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He watched as Ali and Nik pulled their backpacks above their heads and began to cross the steady stream. He was almost to them when he lost his footing in the mud, sliding the rest of the way down the hill. A burning pain shot up his right leg and he saw his ankle rolled in an awkward position.
Ali turned her head from halfway across the river.
“Eli!” He saw her mouth move but couldn’t hear her over the water. He stepped forward but the twisted ankle wouldn’t support his weight. He hopped a few steps, determined to make it to the water.
“Eli!” she screamed again, this time pointing in his direction. He knew before he had a chance to turn around. He knew that they were right behind him. He tried to make it into the water but he moved too slow. He heard the clanking of their weapons behind him…and then a sharp blade cut through his side.
He toppled over, landing in the mud, facing the river. His side had gone numb along with the lower half of his body. His eyelids drooped heavily as he watched Nik wrap an arm around Ali’s thrashing body, pulling her to the other side of the river. He smiled, knowing she was safe and then closed his eyes.
Ali’s arms swung wildly. Nik kept his arm around her waist, pulling her through the river. Water rushed around them, making it difficult for him to navigate the stream. He grunted but didn’t release his hold.
All she could do was watch the shore as it shrank, leaving Eli behind.
“What are you doing?” she groaned through gritted teeth, pulling at Nik’s arm as he heaved her out of the water. She dug her heels into the sand of the opposite shoreline, fighting him at every step.
“Eli!” She let out a blood-curdling scream. He held her firmly in place, against his chest as she pushed against him. She wasn’t strong enough to loosen his hold. “Eli!” she sobbed and clawed at Nik’s arm. He has to let go.
She watched the opposite shore with tear-filled eyes, illuminated by the moon. She could make out the figures of the other men hovering above his body and an enraged snarl escaped her lips.
Don’t touch him, she thought.
“Let me go!” she screamed at him. She broke free and hit him in the chest but he grabbed her by the wrists, preventing her from entering the water again. She had to get back to Eli. She’d fight Nik tooth and nail if she had to.
She wrenched her arms, twisting and turning but it did nothing to break free from his hold. It just burned the skin under his grip. She thrashed against him like a wild animal.
“Ali, Ali, please stop.” His voice was soft. There was no urgency. There was no fight inside him. Doesn’t he get it? We have to go back. We have to get Eli.
“What’s wrong with you? We can’t leave him.” Her chest was tight, she could hardly breathe. Her voice started to crack from the screaming, making it hard to deliver a convincing argument. What would convince him? Why doesn’t he think Eli is worth saving?
“Ali, he’s not…” Nik hesitated. “I watched him fall. You watched him fall. That sword…”
“He’s not what?” she asked frantically. “He’s not what?” she screamed, swinging her fists at him, but his grip held firm.
Nik tilted his head and gave her an anguished look. Pain. Was he in pain? She gave him a once over and didn’t notice anything immediately wrong with him. No blood, no broken bones. No, that was a look of pity. He was pitying her. She began to understand what he was insinuating. His words began to sink in. Her stomach turned and she gripped her sides. It felt like her insides were on fire. He was wrong. He had to be wrong.
“He…he can’t be.” She choked on her words. She sought out Eli’s body on the other side of the river, expecting him to get up at any moment. To move. Make some indication that he was still with them. His body was lifeless.
“I’m sorry, Ali. I know…I know how much he meant to you.”
Meant. Past tense. Because he was gone.
Nik let go of her wrists and she began to inch back to the water. She had to see for herself. They couldn’t have him. She would get to him and see for herself. He couldn’t be gone. He would see her face and crack a joke about her overreacting and everything would be okay.
“Ali, please don’t. You can’t help him now. You’re just going to put yourself in danger.” She could see tears glistening on his cheeks. She could tell he was nervous to speak. He was nervous that she would break.
The water hit her ankles as she backed up. This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. She was looking between Nik and Eli on the other side of the river, sliding further into the water, the cold stream biting at her shins. “I can’t leave him.”
The water rushed around her; its icy depths comforted her. It understood her. It understood the pain she felt. Its blackness matched the darkness spreading over her heart, taking over her soul. Its roaring waters were a soothing lullaby, telling her it was okay to give in. It’s okay to give up. It threatened to swallow her whole and she was tempted to allow it.
He took a step toward her. “Ali, I’m begging you. If you go back over there, you’re going to die. I can’t lose you,” he whispered. He reached out a hand, an offer to take hers. “Choose me. Choose us.”
She’d once said if it came down to the two of them that she’d choose Eli. She’d choose her family. But as she looked across the river, she saw Eli’s body slumped on the ground, unmoving. The longer she watched, the more she understood. She’d lost him. Her family was gone…had ceased to exist. And Nik was still here, patiently waiting for her to choose him.
She felt numb. The blood rushed from her body and she froze in the water, watching as her best friend lay lifeless on the beach. The person she’d spent nearly every waking moment of her life with. Who knew everything about her and loved her, faults and all. The last remnant of her old life. Everything else felt foggy, her surroundings muffled. It was just the two of them. A tear rolled down her cheek and touched her lips, dragging her out of her trance.
She looked back to Nik, waiting quietly with a hand outstretched. Her lips trembled as another tear fell. She didn’t know how she was supposed to carry on but for him, she would try. She stepped out of the water, her feet felt like heavy bricks, and back onto the sandy shore.
Nik was speechless. He closed the gap between them and brought his arms around her shoulders, squeezing her tight. He just held her, stroking her hair. If it weren’t for his arms holding her up, she might’ve collapsed to the ground. His warm body embraced her but she felt nothing by the cold bitterness of despair.
