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Time: The Amalgam

Stringing The Unfinished Together As One

By Z-ManPublished 2 years ago 7 min read
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Entry 5: I Am About To Rest...The Time Is 5AM

I had been walking for days, resting at erratic points along the way. Under the shelter of any nearby ruin I had contained myself, concealing my features and supplies with nerve-wracking review. I had a close call a few days ago, and since then my efforts have been forced to adopt a painstaking delicacy.

If it's not already obvious, I'll make it clear: I'm on the run. On the run from something--or things--that I shouldn't even begin to justify sharing knowledge about. Although my journey had mostly remained one of societal extrication, it was still fraught with a few frightening moments where, had temporary cover not been available, any wandering eye could have spelled real trouble.

Of course, God knew either of these could have been my saving grace. But, I dare say, my confidence cast no shadow over my judgement. There was no denying that involving anyone would most certainly mean certain death for us all.

So, I have fought stabbing fear and weariness with all that I could muster, and have trekked on. Even as thoughts of surrender and hopelessness have jerked my resolve toward submission, those chains had yet to shackle me. Try as it might, that caustic orb up above had not won; had not, at its maddening leisure, bathed me in its iridescence; not yet.

That damn rabbit, I thought to myself. That little son of a bitch nearly got me killed.

My mind caught on the memory of that encounter, exhaustion dropping my head like a record needle. I would have drifted into a tired loop if not for the distant crack and successive heavy heartbeats that seemed to explode into reality.

I jerked my head around every which way, straining desperately to place the sound. What the hell was I doing? Thinking? I couldn't stand here for this long without drawing attention. Even now that little bastard etched another notch onto my headstone. I shoved the thought away in haste.

I listened on, but there was nothing more. My heart gradually slowed to a rhythm of action. I gathered myself quickly and moved on, quickening my pace, the tears of weariness and tension spilling unnoticed down my face.

The next several hours passed uneventfully as my attention crept ever more succinctly toward the sky above, dreading the first sight of my unwanted companion. At one point I had come to realize that I was moving on a steady incline and had immediately shifted direction, feeling for a consistent downward slope with senses so sharp they seemed to have dulled in intensity. For one terrible moment I had recognized a stand of trees from an hour before--had even heard the ghost of another crack and heartbeat pulse out of the abyss--but realized the differences were subtle, but there nonetheless. Through analysis those sickening moments eventually confessed themselves to be unsubstantiated, and I gained my bearings once again and moved downward.

Eventually I came upon a large grove of trees and decided I had gone far enough for one day. I looked upward and felt real relief flood through me. The trees wouldn't afford me the shelter I needed, but that was alright. I would find adequate hiding within the next hour before....

And I let the thought go with a grateful shove. I would not think any longer on that; not today. That was for tomorrow's will to contend with. The sky overhead began to shift as I fell hard at work on finding a place to calm my bones.

**********************************************************************

Entry 1. The Moments I Hunt In Life: The Joys For Which I Thirst

I glanced at my watch. It was just 6:42 AM on February 23rd, 2022...give or take a minute.

Today's topic is this: hearing a song at a random point and associating it with its title.

In this case, I had just enjoyed the sandwich and coffee my coworker brought for me as I worked on my writing. I turned on the album that I had been listening to yesterday, which I left off nearly halfway through. I have listened to the album several times over the past week.

Soon after the song started, I moved the mouse down to the browser button, which was hidden behind my coffee, and succeeded in hitting it blindly. I looked at the name of the song I had started back on today. It was about a misunderstanding.

In my mind, the sound and title matched instantaneously, conveying an emotion as pure as soul.

I suppose, then, that what I crave are the sparks--the spikes--off of the baseline of perception.

There is, to be found, a bliss...

A bliss behind the defying of explanation.

Entry 2. Foreshadowing Inspiration: Feeling For Grooves

I have heeded the call to action, and have begun to fill this space with my words. Of course, they are only preliminary marks on a canvas unbidden to a higher purpose, as of yet. But I am taking the initiative, and I am testing my hypothesis that that is enough for now.

I'll see you when next we meet today...

It is 9:31 AM.

*

In our days of breath, we are caught between life and death. Our shadows are the constant reminder of where we are going, and are perhaps our partners in this journey...

Partners...or the final shapes we will take as the end draws to a close?

Thank you to my niece, who I watched lovingly as she moved around the corner, leaving only her shadow behind, until it, too, had disappeared.

It is now 10:43 AM.

**********************************************************************

Entry 6: It Is 6AM...And I Am About To Die

As I nestled myself into my hiding place, I caressed my journal, then opened it. As it contains all the evidence of my ordeal, I have yet to allow myself to shortchange it on the utmost of care. I pulled out my surrogate weapon--my pen--which has become my only useful companion in my defense against those...things.

It is the weapon that will determine my fate for now, and the later I pray will come.

I read the first entry again, reminding myself of what my life had been...had been...less than a week ago.

I read the second again, and thought of her. Thought of her and held out hope...such hope...that we would be reunited again soon. Before it was too late for the both of us.

I read...

My God, I exclaimed. My God.

The third entry.

The fourth.

They were gone.

GONE.

All that is left of their pages are ragged bits of tree flesh.

WHERE THE HELL HAVE THEY GONE???

It must be a trap. It must be.

I am caught between saving my future self and saving my self now.

What must I do?

I peered toward the clearing in silence.

As my pen stood at attention, all was silent. In the still night, I could almost hear it crying; crying for its black ichor to be shed like that blood on the tarmac; crying to confess all that it could muster; all it could own up to.

No, I thought to myself. No, I wouldn't do that. That wasn't my fault. That wasn't my fault.

There was nothing I could do. It would have gotten him, anyway.

I tried to stop him.

I tried to stop him, but he had to have it; had to chase it.

He was starving.

He had to chase that rabbit.

A howl broke into the night. A howl of utter pain and despair. A howl of a dog teetering on the edge of death.

My God, I thought. Could it be?

For Christ's sakes, NO, I THOUGHT. For Christ's sake, he's DEAD.

The howl came again.

And again.

And again.

.......

Something.

Something in the clearing.

Something in the clearing...

Looking this way.

I could see it's piercing neon eyes as they glowed in hatred and contempt.

I held my breath as it let out an icy snarl that churned my blood.

Then, all at once, it ran forward.

Ran forward...

And pounced.

Pounced on that rabbit that had damned us both.

Pounced and fled;

Fled, as two ghosts;

Two ghosts no longer home in the burgeoning daylight.

Mystery
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About the Creator

Z-Man

\m/,

Hello all! I am an aspiring vocalist, filmmaker + writer. I hope you gain something personal + inspiring from my work here. You are also welcome to subscribe to my YouTube Channel: Ad-Libbing With The Zman.

Thank You!

Zach

B']

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