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I don't know how I'm still running… maybe it's the adrenaline rush that sparked off as I run from each demolished house to another to avoid enemy gunfire. I just run like a deer in panic; I don't know where I'm going at all. The last few men of my troop are still shooting, some of them are praying. The rest are dead. As I'm running I hear my Lieutenant yell out my name.

"Kirkland, look out!!" I stop running and look around.

It's all in slow motion now really. The blast of the grenades flings me in the air, and I feel my skull being cracked. I don't feel anything anymore. I feel numb. I haven't felt like this in a long time. I haven't been in this much pain before. My vision is slightly blurred in my left eye, where I injured myself. I touch my eye slightly and inspect it. I see my blood, dark red and sticky on my gloves.

… I realise that I am going to die.

I see Francis of all people, running towards me, his uniform doesn't seem to stand out now. Then I realise that his army had changed their colour scheme so that they could blend in with the background.

"Run… for ze love of God Arthur, RUN!" Francis yells. He grabs my arm and puts it over his shoulder to support me. I don't like how he's… touching me. But I would rather have him help me than die right now.

"Listen to me, zat American boy you've taken a fancy to, he zeys that he will take you to America to keep you safe." Francis says panting as he drags me towards a half destroyed wall.

"But… my men… they can't-" I start, sitting up quickly. My head whirls and Francis holds my shoulders firmly and sits me up against the wall. I flinch as his fingertips brushes my hair away to look at the damage. He touches my wound, which stings suddenly.

"It looks pretty deep. We need to get you to ze medical people, quickly." Francis says in a worried tone. I look at Francis; the pompous French man who thinks that fashion comes before fighting. I realise now that he seems to have grown up due to the circumstances. He looks grown up on his purple-grey uniform of his.

"Francis~! Arthur~! Where are you two?" A voice calls out. It's him. He actually came. I peer over Francis's shoulder to see Alfred running towards us, looking like a puppy dog has found a new playmate. He's wearing a faded beige shirt with dark grey trousers and suspenders. He's carrying a gun with him, and he sports his gun belt and his army beret. Francis grabs Arthur's shirt collar and drags him behind the wall.

"What in ze hell is wrong with you, stupid American?! You could have gotten us all killed with your stupid peppy attitude, and-" Francis nags. Alfred rolls his eyes at him.

"Dude calm down, I came to take Arthur… to…" Alfred stops talking and looks at my wound. His eyes widen in horror and looks into my eyes, his blue eyes blazing.

"Arthur… what happened?! Was it those bastard Germans?! It was, wasn't it?! I'm gonna kill them!" Alfred explodes, grabbing my shoulders.

"A-Alfred, I'm fine. It's just a bloody graze." I say reassuringly to him. Francis rolls his eyes at me.

"It iz more zhan a bloody graze! You are very lucky to be alive my friend." Francis says stubbornly, upset that Alfred had completely ignored his rant. Alfred kisses my wound, making it sting even more, but I can tell that my face has gone pink.

"Let's get you outta here, 'kay? Your faithful hero will be right behind ya!" Alfred says cheerily. I try to smile at him, even though my head still hurts. The man I love was by my side, next to the man that I partially loathe.

I hear a faint whistling noise. Francis's eyes widen.

"YOU TWO,GO AND DUCK AND COVER!!" Francis screams, ducking behind another wall. Alfred looks up and throws himself over me.

"Brace yourself, dude!" He yells, holding me tightly. I hold onto him, bracing myself for the explosion. Alfred and I are catapulted into the air, and we land on the floor. My hearing is muffled, and everything has flashing lights interfering. I look up.
Alfred's eyes are closed, and he's breathing quickly as if he's in pain. I sit up and I see a large gash in his head, maybe it's as bad as mine. He groans in pain and looks at me. His eyes, they show a sense of vulnerability.

"You alright, Artie?" He croaks, as he tries to sit up. I roll off him and go onto my knees. I take his head in my hands and I look into his sea blue eyes.

"Alfred, don't give up on me, alright? You and I, we're going to live together, aren't we?" I ask, my eyes flicker to his wound. It's bleeding so much that it's unbelievable. Alfred rests his hand on my already bloody cheek and gives me a faint grin.

