Life's Tough With The Odds Against You- Chapter Six - How To Say Hello When You Never Said Goodbye
#6 of Life's Tough With The Odds Against You
First off, allow me to say a few things. To start, I am sincerly sorry for letting this chapter take so long to write and I hope it's worth the wait. Second, Thank you all for reading it so far and an extra hug for those who've commented and rated. Lastly, there WILL be at least one more chapter after this one, so you MUST promise to read the next chapter when I upload it because if you stop here, it'll ruin the whole story (You'll undertsand when you get to the end of this chapter). Well, that's enough from me. ENJOY!
Life's Tough With The Odds Against You- Chapter Six - How To Say Hello When You Never Said Goodbye
"Two tickets please." I pulled my wallet from my pocket and got out a few bills for the ticket taker in the booth.
"Cutting it pretty close, aren't you? The train's pulling in within the minute, so don't waste any time getting to the station. Here you go, have a nice day." He said while exchanging my money for two train tickets.
"Thank you." I said before turning to Alexis. "Ok, let's hurry." I put my arm around her and started walking towards the incoming train. We rushed through the opening doors into the empty train car. Not many opted for the 4:30 am train it seemed. We sat down and waited for the doors to slide shut.
"So, do you know what you're going to say to your parents yet?" I asked Alexis, who was quiet and shaking slightly.
"I have no idea. I don't even know how they'll react. Ierlex, what if they're angry me? What if they hate me and moved away?" She began shaking more vigorously and started rushing her words. "What are we doing? Ierlex, I don't feel too good."
"Shhhh, calm down for a moment." I said softly, holding her close. "It's going to be ok, I'm positive."
"And how can you possibly know that?"
"Because, my love, nothing in the world is capable of hating you, nothing." She smiled and glanced away, her body slowly calming down until she stopped shaking.
"You really mean it?" She asked, bringing her head up. I looked into her eyes sincerely.
"Every word of it." She snuggled up close to my chest and let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Ierlex. For everything." A slight grin spread across my muzzle as I lightly laid a kiss on the top of her head. I ran my paw through her soft fur as the train continued its way down the tracks, bringing us ever closer to the life we left behind to build a life together.
"Two minutes till arrival, please prepare to exit the train."
I looked down at Alexis, who was asleep on my chest. She looked so peaceful and beautiful with the way her chest slowly rose and fell with each breath. Looking out the window and saw the platform we had left from many months ago. I gently shifted Alexis into my arms and stood up, grabbing our bag from the ground in the process. The doors slid open and I walked out, being sure to mind her head.
I took a deep breath before heading out of the station to the road, my head reeling with what we were going to do when we got to Alexis's parents house. I continued on down the road, nearly getting to our old school before Alexis's eyes fluttered open.
"Rise and shine, my love." I said, putting the bag down.
"Are we...?"
"Almost there, yes. Do you want me to keep carrying you or do you want to walk?"
"Well, as happy as I am in your arms," She said cutely, curling up against my chest. "I think I can walk from here." I let her legs down and she stood up, stretching and letting out a yawn.
We continued down the road, soon being able to see her old house.
"Look, it still has their car there!" She took off towards the porch, myself right behind her. She leapt up the steps and brought her paw up to the door, but hesitated to continue. "A-are you ready?" She said, looking back at me. I nodded, swallowing roughly as I set our bag down. She knocked on the door twice before stepping back. We waited a moment before the door opened, revealing Alexis's mother. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw who was on her porch.
"A-Alexis? I-is that you?"
"Yes mom, it's me."
"Oh my god, I-I-I can't believe it, you're back. Honey she's back, our little girl is back hurry come to the door she's back!" She lunged forward and pulled Alexis into a cross between a hug and a stranglehold.
"Mom I missed you so much."
"Me too sweetie, me too." Tears of joy began rolling down both of their faces.
