An uncertain sky for a lost angel
The sullen glow from the city lights stained the night sky a dim orange, dimmed further by a sky of coal. Softly a lone breeze stirred a few trees and a dirty, tired cigarette butt tossed about in the wind, leaving a trail of smoke in its wake. The sound of a cawing crow was faint in the distance. The city lay stretched out before me. Dark and bleak.
All I could hear was the thumping of my heart and the blood racing through my body. My skin felt clammy from the fear running through me, from the heavy breath that I struggled to control. Straining my eyes, I strained to see, to denote direction. There was nothing, only dark shapes of fenced in walls on either side of the road, stretching on for what seemed like forever.
A sickly sweat ran down my forehead, my throat dry with the burning sensation of the dust that coated the low lying clouds. The road twisted through the dim lights of the city. Little light penetrated the night shadows that seemed to creep out of the darkness towards me. This darkness seemed to swallow up all of the street lights, leaving me with no sense of direction.
My car was parked not too far down the road. I strained my eyes searching for it. It seemed to be situated in what felt like another dimension, just there, just out of my reach, just out of sight. Unable to relax I looked out towards the street lights, looking for anything that resembled a familiar form. My eyes raked over dark, jagged buildings, licking around their contours searching for any clue to my presence, but they turned to bushes and shadows, falling back into the dark abyss of which they came.
My heart was beating out of my chest now. My mouth was dirty and dry. My palms were moist. Sweat ran down my spine. I thought I saw something faint in the dark, but even as I strained my eyes to see it, it was gone. A rushing of water sounded in my ears. A torrent of it seemed to be coming out of the city, flooding out onto the road beneath me, leading me to my car.
A glance at the clock, brought my heart into my throat. What was taking the time to get ready? Only five minutes? Only five minutes?!
Taking a deep breath, I steadied myself. My legs were shaking. I was trembling. I felt like I would collapse any moment. I felt like if I didn't control myself, the blackness would claim me. I tried to imagine what was ahead, tried to see the light off in the distance, but all I was left with was the thought that I wouldn't be able to handle it. I didn't know what would happen, but I knew that it wouldn't be good, that I wouldn't be able to handle. My head felt like it was on fire. My hands felt like they were clasped around the mouth of a blast furnace. Taking another deep breath, I stroked my temples, begging for both his return and this feeling to stop.
Searching for life, I searched for his presence, searching for his love. The thoughts of him wrestled in my head against the pain I felt. My heart was heavy and was slowly crumbling into hopelessness and despair, I tried to find the courage to go on. I tried to find the way to carry on.
A rapping on the glass brought me to the fourth surprise of the night. Throwing the car into reverse, I pulled away from the road, giving a tearful cheer as I realised that I had managed to put a few miles between me and the danger that could be lurking ahead. Another tap on the window brought me back to the present. I glanced to where I imagined I had seen the shadow and then back to the window. The window was shaking, and then I saw the face, and then the red and blue shining eyes.