A/N: This story has been bouncing around my mind for about a week but today it hit me full force and I knew that I had to write it. I took absolutely no joy in writing it but I felt compelled to do it anyway.
My Immortal
Something wet was running down Seth's forearm. It wasn't cold. It was strangely warm and familiar. Seth had to will himself to open his eyes to see what it was. Why did he close his eyes in the first place? He wasn't sleepy. But yet they were shut. When he opened them he wasn't sure that they were. Everything seemed blurry and dark. His surroundings seemed familiar yet disturbed. Something wasn't right.
He tried to move his arm but realized that it was wedged in an awkward position above his head. Something was pinning it against an immovable object. He tugged his arm hard, tweaking his shoulder a bit but he heard bits of glass shattering and his hand was free. He brought the arm in front of his face and his eyesight had adjusted in the dark and saw shards of fine glass decorating his arm and he shook it off expecting it to land on the floor but it only landed on his jeans clad thighs. It was then that Seth realized that he was already on the ground.
Everything was starting to come back to him. Some of the WWE superstars had been travelling in a tour bus. They were driving through Nevada heading to Las Vegas. They had been talking and laughing with one another when someone screamed. Was it Kaitlyn? Aksana? He remembered looking out the window and seeing an eighteen wheeler careening towards them. The cab was bright red and the headlights blinded him but not before he saw the truck driver's mouth opened in a silent scream that filled his eyes with horror as he realized that this was going to be his last trip.
They had been hit. This consciousness of the current situation washed over Seth in a frightfully cold wave, his entire body shook from the thought. Suddenly the eerie quietness of the hull of the bus crashed against him. Were they all dead? No they couldn't be. He was still alive.
Roman! Dean! His mind flew into a panic as his brain was jolted with images of his teamates, his friends... no. His brothers. Dean had been sitting next to him and Roman was in the seat infront of them. But Seth was resting against the arm of the seat that Dean had been propping against. His side was sticking straight up in the air. He had to look for them. He had to know that they were okay. He couldn't think that the worse had befallen them. He just couldn't. He tried to stand but his head hit against one of the overhead compartments that hung open. Inside was empty and black. Dark and forebrooding. It was as if he was staring death in its face and Seth swallowed hard. He could feel tears forming in his eyes as he sat back down. The bus was on its side. He crawled out of his seat and into the aisle of the tour bus. There was barely any light in the bus as it was currently night. But a light source was coming from some unknown place. He raised his body up on his elbows and looked down the aisle. Bodies and luggage were strewn everywhere. Some on top of each other. Seth's breath hitched in his throat as he looked around. It seemed as if the bus had been broken almost in half. The roof was split open and he see could a couple of stars dotting the velvet black sky.
An overwhelming sense of loss washed over him as he crawled on his hands and knees. He wondered if any of his friends were among them. He saw a blue jeans that looked familiar. He moved closer to it. It was Roman! Excitement rose in Seth's heart. It pounded furiously against his chest in hopeful anticipation. Roman was probably just knocked out like he was. Yes, that is what he would think as he crawled over his friend's thighs. Just like him. But as Seth straddled Roman's hips as his hands moved to push the long black hair off his face. He couldn't help but to notice that his head laid at an unnatural angle against the base of the seat that it rested against. Slowly he pushed the hair away from his dear friend's face. The hair felt as soft and silky as it always did against his fingertips, imparting little comfort. A wail ripped through his throat before Seth could consciously control it. Roman's neck laid at a sickly, inhuman angle. His eyes wide and vacant. Those light grey eyes that watched him quietly, tinged with amusement as he talked about his favourite bands. That chided him over his messy rooming habits. That comforted him when he had a particularly hard day, were now empty. Soul-less. Seth's fingers brushed against Roman's eyelids closing them for eternity as his tears ran freely down his cheeks.
Seth's chest heaved heavily under his shirt as the loss of Roman swept over him. Roman couldn't be gone. He was right there underneath him. But his chest did not rise and fall like Seth's did. Roman didn't squeeze his hand back when Seth grabbed it and held it up to his lips. It was still warm and Seth planted light kisses against it. Somewhere in his mind he thought that if Roman felt this somehow, he would come back to him. Roman would never leave him. Roman loved him. They always stuck together no matter what. Even now. But the only thing that happened was that Seth's tears fell against Roman's well manicured fingers, running off at the fingertips. Roman always took care of his hands. He and Dean used to tease him about it but Roman always ignored them and went to the spa to have them pampered anyway.