"What's all the commo...tion." Alexis's dad walked out on the porch and looked at her in disbelief. "Alexis? You, you're back." He then looked at me and his face went red with rage. "You! You're the one who took her away! I swear to god I'll kill you!" He surged forward, swinging a fist at me. I dodged the swipe and jumped back, stumbling back off the porch and falling down. From the ground I saw her dad break through the two and jump down to my level. He let out a howl of anger before his fist smashed into my face, sending a wave of darkness crashing over my mind.
Pain splintered across my head as I slowly regained consciousness. I wiggled my muzzle and was met with stiff resistance from where I'd been hit. I opened my eyes and found myself to be on Alexis's couch in her living room. Looking to my right I saw her father, blank expression, seemingly waiting for me to wake up.
"You alright?" He asked.
"Ugh, yea, just a little bit of pain. Nothing close to what I've dealt with though."
"Yea, so I've heard. Alexis filled us in on what happened since you two ran off, and I think I owe you an apology."
"It's ok, sir. I know why you acted the way you did. You were just trying to protect your daughter, I understand."
"So, in the time you've been gone you got stabbed and you let my daughter get shot."
"Yes, about that. Let me explain..."
"I'm not done yet. Then you risked your life to save hers, ran her to the hospital, and hardly ever left her side despite the minuscule odds of her survival. Honestly I should be angry with you, but someone who will go through so much for the one they love deserves a little understanding." He said, shrugging slightly.
"Umm, thank you I guess." I said, still futilely trying to read his emotions.
"I also see that ring you've got on her finger. Do you want to know what I think of that?" He said, standing up. I felt my stomach sink and a lump rise in my throat.
"What do you think of that, sir?"
"I think I'd be damn proud to have you as a son in law." He let out a hearty laugh as I let out a huge sigh of relief. I stood up and he pulled me into a strong hug before stepping back and patting my shoulder. "I know you'll never try to hurt her, so I don't have to threaten to kill you if you do." He said, chuckling at the end. I laughed along with him nervously, sitting back on the couch.
Alexis and her mother walked into the living room and sat down with us.
"So, when are you planning on leaving?" Her mother asked, looking at me.
"Ohh, we've still got to track down my parents and probably fly around the world to find them, so I'd like to leave relatively soon."
"So does this mean you can't stay for brunch?"
"Afraid not, I believe there's only one outgoing flight today to the country I think my family is at, then there's not another one till next week I."
"Ohh, what a shame. Well, we wish you the best of luck finding them."
"Thank you very much." I said, standing up.
"Wait," Alexis started. "Before we go..." She ran to her parents and gave them both a hug, a tear forming in her eye once more. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. Thanks for everything you've ever done for me and I love you both very much." Emotions were running high once more as another round of tears began flowing.
Her father looked at me before waving an arm. "Ierlex, come on over here, you're family too now you know!" I smiled and joined in their loving embrace.
I grabbed our bag as we said our final goodbyes and walked out of the house, heading towards the train station again.
"You know, except when my father attacked you, that went really well. I'm glad we came back, you know?"
"Yep, I'd say so too." I rubbed my muzzle with my paw, still able to feel where he punched me. "I just hope that it goes even half that well with my family. Hell, I don't even know if we'll be able to find them."
"Don't worry love, I'm sure we will."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I just know. Call it intuition, if you may." She turned her head towards me, giggling.
"Well then, little miss know it all," I said, smirking. "What's your intuition saying about what I'll do next?"
"Umm, it says you'll-"
"Too late!" I dropped down and placed my shoulders near her waist and stood up, lifting her over me.
"Ahh, Ierlex! Put me down!" She said, playfully smacking my back.
"You should know by now is that one thing I'll never do is let you down, ever."
"Aww, you always know what to say to make a girl feel amazing, don't you?" She said, placing a quick kiss on my head before I set her down gently.
"Yea, call it intuition, if you may." I said, smiling.
To our side we saw Melissa emerge from the woods that surrounded the road. "Aww, I just knew you two would be perfect for each other!" Alexis dashed over to her, nearly knocking her over with a hug.
"Melissa! I've missed you so very much."
"Oh, me too girl. So what have you been up to besides being madly in love with the perfect fox in the world and getting shot into a coma?" All Alexis did was showed her the paw with the ring on it. "He, you, you're, you two are getting married?"
