Running

Word count: 242. First story written! Comments/critiques please.

"That's just a chance we'll have to take."

He sounded so calm. I tore my eyes away from the water crashing miles below us to stare at him. "Didn't you hear me?" I shouted, as if raising my voice would somehow pierce the weird funk that surrounded him. "If we jump we could die!"

Something contorted in his face, and he grabbed my wrist hard enough to make me yelp with surprised pain. "If we stay here we will die," he snarled. As if on cue, there was a distant, thunderous roar behind us. He released me and returned to staring at the water, a grim, determined look on his face.

I ached with how much I loved him. We had been running for so long, and after all this time, I didn't want to lose him. It had been five of us to begin with, but one by one the thing behind us picked them off, until it was just Ben and me.

I felt a gentle touch on my face, and I looked up into his eyes. They were the color of the summer sky, a bright spot in this cold and foreign land.

"Together," he whispered. Another roar, even louder and closer. It sounded angry, like it knew what we were about to do. I took his hand and squeezed with all my might as we stepped up to the edge.

"I love you." And we jumped.