I ducked into the woods
Freezing air stung my eyes
My chest burned with cold and fear
Slyph keened like wind whistling in a storm, closer and closer
Tendrils of blackness coiled toward
I didn't know where I was
Heat billowed on the back of my neck
Wind gusted up from the water
They glided forward
Their cries of anger and hopelessness, ever burning fire
Drowning would be a better end
"You won't have me."
I leaped off the cliff
Death would be fast and cold
I wouldn't feel a thing.
__________________________
Time drifted in an icy haze
I was on my back
Something pounded my chest
Chill and wet pressed on my mouth
And heat blew in
A bubble formed inside me
Forcing its way up
I choked up lake water
It seared my throat like fire
I was alive
Someone else's air filled me
I forced my eyes open
I saw a boy's concern shift to relief
Then I was gone,
Lost in dreams
__________________________
Water murmured
A switch clicked
And something unfamiliar swished
Like powder falling to ceramic
"Wake up. Time to go."
The dark hair had been dripping
The broad hands urging my heart to beat again
Like an idiot
I stared at him
Until I saw only the present
Last night became a memory.
