12-19-08

The snow fell, a thick sight-occluding fall which guaranteed slippery roads. The temp didn't matter much because he remembered to dress for the weather but his knee was bothering him and he didn't move as fast or as quickly as he normally would have. That made him feel old. Much older than he was.

He paused to watch a car spin its wheels on the road, wondering whether or not he should help. Wondering what would happen if his knee buckled and gave out. It was bad enough the way it was. He was starting to lean toward helping the car when its wheels caught and it lurched forward.

Decision made. He adjusted his pack and straightened his hat. White, frosty steam roiled from his nostrils as though a fire burned in his belly and he looked upwards into the falling snow.

Black and white.

Spots of cold. Points of cold. Flashes of snow hitting his face, sparking momentary specks of life from his flesh. Life is good, he thought.

Sometimes it is. And then he lowered his head and looked around at the snow. Lights flashing all around and the train he wanted to catch rumbled in on the tracks overhead.

"No problem.", he said out loud. "There's always another one on the way."

No one was there to hear him. No one was there to respond. And then he was hit from behind and felt his knees buckle. The lights flickered and he willed himself not to pass out. A hot, brutal thud of aggression thocked againt his cheek.

Jesus, he thought. It's a bat. I got hit by a bat.

His head was buzzing. His heart pounded and he saw two people cirling him, looking down into his face.

"C'mon, mutha-fuckers. We've got eyes."

A voice in the distance. More people. How did he not see this coming?

"He's still up. Fuck!"

"Get his shit, man. We gotta go."

Hands on him. Running over him. kick to the stomach and he lost his air as the world turned black.

- I guess I must have been jotting down some idea while waiting for a train. Seems I spend a lot of time waiting for trains.