Chapter twenty six:

Mello looks around himself trying to locate the beast he is sure he saw.

"It probably left." Matt says. "Come on Mello. Let's go."

Mello hesitates only there is no sign of the beast not even up above. He grumbles and turns to begin leaving to head back to the others.

Allen's P.O.V.

I look away and try to hold back my sadness….. It's all too familiar…. This scene…..

Suddenly…..

"MELLO! LOOK OUT!" Matt shouts.

I blink and turn to look wide eyed at what's going on.

Mello turns just in time as a beast jumps down from the building wall it was on. He is tackled to the ground with the lighter he was holding being knocked out of his hand and away from him. He tries to hold off the beast.

I find myself frozen on the spot as my heart skips a beat.

No….. No! This can't be happening!

Flash back:

I walk along with my lover Jared.

We only have each other and we are walking through the streets keeping alert while we are trying to find a way to leave. We know that if we stay then we are likely to get attacked by beasts.

Jared turns to me with that amazing smile of his. He has dirty blonde hair and kind caring light brown eyes. He is a little taller than me and is currently wearing a dark grey t-shirt with slightly tight grey sweats and dirty from all our walking white runners.

I return his smile lovingly and I lean a little against him our hands have been joined between us for a while now almost since we started walking today.

He kisses my forehead lovingly.

I close my eyes softly as I enjoy my lovers love and I know he knows I love him so much as well.

We are a match simply made for each other.

True love if you will.

I open my eyes and look up to my lover only to look forward as we continue to walk.

There hasn't been a beast in a while.

I raise my head as up ahead there appears to be the exit out of town. "We're almost there!" I say glad that soon it'll all be over and we can escape to hopefully where there are no beasts to try to kill us. I race ahead and our hands slip apart but I don't go far before stopping to turn to wait for my lover.

Suddenly he looks scared. "ALLEN LOOK OUT!" He suddenly calls to me.

"Huh?" My happy face falls and I turn scared to the direction he glanced to.

A beast is climbing down the wall and moving quickly.

My eyes widen and I prepare to run…. But…...

The beast leaps down and tackles me to the ground.

"ALLEN!" Jared starts running towards me as I notice out of the corner of my eye.

I try to hold the beast off and I feel my heart race in fear.

Jared! Please help me!

I mentally call out even though I know he is hurrying to try to save me. I continue to try to fearfully hold the beast off.

"GET OFF OF MY BEAUTY!" Jared shouts then slams himself into the beast.

The beast roars as it is knocked off balance causing it to roll off of me.

"Jared!" I happily hug him.

He holds me. "Come on. We need to get going."

I nod and we begin to run hoping to escape our hands once again joined.

Suddenly the beast is heard chasing us.

I don't want to look back….. I can't and won't.

Then Jared is tackled and our hands slip apart once again.

"JARED!" I rush to help but two other beasts jump in my way knocking me backwards.

"ALLEN!" Jared looks to me with pleading eyes but I can tell he's also scared.

I begin to get up to once again try to save my lover.

"ALLOY!" Jared calls me by my real name though it isn't uncommon when we are making love, when he wants to say something extremely serious and well he doesn't call me Allen all the time.

Allen is a nickname I've had for so long that I can go by Allen or Alloy but ever since I got with Jared he was the main person who called me Alloy at anytime.

I can't lose him!

He means so much to me!

I am his as he has claimed me and he always tells me he is also mine.

We were friends for a good while then I finally admitted I loved him in which he kissed me.

I love him and he loves me back.

"ALLOY!" He says my name again. "RUN! GET OUT OF HERE!"

I get up and shake my head trying to hold back tears. "NO! I'M NOT GOING TO ABANDON YOU!" I call back and I charge to try to knock the beast off of him so we can escape together.

Jared's eyes turn even more pleading. "Please Alloy." He says with pleading in his voice.

I keep trying to hold back my tears as I continue to charge.

Almost… There…..

