I was out in the desert at night
on a two lane highway, walking.
I saw sand dunes on both sides of the road.
The sky was black, no stars.
Black storm clouds in the distance.
The ground was black. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Out in the distance
I saw a four-legged beast, hairy \u2014
like a polar bear, but tan.
A man rode on its back.
He was bare-chested, gaunt yet muscular,
with a twisted grin
carved into a face that looked half-rotted and half-mad.
His eyes burned with cruel intent,
and his skin clung to his bones
like parchment over wire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He rode the beast
like a warlord from a nightmare,
wielding a long pole sickle
as if it were an extension of his rage \u2014
coming for me.
I ran.
I ran down the highway,
chased by shadow of rage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suddenly
I was on a train,
a train out in the scorched desert night.
Outside, a storm churning in the sky,
and the earth below was black as pitch.
Burnt tree stumps \u2014 no branches, no leaves,
just charred \u2014
even the sand was burnt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suddenly \u2014
I was on the highway again,
running from the beast.
The road became a cage \u2014
bars rising around me like a jail.
I kept running.
And then I came to the end of the cage
and realized I was trapped.
I ran back out, hoping not to be caught
by the man on the beast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I escaped.
I continued down the dark desert highway.
In the distance,
mountains rose against the horizon.
I kept going.
I saw a glimpse of light,
a city, possibly civilization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I kept running.
I arrived, standing outside of what looked like safety \u2014
alone and uncertain,
it looked like a place of rest,
a place of peace,
a place where the man on the beast
could not reach me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I could not enter the city.
I saw no one.
Was it empty?
I felt entering was by permission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A payphone appeared nearby \u2014
old, silent, waiting.
I picked it up and dialed,
hoping someone would answer.
I waited.
Would they let me in?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n