"Yeah man, course we are. We're gonna have a house in the country. You're gonna… feel like a pampered prince… I'm gonna…" Alfred says tiredly, his eyelids drooping. My blood runs cold, and I hold his hand tightly.

"Alfred, stay with me for the love of God! D-Don't leave me here on my own. I don't want to be a-" I gabble, holding his left hand. I see the ring that I gave him a few months back when he arrived. It's green with our initials engraved on the outside.

I realise that it's on his wedding finger too.

"Artie, my head really hurts, ya know? I feel tired too…" Alfred mutters. My heart begins a marathon as I watch his eyes grow darker.

"No! Alfred, don't do this to me! Not now; not here; not ever!" I cry, kissing his lips. I hope that my kiss would shock him awake; I hope that he kisses me back like those times when we were on my front porch, kissing in the summer heat. He doesn't kiss me back. I pull away from Alfred. His eyes are faint and blank; his hand falls to his side. I feel myself freeze up suddenly, and I place my hand on his chest.

There's no heartbeat.

I quickly grab his hand and press my fingers on his wrist hard with my left hand, and place my fingers underneath his chin with my other hand.

There's no pulse.

I lower my head to his nose and lips and I stay still. I pray that he reacts to my panic motions.

There's no breath to be detected.

I look into his eyes, which had lost their shine and gleam to them. I usually try to not cry. But now my tears flows down my cheeks and land onto Alfred's cheeks. I notice blood trickling from Alfred's mouth. I notice how still and rigid he is.

He's dead.

My heart shatters suddenly, and I bawl my head off. I wail and weep and moan as my heart is hurting me with so much agony that I can't bear it. I shake his shoulders madly. Maybe he's just joking around with me. Maybe he's not dead after all. I see Francis again, and to my surprise, he's not sustained any injuries at all.

"Arthur, we need to leave now!" Francis yells, grabbing my shoulders. I struggle against him, and I try to elbow him away.

"But he needs me! He can't be left like this on his own!" I cry hysterically, and I hold Alfred's head close to me.

"Arthur, he is dead! You need to let him go!" Francis says not harshly, pulling at my shoulders.

"I love him, Francis! We're going to get married when this is all over! He promised me that we were!" I scream, looking at Alfred. He's not dead; he can't be dead. He wouldn't leave me like this, surely. He loves me too much to do that. Francis is finally able to pull me away and slings me over his shoulder.

"We cannot keep promisez when we enter a war." Francis says. He starts to jog and I wonder if I'm heavy at all. My head is dizzy, and my vision doubles, and my chest becomes too heavy for me to cope. I scream as I watch Alfred's body fade from my sight as Francis turns a corner. We reach base and he starts calling out, but my hearing is so bad that I can't hear anything. I feel tired. Too tired… Everything starts to grow darker around me, and I see Francis talking to me. I don't hear his words so I read his lips:

Everything will be OK, Arthur.

I close my eyes, and I feel the painful heaviness in my chest to be suddenly lifted.

..

..

..

I'm in a meadow full of colourful flowers next to a crystal blue stream and a large tree that acts like a canopy. The sky is crystal blue like the stream, no clouds at all, and the sun shines radiantly. This isn't the same place that I was in before with Francis. I look around. Everything looks so peaceful and beautiful. A magnificent utopia.

"Hey there, Artie." A voice calls out. I spin around to find Alfred, standing in a white shirt with matching trousers. He looks clean and healthy and perfect. I was right to think that he wasn't dead. He was alive. He walks towards me and touches my wound. Only, there is no sharp pain. Alfred leads me to the stream and I see my reflection. I have no wound on my head at all. My hair is clean and blonde, and my face is stripped clean of blood.

I realise now that Alfred isn't alive. I realise that I died too.

"You had a heart attack man. I thought fat people like my mom could get that!" Alfred laughs softly, looking at our reflection together. We both look healthier, cleaner. He takes my hand and kisses the top of my head. I hug him tightly, and I dread to think that this is a dream. But nothing changes, nothing fades away. Now I and Alfred can be together for eternity.

I can be truly at peace now.

