Chaos

Chapter 10

Zack couldn’t sleep. He had tried everything. But the weird buzzing in his head just wouldn’t stop. He was now sure he had fallen prey to some deadly disease which was now going to eat him up slowly from the inside, starting with his brains.

He was now sitting with his head in his palms in a corner of his shed.

He had noticed the weather worsening from the massive hole in the roof while he was trying to sleep. But now, it had reached a point where things seemed dangerous. Zack was not a boy who got scared easily. But sitting there all alone by himself, with a thunderstorm raging around him, in almost pitch blackness in a dilapidated shed, did sometimes force himself to look around anxiously. 

The wind was now making horrible noises. He could hear crashes and sounds of things breaking all around. Zack was now getting worried. He thought if the mayhem continued for too long now, the fences might break resulting in utter chaos among the animals.

But it was not the animals that concerned Zack. He was pretty sure that next morning when Mr. Sanders gets to know about these supposed events, his wrath will fall like lightning on Zack’s head. And Zack didn’t want to face that. And so, he stepped out.  

The scene outside was no different from what Zack had perceived. While Mr. Sanders slept unaware inside the safe confines of his bedroom, his animals’ cries were bringing the night alive. The fences seemed like they could break at any moment now. Zack knew he should and had to do something. But he also knew that his feeble efforts wouldn’t stand a chance against the destructive forces of nature.

Presently, Zack’s eyes were diverted to something right in front of him at some distance. Initially he couldn’t figure out what it was. But as his eyes adjusted and the thing came closer, he thought he could make out the shape of a man.

Zack rubbed his eyes. Surely, this couldn’t be true. As far as Zack knew, there were no residential dwellings near the farms for several miles. And obviously, no man would be foolish enough to step out of his house, let alone come so far, in this kind of weather.

And yet, as the man came closer, Zack was sure he wasn’t dreaming. The man was now standing right in front of Zack. He then spread his arms wide and smiled broadly, as if enjoying the weather. Then, he spoke.

“Hi. My name is Zarvin.”