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Jax's heart beat so fast in his chest he thought it would explode. He could feel sweat in his fur. Jax's skin didn't feel right over his bones.
He smiled.
"So, you gonna shoot me or what?" he said, his fingers cocked like a gun to his head.
For a moment, the room was silent as Jax waited for the bullet to pierce his skull.
"What would you do if I abstracted tomorrow?" Pomni said abruptly, voice small. Quiet.
Jax hesitated for a moment, surprised. Something - some unknown feeling - spiked inside him. He took a breath, forcing his face into a neutral expression before turning to face her.
"I'd move on." his arms hung limply at his sides. "And probably forget about you."
Pomni's eyes widened, and her fists clenched with hurt. "Okay." She paused, the words sinking in. "Okay."
"I understand." She turned away from him, and Jax could see the way her body trembled. The way the gun trembled.
Guilt bloomed in his chest, but Jax hastily shoved it down. "Geez," he forced a chuckle. "You really can't take a joke, can you?"
And suddenly, Pomni wasn't shaking anymore. She stood up straighter, stock-still.
"...Pomni-?"
Quicker than Jax could react, the gun was raised to her head and the trigger pulled with a loud bang!
Her body disappeared in a puff of smoke before he could even blink. Before he could even breathe.
And for a moment. There was n o t h i n g .
No noise. No Pomni. No Ribbit.
"I'm... alone." Jax muttered, barely a whisper.
I'm alone." he said again, voice getting loud.
"I'M ALONE!" he nearly shrieked, a humorless, insane laugh clawing its way from his throat.
Laughter racked his body until he was too shaky to stand up straight. He sunk to the ground, arms wrapped around his body, hand clutching his overalls as if to hold himself together.
A minute passed as his laughter died down. Another as he stood back up, dusted off his clothes. A third as a wobbly grin spread across his face.
A fourth as he pushed open the doors of a old-style theater.
A fifth as clutched the bathroom sink, whispering,
"I am alone."