The Locket

He knew that the new world was dangerous. He knew that he was never going to live a full life in a world so devoid of life. He knew that he shouldn't be doing something so pointless....but he couldn't help himself. He had wanted to bring some happiness into the darkness of the new world. He had thought that he could sneak off into the city and find something small to bring back with him. Something that was small and easy to keep with you while you were constantly on the move. Something that you could look down at and smile at from time to time. He had found the perfect something but now he lay on the ground, bleeding profusely, and unable to move. He knew that he didn't have much longer in this world.

He was well aware that this trip hadn't been worth his life but he had done everything in his power to be as careful as possible. He had been on his way back, in the homestretch, so close to getting back to camp. He should have been far away from the dangers of the city but, then again, nowhere was safe anymore. Anyone left alive would do anything to stay alive. Some of those would do anything to see others suffer for a brief feeling of power in a world where there was so little left to make one feel powerful. He had been lucky to avoid those types of people and their traps for so long but today was not his lucky day.

He could hear them in the distance, shouting and cheering for their prize. His screams of pain were like music to their ears. He had been unable to help himself when he first got caught in their trap but he was doing his damnedest to keep those sounds to himself now. He wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of listening to him suffer. He wasn't going to spend the last moments of his life giving them what they wanted. He just wished his heart would stop before they got there; before they got to watch the life leave his eyes.

Clutching the item that he risked his life to get, his eyes couldn't help but fill with tears. Today was meant to be special. This was supposed to be a gift for the love of his life. The person that he didn't want to live without and that he was now leaving alone. They may never even know what happened to him. They might think that he just decided to leave on his own without a word, never to return, when in reality all he had wanted to do was bring them back a special gift to bring a smile to their face.

The sounds of the hunters were getting closer. He took in a deep, shaky breath as he brought his hand close to his face and opened his clenched fist to reveal the heart shaped locket that was the reason behind his current situation. The slightest chuckle left his lips as he looked over it one last time. His life was ending over something that probably wouldn't have been worn even if he had managed to get back to camp. Not many men would wear a heart shaped locket around their neck just because it was gifted to them by the one they loved. “...I'm such an idiot...” Was the last thing that he said before the group of hunters finally reached their destination. He clenched his fist once more and brought it close to his chest as he tried his best to ignore the pain and think of nothing but the face of the man he loved.