Shadows in the woods

Chapter 2

​The clouds above William were no longer mere blotches of grey dotted along the sky. They had developed into gargantuan islands of cotton and mist , hovering above him, threatening to dispose of their watery burden at any moment. From afar, this mass of darkness would most likely resemble a crudely crocheted cotton quilt, but up close these were an imposing entity, circling around William like vultures waiting for their prey to pass on. All of a sudden, a blinding flash landed barely metres ahead of him, accompanied by a searing heat which singed his eyebrows and newly-grown beard. The shock sent him flying through the air. The unexpected flash from heaven was followed by a sound like a thousand drums being beaten right above him, as if a percussions orchestra had settled into the clouds and was currently rehearsing. After this came the first drop of rain, a solitary droplet that had found its way to the traveller's head, barely noticed because of the tough straw hat that protected his scalp. Then one more large raindrop fell, then another, until a light drizzle transformed into a torrential downpour. The cascade of freezing particles of water jolted him awake, seeped through his clothing, chilling him to the bone. The lifeless blades of grass under him seemed to grow in length, trying to enclose William in a sarcophagus of shrubbery and branches that he just managed to scramble away from, saving his life but leaving his belongings behind to be swallowed by the plants.