New Dawn

Chapter 6 | Eyes of the devil

He drove aimlessly. The sky was lit up by maroon waves, flares of silk dancing across the valves of heaven, their intensity so strong that their song could be heard from the desert valleys and the mountain tops that vigilantly stood guard. The nights were no longer plagued by heat but a strange electric chill that made particles vibrate with charge. All that was needed was the addendum of friction, and it would ignite the world plagued by drought and sand into a world of ice and frostbite. In a time where buds should blossom into bright beacons of flowers and birds should sing their song in celebration of spring - winter was coming. A winter that would bring the coldest of winds and the grimmest of dark.

A darkness yet unknown to the young man and his four legged companion.

The headlights created a dark tunnel before his eyes, his peripheral vision blurred by speed and light drops of misty rain. All that could be heard was the roar of the engine as he pressed the gas pedal to the floor and the grit that crunched tirelessly beneath the wheels. Despite the Southern lights overhead, thin veils of clouds sent mild rain onto the windshield. It was as if the skies pulsated with anger, the fiery red light flickering and jumping through the atmosphere, while they simultaneously wept over the scarred lands. Or perhaps that was just the strange interpretation that his own mind created instead of describing whatever emotional state he was in.

He wanted to hit himself for his weakness, push the car over a cliff and in the same time lie down only to never get up again. The former was much like the latter. Not that it mattered. It was all part of the monotone voice inside him that pulled him in all directions at once, making it impossible to choose an outlet. So instead, all he did was drive. Drive without a goal, without a destination. Left without a purpose.

He was tired of the dark and the days that was reigned by the lack of sleep. As he met his own reflection in the rear view mirror, a pair of worn eyes met his. They were prisoners of dark circles that faded their amber colour, turning them into plain specks of sand.
He barely recognised himself anymore. His hair was falling out, the scar on the side of his head more prominent than ever before. He had grown into a skeleton, nothing more but skin and bone, his clothes barely staying on him anymore. It was not because he did not know how to hunt or to gather supplies, his military training had made sure of that, but simply because all he could think of was why he was alive and why he mattered enough to stay that way. Or perhaps that was his punishment, to stay in this godforsaken world with the rest of the rotten trash that was left with him.

For a moment, he closed his eyes, and without even realising it, he dozed off. It was Juniper's sharp bark that woke him from his brief sleep. They were headed down what he had thought to be a deserted road - but from out of nowhere - another car had appeared with its blue lights flashing in his face. By instinct, he flipped the wheel, making the car spin in a whirl of dust before it stopped below a deserted acacia tree. An acacia tree, which he paid no mind nor recognition to, that had lost most of her bright, yellow petals. Only a few clung to their branches, mourning the loss of their sisters that rested by the foot of the tree.

The hazard lights on the car flashed as he swung the car door open, his heart pumping blood so fast that he could hear it flushing past his ears. Juniper followed him outside, jumping from the passenger's seat and out onto the street.

He leaned on his knees as what little food he had had over the last few days left his system. His arms shook as he faltered backwards where he slid down against the cold metal door of the blue pick up. The orange and red hazard lights twinkled through the grey haze, reflecting upon the wet asphalt in long, bleeding formations.

He struggled to breath, waves of shock and panic still flushing over him. The very thought of the situation was quiet ironic. How he mere moments ago had contemplated his very existence, and in the next, when it all could have been ripped away in the blink of an eye, he clung to his life like a scared child did to his mother's arms.

If it were not for the sound of claws clicking over wet ground or the intense growl that vibrated through the night, he might have closed his eyes with the hope of never opening them again. The black Labrador retriever stepped out of the shadows and into the light emitted by the car. The thick hair on her neck rose as her growl intensified, her white teeth flashing in the dark. She crept forward, her stare focused on something down the road.

As he turned his head, he saw the eyes of the devil. Two hot, glowing eyes smeared by the haze, not making them true to their size. Then he realised, that it was not the eyes of the devil that stared him down, but two rear lights of a car that continued to spew dirty smoke from its exhaust.

His eyes were glued to the scene, his heart stuck in his throat. Juniper told him to move, to get the hell out of there. Lights flashed in a blur. An engine roared and tires spun, and not before long, the two rear lights were nothing more but two smudged dots in the distance.

Once again, he was left in the hands of his own despair.