Hidden Temples

*(45) Final

                    (Hutton)
"You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily did you?

I lean closer to Rue, and whisper, "listen I have a plan, and I don't want you to help me, I don't want you to do any thing. Do you hear me?"

"Hutton, don't do anything that'll get you killed okay?" She tells me.
I glance at her sideways and smile sadly at her.
"Let me do what I have to do okay."

She begins to speak, but I advance forward, taking slow strides towards my uncle.

"Hey Wallace, how are you holding up?"
He laughs, and then gestures towards his body, showcasing all his bruises and cuts.
"I'm doing magnificent thank you."

I smirk.
"I can't believe your still alive," I tell him.
He takes quicker steps towards me.
"I did this for you, for your mother, and you just threw it all away," he snaps at me."
"You didn't do anything for mom, or for me." I snap back.
"You son of a-"
"Shut up!" He yells at me.
"Shut. Up."
I stop walking, and let him come to me.
"I'm sorry son, I never wanted this to end this way."
With one more step, he's right in front of me, our noses almost touching.
"I love you."
Suddenly my side feels oddly cold, but this is just what I wanted.

Wallace rips the knife out of my side, and I hear Rue scream from far behind me.
I use the time he takes looking up, to pry the knife from his hands, and jab it into his chest, creating a large hole where his heart is.
"You should've gone for the heart," I whisper."
I push away from him, but before I can, I feel a rush of shock float through my body.
Blood trickles down the corner of his mouth.
"Oh but I have."
With his final movement, his last breath, he rips the knife out of my chest, and cold blood flows down my shirt.
He falls to the floor and I scramble away from him, watching puddles of red pool around him.
I fall as well.

"HUTTON!"
Rue hectically rushed to me, and Jack holds her waist, trying to calm her down.
"Hutton!" She yells again, crumpling to the floor beside me.
Her eyes filled with tears, she cover my wound with her hand, trying to contain the blood.

"Rue, Rue, calm down."
"How can I?" She yells.
"Holy fuck Hutton, we have to get you back to the village! You need to get treated!"
"Rue, I'm already gone, you can't fix this, by the time you get me back to the village I'll already be dead."

Her crying becomes heavier, and her entire body shakes violently.
It hurts watching her like this.

(Rue's perspective)
Blood is coming out of everywhere, his body soaked with it, and my hand as well.
He's right, he'll never be able to get back to the village in time.

"Hutton, you can't leave, not now, please."
I hold his bloody hand in mine.
"Please," I cry even harder, snot getting added to the mix.

He smiles sadly, looking like he's struggling to keep himself awake.
"Listen Rue, please look at me. It's all over, all of it, I killed him."

"Yeah, and you killed yourself in the process!"
Tears form in Hutton's eyes.
"Everything is over, It'll be fine now, this is what I wanted, you have to believe me. Please."
I nod.
"Don't remember me, don't cry over me, don't make others sad because of me. I don't want this, I'll never want this, I never want you to be sad. No one. I'll be happier up there, in the clouds. I'll be more free, one with the wind."
"I'll miss you," I whisper.
"I'll miss you to," he says whispering to.

With one shaky breath, with one last look at me, he closes his eyes and exhales.

I nuzzle my head in Jacks shoulder, soaking his sweater in my snot and tears.
But I don't care, and neither does he.
We hold on to each other, tangled in our hug.

He leans back, and stares into my eyes. He places his hands on my cheek, and whispers, "it's all over."

I let the sentence settle in before smiling.
I sniffle.
"Yeah, it's all over."