Dear Jaime,
I don't know where to begin, but I guess "I'm sorry" is a good start. I'm sorry for leaving without saying goodbye properly. I'm sorry for not giving you the choice to stop me. I'm sorry for the pain this will cause you, even though it's the last thing I ever wanted to do. But more than anything, I'm sorry for not being the man you deserve.
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Kevin's body was heavy with the sedative, but his mind fought against the fog, clinging desperately to the letter he'd written in his mind long before he ever put pen to paper. The cold, sterile air of the procedure room pressed down on him like a weight, and as the nurses moved around him, he thought only of Jaime.
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From the moment you walked into my life, you changed everything. You were loud, messy, and impossible in the best ways. You made me laugh when I didn't think I could. You made me believe in things I thought I'd lost forever: hope, connection, love.
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Jaime ran as fast as her legs would carry her, her heart pounding in her chest like a drumbeat of despair. The note was clutched tightly in her hand, now damp with sweat and tears. She stumbled over the uneven road but didn't stop, the weight of Kevin's words driving her forward.
She could barely see through the haze of her tears, but the image of his face—smiling, apologetic, full of love—drove her on.
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You made me believe that maybe, just maybe, I could still be a person. That I was more than the thing they turned me into. And for that, Jaime, I will never be able to thank you enough.
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Kevin's breaths were shallow as the machines around him beeped in rhythmic precision. He focused on the bright light above, willing himself not to give in to the panic clawing at his chest. This was for Jaime, for Nathan, for everyone. That was the mantra he repeated over and over in his mind.
But the ache in his heart was unbearable.
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I never told you how scared I was, did I? Scared of what I'd become, scared of hurting you, scared of losing you. You were the only thing that kept me going, Jaime. Every joke, every smile, every time you called me an idiot—it all reminded me that I wasn't alone. And I held onto that with everything I had.
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Jaime's legs burned as she pushed forward, her sobs breaking the stillness of the morning air. The lab wasn't far now, but it felt like miles away. She clutched the note tighter, the words scrawled across the page a cruel reminder of what she might be too late to stop.
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Just like I asked you, you once asked me if there was something I could do to save someone I loved, would I do it? You already know the answer. I could never live with myself if I didn't try, Jaime. You deserve a life without fear, without hunger, without the weight of my mistakes holding you down.
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The nurses began attaching monitors to Kevin's chest, the cold adhesive jolting him back to the present. Dr. Hayes's voice was a distant hum as he explained the next steps, but Kevin barely registered it. All he could see was Jaime's face, her fiery determination, her laugh, her tears.
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I wish I could stay. God, Jaime, I wish more than anything that I could stay. That we could go back home and live the life we talked about. That I could build you that treehouse you joked about. That I could hold your hand every day and tell you how much you mean to me. But I can't. Not like this.
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Jaime burst through the gates of the lab, her voice raw as she screamed his name. "Kevin!" Her sobs echoed down the empty hallways as she stumbled forward, the note crumpling in her hand.
She didn't know where to go, but she knew she had to find him. She *had* to stop this.
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I love you, Jaime. I love you more than I thought I was capable of loving anyone. And it's because I love you that I have to do this. I can't let you lose your brother. I can't let anyone else suffer because of me. You're stronger than you think, and you'll find a way through this. You always do.
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Kevin felt the sharp prick of a needle as the nurse administered the final sedative. His vision blurred, the edges of the world softening as the drugs began to take hold. He fought to keep his thoughts clear, his heart aching with the weight of what he was leaving behind.
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Please don't hate me for this. And please, Jaime, don't forget to live. For me, for your brother, for yourself. You have so much light in you, so much fire. Don't let this snuff it out.
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Jaime burst into the control room just as the monitors showed Kevin's vitals stabilizing under the sedative. She froze, her breath catching as she saw him lying on the table, surrounded by machines and people she didn't know.
"No," she whispered, her voice breaking. "No, no, no..."
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Goodbye, Jaime. You were the best thing that ever happened to me. I love you. Always.
Your Zombie Guy
Kevin
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Jaime's cries echoed through the lab as she banged on the glass window separating her from Kevin. "Don't do this!" she screamed, her fists pounding against the barrier. "Kevin, please!"
Inside, Kevin's eyes fluttered open for just a moment, and though he couldn't see her clearly, he felt her presence. A single tear slid down his face as he closed his eyes again, whispering, "I'm sorry."
And then the room went silent.
YOU ARE READING
Zombie Guy
Science FictionKevin's life changes the day he becomes the first test subject in a groundbreaking experiment to rewrite his very DNA. Hoping to cure his terminal illness, he volunteers for a treatment promising the impossible-a second chance at life. But as the ho...
