For Whom The Bell Tolls (Complete)

As they went to the outside, both Dante and Alessa had their sights on the car, wanting to get there as soon as possible to help Clyde. As he would take his arm shakily off Dante's shoulders, Dante would at first go to hold him up, but then would see for him reaching for something, figuring he should let him. As he pulls out the black box, both Dante and Alessa turn to look at him, stopping and wondering what exactly it was. "What is it?" Dante would ask in response to his words, staring on as he opened it.

"Oooooh wow. That's really pretty!" Alessa would say, her eyes opening wide as Clyde reveals the engagement ring to the two. Hearing Clyde's words on what the ring was for, Dante would smile wide, nodding his head. "She'll love it I'm sure." Dante would say as Alessa nodded with him, agreeing with that fact. "It's beautiful, she'll be sooo happy." Alessa would say, not really knowing for sure as much as Dante would, but she couldn't imagine a girl not liking such a thing.

"We'll get you fixed up and get you home right away so you can give that to her." Dante would say with a wide smile. "You two are great together. I'm glad my sister found someone like you" Dante would add on, attempting to cheer up Clyde more, but being genuine with his words, clearly seeing that even though Clyde might be rough around the edges, deep down he cared for Heather more than anything. "So come on, let's hurry and go."

"You are with the being sure that you are with the wanting to be with the doing this?"

"Sure thing, cutie. Pull that trigger."

Valkoinen looked up at the figure and furrowed her brow. "I am not with the being responsible for you being with the here. Pleased to be with the understanding this."

"It's fine. You aren't going to kill him, are you? I don't want him to die."

Valkoinen was dressed in white camo and was laying on the roof of a building. She heaved a sigh as she checked the wind and looked through her scope. "I am with the being White Death, not White wounding weakling sissy wissy guys but if you are with the wanting to waste money then I will be with the being pleased to take it from you for an hours worth of target practice.

Valkoinen then watched as the mark and others came out. He already seemed like a wounded duck. Valkoinen gripped her gun and she narrowed her eyes. "He is with the being weakling. I am with the thinking that it is not worth the wasting bullet even if I was with the killing of him."

"Just do it. I want him alive. You're right, he's not worth killing but that bullet is worth every penny."

Valkoinen then blocked out everything and focused on the target. It only took a moment to get Clyde in her sights before she picked the spot and pulled the trigger. She'd done it so many times before that it was second nature. Once the deed was done, she began to meticulously pack up her things, not saying a word to her employee.

Meanwhile the other woman lifted up her hand and began to dial a number. She pulled it up to her ear and smiled as a quiet voice answered. "Hello? Dr. Matuschanskavasky? I hear you're the best."

Although his arms were tired and heavy, Clyde held up the engagement ring as best he could for Dante & Alessa to see. Feeling a sense of happiness and satisfaction towards the couple's reaction and voiced their approval of the gift that Clyde intended to give to Heather tonight, smiling lightly through his slightly bloodied mouth as Alessa and Dante told the battered Texan that Heather would love the ring he bought her and that she would be so happy see Clyde asking for her hand in marriage with that very ring. Alessa called it beautiful, and Clyde couldn't agree more as he stared into the violet gem that reminded him so much of Heather.

As Clyde heard Dante speak, a rush of relief soon went through him. Even after taking such a brutal beating, he didn't want to change his plans for this night. He promised Heather that he would give her this gift today and intended to keep that promise. He felt like hell right now, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. Upon hearing the rest of what Dante had to say, Clyde couldn't help but smirk in response. He was more glad that he met Heather as well. Even after everything she had done and all that had to be endured, Clyde felt it was all worth it in the end. He and Heather were in love, getting engaged and were going to raise a family together. All were such things that Clyde avoided until he Heather, and for the first time in his life, Clyde was truly happy and felt he had a bright future ahead of him. One that he intended to share with the love of his life.

"...Yeah..." Clyde would mutter out weakly in response to Dante's words, indeed ready to leave this place and see Heather already, knowing she wont be too happy to see all bloodied and bruised, but giving her this ring and popping her the question was all that mattered to him right now.

These plans for Clyde however changed with the sound of a single gunshot as a lone bullet from a nearby sniper was fired into the Texan's abdomen. All Clyde heard was a loud *BANG* emitting from behind him before he felt a warm sensation through his abdomen as his legs began to suddenly give out from under him while his body jerked back, losing his grip on Alessa and the little black box in his other hand that housed the engagement ring. The Box slipping through Clyde's fingers as he began to fall backwards, not knowing what had happened or why he was falling but only knowing that he lost his grip on the Engagement Ring's Box.

