Broken
The blade came down with tremendous force. Everything was soon painted the crimson with blood, it's color matching the hair of the man it flowed from.
Nothing could be heard but the screams of the woman behind him, the woman he had run in front of, the woman who's life he held dear, the woman of his childhood, the woman he had watched run away from him, the woman whom he loved.
He fell to his knees slowly, he could hear nothing, feel nothing, he could see but it didn't register, even the coppery taste one experiences when blood enters the mouth was naught. The only thing left that was enough for him to remotely feel was hate. Pure malice to the man who had dared lay so much as a finger on her. Who had just tried to annihilate all he stood for, all he had trained for, all of his stability, his world, his lover.
Gathering all that was left in him he stood to the best of his ability, raising his own sword. Mustering his will, his strength, his power he charged forward.
There was a flash, then silence. The dust cleared revealing the figure of a man standing, his sword at his side, his face cold, his resolve showing clearly on his face. He stared coldly at the unrecognizable corpse at his feet. Turning, he walked steadily toward the dumfounded woman. As he came closer she seemed to shake off her sheep-like stare but remained frozen until he came within a foot of her petite from.
They held each other's gazes for a second before the man collapsed. He never reached the ground for the small woman caught him in her delicate arms, clutching his bloodied body to her as if she was trying to tangibly grasp sanity.
They looked as each other, her tears washing blood from his face. As she sobbed pitifully over him, his large hand came up to hold her cheek.
"Please," he rasped in the most soothing tone he could force through his lips.
"Please don't cry, it's broken my heart once, don't cry, I beg you, please…" his voice becoming weaker by the second, his hand slipping, sliding down her cheek, unable to support itself any longer.
"I- I- I- I- I- I…." he took a rattling breath,
"Forgive me, there are just too many years……of…… unspoken phrases, words…… longings"
His eyes turned to stare into hers. Forcing his fingers to move, he stroked her cheek, his hand being held tightly by hers, pressed firmly to her face, almost in attempt to save him the effort of moving anymore unnecessarily than he was
His eyes threatened to close, fluttering in warning that his time was running out.
No, they couldn't close now, not yet, her face, he needed to see her face, her needed to feel her presence, he needed to feel her beside him, he had to stay with her. Dying was not an option.
He could feel her trembling, her whimpers muffled as she brought his hand to her mouth, placing it over her lips in a kiss. He felt his hand becoming damp, soon wet from her tears.
"No, no, no. No more crying, you have shed too many tears, too many faults and fears have burdened you."
She stopped the vocalization of her sorrow to look at him; her eyes, which were large already, became impossibly larger as the settled in his face.
He smiled as best he could. Only able to lift the corners of his mouth he did his best to express himself with his eyes.
Her tears, flowed, but he thought he saw her eyes soften despite her obvious distress.
He lost consciousness, the sound of his name, echoing, ringing, reverberating in his ears as his eyes shut.
"I'm sorry…" He whispered in his mind.
"I … I… I wanted… I wanted…" his thoughts slipped away from him, a wonderful feeling sweeping over him as his body became limp in the arms of his love.
There was nothing but blackness.
I wanted you to know I love the way you laugh
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away
I keep your photograph; I know it serves me well
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain
The woman was found clutching and rocking the body of a man. She was covered in blood, soaked to the skin. Shivering, losing control.
They tried to pry her loose, but she screamed, attacking wildly while still clinging to the man.
She looked down to him, lifeless in her arm. Her hysteria disappeared as she lost complete self-control, fueled by fury and deep, incomprehensible hatred.
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away
She was finally overcome by her comrades. Kicking and screaming as they took him away. Another love lost before her eyes, it was too much.
When his body was out of sight she collapsed to her knees, her head falling, her shoulders slumping, her arms suspended on either side of her, held up by two of her companions.
She looked up, the blood on her face appeared as a striped mask, and for where the tears flowed they left white trails, revealing her porcelain skin, which lay beneath.
You've gone away, you don't feel me anymore
Meanwhile many crowded a room at the relief station, all rushing, yelling, looking to each other in fear as they worked tirelessly over the man.
The woman had escaped the two who had finally been able to restrain her. She had snuck in and now stood near the window, unnoticed by the others, watching them.
Suddenly something inside her heart jumped. She felt her body become enveloped in warmth. She lowered her head. A fragment of a smile passing over her lips before she slipped out. The sounds of the healers' desperate attempts fading with each step.
When she stepped out into the sun, she shielded her eyes as to look up to the sky. Feeling, to her surprise, relief.
The worst is over now and we can breathe again
I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away
There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain
The medical facility was silent now. It was peaceful. The woman had returned, her delicate features were now revealed as she sat by the bedside of the man. She was holding his hand, talking almost animatedly. Her eyes switched between looking at the man and the monitor that seemed to hold any possibility of his recovery on a balance.
'Cause I'm broken when I'm open
And I don't feel like I am strong enough
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away
" I wish this could've turned out some other way," she whispered.
"I never told you that I have always believed in you, I never doubted you once. I never thought you were weak. I never thought that you not strong enough."
She lowered he head, brining his limp hand to her forehead. The coolness of his hand felt oddly refreshing to her flushed face.
Memories of him flashed through her mind. Once again his hand became wet with her tears.
'Cause I'm broken when I'm open
And I don't feel like I am strong enough
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away
She sat there looking at him intently, searching for any sign of movement. She wanted to see those eyes open, she wanted to see the passion he held for her in those eyes.
The passion she had seen every time he looked at her. The lust they had shared. The pain, the anger, the euphoria, the hate, the joy, the laughter, the life, the love. She wanted all of that back.
So many years of games. So many years of estrangement. It was all her fault. She always blamed herself for the pain she caused others but nowhere to the degree that she blamed herself for the state of the man she loved.
Now he lay there, wrapped in bandages, his mouth covered by a clear mask, needles attached to arms, sensors stuck to his chest, a monitor beeping, ticking like a bomb about to detonate.
"I love you…" she whispered as she stood, her hand stoking long crimson locks away from his face. Tracing intricate sets of tattoos that were revelaed.
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone
The next morning a healer came in to view the state of the man.
He dropped all that he had in his hands as his eyes took in the sight before him.
For there was the woman curled up on the bed, the arms of the man wrapped around her, the monitor singing the same flat tone, a smile on both of the faces of the two lovers united at long last.
You've gone away, you don't feel me anymore
This is a Song Fic to "Broken" a collaboration of the lead singer of "Seether" and Amy Lee of "Evanescence".