The destruction of Hingham Bridge had been ordered at dawn. The knowledge had not escaped Elizabeth's mind as she and her elder sister had ridden across to rescue Lydia. They had every intention of return prior to its detonation with or without their sister. She had not intended to ride across Hingham Bridge at the precise moment that Charles Bingley gave the order to detonate the bridge.
The sound of the explosion surpassed any such sounds Elizabeth had ever heard in the course of her life, though its magnitude quickly deafened her. The intensity of the flame singed her exposed flesh, causing her to turn away from them. The force of the blast threw her from her horse and into a dark abyss.
Elizabeth came to, struggling to breath. Her chest heaved unsteadily as the world danced around her. Harsh coughs rattled her chest. Her entire body felt heavy and pained as she turned to view her surroundings. What remained of the bridge around her lay in large blocks and burning powder. But there was no sign of Darcy around her. She turned her head toward the Hertfordshire district. Through the dizzying turns of her own disorientation, Lizzy managed to make out Mr. Darcy's figure some few yards behind her. The force of the blast had thrown him from Lizzy's horse a greater distance than it had thrown herself. His body lay prone against the ground, his face unseen by her unsteady eyes, and completely motionless.
Fearful panic spurred Elizabeth into motion. With great pains, she forced her body prone on the bridge before drawing herself onto her knees. Her chest heaved once more as the dust in the air aggravated her bruised lungs, bringing out a pain coughing fit. Yet through her fit, Elizabeth crawled the short distance to Darcy's side. Her hands quickly grabbed hold of his shoulder, jostling him. Her other hand came to the came of his head as she peered over to view his face. Dust, dirt, and blood marred the once stern mans face. Yet despite Elizabeth's touch, the man remained unconscious.
Elizabeth took a stronger grasp on Darcy's arm and lifted him from the ground. She struggled a moment as she turned him turned her, momentarily laying him against her own body. Her right arm cradled his head as she eased him onto his back. Not once did he stir or show any signs of conscious. Her hands came to his face as she searched for any signs of life.
"Mr. Darcy?" she whispered. She carefully shook his head, but to no avail. Fear coursed through her as she tried to arouse Darcy. Tears threatened to blind her vision as panicked gasps escaped her.
She could not lose him not. She could not bare to lose the man she so desperately loved. She had been a fool to think herself indifferent to him, to think herself untouched by his gesture toward her safety and that of her family. In desperation, she lowered her head to the mans chest, praying to God she might be blessed to hear the steady beating of his heart, only to hear nothing but the breaking of her own. She neither felt, nor heard, the sound of his beating heart. She pushed against his chest, as if the action would awaken him. A mournful sob escaped her lips as Elizabeth looked up from Mr. Darcy, desperately searching for help from someone. But through the clearing cloud she could see no one and found no voice to call out with.
She sought his heart beat once more, but found nothing. Defeated, she dejectedly clutched his shoulders. Tears fell from her eyes and rolled seamlessly down her face. She gently took to running her fingers through his hair, as if to sooth him in his passing- or perhaps herself.
Elizabeth brought herself closer toward Mr. Darcy's face, her voice barely above a shattered whisper. "The very first moment I beheld you, my heart was irrevocably gone." She closed her eyes tight as more tears fell from them. She pressed her lips against his, parting with a man she never deserved, nor could never prove otherwise. Lizzy rose from his lips and laid her head against his chest, releasing all her sorrow. She clung to Darcy as she sobbed. Her pride and her prejudice toward him had brought him out into the battlefield in hope of forgetting his love for her. Her plight for Lydia had pitted him against Wickham, taking up his precious time in retreating to safety. She had driven him to this, to death. It was as if she had driven her blade through his very heart and forced him to part from this world.
Movement behind her broke her mourning, causing Elizabeth to lift her face from Darcy's chest. A strong grasp caught her by the ankle. She quickly cast a look behind her and found herself pitted against a lone unmentionable. In the time of the living, the unmentionable appeared to have been a man of consequence by the sight of his clothes. Not the simple breeches and shoes, but fine linen clothe of London. The unmentionable had made quite a journey since the city fell. His hair was ratted and partial gaps had been removed. His skin was a sickly ashen color, marred with blood, and rotting flesh. In the detonation, its legs had been blown off, leaving ragged stumps in their place.
Elizabeth pitted herself between the unmentionable and Darcy's body. She could not atone for her mistakes, but she could certainly ensure that nothing would dare desecrate Darcy's body whilst she protected it. Her hand quickly sought the hard grip of her sword, only to find in horror, that her scabbard was empty. Her eyes searched frantically for her weapon, but couldn't not find it within her sight. Had she lost it in the explosion of the bridge? It mattered not, for the unmentionable took hold of her ankle with its second hand. with nothing more than her own strength, Elizabeth drove her free foot into the unmentionables face. for a moment, it seemed stunned by the action, but quickly resumed trying to get at her. Elizabeth repeated her action, only succeeding in tearing away the flesh at its face. The unmentionable pawed at her legs, trying to bring itself closer to her, so that it might feast upon her. Elizabeth brought her knees up to her chest and wedged her foot flat against the unmentionables. With a grunting cry, she launched the creature from her leg, and sent it rolling toward the remains of the bridge.
