Everything was a blur. The stairs seemed to have no end as I fell down, my legs becoming covered with scrapes and cuts. I slid my hands up the bare walls in hope of finding a railing to grab onto, but I found nothing. I could hear screams echoing, and I soon realised they were not just mine. Lockwood. I attempted to turn my head upwards to find out if he, too, was falling but it was no use. I could feel the temperature dropping as I tumbled down the hard concrete stairs, which it continued to do until I finally reached the floor.
With a loud thud I landed, barely able to see where I was. A ceiling was clear a few meters above me, with intricate patterns painted onto it, but everything else was blurry. I lay there, silent, for a while. I'm not sure how long it was before he came to get me. Lockwood. His strong arms were wrapped around me, carrying me away from all of the destruction we'd caused. Flames licked and spat at us as Lockwood skillfully lead us towards an exit, making sure the fire was nowhere near me.
"W-w-where's George?" I managed to croak, every breath causing pain in numerous places in my chest. He pressed a finger to my lips, silencing me. My heartbeat quickened as I realised it...
...Lockwood was sacrificing George's life for mine. His best friend for many years, dead. And all for me. I looked up at the man my life was, quite literally, in the hands of, studying his face from such an odd angle. His jaw was more defined this way and his chin looked far pointier. Nevertheless, he still looked as handsome as he always did. His eyes showed determination, an emotion he often had. But this time, it was different. He was hurt. He'd lost his best friend. His other half. His brother.
After what felt like hours, but was merely minutes, we finally reached an exit. A door, about two meters high, stood before us, it's red paint chipped and covered with spider webs. My head was pressed against Lockwood's chest; I was so close that I could hear his unsteady yet calming heartbeat. He gazed down at me, studying my face for any marks or bruises. His eyes stopped on each of them as he gulped, realising what he had done.
"Lockwood," I whispered, the cut on my top lip stinging every time I moved it. "The door." He coughed awkwardly, realising that he had been staring at my face for the past few minutes, and kicked the door open. It revealed a small room with a bed, a table and a lamp. It wasn't much, but it was more comfort that we'd had the whole time we'd been in the house. He placed me down on the bed, which felt no more comfortable then concrete. Next to the bed he positioned himself on the floor, sitting and watching me. For a while I drifted in and out of sleep, the flashbacks of my previous experiences replaying in my mind, but after while I finally fell into a peaceful slumber.
This, however, was interrupted after less than an hour by a faint noise that I couldn't quite place. I allowed my eyes a second to adjust to the darkness, then pushed myself into a sitting position. Every muscle in my body ached, but I had to find out what the noise was. I listened intently, not daring even to breath, until I realised what it was. Lockwood was crying. My eyes darted around the room until I found him in the corner, his head in his hands, sobbing uncontrollably. Not once had I seen Lockwood in any mood but cheerful, and seeing him in this state left me completely shocked. I went through my options in my head. I could go over and comfort him, or I could pretend to be asleep. No, I couldn't just let him cry.
I pushed myself up, reassuring myself that although I was in so much pain, Lockwood needed comforting more than I needed rest. I ambled over to where he was sitting, my steps echoing around the empty room. Sliding down next to him, I stared at the innocent boy next to me, wondering what on Earth he had done to deserve the loss of his best friend. Cautiously, I wrapped an arm around him, hugging him to my chest. He didn't flinch or gasp, he simply continued to cry, and I let him. We sat like that for the rest of the night, unprepared for the next day. We had nothing but each other, but that was all we needed.
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