A Partisan's Fight - COMPLETED!

Chapter Seventy-Two

"Gah! Come on!" Jyrgen barely could watch the woman try to pull the pole out of his side. Her voice was the only thing keeping him conscious as she yelled at the stubborn pole.

"I need a break, Penny." He was nearly covered in sweat at this point from fighting the pain from every pulling attempt the woman made.

"No, we have to get this out of you!" She gritted her teeth, wrenching at the pole again with all of her strength. She stopped, huffing and puffing just as much as Jyrgen.

He tried to catch his breath from her latest failed attempt. "I am going to pass out any minute, gorgeous, if you keep tugging at that monstrosity."

"I thought you could handle anything, gorgeous." She winked at him, but even that couldn't hide the sadness hollowing its way into her gaze.

Trying to stop his body from shaking from the shock setting in, he grabbed her hand and held it tightly. "I will probably die in here today, Pen, but you can save yourself... please get out and save yourself before reinforcements come." He gently massaged her hand as if the smooth movements would convince her.

"I..." She pulled her hand out of his grip and took a step back; regret lacing her eyes.

"Too many people have died already today, Penny, please do not let you be another one." He pleaded with her. He'd done enough selfish things already in his life to last an eternity, but this one thing could atone for those mistakes. He didn't want her to be another one of those mistakes.

She didn't breathe a word to him, just gave him one more pleading look before scurrying out of the hole in the ground. He watched her use parts of the fallen building to pull herself out.

"Wow... that hurt more than I thought it would." The feeling of loneliness settling in as he mumbled after her disappearance. He settled back, realizing there was no good way to get comfortable. He shouldn't have expected there to be a more comfortable spot in the midst of broken concrete, wood, and building materials.

Feeling around his waist, he could feel his knife still in its holder. Damn! He wished he could have felt for a gun or something simpler. He'd wait a little longer before ending it all. If he didn't move he could ignore the pain slashing through him.

Time seemed to be infinite, yet the end was drawing near for him. He wouldn't risk being captured. Living without Penny was punishment enough; he didn't need to be beaten to death on top of it. The thought terrified him more. Perhaps that's why dying felt like the better way out in this situation. There was a chance that he could be rescued and deemed a hero, but the questions that would be raised meant he'd always be at risk. There was no life to that.

Raising the knife, he let it glimmer in the dusty light. A tear slipped down his cheek. "You knew what you were getting yourself into, buddy." The words slipped from his mouth.

"A hero's death is waiting for me. Penny better make good on her promise of making my name remembered for centuries to come." He could feel his heartbeat speed up erratically and feel the bile billowing up in his throat. The knife quivered from his shaking hand. Slowly he pulled the weapon up to his throat. The sharpened blade touching his skin left a metallic taste in his mouth. He was ready to do this.

"Jyrgen! What the hell are you doing?" Penny's voice echoed from above him as she stared wide-eyed and confused.

"Penny? I told you to leave. I told you to save yourself." He pulled the knife away from his throat, pinning her with a look that couldn't begin to express how happy he was to see her. That look betrayed the strong obviousness in his voice, however.

"I did leave, stupid!" She pulled herself back down the rubble to him. "I left the camp and got help."

"You w...what?" He couldn't hold back his confusion.

"You really think we would leave you to die?" Aldrik peeped down the ground opening. A small smile shifted on his face as he found his footing down further with another man hot on his heels. Once reaching the ground, he looked between Jyrgen and the knife. "I hope that is out to kill anyone trying to kill you."

Swallowing hard, Jyrgen pulled his face away to hide his shame as he pushed the knife back into the holder. "I... I am so glad to see you guys."

"We do not have time for sentimentality." Aldrik knelt down next to the wound. He looked up at his friend. "This is going to hurt like hell, but I have to get a look at how this pole is in you."

"I... I can handle it." He nodded, knowing that the pain would be better than being dead right now. He was too overwhelmed with relief to say no anyway. A warm sensation grabbed his hand. He looked up at Penny holding his hand tightly.

"I will not leave you." For the first time he noticed actual fear in her eyes. The look made him realized what she was really saying. If he wasn't freed then she would die there with him.

Aaaahhhhh! The scream echoed from him before he had any chance to hide it.

Aldrik pried his body up just enough to see underneath how much damage there really was. "I am sorry, buddy."

The pain was nearly too much to bear. He could feel the world spinning around him. Everything was fuzzy. It was too hard to focus.

Aldrik's voice sounded distant. "We are going to have to pull him off and patch him up. There is no other way around..."

The words were soon tuned out as blackness began to fill all of his senses.

"Jyrgen? Jyrgen!" He could hear Penny yelling at him. "Stay with me!"

Stay with me!

The scream had faded away, but he still felt the words echoing through him.

I want to stay with you, Penny.

He wasn't sure if he had said the words out loud or not, but it was the last thought on his mind before the darkness consumed him completely.