LEO'S POV

I'd lost track on how many fuse boxes I'd fixed by now. I just knew it was a lot. Too many if you ask me. But I didn't mind too much, because Peri and I conversed the whole time. We'd chat and crack jokes, talking about this and that to keep each other laughing. Eventually we fell into a comfortable silence, the soft sounds of the machines reverberating off the walls around us.

I stared down at the machine beneath me, growling in frustration.

I heard Peri's footsteps as she came behind me. "What's wrong?"

I showed her the fuse box I was working on. "I can't fit my hand in this hole. It's too small!"

She snickered. "That's what she said."

I smiled and rolled my eyes playfully. She took the fuse box from my hands and placed it on the nearest worktable. Peri slipped her hand in the hole surrounded by wires. It was a really tight squeeze, and I could see the metal enclosing around her skin, pinching it tightly. She felt around a bit before pulling her hand back with a sharp breath.

"It's flooded," She muttered.

"Oil?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Get me a turkey baster - stat!"

I reached into my tool belt and pulled out a large turkey baster, handing it to her urgently. She plunged it into the hole immediately, siphoning out the black liquid. The buttons on its shining surface started flickering, some shutting off completely.

"Hurry!" I cried. "We're losing him!"

"There's too much oil!" She gasped. "Hand me another rag!"

I gave her another filthy washcloth, and she stuffed it in the hole, trying to soak up as much oil as possible. Her eyes flickered with an almost golden light, and she removed the oil with added vigor. I watched her concentrated face with growing curiosity. She wiped the sweat off her brow, leaving a trail of black oil on her forehead. It streaked into her hair, staining the golden locks.

I blinked. "Peri, your hair-"

"It's fine," she said quickly, shrugging it off.

After what felt like many painstaking hours of laborious stressful surgery, (that was really only like 30 seconds, so chill out, bro) Peri removed her hand from the fuse box, sighing deeply. All the skin stretching from her fingertips all the way up to her wrist was completely black with oil. Peri looked up at me, her large brown irises giving me the answer to the unasked question. She shook her head grimly.

I covered my mouth with my hand. "No,"

She sighed again and put a hand on my shoulder. "Leo, I'm sorry. But he's gone."

"Nooooooooo!" I cried. "He was so young!"

She patted me on the back comfortingly. "It's always the good ones."