COURAGE BEYOND ENDURANCE

Sometimes you find yourself in situations beyond your control and it takes much courage and strenght to endure the hardship heaped upon you. When the world is a big scary place, as it is for this young boy, it becomes terrifying. This is the tale of a young boys harrowing night.
I was going to end this pretty straight, but I am afraid I failed and it concludes as ambiguous as many of my other stories.

The headlight beams reflects
off the dank slick country road
Rain rages like a tempest
it is sensory overload
The gas pedal's pushed
all the way to the floor
She should be cautious,
but she doesn't care anymore

Her mind is gazing
at the immediate past
Pictures without purpose
it all flies by so fast
The present explodes
the car starts to skid
Over the curve
off the grid

Picking up speed
down the stone covered hill
Can't halt the bullet
once the trigger's squeezed to kill
The end is certain
clear for all to see
Abrupt and vicious
when you cease to be

An hour goes by, then another two
when a whimper is heard from the car
Little Billy is strapped in the backseat alone
banged up with bruises and scars
Soon darkness hovers
like a fence 'round his fear
He calls out uncertain,
but no one will hear

He longs for his mothers soft embrace
her voice familiar and kind
Yet doubt is a vulture pecking away
at his life's once perfect design
Unable to flee as he's locked to his fate
straining to peer through the night
A towering tree is faintly in view
the source of his miserable plight

Sinister sounds in a pityless realm
harrowing moans from beyond
A careening calamity thrust into his path
a terror he cannot outrun
Simmering madness strives for control
pushing him towards the edge
Staring into the inviting abyss
before turning away from the ledge

The tendrils of moonlight
through the forest it creeps
Glinting bleak rays penetrating the clouds
burrowing deeper than deep
For only an instant a second awakes
to reveal in haunting detail
In the naked glow of an errant beam
eyes look back blind and pale

The blackness is bleached by the clearing skies
revealing a chamber of grue
The body elixir sprayed like a mist
grimy droplets of a burgundy hue
Streaks on the windows, pools on the floor
infecting him with dread
Panic erupts when he spies in the corner
his mothers severed head

Tearing at the belt buckle
ripping his nails to shreds
No time to mourn her
or retrieve the tears he shed
A vice of emotions
holds him in place
Shackled to the reality
he doesn't want to face

The chill slips through
a hole in the night
First a nip and a tug
then a kiss and a bite
There will be no cavalry
no rescue here at dawn
No ticket to Shangri La
your future has been withdrawn

Sleeps seems enticing
remember how to forget
Lose yourself in the fog
of transparent silhouettes
Chose the dream solution
ride oblivions express
Back to the white washed past
away from emptyness

The cougar stops to listen
when the vily snow crow caws
A respite from his hunger
A rest for aching paws
The scent is growing stronger
it permeates the air
At last his needs be sated
his prey seems very near

Cautious he approaches
tempered in pursuit
Weary of the hunters
eagerness to shoot
Through the shattered windshield
like a ghost across the glass
Through the keyhole of temptation
the famished beast shall pass

Billy clings to shadows
beneath it's cloak he hides
Urgent in his fervor
not to join the other side
Quietly he listens
to the churning of the teeth
His mothers desecration
his heart rampant beat

He suffocates a tremble
supress the urge to cry
Flicking off emotion
determined not to die
Forced to be a witness
to watch, but still ignore
The harvest of his innocence
that no one can restore

Time has an agenda
against the wind it crawls
Caught in stagnant motion
momentum has been stalled
Billy's afraid to move
Billy's afraid to breathe
Billy's holding on to
the only life he'll ever need

Suddenly the cougar
detects the scent of man
What an unexpected pleasure
supply exceeds demand
He peeks behind the seat
where a young boy lies
The beast snarls, fangs glisten
Billy grabs a pencil and stabs it in the eye

Agony furls the fury
and the unforgiving pain,
but the sustenance to survival
is to abandon the rage in your veins
The foolish fiend retreats
to mend his scarred pride
He will always rue the battle
with the boy who tanned his hide

Again dawn is reborn
the sleepy sun awakes
Still the nightmare lingers on
too close to forsake
The morning mourns the memories
etchings of despair
Carved into the fabric
of many angst filled years

There is a rickety bridge
between here and sanity
It's a treacherous road
back to humanity
Far beyond endurance
courage claims it's reward
Flee while sorrow slumbers
omit what you've endured

Do not stop running
never turn around
There will be shelter
sanctuary will be found
Up the hill he struggles
as a car is slowing down
He sees a kindly old preacher
with concern on his frown

Billy seeks assurance
from a stranger heaven sent
Take me away he pleeds
on you I will depend
You're safe the preacher says
you're safe here with me
Then he smiles to himself
and puts a hand on Billys knee