Roach continued to shoot back. There were no more explosions or the rumble of tanks. The pale ones were everywhere. Left, right, forward, helmets were emerging from every bush all around them. Yellow armbands were growing like a field of dandelions in front of her. They were countless and relentless. She kept shooting, but the enemies were no longer hiding, realizing that there really wasn't a platoon of soldiers hiding in the trench.Just two.And with each bullet, no matter how hard she tried to push it away... The weight of awareness pressed down on her shoulders. Heavy. Cold.The sound of footsteps was approaching. Shouts and the barking of dogs could be heard from all sides, getting closer. Roach pressed her back against the wall of the ravine. She looked up at the sky, her eyes wide with fear. Nowhere to run.Her breath was coming in panicked, convulsive gasps. Her hands trembled, metal fingers sinking into the mud. Salty drops of her despair dripped down her bloody cheek.This was it. the end.- I don't want to go back...Panic and the realization of inevitability overwhelmed her. They were about to be captured. They will certainly be captured. They had been running for so long. They had lost so much. But tomorrow they would be locked up again. Imprisoned and tortured again. Something pulled her out of her overwhelming fear. A warm hand covered her shoulder, and she turned around.Lucia was kneeling in front of her. The machine gun was lying on the side. They didn't need it anymore. Lucia... Her dear Lucia. She was looking at her tiredly. Smiling.Roach swallowed dryly.Lucia was smiling. Softly. Knowingly. Even as the cries in her painfully familiar language turned from a distant echo into menacing, close-at-hand signals. Even when a few salty drops, barely noticeable on her grimy face, trickled down from her eyes, the familiar fire dulled in them now. And that smile made her chest tighten. Her shoulders involuntarily relaxed, even though they were still shaking with anxiety. Roach felt tears streaming down her cheeks from impotence and despair. She turned around, but comrade's hand, warm and rough, persistently turned her face back. Not letting her look at the approaching punishers.- Lucia... - A sob escaped her throat. Her lips trembled. Little nose wrinkling involuntarily. - "I don't want... I don't want to go back..."Her friend's gaze softened. Lucia lowered her hand, squeezing her palm. - Don't worry. - A faint click rang out, and Roach looked down. At the grenade clutched in her friend's fist. At the pin lying in the mud. Her heart skipped a beat.- We won't be coming back.The redhead met her friend's gaze. All the sounds had ceased. There was no longer a chattering machine gun or heavy boots.Roach looked at Lucia. Looked and smiled too.The soldiers were getting closer. The screams were already heard above their heads. The barking was coming from all directions. But she didn't hear it anymore.Roach grabbed Lucia by the shoulders, pulling her close and wrapping her arms around her. The grenade fell into Lucia's lap. Between them. The metal fingers of the prosthetics dug into the wet fabric of their shirts.- They're here! Lucia closed her eyes.Heavy boots clattered on the floor of the ravine.Roach put her head on Lucia's shoulder and finally relaxed. Closed her eyes.- Thank you.Vincent instinctively threw himself to the ground as a deafening explosion shook the air. He rolled over on his side, breathing heavily and looking forward. A huge, fiery cloud of dust rose above the ravine. Where there had been a shallow trench, there was now a deep, fiery crater. He looked on, and something in his chest broke.- Lucia! - He jumped to his feet and rushed forward, stumbling, but someone's muscular arms wrapped painfully around his chest, pulling him back. He struggled and fought to get forward, but Chlorine continued to drag him back. Ignoring the younger boy's cries, even as tears welled up in his eyes.
