Promise Not To Stop When I Say When

By The Cookie Cutter World

The moment she felt like taking her motorcycle out on a ride along one of the highways in Colorado and realized that the feeling was uncontrollable, she knew something bad was bound to happen. But then again, she was not able to control it. She obliged.

She was having dinner with her entire family in the Kenwood family home when she suddenly pushed away her plate and excused herself from everybody. She told them she still felt bad because a close friend died so she wanted to get some fresh air. So she exited the room, went out of the house, and the next thing her family heard was the engine of her motorbike and the sound of it taking off from the garage. Unknown to them, their beloved Merrie had been hypnotized by an unknown force and was about to die in a few minutes.

Also unknown to them, her name has been written down by somebody known as Kira along with the cause of death: a motorcycle accident in a highway that is most memorable to her.

While riding down that highway, she accelerated to a very unacceptable speed. If there were any police officers hiding behind bushes, trees, or lamp posts, she could have been caught. Strangely enough, there were no traces of cars, trucks, or any other vehicles in the area. No sign of people like hitchhikers, even.

While riding down that highway, her red lips so glossy with long-lasting lip gloss and lipstick curved into a stern pout. A thought graced her mind: What am I doing here?

That was the highway where she got chased down by the police when L caught her for the first time as a burglar who participated in a heist that was meant to expose her. Imagine how scandalous it would be if a sweet local girl from Colorado who belongs to one of the most respected families there actually turned out to be a professional thief being hired by underground gangs, mobsters, and other unnamed influential people.

"Watch out, Wedy."

She thought she heard somebody speak to her although in reality, the only sound she could hear came from her motorbike's engine. She remembered that warning. It was from L himself from back then.

"I'm going to get you out of there. It's going to be quick and painless."

Now when did she hear that again?

"But you have to promise not to stop when I say when."

What?

"Still, I will get you."

…

"Now stop!"

And her grip tightened around the handles. She let out a soft gasp just when she felt a surge of pain through her chest. Ahead of her, she saw a black cat with glowing eyes looking straight ahead of her. She was not sure whether it was about to cross the street when she saw her or it had been there all along, waiting for her.

She swerved. The pain worsened.

40 seconds, she thought. She squinted as she took a deep breath while trying to mind off the pain.

And BAM!

Well she did not actually hear the crash anymore. She did not even feel the actual impact of her motorcycle and the road against her body. Strangely enough, she felt entirely nothing even when she let go. She did not even close her eyes as she lay sprawled on the road with blood coming out of her mouth, nose, and behind her head. Her helmet was still on but she could tell that the back had cracked and the front shield had been destroyed. She was not sure about her sunglasses. She could not feel whether it broke or not and whether there were glass shards in her eyes.

She could not feel a damn thing. Everything was silent. Her mind was screaming, "Help, somebody?" and hoping that somebody would pass by even though it seemed impossible for her to be saved already. She knew who killed her and she was angry at that person. But what can she do?

And then she felt as if there were hands tugging at her helmet, struggling to pull it off her head. "Wait, I can feel that?" she thought.

The numbness began to disappear and she began to blink when she realized that she had failed to do so since she crashed.

Somebody came into view from the broken face shield of her helmet. It was a pale face with big bulging dark eyes. Its head had an abundant supply of black unkempt hair. She struggled to open her mouth to speak a name but only a croak came out.

The lips that belonged to that face curved into an interested smile as it continued to stare down at her before it disappeared from her view. She wondered where it went until she felt the same tugging motion from her head again. She knew her head might come off if that person was not careful enough.

She felt a pair of thin bony hands finding their way underneath her chin to undo the straps of her helmet. Finally, the hands had successfully removed it. From the ground, she could see the dark yet starry evening sky. She could also hear the sound of crickets from somewhere along with the howling of coyotes coming from the mountains.

The face came into view again. "Hello." Was the greeting.

She just stared up into his eyes. She still could not move her legs and her entire body but she can already feel the pain associated with broken bones, strained muscles, and wounds inflicted by the crash.

