The Shadow Man

Thirty

"What do you feel?"
She asks.
"Fear. Pain. Anger."
I open my eyes.
"He's alive."
Finley looks up at Grey.
We know exactly where he is.
A pile of rubble marks the spot where my Heart is buried.
"Donnie!?"
I scream.
I hear no answer.
His mind stays silent.
Two of the soldiers pull a body from the rubble.
He coughs before beginning to sit up.
He wipes the blood from his face before springing to life.
He clutches his ribs as he limps towards the rubble.
"Donnie?! Can you hear me?!"
He shouts after his friend.
I walk over to him.
He looks up at me, and drops what he's doing.
"You're here."
He says, more to himself than to me.
We stare at each other for a moment.
"Help me, please! He's down there!"
He says, resuming his dig.
"You heard him, everyone grab a stone!"
Says Finley.
Everyone gets to work immediately.
After what feels like an eternity of digging, someone calls out.
"I found a body!"
My blood runs cold.
It takes all of us to lift the boulder.
A man lays there, crushed, broken.
His armor is damaged.
"Oh my God, he's alive."
Says one of them men.
We get back to work as our medic tends to his wounds.
We find 38 more living.
Something moves amongst the rubble.
A pillar that must weigh at least 6 tons rattles a bit.
Everyone stops moving for fear of causing the rest of the building the crumble. 
After a moments hesitation, everyone runs towards the pillar.
A few of the Nolites join us in our attempt.
The pillar rolls across the surface, before tumbling down the other side.
I look down into the hole, desperately searching for my love.
Two men lay in the creator.
One of them is huge.
He's the one whom lifted the pillar.
The other lays lifeless next to him.
Donnie.
The large man rolls onto his stomach, and tries to push himself off the ground.
The other moves slightly.
I run to his side, and look into his face.
I can feel him.
He's barely there.
His eyes flutter, trying to open.
"Donnie, if you can hear me, wake up. Please. I need you right now."
He lays there in silence.
I cover my mouth with my hand as I prepare for the worst.
The giant looks at me.
"It's you."
He says.
I look up at him through misty eyes.
"He fought for a week in an arena, and the thing that kept him going was you."
He says.
"Who are you?"
I ask.
"I am just a failed Guardian. This, is what remains of the Nolites. I couldn't protect them."
He says.
I look around at the men and women who now stand all around us.
Each of them wears armor unique to his or her own.
They all glow a different color, showing their Nolite heritage.
"They're not dead. There's still hope."
I tell him.
He looks at me, and removes his helmet.
"I see why he chose you."
He says softly.
He looks back down to the dying man that lays before us.
"I've seen what he can do. The sacrifices he has made for you. All of you. He would've given his life to save you. That is the mark of a Guardian.
There's purity in his heart. That cannot be allowed to die with him."
I look up at him as he fall to a knee next to Donnie.
Without another word, he places his hand on Donnie's chest.
Blue energy runs down his arm, engulfing Donnie in luminescence.
It's beautiful.
I see him beginning to breath and I hold my breath.
His eyes open and he looks up at the Guardian.
"What are you doing?! They need you!"
The Guardian grinds his teeth in pain and concentration.
"No! Stop! They need you! Protect them!"
He pleads.
"I will gladly trade my life for yours."
The Guardian says.
Donnie stops.
"Why?"
The Guardian looks at me.
"Because you have too much to lose."
The energy stops flowing.
The Guardian falls to the ground.
"I cannot lead these people. I can't protect them. How do I save them?"
He asks, on the verge of crying.
"There's still so much left for me to learn."
The Guardian wipes a tear from his eye, and speaks so softly.
"When The Time Comes, You Will Know, My Son."