For the Sake of Breathing

Chapter Eleven

I ran as far as I could. I did not run as far as I hoped.

        I lie on the ground, waiting to die. 

        "Kaylo..." Ten urges.

        I don't answer. I'm dying, I don't need to respond. I wonder what will come first: Will I suffocate, or will the scientists come and kill me? 

        "Kaylo, please."

        You're dead. You're dead and I don't care what you're trying to tell me. You're dead, you idiot. And I'm going to die, too. 

        I can no longer see the sky, I can only see faint spirals of things I presume to be dust clouds. 

        "Kaylo..."

        "I didn't make it, I'm sorry," I snap.

        "Have faith, Kaylo."

        "You have never said that before. Ever."

        "Yes, but I'm dead now, so..." 

        "And I'll be dying here shortly, too, so..."

        "Kaylo, please. Just trust me."

        "You're a hallucination," I remind him.

        He sighs. "I don't want you to die, Kaylo," he whispers.

        "Yeah, well, we don't always get what we want, do we?"

        "Kaylo, you're not at the end yet. You're only at the beginning." 

        "Well, sometimes we have to end at the start, don't we?"

        "Everyone has an ending. It doesn't matter what their ages are, but we all have an ending, Kaylo. We all give our final acts. You only reach the end when the fog clears, Kaylo." 

        "Sounds like a bunch of bullcrap," I mutter.

        "Of course it does. The fog hasn't cleared yet."

        "Would you stop? I'd like to die without you being all philosophical," I grunt.

        "Kaylo," he whispers, "I need you to try. I need you to listen to me. Please."

        "Why is it so important?" I murmur. My lips are cracked, and my throat feels like sandpaper.

        "A lot of things are going to change. Can you just be patient with me, Kaylo?" 

        "No. I'm dying. I can't afford to be patient."

        "You can't afford anything," he snorts under his breath.

        "Shut up..." I command weakly.

        "Preferably not," he responds. "Look, Kaylo, I love you. I don't want you to die out here. You need to just trust me."

        "Why do you care?" I demand. 

        Before he can answer, I hear footsteps. 

        Due to the ultimate quiet of the Lifeless Valley, I know they're farther away than they sound. They're probably around three hundred yards away. Still, it shouldn't be long before they arrive here. So it's the scientists first.

         "I love you, Kaylo," Ten whispers in my ear. And then he vanishes, leaving me here to be murdered on my own. 

        The Ten I know would never do that.