"Mm hmm."
"Oh my god no way! I'm so happy for you two!" She took Alexis in another tight squeeze.
"Say, Melissa. Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what exactly are you doing in the woods?"
"Don't worry Ierlex, I'm not stalking you or anything. Yet." She added quietly at the end with a playful smile.
I hardly heard what she added at the end. "Wait, what was that last part?"
"Reiken and I are hunting for each other. And hey, speak of the devil." Before I could turn around, Reiken came crashing into my back, toppling us over.
"Hi there buddy!" He said, still lying on my back.
"Well, I see you still enjoy making an entrance, don't you?" I said, playfully shoving him off of me.
"How could I resist? It's just too much fun!"
"So, what are you two doing back in town? Weren't you off defying society's skewed idea of love? Paving the way for the new age of romance?" Melissa asked, nudging me as I stood up.
"Well, we just left from seeing Alexis's parents again. Her dad punched me in the face but other than that it went remarkably well. Now we are heading to the train station to get to a city with an airport to fly around the world and hopefully find my parents again."
"Ah, sounds like you've got your hands full." Melissa said, chuckling when she heard how Alexis's father reacted.
"Yea, good luck not getting mauled by your family when you show up at their doorsteps after running off." Reiken said as he started to walk away.
"And don't forget to tell us when the wedding is, alright?" Melissa said, following Reiken.
We waved goodbye to our good friends before walking down the road we used to take for school. Thinking back, I remembered that each day my heart used to jump when I'd see her. No matter what happened to me or where I was she would always be there for me, and I for her. I took me till this year to realize my love for her, but now I discovered that we always shared that undeniable bond of love. From the day we met there was a spark, the spark, which ignited the flame of our love. An eternal flame, one that cannot be extinguished no matter what winds would blow our way.
I noticed that we had stopped walking and that I was staring into Alexis's eyes.
"What is it Ierlex?" She said cutely, glancing away shyly.
"I was just thinking about how lucky I was all those years back, meeting you for the first time, and how much I love you." I saw her blush and squirm slightly.
"Oh Ierlex, I love you so much." She said, hugging me tightly. "When I'm with you all my fears melt away because I know you'll protect me from everything. I desire nothing more than to be next to you, because you're all I need to survive." A tear formed in her eye as she continued. "When you're here I am truly happy, and if I were ever to lose you my life would be a black and white picture of pain and sadness." I stepped back slightly, bringing up my paw, and gently wiped away the tear that was running down her muzzle.
"Have no fear of losing me, my dear; for I would die if I was without you, because I belong to you. You are my muse, and I love you."
We stood there, paw in paw, eyes locked on each other, completely lost in a crazy little thing we called love. Nothing could ruin this moment. A crack of thunder erupted in the distance as droplets of water began falling from the sky. Alexis smiled as I shrugged, grabbing the bag in one hand and holding her paw in the other.
"You know, I've always liked rain for some reason." She said. "Something about it makes it so peaceful, so calming." By now the spontaneous downpour had drenched us entirely, but Alexis's fur was still a strikingly beautiful shade of white.
"Yea, I've never really minded the rain much either." I said, shaking my hair out in a futile effort to have it keep its form.
"Stop shaking your hair, you'll get me wet!" I looked at Alexis with one eyebrow raised. "What? Did I say something?"
"Stop shaking your hair you'll get me wet?" I laughed at the face she made as she realized the contradiction she'd said. "I don't think it's possible to be any more wet right now."
"Oh yea, what if I do this?" She jumped on my back, leaning far to one side.
"Aghh, what are you doing?!" I said, chuckling. I stumbled and lost my balance, falling chest-first into a small puddle with Alexis landing on my back. I pushed myself up from the muddy ground, the love of my life on my back, snickering. She dropped off of my shoulders and continued giggling. "Oh and of course you didn't get any mud on your glorious arctic fur." I said, exaggerating the word your.