However the other two beasts step closer and put out their slightly longer little legs causing me to hit them with no time to dodge.

They push me back and I hit a nearby stand with some lighters knocking it down making a mess.

I had closed my eyes for impact then I open them only to see the other two beasts turn going to Jared who is still trying to hold off the beast on top of him.

The last thing I see is of him watching me worriedly, scared and pleading.

He slightly reaches towards me. "ALLOY!"

I reach towards him too as I get up grabbing a lighter with my other hand hoping that having a weapon will help against these beasts. "JARED!"

Then the beasts block my view.

I begin to hurry to get up to hurry to help my lover.

"RU-" Jared is suddenly cut off.

"JARED!" I scream fearful and I race to help him….. But I slow to a stop in horror as the beasts part…..

Jared and the beast that had tackled him are now standing….. Jared's head is down so there is shadows over his eyes cast from his bangs.

I shake my head in horror as tears begin to slightly blur my vision. "No….." I take a step back.

No….. This is a nightmare…. A nightmare! Right?

Jared raises his head to look to me with the other beasts but I know it's no longer him.

My lover….. Has been turned to the beasts side unwillingly.

I shake as tears fall down my face.

The now four beasts start to approach and on instinct I raise the lighter to defend myself.

I walk a little back as they continue to approach then I light it and it makes the beasts all stop. I realize they are scared of fire. I glare angrily but at the same time depressed with tears. "This is for Jared!" I move forward and I try to light the nearest beast… Only…. It doesn't work… My eyes widen as I realize that the beasts are scared of fire and possibly can be hurt by it as the beast jumps back… But….. They aren't flammable…..

No….

I back off scared but I keep the lighter out in front of me making the closest ones back off. "I love you Jared. I'm sorry." I say as my final words in hope that somehow Jared can really hear me. I then turn and run off crying as I go. I stop when I am panting heavily only to glance back.

Not followed.

I move into an alley putting my back against the wall only to slide down it. I now am sitting with my knees up against my chest, my arms wrapped around my legs and my forehead against my knees as I sob crying over the loss of my lover. "Oh Jared. I'm so so sorry." I sob. "If only I hadn't run up ahead. You'd still be here." I continue to sob as tears continue to fall down my face in waterfalls. "It's all my fault!" I cry until my boy forces me to stop when all I am doing is giving dry sobs as I ran out of tears. I raise my head to stare at my knees as I sniffle.

The lighter gleams in the lighter making me turn to it.

I reach over to it picking it up only to stare at it as it rests in the cupped palms of my hands. "Jared….." I let myself remember what happened….. "I won't let what you did go in vain." I promise. "I will fight the beasts." I glance up to the sky lowering my hands to hover above my crotch while still holding the lighter. "I will fight for you. I promise you. And….. I love you so much." I stay there for a little longer then I get up putting the lighter in my pocket only to begin moving once again… This time on my own…..

End of flashback.

It was all my fault that Jared was turned into a beast.

My eyes close then reopen with fierce determination as well as anger.

Not this time!

I'm not going to let you take another person for your army! I make sure Kaori and Igneous aren't holding me then I race forward speeding past Matt and I tackle the beast hard throwing it off Mello only for it to hit the wall.

Mello gets up as I stand between Mello and the beast as I glare a deadly glare at the beast.

The beast gets up and shakes it's head only to look to me angrily.

I keep up my glare.

Not this time you trash of creatures!

The beast is about to charge towards us to attack again….. Only…. It turns it's head to the side suddenly as if it heard something. It then begins to race away.

Mello follows after it making the rest of us survivors eyes widen.

We give chase and the younger ones manage to keep up but Matt stays close to them just in case.

The beast leads us through the streets only to turn a corner.

Once I turn to the corner I skid to a stop as Mello has stopped as well.

Matt, Igneous and Kaori all also skid to stops as I hear them behind me.

"What is this?" Mello says as we find ourselves looking at a building that is still standing but in ruin at the same time.