Clockwork Angel (IM5 Colton Fanfiction)

Chapter 10: Was it Worth it?

-Cole-

    Words of screaming could barely escape my lips as I fell. No noise sounded from my dry lips. I was going to die. I felt all of it ending. But I knew I was doing the right thing. I was saving my bandmate. I was saving my best friend.

    I... I was saving my crush.

    But as I fell, I watched as the bridge turned different shades of color. The night and what I yelled at Dalton sent deadly chills down my spine. Just save him. He deserves to live. He doesn't deserve to die like this. He deserves to crush on someone more worthy, who wouldn't fuck up his life and what not. He would have a beautiful family and live and love and be happy one day. I still had that chance to give it to him.

    The cold water stopped my thoughts and slapped onto my skin. I was swallowed by thunderous waves and screamed from the impact. I swam with all of my might back up to the surface. Once my face was above the water, I shook violently of coldness but with the rest of energy,  I screamed, "DALTON? DALTON PLEASE I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE. GOD I'M SO... S-SORRY."

    The last words stammered as I felt a leg violently come into contact with mine. Dalton crashed into me, but a huge wave towered over him and me. I went down under, my eyes stinging with salt. I thrashed my arms back up and was able to grab Dalton. He was crying and shaking vigorously. He grabbed onto my shirt and coughed out red water. I felt his hands bleed under my shirt.

    "W-Whyy d-did yyouu..." Dalton sputtered out hot tears.

    I shushed him and placed him on my back, trying to swim to shore. My legs were on fire and my arms did all that they could, but soon the waves were too strong and I was losing energy and consciousness. I realized that I was not far away from shore, but a huge wave was coming.

    I mean huge.

    I also realized that I had just enough time to throw Dalton to shore in order for him make it out alive. I could throw him onto a rock and tell him to run for dear life. He wouldn't get eaten by the waves. He wouldn't die out here in the cold. He could live his life and get help and be free. He would be able to live to see the sun rise again.

    But there wasn't enough time for me to get out.

    Was it worth it? Should I give up Cass? My job? My life? But then I thought: Who really cares about me anymore? Will sure as hell hated me. Cass would hate me for not believing her anymore, Madi would be angry at me for almost killing her fiance, Eben would murder me for not dealing with this at first... And most importantly, Dalton would never forget the boy who betrayed him.

    Those words stung. I wouldn't be able to live with that pain.

    I squeezed Dalton softly and threw him to the nearest rock. Once he landed on the rock, unarmed, he snapped out of his state, suddenly aware. Once he saw me, he gasped and screamed, "COLE? WHAT THE HELL??"

    "RUN, RUN DALTON! YOU CAN STILL LIVE!" I yelled back.

    "BUT WHY, WHY DID YOU COME BACK FOR AN IDIOT LIKE ME?"
    He saw the wave coming. I could see him scooting back nervously, but wasn't about to run away completely.

    "BECAUSE... BECAUSE I.." I started to holler, but then water cascaded down on me.

    And all went black.

-Dalton-

    The water was extra frigid that night. My salty tears mixed with the salty water and my hands stung from my open wounds. I gulped for air but continued to get eaten by waves. So this was how it was going to end. No one would ever be able to find me. Anyone to come in here at this point would be nuts.

    My lungs breathed out icy air and my heart started to fail. I felt different waves of nausea and a killer headache. I knew this was end. I continued to be dunked under water and then floating up, gasping for air before going under again.

    Suddenly I felt a strange movement of water and someone grab my back. The person wailed something, but I was too cold to comprehend what the voice said. But I was pretty sure I recognized the voice from somewhere. I just didn't know where...

Suddenly, someone grabbed me and placed me onto their back. "W-Whyyy didddd y-youuu.." I started to cry until the person shut me up and continued to swim through the choppy waves. I clung to the shirt, too paralyzed in fear to do anything else. We sometimes got dunked under water by vigorous waves and the water dropped a few more hundred degrees.

Suddenly, the person lightly squeezed me, and before you knew it, I flew out of the water and made hard contact with a rock. I scrambled up the rock, suddenly aware of what was going on.

    Someone saved my life.

    I squinted hard at the character swimming in the water who saved me and realized that it was Cole.

    Cole. What the fucking hell was going on??

    "COLE? WHAT THE HELL?" I screamed. What was WRONG with this kid?

    Suddenly I noticed a towering wave coming across the mass of water. There was no time for Cole to be saved.

    I stared at him in awestruck. He saved me... As those words processed in my head, Cole wailed, "RUN, RUN DALTON! YOU CAN STILL LIVE!"

    "BUT WHY, WHY DID YOU COME BACK FOR AN IDIOT LIKE ME?" I bawled out. I needed to know, to know before it was too late.

    Cole started to scream, "BECAUSE, BECAUSE.. I.."

    Until the wave engulfed his whole. I screamed as loud as I could and sprinted for dear life. A gigantic wave was at my tail and ate my friend. My bandmate who killed me but saved me.

    But why did he come back?
    Hot tears stung my face as I pushed past yelling people and sirens. I lost him. After all that he did for me. I... I'm such an idiot.

    I climbed up a tree and clung onto it for dear life as the wave pasted, crushing innocent citizens and ruining many lives. It was such a painful sight, seeing such happy people die an extremely unfortunate death. Their screams rang in my ears, and I clenched my teeth to fight burning feelings and waves of coldness trickling up and down my spine. My fingers were so numb that they turned bright purple and I could not feel them.

I let the wave pass. Once the street became flooded I jumped from the tree and swam in the bitterly cold water and followed my tracks from where I just ran. I had no idea where I was going and was tripping over everything. I was dizzy and hurt and bleeding and confused as fuck.  I was extremely low on energy and was about to crash until I remembered Cole's beautiful hair. His corny jokes, the way he would accept me and love me...

    If I saved him, there was still I chance he could be mine. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I splashed through the thick and burningly cold water to save a very, very special individual.

    Who saved my life.

    Now I saved his.

    I needed to see what he needed to say.

    I needed to give him the best life that he deserves.

    I needed to see the love of my life for one last time.