As he stood in a place between life and death, dream and reality he could feel his life ending. It was a strange feeling. Just a few moments ago his friends had given him the power to fight a monster he alone could not stop. The physical manifestation of our fear, hatred, sadness, and discontent. All the little things we keep bottled up inside. But that was the thing. It can't be stopped. It believed that Man kind was a lost cause and that destruction was our salvation . It would never disappear until mans hearts change and that would require a power far greater than him. All he could do was simply lock it away and in order for him to even do that he would have to give up his own life.

He let out a sigh and began to summon his powers one last time. As he did so he thought of a girl. A girl he had come to know over the span of a year.A girl he had come to love and who loved him in return.

He thought of her laugh and her smile. He thought of how her light brown hair felt like silk in between his fingers. How her hazel eyes were filled with determination when she was taking archery lessons. And how she had plenty of feminine quality's but was fierce and strong just the same. He knew what they felt for eachother was real and, if he could, he would spend the rest of his days with her.

But he also thought of how she would mourn him. How she would find love again. How she would make love and start a family with someone that was not him. This knowledge pained him but as long as she was safe and happy that was all that mattered.

He knew that for those he held dear to live long and happy lives, he, at barely eighteen, would have to die. And he was at peace with this.

The last thing that went through his mind as he stood before the creature and released his trump card was that he wanted to keep his promise to his friends of meeting up again on graduation after it was all over. His friends who had fought alongside him this WHOLE year and made him their leader. He intended to keep that promise. And he would.

Two months later...

As he was resting on her lap on the roof of their school she would brush aside his hair and tell him how much she loved him. How warm he felt and she noted how tiered he looked. She would tell him that it was okay to rest and that she would be right here when he woke up. Little did she know that when he closed his eyes he would never open them again.