Seth slowly placed Roman's hand against his side. He wasn't coming back to him. He had passed on. Seth climbed off of Roman. He would come back to him but right now he had to look for Dean. He couldn't lose Dean too. He looked behind him and he thought he saw a leg move. He crawled up the aisle and saw that it was Dean! Relief washed over him. Dean was alive. Dean was against the back of the bus and Seth was able to sit up next to him. He cradled Dean in his arms, sliding his arm underneath his back lifting him against his chest.
" Dean! Dean!" Seth whispered, trying hard to keep the panic out of his voice.
" Seth?" Dean's eyes fluttered opened. He blinked a couple of times like Seth did when he first came to.
" Yeah I'm here." Seth felt a warm flow of joy sweep through him as Dean stirred. He wouldn't tell him about Roman just yet.
" What happened?" Dean was looking up at him, looking completely innocent and vulnerable. A completely different person from his ring persona but they all were at the end of the day. They were all just regular guys trying to live their dreams.
" We were in an accident." Seth said as softly and as calmly as he could.
" An accident?" The words fell off of Dean's tongue like a little child in complete wonderment.
" Yeah."
Dean studied Seth's face for a while. He tried to moved his head but he winced. " Ow. My head hurts."
Seth propped up Dean's head gently so that he could see if he had a cut anywhere. He swallowed a gasp when he saw a piece of metal sticking out of the back of his head. His auburn hair matted with blood. He knocked Dean's hand back down when he saw him reaching up to touch his head.
" Don't! You might infect it." Seth held Dean's hand, intertwining their fingers. " It's just a nasty bruise."
Surprisingly Dean didn't fight him on it. He just nodded and held on to Seth's hand. They were quiet for a few minutes when Dean's eyes opened wide. " Where's Roman?"
Fresh tears ran down Seth's cheeks. He couldn't face the thought of losing both of them on the same night. " He's sleeping."
Dean looked at Seth's tears and lifted the hand that was holding Seth's up to his face and used the back of his hand to wipe away the tears. "He isn't going to wake up, is he?" The tears ran through Seth's beard spilling onto his t-shirt as he shook his head.
Seth saw Dean's eyes become glassy as he held his hand up to his face. " You're bleeding Seth."
He looked at his forearm. He had forgotten about it when he started to look for the others. There was deep gash across his wrist and the blood was still running in thick rivers down it. It probably had cut through the artery.
" I'll be okay." He gave Dean a small smile. Dean just looked at him and said nothing. He pulled Seth's hand against his chest. His blood stained the white t-shirt but Seth was comforted by the fact that he could feel Dean's heart beat through his chest. Seth held Dean cuddled against his chest as he looked down the aisle at Roman, wanting to hold him too. Nobody else in the bus had stirred. He looked up at the heavens through the cracked roof. His coworkers were among the stars, he thought. They had been driving through the barren desert. Help would be long in coming. He could hear car doors slamming outside and sounds of people's voices. Onlookers. Unless one of them had a jaws-of-life, none of them were of any help to them.
As the minutes ticked by he could see that Dean was slipping in and out of consciousness. He tried talking to him but all Dean did was mumble a few incoherent words.
" Stay with me Dean." His voice frantic and stressed. He couldn't lose another brother tonight.
" It's so cold Seth. I'm so cold." He muttered closing his eyes.
Seth huddled Dean against him tightly. " I will keep you warm. Just hold on. Help will be here soon." He rocked his body back and forth against Dean, feeling his own strength fade as he did so. He wanted Dean to believe his words. He wanted to believe his words.
Dean's voice sounded far away. " It's warm where Roman is, Seth. I'm going to be with Roman."
Seth clawed Dean's hair away from his face. " No! Stay with me Dean. I need you. I love you." Dean looked at him through listless eyes. Seth could see his spirit slipping away. But he saw a small smile curl at the corner of Dean's mouth as he closed his eyes for the final time.
The heart beat faded away as Seth crouched over Dean's body rocking it. It was no use. It wouldn't bring Dean back. Seth felt his own strength leaving him as he placed Dean's body gently on the floor. His ears pricked up. In the far distance, he heard the sounds of sirens. They were coming but they were too late to save them. Using his last bit of strength he crawled to Roman and tugged at his jeans, pulling his body towards him and Dean. Roman was the heaviest out of the three of them and his body felt like lead as he pulled it to the back of the bus. The three of them always stuck together no matter what.
He took Roman's hand- Seth was panting now- the exertion taking toll on his rapidly weakening body, and placed it on top of Dean's. He laid his head on Dean's chest, right on the crimson mark. He took the hands of his friends and clasped his own around it. His breathing was shallow now but the sirens were closer now. But they were too late Seth thought. Seth looked at the sky once more before he closed his eyes. A few minutes later, he joined his brothers among the stars.
