Jess looked up at the night sky so full of stars. He had to squint. Miles from nowhere, the moon not yet visible, Jess was almost blinded by the sparkling sky. He sucked in great lungfuls of rabbit brush and juniper; their sharp tang a welcome change to his city nose.

Although it was absolutely silent out on the high desert, the pounding in his ears seemed to fill the space around him. Amazing. His own heartbeats were the loudest thing he could hear.

Movement along the fence line caught his attention. Jess turned around slowly in hopes of getting a better view without startling whatever night creature shared this open field. Indistinguishable shadows melted and merged as the shape slipped beneath the fence rail before vanishing into blackness. Jess sighed, knowing he would miss the pure solitude of the desert.

Climbing into his pickup, he headed where bright neon would replace glittering stars. Gasoline fumes and the stench of refuse would fill his lungs. Invasive sirens and mind-numbing, thumping car stereo systems would drown out his heartbeats. But what bothered Jess most was knowing that the shapes in the shadows were much more dangerous in the city.

© 2008 Ric Hardson. Original for CCF. (Hardson grants CCF first electronic rights for one month; CCF may archive the material indefinitely and include it in an eBook anthology).