"Snake...I..I'm.." Her voice, terribly hoarse, was filled with
pain, affecting Snake more than he had first believed.

He had heard that tune before, from people wich wish was only to let go, to die a honorable death. How...could she? So young...a rookie..God Meryl, why did you become a
soldier? You weren't meant to be..I'm sure...I've seen soldiers. Lots of
them. And none...like you.

"Schh..." His hands held her body so that they
could see each others face, but she whimpered by the pain it caused. He
understood, her body was filled with bullets, only her face had remained
untouched. His hand gently brushed away some of the tears, starting to drop
from her beautiful green eyes. Oh no, not tears. He couldn't take that.
Meryl's hand moved to his forehead, slowly moving down to his lips, telling
him to be silent."No Snake...please, listen...I..fought...and I did..did,
what I c-could..."

I...did?

"Meryl, I'm not gonna let you die! Not on Shadow Moses, not here, never! Do
you hear me?!" Meryl kept looking at him, at a way that could have brought
even the heart of the strongest man to tears. He could hear his own voice
being hard, but only because..

He knew.

It was too late.

Blood stained the snow, making violent crimson patterns, playing with Snakes
mind, much more than he liked. Her blood.Why? It was him who deserved to be
lying there, dying. After all what he had did in his life...god knows how
many people he had killed, and how many was left to kill. Only he knew, he
would have taken the shots for her.He had never wished to do that for anyone
before.It was him, who should have bled the blood that was stained on the
snow...not Meryl! She was too young, too innocent...she had never really
killed, never really seen what war could make out of a man. Or a
woman..."S-snake...I love..you..."Love? Was he hearing this? He opened his
mouth to say something, but shut it again when realizing he was out of
words. Was she really saying..."Meryl..." He couldn't even hear his own
husky voice, but somehow Meryl managed to. He could see by her compassionate
smile, at least twice as compassionate as her blue eyes.

She took his hand and placed a soft kiss on it, sending a gentle thrill
through Snake's arm. "Snake please...as I said before...live...yo-you can't
live a life, and keep thinking about me...you need to go on..the
world...needs you...so do I..." Her words touched him so deeply, he could do
nothing but look at her, and comfort her. he wanted to stay with her, hold
her tight, embrace her with all the tenderness he possesed. Till the end.
All these words he wanted to let out, the massive weight on his shoulders he
wanted to throw off...he couldn't seem to. But..he just wanted to tell
her...His mind cut off, fully focused on Meryl when he found out her lips
was pressing against his own.She pulled back, leaving a stinging pain in
Snakes chest. Not because it had hurt him, not at all, he just...didn't want
her to stop... "Meryl...I love you..." He said, for the first time all sure
by himself. The kiss had proofed it, the feeling flowing through his
bloodstream when he felt her cupid lips against his...it could only mean
love.

God.

He said it.

"I love you..I do...I always wanted to tell... but..." Snakes voice froze.
Meryl was staring out in the air, like not paying attention. Snake gently
gave her hand a squeeze, expecting her to respond. But her head just turned,
when he shook her. He didn't believe what he had just seen. "No..." Panicly,
his index-finger pressed upon the spot below her jaw.

Dead.

"NOOOO!!" He yelled so loud that a flock of birds flew up to the sky, their
squalls was swallowed by the darkness of the alaskan night. "She..didn't
even..." No...what if she had not heard what he said? Why didn't he just
tell before...They could have lived together.. "Meryl..." No, he thought for
himself, quickly rising from the snow. No, I can't sit here, moaning
forever...damn! He cursed in his mind gritting his teeth in pure anger. That
was when his codec beeped. "Snake! What the hell is going on out there?!"
The colonels voice sounded angry and confused, and Snake understood. They
hadn't been in contact for about two hours, since they got ambushed. How was
he going to explain? That the old mans last remaining family, had just died
in his arms... "Roy..." The colonel didn't answer, maybe a little surprised
by hearing Snake call him by his real name. "Where's...Meryl?" A small tune
of softness and worry appeared in the old mans voice, making it even worse
for Snake, to explain. "She's..." Snake closed his eyes, the last word
escaping his lips as a whisper. "Dead." The colonel didn't respond. Snake
guessed he was in shock. As so he was himself. Words couldn't describe the
overhelming feelings of guilt and regrets, picking small pieces of his
strength off. "No.." Was the only word the commander managed to spoke.

"I'll...I'll send a helicopter out there to pick you up. Stay in
position..." "Roy...I did...I'm so-" The colonel interrupted."Dont...say
anything Snake..It'll just make it worse." "Roy...I loved her..." He
breathed a moaning sigh. "I know Snake. I'll see you in a few hours, okay?"
The transmission ended, leaving behind a angry and lonely man. Snake turned
his head, his bandana's ends flew in his face, touching the old scars. He
looked at Meryl, feeling the moist glancing in his eyes. He picked her up,
sitting down on the snowy ground, his hand behind her neck, and the other
under her legs. Her eyes was still open, and if it wasn't because he knew
she was dead, he would've sworn she was watching him. Then he remembered
something Meryl said, only a couple of days ago.

"Spirits never die. Maybe the body will bleed, and the spirit will leave it
behind, but the spirit will always remain untouched."

"You're were right Meryl..." His voice gently purred, kissing her cold lips
slightly. "You're not dead. Never."

"Tell me, I'm not alone
tell me, we are not alone in this world
fighting against the wind
Do you remember the time
when simple things made you happy?
do you remember the time
when little things made you laugh?
You know
life can be simple
you know
life is simple
Because
the best thing in life is yet to come
Because...
...the best is yet to come."

Authors note: Well, this was kind of the introduction to the story, a quite
sad one. Believe me, it was hard to write, because Meryl is my favorite
character.

To your information, I can say this happened a week after Meryl and Snake
escaped from Shadow Moses. Beware, more chapters are soon coming!

Adaki ^_^