Despite being shot, some how. some way Clyde manged to jerk his arm from Alessa's grip and force himself to actually move forward in an effort to catch the ring box, desperately reaching out for it as he titled downward before he fell forward onto the hard pavement. Clyde hit the ground below hard just as the ring box did, and saw the ring itself spill out from it's box and onto the pavement of the parking lot, watching the beautiful ring tumble forth until it neared a sewer drain.

Clyde was heavily disoriented and bleeding profusely from the wound on his abdomen. Still, with everything he had, Clyde pushed himself to desperately crawl forth as he saw the ring eject from it's box and tumble forth, screaming "No! No!" over and over in his head with a crazed, almost possessed look in his eyes as he tried to reach for the engagement ring. Putting every other thought out his mind despite being shot as he tried to catch it and then crawl for it, but to no avail. The shining piece of jewelry that Clyde had bought for Heather would tumble down into drain sadly, right in front of Clyde's very eyes as drops of rain suddenly began to pour down from the blackened skies above as the Texan began bleed out on the pavement. A massive pain in his chest erupting as he saw the ring disappear right in front of him. Failing to catch it. His arm still desperately extending out before he suddenly collapsed on the pavement as the rain began to pour over his still body. Everything now growing quiet.

Dante nods his head as he hears Clyde agree with him and begins to continue walking. Alessa on the other hand, keeps her eyes on the ring that was encased in the box. It was certainly a lovely one and she herself was excited to see what Heather's reaction was going to be when Clyde gave it to her. After a few seconds she would look up at Dante, a big smile on both their faces, an almost overbearing feeling that everything was going to be just fine. Even though Clyde took a beating, he just needed some patching up and he would be safe at home with Heather soon enough.

"OK well, I didn't get to get any food in there sooo I hope you don't mind if I stop at some place and grab something to eat." Alessa says carelessly as she closes her eyes with her big smile, supporting Clyde as they headed to the car. Then, suddenly she would hear a sound that was definitely out of place. It was a loud bang, echoing through the streets as it happened. Alessa would slowly open her eyes as she felt Clyde's arm slip off her, seeing the red liquid pouring out of the boys abdomen.

"Wh-what!? Clyde!!" Dante would yell out as he would quickly look around, up above the buildings and down the street. He couldn't spot anything. It was surreal as he saw Clyde quickly jerk himself away from Alessa, reaching out for the ring. "Ah!" Dante would let out, scurrying for it as well but it was too late. He watched as it went down the drain, his heart sinking as he did. However, to Dante that wasn't nearly the main reason of worry, he watched as he saw Clyde fall to the floor and quickly rushed back over to him.

Meanwhile, as this all went down, Alessa would just stare at Clyde, her eyes and mouth open wide. She couldn't for the life of her comprehend what had just happened. The red liquid just kept flowing from the bullet wound in his abdomen and Alessa shook her head, falling to her knees as the events unfolded before her. Her mouth opened and closed but nothing came out. She was completely speechless. [size=50:p9ol6cd1]"Help me get him up!" She would look up and see Dante yelling something, but she heard nothing from his mouth. The shock of the whole thing had left her mind wandering, completely stunned as her friend was shot to the ground right in front of her, the rain pouring down hard on all of them. One wouldn't be able to see the tears that began to flow from her eyes from her wet face as she looked back down at Clyde, just shaking her head over and over.

"A...Alessa??" Dante would let out as he noticed her state. He would quickly hoist Clyde up, lifting him by himself, trying to avoid putting him in a position that would make his wound worse as he would reach out for Alessa's arm with his other hand. "C-come on." He would say, pulling her up as she allowed herself to be dragged along. Dante would quickly make his way to the car, opening the backseat and placing Clyde in it. Ripping off his shirt, he would tie it around Clyde's abdomen, hoping to stop the bleeding as much as he could. "A....Alessa...Can you stay in the back and watch him?" He would say to her with a worried look as she would slowly nod her head, entering the backseat, resting Clyde over her lap. She would continue to stare down at him, speechless as she stared at his 'bandaged' wound.

Dante would bite his lip as he saw her state, shutting the door before he quickly jumped in the driver's seat, slamming the gas as he sped off to the nearest hospital. They didn't have time to wait for an ambulance, they had to get there immediately.

