In Pursuit of Love

        The old man looked back terrified. His eyes could not pierce the eerie darkness, but a strange sense urged him to leave the place at once. Some inner knowledge warned him that the thing had once again picked up his trail and would soon be upon him.

         Trembling, he began to leave the shelter of the brush, making the small, careless noises of a frightened man trying to be silent. Sweat poured from his heavily-lined face and his hand shook uncontrollably as he wiped his burning brow. The night was still, but his heart thundered, knowing that somewhere in the blackness, the thing was stalking not far behind.

         The old man’s heart fluttered as, once more, the horrifying reality flashed through his mind.  He had created that monster. In an attempt to defy the powers of the supernatural and redirect nature, he had brought to life a grotesque form of some unnatural being. What started out as a passive curiosity in his small genetic laboratory had grown into an insatiable passion. Life, and its inception, intrigued him. Experimenting with biological and genetic material became his life’s work. So much that he had become a guru in his field. The knowledge of his expertise sparked a fearless and unnatural desire within him. Could he, himself, create life?

         The man shook his head to clear the frightening vision. What he had created was a monster and it was now tracking him down. He began to run as fast as the tangled weeds and vines would permit.  His heart hammered against his heaving chest and he stumbled wearily across the uneven ground in search of escape. Very quickly, his breathing became painful. 

        The dull ache that radiated up and down his spine seemed to paralyze him. His feeble legs, no longer able to support the weight of his weary body, buckled underneath him.  He crumbled to the ground. Painfully he gasped, trying to force new air into his nearly collapsed lungs.

         The man lay still. A trickle of blood oozed from a gash on his forehead and tickled his face as it mingled with the dirt and sweat already accumulated there. Gradually, his feeble heart stopped racing and settled into a slow uneven rhythm. His rasping breath became a soft purr.

        There was a suspended hush in the air. As the silence enveloped him, the man gazed up at the dark blanket high above him. A tiny light emerged from the blackness and winked at him.  Another appeared. Another. And yet another. Soon the dark sky was covered with a sprinkling of twinkling lights. The man marveled at the majestic scene. His heart quickened as a new realization engulfed him. Was he trying to compete with the Great Creator – the Master Designer? His conscience smote him and he felt utterly ashamed. He soon became conscious of a strange, tremendous force impressing itself upon him, and he willed himself to resist with all his might. The force persisted and seemed to squeeze out his very essence. Harder, stronger, the force permeated his being. The man felt himself breaking under the pressure. Soon he could no longer resist and something within him shattered. A feeling of helplessness engulfed him as his entire being surrendered to the force.

        Defeated, the man tentatively reached out to touch that which so greatly impressed itself upon him. The force lovingly embraced him and then invaded his very being. The man reciprocated the embrace and, without understanding how it happened, became a part of the force. The war within him ceased. A quiet peace prevailed. The man, oblivious to his surroundings, slowly closed his eyes …

         A sudden rustling penetrated the tranquility. The man’s eyes flew open and his body stiffened. Holding his breath, he listened keenly. There it was again. Closer. A rustling in the bush and a steady pop-pop-pop of snapping twigs. Once again, fear gripped his heart as he strained in the darkness to catch some glimpse of what might be there. He desperately prayed that it would not be what he thought. Then he saw it. A large dark shape, blacker than the night, tearing its way through the brambles and heading straight towards him.

         With a scream of pure terror, the man struggled to his feet and forced his stiff legs into motion. Thorns tore at his face and hands as he made his way through the brush, but he felt nothing except the closeness of the horrible thing behind him. Once again, his heart thundered in his chest. Once again, his breathing became painful and he felt the sharp stabbing pains in his chest. He glanced back quickly to see how close the thing was and froze in fear. It was practically upon him, a deformed claw already stretching out towards him in the darkness. The mutilated head, too large for the distorted body, loomed above him like a drunken giant in the dark. The old man screamed in anguish, clutched his chest and, once again, crumbled to the ground.

         The creature stared at the lifeless form lying at its feet. With a loud cry of despair, it fell upon its knees.  Madly, it tore at its chest. Lifting its head to the sky, it opened its mouth and emitted a blood-curdling wail that echoed loudly through the bush. It had tried so hard to reach its master, and now that it had, they were farther apart than ever.