Page 117 of Mariposa
I stab into my pocket with trembling hands, hook my hand around the metal, and pull it. I toss it furiously in front of me to create a barrier and establish a position of defense.
“What’s the plan, Beast?” I hate calling him by his call sign at this moment, but we can’t risk them hearing our real identities.
I stare at him as we both shoot left and right, but the army is still coming. We’re pinned down at the side of this mountain. Any solution or plan we choose will end with us both getting killed.
I take another shot at a threat who has an RPG aimed straight at us. Instead of the missile hitting us, it hits his own men. His body slips, and he’s falling down the mountain, taking his weapon with him.
My rifle makes an empty clicking noise signaling an empty chamber.
“I’m out of ammo.”
Kade’s shoulder kicks back as he continues to defend, but then his rifle echoes the same dreadful sound my weapon did. We’re both out of ammo with only seconds to adapt, or we’re going to die up here, together.
45
VIOLET
As The World Caves In by Sarah Cothran
He throws a concussion grenade from his kit towards the enemies. Loud groans follow suit. It’ll stun them momentarily, buy us time, and give us a small window to keep going even though we both know how this ends. As soon as they halt fire, we take advantage. I pull the pistol from his pants and shoot. We’re back-to-back as Kade and I cover each other and fire. I’m shouting while blood and spit drop from my busted lips.
Everything hurts.
Suddenly, Kade’s weapon clicks. He turns around, watching me intensely.
I need to buy us more time. Looking around, I find two grenades in the back of Booker’s pants. I grab one and hand the other to Kade. I pull it.
“Frag out!” I shout as I launch it towards them.
Kade mirrors my actions. I hunch over, covering my ears when his massive arms pull me into his chest. He shields me with his body as the two explosions buy us more minutes.
“Do you believe in me?” he yells into my ear.
“Yes, Beast.”
“Do you trust me?”
“Of course,” I respond without missing a beat.
This makes him smile. God, I love it when he does that. He’s so effortlessly handsome, but this is all so unlike him. His once aggressive, pale blue, vibrant green eyes turn into something I don’t recognize.
“Thank you, Posa. For everything.”
I rear back as he keeps his gaze pinned on me. I keep shooting into the gas until the pistol clicks and nothing comes out.
Damn it! I don’t like this. Why is he talking like this?
“Beast, what’re you doing?” I snap, holding the pistol in my hand until it slices my palm open.
“Thank you for showing me I’m still worthy of a family. Thank you for making me smile and laugh the hardest I have in years…I’m no longer a soldier who’s dead inside because you showed me I still can love and be loved. That my heart still works, because I thought it would beat for no one, but it does for you, dammit. You are the one who has ruined me for any other soul.”
“Stop talking like this! Let’s go!” I grab his hand, looking down the cliff. “We can both try to make it down this hill.”
He shakes his head and removes his hand from mine. He denies me and makes my heart shatter.
He really is going to do this.
“You are the woman I want to go to bed with at night and the first person I look for when I wake up.”
