He coughed and hacked as he made his
way up the steps to his building, near collapse with the onslaught of
agony raging across his body. Fire lurched from within his lungs,
droplets of blood mixing with mucus from the barbed wire that dragged
through his throat. Both legs were screaming from the strain they
had just endured, battered and beaten non-stop for a good 10 minutes.
And now, his shaking hands fumbling through his pockets searching
for the one release. The keys that would keep his secret, the keys
that would open the passage to salvation.
As he rattled and clanked the key into
the front door of his building, it struck him, is someone watching?
A quick glance behind proved his fear. Standing and staring across
the street a look of concern brimmed on a man's face. A neighbor or
a passer-by was unimportant. Finally the lock gave way, and in he
stumbled, despondent that someone had caught him in such a state.
One final door, easily unlocked and he reached his salvation. Body
aching, lungs burning, throat torn he let his knees give way, falling
harshly onto the rough brown carpet.
I'm never jogging again, he
thought.
