Darren's heart was racing as he sent one foot after the other slamming into the pavement. He kept his breaths short, afraid he might tire quickly if he did not. Sweat was dripping from his temples in rivulets and on other parts of his body it caused the material to cling to him. The air rushing to his face was cooling and refreshing by it wasn't enough to completely reduce the heat building up within him.
It had been a while since he had run like this. It was overwhelming at the same time, exhilarating as he never thought he could still do it. He had been holding himself back so much that having finally tapped into this once dormant energy was empowering.
There was no sign of life down the streets this early in the morning. Few porch lights shown a negligible amount of light on the road compared to the light of the now rising sun in the distance behind him.
He enjoyed the stillness of the morning. He enjoyed the way it made him feel as if only he and the street ahead existed for those few hours. Though it was a morning run he preferred, he often found himself running late in the evening because of his job.
He still hadn't understood why all of a sudden he had agreed to doing the night shift for the next couple of weeks. His doctor had given him the greenlight to resume his normal routine years ago but he had refused. Somehow the accident had left a curtain of unease in the back of his mind that was frightening.
He had taken his time falling back into his 'normal life' so whether he still felt uneasy or not, he knew it was about time.
The memory of the car accident, though hazy, brought a sharp pain to his chest and drunken dizziness to Darren's mind. He stopped running.
The dizziness withdrew from his mind but like some prowling beast, it lingered.
The car accident had been traumatic, his body had been found twisted and bent between the drivers seat and the dashboard. Somehow his head had crashed through the windshield then his body had been sent back into his seat when the dashboard shifted and slammed into his chest. His mind after having experienced that shock, repressed large parts of that day and it bothered him. It bothered him that even after all these years, the full encounter on that road, had not come back to him.
Sometimes he felt as it there had been something significant about that day, something just not right.
One thing Darren could remember clearly was how he had felt. Amidst all that wreckage and agonizing pain, he had felt a forced calmness. It had been as if something dark and heavy sat in his mind forcing him not to panic, to react...to do anything. After all of that he had fallen into an unsettling darkness.
For a while he had also forgotten that feeling until the day before.
♦♦♦
Darren's fingers drummed along the back of the clipboard he held as his eyes went over the information handed to him. The redheaded receptionist who had handed him the clipboard sat patiently behind her desk waiting for him to speak.
All around them few doctor's and nurses moved quickly towards or with patients to various rooms. Rushed voices merged with more steady low voices setting the tone of the hospital.
"Have Ms Price check on Mr Nelson. I'll handle this," Darren said raising the clipboard slightly.
Darren raised his head to meet the receptionist face. She nodded then opened her mouth to speak but just as the first word came tumbling from her mouth, a large man walked straight into Darren's shoulder.
Darren a little stunned turned to face the man. A tall ruggedly dressed man with shaggy dark hair looked down at him. Honey brown eyes which for a second appeared to be a gleaming yellow, met Darren's dark eyes. Darren blinked and in that moment the man muttered an apology and left. Darren said nothing.
"You okay?"the receptionist asked.
Darren brought back his attention to the woman behind the desk. He smiled.
"Yeah," he muttered.
The woman frowned.
"I'm good," Darren said trying to reassure the woman.
"Remember what I told you?"
The receptionist raised her brow.
"I have it written down."
Darren laughed turning away from the woman and starting off to his patient's room with clipboard in hand.
"Excuse me, doctor," a deep rushed voice called.
Darren turned even though he knew it might not have been him the person was calling. His eyes instantaneously landed on the man bounding straight towards him.
The man, upon seeing Darren's face, slowed his pace to a casual walk quite awkwardly as if he wasn't sure he still wanted this particular doctor.
"Sorry," he apologized sounding a little unsure.
Feeling a little embarrassed Darren spoke, "You weren't calling..."
"No, no," the man cut him short, "I was calling you, Doctor...?"
"Fielding,"Daren finished stretching out his hand which prompted the man to further approach.
When the man was close enough, he shook Darren's hand all the while studying his face. A sharp pain had began to spread in Darren's chest but he did not let it show instead, he smiled politely.
"Can I help you with something?"
Rodger shifted his weight from his left leg to his right. Darren knew the man was trying to hide his unease but he did not try to broach the subject.
"Um. I apologize for yelling. It was in the heat of the moment. Did you see a man about 6.2 walk by here. Dark shaggy hair and clothes?"
While the man spoke, Darren could feel the pain shift as if it were some creature preparing to move and meet the heavy darkness prowling in his mind.
Darren gulped in some air before speaking. What's wrong with me?he asked himself.
"Yeah, I think I know who you are talking about. I saw him go down that way, heading for the elevator probably."
"Thank you."
Rodger was about to walk on when Darren grabbed his arm. For some reason, even though Darren could not recognise Rodger, he felt he had to ask
"Have we met before?"
Darren's voice sounded strained and to him, almost unrecognizable. He knew he was holding on to the man's arm a little tighter than would have been preferred but he felt he had to. He needed something to hold on to help him stand up straight now that the pain had spread.
"I doubt it, doctor," Rodger replied sternly.
Rodger cast his eyes down to the hand wrapped around his forearm. Darren let go.
"I'm sorry."
Rodger nodded and was off, carrying with him the pain and darkness from Darren's body. Darren gasped, finally able to breathe.
YOU ARE READING
In The Shadows
Fantasia"What are you doing here?" Thea spat even though her heart was beating a million times a minute. Grinning widely, the dark haired man stepped out from the shadows. The darkness clung to his clothes as if beckoning him to come back. "I was expecting...
