Marmalade Sunset

Chapter 16

The sky was burdened with heavy clouds and a pinhole sized hole allowed the moon to shine dully.

Salty gusts of air wicked the sweat off Glenn's face and replaced them with fat droplets of rain. He paced himself down the asphalt path, cut through the trees to make it back to the road, and finally crossed the abandoned train station to meet the opening to the beaten path. Compared to the last time he entered, the path had only grown more hostile and less recognizable from the rain and the dark.

The markings on the ground from before had been swallowed by the Earth and the loafers he borrowed sank into the spongy ground with each step. He could feel the water collected in the ground seeping into his socks. From the back of his hearing, he could hear the clambering of footsteps closing in on him. The men from the inn had found out he'd left after all.

Another clap of lightning lit the sky.

Then, Glenn finally understood what the panic was. The inn was on fire. A medley of scarlet and orange flames were growing on the roof of the lodging and was slowly trickling down the sides. Thick clouds of smoke rose from the building without pause, further darkening the sky. A burning smell filled his nose.

Devoid of any light, Glenn turned on the flashlight and darted into the forest but he couldn't make out the hacks he'd made before.

He pointed the flashlight at a tree he thought he recognized but moss and mushrooms sprouted everywhere. The rain blurred the dark substance into an intangible mess of slimy and mushy surfaces. Withering vines hung lower and wild plants stood tall collecting the rain. The hollow sound of the wind echoed against the towering wall of trees, jostling the silence of the night. Where was left and where was right? He looked up and down but couldn't tell the difference either. The further Glenn ran, the more he became disoriented, but he knew he had to keep moving.

He could feel his heart pounding a heavy rhythm and his breathing was haggard. It was as if he slipped into the room devoid of light in his dreams. When was the dream coming? Glenn would patiently wait for his dream to sweep him away, but the room was rapidly closing on him and there wasn't a dream waiting for him. He knew what he had to do already. With the chrysanthemum flower still with him, he felt reassured.

He needed to find the wall before it was too late. It was the place where everything began and it will be the place where it would end.

The forest finally opened and Glenn found himself atop the train tracks, soaking in the rain. He scanned the area from left to right, then from right to left. The pinhole-sized hole had widened and the moon was now right above him, watching him carefully through the drizzle.

The room devoid of light had vanished completely but the silence remained. Glenn tried to listen to the forest, his own breathing, the rain; anything. But no matter what, all noise was sapped away, replaced with a guttural buzz. A familiar feeling came to him then and bit by bit, pieces of his hearing returned. Something was following him.

He could feel tapping in the corner of his hearing. Tap, tap, tap.

Someone or something was approaching fast. Or was it just the rain?

Glenn had no idea, but the tapping only intensified.

Suddenly, a thunderous bang down the tracks shot through his ears. From beneath his feet, a rumble began.

His feet trembled with the rumbling, then it traveled to his spine and finally made it to this head, rattling his brain. His head felt like it was splitting. Glenn wanted to see whatever was causing the commotion but the tapping had only grown louder.

Tap, tap, tap.

He jumped across the tracks and entered the forest yet again. As he felt the soft Earth again, a wild rush of air and rain knocked him off his balance. The sound of a train zipping by paralyzed him. A backfire from the engine caught his breath and another bolt of lightning exposed the forest around him. The train station had been abandoned. How could a train travel on tracks so unconditioned?