The Other Side - A Jamilton Fanfiction

Chapter Twenty Five

Thomas's eyes, wild and desperate, met mine for a brief moment. And despite it being just a brief moment, the image would haunt me for a very long time. In that brief moment, time came to a standstill as the realization of what had just happened slowly crept to my mind. Even in that brief moment, his gaze was able to say so much, to hold so much emotion. I only hoped that I could return the feeling, the unspoken words that said so much yet not enough.

He let out a whimper, a low sound that didn't sound like it belonged to him.

I watched as he fell to his knees, doubled over. His fingers went to his stomach and came back coated in the crimson red blood that seeped from his body, like water out of a crack in a dam.

"You killed my dragon," drawled the king as he wiped Thomas's blood off of the sword he carried in his hand. "I'm so sorry for this. Truly, I am." He sounded anything but sorry.

Thomas fell backwards, sitting on the ground against the wall of the hedges as the king disappeared without another word.

Someone screamed. I would say that it was me except for the fact that I was caught utterly speechless as I watched Thomas's life bleed out onto the gravel. I was rooted to the spot, unable to move. Unable to think rationally.

No. No, goddammit, no.

Thomas met my eyes once more, and the tone of his voice didn't match the look in his eyes. "Don't worry Alexander," he forced out, trying for a smile. "I'm gonna be just fine, okay?"

Empty promise he couldn't keep.

Then the five of us sprang to life suddenly like puppets on strings. Angelica rushed past me but stopped in her tracks as she seemed to run into something.

"Oh Divinity's children! No!" she cursed. It was miraculous to me how she could stay this collected. Okay, relatively collected. Collected compared to me, who couldn't even do anything. "Thomas! There's a forcefield in the way!"

"I don't know what you want me to do about that right now Angelica." He held the facade of calm, though it hardly hid the hysterics rooted not too far below. "I'm kinda dying."

"You are not dying!" she hissed back. "Just hold on for a minute or two!"

"Well I'll try," snapped Thomas.

"Can someone help me here?" Angelica hissed out, glancing over her shoulder.

Elizabeth and James were at her side in a matter of moments, pressing themselves against the invisible boundary holding them from Thomas.

My breathing was staggered. The world around me was swaying and I felt like I would throw up any moment. I was choking back tears as I joined them. But I joined them, and I fought against what was keeping me from him as hard as I could nonetheless.

I had to get to Thomas. I had to get to Thomas now.

"That's not going to work," sang a voice from behind us. I didn't even have to look back to know who it was that was taunting us. "You may as well give up. He's as good as dead!"

I gritted my teeth at how cheerful he sounded as he said it, like he had not just stabbed Thomas. Like it wasn't his fault that the person I cared so much about was slowly losing life.

And when the realization was slowly dragged up to the surface, my head began to spin even more.

This is all my fault.

I wanted to cry. I wanted to pause time and never let it resume, just so we could be stuck in this moment where he was still breathing, no matter how irregular it was. I wanted the world to end. To implode on itself. So then there would be nothing.