Chapter 11


Drums beat progressively louder in a hypnotic rhythm. The vibrations shake and tear at conscious thought, bearing down: a crushing weight to mind and body. Looking within, he sees himself in the distorted mirror of his reality. In the shadows of the glass, clouds bubble and froth in heated tempests. Behind the darkness, a searing light cuts thinly through the dirge. Shadows of light caress his reflection and he feels the tainted truth impress upon him. Images of a past long forgotten bring him to his knees; his hands covering his face in anguish as tears of regret and longing flood past the dam of his eyes. The warm light grew stronger and beat down faster as if in time to the beats of the drums.


Cowering upon the wasteland of his mind, he looked up to the mirror. Jagged cracks adorned the sides of the glass. Slowly, the cracks spread apart in a slow malevolent smile. He reached forth with his hand, but too late, the ground beneath him gave way to tremors. He found himself being dragged further and further away from the mirror, away from the light that illuminated the shadows. In the distance, he could hear a shattering sound. In response, the landscape of his mind splintered into a million pieces and he sank into darkness.