Everything felt oddly similar to when he was alive.

Burke inspected the clouds hanging low over the city in a vain attempt to establish why the afterlife looked so much like Walt’s office.

“We have to go!”

The beautiful voice wrapped around him, causing a smile to play across his lips.

“Benjamin! We have to go now!”

Tyler appeared in his line of sight, hands grasping his forearms. Burke stared at the man in confusion, his gaze sliding to the body slumped grotesquely across the desk. Comprehension dawned as an alarm began echoing through the building.

“How did you…?” The question was cut short as Tyler laced their fingers together, yanking him into the hallway.

As adrenaline coursed through his system, Burke only had one thought: make it out alive.

His knowledge of the building proved useful, dragging Tyler into an alcove moments before footsteps pounded past their hiding place. The door behind them gave silently, Burke locking it after they were through.

Silently, he jerked his head toward the window. Tyler nodded with a grimace. Three stories high wouldn’t do them any favors. The only thing they had going for them was Walt’s paranoia surrounding video feeds.

Clinging to the stone window ledge, Burke avoided glancing down.

“All this and you're afraid of heights?” Tyler’s whisper redirected his focus from the fear making his knees weak.

“We need to get one floor down. Can you do that?”

“Guess I’m about to find out.”

Standing on the ledge next to him, Tyler hesitated. “Sounds like they’re coming back,” he warned.

Burke nodded tersely. “Slide down. Find the top of the next window. Then drop down to the ledge and try to open the window,” he instructed, pressing himself away from the still-open window.

Dropping into an awkward crouch, he began following suit as the door inside crashed open.

Tuning out the echoed shouts, Burke carefully slid his leg down, searching for the stone ledge to stand on.

A cry tore from his throat as pain seared through his arm. Losing his grip, Burke crashed into the bushes, vaguely attempting to protect his head. Blinking stars out of his eyes, he rolled away as another round of bullets punctured the soil.

Tyler jumped from the lowest ledge. “Move! Move! Move!”

Forcing the pain to the back of his mind, Burke ran down the street. Every pounding step caused his vision to blur. Blood was dripping down his elbow, leaving an obvious trail.

Tyler pulled him under an awning, barely out of sight. “Hold this.” He pressed a wad of gauze against the bloody wound. A moment later, he’d procured a roll of medical tape, generously wrapping most of it around Burke’s bicep.

“Can you run a little farther?” He asked quietly.

Clenching his jaw, Burke nodded.

“We’re close, but they might have eyes on it already.”

“Where?” Burke managed, his breathing jagged.

Tyler eyed him warily. “Three blocks. But we’re going to have to sprint.”

“Let’s go.”

Burke tore down the street, ignoring the jolts of pain making his body feel like fire. Keeping his arm tucked against his side, he made sure Tyler was in his peripheral as he caught sight of movement ahead.

“This way.” Somehow, Tyler heard his command, following him behind an abandoned building. Burke cursed under his breath as they ran into a dead end, a locked gate blocking their path. There was no way he could scale it with his arm ripped up.

“I’ll help you.” Tyler was breathless beside him, cradling his hands together on his knee to create a foothold.

Burke spared a second to smile at this man who had risked everything for him. Tumbling over the far side of the fence, a metallic taste filled his mouth. Tyler dropped next to him, landing gracefully on all fours as Burke spit out a mouthful of blood. They took off again as the racket behind them grew louder.

On instinct, Burke tackled Tyler as a bullet whizzed overhead. Yanking out his revolver, he spotted the target on the roof of a nearby building. Picking him off, Burke found one more in his sights as Tyler dragged him down the sidewalk.

“One more block. It’s going to be tight,” Tyler gasped.

With a tight stitch in his side, Burke merely grunted in reply.

Their footsteps pounding across the pavement, nothing mattered except survival. A faint drizzle began leaking from the clouds, muting the rest of the world from their desperate gasps for air.

Squealing tires broke through the moment of quiet, gunshots ringing out around the pair.

“Left!”

Burke turned as directed, barely slowing down as he dashed toward a brick wall. Reaching the barrier first, Tyler punched in a code, shoving Burke through the opening.

Tyler sprinted over to a small helicopter with Burke right behind. He wrenched open the passenger door, hurdling into the seat.

“Strap in!”

Seconds after Tyler was harnessed up, he was working the controls, bringing the aircraft straight into the sky.

Both men tensed as bullets pinged off the bottom of the aircraft. After several minutes of only hearing the rotors, Tyler let out a long breath.

“Settle in, it’ll be a few hours.”

Burke stared at his companion. The adrenaline was wearing off and he could feel himself crashing.

“Why.”

Tyler blinked a few times, his startled gaze finally turning toward Burke.

“Why, what?”

“You saved me.”

Turning away, Tyler shook his head. “Later. There’s a first aid kit strapped behind your seat. I’ll help you bandage your arm again when we arrive.”

—————

Jolting awake as the helicopter landed, Burke peered around at the small collection of aircraft that surrounded them.

Tyler unstrapped, hopping down from the pilot seat. “I have to take care of some paperwork, but I’ll be right back.”

A few minutes later, Burke was being led toward a small car.

“Everything should be set at the house.”

“What house?”

“You’ll see.” Tyler’s grin showed his exhaustion.

They stayed silent on the drive. The frequency of the scattered houses diminished until they were surrounded by trees. As the forest flashed by, Burke replayed the events of the day in his head, finally wrapping his head around the fact that he was alive.

Pulling off the quiet road, Tyler parked in front of a little blue house. Reaching over, he gently squeezed Burke’s hand.

“This,” Tyler gestured to the house, “is where we start over. This is home.”

END