His feet began to drag as the weight of the limp body in his hands grew heavier. His muscles were screaming at him to stop but he pressed forward, unable to lift his feet more than a few inches off the ground. The scenery passed by him slowly, his eyes squinting heavily from the hot sun. There was the sound of heavy breathing coming from behind him; the pack was tired. They had drank the last few drops of water and were in it for the long stretch now. It was this or nothing, he had told them. Not exactly a choice, but an ultimatum that he'd regretted as soon as it came out. But regardless, it had been said..
Glancing down at the body in his hands, he felt like crying but the tears wouldn't come. That was happening a lot more recently. Not the disappearing tears but having the feeling of crying and not actually. His body was shutting down, preserving any ounce of water or energy it could. Who would have thought that even crying was too hard?
If he had been in better spirits he would have started to sing, or at least smiled back at the troop. Instead he began with a low humming sound, resonating deep in the back of his throat. It was all he could manage. Slow and sad, a sort of "pirate-like" hum. It grew louder as the humming from the others joined his. It started to turn, losing hope as the sun beat down and the road continued in front of them.
Moving at a snail pace, the group could barely lift their heads. Many had their caps pulled low over their eyes to shield as much of their face from the sun. Others had given up completely, submitting to the will of mother nature. As cruel as she wanted to be, they were hers. His eyes moved up from the heavy body in his arms to scan the tree-line. There were walkers peeking at them from the trees, none of which posing any real threat. Even if they had, it was doubtful the troop would have been much of a challenge. The asphalt grew dark and a large cloud moved in front of the sun- It was a sigh of relief for the tired pack.
"It's too heavy," he croaked, his voice dry and raspy. His feet had stopped moving and he swayed. The pack halted behind him, watching his back with worry. There was a large, heavily supported wall in front of them, several hundred yards away. Just when they almost reached the limit, the end of the long road, he couldn't move another inch. His eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed on the ground.
There was a sound of pounding feet and he tried desperately to open his tired eyes. Light streamed in through his fluttering lids, catching sight of various pairs of feet. He could feel hands touching his body. It made his skin crawl as he waited for the one bite that would end it all. It never came and his eyes shut, presumably forever.