The Black, volume 1.

Time is a fascinating concept. Since the moment time began it has continued without change, never stopped, gone backwards or skipped over itself, not even for one second. No matter how hard you try to change that, your efforts are futile. No matter how much you wish for a second chance, no matter how many sleepless nights, you can't change the past. They even say time can heal all wounds. However, some wounds leave scars, and no amount of time can clear a scar. I thought about this for hours after my own moment of darkness. My own moment in time I would give anything to change.

Two years ago I met a girl, a girl that made me see life as something more; Something special. Her name was Madison, and I was in love with her. She was beautiful. A beautiful person behind a beautiful face. She made me feel like I was worth something, like I was special. We had been talking for months before I finally asked her out on a date. We went for pizza before spending half my paycheck at the comic book store then going back to my place for the night. And so it went for over a year. Just a week ago I decided I was going to propose, I had a ring, I had a date, everything was perfect. And the clock winds down.

The night that I picked, my perfect night, had finally come. I was to take Madison to the movies, then we would walk through the city where I would stall until the sun set, then, once the conditions were perfect, I would ask her to be mine forever. It was the perfect plan. We made it through the movie, we both loved it, we talked about it as we walked. The sun hung low in the sky and I saw the perfect spot down the street. An alley that had a perfect view of the Capitol building and it's lavish courtyard. We made our way to the alley as the sun crept below the horizon. The sky grew black, there was no moon. The black enveloped the city, we stepped into the alley and... this is the part I can't watch.

The black was overwhelming, the street lights lit the alley between the two buildings. The Capitol was lit from steeple to stairs. The garden courtyard emanated warm light. I stopped and grabbed Madison's hands. "what's your next move slick?" she asked with a giggle. Her eyes were so trusting and happy. Her mouth smiled wide, her cheeks dimpled. "Madison, over the last, almost 2 years, you have been nothing but perfect." The words are tattooed on my memory. "you are amazing and beautiful and you make me feel worthy. Worthy of love and worthy of the time I've been given on earth, and I've never felt this before." I pulled out the small box and spun it around in my palm. "I realized that if I am worthy of this time on earth, I only see myself spending every remaining moment of it with you." Her face was so anxious and happy. I can still feel her hand sliding off of mine when I dropped to my knee. That was the last time I would feel her touch. I opened the box and the diamond ring shimmered on her face. She gasped and started to cry; the best kind of cry. "Madison, Renee, Miller..." the black stains of repression are trying to conceal the next part.

Madison was frozen. This is where my time rewound. In that moment, I could see in her eyes reflected every time she's ever smiled with me. Every time she's ever cried and I was there to help her back up. Then the words I can't remember saying. "will you marry me?" then time skipped forward. I could see us buying our first house, having a kid, a dog, growing old together, I could see everything and it was beautiful. She said my name about a dozen times before squealing with glee and leaping into my arms. My life was perfect. My future was to be happy and secure. Then, the black.

As my new fiancé and I walked toward the street, arms linked, discussing the events of the night, I heard a voice that made my heart skip. "That's a fine ass ring." suddenly four men appeared, two on either side of us. I was scared, I didn't want Madison to be scared so I grabbed her arm and moved her behind me. "Thanks, I picked it out myself." One of the men on my left pulled out a small pistol. One of the men to my right pulled out a knife. "How about we take the girl? You keep the ring?" I got a cold sweat. My adrenaline kicked in. "No deal." The man with the knife swung at me, his poor form allowed me to disarm him. I broke his wrist and took his knife. I was blind with rage, Madison had let out a terrified gasp, I turned to face her. I can still see the look on her face. Pure fear. She was pale. Her eyes were enormous yet empty. Something caught her gaze. I was shocked to see her so scared. It was so unlike her. Then I found out what held her stare. I heard a loud concussive bang. It was sharp and fast, then a similar sharp fast pain in my side. My vision went blurry and my hands felt hot. My ears rang and I felt something warm seep into my waistband. My shirt stuck to my hip. I dropped to my knees and grabbed the wet spot then saw the blood on my fingers. I looked back to Madison who was on the ground, she had a large hole torn in her chest. My memory gets fuzzy here. The men ran away as I crawled over to Madison, her white down jacket stained red with my blood and hers. Soft white feathers lay all over the ground around her. I felt her cheek, she was getting cold. Her eyes were blinking rapidly. I tried to calm her down. I tried to hold on to our future. The black grew thicker. I propped her head up and placed it in my lap. They call it a through and through. It's when a bullet passes completely through your body, missing any vital organs. The bullet went in and out through my side and hit Madison square in the center of her torso. The solar plexus. Her lungs filled with blood and collapsed. That's what the report says anyway. This is where my time froze. I held her head in my lap, my hands caressing her face, I tried not to get blood on her cheeks but it did anyway. I tried to keep time from moving forward, but it did anyway. I tried to keep the mugging from happening, to keep Madison from being hurt, to keep our future from falling apart so painfully, but it did anyway. I tried to keep Madison from dying on the ground in an alley, but she did anyway. And time moves on without us.