evasion

We are running through the woods, stumbling over leaves, yet to be turned to ash. Our footfalls echo, scream.

The pine trees stretch toward the sky, claw at it, threaten to rip it apart, let shreds of washed out blue scatter in the wind.

I don't know when the darkness will get here. We've run fast, it should be far away. But if I've learned anything, it's that the moment you believe you're safe is the one when you'll feel an icy hand clawing your shoulder.

Nat is breathing hard, her inhalations shallow and her exhalations deep. She won't last long. She's already lost all hope, her eyes are glassy, and they've lost their glow.

We lied our way into getting this far. We wove webs made of silk and twine. We cheated death.

But only temporarily.

The darkness in closing in on us. Has us trapped in the corner, a knife to our throats. It crawls along the forest floor, causing the sprinkling of wild flowers to wither away, collapse into nothing.

We are those flowers. We've known all along. We've tried to deny it. But we are the same. The only purpose of our beauty was so that it could be snatched away from us.

The darkness stalks in circles, winding tighter in tighter. Extends its hand to say hello.

I don't know why we ran. We knew it would come to this. Yet somehow, I think we hoped that an answer would be hidden in the time we stole.

I look Nat in the eyes. She is broken, already gone. But I have one last thing to tell her, one last thing to say before I die.

"I'll always love you."

And then I surrender. The darkness becomes my blood, drains me. It's wrongly peaceful, like drifting of to sleep.

Who knows where I'll wake up.