200 Words--The Amber Elevator

The amber dripping from the holes in my hands scared them, I think. They raised their flintlocks and fired in unison, as though commanded by gods.

I tried to dash to the side. It’s hard to do that when you’ve lost most of your blood.

I fell into the elevator with a soft thud beside Hera’s feet. She looked down at me like a cat to a dead dog, and then dragged my feet inside and hit the button for the enth floor. The elevator ascended like an angel.

“I never wanted it to end this way,” she said.

“I’m so sorry,” I said.

I could see the redness dripping from her tear ducts and knew that I’d really done it this time.

“I’m so sorry,” I said again.

“Don’t say you’re sorry,” she said. “I told you it makes you sound weak.”

All the while I pulled the knife from its sheath within my coat. “I have to do it.”

She reached into her chest and pulled out her heart, and handed it down to me.

I stuck the knife into the gears and held the heart tightly. My fingers slipped once but by then the universe had stopped.