After the gunshot rang out, Clyde would remain laying motionless on the ground as a cold and heavy shower of rain began to pour over his unmoving frame while Alessa looked on in sheer horror as the Texan fell to the pavement below. His blood pouring out the wound of his abdomen, mixing with the rain on the ground, creating a small miniature river of blood that flowed along the pavement and into the sewage drain where the engagement ring was lost. The sight of the precious ring that Clyde had spent so much obtain was the last thing he would see before he had blacked out on the cold wet cement below. His conscious however, remained for the moment.

"What the hell happened? What's wrong with me? Why do I feel so cold?" Clyde's inner thoughts would ring out as he faded in and out of consciousness, unable to feel or notice that Dante had hoisted his body up off of the cold wet ground. Clyde's eyes would still open just slightly however and would see a boundless black abyss that twisted and turned as he looked down at the pavement below.

"Can't move my arms. Can't move my legs. I don't even know if im breathing. Am I dying?" Clyde would ask himself as his eyes would shut involuntarily just before Dante wrapped his T-shirt around Clyde's bloodied abdomen placed him in the back of the car with Alessa who was resting the wounded Texan's head upon her lap.

"I don't want to die. I can't yet. Please don't let me." Thought the Texan as his eyes opened up ever slowly, noting the figure of a young girl with long dark hair looking over him. Though in truth it was his friend Alessa, but in his current state, Clyde would instead mistake the girl to be his beloved Heather Sunderland.

"Im... sorry... Heather... S-Ssssorry..." Clyde would mutter out weakly as he looked up at Alessa with a blank stare under his barely opened eyes. Already feeling the creeping shadow of death looming over him as he sat wounded in the back seat, feeling like his end was near and unavoidable. Prompting the wounded Texan to apologize to the mistaken sight of the woman he loved. Weakly raising his frail, shaking hand up to find her own and hold it in his hour of need, believing it was Heather. Wanting to believe it was her as he began to fade. Apologizing to Heather because he knew he would not be able to fulfill the vow he made her and spend the rest of their lives together. He apologized because he had lost the ring he planned to give her, right before asking her to become his wife. He apologized because he couldn't stay alive. He apologized because he was leaving his lover behind and would not be able to raise a family together with her. He apologized because he felt this was goodbye.

"Sssorry... L-Loove....Y-Ya" He would choke up and repeat weakly through a teary eyed gaze.

As the car sped down the roadways, Dante would tap his fingers on the steering wheel in nervousness. Clyde was dying in the back seat especially from the blood he was losing. He cursed the fact that the car wasn't going as fast as he would have liked as he put it all into trying to get to that hospital in time. He wasn't going to let Clyde die, someone he already considered as family of sorts, especially after him telling him he was going to propose to Heather. There was no way that he was going to let this stop that, stop their happiness.

As he heard Clyde suddenly begin to speak, Dante would bite his tongue, nervous at how Alessa would take it as Clyde lie there on her lap. "Come ooon.." Dante would say as he urged the car to somehow go faster. Time was something they didn't have. Fortunately the Hospital wasn't all that far away, but it was still a driving distance which meant it may be a few minutes before they get there.

In the meantime, Alessa would blink a few times as she heard Clyde begin to talk. From his words it was obvious he thought she was Heather. She didn't know what to say or do, tears began to pour from her eyes again at the sight as she felt Clyde take hold of her hand. Her mouth moved a few times, filled with silence, but finally her voice was able to escape. "Aaah C-clyde...I-It's ok...I-it's n-not your fault....you're...gonna be fine....I p-promise." Alessa would say, not wanting to tell him she wasn't Heather. She felt like he really needed this time to feel what he had to and she had hoped her sorrow filled voice mixed with her cries wouldn't give herself away.

"D-d-don't say sorry Clyde....you'll...I-I said it'll be fine...you'll... be fine....you'll..m-make it out of this...." Alessa would say as she would slowly nod her head. The whole situation was hitting her so hard. Images of when she was a child, grasping at her mother's lifeless body before she was yanked away would seep into her mind, but she fought it out. This wasn't about her, it was Clyde that was in trouble right now. She couldn't let her past stop her from taking care of her friend when he needed it.

"L...love you t-too Clyde..." Alessa would add on through her tears, responding to Clyde's words as she tried to still keep him thinking she was Heather. She figured it was best for him now. Dante would remain speechless from the driver's seat. He was amazed that Alessa was able to talk as she was now, respond and try to console him like she was. They were just about there.

