Short Stories

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Fear
By: Joseph J. Whitlock, Jr.
Email: [email protected]
Word Count: 284
©2008

Angela rubbed her arms briskly but the goose bumps wouldn’t go away. Her throat was dry and her breathing erratic. Her heartbeat grew faster and her palms became sweaty. Tears emerged from her bright, blue eyes, but instead of rolling down her cheek the violent wind just pushed them into her hair. She anxiously reached for Johnny’s hand but grabbed his forearm instead. He winced slightly from the pain of her grip, then pulled his arm free and took her trembling hand into his.
There were brief burst of light, but that did little to calm Angela’s fear of the darkness that surrounded her. With each passing moment her fear grew to a greater level. Fear had never gripped her like this before; she trembled uncontrollably. Anger overcame her momentarily and she glared at Johnny with distain in her eyes. She was angry with him for bringing her there and wanted to tell him so but was unable to speak. She wanted to scream but couldn’t do that either. For the first time in her life she was paralyzed with fear. She felt certain that she would die.
Then just as suddenly as it had all begun, the wind ceased, light dispelled the darkness and the goose bumps went away. Angela felt calmer, her breathing returned to normal and her heart rate slowed. Even her sweaty palms began to dry. Relieved to be alive, she took a deep breath and released it slowly. The horrifying ordeal was over and she had survived. She loosened her grip on Johnny’s hand and turned to give him a gentle smile. He returned the smile, leaned closer to her and asked,
“Do you want to ride it again?”

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