Wail: That Which Sounds Hollow

That mournful sound fills my ears almost every night now; it's such a terrible noise. The wails of a miserable beast that roams the land crying out as if in pain, or perhaps out of being lonely. Its voice is filled with anguish... or so it would seem.

It's hollow, the sound. To those who first hear it, it would be the sound of pain, of suffering, of somebody mourning over the loss of a loved one. But to me, to the one who has heard it for so very long now it sounds empty. As though the wailing has no true meaning behind it, as though the voice has no emotion behind it; as though the wailing is just some sort of trick, some sort of trap... some sort of ruse.

Even though it holds no meaning to me I can't sleep; it's just so loud that it vibrates against my eyes... I can feel it rattling my teeth. No matter how much I cover my head with a pillow I can't drown it out; the noise cuts through everything.

When the sound comes, I head up to the roof to look out at the night sky and the city before me. Tonight was no different, and the moon is bright tonight, so very full... and I can hear it so very clearly. My eyes stare outwards toward the mountains beyond thee city bathed in the reflected light of the sun; I stare at the mountains because the moon is too bright... and because the city disturbs me on these nights.

I can see things when the sound comes, when the wailing makes my lungs tremble as I try to breathe; I can see things. Shades on the roofs, phantom images that vanish as quickly as I can see them; are they ghosts? Or maybe my eyes are just playing tricks with me because of the sound vibrates against them.

The sound is so loud tonight, it's almost too much for me to handle. It's as though the source is coming closer to me, and yet as I look at the city I can't see it; not even the shadows and phantoms that sometimes come before my eyes. It just gets louder, that noise; I cover my ears with my hands but it doesn't help at all.

My lungs... they're starting to hurt. For some reason it's harder to breathe; it's difficult just to fill them, but it's so easy to squeeze them empty. The air seems to be so very thin, as though I were high in the mountains... and yet the atmosphere feels heavy, as though I were in the depths of the ocean.

What's going on tonight?

The hair on the back of my neck is standing up, my body is covered in goosebumps. The sound gets louder and louder, it gets harder to breathe. I don't understand what's going on, I feel like I'm being crushed while the air is getting thinner; my eyes are hurting so much. I have to close them, I clinch my hands tight against my ears...

Nothing helps. Am I... am I having some kind of a heart attack? A stroke? No... that can't be it; I'm not old enough for that, there isn't a history of it in my family as far as I know. I shouldn't be... having such a thing...

It's louder... oh God, the sound is so loud. My ear drums want to rupture and my eyes want to pop; but it just gets louder and closer. This is the first time it's ever been like this, the first time that it's felt this close. For some reason that I'm not sure of I open my eyes... and it's looking at me; a huge monster.

My eyes go wide, my body trembles, I stop breathing; there's a huge monster standing in-front of me, as tall as my house! Its eyes are sunken into a white mask as it stares, mouth open, the sound coming from deep in its throat. It just stands there, looking... my body frozen in place, lungs burning from the lack of oxygen. I try to move, to run and yet... nothing happens.

I'm in shock... oh God, what's happening?

It stares at me for long moments, it feels so long even though I'm sure it's been only a few seconds. I stare back at it, my eyes wide even though they want to burst... and then it lurches forward, its open mouth coming at me as though to eat me! I try to scream but nothing comes out, and in a sudden burst of motion I roll backwards.

Tumbling down the roof I begin to fall as its face slams into the roof; everything begins to slow down for me. My body is falling heavily to the concrete below me, face up toward the sky, my head locked in place, eyes gazing at the monster. It pulls away from the roof and hoists itself up with such speed; its body is huge, its hands clawed... there's an immense, empty hole in its chest that I can see through.

It's perched itself there, watching me fall as though it were some bird watching a cat fall from a tree. God, please let me die upon impact, I don't want to be eaten by this thing alive!

But, it seems that whatever force is out there has other plans, for the beast comes down on me, its bulk moving so quickly; it's already within inches of biting down on my body, killing me... please, oh please just let me hit the ground!

Falling... falling... it's coming closer. Its mouth so wide, the inside so dark and empty as though it has no tongue, no inner flesh. I can't breathe, my lungs are burning so badly, the blood vessels in my eyes want to just tear apart. I know the ground is coming up fast even if everything feels so slow.

This is how I'm going to die; just please let me die without being eaten.

Falling, so close to the ground... but it's closer! Its mouth opens even wider, like a snake whose jaws can unhinge; it's going to swallow me! Come on... come on... let me hit the concrete already!

Closer... closer... the darkness of its mouth is gaining so fast, my eyes are failing as my lungs, indeed the rest if my body cry out for air. So close... both the monster and the ground.

Falling... the ground is just a moment away now, I can feel it even if I can't see. But the monster is right on top of me now...

Falling... falling... the ground, the monster; God, just let me die before it eats me!

Falling... falling...

... Darkness...