Dying Embrace (Contest)
The sky was as clear as ocean waters, stars flickering like small beacons. The moon was nowhere in sight almost as if it too didn’t want to lay its eyes upon the tragedy unfolding below.
Flames roared around what was left of the once two story warehouse, licking at the sky as if wanting to engulf it into its burning tendrils. Debris fell like dark angels descending from heaven. Beneath singed beams at the center of the warehouse Amaya struggled to move the heavy objects from her throbbing body. Bruises and cuts littered her once smooth skin, and now possibly a few burn wounds.She grimaced at the sight of them but she couldn’t feel them, yet she thought. She was sure she would feel the aftermath of all this once she came to her senses. Finally the beams fell to the side with a muffled thud, exploding with small embers into the night sky. Every sound around her was muffled, deafened by the sound of blood rushing in her ears. The smoke made her eyes water covering everything in a sheen of blurry tears and her head felt like bursting with the the pinch of pain behind her eyes.
Her vision cleared and she was horrified at what she saw.
What was left of the warehouse at the edge of the town’s dock was engulfed in flames and not a person in sight. None of them expected a bomb in one of the many crates taking up the space inside the building. Which made it all the more ingenious. Slowly Amaya stood with the help of a, shockingly enough, still standing crate next to her. The lack of people made her heart plummet to her feet and her knees weak. Lord let him live, she prayed to herself.
She wanted to call out but didn’t want to risk attracting unwanted attention. If there was any of them left.
Then she heard it.
The sound of skin hitting skin. A punch maybe? Carefully, she stepped over the surrounding debris and made her way to the commotion as quietly as possible. As she walked she kept an eye out for any bodies, though she wished she wouldn’t have to live through such horrifying event almost as much as she wished she wouldn’t recognize one the bodies should she find any. Finally she walked around a small corner from one of the entrances, which she couldn’t say, and found the source of the sound. Two men were engaged in a in a grueling fist fight, the man to her right clothed in a expensive suit that now adorned rips and tears with the occasional splatter of blood. She was albeit relieved at who the finely dressed man was fighting, even though he likely wanted to murder the man.
Her eyes swept over his opponent in satisfaction and worry. Satisfaction for Max still being alive and fighting. Most of his skin visible was marred with cuts and bruises and dried blood. His eyes, a bright glistening blue, shined with determination. The same eyes she immediately fell in love with the moment they stepped into her bookstore.
~
Amaya had seen many beautiful people in her lifetime, but none of them compared to the beauty that was the man that walked through the door of her small bookstore. His coat was littered with white specks from the snow gently falling outside. She stared openly as he shook the snow out of his hair and hung his coat on one of the many hooks next to the door. He made his way to the front desk where she resided in 5 smooth steps. She’d counted them.
She couldn’t help the blush tainting her cheeks as his lapis colored eyes settled on her. His best feature, she thought immediately. He smiled dazzlingly down at her and she almost melted on the spot. Butterflies immediately fluttered wildly in her stomach. He had asked for the history section and spent the rest of the day in a small corner of the store, reading as much books as possible.
She was snapped from her daydream by a body hitting the ground. Max had taken the upper hand and was mercilessly pummeling his fists into Godwin’s face. But he was prepared. He continuously rammed his knee into Max’s side until he finally knocked him to the side. Hastily Godwin jumped to his feet and watched with a sinister look as Max struggled to even stand. The look on his face was one of victory as he slowly pulled something from behind his back. The world seemed to slow and Amaya watched with horror as a pistol made its way into her line of vision. Her heart hammered in her chest, she immediately knew what she wanted to do, needed to do. A flicker of a memory replayed itself, before her feet dug into the concrete as she sprung forward.
The smell of spring was in the air, a mixture of wet earth and pine. The sound of the river’s water washing over the rocks filled her ears and the feeling of tranquility filled her heart. A small breeze rippled through her hair and she smiled. Max stood before her, a neatly laid out blanket before him. He gave her one of his dazzling smiles and beckoned her forward with open arms. Stepping forward she fell into his embrace and breathed in the scent that was him. She looked up to find Max already staring at her with a soft smile gracing his lips.
“What?” she whispered softly as a light blush colored her cheeks.
His thumb caressed her cheek softly.
“I just like looking at you” he confessed.
Her blush brightened. He really knew how to turn her into a blushing mess with only a few words. She stared into his swirling pools pf lapis, her hands on his cheek now. It was like her mouth had a mind of its own and a rush of words tumbled passed them before her brain comprehend what was happening.
“I love you, Max”
She may have said them in a rush of emotion, but she meant every word, every syllable. And she would keep to her words. Until the day she could no longer speak them.
~
The world slowed to a crawl. A crack of lightly flashed above lighting the dark scene unfolding below. The gun glistened with the sudden light, only increasing Amaya’s pace. Max was just turning to face Godwin, who still had sinister smile painting his lips and a dangerous glint in his eyes. Mere inches away from the men Amaya jumped in front of the barrel without a second thought, wrapping her arms around Max’s neck.
A shot echoed through the night.
The couple stumbled back and regarded at each other with wide eyes. A cough crawled it way out of Amaya’s throat, blood spewing out of her mouth and onto Max’s chest. Dew to their close proximity the bullet had flown straight through Amaya’s back an into Max’s chest. Godwin dropped the weapon in shock, taking off as soon as their bodies dropped to the ground
Amaya fell perfectly on top of Max her eyes never leaving his. His hold on her tightened slightly, and there they lay. Un-moving and barely breathing.
“You s-shouldn’t have done that.” Max stuttered, a small trickle of blood in the corner of his mouth. He could taste the metallic liquid on his tongue.
“I know, but I did it a-anyway...”
Rain softly drizzled onto the blazing earth as two lovers lay dying under the weeping sky. Wrapped in each other’s embrace, eyes of gold locked with glistening blue. A warm embrace turned cold with only the fire and the sky alive.
