snuffing out the eternal hope of a singular ray of sunshine. All comes crashing down around us as that relentless monotonous drone penetrates the inner recesses of my soul. I sit still and silent amongst the chaos showering down around me mirroring the war that rages from within. Above me, I make out the shadow of it swooping through the black smoke. I can see it through the awkward angle of the eves. It circles. I can feel the piercing red beady eyes through the smouldering air. I close mine own eyes, yet remain haunted by the image of those fluorescent beady eyes emblazoned on my memory. I imagine them looking and seeing straight through it all, straight through right to my raw beating heart, my heart beating furiously, pounding so hard to a nervous rhythm that it almost breaks free of my ribcage which holds it prisoner. I open my eyes slightly and gasp. So close, so close.