As he sank down to the cold ground, he could hear her sobs.
The Governor's work was finished here.. and he did not care to linger. He knew how this was going to go down after all.
The pain was blinding, and nothing could shelter him from it. There were no words to comfort him.. no soft caress to lose himself in. This was death.. cold and cruel as any winter he had ever known.. yet he could recall no winter that measured up to what he felt now.
He had hoped to change things somehow. To avoid a massacre.. and to help those around him maintain the humanity they still possessed.
He held his hand up to his face and examined the blood on it.
This was real. It was happening to him.. and he knew that he had mere moments before he transformed from a simple man into a monster.
She fumbled with the pliers he left behind her.. and he hoped that it was enough to save her.
"When you get free... you are going to find something sharp... and you are going to stab me in the head.." he breathed, "that is what.. you are going to do."
"No.." the thought of him turning was in the back of her mind... but somehow she had forced herself to believe that if she could only get free, she could save him.
He knew better. He knew that she was in immense danger.. and that his life was slipping through his hands by the minute.
"Milton.."
"I'm still here."
He seemed relieved each time she checked to see if he was still alive. Not because he hadn't turned yet.. but because she was safe for a few minutes more.
He heard clanking sounds, and then he felt warmth. It took him a moment to realize it was her hand on his cheek.
She had gotten loose... and now, nothing else mattered to him. Only that she was here with him, at the end of his days.. and that she would protect him. He wished he could see her more clearly.. but the Governor had taken his glasses. It seemed more cruel than death at this point, that she should be so close, and yet he couldn't see her.
He covered her hand with his own, and she was saddened at how cold he was.
In the sweet light
Of the valley,
When the sun falls
Upon the pine,
I shall lay down
All of my troubles,
And I lift up,
This heart of mine.
"I...never told you."
"Told me what?"
"That..I.. love you.."
She was grateful he didn't have his glasses on. This meant he couldn't see the tears falling down her cheeks now.
He leaned into her touch, and she could feel his breath on her face.. as cold as an autumn breeze.
"I love you, Milton."
There was nothing more she could say. It had been true, and it was even more true now. He had protected her.. he refused to kill her, and it would ultimately cost him his life.
"I'm...scared.."
A weak, choked cry escaped from her throat. She was afraid, too. She was losing him.. and there was absolutely nothing she could do now.
Take me home, Lord,
Oh, take me home.
O'er the hillside
And o'er the sea,
To the soft grass of the valley,
Where your grace
Shall set me free.
"Shhh... I'm here.."
Though he could not see her well, he knew she was crying. That she was crying for him... and more importantly.. that she loved him. It was a shame that they had so little time together now.. after their declarations of love. No.. perhaps not a shame... it was the greatest example of cruelty. That two hearts should beat together at last, only for one to stop.
He felt her soft lips as she began to kiss him... yet he was too weak to show her the passion that had always been inside of him since the moment they met.
She felt him smile against her, and she savored this moment. Even though she could taste the rich, copper taste of blood on his lips. It didn't matter anymore.
"I tried.." he whispered weakly, "I wanted... to save..you.."
She wiped away his tears with her thumb and smiled to herself,
"You already did."
Through the shadow
Of the darkness,
Through the storms that
Lead me astray
I shall travel
Forever knowing
In your light,
I will always stay.
Within moments, she no longer felt his icy breath on her face.. and the light... the spark of life.. had gone out of his eyes.
His grasp on her hand loosened, and his hand fell to his side.
She was now in the grip of fear and sorrow. Fear for what was next.. and sorrow, for what had already passed..
No one should have to lose their loved ones twice.
She thought of Amy for a second.. and found that this had hurt more.
She had lost the man she loved.
As various thoughts ran through her head.. she gripped the pliers tightly. It wasn't much.. and it probably wouldn't even work.. but she had to try. He had been so terrified of becoming one of them. She couldn't leave him like this.
Not now.
He changed... and she watched it closely. She had never seen the transformation so close.. and had it not been so horrible.. it would have actually been beautiful.
His eyes changed from a dark green to a bright yellow that almost seemed to glow in the darkness. The color faded from his body so quickly, she almost believed she was seeing things.
As the transformation completed itself.. she heard those terrible, familiar sounds.. and she knew he had been wrong all along. There was no trace of Milton in those eyes. There was no trace of the man she loved.
And yet it did not make things easier.
It did not make them okay.
She raised her hand and her weapon, and closed her eyes.
No more monsters...
Take me home, Lord,
Oh, take me home.
O'er the hillsïde
And o'er the sea,
To the soft grass of the valley,
Where your grace
Shall set me free.