Elizabeth caught her breath and rose from the ground. Her body ached at her movements, but the pain in her heart was far more encompassing to her attention. Tears once more blurred her vision as she stalked toward the creature. Her boots echoed across the stone remains, sending clutters of rock and debris in every direction. The unmentionable lifted its pawing hands toward her, moaning with an insatiable hunger to tear into her flesh. Elizabeth sniffed with distain and brought the heel of her boot crashing into the unmentionables skull. The unmentionable grabbed her ankle and Elizabeth stomped down upon its head again. Its grip still remained. With a cry of anguish, Elizabeth brought her foot down one last time, making contact directly on its nose. The decaying bone gave way under her strength, rendering the unmentionable dealt with. It collapsed against the stone, forever silent.
Elizabeth stood planted where she was. Her chest heaved as she dissolved into anguished sobs once more. Her strength was nearly entirely spent in her journeys and battle, but there was much more sapping away the little strength she retained. She lurched her foot out, kicking the unmentionables body. It moved hardly a centimeter from her kick, still clutching her ankle.
"Lizzy!" came the echoing call of Jane's voice.
Elizabeth turned her attention toward Hertfordshire, where the encampment, and Jane, were situated. She could make out Jane's familiar figure alongside Mr. Bingley at the entrance. She could not see Lydia, but she had every hope her youngest sister had crossed to safety.
There was nothing more to be done. The bridge had been destroyed, cutting off the unmentionables from her home. Her sisters were now safe from immediate danger. And there was nothing she could to save Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth brushed the tears from her face and took a deep breath. She would always mourn his loss, but she was first and foremost a warrior. She must now act as one.
"Lizzy!"
"Here! Jan!" answered Elizabeth. She tugged at her ankle in hopes of releasing it from the unmentionables grasp, when a section of bridge detached itself from beneath the unmentionables body. Its stubs dangled over the edge, hovering precariously.
A reverberating sound of rock and stone crumbling surrounded Elizabeth. Piece by piece, the bridge crumbled beneath the undead. Its body slid across the tumbling rocks, toward the canal. Its grip on Elizabeth was strong and held, pulling her with it. Elizabeth tumbled onto her back as the undead's corpse dragged her toward the crumbling edge. She kicked at its hand, attempting to free her ankle, but its grip was too strong. She clawed at the stone, dragging lines of dust and rock with her, but nothing to save herself. As the corpse tumbled over the ledge, its weight increased its drop, nearly tearing Lizzy off with it. Her feet first felt the emptiness of the air, quickly followed by her legs, and finally her hips. In one last attempt to save herself, Lizzy grasped hold of a fractured stone within the bridge, wedging her fingers as far as she could. The act was just enough to cease her descent into the canal. Her body came to a sudden halt, causing further strain on her stretched muscles. The sudden stop invoked a startled gasp from Lizzy. It had kept her level with the bridge, but she now hung precariously by her grasp.
For a moment, Lizzy hung, unable to bring herself to move her body. Her chest stuttered as she tried to calm her breathing down. She closed her mouth and forced herself to breathe through her nose. A technique she had learned many years ago. For though she hung several fathoms above the canal, she was still an abled body. During the slid over, her left leg and side had slid across an exposed steel beam, used in the bridges construction. The jagged beam had cut through the fabric of her clothes and into her flesh. The slow trickle of blood and the ache of her injured body were forcefully banished from Elizabeth's mind.
Elizabeth first attempted to bring her freed leg up to the ledge. She carefully swung her leg to and fro, before attempting to lift it. But the added weight of the corpse dangling from her ankle altered the mechanics of her body too much for Lizzy to correctly achieve her goal. With great disdain, Lizzy lowered her leg with a groan of defeat.
"Lizzy!" Jane cried frantically, rushing across the bridge. Bingley followed alongside her.
"Jane!" answered Elizabeth. "Help me!"
Elizabeth locked her elbows in place to keep as much of her upper body above the ledge as possible. The steel beam was situated just beside her extended abdomen. With every movement, Lizzy could feel the cold metal scraping across her flesh, etching into her body with every wayward motion of her body. The sharp edges of the stones easily cut through the material and tore into her hands and waist. Elizabeth winced as she struggled her keep herself upright. Her muscles screamed for release and shook from the stress, but she continued not to yield. She swung her leg, trying to get it back up, but her actions caused the corpse to swing from her other leg, altering the weight of her body. The blood soaking her gloves seeped onto the rock, loosening her grasp. Her arms shook in strain. "Jane! Hurry!"
"Hang on Lizzy!" cried Jane.
Elizabeth locked her jaw and focused her resolve. She would never be able to hold herself much longer with the corpse still hanging by her foot. Lizzy lifted her foot and struck the arm of the corpse. The body swung from the force, tipping Lizzy's side further against the beam. Lizzy sucked a sharp breath, but refused to cry out. She struck it again and again. She peeled away bits of rotten flesh and decaying muscles Lizzy bit her lip and kicked one final time. The force tore the remains of her arm from the body and sent it plunging into the canal below.
The release of weight swung Lizzy's body, but it was a joyous result. Elizabeth gave a startled laugh, relishing in the free motion of her leg. She drew one leg up onto the ledge and heaved herself up. She knelt there on the ledge, breathing deeply. Sweat tumbled down her exhausted face while blood seemed to flow from everywhere else.
"Elizabeth?" called a weary voice.
Elizabeth quickly brought her head up. Her eyes quickly fell upon those of Mr. Darcy's. He lay upon the ground, but his eyes were upon her. He had survive! Joy suddenly filled Elizabeth so, that she could not check her spreading smile. "Mr. Darcy."
With a heart stopped crack, the ledge suddenly trembled beneath Elizabeth. With great swiftness, the ledge beneath her body gave way. So sudden did it occur, that Lizzy only managed a slight gasp as she plummeted down into the canal below.