Sweet Dangers

Black

Everything seemed slowed down; even my heart seemed to take ten years to finish one beat, though it should be pounding. The door opening, so slow it must have been hours before it finally swung open, almost breaking off its hinges from the force. The way John stumbled in, so slow and frightening. I blinked and it seemed like I was swallowed in darkness forever.

The way John shoved me aside, me crashing into the wall and hitting my head hard with a solid thunk! Of metal hitting skull. Even the throbbing seemed slower. Harry screamed, but it seemed drawn out and long. His fingers scrambled for mine, my hand catching his thumb before he was viciously yanked away, John keeping him in a headlock as he dragged his resisting body out of the van. I heard the scrape of Harry’s sneakers against the ground outside, these weird choking noises and cries that seemed to come from him, but sounded so inhuman I couldn’t be absolutely sure. Buddy reached in, and grabbed my foot. He yanked me, and I fell, once again hitting my tailbone on the metal floor. He pulled me towards him again, and I spun onto my stomach, clawing at the ground, trying to get a hold. The ground was to sleek and smooth, though, and he just yanked me the rest of the way out. I crashed on my stomach onto the hard concrete and whacked my chin on the hard ground. I tasted blood, turning and spitting it into Buddy’s face.

He made some sort of growl deep in his throat and grabbed me by the neck, yanking me up onto my feet. The places where his fingers had pressed ached, and he took my arm and bent it awkwardly behind my back. A pain so intense throbbed in my shoulder and it felt like it would fall off. I cried out, a sick popping sound filling the air, and then I couldn’t move my left arm. The pain was so extreme, but I forgot about it as I looked up to see John punch Harry in the stomach. Hard.

Harry toppled to the ground, landing on his elbows. He threw up blood onto the ground, and John came over and kicked him across the face, making his nose crack loudly and then start to gush out blood.

“STOP IT!” I screamed but Buddy yanked me back by my other arm, slamming me into the side of a building. My vision went cloudy and fuzzily I heard Harry scream my name.

“You’re going to die today,” Buddy whispered into my ear, yanking me to my feet. I couldn’t stand upright on my own. He threw me to the ground again and kicked me hard in the stomach. I groaned, and his leg swung out with as much force as he could hitting my hard in the head. I felt my head split, and blood was running down into my eyes. I howled with pain.

My vision was clouding, the sounds of the fight being heard through what seemed  along tunnel. My vision went totally black, and I felt my pulse begin to slow. I lay there, barely breathing, and I heard Harry sobbing my name. I wanted to move, to help, but I couldn’t. My limbs were limp and I couldn’t seem to get them to twitch.

“Louis! Louis!” I heard Harry weeping. “Louis, please, no! Louis, I love you Louis! Please don’t leave me! Lou…..”

“Shut up!”

“H-Har….” I managed out, my lips unable to move. I just breathed out what I could, and it hurt to even do so.

“Oh, good, you’re not dead,” I heard John jeer.

I felt his big, meaty hands wrap around my biceps as he yanked me up. He backed up, dragging my limp body. He leaned against the building to our left, using his fingers to scrape some off the blood of my eyes, my vision returning in tiny spots. I vaguely heard John ask if they were going to kill us. I barely made out Buddy say we would only be recognized and they would be caught. My ears felt stuffed with cotton as I strained to hear him say yes.

John yanked my head back, using my hair. I was too tired to resist. He was forcing me to see Harry, being dragged like a limp ragdoll to a spot in my vision. Harry had blood smeared on his shirt and his hands. His nose looked broken and crooked, his lips quivering. His eyes were red with tears, but he never tore them away from me.

“So glad you haven’t died yet,” John whispered in my ear happily. “Now you can watch your boyfriend die before we kill you.”

This shot anger through me like I had never experienced. “Argh!” was all I managed out as I squirmed to get out of his grasp. He just held my body firmer. Buddy removed a knife from his pocket, pressing the blade to Harry’s exposed neck. I screamed angrily, kicking with all my might. Buddy smiled coldly at my reaction.

He raised the knife up, and the world seemed to slow again. Harry went limp, all the fight out of him. I felt a sudden burst of energy as I saw the blade glint in the setting sun. I used what little strength I had with my good arm, and elbowed John hard in the gut. He wouldn’t have been too effected but right after I punched him as hard as I could in the groin. He pushed me away, bending over and grunting in pain.

I could feel my feet slapping the concrete, though I don’t remember taking off. I could feel the pure hatred running through my veins as I saw the cruel grin on Buddy’s face as he began to swing the knife down, intent on hurting my Harry. My Hazza.

I plowed into him at full force, shoving him from Harry with my good shoulder. I knocked him off his feet, and he screamed with anger, the knife still swinging down. I heard Harry screaming, but I was just focused on my gripping a spot on my belly that had suddenly ripped open with pain. That’s because there was a knife lodged there.

The pain was so bad I blacked out for a moment. “RUN!” I heard someone scream, and then realized it was me only from the way it tore my throat. I saw Harry jump up, tears in his eyes. He began to shout to me, but I beat him to it. “RUN I SAID, GOD DAMMIT!”

He looked tearfully at me one last time, and then took off down the alley as fast he could, stumbling.

“Go get him!” John shouted, still kneeling in pain.

Buddy glanced over at me. I was coughing and sputtering, unable to move. Just pressing my hand to the area around the knife. “Get in the van!” Buddy screamed. “He’s pretty much dead!”

I heard John tumbled into the van, and the engine starting. My vision wobbled and I heard the tires skid across the ground as they left me, to die. All I could think of was Harry. I hoped he had gotten away.

Even if I was going it die, I hoped he would get away. I smiled at the thought of when I first met him. His glowing smile, bright emerald eyes, dazzling teeth. I remembered the first time he kissed me, how wonderful it felt. I thought of all the times after that. I lay in the alley, dying, with a smile on my face as I thought of my beautiful boy.

My boy.

My vision was becoming hazy, and the blood was still flowing. my head felt all weird, and my breathing began to slow. I felt my chest rise once, and then come back down. It didn’t rise again for a long while.

Suddenly there was someone at my ear. “Lou….” They whispered.

I took a shuddering breath. It was Harry. “I told you to run,” I choked out.

“I waited for them to leave. I could never leave you Louis,” he whispered. He reached down, and yanked the knife from my stomach. I felt so numb I barely felt it. He winced as he did though. He pressed his shirt down on the bleeding area.

His face obscured every angle of my vision. It began to come in and out of focus. “I love you,” I heard him whisper, and there were tears in his voice.

I smiled weakly. “I love you,” I told him.

Blackness.