Sometimes, I’ll leave town as the sunsets. And walk all through the night to the next town over. I enjoy the peaceful dark the surrounds everything on those nights. It smothers all sound, save for a the lone cry of coyotes suffering in wild abandonment just out of eye sight. It doesn’t take long for my eyes to adjust to the pale luminescence of the moonlight on the land. Soon I can see everything in the black world around me as though it was day.

However, every time I take a walk, at the half way point I see a silhouette standing on the side of the road. It is not a man, but instead a void putting on its best act as a man. A demon, a monster from the dark. It says nothing but it’s head follows me as I walk past. I say nothing to it. As I continue, I start to feel the void stare into the back of my head with too many eyes to fathom. Before I can even notice it’s happening, the world is black again. It’s cold. My fingers go numb. I see the outline of thousands of hands reaching for me. I quicken my pace.

In near sprint I focus my eyes straight ahead of me. Trying my best not to notice the darkness around me is no longer caused by the night, but by men shaped holes in the sky. As my pulse gets faster so too does the feeling of dread. My lungs burn and my mind weakens. I become content. The hands reach me. But in that moment of finality, the sun rises over the horizon. As it breaches the ridge like a whale from the ocean, I feel the void scream and run. The world is no longer black, and I am in the middle of town.

I always take the first train back to my home, all the while sleeping to sound of The engine running over the tracks. With my eyes closed it reminds me of the darkness from the night before, and my heart longs to see it again. I’ll be sure to take my next walk soon.