The group was small, and as they all gathered around the creek, tears minutely added to the volume of water. Nobody spoke, nobody wanted to disturb the silence, nobody wanted to disrespect the others.
And they especially didn't want to disturb the man who they were covering.
A short boy with bright red hair was the first to speak up.
"He was supposed to be my best man," he whispered. "I was trying to fix it."
The girl next to him nodded.
The taller Irishman let out a sob of his own. "This isn't fair..."
"Barely even knew him and it still stings," the man dressed in magenta replied.
"He was supposed to meet our son." The woman knelt by the mound of earth that had been overturned and put back over another casket in the ground. "How did you find out, anyway, Hercules?"
He shook his head and pulled out his cell, reading the message aloud. "'I didn't know who to send this to. It was queued to be delivered after I died, probably about six hours ago. Tell Jefferson and Madison I said thanks for their help and they can come to the funeral if they want. I'm by the creek with my dogs and with Lafayette. Please take care of them. You know why I'm gone. I want to be buried in the place I'm lying on.'" His voice wavered, and he drooped as he put the thin device back in his pocket. "I wish I'd not ignored him yesterday... I could've talked him out of it..."
"We all could've done something," the redhead said, stepping up to put a hand on his friend's shoulder. The catahoula dog at their feet whined, pawing up at Hercules. The border collie kept to itself beside it.
"I know we could have Alex. All we can do now is keep his dogs..."
"I... I wish I could just apologize to him," Alex whispered, kneeling by the woman. "What was I thinking?" Tears rolled down his face again, dripping onto both graves as he moved to sit between them.
Nobody answered him. Not one person knew what to say, but every one of them thought the same thing.
'It's my fault.'
They lingered past sunset, departing one by one until all that was left was the gentle wind making ripples in the water and two people who'd gone far too soon, lost to a game rigged against them.
YOU ARE READING
Nausea: Sequel to Warcrossed
FanfictionAfter the death of his boyfriend, brother, and a little girl, John seeks to find answers as to why they died from using something completely harmless to everyone else. With the help of a small group of people, he works through his grief and tries to...