Description
I don't know how I'm still running… maybe it's the adrenaline rush that sparked off as I run from each demolished house to another to avoid enemy gunfire. I just run like a deer in panic; I don't know where I'm going at all. The last few men of my troop are still shooting, some of them are praying. The rest are dead. As I'm running I hear my Lieutenant yell out my name.

"Kirkland, look out!!" I stop running and look around.

It's all in slow motion now really. The blast of the grenades flings me in the air, and I feel my skull being cracked. I don't feel anything anymore. I feel numb. I haven't felt like this in a long time. I haven't been in this much pain before. My vision is slightly blurred in my left eye, where I injured myself. I touch my eye slightly and inspect it. I see my blood, dark red and sticky on my gloves.

… I realise that I am going to die.

I see Francis of all people, running towards me, his uniform doesn't seem to stand out now. Then I realise that his army had changed their colour scheme so that they could blend in with the background.

"Run… for ze love of God Arthur, RUN!" Francis yells. He grabs my arm and puts it over his shoulder to support me. I don't like how he's… touching me. But I would rather have him help me than die right now.

"Listen to me, zat American boy you've taken a fancy to, he zeys that he will take you to America to keep you safe." Francis says panting as he drags me towards a half destroyed wall.

"But… my men… they can't-" I start, sitting up quickly. My head whirls and Francis holds my shoulders firmly and sits me up against the wall. I flinch as his fingertips brushes my hair away to look at the damage. He touches my wound, which stings suddenly.

"It looks pretty deep. We need to get you to ze medical people, quickly." Francis says in a worried tone. I look at Francis; the pompous French man who thinks that fashion comes before fighting. I realise now that he seems to have grown up due to the circumstances. He looks grown up on his purple-grey uniform of his.

"Francis~! Arthur~! Where are you two?" A voice calls out. It's him. He actually came. I peer over Francis's shoulder to see Alfred running towards us, looking like a puppy dog has found a new playmate. He's wearing a faded beige shirt with dark grey trousers and suspenders. He's carrying a gun with him, and he sports his gun belt and his army beret. Francis grabs Arthur's shirt collar and drags him behind the wall.

"What in ze hell is wrong with you, stupid American?! You could have gotten us all killed with your stupid peppy attitude, and-" Francis nags. Alfred rolls his eyes at him.

"Dude calm down, I came to take Arthur… to…" Alfred stops talking and looks at my wound. His eyes widen in horror and looks into my eyes, his blue eyes blazing.

"Arthur… what happened?! Was it those bastard Germans?! It was, wasn't it?! I'm gonna kill them!" Alfred explodes, grabbing my shoulders.

"A-Alfred, I'm fine. It's just a bloody graze." I say reassuringly to him. Francis rolls his eyes at me.

"It iz more zhan a bloody graze! You are very lucky to be alive my friend." Francis says stubbornly, upset that Alfred had completely ignored his rant. Alfred kisses my wound, making it sting even more, but I can tell that my face has gone pink.

"Let's get you outta here, 'kay? Your faithful hero will be right behind ya!" Alfred says cheerily. I try to smile at him, even though my head still hurts. The man I love was by my side, next to the man that I partially loathe.

I hear a faint whistling noise. Francis's eyes widen.

"YOU TWO,GO AND DUCK AND COVER!!" Francis screams, ducking behind another wall. Alfred looks up and throws himself over me.

"Brace yourself, dude!" He yells, holding me tightly. I hold onto him, bracing myself for the explosion. Alfred and I are catapulted into the air, and we land on the floor. My hearing is muffled, and everything has flashing lights interfering. I look up.
Alfred's eyes are closed, and he's breathing quickly as if he's in pain. I sit up and I see a large gash in his head, maybe it's as bad as mine. He groans in pain and looks at me. His eyes, they show a sense of vulnerability.

"You alright, Artie?" He croaks, as he tries to sit up. I roll off him and go onto my knees. I take his head in my hands and I look into his sea blue eyes.

"Alfred, don't give up on me, alright? You and I, we're going to live together, aren't we?" I ask, my eyes flicker to his wound. It's bleeding so much that it's unbelievable. Alfred rests his hand on my already bloody cheek and gives me a faint grin.

