The tunnel

The ground starts moving before you see the fire. You spread your feet, reach for something solid. A voice calls your name, but the sound arrives too slowly. You watch a mouth finish speaking before you hear the words. Even your hands seem far away. Then the storm comes through, and the world you recognise begins to burn. You step into the darkness. Later, you will call it a tunnel. From inside, you can’t tell. You reach out on either side and find nothing. There are no walls to follow, no curve or corner, no faint light to walk towards. There is ground beneath your feet. You test it with your weight, then take another step. You look back for the person who called your name. You want them to follow. You wait with your hand stretched out until your shoulder aches, but this place will only hold you. You lower your arm. For a while, you count your footsteps. At a thousand, you start again. Somewhere through the next thousand, you lose your place and begin at one, though you can’t…