Fingers dig into my neck. “M-make it stop,” he sobs. I hold him tighter, rock him. “I can’t, I can’t…” I can’t fix this. I can’t protect him from this. The sound he makes against my chest is unlike anything I’ve ever heard—inhuman and terrifying in its devastation. And I find myself pleading. Praying. For once not for her… But for him. Make it stop. Please, make it stop. This can’t be happening It can’t. She can’t be dead. He won’t survive it… We won’t survive it.