"Yeah man, course we are. We're gonna have a house in the country. You're gonna… feel like a pampered prince… I'm gonna…" Alfred says tiredly, his eyelids drooping. My blood runs cold, and I hold his hand tightly.

"Alfred, stay with me for the love of God! D-Don't leave me here on my own. I don't want to be a-" I gabble, holding his left hand. I see the ring that I gave him a few months back when he arrived. It's green with our initials engraved on the outside.

I realise that it's on his wedding finger too.

"Artie, my head really hurts, ya know? I feel tired too…" Alfred mutters. My heart begins a marathon as I watch his eyes grow darker.

"No! Alfred, don't do this to me! Not now; not here; not ever!" I cry, kissing his lips. I hope that my kiss would shock him awake; I hope that he kisses me back like those times when we were on my front porch, kissing in the summer heat. He doesn't kiss me back. I pull away from Alfred. His eyes are faint and blank; his hand falls to his side. I feel myself freeze up suddenly, and I place my hand on his chest.

There's no heartbeat.

I quickly grab his hand and press my fingers on his wrist hard with my left hand, and place my fingers underneath his chin with my other hand.

There's no pulse.

I lower my head to his nose and lips and I stay still. I pray that he reacts to my panic motions.

There's no breath to be detected.

I look into his eyes, which had lost their shine and gleam to them. I usually try to not cry. But now my tears flows down my cheeks and land onto Alfred's cheeks. I notice blood trickling from Alfred's mouth. I notice how still and rigid he is.

He's dead.

My heart shatters suddenly, and I bawl my head off. I wail and weep and moan as my heart is hurting me with so much agony that I can't bear it. I shake his shoulders madly. Maybe he's just joking around with me. Maybe he's not dead after all. I see Francis again, and to my surprise, he's not sustained any injuries at all.

"Arthur, we need to leave now!" Francis yells, grabbing my shoulders. I struggle against him, and I try to elbow him away.

"But he needs me! He can't be left like this on his own!" I cry hysterically, and I hold Alfred's head close to me.

"Arthur, he is dead! You need to let him go!" Francis says not harshly, pulling at my shoulders.

"I love him, Francis! We're going to get married when this is all over! He promised me that we were!" I scream, looking at Alfred. He's not dead; he can't be dead. He wouldn't leave me like this, surely. He loves me too much to do that. Francis is finally able to pull me away and slings me over his shoulder.

"We cannot keep promisez when we enter a war." Francis says. He starts to jog and I wonder if I'm heavy at all. My head is dizzy, and my vision doubles, and my chest becomes too heavy for me to cope. I scream as I watch Alfred's body fade from my sight as Francis turns a corner. We reach base and he starts calling out, but my hearing is so bad that I can't hear anything. I feel tired. Too tired… Everything starts to grow darker around me, and I see Francis talking to me. I don't hear his words so I read his lips:

Everything will be OK, Arthur.

I close my eyes, and I feel the painful heaviness in my chest to be suddenly lifted.

..

..

..

I'm in a meadow full of colourful flowers next to a crystal blue stream and a large tree that acts like a canopy. The sky is crystal blue like the stream, no clouds at all, and the sun shines radiantly. This isn't the same place that I was in before with Francis. I look around. Everything looks so peaceful and beautiful. A magnificent utopia.

"Hey there, Artie." A voice calls out. I spin around to find Alfred, standing in a white shirt with matching trousers. He looks clean and healthy and perfect. I was right to think that he wasn't dead. He was alive. He walks towards me and touches my wound. Only, there is no sharp pain. Alfred leads me to the stream and I see my reflection. I have no wound on my head at all. My hair is clean and blonde, and my face is stripped clean of blood.

I realise now that Alfred isn't alive. I realise that I died too.

"You had a heart attack man. I thought fat people like my mom could get that!" Alfred laughs softly, looking at our reflection together. We both look healthier, cleaner. He takes my hand and kisses the top of my head. I hug him tightly, and I dread to think that this is a dream. But nothing changes, nothing fades away. Now I and Alfred can be together for eternity.

I can be truly at peace now.