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Disclaimer: Not my characters.
A/N: For the pretender100 "alternate universe" challenge. Title borrowed from a novel by Zakes Mda.
Ways of Dying
Melanie-Anne
i. crackerjack smile
She stares at the boy. He still looks like her friend, but something is missing.
His eyes are different.
She wants to cry.
"Miss Parker, what are you doing here?"
She turns to smile at the newcomer. "Hey, Timmy. I just – I wanted to see how Jarod was."
"He's not Jarod anymore."
She nods sadly and this time the tears do fall. "Why'd they do this to him?"
Timmy shrugs. "It was Dr. Raines."
She shudders. She knows all about Raines (she's only seen him once – he looked like the bogeyman).
She kisses Jarod's cheek then hands him a crackerjack.
ii. bang bang
"God, Jarod, I'm so sorry."
She kneels over him, pale with fright. He wants to tell her he's okay but it's surprisingly hard to breathe.
There's another voice. Kyle. "Help him somebody!"
Her hands are on his chest. A tear lands on his cheek. She bends her head to kiss it away, and his heart feels so full it could burst.
"Hang in there, okay?"
He really, really wants to do what she asks, but her voice is so far away and it's getting dark—
"Come on, Jarod! Don't give up now!"
Don't sound so sad, he wants to say.
iii. snow white
He sees her stumble into her father's arms, her blood scarlet on her white jacket. His eyes meet Mr. Parker's, mirroring disbelief and shock.
He can't (won't) leave her to die.
(She never even had a chance.)
He refuses to give up and applies pressure to the wound even as she lies dying in his arms.
Her eyes are the bluest he's ever seen but her skin is too pale and he knows she's losing the battle.
She smiles as he presses a kiss to her lips. (She's too cold!)
Dammit, Parker, breathe!
His heart dies right there alongside her.
iv. Bomb
She's trapped under a wooden board. She's sure her leg is broken. Her head hurts. She gingerly feels for a bump, pulling her hand away when she finds hair matted with blood instead.
Shit. This may be worse than she thought.
Maybe she can move the board and—
And what? Crawl out of this tunnel?
Better than sitting around waiting to be rescued.
She immediately regrets it as pain rips through her torso. She looks down, seeing a metal rod protruding from her abdomen.
Yeah, definitely worse than she thought.
She closes her eyes, praying for either rescue or death.
v. the ride of your life
There is no way he can safely land the plane. It shouldn't end like this, he thinks. Fate's cheating him out of the happy ending he so desperately wants.
"Parker! I need you up here!"
She enters the cockpit, closing the door behind her. "What?"
He wishes he could lie to her but that's something he's never been capable of. He doesn't need to speak; she reads the truth in his eyes.
"You're sure?"
He nods.
"Okay." She sits in the co-pilot's seat, takes his hand, and waits for the impact.
He wonders if there's enough time to kiss her.
A/N: For the pretender100 "alternate universe" challenge. Title borrowed from a novel by Zakes Mda.
Ways of Dying
Melanie-Anne
i. crackerjack smile
She stares at the boy. He still looks like her friend, but something is missing.
His eyes are different.
She wants to cry.
"Miss Parker, what are you doing here?"
She turns to smile at the newcomer. "Hey, Timmy. I just – I wanted to see how Jarod was."
"He's not Jarod anymore."
She nods sadly and this time the tears do fall. "Why'd they do this to him?"
Timmy shrugs. "It was Dr. Raines."
She shudders. She knows all about Raines (she's only seen him once – he looked like the bogeyman).
She kisses Jarod's cheek then hands him a crackerjack.
ii. bang bang
"God, Jarod, I'm so sorry."
She kneels over him, pale with fright. He wants to tell her he's okay but it's surprisingly hard to breathe.
There's another voice. Kyle. "Help him somebody!"
Her hands are on his chest. A tear lands on his cheek. She bends her head to kiss it away, and his heart feels so full it could burst.
"Hang in there, okay?"
He really, really wants to do what she asks, but her voice is so far away and it's getting dark—
"Come on, Jarod! Don't give up now!"
Don't sound so sad, he wants to say.
iii. snow white
He sees her stumble into her father's arms, her blood scarlet on her white jacket. His eyes meet Mr. Parker's, mirroring disbelief and shock.
He can't (won't) leave her to die.
(She never even had a chance.)
He refuses to give up and applies pressure to the wound even as she lies dying in his arms.
Her eyes are the bluest he's ever seen but her skin is too pale and he knows she's losing the battle.
She smiles as he presses a kiss to her lips. (She's too cold!)
Dammit, Parker, breathe!
His heart dies right there alongside her.
iv. Bomb
She's trapped under a wooden board. She's sure her leg is broken. Her head hurts. She gingerly feels for a bump, pulling her hand away when she finds hair matted with blood instead.
Shit. This may be worse than she thought.
Maybe she can move the board and—
And what? Crawl out of this tunnel?
Better than sitting around waiting to be rescued.
She immediately regrets it as pain rips through her torso. She looks down, seeing a metal rod protruding from her abdomen.
Yeah, definitely worse than she thought.
She closes her eyes, praying for either rescue or death.
v. the ride of your life
There is no way he can safely land the plane. It shouldn't end like this, he thinks. Fate's cheating him out of the happy ending he so desperately wants.
"Parker! I need you up here!"
She enters the cockpit, closing the door behind her. "What?"
He wishes he could lie to her but that's something he's never been capable of. He doesn't need to speak; she reads the truth in his eyes.
"You're sure?"
He nods.
"Okay." She sits in the co-pilot's seat, takes his hand, and waits for the impact.
He wonders if there's enough time to kiss her.
