Click.
It was happening. It was really happening. The light was out, and I was still here. I looked around. Nothing.
I patted my pocket. No spares. I’d been warned about this, but did I listen? Evidently not.
I heard something whoosh past my ear. Was it a bat, or something else? I shuddered when I started to wonder what else it might be.
I had two options here; I could kill myself here and now, and die painlessly before the bats got me, or I could run like hell. I opted for the latter. I’d never been one for suicide.
I ran straight ahead; I couldn’t see anyway, so there was no point in changing directions. At this point, all I could hope for was a doorway or a lamppost. One meant salvation, the other unconsciousness, which was almost as good.
Yes, I thought, unconsciousness would be better involuntarily. If I had no control, it wouldn’t feel quite as bad as suicide.