A thin stream of smoke twisted up from the front of the motorcar.

Kit watched the way it disappeared into the rising sunlight, his body slumped over the steering wheel. He couldn't feel any pain. The small dark spots danced around the edge of his vision.

"Kit?" a soft voice said beside him."Kit!"

"Em?" His voice was small, as though someone else had spoken.

"I'm here."

Emily lightly touched Kit's shoulder, moving him as gently as she could off the wheel so she wouldn't hurt him; Kit didn't feel anything, anyway. Her soft fingertips brushed across his cheek and chin, turning his head. Through the smoke billowing from the motorcar, Kit could make out her dark red curls, and those piercing green eyes, and he noticed for the first time the freckles across her cheeks.

Blood trickled from a cut on her forehead. Her fingers danced over his skin, bringing a little clarity to his otherwise confused thoughts. Why didn't he feel any pain?

He should have felt pain.

"You're going to be alright, Kit," she said, her voice shaking. "You have to be."

"Em—"

"No, save your strength. They'll get you to a hospital."

Kit licked his lips, taking a deep, raggedy breath and expecting to feel a stab of pain in his chest, but he felt nothing. "I won't make it. Listen."

"You'll be fine, Kit. We're going to America. We're going to be highwaymen. That was what we agreed."

"You'll have to go without me." He swallowed deeply, the small dark spots obscuring almost half his vision. "Go. Get away."

"No." Emily shook her head, tears running down her cheeks. "I'm not leaving you."

Kit smiled. He wanted to lift his hand and wipe away the tears on her freckle-covered cheeks, but he couldn't even move his fingertips. There still wasn't any pain. He looked at her face, committing every detail of it to his memory. Kit knew why she didn't want to leave him, and he would die happy if her face was the last face he saw, but their trip was to get her away.

He wasn't going to fail. Not after all that work.

"Go, please, Emily. I'll be fine. Go and raise a little hell in America." A small smile spread across his face. "I can watch the sunrise."

More tears trickled down Emily's cheeks. She glanced behind her, no doubt watching for whoever had been following them. Emily leaned in and kissed him, her hand still softly resting on his cheek. When she pulled away, she kept her green eyes on his. "I'll never forget you. Ever. You gave me my freedom. I just wish you could share it with me."

"Believe me, waiting for you has always been a form of freedom."

"Goodbye, Kit."

She kissed him once more, her cheeks stained with tears.

The dark spots crept further into Kit's vision as Emily's face disappeared. He could no longer sense her beside him. Two loud gunshots rang out nearby. Then silence.

Kit gazed up at the sky, watching the inky-blue transform with the morning sunlight. Fluffy white clouds drifted by. Through the small slither of vision he had left, Kit watched the sky turn a burning red.

Slowly, the black spots took over and Kit stared up at the burning sky without seeing it.

~~~

First Published - February 15th, 2024