“Alex! Wake up buddy! Alex, don’t you leave me like this, you have been through way worse than this! Come on! Wake up!” Artimen said to the seemingly lifeless human body that he held in his arm. He shook it up and down violently in an attempt to get it to respond. But the body was extremely exhausted and was hurt badly. The explosion caused blood to begin to drip out of the sides of its mouth. Its eyes seemed to grow cold and dull as time passed; they remained half open and staring into space. Artimen then shook the body again and it moved its head over, it then looked at Artimen and blinked slowly. “Arty, I can’t see you very well…” his voice traveled off. Artimen then shook him as he said “Come on, stay with me! You’re going to be okay!” The pale body began to breath heavily and choppy as if it were struggling to breath. “I’m cold Arty, I don’t think that I…” His voice trailed off again. Artimen the shook him again and said “Don’t say it! Don’t you dare leave me DAMN IT!” The body then began to laugh softly but it turned into a horrible cough. Artimen then began to cry, something he had not done in a long time. As the tears slowly fell from his eyes and down his face it began to soak his dirty fur leaving a visible streak of wet fur. “You listen to me Alex, and you listen good. You are not going to die on me, not here and not now! You are going to live! Do you hear me!? Don’t leave me like this.” He said as he took the body’s left hand with his right and held it tightly. “I can’t make any promises bud…” The body then took a deep and choppy inhale and continued “I’m sorry…” “Alex, you can’t leave yet. Who is going to play video games with me? Who is going to be there when I kneed someone to scratch my back and help me brush my fur when I start to shed? Who is going to tell me that I put too much jam on my peanut butter and jelly sandwich or scold me when I leave close on the floor in our room? Who will be there to help me when Cornelius has a stomach ach or a cold and I don’t know what to do? Who will I cuddle with on the couch in the middle of the night and watch TV with while I play with their hair? Who is going to take care of Innocent and Themistocles if you go now? I need you buddy, Gloria needs you, your sons need you, Cornelius needs you. We all need you Alex, so please don’t go.” The body then laughed again but began to cough even worse this time. Artimen then helped the body turn over and the body began to cough blood out of its mouth onto the floor, it grew into a small puddle. The body then stopped coughing and Artimen turned it back over. The body then clenched its teeth in pain and grunted loudly. “Oh God please don’t go Alex. Not yet!” Artimen said as he held the body close to him and began to rock back and forth. He then said “Come on Alex, do you remember that promise that you made to me?” “Which one?” The body said as inhaled slowly. “You know, the one that you said that we would grow old together and live right next-door to each other and we would play cribbage and reminisce about the good old days and that we would play with our grandkids all day long? Come on you have to remember that.” The body then laughed and coughed again and said “I’m sorry buddy, I don’t think that… I’ll…” The voice then trailed off. Artimen then shook it again and said “What!?” “That I’ll be able… to… keep that promise, Arty, I’m sorry but I…” His voice then trailed off again. Artimen then shook him again and said “Come on Alex, you are gonna’ be okay! We’ll go back home and you will get to play with the kids and Dr. Marks will heal you up as good as new. You will be just fine, just stay with me okay.” “Arty…” The body said as its hand clenched Artimen’s and it closed its eyes. “What?” Artimen said in desperation. “Just hold me… hold me and don’t let go.” Artimen then brought him in close and held the body as he rocked it. “God, please God, just give me one more day and night with him. Don’t take him away from me yet. Please God… don’t…” Artimen then felt a warm sensation come over him, He then looked up and he saw a bright light that seemed to pierce through the clouds of the sky. Suddenly a hooded person walked forward in a white robe out of the light and said nothing but held out its arms. Artimen then gripped the body tighter and shouted “GOD PLEASE DON’T TAKE HIM YET, I NEED HIM, PLEASE DON’T TAKE HIM FROM ME! PLEASE JUST LET HIM STAY A BIT LONGER! PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU PLEASE!!!” He was balling his eyes out now and his vision became cloudy from all of the tears as they poured out of his tear-ducts. The hooded person then took there hands and gently pushed their hood off of there head revealing there face; it was a woman with long flowing black hair. Her eyes had no pupils though. She then walked around to the side of Artimen and knelt down and said still said nothing. As she tried to touch the body that Artimen was holding he yanked it away and shouted “DON’T YOU TOUCH HIM! DON’T YOU DARE TAKE HIM AWAY FROM ME!!!” She then set her hand down on Artimen’s shoulder and she looked at him with a gentle face. Artimen felt so warm when she touched him, he then looked at her with tears streaming down his fur and said “Please… don’t take him.” She then looked down at the body and set her hand softly against its cheek. Artimen then said “Please, just one more day and night is all I ask. Please…” She then looked up at Artimen and softly smiled. Artimen then felt some comfort that came from the smile; he then looked down at the body. It was cold and growing more and more lifeless by the second. Artimen then closed his eyes and said “Please help him, I can’t watch him suffer anymore.” The woman then grabbed the body’s head and took her hand off of Artimen’s shoulder and took the body from him and held it as she stood up. Artimen felt so lost and helpless as he let the body go, like he was loosing a part of him. The woman then stood in front of Artimen with the body in her arms she then looked up to the sky. Artimen looked up at her, she suddenly sprouted wings from her back and they grew huge. She then opened them slowly and lifted them up into the air and a bright light then began to shine. Artimen became blinded by its brilliance and he had to close his eyes. The light then dwindled and Artimen opened his eyes, the woman was still there, but now her wings disappeared. She then knelt down and handed the body back to Artimen. Artimen immediately embraced and cuddled it. Artimen continued to cry and he closed his eyes. ‘He’s dead, I can believe he is dead’ He though over and over in his head.
Suddenly the body moved; Artimen opened his eyes, he had felt it. The body then took its hand and grabbed Artimen’s shirt. Artimen was speechless and his mouth hung open. The body then moved its head up and turned it to look at Artimen, it opened its eyes, smiled and said “Arty, take me home. Please.” Artimen then squeezed the body tightly and said “Alex, don’t ever scare me like that ever again!” “Okay, but your crushing me and I am in massive pain right now.” The body said in a raspy voice. Artimen then let up and said as he picked up the once lifeless body “Sorry, lets get you home Alex.” “Arty.” The man said with a smile “Yeah Alex?” Artimen said as he walked. “Thank you for not letting me go, I love you.” the man said as he rested his head against Artimen’s shoulder and closed his eyes. “I love you too Alex. Thank you for not leaving me.”