Line of Time

Drifting Off

The boys came back with arms full of weapons and ammunition. Ginny gave Tino a smile before she went to go help them with getting ready to go back out. Gunnar made sure to bring all that he could carry even with the pain his shoulder was in. He wanted to make sure that he was ready for the rest of the night. He would be wise when it came to his shots and take care when it came to his surroundings. But for now as Kenny and Frank got ready, his eyes stayed on Tino who was starting to fall asleep in his chair. 

"You okay Tino?" Gunnar asked as he put a hand on his shoulder and crouched down next to him. He gave him a tired nod. 

"Are we going home now?" He asked his voice weak. Gunnar looked behind him and saw the rest of them were busy. 

"Yeah, I'll take you home, come on." He said quietly as he helped him to his feet and they slipped out of the house before anyone noticed their disappearance. Gunnar held his hand as he lead him down the many alleyways and streets that would take them to the apartment complex where Gunnar hoped that Tino would be safe. But they still needed to go back through the war zone that was the center city and by now the battle had overflown into the surrounding areas. 

Gunnar looked to his side every once in a while to make sure that Tino was doing alright but as they reached the loud area where the battle raged he became nervous. By the time that they had reached the edge of the situation Gunnar felt something and looked to his side in surprise. He found Tino hugging his arm out of fear. 

"It'll be okay,  you'll make it." Gunnar said as Tino looked up at him with tear filled eyes. 

"Are you sure?" Tino asked as Gunnar gave him a faint smile before bending down as he kissed the top of his head and hugged him with his free arm. 

"I won't let you down. . ." Gunnar said as he still saw that his friend was doubtful of his words. 

"What if I promise to spend prom night with you, that way we won't be alone?" Gunnar said trying to get his friend's mind off of what they would be walking through. 

Tino eyes widened as he then beamed a smile and afterwards hid his face in Gunnar's arm. That was when Gunnar started walking them through the war like zone. He ran them to covered areas by cars and vacant buildings. Tino caught glimpse of the scene and felt nothing but pure horror as he saw the bodies of men lining the streets. The sky had a red glow of fire, the glow of fires that had been set as an attempt to kill each other. Shots were like thunder to his ears, gunpowder mixed with the heavy smell of blood and death hung in the air. Smoke rose above the city, pain and hate rained down and sent fear into all who were near. 

They stayed close as they leaned up against a car that had been flipped over on it's side to make a shelter. But then Gunnar heard something, he looked around and before he could get them out of the way. Something hit the car and it toppled over onto them in a fury of flames and hot metal. 

"Gunnar help!" Tino screamed as he tried to get out of the flames. Gunnar tried to move but then realized that the things he carried were what had gotten stuck and were what had kept him there. He made the quick choice to leave the weapons behind and freed himself before he went to help Tino out. 

"I got you." Gunnar told him as he shielded his friend with his body as they retreated from the burning underside of the car. 

Once they had gotten free they made a run for it. They had no guns to stand and fight, all they could do now was flee and hope that they would make it out together. But hope does little when fate has a different plan against you. They were almost there, they were almost safe when a lucky bullet flew and made contact with skin and buried itself into tissue and caused the night to be filed with another's dying breaths. Tino stumbled around the same corner that Gunnar had taken shelter behind as they were now free of the war area for now. They were almost back at the complex but then when Gunnar looked at Tino he saw something was wrong. His face showed pain and as Tino looked down with a shaken sense about him they both saw what was wrong. Gunnar's fear had come true and they both stared in shock as Tino then started to fall to his knees. Gunnar caught him and knelt down on the sidewalk as he held his friend. A bullet had pierced his chest and as he laid there in Gunnar's arms his breathing went ragged. He struggled with every breath, because of the stress he was in his heart was giving out on him. To make the fact that he had suffered two bullet injuries tonight he now had his heart defect attacking him as well as death coming for him at long last. 

"...G-g-...Gun... Gunnar . . . " Tino gasped out in fear as his older friend pressed his hand against his chest in attempts to slow the bleeding.  

"Try and calm down... your fine." Gunnar told him as he struggled not to break down in front of Tino. He laid there as he brought his breathing back down to a somewhat normal rate for his current situation. 

"... Gunnar?" Tino asked his voice soft and full of a sleepy innocence as he looked up at his friend with clouded doe eyes. His friend's silhouette was framed by the warm colors of the fires behind them, red and deep oranges and then the cold contract of the black night sky as it was filling up with the ashy grey of the smoke of burning buildings and cars. Tino slowly started to see the edges of his vision blur and turn to haze. 

"Yeah Tino I'm right here. I'm right here." Gunnar said as he fought back tears as they burned his eyes and sadness attacked his heart as he heard his friend's voice fading as it did. 

"Are... are we back home yet? . . . " He asked as his friend forced a smile and joyous tone of voice as to try and stop the sadness from creeping through. 

"Yeah were home... It's bedtime, okay Tino?" Gunnar said as tears sunk out of his eyes and fell down and hit Tino's form. 

"...Alright . . . We'll spend tomorrow together, right?" Tino asked as his voice was as if he was fighting sleep. 

"Yeah, we'll do whatever you want tomorrow." Gunnar said as he nodded his head as tears now flowed from his icy eyes.

"I'll see you tomorrow Gunnar . . . I'm tired..." Tino said as his body started to go limp. But after a moment he looked up in his friend's direction. 

". . . Are you sad   .  .  . you're crying? . . ." Tino asked as Gunnar's grip tightened on him. 

"I'm not sad... I just . . . I just love you." Gunnar said as he hugged his friend's form closely. 

"I love y o u . . . t o o .    .      . " Tino said as his voice finally faded away into nothing and Gunnar looked down at his friend as his eyes went clouded and shut for the last time. Gunnar would never see them open again. He would never hear his laughter or sweet nature voice. He had just witnessed his best friend die in his arms. Gunnar felt sadness, guilt and anger take hold of him. He put Tino on the cold side walk and then with his mind absent he went into the war zone. He didn't know what he was doing, his world had been reduced to a blind rage and he didn't realize that until he fell to the ground like many other men that night. But most didn't know that children were among the fallen and injured.