The Shores of Time

When the clock struck midnight and the earth was lost in the inky blackness of eclipse I headed out into the thunderous night. I ran, my feet pounding the wet pavement one after the other – my breathing still steady, and then my feet hit sand with a crunch. The beach – the stretch of sand suddenly became illuminated by a bolt of lightning. Rolling cliffs and swaying trees threw menacing shadows here and there, and still, I ran. The heavens fought and clashed with a mighty roar and then the darkness descended with a whisper. Waves crashed and cliffs loomed as my legs grew heavy, and still, I ran. I pressed on into the night, a journey for journey’s sake.



It was only after running past the stretch of sand that I came across three persons. They were dancing, their figures flickering in the firelight thrown out by a small fire. One was a young girl and another was a young boy and the other was a fair woman.

“Mother,” they laughed, their teeth gleaming in the light, “won’t you sing to us? Sing the song of lost love and crocodile tears.”

And sing she did. With a voice to charm the angels from their clouds she sung and danced with her children. Tears mingled

with my sweat as she sang. As I came closer the young girl noticed me.

“Look, mother, there is a man! He is so sad and pain pulls at his soul.”

“Yes there he is! Stay a while will you? Rest your weary body for nothing is to be found along this path but fear and darkness.”

My heart broke as she was beautiful, “I am sorry but I must go! This journey must be completed at even my soul’s expense.”

The fair woman smiled sadly as I ran past. I didn’t look back yet it felt as though my heart had left me and stayed by the fire to dance and sing of love.



Then I came to Captive’s Cove. Hidden rocks and shells hindered my travel, and still, I ran. Here lay the entrance to a lonesome village set high on the cliffs. A sign guarded spiked iron gates. It read “Come for the end; know that you will not leave.” A weeping willow swayed in the breeze dropping leaves on the sand. At its base stood, or rather staggered, three old men. One held a blazing torch in one hand and a bottle in the other. The other two weaved around drunkenly laughing like madmen as they struck at each other with their canes.

“Halt! Who goes there?” cried the man with the torch. The drunken men stopped fencing.

“Few go by here. Are you seeking eternity young one?”

My feet did not stop pounding and I answered hastily not wanting to stay long, “I am on a journey. I must run until it is finished.”

“Ha-ha! He’s on a journey is he? Well good riddance! He wouldn’t have made it here anyway! Too impatient these young people are.”

The men returned to their laughter and jesting, taking no notice of me any more. I continued running yet felt ashamed. Was I not good enough? What was I not good enough for? My feet grew leaden as my spirits sank but then the bushes were rustled with a sudden fury and I remembered my journey. On I ran, into the black unknown, another path left behind.



Around the corner was Blasphemy Bay. It stretched for many miles and a sudden desire to turn back hit me like a sledgehammer. Already I was growing weary for my sustenance dwindled, but still, I ran. Vile shouts and curses reached my ears with the whispering wind. A rivulet of lightning dripped from the sky and black frenzied figures materialized in front of my eyes. There were hundreds of them, chained to rocks like animals but wholly oblivious of the fact. They caught sight of me in the light.

“Here comes another!” they screamed to the wind.

“Let us see if he will stand the test!”

They lurched forward obstructing my path as I ran. They formed a writhing wall and in unison they cried out to me, “Here is love! Take it and be content! Here is freedom! Take it and be content! Here is power! Take it and be content! Here is pleasure! Take it and be content…”

On and on they chanted blissfully unaware of the chains that held them. I cried aloud in anguish and clasped my ears to block out their filthy lies. In unending onslaught they chanted. I charged the wall in desperation but was thrown back. Again I charged the wall and was hurled to the ground.

“You cannot escape,” they chanted with a passion, “…Here is meaning! Take it and be content!”

“I must finish my journey,” I shouted fruitlessly. I ran to the sea and the wall followed me. I dashed into the crashing waves, fighting the onslaught. The wall stayed where it was, not willing to drown.

“Fine then, go!” they shouted in unison, “You could never be one of us!” Each one of their words was like an arrow wreathed in hatred that pierced my soul.

I swam until I reached the shore far from the chained figures. I ran, sobbing, yet still, I ran.



I ran trembling until I happened upon an unknown beach. The beach was shrouded in utter darkness and I stumbled often on unknown obstacles. A foul smell assaulted my senses and the sound of a spade striking sand drifted past my ears. Hushed whispers were nearly drowned out by the lapping waves and the rustling trees. Here I halted. My fear grew as did the darkness. A sound in the bushes and a flash of white caught my attention. I was being watched. I knew that I had to run still and so with great trepidation I ran. I ran, but fell suddenly into a hole in the sand! Two pairs of gleaming, red eyes stared down at me from above.

