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Two friends huddled in the ruins of an old building; it had been a majestic cathedral at some point, but now, it was merely a cold, grey remnant of its past. "We'll be alright," the fair haired boy murmured to his dark haired companion. Long, lithe fingers brushed and parted messy black locks, and an audible sigh could be heard from the girl.
"Yeah, Dave," Jade said, smiling sadly into her best friend and lover's eyes. "I'm sure we will." They nuzzled there for a bit longer, desperate to feel the other's warmth, but finally stood. "Where will we head now, then?" she asked, holding his pale hand in hers. "We have to look for food," he began, "and a good place for shelter too. Got your rifle?"
"Mhmm."
They walked out of the ruins with their hands solidly clasped together. A grey, foggy expanse greeted them outside--devoid of light and life. Neither of them were innocent enough to believe that they would live in peace forever, but at this point, they didn't care.
Because they had each other.
"It's getting dark, Dave," Jade commented, tugging on his sleeve. "Do you think this might be a good place to stop?" The two of them had paused at an intersection. On all sides of the street, the remains of fallen buildings held their watch. Broken glass and concrete dust littered the streets; only the sound of the two's breaths could be heard. "Yeah, Harley I dunno, it seems like it'd be pretty a good hiding place for those goddamn... monsters... or something..." Although his expression was masked by a pair of scratched sunglasses, his voice could not hide his worry.
Jade kissed his cheek and murmured, "We'll be fine."
They edged into a dark and shadowy building, Jade tentatively lighting a small candle. "Looks like the coast is clear," she whispered, her soft voice slowly echoing throughout the large room. "Seems like it was a supermarket or something..."
"A supermarket? Sweet," Dave replied in an equally low voice. "Probably a good number of supplies we can salvage from a wreck like this."
"Let's do it tomorrow," Jade said, very firmly. "I don't want to have to light any more candles, and I know for a fact that you're cold and tired." He turned to smile at her and rubbed her hair fondly, and settled down for the night.
A clatter awoke Jade with a start. "Dave," she called out instinctively, pulling her rifle to her chest. He wasn't next to her. "Dave, Dave, Dave," she whispered, fully awake, eyes wide open. She heard a groan and slowly began inching towards it, her weapon still loaded from the night before. She turned a corner and stopped suddenly. "...Dave?"
"Hey, babe." The blonde stood over a corpse, one of his shitty swords in hand and covered in blood. He smiled sheepishly at her. "Sorry, nature called. Took care of this though, I don't think it touched me... Sun's rising, we might as well salvage what we can now and move on. I need to clean this too, wonder if there's still running water around here—"
Jade had closed the distance between them and wrapped him tightly in a hug. "Whoah there Harley, your clothes will get dirty..." Dave trailed off into silence, and quietly accepted the hug.
"Let's keep moving," he whispered into her hair.
She kissed him and smiled. "Yeah."
It began with a cough. A small, inconspicuous cough that Jade barely noticed.
But Dave noticed it. And he began to worry. And he started coughing more and more, slowly escalating to hacking, painful fits.
"Dave, oh Dave," Jade whispered, holding his head in her lap. "Tell me we'll be alright..."
"We'll," cough, "be alright," cough cough. His hand reached up to brush her cheek. "I'll get better. We'll be fine—" He turned aside, spasming, wheezing heavily in between coughs.
Jade watched on in fear. What could she do?
"Jade, I need a favor from you." Dave stood in the middle of an intersection, his hands in his pockets. He was oddly calm, his aviators reflecting a sad, grey remnant of a world.
"You've gotten better..." Jade said nervously, easing closer to him.
He turned and took off his sunglasses and smiled sadly at her.
"No, I haven't."
She numbly stared at his beautiful red eyes. "What do you mean?"
Please don't say what I think you will say.
He held her in his eyes, both of their breathing unsteady.
"I contracted the virus."
I have said exactly what you don't want to hear.
"I need you to survive, Jade. Without me. Find someone to partner up with you. You can do it. But... I need you to kill me. I don't want to hurt you, ever. And the way this is going... if you don't kill me, I might."
"Dave, please—"
"Jade, hear me out."
"Dave, I can't—"
"Jade."
She looked at him, tears beginning to gather.
"Lift your rifle. Aim it at my heart. Save yourself from me because--"
He stopped.
A headshake, a flurry of black hair.
"One fluid movement. Pull the trigger, babe."
"Please, Dave..." she pleaded.
"Jade."
He looked at her, sunglasses in hand, love in his eyes.
"I love you."
"I love you, too," she choked out, lifting her rifle.
She pulled the trigger.
"I love you, Dave Strider."