A PROMISE KEPT
Warning: This is a death snippet with a twist. One partner is dying and the other one is waiting.
Beta Read byProvencePuss
Massive Damage.Massive Damage.Massive Damage. The words kept playing over and over in my mind. Dying.He was dying and Icouldn'tdo anything to stop it.All I could do was stare through that observation window at my silent, still, friend and partner. Surrounded by the machines that were the only thing keeping him alive. The ventilator that forced oxygen into his damaged lungs, the heart monitor that kept track of the stubborn beating of his heart. If I closed my eyes, I could still see the blood pouring from his body, too much blood, staining my hands with red as I frantically tried to stop it from flowing out of the terrible wounds left by the bullets that had torn his body apart. I held him in my arms, praying to a God that I had stopped believing in long ago not to let him suffer.
He had already died twice. Once in the ambulance on the way to the hospital and once in the emergency room where they worked frantically to stabilize him enough to get him into surgery. Both times, the medical professionals had managed to bring him back. But I knew if it happened again, there would be no bringing him back a third time. His body was too weak, he'd lost too much blood, the damage was just too extensive. He'd been through enough. We had promised each other that neither one of us would ever have to die alone and I intended to keep that promise.
I slipped into his room so I could be at my friend's side at the end. I could barely see through the tears that flooded my eyes as I sat down beside the bed and reached out to take his hand in mine. Behind me, I could hear the beeping of the heart monitor, the tones getting slower and farther apart as his heart faltered, still struggling to beat in spite of the odds. Then there was nothing but silence as his heart finally stopped. He was at peace. He was no longer suffering. My long lonely vigil was over.
I smiled as those blue eyes slowly opened and his spirit rose from his body, looking at me in astonishment and then back at the empty shell lying on the bed. He looked back at me and whispered, "Am I dead?"
"Yeah, pal. You are."
"You came for me. Just like you promised." He said in a quiet, awed voice.
"I've been here all along, babe. Just waiting…I couldn't leave without you." I took his hand and led him towards the light that was waiting to welcome us both home.
THE END