(For trucherrygirl.)

Red Amongst the Blue

Tru arrived at the cliff out of breath. She looked around, frantically trying to find the person she had to save. He was nowhere in sight. She clenched her jaw and glanced at her watch, thinking the worst. Maybe she was too late. Maybe this would count as another loss. Another life she couldn't save.

She gingerly stepped toward the cliff's edge. It ended abruptly and led to dark crashing waters below. The water seemed eager to lick at the cliff over and over again; it was like a happy puppy that would for the rest of its life do the same thing over and over as long as it was able to. The rocks at the bottom were taking a beating.

Then she saw something. A flash of red amongst the deep blue of the water. It disappeared as quickly as she had spotted it. She squinted at the water, trying to catch another glimpse. Nothing. Something like fear ate at her insides. Was she too late after all?

She took a few steps back from the cliff and sat on the grass, her body growing heavy and limp. It wasn't often she lost someone, but every time she did, it hurt like hell. This time was worse. This time, it was personal. She knew the person she had lost.

She knew him too well.

She cursed herself for letting him into her life. She had let herself grow close with him despite their differences. In a sense, they were true opposites. Their career goals could not be further apart. Their life goals, though… that is where it got tricky.

Both of them had wanted a happy and peaceful life. It was destiny that they wouldn't have that, whether together or apart. Destiny had called both of them for their opposing positions. They'd had no say at all in how things played out - well, to an extent, they had no control. What they could control was sometimes life and death.

This time, it appeared death had won. She caught a glimpse of Jack's limp form in the water. He didn't struggle against the waves. He was already gone.

Tru let out a sob and let out the pain she'd been holding in since she saw the flash of Jack's jacket in the water. It absorbed her, washed over her. They'd had their differences - plenty of differences - but she cried for him, just as she had for others she had lost. She cried for what they could have had.

And then she stood pulled herself together and stood up.

No matter the side he was on, there was no escaping death when it really wanted you. Some people, like Jack, she supposed, just weren't meant for this world.

fin.