"He he, thanks for being my wuvable widdle bwanket." She said, laughing some more. I cocked my head and stared at her before laughing myself.
"Here, you've got something on your arm, let me get that for you real quick." I said, moving towards her with a wicked smile and a muddy hand.
"No Ierlex, don't do it." She said, backing up.
"Don't worry, it's just a smudge, I'll get it.
"No, I said no Ierlex. I mean it stop!" I dashed to her and wrapped my arms around her, getting mud over her front. "Ahh, Ierlex!" I backed off and she looked at her now mud stained shirt. "Ohhh, I'm gonna make you pay for that." She said, taking a step towards me.
"Hey now, take it easy." I said, looking at her dead-serious face. She quickly closed the gap, taking her paws and running them all through my hair.
"There," She said, smiling at my now nightmare of a hairdo. "Perfect." I blew some of my bangs out from over my eye.
"Hey, I didn't mean to upset you if I did." I said, my grin fading into solitary. With a straight face she walked up to me and planted a quick kiss on my muzzle, washing away the guilt I had like rain.
"You should know I can't be angry with you, I love you too much." She took my hand and started walking again. I moved to her side after grabbing the bag, a smile spreading from one slightly blushed cheek to the other.
"Strange, I either don't see you two for a long time or I see you twice in a day. Either way, that's your business and not mine, so here are your tickets. The train should pull in shortly. Have a good day."
"Yep, thanks." I said, taking the tickets. We sat down on a nearby bench, waiting for the train to pull in.
"So," Alexis started, leaning closer to me. "Do you have any idea what you're gonna do when we find them?" I let out a sigh, unsure how my family would react.
"Well, sadly they aren't as nice or forgiving as yours are, so I really don't know what they'll do. I just want to take this one step at a time, so we've just gotta find em first. After that, I have no idea what to do." I began thinking about how I'd left, just without a word. Hell, I even stole from them before leaving. "Wow, now that I think of it, I don't know if I even deserve their forgiveness if they offer it."
"Well, don't worry. You've got me to help you." She said as the train rolled in. She stood up and took my hand. "Just put one foot in front of the other," She began to sing.
"No Alexis, I'm not in the mood." I said, roughly grabbing our bag.
"And you'll be walking across the floo-oo-oor!" She sung, swaying side to side.
"No Alexis. I know you're trying to help, but it's not going to work." I grumbled, standing up unenthusiastically.
"Just put one foot in front of the other..." She bounced towards the train, still trying to cheer me up.
"Alexis..."
"And you'll be walkin out the doo-oo-oor!" She said as she leapt from the station into the train.
"That song may help a grumpy old snow yeti, but he doesn't have to face down his parents after metaphorically bitch slapping them on his way out the doo-oo-oor." I said while sitting down, still unhappy.
"Come on now, I don't like seeing you sad, it makes me sad." She said, making a little puppy dog face. "Turn that frown upside down."
"Look, I feel like shit and I still don't even think we'll find them, can you just leave me alone for now?" I said, getting slightly agitated.
Alexis sighed and plopped down next to me, crossing her arms. "Ierlex... Hey Ierlex! Guess what?"
"Ugh, what!" I said, almost shouting.
"I love you." She said, wrapping her arms around me. "And I always will, and I'll never leave you alone." She kissed the side of my neck. "Because whenever you're feeling down, I'll be there to pick you up." She laid her muzzle on my shoulder, smiling when I put my arm back around her.
"Sorry I got angry at you, it's just that..."
"Shh, shh. It's ok, I understand. I'm just glad you're feeling better."
I leaned back a little bit more and she nuzzled up closer to my chest. Any anxiety or nervousness that had built up just floated away as I felt her warmth so close to my heart. I smiled and closed my eyes, happy that no matter why happened, I would always have my one true love by my side.
"Ierlex, we're here!" Alexis said softly, shaking my shoulders. "I'd carry you but I don't think I'd get too far."
I opened my eyes and saw Alexis's nose just an inch from my muzzle. "Wake up you lazy bum!" She giggled as I jumped slightly before grabbing my paw and helping me stand up. I stretched my arms before grabbing our bag and stepping off the train.
