"I’m dying."
"No you're not," she cradled his head on her lap. She had never thought that they would be here in this moment. That in his final moments she would be the one here with him. Tara pulled a few loose strands of hair out of his face, looking around for something -- anyone. But there was no one left. Just Orion and Tara at the end of the world. She almost held him tighter.
The smell of copper filled her nose, the feeling of dried blood against her skin. The thought of Denver, the look of life fading from his eyes. She thought of Austin, and Helena, and even Cheyenne. And now Orion. The blue light from his chest cavity exposed, the colour dimming with every passing moment. She could only try to keep him comfortable. She could only try.
She knew she wasn't who he must have wanted, but there was no sign of anyone else. Nothing but the groans of dying men and the hum of machines shutting down. Tara rested her lips against his forehead.
"We're going to be okay."
But nothing would be okay again.
