There I was. Driving home on my rocket. It was night, and it was dark. As dark as night's usually are. Unusally low clouds rolled over my head, threatening to settle over that forgotten stretch of highway. Threatening to release their pent-up frustration on me.
I tightened my grip on the throttle and bend my wrist back. Dull pain cursed the nerves where I had snapped the radius a few years back, but the steady, slow pump of adrenaline that coursed my pulsing veins absorbed the cramp and left my heart skipping beats. My engine spoke sweetly beneath me, begging for more. I complied, opening the throttle another half inch. The wind grabbed my hair and lashed at my neck. I crouched on the tank's smooth design as the overhead air rumbled with an omniscient presence.
My mirrors lit with heavens fireworks, screaming at me to give up and let nature take what's left of me. The air became thick and heavy. I was drinking oxygen through a straw. Constant thunder seemed to drive gravity straight onto my shoulders and my fingers grew numb from the vibrations.
The whole earth shook now, running up my spine to settle at the base of my skull, ready to rip my mind apart in fury. A plume of black smoke blackened the lightning in my mirrors.
Was it chasing me?
I glanced back in sudden terror and there it was. Thick, black smoke filled the entire horizon, being pulled by some vacuum. It was headed straight for me. A faint glow of fire seemed to push it from behind. Flames licked the sickened insides of the endless black hell.
I couldn't outrun this.
I downshifted to gain momentum and opened the throttle wide before shifting back into sixth gear.
I had lost.
This was it.
Maybe I shouldn't even try.
I let go of the bars, both hands on my head. I couldn't breathe. The bike slowed down and rolled to a stop. I glanced at the mirrors not daring to turn around. It was almost upon me now.
"Go Ahead!" I screamed. "I'm Yours!"
The cloud now towered above me. Black smoke filled my vision and stained my visor. I felt the heat intensify at my back. It hurt so much. But I was ready to die. I closed my eyes tightly and took a breathe so deep I thought my lungs would explode.
I waited.
The roaring stopped. Maybe I had just gone deaf. Was I dead?
No.
I still feel pain. I opened my eyes. Soft light enveloped me. I looked up. The moon was so close I felt I could touch it if I ran a mile. It's beauty was infatuating. But my back hurt so bad. I reached around to touch it. My fingers felt only skin. I looked over my shoulder to see the back of my jacket was gone. The skin, black and blistered. The black wall of fire and smoke was two inches from me, but it didn't hurt anymore. I didn't feel the heat, smell the smoke or hear the wind. The moon had stopped it.
But how?
My bike didn't start. The back tire, and the body behind me was gone. Melted. I stepped off and kept glancing back between the moon and the wall of fire, wondering how I was still alive and why the moon couldn't have come before I needed to walk the rest of the way home. Maybe I was being ungrateful.
I was still here.
I was alive.
I tightened my grip on the throttle and bend my wrist back. Dull pain cursed the nerves where I had snapped the radius a few years back, but the steady, slow pump of adrenaline that coursed my pulsing veins absorbed the cramp and left my heart skipping beats. My engine spoke sweetly beneath me, begging for more. I complied, opening the throttle another half inch. The wind grabbed my hair and lashed at my neck. I crouched on the tank's smooth design as the overhead air rumbled with an omniscient presence.
My mirrors lit with heavens fireworks, screaming at me to give up and let nature take what's left of me. The air became thick and heavy. I was drinking oxygen through a straw. Constant thunder seemed to drive gravity straight onto my shoulders and my fingers grew numb from the vibrations.
The whole earth shook now, running up my spine to settle at the base of my skull, ready to rip my mind apart in fury. A plume of black smoke blackened the lightning in my mirrors.
Was it chasing me?
I glanced back in sudden terror and there it was. Thick, black smoke filled the entire horizon, being pulled by some vacuum. It was headed straight for me. A faint glow of fire seemed to push it from behind. Flames licked the sickened insides of the endless black hell.
I couldn't outrun this.
I downshifted to gain momentum and opened the throttle wide before shifting back into sixth gear.
I had lost.
This was it.
Maybe I shouldn't even try.
I let go of the bars, both hands on my head. I couldn't breathe. The bike slowed down and rolled to a stop. I glanced at the mirrors not daring to turn around. It was almost upon me now.
"Go Ahead!" I screamed. "I'm Yours!"
The cloud now towered above me. Black smoke filled my vision and stained my visor. I felt the heat intensify at my back. It hurt so much. But I was ready to die. I closed my eyes tightly and took a breathe so deep I thought my lungs would explode.
I waited.
The roaring stopped. Maybe I had just gone deaf. Was I dead?
No.
I still feel pain. I opened my eyes. Soft light enveloped me. I looked up. The moon was so close I felt I could touch it if I ran a mile. It's beauty was infatuating. But my back hurt so bad. I reached around to touch it. My fingers felt only skin. I looked over my shoulder to see the back of my jacket was gone. The skin, black and blistered. The black wall of fire and smoke was two inches from me, but it didn't hurt anymore. I didn't feel the heat, smell the smoke or hear the wind. The moon had stopped it.
But how?
My bike didn't start. The back tire, and the body behind me was gone. Melted. I stepped off and kept glancing back between the moon and the wall of fire, wondering how I was still alive and why the moon couldn't have come before I needed to walk the rest of the way home. Maybe I was being ungrateful.
I was still here.
I was alive.
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