Louis and Lori walked out of the pantry with their usual lunch.
"I still don't get why you don't like worms so much." Lori laughed. "Slime isn't that bad is it?"
They were home alone while the rest of Louis' family was at a race he had not cared to go to.
"Yes it is." Louis responded. "Listen, you can like slime all you want, marry it for all I care, but you can never make me eat it."
Lori laughed There was an awkward silence while they were eating, but it was quickly broken when they were done.
"You wanna go meet up with the herd?" Louis asked.
"Well, actually Louis, I need to talk to you." Lori said sadly.
Louis looked in her eyes and could tell something was troubling her.
"Sure, what is it?" Louis asked.
"Louis I-" Lori felt a lump in her through and bit her lip. She looked down and pushed all her sadness away. She looked back up into Louis' eyes.
"Louis, I'm moving." Lori said.
"You mean, nearby?" Louis asked hopefully.
"No, no, out of the valley." Lori said turning and pacing between Louis and the wall, her emotions threatened to spill over.
"Why?" Louis asked. She couldn't just be leaving for no reason.
"My parents said something about too many hawks." Lori said.
"But you don't have to move that far away do you? Can't you move somewhere closer?" Louis asked, now frantic. This couldn't be happening; it had to be some sort of sick joke.
"My dad said that he went all over the valley but there wasn't anywhere that was better than here." Lori stopped pacing and stood in front of Louis and looked into his pained brown eyes. She tried to hold it in but a couple tears fell down her cheeks.
"Please." Louis said softly. "Just stay."
Lori was now on the verge of crying her eyes out and could barely get any words out.
"That's not my decision to make…" her voice trailed off.
Should I tell her? Louis asked himself. This could be my last chance.
Should I tell him? Lori asked herself. I might never see him again.
No, I can't make this any harder for her. Louis thought.
No, I can't make this any more difficult. Lori thought.
"What if only you stay?" Louis asked on the verge of tears.
"I can't just let my parents go off to god knows where until god knows when." Lori looked at the ground as another tear slipped down her cheek. She would have to go now.
"Have you already said goodbye to everyone else, because I could come with you?" Louis asked, hoping to be able to spend more time with the little molehog he had come to like so much.
"Yes, I have," Lori said, choking back sadness. "And now it's your turn." She whispered.
"No." Louis said softly, only postponing the inevitable.
"Goodbye Louis." She whispered and hesitantly turned toward the entrance. Before she even moved Louis reached out and grabbed her hand.
"Please, don't go. Please?" Louis said softly, his voice cracking the slightest bit.
Lori didn't turn to face him. She wouldn't, she couldn't. She felt her lip quiver and she closed her eyes tight. She squeezed his hand.
"Goodbye." She whispered and slipped away out the entrance. Louis just stood there for a moment and then looked at the hand she had held with hers.
Goodbye… Louis thought the word he had not dared say to her, fearing that he might burst into tears. Tears welled up in his eyes. No, that was not going to be the last thing he said to Lori. That was not going to be the last time he held her hand. He forced back his tears and ran out of the burrow.
"Lori I-" She was gone. No trace. Louis took a couple steps and wrung his hands. He looked down. There were a couple of her foot prints in the dirt on the path but they suddenly disappeared after a foot or two. There was no tunnel so she couldn't have left that way.
Where'd she go? It's not like she had wings or something… Louis thought. He walked over to the end of her foot prints and looked closer; he noticed little scrapes in the dirt. Then it hit him. Wings. He heard something like a gasp behind him and he turned around just in time to see Lori hit the ground with a sickening thud.
VVV
Louis tunneled faster than he had ever in his life. He needed to find help, there was no way he would deal with this all alone, and Lori… well let's just say Lori couldn't help him this time. His best bet would be to go to The Oak Tree and pray that someone was there, and that's exactly what he did.
Louis fought back tears of fear and pain and kept going. He was getting close so he started to call out.
"Peaches!" His voice cracked and he realized that he hadn't yelled near loud enough for them to hear him, so he yelled even louder.
"Peaches!" That might have been Lou enough, had he not been under ground.
"Peaches!" That was loud enough. He could tell from the fact that his ears were ringing. "Peaches!"
