There were tentacles descending from the overhead light. Anthony didn’t need a second look to know he needed to get out of there.

I wanted you back. Ungrateful and true, completely in view, I could see the ends of the tarmac as it disappeared into the ocean. No blankets of safety were being handed out as the egines whined like turbo sized dogs at dinnertime.

The pressure spiked in the cabin. Carbonated beverages exploded like holiday fireworks, drenching passengers in complimentary dismay. The thin crackle of the PA told them to stay calm. No tin voice could keep the collective panic from swelling as the sea erupted.

\\\

“I know I’m alone if I’m with or without you,” she said with a long exhale of a clove cigarette.

///

The one that crawled out of the briar mists hasn’t been found yet. Across the moor, the heavy steps of tired boots and anxious hounds mixed the soft mud into a tapestry of desperation.