Harvest Moon O're Withered Fields

...the village shivers a hive of restless souls skin pricklin' with anticipation as costumed runners fixin' to gather — hearts a-thrummin' like trapped hummin' birds the gun cracks — a thunderbolt shatterin' th' autumn calm bodies surge forward, a mighty flood of desperation hopes misplaced, yet unyieldin' jack-o-lanterns leer from yonder doorsteps their hollow grins like flickerin' owls in the wind Willow, once a saplin' in Tom's arthritic hands now a gazelle with muscles coiled 'neath sun-kissed skin her grandad's voice -- a steady compass urgin' her through the storm Tom — roots planted in war-torn soil comrades' names etched in the lines of his face time-worn joints creak like rusty hinges each step a battle 'gainst the relentless tickin' his heartbeat once steady as war drums now falters Don limps —his plastered leg a cruel anchor dreams splintered like his tibia on black ice the antiseptic's ghost permeates th' air sterile corridors perfidious prognoses Jenna — wrapped in a year's bounty her body ripplin' with the weight of wet unfallen leaves bitterness thickens on 'er tongue her body — a prison of comfort food midnight binges an' unanswered hunger her pulse races t'ward a frantic countdown Jim and Christa — hands held tight bound by love, tethered by illness her body — a war zone his touch — a fleetin' balm chemo's sour scent clings like death's perfume their future — a handful of stol'n moments pensive prayers slippin' through fingers the young couple drunk on youth's sweet wine blind to shadows lurkin' just beyond their laughter lingerin' in the October chill oblivious to th' stopwatch siphonin' their joy four hours: the clock ticks — a heartless god each second — a heartbeat a breath a life inchin' closer to th' edge empty shelves vapors of scarcity bandages pills precious as gold dust the road stretches — a ribbon of fate frayin' rough asphalt and dirt-laden trails bite at soles air thick with decay windin' through fields of withered crops and unspoken fears fall'n leaves crackle underfoot a dissonance of decay th' air grows thick with rottin' apples an' smoke curlin' from distant fires Willow flies — feet barely grazin' earth Don grits 'is teeth, determination poolin' in 'is sweat Jenna's lungs blaze, a wildfire in 'er chest Jim and Christa — hands linked: fragile butterflies in autumn's cruel wind the finish line looms a threshold to salvation or damnation the clock's hands whirl cheers erupt as the first cross th' line relief an' joy mingle like incense in th' air but as the fourth-hour tolls a sound shatters th' sky gunshots echo in th' distance a harvest of a different kind Willow crumples victory hollow her grandad's absence an ache in 'er chest his 'eartbeat forever silenced Jim's triumph dissolves to ash Christa's silence — the final quiescence — deafenin' Don and Jenna — stranded behind their bodies plumb worn an' unwillin' betray them one last time the village keens — a shared grief for more than fallen leaves October's cruel harvest reaps deeper a rendered toll survivors freeze realization dawnin' like a blood-red sun this race was never just about time or fleetin' glory in th' distance, gunshots punctuate th' autumn air a s t a c c a t o rhythm of finality of lives extinguished Halloween mask slips revealin' the raw face of terror carrion-hungry vultures circlin' above waitin'... voracious for the weakest final heartbeats fade... like distant drums as decay’n guttural gunshots grate across th' withered fields...