Insidious flames
Alive, alert, fluorescent,
Creeping towards me.
Tag Archive: danger
The night is oppressively humid. The streets are silent. No-one has the energy to go outside, much less to make any noise. They lie inside, as close to their windows as they can get, staying as still as possible.
It’s the perfect night for me. I can wander the streets, alone and unchallenged, looking for the right window. Of course I do have to be careful. This is hot work and a single drop of sweat could give me away. The danger adds an additional frisson though. I never enjoy my work as much in the winter.
I turn the corner and there it is. An old house, and on the first floor, hardly a jump for me, is a large sash window, wide open. Perfect. I step back, measure the distance, and take a running jump.
The path winds and twists.
Dark interior beckons.
I swallow, advance.
A meadow, softly lit by a summer pink sunset. A tree, vast and looming, casting its shadow across the grass. Birds, sleepily singing.
Under the tree, leaning against the trunk, a girl. Her eyes sag closed. Her skin is grubby, her clothes torn. A weary bag sits next to her on the ground. The limpness shows it’s nearly empty. Her hand is reaching towards a fallen apple, the fingers just missing the skin. Her breath is a whisper.
The night falls. The girl does not move.
The river churns through the tunnel in the rock. You can see it forcing it’s way through, gallons and gallons of water throwing itself at this tiny gap. Most of it bounces back in thick white spray, looking so delicate against the pounding beat of the waves. But some gets through, and who knows where it goes.
We all wanted to know. It was Pete that came up with the idea. ‘Josh can go through. He’s the smallest. It has to go somewhere doesn’t it. Stands to reason.’
‘But we don’t know where, or for how long,’ Sam argued. ‘It might come out in the middle of the jungle, or the sea. And then how will we get him out?’
He had a point. But Pete was looking at me, with that smile of his, and before I knew what was happening I was saying nonchalantly, ‘Sure. Why not?’
‘Because…’ began Sam, but Pete interrupted with, ‘Excellent!’ I felt a sudden pressure on my back and then I was in the water.
I fought to get to the surface. It was so fast, faster than I’d expected, and the rock was hurtling towards me. I could barely see the hole I was aiming for, much like the water. I’d never appreciated the difficulty before.
Suddenly, with a muffled roar, I was in. All light was gone and I was shooting through the water, shielding my head from the sides of the tunnel. I had no idea which way up I was, and for the first time I began to realise the danger I was in. My breath started to come in uneven gasps, and water rushed into my lungs. Coughing and snatching at the small pockets of air, I continued powerless along the river.
I was sure I was going to die, when suddenly the roar began to hush down and I was moving slowly enough to be able to control my breathing. The tunnel was still completely enclosed but much wider and I was able to look around. Before I was able to take anything in though, the water picked up speed again and I hurtled forward into the air.
I fell for what must have been several miles, my stomach lurching with fear. I had a vague notion of water still around me. Suddenly I was in water, everywhere, around me, above me, below me. I swan frantically with no direction and when I broke the surface I was so shocked that for a moment I couldn’t take in where I was.
Tense and muscular,
The long body ripples and
Tightens round my neck
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