Water pattered lightly along the roads. It swept through alleyways, slowly carrying a red stream to be washed down through a rain gutter. The sound of cars droned in the background going unnoticed to the usual passing clientele on that side of town. A few moments more, the streets were then bare as the once light rain became that of a downpour. The once almost audible grunts were now muffled as well as the resonating sound of gunfire when there was a thunderclap. A second shot was fired, the bang being covered by another clap as if timed perfectly, the flash being concealed by the lightening.
Blood, its color staining the ground a shade darker and darker still, soaked an already dirtied shirt. Small cuts, bruises and now two open wounds botched discolored skin. Tired and unfocused green eyes cracked open before sliding shut once more as the ole of a dirty shoe pressed upon a paling cheek. Upon removal, the eyes cracked open once more as water splashed upon his face in large and heavy drops. Feeling the dropping temperature around him as he was lifted into an upright position, the next hit to the man's face was numbed though still held a bit of its sting. Falling back onto the ground, a kick to the stomach left him winded but the pain was more of a dull sensation. The mild throb after the shoe was removed from his battered midsection made him sharply inhale the bitter air around him. Being thrown into the brick wall shortly after, the person dropped down to their knees prior to falling over to the side.
His nose didn't seem to notice the bags of trash lying nearby as his cheek rested on the ground. With no feeling in his face, he couldn't feel the broken shards of glass cutting into his cheek nor did he feel the larger shards starting to pierce his exposed arm. Long, black strands lay in an unruly mess of hair, clinging to his forehead, covering a head wound, while the rest trailed down to rest along the remaining fabric that made up his shirt. Sucking in air became a challenging task, most likely due to the kicks to his chest, bruising his lungs and possibly his ribs. If he spoke now, it was highly like for his voice to just come out a as a rough whisper. Blinking slowly, the raven then turned his attention towards the motionless blonde stationed, along the opposite wall.
Unsightly red meshed with yellow strands, making them stick to pale skin. Clouded azure eyes remained opened, unseeing, while the mouth was left slightly ajar. Their clothing was heavy from rain, freezing no doubt, but was undamaged, excluding the two holes-one entry and one exit.
**Click**
Making out the sound of a hammer being pulled back, green eyes slowly peeled themselves away from the blue pair. Tilting his head back, the raven made out the blurred outline of the barrel being aimed at the center of his forehead. From there, he blinked once then twice trying to clear his vision. And when that failed, he exhaled slowly as his eyes slid shut.
Just fire already…
Through the rain and after a thunderclap, the man managed to make out one of the attackers telling the other not to fire.
The reason?
He had nothing.
He had no family, none that claimed him anyway.
He once had friends, one very close in particular, though they were all now gone.
He had no job, not a legit one anyway.
Then he had his little problem.
He was an addict then he became a dealer. When that went belly-up, he hit rock bottom.
He was through.
He had nothing.
"If you shoot him, you'll be doing him a favor."
You would…
"Just leave 'im."
Receiving another kick to his side, the dark-haired man was then left in the showering alley with the unresponsive blonde. Seconds turned to minutes before the conscious one slowly managed to get himself into an upright position, hand clasped to his injured midsection. Pulling himself towards the one several feet away; dulled eyes swept over the other's body prior to observing the ever growing pool of blood. Bringing a hand up to the entry wound, he placed his hand against it, doing the same for the exit wound. Staring down at the pallid face, the raven slowly diverted his gaze to his companion's chest.
A few seconds past.
A few minutes followed shortly after though the man knew he had been watching for an unnecessary period of time.
The blonde's chest wasn't moving; there wasn't a heartbeat.
Reaching around, he rested his hand across the dead gaze. Moments later, his hand down, closing the lifeless pair of eyes before removing his hand in favor of letting it hand down at his side. Watching as the downpour washed away the blood from his face, the man slowly let his head fall back, ignoring how his hair fell in his face, how the freezing water began to sting his cheeks.
"Why?" He cracked his eyes open. "Why?!" he shouted at the top his lungs, though it was covered by a boom of thunder. "Why…?"
Drooping his chin, the man squeezed his eyes shut, coming to the conclusion that glaring at a sky and yelling to strain an already rough voice was idiotic and pointless. Bringing a hand to clutch at his stomach, he inhaled sharply, shakily, as he grasped the saturated clothing. Feeling the material started to squish between his fingers, the substance mingling with the rain, he shivered as the cold finally started to register in his mind.
Death started to register in his mind.
"…'m gonna die…"
At one point he welcomed it, and he was pretty sure he still did.
The blonde didn't fit anywhere in that plan though.
Hell, they weren't supposed to be there.
Shivering again, he covered his mouth when he felt the contents of his stomach trying to crawl up his throat. "Why…Nora?" Sliding his hand down, he grasped his bloodied shirt tightly, angrily. "Idiot!" He glared down at his motionless companion. "You're…so selfish!" Balling his hand until his knuckles were white, whiter than before anyway, he hung his head before falling onto his back, hand clutching at his midsection. "Nor-you goddamn idiot…You…damn…idiot…"Nora shouldn't have gotten involved, he couldn't fight and he was just too nice for his damn good. And now he was gone. "Goddammit, Nora…You stupid-you weren't supposed to…"
Nora should've been safe in bed, not knowing about any of this until it hit the news the following morning.
Opening his eyes bit by bit, the raven hardly made out the hand he was holding in front of his face. He barely registered the freezing temperature around him. He wanted to die but he couldn't figure out why it was taking so long.
Nora had died and it was nearly instantaneously, save the confused, horrified and saddened expression that managed to dart across his face before hitting the hard concrete.
Unlike the other, the blonde shouldn't have been there.
He should've been home.
Nora should've been sleeping.
Sleep…
It sounded so good at that moment. Despite the cold truth, Nora appeared to be somewhat at peace in his current predicament.
Sleep.
It sounded like a splendid idea; a permanent solution to escaping a rather miserable life.
The rain kept coming. The air just continued to grow colder and colder still. Lightening streaked the sky continuously, taking away hope that probably would diminish soon enough. Thunder clapped how in the sky, rattling windows and a few doors not sturdy enough to stand in their frames. But over it, over the dark-haired man could've sworn he heard what appeared to be footsteps.
He could've sworn he heard humming.
Then again, he was slowly starting to lose conscious, what with the lack of blood and unforgiving climate he was currently in.
"My, my."
Green eyes slid open slowly, blinking once as they met with an oddly colored pair. Blinking again when the other did the same, the one on his back slowly stretched his hand outwards before it fell from dead weight. Opening his mouth, no words came out. Choked by what could've been grief, disappointment and what could've been regret, the raven slowly brought himself to believing he was seeing things as the corners of vision grew fuzzier and dark.
I won't wake up…
He didn't want to.
There was nothing left, and with that thought, he exhaled shakily before shadowy spots danced in front of his eyes. They went blank soon after, leaving just the heavy sound of rain to fill the alley way.
He didn't want to wake up.
There was nothing to look forward to if he did.
ns 18.68.41.175da2