Clyde remained still in the backseat of the speeding car as he rested his head upon Alessa's lap, barely hearing the girl's sorrow filled words as she tried to comfort the wounded Texas in his hour of need.

"I must of really messed up this time to get myself shot... Again..." Thought Clyde as images of the murders he committed back home in Liberty, Texas flashed through his eyes and how he survived his previous near brush with death previously.

In his delirious state of mind, Clyde mistook Alessa to be Heather, the love of his life whom he desired to see more than anyone as felt his consciousness slipping, feeling that once he shut his eyes closed and let himself drift away he would not wake up again. He felt this was his long overdue end. Alessa however, played the part of the Texan's lover as she comforted his as best she could and promised the blonde that he would be fine as Clyde held her hand within his frail, weak grip, believing it to be Heather's hand.

"I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye to ya Bonnie. I'm sorry I always held you back." Thought Clyde as remembered how he always depended on his sister for everything and could never stand alone on his own two feet and that she spend much of her life looking after him and making sure he didn't get himself into trouble. He regretted that he had been such a heavy burden to her for so long and hoped that she wouldn't blame herself or Heather for his passing. It wasn't her fault. It wasn't Heather's fault. He felt it was his own fault because he was the one dying,

"Mama I'm sorry I never was a good son to you." Muttered The Texan in his own head as images of his childhood flashed before his eyes. Seeing himself as the young disgruntled trouble maker who was always raising hell with his misfit ways anywhere he went. Disrupting or Skipping class, Stealing, Fighting, Vandalizing, Getting himself suspended on purpose just to miss school and avoid that classroom full of kids who hated him and wanted to jump him either for fun, or because he picked a fight with each and every single one of them. All of these things troubled his young mother, Betty Lou Gastin who struggled to raise her problematic son without his father, not knowing what to do with him. Even when she took a belt to his behind or slapped him silly, Clyde never changed, he only got worse as he got older. Clyde regretted every bit of stress, trouble and worry he gave his mother, who continued to be there for him despite everything he had done. She was always there for her misfit son when no one else would be. He felt she was too good a mother for him to have and that he was the only hell she ever raised.

His thoughts then trailed over to Heather as Clyde realized that he was going to be doing the same thing his father did to his mother. He was going to leave Heather behind to raise their child on her own, alone, just like Clyde's mother did. Clyde could only pray that if Heather was to give birth to a son, that the child not end up anything like his father and that perhaps he could remember him in a better light and not spend his life hating a man who was supposed to be there, but never was.

Although he could barely hear anything at this point, Clyde was able to clearly take in Alessa's words as she acted as Heather and told Clyde that she loved him. It brought him such sweet relief to hear such a thing from the woman he loved as he neared his end. He didn't want to leave her like this. So soon, so early and with so much to live for. The happy life that he desired to have with her would be taken away now before it even formed. His life had been so short, and for no less than 3 days he had been happy, in love, and smiling towards his future with Heather, whom he wanted to make his dearly beloved wife.

But now Clyde didn't know if he would ever see Heather again. He was dying now. He doubted God and his Heaven but felt that Hell would be waiting for a murderer like him. And if none of that was to be, what would happen to him? He didn't know and it scared him. To think that he would simply cease to exist and simply die. He felt his life had been nothing up until 3 days ago when he and Heather confessed their love for eachother and expressed their desire to be with one another forever. Heather told him that he was her's forever and Clyde wanted nothing no more. But before they the two were even given much a chance at their new life, tragedy struck and it made Clyde wonder if there would even be a forever for him. Did damnation await for him in hell? Would the gates of Heaven open for him and let him watch his family from above until they joined him in paradise, letting him reunite with Heather once more to be with her for all eternity. Or was this going to be his absolute end? He was scared to find out if there was no such thing as forever and everything around him, his entire world would just stop and fade to black.

He had been pulled away before his time so unfairly and so soon. He didn't want to believe this was the end. Clyde wanted to see his family again more than anything and to forever be with the woman he loved, just like they had promised eachother. But even if their was a heaven that would take him, Clyde felt he was going to dread it there at first. He would be alone all over again and would have to for wait for his loved ones to join him. He could only hope that if he made to heaven, he wouldn't have to wait long and that Heather wouldn't suffer in waiting either.

"A-Al-...Ways... Will..." Clyde would try to say as clear as he could to the woman he saw as Heather as he held the hand of Alessa softly as his eyes began to close, his grip on her head easing before finally letting her hand go as his eyes would finally shut, everything around him fading to black for what he saw to be last time.

See You Cowboy...