Take Me Home

41. Letting go

Axel clung to Roger as they made their way through the smoke and the darkness, trying to escape the area. Axel had his right arm wrapped around Roger's shoulders while Roger held Axel up with his left arm. Limping, they could only move so fast, Axel unable to fully walk by himself. He coughed continually, the smoke in his lungs as he felt blood draining from his body, his coat tied around his shoulder as blood stained the piece of clothing red, a trail of blood following the two. Feeling light-headed and weak, Axel's eyes fluttered open and close, consciousness on the verge of breaking.

Roger guided him, supporting Axel, his hazel eyes searching through the dark as they headed toward the exit. The sirens still rang in the air as planes flew above them, diving and depositing the bombs as explosions could be heard. Axel coughed, shaking with the effort to continue walking.

"C-can't..." Axel wanted to collapse. He felt drained of energy, he had nothing left in him. His body began to drop and Roger dropped with him, gently laying him down.

Axel closed his eyes, breathing hard as he felt fingers pressing under his neck and on his wrist, checking for a pulse. He was alive. But weak. He had no energy to continue. He didn't know how he would be able continue. He felt movement around his left arm...his injury. He let out a low cry of pain as Roger rearranged the cloth that tied around his shoulder.

"Axel, we are almost out of here. Walk a little further. I can't carry you the whole way. You can do it." He heard Roger's encouraging voice and opened his eyes, meeting his. Nodding weakly, he let Roger help him to stand, an overwhelming feeling of sickness and fatigue washing over him.

"O-Okay."

Traveling onward, they dodged the rubble and they steered clear of the smokiest areas as they laid eyes onto the exit. The door to the building had been blown off. Roger looked over at Axel, who's head was hanging as he trailed next to him, his feet dragging. Roger looked back ahead, worry in his chest as he wondered whether Axel would make it or not.

He stopped, ducking down and lifting Axel up into the 'Fireman carry,' his shoulders weighed down with Axel's body as he carried him through the smoke. Axel hung limply, a dead-weight. He could see the ground, the dust of dirt and shattered glass and wood and even more things and items. Axel blinked, his vision blurry as he felt himself slipping. It was an unending fight, being pushed way past his physical limits.

But he couldn't die, he couldn't lose the fight. He had to win it, otherwise he would be leaving the ones he needed to be alive for. Flashes of his family entered his mind and Freya seemed to outlining each one. Axel felt regret sparking inside him as images faded.

He had never gotten to tell Freya he loved her.

He blinked, his eyes watering as dust cleared from his eyes. He heard Roger panting and struggling below him and he wondered how much longer Roger could continue. Roger, whom Axel had been suspicious of at first, was now risking his life for him.

A sudden explosion nearby rocked the ground, causing Roger to stumble as dust and dirt flew up around them, the ear splitting noise echoing in their heads as they both hit the ground. Axel let out a soft cry as he hit the ground, landing on his bad arm. Roger stood up, shock in his hazel eyes as he looked around, doubt filling them. Axel squinted up at him, rolling onto his back and then lifting his right arm. Axel brought his arm over, gently brushing where his left should be. His throat tightened as his hand grasped the stump of what was left of his upper arm, cloth soaked in blood wrapped around it. He didn't have his arm. Somewhere, buried under rocks, the rest of his arm lay, lifeless.

"Axel, don't think about it. Come on, we can do this!" Roger encouraged, grabbing Axel and lifting him back up. Axel stared straight ahead of him, eyes wide in shock.

Roger looked around, his heart jumping as he saw the exit door. "Come on!" He lifted Axel back onto him, forcing his way through the smoke as he neared it.

Reaching the closed door, he grabbed the knob, which was slightly warm as he figured there was fire nearby too. Roger turned the handle and pushed the door.

Nothing happened.

Roger looked around the door as he set Axel down, pushing against the door as he turned the knob. He looked down and then saw what prevented them from escaping. A long piece of some type of metal that probably had been tossed from the explosion was jammed under the door, preventing it from opening. Bending down, he grasped the metal, lifting it and trying to tug it away. It moved, but the edges of the piece were jagged and sharp and he felt the metal scraping against the palms of his hands as he pulled.

Letting out an angry yell, Roger ripped the piece up, feeling the metal slicing into his flesh. Clenching his jaws, he pulled it, until it began sliding from underneath the door. He let go, reaching up with bloody hands and opening the door, revealing the street. Grabbing the injured Axel, he half carried him outside, away from the building but not out in the open.

Buildings burned and crumbled as the explosions ignited a strong fire into many of them, the light from the flames lighting the dark streets. Looking up, Roger watched as the German bombers flew over their heads, the roar of the engines filling the night sky. Roger brought Axel over to the side of the building, looking around. He just had to make it to shelter, and they would find Freya later. He hoped.

Axel stood, eyes cast up to the sky as he watched the planes. He felt Roger lift him up, over his shoulders. Then, they were moving.

Running through the streets, sticking to the shadows, the noise engulfed them as smoke filled the air, swirling around them as they ran, their footsteps and heavy breathing drowned out as the sirens screamed and the planes roared. The noise was loud but it was almost calming to Axel in a way. He had always loved the sound of the planes engine as it roared, vibrating under his feet as he waited to descend from the sky to the ground..

Axel sighed softly, closing his eyes as he let go.