“Who is this that disturbs our work?” their voices rasped like sandpaper striking wood.

“I am but a weary man on a journey, please let me go.”

The eyes looked at each other and then back at me, “He’s seen too much. He will tell.”

My stomach knotted and my legs quaked, “No! N-Never! I would never tell a soul!”

“Too late!”

A putrid sack that smelled of rotting flesh was thrown into the hole beside me. I touched it and regretted it instantly. It was a body. The digging sound continued and I struggled up but was forced back down by a spade full of sand. This was followed by yet more sand and more sand after that. I was being buried alive! A clod of sandy dirt covered my face and I screamed in terror. Fighting violently upwards I struggled until I could stand.

“Get back down, filth!” hissed the man with the glowing eyes.

A boot caught me full in the face but my fear spurred me on so much that I leapt out of the hole (It was only after that I realized it was a coffin sized hole). I ran and I ran and my face bled. Hurried footsteps sounded behind me but they faded as I dashed down the unknown beach.  A movement in the bushes started suddenly but then stopped just as suddenly. And still, I ran.



As I ran my breath grew ragged and my heart beat like a trip hammer. It felt as though some colossal force was tugging at my shoes and each step was agony. Then I came across Iniquitous Inlet. The air tingled with an atmosphere of evil. Here sat three creatures full of hate and malice, creatures no longer human but hideously disfigured by wickedness. They sat around a glowing fire, fire that was green and gasped when fed with the bones of those who had tried to pass before. I stopped. A feeling of dread hung about my body so thick that it could be sliced or rent with an axe.

One of the figures rose, shrouded in shadows, as I halted in indecision, “We know that you are there young one. We can smell your blood from here! Do you wish to go on? You do don’t you?” I nodded slightly. The moon, once hidden, now began to grow pale as the eclipse waned.

Another sitting figure cackled an inhuman laugh, “Well it is too late to turn back now! You die here! I will keep your soul in a jar of poison…dwell on that, young one. And let me feel your fear!”

The moon was now bright and a soft pale light cast a glow about the area. The figures rose and in the glow I saw with clarity what monsters guarded the way before me. Tall and lithe was one, a dark, tattered cloak that hung off his gnarled shoulders swirled with unearthly power. Another was dressed in scarlet robes but his face was that of a rotted wolf. Streaks of red glowed beneath the matted, torn fur. The last, the first to speak, was a hideous creature, gaunt in frame and powerful in stature. His eyes gleamed with a powerful fury and his figure twisted and shuddered in anticipation. They came for me as one, their fangs dripping fluorescent blood. I saw a path, a slight hope for escape beyond them, and I ran!



I ran and ran with all my might. I ran so hard that I thought I would die. Animal screeches and howls sounded at my heels as I went. I came to a wide open beach, at the mouth of the River Gardon. The bright lights of a city on a hill shone like a beacon in the distance and I knew then in my heart that it was there that my journey would end. A blood-curling scream ripped behind my head and I chanced a look back. They were close. One monster sprinted on four legs like a panther, another charged like a foaming bull and the last hunched his shoulders as he ran. It was then as I looked back that my foot caught on a rock and my knee sliced on the sharp shells. A cry of pain that was my own pierced the air. Then, when I felt that all hope was lost, the bushes on a hill exploded in a magnificent bright light. A knight in shimmering amour burst forth ridding a white stallion, a sword held high in his arm as he charged across the sand with breathtaking ease.

“It is him!” screamed one of the beasts, cowering in the revealing light as he turned. The knight hung poised on his steed that appeared to float over the treacherous ground. A dazzling flash and a shriek and the first beast fell to the ground fizzling away like water. Another turned only to be cut down by the avenging blade of the warrior, he too melted away. The last monster ran straight for me, vengeance in his eyes. I though he would kill me before the knight could cut him down. But the stallion unfolded immense wings that stretched and fanned like a heavenly bird. With this the knight swooped into the air and dived upon the beast slicing off its head with a hiss.

I looked in wonder as the knight spoke in a strong, melodious voice, “Well done, you have finished your journey. That city you see on the hill is mine and there lies your reward. Raise up young one, ride with me there.” I raised myself slowly, my pains suddenly falling away, and I took his outstretched hand. He pulled me onto the horse and it took off as gently as a breeze, winging its way to the shining city on the hill. I had run my race, and now, I soared!