ALL THAT WAS LEFT BEHIND

Chaos in a Night Like Morning

The light poked through the darkness and rain of the angry, livid sight. It was a tiny, yellow light aglow from the windows of the house, parked up the hill a little bit, centered in the thick of the storm. I eyed the building with wonder and suspicion, feeling sceptical about the scene, and the yellow light conveying a cheap veil of innocence.

            “You’re going to have to stay here,” Samuel informed me over the loud pounding of the rain coming down on the car. His voice was low and hard, bearing not emotion.

            I looked up at him, and his uneasy expression plastered on his face like a mask of concern.

            “Are you going be okay?” he asked.

            I nodded, and his eyes locked on mine. His face was so hard, I wanted to ask him if he was okay too, but something told me that that wouldn’t help him.       Something told me that it wasn’t he who he was worried for.

            He patted my shoulder, and quickly opened his door, the frigid rain came blistering in. Samuel hopped out and slammed the door shut, the noise thudding inside my heart, locking out the outside. I rubbed my arms.

            I watched Samuel, whom was only a tall dark figure wearing a leather jacket from my vision, as he hiked through the thick mess of the trees and the hard, swift moving rain. He didn’t look cold, didn’t shiver or tremble, or stop to stare out at the gruesome shaking of the world. He wasn’t afraid. He was determined and calm, in a way that was so strong, I couldn’t even comprehend it.

            I blew out a sigh and saw the small puff of my breath in the air. I drew my legs close to my chest, trying to keep in any warmth that I could as I anxiously watched him march up to the house.

            Who was in that house? Was that the place where Lincoln dwelled, far away from reality, far away from the ends of their dreams and lusciously horrid solitude?

            I didn’t dare allow my mind to wander any further down that thought. I didn’t dare allow it travel to where it could become lost in worry and longing for what should have been rightfully mine.

            Samuel made it up to the house, and ducked under one of the windows that shed the light into the harrowing forest. He carefully peeked through it, taking a good look, and then moved over to the front door. I watched in fascination and fixation.

            He tried the doorknob, which was clearly locked. I watched the tiny dark figure from a distance as he heaved his body weight against the door, again and again.

            I could hear the tiny barks coming from his throat through the roaring thunder. His words were undecipherable however, but one doesn’t need to be a genius to know what he was yelling.

            He threw himself at the door one more time, this time breaking it down, allowing him to enter the house. I watched carefully, as he disappeared through the door and into the building, where I could no longer see him.

            I tried to breathe. The warm breath passing from my lips warmed my fingertips, and I solemnly hummed in the darkness.

            I sat like that for awhile. I didn’t know how much time slipped by, but it felt like awhile. I continued to sit, warming the car with my breath, and hearing the cry of the monsters surrounding me.

            Suddenly, there was a shot.

            It echoed through the forest, bouncing off of the trees, and the rain could do nothing to stop it.