Breathing the Dead ~ H.S

Chapter Forty-Six

"Harry..." Eric whimpered, "will...w-will my mum & dad be OK..?"

I felt my heart break at his question, and a tear began to slide slowly down my face.

"Yeah, buddy. They're gonna be fine. They'll both be much happier now...and they'll always be watching over you," Harry kissed the side of his head softly, "and they will always love you. Always. Are you hearing this?" He held Eric at an arm's length to look him in the eyes.

Eric sniffled and nodded. "Y-Yes, Harry..." his bottom lip trembled, "but I...I'm gonna miss them..."

"I know, sport," Harry gave him a sympathetic look and pulled him into his arms again, "we're gonna miss them, too."

I let out a quiet sob and watched tearfully as Liam lowered Louis & Hailee's bodies in the first two graves – laying them right beside each other with a forlorn look on his face.

I'll never forget the fresh tearstains on Hailee's face when we discovered her body in her cabin – her eyes wide open and expressing nothing but grief as she laid sprawled out across the floor; the handgun she had used on herself still resting in her palm with her finger still holding the trigger. It was a highly unsettling & grievous sight – but I'm pretty sure most of us suspected it was coming.

After all...who on earth would be able to live with the horrific sight of your child's father dangling from the ceiling? It was a sight that still haunted me up until now.

"Harry," Liam suddenly came up to Harry and crouched down to place a hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry, mate, but we have to continue..."

"Yeah. I know," Harry sighed and reluctantly released Eric from his arms, "you stay right here with Laura, OK?"

"OK," Eric whispered before sitting down cross-legged next to Lilly's carrier, "can I rock Lilly's carrier for a while?"

Harry smiled at him. "Of course you can. Thanks, sport. I'll come and take over once we're done."

Eric only nodded and looked down at Lilly with a soft smile on his face – rocking her gently in the carrier and looking as if he'd suddenly forgotten what the rest of us were doing – which was good.

"Are these nameplates done now?" Harry asked me quietly.

I nodded. "All done. I just hope they're OK..." I bit my lip anxiously, "I really tried to do a good job..."

Harry smiled and kissed me on the forehead. "I'm sure they're perfect," he then looked at me, "are you hungry? Do you want anything?"

"Yeah – to stay in bed with you & Lilly for the rest of the day," I said half-jokingly.

Harry chuckled softly. "I want that too, sweetheart. Believe me."

"I do," I smiled at him, "anyway – thanks, but I'm OK. I'm not hungry."

"OK," Harry smiled back at me, "we're nearly done here," he took a deep breath, "it's almost over."

"It's fine. Don't rush," I told him, "they all deserve a proper burial..." I bit my lip as I fought back more tears.

"You're right," Harry sighed, "you sure you don't want to go back into base with the kids?"

I shook my head. "We...should all have the chance to say goodbye...even if it'll be harder for some..." I snuck a worried look at Eric.

"Yeah," Harry sighed again, "alright, love. You three stay here."

"Do you need help...w-with the bodies..?" I asked him softly with a nervous bite of my lip.