Before I Leave

Don't Die

          Warm meat fell into your watering mouth. You devoured it, barely taking the time to chew.  "Mm mm," you hummed and licked the bone clean.

       You reached for another piece, when a faint yell just timidly brushed against your ear drum.

     I have to be hearing things. That's not possible. Your greedy hands grabbed another hunk of meat.

       There it was again, but closer now. This time you recognized the voice. It was like an angel calling.

      The piece you were about to eat fell to the ground and ants immediately began their work.

     Your senses were on edge, listening for the tiniest of sounds. "(Y/N)..." There it is again.

     "Luke," you whispered with excitement.

      Whether this was a test or not, it didn't matter. "Luke!" Your legs seemed to gain a mind of their own. They followed the shouts and wouldn't stop, no matter how much the torn muscle in your calf ached.

~~~~~~~

       "(Y/N)! I'm here!" Luke called as loud as his lungs would let him.

         I swear I heard her.

      He had never ran this much in his life, but the thought of you kept him going. It didn't even feel like running anymore. It felt like flying.

     "Luke....," your voice reached out and slapped him in the face. 

     "(Y/N)!" He called back. Now his arms were whipping away branches as if they were flies.

     "Luke!" His name echoed in his ears. 

       "(Y/N)!" Blood rushed through his valves faster than his heart could handle.

         The slightest bit of your hair was visible, bouncing and shimmering in and out of the light that was bursting through the canopy's tree tops.

       "Luke! Luke!" Your leg felt as if it would give out any second, but you wouldn't stop, not when you were so close.

        "(Y/N)!!" The space between you closed within seconds.

       You threw your arms tightly around his neck and squeezed with all your might. His strong arms wrapped around your torso and lifted your feet off the ground. "(Y/N)!!" He spun you with exhilaration.

      He pulled you down and pressed his lips against yours. You fell into him completely, putting every ounce of body weight against him. You never wanted to part from him again. "I love you," he cried," I've always loved you."

          His eyes began to water. You buried your face in his chest and began to shake with loud sobs. You cried your heart out until you had no more tears left. You weren't sure why you cried. Maybe because even after the separation, you still hadn't said the three words you had been wanting to admit for so long.

~~~~~~~

       Bryton took a long look at the graveyard. Everything was just as it was that day. The sky had wept for him because his father had always said, "Son, men don't cry."

     The last thing he had wanted, was for his father to be disappointed in him for crying at the burial service. So he didn't. Instead, he let the clouds cry for him.

    He read the bottom of the sign aloud, "Escape the dead....or join them?" He growled with frustration. "What does that even mean? This is stupid!" He kicked a rock laying near by. Crack!