Warning: Character death

You rush toward the sounds of battle; the gunfire ripping through the air as your heart pounds rapidly against your chest. You weren’t supposed to be anywhere near here since the citizens were supposed to have gone to find shelter. But you couldn’t go, not yet. You must see him one last time because deep down you know this battle is suicide for those fighting. No one was going to make it out alive because the army that’s invading is five times the size of the one your boyfriend is in. You hear another boom echo through the air.

You stop to catch your breath, palms pressed against your knees as you pant. The smell of gunpowder as well as blood is thick, and it’s making your stomach twist. Whose blood was it? Someone you didn’t know or someone you did know? Images of your friends, family, and neighbors flash through your mind, your boyfriend’s face being the last one you see. This makes you run full speed once more until you can see the soldiers locked into battle. Weapons clash against one another, or slice through flesh to make someone’s life drain away. You hear orders being shouted from what you can only assume is the commanding officer...but of which side you don’t know.

Frantically, you look over the once peaceful valley to see it littered with crimson liquid that almost looks black from this distance. Faces are covered by helmets, in an attempt to shield the soldiers’ heads; this is going to make finding him that much harder. You’re about to go to the small medical tent, hoping to find him there, but a man struggling close-by catches your eye. He’s dragging himself at a slow pace, his fingers clawing at the ground for better leverage. As stupid and risky as it is, you rush to him and plan to take him with you to the tent so he can receive some treatment for whatever his injury may be.

“Why, hello there,” he said in a weak, but surprisingly cheery voice. You look him over quickly to find both his legs are stained with red, but you can’t see the actual injury. “Are you an angel?”

“No, but I am here to help you,” you inform him before kneeling down. “Can you put an arm around my shoulder so I can support you?”

The soldier nods and does as he’s told. You strain against his weight, but manage to get to the medical tent, where two doctors rush over to take him from you. “What are you doing here?!” a patient on one of the white cots asks you. You turn to him to find that there is a bandage around his head, covering his left eye. As you gaze into the right eye you gasp sharply at the realization that this is your boyfriend’s best friend. “_____________-ah,” he says firmly, “answer me.”

“I need to see him,” you say in a weak voice.

“You’re an idiot! He’s out there, fighting, trying to stop this take over to save the people--especially you--and here you are!”

He’s right, you know he is, but all you say is, “Is he alright?”

“Yeah, he’s out there avenging my eye,” his best friend explains.

“Are you going to be alright?”

“I’m not dead....so yeah, I’ll be alright. Now you need to get far away from here, if he sees you here then that won’t do either of you any good,” he hisses and you can’t argue against that. Seeing you would make your boyfriend worry, when all he should do is focus on the battle.

“Take care,” you give a small bow before rushing out of the hospital only to duck down as an enemy rushes toward you, sword raised. Instinct makes you kick your leg out to trip him, stunning the soldier for enough time that you’re able to take the blade and use it. The blow isn’t fatal, but it’ll stall him long enough for you to get away, but when you turn to run there is a soldier standing before; although, this is a soldier on your side.

“Jagiya,” the familiar voice reaches your ears despite the battle sounds roaring all around you. Before you can say anything, your boyfriend grabs your wrist and rushes you behind a tent for some cover. When he removes his helmet, you see the worry in his beautiful eyes that you love so much. He looks older than he really is, but somehow he still looks far too young to be part of this. “You’re really here,” he states for his own assurance. The enemy has been using hallucination gas for quite sometime now, and although the helmet could protect him from that, one could never be too sure in a war.

“I just...wanted to see you,” you say.

Strong arms pull you close. “I know, I’ve wanted to see you too, but you must go. We’ll be together again soon. I’ll guide you out of here, but then i must get back to the fight.”

“Run with me,” you urge as he takes your hand and withdraws his handgun, leaving the helmet behind. Rather than answering you, your boyfriend shakes his head at your suggestion. He couldn’t leave; it would make him both a coward and a traitor. The two of you move swiftly through the mass of fighting so everything around you is a blur as your boyfriend occasionally fires his weapon. You’re nearly in the clear when a sharp pain tears through your leg, causing you to collapse; your hand slipping from his to catch yourself.

You clutch the bullet wound while looking up to see a line of the enemy fighters approaching the both of you. You feel yourself getting pulled up, but neither you nor your boyfriend doesn’t get the chance to run as you crumple from the pain instantly. The soldier, pulls the trigger as many times he can, but he’s still outnumbered. When the gun clicks with a lack of ammo, the enemies raise their own weapons and fire all at once so the metal objects pierce through your boyfriend’s body. As he falls to the ground red spots are already forming on his weak armor where the bullets had torn through. You scream and crawl over to him as he let’s out jagged breathes. You fight back tears as you cup his cheeks, spreading your blood on him in the process.

“This is my fault,” you choke as he stares up at you with watering eyes.

He coughs and red liquid comes out as he gasps for air. “N...no...I...I lo-love....love you,” he manages weakly.

“I love you too, I love you so much,” you start to sob. You want to beg for him to hold on, to stay with you, to live, but you know that it’s not possible; not while the enemy was still watching you and he’s lost so much blood already.

His breathing is quickening as he tries to hold on a few moments longer. He pushes his body to lean up, only to fall back weakly, but you understand what he wants and lean down to press your lips firmly against his. The kiss tastes of copper, but you pay that no mind as tears stream down your face while you try to put as much love into the kiss as you can. He does the same until he can’t anymore.

When you pull away he gives you one final smile while mouthing that he loves you before his eyes lose focus and he stills. He’s gone; he’s dead. There’s a few clicking noises behind you that make you look to see the same guns that had killed the love of your life now pointing at you. You look down at your boyfriend’s body and say how sorry you are and that you love him just seconds before the sound of guns going off echos around you and pain invades all your senses as you collapse on top of the body of your lover. You feel nothing as your vision slowly goes black before a warm, calming feeling washes over you until your life has drained from you.