Copyright 2000

Neil tried to open his eyes, but for some reason he couldn't. Everything was dark, and he felt cold.

So very cold, like he had jumped into the icy waters of the deep ocean. He had a funny taste in his mouth and he could hear someone singing.

No, not someone, Kim.

It was his Kim singing to him. But why was she singing so funny, and why was he so cold?

Finally Neil managed to open his eyes and the first thing he felt was raw pain. Like every fiber of his body was broken and he could feel life slipping away from him.

His mouth was wet and tasted odd.

Tasted like blood.

Then it started to comeback to him.

The car, and the pain flooded back into his mind.

He remembered pushing the little girl out of the way and taking the full force of the impact.

He remembered flying into the air like a bird and then the crashing down into the hood and window of the car and then nothing.

"K-Kim," Neil tried to say, but it hurt so much and his mouth filled with blood.

Everything was blurry and he couldn't make out everyone hovering over him.

Then he saw her.

Kim.

She came into focus while the other images faded from his eyesight.

He could see ever color of her beads in her long black hair. How he loved her black hair and those beads.

Her face looked pained and he felt like it was his fault for making her hurt so much.

Her brown eyes helped him forget his pain as he looked into them wanting to tell her how much he loved her.

He wanted to give her the ring he had just bought her and ask her to be his wife and damn his family and what they felt.

He looked at her full lips and wanted to kiss her like tomorrow would never come.

Wanted to kiss every inch of her naked coconut skin and savor her black beauty.

He wanted to take her large dark nipples into his mouth and taste her to drink in her beauty and never let go again.

But most of all he wanted to tell he loved her and only her.

"Neil, hold on!" Kim cried to him and he wanted to speak, but his mouth was filling up with blood and he felt so tired.

So very tired.

"HOLD ON!" came Kim's command and Neil tired to look at her face again, but the image was gone and he couldn't feel her close to him any more.

"Crazy bitch," came a strange man's voice.

Neil wanted to know who the man was talking about.

Not his Kim.

If he was, Neil wanted to punch him and defend his love.

"Where'd she go?" came another man's voice.

"Who cares, how's he doing?" the first man asked.

There was a long pause and Neil knew they where talking about him.

"Not good, he's slipping fast and..." the man answer the first but stopped.

"Christ lady what are you doing now?" the second man yelled.

Neil could feel Kim was back to him and wanted to tell her what the man had said about her.

He could hear the faint sound of tearing and tried to look and see what it was.

The world came back to him and he saw Kim, and the two men behind her.

Both of them where cops and didn't look too happy.

Neil could feel something wet on his hands and managed to lift it to his face. It was covered in blood.

His blood.

Why was Kim singing to him again? What are those strange words?

"Lady what are you doing with that doll!?" the first cop yelled.

He was older then Neil, maybe about 45, and had red hair and a beard.

Neil didn't like the way he was looking at Kim.

"Christ lady, what in the fuck are you doing?" the second man asked.

He was younger then the first and closer to Neil's age.

24.

God, he hurt so much.

Kim was still singing to him and he wanted so much to close his eyes and sleep, but he knew if he did that he would never wake, and never see his Kim again.

"Neil, you must fight the darkness!" Kim cried to him and he looked her way again.

She seemed to be glowing with a blinding orange light and Neil felt drawn to the light and tried to move, but his body wouldn't move.

"Take the doll Neil, and hold it for me," Kim begged him.

Neil fought and managed to open his hand and felt her put something small and cold in his hand.

It felt like plastic.

What was he holding?

It hurt Neil to move his head, but he wanted to see what was in his hand.

"Lady move away and let them work," the second man said.

"Neil lost his train of thought for a second and looked back.

He saw two people in white above him.

One was a woman, the other a man.

Angels?

He felt his shirt being torn off him and the woman gasp.

"CHARGE!" the woman's ally said.

Charge?

Then Neil felt a jolt in his body, and his mind filled with raw pain.

"Again!" the man ordered, and Neil wanted to tell him no, but he couldn't talk now.

"Fight for me Neil!" Kim cried to him.

The jolt was back, but stronger this time and the pain filled him like never before.

Then he remembered his goal.

The doll in his hand, the last gift from his love.

He turned to where he last remembered his hand was, and prayed it was still there, as he felt that if it wasn't, he didn't have the strength to look for it again.

"Christ, what is he holding?" the woman cried.

"His girlfriend gave it too him," the older cop said.

Neil eyes fought back the veil of darkness and looked at his hand.

The image was blurry, but Neil could tell it was some kind of doll.

He managed to make out something long and gold behind the dolls head. It took him a moment to place the image in his mind.

The third jolt help bring everything into light.

Suddenly everything was clear.

He could see the torn sleeve of his dark blue jacket.

He saw the blood on his hand and saw what he was holding.

It was a Barbie doll.

It had on a white dress, which was now covered, along with much of her face with his blood.

Even the fine gold hair was covered with his blood.

His lifeblood.

A fourth and fifth jolt hit him back to back and Neil heard his voice cry out in pain, but couldn't remember what he said.

"He's gone," the woman's partner said.

Neil felt a jolt stronger then anything the man had done hit him and pain filled every part of him.

Every cell in his body cried out in pain, but no sound came forth.

It was like his soul was being torn apart. Bit by bit.

"HOLD ON NEIL!" Kim cried. He could tell she was crying.

"Fuck, will you get her out of here!" the man above him yelled.

Neil looked at the doll.

The Barbie doll again.

He saw its blue painted eyes, small lips and creamy white skin caked with his blood as the pain washed over him again and again.

He was much colder now, and the world had gone black again, but he could still feel the plastic doll in his hands.

It was strange.

Then Neil felt nothing.

Not even the icy coldness he had felt seconds before.

The world was fading out too.

Sounds vanished around him.

He couldn't hear the sounds of the police cars or the ambulance now. He heard bits and pieces of people talking but couldn't understand what they said.

Then she spoke again.

"Officer, can I have my doll back?" Kim said filling his dark world with her soft voice. She was pleading to them.

"Sure lady, sure," the younger cop said.

Neil felt like he was floating in the darkness toward Kim, and the light she gave off, but all around him was a dark void.

He thought he heard Kim's voice singing out to him in the darkness. Felt like she was holding to her bosom, keeping him safe from the world.

Dreamed that he was inside that little blonde Barbie doll.

Then Neil's world faded on him as his mind fell into the darkness around him.

The END?