200 FALL THRU - PART 2

Sterling noticing Faye was no longer breathing. He propped her icy body against his, "Faye..." His voice cracked as he called her name. He tapped her cheek with his hand and vigorously rubbed her back. 

"Faye… Please, butterfly, wake up for me." sorrow lacing his tone, "I'm sorry, I failed you."

He kissed the top of her head, and his heart sank. Then he felt a sudden heated rage run through every vein in his body. It was not going to end like this.

He whispered in the top of Faye's head. "Not like this…"

He lay her on the ground and a memory from his childhood flooded his brain. He had watched Friar Tillis save a child that had almost drowned in the nearby on an outing one day.

He lightly slapped Fayes cheek, and she did not respond. He could see the color of her skin changing, turning blue, and growing colder by the second.

There was no movement from her chest.