It was never supposed to end this way. Lisa curses as tears roll down her cheeks, choked up with emotion. She’d never imagined it’d come down to this, but she’d always been the unlucky one out of all of her friends, so why was she even surprised?

Her fingers shake against the barrel of her rifle as she hears the pounding of combat boots approaching from the other side of the barrier separating her from enemy lines. She can still hear the echo of Chaeyoung’s voice, so sweet, so soft, whispering into her ears.

“I miss you.” The sound of her lover’s murmur overpowers the roar of explosives detonating, the pitiful cries for help from the wounded, the crack of bullets flying overhead. Instead, she hears the faint tinkle of Chaeyoung’s laughter, breathy and gentle and soothing.

Like an angel in disguise, her voice cuts through all of the pain. Lisa blinks back another wave of tears, fighting to stay strong, to hold her tongue. She didn’t want to give her location away to the enemy too soon.

“Lisa, I miss you. Come back home...safely, please.” Hints of Chaeyoung’s Australian accent flit through Lisa’s mind, replaying over and over again. It sounded so real, so life like. The sound of footfall hammers into the dirt and Lisa tilts her head back against the wall.

They were coming for her, but she couldn’t run anymore, couldn’t stave off the end any longer. Her time was coming. As she waits, Lisa watches the movement of the clouds, finding solace for a second or two, a welcome distraction from her impending doom.

The blue of the heavens above her are streaked with black smoke lines of falling airplanes and the oranges of pinks of sunset, a tragically beautiful combination that sends more tears streaming down her soot coated cheeks.

Steel birds with gaping holes for wings shatter down from the atmosphere one by one, picked off by the unbeatable, invisible forces they were up against. Behind Lisa, the enemy has started setting fire to the trees, attempting to flush out all survivors.

The flames lap up against the gold of the horizon. Lisa knows her last night on this earth is burning to the ground, but she won’t give up without a fight. Though she’s exhausted beyond belief, she has one more trick up her sleeve.

It’s not cunning enough to send her home but it’s enough to give her one last bang before it’s all over. Lisa tightens her grip on her gun, screwing her eyes shut tight, forcing herself to envision her. Lisa can see Chaeyoung now, standing in front of her.

“Please,” she hears Chaeyoung whisper, as if she’s right there on the battlefield with her., cupping both sides