"So, where do you suppose the airport is?" I asked once we started walking on the station platform. Alexis turned her head up and pointed towards the sky. Above us was a plane preparing to land shortly in the distance. "Ah, I see. Well, let's get a-movin then."
We started walking in the direction that the plane had gone, which would hopefully lead us to the airport. As we left the train station we could easily see the borders of an airport landing field just a few blocks down the road. Despite how close it looked, it took us a while to get to the fence surrounding the field.
"Umm, Ierlex? I think the entrance is at the way other side of the fence." I scanned along the perimeter quickly and found she was right.
"Well, I didn't see that one coming. So, shall we?"
"I'll race ya there!" She said, taking off beside the fence before she even finished her sentence.
"Hey, wait up!" I took off after her, adjusting the bag after it slammed into my legs a few times. I looked forwards to see Alexis out in front of me, still adding to the gap between us. I pushed myself to run faster, but even then I couldn't seem to gain any ground on her. Before I knew it she had rounded the corner of the fence a solid good ninety feet ahead of me.
I was gasping for breath and my legs were burning, but I somehow pulled together enough willpower to ramp up my speed to my max. I started making up the lost distance, but ground was short, we were nearing the entrance. I hammered down and tried to catch her, but it seemed like she was too far away too close to the end.
She slowed to a stop just before the door, hardly twenty feet in front of where I was. When I made it to the doors I slumped against the wall and tried desperately to catch my breath. Half of my vision was blotted out with black spots, but I remained conscious.
"H-how... How far... Was that?" I managed to get out between ragged breaths.
"Oh, I'd say between 1000 to 1500 meters. Why, was that tiring?" She said, seemingly not fazed by the sprint. I simply looked at her, sweat literally bleeding from my skin and my chest rising and falling faster than hummingbirds' wings. "Aww, is my widdle foxy boy tiwerd?"
"You... You're damn right... That I'm... Tired." I said, struggling to my feet.
"Well, would this help?" She said, bringing me into a hug. If my legs weren't already wobbly, they sure were now. "I'd kiss you, but then I'm afraid you'd pass out."
"Well, you're probably right about that one." I said, finally getting my breath under control. She giggled and picked up the bag.
"Let's go, it'll be air conditioned in there." We took each other's paws and pushed through the doors, the refreshingly cold air washing over our fur. Shivers went tingling down my spine as the heat from outside literally melted away.
"Hey, look. An electronic chart with all the flights going on today, let's check it out." I said, pointing to the board. We both began scanning over the flights, trying to find one that was relatively close to our detonation.
"Hmm, let's see. Flight 11, flight 77, flight 93, flight 175, nope. None of these here are the right one." I said to myself, hoping Alexis had better luck finding it.
"Here it is Ierlex, flight 1989, leaving in fourth minutes."
"Well then, we've got to hurry." I said, picking up the bag and taking her paw. We rushed down to security, and luckily our bag was just under carry on size so we didn't have to wait in another line. It just so happened that on our way there we saw an electronic ticket dealer and realized that we didn't even have tickets for the flight.
"Ierlex, how could've we possibly forgotten that?" She said, laughing as I punched in the buttons rapidly.
"Well, I really don't know but thank goodness this is fast." I said, submitting the final information to complete the transaction. I grabbed the two tickets as soon as they were printed out and we were on our way to security lines once more.
"Flight 1989 for you both today, sir?" The airport security official, a female collie, asked us while checking our tickets.
"Yes indeed." I said, taking our tickets back from her.
"I don't know why but I haven't seen many people going on that flight today. But either way you'd better hurry up, the flight is gonna leave pretty soon." She said, ushering us to a security checkpoint.
Luckily for us, the current lane was empty so we quickly were able to send out bag through and get checked ourselves within minutes. From there we rushed down towards our terminal.
"You know, it figures that our flight would be the very last terminal in the entire airport." I said, slightly ticked at the situation.
"Yea, I coulda seen this one coming a mile away." She said sarcastically.
