The Grim Lost

Death

Upon walking down the path in my dream, I saw a hooded figure all dressed in black. He was an old friend of mine. I stood by his side and saw what he saw. Carnage, destruction, and disaster on the town we once knew. Blood and fire littered the streets we once roamed. He grasped my hand tightly, I think he was scared. Night fell, illuminated by the burning city, I turned away. Things were far worse than I feared. He clenched my hand tighter, afraid to be separated. I pulled him close into a hug. Even though we escaped Hell, we paid a great price. Our past is nothing more than a pile of ash. We can start new. New names, identities, everything. But is he going to want to? I shook my head. We must. There isn't a choice if we want to stay on this Earth.

"Logan," he said under his breath. I looked at him in surprise. "My new name." He turned toward the forest on our left. I nodded.

"Hannah," was the name I had chosen. Hopefully I can make the name describe me. We took off through the trees, running as fast as we possibly could. Toward a new beginning

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Months passed, we finally found our earthly home. The Matron of our dwelling was a rotund, kindly old lady. She and the Patron took us in when we first got into this town. They were at the market when we showed up and started arguing about the price of a fruit. The Patron offered us a temporary sanctuary. He was tall, lanky old man whose body mass made no sense. His feet looked too big for him. Logan and I were supposed to leave a few weeks ago, but the old couple bid us stay a while. They considered us their own.

I pounded on the bathroom door and walked in. Logan was putting his contacts in. To keep up with our charade, we dyed our hair and wore contacts. I went black hair with green eyes. Logan decided on blond hair and a dark grayish blue color for eyes. We could permanently alter our appearances, but we don't in case we run into an old friend were waiting for. An elder who escaped the fire. I shut the door behind me.

"I'm running out of excuses, Ruin. When are we going to move on from this place?" he asked me.

"I don't know, Rath. We have to wait until we hear word or are otherwise compromised." I replied, inserting my own contacts. He growled, breaking the mirror. I sighed. "If you keep breaking every mirror the Matron has, we'll have to leave."

"Sorry, Ruin." He repaired the mirror quickly. I checked the time, remembering the Patron had enrolled Logan and I in school. Logan grumbled.

"Hurry up, kids, or you'll be late!" The Matron called. Logan made a face of disgust. I laughed. We started to head out the door.

"Hold up," the Patron grumbled. Logan's eyes lit up. He and the Patron got along well. The old man dug into his pocket and pulled out two five-dollar bills. He handed one to me and the other to Logan. "Go to the store after school and buy yourselves something."

I smiled a thank you, and Logan hugged the Patron. The bus beeped its arrival. Knowing we had about one minute I grabbed Logan's shoulder and wretched him out the door. He then proceeded to hug me tightly. I held him securely; after all we've been through, we were each other's constants. I'm literally unable to see my future without him in it. Which is why it's going to be hard as Hell to say good-bye.

"Are you okay, Ruin?" he asked me under his breath. I must have been squeezing to hard or too long. I let go and stepped away, muttering the word nothing. He looked around, pulling me behind the house. I guess we weren't going to school. He turned toward me once we were behind the shed, safely hidden from sight. I looked to the ground. He pushed me against the wooden shed roughly, scaring me enough to make me meet his glare. The venom in his golden eyes had incinerated his contacts.

"Don't you dare try to pull that with me," Rath growled through his teeth. His hand was at my throat. I felt my own contacts turn to ash. His grip tightened. "Tell me what's wrong, now!"

I dug my nails into his back. He groaned and pinned my hands above my head. I wrapped my legs around his torso tightly, pulling him closer.

"Ruin, s-stop," he whimpered. My pitch-black eyes glinted. Rath and I weren't supposed to mate, not yet.

"Why?" I demanded. The lust in his eyes was evident. I wanted to consolidate our future, and I wanted him now more than ever. He slid his hands up the back of my shirt, pressing me against him. I bit my lip as he kissed down my neck.

"It isn't right," he murmured against my skin. I knotted my fingers in his hair, pulling slightly. He dragged his nails into my back. I stifled a moan. He's right, we must stop. Stop. But how? We kissed fervently, our tongues invading each other's mouths.

Rath pushed me away. I fell to my knees, avoiding his attempts to help me back up. Crawling away, in my mind I said screw it and spread my black and silver wings. He tried grabbing hold of my hand, but I pulled free and flew away. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I heard him come after me.

"Ruin! Come back! Please!" Rath yelled. I turned to him, the blood tears burning streaks into my skin. He flew nearer and gently wrapped me in a tight hug. I clung to him. He was my reason to keep going. I felt strange hands grab my hips and pull me away. A familiar presence crept up my spine. Death. Not again. Rath tried holding on but it was too much. Death's grip was too much for him. I fought, turning to face my old friend and captor.

"Don't fight me," Death's low voice murmured softly in my ear. I felt my body go limp. Numbness lurked its way around my entire being. "That's it, Ruin. Relax, come with me."

Would it really be that bad? To die? Rath would be okay, I was sure of it. I returned Deaths gentle grasp. Peace enveloped my mind; upon closing my eyes all I could think was that I'd see him in my next life. Maybe then he'll be mine.