fear is imminent as sound in the wind-swung bell [03]
Brandon trips over a trashcan and goes sprawling on hands and knees, white and trembling. The images that he began to recall in the hospital have yet to fade, crashing over him like dark waves. The crack of bone breaking. The feel of rising in the air and then falling. His stomach lurches, threatening to lose its contents on the alley floor.
Behind them the tunnel they came through is lost in shadow. On closer inspection, the opening now appears as a bricked-in doorway. The sounds of pursuit have faded away. Perhaps they have lost the bald doctor who was chasing them.
Outside the alley the street is filled with light and motion. A woman and a man go walking past, arm in arm but not looking at one another, faces set and stony, as if they've been quarreling. Cars go humming by, the headlights dancing briefly across their faces before moving onward. There's the sound of a child laughing; it seems shrill and forced.
Yellow fills the mouth of the alley as a cab pulls up to the nearby curb and parks. The driver hasn't seen them yet, but it's a fair bet they'll have some explaining to do once he does. They look like they've just seen a ghost.
Behind them the tunnel they came through is lost in shadow. On closer inspection, the opening now appears as a bricked-in doorway. The sounds of pursuit have faded away. Perhaps they have lost the bald doctor who was chasing them.
Outside the alley the street is filled with light and motion. A woman and a man go walking past, arm in arm but not looking at one another, faces set and stony, as if they've been quarreling. Cars go humming by, the headlights dancing briefly across their faces before moving onward. There's the sound of a child laughing; it seems shrill and forced.
Yellow fills the mouth of the alley as a cab pulls up to the nearby curb and parks. The driver hasn't seen them yet, but it's a fair bet they'll have some explaining to do once he does. They look like they've just seen a ghost.