"Well, luckily for us it's not that far away, and we have like ten minutes before the start boarding, and twenty after that until it leaves."
We arrived at the gate just moments before they started to board the first class passengers. We sat down, slowing our breathing while we waited for the rest of us to be called up.
"Yes, we made it." I said, slightly tired from running again.
"Yep, and the collie was right, there aren't many others on this flight."
"Now boarding all other passengers for flight 1989, please line up at this lane and prepare to board."
"Well, that's us. Shall we?" I said, grabbing our bag again.
"I don't see the point in waiting. Let's go."
We moved in line just as it started to form, so we were able to get on quickly and find our seats with ease. We were about two thirds of the way back in the plane, but as the rest of the passengers got on we had a large number of seats around us that were unoccupied. The flight attendants began their safety lesson right when the last few got to their seats. After they were finished, we buckled our seat belts and waited for the plane to be taxied to the runway.
As the plane started moving Alexis laid her head on y shoulder and wrapped her arms around mine, cuddling up closely. I kissed her head lightly as she closed her eyes, tired from the day's endeavors. I too closed my eyes and eventually fell asleep as the plane took off from the airport.
bing "Attention all passengers, we will be starting our decent soon, please return to your seats as soon as possible, thank you very much."
I opened my eyes after hearing the flight attendant make the announcement. Alexis was still asleep on me, so I just let her stay in her dreams for a few more minutes. I looked around and saw a gecko stand up and rush to the bathroom, ignoring the flight attendant. He soon emerged and tapped on the flight attendant's shoulder. I could just make out what they were saying.
"...I'm sorry sir, we are beginning our decent and I must ask you to return to your seat."
"Look, I'm asking for ten seconds with the pilots, I just want to ask them a question."
"I'm not allowed to do that, sir. Now please return to your seat."
"Come on, can't I just have a single minute?"
"Hey," I said, trying to help support the flight attendant. "She said she can't do that, so please just sit down." He looked at me, pointing a shaky finger.
"You stay out of this, buddy."
I decided to just look away for the moment and wait for him to sit down. At least I tried, I told myself. Eventually, however; the gecko convinced her to let him speak with the pilots, because she led him to he front and opened the door. Moments later, two gunshots sounded and a round of terrified screams followed.
Alexis jolted awake and looked at me, stunned.
"Ierlex, wha-what's happening?"
"Shhh," I whispered to her. "Stay here, be quiet, and try to stay unnoticed. I don't quite know what's happening."
Up in the cab the gecko held in one hand his gun and the other was running across the controls, apparently setting a new course for the plane. One woman, a horse, kept screeching in her seat, refusing to be quiet.
"Ahh, shut up before I kill you!" The gecko said, walking up to her and pointing the gun at her.
"What's gonna happen! I don't wanna die! Please tell me what's happening. Why oh why!" She squealed before letting loose a high-pitched shriek again.
"For the love of hell shut up!" He pressed the gun against her head, quieting her instantly. "You wanna hear a little tale of my life? Fine then, let's do it. I was working for this here corporation whose headquarters are in this here city. I was their lead scientist for alternative renewable energy. I was so close to perfecting the formulas and mechanics, so damn close to bringing a new age to this world, but they cut my funding, canceled my project, and fired me. The bastards called my life's work worthless and labeled me disposable, of no use to them. I'm a fucking genius, and they kicked me to the side. So to pay the bills I had to get a job at cleaning the planes between flights at that shitty airport. I hated my life, I drunk till I passed out, lost everything. So, that's when I tossed my gun over the fence in the morning, collected it after passing inspection, and planted it on the plane. So now what am I doing, might you ask? Crashing this flying bomb into their HQ, that's what! If I'm really as disposable as they think then, well, I'm going out with a giant fucking bang!" He said, shouting the last parts. He returned to the cockpit, laughing maniacally.
I looked at Alexis's terrified face, staring up at me so innocently.
"Ierlex, I don't want to die, not now." She whispered, tears beginning to form. I clenched my fists.
