The Death of a Loved One

"No...no please, no," Audri whispered frantically as warm blood trickled down her fingers.

She clutched Damien's limp body, the sounds of the accident a ringing haze in the background. In the distance, she heard sirens approaching but all she could focus on now was the ragged breathing coming from her husband. His handsome, strong jawline moved slightly as he gasped with each breath. Dark black hair mixed with blood and stuck to his forehead.

"Just hang on, Damien. Please my love, don't leave me." Audri let out a sob as she pulled him in close to her chest, clutching at his muscled back. "Please Damien, I need you!"

Her words fell out of her mouth without thought. Her mind racing back to only moments before, as they joked in the car, laughing together happily before the truck plowed into the drivers side. The brief look of horror on Damien's face at the moment of collision burned into her brain. She held him tighter.

Suddenly, the rasping breath stopped, and Damien lay limp in her arms. "NO!" Audri screamed frantically, dropping his body and attempting CPR as best as she could. Without notice, strong hands gripped her shoulders and pulled her away. An ambulance worker began asking her questions as his coworkers began swarming Damien and shouting words that her brain couldn't process. The man asked her another question and she looked at him through a fog, his voice sounding as though he stood hundreds of feet away. Then she heard it, clear as day;

"Time of death: 11:24 pm". She fell to the ground, her body shaking and vision blurring. The world melted around her as she felt her mind begin to lose consciousness. The pain of her own injuries began to take over and the darkness consumed her as she heard the ambulance worker yelling for help. In her last moments of consciousness, she prayed she wouldn't wake up.