Jacob stumbled through an awkward shoes-half-on gate through the glowing blocks whose blankets of smoke waved gently into the orange sky. Some people dressed in tattered splatters of red lay still all about. A woman's Heels like his mother's, slumping over a pile of vermillion bricks. Cars all stacks and crunched like soda cans down the road and as far ahead through the curtain of night-colored air as he could see. All were still and sleeping despite how scary the surroundings were.

Gutteral low howls seemed to sweep around Jacob with the smoke and sting his eyes with embers. Flickering flakes of flaming flecks from far off in the fog.

Jacob stumbled around slowly, sobs slipping from his snot-covered mouth. His eyes widened at the crowd of people staring at him from the smoke.

Rigid silhouettes twisted like unkept bushes from his gammies' gardens. Their collective guttural sound rumbled over Jacob's ears and caused the pebbles at his feet to dance as the road quaked. He hoped they would not see the stream staining the dress pants his mother had made him wear.

The shadow-shrouded figures had sharp points jutting out from their contorted limbs. One lurched into a shambling step. A melody of twig bundles rent, twisted and snapped in rapid succession as more crept towards him. The smoke came with them, shrouding their outstretched arms as they pulled at Jacob's dirty button-up dress shirt. The sound of snapping twine and ripping fabric woke him up.

Ducking, Jacob crawled hastily through the jungle of heels and loafers and sneakers. All caked and coated in grime and horrid smelling chunks or dangling meat ropes that jiggled and flung foul wetness in his face as he ducked into a dark doorway. Deafening silence, save for the deathly dozens of shuffling dark silhouettes crowding the threshold in a huddled greedy mass.

Accepting his fear of the dark, Jacob ran deeper into the pumpkin orange light that spilled out of the windows. He felt little relief at the double doors that he slammed through. Blocky shadows signified the safety of pantries and cubboards. Jacob dived into the kitchen hastily stuffing himself into a pantry and closing the door behind him.