"Don't worry," I whispered back. "I'm not letting us die. Stay here, I'll be ok."
"No, no please don't! I can't watch you get shot!" She pleaded, grabbing my arm.
"Alexis, I have to do this." She reluctantly let go and allowed me to slyly move into the aisle. From there, I crouched and quietly snuck towards the front of the plane. I got to where the door to the cockpit was before the horse lady broke down and started screaming again.
I swore under my breath as I shoved myself against the door to the plane, hiding me from the gecko's view.
"God damn it I'm gonna kill you right now!" I heard him get up from his chair and start to walk towards us. As soon as I saw him I slammed into him, taking him off guard. We crashed against the side of the plane and went to the ground, the gun still in his grasp. I tried to wrestle his arms to the floor, but he jabbed me quickly in the throat, causing me to reel back. His arms free, he pulled the gun up and fired twice before I brought my fist down on his wrist, breaking his grip on it. Pain rippled through my body, emanating from my upper chest. I felt hot blood seeping from the new wounds as the world now began to sound muffled. I took my elbow and brought it down on his head as hard as I could. He seemed dazed for a moment, but quickly struck back with a punch to my jaw. He followed that up with a jab to my ribs before knocking me off of him with his legs.
I saw him jump for the gun, so I dove for cover in the cockpit. I heard bullets ricocheting from the control panel and the sizzle of electricity jumping in the air. Once he stopped firing I broke from my cover and turned the corner, only to feel the barrel pressed against my forehead. I dropped my hands and slowly went down on a knee.
"What are you trying to do, ruin my plans?" He shouted, rage bursting from his words. I nodded, the pain in my chest growing almost unbearable. "Why, I must ask you, why?"
"Because," I started, forcing the words past the pain. "Because we all do things we regret. One thing I regret was running away with a girl I loved with a pocketful of my parents' jewelry. However, I do not regret running away with my love, but I regret leaving my parents, running off with their stuff without even saying goodbye. My father works at the HQ and we were flying out here to ask for forgiveness from them and hope they still loved me. So, we all do things regret, but please, you don't have to do this." He pushed the gun against my head with more force.
"Yes, yes I do. I'm going to finish this, and I have one final bullet left." I looked to the back of the plane and saw Alexis, my sweet Alexis with a pain slashed across her face, tears streaming down her face. To her I whispered a final I love you before closing my eyes and lowering my head, waiting for the end. He lifted the gun from my head. "All of you say your final goodbyes!"
A shot sounded, but I still felt pain. I still felt warmth, and I could still breath. I opened my eyes to see the gecko falling on top of me, blood pouring from the hole in his temple. As relieved as I was to still be alive, I knew the plane was still without two pilots. I rushed to the cockpit, shoving a dead body off of the chair so I could try and understand the controls.
I looked over the whole thing but it seemed to be going haywire. There were sparks flying from multiple bullet holes and the displays were spewing random numbers. Out the front of the plane I saw farmland just below the clouds we were just above. I quickly realized that this was the end, the final step in life, and I wasn't going to waste it. I stood up and marched towards the back of the plane.
Alexis was sobbing uncontrollably on the floor. I knelt down and took her in my arms, holding her close. She froze for a moment before squeezing me tighter than ever before.
"Ierlex, I, I, I-I thought you were dead! I thought he killed you!"
"No, no he didn't." I said, my eyes beginning to water up.
"Ierlex, are we going to die?" She asked between gasps of breath. I nodded.
"Yes, yes we are." She held me tight, looking up at my eyes.
"That's ok, I can accept that it's our time. I can embrace death, as long as you're by my side." She buried her head in my chest, smearing a little blood on her beautiful face. I whispered into her ear quietly.
"Through heaven and hell, through the fire and the flames, I'll fight the gods to stay by you, for death can't separate us."
"Ierlex, before we die, I want to tell you one more time, that I love you more than anything in this world." I dropped my head on top of hers.
"You mean more to me than anything, and that's why I love you till the ends of the earth." We closed our eyes, holding each other in our arms, waiting for the inevitable end...