The Death of Maruco

I took him under a great oak tree. There was plenty of cover from the pouring rain and plenty of distance between us and the compound. I gently placed him at the base of the tree and quickly noticed his hide. His beautiful orange and pearly white hide was stained crimson where his ribs would have been. His breathing was shallow and uneven as he tried with all his might to get the oxygen he needed. There was a slow rasping coming from his voice as he shut his eyes with concentration. My friend was dying. My best friend of twelve years was dying and there was nothing I could do. I started to cry. Hot tears flowed down my face as I closed my eyes and put my head in my lap. Nothing I could do. I have failed my best friend.
I felt pressure on my knee and looked up to see Maruco staring into my eyes. Those gentle eyes. The eyes I turned to when I had conflicts in my world. The eyes I trusted with my own life and which I trusted to keep all my secrets. The eyes that could see beyond my face and into my mind. “ It’s alright.” He whispered to me, “you got us out, and that’s what matters.” “NO!” I cried, “I’ve failed you. And there’s nothing I can do that will change that.” My voice cracked and I began sobbing uncontrollably again. He tried to lick my tears away but that just made it worse. I clung onto his neck whispering nonsense. Every now and then I’d get a word out like “why” or “I’m sorry”. He did not respond but continued to lie still; letting me get out all of my emotions.
A minute had passed before I sat up again and could face his understanding honey-green eyes. He looked so wise in those final moments. “I love you” he said to me. He managed to get it out clearly before he began to cough. “I love you too” I whispered back with the tears still flowing like a waterfall down my cheeks. “And I will avenge you” I said louder. He smiled to that but only replied “Good. But come back alive. Be strong for both of us.” “How can I be strong if you leave me?!” I said coarsely. Perhaps I didn’t mean to be defensive against him, but my emotions overcame me and I became frustrated. “Jess, I’ll always be with you. In here” and he held his weak paw over my chest. “Don’t forget me.”
That was it. Don’t forget me. The last words I ever heard him say before he lay back down on the ground and breathed his last. I don’t remember how long I cried after that. Perhaps it was half an hour or perhaps it was two hours. All I knew was that my best friend was gone and I was left alone. The rain didn’t let up until dawn that night, but that didn’t matter. I never left his side. I slept next to him when I could find sleep and when I couldn’t, I was mourning. Burying him the next morning was the hardest thing I ever did. No, I take that back; leaving him was. We were in the middle of the forest and so he had a petty burial. Hardly worth what he meant to me, but I knew that was what I had to do. I marked his grave on the tree and turned to leave.
But there was nowhere for me to turn. Where was I supposed to go now? Then it hit me. Batman. I need to go to Batman. He housed us when we were on the run the first time; I was sure he wouldn’t turn us away again. No, turn ME away again. There was no ‘us’. There will never be an ‘us’ again until the day I die and he’s waiting for me. But until then, I’ve just got to be strong and push on for the both of us. Because that would be what Maruco would have wanted me to do.