You're My Nicotine

She ran unsteadily down the stone path, her knees about to give way any second, but she refused to stop. She kept her hand clutched onto his as they ran for their life through the dark cemetery. Her feet hurt so bad she felt as if she’d been treading on hot coal. They came to a stop.

Gasping for breath, he strained his ears to pick up any sound. They were being followed, they knew it. Her chest became tight and it was getting increasingly harder for her to breathe.

They had stopped under the light of a street lamp. Peering into the distance, he tried to make out the outline of a tall figure. But to no avail. A sense of an eerie presence had settled over the graveyard.

Dodging around crumbling tombstones and dead, rotting flowers they tried to escape their fears. Running now, her nose came to contact with a wall, the wall of the mausoleum. She could taste the blood on her lips.

Stepping into the mausoleum, she cupped her free hand over her nose and squeezed his hand tighter, telling him how scared she was. The place was deserted with a dead atmosphere, they could hear the echoing of their converse shoes on the marble floor.

Tip. Tap. Tip. Tap.

She felt like they weren’t alone. Water drip-dropped onto her head from above her, her breathing was heavy and her heart was in her throat.

Halting to a stop, they listened.

Tip. Tap. Tip. Tap.

They knew they weren’t alone.

Picking up their speed, they ran to the back exit of the mausoleum and crouched down behind it.

"I'm going to go find a way out of here," he said, letting go of her hand.

"No!" she cried.

"Just stay here."

"I'm coming with you."

"No, you’re not,” he told her.

“I’m not letting you go alone.”

“Don’t argue with me! I don't want you to get hurt, you’re safe here."

"What if you don't come back?" she asked, fear in her voice.

He held her face in his hands and said, "I will come back, I won't leave you here."

"But what if you don't?" She felt the tears stinging her eyes.

"If I don't come back within the next five minutes..." he replied. "... Then run. Run as fast as you can to find a way out of here, and all the way home, alright?" A tear rolled down her cheek. "You run, you understand me?" he told her.

She nodded as a more tears fell from her eyes.

"Don't cry," he whispered softly as he wiped them away, "I'll be back soon." He kissed her bleeding lips, "I love you." And with that, he was gone.

She stayed crouched behind the wall, struggling to keep the tears back so she wouldn't be heard.

A minute went by. Nothing.

Another minute went by. She felt hopeless and had never been more terrified in her life.

Three minutes had gone. Still nothing.

The suspense was making her feel sick, she didn't know how much more of this she could take.

One more minute passed and she began to sob quietly, feeling asthough he wouldn't come back.

A cry of pain found its way to her ears and she stopped breathing. Her heart dropped as she heard another howl of pain. His howl of pain.

Her hand flew to her mouth as she tried so hard not to scream out.

They had got him, she knew they had. She had to get out of there.

She stood up and started to run. Shaking with fear, her hurting eyes searched for a way out. She had no idea where she was going, if she was heading in the right direction, but she knew she had to take that risk.

She wanted desperately to go back for him. She wanted to save him, but knew she couldn’t. As she was about to give up, she saw it.

The exit.