A Glimpse of Starlight

The phrases in italics are the lyrics of RED’s “Watch You Crawl”. 

~

He panted in the dark, sweat trickling down his neck.  The labyrinthine tunnels taunted him, daring him to travel deeper, deeper.

His ears caught a sound, faint but very real.  With it came memories, so many memories.

You put my back against the wall — watching, waiting.  

His muscles tightened.  Not this time, not again.  He was the not the same man he had been.

“I know you’re there,” he said to the darkness.

A shuffle and then a voice, that voice that had haunted his nights ever since their first encounter.

“So. You’re here. It was a good chase, I didn’t expect it from you.”

You didn’t, did you?

You never thought I’d get this far beneath your skin. 

The voice moved closer.  “Do you remember last time?”

How could he not?

A low laugh.  Raspy and slick, reminded him of death and snakes.  “It was a thing of beauty, really …”

A thing of beauty?  He remembered something different.

I watched you swim with all your lies that pulled you under. 

“You won’t talk?  Afraid, are you?”

Afraid?  Oh, no.  Not that.

And as you wait for my demise, I’m just getting stronger. 

He laughed, breaking his silence.  He could tell by the slight shift in the man’s breathing that he was surprised.

“You want to talk about fear?  It means we’ll have to talk about you.”

The snort of derision he’d expected.  “Really, now?”

“Yes, really.”  He lowered his voice to a soft growl.  “And this time, everything is going to be different.”

You want to know why?  I have spent these past years studying one thing.  One person.

Learning who you really are and nothing can save you. 

A pause.  Then, “Oh, you’re always so dramatic.”

“Don’t dodge the point.”

The voice was hard now, shattering the air that separated them.  “What do you want?  What’s your game?”

He smiled.

I will fight until the end.  Get ready to collide.  And I will watch you fall again.

He slid the dagger out of his belt, the darkness now a comforting cloak, protecting him from his enemy’s eyes.

I’ll bury you alive.  You try to bring me to my knees, trying to take it all … 

“I know who you are,” he said.

“Big deal. I can say the same about you.”

He laughed.  “No.  No, you can’t.  You don’t even know who you are.”

“Oh?”  But the voice was tight.

“You think I’m defeated.  And you think you’re the victor.”

Now I will stand … 

He sent the dagger flying and danced to the side, just as a dart whistled by him, clattering against the stone wall where he’d just stood.

A groan stained the air.

“You were … a coward.  Afraid to fight for the truth.  It was just … words … with you.  Not this.”  A pain-streaked gasp.

“Yes. That was then.”

He smiled, this time with no irony.  “Now I know when to fight.  Now I am no coward.”

… and watch you crawl. 

~ 

She slammed the door and sank to the floor, accusing voices piercing her mind.

I’ll put you back where you belong — hopeless, fading. 

“No!” she screamed at the demon in her head.

But it didn’t listen.

I will rise while you become the monster you have fed. 

“I’m not a monster!” she cried, tears coating her cheeks.

But the voice, it were true, wasn’t it?  She was a monster.

The voice agreed.

I’ll let you drown in your despair and now nothing can save you. 

She could never get it right — never, never.  Again and again she fell and sinned and failed the One who’d saved her.

The One who’d saved her …

A new voice entered the cacophony.  A new voice, and a new song.  She couldn’t believe it, though, could she?  But it overwhelmed the murky tide in her mind, and she couldn’t help but cling to the words.

I will fight until the end.  Get ready to collide.   And I will watch you fall again. 

Could she really fight?  She always gave in so easily, and while it was easy, it hurt.  It seared.  How could she break the cycle?

The song pounded on, and she rose to her knees.

I’ll bury you alive. 

The words the voice had sneered at her — the words she’d believed to her destruction — those words she could now turn back on it.  It was the monster, the one drowning in despair.

She stood, a smile cracking the mask of tears.

You try to bring me to my knees, trying to take it all.  Now I will stand and watch you crawl. 

She grabbed a Bible, ignoring the inner mockery.

I’m still here.  Now I watch you beg. 

She opened the Book and grasped for the words that would keep her fighting.

I will fight until the end.  Get ready to collide, and I will watch you fall again.  I’ll bury you alive. 

Greater is He that is in me …

You try to bring me to my knees, trying to take it all. 

I am more than a conqueror in Him who loves me.

Now I will stand and watch you crawl.