The Edge of the End #4

The hot summer day was getting worse for everyone in class one. They were almost sure the track was getting longer by every period and the sun beaming down at them only helped in making the experience worse.

The air was extremely hot and humid, and the smell of sweat and the sound of people panting filled the area. Some students had given up on running and went toward the sinks to quench their thirst.

Diana felt her legs almost giving up as she saw the rest of her friends running right in front of her.

She glared at them. Traitors.

She wanted to curse at them but found no energy at all. It didn't help that mother nature decided to bless her with her period today. The growing pain in her stomach didn't seem to leave her since the morning, yet she didn't want to cause such a scene out of it, out of embarrassment.

Diana held her stomach and groaned, stopping in her place. She squatted down, holding her stomach close and panting at the same time.

Some students threw glances at her, but all of them were too tired to offer any help. A boy stopped to offer her a bottle of water and said, "Let's finish this, sis!" His words were supposed to be said in enthusiasm but it sounded dead to her.

It would have brought tears to her eyes if she wasn't feeling half dead.

"Are you alright?" She knew his voice right away. There wasn't anyone who possessed such a pleasant voice like his. She looked at him as he was a little out of breath and frowned.

How did he get here? They didn't share any classes together.

When he didn't hear her answer, he got closer and she saw one of his hands lay on her back and the other about to touch her thigh, and within few seconds, she was brought up to his height. She blushed and let out a gasp. "What are you doing?!"

"Going to the infirmary." The moment seemed such a magical one and Diana would enjoy it if she didn't suddenly feel sick from the scorching hot sun and the pain in her abdomen.

And then she felt like throwing up.

---

Her sweat had mixed with her blood, and she knew the pills couldn't help any longer. Her eyes were getting heavy, and the pain in her stomach was making her whole body feel numb. She was gasping for breath at this point.

From where Diana was laying, she merely needed to turn her head right to see Elliot. When she did, she saw how dark his face looked as he tried his best to push forward. Everywhere around them now was silent and there was no boat to be seen anymore as they all of the rest got back to the shore. The sound of water brought her to a relaxed state.

The port was getting closer at this point, and Diana had given up looking at the time.

Even if they reached there, would she be able to survive?

They would be lucky if the men didn't alert the others or told them to prepare some men and let them wait for them in the port.

She wanted to close her eyes but last time she did, Elliot had almost gone crazy, telling her to open them and stare ahead. He had whispered to her numerous things; many pleas of forgiveness; told her memories they had shared when they were younger; and told her about his dearest friend who had died while supporting him.

She only hummed as an answer and that seemed enough for him. She could see sweat trickling down his forehead. The injury on his side was also getting worse.

Diana looked up at the night sky and saw many stars glittering there. She had read in a book that stars represented people and their memories, so they — the stars — were to hold onto those memories of those people even after death.

They were the sole proof that those people had existed.

She wondered how many stars she would have, or if she would have any at all.

As the cold breeze hit her and as she felt her hair play around with the wind, she hummed a song she couldn't remember clearly.

She definitely knew the song but didn't know from where. Not from this body for sure, maybe it was from a different body, but she didn't care as she kept humming and gazing at Elliot.

He kept rowing but now he looked like he was choking onto something as he heard her melody. His eyes were twinkling as much as the stars were today.

They were really close to the port now. It only took a minute to pull closer to it. There wasn't anybody on it, and it was dead silent.

She felt the corner of her lips lift, but she kept humming.

Elliot pulled the boat to a close and made sure it was steady before coming to her and pulling her up to his height in a princess carry, frowning as he did, probably because of his injury.

"Keep your focus on me," He whispered. She noticed he was panting. "Don't stop humming that song." She wanted to say that she couldn't remember any more of the melody but decided only to play it back.

She saw how hard he was trying to deny the inevitable. He knew they had reached a dead end, and it was no one's fault.

After all, they couldn't blame something that wasn't physical.

Her eyes were now trained on her watch. She had promised she wouldn't look at it anymore, but she couldn't even keep that promise to herself.

The clock was ticking and it was nearing 11:59. She saw the handle go tick by tick as it got closer, and it then struck the minute mark.

She merely heard a passing sound, almost mistaking it for the wind. But she knew it was something other than that when she felt the weight that was holding her go missing and the following thing she knew was her laying on the ground on someone's chest.

She saw the hands holding her, still tightly, twitch for a few seconds before going silent. She looked up, still humming the song softly and saw Elliot looking at her with his sweet gray eyes that she had always been mesmerized with.

The light didn't reach them. They were silent and out of focus. The tone of her voice changed as her eyes got sore.

She couldn't move her body and remained useless in his arms. The wind was harsh, but she didn't feel it as the warmth, that was still coming from Elliot, blocked it all away.

She wished she could move her arms and close his eyes to give him a moment of serenity and peace, but knowing she couldn't, she ultimately only closed her eyes.

She didn't need to hear the shot or look at her watch to welcome the terribly familiar darkness.

Maybe.

Maybe…

It would be the last time.