Nalu One-Shots

Life and Death part 2

No...

My hands push off the ground and I stumble towards the guild doors.

I run into them and they fly open. The sun blares into my eyes and my foot catches on something, sending me falling forward.

I fall to the ground with a thump and the air leaves my lungs. I groan in pain and push my self up off of the ground with my hands, rocks digging into my bruised and bloody hands.

I push myself to a standing position and take off running down the street.

My feet pound on the cement, the sound echoing all around me. It's the only sound heard in the empty town. All of the people that usually bring life to this place were evacuated weeks ago.

I pant heavily and my eyes are wide and frantic as I run down the familiar streets that now appear dark and dreary.

I'm filled with desperation as I turn at a corner and am faced with new sounds besides my breathing and running. It's the sounds of sadness.

The sound of Happy's cries.

The sound of Gray's begging.

"Lucy?! Lucy, c'mon wake up!"

The sound drowns my entire being as a feeling of claustrophobia starts to settle in. The blazing sun feels as if it's getting closer and closer, trying to trap me in it's fiery gaze.

My feet stay put as I stare at the scene yards in front of me.

No.

It's not happening. It's not.

"No..."

Gray's head perks up and our eyes meet across the distance. Happy soon follows and looks up at me with sad eyes.

"Natsu..."

My feet slowly move forward, something else controlling my body. I stop walking once I stand right above her and I fall forward at the sight, my knees hitting the ground inches away from her.

Lucy lays on her back, one hand resting on her stomach and the other on the ground. Jagged, magenta lines start at one of her hands and weave out across her torso, almost like that of tree branches. The dark magenta lines contrast greatly to the paleness of her skin that I can tell will be cold to the touch.

I reach my hand out tentatively in front of me towards her.

"Lucy..."

My arm tenses when my hand touches her arm, the cold sending a chill through it.

My eyes start to sting as they well up with tears and my hands start to tremble.

I reach both arms out and wrap them around Lucy's torso, pulling her towards my chest.

Her head rests lifelessly right belowmy chin and turn my face down towards her hair and let the tears fall out of my eyes.

She did it. He was right.

How could he be right?

She shouldn't have done it. She should have stayed away from the book and left her life out of it, but I know that she wouldn't.

She saved me.

"I'm sorry."

I hold her close to me and let the tears fall freely and Gray and Happy sit around us and cry on their own.

"I'm so sorry, Lucy."

I hold her close now, fearing when I'll have to let her go for good as I continue to live on.