Fallen Dusk | Part 1 | Part 2
As Dusk crawls along the tile floor, seeking anything to tell him where he is, a wall, a door, he feels his strength return, wobbly and minute, but enough to push him up onto his feet. The sudden change in altitude makes him dizzy, and he stumbles, catching himself on a wall.
That’s something. The wall is smooth and less cold than the floor, and taller than he can reach one trembling arm. Following it should lead him to a door, and perhaps to an exit, or an entrance. With this new support granted him, he continues.
The sounds hardly change as he goes; his unsteady footsteps, and an occasional hum, that occasionally cuts off, or sometimes starts up as he inches forward in silence. The hum is usually accompanied by a cool breeze, not quite enough to chill him, but enough to startle him. What is making this wind in fits and starts?
When he finally hears new sounds, he’s startled. It’s similar to a city, heard through a thin door. So he is inside, then? He shouldn’t attract much attention if he manages to get outside, having looked more or less mortal. As for his eyes--well, he can just close them, if they even still look how he remembers.
There, then is the door, with a cool metal handle that turns with little effort required. It swings inwards without much of a fuss, and the city sounds amplify.
It’s bright here, in a way he can feel and hear. Talking, strange roaring, a buzzing hum overhead. Dusk frowns. This is not a city he’s ever been to, surely. Something makes a loud honking noise, startling him into stiffness.
Nobody seems to have made note of him yet. He takes a shaky breath and ventures out of the building and into the warm, humid air of outdoors. Finding the outer wall, he braces against it, taking deep breaths of unfamiliar air.
How long was he in there? What time of night is it? For it must be night; he can sense the comforting black of it, though it is distant and muted amid a sea of brightness, almost like daytime. And of course, more importantly, how can he find some shelter? He ponders for a moment, until his legs give out and he abruptly collapses with a soft “ah.”
Still nobody notices, despite passing footsteps. That is alright. He keeps his eyes closed and tries to think, tries not to let his thoughts drown in the myriad of noise surrounding him.
