Stellina

Forever Footsteps

It was the silence that first engulfed them.

A thick, black pool of silence that snaked around the barbed wire, causing the entire forest to tremble in submission.

And then, it was her sobs, ones that pierced through the blackness, ones vibrating with so much agony and shock that it shook the entire earth in that very moment.

"Luka!" Lina cried, her entire body seemingly shattered like glass into thousands of pieces, strewn carelessly about the muddied grass. No. No, no, no. It was the only word flung about her mind at the moment, consuming her thoughts. No. It couldn't be. She would not let this happen.

Her throat raw with torment, she gasped for air as she crawled toward the fence, knees scraping against the stones buried in the earth. Gasping, the tears clawing at her eyes, she scarcely noticed the guard sauntering away, his thick black boots pounding against the muddy gravel. Blood from his side trickled down her skin, pooling with streams of tears, with the blackness of silence. Her eyes fluttered shut, another sob exploding from her lips as she reached out to touch him. To brush against his olive skin, over the tangle of scars that weaved over his cheeks. To feel the last ounce of warmth that radiated from his very soul. To salvage the last bit of hope that maybe, just maybe, he was still there.

"Luka, please," she sobbed. "I love you." And with that, clenching her jaw, her fingers crept across his abdomen, trepidation lacing their every movement as they moved to the side of his throat.

For a few moments, nothing vibrated against her fingers. Sobs choked in her throat, despair seeping into her heart like blood.

And then, she felt it. The faintest of flutters, the dimmest of hope, peaking through his skin and echoing beneath her fingertips.

Luka.

He wasn't gone. Not yet.

A sputtering of a small smile coughed on her lips, tears dripping onto his cheeks as they washed the grime away. He was alive. She wasn't too late.

It was then that she shoved every ounce of emotion possible out of her body. No. It throbbed in her brain more blatantly, more boldly this time. She was not letting him die.

It had only taken her two seconds from that moment to slam her jaw shut and wipe the tears from her eyes. Determination resounded in her every step, any thoughts of doubt fleeting from her mind as she cradled his body in her arms. She swore she could hear the pounding of angry footsteps and frazzled shouts. The guard could change his mind and come back to finish them off any minute, and she had to act fast.

Biting her lip, Lina allowed herself to pause for just one moment so she could study him. The blood pooled at his side, forming an ocean of crimson on the gravel. His chest began to rise and fall ever so slightly, but it was the only mark that said he was living. The rest of him was cloaked in a pallid shadow of death, looming nearer and nearer as each second ticked by.

Lina's eyes fluttered shut for a second as she braced herself. Then, her muscles tensed as she grasped his entire body in her arms, only wincing slightly as her muscles groaned at the impact of his weight. Using every ounce of strength she had left, she lifted him from the ground, arms trembling, sweat dripping down her forehead. His head fell against her chest, rising and falling with it.

Lina clenched her jaw in determination. She was not letting anyone else die. Not like Moritz. She would do whatever it took to save him.

She groaned as she scooped his body into her arms, her arms feeling as if they could snap in half. She could feel his blood seeping through her shirt just as clearly as the roaring of blood in her ears. The ground vibrated, sending shocks of fear throughout her body. Please, not now. Give me just a few more minutes.