deadlock.
Do heroes wear capes? Are they graceful in the air, hair lightly tousled by the breeze and shining under the warmth of the sun?
Or do they grovel. Do they pant and bleed with cracked glasses, their hands grasping at the air as they struggle for one last breath.
This is life and death, he told himself. My life, and its death.
Nothing else would be acceptable.
Pain radiated through his left leg, but negligible in comparison to the other, far more pressing issues. The monster’s grip wasn’t loosening, yet it wasn’t tightening either, this meant Mark was as close to victory as he was to death. He had done his best, and now it was up to fate.
Another wave of agony as something else exploded, this time in his torso. Mark hoped that it wasn’t something vital, for there were only so much the field medics could do, even if some of them were highly skilled.
The monster stared, its six beady eyes meeting Mark’s two.
Die. Mark silently willed the monster as he continued to drain its energy. Right here, right now. You will die for me.
The creature growled, but weaker than before. Its claws loosened just enough for Mark to suck in a painful, but much needed gulp of air. He imagined the oxygen flowing in through his nostrils and filling his depleted lungs in a trail of purifying blue. I can live, he informed himself. I have to try. He raised his knife and brought it down towards the monster’s eyes, drawing it across the row of three at the top, then turning the blade downwards for the rest.
His second swipe missed, but the first one was right on the money. Finally, the creature dropped him. It would have been a bone-breaking fall, if not for a dead teammate’s last service as cushion.
Thanks, let me borrow this. Mark pulled his leg out of the unpleasant bloody mess and helped himself to another dead squad mate’s gun. His hands were shaking, but he managed to reload the gun. He could barely aim, but thankfully his target was a large, slowly drooping mound. How many bullets did he fire? That, he wasn’t certain, but he had but two remaining by the end. The thing eventually stopped moving, and at its stillness he laughed.
Nothing about this situation was humorous, and such a devastating scene should earn no laughter, yet he couldn’t stop himself. Something was cracking inside, worse than his glasses, and somehow the hysterical noises he was making felt soothing on those frayed nerves.
Report. Static. Report.
What was that sound? Did it come from his ear piece? Oh yes, he still had that, didn’t he?
“Mission completed.” He put a hand over his mouth to contain his laughter and rolled onto his side. “Rank B monster eliminated.” Was that how he was supposed to report? His commanding officer should be doing this, except she might have been the first to die trying to save somebody else. Such a good person. “Civilian casualty...nine. I think that’s everyone. They all died, we couldn’t save a single person.” He wanted to raise his head and have a look around, but maybe that could be somebody else’s job. “Six of us died trying, though. You are talking to the last kid standing, or, uh, lying.”
What’s the point of all this? What’s the point of all this?
“If a medic doesn’t get here soon, we might have a total team wipeout.” Now that the battle was done, he was actually beginning to feel all his injuries. “Since I have you on the line, want to sing me Happy Birthday? Yeah? Awesome. To Mark please. Oh? Yeah, I am turning sixteen.”