Enraged, trapped, cornered, like a caged tiger, I pace. Filled with energy and rage that screams to be released, I look for a target that can be rended, shredded, destroyed. Beyond hope and beyond help, I race along sand dunes like a madwoman, tears running down my face, sandstorms clawing at me, tearing at my tender skin. Fists pound ineffectively on padded walls. Screams of rage go unchecked and unheeded. A door creaks open and I whip around, springing for freedom, like a wild animal. I disregard attempts to catch me, and dodge tranquilizer darts of complacency and security. I find myself in a long corridor, lined with plate glass windows, showing the outside world from the vantage point of a mountaintop compound. I sense them closing in, and cannot let them restrain me. Gathering speed, I launch myself into the glass. The window shatters, and jagged edges tear through my flesh. Bloody tatters of skin and cloth flutter as I plunge down the rocky cliff. My body bounces off the hard, packed earth and I hear bones snap. Sliding, slipping, falling, I cannot control my descent. I do not even try. Blood pours forth from a gash in my forehead, and I am blinded. Suddenly, I feel myself plunge into a freezing cold body of water. It holds me close, wraps me in comfort, and I feel blessedly numb. I inhale refreshing water into my lungs, and the numbness fills me inside and out. My lifeforce pumps out steadily, slowly, assuredly…finally fluttering and failing. They’ll never find me here.
