Hither ‘ere Lanterns
The midnight sky was flooded in a glare. It was an aurora borealis of clementine orange. Joshua looked up from his truck out on to the dead road. His eyes locked on the anomaly. His wheel locks, and with it the tires skidded the truck into a tree. He slumped at the wheel, mustering his energy to look above as the light consumed the sky. The orange glow sank into his eyes. It was all he could see. He looked down at his chest where he felt an acute pain. A branch had torn through his clothes and rested comfortably beside his lungs, protruding like a welcomed hand to the buzzards. He wondered if they would use it as perch whilst they gnawed away at him, a buffet parchment for a carcass. ‘Get up.’ Joshua uttered, defiant. He looked down at his body. It was fat with age. Sweat was pouring from his brow. His rough hands grappled the branch as he tried to pull it loose. The more he twisted and toyed with it the more he screamed, the agony of the splintering bark against the in