Nyctophobia- fear of the dark
I sit around the campfire watching the small flames dance around the wood. Here I'm safe yet as I glance up at the darkness around me, my stomach drops. I shouldn't be this uneasy and let this childish fear consume me yet here I am.
A snap of a twig, a lone cry of an owl and a squirrel races by. I know it's what these things are but my mind tells me otherwise. It tells me of the soldiers lurking beyond the safety of the fire. Of the demons, dragons and creatures I abandoned centuries ago waiting quietly.
Perhaps it's because I've spent so much time with the others, with Russia, Poland and America that I've learned to ignore them. But alone it all comes back to me again.
Another twig snaps in my ear making my body freeze. From the corner of my eye I can see it, a demon inching forward, reaching out for me.
"Grabbed some more logs...you okay?"
Forcing a smile I nod at my old friend. "Just cold Mr. America." I answer as he throws another log on the fire before disappearing into one of the tents. Again the lights dance but it does little to ease my fear. Really it's not the darkness I fear, it is natural after all. It's what watches me from beyond in it that chills me to the bone.