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Chapter 7: One Last Look

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Raven was never going to forget the terror she felt in her heart at the moment. The ghost looked so small compared to Garfield, but she flung him around like a child's teddy bear. The gravel crunched beneath her leather boots as she ran towards them. Her heart was pounding so hard that she swore that its rhythmic pulses could cause a earthquake. "Gar."

The ghost backed away from him immediately. She was surprised that it had decided to back down. If it had taken him so easily, then it definitely could have beaten her. She wasn't about to complain, having her soul eaten wasn't on her wish list.

His body fell down to a ground like a bolt of lightening. His chest ascended and descended at normal rate. Reaching down to help him, she felt a extreme amount of pain imbedded in her shoulder blades, it was almost like someone had branded her with a piece of fiery metal. She had been so focused on finding Gar that she was completely oblivious to her own injuries. Her powers had been nearly all used up, and healing was near impossible at this point. "Why do you have to be so heavy?"

She knew that he couldn't hear her, but she spoke anyway. It felt good to have him around her again. Even when he was unconscious it made her feel safe being near him. To her, he was paradise. "We aren't going anywhere."

"I have to get you somewhere safe." The pain made it impossible to see. If she wasn't careful, then she would go cataleptic as well. There were so many monsters roaming the forest, she and Gar would be eaten within ten second. She slowly eased him back to the ground not covered by vegetation. The grass was so sharp that it could puncture holes through your body. Each blade of grass was a mini-sword with a handler ready to strike.

The only reason she had left the building was to tell Gar that she loved him. She still had a long list of things to be done, and Jade was aching for a good quality kick in the ass. She wasn't going to let Jade get away with all those murders. All the ghosts in this forest were suffering eternally because of her and her weapons of destruction. She was toying with things that were not meant be fooled around with, and she was going to stop it. "Rae, are you there?"

He was finally coming around. His long, muscular body stretched itself out. His awakening moans were almost like music to her ears. She thought that she might never hear his voice again. With a steadying hand, she slowly helped him sit up. "It's nice to see you awake."

"Rae," he yelped. He lunged himself at her, flinging his arms around her body. The hug he gave would challenge those of Kori, but she didn't mind. It was just nice to be in his arms again. Sometimes she wished that she could be in his arms forever, and that the rest the world would just disappear.

She knew that they couldn't stay like this for long. There was a boy in need of liberation, and the world needed saving. If she didn't save the world, then who would? It was up to her. "It's nice to see you again. Gar, I….. like you."

'Shit,' she thought. 'I work my ass off trying to tell him that I love him, then I chicken out.' He burst into painful gasps of laughter. Even if he did know what she was trying to say, she still felt obligated to tell him. She could feel the love burning within her heart, but she couldn't put it into words. This was so frustrating. "I'm glad you like me, Rae."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." She didn't have time to argue with herself. Putting her feelings into words was going to take a lot more time then she realized. Time that she didn't have because she was going to die. She was going to have to focus on turning Jade into mince meat.

"I know." He smiled and pulled himself to his feet. Her own legs felt like a slip and slide. Her legs swayed beneath the weight of her massive wings, and her back let out little groans of protest. "You're hurt."

The blood had soaked through her clothing. If one didn't know better, you would think that her clothes had been red from the beginning. This was not the case, her blood had erupted in such enormous amounts that the entire outfit was soaked through with blood. Luckily, her people could lose more blood than a average human. "Don't worry about me. I'm going back into Jade's building, I want you to leave this place. It's to dangerous for you to be here."

"What," he cried. "It's not any safer for you, as it is for me. I'm not leaving with out you. I would follow you anywhere, even if it means death for me."

"You can be such a fool," she growled. Maybe if she insulted him enough, he would leave her here. She couldn't take it if he died because of her. The amount of danger he had put himself in at her fault had already given her enough guilt to last a lifetime. "You're going to get yourself killed."

"I know that you were raised to think that you have to do everything alone, but that's not true." He reached for her hand and squeezed it. Even after all they had been through, a simple squeeze of the hand could make her heart flutter like a heard of butterflies. "You have me now. When you love somebody like I love you, then it doesn't matter if I'm walking towards death."

She lunged towards him and kissed him passionately. Exploring his mouth with affectionate nudges of the tongue, she could swear that she was in paradise. The kiss didn't last long, but she knew that her knees would be weak for months. "You are so wonderful. What did I ever do to deserve you?"

"You gave me a chance." He took his hand and placed it on her deep wound. The muscles knitted together like a giant granny crocheting a sweater. His heart was pounding in his chest so hard that he was worried it might it might beat itself to death. "Come on, we have a world to save."

Hand in hand, they marched towards the building. It looked intimidating with its dreary windows and gray walls, but they remained brave. A fire breathing dragon would not have frightened them at that moment, because they had each other. "Are you sure?"

He took a look into the gloomy horizon and nodded. He knew that this could be the last time he looked at the sky, so he made sure to drink it all up with one last look. Even if the ghostly forest was covered by a display of dark, saddening clouds, he still loved looking into the sky. "Yes, I have never been more sure about anything in my life. I did promise you forever, didn't I?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Forever."

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Jade slammed her perfectly manicured fists against the control board. Never once in her entire career of dictatorship had one of her prisoners disappeared. This was all her partner Yuri's fault. It was his job to make sure that all the security was as tight as a leopard skin thong. "Damn it, Yuri. How could you let this happen."

His face flickered onto the screen. His eyes were two moonstones, refracting all light that came to them. That was another reason why she kept him around. His eyes reminded her of jewels and money. "That wasn't my fault. I used up the entire budget that you gave me. Blame yourself for that, Jade."

