- 35 -
November 2045
Dean
A sea of smoke engulfs me as clanging debris rains down, clashing with distant cries of devastation. The pounding in my chest intensifies as my shuffling feet drag me around to every corner of this home. Lives depend on me and my mental clarity. Now is not the time to fall victim to my quivering bones.
Get the civilians, Dean. Save the civilians.
“Hello?” I call.
There’s not a single sound of life.
“Hello?!”
The cracking wood replies, threatening to fall in on me.
“Hello?!” I scream as my eyes attempt to adjust to the darkness.
There’s no life raft here for me in this all-consuming sea, but I’m supposed to be one for others.
I’m going to die in here.
My training has taught me how to escape, but all of it is failing me. I can’t carry myself out.
I am trying.
I am trying.
Am I trying?
Will anyone even realize I’m gone? It might not be so bad, to be set free. There’s nothing for me out there anyway.
Let them take me away.
My last few moments will not be spent trembling, so as I exhale my fear, I sink to the ground. It’s eerily peaceful laying here as the world around me falls apart. It won’t be much longer now.
Where is the rest of the crew? Why am I alone?
“Dean!” A familiar scream pierces my ears. It’s a glass shattering on the floor, crashing and exploding shards into the darkness.
“Dean!” she begs, relentless in her search for me.
Pain and despair fill the air with her every breath, but no footsteps follow her call. Wherever she is, she’s trapped and only I can help her.
“Hallee?” A question and request for her to come to me.
“Dean?!” Her unwavering scream saws through my hopeless heart.
Agonized adrenaline pushes me to get her, but my boots have melted to the floor and my feet have melted to my boots. She is desperate, I am desperate, we all are fucking desperate.
She needs me.
She needs me.
She needs me.
“Hallee, run! Get out of here!”
My pleading tears write a letter, but it burns in the fire before delivery.
“Run for me, baby!” My voice comes out hoarse, broken from begging. Taste blood in my mouth from screaming.
Please, God, hold up this house. Please, I’ll do anything. Take me instead. Give her more time. Give her that lasting love, and let her love him more than she loves me.
“Find me, Dean.”
Please, tell her I’m trying. Let her know how hard I tried.
“Find me, Dean.”
We are destined to lose to this great divide.
“Find me, Dean.”
“Hallee, RUN.”
A loud crack in the ceiling resounds with her final plea, and hands shake me awake before the rubble engulfs us both.
“Dean.”
Clear air fills my lungs as my eyes open to darkness. Through my curtains, the moon is shining onto my bookshelves. Gentle hands wrap around my waist. The familiar smell of sweet vanilla slows my racing heart.
“You’re okay,” she whispers.
Relief cools the burn as my head catches up to my heart in realizing she’s safe. We both are, and we’re together.
Laying back, I pull her into me. Feel her chest rise and fall. Feel the warmth of her living body.
“What was it about?” she asks.
Shaking my head a little, I summarize it the best I can.
“Losing you.”
“You’ll never lose me,” she exhales, wiping away my tears.
In a month and a half, I will—when we are reduced to nothing but the rubble of a burned house.
She’s been doing this recently. Talking as if we have a different fate than what’s coming for us. I only nod in response. She thinks I’m agreeing with her. Don’t have the heart to tell her I’m not. Really, I’m saying yes I will , and there is nothing I can do to stop it. My boots are burned to time, and it will drag me along no matter how hard I try, so I’ll hold her.
I’ll hold her until the roof caves in.