Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. –Helen Keller
The chaotic momentum of events that had taken hold of Kyle that evening were like the spinning uncontrollable hands of a clock that swiftly passes time itself. Kyle had been escaping one relentless menace after another. The constant motion of terror had denied him thought. How could he comprehend the cloud of bats that stole him away to the cave? The solitary moments in the damp cavern followed by the momentary joy of reuniting with his cousins had punctuated his distress. It seemed to Kyle that he had leapt off from a cliff where the bottom was neither anticipated nor expected. He could only hear a thunderous bass drum repeating its alarum in his mind. As he ran from the waterfall past the open meadow he continued to race to the shallows of the stream where he was driven on. Instinct, as you have seen, rather than sense guided him.
Kyle was a magnificent athlete who could effortlessly command a field where challenges were ordinary and easily overcome. His joy to compete distinguished him from others his age. He was ingenious in this respect. In this race however, his effort was futile. He dashed along a stream of dread while the hands of time accelerated faster. In so doing he distanced himself from his cousins. He found himself alone once again. The isolation amplified his distress while it stampeded his hope. Still he ran on unable to comprehend what was pursuing him. In so moving his destination was obscured. There was no describing how far Kyle had traveled. His distress consumed him. A ceaseless pounding in his head amplified like war drums echoing in a valley. His upheaval was redirected when he heard an external pounding. Kyle turned to confront his terror as he spotted two enormous creatures galloping in his direction. The creatures appeared to Kyle like two demons from an age of myth. The creatures ran on four muscular legs supported by thick fetlocks. The hocks had thin membranes of crimson skin that waved like flags during a violent storm. Their chiseled protruding chests supported long extended necks. Their shoulders rippled as if a torrent river flowed through them thrusting their sturdy torsos in his direction. Kyle’s initial understanding was that these charging creatures resembled colossal shires featured during the horse-pulling contests at the fair. The creatures’ heads, however, resembled dragons that Kyle had seen in a forgotten movie or perhaps in a book he could not recall. Inflamed nostrils with serpent-like tendrils accentuated their elongated muzzles. Their eyes heightened Kyle’s fear. They burned like orange flames set in deep skeletal craters. Atop the dragon steeds rode muscular cat-like creatures of the xenosmilus species, called pantars. The pantars were slightly taller than Kyle yet their broad chests and thick legs appeared frightening as they crouched on the stampeding steeds. The steeds’ bodies were covered with thick scales. The pantars’ sharp claws barely penetrated the scales of the beasts they were balanced on. The pantars were adorned in curious black armor that covered their chests and shoulders. Their heads were likewise covered with dark helmets that exposed their ears while forming three points along their cheeks and nose. The helmet as well as the center of the armor was embossed with a deeper shade of ebony that revealed a crude orb. Few of these details were apparent to Kyle as he stood paralyzed by fear. For he could not remove his gaze from the fearless eyes of the wild cats.
The dragon steeds and the pantars bore no similarities other than the malevolent expression that they displayed. Kyle ultimately attempted to feint one way and dart the other but the ferocity and speed of his pursuers overwhelmed him. His hands had been clenched in fists ready for a fight since the bats carried him off. Those hands now revealed his desperate spirit as they helplessly reached out in front of his bowing head. He awaited to be crushed underneath the enormous hooves of the steeds. In a breath of movement, the closest pantar leaned over his steed and effortlessly swooped the child up knocking him unconscious with the clubbing of his rugged forearm on the back of Kyle’s submissive head. The pantar violently thrust the boy across the withers of the steed. The steeds came to a halting stop upturning the pebbles that formed the floor of the stream beneath them like two meteors leaving their imprint on the earth after bombarding through an unsuspecting atmosphere. They turned abruptly and headed with the same sense of duty in the direction that their onslaught originated from.
Before he was rendered unconscious, Kyle had confronted his relentless pursuer and fear had devoured him. As with all beings his spirit was wondrously revealed when life breathed its generosity in him. The securing world that welcomed him gave confidence to his innocent eyes. Suddenly and with unimaginable force that promising future can be obliterated. Innocence is freedom’s key just as temptation chains its door. All children’s spirits resemble marvelous perfect eggs like the Red-winged blackbird whose Cambridge blue shells lined with black ink patterns resemble delicate veins painted by an evolutionary brush. Kyle’s energy, his confident nature and his effortless athleticism commanded reverence. These traits made him a popular personality with his peers. He had the intuition of a competitor. He was driven by an innate grasp of perceiving his opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. His ability to excel was envied by his peers as well as admired. Only the most acute eye could discern what was otherwise imperceptible to any other. Kyle’s strength revealed the source of his vulnerability, an otherwise perfect egg with a tiny hairline crack. He had never been confronted by a challenge that he could not overcome. Certainly, there were other talented competitors, but Kyle’s impervious confidence fanned these challenges aside. How could he expect then that something so enormously invincible could lurk just beyond his comprehension?