"Since when have you been calling the shots?" His eyes formed two terrified circles. She had been waiting for this day for a very long time. It was time for the bird to spread her beautiful wings and fly. "Of course, you could come down to discuss this with me. I'm sure I can spare you some more change."

He gave her a confused look and nodded. With a zap of white and black light, his face disappeared off the large command center. 'He doesn't suspect a thing,' she thought. Her fingers curved around the loudspeaker button. "Send me a team of guards, and make sure they're prepared to kill. I have a little friend who's ready to have his brain splattered on my wall."

She was feeling better already. This was almost going to be as fun as killing her deranged father. Nothing could beat a little homicide on the third degree when you were depressed. "Yes, Commander. Madame, what time will we need to send the officers?"

"Thirteen Hundred Hours. Be discreet, I don't want any little birdies spilling any secrets." There was uneasy breathing on the other side of the microphone. Killing Yuri would have been easy to do on her own, but she knew how much most of the guards hated murdering. That's why she called the guards in to do the dirty work. It always managed to scar at least one little soul for a lifetime, if not longer. "You do remember what happens to little birdie's who tell secrets, don't you?"

Yes, Madame." Of course he did. His own brother happened to be one of the little birdies who let a secret slip. The sight of the crows picking the eyeballs out his brothers sockets still haunted him. "I remember very well."

"Another thing," she smirked. "Prepare our armies. Our little demon friends are about to become trophies in my vast collection."

This was all her form of revenge. That Rachel girl was going to have to pay deeply for having refused her ruling. She was going to use the heads of those unthinking creatures to wipe her ass, and she was going to make Rachel watch. Then she would slowly torture the life out of the one creature that knew of her existence, and was not frightened. "Your grace, all our best weapons are still in storage."

"Then get them out of storage!" His type were all so amazingly stupid. How many had she warned not to ask questions? She even passed out rulebooks to every member of her squad monthly, but did they ever follow her rules? "You imbecile! I'm going to kick you so hard that my foot will come out your mouth."

"Sorry, master."

"About those weapons," she smirked. "Have them out of storage immediately."

She planned to rule the world with a iron fist. All the money and gold in the world would be hers. If things went the as planned, she was going to make a swimming pool out of solid rubies. Her palace would be a swarm of smiling gold and crystal wonderment. She would create a heaven for herself beyond anything a mortal mind could imagine. "Yes, immediately."

"Good, good."

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The howling wind in the Forest of the Dead would not allow Raven to sleep. Even the comfort of sleeping in Gar's arms could not chase away the feeling that something bad was going to happen. She had known for sometime now that she was going to die. "I'll be back."

She nuzzled his cheek as she climbed out of her sleeping bag. She was almost glad that she didn't tell him how much she cared about him. Perhaps if Gar still did not know how she felt, it would be easier for him to get over her death. "Rae," he mumbled. "Where are you going?"

"Just going for a little walk." He threw back his head and began to let out catastrophic snores. It was so hard to let go of the person you love, even if it was a accident. She wanted to be with him as long as she could before the day of her death came, but she didn't have much time left to spare. Death was coming on swift wings, and there was nothing that anyone could do to stop it. "I'll be back in a bit."

It was not her powers that allowed her to sense death, but her normal human half. A few days before death a human got restless, and they began to understand. Most people did not bother to listen to the message that their body was giving them. If we saw our loved ones after death, Raven did not know. She just hoped with all her heart that passing away would not keep her and Gar at a distance permanently. She wanted so desperately to believe that death was not the end, only a whole new beginning. "I don't think, I've ever seen you this fidgety before."

She jumped like a scolded dog. Wrapping his arms around her from behind, he pulled her as close to him as he could. His kissed up and down her neck were like a heard of fluttering butterflies, sweet and more soft than a baby lamb. She lied, "It's this place."

"I know," he murmured. "It leaves me a little on edge too."

"You were sleeping like a baby just a minute ago," she snapped. In her heart she felt more love for him than ever before. 'Why do I have to die right before I find happiness?' For the first time in a long time, she was afraid. She was afraid of never seeing Gar again, she was afraid of dissapearing, she was afraid of being spoken about in a past tense.

"I know, but that was because you were with me." Her heart could feel itself being torn into many pieces. She wanted so desperately to tell him that she loved him. Her heart told her to tell him, but her mind was saying the complete opposite. "If I was in a freezer, you would still make me warm."

The wind was carrying the remainder of shattered glass with its powerful claws. Tiny blades spun among the air current cutting her exposed arms and legs. A soft amount of blood trickled its way down her pale, gray legs, but her response was nothing more than silence. "Are you scared of death, Gar?"

"A little," he whispered. "But, I know that everything will be alright."

His hand were warm against her sides, and his face was buried in her hairline. The soft whispering of his breath against her neck gave her comfort. Being with him was her heaven. She couldn't imagine a place that was supposed to be happy without him in it. "How can you be so sure?"

"I just know." He slowly tickled her back. It was a playful motion that relieved her tension almost as much as making love. She leaned her head back against his shoulder blade and she let out a small smile. 'I might as well,' she thought. 'I want him to remember me happy, even if it goes against everything I have worked hard to achieve.' "You trust me don't you?"

"More than anyone," she smiled. "and Gar?"

"Yes." She could see her reflection in his green eyes. If she wasn't careful, she felt that she might fall into those eyes of his. Her stomach was a bundle of wet worms, slipping and sliding all over the place. Placing her hands on his shoulder blades, she leaned forwards and bit his bottom lip affectionately. "I love you."

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