The Damned
One-shot
A girl sat, hunched, in a corner of her small, dark bedroom. Her hands were clasped together in prayer and were shaking badly, There was a sort of quiet desperation in the room; she radiated it and was steeped in it.
The girl let her head fall downwards so that her forehead rested on her white knuckles. A quiet, unceasing murmur issued from her lips -- she was praying, harder than she ever had before. The intensity of it showed on her face: the squeezed-shut eyes, the creased forehead, the tightly-clenched jaw.
"Dear God," she whispered, barely audible. "I know it's selfish of me and I know she is yours. But God, please, please don't take Ally. I know you have every right to, but please don't. We need her. I need her.
"She's an amazing girl, Lord. She's an amazing girl, a wonderful friend, a great person. Please, God, please don't take her. She deserves more, so much more, than this. Please, God, cure her, protect her, help her stay strong.
"In Jesus' name we pray, amen."
Her eyes opened, pupils dilated to accommodate the surrounding darkness. She realised that she was tensed, even in the comfort and familiarity of her own room. Still trembling, she dragged herself into bed.
She stared up at the top bunk of the double-decker bed, unable to sleep. She counted the wooden planks that supported the mattress above her -- there were twelve of them exactly. Closing her eyes, she remembered her friend's words to her:
I promise, cross my soggy heart, I would pray, even if I would die as you will live. I'd rather die for you than have to risk being alive with Cancer and you not here to confide comfort in everything you say. I'm fine in dying with Cancer, as long as everyone else whom I love will remain safe. I just can't risk losing any one of you.
Her eyes swam with tear as they had done when she had first read those words. That girl was so pure, so selfless; surely someone like that shouldn't be going through so much pain? There was no easing the heaviness she felt in her stomach, for Ally had touched feelings she never knew she had. Emotions coursed through her and raged inside her head: worry, desperation, fear and love -- not the way she had loved him but the same love she felt for her best friend.
She did love her and she meant every 'I love you, Ally' she had ever typed. It occurred to her that All y was the best friend she had never met -- and possibly might never meet.
She thought about the upcoming MCR concert in the Philippines and she smiled; Ally had been lucky enough to get VIP passes to the show and would be meeting her heroes in person. She deserves it, she thought. She really does. I'm happy for her. She didn't realise it, but her eyelids had begun to droop, a sleepy smile still playing on her face.
The last thing she thought before drifting off to sleep was, I love you, Ally. Please be okay.
The girl let her head fall downwards so that her forehead rested on her white knuckles. A quiet, unceasing murmur issued from her lips -- she was praying, harder than she ever had before. The intensity of it showed on her face: the squeezed-shut eyes, the creased forehead, the tightly-clenched jaw.
"Dear God," she whispered, barely audible. "I know it's selfish of me and I know she is yours. But God, please, please don't take Ally. I know you have every right to, but please don't. We need her. I need her.
"She's an amazing girl, Lord. She's an amazing girl, a wonderful friend, a great person. Please, God, please don't take her. She deserves more, so much more, than this. Please, God, cure her, protect her, help her stay strong.
"In Jesus' name we pray, amen."
Her eyes opened, pupils dilated to accommodate the surrounding darkness. She realised that she was tensed, even in the comfort and familiarity of her own room. Still trembling, she dragged herself into bed.
She stared up at the top bunk of the double-decker bed, unable to sleep. She counted the wooden planks that supported the mattress above her -- there were twelve of them exactly. Closing her eyes, she remembered her friend's words to her:
I promise, cross my soggy heart, I would pray, even if I would die as you will live. I'd rather die for you than have to risk being alive with Cancer and you not here to confide comfort in everything you say. I'm fine in dying with Cancer, as long as everyone else whom I love will remain safe. I just can't risk losing any one of you.
Her eyes swam with tear as they had done when she had first read those words. That girl was so pure, so selfless; surely someone like that shouldn't be going through so much pain? There was no easing the heaviness she felt in her stomach, for Ally had touched feelings she never knew she had. Emotions coursed through her and raged inside her head: worry, desperation, fear and love -- not the way she had loved him but the same love she felt for her best friend.
She did love her and she meant every 'I love you, Ally' she had ever typed. It occurred to her that All y was the best friend she had never met -- and possibly might never meet.
She thought about the upcoming MCR concert in the Philippines and she smiled; Ally had been lucky enough to get VIP passes to the show and would be meeting her heroes in person. She deserves it, she thought. She really does. I'm happy for her. She didn't realise it, but her eyelids had begun to droop, a sleepy smile still playing on her face.
The last thing she thought before drifting off to sleep was, I love you, Ally. Please be okay.