Forever shall the beast in me
Desire the sheep in you ~
When I meet him, I expect far worse than what I get.
From what the stories tell me, he’s vicious. Nasty. A demon cloaked in scars and vile words. He’s the kind of man that’s name is whispered, passed from bedtime stories to curious bystanders in untainted fear.
For, if you say his name to loud, he’ll somehow hear your words and grant them the unwanted promise you are so easily declaring. And, if you do happen to run into him, don’t look to long because, if you do, you won’t like what you find.
The truth is, the small town of Haven Virginia is crazy. We’re this small town so far off the road that the map makers of the world don’t even bother marking our little town down.
Because, what’s the use?
Our turn is full of dust and bone and any sign of life get’s squished in the grip of despair. We are family people and we all are born and raised in this hell and we learned at a young age that that meant burning together as well.
When you are too young to know better, you take this in stride. A town willing to do whatever for it’s people? Where else would you find such loyalty? When you get old enough to know better, you learn the truth.
Haven isn’t built on loyalty; it’s built on lies.
Some are lucky enough to figure this out early and leave. For some, it’s too late. Because what’s worse than staying in Haven Virginia? Trying to leave.
Which is exactly what I was attempting to do when he stops me.
My mind was more one what laid behind me than what was in front of me. Maybe if I was more focused on the road, I would have saw him. Instead my eyes were clouded with tears and my heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my ears.
I was doing the one thing the people in my quaint, little town only talked about when no one was listening. Fear drove them to madness and any thought of leaving town was ludicrous. Why leave when you have so much here? Why would you brave the outside world when the outside world was full of blood and deceit and violence?
But I knew better.
I couldn’t catch my breath, thinking all about this, when I finally looked away from my rearview mirror long enough to see the stretch of road ahead. I had just enough time to see the dark figure ahead and make the conscious decision to take a sharp right and skid off the road.
My palms bounced against the steering wheel as my tires treaded against rock and uneven dirt. I slammed my foot on the break and I jerked forward, my head inches from smacking against dashboard and glass. Before I could blink, I felt my car tilt a little to the left, a tell tell sign a tire was now flat.
My heart in my throat, I threw open my door and jumped out, anxiety and fear coursing through me in short circuits. People say that when you are about to face a disaster, time seems to slow.
This is not the truth.
If anything, it speeds up. Suddenly the past, present, and future are staring at you in the blink of an eye and you know that whatever choice you make next will affect all three of those things simuntaulsy.
I pushed my hands through my hair so roughly that I could feel my fingers get tangled messily in the strands. My breaths were leaving me in uneven gasps and my mind was spinning. I was this close to seeing freedom and some goddamn stranger in the road ended it for me.
