Tracks, a short story : Part 2

Now everything is silent. My whole body feels as if it belongs to somebody else. I am disconnected, my senses feel short-circuited. As I open my eyes it seems to make no difference. There is still no vision, all is black.

The heaviest silence that I have ever experienced is also surrounding me, and I feel as if I am floating. The one sense that seems to be functioning is smell. There is a strong smell of, something. I am having trouble putting my finger on it. It is earthy, moist, dead.

I even appear to be breathing separately from my body, I can somehow sense the breathe passing through my lips, but my chest feels as if it is not moving a millimetre. I am actually grateful for that loss of feeling. I imagine the panic I would feel, rising within me as that shortness of breath would only multiply my feeling of loss of control.

I don’t know whether it is because I am becoming accustomed to the place, wherever I am, but I can now begin to hear something. A distant rumble or echo. Could that be the ocean? Or, is it just the blood in my ears that I am listening too?

Perhaps my senses are slowly beginning to return one by one, as now I seem able to feel something. I wish I couldn’t, as it seems to be cold and wet. Slowly, it is working its way up from my fingertips, to my wrist, then continues along my forearm. 

I attempt to see what it is that appears to be moving closer and closer to my head, but my eyes can only stretch so far down and, I now realise, that my head is locked in position. Is something holding me? Am I paralysed?

The cold feeling is now on my neck, my cheek, then enters my mouth. A bitter taste, a sickening feeling, a flash before my eyes. Then, once more, everything goes black.

to be continued…

Have you missed the previous part?

Part 1 http://neilhayeswrites.com/2022/01/16/tracks-a-short-story-part-1/

© Neil Hayes and neilhayeswrites