"I've waited here for you," continued the person staring down at her in an interested manner. The tip of his right index finger rested on his lower lip as he spoke and examined her current state: her skull was cracked, she bled from several parts of her body, her spine had broke, her left knee was twisted, the bone of her right shin broke and was sticking out from her skin, her right ankle and left arm were twisted in odd positions, she had dislocated her shoulders, 5 of her ribs were broken—he could not describe the rest anymore.

And her lips slowly curved into a bitter smile. "Stop staring at me. I must look really horrible right now." She struggled to say.

He shook his head as he crouched on the floor. His face was closer to hers this time and the more she stared at her. "You're still beautiful, Wedy."

And then she felt her insides crumble—of course, in a figurative manner of speaking. The feeling was similar to when a person was about to cry due to frustration. However, in her case, she could feel no tears stinging her eyes at all no matter how painful everything felt at that moment. "I… hate that man. I'm-a kill him if I can… but I can't right now, right? Not in this state." She said frustratingly.

He removed the cracked sunglasses from her face and observed the angry look in her eyes. "He'll have his day." he said reassuringly as he narrowed his gaze into her eyes. "For now, let him bask in his glory." He moved away from where she could see him and crawled to her side so he could help her get up. She heard her bones cracking and felt another surge of pain through her entire body as he lifted her from the ground. After that, she felt entirely normal.

He placed an arm around her waist to support her as he guided her. He also placed one of her arms over his shoulders so she could hang on to him. Although dumbfounded, she still struggled to walk with him even as she heard the sound of wailing sirens coming from a distance. She wanted to look back at the scene of the accident but he advised her not to. "It's pointless," He told her.

She just remained quiet as they continued to walk down the long stretch of the highway that seemed endless from her point-of-view. As for him, he seemed to know where they were going so she decided not to ask any questions about it anymore. Like always, she would let him do as he pleased.

"I've waited here for you."

Didn't he say that earlier, too?

She refused to look at him and instead, she focused her gaze straight ahead of her. There could be lots of meanings to what he mentioned but she could not think of the real reason why he would say that. Furthermore, she could not determine the reason why he had to repeat that. Instead, she just answered, "Well I didn't stop even when you said so."

And he smiled. That was when he stopped walking and she did the same. He observed the look on her face. The sound of the sirens was much closer already. She looked at him and she took a deep breath. She wanted to look back especially when she noticed the red and blue lights flashing from behind her, possibly coming from ambulances and police cars.

Finally, she caught a glimpse of the scene from her peripheral vision. She could not see the faces but she could see the police and the medic approaching the scene of the crash. She also saw a worthless lump on the floor that was her body.

Her dead body.

"Breathe out, Merrie." She heard him say to her. She returned her gaze to him and he just looked at her with his large eyes before they began to walk again.

And she breathed out. But at least he could call her by her real name already. After all, nobody would care to use it to cause any harm to her anymore. A reassuring grip tightened on her waist as he drew her closer to him. Sadly, she rested her head on his shoulder as she struggled to find more energy in her to walk with him. She and L have a long way to go.

"What are we going to do now?" she asked. She looked down at the ground and observed their steps. She also noticed that he had been barefoot all along. If she walked without shoes on that road, her feet could be blistered and raw by then. Strangely enough, he did not seem to be hurt by anything. "We're dead." She said.

"We are dead." He repeated.

"So what now?"

He thoughtfully looked up at the sky but he did not answer. As for her, she decided not to speak anymore. She just continued to walk with him while thinking how good she suddenly felt as if all her burdens had been lifted from her senses. At least he was there and he waited.

And as for him, he wondered if everything could ever feel that real forever. Well, I've got a lifetime with her, he thought in amusement.

The End

Author's Note: Again, that came out of nowhere. The title and some the words used in L's speech and in the last few lines were inspired from the Foo Fighters' Everlong. However, that doesn't mean that the story is entirely about the song. I just amused myself with it.