Needles

I was about to fall over. The only thing I could hear was my heart wildly pulsing in my head, and my frantic breathing -- My friend and I were about to be killed. Chased through the woods for hours, they were just toying with us. Toying with us like they do with all of their prey. -Tire them out, slap them around, kill them- There was no point in stopping for a rest, but at the same time, there was no point in going on, we were exhausted and ready to give up. I finally grabbed her arm, and I'm sure my expression said it all.

"It's over, we're finished."

The dark sky was very clear that night, the moon was full, and the stars just couldn't be counted.. We looked up and saw the beautiful stars that illuminated the sky. They provided enough light for us to see where we were going in the middle of the night. Holding her arm, I sat her down on a fallen tree beside me and she began to cry.

I didn't know what to do, to say, I didn't know what to think. The only thing I could be thankful for was the fact I would die beside my best friend, and not alone. It was strange, I always imagined my killing to be full of agony, of screaming, and of pain. Here I am, sitting on a log with my best friend at my side, knowing full well what was about to happen.

I was always so afraid of death, I was always so careful. I never imagined myself to be so calm.. Maybe it just hadn't sunken in that I was going to die. I looked over, and immediately, my heart was crushed. Tears rolling down her cheeks, she buried her face in my shoulder. "I'm so sorry I got us into this mess, I never meant for it to be this way, I didn't want it to end like this." At this point, she seemed to chant her apologies to me. She kept going on.. "I thought it would be different from the other situations, I'm so sorry." In a rocking motion, she went on, "I'm so, so sorry, I don't want you to die."

There was nothing I could do but to gently throw my arm around her and whisper in her ear the only reassurance I could bear to give: "It will be over quick." It seemed like an eternity, waiting for the murderers to come around our way. We were sitting there, waiting to die. Remarkable how the assassins managed to keep up when we were running, but now that we had been sitting for a few minutes, we lost them. after another few moments of sitting, we could hear the low pitched scream of the engines getting louder, and louder in the distance. All the more she held my hand, all the more she cried, heaving for air. She begged me to run, she begged me to leave her behind.

Finally, we could see the lights of those evil machines tearing through the plant life. I tried to sum up words for my friend, I desperately tried to congregate something to say, but my emotions just couldn't be channeled into words. I was speechless, it was finally time to die. All we could do was look into each other's eyes, both knowing what the other thought, both knowing the words that were begging to come out. I mouthed her my final words in utter silence, "Goodbye.. I love you.."

Seemingly out of nowhere, a machine leapt up into the cold night air, making a loud metallic hissing noise. The machine had perfect timing, it jabbed me in the side with a blade the instant it touched down to the ground. Like a sewing needle, the blade stabbed into my side repeatedly, over and over again.. With every time the blade dug into me, I lost another bit of my conscience. I was numb to the world, I felt dizzy, and tired. She was still looking into my eyes when I fell over. She could see every bit of it; Watching the blood flow, watching me clutch my side, praying for relief. In absolute shock, she stood aside, watching me become this machine's meal.

I looked down, and watched with amazement. The thing was really tearing me apart, my body was no longer recognizable. In awe, she stood by and saw me become a twisted heap of bloody meat.

The machine was finally ready for the kill; it started jabbing away at my heart, violently digging into my chest. In pure terror, she stood aside and watched the horrible contraption mercilessly end me.