I ran down the stairs faster than the laws of nature allowed
and ended up tumbling down most of them,
but when you come face to face with a demon such as that
you cannot help but propel yourself full force in the opposite direction.
Limping from a sore knee, I ventured into the jungle once more,
branches scratching at my face and snagging my ankles
as I tried to run beneath the giant limbs of ancient trees
and the antiquity and vastness of a starless black sky.
There were sounds behind me but I did not if they were echoes
calling back for me to tread along the same path
or that creature fed up of his game, baying for my blood.

I wonder then if the natives knew of this creature,
if the beast had promised to leave them alone for a while
so he could ravage these peculiar animals from beyond the sea.
The natives could not speak my language and me theirs,
but some rudimentary picture drawn in the white sand
would have been enough to get back on that ship and find somewhere new.
Dimly lit, the faint shape of the path had all but vanished,
leaving me to run blind through a land I had never explored,
thoroughly alone with nothing but a nightmare for company.

It appeared in front of me, a mirage at first but suddenly solid,
taking me by surprise as I veered right, though the undergrowth,
foreign plants with giant leaves swatting at my bare legs.
I could feel welts rise up on the skin of my calves
but panic had taken over, steering me betwixt trees,
lianas trying to grab my throat and choke the life from me.
Instinct grabbed a hold my reins and forced me to stop,
not a second too soon, the ground giving way to a steep drop,
hundreds of feet down, to a new kind of landscape, utter darkness.
I could feel its breath tickle the hairs on my nape,
could feel its teeth cleave the clammy air in two,
could feel its tongue lick my scent from the moisture.

I ju   m        p              e                      d
and lay in mid-air in the foetal position, motionless,
with just the vague sensation of pain in my neck,
holes along each side making the air whistle as I flew.
Another sensation became apparent, one where
it felt
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I




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           ­                                        a






                                                         ­              s






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­
                                                           a


                                                             ­      l
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                                                  n


        ­                                  g


I opened my eyes but there was nothing, no trees or earth
speeding past me to give me closure that I was indeed falling.
I spun round to where I presumed was down and an orange glow
began to materialise slowly from that great void.
Still falling, I thought, as the glow began to brighten more and more
and soon I was tumbling through deep orange clouds of smoke and ash
and as I broke through them, I saw a landscape of red rock
and molten rivers of volcanic origin flowing into steaming dark seas.
A city in the distance loomed large, covered in a thick smog,
the chimney of a factory poking out of the top,
pumping more dark smoke into the atmosphere.
Then I fell into a trance where I stood within that factory,
opening my arms wide like a Messiah praying eternal thanks.