Void (Boyxboy)

The End

"Echo, you have to wake up. Please." Alex shook his form, which lay unmoving on the concrete floor. "You can't leave me. We were so close. Please, baby, wake up." He was screaming now, screaming at the unresponsive boy below him. He was surrounded.
Bright lights blinded him, but he ignored everything. He ignored the pistol pressed against his head, the barrel silently taunting him.

"Echo."  His fingers were stained with blood, not from Echo, and not from himself.
His fingers had clutched handfuls of blue hair, and Callix lay breathless beside his love.
He had lost the one he's just met, the one who held his every secret until their eyes had opened to the darkness of the real world. The bullet carved its way into her brain, and she went cold.

A lady in white kneeled next to him. She was splashed in crimson, in the same position as him. And she had lost someone to, someone she hardly knew. Someone she never got the chance to know, because he was taken to soon.

"Please." He pleaded with himself. Not to give in, to stay strong.

But he couldn't. He was nothing without Echo, the boy who followed him like a shadow. Now his life was held above Alex's head, just out of reach.

"It's nice to meet you, Alex." The cold voice caused him to shudder, and he couldn't bare to look up. "I do hope you've kept my son company. I've noticed that your kind tend to stick together, it's parasitic. One cannot live without the other." He let a cruel smirk grace his features as he held his wife at gunpoint. Her eyes shut tight, as if she was trying to ignore it. Maybe that'll help Alex thought, but he refused to shut them.

"But if I'm correct, and one cannot live without the other, then the odds don't seem to be in you favor, do they?" He forced the turn of his head, shaking it slowly. "It wounds me, truly, to see you like this, forced to live with a time bomb ticking in your head." His voice held no remorse.

"If you're going to shoot, do it now." Alex was unsure if he'd been heard, but he didn't care. Nothing mattered anymore.

"Oh my dear boy, the fun was just beginning, but if that's what you wish.." The women beside him shook her head. "No. No, you can't." His face turned cold again, as his body twisted to face his wife. "What was that, Ellie dear?" She didn't respond, shaking her head vigorously. "And to think, this was all your idea. Were you using me to see your abomination of a son? I'm hurt, truly." His sick chuckle showed no pain, no anger, just what he thought was right.

"I gave you the world, and you throw it all away for a boy who's mind is clouded with feelings? I thought you would have learned by now." With a final, cold, laugh, the bullet escaped its confinement, embedding itself into her skull. Alex watched the bodies pile up, waiting for his own to join them.

They were almost there. They saw the door, they saw Callix, and they were going to make it. But all his hope was drained, and all he could wish for was death. His wish would be granted, by the man behind him or himself. Nothing made sense without Echo.

He'd ran out of tears, but his eyes were still burning red. His curls lay against his forehead, guarding his eyes from those that taunted him.

"I just don't get it. You were so inspired, so happy. Now you're in pain. Why don't you get it. None of this matters. We all die, and you choose to waste the short life you were given on something as simple as that." Alex chose his words carefully. What would anger the man most.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, earning a 'Pardon?' He continued. "I'm sorry you're unable to understand joy, and I'm sorry that you killed your wife without hesitation. I'm sorry you killed your son without blinking an eye. I'm sorry that you'll feel nothing when you pull that trigger. I'm truly sorry." He was met with silence, so he waited.

"I'm sorry you chose to open your mouth."

And everything was gone.

~

A hundred miles away, she lay staring at the ceiling as shuddered breaths wracked through her body. It was time, she knew, but she was unable to force herself out of the house. Her stomach throbbed as she made her way to the bathroom, the water already running as her husband sat on the floor against the wall. He smiled when she came in, a smile filled with pain and sadness. She returned the look, making her way over to the porcelain bath tub. With unstable legs, she made her way into the water, taking deep breaths as her body went against her.

She took deep breaths, placing her head against the lip of the tub. Warm tears ran down her cheeks, joining the water below her. The man beside her placed unsure hands on her back, hoping to ease his love. She smiled again, more genuine, as she waited.

Every few minutes, pain would hit her in waves, but she enjoyed it. Her small body shook as groans and gasps escaped her mouth. With one final cry, she was joined by a second voice, that of a child.

She pulled the screaming infant to her chest, holding her as if she was the world. More tears grazed her cheek, falling faster with every second she held the screaming child.

The baby was born in perfect health.

Not a scratch nor scar settled on the petite body of the girl.

But she was crying, and all was well.