The shot hit him high in the chest. It was strange; you view it as if in slow motion. You see the skin cave in as the bullets penetrate him, metal tearing through flesh and bone and tissue. You see his chest blow open as the explosive heads do their ghastly work. His eyes are the worst- he looks at you, wide with shock and a little bit of fear. You struggle against your captors, arms holding you away from him as he falls. You hear a voice screaming his name and you are shocked to realize that it is your own. He hits the ground, blood tricking down the corner of his mouth. His mouth- it's moving, gaping at you like a fish out of water, his eyes pleading, begging with you to help him. The arms that hold you are like iron and their grip upon you is unbreakable as you watch his life blood leak out of the gaping wound of his torso, red against his dust covered jacket. It pools on the floor, a sea of red wine. You feel a part of yourself die, your heart aching as if it was you who was shot, not him. Suddenly, the hands release you, and you are rushing to him. Your hands move by themselves to the wound, trying to staunch the blood running in rivets down his sides. Your knees are warm, and you are revolted as you realize it is because of the half inch of blood leaking from his ensanguined body. You look at his face, pale and smeared a bit with blood, and try to remember it as it was last night, contorted with joy and ecstasy, that wonderful night when he was no one else but yours and the great god that blessed you with him. His eyes are fluttering now, closing for the last time, and you say his name, calling him back to you. You feel his chest rise up as he fills his lungs- his face is blurred, you cannot see much beyond a veil of tears that stings the small cuts and lacerations on your face and cheeks. You wipe them away and view him for the last time, and his mouth opens. A whisper comes out- words that you would have sold everything you own not to hear at this moment. It is raspy, drops of gore coming out with it, but it is clear. "I love you"
You wish you had a heart of stone, rather than endure the pain it is feeling right now. You let out a small sob, try to make the words come, but your mouth is too tight, as you try not to burst out in tears. His eyes change- they seem to lose something, that something you used to yearn for before it happened. Time moves normally again. He is no longer your lover, your partner, your companion. He is nothing. He is a mass of tendons and arteries that is connected to a skeleton. No longer a human, no longer yours. Then sound comes back- the sounds of your house. You realize that you are alone. Sirens in the distance, a bird twittering. And you are left with nothing but an empty heart.