YOU COULDN'T SAVE ME

BUT YOU CAN'T LET ME GO

Yes, it's him.

Oh, my God.

Clancy is dead.

All I can see in the dim light is his face.

His eyes are closed, his expression calm.

Wait, are those black... tears?

I look up and see the boy already looking at me.

His face is wounded, red and swollen, full of tears.

He hugs Clancy's body tighter.

"Hello..." I try to talk to him.

He quickly takes out of one of his pants pockets a kind of knife. A knife with three points, similar to a trident.

He points at me. Like he thinks I'm dangerous.

"Hey..."

He lets out a kind of... growl?, angry, still hugging Clancy.

"I'm not going to do anything to you..." I raise my hands.

"Don't lie to me..."

His voice is raspy, hoarse, full of hate and deep sadness.

He gently puts Clancy's body on the ground.

I can see him better now.

His clothes are torn. His arms and legs are completely black.

God...

''I'm not lying...''

''Fuck it! '' he interrupts me ''The city is full of posters with your face on them. Since I arrived, all I've done is see you on every wall''

Okay. He caught me.

''Look...''I sigh, not really wanting to explain anything ''I know you have reasons to distrust me, but I can assure you that I'm not one of them''

I try to get up, to get closer to him, but that only makes his body tense up more.

''Don't come closer!''

He stretches his arm out, the knife just inches from my neck.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry..."

I drop to my knees, moving away from him.

I look away at Clancy's body.

I still can't believe it.

He's gone.

It hurts to see him like this. Someone so brave, so determined to run. To fight for more than just this life.

Another person destroyed by DEMA.

''I knew him, you know?''

A hint of curiosity appears on his face.

''He used to tell about a boy with slanted eyes and black hair '' I tell, trying to connect with him '' He said that you were the only one who saw him as a normal person, not as a product or an object of rebellion''

His rigid body begins to relax. The knife falls from his hands, making a loud crash on the stone floor.

He looks at Clancy, and sobs begin to be heard.

''How long have you known him? '' he asks, looking back at me, tears welling up in his eyes

An explosion very close to us makes us both jump.

''GOD! '' I scream, covering my ears with my hands ''Please, I swear I'll tell you, but we have to leave now if we don't want to end up like him''

''I'm not leaving him here...I don't care what happens to me anymore''

His tone of voice is full of hopelessness.

''You can't do anything for him now! He'd want you out of here, okay? Don't let them catch you, please...''

''I'M NOT GOING WITH YOU! '' I feel his throat tear with every word ''You work for them...''

More explosions are heard. Closer and closer.

Fuck. Fuck. FUCK.

I need to get out of here, but I'm not leaving without him.

I know them. I've heard legends about them.

Green and brown clothes.

Yellow ribbons around their bodies.

Banditos.

And he's the leader.

I'm not going to let someone who has saved so many people die, giving them happiness and freedom.

''Please...''

He doesn't answer anymore. He doesn't care about me.

My hands are shaking. I don't know what to do anymore.

He looks at me with eyes full of rage and distrust, but I know that fury is also desperation.

The explosions are heard closer, Dema's soldiers are probably already here. We don't have time.

Suddenly, I remember that my hands aren't this color.

Desperate, I rub my hands. Soon the black color appears on them.

''Hey, look! ''I  put my hands up, so he can see them well ''I have them too. And I swear that the color can't be erased. I hate the color black''

His eyes stay fixed on my hands.

''And look at yourself, look at your hands... '' I point at them

He notices his body for the first time.

His hands are slowly turning black.

He opens his eyes, terrified. He tries to remove the stains, but he can't.

"We have to get out of here if you don't want them to control you..."

He sighs. His body completely goes limp.

"I can't walk..."

He lifts up his sweatshirt, revealing a deep wound dripping blood on one side of his torso.