Burning Wings (Discontinued Until Further Notice)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Dulled Star and His Light

"Weiss! Weiss!!!"

Jason felt as if his heart were beating out of his chest as he ran down the snow covered road, taking heavy breaths as panic began to set in his mind. The jade-colored scarf around his neck flapped in the wind behind him.

He had heard the tires, and he had heard the scream. He heard Weiss' scream.

She's okay... She's okay...! She's got to be! Jason thought worriedly. Maybe the car surprised her! Maybe she fell or something!

Despite his hopeful thinking, Jason still pelted down the street, trying not to slip on the icy road and ignoring the snowfall. As he passed the bench where he and Weiss had been sitting only moments before, Jason could hear panicked voices from nearby, and he ran towards them, his eyes wide in fear.

As he rounded the street corner, Jason skidded to a halt. A mini-van was parked in the middle of the road, blocking Jason's view of the street. Slowly stepping around the van, Jason saw two people, a man and a woman, looking worriedly at something lying in the street, and Jason realized that they must have been the two people that he had heard talking from down the street. As Jason stepped closer to the front of the car, the woman turned her head, letting out a small gasp of surprise when she noticed him.

Jason spoke, in a timid voice, "Excuse me, have you seen my friend around here anywhere? She's got blonde hair, a green... shirt..."

Jason's voice trailed off as the woman slapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide and tears forming in her eyes. Jason felt a twisting feeling in his gut at the expression on her face. Breaking eye contact with her, Jason stepped around her and continued onward, the woman making no attempt to stop him.

She's okay...She's got to be...

Jason's mouth fell open as he saw that some of the snow behind the woman was splattered a red color, and his gaze followed the red snow, the red becoming more frequent and darker until...

Jason's eyes widened, and he froze up as he saw what was lying in the middle of the street, a look of disbelief on his face. No way... No way!

But as much as Jason tried to deny it, there was no changing the fact that what lay in the middle of the street was his best friend's body.

Weiss was flat on her back, her body still. There was a thin trail of blood coming from her mouth, and her neck was wrenched to the side, clearly broken. The snow around her leg was stained with blood, blood seeping out of one of her legs, which was twisted at an abnormal angle, with a bone sticking out of the side, causing the steady blood flow. Her glazed-over eyes and mouth were open wide, as if recreating a final look of fear on her face.

"Weiss...?" Jason whimpered, and unable to register the mangled body of his friend, he fell to his knees, his arms falling limp next to him as tears began to fall down his face.

You can't be dead! Please Weiss, tell me you aren't dead! Not now! I didn't even get a chance to...!

I shouldn't have let you leave in this snowstorm all by yourself! This is... This is my fault!

Jason's body shook as sobs wracked his body, ignoring the voices of the man and woman behind him. Jason rose a hand and grabbed the scarf tightly around his neck, before lifting his head in a long wail of anguish.

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