Remember Me [Jalex]

.21.

There are only two chapters left to this story, guys. It was great fun writing it. I'm really proud of it and I hope you liked it too. Enjoy!

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After our intimate exchange, we continued down the dark passage. We were curious about where it led and wondered if it would take us closer to Carlile. We went at an easy pace, once again trying to keep our noise levels down. I felt the cool breeze of open air first before seeing the end of the long walkway. I walked into the light but screeched to a stop when I saw something. I held out a hand to stop Jack from running into me.

"Oof, wh-," Jack started to say.

I shushed him and pointed down to the ground below us. There, on the dirt floor of the incomplete building, stood Carlile. He was alone and seemingly too relaxed. He didn't even have a weapon with him. I spotted two entrances to the get to where he was but we had no way to tell if he had backup hiding in either corridors. I ducked back into the hallway we just came from and Jack followed close behind.

"We need to split up," I whispered to him once we were safely concealed from Carlile's line of sight. "We'll corner him from both sides. Make sure he doesn't have any backup."

Jack nodded silently. Before I could say anything else, he stepped forwards and planted a hard kiss on my lips. "For good luck," he explained grimly.

I shook my head. "Don't be so negative," I scolded him, despite being a little worried myself. Then I grabbed his jacket and pushed him against the wall. He opened his mouth to speak but I closed them with mine, kissing him back as hard as he kissed me. "We'll be okay," I reassured him when I pulled back. "Let's go."

Then we were off. I saw Jack jog down the corridor and I went the opposite direction. It was dark but I could just make out the silhouettes of the men waiting to pounce. I snuck into their midst and they didn't realise that I was there until it was too late.

I clamped the mouth of the first one and muffled his screams as I slit his neck. The clang of his weapon dropping alerted the others, however, and chaos happened in the narrow walkway. I squeezed my way out of harm's way as the men swung around blindly, injuring and killing their own comrades until their numbers thinned down to something I could take down by myself.

I darted out into the open space and Jack came into view seconds later. Carlile hadn't noticed me because my entrance was facing his back but he saw Jack arrive directly opposite me.

"Ah, Barakat," Carlile greeted him. "Where's your darling partner? Oh, wait. He's behind me, isn't he? The two of you have always been inseparable," he cooed. "Honestly, I don't know how anybody else takes our town seriously when our underworld is run by two gays," he sneered and turned to look at me.

"Enough with the talking, Carlile," I growled. "Let's get down to business."

He raised an eyebrow. "But two against one! That's hardly a fair fight," he drawled. "I think it's only fair if we fight on level ground," he said and my stomach dropped at the sight of his sinister.

I saw the flash of copper hair behind Jack. "No!" I yelled but it was too late. I heard the piercing sound of the blade and I saw the flashing silver protruding from Jack's stomach. From across the space, he looked at me with surprise.

"Aw, how sweet. Now you'll have matching scars," Carlile cackled. "Depends if his can heal."

As if on cue, Ashby yanked his blade back out and Jack flinched. Blood started to spread on his shirt. Then I watched Jack slowly crumple to the ground, like the whole world was suddenly in slow motion.

"No!" I cried out and ran across the floor to the fallen Jack and a smug looking Ashby.

With a burst of anger, I shoved Ashby away and punched him with as much force as I could muster. The force was strong enough to be lethal and Ashby was unconscious but I didn't care. I knelt down beside Jack, who was struggling to breathe.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," I soothed him, not caring that Carlile was watching. I quickly shed my jacket and made him press it to his gushing wound.

He choked and coughed out a mouthful of blood. "Glad I got that last kiss," he croaked, miraculously maintaining light conversation.

"Don't say that," I scolded him. "You're gonna be fine. Just put pressure on that spot, okay?"

He shook his head. "It's no use, Alex," he said. He looked up at me and smiled, showing his bloodstained teeth. "What a beautiful sight to see before I die," he murmured.

"You're not gonna die, Jack," I said sternly. "Stop that, you're not gonna die," I repeated stubbornly.

He looked at me with stars in his eyes. "It doesn't hurt, Alex," he whispered. Tears rolled down the side of his face and the stars were gone. "It's okay," he said, closing his eyes and pressing his cheek into my hand. "It's okay," he echoed. Then, he went still.

Carlile laughed.

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Oops my fingers slipped.