This is the fourth installment of a short story that I am writing and posting on this platform. I am writing it in brief segments. I hope you have a good time following the progress of Fire!
Fire
The Persistent Fog
Stepping through the opening in the side of the wall at the edge of the upstairs balcony, I found myself engulfed in a fog so thick I could hardly see my hand in front of my face. Although an ambient light filtered through the oppressive blanket of moisture, I lost all sense of direction. Anxiety squeezed my lungs and I gasped for breath. I turned in the direction from which I thought I had entered this soup, hoping to find my way back to the door. My hand touched only air. I was lost. For a brief moment, I thrashed my arms around seeking something solid that might provide some bearing. Spinning around aimlessly caused me to become dizzy and I fell to the ground, exhausted and fearful.
I hate closed spaces. I am claustrophobic to the max and the feeling of being trapped caused my heart to race and my blood pressure to rise. I began to hyperventilate. Not wanting to faint or lose consciousness in that oppressive cloud, I purposely began to slow my breathing. I began taking deep, deliberate breaths filling my lungs from the bottom up. Gradually, my heart rate returned to normal and my mind cleared just a bit. I sat still in the heavy silence that only fog can create. I felt my heart push insistently against my ribs. I listened . . .
Other than the rhythmic beating of my heart and the steady tempo of my breathing, I could hear nothing. It was if I had walked into an anechoic chamber that absorbed all sound from all sources. I closed my eyes and sought to capture my scattered thoughts. How much more strange could this evening become? I had ventured into a hole-in-the-wall bar to listen to a non-descript band only to find myself flung into the lap of the Twilight Zone! Everyone in the bar had suddenly frozen in place and only I remained animated. I was drawn upstairs by a mysterious, dark man – a man I had met in another time and place, only he wasn’t the same as I remembered. I then found myself isolated in a suffocating, persistent fog wondering what would come next.
What DID come next is difficult to describe. I still wonder if it happened.
After a long time, I opened my eyes only to detect a slight lifting of the fog. I looked up and realized that the cloud had lifted some six or so feet above the ground. I was heartened. I looked around and determined that I had walked into an orchard of some kind because I saw what appeared to be hundreds of strategically placed tree trunks stretching upward into the fog above. I stood and walked to the nearest tree and hugged it tightly. I felt safe again. I was not alone.
I stood there for what had to be five or so minutes just hugging that stupid plant! And then I quickly let go and jumped away from the tree, screaming like a girl in the process! An almost imperceptible movement of the tree had caused my arm to feel as if a serpent had slithered onto my wrist and quickly wrapped itself around my arm up to the shoulder.I jumped and shook my arm furiously to rid myself of what I just knew was a poisonous viper! I looked around to see if I could spy the snake but saw nothing. It must have been a phantom of some sort – not real.
Suddenly, a lone leaf floated to the ground in front of me and then a second, a third, a fourth! And then the fog began to rain leaves from all directions but no wind blew, causing the leaves to break free from the twig-homes. I couldn’t tell what had caused the mass exodus of the leaves from their branches and then I heard it. Movement in the trees! Not just one tree but all of them! Living things sounded as if they were swinging, running, dancing across the unseen tops of the trees! Screeches and caws and barks and growls and shouts accompanied the movement overhead!
I stood, petrified! As much as I wanted to run, my feet were planted in the ground as much as the trees around me. Then, without warning, a long, strong arm reached down from the cloud above, grabbed me by my shirt collar and jerked me upward!
Peace!
Mark E. Hundley
This is the fourth installment of a short story that is a work in progress. I will add segments as “the spirit moves me.” I hope you’ll enjoy this part of my 365 day writing journey!
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