I tend to play along with prompt games on BlueSky, because I enjoy having something give me a subject to talk about. Today's prompt for one of the prompt games (IndieFantasyMaytober, for those of you who are curious) was to write a flash fiction for the prompt, "darkness" Here's my attempt!

Enjoy!

The stasis that comes with the lack of light is astounding. I'm talking true darkness - subterranean, cave systems, no cell phones or LEDs to break the pure black. In the void, you lose your bearings, arms stretched in any which direction, desperate to come into contact with a wall, or a surface, or something.

This is where I found myself; ears ringing, tongue heavy and sour in my mouth, as if tuning into my other senses made up for the lack of one. But the worst thing about the lack of sight isn't being unable to see — it's being able to feel.

The air surrounds you.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, skin prickling as if screaming, "Yes, there is something watching me, and no, I can't see it."

Imagine the fear when I feel the breath of a creature, fetid and sour, brushing against my cheeks. I can't even step back without wondering if my foot will catch on the jagged rocks I glimpsed before the lantern died. Maybe I'll step straight into the mouth of a drop and fall to my death in the rivers below.

The grunting overtakes the ringing. I hear the smack of hungry lips in front of me. Deep, heavy sound promising something large and dangerous.

What was it, a bear? A mountain lion? Something darker and less natural?

Maybe the worst thing of all about the darkness is my imagination, promising giant claws and a bloody doom. Something snaps in front of me and I run, lack of light be damned.