He popped out of the ground right in front of The Oak Tree. Peaches and Ellie were standing right in front of him and they stared at him in surprise, they had heard him alright. Louis wiped the tears out of his eyes.
"Louis, what-" Peaches began but Louis cut her off.
"Lori was picked up by a hawk!" Louis choked out.
"What?!" Ellie asked in surprise. "Where is she now?"
"She's in my parent's burrow." He answered.
"Take us to her." Ellie ordered and Louis disappeared into the ground, and with Peaches and Ellie following, tunneled toward his family's burrow.
VVV
Louis pulled Lori out of the burrow and sat on his knees, holding her at an angle from the ground.
"I think she's unconscious because I found her heart beat, and she must be breathing shallow because I can't feel it." Louis told them. He wanted to cry. He wanted to cry his eyes out, and not to have to deal with this. But he had to keep himself bottled up. He couldn't break down, Lori needed him.
Lori's eyelids fluttered and her eyes opened half way, but she squeezed them closed again and grabbed Louis' hand.
"Lori?" Louis questioned.
Lori let go of his hand and pointed to her throat.
"What?" Louis asked, leaning forward and put his ear up to her nose. He still couldn't hear her breathing. When he leaned back her eyes where now open and pleading for help.
Please, please understand Louis! Lori thought, if only she could tell him.
"Guys, I… I don't think she can breathe." Louis said. Lori nodded her head vigorously.
"What do we do?" Peaches asked as she began to panic.
"CPR!" Ellie said after a couple seconds of thinking. "Louis you have to breathe for her!"
Louis' eyes grew wide as the stared and Ellie and then looked down at Lori, she nodded.
"I hope you don't want to be friends after this." Louis said, leaning down and breathing into her lungs. Her lungs emptied but she still couldn't breathe.
"Do it again." Ellie instructed.
Louis did as he was told but it still didn't work. Peaches burst into tears and turned to her mother.
"Lori you have to focus." Ellie said moving Lori's hair away from he face and Loti nodded.
"Do it again. "Ellie instructed Louis and from then on it was trial and error. Lori was growing weaker and could barely hold her eyes open.
Louis looked down at her as a few tears fell down her face and his own tears threatened to spill. He looked at her, and knew whatever he said to her, and he intended to make it count.
"Lori." He said to gain her attention.
I'm sorry. Lori thought. I should have told you while I had the chance. A few more tears fell down her cheeks.
"Do you remember when we first met?" Louis asked. Lori nodded weakly, recalling the seemingly old memory.
"You said that you weren't supposed to go that far from your burrow, but you decided to, and that's the decision that made that day one of the best of my life." Louis said, choosing his words carefully. "A-and whenever I look at you, my life gets a little bit better. We need you. I-I need you." Louis leaned closer.
I'm sorry Louis. Lori thought while her eyes closed.
"I love you." He pressed his lips to hers and there was a sudden weight.
Louis leaned back and looked at her, tears welled up in his eyes and he couldn't help but let out a short sob. She was gone. Her eyes were closed softly and she looked chillingly relaxed. He put his ear to her chest, her heart beat was gone now.
Though Lori was still warm, Louis felt cold, and his chest hurt, like someone ripped out his heart and ripped it in half and threw it into the dirt right in front of him. He was a little detached from the world, and had not even noticed Peaches and Ellie were crying, let alone still there.
He looked at her face and moved a lock of hair out of the way so he could see it better. He would never get to see her again. She would never open her beautiful, unique gold and green eyes to look into his ever again like she had before. The color, the emotion, the personality, the way she made everyone around her happy. Her bright aura that made you want to be around her. Her beautiful light brown hair would never shine like it used to. Her would never feel her warm embrace, but most importantly, he would never, ever, be able to look into her eyes and tell her he loved her.
Three words. Louis thought. Three words, and I didn't say them. Now, she's…she's gone and she'll never know how I felt. What is my Problem! He thought angrily. Louis looked back down at her and his anger subsided. Three words…
Louis' lip started to quiver and his eyes fill up with tears all over again, only this time, he didn't try to hold it in. Louis pulled Lori's body close and sobbed, letting his emotions spill out.
"I'm sorry." Louis whispered. "I'm so sorry." Then he heard something unexpected.
are you surprised I actually killed her? I bet you were.