Few people have had to watch the one they love die in their arms. Few people have had to experience that kind of loss, that kind of pain. I am unfortunate enough to be one of those few people.
We were a happy couple: we were recently married, I was 19 and she was 20. We were part of the strike team, the group of people who went out and fought the monsters outside the walls of the city, to protect the citizens. The dive was going great; we decided that we would fight just slightly longer, so as to gather as much loot as we can.
I had noticed a few days earlier that our comrade, Petre, had been acting extremely strange recently. I thought nothing of it, however, and just let it be. I found out what a mistake that was on that day. Petre had been in charge of making lunch for the day’s dive team, consisting of me, him, a girl named Holly, and my wife Alicia. We all sat down and started to eat and drink what was packed for us.
But Petre was just sitting there, not eating. He had a disturbing smile on his face. It was then that I realized what was happening. I threw my drink into the air just as the paralysis potion took effect. I looked around and saw that nobody else could move either. Then Petre stood up, laughing maniacally.
“Finally!” he called out. “Finally I get to be the hero of the village!”
He walked over to me and looked me straight in the eye.
“People are always praising you, thanking you, and adoring you just because you are the strongest! Well not anymore! I have already got the perfect story as well. We were just walking along when Travis spotted a chest within a small room. He brashly ran to it, and we all followed. But the chest was a trap, and we were suddenly surrounded by dozens of strong monsters. I fought valiantly to save them all, but I ended up being the only one who escaped. How they will love me!”
He stood up and looked down at me.
“Don’t worry,” he said, “I am saving you for last. First, I want you to watch the ones you love die while you can’t save them.”
He laughed and walked over to Holly. He withdrew his blade, and started cutting her in many different places. She screamed in pain in agony for nearly 3 minutes, and then he drove his sword into her heart, killing her instantly. I just sat there, in shock, unable to do anything. He then slowly walked over to Alicia, when he noticed the wedding ring on her finger.
“Oh, that’s right!” he exclaimed, “You two just got married recently, didn’t you? Good…” He looked over at me, smiling, and said “Now you will know real pain!”
He cut off her hand as he screamed, and Alicia cried out in agony. I felt the blade striking my heart each time it struck her. And I couldn’t do anything. But with each cry, I felt the rage inside me growing stronger and stronger, until I knew that I could stand. I screamed as I unsheathed my own blade and charged at him. I plunged it straight into his stomach as he pierced my wife one last time.
“That’s… impossible,” he said, and he died right there on my blade.
I threw his body to the floor, and ran over to my wife. Her injuries were very, very bad. I picked her up in my arms and tried to console her, while tears of my own started streaming down my face. She looked up at me and said her last words, words I will never forget:
“I love you. Goodbye.”
And she was gone.
People say that after that day, I became different. I fought recklessly and more ferociously than ever before. Why is that? Because I am a man with nothing left to lose.