The Rainbow Maker's Tale by Melanie Cusick-Jones

  * * *

  I used to walk, but now I crawl.

  There is no energy in my spirit, no strength in my muscles.

  For all I have tried to protect Cassie – to save both of us – all I can see now is that our demise is inevitable. Whatever else these creatures may be, I know that they are relentless.

  It will not continue much longer, I think. They come back only to pump more drugs into my body – I’m sure that soon I will be subjected to the same awful fate I was forced to watch Joel endure.

  To my surprise, I envy him…that he is already dead and yet my suffering continues… All I wish for is death, knowing that I have failed myself. Failed Cassie. The knowledge that I would never see her again was killing me just as much as everything else these creatures had done... There was no escape from the shadows that were drawing closer to drag us away into the unending darkness. My vision dimmed.

  Closing my eyes tightly I sought her face in my mind. It blossomed into focus, beautiful and bright, chasing away the gathering blackness as she illuminated my thoughts.

  This was not enough.

  This was all I had.